VEHICLE DRIVE MEANS

• US 3,847,089 A
• Filed: 10/16/1972
• Issued: 11/12/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Roy A. Nelson
• Original Assignee: Roy A. Nelson
• Inventors: Nelson, Roy A.
• Primary Examiner(s): King, Lloyd L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Libman, George H.
• Application Number:
  US05/298,064
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 104/148LM
• US Class Current: 104/291
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/005 for control of propulsion for vehicles propelled by linear motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2220/12 Induction machines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility

Abstract

A drive means for a vehicle travelling over a roadway having the primary of a linear induction motor embedded in the roadway, the secondary of the motor being mounted on the vehicle for operative association with the primary by means providing for vertical movement of the secondary relative to the roadway for providing a propelling thrust force to the vehicle which varies in accordance with the load carried by the vehicle to cause the acceleration and speed of movement of the vehicle over the roadway to be substantially the same for all vehicles regardless of variations in the load being transported thereby.

Claims

1. In a vehicle movable over a roadway having one operative element of a linear induction motor extending longitudinally along the roadway;

a chassis;

a plurality of wheels movable over the roadway;

mounting means connecting the chassis to the wheels including means yieldably biasing the chassis against downward movement relative to the wheels;

a second element of the linear induction motor for imparting a thrust force to said chassis to move the vehicle over the roadway when said motor is energized;

connecting means connecting said second motor element to said chassis including means for varying the operative position of said second element relative to said first element for varying the propelling thrust force on the chassis in accordance with the load on the chassis, said connecting means including a carriage, front and rear pairs of rollers supporting front and rear ends of said carriage for movement over the roadway, and linkage means operatively associated with said chassis and said rollers for moving said carriage vertically relative to said rollers in accordance with the vertical movement of said chassis relative to said wheels, said second element being rigidly secured to said carriage.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said carriage includes a pair of sections and said second element includes a pair of sections rigidly connected to said carriage sections, and means connecting adjacent ends of said carriage sections for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis transverse relative to said roadway.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said front rollers supporting the front end of said carriage and said rear rollers supporting the rear end of said carriage are rotatable about horizontal axes and turnable about vertical axes, and intermediate rollers supporting said adjacent ends, said linkage means including means interconnecting said rollers and said carriage providing connections between said rollers and said carriage which are pivotally movable about horizontal axes spaced from the axes of rotation of said rollers for causing said connections to move pivotally downwardly about said axies of rotation as said chassis moves downwardly relative to said wheels.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said linkage means for each pair of front and rear rollers includes a transverse roller bar, said rollers of each pair being connected to opposite ends of said roller bar and being rotatable about first horizontal axes and turnable about vertical axes, means connecting said roller bar to the adjacent end of said carriage permitting pivotal movement of said roller bar and the adjacent end of said carriage about second and third spaced horizontal axis, and means connecting said roller bar to the adjacent end of said chassis for permitting moveMent of said roller bar and said adjacent end of said carriage about said second and third axes for moving said adjacent end of said carriage downwardly relative to said pair of rollers when said adjacent end of said chassis is moved downwardly.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said linkage means for each pair of front and rear rollers includes a transverse roller bar, said rollers of the pair being connected to opposite ends of said roller bar and being rotatable about a first horizontal axes and turnable about vertical axes, means connecting said roller bar to the adjacent end of said carriage permitting pivotal movement of said roller bar and the adjacent end of said carriage about second and third spaced horizontal axis, and means connecting said roller bar to the adjacent end of said chassis for permitting movement of said roller bar and said adjacent end of said carriage about said second and third axes for moving said adjacent end of said carriage downwardly relative to said pair of rollers when said adjacent end of said chassis is moved downwardly;

and wherein said means connecting said intermediate rollers to said chassis includes second linkage means including first means connecting said intermediate rollers to said adjacent connected ends of said carriage at spaced locations of the connection of said adjacent ends and of the axis of rotation of said intermediate rollers, and second means pivotally connecting said first means to said chassis for causing said adjacent ends of said carriage to move vertically relative to the axis of rotation of said intermediate rollers in accordance with the vertical movement of said chassis at a location intermediate its ends.