PATH CORRECTION OF A VEHICLE RELATIVE TO PROJECTED MAGNETIC FLIGHT PATH

• US 20200130514A1
• Filed: 04/18/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: skyTran, Inc.
• Original Assignee: skyTran, Inc.
• Inventors: BAERTSCH, Robert, WAMBLE, III, John Lee, COLE, John, FOSTER, Clark B.
• Granted Patent: US 11,447,018 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 13/04 Magnetic suspension or levitation for vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 13/06 Means to sense or control vehicle position or attitude with respect to railway
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 13/08 for the lateral position
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 13/10 Combination of electric propulsion and magnetic suspension or levitation
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/22 Yaw angle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/62 Vehicle position
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/642 Slope of road
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

Disclosed herein are techniques for guiding a vehicle over a flight path. The techniques include receiving guideway data, such as information corresponding to a track segment, generated by one or more guideway sensors associated with a metallic track, and receiving flight path data, such as a set of 3-D space coordinates for the vehicle. The method further includes determining an amount of deviation between one or more coordinates of the flight path data and a position of the vehicle based on the guideway data, and adjusting the position of the vehicle relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in at least one dimension in the 3-D space.

Claims

1. A method for guiding a vehicle over a flight path, the method comprising:

receiving, by a controller of the vehicle, guideway data generated by one or more guideway sensors associated with a metallic track, the guideway data including information corresponding to a track segment disposed between two or more supports;

receiving, by the controller, flight path data for the vehicle, the flight path data representing a set of coordinates in three-dimensional (3-D) space;

determining, by the controller, an amount of deviation between one or more coordinates of the flight path data and a position of the vehicle based on the guideway data; and

adjusting, by a magnetic suspension system, the position of the vehicle relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in at least one dimension in the 3-D space.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein adjusting the position of the vehicle relative to the track segment further comprises adjusting at least one of a an altitude, a longitude, or a latitude of the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the magnetic suspension system includes a plurality of levitation generators, wherein adjusting the position of the vehicle relative to the track segment further comprises:

changing an angle of at least one levitation generator of the plurality of levitation generators relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in the at least one dimension in the 3-D space.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein adjusting the position of the vehicle relative to the track segment further comprises:

changing a levitation force at one or more levitation generators to minimize the amount of deviation in the at least one dimension in the 3-D space.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

independently changing the angle of each levitation generator of the plurality of levitation generators.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

adjusting, at a drive generator, a drive force to change a velocity of the vehicle relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in at least one dimension in the 3-D space.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

determining the velocity of the vehicle relative to the track segment based on one of an optical sensor, an encoder, or radar sensors.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the guideway data further includes a length of the track segment, wherein determining the amount of deviation further comprises:

determining, at the controller, a deflection of the track segment in the 3-D space based at least on the length of the track segment and a velocity of the vehicle relative to the length of the track segment;

determining, at the controller, the amount of deviation between the one or more coordinates of the flight path data and the position of the vehicle based on the deflection of the track segment.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more guideway sensors comprises at one of an optical sensor, an encoder, a radio frequency identification (RFID) sensor, or a forward looking radar sensor.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the guideway data further comprises:

receiving the guideway data from a database that contains information describing track segments and the set of coordinates of the flight path data.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the amount of deviation further comprises:

determining a difference between the one or more coordinates of the flight path data and a current position of the vehicle relative to the track segment.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining at least one of a pitch, roll, or yaw of the vehicle relative to the track segment based on the amount of deviation.

13. A system for guiding a vehicle over a flight path, the system comprising:

a plurality of guideway sensors associated with a metallic track, the plurality of guideway sensors generate guideway data corresponding to one or more track segments disposed between two or more supports;

a plurality of levitation generators that provide lift to a vehicle relative to a track segment; and

a controller comprising at least one processor unit configured to;

receive guideway data generated by one or more guideway sensors associated with a metallic track, the guideway data including information corresponding to a track segment disposed between two or more supports;

receive flight path data for the vehicle, the flight path data representing a set of coordinates in three-dimensional (3-D) space;

determine an amount of deviation between one or more coordinates of the flight path data and a position of the vehicle based on the guideway data; and

adjust one or more of the levitation generators to change the position of the vehicle relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in at least one dimension in the 3-D space.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor unit is further configured to change an angle of at least one levitation generator relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in the at least one dimension in the 3-D space

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor unit is further configured to change a levitation force at one or more levitation generators to minimize the amount of deviation in the at least one dimension in the 3-D space.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor unit is further configured to independently change the angle of each levitation generator of the plurality of levitation generators.

17. The system of claim 13, further comprising:

at least one drive generator that provides a drive force corresponding to a velocity of the vehicle relative to the track segment, wherein the processor unit is further configured to adjust the at least one drive generator to change the velocity of the vehicle relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in at least one dimension in the 3-D space.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the guideway data includes a length of the track segment, wherein the processor unit is further configured to:

determine a deflection of the track segment in the 3-D space based at least on the length of the track segment and a velocity of the vehicle relative to the length of the track segment; and

determine the amount of deviation between the one or more coordinates of the flight path data and the position of the vehicle based on the deflection of the track segment.

19. A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media having instructions encoded thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor, are operable to:

receive guideway data generated by one or more guideway sensors associated with a metallic track, the guideway data including information corresponding to a track segment disposed between two or more supports;

receive flight path data for a vehicle configured to traverse the track segment, the flight path data representing a set of coordinates in three-dimensional (3-D) space;

determine an amount of deviation between one or more coordinates of the flight path data and a position of the vehicle based on the guideway data; and

instruct a magnetic suspension system to adjust the position of the vehicle relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in at least one dimension in the 3-D space.

20. A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, are further operable to:

adjust an angle of at least one levitation generator of the vehicle relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in at least one dimension in the 3-D space; and

adjust a drive force produced by a drive generator to change a velocity of the vehicle relative to the track segment to minimize the amount of deviation in the at least one dimension in the 3-D space.