Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090289021 | RAILCAR COUPLER LOCK WITH INCREASED CHAMFER ON THE KNUCKLE SHELF SEAT - An improved lock for a railroad coupler, said improvement comprising an increased chamfer on a knuckle shelf seat. | 11-26-2009 |
20090289022 | RAILWAY COUPLER BODY IMPROVEMENTS TO IMPROVE KNUCKLE ROTATION - An improved coupler body having an area of increased material in the upper lock chamber. | 11-26-2009 |
20090289023 | KNUCKLE FORMED FROM PIVOT PIN AND KIDNEY CORE AND ISOLATED FINGER CORE - A method for manufacturing a railcar coupler knuckle includes providing cope and drag mold portions having internal walls defining at least in part perimeter boundaries of a knuckle mold cavity; positioning a first internal core within either the cope mold or the drag mold portions, the first internal core configured to define a kidney cavity and a pivot pin hub as a single void within the knuckle; positioning a second internal core within either the cope mold portion and the drag mold portion, the second internal core configured to define a finger cavity; closing the cope and drag mold portions with the two internal cores therebetween; and at least partially filling the mold cavity with a molten alloy, the molten alloy solidifying after filling to form the knuckle, wherein the first internal core defines the kidney cavity and the pivot pin hub of the coupler knuckle, and wherein the second internal core defines the finger cavity of the knuckle. | 11-26-2009 |
20090289024 | RAILWAY COUPLER CORE STRUCTURE FOR INCREASED STRENGTH AND FATIGUE LIFE OF RESULTING KNUCKLE - A finger core for forming the front part of a knuckle for a railcar, said finger core comprising a single opening to form a single rib at the horizontal center line of the resulting knuckle. | 11-26-2009 |
20090294395 | KNUCKLE FORMED WITHOUT A FINGER CORE - A method for manufacturing a railcar coupler knuckle includes providing a cope mold portion and a drag mold portion, the cope and drag mold portions having internal walls defining at least in part perimeter boundaries of a coupler knuckle mold cavity, wherein the mold cavity includes a finger section; positioning at least one internal core within either the cope mold portion or the drag mold portion, the at least one internal core configured to define a kidney cavity and a pivot pin cavity within a coupler knuckle; closing the cope and drag mold portions with the single core therebetween; and at least partially filling the mold cavity with a molten alloy, the molten alloy solidifying after filling to form the coupler knuckle, wherein the at least one core defines the kidney and pivot pin cavities, and the finger section of the mold cavity defines at least one finger cavity of the coupler knuckle. | 12-03-2009 |
20090294396 | CENTRAL DATUM FEATURE ON RAILROAD COUPLER BODY AND CORRESPONDING GAUGES - A coupler body for a railcar coupler, said coupler body comprising at least one central datum feature that does not wear during coupler use. | 12-03-2009 |
20110168655 | USE OF NO-BAKE MOLD PROCESS TO MANUFACTURE RAILROAD COUPLERS - A railroad coupler assembly having at least a body and a knuckle both formed in a no-bake manufacturing process, the body and the knuckle having dimensional tolerances of distances between features that wear during operation that are about half those obtained from a body and a knuckle manufactured by a green sand process, resulting in increased fatigue life compared to the body and the knuckle manufactured by a green sand process. | 07-14-2011 |
20120000877 | Knuckle Formed Through The Use Of Improved External and Internal Sand Cores and Method of Manufacture - A method for manufacturing a railcar coupler knuckle, said method includes providing a cope mold portion and a drag mold portion. The cope and drag mold portions have internal walls that define at least in part perimeter boundaries of a coupler knuckle mold cavity. At least one chill core is positioned within one of the cope mold portion and the drag mold portion. The cope and drag mold portions are closed, with the at least one core therebetween, and the closed cope and drag mold portions and the chill core define a parting line. The mold cavity is filled with a molten metal, which solidifies after filling to form a casting. The casting includes a pulling face portion defined by the chill core, and a central section of the pulling face portion does not contain the parting line and requires no finish grinding upon its formation. | 01-05-2012 |
20120217217 | KNUCKLE FORMED WITHOUT A FINGER CORE - A method for manufacturing a railcar coupler knuckle includes providing a cope mold portion and a drag mold portion, the cope and drag mold portions having internal walls defining at least in part perimeter boundaries of a coupler knuckle mold cavity, wherein the mold cavity includes a finger section; positioning at least one internal core within either the cope mold portion or the drag mold portion, the at least one internal core configured to define a kidney cavity and a pivot pin cavity within a coupler knuckle; closing the cope and drag mold portions with the single core therebetween; and at least partially filling the mold cavity with a molten alloy, the molten alloy solidifying after filling to form the coupler knuckle, wherein the at least one core defines the kidney and pivot pin cavities, and the finger section of the mold cavity defines at least one finger cavity of the coupler knuckle. | 08-30-2012 |
20120228256 | KNUCKLE FORMED FROM PIVOT PIN AND KIDNEY CORE AND ISOLATED FINGER CORE - A railroad coupler knuckle includes a single, solid rib at a horizontal centerline of the knuckle that passes through a pivot pin hub thereof. The single, solid rib extends generally from a flag hole of a finger cavity of the knuckle to an opposite side of the knuckle from the flag hole. In another aspect, a railcar coupler knuckle includes a tail section, a hub section, and a nose section. The tail, hub, and nose sections define internal cavities including (i) a combined void that defines a pivot pin hub cavity and a kidney cavity and (ii) an isolated finger cavity. The combined void is formed using a first internal core during manufacturing of the coupler knuckle. The isolated finger cavity is formed using a second internal core during manufacturing of the coupler knuckle, such that molten alloy substantially separates the combined void and the isolated finger cavity. | 09-13-2012 |
20120291980 | METHOD OF MANUFACTURING INTERLOCK FEATURE BETWEEN RAILCAR COUPLER CORES - A system for creating an interlock feature between two related railcar coupler cores comprises a first half of a corebox defining cavity for forming a first half of a railcar coupler core, a second half of a corebox defining a cavity for forming second half of a railcar coupler core, and a loose piece loose piece including an extension on a first side shaped to fit in the cavities. | 11-22-2012 |
20120291981 | INTERLOCK FEATURE FOR RAILCAR CORES - An interlock feature for railcar core comprises a lug on a first core, a slot on a second core, a first positive stop surface, and a second positive stop surface. | 11-22-2012 |
20120292280 | RAILCAR COUPLER KNUCKLE CORES WITH REAR CORE SUPPORT - A core assembly for creating interior spaces in a railcar coupler knuckle is designed to be set in a cavity with cope and drag sections. The cavity is shaped to form a railcar coupler knuckle and includes a first wall that forms the substantially vertical outside wall of the tail of the knuckle. The core includes a kidney section with a rear core support section that extends at least 0.5″ outside the first wall of the cavity when the core is set in the drag. | 11-22-2012 |
20120292281 | RAILCAR COUPLER CORE WITH VERTICAL PARTING LINE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE - A method of casting a core includes the steps of preparing a first half of a corebox, preparing a second half of a corebox such that the parting line of a core formed from the first and second coreboxes runs along the vertical axis of the core. | 11-22-2012 |
20120292282 | RAILCAR COUPLER KNUCKLE CORES AND KNUCKLES PRODUCED BY SAID CORES - A core assembly for forming the interior spaces of a railcar coupler knuckle has a first transition section between the C-10 portion of the core and the finger portion of the core. The first transition section has a first side, a second side, a third side and a fourth side and the first and second sides form the vertical axis of the first transition section and the third and fourth sides form the horizontal axis of said first transition section. The vertical axis of the first transition section has a height along a horizontal plane of the vertical axis of at least 2.5″ and the horizontal axis of said first transition section has a width along a vertical plane of the horizontal axis of at least 0.925″. | 11-22-2012 |
20120312768 | RAILCAR COUPLER LOCK WITH CHAMFER ON THE KNUCKLE SHELF SEAT - An improved lock for a railroad coupler, said improvement comprising a chamfer on a knuckle shelf seat. | 12-13-2012 |
20130025811 | RIGGING SYSTEM FOR CASTING RAILCAR COUPLER PARTS - A rigging system for casting railcar coupler knuckles is provided. The rigging system comprises cope and drag portions of a mold, a down sprue defined in said cope portion, at least one riser defined in said mold, at least two ingates defined at least partially in said mold and connected to said at least one riser, at least two knuckle mold cavities defined in said mold, and wherein said ingates have a non-circular shape. | 01-31-2013 |
20130025815 | DOWN SPRUE CORE FOR USE IN CASTING RAILCAR COUPLER KNUCKLES - A core for use in railcar coupler part casting processes is provided. The core has a hollow body, a top with a first opening defined therein, a bottom having a generally rounded wall, and second and third openings defined in the side wall of the body. | 01-31-2013 |
20130082021 | CASTING PROCESS FOR RAILCAR COUPLER THROWERS - A method for casting a thrower for a railcar coupler includes creating a mold box that is vertically parted in halves, each half defining a side of a thrower cavity and that includes at least a portion of a sprue at a location above the thrower cavity, the thrower cavity also being oriented vertically; pouring molten metal into the mold box through the sprue and into the thrower cavity while the mold is oriented vertically; and shaking out the mold box to release the thrower after the thrower has cooled. Creating the mold box may be executed through a cold shell process. The halves of the mold box may include reflective images of the sides of two thrower cavities and an ingate connected between the sprue and one of the two thrower cavities. | 04-04-2013 |
20130160961 | SUBSURFACE CHILLS TO IMPROVE RAILCAR KNUCKLE FORMATION - A method for manufacturing a railcar coupler knuckle includes, before casting, positioning an external chill within a cope mold portion and a drag mold portion offset from and adjacent internal walls of a pulling face and a throat of the cope and drag mold portions, thus producing a casting with reduced micro-shrinkage in at least the throat, a high-stress section of the casting. Use of subsurface chills produces an improved surface with fewer inclusions when compared to an equivalent surface produced in a process without use of a subsurface chill. The external chill may be a cone chill of a larger size to improve cooling and solidification at and below the surface. The external chill may also be a cylindrical and/or oblong chill with a tapered design that may correspond to the internal walls of the cope and drag mold portions between the pulling face and the throat. | 06-27-2013 |
20130160962 | MAIN BODY CORE SET ASSEMBLY AND CORE BOX FOR A COUPLER BODY - A main body core box assembly for creating coupler head cores which are attachable to various shank cores includes a main body core box including two halves, each half including a pattern configured to form the outer walls of a first head core having a first shank core. A plug is insertable into an end of respective patterns to form a second, alternative head core having a first half of a connection joint attachable to a second shank core that includes a second half of the connection joint, the second shank core being different than the first shank core. The first half of the connection joint may be a male connector, where the plug includes a recess having an angled surface to create a notch on the male connector. The second half of the connection joint may be a female connector with a raised surface corresponding to the notch. | 06-27-2013 |
20130168035 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING RAILCAR COUPLER LOCKS - A casting assembly for manufacturing a lock of a railcar coupler includes drag and cope portions of a first mold that defines exterior surfaces of the lock, wherein the first mold comprises a first molding material. The casting assembly also includes a second mold formed of a second molding material. The second mold defines a cavity with an interior surface that substantially complements an exterior surface of the first mold. A down sprue is formed in the second mold. A gating system is formed in the second mold that and is in fluid communication with the down sprue. An in-gate is formed in the second mold and is in fluid communication with the gating system and the first mold. | 07-04-2013 |
20130168036 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING RAILCAR COUPLERS - A casting apparatus for casting a railcar coupler, which includes a shank portion and a head portion, includes cope and drag portions that define an external shape of the coupler. The casting apparatus also includes one or more cores that define an interior of the shank portion and a separate head core with an exterior that defines an interior of the head portion that includes lock chamber, guard arm side portion, and knuckle side portions of the head. The head core is a single piece with a hollow center section that defines a front face gating system that includes at least one in-gate configured to direct molten material to top and bottom regions of the head to define the lock chamber, guard arm side portion, and knuckle side of the head. | 07-04-2013 |
20130213921 | CENTRAL DATUM FEATURE ON RAILROAD COUPLER BODY AND CORRESPONDING GAUGES - A coupler body for a railcar coupler, said coupler body comprising at least one central datum feature that does not wear during coupler use. | 08-22-2013 |
20130269900 | USE OF NO-BAKE MOLD PROCESS TO MANUFACTURE RAILROAD COUPLERS - A railroad coupler assembly having at least a body and a knuckle both formed in a no-bake manufacturing process, the body and the knuckle having dimensional tolerances of distances between features that wear during operation that are about half those obtained from a body and a knuckle manufactured by a green sand process, resulting in increased fatigue life compared to the body and the knuckle manufactured by a green sand process. The body and the knuckle resulting from the no-bake manufacturing process have no observable laps, scabs, chaplets or welding in critical areas of the body and knuckle, which are reflected in surface conditions matching SCRATA (Steel Castings Research and Trade Association) values of: D1 (laps); E1 (scabs); F1 (chaplets); and J1 (welds). | 10-17-2013 |
20140034804 | DOWN SPRUE CORE FOR USE IN CASTING RAILCAR COUPLER KNUCKLES - A core for use in railcar coupler part casting processes is provided. The core includes a body with a side wall, a first opening in a top wall of said body a second opening in a bottom wall of said body, a channel defined through said body connecting said first and said second openings, and at least one channel defined in said bottom wall. | 02-06-2014 |
20140209554 | RAILCAR COUPLER KNUCKLE CORES AND KNUCKLES PRODUCED BY SAID CORES - A knuckle may include a throat portion having a throat side wall with at least three sections, a first section closest to the knuckle tail, a third section closest to the knuckle pulling face, and a second section between said first and third sections. The wall thickness of said first section may be less than 10% different than the wall thickness of said second section. The throat portion may also include a tail stop side wall with at least three sections, a first section closest to the knuckle tail, a third section closest to the knuckle pulling face, and a second section between said first and third sections. The wall thickness of said first section may be less than 10% different than the wall thickness of said second section. | 07-31-2014 |
20140290895 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANUFACTURING RAILCAR COUPLERS - A casting mold with rigging for casting a railcar coupler, which includes a shank portion and a head portion, includes cope and drag portions that define an external shape for each of at least two couplers. The couplers are nested together and oriented in opposite directions to one another along respective longitudinal axes. A down sprue is centered between the first and second couplers and is configured to direct molten material to a gating system positioned between the at least two couples. | 10-02-2014 |
20140319092 | RAILCAR COUPLER CORE WITH VERTICAL PARTING LINE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURE - A method of casting a core includes the steps of preparing a first half of a corebox, preparing a second half of a corebox such that the parting line of a core formed from the first and second coreboxes runs along the vertical axis of the core. | 10-30-2014 |
20150048044 | USE OF NO-BAKE MOLD PROCESS TO MANUFACTURE RAILROAD COUPLERS - A railroad coupler assembly having at least a body and a knuckle both formed in a no-bake manufacturing process, the body and the knuckle having dimensional tolerances of distances between features that wear during operation that are about half those obtained from a body and a knuckle manufactured by a green sand process, resulting in increased fatigue life compared to the body and the knuckle manufactured by a green sand process. | 02-19-2015 |