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US 12,539,893 B2Granted
Gondola railroad car
AssigneeGunderson LLC
InventorsDaniel J. Schuller, Peter L. Jones, Xiaoyan Lu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gondola railroad car partially formed using members of high strength steel, that is lighter than conventional gondola railroad cars, that can carry more weight than conventional gondola railroad cars, that is less prone to damage than conventional gondola railroad cars, and that has a longer lifespan than convention gondola railroad cars. In various such embodiments, the floor and the side walls of the gondola railroad car are partially formed from ultra-high strength steel members.
Claims31
A railroad car comprising:
- a frame;
- a containment structure including a floor, a first side wall, a second side wall, a first floor-side-wall connector connecting the floor and the first side wall, and a second floor-side-wall connector connecting the floor to the second side wall;
- and
- a plurality of first support brackets connected to the frame and supporting the containment structure, each of the first support brackets including:
- a first floor connection member rigidly connected to the floor,
- a first side wall connection member rigidly connected to the first side wall, wherein neither of the first floor connection member nor the first side wall connection member are rigidly connected to the first floor-side-wall connector, and
- a non-rigid corner support connecting the first floor connection member to the first side wall connection member.
4 more elements
A railroad car comprising:
- a frame;
- a containment structure including a floor, a first side wall, a second side wall, a first floor-side-wall connector connecting the floor and the first side wall, and a second floor-side-wall connector connecting the floor to the second side wall, wherein the floor, the first side wall, the second side wall, the first floor-side-wall connector, and the second floor-side-wall connector are connected together by only longitudinal welds,
- wherein the first floor-side-wall connector includes:
- a bottom section connected to the floor by one of the longitudinal welds, the bottom section extending at a first angle relative to the floor,
- a top section connected to the first side wall by another one of the longitudinal welds, the top section extending at a second angle relative to the floor, and
- an intermediate section connecting the bottom section and the top section of the first floor-side-wall connector, the intermediate section extending at a third angle relative to the floor, the intermediate section extending at a first acute angle relative to the bottom section and at a second acute angle relative to the top section, wherein the first, second, and third angles are different;
- and
- a plurality of first support brackets each including:
- a first floor connection member rigidly connected to the floor,
- a first side wall connection member rigidly connected to the first side wall, wherein neither of the first floor connection member nor the first side wall connection member are rigidly connected to the first floor-side-wall connector, and
- a corner support connecting the first floor connection member to the first side wall connection member.
8 more elements
A railroad car comprising:
- a frame;
- a containment structure including:
- a longitudinally extending floor,
- a longitudinally extending first side wall,
- a longitudinally extending second side wall,
- a longitudinally extending first floor-side-wall connector connecting the longitudinally extending floor and the longitudinally extending first side wall, and
- a longitudinally extending second floor-side-wall connector connecting the longitudinally extending floor to the longitudinally extending second side wall,
- wherein the longitudinally extending floor, the longitudinally extending first side wall, the longitudinally extending second side wall, the longitudinally extending first floor-side-wall connector, and the longitudinally extending second floor-side-wall connector includes:
- two spaced-apart longitudinally extending end members, and
- a longitudinally extending central member that longitudinally extends between and is connected to the two spaced-apart longitudinally extending end members, and
- wherein the longitudinally extending end members each have a greater thickness than the central member;
- and
- a plurality of first support brackets each including:
- a first floor connection member rigidly connected to the floor,
- a first side wall connection member rigidly connected to the first side wall, wherein neither of the first floor connection member nor the first side wall connection member are rigidly connected to the first floor-side-wall connector, and
- a corner support connecting the first floor connection member to the first side wall connection member.
13 more elements
A railroad car comprising:
- a frame;
- a containment structure including a floor, a first side wall, a second side wall, a first floor-side-wall connector connecting the floor and the first side wall, and a second floor-side-wall connector connecting the floor to the second side wall;
- and
- a plurality of first support brackets each including:
- a first floor connection member rigidly connected to the floor,
- a first side wall connection member rigidly connected to the first side wall, wherein neither of the first floor connection member nor the first side wall connection member are rigidly connected to the first floor-side-wall connector, and
- a corner support connecting the first floor connection member to the first side wall connection member.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.