Freight accommodation on freight carrier – Load bearer accommodation – Semitrailer accommodation
Patent
1993-10-04
1995-10-31
Huppert, Michael S.
Freight accommodation on freight carrier
Load bearer accommodation
Semitrailer accommodation
410 64, 414333, B60P 713
Patent
active
054623944
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to supports for trailers on railroad cars and more specifically to an improved stanchion to support trailers on railroad cars.
BACKGROUND ART
It is well known to transport trailers of trucks on railroad cars, namely, flat bed railroad cars. Some designs have used specialized structure railroad cars and adapters for the landing gear of semi-trailer trucks as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,864,321. Others have provided stands for the king pin of the trailer which ride along a pair of slots in the surface of the railroad car, and generally include a manually actuated mechanism to hold the stand in place on the car after adjustment. Examples of these structures are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,845,878; 2,846,172 and 2,903,977.
Collapsible fifth wheel stands have also been installed at one end of a flat bed and arranged to be raised by a chain pulled by a truck tractor beneath a parked trailer to secure it to the railroad car. This is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,390. Examples of stationary, collapsible fifth wheel stands which are raised or lowered by spring, screws or hydraulic include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,180,282; 3,189,307; 3,291,074 and 3,289,987.
A self-propelled stanchion which can be positioned along the surface of the railroad car and raised and lowered using internal or external motors is described in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,800. But its operation was independent of the trailer positioning.
All of the systems of the prior art have advantages and disadvantages. Those which use specialized car design are not usable to transport other types of freight. Those which have erect stand are not as storable and require the removal of unused stands at one location and a supply at the unloading location if there is further loading to be performed. Some of the collapsible stands are not adjustable along the surface of the flat bed and, thus, do not allow for optimum placement of the maximum number of trailers on a train system. The positioning and securing of the stanchions require special equipment or more than one operator or plural steps in addition to positioning connecting and disconnecting the trailer.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stanchion which is adjustable along the surface of a railroad car.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stanchion system which reduces the number of steps in loading, securing, unsecuring and unloading a trailer on and from a railroad car.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system wherein the stanchion is repositioned and operated from the tractor which positions the trailer.
These and other objects of the invention are obtained by providing a stanchion with a-latch system which is operable from the tractor which positions the trailer such that the tractor locks and unlocks the latch to appropriately reposition the stanchion during the positioning of the trailer. The stanchion includes a sled to which a stand is mounted. The latch is biased to be normally engaged to the rail car to prevent movement of the sled, and in response to an external force from the tractor disengages the rail car to prevent movement of the sled. The latch includes at least one dog and an operator or piston moving the dogs to disengage a railroad car in response to an external force. The operator and dogs are biased to the engaging position. The sled includes a channel which receives a horizontal portion of a track and the dogs engage the vertical portion of the track. The track includes a plurality of apertures in which the dogs are received.
An interlock is provided between the latch and the stand for permitting the latch to disengage from the railroad car only when the stand is in the lowered position. The interlock includes a cam connected to the latch and having a camming surface which has a first and second position corresponding to the lock and unlocked position of the latch. A cam follower is connected to the stand for at least engaging the cam surface in the second positio
REFERENCES:
patent: 2846172 (1958-08-01), Gutridge et al.
patent: 2903977 (1959-09-01), Ulinski
patent: 2916238 (1959-12-01), Fahland
patent: 3236194 (1966-02-01), Vivian
patent: 3358954 (1967-12-01), Smith et al.
patent: 3424107 (1969-01-01), Rollins
patent: 4718800 (1988-01-01), Engle
patent: 5017065 (1991-05-01), Krug et al.
patent: 5139374 (1992-08-01), Holt et al.
Huppert Michael S.
Keenan James
Knorr Brake Holding Corp.
LandOfFree
Latchmaster sliding pull up hitch does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Latchmaster sliding pull up hitch, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Latchmaster sliding pull up hitch will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1768438