US3345952A - Guideway for high-speed mass transportation systems - Google Patents

Description

GUIDEWAY FOR HIGH-SPEED MASS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS Filed June 20, 1966 S. H. BINGHAM Oct. 10, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR SIDNEY BINGHAM ATTORNEY rlll-I III Oct. 10, 1967 s. H. BINGHAM GUIDEWAY FOR HIGH-SPEED MASS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS 2 Sheets-She a 2 Filed June 20, 1966 Y 4 E F INVENTOR SIDNEY Hv BINGHAM ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,345,952 GUIDEWAY FUR HIGH-SPEED MASS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS Sidney H. Bingham, 109 E. 35th St, New York, NY. 10016 Filed June 20, 1966, Ser. No. 558,752 1 5 Claims. (Cl. 104-124) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The guideway is a built-up structure of longitudinal beams on supporting columns, with wood or metal cross ties supported on the beams by means of rubber pads subject only to vertical and lateral shear stresses. The pads are in turn supported by adjustable brackets on the beams. Rails on the ties carry railway vehicle wheels. A third rail supported on transverse beams carries guide surfaces above the vehicle rails along which guide wheels of a high speed vehicle can run.

The present invention relates to a guideway for highspeed mass transportation systems, such for example, as a guideway for use with railway trains operating at speeds up to approximately 225 miles per hour.

In the past, attempts to provide proper guideways for high-speed mass transportation systems have been largely unsuccessful. One of the reasons for this situation lies in the fact that the means provided for absorbing live load shocks were insuflicient, resulting in deterioration of the guideway structure and in high costs of maintaining rail gauge and level.

Also in the past, little if any consideration has been given to various disturbing factors which might affect the stability of the guideway, such for example, as disturbances which occur within the soil mass upon which the guideway has its footings. Nor was expansion and contraction resulting from moisture and extremes of temperature change given suflicient consideration.

The present guideway is designed to overcome the disadvantages of past systems With respect to vertical, horizontal, impact, wind and earthquake loads both live and transient, and provides a guideway in which the tracks or track members are resiliently supported with-out losing the ability to maintain the guage of the tracks, or the level of the tracks, thus minimizing deterioration and rendering the guideway substantially permanent.

In a preferred form of the invention the guideway is elevated above the ground and is so constructed as to be air-permeable, thus providing an airflow pattern about a train which closely approaches the three-dimensional airflow pattern of airplanes in flight. This, combined with proper streamlining of the cars, makes high-speed operation possible with minimum power expenditure.

It is an object of the invention to provide a guideway for use with trains operating at speeds of 225 miles per hour and upward which is structurally stable and possessed of structural resiliency.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a guideway structure in which live load shocks are absorbed through the cushioning effect of rubber pads which rubber pads utilize the most favorable characteristics of rubber, namely, its shear resiliency in lateral and vertical planes.

It is a further object of the invention to make available such a guideway which provides a superior degree of track stability due to more elfective resistance to soil disturbances, such as settlement, expansion etc., than past attempts have provided.

It is a still further object of the invention to providea guideway which permits airflow about the train approachice ing the characteristics of the three-dimensional airflow about airplanes in flight.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the annexed drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a section of guideway in accordance with my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the guideway section of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 3-3 of FIG- URE 2 further illustrating the construction of the guideway, and

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal vertical cross-sectional view taken on the plane of line 44 of FIGURE 3 showing particularly the mode of supporting the ties on the longitudinally extending supporting beams as well as the mode of fastening the rails to the ties.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG- URES 1 through 3, the guideway is seen to comprise pairs of spaced columns 10 and 11 which are preferably mounted upon footings 12 which are below the soil surface to an extent that soil disturbances are rendered ineffective.

Mounted on and extending between two columns 10 is a concrete beam 14 and similarly mounted upon and extending between two columns 11 is a concrete beam 13. Extending between pairs of columns 10 and 11 are transverse beams 15 which serve both to brace the entire structure and as supporting members for a guide rail 17 which will be described hereinafter.

Both the longitudinal beams 13 and 14 and the trans verse beams 15 are, of course, secured in position on the column tops by suitable means, such for example, as the bolts shown at 18 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3).

As is obvious from FIGURES 1 and 2, the longitudinally extending beams are placed end to end in alignment, as are the beams 14. The cross beams 15 are placed between adjacent ends of the beams 13 and 14 to form a continuous support for the ties. Necessary track curvature is provided for in a suitable manner, such for example, as by utilizing relatively short guideway sections and placing the ties on the longitudinally extending beams in a manner to provide the required curvature.

The mode of mounting the ties and rails upon the supporting beams is unique and provides, as indicated above, great resiliency and stability of the guideway structure.

As seen in FIGURES l and 2, ties 29 are spaced along the beams 13 and 14 and extend from a beam 13 to corresponding beam 14. These ties, as shown in FIGURE 4, are rectangular in cross-section, and are preferably steel tubes. At spaced points along the longitudinally extending beams corresponding to the desired location of the cross ties, bolts 21 are fixed in the beams as shown particularly in FIGURES 2 and 4. These bolts are arranged in a rectangular pattern and serve to fix a pair of brackets 22 to the beam 13 or 14, as the case may be. Each bracket is provided on each side of its central reinforcing web 23, with a slot extending parallel to the tie 20 thus providing adjustment of the ties transversely of the guideway.

The brackets 22 are mounted on the ties 20 at standard locations relative to the tie end, and the brackets are mounted on the beams to properly locate the rails at desired levels and gauge spacing.

Bonded to each tie 20 at each end thereof is a pair of rubber pads 24, which are preferably of synthetic rubber, such as butadiene or other polymer rubber, these pads being bonded to the metal by use of appropriate adhesives, thereby forming a strong and permanent attachment.

In like manner, the rubber pads 24 are bonded to the face of the corresponding brackets 22, so that each tie has a bracket fixed thereto at each side, there thus being a pair of brackets afilxed to the tie adjacent each end. As indicated above, the ties are mounted on the beams by placing the brackets 22 on the beams with a bolt 21 extending through the slotted openings. In order to assure proper level of the ties, shims 25 are provided in various thicknesses, the shims being placed under the brackets before the brackets are placed in position.

After the brackets have been placed in position with the desired shims in place, and have been adjusted to a desired position transverse to the guideway, nuts 26 are placed on bolts 21 and tightened.

Standard railroad rails 30 are mounted on the ties 20 by any suitable means. As shown in FIGURES 3 and 4, rail plates 31 are provided with openings to receive bolts 32, which are secured to the ties as by welding, and are likewise provided with slots to receive the ends of rail anchor clips 33, the opposite ends of which have holes through which bolts 32 extend. After the rail plates, rails and anchor clips are in place, nuts 35 are placed on bolts 32 and tightened, thus securing the rails to the ties and forming a structure which is rigid.

The rigid rail structure described above is, however, resiliently supported on the beams by means of the rubber pads or members 24, which members thus utilize the most favorable characteristics of rubber, namely, its shear resiliency in vertical and lateral planes.

This use of rubber in shear is to be contrasted with prior attempts to secure resiliency by the use of rubber, such as by placing rubber pads under the rail base. In order to provide sufiicient resiliency by the use of such rubber pads in compression, the pads must be of considerable thickness. Pads of the required thickness permit the rails to wobble and thus provide an unstable foundation. Additionally, the probability of lateral rail movement and loss of gauge is such that the arrangement is not practical.

The use of the rigid rail and tie system and of rubber in shear as described above obviates these various disadvantages and provides a guideway having both resiliency and permanency. Furthermore, the rubber pads 24 may be of a thickness coordinated with the loadings expected, so that optimum riding qualities are obtained. The fact that these pads are positioned at or close to the ends of the ties also assures stability, and thus transient disturbances which might otherwise shock and damage the entire structure have little or no adverse effect upon rail alignment.

The guide rail 17 mentioned hereinabove also serves to increase the effectiveness of the guideway for high-speed trains, since it makes possible the use of high-speed, lightweight cars, which are prone to be overturned under vertical wind loading. The guide rail 17 occupies a higher position relative to the rails and thus reduce the torque applied to the track under wind loading, and also aids in the negotiation of curves and assures train stability where variations in equilibrium speeds are present.

In addition, the guide rail may be utilized as a means for exerting braking effort as is disclosed in my Patent No. 3,240,291, issued Mar. 15, 1966. The guide rail 17 may be engaged by rubber-tired wheels mounted on substantially vertical axes on the cars, as disclosed in the above-mentioned patent, or may be provided with steel faced surfaces engageable directly by brake shoes or the like.

As clearly shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, the guide rail 17 is mounted on the cross beams 15 by means of depending mounting ears or lugs 40' formed on the guide rail sections. Ears 40 are provided with apertures through which bolts 41 fixed in the beams 15 extend. Nuts 42 are then threaded on the bolts 41 and hold the guide rail 17 in fixed position on the beams 15.

It Will of course be understood that the desired surfaces such as 43 of the guide rails are utilized and that these surfaces either are made to conform with the required curvatures or the guide rail sections may be straight and the required curvatures provided by fixing members to the guide rail, the surface areas of which are utilized.

It will be seen from the above that I have provided a guideway for high-speed mass transportation which has many advantages, providing resilience, stability, and permanence. It will also be obvious that although preferred forms of guideway have been described, there are many possible variations. For example, although the guideway has been desrcibed as elevated, it may be placed at ground level, with the beams 13 and 14 resting directly upon the ground. Although the latter arrangement is not preferred, it is nonetheless superior to any present-day guideway.

In view of the many variations possible, I wish to be limited not by the foregoing description, but on the contrary, solely by the claims granted to me.

What is claimed is:

1. A high-speed mass transportation guideway comprising, in combination, a plurality of longitudinally extending beams arranged in pairs transversely spaced apart, a plurality of cross ties, means comprising rubber members subject to vertical and lateral shear stress for mounting each cross tie in position across said beams, and rails fixedly mounted upon said cross ties and extending longitudinally of said beams; said means for mounting each cross tie including at least one pair of brackets adjustably supported on one said beam for limited movement relative to said guideway, said pair of brackets being spaced and having a cross tie positioned between them, said rubber members being between the facing surfaces of said cross tie and said brackets and being bonded thereto.

2. A guideway as claimed in claim 1 wherein said brackets are adjustable in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axes of said ties.

3. A guideway in accordance with claim 1 wherein said ties are rectangular in cross-section and are fabricated of steel.

4. A guideway in accordance with claim 1, additionally comprising cross beams extending transversely of the longitudinal beams at spaced intervals along the guideway, and a guide rail fixed to said cross beams between said rails, said guide rail extending upwardly to a position vertically above said rails.

5. A guideway in accordance with claim 4, additionally comprising ground supported columns supporting said longitudinally extending beams and said cross beams, said guideway being elevated to provide an air-permeable structure.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 354,558 12/1886 Latimer l04l24 1,218,141 3/1917 Wells 238-58 2,997,965 8/1961 Hawes l05145 X 3,225,703 12/1965 Lemeke 104120 3,291,394 12/1966 Wheeler 238-382 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

J. BABER, Assistant Examiner,

Claims (1)

1. A HIGH-SPEED MASS TRANSPORTATION GUIDEWAY COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING BEAMS ARRANGED IN PAIRS TRANSVERSELY SPACED APART, A PLURALITY OF CROSS TIES, MEANS COMPRISING RUBBER MEMBERS SUBJECT TO VERTICAL AND LATERAL SHEAR STRESS FOR MOUNTING EACH CROSS TIE IN POSITION ACROSS SAID BEAMS, AND RAILS FIXEDLY MOUNTED UPON SAID CROSS TIES AND EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID BEAMS; SAID MEANS FOR MOUNTING EACH CROSS TIE INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF BRACKETS ADJUSTABLY SUPPORTED ON ONE SAID BEAM FOR LIMITED MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID GUIDEWAY, SAID PAIR OF BRACKETS BEING SPACED AND HAVING A CROSS TIE POSITIONED BETWEEN THEM, SAID RUBBER MEMBERS BEING BETWEEN THE FACING SURFACES OF SAID CROSS TIE AND SAID BRACKETS AND BEING BONDED THERETO.

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