Energy efficient hopper wagon - we need your expertise for a patent valua
 

Dear all,

on our crowdsourcing platform BluePatent (bluepatent [dot] com ), we recently launched a new search request to valuate a patent for an energy efficient hopper wagon construction.

Our client is looking for information regarding market, corporate interest and licensing deals in this technological area.

As there seem to be some experts for this technological area here, I would like to motivate you to contribute your knowledge to this search request. To do so you will just have to

- register a searcher account
- answer one or more questions
- upload a reference / document to prove your answer

Your answers will be checked within few days and if they make sense, you will be accredited a reward for every contribution you made.

Check out the search request on our page, following the links "BlueAsset" -> "Projects".

Looking forward to your participation!
Best regards,
BluePatent

Hopper wagon?

I, for one, don't register on websites more than once every ten years (seriously); but I am willing to discuss your needs in this thread.

I can understand this. Anyway, BluePatent is a crowdsourcing platform, we rely on submissions to our search requests that are made via our platform, using the specific catalogue of questions and answering options. So, registering is unfortunately essential for us to get answers and reward our searchers thereafter.

Nonetheless, a discussion here in the forum could be interesting. Maybe, someone else is willing to register and submit the results... :-)

Regards

Hopper wagons? Seriously?

Have you seen this?

What would be so strange about aerodynamic Hopper wagons? Railway transportation has great energy losses due to poor aerodynamic behaviour. That's the starting point for the new invention features on our site.

The aim of our client is to collect market data and information on potential licencees & deal conditions...

Railway
 

I recommend a look at the thread:'full-boat-tail trailer,' at Search EcoModder.
On page 25 of that link you'll find permalink#248,image 3,4,and 5 which are pictorial representations of drag data for railroad equipment reported by Sighard Hoerner in his book,"Aerodynamic Drag," from 1951.
Of special interest is the work of Oskar Tietgens when at Westinghouse Laboratories in the 1930s.He wind tunnel tested a self-powered railcar which registered Cd 0.08 in model form.
Also,you might contact the Dean of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Texas Tech University,Lubbock,Texas,U.S.A..
In the late 1970s,students were being invited to do R&D of railroad hopper cars.

Well, there you go. Here is the reply I had prepared before I Refreshed and saw aerohead's contribution:

Looks like I missed one of Hoerner's illustrations.

Also, compare with the tarps on garbage or wood chip trucks
http://i.imgur.com/MUilN.jpg

Thanks to both of you. Gaps between the hopper cars / wagons and coverings are definitely important.

The search request is on another topic, though. The invention specifically relates to an aerodynamic design, that possesses an aerodynamically beneficial construction / behaviour independent from its loading level and despite a permanent opening of its top side, as can be seen in the case description of our homepage (can't post links for being newbie...)

Questions are on competition on this specific market, potential licensees for this wagon design, information on market size, need / interest and life cycle for this technology.

Thought, maybe some of you might be able to contribute their expertise in aerodynamics and this field. I will definitely try to get in contact with Texas Tech University.

Thanks again...

business plan
 

Your client may have to pay a modest fee to a local university business college to do the business plan workup.
With respect to 'competition,' a would-be inventor will have already done all the prior-art research and have ascertained that their 'invention' is new enough,and unique enough to warrant a patent.Especially for a 'utility' patent.
When the patent is 'filed' and notice appears in the Gazette,it is this time,before the patent is actually issued when the business is built,before the sharks can read the patents language and do a semantic end-run around it.