Rapid transit system
First Claim
1. A rapid transit system comprising,a superstructure,an endless waterway supported by said superstructure,said endless waterway having a bottom wall and sidewalls extending upwardly therefrom to form a trough for the continuous forward flow of water therethrough,a plurality of vehicles for transporting passengers between selected locations on said waterway, said vehicles being bouyantly supported in said waterway,stabilizing means secured to said waterway for maintaining said bouyantly supported vehicles at a selected depth in said waterway,braking means provided on each of said vehicles for controlling the movement of said vehicles in said waterway,pump means for generating continuous forward movement of water in said waterway to forwardly propel said vehicles,a main terminal for passengers boarding and departure,a plurality of said waterways forming endless transit loops radiating in selected directions from said main terminal to provide transportation between a plurality of stations located along said waterway and said main terminal,rotatable means located at the end of each of said transit loops and at said main terminal for changing direction of said vehicles in said transit loops,a concave disc portion rigidly positioned at the end of each of said transit loops, at said main terminal and at selected points therebetween, anda section of said waterway positioned within each of said concave disc portions and rotatable relative thereto to facilitate change of direction of said vehicles within said waterway.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An endless water way is supported by a superstructure and includes a bottom wall and side walls extending upwardly from the bottom wall to form a trough. A pump system effects continuous forward flow of water through the trough of the waterway. A guide track is supported on the waterway above the trough. A plurality of vehicles for transporting passengers from station to station are buoyantly supported by the guide track in the waterway. The guide track maintains the vehicles at a selected depth in the waterway. Each vehicle is provided with braking apparatus for frictionally engaging the guide track of the waterway to slow and stop the vehicles. The continuous forward movement of water in the waterway forwardly propels the vehicles from station to station. A plurality of endless waterways form continuous loops that radiates outwardly from the main terminal to provide transportation around the loops to and from the main terminal. A shunting track is provided at each station for diverting the movement of the vehicles from the waterway to permit the vehicles to bypass the station or insertion and removal of the vehicles from the waterway. Conveyor devices transport the vehicles through the station at a controlled rate of speed to facilitate the boarding and departure of passengers to and from the vehicles.
73 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A rapid transit system comprising,
a superstructure, an endless waterway supported by said superstructure, said endless waterway having a bottom wall and sidewalls extending upwardly therefrom to form a trough for the continuous forward flow of water therethrough, a plurality of vehicles for transporting passengers between selected locations on said waterway, said vehicles being bouyantly supported in said waterway, stabilizing means secured to said waterway for maintaining said bouyantly supported vehicles at a selected depth in said waterway, braking means provided on each of said vehicles for controlling the movement of said vehicles in said waterway, pump means for generating continuous forward movement of water in said waterway to forwardly propel said vehicles, a main terminal for passengers boarding and departure, a plurality of said waterways forming endless transit loops radiating in selected directions from said main terminal to provide transportation between a plurality of stations located along said waterway and said main terminal, rotatable means located at the end of each of said transit loops and at said main terminal for changing direction of said vehicles in said transit loops, a concave disc portion rigidly positioned at the end of each of said transit loops, at said main terminal and at selected points therebetween, and a section of said waterway positioned within each of said concave disc portions and rotatable relative thereto to facilitate change of direction of said vehicles within said waterway.
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7. A rapid transit system comprising,
a superstructure, an endless waterway supported by said superstructure, said endless waterway having a bottom wall and sidewalls extending upwardly therefrom to form a trough for the continuous forward flow of water therethrough, a plurality of vehicles for transporting passengers between selected locations on said waterway, said vehicles being bouyantly supported in said waterway, stabilizing means secured to said waterway for maintaining said bouyantly supported vehicles at a selected depth in said waterway, braking means provided on each of said vehicles for controlling the movement of said vehicles in said waterway, pump means for generating continuous forward movement of water in said waterway to forwardly propel said vehicles, a transparent enclosure extending upwardly from said waterway to confine said vehicles within said waterway, means extending from said transparent enclosure for supplying electrical power to each of said vehicles in said waterway, partition means slidably mounted above said transparent enclosure for vertical movement therethrough into contact with said waterway sidewalls and bottom wall for interrupting the flow of water in said waterway, and said partition means being located at selected intervals along said waterway.
Specification