Railcar draftsill and method of forming same

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the invention, a method of forming a sill of a railcar draftsill includes providing a single plate of material having predetermined dimensions, bending the single plate to form a first leg, bending the single plate to form a second leg and a web disposed between the first and second legs, bending the first leg to form a first flange, and bending the second leg to form a second flange. The single plate of material may be formed into the desired configuration according to a method having a single forming step.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method of forming a sill of a railcar draftsill, comprising: 
 providing a single plate of material having predetermined dimensions;    bending the plate to form a first leg;    bending the plate to form a second leg and a web disposed between the first and second legs;    bending the first leg to form a first flange; and    bending the second leg to form a second flange.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, prior to the bending steps, the plate is planar.  
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising forming a plurality of apertures in the plate.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein forming the plurality of apertures comprises forming a plurality of holes and a plurality of slots in the plate prior to the bending steps.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein forming the plurality of apertures comprises forming a plurality of holes and a plurality of slots in the plate such that the holes are formed after the forming of the first and second flanges and the slots are formed after the forming of the first and second legs.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second legs are substantially parallel to one another such that a substantially 90° angle is formed between the first leg and the web and a substantially 90° angle is formed between the second leg and the web.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first flange and the first leg form a substantially 90° angle and the second flange and the second leg form a substantially 90° angle.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein providing the single plate of material having predetermined dimensions comprises cutting a single plate of structural steel having a thickness between approximately one-quarter inch and one inch into a plate having a predetermined length and width.  
     
     
         9 . A method of forming a sill of a railcar draftsill, comprising: 
 providing a single plate of material having a first configuration; and    forming the single plate into a second configuration, the second configuration comprising: 
 a web;  
 a pair of legs extending outwardly from the web; and  
 a pair of flanges extending outwardly from the legs.  
   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein, prior to the forming step, the plate is planar.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising forming a plurality of apertures in the single plate.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein forming the plurality of apertures comprises forming a plurality of holes and a plurality of slots in the single plate prior to forming the single plate into the second configuration.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein forming the plurality of apertures comprises forming a plurality of holes and a plurality of slots in the single plate after forming the single plate into the second configuration.  
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the pair of legs are substantially parallel to one another and a substantially 90° angle is formed between each leg and the web.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the pair of flanges extend outwardly from the legs at substantially 90° angles.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein forming the single plate into the second configuration comprises hot forming the single plate into the second configuration.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein providing the single plate of material having the first configuration comprises cutting a single plate of structural steel having a thickness between approximately one-quarter inch and one inch into a plate having a predetermined length and width.  
     
     
         18 . A railcar draftsill, comprising: 
 a sill formed from a single plate of material;    a striker face assembly coupled proximate a first end of the sill;    a front draftstop coupled to the sill;    a rear draftstop coupled to the sill; and    a center plate coupled to the sill.    
     
     
         19 . The railcar draftsill of  claim 18 , wherein the sill comprises: 
 aweb;    a pair of legs extending from the web at approximately 90° angles to the web; and    a pair of flanges extending from the legs at approximately 90° angles to the legs.    
     
     
         20 . The railcar draftsill of  claim 19 , wherein a plurality of holes are formed in the flanges and a plurality of slots are formed in the legs.  
     
     
         21 . The railcar draftsill of  claim 18 , wherein the single plate of material is formed from a structural steel having a thickness between approximately one-quarter inch and one inch.  
     
     
         22 . A sill of a railcar draftsill, comprising: 
 a web;    a pair of legs extending from the web; and    a pair of flanges extending from the legs,    wherein the web, pair of legs, and pair of flanges are formed from a single plate of material.    
     
     
         23 . The sill of  claim 22 , wherein a plurality of holes are formed in the flanges and a plurality of slots are formed in the legs.  
     
     
         24 . The sill of  claim 22 , wherein the single plate of material is formed from a structural steel having a thickness between approximately one-quarter inch and one inch.  
     
     
         25 . A railcar, comprising: 
 a frame; and    a draftsill coupled to the frame, the draftsill comprising: 
 a sill formed from a single plate of material;  
 a striker face assembly coupled proximate a first end of the sill;  
 a front draftstop coupled to the sill;  
 a rear draftstop coupled to the sill; and  
 a centerplate coupled to the sill.  
   
     
     
         26 . The railcar of  claim 25 , wherein the sill comprises: 
 a web;    a pair of legs extending from the web;    a pair of flanges extending from the legs; and    wherein the web, pair of legs, and pair of flanges are formed from the single plate of material.    
     
     
         27 . The railcar of  claim 26 , wherein a plurality of holes are formed in the flanges and a plurality of slots are formed in the legs.  
     
     
         28 . The railcar of  claim 25 , wherein the single plate of material is formed from a structural steel having a thickness between approximately one-quarter inch and one inch.  
     
     
         29 . A method of forming a sill of a railcar draftsill, comprising: 
 providing a single planar plate of material having predetermined dimensions; and    forming, in one step, the single planar plate into a non-planar configuration, the non-planar configuration comprising: 
 a web;  
 a pair of legs extending outwardly from the web; and  
 a pair of flanges extending outwardly from the legs.  
   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , further comprising forming a plurality of holes and a plurality of slots in the single planar plate prior to forming the single planar plate into the non-planar configuration.  
     
     
         31 . A method of forming a sill of a railcar draftsill, comprising: 
 providing a male die having a lower surface;    providing a female die having an upper surface;    providing a single planar plate of material having predetermined dimensions; and    sandwiching the single planar plate between the lower surface of the male die and the upper surface of the female die to form the single planar plate into a non-planar configuration, the non-planar configuration comprising: 
 a web;  
 a pair of legs extending outwardly from the web; and  
 a pair of flanges extending outwardly from the legs.  
   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , further comprising forming a plurality of holes and a plurality of slots in the single planar plate prior to sandwiching the single planar plate between the lower surface of the male die and the upper surface of the female die.