The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 23, 1999
Filed:
Dec. 23, 1997
Mell R Thoman, Carrollton, TX (US);
TRN Business Trust, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
A composite roof having a core encapsulated in multiple layers of fiber reinforced plastic is provided. The composite roof may be mounted on a conventional railway car during initial manufacture or used to replace a damaged steel roof on a conventional railway car. The layers of fiber reinforced plastic provide non-corrosive and non-leaking exterior and interior surfaces for the composite roof. The core may be formed from various materials which provide improved resistance to heat transfer between the interior and the exterior of an associated railway car. The composite roof may be mounted on an enclosed structure having a pair of end walls, a pair of side walls and a floor. An opening may be formed in each side wall to allow access to the interior of the railway car. A top retainer and guide rail assembly will typically be mounted above each opening to allow installing a door to control access through the respective opening. A strip of fiber reinforced plastic is preferably attached to the top retainer and guide rail assembly to form a composite rain gutter over each opening.