Railcar maintenance management system
First Claim
1. A Railcar Maintenance Facility Management System comprising:
- a railcar maintenance facility having a plurality of maintenance stations;
a first communication means associated with at least one of the maintenance stations wherein the first communication means signals to an operator of the maintenance facility whether the associated maintenance stations are available or unavailable to accept a first railcar and further if unavailable, then the first railcar is not released into the railcar maintenance facility.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to a system and a method for managing the repairing, cleaning, painting, or otherwise maintaining of railcars within a railcar maintenance facility. Specifically, the present invention relates to a railcar maintenance management system and method for maintaining railcars within a facility wherein the facility has an inbound track, an outbound track, and a plurality of maintenance stations for moving a railcar in and out of the facility and for repairing, cleaning, or painting the same. Further, the railcar maintenance management system and method allows for efficient movement of railcars through the facility by queueing the railcars at strategic locations within the railcar facility.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A Railcar Maintenance Facility Management System comprising:
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a railcar maintenance facility having a plurality of maintenance stations;
a first communication means associated with at least one of the maintenance stations wherein the first communication means signals to an operator of the maintenance facility whether the associated maintenance stations are available or unavailable to accept a first railcar and further if unavailable, then the first railcar is not released into the railcar maintenance facility. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A railcar maintenance facility management system comprising:
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a railcar maintenance facility comprising an inbound railway, an inbound queue area, a transfer area, a first set of maintenance stations, a second set of maintenance stations and an outbound railway;
a first communication means connected to each maintenance station within the first set of maintenance stations wherein the first communication means communicates whether each maintenance station within the first set of maintenance stations is available to receive a railcar requiring services of the first set of maintenance station; and
a second communication means connected to the second set of maintenance stations wherein the second communication means communicates whether the second set of maintenance stations is available receive a railcar requiring services of the second set of maintenance stations and further wherein the second communication means communicates to an operator of the maintenance facility whether the railcar requiring the services of the second set of maintenance stations should be accepted into the maintenance facility.
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Specification