Railroad maintenance systems and methods
AssigneeBridge and Track Crane LLC
InventorsPaul Markelz, William Kenneth Quast
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for using a mobile crane assembly are provided. The mobile crane assembly includes a mobile crane having a first truss assembly and a second truss assembly spaced apart and movable relative to one another. The first truss assembly and the second truss assembly are each coupled to a rail car end assembly. The mobile crane further comprises an upper gantry assembly movable along the first truss assembly and the second truss assembly. A flat cart is coupled to the rail car end assembly, and a material handling cart is received upon the flat cart and is configured to move between the flat cart and the rail car end assembly based upon input from a controller in electrical communication with the upper gantry assembly.
Claims20
A mobile crane assembly comprising:
- a mobile crane having a longitudinal axis and a first truss assembly and a second truss assembly
- spaced apart and extending approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis, the first truss assembly and the second truss assembly movable transversely to the longitudinal axis to translate between a transport configuration and a work configuration, the mobile crane having at least one upper gantry assembly spanning the first truss assembly and the second truss assembly and slidably movable parallel to the longitudinal axis;
- and
- a mule cart pathway extending away from the mobile crane and being partially defined by at least one flat cart coupled to a rail car end assembly, the rail car end assembly being slidably coupled to the mobile crane and configured to move the first truss assembly and second truss assembly transverse to the longitudinal axis, wherein the mule cart pathway is defined by guide rails coupled to an upper surface of the at least one flat cart and extending along a longitudinal axis of the flat cart, the guide rails including a tapered section and a straight section.
A mobile crane assembly comprising:
- a mobile crane having a first truss assembly and a second truss assembly spaced apart and movable relative to one another, the first truss assembly and the second truss assembly each coupled to a rail car end assembly, the mobile crane further comprising an upper gantry assembly movable along the first truss assembly and the second truss assembly;
- a flat cart coupled to the rail car end assembly;
- a material handling cart received upon the flat cart and configured to move between the flat cart and the rail car end assembly;
- and
- a controller in communication with the upper gantry assembly and the material handling cart, wherein the controller is configured to control the movement of the upper gantry assembly and the material handling cart.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.