Spring loaded railway car hopper car door

Claim 2

A spring-loaded door stop and door closing unit for a discharge door of a railroad hopper car of the type wherein said door is hingedly affixed at at least two points to the underframe of said hopper car and is swingable between a closed position and a downwardly depending open position, said unit comprising a spring support, a support guide assembly and a helical spring, said spring support comprising an elongated shank with a forward end pivotally affixed to said door, said support guide assembly having a forward end with a perforation to slidingly receive said shank of said spring support and a rearward end pivotally affixed to said car underframe, said helical spring surrounding said spring support with its forward end abutting said spring support forward end and its rearward end abutting said forward end of said support guide assembly, whereby said spring support shank will telescope within said spring support guide assembly and said spring will be compressed when said door opens, means to maintain said unit in said telescope condition and said spring in said compressed condition until said door is urged slightly toward said closed condition, whereupon said spring will be free to elongate and said unit will close said door, abutment means on said spring support shank adapted to cooperate with said forward end of said support guide assembly to determine the open-most position of said door.

Claim 3

The structure claimed in claim 1 wherein said forward end of said spring support comprises an abutment structure at the forward end of said shank and extending transversely thereof, the rearward surface of said abutment structure being in abutting relationship with said forward end of said helical spring, the forward surface of said abutment structure having a nose portion thereon adapted to be pivotally affixed to said door.

Claim 4

The structure claimed in claim 1 wherein said support guide assembly comprises a pair of sides maintained in parallel spaced relationship by joining webs along their top and bottom edges, an abutment structure at the forward end of said support guide assembly extending transversely of said sides, said abutment structure having a hole therein, the rearward end of said spring support shank being slidably received in said hole and extending between said sides, said support guide assembly abutment structure having a Forward surface in abutting relationship with said rearward end of said helical spring and adapted to be abutted by said abutment means on said spring support shank to determine said open-most position of said door, a lug on said underframe of said hopper car, said underframe lug extending between said sides at said rearward end of said support guide assembly, coaxial perforations in said sides and said underframe lug and pivot pin means extending through said coaxial perforations whereby said support guide assembly is pivotally affixed to said underframe lug.

Claim 5

The structure claimed in claim 1 wherein said abutment means on said spring support shank comprises a pair of diametrically opposed lugs on opposite sides of said shank and between the ends thereof.

Claim 6

The structure claimed in claim 1 including a bifurcated lug affixed to said hopper door, said forward end of said spring support being located between said door lug bifurcations, said door lug bifurcations and said forward end of said spring support having coaxial perforations and pivot pin means extending through said coaxial perforations whereby said spring support is pivotally affixed to said door lug.

Claim 7

The structure claimed in claim 5 including means to adjust said open-most position of said door, said adjustment means comprising a hole in said forward end of said spring support, said hole having a plurality of equal planar sides, a nut having sides equal in number and length to said sides of said hole whereby said nut may be received in said hole and oriented in a number of ways therein equal to the number of sides thereof, said perforation in said forward end of said spring support to receive said pivot pin means being eccentrically located in said nut whereby the open-most position of said door may be determined by the orientation of said nut in said hole.

Claim 8

The structure claimed in claim 5 including means to adjust said open-most position of said door, said adjustment means comprising a splined adjustment means receivable in an appropriately configured hole in said forward end of said spring support, said perforation in said forward end of said spring support to receive said pivot pin means being eccentrically located in said splined adjustment means whereby the open-most position of said door may be determined by the orientation of said splined adjustment means in said hole.

Claim 9

The structure claimed in claim 7 including a bifurcated lug affixed to said hopper door, said forward end of said spring support being located between said door lug bifurcations, said door lug bifurcations and said forward end of said spring support having coaxial perforations and pivot pin means extending through said coaxial perforations whereby said spring support is pivotally affixed to said door lug.

Claim 10

The structure claimed in claim 1 wherein said forward end of said spring support comprising an abutment structure at the forward end of said shank and extending transversely thereof, the rearward surface of said abutment structure being in abutting relationship with said forward end of said helical spring, the forward surface of said abutment structure having a nose portion thereon adapted to be pivotally affixed to said door, said support guide assembly comprising a pair of sides maintained in parallel spaced relationship by joining webs along their top and bottom edges, an abutment structure at the forward end of said support guide assembly extending transversely of said sides, said abutment structure having a hole therein, the rearward end of said spring support shank being slidably received in said hole and extending between said sides, said support guide assembly abutment structure having a forward surface in abutting relationship with said rearward end of said helical spring and adapted to be abutted by said abutment means on said spring support shank to determine said open-most position of said door, a lug on said underframe of said hopper car, said underframe lug extending between said sides at said reaRward end of said support guide assembly, coaxial perforations in said sides and said underframe lug and pivot pin means extending through said coaxial perforations whereby said support guide assembly is pivotally affixed to said underframe lug.

Claim 11

The structure claimed in claim 9 including means to adjust said open-most position of said door, said adjustment means comprising shim means affixable to said abutment means on said spring support.

Claim 12

The structure claimed in claim 9 including means to adjust said open-most position of said door, said adjustment means comprising a disc-like shim means locatable on said forward surface of said support guide assembly abutment structure, said shim means having a hole therein overlying said hole in said support guide assembly abutment structure and slidingly receiving said spring support shank therethrough.

Claim 13

The structure claimed in claim 9 wherein said abutment means on said spring support shank comprises a pair of diametrically opposed lugs on opposite sides of said shank and between the ends thereof.

Claim 14

The structure claimed in claim 12 including means for adjusting said open-most position of said door, said means comprising shim means affixable to each of said lugs on said spring support shank.

Claim 15

The structure claimed in claim 1 including means on said unit whereby said open-most position of said door may be adjusted.

Claim 16

The structure claimed in claim 14 wherein said adjustment means comprising shim means locatable on one of said spring support abutment means and said forward end of said support guide assembly.