Hollow structural members, a rail system and methods of manufacturing
First Claim
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1. A rail system, comprising:
- a plurality of hollow triangular prism-shaped rail segments, each rail segment forming a piecewise linear segment of the rail system; and
coupling bars attached inside each vertex of adjacent end-to-end rail segments to form a track, each coupling bar further comprising two planar wings oriented at an angle relative to one another, each of the two wings further comprising a plurality of linearly oriented mounting holes configured for selective use in mounting the wing to corresponding surfaces of two adjacent rail segments.
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Abstract
The invention is hollow structural members, a rail system based thereon and method of manufacturing such hollow structural members. Embodiments of the structural members may be hollow triangular prism-shaped with a cross-section that is triangular, isosceles, hexagonal or otherwise. Embodiments of rail systems based on hollow structural members are also disclosed. Embodiments of the rail systems disclosed herein may also include reaction assemblies for local dissipation of stresses due to thermal expansion of track materials.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A rail system, comprising:
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a plurality of hollow triangular prism-shaped rail segments, each rail segment forming a piecewise linear segment of the rail system; and coupling bars attached inside each vertex of adjacent end-to-end rail segments to form a track, each coupling bar further comprising two planar wings oriented at an angle relative to one another, each of the two wings further comprising a plurality of linearly oriented mounting holes configured for selective use in mounting the wing to corresponding surfaces of two adjacent rail segments. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification