Railroad hopper car with ballast distributing blade and hopper door and blade control apparatus and method
US5423268A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 10, 1993 |
| Grant date | Jun 13, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 10, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC E)Fixed Constructions
- CPC primaryE01B27/022
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A ballast distributing railroad car has a number of ballast hoppers, each with a selectively operable hopper door. The railroad car also has a pair of ballast distributing blades pivotally attached beneath it, one at either end of the car, with the blades being mirror images of each other. Each blade can be selectively raised and lowered via an independent hydraulic actuator. A remote control radio transmitter and car mounted receiver provide for remote, individual and selective control of hopper doors and blades on a car. When there are a plurality of ballast cars on a train, each car has a receiver which responds to a different address sequence. The remote transmitter is operable to selectively send any of the different address sequences so that a single selected car can be remotely controlled. In a modified arrangement, each ballast distributing blade has a pair of extendable wings on either side to allow the wider distribution of ballast where needed. The wings are operated via individual hydraulic actuators which are also selectively controllable via the remote transmitter.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.