Fitting for autorack railroad car housing
AssigneeNational Steel Car Limited
InventorJamal Hematian
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An autorack railroad car has a housing surmounting an underframe. The underframe defines a first or main deck. The housing, or “rack” defines at least one additional deck spaced upwardly from the main deck. The housing has end doors. The end doors may be folding end doors, such as a tri-fold hinged door. When closed, the door may be secured by latches at top and bottom. The car may have a dynamic response member, such as a damper, or stop, mounted between one or more panels of the door and the adjacent end of the deck. The dynamic response member may function either to provide damping to the door in vibration, or may function to define a vibration nodal point intermediate the main deck and the roof, or both.
Claims19
An autorack railroad car for rolling motion in a longitudinal direction along railroad tracks, said autorack railroad car comprising:
- a main deck;
- a first elevated deck spaced upwardly from said main deck;
- a housing enclosing said main deck and said first elevated deck;
- said housing including a roof spaced upwardly of said first elevated deck;
- said housing having an access-way at a first end thereof through which to conduct wheeled vehicles onto said main deck and said first elevated deck;
- a door movable to govern access to said housing;
- said door being a folding door hingedly mounted to said housing, said door having at least a first panel and a second panel hingedly connected together;
- said door having an upstanding first margin and an upstanding second edge margin;
- when said door is in a closed position said upstanding second edge margin being laterally inboard of said upstanding first margin;
- at least a first of said first and second panels of said door having a first vibration nodal point adjacent said main deck, and a second vibration nodal point distant from said main deck;
- a dynamic response member positioned height-wise intermediate said first nodal point and said second nodal point, and laterally inboard of said upstanding first margin;
- and
- in said closed position of said door said dynamic response member impedes primary mode vibration of said door in the longitudinal direction.
An autorack rail road car comprising:
- a main deck;
- a first elevated deck spaced upwardly from said main deck;
- a housing enclosing said main deck and said first elevated deck;
- said housing including a roof spaced upwardly of said first elevated deck;
- said housing having an entryway at a first end thereof through which to conduct wheeled vehicles onto said main deck and said first elevated deck;
- a door movable to govern access to said housing;
- said door having at least first and second upstanding panels, said first panel standing upwardly next to said second panel and being hingedly connected thereto;
- said door having an upstanding root margin and an upstanding free edge margin;
- when said door is in a closed position said upstanding free-edge margin being laterally inboard of said upstanding root margin;
- and
- said door having an overall height, said overall height defining a span associated with a primary mode natural frequency of vibration;
- and
- when said door is in said closed position said door engages said first elevated deck, said engagement sub-dividing said span, whereby said door is inhibited from vibrating in said primary mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.