ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,577,734, issued on March 17, was assigned to Lewis Bolt & Nut Co. (Wayzata, Minn.).
"Rail anchoring spike" was invented by Timothy John Austin (Rocky Ford, Colo.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An improved rail anchoring spike that includes a conical swell adapted to engage with a hole in a metal tie plate during fastening of the metal tie plate to a tie. The conical swell has a smaller diameter toward a pointed end of the spike and a larger diameter toward a head of the spike. The smaller diameter is slightly larger than a diameter of a body of the spike. An angle formed by the conical swell relative to a center line passing through a c...