Baffle for controlling the spread of bulk commodities in a hopper wagon

摘要

A baffle comprising a panel body that is mountable on a wall of a hopper adjacent to an edge of an outlet of a hopper and is arrangeable in a projecting position, to project in a generally downwardly direction beyond the edge of the outlet so as to restrict the spread of bulk commodities past the panel body as the bulk commodities discharge through the outlet. The panel body is arrangeable in the projected position to project in a generally downwardly direction beyond the edge of the outlet and between a gap space defined by the edge of the outlet and an outlet cover arranged in an open position. The baffle may comprise rotatable mounting means for rotatably mounting the panel body on the wall of the hopper such that the panel body is movable between the projected position and a retracted position, where the panel body is arranged so as to provide a minimal or no barrier effect. The baffle may comprise drive means to drive the panel body between the projected position and the extended position. The drive means may be self-actuating means and the self-actuating means are optionally configured to incite the rotation of the panel body between the projected position and the retracted position as the outlet cover moves between an open position and a closed position. The self-actuating means may comprise slidable coupling means for slidably coupling the panel body to the outlet cover and optionally the slidable coupling means comprise one or more low friction contact members mounted on a lower edge and/or side edge of the panel body and arranged in mating contact with the outlet cover.