ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 2 -- United States Patent no. 12,485,940, issued on Dec. 2.
"Automated tie marking" was invented by Michael James Brick (Fort Worth, Texas), Lisa Marie Kelly (Weatherford, Texas), Samuel Minton (Brandon, S.D.) and Richard William Keller (Spokane Valley, Wash.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A system and method for automating railroad maintenance by a tie gang using electronic tie marking (ETM) configured to optimize railroad asset maintenance. The system enables collision avoidance between members of the tie gang performing maintenance on railway assets (e.g., Rails, Ties, Ballasts, Turnouts, Crossings, etc.). The system can generate production numbers for the railway ass...