Reinforced railcar side stake

Abstract

A reinforced railcar side stake configured to be mounted to the underframe of a rail car and extend upwardly therefrom, the side stake comprises: a main body which is a U shaped channel that includes a flat back generally parallel to the side wall and a pair of legs extending generally perpendicular to the back and the side wall structures, the legs of the main body having cutouts at a lower portion thereof; a connection plate coupled to the side sill main body within the cutouts wherein the connection plate surface is flush with the upper ends of the legs above the cutouts; and a reinforcing plate within the interior of the main body near the coupling of the side stake to the underframe wherein the reinforcing plate overlaps the area of the connection plate by extending both below and above the cutouts in the legs.

Claims

1. A reinforced railcar side stake comprising: a back at an outer side of the side stake; a pair of legs coupled to the back with each leg of the pair of legs extending inwardly from the back to an inner leg edge, wherein the back and the pair of legs define a channel with a channel lower end and a channel upper end and with the channel extending longitudinally between the channel lower end and the channel upper end and a channel interior between the legs and the back of the channel; a pair of coupling members, each coupling member attached to a leg of the pair of legs and having a coupling member lower end and a coupling member upper end and extending laterally away from the inner leg edge of one leg of the pair of legs and including a plurality of mounting holes therein; and a reinforcing plate within the channel interior extending between the pair of legs and outwardly spaced from the inner leg edges, wherein the reinforcing plate has a reinforcing plate lower end and a reinforcing plate upper end with the reinforcing plate extending longitudinally there between, and wherein the reinforcing plate lower end is longitudinally between the channel lower end and the coupling member upper end of each coupling member, and wherein the reinforcing plate upper end is longitudinally between the channel upper end and the coupling member upper end of each coupling member.

2. The reinforced railcar side stake according to claim 1 wherein the reinforcing plate is inwardly spaced from the back.

3. The reinforced railcar side stake according to claim 2 wherein the back is substantially parallel to the sidewall of the railcar.

4. The reinforced railcar side stake according to claim 2 wherein the pair of legs are substantially perpendicular to the back.

5. The reinforced railcar side stake according to claim 2 wherein each of the legs of the pair of legs have cutouts at a lower portion thereof extending from the channel lower end to the coupling member upper end of each coupling member of the pair of coupling members.

6. The reinforced railcar side stake according to claim 5 wherein an inner surface of each of the coupling members is flush with the inner leg edge of the pair of legs longitudinally above the cutouts.

7. A reinforced railcar side stake comprising: a back at an outer side of the side stake; a pair of legs coupled to the back with each leg of the pair of legs extending inwardly from the back to an inner leg edge, wherein the back and the pair of legs define a channel having a channel lower end and a channel upper end; a pair of coupling members, each coupling member attached to a leg of the pair of legs and having a coupling member lower end and a coupling member upper end and extending laterally away from the inner leg edge of one leg of the pair of legs and including a plurality of mounting holes therein; and a reinforcing plate extending between the pair of legs and outwardly spaced from the inner leg edges, wherein the reinforcing plate has a reinforcing plate lower end and a reinforcing plate upper end with the reinforcing plate extending longitudinally there between, and wherein the reinforcing plate lower end is longitudinally between the channel lower end and the coupling member upper end of each coupling member, and wherein the reinforcing plate upper end is longitudinally between the channel upper end and the coupling member upper end of each coupling member.

8. The reinforced railcar side stake according to claim 7 wherein each of the legs of the pair of legs have cutouts at a lower portion thereof extending from the channel lower end to the coupling member upper end of each coupling member of the pair of coupling members.

9. The reinforced railcar side stake according to claim 8 wherein an inner surface of each of the coupling members is flush with the inner leg edge of the pair of legs longitudinally above the cutouts.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of the lower part of a reinforced railcar side stake according to the present invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the reinforced railcar side stake according FIG. 1;

(3) FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the reinforced railcar side stake according FIG. 1 taken along section line A-A of FIG. 5;

(4) FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevation view of the reinforced railcar side stake according FIG. 1 of detail B of FIG. 6;

(5) FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the reinforced railcar side stake according FIG. 1; and

(6) FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the reinforced railcar side stake according FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(7) As used herein, the singular form of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Directional phrases used herein, such as, for example and without limitation, top, bottom, left, right, upper, lower, front, back, and derivatives thereof, relate to the orientation of the elements shown in the drawings and are not limiting upon the claims unless expressly recited therein.

(8) A railcar includes conventional wheel trucks mounted at each end thereof in the conventional manner for traveling over steel rails. The wheel trucks are mounted to the underframe of the rail car which generally comprises center and side sills (or beams) and cross beams or tying members joined together in rigid construction to form a load bearing frame. The underframe supports a floor of the rail car and side walls and end walls extend upwardly from the underframe to form a generally rectangular load retaining area within the railcar.

(9) Side stakes 10 according to the present invention are mounted to the underframe, typically to the side sills, and extend upwardly therefrom to provide reinforcement and support for the relatively thin gauge side walls.

(10) Each side stake 10 includes a main body 20 which is a U shaped channel that may be rolled, pressed or extruded. The main body 20 may be effectively cold rolled. The main body 20 of the side stake 10 includes a flat back 22 generally parallel to the side wall of the railcar and a pair of legs 24 extending generally perpendicular to the back 22 and the side wall of the railcar.

(11) The back 22 is referenced as the back 22 as it is the base or bottom or back of the U shape of the main body 20, however in the side stake 10 the back 22 represents the “front” of the side stake 10 of the invention as it is on the front side of the side stake 10 when the side stake 10 is viewed in elevation, as in FIG. 5. Further note that as the side stakes 10 are attached to the sidewalls of a railcar, the front view of the side stake in FIG. 5, would effectively be the view of the side stake 10 shown in an elevated “side view” of the entire railcar. The back 22 in the side stake 10 may also be referenced as the outer side as it is the side farthest from the railcar in an outside stake car.

(12) Each side stake 10 is mounted at the lower end to the underframe, generally to the side sills, and side wall and possibly the floor by fasteners, such as bolts. The side stake 10 may optionally be coupled to a top chord of a rail car at an upper surface thereof in a conventional fashion. Each side stake 10 includes a connection plate 30 which is welded to the side sill main body 20, namely to the legs 24. The legs 24 of the main body 20 include cutouts 26 to receive the connection plate 30 therein, such that the inner surface of the connection plate 30 is flush with the inner surface of the legs 24 above the cutouts 26 as best shown in FIG. 4 which is an enlarged figure of detail B of FIG. 6. The connection plate 30 includes holes 32 for receipt of conventional fasteners.

(13) The side stake 10 includes a reinforcing plate 40 welded to the interior of the main body 2 near the coupling of the side stake 10 to the underframe. Specifically a 15 inch long reinforcing plate 40 overlaps the area of the connection plate 30 by extending both below and above the cutouts 26 in the legs 24 of the main body 20.

(14) One aspect of the invention may be defined as providing a reinforced railcar side stake 10 configured to be mounted to the underframe of a rail car and extend upwardly therefrom along a sidewall of the railcar, the side stake 10 including a main body 20 which is a U shaped channel that includes a back 22 and a pair of legs 24 extending from the back 22 and toward the side wall of the railcar; a pair of coupling members formed by the outer ends of the connection plate 30 are coupled to the side sill main body 20 at a lower portion thereof, each coupling member end of the connection plate 30 extending laterally away from one leg 24 of the main body 20 of the side sill 10 and including a plurality of mounting holes 32 for coupling the side stake 10 to at least the underframe of the railcar; and a reinforcing plate 40 within the interior of the main body 20 near the coupling of the side stake 10 to the underframe wherein the reinforcing plate 40 overlaps the area of the coupling member ends of the connection plate 30 by extending both below and above coupling members along the length of the side stake 10.

(15) It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. The spirit and scope of the present invention is defined in the appended claims and equivalents thereto.