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US 7,546,808 B2Granted
Railroad car with lightweight center beam structure
AssigneeGunderson LLC
InventorsGregory J. Saxton, Robert W. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A railroad freight car of the center beam type, in which the upright center beam has a top chord interconnected with a bulkhead at each end of the body of the car, and spaced-apart upright columns and elongate diagonal structural members interconnect the top chord with the center sill of the car body. A top chord may be of formed plate including longitudinal stiffening ridges and laterally outer reinforcing parts.
Claims23
A railroad freight car, comprising:
- an elongate body having upstanding transverse bulkheads located at opposite ends of said body and including a vertical center beam extending longitudinally of the car between said bulkheads, the center beam including:
- (a) a center sill extending over the length of said body;
- (b) a top chord extending parallel with and spaced upwardly apart from the center sill;
- (c) a plurality of upright columns extending from said center sill to said top chord and spaced apart from one another by a longitudinal distance along said body;
- and
- (d) an elongate diagonal structural member having a first, lower, end interconnected with said center sill and a second, upper, end interconnected with said top chord at a location spaced apart from said first, lower, end longitudinally along said body by a distance greater than twice as great as said longitudinal distance between adjacent ones of said upright columns;
- (e) wherein said center beam is free from any said elongate diagonal structural member in a center space between a longitudinally consecutive pair of said upright columns of said center beam that are located on respective longitudinally opposite sides of a mid-length of said center and
- (f) wherein each of said upright columns of said center beam between said transverse bulkheads is of formed plate in a “C” shaped sectional configuration including a pair of longitudinally-directed inwardly inclined flanges and an upright transversely-extending web portion.
5 more elements
A railroad freight car, comprising:
- an elongate body having upstanding transverse bulkheads located at opposite ends of said body and including a vertical center beam extending longitudinally of the car between said bulkheads, the center beam including:
- (a) a center sill extending over the length of said body;
- (b) a top chord extending parallel with and spaced upwardly apart from the center sill;
- (c) a plurality of upright columns extending from said center sill to said top chord and spaced apart from one another by a longitudinal distance along said body;
- and
- (d) an elongate diagonal structural member having a first, lower, end interconnected with said center sill and a second, upper, end interconnected with said top chord at a location spaced apart from said first, lower, end longitudinally along said body by a distance greater than twice as great as said longitudinal distance between adjacent ones of said upright columns;
- (e) wherein said center beam is free from any said elongate diagonal structural member in a center space between a longitudinally consecutive pair of said upright columns of said center beam that are located on respective longitudinally opposite sides of a mid-length of said center beam;
- and
- (f) wherein said top chord includes a pair of opposing side portions each extending laterally outwardly away from said upright columns, each of said side portions being of formed plate and including:
- (i) a central portion located upwardly adjacent to said upright columns;
- (ii) a laterally outer reinforcing portion;
- and
- (iii) a generally horizontal portion located between said central portion and said laterally outer reinforcing portion, said generally horizontal portion including a stiffening ridge between said central portion and said laterally outer reinforcing portion and extending longitudinally with respect to said center beam.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.