Rail car unloading catch pan system
AssigneeSouthwire Company
InventorsRonald R. Martin, Zachary W. Butterworth, Joel R. Dicks
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for catching and containing a spill of a liquid from a rail tank car consisting of a series of catch pans attached end-to-end and placed between the rails of a railroad track is provided. The end walls of each catch pan are shorter than its side walls, with the catch pans located at either end of the series having an end wall extension attached to raise the height of the end wall to that of the side walls. A sealing gasket is placed between adjacent catch pans, and at least one opening extends through the end walls and the sealing gasket between adjacent catch pans. A drain is located in the bottom of at least one of the catch pans.
Claims13
A catch pan apparatus for catching and containing a spill of a liquid, comprising:
- a bottom;
- a first side wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom at a perimeter of the catch pan apparatus;
- a second side wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom at the perimeter of the catch pan apparatus, the second side wall opposite of the first side wall;
- a first end wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom at the perimeter of the catch pan apparatus, the first end wall substantially perpendicular to the first side wall and having a height less than that of the first and second side walls;
- a second end wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom at the perimeter of the catch pan apparatus, the second end wall opposite of the first end wall and having a height less than that of the first and second side walls;
- and
- an opening in each of the first and second end walls, the opening extending substantially to the bottom and configured to allow the liquid to flow into an adjacently attached catch pan.
A system for catching and containing a spill of a liquid from a rail tank car located upon a railroad track, comprising:
- a plurality of catch pans placed end-to-end, between and parallel to a pair of rails of the railroad track, each catch pan comprising a bottom, side walls, and end walls, the end walls being shorter than the side walls;
- a sealing member placed between adjacent catch pans;
- at least one opening extending through each of the end walls and the sealing member between adjacent catch pans, the opening extending substantially to the bottom of the catch pans and configured to allow the liquid to flow from pan to pan;
- a drain depending from the bottom of at least one of the plurality of catch pans;
- and
- an end wall extension member attached to one of the end walls of one of the plurality of catch pans at an end of the plurality of catch pans, the end wall extension member configured to extend the height of the end wall to the height of the side walls.
A catch pan apparatus for catching and containing a spill of a liquid, comprising:
- a bottom;
- a first side wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom;
- a second side wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom, the second side wall opposite of the first side wall;
- a first end wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom, the first end wall substantially perpendicular to the first side wall and having a height less than that of the first side wall;
- a second end wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom, the second end wall opposite of the first end wall and having a height less than that of the first side wall;
- and
- an opening in each of the first and second end walls configured to allow the liquid to flow into an adjacently attached catch pan, wherein the opening is substantially triangular with a widest side positioned near a top of the end wall and an opposite vertex positioned substantially at the bottom of the catch pan apparatus.
A catch pan apparatus for catching and containing a spill of a liquid, comprising:
- a bottom;
- a first side wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom;
- a second side wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom, the second side wall opposite of the first side wall;
- a first end wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom, the first end wall substantially perpendicular to the first side wall and having a height less than that of the first side wall;
- a second end wall adjoined to and extending upward from the bottom, the second end wall opposite of the first end wall and having a height less than that of the first side wall;
- an opening in each of the first and second end walls configured to allow the liquid to flow into an adjacently attached catch pan;
- an aperture passing through the bottom;
- and
- a tubular member with a bottom end affixed to the bottom and a top end open, the tubular member enclosing the aperture, wherein the bottom of the catch pan apparatus is affixed to one or more cross-ties of a railroad track by passing a fastening member through the aperture enclosed in the tubular member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.