Technical Field

This disclosure relates to containers for rail cars and, more particularly, to rail car containers for bulk material and to structures to reinforce the side wall of rail car containers to improve their load carrying capability.

Background

Rail car containers have long been used to transport bulk material such as coal, grain and the like. Rail car containers particularly have a pair of side walls extending upwardly from a floor. It is known, particularly in hopper cars, that the pair of side walls is curved or bowed to allow for ease of gravity discharge through discharged doors positioned in the floor of the container. The side walls of the container must provide sufficient support for a full load of bulk material such as coal or other bulk material to be positioned within the container without causing structure fatigue or hopper buckling. An effective reinforcing structure with a relatively low weight and low material usage during manufacture would be beneficial.

Summary of the Disclosure

In one embodiment, a rail car container for bulk material has a side wall, a floor, and a reinforcing structure including at least one rib extending upwardly along at least a portion of the side wall and arranged to stiffen the side wall, and at least one support supporting the at least one rib and extending to the floor, the at least one support being angled such that it engages the floor at a region inward of the side wall.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the

illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed

description.

Brief Description of the Figures

Fig. 1 is a top perspective cutaway view of a rail car container according to one embodiment of the disclosure;

Fig. 2 is a top perspective cutaway view of a rail car container according to a second embodiment of the disclosure;

Fig. 3 is a connection detail between the side wall and rib of one form of reinforcing structure for the rail car container of either Figs. 1 or 2; and

Fig. 4 is a connection detail between the side wall and rib of another form of reinforcing structure for the rail car container of either Figs, l or 2.

Detailed Description of Embodiments

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which, form a part thereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilised, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.

The present disclosure is directed generally to containers for carrying bulk material .

Rail car containers have long been used to transport bulk material such as coal, grain and the like. Rail car containers particularly have a pair of side walls extending upwardly from a floor. The side walls of the container must provide sufficient support for a full load of bulk material such as coal or other material to be positioned within the container without causing structure fatigue or hopper buckling. One type of rail container, referred to as a gondola, may be arranged to be unloaded from the top of the container, by rotation of the container, typically by a rotary dumper. Another type of rail container, known as a hopper, has a discharge system in the floor of the container so as to discharge the material through the bottom of the container. The present disclosure is

applicable to both types of containers, but has particular application for hopper cars that include side walls that are curved or bowed to allow for ease of gravity discharge through discharged doors positioned in the floor of the container.

Disclosed in some embodiments is a rail car container for bulk material having a side wall, a floor, and a reinforcing structure including at least one rib extending upwardly along at least a portion of the side wall and arranged to stiffen the side wall, and at least one support supporting the at least one rib and extending to the floor, the at least one support being angled such that it engages the floor at a region inward of the side wall.

Disclosed in some embodiments is a rail car container wherein the side wall is bowed such that a central portion of the side wall is positioned outwardly from the upper and lower portions and the at least one rib is curved to sustain contact with the side wall for the portion along which it extends. In some embodiments the container is a hopper having a discharge opening disposed in the floor of the container.

Disclosed in some embodiments is a rail car container where the at least one rib engages the floor proximal to the side wall and the at least one support is adapted to engage the floor proximal a central region of the container. In some embodiments the floor may comprise at least one cross member extending inwardly from the side wall. At least one of the at least one rib and support, or both the at least one rib and support, may engage the floor at the at least one cross member.

Disclosed in some embodiments, the floor of the rail car container includes a centre sill, and the at least one support engages the floor in the region of the centre sill.

Disclosed in some embodiments, the support engages with an upper portion of the at least one rib.

In some embodiments, the reinforcing structure is

operative to resist outward deformation of the side wall. In some forms, the support is operative to accommodate tensile loading. Disclosed in some forms, the support comprises a rigid elongate member and may be a structural section, optionally an angle or hollow section. In some form, the support comprises a cable .

Disclosed in some embodiments the rib is formed as a structural section, optionally a T or C section. In some embodiments, the at least one rib is disposed along an interior surface of the side wall .

Disclosed in some embodiments, the reinforcing structure comprises a plurality of supports supporting the at least one rib at spaced locations along the at least one rib.

Disclosed in some embodiments is a rail car container including opposite side walls, and the reinforcing structure includes a plurality of ribs disposed on respective ones of the side walls. A plurality of supports are disposed to support the ribs and extend to the floor, the supports being angled such that they engage the floor at regions inward of the respective side walls. In some embodiments the at least one rib and support reinforcing one of the side walls is aligned with the at least one rib and support reinforcing the other of the side walls. In some forms, the aligned supports converge to a central region of the container.

Also disclosed in some embodiments is a rail car container comprising a side wall extending upwardly from a floor, the container being supported by at least one support engaging the side wall, and engages the floor at a point inward of the side wall.

Also disclosed in some embodiments is a rail car container comprising at least one stiffening formation that extends upwardly and the at least one support engages the at least one stiffening formation of the side wall. In some embodiments the stiffening formation may be formed integral with the side wall or may be a separate member that is fixed to the side wall. In some embodiments, the at least one stiffening member is an elongate rib.

Also disclosed in some embodiments is a reinforcing structure, in any form as described above, for use with a container. In one form, the reinforcing structure comprising a rib shaped to extend upwardly along at least a portion of the interior of the side wall, and a support adapted to engage the rib and extend to the floor.

As illustrated in the figures, some illustrative

embodiments of containers, such as rail cars, are reinforced by structures that are relatively low weight and include low material usage during manufacture. Fig. 1 is a top perspective cutaway view of a rail car container according to one embodiment of the disclosure. The rail car container 10 comprises a side wall 11 extending upwardly from a floor area 12. In the illustrative form, the side wall may be made from a single sheet (such as sheet steel) , or may be made from multiple sheets which may be fixed together by welding, mechanical fasteners or the like. The surface of the side wall may be generally smooth as shown or may be profiled to include strengthening formations, such as ribs. It is to be understood that the container 10 also would typically include an opposite side wall of the same design, however in the illustrations, the opposite side wall is not shown for purposes of ease of illustration. The container would also include opposite end walls but again these are not shown for clarity.

The rail container as illustrated is as a hopper for bottom discharge of material. The floor area 12 comprises a plurality of cross members 13 extending laterally across the floor, and a central beam (or sill) 14 that extends longitudinally along the container 10 between the container ends. The centre sill 14 forms a main structural component of the container and the cross members 13 extending between the side walls 11 and are supported centrally on the centre sill 14. The floor region 12 further includes a plurality of discharged doors (not shown) positioned between the cross members 13 to allow for discharge of material held in the container 10. The cross members (which are Otherwise known as tents) are formed as tapered sections and guide the bulk material to the discharge openings in the container 10. They also provide some stiffening to the floor of the container and as such have a structural function. Further, the side wall 11 is curved or bowed to allow for ease of gravity discharge through the floor of the container 10.

In operation, there is significant loading imposed on the side walls 11 when the container is carrying bulk material. The material tends to force the walls outwards, thereby causing the walls to bulge or otherwise deform. To improve the performance of the side wall to accommodate these loads, the container 10 includes a reinforcing structure 20 which strengthens the side walls .

In the illustrative form of Fig. 1, the reinforcing structure 20 comprises a plurality of supports 22 that extend at an angle between the side wall 11 and the floor 12. The supports 22 are spaced along the wall 11 and in the illustrative form, coincide with the positioning of the tents 13. It is to be appreciated that the number and spacing of the supports may vary from what is shown and will depend on the design loading on the side wall and the inherent strength of that wall. The supports need to be adequately fixed relative to the side wall so as to resist outward bowing of the side wall 11. This fixing may be by welding or may be by mechanical fixing such as by mechanical fasteners or the like. As the predominate load required to be accommodated by the supports is tension, the support may be formed as a rigid member such as a structural steel member, (for example an angle section of hollow section) or could be a flexible member such as a cable. A rigid member is preferred as it will retain its shape in an unloaded state such as may occur when the container is empty.

In the illustrative form of Fig. 1, the supports 22 engage the side wall 11 at an upper portion 16 of the side wall 11 adjacent a cant rail 18 of the side wall 11. It is to be appreciated that the supports 22 may engage in different locations and, as discussed later, multiple supports 22 may be provided which engage the side wall at different heights on the wall 11. The supports 22 extend to the floor 12 and in the illustrative form, engage the floor at regions 18 positioned on the tents 13 adjacent the centre sill 14. In this way the reaction forces induced by the tensile loading in the supports are able to be accommodated by the sill 14. Moreover, the supports 22 extends at an angle between wall and floor such that the loading can be induced largely axially in the supports 22 and therefore the supports are not subjected to large bending moments.

The reinforcing structure 20 as illustrated in Fig. 1 further comprises ribs 24 extending along the side wall 11 between the cant rail 18 and the floor 12. The ribs 6 meet the floor 12 at regions 19 outward of the engagements point 18 where the supports 22 meet the floor 12. Again these regions 19 are disposed on the tents 13. In the illustrative form, the ribs 24 are curved to correspond with the bow shape of the side wall 11. The ribs 24 therefore as shown may extend along and remain in contact with the side walls upwardly from the floor. In other embodiments, the ribs may extend only along a portion of wall or may extend along the whole wall (say from the floor to the cant rail) but may not be in contact with the wall along its entire length. Typically the supports 22 and ribs 24 are securely fixed to the floor again by any suitable fixing technique such as welding or mechanical fasteners .

A primary purpose of the ribs 24 is to stiffen the side wall. The ribs need to be in intimate contact with the side wall and this may be by welding the side wall to the ribs (such as by fillet welds) of by other fixing arrangements such as mechanical fasteners. In the illustrative form, the ribs are disposed on the interior of the container. However, it is to be appreciated that they could be externally mounted.

Another function of the ribs 24 is to provide an

attachment point for the supports 22. By attaching the supports 22 to the ribs 24, the reaction loading from the supports (which is resisting deformation of the walls under load) is able to be distributed along the ribs to the wall. As such it reduces stress concentrations that would otherwise occur by direct fixing of the supports 22 to the wall 11. A similar

distribution of the stress may be achieved even if the ribs were mounted externally by an appropriate connection detailing of the supports.

The ribs 24 may be formed as structural sections. Figs.3 and 4 illustrate two possible options, with the rib 24 shown in Fig. 3 being in the form of a T- section, whereas in Fig. 4, the rib is shown as a C section.

Fig. 2 illustrates a further version of the reinforcing structure where a further support 26 is provided to give additional support for the side walls. In the form illustrated this additional support 26 engages the respective rib 24 at an intermediate region of the rib.

In use, bulk material such as coal is transported within container 10. The side walls 11 of container 10 are supported by support 22 providing tension on the side walls 11 to

reinforce and maintain them in position. Further, rib 24 acts as stiffening members and provides additional strength to side walls 11. Ribs 24 and support 22 act against the force of the bulk material retained in the container 10.

The reinforcing structure 20 provides resistance to container buckling and in cases of structure fatigue life while having a low overall weight. Further, discharge of material such as coal from within the container 10 is not limited by the reinforcing structure 20. Specifically, bulk material does not collect significantly about the reinforcing structure owing to the small internal surface area of the support 22.

In the claims which follow and in the preceding summary of the invention except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is used in the sense of "including", that is, the features as above may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Variations and modifications may be made to the parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the disclosure. For example the number and arrangement of the positioning and spacing of the ribs and supports may vary. Also in alternate forms, the ribs may be integrated into the side walls such as for example made integrally with the sheet by profiling of the sheets or by forming an integrated

strengthening formation at a join between adjacent sheet panels forming the sheet.

Accordingly, the present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods which can, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of

describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.