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AssigneeRail-Veyor Technologies Global Inc.
InventorsJames Everrett Fisk, Patrick Walter Joseph Fantin, William John McCall, David Wilhelm Niemeyer, Curtis Ron Reay, Eric Benjamin Alexander Zanetti, Esko Johannes Hellberg
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The present invention generally relates to a rail transport system having no internal drive, and in particular to an improved rail transport system for conveying bulk materials. The rail transport system includes horizontal and vertical drive stations that include a drive tire that rotates on a plane parallel to the track. In this arrangement, force is applied on a different plane than earlier systems, and the reaction force is separated out of the tensioning device. The improvements of the drive stations provide for a reduction of steel used in the system, improved manufacturability and, therefore, reduction in system component costs as compared to previous drive stations. Moreover, the drive stations allow for improved maintainability and access to the drive tires.
A drive assembly for a rail transport system for conveying bulk materials via a plurality of cars adapted to form a train, each car having a pair of side drive plates and a trough arrangement for carrying the bulk materials on a rail, said drive assembly comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.