ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 18 -- United States Patent no. 12,472,994, issued on Nov. 18, was assigned to Trinity Rail Group LLC (Dallas).
"Hopper car discharge gate seal assembly" was invented by Jerry W. Vande Sande (Dallas), Carter Ray Andrews (Dallas), Brant R. McGhee (Arlington, Texas), Andrew Brown (Plano, Texas) and Kenneth W. Huck (Fairview, Texas).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A railcar comprises a hopper coupled to a discharge assembly. The discharge assembly comprises a discharge gate, a sloped side sheet, a gasket bracket, and a seal gasket. The sloped side sheet longitudinally extends above the discharge gate when the discharge gate is closed. The gasket bracket coupled to the sloped s...