The present invention is described with respect to a railroad car, but it is contemplated that the invention is applicable to any bulk transport container. Generally, the container comprises a wall surface that defines a container volume. As shown, for instance, in FIG. 1, the rail car 8 has a container portion 9 that comprises side walls 10 and a bottom surface 11. The bottom surface 11 is provided with a hopper (in the illustrated embodiment three hoppers 12, 13, 14 are shown). The rail car may be partitioned into plural separate volumes, with each hopper corresponding to one of the separate volumes. Each hopper terminates in an aperture 16, 17, 18, the aperture being disposed at the lowest vertical point of the container. The hoppers each are provided with a gate 16′, 17′, 18′ that may be opened or closed; in preferred embodiments, the hopper and gate are conventional. The gate of the hopper is closed for filling and transport of the bulk material, and is opened when it is desired to empty the rail car. In other respects, the rail car 8 shown in FIG. 1 is conventional, and includes wheel truck assemblies 20, 21 and other conventional features. As shown, the rail car contains a bulk material, such as grain.
As shown in FIG. 2, the assembly 22 of the invention includes the rail car 8 and three inflatable bladders 24, 25, 26, each bladder positioned respectively over the discharge gate of a hopper. Each bladder preferably is provided with one or more retaining straps 28 (shown with respect to bladder 24), which assist in securing the bladder laterally with respect to the hopper 12. The bladders are shown not having been inflated prior to placement in the railroad car, but in practice, the bladders may or may not be inflated. As shown in FIG. 2A, the straps are preferably secured to a roof portion 29 of the railroad freight car roof, such as the hinge pin of a roof car lid.
As shown in FIG. 3, after positioning of the bladder with respect to the hopper, the rail car is filled with the bulk material 30. It is contemplated that the bladder can be inflated either before or after the bladder is introduced into the rail car, but in either case the bladder should be inflated prior to introducing the bulk material. The bladder should be positioned in the rail car to impede access to the aperture of the hopper by the bulk material.
As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment the bulk material 30 contained in the rail car has set up to at least some extent during transport. The bladder has been deflated and removed from the railroad freight car to leave a plurality of voids 31, 32, 33. Although the material in the railroad car has set up, there nonetheless exists access to the railroad freight car as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. In practice, it has been observed that the bulk material will either begin to spontaneously crumble and descend into the hopper once the bladder has been removed. In any event, there is no need to “burrow” down from the top of the car to the discharge gate hopper to gain access thereto and to begin discharging material from the car. It likewise has been observed that occasionally some of the bulk material may work its way underneath the bladder, i.e., between the bladder and the aperture, during transport. Such cases are deemed to fall within the purview of the invention, because access to the aperture by the bulk material still will have been substantially impeded by the bladder. When this happens, the void can be accessed from the top or bottom of the rail car by manually removing the volume of bulk material that remains between the void and discharge gate. When the bladder has been deflated, it is not necessary to evacuate the bladder completely; preferably, the bladder is removed from the rail car, and is deflated to the extent necessary to allow removal of the bladder from the rail car.
As shown in more detail in FIG. 6, the bladder 34 is preferably in the form of a sealed cylindrical tube having a length 35 sized to exceed the expected height of the bulk material in a rail car (but sufficiently short to allow the roof of the railroad freight car to close), and a rough diameter 36 sufficient to cover the hopper and to impede access thereto. In practice, the bladder may have a length of approximately 172 inches and diameter of 30 inches when inflated. The bladder may be constructed of any suitable material. In preferred embodiments, the bladder is constructed of a polymeric material. One preferred bladder is composed of a laminate of polyethylene and uncoated polypropylene, the material being folded and sealed such that the polypropylene layer becomes the external layer of the bladder. The seams may be formed in any manner suitable to render the bladder airtight
The bladder may be equipped with any suitable means or mechanism to inhibit lateral movement of the bladder. Preferably, the bladder is equipped with two pieces of one inch webbing, each having a length of at least eight or nine feet sewn into the bladder with a sewn length 38 of at least six inches, and each piece may be attached at a corner of what will become the upper end of the bladder. The bladder is provided with an inflation valve 40 that allows for inflation and deflation of the bladder, the valve 40 being proximal the upper end of the bladder. Numerous other configurations are deemed suitable for use in conjunction with the invention.
In other embodiments, the container may be a container other than a railroad car , and the bladder may be otherwise configured. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that many other extensions and modifications of the invention are possible.
It is thus seen that the preferred embodiments of the invention satisfy the heretofore stated general objects.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been described above, the invention is not limited thereto, and it is contemplated that numerous other configurations and embodiments are possible. The description herein of preferred embodiments and of exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limiting the invention in scope. Similarly, no unclaimed language should be deemed to limit the invention in scope. The invention is deemed to be defined by the full scope of the following claims, including without limitation any equivalents that may be accorded under applicable law.
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