ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREA belt feeder gate for use in self-unloading shipsof the type in which the hold of the ship is provided with ahoppered bottom including a plurality of hoppers overlying anunloading conveyor belt moving lengthwise of the ship. Eachopen hopper bottom is closed by a gate comprising two wheeledgate sections which are movable relative to each other alongstationary tracks in a horizontal plane and in a directionlaterally of the direction of travel of the underlying unload-ing conveyor belt. The respective longitudinally oppositewheeled ends of the respective gate sections project in under-lying relation to longitudinally spaced "hog ridges" definedby the walls of adjacent hoppers, each "hog ridge" being aninverted V-shaped hollow space defined beneath two upwardlyconverging oppositely longitudinally inclined walls of twolongitudinally adjacent discharge hoppers. The stationarytracks on which the wheeled gates move are also in underlyingrelation to, although not within, the respective "hog ridges,"and the hydraulic rams which impart movement to the gatesections are housed within the "hog ridges." A further featureof the construction is the V-shaped axial cross-section of thewheels on the gate sections, which V-shaped cross-section rideson an inverted V-shaped track to prevent "play" or wobble ofthe wheeled gate relative to the tracks, thereby providing aconstant and stabilized linear relation of the wheeled gaterelative to the power means such as a hydraulic ram, whichimparts movement to the gate sections.
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