ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,686,420, issued on July 21, was assigned to A. Stucki Co. (Moon Township, Pa.).
"Extended travel railcar damping system" was invented by Joseph Michael Shoup (Imperial, Pa.), James Scott Kennedy (Zelienople, Pa.) and Neil Aaron Brant (Oakdale, Pa.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Embodiments relate to a damping system, and in particular a clutch mechanism for an extended travel draft gear having components arranged such that movement of clutch mechanism components transforms kinetic energy into thermal energy via friction, while allowing for an extended length of travel. An arrangement of clutch component geometries, lengths, angles, etc. ...