William T Mccarthy

US Patent:

6758147, Jul 6, 2004

Filed:

Jul 25, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/912831

Inventors:

Joel S. Howard - Bedford TX
William McCarthy - Keller TX

Assignee:

The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Co. - Fort Worth TX

International Classification:

B61D 300

US Classification:

105247, 246122 R

Abstract:

A cargo discharge railcar for comprising a generally rectangular base structure, a plurality of walls coupled to the base structure defining an enclosure for carrying cargo, a hopper portion coupled to the base structure, a discharge gate coupled to the hopper portion, a control system coupled to the discharge gate for opening and closing the discharge gate, a central processing unit for controlling the control system, and a global positioning system receiver electrically coupled to the central processing unit for receiving longitude and latitude data from a global positioning system transmitter orbiting the Earth. The discharge gate is adapted to be selectively opened and closed based in part upon the longitude and latitude of the cargo discharge railcar.