Temperature controlled railway car

• US 7,478,600 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2007
• Issued: 01/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trinity Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Trinity Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Smith, Stephen W., Crisafulli, Christopher, Beers, Albert A., Cribbs, Ricky A., Richmond, Shaun
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Mark T
• Application Number:
  US11/758,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20070234927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 595 Days
• Field of Search: 105/396, 105/423, 105/422, 105/404, 105/409, 105/410, 105/413, 105/355, 220/1.5, 220/592.2, 296/180.3, 296/191
• US Class Current: 105/423
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 17/005 with bodies characterised by use of plastics materials B61D17/005 takes precedence; bogie frames comprising parts made from fibre einforced matrix material B61F5/523
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 17/045 The sub-units being construction modules modular super-structures for vehicles carrying a large number of passengers B62D31/025
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 17/12 Roofs movable or foldable roofs, covers or tarpaulins B61D39/00
• CPC Class Codes: B61D 27/0027 for freight cars; Isothermic wagons

Abstract

A composite box structure mounted on and attached to a railway car underframe to form a temperature controlled railway car. The composite box structure defined in part by an exterior metal surface, interior side stakes and at least one layer of fiber reinforced material attached to the side stakes. Insulating material may be disposed between the side stakes, the exterior metal surface and the at least one fiber reinforced layer of fiber reinforced material. The insulating materials provide resistance to heat transfer between the interior and the exterior of the composite box structure. A primary floor assembly and a secondary floor assembly may be mounted on the railway car underframe.

Claims

1. A railway car comprising:

a railway car underframe having a floor assembly mounted thereon and attached thereto;

the railway car underframe and the floor assembly having generally elongated, rectangular configurations;

a pair of sidewall assemblies mounted on and attached to opposite sides of the railway car underframe;

a pair of endwall assemblies mounted on and attached to opposite ends of the railway car underframe;

a roof assembly attached to the sidewall assemblies and the endwall assemblies opposite from the floor assembly;

each sidewall assembly formed from a plurality of metal sheets attached to and extending between a respective top chord and a respective side sill assembly;

the metal sheets having respective exterior surfaces and interior surfaces;

a plurality of support posts respectively attached to the interior surfaces of the metal sheets;

respective layers of fiber reinforced material disposed on the support posts opposite from the metal sheets to form a respective interior surface for each sidewall assembly;

insulating materials disposed between and bonded with respective interior surfaces of the metal sheets, portions of the support posts and the respective layers of fiber reinforced material;

each sidewall assembly having an opening formed therein to provide access to the interior of the railway car;

a respective door assembly slidably mounted on exterior portions of each sidewall assembly adjacent to the opening formed in each sidewall assembly;

each door assembly having a first, closed position blocking the respective opening and a second, open portion allowing access to the interior of the railway car;

a respective metal door frame assembly disposed adjacent to the perimeter of each opening; and

pultruded strips of fiber reinforced material attached to portions of each metal door frame assembly to minimize heat transfer between the interior and the exterior of the railway car proximate the respective opening in each sidewall assembly when the respective door assembly is in its first, closed position.

2. The railway car of claim 1 further comprising:

an opening formed in one of the endwall assemblies;

at least a portion of a temperature control unit disposed within the opening formed in the one endwall assembly; and

an airflow path formed by portions of the roof assembly, sidewall assemblies, endwall assemblies and floor assembly to direct airflow from the temperature control unit to lading carried within the railway car.

3. The railway car of claim 1 insulated railway boxcars, freight cars, temperature controlled railway cars and refrigerated boxcars.

4. A railway car comprising:

the railway car underframe having a generally rectangular configuration defined in part by a center sill and a plurality of cross members;

a pair of sidewall assemblies mounted on and secured with opposite sides of the railway car underframe;

each sidewall assembly having insulating materials disposed therein;

an opening formed in each sidewall assembly to provide access to an interior of the railway car for loading and unloading lading;

a pair of endwall assemblies mounted on and secured with opposite ends of the railway car underframe;

a floor assembly mounted on the railway car underframe;

the floor assembly extending between portions of the sidewall assemblies and portions of endwall assemblies;

a roof assembly mounted on and attached to each sidewall assembly and each endwall assembly opposite from the floor assembly;

a door assembly slidably disposed on the exterior of each sidewall assembly;

each door assembly having a first, closed position blocking access to an interior of the railway car and a second, open position allowing access to the interior of the railway car;

each door assembly formed in part by a respective steel door and a respective liner with the liner attached to interior portions of the steel door;

the liner formed from insulating materials having heat transfer characteristics corresponding with heat transfer characteristics of the insulating materials disposed in the associated sidewall assemblies; and

a layer of fiber reinforced material disposed on the liner opposite from the steel door.

5. The railway car of claim 4 further comprising corrugations formed in the layer of fiber reinforced material.

6. The railway car of claim 4 wherein the layer of fiber reinforced material further comprise a ballistic resistant fabric.

7. The railway car of claim 4 selected from the group consisting of insulated railway boxcars, freight cars, temperature controlled railway cars and refrigerated boxcars.

8. A railway car comprising:

a railway car underframe having a floor assembly mounted thereon and attached thereto;

the railway car underframe and the floor assembly having generally elongated, rectangular configurations;

a pair of sidewall assemblies mounted on and attached to opposite sides of the railway car underframe;

a pair of endwall assemblies mounted on and attached to opposite ends of the railway car underframe;

a roof assembly attached to the sidewall assemblies and the endwall assemblies opposite from the floor assembly;

each sidewall assembly formed from a plurality of metal sheets attached to and extending between a respective top chord and a respective side sill assembly;

the metal sheets having respective exterior surfaces and interior surfaces;

a plurality of support posts respectively attached to the interior surfaces of the metal sheets;

at least two horizontal strips of fiber reinforced material disposed on the support posts opposite from the metal sheets to form a respective interior surface for each sidewall assembly;

insulating materials disposed between and bonded with respective interior surfaces of the metal sheets, portions of the support posts and the layers of fiber reinforced material;

a plurality of generally vertical corrugations formed in the horizontal strips of fiber reinforced material;

each sidewall assembly having an opening formed therein to provide access to the interior of the railway car;

a respective door frame assembly disposed adjacent to the perimeter of each opening to attach a railway car door thereto; and

pultruded strips of fiber reinforced material attached to portions of each door frame assembly to minimize heat transfer between the interior and the exterior of the railway car proximate the respective opening in each sidewall assembly.

9. The railway car of claim 8 further comprising:

an opening formed in one of the endwall assemblies;

at least a portion of a temperature control unit disposed within the opening formed in the one endwall assembly; and

an airflow path formed by portions of the roof assembly, sidewall assemblies, endwall assemblies and floor assembly to direct airflow from the temperature control unit to lading carried within the railway car.

10. The railway car of claim 8 selected from the group consisting of insulated railway boxcars, freight cars, temperature controlled railway cars and refrigerated boxcars.

11. A railway car comprising:

a railway car underframe having a floor assembly mounted thereon and attached thereto;

the floor assembly including a primary floor assembly and a secondary floor assembly;

the primary floor assembly having a plurality of pultruded panels mounted on and attached to the railway car underframe;

the secondary floor assembly having a first set of support beams and a second set of support beams disposed on the primary floor assembly opposite from the railway car underframe;

the first set of support beams and the second set of support beams having respective generally I shaped cross sections defined in part by a first flange and a second flange with a respective web disposed therebetween;

the first set of support beams disposed on the primary floor assembly adjacent to a respective opening of each sidewall assembly;

the webs of the first set of support beams having a reduced height as compared with the webs of the second set of support beams;

a plurality of deck plates disposed on the first set of support beams adjacent to the respective openings in the sidewall assemblies;

the difference in height of the webs of the first set of support beam and the second set of support beams approximately equal to the thickness of the deck plates whereby the secondary floor assembly provides a generally uniform transition from the deck plates to the adjacent flanges associated with the second set of support beams; and

the railway car selected from the group consisting of a railway boxcar, an insulated railway car and a temperature controlled railway car.

12. A temperature controlled railway car comprising:

a railway car underframe having a floor assembly mounted thereon and attached thereto;

the railway car underframe and the floor assembly having generally elongated, rectangular configurations;

a pair of sidewall assemblies mounted on and attached to opposite sides of the railway car underframe;

a pair of endwall assemblies mounted on and attached to opposite ends of the railway car underframe;

a roof assembly attached to the sidewall assemblies and the endwall assemblies opposite from the floor assembly;

each sidewall assembly formed from a plurality of metal sheets attached to and extending between a respective top chord and a respective side sill assembly;

the metal sheets having respective exterior surfaces and interior surfaces;

a plurality of support posts respectively attached to the interior surfaces of the metal sheets;

fiber reinforced material disposed on the support posts opposite from the metal sheets to form a respective interior surface for each sidewall assembly;

insulating materials disposed between and bonded with respective interior surfaces of the metal sheets, portions of the support posts and the layers of fiber reinforced material;

each sidewall assembly having an opening formed therein to provide access to the interior of the railway car;

a respective metal door frame assembly disposed adjacent to the perimeter of each opening;

pultruded strips of fiber reinforced material attached to portions of each metal door frame assembly to minimize heat transfer between the interior and the exterior of the railway car proximate the respective opening in each sidewall assembly;

a respective door assembly slidably mounted on exterior portions of each sidewall assembly adjacent to the respective opening;

each door assembly having a first, closed position blocking the respective opening to form a barrier between the interior and the exterior of the railway car and a second open position allowing access to the interior of the railway car;

the webs of the first support beams having a reduced height as compared with the webs of the second support beams;

a plurality of deck plates disposed on the first support beams adjacent to the openings in the respective sidewall assemblies; and

the difference in height of the webs of the first support beam and the second support beam approximately equal to the thickness of the deck plates whereby the secondary floor assembly provides a generally uniform transition from the deck plates to the adjacent flanges associated with the second support beams.

13. The temperature controlled railway car of claim 12 further comprising:

an elastomeric threshold disposed within the lower portion of each opening adjacent to the floor assembly; and

each threshold formed from material selected from the group consisting of steel alloys, aluminum alloys, ceramic materials and/or composites of these materials.

14. The railway car of claim 12 further comprising:

an elastomeric gasket attached to an interior surface of each door assembly;

each elastomeric gasket operable to contact adjacent portions of the associated door frame assembly when the respective door assembly is in its first, closed position; and

each elastomeric gasket and portions of the respective door assembly cooperating with each other to minimize heat transfer between the interior and exterior of the composite box structure when the respective door assembly is in its first, closed position.

15. The railway car of claim 12 wherein each door assembly further comprises:

an exterior portion formed from a steel door having a length which corresponds approximately with the height of the respective opening in the associated sidewall assembly; and

the width of each steel door corresponding approximately with the width of the respective opening.

16. The railway car of claim 12 wherein each door assembly further comprises:

a liner attached to and bonded with an interior surface of the steel door;

the liner formed from insulating materials having characteristics corresponding with the thermal insulation disposed within the associated sidewall assembly; and

a layer of fiber reinforced material disposed on the liner opposite from the steel door.

17. The railway car of claim 16 wherein each door assembly further comprises the respective liner and the respective steel door having a combined thickness approximately equal to the thickness of the associated sidewall assembly.

18. The railway car of claim 12 further comprising:

a respective upper track and a respective lower track attached to adjacent portions of each opening; and

each door frame assembly including a pair of vertical support post assembly and a door header.

19. A door assembly for a railway car having a pair of sidewall assemblies with a respective opening formed in each sidewall assembly to provide access to an interior of the railway car, the door assembly comprising:

the door assembly operable to be slidably disposed on an the exterior of one of the sidewall assemblies;

the door assembly having a first, closed position operable to block access to an interior of the railway car and a second, open position operable to allow access to the interior of the railway car;

the door assembly formed in part by a respective steel door and a respective liner with the liner attached to interior portions of the respective steel door;

the liner formed from insulating materials having heat transfer characteristics corresponding with heat transfer characteristics of insulating materials disposed in the one sidewall assembly;

a respective layer of fiber reinforced material disposed on each liner opposite from the respective steel door; and

the respective liner and the respective steel door having a combined thickness approximately equal to the thickness of the one sidewall assembly.

20. A railway car comprising:

a railway car underframe having a generally rectangular configuration defined in part by a center sill and a plurality of cross members;

a pair of substantially rectangular sidewall assemblies mounted on and secured with opposite sides of the railway car underframe;

each sidewall assembly having insulating materials disposed therein;

an opening formed in each sidewall assembly to provide access to an interior of the railway car for loading and unloading lading;

a pair of substantially rectangular endwall assemblies mounted on and secured with opposite ends of the railway car underframe;

a substantially rectangular floor assembly mounted on the railway car underframe;

the floor assembly extending between portions of the sidewall assemblies and portions of endwall assemblies;

a roof assembly mounted on and attached to each sidewall assembly and each endwall assembly opposite from the floor assembly;

a respective door assembly slidably mounted on the exterior of each sidewall assembly;

each door assembly having a first, closed position blocking access to an interior of the railway car and a second, open position allowing access to the interior of the railway car;

each door assembly formed in part by a respective steel door and a respective liner with the liner attached to interior portions of the respective steel door;

each liner formed from insulating materials having heat transfer characteristics corresponding with heat transfer characteristics of the insulating materials disposed in the associated sidewall assembly; and

a respective layer of fiber reinforced material disposed on each liner opposite from the respective steel door.

21. The railway car of claim 20 further comprising corrugations formed in the respective layer of fiber reinforced material disposed on each liner.

22. The railway car of claim 20 further comprising the respective liner and the respective steel door having a combined thickness approximately equal to the thickness of the associated sidewall assembly.

23. The railway car of claim 20 selected from the group consisting of insulated railway boxcars, freight cars, temperature controlled railway cars and refrigerated boxcars.