Patent Application
20180106108
This invention relates generally to railroad car steps, and particularly to devices for enhancing traction on sill steps of railroad cars.
Sill Steps are used along the outside of railcars for entering the railcar where a platform is absent. They can be located on the back, the front, or on the sides of a railcar. They can be made from carbon steel or from stainless steel. The sill step assembly consists of a formed bar, ladder steps, and rivets securing the assembly. Sill steps are then typically riveted or screwed to the surface of the railcar. Sill steps can be used for passenger and industrial railcars.
Anti-skid material is sometimes applied to each step of a set of railcar sill steps, such as by using grit-coated polyester anti-skid tape, which can be either all black, or black and yellow striped for enhanced visibility. However, applying anti-skid tape can be problematic. For example, anti-skid tape sometimes fails to effectively adhere to one or more of the steps, due to adverse environmental conditions, such as rain, cold, or dust on the surface of the steps. Even if the anti-skid tape does adhere to the steps, the grit of the anti-skid tape tends to wear off, resulting in portions of the anti-skid tape becoming somewhat slippery, presenting a safety hazard.
The sill step cover of the invention provides a traction surface that provides more traction than a bare sill step, and is more durable than a sill step covered with friction tape, and provides better and more reliable friction, and therefore better traction and greater safety. Thus, a person is less likely to slip when using the step. This is especially important when it's wet or icy outside.
One general aspect of the invention is a metal cover for a railway car sill step. The metal cover includes: a top plate, having a friction surface, to cover a top surface of the railway car step; a front downward flange, having a friction surface, connected to the top plate to cover a front surface of the railway car step; a front horizontal flange connected to the front downward flange to cover a bottom surface of the railway car step; a rear downward flange connected to the top plate to cover a rear surface of the railway car step; and a clip portion formed by a rear horizontal flange connected to the rear downward flange and a rearwardly angled flange connected to the rear horizontal flange, the clip portion to slidably engage the top surface of the railway car step and the rear surface of the railway car step during installation of the steel cover and to resiliently engage a bottom surface of the railway car step when the steel cover is in an installed position.
In some embodiments, the clip portion and the front horizontal flange retain the steel cover in engagement with the railway car step.
In some embodiments, the top plate covers substantially the entire top surface of the railway car step.
In some embodiments, the front downward flange, the rear downward flange, and the front horizontal flange have substantially a same length and a same width. In further embodiments, the rearwardly angled flange is shorter than the rear downward flange.
In some embodiments, the rearwardly angled flange deforms toward the rear horizontal flange when the clip portion slidably engages the top surface of the railway car step.
In some embodiments, an angle between the rear horizontal flange and the rearwardly angled flange is approximately 36 degrees.
In some embodiments, the friction surface is formed from a surface of the top plate.
In some embodiments, the friction surface is a layer attached to a surface of the top plate.
In some embodiments, the steel cover is made of galvanized steel or stainless steel.
Another general aspect of the invention is a cover for a railcar sill step, the cover including: a top plate, having a non-slip surface, to engage a top surface of the step; a front engagement potion connected to the top plate to engage a front portion of the step; and a rear engagement potion connected to the top plate to engage a rear portion of the step, the rear engagement portion including a clip portion to slidably engage the step during installation of the cover and to resiliently engage a bottom surface of the step when the cover is in an installed position.
In some embodiments, the rear engagement potion is resiliently deformable in a direction toward a rear of the step to release the clip portion from the bottom surface of the step.
In some embodiments, the clip portion deforms toward the top plate when the clip portion slidably engages the top surface of the step.
In some embodiments, a dimension of the front engagement potion and a dimension of the rear engagement portion are substantially the same. In further embodiments, the clip portion has a length substantially the same as a length of the rear engagement portion.
In some embodiments, the clip portion is angled at approximately 36 degrees to the top plate.
In some embodiments, the top plate covers the entire top surface of the railway car step.
In some embodiments, the non-slip surface is formed in a surface of the top plate.
In some embodiments, the non-slip surface is a layer attached to a surface of the top plate.
In some embodiments, the cover is made of galvanized steel or stainless steel.
Many additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from reading the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures:
The invention is a device that attaches to a sill step on a railroad car to increase the traction when someone steps on one of the sill steps, the top surface of the device being covered with metal grating, such as “traction tread”.
With reference to
In particular,
The metal step cover 102 includes a top plate 300, having a friction surface 302, to cover a top surface 304 of the railway car sill step 100.
The metal step cover 102 also includes a front downward flange 306, having a friction surface 308, connected to the top plate 300 to cover a front surface 310 of the railway car step 100.
The metal step cover 102 also includes a front horizontal flange 312 connected to the front downward flange 306 to cover a bottom surface 314 of the railway car step 100.
The metal step cover 102 also includes a rear downward flange 316 connected to the top plate 300 to cover a rear surface 318 of the railway car step 100.
The metal step cover 102 also includes a clip portion 320 connected to the rear downward flange 316, configured to engage a rear bottom portion 322 of the railway car step 100. The clip portion 320 slidably engages the top surface 304 of the railway car step, and then the rear surface 318 of the railway car step during installation of the steel cover, as shown in
As shown in
The top plate 300 of the metal step cover 102 includes a friction surface 302, which rests over the top surface 304 of the railway car sill step 100. This friction surface 302 is formed from a surface of the top plate 300. In some embodiments, the friction surface 302 is a layer attached to a surface of the top plate 300. In other embodiments, the friction surface 302 is embossed, carved, etched, or stamped into the surface of the top plate 300. Likewise, the front surface 306 can be similarly textured to form a friction surface 308.
The metal step cover 102 can be made from regular steel, galvanized steel, or stainless steel.
Referring again to
The step cover 102 can cut to size so as to be customized to any length. For example, if rail car has a 10 inch wide step, and the step cover purchased is 12 inches wide, one can cut 2 inches off of the step cover 102 so as to make it 10 inches wide so as to better fit on the rail car with 10 inch wide sill steps.
Other modifications and implementations will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the above description is not intended to limit the invention, except as indicated in the following claims.
