Abstract:
A system and method for handling and transporting moist bulk grain by-products include a rail car having an aluminum car body carried by a plurality of trucks for engaging rails. A flexible top cover, supported by a plurality of breakaway curved ribs, is positioned over an open top of the rail car to protect the moist bulk grain by-products carried therein. The car body has a front end and a rear end each having a wind screen for spoiling or deflecting the flow of air over the car as it moves to prevent the flexible top cover from being lost or damaged. The car may be emptied by a car inverter over a conveyor, such as a reciprocating floor which carries the moist grain by-products to a mixer, or transportation vehicles for distribution to customers or users of the grain by-products.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention relates to a system and method for handling moist bulk granular material and in particular to a system and method for handling and transporting moist animal feed. 
   It has been known in the feeding industry that it is desirable to provide cereal grain by-products, including moist corn gluten meal and/or corn gluten feed, to animals such as cattle to rapidly increase their weight and bring them to market early. Grain by-products are generally defined and described by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Incorporated (2001, at page 243) and include, for example corn gluten feed. In the past it has been possible to supply moist grain by-products to animals if the animals were located in the vicinity of a corn processing plant. The moist grain by-products could be shipped by truck. This mode of transportation, however, is inefficient and costly, particularly if bulk quantities of moist grain by-products were being shipped over long distances. In addition, the likelihood that the shipment of moist grain by-products ending up being contaminated at the point of delivery increases significantly when shipped over long distances, such as thousands of miles. This is because the moisture in the product allows for the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, yeast, and the like. 
   In the past in order to solve this problem, grain by-products have been dried and generally pelletized before shipping. The dried, pelletized product has an increased shelf life and the shipping costs are considerably reduced because water is not being shipped with the product. However, drying the product causes a significant decrease in nutritional value of the grain by-product feed to animals. This would be desirable to avoid. Hence, it would be desirable to ship a product that is not dried to ensure that the animals are fed a product that is high in nutritional value. 
   Investigations have been made as to whether conventional rail systems could be used to ship moist grain by-products. Unfortunately, most rail cars such as a hopper or coal car are designed in such a way that an unloading orifice or chute has a reduced cross-section. This reduced cross-section would tend to restrict the flow of moist material, such as the instant moist grain by-products, out of the car. With moist grain by-products, it would be almost impossible to empty such a car having a restricted chute. The moist product would stick and clog the orifice or chute. If a coal car was used to haul moist grain by-products, and dumped using a standard coal-type receptacle, this also would contemplate a very deep hole with very narrow cone-like receptacles used to receive coal. These systems would not work, if at all, with moist grain by-products. 
   Further, the high moisture content of the moist grain by-products (which generally is from about 30 to about 70 percent weight), together with a relatively acid pH of the meal, would cause an uncoated or unlined steel car coal car to corrode. This corrosion would cause the moist product to stick onto the rough corroded interior surface of the car, as well as potentially contaminate the grain by-product. 
   What is needed then is a system for shipping and handling a moist perishable product, such as moist grain by-products over long distance while maintaining the product in substantially stable uncontaminated condition to maintain its nutritional value. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is directed to a method of supplying a bulk quantity of moist grain by-products using an invertible railroad container or car which is capable of being inverted and unloaded into containers below the grade of the inverted railroad container or car without uncoupling adjacent railroad cars. The container or body of the car is supported by a plurality of trucks or wheel assemblies for engagement with rails. The method of the invention also contemplates unloading the bulk quantity of moist grain by-products to road transport containers which are effective for distributing the moist grain by-products to customers and/or users of the by-products or to locations not served by rail. 
   In one aspect, the invertible railroad container or car has an aluminum body so that it will not corrode. In another aspect, an invertible railroad container or car may have a steel body which is lined with an extremely durable coating, such as an epoxy coating which resists abrasive wear to protect the body from corrosion. It is important that the car does not corrode for product integrity, such that rust and scale do not contaminate the product being hauled. It also is important that the interior of the car be smooth, stay smooth and retain a proper coefficient of friction between the interior surface of the railroad car and moist grain by-products over time, such that the moist product will not stick or be retained by the railroad car when it is inverted. 
   In order to distribute moist grain by-products economically, the rail system of the invention includes using invertible railroad containers or cars to transport the moist grain by-products and which will not have the moist product stick thereto during inverting and unloading. In an important aspect, the railroad container or car is covered, such as with a tarp, to maintain feed purity, maintain the moisture content of the feed within a desired range of from about 30 to about 70 weight percent and maintain the resulting nutritional value of the grain by-products. The cover over the product also protects the product from the contamination from soil, rain, snow and other contaminants. 
   Wind screens, which may be semi-circular in shape, are located at least at the front end of the car, and in another aspect at the front and the rear end of the aluminum railroad car body. The wind screens protect the flexible cover or tarp over the moist bulk feed from being displaced and/or lifted by air rushing over the railroad car when the car is in motion. A wind screen at each end of the car and facing the direction of travel will ensure that the car need not be uncoupled or realigned. With two wind screens, one wind screen will always face the direction of travel. 
   A plurality of flexible ribs or bows are used to support the flexible cover in a convex fashion over the moist feed within a car body and help prevent moisture being collected on the tarp. Because an aluminum car body may lack the strength of a steel car body, the aluminum body may be prone to being pulled inward during the inversion of the car and unloading. The moist feed also may hang up in the car because the tarp bows may hold product in the car when the car is being dumped. To prevent stress or a load from being transferred from the tarp bows to the walls of the car (tending to pull them inward) and to prevent catastrophic mechanical failure of the bows themselves, one end of each bow is designed to sever from its attachment point to the car body to permit the flow of material out of the car. In one aspect, at least one end of each of the ribs attached to the upper portion of the car body is easily severable from the car body. This is so that when the railcar is inverted for unloading the ribs do not support the weight of the moist feed which would tend to pull the walls of the railroad car inward. 
   In order to continuously transport the moist feed from the railroad car after it has been inverted, the moist feed is loaded onto a moving conveyor. In one aspect, a reciprocating floor arrangement will be positioned beneath the unloading area of the railroad car to move the moist feed to a conveyor. The conveyor or reciprocating floor then will carry the moist by-products to road transport containers or trucks which are effective for distributing the by-products to customers or users of the feed, or to one or more mixing tanks where the feed may be mixed and then may be dispensed to trucks for distribution. 
   The invention also contemplates and permits the minimization of permanent on-site storage facilities for feed or moist grain by-products, both at the production point where the feed is produced and at the receiving point where the feed is received from the railroad cars. With two trains having about 50 or more cars as described herein with one train unloading at the receiving point and one train loading at the production point with a week or less train-transit time between the receiving and production points, considerable savings result in practicing the invention because of the lower cost of rail shipping versus truck shipping and because the invention is effective for permitting all of the by-product production being stored in the train cars as described herein, both at the production and receiving points. The invention permits storage of the grain by-products at the production point without any special “fast loading” equipment with delivery of the by-product at a rail-end or receiving point without any permanent storage silos at the receiving point. In one aspect, less than about a one week supply of feed needs to be stored in plastic bags as a buffer in the event of a rail delay. 
   It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a system and method for transporting moist bulk grain by-products by rail without by-products being contaminated or the nutritional value being reduced. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method for transporting moist bulk grain by-products which can quickly and conveniently unloaded in large quantities for immediate transport to customers and users of the grain products or to locations not served by rail. 
   It is another object of the invention to transport in large quantities of moist grain by-products without prolonged storage in separate containers which are not located on the railroad car or trucks. 
   Other aspects of the present invention will become obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following specification and claims in light of the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective of a system for handling and transporting wet feed embodying the present invention; and 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view partially in section of the system shown in  FIG. 1 , showing a rail car positioned inverted within a rail car inverter. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a tarp assembly for the rail car, illustrating support framework; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the tarp assembly, illustrating the support framework and a tarp; 
       FIG. 4   a  is an enlargement of a portion of the perspective view shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 4   b  is an enlargement of a portion of the perspective view shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the tarp assembly; 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the tarp assembly, illustrating the tarp in a closed position; and 
       FIG. 7  is a partial section view of the rail car of  FIG. 1 , across the longitudinal axis thereof. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Referring now to the drawings and especially to  FIG. 1 , a system for handling and delivering moist bulk feed is shown therein and generally identified by reference numeral  10 . The system  10  includes an invertible railroad car  12  having a railroad car body  14  preferably comprised of aluminum. The car body  14  can receive and hold feed during shipment, preferably a moist grain by-product. These moist grain by-products include, by way of example, aspirated grain fractions, brewers dried grains, buckwheat middlings, condensed distillers solubles, condensed fermented corn extractives with germ meal bran, corn bran, corn flour, corn germ meal (wet and dry milled), corn gluten feed, corn gluten meal, corn grits, corn distillers dried grains, corn distillers dried grains/solubles, corn distillers dried solubles, grain sorghum distillers dried grains, grain sorghum distillers grains/solubles, grain sorghum distillers dried solubles, grain sorghum flour, barley distillers dried grains, barley distillers dried grains/solubles, barley distillers dried solubles, barley flour, wheat distillers dried grains, wheat distillers dried grains/solubles, wheat distillers dried solubles, wheat flour, hominy feed, malt sprouts, oat groats, oatmeal feed, pearl barley by-products, peanut skins, rice bran, rice polishings, rye middlings, sorghum grain flour gelatinized, sorghum grain flour partially and partially aspirated gelatinized, wheat bran, wheat shorts, wheat germ meal, wheat germ meal defatted, wheat middlings, wheat mill run, and wheat red dog. The aluminum body resists the corrosive effects of the moist grain by-product which is loaded into the car body. By-products, such as corn gluten feed, typically have a pH of about 4.0 to about 4.5, which together with the high moisture content of the corn gluten feed, would tend to corrode a steel car. A plurality of trucks  16  is connected to the railroad car body  14  and supports the railroad car body  14  over a pair of rails  18 , as may best be seen at an unloading station  20 , shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   The railroad car body  14  includes a front end  22  and a rear end  24 , with a front end wind screen  26  and a rear end wind screen  28  respectively positioned thereon. The wind screens  26  and  28  disrupt the flow of air over the car body  14  when the railroad car  12  is being moved. The wind screen facing the direction in which the car is to move (i.e., facing the flow of oncoming air) is effective for reducing displacement of a flexible cover  30  as air rushes over the cover  30  when the railroad car  12  moves. At the production facility, the moist grain by-products may be loaded onto the uncovered car with a conveyor to a distant site for loading onto a truck for further transport to a site remote from the rail facility, such as a feed lot. 
   The railroad car inverter  40  includes a pair of arcuate members  42  and  44  for rotatably supporting other portions of the car inverter  40  and the railroad car  12 . The tarp  30  is removed from the loaded railroad car  12 . The car inverter  40  then receives the railroad car  12  loaded with moist grain by-product in clamping fashion and rotates it at least about 120 to about 180 degrees to upend the car  12  to allow the moist bulk feed to drop into a feed unloading area  46 . The car inverter  40  avoids problems with feed clogging that would occur with a typical hopper car. In addition the car  12  may be unloaded without uncoupling it from other cars on a train. 
   At a bottom portion  46  of the unloading area is a reciprocating floor  48  for delivery of the moist bulk feed from the railcar body  14  to a conveyor assembly  50 . The reciprocating floor as describe in U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,211 may be used, the disclosure of which patent is incorporated by reference herein. The conveyor assembly  50  carries the moist bulk feed to trucks or like vehicles for immediate delivery to customers or users. The conveyor may also transport the feed to a processing station which may include a pair of mixers  52  and  54  for mixing the feed before loading the feed onto a truck. The conveyor  50  conveys the meal or feed to the mixer at a rate of about 1,000 ton per hour. 
   While the feed may be stored in storage compartments, such as plastic bags, tanks or silos, where it will be available for shipment via truck or the like, in one aspect the method and system of the invention generally contemplates moving the grain by-products from production facility, then by rail and then by truck to an end user or customer without storage. Further, the system and method embodying the present invention provide convenient transport of large quantities of feed, in particular moist corn gluten feed without losing the nutritional properties of the feed or contaminating or losing any feed along the way. 
     FIGS. 3–7  illustrate a tarp assembly  300  for protecting the feed within the railroad car  12  in accordance with aspects of the invention. The tarp assembly  300  also assists in maintaining feed purity by retaining moisture within the interior of the railroad car  12 . The tarp assembly  300  includes the flexible cover  30 , which may comprise a selectively retractable tarp  310  for covering the open top of the railroad car  12  and protecting the load therewithin from the elements, such as moisture, wind, and dirt or other debris. The tarp  310  protects the load from contamination, prevents product from being blown from the car while being transported and prevents a loss of the nutritional properties of the moist by-products. The tarp  310  is movable between an open position, wherein access to the interior of the railroad car  12  is permitted, and a closed position, wherein the open end of the railroad car  12  is covered by the tarp  310 . 
   As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the tarp assembly  300  includes a supporting frame assembly  320  for supporting the tarp  310  when in its closed position covering the open end of the railroad car  12 . The supporting frame assembly  320  comprises a plurality of rib members  322  for extending between longitudinal sides of the railroad car  12 . A first end  324  of each rib member  322  is pivotably attached to a bracket member  330 , mounted along the top surfaces of the railroad car  12 . A second end of each rib member  326  is hollow and slidably fitted over a rib shank member  328  attached relative to the top surfaces of the railroad car  12 , opposite the bracket members  330 , as will be described further hereinbelow. 
   The rib shank members  328  are fixed to longitudinally extending frame members  340 , extending substantially the length of the railroad car  12 . The rib and rib shank members  322  and  328  are bowed in a convex manner between the sides of the railroad car  12  and have an apex approximately in the center of the railroad car  12 . The convex bowing of the rib and rib shank members  322  and  328  is effective to prevent moisture from collecting on the tarp  300  thereover. Any moisture on the closed tarp  300  may be directed over the sides of the railroad car  12  by the convex shape imparted to the tarp  300  by the rib and rib shank members  322  and  328 . 
   Extending parallel to the longitudinal sides of the railroad car  12  and between the midsections of the rib members  322  are a pair of ridge straps  350 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , for supporting the tarp  310  between the rib members  322 . The ridge straps  350  are secured to the rib members  322  with ridge strap retainers  352 . The ridge strap retainers  352  wrap around the rib members  322  and between the pair of ridge straps  350  to maintain the spacing between the ridge straps  350 . In one aspect of the invention, the ridge straps  350  and ridge strap retainers  352  are formed of nylon, although other materials may be equally suitable. 
   Attached at opposite ends  22  and  24  of the railroad car  12  to the upper surfaces thereof are a pair of pan assemblies  360 . The pan assemblies  360  are substantially L-shaped, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . Each pan assembly  360  includes a horizontally oriented flat surface  362  positioned in a corner of the railroad car  12  for allowing the railroad car  12  to be contacted by the inverter  40  for dumping the load from the railroad car  12 . The pair of pan assemblies  360  are configured so that their respective flat surfaces  362  are both positioned on the same side of the railroad car  12  for contacting by the inverter  40 . 
   The pan assemblies  360  each also include an arcuate portion  364  that extends upwardly and along the respective end of the railroad car  12 . The wind screens  26  and  28  may comprise wind screens  366  attached along the top of the arcuate portion  364  of each pan assembly  360  to restrict air from moving beneath the tarp  310  in its closed position and lifting the tarp  310  relative to the frame assembly  320 . The wind screens  366  are placed on each of the pan assemblies  360  to ensure that air is restricted from flowing beneath the closed tarp  310  regardless of the direction of travel of the railroad car  12 . 
   The tarp  310  is sized to extend between the sides and ends of the railroad car  12  to cover the open end thereof when the tarp  310  is in its closed position. The tarp  310  includes a first longitudinal edge  312  securable via a retainer strip  318  to the edge of the railroad car  12  having the brackets  330  attached thereto. The second longitudinal edge of the tarp  314 , opposite the first edge  312 , has lengthwise extending pocket  316  for receiving a rod  370 . 
   In the closed position, the tarp  310  covers the open end of the railroad car  12 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . As described above, the first edge  312  of the tarp  310  is secured to the edge of the railroad car  12 . The second edge  314  is held in place by positioning the rod  370  within a semi-circular groove  342  formed in an outwardly facing surface of the frame members  340 , as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . The frame members  340  include three portions, a middle portion  344  and a pair of end portions  346  and  348 . The end portions  346  and  348  are space apart from the middle portion  344  to leave gaps for inverter  40  to contact the railroad car  12 . The grooves  342  are formed in each of the middle and end portions  344 ,  346 , and  348 . 
   When the rod  370  is seated in the groove  342 , a locking member  372  may be used to secure the rod  370  therein and prevent inadvertent removal of the rod  370  and thus the tarp  310 . The locking member  372  has an aperture  374  through an end thereof for insertion of an end of the rod  370 . Once the rod  370  is inserted into the aperture  374  of the locking member  372 , the locking member  372  is secured relative to the respective pan assembly  360 , such as by wedging in a slot formed therein. The locking members  374  are provided at both ends of the rod  370 . 
   When the tarp  310  is in the closed position, the configuration of the tarp assembly  300  is such that it does not significantly protrude, if at all, beyond the perimeter edges of the railroad car  12 . Accordingly, the frame members  340  and the pan assemblies  360  are sized to not significantly protrude beyond the perimeter edges of the railroad car  12 . It can be desirable for the tarp assembly  300  to not significantly protrude beyond the perimeter edges of the railroad car  12  to ensure that the profile of the railroad car  12  remains within acceptable limits, as may be required by the railroads. The configuration of the tarp assembly  310  may also be effective to allow for retrofitting of existing railway cars, and to prevent interference between the tarp assembly  310  and the car inverter  40 . 
   To move the tarp  310  to the open position from the closed position, such as for loading or dumping of the interior of the railroad car  12 , the locking members  372  are first removed from the ends of the rod  370 . Next, the rod  370  is rotated to roll the tarp  310  therearound. A winch or other mechanism may be provided to assist in rolling the tarp  310  around the rod  370 . For this purpose, the ends of the rod  370  may be splined for engagement with the winch mechanism. As the tarp  310  is wound around the rod  370 , the rod  370  is moved toward the side of the railroad car  12  opposite the frame members  340 . 
   The tarp  310  is not completely wound around the rod  370 . Instead, the tarp  310  is wound around the rod  370  until the rod  370  abuts against stop members  380 . The stop members  380 , as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , are positioned to prevent the rod  370  and tarp  310  wound therearound from moving over the flat surfaces  362  of the pan assemblies  360 , thereby assuring that the tarp  310  in its open position does not interfere with the operation of the inverter  40 . The stop members  380  extend vertically from the pan assembly  360  and rib members  322 . In one aspect, a pair of stop members  380  are attached to each pan assembly  360  and a pair of stop members  380  are attached to ribs members  322  located in the mid-section of the railroad car  12 . 
   To empty the railroad car  12 , the tarp  310  is moved to its open position, as described above. The inverter  40  may contact the railroad car  12  on the flat surfaces  362  of the pan assemblies  360  and between the middle and end portions  344 ,  346 , and  348  of the frame members  340 . The railroad car  12  may then be rotated to an upended position, allowing the load within the interior to fall therefrom. The load falls between the rib members  322  and the ridge straps  350 , which preferably remain in place. 
   However, the slidable engagement of the rib members  322  to the rib shank members  328  allows the rib members  322  to move relative to the shanks  328 , permitting limited movement of the rib members  322  in response to the load falling therepast. If the load exerts sufficient forces on the rib elements  322 , some or all of the rib elements  322  may completely slide off of the rib shank members  328  and pivot about their hinge connection to the brackets  330  to a position out of the way of the falling load. Once the load is emptied from the railcar, any rib members  322  disengaged from their respective shank elements  328  can be replaced thereover. 
   In addition, the telescoping engagement between the rib and rib shank members  322  and  328  permits expansion and contraction therebetween to ensure that the members  322  and  328  extend between the sides of the railroad car  12 . For example, when the railroad car  12  is empty, the engaged rib and rib shank members may be at first position relative to each other. As the railroad car  12  is loaded, the sides may tend to spread apart due to the weight of the load, requiring the rib and rib shank members  322  and  328  to telescopingly expend relative to each other. The spreading of the sides of the railroad car  12  may not be uniform. For example, after loading the distance between the sides of the railroad car  12  at the center may be greater than toward the ends thereof. In addition, the telescoping rib and rib shank members  322  and  328  are effective to reduce hang up of the moist by-product on the frame assembly  320  when the railroad car  12  is unloaded by upending it in a car inverter  40 . This can prevent the aluminum car body  14  from being damaged during unloading in the car inverter  40  by the weight of the feed on the rib and rib shank members  322  and  328  pulling the sides of the aluminum car body  14  inward. Accordingly, the rib and rib shank members  322  and  328  may be configured to compensate for spanning variable distances between the sides of the railroad car  12 . 
   While there has been illustrated and described a particular embodiment of the present invention, it will be appreciated the numerous changes and modifications where will occur to those skilled in the art, and is intended in the appended claims to cover all those changes and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.