Patents Examined by Mark T. Le
  • Patent number: 10913468
    Abstract: A rail vehicle includes a fuel tank having a tank wall delimiting a tank interior space for storing fuel. At least portions of a first support are connected to the tank wall. A longitudinal support includes first and second longitudinal support portions being offset in longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The fuel tank is disposed in longitudinal direction between the first and second longitudinal support portions. The first support is coupled to the first and second longitudinal support portions. At least portions of the first support are disposed in the tank interior space in the longitudinal direction. The first support running in the longitudinal direction is disposed between the first and second longitudinal support portions. The first support is configured for fully transmitting a force acting between the first and second longitudinal support portions in longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: Siemens Mobility GmbH
    Inventors: Stephan Drexler, Joerg Melde, Lars Mueller, Hannes Peer, Guenther Proell
  • Patent number: 10913472
    Abstract: The present disclosure generally relates to a rail warning system using wireless portable transmitters/receivers. The rail warning system uses a chirp spread spectrum modulation scheme, and alerts personnel in work zones on or near train tracks as well as optionally, on track equipment and train operators, of approaching trains or on track equipment. Portable wayside devices may also be positioned on the rail web, optionally magnetically, to alert work personnel, allowing for secure placement but also portability to other locations on the same track or adjacent tracks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: HARSCO TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventor: Peter M. Bartek
  • Patent number: 10906565
    Abstract: A railcar bogie axle box suspension axle beam includes an end portion d at a tip end, a tubular portion at the end portion and being open at both car width direction sides. The tubular portion includes: a first semi-tubular portion integrally formed with a main body portion; a second semi-tubular portion brought into contact with the first semi-tubular portion from one side in the car longitudinal direction; and a bolt fastening the second semi-tubular portion to the first. The first semi-tubular portion includes: a flat opposing surface contacting the second semi-tubular portion; and a hole into which the bolt is inserted. The second semi-tubular portion includes: a flat opposing surface contacting with the first semi-tubular portion surface; a flat machining reference surface formed at an opposite side of the opposing surface; and a hole extending in a direction perpendicular to the opposing surface, the bolt inserted into the hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukitaka Taga, Fumikazu Kounoike, Yukihiro Sano, Takaya Ono
  • Patent number: 10906563
    Abstract: A car body for a passenger rail vehicle includes a chassis having a front assembly at each vehicle end and a vehicle floor consisting of profiled metal sheet edged in a trapezoidal-like manner within the cross-section, wherein beads of the profiled metal sheet extend in a longitudinal direction of the car body, where the vehicle floor is fixedly connected to each front assembly at transition points to the front assembly via a connecting beam oriented transversely to the longitudinal direction of the car body, where the connecting beam is formed as a profiled metal sheet having a substantially L-shaped cross-section, and where the section of the connecting beam connected to a front assembly is equipped with a trapezoidal-like bead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: SIEMENS MOBILITY AUSTRIA GMBH
    Inventors: Lars Behrendt, Andreas Niederstaetter, Josef Wiesinger
  • Patent number: 10900178
    Abstract: A track maintenance machine, constructed to be mobile on a track, for consolidation of a ballast bed underneath a track, includes a machine frame supported on an undercarriage and a consolidating device, connected to the machine frame, which includes at least one consolidating element constructed to be lowered. The consolidating element is constructed as a consolidating plate which, in a working position, is larger in a longitudinal direction of the track than a distance between two sleepers of the track, and the consolidating plate is disposed to be rotatable in order to turn the consolidating plate into a passing position for lowering or raising between two sleepers. A method for consolidation of the ballast bed underneath a track by using a track maintenance machine is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: Plasser & Theurer Export von Bahnbaumaschinen Gesellschaft m.b.H.
    Inventors: Lothar Stadler, Gerard Lintz, Philippe Crovisier
  • Patent number: 10899373
    Abstract: A safety method for a railway network that is divided into section segments by way of section elements and which can be traveled by vehicles in accordance with data from a section atlas. The vehicles request steps for allocation as a track element from selected section elements. Each of the selected section elements autonomously allocates itself as a track element under specified conditions for each requesting vehicle. In order to be able to inform the vehicle or the vehicle operators thereof about changed section characteristics better and more quickly, for the section elements, the vehicles store manually entered and/or manually released dynamic driving operation data as a dynamic component of the section atlas in parts related to the section elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: Siemens Mobility GmbH
    Inventors: Sven Adomeit, Uwe Deichmann, Norbert Geduhn, Carlos Del Pozo
  • Patent number: 10894550
    Abstract: A method of railroad track control includes partitioning a physical track block into a plurality of virtual track blocks, the physical track block defined by first and second insulated joints disposed at corresponding first and second ends of a length of railroad track. The presence of an electrical circuit discontinuity in one of the plurality of virtual track blocks; is detected and in response a corresponding virtual track block position code indicating the presence of the discontinuity in the one of the plurality of virtual track blocks is generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: BNSF Railway Company
    Inventors: Jerry Wade Specht, Ralph E. Young, Kent Robert Shue, Mitchell Wayne Beard
  • Patent number: 10889462
    Abstract: A cable reel includes an outer frame and a reel assembly. The reel assembly is installed on the outer frame. The reel assembly includes a left reel and a right reel. An inner bracket is arranged in the outer frame. The inner bracket includes a left bracket and a right bracket which are respectively connected with the left reel and the right reel. A telescopic cylinder for controlling the swing is arranged between the left bracket and the right bracket.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Inventor: Qingling Chai
  • Patent number: 10889194
    Abstract: During travel of the electric vehicle, the charging arm is extended in the vehicle width direction, a positive electrode overhead line of the power supply device and a positive electrode power reception unit of the charging arm are brought into contact at the same time that a negative electrode overhead line of the power supply device and a negative electrode power reception unit of the charging arm are brought into contact, and a power storage device for driving the electric vehicle is charged. A charging head that is the tip section of the charging arm is held within a V-shaped groove to which the positive electrode overhead line and the negative electrode overhead line are attached, thereby minimizing the loss of contact even if the charging arm shakes in the vertical direction as a result of the condition of the road surface, brake operation, or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takamitsu Tajima, Yasuji Shibahata, Wataru Noguchi
  • Patent number: 10889310
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a railway collision protection and safety system having a vehicle device located on rail vehicles at a work zone, a personal protection unit located with rail workers at the work zone, and a dispatcher processor at a control center. An authority limit within the work zone may be determined by the dispatcher processor, and an authority exceeded signal is sent to the rail vehicle when the rail vehicle is determined to exceed the authority limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: HARSCO TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventor: Shannon L. Bailey
  • Patent number: 10875412
    Abstract: A structure for effectively providing charging capacity for electric vehicles within urban environments in a safe and space conscious manner uses a new vertical building typology. A modular helix ramp structure with integrated wireless charging panels/coils charges vehicles as they drive up and down the structure without the need to physically park the vehicle in a traditional parking structure. A license plate reader, transponder or other vehicle identification technology registers a vehicle entering the tower, authorize purchase and initiate the up/down charging cycle thru the helix structure. The structure reduces the building footprint required to charge a given number of vehicles. This consolidates electrical infrastructure connection requirements to a single location, and because the vehicles are not occupied during charging exposure of vehicle inhabitants to electromagnetic radiation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: AECOM
    Inventor: Alastair Niall MacGregor
  • Patent number: 10875551
    Abstract: A railcar bogie includes a plate spring supported by a pair of axle boxes arranged away from each other in a car longitudinal direction, the plate spring supporting a cross beam while being pressed by a pressing member of a bogie frame from above such that the pressing member is separable from the plate spring, at least a lower surface of the plate spring containing resin. The lower surface of the plate spring includes an inclined surface inclined with respect to a horizontal direction when viewed from a car width direction. The bogie frame includes at least one lifting supporting portion, the at least one lifting supporting portion including a supporting surface, the supporting surface being opposed to the inclined surface of the plate spring from below with a gap and inclined along the inclined surface of the plate spring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Fumikazu Kounoike, Yukitaka Taga, Takaya Ono, Yoshihiro Tamura, Kazuo Isomura
  • Patent number: 10876315
    Abstract: Devices for extracting cleaning robots from swimming pools include support frames and plates which can be deployed beyond and below the support frames. The support frames may be supported on rims of the swimming pools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: ZODIAC POOL CARE EUROPE
    Inventors: Philippe Pichon, Simon Duffaut, Philippe Blanc-Tailleur
  • Patent number: 10875558
    Abstract: When there is a train entering a building of a rail yard, a ground apparatus stores vehicle-formation-set IDs of respective vehicle-formation-sets of the train in the entering order by a FILO method. Additionally, when there is the train leaving the building, the vehicle-formation-set IDs are sequentially read by the FILO method, an inquiry addressed to the vehicle-formation-set IDs is transmitted in the order of the reading to obtain the train information from the on-board apparatus of each of the vehicle-formation-sets forming the train. When the on-board apparatus does not respond to the inquiry, and obtaining of the train information fails, the ground apparatus performs a predetermined alarm output control.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: KYOSAN ELECTRIC MFG. CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jun Katayama, Toshifumi Nishi, Kenji Mizuno, Tomonori Itagaki, Kaoru Oshima, Tamotsu Yokoyama
  • Patent number: 10875554
    Abstract: Provided is a wheel detector for detecting a wheel of a rail vehicle, including two detector channels. Each channel includes a coil unit which is connected with a measurement and feeding module for feeding the coil unit with an output signal of the measurement and feeding module. A decision module of the respective channel is bi-directionally connected to the measurement and feeding module. The measurement and feeding module of each channel includes a temperature measurement module and/or a module for measurement of mechanical vibration, that is/are connected with an input/inputs of a decision module of the channel. The decision modules are connected via a bidirectional digital interface. The decision module of one channel is connected via a bidirectional digital interface with a data transmission module for communication with a supervisory system via a data transmission line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Bombardier Transportation (ZWUS) Polska Sp. z o. o.
    Inventors: Marek Górnioczek, Dariusz Zielinski, Andrzej Kopacz, Grzegorz Musiol, Adam Szczeponik, Kamil Binczyk, Wojciech Kolton, Aleksandra Sawodni
  • Patent number: 10870439
    Abstract: Two support frames support opposite wheels rollably on a rail and support the vehicle body through suspension systems. At one end, four L-shaped links and four support links are each coupled, bilaterally symmetrically and in front of and behind the wheels, to the two support frames in a manner allowing rotation on the support frames about an axis in the front-rear direction below and above the center axis of the wheels. In a bending portion in the middle, the L-shaped links are supported by the vehicle body rotatably about an axis in the front-rear direction, and the L-shaped links and support links are coupled at the other end to each other so as to allow rotation about an axis in the front-rear direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 22, 2020
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michinori Hashimoto, Hideo Terasawa
  • Patent number: 10858020
    Abstract: A railroad communication system includes a radio transmitter for generating radio communications signals and a length of railroad rail coupled to the radio transmitter. The length of rail is disposed on a set of nonconductive railroad ties to form a transmission line for radiating the radio communications signals to a radio receiver in a vicinity of the length of railroad rail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: Meteorcomm LLC
    Inventor: Arun Naidu
  • Patent number: 10850637
    Abstract: An electrified railway power supply system without negative sequence in the whole process and without power supply networks at intervals, can comprise an external power supply system, an input power supply system from external to internal, and an internal power supply system. For external power supply, single-phase power supply is changed to double-phase power supply, and power of a single phase is input to the power supply system within the train via a contactor on a left arm and a right arm of a double-phase pantograph. No neutral section for passing of phase separation is provided in the whole process of operation, and a plurality of sections in the whole process are provided with no power supply network at intervals, and the motor train unit can operate normally without mechanical support for the power supply network.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: JILIN UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Yuquan Song, Xiaofang Guan
  • Patent number: 10850749
    Abstract: An axle box suspension includes: a coupler extending from an axle box in a car longitudinal direction and including a tubular portion at an end portion of the coupler, the tubular portion being open toward both sides in a car width direction; a core rod inserted into an internal space of the tubular portion, a pair of protruding portions being provided at both sides of the core rod in the car width direction; an elastic body interposed between the tubular portion and the core rod; a pair of receiving seats provided at the bogie frame and including a pair of groove portions which are open toward the car width direction and an upper side; a pair of lids pressing, from above, the pair of protruding portions fitted into the pair of groove portions from above; and fasteners fixing the lids to the receiving seats.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yoshihiro Tamura, Yukitaka Taga, Fumikazu Kounoike, Takaya Ono
  • Patent number: 10850626
    Abstract: A system for supplying power to a trolley chain. The system includes: a trolley chain, consisting of at least two trollies coupled with one another, wherein the trolley chain has a closed bus; and a stationary energy conductor along the track of the trolley chain. The stationary energy conductor consists of one or more successive segments, which are spaced apart from each other. The closed bus has several transmission heads, which are designed to supply the closed bus with electricity from the stationary energy conductor without contacting the stationary energy conductor, if they are within a pre-determined distance to the stationary energy conductor. During a journey of the trolley chain along the track, at each moment in time, at least one of the transmission heads supplies the closed bus with electricity from the stationary energy conductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Winfried Kemker, Martin Sliwka, Marc Hilgenstock