Patent Publication Number: US-10315669-B2

Title: Railcar with cover

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/096,666, entitled “Railcar With Cover,” filed on Dec. 24, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure generally relates to covers for railcars. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Railcars are widely known. Such railcars can have covers. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the Figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporating teachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respect to the drawings herein, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a railcar with a cover assembly, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the railcar taken along line  2 - 2  in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a drive and storage unit for the cover assembly; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view cut away to show the interior of the drive and storage unit; 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of the interior of the drive and storage unit; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a drive sprocket of the cover assembly; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a slide of the cover assembly; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a lead slide of the cover assembly; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a cover storage assembly with a take up spool removed for clarity; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view showing the take up spool engaging a series of slides; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of part of a main panel of the cover assembly; 
         FIG. 12  is a perspective view of part of an anchor panel of the cover assembly; 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view of part of a lead panel of the cover assembly; 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view of a spring of the cover assembly; 
         FIG. 15  is a perspective view of a transmission housing including an air motor and gears; and 
         FIG. 16  is a perspective view of a further embodiment of the drive and storage unit. 
     
    
    
     The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The following description in combination with the Figures is provided to assist in understanding the teachings disclosed herein. The description is focused on specific implementations and embodiments of the teachings, and is provided to assist in describing the teachings. This focus should not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope or applicability of the teachings. 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show a container  100  having side walls  102 , end walls  104 , and a cover assembly that includes retractable cover  106 . The side walls  102  extend generally vertically, while the end walls  104  slope at about forty-five degree to the horizontal. In one particular embodiment, the container  100  may be outfitted as a railcar and adapted to transport coal. For this and similar applications, a bottom  108  of the railcar can include hopper doors that open outwardly allow the contents of the railcar to dump out through the bottom. 
     The cover assembly  106  includes opposed end caps  110  and  112 , side rails  114 , and a series of panels  116 . The end caps  110  and  112  are preferably aluminum castings that interlock with the side rails  114  in any suitable manner, such as by mounting extensions  118 . The side rails are preferably formed by a lower extrusion  120  that is fixed, such as by rivets, to an upper extrusion  122 . In one embodiment, the lower extrusions  120  may be fastened, such as by bolts or rivets, to both the top of the side walls  102  of the railcar and to braces or cross members in the interior of cars by a descending leg  124  that is best seen in  FIG. 2 . The upper extrusions  122  have an inwardly facing rectangular channel through which the ends of the panels  116  translate, as described more fully below. 
       FIGS. 3-5  show a drive and storage unit  300  for powering the cover assembly  106  between extended and retracted positions. The drive and storage unit  300  includes a drive axle  302 , a take up axle  304 , and a take up spool  306 . The drive axle  302  extends transversely across the railcar, and is supported at one end in a roller bearing assembly and is engaged at the other end with a gear motor  308 . The drive axle  302  is rotationally fixed to a pair of sprockets  310 , one of which is shown in isolation in  FIG. 6 . In one embodiment, the sprockets  310  are cast aluminum and each has six teeth, the faces of which are slightly convex and form an angle of about 71.8 degrees to one another. 
     The take up axle  304  is fixed with respect to the railcar, while the spool  306  is free to rotate about the take up axle on bearings. In one embodiment, the spool is an aluminum extrusion eleven inches in diameter. A cast aluminum guide  312  is riveted to the drive and storage unit  300 . Slides  316  connect the panels  116  as described below. The guide  312  guides the slides  316  into engagement with the sprockets  310 , and holds them in engagement until the slides enter into channels  318  formed in the end cap  110 . A shield  320  is disposed mostly around the panels wound on the spool  306  and between the spool and the interior of the railcar. 
       FIG. 7  shows one of the slides  316  in greater detail. Each slide has a body  702  that is preferably molded out of a polymer such as nylon. The body has a generally trapezoidal main section  704  with a concave portion  706 , and a pair of legs  708  and  709  that extend from the main section. A U-bolt  710  is retained through the main section  704 , and has legs  718  and  719  that extend through the corresponding legs  708  and  709  of the slide. Washers and nuts  712  retain the U-bolt  710  to the slide  316 . In a preferred embodiment, the slides are slightly less that two inches tall and about five inches long, with a center distance between the legs  708  and  709  of about two inches.  FIG. 8  shows a lead slide  714  having an edge  716  that acts as a track cleaner to clear light debris from the channel  318 . 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  show a cover storage assembly with the cover in an almost fully extended position. Each slide  316  connects two adjacent panels  116 . In particular, the leftmore (as shown) U-bolt leg  718  reinforces one leg of the slide that connects into a first hole  720  in one of the adjacent panels as shown in  FIG. 11 , and the rightmore leg  719  supports the other leg of the slide that inserts into a similar hole  730  in the other adjacent panel. An anchor or terminal panel  1002 , shown in isolation in  FIG. 12 , has a projection  1004  that is received in a mating groove in the take up spool  306 . A single hole  1006  in the anchor panel accepts a U-bolt leg  1008  and its surrounding slide leg. 
       FIG. 13  shows a portion of a lead panel  1100 . The lead panel  1100  is similar to the main panels  116 , but is provided with flanges  1102  and  1104  to scrape off the top of any load in the railcar that might otherwise extend above the cover. 
     The take up spool  306  is fixed at each end to an adaptor casting  750 , such as by bolts  752 . In a preferred embodiment, only the panels make contact with the spool  306 . The slides  316  ride in a lateral space between the adaptor  750  and a cast axle carrier  754 , and around roller bearings disposed in that space and about the aluminum axle  304 . 
     The take up spool  306  is normally biased in a counterclockwise direction as shown in  FIG. 10  by a coil spring  902 . The coil spring is disposed around the axle  304 , which is preferably about one and three quarters inches in diameter. A polymer liner, such as one made of Teflon, may be disposed between the outside of the spring  902  and the inside of the spool  306  in order to minimize friction therebetween. One end  904  of the spring  902 , best seen in  FIG. 14 , hooks into the stationary axle  304 . An opposite end  906  of the spring hooks into the spool  306  so that the panels  116  are normally wound onto the spool to put the cover in a retracted position. 
       FIG. 15  shows the gear motor  308  including an air motor  802 , a worm  804 , an output gear  806  and an output shaft  808 . The air motor  802  is preferably similar to those found in impact wrenches, and has an air inlet port  810  and an air outlet port  812 . The ports  810  and  812  may be connected to a pneumatic system of the railcar (not shown) that normally includes storage tanks charged to about one hundred fifty pounds per square inch. While the air motor  802  can usually operate at a range of air pressures, a regulator may be added to regulate the pressure supplied to the air motor. The air motor drives a socket  814  with a torque in the range of about two hundred foot pounds. The socket  814  in turn drives the worm  804 , which is mounted in roller bearings  816  and  818 , at a ratio of about 120 to 1 so that about twenty-four thousand pounds of gross force is available to drive the output gear at the efficiency of the worm. An oil level preferably is maintained to cover the worm  804  in operation. 
     A proximity sensor  850  is provided through one wall of the gear motor  308 . The proximity sensor  850  detects the position of the output gear  806 , such as by incrementing or decrementing a counter according to the passage of bolt heads  852 . In one embodiment the proximity sensor  850  operates magnetically, but it should be understood that the proximity sensor may operate in any other suitable manner such as optically. 
       FIG. 16  shows an alternative embodiment  1400  of the drive and storage unit. The unit  1400  includes a mount  1402  for one or more solar panels, an access panel  1404 , and an access panel  1406 . The access panel  1404  is removable to allow access to components such as the gear motor  308  or the proximity sensor  850 . The access panel  1406  is also removable to allow access to a tool box that may contain batteries rechargeable by the solar panels, a controller (not shown) powered primarily or secondarily by those batteries and connected to the proximity sensor  850  and to the motor  308 , and air valves connected to the air motor. 
     Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detail herein, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the following claims.