U.S. patent application number 14/529348 was filed with the patent office on 2015-04-30 for systems and methods of insulating railcars.
The applicant listed for this patent is Innovative Energy Inc.. Invention is credited to Robert Lee Wadsworth.
Application Number | 20150114254 14/529348 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 52993982 |
Filed Date | 2015-04-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150114254 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Wadsworth; Robert Lee |
April 30, 2015 |
SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF INSULATING RAILCARS
Abstract
Systems for and methods of insulating an uninsulated railroad
car that include a plurality of insulation segments that are
nonpermanently secured to interior surfaces of walls and a ceiling
of the railroad car.
Inventors: |
Wadsworth; Robert Lee;
(Crown Point, IN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Innovative Energy Inc. |
Lowell |
IN |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
52993982 |
Appl. No.: |
14/529348 |
Filed: |
October 31, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61898303 |
Oct 31, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
105/355 ;
29/426.1; 29/428; 29/525.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B61D 17/185 20130101;
Y10T 29/49826 20150115; Y10T 29/49815 20150115; Y10T 29/49947
20150115; B61D 3/16 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
105/355 ; 29/428;
29/525.01; 29/426.1 |
International
Class: |
B61D 3/16 20060101
B61D003/16; E04B 1/76 20060101 E04B001/76 |
Claims
1. A system of insulating a railroad car, the system comprising: a
plurality of insulation segments; and means for nonpermanently
securing the insulation segments to interior surfaces of walls and
a ceiling of the railroad car.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the insulation segments are
nonpermanently secured to the interior surfaces of walls and
ceiling of the railroad car, and the walls and the ceiling of the
railroad car are each entirely covered with at least one of the
insulation segments.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the nonpermanent securing means
comprise magnets secured to a surface of each of the insulation
segments.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the insulation segments are
nonpermanently secured to the interior surfaces of walls and
ceiling of the railroad car, and the magnets define an air space
between the insulation segments and the interior surfaces of the
walls and the ceiling.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the insulation
segments are formed of a reflective bubble film material.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the insulation
segments are formed of a woven matting material having at least one
layer of a reflective radiant barrier thereon.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the insulation
segments are formed of a non-woven matting material having at least
one layer of a reflective radiant barrier thereon.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein at least some of the insulation
segments are formed of a rigid foam board material.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the insulation segments are
nonpermanently secured to the interior surfaces of the walls and
the ceiling of the railroad car, the ceiling is covered with at
least one insulation segment formed of a high density foam board
with a reflective material laminated on at least one side thereof,
and the walls are each covered with a reflective blanket
material.
10. A method of insulating a railroad car with a plurality of
insulation segments, the method comprising: locating the plurality
of insulation segments on interior surfaces of walls and a ceiling
of the railroad car; and nonpermanently securing the insulation
segments to the interior surfaces of walls and the ceiling of the
railroad car.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the walls and the ceiling of
the railroad car are each individually covered with one of the
insulation segments.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the walls and the
ceiling of the railroad car are entirely covered with more than one
of the insulation segments.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the insulation segments are
nonpermanently secured to the walls and the ceiling of the railroad
car with magnets.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the magnets define an air space
between the insulation segments and the interior surfaces of the
walls and the ceiling.
15. The method of claim 10, wherein at least some of the insulation
segments are formed of a reflective bubble film material.
16. The method of claim 10, wherein at least some of the insulation
segments are formed of a woven matting material having at least one
layer of a reflective radiant barrier thereon.
17. The method of claim 10, wherein at least some of the insulation
segments are formed of a non-woven matting material having at least
one layer of a reflective radiant barrier thereon.
18. The method of claim 10, wherein at least some of the insulation
segments are formed of a rigid foam board material.
19. The method of claim 10, wherein the ceiling is covered with at
least one insulation segment formed of a high density foam board
with at least one layer of a reflective material and the walls are
each covered with a blanket material comprising at least one layer
of a reflective material.
20. The method of claim 10, further comprising transporting goods
within the railroad car from a first location to a second location
after locating the plurality of insulation segments therein.
21. The method of claim 20, further comprising removing the
plurality of insulation segments from the railroad car and
returning the plurality of insulation segments to the first
location.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/898,303, filed October 31, 2013, the contents of
which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to insulation
materials. More particularly, this invention relates to systems and
methods of insulating railroad cars of trains.
[0003] There are many types of railroad cars each designed for
transporting specific types of freight. In particular, perishable
and other temperature-sensitive goods are generally transported in
refrigerator cars or insulated cars. Whereas refrigerator cars have
refrigeration equipment that maintain low internal temperatures,
insulated cars rely on insulation to maintain the temperature of
goods therein and provide protection from outside temperatures
which may increase or decrease significantly during transportation.
Conventionally, insulated railroad cars include an enclosed
structure mounted on a railway car underframe. The enclosed
structure generally has an outer shell (body), one or more layers
of insulation, and interior paneling. The outer shell of such
railway boxcars often has an exterior surface formed from various
types of metal such as steel or aluminum. The interior paneling is
often formed from wood and/or metal as desired for the specific
application. Conventionally, uninsulated railroad cars include an
enclosed structure mounted on a railway car underframe and an outer
shell (body) similar to that of insulated cars, but do not include
any layers of insulation or, typically, interior paneling.
[0004] Over time, existing insulated railroad cars have been
removed from service due to factors such as age and damage. For
various reasons, such as cost, new replacements for these retired
insulated railroad cars have often not been produced. It is
believed that insulated railroad cars have not be commercially
produced for at least 45 years. This reduction in the number of
insulated railroad cars in operation has placed a burden on
companies that need to transport perishable goods by train.
[0005] One method that has been used to address this problem is to
secure the perishable goods in insulated containers or boxes prior
to loading the freight onto uninsulated railroad cars. This
approach provides the convenience of utilizing existing uninsulated
railroad cars, which are cheaper to produce and maintain than
insulated railroad cars, and the efficiency of not requiring the
perishable goods be transported in any one particular type of
railroad car. However, these insulated containers require
additional packing of the goods, may be expensive to replace when
damaged, and often take up space reducing the amount of freight
that may be transported in the railroad car.
[0006] In view of the above, it can be appreciated that there is a
desire for improved systems and methods suitable for insulating
perishable or otherwise temperature-sensitive goods when
transported in existing uninsulated railroad cars.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention provides systems and methods of
insulating existing uninsulated railroad cars in a manner suitable
for transporting perishable or otherwise temperature-sensitive
goods.
[0008] According to one aspect of the invention, a system of
insulating an uninsulated railroad car includes a plurality of
insulation segments and means for nonpermanently securing the
insulation segments to interior surfaces of walls and a ceiling of
the railroad car.
[0009] According to another aspect of the invention, a method of
insulating an uninsulated railroad car with a plurality of
insulation segments includes locating the plurality of insulation
segments on interior surfaces of walls and a ceiling of the
railroad car and nonpermanently securing the insulation segments to
the interior surfaces of walls and the ceiling of the railroad
car.
[0010] A technical effect of the invention is that an existing
uninsulated railroad car may be quickly and temporarily converted
to an insulated railroad car for the transportation of perishable
or otherwise temperature-sensitive goods. In particular, it is
believed that by securing insulation segments to the walls and the
ceiling of the uninsulated railroad car with magnets, the
insulation segments may be easily installed and removed as desired
with little additional time and expense and provide significantly
improved thermal protection to the perishable goods stored within
the railroad car.
[0011] Other aspects and advantages of this invention will be
better appreciated from the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] FIG. 1 represents a cross-sectional view of a railroad car
insulated with an insulation system in accordance with an aspect of
this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] As stated above, conventional insulated railroad cars are
becoming rarer as they are taken out of service and not replaced.
The present invention provides systems and methods for insulating
existing uninsulated railroad cars. As such, the present invention
will be discussed below in reference to railroad freight cars that
are described as either being insulated or uninsulated. As used
herein, an insulated car is a freight car that is manufactured or
otherwise equipped with insulation capable of protecting perishable
or otherwise temperature-sensitive goods from temperatures outside
the outer shell of the car, and the insulation takes the form of
one or more layers of an insulation material, generally a foam
material, that is typically permanently attached to interior
surfaces of the outer shell and over which interior paneling may be
applied to separate and protect the insulation material from the
goods or containers thereof being transported within the car. In
contrast, an uninsulated car is not manufactured or otherwise
equipped with such insulation, i.e., insulation material
permanently attached to the interior surfaces of the outer shell of
the car. The term "permanently attached" (or the like) means that
the insulation material is not removable without incurring damage
to the insulation material and/or to the interior surfaces to which
it is attached. FIG. 1 represents a cross-sectional view of a
conventional uninsulated railroad car 10 that has been insulated
with a system in accordance with aspects of the present invention.
The car 10 has a generally box-shaped outer shell (body) including
four walls 12 (only three of which are shown), a floor 14, and a
ceiling 16, all of which define interior surfaces 18 that face and
are exposed within an interior cargo space 40 within the car 10.
Although the car 10 is represented as having a box-like shape, it
will be evident that the systems and methods described herein is
not limited to railroad cars having any one particular shape of
outer shell.
[0014] As represented in FIG. 1, the system of insulating the car
10 includes a plurality of insulation segments 20 and 22 secured to
the interior surfaces 18 defined by the walls 12 and ceiling 16 of
the car 10, respectively. It is believed that insulating the floor
14 of the car 10 is unnecessary, however it is foreseeable that the
floor 14 may also be insulated in a similar manner to the walls 12
and ceiling 16. The insulation segments 20 and 22 are not
permanently secured to the interior surfaces 18 of the walls 12 and
ceiling 16, but may be secured thereto in any manner that provides
relatively simple installation and removal without incurring damage
to the segments 20 and 22 or surfaces 18, such that the insulation
segments 20 and 22 may be installed in the otherwise uninsulated
car 10 if perishable or temperature-sensitive goods are to be
transported, and may be removed from the car 10 when the goods
reach their destination. As such, perishable or
temperature-sensitive goods may be transported in any available
existing railroad car by installing the segments 20 and 22 prior to
transit.
[0015] According to an aspect of the invention, the body of the car
10 is formed of a metal and the insulation segments 20 and 22 are
nonpermanently secured to the walls 12 and ceiling 16 of the car 10
with a plurality of magnets 30, which may be permanently or
nonpermanently secured to the segments 20 and 22. Consequently, it
will be appreciated that the magnets 30 enable the insulation
segments 20 and 22 to be quickly inserted and removed from any
existing railroad car, such as the car 10, as long as the body of
the railroad car includes or is formed of a magnetic material,
particularly a ferromagnetic material, that attracts the magnets
30. Although FIG. 1 represents a single insulation segment 20
located on each wall 12 and a single insulation segment 22 located
on the ceiling 16, it is within the scope of the invention that
each wall 12 and the ceiling 16 may be insulated with a plurality
of insulation segments 20 and/or 22. In addition, though the
segments 20 and 22 are represented as being planar panels having
rectangular-shaped perimeters, other shapes are foreseeable,
including arcuate shaped panels, or may be non-rigid materials as
described hereinafter. Such arrangements may be desirable based on
the application or the shape defined by the interior surfaces of a
railroad car.
[0016] FIG. 1 represents spacing or gaps between the outer
perimeter edges of adjacent individual insulation segments 20 and
22 for illustrative purposes only. Preferably, the insulation
segments 20 and 22 are installed within the car 10 such that the
perimeter edges of the segments 20 and 22 abut or nearly abut each
other so that portions of the interior surfaces 18 of the walls 12
and ceiling 16 that remain uncovered by the segments 20 and 22 are
minimized. It may be desirable to have the perimeter edges of the
individual insulation segments 20 and 22 overlap to provide optimal
thermal insulation. Although FIG. 1 represents the magnets 30 as
being generally square-shaped and located at corners of the
insulation segments 20 and 22, it is within the scope of the
invention that the magnets 30 may be of any shape, size, magnetic
power or strength, and number suitable for magnetically securing
the insulation segments 20 and 22 to the interior surfaces 18 of
the car 10. For example, the magnets 30 may be in the shape of
elongated strips, or may be applied as an outer layer essentially
covering an entire side of the insulation segments 20 and 22.
However, it is also within the scope of the invention that the
magnets 30 serve to space the segments 20 and 22 apart from the
interior surfaces 18 of the car 10, such that a narrow air-filled
interior enclosed space or cavity is defined therebetween that may
provide an additional insulation effect.
[0017] The insulation segments may be formed of any material or
construction that provides suitable insulation to the car 10 for
transporting perishable or otherwise temperature-sensitive goods.
According to an aspect of the invention, the insulation segments 20
and 22 may be formed of a high-density, rigid foam board, such as a
polystyrene foam material, having a thickness suitable for
providing thermal protection to temperature sensitive goods within
the car 10, for example, at least about 76.2 mm. The insulation
segments 20 and 22 may further include a reflective radiant
barrier. For example, a high-density foam board may include as a
radiant barrier one or more layers of low-emissivity facer
materials, preferably each layer having an emissivity of 0.1 or
less, laminated on one or both oppositely-disposed exterior
surfaces of the foam board that face the interior surfaces 18 or
interior cargo space 40 of the car 10. Notable examples of radiant
barrier foam boards include polystyrene foam materials that include
low-emissivity facer materials formed of aluminum foil or a
low-emissivity metallized film. With such an arrangement, the
thermal insulation properties of the system may be altered by
increasing or decreasing the thickness of the foam board, and/or
tailoring the thickness of the magnets 30. For example, increasing
the magnet thickness increases the width of an air gap between the
insulation segments 20 and 22 and walls/ceiling 12 and 16, which
can promote heat transfer through the air space via convection. In
view of the above, it should be apparent that the only limitations
on the shapes and dimensions of the insulation segments 20 and 22
result from the construction of the car 10 and the goods that will
be shipped therein. Other suitable materials for the insulation
segments 20 and 22 may include bubble films (wrap/pack),
closed-cell or open-cell rigid foam panels, woven or non-woven
matting (blankets/quilts), combinations thereof, or other
conventional insulation materials that may be removably installed
in uninsulated railroad cars as described herein. The insulation
segments 20 and 22 may include one or more layers of the
above-listed materials, and may further include one or more
low-emissivity, reflective (e.g., metallized or foil-laminated)
layers. As used herein, bubble films generally comprise at least
two layers of polymer film combined with air bubbles therebetween,
rigid foam panels are formed by trapping pockets of gas in a solid
polymer material, woven matting comprises interlaced strands of an
insulating material forming a cloth-like material, and non-woven
matting includes lofted insulation comprising long fibers of an
insulating material, bonded together by chemical, mechanical, heat,
or solvent treatment and includes foam materials which are not
rigid enough to support their own weight as in the case of the foam
panels or boards. If the insulation segments 20 or 22 comprise a
radiant barrier layer on exterior surfaces that face the interior
surfaces 18, the insulation segments 20 and 22 are preferably
configured and installed to provide an air gap between the
insulation segments 20 and 22 and walls/ceiling 12 and 16. It is
believed that the air gap promotes the ability of the radiant
barrier to effectively reflect radiant thermal energy. Although it
may be impractical to ensure that the entirety of the insulation
segments 20 and 22 do not contact the interior surfaces 18 during
transit, it is preferred that such contact is limited in order to
improve radiant thermal insulation of the temperature sensitive
goods. The air gap may be maintained due to the number and/or
thickness of magnets used to secure the insulation segments 20 and
22 to the walls/ceiling 12 and 16, and due to the rigidity of the
insulation segments 20 and 22 in the case of foam boards or the
tautness of the insulation segments 20 and 22 during installation
in the case of woven or non-woven matting. These insulation
materials are well known to those skilled in the art and therefore
will not be discussed further hereinafter. In addition, the
individual insulation segments 20 and 22 may be formed of different
materials depending on the application.
[0018] During investigations leading to the present invention,
thermal conditions were recorded during transit for both
uninsulated railcars and railcars insulated in accordance with the
embodiment schematically represented in FIG. 1. The insulated
railcars included (a) segments of reflective (reflective radiant
barrier laminated thereon) high-density foam boards located on the
ceiling and segments of reflective high-density foam boards on the
walls, (b) segments of reflective high-density foam boards located
on the ceiling and segments of a reflective foam blanket on the
walls, or (c) segments of a reflective bubble film on both the
ceiling and walls. All insulated materials were secured to the
bodies of the railroad cars with magnets, generally as represented
in FIG. 1. The insulated railcars were found to provide significant
thermal protection to temperature sensitive goods stored therein
from fluctuating temperatures exterior to the railroad cars,
determined on the basis that the temperatures of the goods stayed
within temperature ranges required for preservation of the specific
goods. The insulated railcar that provided the best thermal
protection during the investigations included segments of
reflective high-density foam boards located on the ceiling and
segments of a reflective foam blanket on the walls
[0019] In view of the above, insulation systems in accordance with
aspects of the present invention are suitable for insulating
existing uninsulated railroad cars. The insulation segments may be
relatively quickly inserted into an existing uninsulated railroad
car prior to transporting perishable or otherwise
temperature-sensitive goods by nonpermanently securing the
insulation segments to interior surfaces of the car outer shell
that face the interior cargo space of the car. If properly selected
and installed for the intended goods, the insulation segments are
able to provide thermal protection to the perishable or otherwise
temperature sensitive goods during transit. Upon arrival at the
destination, the insulation segments may be removed from the
interior surfaces of the railroad car and, if desired, shipped back
to their origin for subsequent reuse and installation in another
car. Therefore, it is believed that the present invention provides
means for quickly and efficiently insulating an uninsulated
railroad car without the need of manufacturing expensive insulation
railroad cars or additional packaging of the goods to be shipped.
Furthermore, it is foreseeable that segments of the types described
above could be used to supplement, replace, or fill voids in
existing insulation of an insulated railroad car.
[0020] While the invention has been described in terms of specific
embodiments, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by
one skilled in the art. For example, the physical configuration of
the insulation segments 20 and 22 could differ from that shown, and
materials and processes other than those noted could be used.
Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the
following claims.
* * * * *