Freight accommodation on freight carrier – Particular article accommodation – Wheeled vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-17
2001-12-04
Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)
Freight accommodation on freight carrier
Particular article accommodation
Wheeled vehicle
C410S024000, C410S028000, C410S029000, C410S029100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325579
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a moveable deck in the interior of a railroad freight car for carrying motor vehicles on multiple levels.
Railroad freight cars have long been used for transporting newly manufactured automobiles long distances from a point of manufacture or a point of arrival to cities where dealerships are located or where the automobiles are reloaded onto trucks for moving the automobiles over highways to the locations of dealerships. In order for such railroad cars to be most economical, it is desirable that they carry a maximum number of motor vehicles but it is also desirable that the freight cars be able to carry several different types of motor vehicles on each car and be able to reconfigure the railroad freight car to carry such different types of vehicles without undue difficulty.
It is known to adjust load carrying decks in motor vehicle carrying railroad cars to facilitate carrying different types of motor vehicles but provisions for making such adjustments in the past have been difficult.
A solution to this problem is shown in the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,335 entitled Railroad Freight Car for Carrying Motor Vehicles, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference. The '335 patent, which is owned by the assignee of the present invention, discloses a multi-unit railroad freight car for carrying motor vehicles on multiple levels. This is accomplished by providing a plurality of motor vehicle decks spaced apart inside the car wherein the decks are adjustable in height.
The endmost middle level deck in each unit is mounted on a pivot axis at one end so that the other end may be raised and lowered to facilitate the loading and unloading of vehicles on the next lowest deck. A cable and winch system is used to raise and lower the hinged portion of the deck. When a manually operated cable system used to raise and lower the deck, the entire weight of the deck is borne by the cable and winch. The deck is heavy and some operators may have difficulty raising and lowering it with only a mechanical crank. In addition, because of the weight it may be difficult for the operator to tell when the deck is fully raised.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a spring loaded assist mechanism connected to a bracket coupled to interior beams which support the interior deck portions for partially supporting the weight of the deck when it is raised or lowered. The lift assist mechanism has an extensible arm coupled between the support beams and a moveable portion of the deck for providing a lifting force for helping the interior deck portion to be raised. The lifting force provided by the spring mechanism assists the winch operator so that the entire dead weight of the deck portion is not borne entirely by the winch cable. Although the stroke of the lift assist mechanism is fixed, it is disposed inside a slot in a mounting bracket oriented in the direction of the extensible arm. Thus, when the deck has attained its uppermost height and the arm is fully extended, the lift assist mechanism can go no further, but can move as a unit within the slot. When this happens, the abrupt change in weight experienced by the winch operator signals that the deck is fully raised.
The lift assist mechanism is preferably a gas cylinder having a piston and cylinder arrangement wherein one end of the gas cylinder is coupled to a bracket connected to a horizontal support beam and the other end of the gas cylinder is connected to a bracket affixed to a pivotable deck portion. The bracket itself may be a pair of parallel plates and associated cross members welded to the underside of the support beam and occupying the interior space between the horizontal support beam and the vertical support posts for the railroad car body side. In this way, the brackets and the gas cylinder are situated in unused space and do not interfere with anything else inside the railroad freight car.
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Chernoff Vilhauer McClung & Stenzel LLP
Gordon Stephen T.
Gunderson, Inc.
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