Truck-controlled Patents (Class 213/15)
  • Patent number: 10040462
    Abstract: A coupler for a railway car including a coupler anchor, a coupler mechanism pivotable relative to the coupler anchor from an on-center position to an off-center position in a substantially horizontal plane, and a coupler positioning device for pivoting the coupler mechanism relative to the coupler anchor. The coupler positioning device includes a controller adapted for receiving signal information from a bogie relating to an angular position of the bogie relative to a body of the railway car, and at least one pneumatic cylinder for pivoting the coupler mechanism. The controller controls the operation of the at least one pneumatic cylinder in response to the signal information received from the bogie.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Wabtec Holding Corp.
    Inventors: Jason Daniel Peckham, William Clay Swindler, Kevin Scott Brown
  • Patent number: 5524552
    Abstract: A specially designed single axle truck is designed for use on extra long railroad cars which are sixty feet or longer to accommodated bigger and heavier loads. The single axle trucks are secured to rigid subframes which, in turn, are mounted on the under carriage of a railroad freight car, adjacent each of the opposing ends of the car, for rotation in a horizontal plane, when the car is resting on a horizontal trackway. The rigid subframes are each provided with a pair of outstanding arms which are designed to engage the car coupler means. whether it be a single drawbar, fixed jaw coupler, or a knuckle type coupler such as an AAR standard F coupler, to engage and transfer lateral movement of the car coupler means into rotary movement of the rigid subframes to actively steer the attached single axle trucks safely through curves in the trackway which the single axle truck would be unable to negotiate, if it were rigidly secured to the under carriage of the railroad car.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Assignee: National Castings Incorporated
    Inventor: Hans B. Weber
  • Patent number: 4586620
    Abstract: An alignment device for railroad car couplers including a central flexible portion with a pair of swivelable end portions connectable between couplers of adjacent cars. Each of the end portions includes a protruding stud adapted to engage an opening preformed in the knuckle body. The device end portions and their studs are inserted between misaligned adjacent couplers. One steady pull of the engine aligns the couplers so that two cars may then be quickly joined together without requiring the trainman to stand between the cars during the coupling operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1984
    Date of Patent: May 6, 1986
    Inventor: Russell J. Andrews