Boxcar tiedown system using angled warp spikes
AssigneeDavis Aircraft Products Co., Inc.
InventorDaniel F. Dunmire
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Angled warp spikes enable secure attachment to the steel flooring of a railroad boxcar. Such flooring includes transverse slots with a curved depth profile. The warp spikes are designed to deform or warp as they are driven into a flooring slot and conform to the curved depth profile. Tiedown fixtures fabricated of steel plate can be attached to the floor of a boxcar by warp spikes driven through elongated openings in the fixture into slots in the boxcar flooring. Tiedown fixtures used with warp spikes provide a boxcar tiedown system to which tiedown load carrying members, such as cables, chains, braces and struts can be connected.
Claims13
A boxcar tiedown system, attachable to a floor having a plurality of curved slots having a transverse width and a curved depth profile, said system including:
- (A) a tiedown fixture comprising:
- a floor plate of dimensions adequate to extend across a plurality of said curved slots, said floor plate having a plurality of elongated openings arranged to enable a plurality of said openings to be positioned above at least one of said curved slots;
- and
- a connection portion extending from said floor plate and configured to enable connection of a tiedown load carrying member;
- and
- (B) at least one angled warp spike comprising:
- a deformable unit having a striking head remote from an insertion tip, a thickness less than said transverse width and a breadth greater than said transverse width;
- a shoulder portion adjacent said striking head, said shoulder portion of greater breadth than the portion of said unit between the shoulder portion and said insertion tip;
- and
- a bend extending longitudinally between said striking head and said insertion tip;
- said warp spike formed of deformable material to enable it to warp to conform to the dimensions of a curved slot when driven through one of said elongated openings of said tiedown fixture into a curved slot of said floor to attach said tiedown fixture to said floor.
An angled warp spike in combination with a curved slot:
- the curved slot comprising a slot having a transverse width and a curved depth profile;
- and
- the angled warp spike comprising:
- a deformable unit having a striking head remote from an insertion tip, a thickness less than said transverse width and a breadth greater than said transverse width;
- a shoulder portion adjacent said striking head, said shoulder portion of greater breadth than the portion of said unit between the shoulder portion and said insertion tip;
- and
- a bend extending longitudinally between said striking head and said insertion tip;
- said warp spike formed of deformable material to enable it to warp to conform to the dimensions of said curved slot when inserted therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.