Switch stoneblower
OwnerWilliam E. Perry, Kevin A. Hanseninventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A track maintenance vehicle having a workhead that is pivotally mounted to the superstructure at its upper end. The workhead includes a blowing tube mounted at its lower end and a vertical cylinder that is selectively extendable and retractable to control the height of the blowing tube. The vehicle includes a control system that controls the height of the blowing tube as well as the left/right and fore/aft positions of the workhead. The track maintenance vehicle further includes an automated height control system that automatically extends and retracts the vertical cylinder to position the blowing tube at a uniform height despite its lateral disposition.
Claims36
A track maintenance vehicle comprising:
- a superstructure;
- a workhead mounted on said superstructure, said workhead having an upper end pivotally attached to said superstructure at a pivot location and a lower end terminating in a blowing tube;
- and
- an actuating means for controlling pivotal movement of said workhead, said actuating means carried by said superstructure and operable to cause pivotal movement of said workhead with respect to said superstructure about said pivot location.
A workhead for use in maintaining a railroad track comprising:
- a vertically elongated body having upper and lower ends;
- a pivot means for permitting lateral and longitudinal pivotal movement of the body, the pivot means attached to said upper end and adapted to mount to a superstructure;
- and
- a blowing tube mounted to said lower end of said body.
A track maintenance vehicle comprising:
- a superstructure supported on a plurality of wheels, said support structure including a first portion located toward a top of the vehicle and a second portion located vertical lower than said first portion;
- a vertically elongated workhead, said workhead having an upper end pivotally attached to said first portion of superstructure at a pivot location and a lower end terminating in a single blowing tube;
- and
- an actuating means for controlling pivotal movement of said workhead about said pivot location, said actuating means mounted to said second portion of said superstructure and operable to cause pivotal movement of said workhead with respect to said superstructure about said pivot location.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.