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US 5,477,941 AGranted
On-board lubrication system for direct application to curved and tangent railroad track
AssigneeTranergy Corporation
InventorsSudhir Kumar, Shiv R. Kumar
Life of this patent
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AssigneeTranergy Corporation
InventorsSudhir Kumar, Shiv R. Kumar
Estimating the term…
In railroad applications, an improved method and apparatus for optimizing on-board rail lubrication for both curved and tangent track. The lubricants are applied by an apparatus directly to the rails behind the last axle of the last locomotive of a locomotive consist. The system uses lubricant delivery nozzles which are integrated with the sand pipe and nozzle for each rail. The lubricant nozzles are aimed toward the wheel rail contact at a distance of several inches behind the contact for accurate application of one lubricant on the top of the rail (TOR) and another on the rail gage side (RAGS). The lubricant quantities sprayed on the rail are controlled by a miroprocessor with the use of a flow injection pulse, system or flow control valves. Furthermore, the microprocessor triggers sand application when emergency brakes are applied. A new method of determination of trailing tons in the train is used by averaging the total power used by the locomotives at a certain speed.
In a railroad locomotive of the type having trucks each mounting wheel and axle sets and sanding systems including a pipe leading to a nozzle for applying sand to a rail adjacent the wheels, the improvement comprising an on-board lubricating device for lubricating a railroad track rail, including:
An on-board lubricating device for lubricating a railroad track rail, the device to be mounted on the last locomotive of a locomotive consist behind the last tractive wheel, comprising a lubricant supply tank, a support bracket attached to the axle box of the locomotive's last tractive wheel, at least one lubricant supply tube in fluid communication with the lubricant supply tank and mounted on the support bracket, said tube terminating at a spray nozzle aimed at the rail crown a small distance behind the point of contact between the last tractive wheel and rail, and means for controlling the flow of lubricant from the supply tank to the spray nozzle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.