Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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RAILWAY CAR HATCH COVER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates generally to railway car hatch covers, and more
particularly
to a convertible railway car hatch cover.
This invention is applicable to railway car hatch covers. On covered hopper
railway cars, each car has a series of hatches on top of the car that allow
the railway cars to be
filled from the top with various commodities, such as plastic pellets, flour,
grain food products,
and the like. The hatches also allow access into the car for maintenance and
an opening for
venting purposes. After the railway car is loaded, a hatch cover is secured
over each hatch to
prevent outside substances from contaminating the goods in the car, and also
to prevent spillage
and secure the goods or substance inside the car for transportation. A gasket
is used in each hatch
cover to create an air-tight seal. When it is time to unload a loaded railway
car, a suction device
can be connected to a fitting on the bottom of the railway car, and the car is
unloaded from the
bottom. Previously, to prevent damage to the railway car that could be caused
by creating a
vacuum inside the car during the removal process, and to unload the car in a
more efficient
manner, a number of the hatch covers on each car were opened to ensure airflow
through the car.
During the unloading process, a worker would have to climb on top of each car
to open the hatch
covers to ensure proper ventilation.
As a result of the safety hazards associated with a worker climbing on top of
a
railway car to remove the hatch covers for unloading purposes, a vented hatch
cover was
developed. Vented hatch covers are placed on certain hatch openings on each
covered hopper
car, alternating with the traditional, non-vented hatch covers. The vented
covers use a gasket
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with a mesh center that allows for airflow into and out of the hopper car
during transit and
unloading, while still preventing contaminating substances from entering the
railway car. The
airflow created by the vented hatch covers also eliminates the need for a
worker to open the
hatch covers on each car during the unloading process.
In current hatch cover designs, the gasket is attached to the hatch cover by
an
adhesive, a fastening device, or other like method. These methods while
effective, make it
difficult or very time consuming to remove the gasket from the hatch cover if
the gasket is
damaged or needs to be cleaned. Furthermore, because of the difference in
design between
vented and non-vented hatch covers, purchasers cannot use a single hatch cover
in a vented
capacity in one instance and a non-vented capacity in another instance.
Instead, purchasers have
to purchase two independent hatch covers depending on their needs.
The present invention provides a railway car hatch cover with a convertible
design that can serve as either a vented or non-vented hatch cover with the
simple change of the
gasket.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a convertible railway car hatch
cover is
provided for use.
One embodiment of the present railway car hatch cover includes an exterior
shell
cover, a gasket, and a mounting ring. The exterior shell cover has an outer-
side and an under-
side. The gasket is a vented gasket or a non-vented gasket, and the gasket is
mounted to the
mounting ring. The mounting ring is secured to the under-side of the exterior
shell cover. The
mounting ring is removable and the gasket is replaceable with a second gasket.
The second
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gasket can be vented or non-vented. The mounting ring is reinstallable on the
under-side of the
exterior shell cover.
Another embodiment of the present railway car hatch cover includes an exterior
shell cover that has an outer-side and an under-side, a gasket that is vented
or non-vented, and a
mounting ring with the gasket mounted to the mounting ring. The mounting ring
containing the
gasket is secured to the under-side of the exterior shell cover. The mounting
ring is removable,
and the gasket is replaceable with a new gasket. The new gasket can be vented
or non-vented.
The mounting ring containing the new gasket is reinstallable to the under-side
of the exterior
shell cover.
Another embodiment of the present railway car hatch cover includes an exterior
shell cover with an outer-side and an under-side, and a mounting ring that is
removably attached
to the under-side of the exterior shell cover. The mounting ring contains a
replaceable gasket.
The gasket is a vented gasket or a non-vented gasket.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a railway car hatch cover
that
can be used as a vented or non-vented hatch cover by changing or replacing the
gasket.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a railway hatch cover
with
a removable and replaceable gasket.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a railway hatch cover
with
removable gasket where the gasket is attached to a rigid ring and secured to
the under-side of the
hatch cover.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a railway hatch cover
with
a mounting cavity or pocket for a Global Positioning System (GPS) and a
condition monitoring
device.
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It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a railway hatch
cover
with a mounting cavity or pocket for sensors.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a railway hatch
cover
without a locking arm which allows for a low profile design.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a railway
hatch cover
that uses a self-adjusting foot latch and spring to maintain pressure on the
hatch cover and create
the seal between the gasket on the hatch cover and the hatch ring.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is an isometric view of the railway car hatch cover of the present
invention;
Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the railway car hatch cover of the present
invention;
Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the railway car hatch cover of the
present
invention;
Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the railway car hatch cover of the present
invention;
Fig. 5 is an enlarged isometric view of the self-adjusting foot latch on the
railway
car hatch cover of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring now to Figs. 1-5, a convertible railway car hatch cover is generally
designated 10 and comprises an exterior shell cover 12, a mounting ring 28,
and a gasket 30. The
exterior shell cover 12 is generally round in the horizontal direction and
dome-shaped in the
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vertical direction with respect to the railcar, but the exterior shell cover
12 can be any other
shape as well. The exterior shell cover 12 has an outer-side 14 and an under-
side 16. The exterior
shell cover 12 is preferably molded from a polymeric material, but it can also
be made from a
metallic material. Hinges 18 connected to the outer-side 14 of the exterior
shell cover 12
pivotally connect the convertible railway car hatch cover 10 to a set of hatch
hinges 34 on top of
a railway car (not shown). The hinge allows the exterior shell cover 12 to
rotate up to 180
degrees with respect to the closed position.
A gasket 30 is mounted to a mounting ring 28 by pressing the gasket 30 into
the
mounting ring 28, and the mounting ring 28 is fastened to the under-side 16 of
the exterior shell
cover. The mounting ring provides a solid backstop for the gasket 30, and can
be fastened to the
underside of the exterior shell cover 12 with nuts and bolts, rivets, screws,
an adhesive, or the
like. The mounting ring 28 is slightly larger in diameter than the hatch
opening. The gasket 30
can be a vented gasket or a non-vented gasket, meaning a single hatch cover
can be used as a
vented or non-vented hatch cover depending on whether a vented or non-vented
gasket is
installed. Vented gaskets include a gasket with a mesh center that allows
airflow into and out of
the railcar, while still preventing contaminants from entering the railcar.
Non-vented gaskets
include a solid material that creates an air-tight seal over the hatch
opening, and does not allow
airflow into or out of the railcar. The gasket 30 is replaceable. The gasket
30 can be removed by
pulling or cutting the gasket 30 out of the mounting ring 28 while the
mounting ring is still
fastened to the exterior shell cover 12, or the mounting ring 28 can be
unfastened from the
exterior shell cover 12 and the gasket 30 then removed. A new vented or non-
vented gasket can
either be pressed into the mounting ring 28 while the mounting ring is still
fastened to the
exterior shell cover 12, or the mounting ring 28 can be removed and the new
gasket pressed into
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the mounting ring 28 before refastening the mounting ring 28 to the under-side
16 of the exterior
shell cover 12.
The hatch cover can be opened by hand. Hatch covers on a hopper car need to be
opened and closed frequently during use, because solid materials such as food
product, plastic
pellets, grains, and the like are loaded into the railway cars through the
hatch openings on top of
the cars.
The securing latch 20 that is connected to the securing latch hinges 22 to
provide
access to the foot latch bolt 24 and the self-adjusting foot latch 36 can be
opened. The self-
adjusting foot latch 36 can be attached to both the foot latch bolt 24 and the
hatch bolt 38 located
adjacent to the hatch opening on top of the railcar. The securing latch 20 is
located opposite the
hinges 18 on the outer-surface 14 of the exterior shell cover 12. The self-
adjusting foot latch 36
is a spring loaded mechanism that keeps a constant compressive force between
the gasket 30 and
the hatch ring. The self-adjusting foot latch 36 is engaged when the exterior
shell cover 12 is
closed, and the self-adjusting foot latch 36 is connected to hatch bolt 38. To
open the exterior
shell cover 12, the self-adjusting foot latch is lifted upward, allowing the
exterior hatch cover to
be pivotally rotated off of the pins 26 and release the spring compression.
When the exterior shell cover 12 is in the closed position and the self-
adjusting
foot latch 36 is engaged, a seal is created between the gasket 30 and the
hatch opening (not
shown). The seal prevents contaminants from entering the interior of the
railcar while the hatch
cover is closed. The seal can either allow airflow into the railcar or
restrict airflow completely,
depending on whether the gasket 30 is a vented or non-vented gasket.
While engaged, the self-adjusting foot latch 36 maintains a constant seal
between
the gasket 30 and the hatch opening (not shown), by exerting a compressive
force on each,
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keeping the gasket 30 and the hatch ring opening pressed together. The self-
adjusting foot latch
eliminates the need for a overhead arm to hold the exterior shell cover 12
closed, and keeps the
seal tight between the gasket 30 and the hatch opening. Eliminating the
overhead arm reduces the
cost to manufacture the hatch cover, while also giving the hatch cover a lower
profile.
The under-side 16 of the exterior shell cover 12 contains a mounting pocket or
cavity 32. The mounting pocket or cavity 32 is a void in the exterior shell
cover 12 that can be
accessed from the under-side 16 of the exterior shell cover 12. The mounting
pocket or cavity 32
can house a variety of sensors and a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit.
Some of the sensors
that can be placed in the mounting cavity 32 are heat sensors, open/close
sensors, to indicate the
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated
and
described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that
changes and modifications
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