Gunderson, Inc.

Ata Engineering, Inc.

Gareth R Thomas

Gregory J Saxton

Charles C Hill

Gary S Kaleta

Kenneth L Weselake

Cynthia Marie Fadick

A payload adapter consists of a body that when hollow includes a plurality of stiffeners&#x2014;radial and/or circumferential&#x2014;or alternatively a core for carrying shear loads. The body may include a first annular face sheet, a second annular face sheet and a plurality of stiffeners connecting between the first annular face sheet and the second annular face sheet. The combination of the annular hollow body and the plurality of stiffeners or the same face sheets combined with an in-filled core results in an axial frequency and a lateral (pitch) frequency for the payload adapter that provides superior vibration isolation. Constrained layer damping is incorporated into the design for additional vibration attenuation.

Payload adapter

A railroad freight car including a cargo well for carrying optionally either intermodal cargo containers or highway semitrailers has a side sill structure including a deep rectangular top chord and a depending web, supporting a well floor structure. Each side sill has a height above the well floor, and a spacer is connected to the car body by an attachment which permits the spacer to be pivoted between a raised position clear of the well floor and a lowered position upwardly adjacent the well floor. The spacer has a predetermined height sufficient to support a trailer located in the cargo well, with its wheels resting on top of the spacer, high enough to locate lifting points on the trailer above the height of the side sill.

Railroad well car including spacer for supporting a trailer

A railroad freight car including a cargo well for carrying optionally either intermodal cargo containers or highway semitrailers has a side sill structure including a deep rectangular top chord and a depending web, supporting a well floor structure. The well floor structure includes reinforcing longitudinal and transverse channel members and horizontal top and bottom plates attached to the channels. Large circular openings, aligned with one another, are defined in both the top and bottom plates, and a peripheral ring of vertical material interconnects the margins of the top and bottom plates around the openings, providing a light but stiff floor structure with a small vertical height.

Railroad well car body

A multi-unit articulated railway freight car defining a container well in each of the several units, with container support members attached to the side sills of each unit to support standard intermodal cargo containers at a location low enough to permit a second tier of containers to be stacked atop a bottom tier without exceeding the maximum height restrictions of most main railroad lines, although ample clearance is preserved beneath the bottom of the car when fully loaded. Each container support member is constructed of thick plate steel of high strength, formed cold to include residual internal stresses in order to resist failure when subjected to the loads imposed by supporting loaded containers carried in the container well. The side sill structures are of box tube and formed sheet construction of small enough width to permit carriage of newer, larger, sizes of intermodal cargo containers without the car or containers protruding outside the clearance available along most railroad lines. A truss structure interconnects the bottom chords of the side sills and interconnects the cargo container support members. Members of the truss structure are attached to the cargo container support members by hinges. Roller-assisted, constant-contact side bearings and softer springs are used in a single-unit version of the car.

Railroad freight car with well for stacked cargo containers

A multi-unit articulated railway freight car defining a container well in each of the several units, with container support members attached to the side sills of each unit to support standard intermodal cargo containers at a location low enough to permit a second tier of containers to be stacked atop a bottom tier without exceeding the maximum height restrictions of most main railroad lines, although ample clearance is preserved beneath the bottom of the car when fully loaded. Each container support member is constructed of thick plate steel of high strength, formed cold to include residual internal stresses in order to resist failure when subjected to the loads imposed by supporting loaded containers carried in the container well. The side sill structures are of box tube and formed sheet construction of small enough width to permit carriage of newer, larger, sizes of intermodal cargo containers without the car or containers protruding outside the clearance available along most railroad lines. A truss structure interconnects the bottom chords of the side sills and interconnects the cargo container support members. Members of the truss structure are attached to the cargo container support members by hinges.

Growing community of inventors

Del Mar, CA, United States of America

Gareth R Thomas