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US 11,820,406 B2Granted
Magnetic traction assist for railcar mover
AssigneeTrackmobile LLC
InventorsRobert Evans, Jeffrey Looney, Kevin Grover, Calvin Wagner, Marco Mattioli
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A magnetic traction assembly is disclosed for a railcar mover that provides additional downforce to improve traction for a railcar mover when required. The magnetic traction assembly may comprise a frame, an actuator, and a magnetic element positioned underneath a railcar mover. The magnetic element may be lowered to a deployed position, where the magnetic element is positioned near the railroad rails such that the magnetic field from the magnetic element interacts with the railroad rail creating an attraction force that provides additional downforce to the railcar mover.
Claims23
A traction assist assembly for a railcar mover comprising:
- a frame secured to a bottom side of a chassis of a railcar mover having rail wheels for traveling on railroad rails and road wheels for traveling along a road, wherein the road wheels are configured to be lowered to disengage the rail wheels from the railroad rails;
- one or more magnetic elements;
- an actuator having a first end and a second end opposite the first end, wherein the actuator is attached to a bottom side of the frame at the first end and attached to the one or more magnetic elements at the second end, wherein the actuator is configured to lower the one or more magnetic elements to a predetermined distance from a top surface of a railroad rail;
- a control system comprising one or more physical processors programmed by one or more computer program instructions that, when executed, configure the one or more physical processors to automatically engage or disengage the one or more magnetic elements, wherein to automatically engage or disengage the one or more magnetic elements, the one or more physical processors are configured to determine a current operational mode of the railcar mover, the current operational mode comprising one of rail mode and road mode, wherein the railcar mover is configured to travel along railroad rails via the rail wheels in rail mode, and wherein the railcar mover is configured to travel along a road via the road wheels in road mode;
- and
- one or more rollers separate from the rail wheels and the road wheels that are configured to keep the one or more magnetic elements at least the predetermined distance from the top surface of the railroad rail,
- wherein the one or more magnetic elements are configured to be positioned over the railroad rail such that the one or more magnetic elements create an attractive force between the one or more magnetic elements and the railroad rail when the railcar mover is traveling on the railroad rail via the rail wheels.
4 more elements
A traction assist assembly for a railcar mover comprising:
- a frame having a top end and a bottom end opposite the top end, wherein the frame is secured to a bottom side of a chassis of a railcar mover at the top end, wherein the railcar mover includes rail wheels for traveling on railroad rails and road wheels for traveling along a road, wherein the road wheels are configured to be lowered to disengage the rail wheels from the railroad rails;
- one or more magnetic elements attached to the bottom end of the frame, wherein the one or more magnetic elements are configured to generate a magnetic field, and wherein the one or more magnetic elements are positioned a predetermined distance from a top surface of a railroad rail;
- a control system comprising one or more physical processors programmed by one or more computer program instructions that, when executed, configure the one or more physical processors to automatically engage or disengage the one or more magnetic elements, wherein to automatically engage or disengage the one or more magnetic elements, the one or more physical processors are configured to determine a current operational mode of the railcar mover, the current operational mode comprising one of rail mode and road mode, wherein the railcar mover is configured to travel along railroad rails via the rail wheels in rail mode, and wherein the railcar mover is configured to travel along a road via the road wheels in road mode;
- and
- one or more rollers separate from the rail wheels and the road wheels that are configured to keep the one or more magnetic elements at least the predetermined distance from the top surface of the railroad rail,
- wherein the one or more magnetic elements are configured to be positioned over the railroad rail such that the one or more magnetic elements create an attractive force between the one or more magnetic elements and the railroad rail when the railcar mover is traveling on the railroad rail via the rail wheels.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.