Vehicle guideway and system for mass transportation

• US 5,199,358 A
• Filed: 11/22/1991
• Issued: 04/06/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Peter J.M. Barratt
• Original Assignee: Peter J.M. Barratt
• Inventors: Barratt, Peter J. M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Butler, Douglas C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Mark T.
• Application Number:
  US07/796,617
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• Field of Search: 104/139, 104/140, 104/145, 104/245, 105/1.1, 105/1.2, 105/26.05, 105/26.1, 105/49, 105/72.2, 105/215.1
• US Class Current: 104/139
• CPC Class Codes: B61B 13/00 Other railway systems
• CPC Class Codes: B61B 5/025 Sub-floor conveyor systems, e.g. where the vehicle is above the ground and where the running gear and the propulsion device are located underground or in a tube. tunnel systems: B61B13/10; funiculas systems B61B9/00
• CPC Class Codes: B61C 11/06 tractive effort applied or supplied by aerodynamic force or fluid reaction, e.g. air-screws and jet or rocket propulsion
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 30/00 Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance

Abstract

The invention is a novel transit system in which vehicles are piggybacked onto electrically operated upper sled modules for longer distances or between critical high volume areas such as city centers and airports. The front wheels of the Electric vehicles (EVs) in this system are carried on an upper sled module which is connected by a strut or fin to a lower airfoil wing travelling in a generally below grade duct or conduit. The EV uses its own power to move the articulated unit from co-axial AC and DC motors supplemented by a parallel power supply and signals system. Vehicles mounted on the sled units are automatically spaced in response to central computerized timing and speed controls so as to ensure proper separation of vehicles using the guideway. Piggy backed vehicles can quit the guideway at predetermined nodal points to revert to conventional vehicular travel on the public highway system.

Claims

1. A transit system for transporting vehicles to and from nodal points comprising:

track in connection with said nodal points, said track having a continuous duct, said duct having left and right walls, each of said walls having a groove on the interior side of each said wall, said grooves running parallel to one another and running the length of said track, said duct having a top wall with a central aperture running the length of said groove, wing of aerodynamic shape for movement within said duct, said wing having rotating means on the left and right sides of said wing, said rotating means for contacting said grooves strut means in connection with said so that said strut protrudes through said central aperture, sled means in connection with said strut and located above said top wall, said sled having means for attachment to vehicles for transport along said system.

2. The systems of claim 1 where said sled is of aerodynamic shape.

3. The system of claim 2 where said sled has means for attaching to the front wheels of said vehicles.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein said vehicles have AC and DC motors individually geared, so that said motors may operate individually or together.