WO2007108786A1 - Systeme de transport offrant une plus grande capacite - Google Patents

Systeme de transport offrant une plus grande capacite Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2007108786A1
WO2007108786A1 PCT/US2006/007925 US2006007925W WO2007108786A1 WO 2007108786 A1 WO2007108786 A1 WO 2007108786A1 US 2006007925 W US2006007925 W US 2006007925W WO 2007108786 A1 WO2007108786 A1 WO 2007108786A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
switching
wheels
car
track
rails
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2006/007925
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Georges Brigham
Original Assignee
Georges Brigham
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Georges Brigham filed Critical Georges Brigham
Priority to PCT/US2006/007925 priority Critical patent/WO2007108786A1/fr
Publication of WO2007108786A1 publication Critical patent/WO2007108786A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E01—CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS, RAILWAYS, OR BRIDGES
    • E01B—PERMANENT WAY; PERMANENT-WAY TOOLS; MACHINES FOR MAKING RAILWAYS OF ALL KINDS
    • E01B25/00—Tracks for special kinds of railways
    • E01B25/28—Rail tracks for guiding vehicles when running on road or similar surface
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61—RAILWAYS
    • B61B—RAILWAY SYSTEMS; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B61B10/00—Power and free systems
    • B61B10/001—Arrangements for routing vehicles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61—RAILWAYS
    • B61B—RAILWAY SYSTEMS; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B61B10/00—Power and free systems
    • B61B10/04—Power and free systems with vehicles rolling trackless on the ground
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02T—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION
    • Y02T30/00—Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to transportation systems intended to reduce highway congestion and crowding, with flexibility and independent control of vehicles.
  • Traffic congestion is a significant problem in the United States as well as in many countries throughout the world, costing many billions of dollars annually. Although some people have and will in the future alter their commuting preferences in view of the state of traffic congestion problems, there is limited willingness of many people to do so. While “telecommuting” may reduce some traffic, workers and freight inevitably will need to be transported from one location to another. The transportation system should be improved to meet the needs of today's society.
  • Ground transportation systems typically comprise three major entities: links, nodes and vehicles.
  • Links are the corridors, which may comprise for example, highways or railroads, mostly on the ground but occasionally in tunnels or elevated.
  • Nodes may comprise for example, connections between two roadways or tracks, between a track and a sidetrack leading to a station or stop-off, or access to open roads and streets.
  • Vehicles are automobiles, buses, trucks and freight cars, providing both person and freight transportation.
  • a single lane of traffic can carry 2000 cars or more an hour as the peak builds up, usually at commuting time. At this throughput level, any disturbance causes a severe disruption in traffic flow.
  • Such disturbances may include traffic incidents (even in the opposite lanes), a driver slowing down, something taking away the drivers' attention and, in any case, an increase in traffic volume feeding in from other roads.
  • the shortest achievable average headway (the time interval between two cars) in normal traffic, corresponding to a flow of 2000 vehicles per hour is 1.8 seconds. The headway does not imply any particular speed. But two extremes of speed should be noted.
  • race drivers routinely maintain a separation of one car length or less, equivalent to a headway of 1/15 sec, some 25 times shorter than on the highway.
  • the minimum headway on the road is dictated by what might be called the "average human reaction time" of two thousand people who drive often under normal road conditions.
  • the reduced headway for race drivers is inconceivable for today's highway configuration, but is entirely conceivable on a special track utilizing automatic controls.
  • the improved headway is achieved by use of a specialized track for the car to run upon.
  • the track is provided with two horizontal riding surfaces spaced for stability (8.5 feet to conform to highway rules), and two vertical guide walls against which ride horizontal wheels, to provide absolute directional control in all conditions.
  • the track is advantageously provided with a switching mechanism that allows cars to enter and leave the track without any movement of the track itself.
  • the ability of cars to enter and leave the main track without any movement of the track itself has provided for significant improvement in headway. It is the ability for any car to switch to any other track, or off or onto the track that creates a high capacity, high-speed network.
  • the cars are provided with twenty wheels for various applications.
  • eight of the wheels may be provided as driving wheels placed in pairs in tandem at the four corners. These are the wheels that support the weight of the car both on and off of the track and are provided to steer the cars when off of the track.
  • Four of the wheels are horizontal guide wheels, which are positioned horizontal to the driving wheels and ride against the guide walls when the car is in the track.
  • eight of the wheels may be provided as switching wheels, which are positioned in the same horizontal orientation as the guide wheels. The switching wheels are used to steer the car when the car is in a switch area.
  • the switching wheels are provided in linked pairs that straddle the center of the track.
  • pairs of wheels are raised or lowered individually and opposite to each other to either maintain the car on the main track or turn the car to exit the main track, whether into a station or onto another track. In this manner, rather than having the track move, the car is provided with switching wheels to transfer the car on to and off of the main track.
  • the cars are 8 % ft wide, the normal maximum width for a vehicle on the road.
  • the cars may, in one advantageous embodiment, be 50 feet or so long so as to accommodate a relatively large number of passengers, and may be even longer for freight applications.
  • Cars may be provided double-ended, having two identical ends.
  • the cars are further self- propelled and may use any form of engine that is suitable, such as for exampl ⁇ , a combustion engine, electric, hybrid, fuel cell or the like.
  • the cars operate bi-modally, on track most of the time, but on the ground as well and may be steered or operated from either end of the vehicle.
  • a method for driving a car along a stationary track in a mass-transit system comprising the steps of propelling the car along a length of the track, the car propelled by driving wheels engaging with a surface of the track, and maintaining the car substantially centered on the track with a set of guide wheels that engage with guide walls positioned along a length of the track.
  • the method further comprises the steps of positioning switching wheels on the car perpendicular to the driving wheels and switching the car to another track or maintaining the car on the current track by variously engaging sets of switching wheels on the car with switching rails on the track.
  • a car for mass-transit system comprising, an elongated body section for holding persons and/or freight, and a set of ground engaging driving wheels, positioned at the corners of the elongated body section for supporting the weight of and providing a driving force to the body section.
  • the car further comprises a set of guide wheels positioned essentially perpendicular to the set of driving wheels, the guide wheels provided to engage with guide walls of a track to maintain the elongated body section substantially centered in the track, and a set of switching wheels, positioned on an underside of the elongated body section, the switching wheels provided to engage with a set of switching rails on the track.
  • a switching node for a track for a mass-transit system comprising, a driving surface, extending along a length of the track, for engaging with driving wheels of a car, and a set of guide walls, extending along a length of the track, for engaging with guide wheels of the car to maintain the car substantially centered within the track.
  • the switching node further comprises a set of switching rails positioned at a node, for engaging with switching wheels of the car to either maintain the car on the track or allow the car to transfer off of the track.
  • the switching rails include two substantially straight rails extending along a length of the track and staggered relative to each other, the two substantially straight rails designed to engage with a first set of switching wheels to maintain the car on the track when the first set of wheels is lowered to engage with the substantially straight rails.
  • the switching rails further include two curved rails extending along a transition to another track, the two curved rails designed to engage with a second set of switching wheels to switch the car to another track when the second set of wheels is lowered to engage with the curved rails.
  • FIG. 1 is an illustration of one advantageous embodiment depicting an end of a car.
  • FIG. 2 is an illustration of the underside of the car according to FIG. 1.
  • FlG. 3 is an illustration of the operation of the switching wheels of the car according to FIG. 1.
  • FlG. 4 is an illustration of the interaction of the switching wheels with the track according to FIG. 3.
  • FIG. 5A is an illustration of a side track for the car according to FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 5B is an illustration of another side track for the car according to FIG. 1 .
  • FIG. 5C is an illustration of still another side track for the car according to FIG. 1.
  • [0030J FiG. 6 is an illustration of a station for the car according to FIG.
  • FIG. 1 is an illustration of an advantageous embodiment of one end of a car 100 that may be used in connection with the present invention. It is contemplated that both ends of car 100 may be identical.
  • Car 100 is depicted with a number of sets of wheels. For example, a set of two driving wheels 102 is illustrated to engage with the ground. It is contemplated that a total of eight driving wheels 102 may be provided at the comers of car 100 in a tandem arrangement In this manner, not only is the weight carrying capacity increased, but in case one of the tires bursts, an additional wheel is provided to carry car 100 until car 100 can come to a stop for replacement of the damaged driving wheel 102. It is further contemplated that while eight driving wheels 102 are selected for an advantageous embodiment, any number of driving wheels 102 may be selected depending upon the application. For example, for relatively heavy freight applications, it may be desirable to provide car 100 with sixteen driving wheels for bearing the additional weight.
  • the tires may be designed for norma! operation up to, for example, 200 mph, with a normal load of 8,000 Ib, so that a freight car at 32 tons fully loaded conforms on the street to the usual limit of 16,000 lbs per axle. Additionally, on the street, the tires must deflate automatically to avoid damage to warm asphalt in the summer.
  • the driving wheels 102 provide alt-wheel steering. While on the track 200 (FIG. 2), the steering provided by driving wheels 102 is nominal, however, for street applications, the steering of driving wheels 102 is the primary means for steering car 100.
  • FlG. 1 Also illustrated in FlG. 1 is an exampfe of a guide wheel 104, which is designed to engage with guide walls 202 to maintain car 100 substantially centered in track 200.
  • a guide wheel 104 As suggested in FIG. 2, four guide wheels 104 are mounted to car 100 in a horizontal mounting position and ride against the guide walls 202.
  • the guide wheels 104 project about 0.5 foot outside body 101 of car 100, to provide clearance, and retract when the car 100 operates on a conventional road.
  • Guide wheels 104 spin freely, as fast or slowly as the car speed requires. The track may curve, so that these guide wheels must press against the walls up to a point.
  • Guide wheels 104 are mounted to the frame of the car 100 so that the guidance provided by the guide walls 202 is transferred to car 100 and car 100 is kept centered on the track 200.
  • the limit of the curvature of the turn is defined by the location of the guide wheels and the length of the car.
  • the curvature of the track cannot be any greater than that where the outside guide wail would be touching the front and rear corners of the car and both the guide wheels on the same side.
  • the coordinate axis of the curvature of a circle is taken along the front and one side of the car, with the origin at 0. From plane geometry, fitting a circle to these four points leads to its center having its X coordinate at
  • the tightest radius of curvature is approximately 676 ft. and the corresponding speed is 74 ft/sec or 50 mph. It should be noted that variations are possible to suit different track layouts.
  • switching wheels 106 are provided as four sets of linked pairs (106', 106", 106'", 106"") that straddle a center of the track 100. These pairs of wheels are raised or towered individually and opposite to each other. For each pair of switching wheels 106, when one pair is up, the other pair must be down and vice versa. These pairs operate for right or left switching will be discussed further in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4.
  • car 100 When car 100 is not on track 200, ali of the switching wheels are raised to avoid hitting any obstruction on the standard roadway. In addition to a raising mechanism 108, these wheels need a small electric motor (not shown) to bring their rotation speed to match the speed of the car 100, so that there is no shock when engaging a switch rail as discussed hereafter.
  • car 100 When car 100 comprises a passenger car, car 100 may be provided with fifteen rows of seats, double on one side and single on the other, with an aisle in between. This would, for example, comfortably accommodate 45 people for trips of relatively long duration and up to 75 for short commuter trips with three in the double seat and a jump seat in the isle.
  • a single track 100 in each direction in a geographic area can provide a significant increase in the capacity of today's transit system.
  • the pairs of switching wheels 106 seen in FiGS. 3 and 4 are labeled "R” and "L”.
  • the pairs are finked and operate as one. Either can be raised or lowered, but they are interlocked so that both cannot be lowered together. Switching is performed entirely by each car 100, according to its ultimate destination.
  • Each switching node 250 is predetermined, subject only to overall traffic control,
  • the guide walls 202 define this switching node 250.
  • the switch location 250 is 150 ft between points A and H (FIG. 4); for a top speed of 200 mph and 0.25 g, this changes to 450 ft.
  • Switching node 250 begins at points I and H of rails 206' and 208. R1 having been lowered catches first switch rail 208 (l-E) and forces the car 100 to the right branch 21O 1 compensating for the guide wall 202, from which the right branch 210 is diverging.
  • R2 was lowered simultaneously, so that it catches the second switch rail 208' (C-B) just before first switch rail 208 (i-E) ends, thereby maintaining full directional contra! on the left of the car 100.
  • the right guide wail 202 keeps right-hand guidance at all times.
  • the left guide wal ⁇ 202 of the right branch 210 of the fork appears at A, to resume left directional control,
  • the switch rails 204 are designed with a height that will allow for clearance of switching wheels 106 when in a raised position.
  • switch rails 204 may be selected to have a height of 12 inches, however, the height will vary depending upon the design and clearance of the car 100 and switching wheels 106.
  • Switching to the left branch operates similarly, except, of course, for using the left switch wheels 106 against switch rails 206 (F-G) and 206' (H- D).
  • the stopping time may be 1 minute, generally sufficient to load and unload passengers in one car, or for a driver to take over or release a freight car. These stops may be i ⁇ termediate stations or terminals, large or small. A few representative cases, starting with freight are described as follows.
  • a freight station 240 serves freight cars 100 as the interchange to the general road network, which freight cars 100 must use to complete delivery or to pick up new loads.
  • Two ramps - one on, one off — may make the connection.
  • the "yard" need only provide a brief stopping area at the end of each ramp and some open space to satisfy whatever traffic uses that stop.
  • a driver must be available to take over either to drive off directly or at least to park the car. The reverse applies for cars getting onto the system.
  • the area must be large enough to accommodate the vagaries of pick-up and deliveries, it amounts to a parking lot, with minimal facilities for waiting drivers. While it is contemplated that in one embodiment the limit is 1 car per minute if the cars stop at the end of the access ramp, the track 200 may be separated into two tracks and double the capacity and so on.
  • Passenger stations 240 may vary widely, primarily as to size. For discussion purposes, consider through stations (FIGS. 5A-5C) versus terminals (FIG. 6) (the latter require a reversal of direction of the cars). The volume of traffic will dictate the number of individual berths 242, one berth 242 serving one car 100. More berths are possible along one platform (FIG. 5C).
  • the curves in the track 200 are squared off for discussion purposes and one berth 242 corresponds to one car 100, shown by an X.
  • FIG. 5A is broken to reflect D s the distance for the car to decelerate from, and o accelerate to, the speed of travel on the main track 200. It is contemplated that if a stop takes 1 minute, cars 100 can arrive at most once a minute, 60 an hour, giving a maximum capacity of 2,700 passengers per hour at the usual seating or 4,500 at commuting capacity.
  • the station 240 needs two switching nodes 250, on and off as illustrated in FIG. 5B.
  • cars 100 can arrive at 30sec. intervals, the maximum capacity doubles to 2 cars per minute, 120 per hour, 5,400 (9,000 commuting capacity) passengers per hour.
  • two switching nodes 250 in and out
  • berths 242 in tandem along each platform (FlG. 5C), to yield a capacity of 180 cars per hour and so forth.
  • Terminals are another form of station 240, but they require cars 100 to reverse their travel direction in some fashion rather than to continue along the original track 200.
  • One possible layout with 8 berths, for instance, is illustrated in FIG. 6.
  • cars 100 come in from the south, on the left (northbound) track and switch up to three times to stop at one of eight berths 242. After unloading, loading or both, a car 100 goes through and switches to the right into the cross track 200, turns right once more and goes out on the rightmost (southbound) track 200. While multiple switching nodes 250 and berths 242 are provided, it is contemplated that two tracks 200 as illustrated can feed and empty the terminal.
  • station 250 is the open station, similar to a freight yard, to serve, for instance, a large sports arena which already has a large parking area.
  • Two tracks 200 are required, as usual, inbound and outbound. As an example, it is desired to bring al! the attendants to an arena of 100,000 in a relatively short time frame, say 40 minutes. This means 2,500 people per minute, requiring 55 cars 100 per minute at normal seating or 33 cars at commuter seating.
  • the track 200 can handle this as a headway of 1.1 sec. (at normal seating), which is only a little less than the current 1.8 sec. for cars under human control. With 1 minute stopping time, there must be room on the ground for either 55 or 33 cars 100 at any moment, which in turn requires the same number of ramps, in and out. Any open ground can serve to hold the cars 100, since there is no need for platforms.
  • system may further be used, not only to transport a large number of individuals to a particular location, but may further be used to evacuate a relatively large number of individuals from a location in an emergency. For example, the evacuation of 100,000 people in a span of approximately 40 minutes.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Transportation (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Architecture (AREA)
  • Civil Engineering (AREA)
  • Structural Engineering (AREA)
  • Platform Screen Doors And Railroad Systems (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un système de transport offrant une plus grande capacité pour le transport de voyageurs et de marchandises tout en satisfaisant aux besoins individuels des voyageurs et des transporteurs de marchandises en leur permettant de voyager vers des destinations uniques. Le système de transport comprend une voiture comprenant un jeu de roues de manœuvre qui sont conçues pour entrer en contact avec un jeu de rails de manœuvre, les roues de manœuvre étant amovibles pour entrer en contact de manière sélective avec les rails de manœuvre soit pour maintenir la voiture sur la voie, soit pour retirer la voiture de la voie. La voiture est capable de se déplacer sur la voie à vitesse relativement élevée et sur une chaussée de route classique.
PCT/US2006/007925 2006-03-06 2006-03-06 Systeme de transport offrant une plus grande capacite WO2007108786A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2006/007925 WO2007108786A1 (fr) 2006-03-06 2006-03-06 Systeme de transport offrant une plus grande capacite

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2006/007925 WO2007108786A1 (fr) 2006-03-06 2006-03-06 Systeme de transport offrant une plus grande capacite

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2007108786A1 true WO2007108786A1 (fr) 2007-09-27

Family

ID=38522739

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2006/007925 WO2007108786A1 (fr) 2006-03-06 2006-03-06 Systeme de transport offrant une plus grande capacite

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2007108786A1 (fr)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT202000011098A1 (it) * 2020-05-14 2021-11-14 Leitner Spa Impianto di trasporto ibrido aereo/terrestre e metodo di funzionamento di tale impianto di trasporto

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3812789A (en) * 1972-10-13 1974-05-28 Ltv Aerospace Corp Transportation system
US3835785A (en) * 1973-11-26 1974-09-17 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Switching apparatus for transportation system
US3841225A (en) * 1970-02-02 1974-10-15 Docutel Corp Inertia switching
US6220173B1 (en) * 1997-06-18 2001-04-24 Alcatel Trolley for rail tracks that are branched by means of switch points
US6418856B2 (en) * 1999-11-11 2002-07-16 Raytheon Company Passive steering assembly for a guided vehicle

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3841225A (en) * 1970-02-02 1974-10-15 Docutel Corp Inertia switching
US3812789A (en) * 1972-10-13 1974-05-28 Ltv Aerospace Corp Transportation system
US3835785A (en) * 1973-11-26 1974-09-17 Goodyear Tire & Rubber Switching apparatus for transportation system
US6220173B1 (en) * 1997-06-18 2001-04-24 Alcatel Trolley for rail tracks that are branched by means of switch points
US6418856B2 (en) * 1999-11-11 2002-07-16 Raytheon Company Passive steering assembly for a guided vehicle

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
IT202000011098A1 (it) * 2020-05-14 2021-11-14 Leitner Spa Impianto di trasporto ibrido aereo/terrestre e metodo di funzionamento di tale impianto di trasporto

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US7966943B2 (en) Mass transit vehicle system
US7921782B2 (en) Individual transportation system
US5669307A (en) Transportation vehicle having doors with doorsills at different levels
US8720345B1 (en) Personal transit vehicle using single rails
US6263799B1 (en) Vehicle guideway adaptor for a personal rapid transit system
US20090299563A1 (en) Method of mass transfortation of people or cargo, especially within city areas and a transport infrastructure for the implementation of this method
EP1598254B1 (fr) Installation de transport surélevée avec véhicules suspendus
US11453418B2 (en) High-speed mass transport system
US20070107621A1 (en) Structure and operation of a three dimensional transportation system
US20060162609A1 (en) Interstate highway train system
US8616135B2 (en) Transit vehicle for ferrying roadway vehicles, passengers, cargo and commuters
WO2006122260A1 (fr) Vehicule et systeme double mode de transport de surface a grande vitesse
JP3364901B2 (ja) 走行路の使用方法
US6564721B2 (en) Rail transport system
US5619930A (en) High speed transportation system
US20210237526A1 (en) Autonomous Vehicles that Operate on Roads or Monorails
WO2007108786A1 (fr) Systeme de transport offrant une plus grande capacite
US20210197868A1 (en) High-speed mass transport system
US20070214995A1 (en) Vehicle, Process and Systme for Mass Transporation
GB2280644A (en) Rail and road or water transport vehicle.
US3115101A (en) Passenger cars in transportation systems
WO1987004676A1 (fr) Systeme de transport
US20090107356A1 (en) Transportation system and method
North A review of people mover systems and their potential role in cities
US8613255B1 (en) Monorail transport system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 06737140

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 06737140

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1