Traffic/transportation system

• US 6,129,025 A
• Filed: 04/10/1998
• Issued: 10/10/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hiroyuki Minakami, Motoyuki Minakami
• Original Assignee: Hiroyuki Minakami, Motoyuki Minakami
• Inventors: Minakami, Hiroyuki, Minakami, Motoyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Morano, S. Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): McCarry, Jr., Robert J.
• Application Number:
  US08/983,292
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• Field of Search: 104/18, 104/20, 104/88.01, 104/88.02, 104/88.03, 104/140, 104/146, 104/288, 104/290, 104/292, 104/295, 104/296, 104/304, 104/305, 104/130.07, 104/130.09, 105/159
• US Class Current: 104/88.01
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 13/03 Electric propulsion by linear motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/38 with automatic control
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/26 Rail vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2200/44 Industrial trucks or floor conveyors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2260/32 Auto pilot mode
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 5/005 without mechanical contact between the collector and the power supply line
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/51 characterised by AC-motors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/126 Methods for pairing a vehicle and a charging station, e.g. establishing a one-to-one relation between a wireless power transmitter and a wireless power receiver
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/36 by positioning the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/39 with position-responsive activation of primary coils
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 9/24 fed from ac supply lines
• CPC Class Codes: B60P 3/07 for carrying road vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/08 Lane monitoring; Lane Keeping Systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/083 using active brake actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/087 using active steering actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B61B 13/08 Sliding or levitation systems vehicles with air cushions between rails and vehicles B60V3/04
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/26 mechanical, e.g. by a non-load-bearing guide railways B61
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 37/00 Stabilising vehicle bodies without controlling suspension arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 39/00 Vehicle bodies not otherwise provided for , e.g. safety vehicles safety equipment B60R21/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/60 : Electric or hybrid propulsion means for production processes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 30/00 : Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 : Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 : Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles

Abstract

In a transportation/logistics system in which a pallet/vehicle with an automobile/container mounted/fixed thereon travels, a normal steering operation is carried out by changing the direction of the wheels (including tires) by an electronically controlled automatic steering system on the basis of steering information, whereby comfortable travel and a smooth turns are obtained. When the pallet/vehicle is about to run off a lane on which it travels, the run-off thereof is prevented physically and mechanically since a fin provided on the pallet/vehicle is inserted in a groove provided in a road, whereby a safe traffic/transportation system is obtained. The pallet/vehicle obtains a driving force by a gap length regulated/controlled linear induction motor so that the pallet/vehicle can travel at high speeds. In diverging (branching) and merging (converging) points, the diverging (branching)/merging (converging) of the pallet/vehicles is practiced by steering the wheels (tires) by the automatic steering system, and the pallet/vehicle advances with the fin inserted in a groove in a main line or a ramp, whereby a reliable, safe traffic/transportation system adapted to practice high-speed diverging (branching) is obtained. At the exit/entrance of the present invention to/from a general road, a mode interchange is provided which is adapted to convert a traveling mode of an automobile/container, and mounts and fixes an automobile/container on the pallet/vehicle and unfastens such automobile/container.

Claims

1. A transportation/logistics system for transporting vehicles or containers between entrance and exit points comprising

a plurality of pallets, each of which is suitable for carrying a vehicle or container and is supported by wheels, each of the plurality of pallets including

an electromagnetically powered propulsion system;

and

a steering system for said wheels which includes;

a deviation sensing system which senses the location of the pallets based on obtained information, and which confirms whether the pallet is traveling in an objected to location in a main lane of the transportation/logistics system;

a guidance sensing system which collects information to be used to control the steering system, including steering information, location of obstacles, headway distance and traveling speed, from sensors, which include a location display, an imaging apparatus, a vehicle detection sensor and a gap detection mechanism installed on the main lane, or on the pallet; and

a lane deviation preventing fin which protrudes downward from the bottom of each of said pallets and on which is positioned the gap detection mechanism,

wherein the gap detection mechanism detects a gap between said lane deviation prevention fin and front headway and/or side wall of a ditch which is installed in the main lane;

a road system on which each of said pallets can travel, including the main lane having the ditch in which said lane deviation preventing fin can be positioned, wherein the dimensions of the ditch are selected so that said lane deviation preventing fin is able to move in said ditch without contacting the side walls of the ditch and so that the pallet is mechanically prevented from deviating from the main lane in the event the lane deviation preventing fin makes contact with the side wall of the ditch;

wherein the steering system is responsive to the location of the pallet, the confirmation that the pallet is traveling in an objected to location in the main lane, and the information from the guidance sensing system, and steers the pallet so that the lane deviation prevention fin of the pallet travels in the ditch without contacting the side walls of the ditch;

a mode-interchange at which the vehicle or container can be loaded on said pallet or unloaded from said pallet;

a driving control system providing driving control of the propulsion, braking and steering for each individual pallet based upon information regarding driving conditions collected from

sensors installed on the main lane, which include a position display apparatus, vehicle detecting sensors, and an image treating apparatus;

from the sensors on the pallet which relate to the driving condition of the pallet,

from communication apparatus which is installed on the road and from communication between pallets;

a diverging system in which the direction of the pallet is controlled automatically by the steering system to exit from the main lane and enter a different target lane at a diverging section of the road system and, wherein the different target lane has a ditch and the steering system controls the pallet based on diverging signals from the pallet, from a remote controller associated with the pallet, and from road side and position information at the diverging section, so that the lane deviation preventing fin does not contact the wall of the ditch in the different target lane;

a merging system, in which the direction of the pallet is controlled automatically by the steering system to enter the main lane from a branch lane at a merging section of the road, wherein the branch lane has a ditch in which the lane deviation can travel without contacting the walls of the ditch and the steering system controls the pallet based on merging signals from the pallet, from the remote controller associated with the pallet, and from road side and position information at the merging section so that the lane deviation preventing fin does not contact the side wall of the ditch in the branch lane;

a motor system formed between the pallet and the road which provides a propulsion force for the pallet and which is designed not to be directly loaded by the weight of the pallet.

3. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the steering system steers the pallet based on information regarding traveling position and from the gap detection mechanism, using the following method,

after a certain interval following completion of a steering adjustment, a first steering step of maintaining the steering condition if the result of the steering adjustment is that the pallet follows a desired course, or causing the steering condition to be pushed back by a first steering angle amount if the result of the steering adjustment is that the pallet does not follow the desired course so as to return the normal position of the steering,

if the first steering step is not sufficient to cause the pallet to follow the desired course, a second steering step of causing the steering condition to be pushed back by a deeper steering angle,

if after an interval following completion of the second steering step, the pallet does not follow the desired course, a third steering step is made in the same manner as the second steering step, then, the first, second, and third steering steps are repeated in order until the pallet is made to approach the desired course along the track.

5. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the road comprises

the ditch in which the lane deviation preventing fin can be inserted,

a structure of road pavement which is composed of a plane road surface suitable for the rolling of a wheel, and a road shoulder which is installed on both sides of said road, wherein the road has a road bed, a road floor and a side wall, and

further wherein said road pavement, road bed, road floor and the side wall along the longitudinal direction of traveling is made from concrete or other rigid material.

6. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, in which the road is comprised of

a road floor structure which is installed under a road bed, and is filled with water permeable material,

a road body which is installed under the road floor structure to support the road bed, and is filled with non-water permeable material or non-water permeable sheets to cover the boundaries of the road floor structure.

7. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein a steel plate is installed on a plane road surface of the road on which the wheels of the pallet can roll.

8. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein plane steel plates are installed on a plane road surface of the road and have a plurality of holes.

9. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein steel plates are installed on a plane road surface of the road on which the wheels of the pallet can roll, and a slanted joint is used between the steel plates.

10. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein solar cells and heat collection panels are installed on a surface of said road.

11. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein a longitudinal direction braking zone is installed on a plane road surface of the road parallel to a tracking line along which the wheels of the pallet are to be rolling.

12. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein a primary side or a reaction plate of a linear induction motor is installed under an overhang section of the ditch which is installed in the road, and further wherein the primary side of the linear induction motor or the reaction plate cooperates with an electromagnetically functional section of said lane deviation preventing fin to provide magnetic levitation.

13. The transportation/logistics systems of claim 1 or 2, wherein a photo reflection plate or a electromagnetic field reflection plate is installed on a side wall or bottom section of the ditch.

14. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, further including a braking mechanism which brakes the movement of the lane deviation preventing fin which is inserted in said ditch.

15. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, further including

a center lane for accommodating large or heavy pallets, and

other side lanes, on either side of the center lane for accommodating passenger or light weight pallets.

16. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein a vehicle is loaded or unloaded from a pallet at the mode interchange and wherein the mode interchange comprises

an entrance mode interchange at which the lane deviation preventing fin is deployed from the bottom side of the pallet when the vehicle enters the transportation/logistics system, and the lane deviation prevention fin is inserted into the ditch of a lane of the transportation/logistics system, and at which the vehicle is loaded onto the pallet and is fixed to the pallet,

an exit mode interchange at which the lane deviation preventing fin is drawn out of the ditch and pushed back into the bottom of the pallet, and at which the vehicle is unlocked and unloaded from the pallet when the vehicle exits the transportation/logistics system,

a yard which is capable of storing the pallets or containers at a location between the entrance mode interchange and the exit mode interchange.

17. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2 wherein the lane deviation preventing fin is installed in the bottom of the pallet with a hinge or an expandable member, so that the lane deviation preventing fin can be deployed or stored as needed.

18. The transportation/logistics system of claim 17, wherein the lane deviation preventing fin includes a sliding system to reduce friction positioned on the right and left sides of the lane deviation preventing fin.

19. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the lane deviation preventing fin is formed in the shape of a cylinder or disc and includes a mechanism which permits the lane deviation prevention fin to be pulled down in the perpendicular direction from the bottom of the pallet.

20. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the lane deviation preventing fin includes

a front nose section which is movable in a lateral direction with respect to the longitudinal traveling direction of the pallet.

21. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the lane deviation preventing fin includes an expandable section located on the lower part of the lane deviation preventing fin which expands after it is inserted into the ditch, and which expands in a lateral direction with respect to both the right and left of the longitudinal traveling direction of the pallet.

22. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the lane deviation preventing fin includes two distance measurement sensors positioned on the right and left sides and toward the front of the lane deviation preventing fin and so that the two distance measurement sensors will be positioned in the ditch when the lane deviation preventing fin is inserted in the ditch.

23. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein electromagnets are installed on the right and left sides of the lane deviation preventing fin and magnet units are installed along walls of the ditch, so that while the pallet is diverging or merging in a selected direction, said electromagnets can be excited to the same side as the selected direction to cause the lane deviation preventing fin to be shifted toward the selected direction in the ditch, and so that the diverging or merging can be completed by operating said electromagnets.

24. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the lane deviation preventing fin is installed on the bottom of the pallet/vehicle by way of a hinge so that the lane deviation preventing fin is movable laterally with respect to the longitudinal direction of the traveling direction of the pallet, and further wherein the lane deviation preventing fin includes

an elastic member connecting the lane deviation preventing fin to a protector frame, wherein the dimensions of the protector frame are selected to cover a portion of said fin, and wherein the elastic member maintains a selected orientation of said lane deviation prevention fin, and

a touch sensor which is in communication with a traffic control section and is installed on an outer frame of said fin protector and positioned on the outer frame so that when the lane deviation prevention fin touches a side wall of the ditch contact is made with said sensor if said lane deviation prevention fin departs from the selected orientation by a predetermined amount.

25. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, further including

an expandable shock absorbing bumper installed on the pallet, a connection member through which said bumper is connected to the pallet, wherein the connection member includes an expandable member which has a shock absorbing capability against external impact forces,

a sensor installed on the pallet or road which detects a near miss of the pallet with other pallets which are traveling on the transportation/logistics system,

wherein the expandable shock absorbing bumper is operable so that when the danger/possibility of a collision, based on the information of a near miss, is detected by said sensor, said expandable bumper is expanded before said pallets/vehicles collide.

26. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, further including a plate brake system comprising

a plate having an upper part and a lower section,

a support body member installed on the upper part of the plate, wherein said plate is installed on the bottom of the pallet through said support body member, and

further wherein said plate is capable of being positioned toward the surface of the road so that said plate can make contact with the road parallel to the road surface, and the lower section said plate produces friction as the plane moves against the road surface.

27. The transportation/logistics system of claim 26, wherein said plate brake system includes a sensor which installed on the pallet or road and which is capable of detecting a near miss of the pallet with other pallets which are traveling on the transportation/logistics system, so that when the danger or possibility of a collision is detected based on the information detected by said sensor, or the passenger of the pallet decides to stop the pallet, or an unpredictable disaster such as an earthquake, fire or traffic accident occurs in the transportation/logistics system, the plate support body member is operable to position the plate toward the road surface to stop the pallet.

28. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein said diverging section includes a divergence preparation section, a divergence confirmation section, a divergence arranging section, a divergence point and a finish section for diverging.

29. The transportation/logistics system in claim 1 or 2, wherein the diverging section includes a diverging triangle section and further wherein a sliding body member is installed on both sides of the diverging triangle section.

30. The in claim 1 or 2, wherein the diverging system is a electromagnetic type divergent system which includes an electromagnet installed on the side wall of a portion of the ditch which precedes the diverging section.

31. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the diverging section includes

a structure which has a triangle shape divergent front nose members, a channelizing island which is separated from the front nose member, and an expandable body member which connects and supports the front nose member to the channelizing island.

32. The transportation/logistics system of claim 31, wherein a sliding body member is installed on a side of said divergent front nose member.

33. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the diverging section includes a divergent front nose member which is operable so that a front end of said divergent front nose can slide laterally both right and left with respect to the direction of the travel of the pallet.

34. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein said merging section comprises a merging simulation section, a merging confirmation section, a merging arranging section, a merging point and a finishing section of merging.

35. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the merging section includes an electromagnetic type merging system which has an electromagnet installed on the side wall of the ditch which precedes the merging section.

36. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the merging section includes

an electromagnetic type merging system which has an electromagnet which is installed on a side wall of a ditch in a merging lane and which is installed inside of the ditch which is located in the main lane with which the merging lane is to merge.

37. The transportation/logistics system in claim 1 or 2, wherein pallets traveling in a lane cross another lane by way of a sequence of diverging and merging sections.

38. The transportation/logistics system in claim 37, wherein a circular loop traveling lane is installed at a crossing point of plural lanes each of which provides travel in a different direction, the circular loop traveling lane including a merging area in which a pallet in a lane traveling in a first direction merges into the circular loop traveling lane, and a diverging area which the a pallet traveling in the circular loop traveling lane diverges into a lane providing travel in a second different direction, and an accessing lane connected to the circular loop by which a pallet can enter the circular loop traveling lane, so that a pallet can enter a selected lane to change or transfer lanes.

39. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein distance measurement sensors are installed on the right and left sides of the lane deviation preventing fin and positioned in the longitudinal direction of travel of the pallet, and further wherein the distance measurement sensors detect the distance between the sensor and the internal side wall of the ditch, and said steering system is operated so that the lane deviation preventing fin is realigned to the center of the ditch and is regulated so that it does not contact the side wall of the ditch according to the error ratio=(a1-a2)/t

wherein a1 is a distance between the first measurement from a distance measurement sensor and the internal side wall of the ditch, a2 is a distance between the second measurement of the distance measurement sensor and the internal side wall of the ditch, and t is a time interval between a1 and a2.

40. The transportation/logistics system of claim 39, wherein a laser light, infrared light or electromagnetic field is adopted as the medium for said distance measurement sensor.

41. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein distances measured by the distance measurement sensors, are expressed as follows, x1:

the distance between the distance measurement sensor located on the left side and a point of intersection of a hypothetical line, drawn from said left distance measurement sensor parallel to the traveling direction of the pallet, with the side wall of the ditch, x2;

the distance between the distance measurement sensor located on the right side and a point of intersection of a hypothetical line, drawn from said right distance measurement sensor parallel to the traveling direction of the pallet, with the side wall of the ditch, y1;

the distance between the left distance sensor and a point of intersection of a hypothetical line, drawn from said left distance sensor transversely to the traveling direction and the side wall of the ditch, y2;

the distance between the right distance sensor and a point of intersection of a hypothetical line drawn from said right distance sensor transversely to the traveling direction and the side wall of the ditch, and further including a traveling condition detecting member, which detects an error according to an equation, error=x1/y1 or x2/y2.

42. The transportation/logistics system of claim 41, wherein the steering system of the pallet is controlled based on said error

and further wherein, a curving ratio in front of the pallet/vehicle is calculated from the error, and

the automated steering system is operated according to said calculated curving ratio to control the traveling of the pallet.

43. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2 further including a non contact electricity collecting apparatus, comprising

an upper road surface core coil installed on the surface of the road, and stacked along the traveling lane,

an electricity collecting body member installed on the bottom of the pallet and having a perpendicularly movable support body member,

a sensor which detects the distance between said electricity collecting body member and said upper road surface core coil, and

an actuator which works to maintain a constant distance between the electricity collecting body member and said upper road surface core coil by regulating the length of the perpendicularly movable supporting body member.

44. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the propulsion system is a linear motor system comprising a primary side of a linear induction motor and a reaction plate, one of which is installed along the lane on the road surface on both the right and left sides in the ditch and the other of which is installed on the bottom side of the pallet.

45. The transportation/logistics system of claim 44 wherein the linear motor system includes an air splash mechanism comprising an air inlet which is installed on a front nose section of the pallet, piping which connects the air inlet to the linear motor system so that air can flow from the air inlet to the linear motor system outlet piping which is installed on the bottom of a portion of said linear motor system on the pallet and which permit air flowing through the linear motor from the air inlet to exit the air splash mechanism.

46. The transportation/logistics system of claim 44 wherein the linear motor system includes, an air compressing apparatus which is installed on the piping and which directs air intake from the air inlet.

47. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2 wherein the propulsion system comprises a linear induction motor separated from the road surface by a gap length, and further wherein the linear induction motor is operated to control the gap length to minimize the gap length by controlling the displacement of an actuator, which is installed on the linear induction motor, in accordance with information obtained from road unevenness sensors which are carried on the pallet or from gap length measuring sensors which are installed on the bottom of the linear induction motor.

48. The transportation/logistics system of claim 44, in which the lane deviation preventing fin is installed on the bottom side of the linear induction motor which is installed on the bottom of the pallet.

49. The transportation/logistics system of claim 44, wherein coolant is circulated around said linear induction motor through the piping from a cooling unit which is installed on the pallet.

50. The transportation/logistics system of claim 44, wherein one end of a support is installed on the linear induction motor and the support is coupled to the body of the pallet in a hinged arrangement, a counter weight is installed on an other of the support, and an actuator is connected to the support.

51. The transportation/logistics system of claim 44, wherein an electromagnet or a magnetic member which supports the linear induction motor is installed on the bottom side of the linear induction motor.

52. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the pallet includes a suspension mechanism in which an electromagnet is used for levitation of the pallet and is installed on a support body member which protrudes in both the right and left lateral directions with respect to the traveling direction of the pallet and said support body member is installed on the bottom of the lane deviation preventing fin, and further wherein a magnetic member which interacts with the electromagnet to provide the levitation of the pallet is installed in the ditch of the road.

53. The transportation/logistics system of claim 52, wherein the primary side of a linear induction motor is installed on the support body member and said support body member is installed on the bottom of the lane deviation preventing fin, and

a reaction plate is installed on the upper portion of the inside of the side wall of the ditch to interact with the primary side of the linear induction motor.

54. The transportation/logistics system of claim 52, wherein a linear motor for propulsion is installed on the support body member.

55. The transportation/logistics system of claim 52, further including a supplemental divergent mechanism positioned in the diverging section, wherein the supplemental divergent mechanism includes a guiding skid, located on a lower part of the lane deviation preventing fin, and on the side toward which the pallet is to diverge, and further wherein the guiding skid is pushed out from the supporting body member so that said skid is fit into the space between a rail which is installed above both right and left side of the ditch in the divergent section, and an upper part of the side wall area.

56. The transportation/logistics system of claim 52, wherein electromagnets for levitation are installed on both the right and left sides of a lower part of the supporting body member and are individually controlled.

57. The transportation/logistics system of claim 52, wherein, when the pallet is diverging, the electromagnet for the levitation on the same side as the direction in which the diverging is occurring is turned on, and the electromagnet for the levitation on the opposite side of the direction of the diverging is turned off to complete the divergence.

58. The transportation/logistics system of claim 52, wherein the propulsion system includes a linear induction plate installed on the lane deviation preventing fin, and a reaction plate installed under the bottom of an overhang section of the ditch in the road.

59. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein an automobile is carried by the pallet and a final destination for the automobile is designated by an occupant of the automobile, and further wherein information about the final destination, the expected environmental conditions and an ID-tag number for the pallet are registered with an integrated traffic control center, wherein the ID-tag number is registered based on information from said automobile, and further wherein basic condition recognition related to the traveling on the system is analyzed to optimize traveling performance and to regulate the pallet based on information from an intelligent data base which is accumulated from the road or the infrastructure of said transportation/logistics system, the recognized conditions are then analyzed, and the results of the analysis are then sent to the integrated traffic control center, and traveling is controlled by the integrated traffic control center.

60. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein information obtained from a beacon, a leaky coaxial cable, an induction cable magnet, a marker detectable as a track separation line, sensors which detect the road condition/headway in the front and rear of the pallet, and a finishing switch, which are installed in the road or infrastructure, is converted into pallet/vehicle confirmation information, pallet positioning, speed and condition information in order to assess the circumstances of traveling, and further wherein said converted information is sent to an I/O port of the pallet, together with weather information, traffic related information, line shape of the road and geographical information of the road, and further wherein said information is then treated by a central processing unit on the pallet, and the pallet'"'"'s propulsion and diverging and merging is controlled based on said information.

61. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein an automobile is carried by the pallet and the automobile further includes,

an information unit, such as a heads-up mount display or CRT and a vocal information communication instrument,

an information treatment instrument which treats the information from said vocal information communication instrument as information from inside the automobile,

a transmitter remote controller which transmits the information from said information communication instrument, said information treatment instrument and a final destination designated by a driver or passenger of said automobile.

62. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein a beacon transmission and receiving instrument, bar code, IC card, and global positioning system are installed as confirmation communication apparatuses, and further wherein a lateral acceleration sensor, a forward or backward acceleration sensor, a steering angle sensor, a speed sensor, a body height sensor, a magnetic field sensor, a photo-sensor, a camera, radar, and an ultrasonic sensor are installed as detection apparatuses, and the information obtained from said confirmation communication apparatuses and from said detection apparatuses is sent to an I/O port to be converted and sent to a computer which is installed on the pallet for further processing.

63. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the propulsion system is a linear motor system, and further including a gap length controlling system which controls the gap length between a primary side and a secondary side of the linear motor, and further wherein

the gap length is controlled by regulating an actuator based on the information which is sent from a gap length measurement sensor which is installed on the pallet, or information sent from the computer which is installed on the pallet.

64. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, further including

a fixation confirming sensor which is installed on a wheel fixing apparatus of the pallet which carries the vehicle or container, and wherein the fixation confirmation sensor transmits an emergency signal under unusual conditions, and the pallet is then stopped in response to said emergency signal, or the transportation/logistics system causes said pallet to go to an evacuation area.

65. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, including

an electricity supplying system installed under the control of an integrated traffic control center for each traveling section, including an automated traveling control apparatus for each electricity supplying section, and wherein information collected from communication apparatus is sent to said automated traveling control apparatus, and the pallet further includes a linear motor controlled by an inverter or through the electricity supply system automated traveling control apparatus based on decisions made from all said collected information.

66. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, including an automated traveling system comprising, a pallet propulsion system which is propelled by a linear motor, a braking system which controls the operation of the linear motor, a plate braking system, a disc braking system, a guiding system which operates the steering system, and wherein the lane deviation prevention fin operates as a guiding system as needed.

67. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the mode interchange includes a mode interchange entrance area, a mode interchange exit area, and a pallet stock and checking area which is installed between said entrance and said exit.

68. The transportation/logistics system of claim 67, wherein said entrance area provides the entrance to the transportation/logistics system from an ordinary road at which information is collected such as vehicle number, type of vehicle, and vehicle weight and size, the mode interchange further including an automatic gate-in section at which the vehicle is loaded onto an empty pallet which is transferred from the pallet stock-checking area, and is firmly fixed to the pallet by the wheel fixing apparatus and thereafter the pallet on which the vehicle is loaded is routed to the merging section through which said pallet proceeds into the main lane.

69. The transportation/logistics system of claim 67, wherein a pallet recovered from the mode interchange exit is transferred to the pallet stock and checking area, and further wherein said pallets are controlled by the individual pallet driving control system, a pallet in and out system and a pallet check system, and wherein a pallet is sent out from the pallet stock and checking area to the entrance of the mode interchange when necessary.

70. The transportation/logistics system of claim 67, wherein a pallet which carries an automobile enters a connection area of the mode interchange from a road of the transportation/logistics system where a wheel fixing apparatus, which is attached on the pallet and fixes the automobile to the pallet, is unlocked at a pallet returning system and is the pallet is emptied, and further wherein the empty pallet is sent out from said pallet returning system to a pallet/automobile stock-check section, and the automobile is then sent to an automatic gate out section, and thereafter to the ordinary road after the fee is paid at a toll gate.

71. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, further including a preventive safety system including an alarm system which is composed of a monitor system, a check system, a remote control display system and an internal CRT display system, a lane deviation preventing system and accident avoiding system which include the lane preventing fin and the automatic steering system, a damage reducing system which include an air bag system and a flexible bumper system, a wheel fixing/releasing system, and a lane evacuation system.

72. The transportation/logistics system of claim 71, including a monitoring system comprising a vehicle condition monitoring system, headway distance monitoring system, behind vehicle monitoring system, lane deviation prevention monitoring system, road surface condition monitoring system and traffic condition monitoring system.

73. The transportation/logistics system of claim 71, further including an obstacle detecting system, earthquake detecting system, and fire detecting system.

74. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein an automobile is traveling while fixed to the pallet by a wheel fixing apparatus, and further wherein the operation of the wheel fixing apparatus is checked during the traveling of the pallet, and an automated traveling control system is provided which confirms whether the pallet is, carrying an automobile or not by using a weight sensor, confirms whether the pallet is traveling or not by using a speed sensor, confirms whether the wheel fixing apparatus is fixing the wheel or not by using a wheel fixing confirming sensor, operates the linear motor braking system, and operates the plate braking system.

76. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein a diverging pallet carries a vehicle having a passenger, and further wherein the diverging section

confirms whether the diverging pallet is in a divergent preparation section by using a position sensor,

confirms the passenger'"'"'s diverging intention using a communication tool which is located in the vehicle and which transmits said confirmed intention,

analyzes the collected information from the sensors which are installed on either the road system or the pallet,

controls the angle of the automatic steering system based on information from said analyzed collected information,

operates an X-Y direction linear motor based on speed information from the speed sensor which is installed on the pallet,

operates the steering system based on steering angle information from a steering angle sensor which detects the angle of the steering,

determines the position of the lane deviation preventing fin in the ditch based on a distance sensor which detects distances between the lane deviation prevention fin and the side walls of the ditch in directions which are longitudinal to the traveling direction of the diverging pallet,

determines the position of the pallet using a position or contact sensor which is installed on the road system or pallet,

determines whether said pallet is in an expected area,

confirms whether said pallet/vehicle enters a divergence confirmation section,

confirms whether said pallet did enter the scheduled lane using a position determining or contact sensors which are installed on the road system or pallet,

further wherein, when a scheduled divergence is unsuccessful, the diverging system determines the cause of unsuccessful divergence, and whether the divergence should be changed at the next divergence, proceeds with the changed traveling schedule, and confirms whether said pallet has passed a divergent arrangement section.

77. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein a merging pallet carries a vehicle having a passenger and further wherein the merging section

confirms whether or not the merging pallet is in a preparation section of the merging section by using a position sensor,

confirms the passenger'"'"'s merging intention using a communication tool which is located in the vehicle and

which transmits the confirmed said intention,

confirms whether or not the merging pallet enters the simulation section when the merging pallet is traveling on a merging branch lane,

confirms whether or not there is another pallet on the main lane, when the merging pallet is traveling on the merging branch lane,

analyzes the collected information from the sensors which are installed on either the infrastructure side or the merging pallet, to determine the output to control the angle of the automatic steering system

confirms whether or not the merging is successful,

confirms whether or not sufficient headway space is securely maintained in relation to the interval between said merging pallet and other pallets on the main lane,

determines the output to control the angle of the automatic steering system based on the analyzed collected information,

operates an X-Y direction linear motor based on speed information from a traveling speed sensor which is installed on the merging pallet,

operates the steering system based on the steering angle information from a steering angle sensor which detects the angle of the steering,

determines the position of the lane deviation preventing fin in the ditch based on a distance sensor which detects distances between the lane deviation preventing fin and the side walls of the ditch in directions which are longitudinal to the traveling direction of the merging pallet,

confirms whether or not the position of the merging pallet is in the merging confirmation section,

reconfirms whether or not there are other pallets in the merging section of the merging system,

halts said merging pallet from entering the merging section, if there is another pallet/vehicle in the merging affection section,

confirms whether or not said merging pallet did merge into the scheduled lane using a position determinant or contact sensors which are installed on the road system or the merging pallet, and

further wherein, when a scheduled merging is unsuccessful the merging system determines the cause of the merging failure and how to respond to the next movement, and notifies the integrated traffic control center of a change in schedule, and

confirms if said merging pallet has passed through the merging section.

78. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the pallet has a horizontal wing which is attached with an ascent/descent flap on both the right and left side of the pallet, and a vertical wing which has a rudder at the front or rear section of the pallet.

79. The transportation/logistics system of claim 78, wherein the pallet has an aerodynamic body and travels at high speed, and further wherein a gap length between a reaction plate of a linear motor and an induction plate of the linear motor is controlled by operating the ascent/descent flap and the rudder, wherein the weight load of the pallet is reduced by operating said ascent/descent flap and the rudder, and the pallet is levitated by operating said ascent/descent flap and the rudder.

80. The transportation/logistics system in claim 1 or 2, wherein said pallet is capable of carrying a container.

81. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the pallet can be extended to match the size of the vehicle being carried.

82. The transportation/logistics system of claim 1 or 2, wherein said lane deviation prevention fin has an electricity collecting apparatus on the lower section of said fin.

2. A transportation/logistics system for transporting vehicles or containers between entrance and exit points

a plurality of pallets, each of which is suitable for carrying a vehicle or container and each of which includes

a linear motor powered propulsion system and a magnetically levitated pallet body supporting system,

a magnetically levitated guiding system which includes,

a traveling position sensor which detects the traveling position of said pallet, and wherein the guiding system determines whether or not said pallet is traveling in a planned position based on said detected traveling position information,

a sensing system which collects information for control of the magnetically levitated pallet body supporting system and the magnetically levitated guiding system, including vehicle position and obstacle detection information, headway distance, and traveling speed, wherein the information originates from sensors which are installed on the road or on a pallet, which include, a location display apparatus, vehicle detection sensors, and imaging apparatuses,

a pair of lane deviation preventing fins which protrude from the bottom of said pallet and on which is positioned a gap detection mechanism which detects a distance between the lane deviation prevention fins and the headway in front of the lane deviation preventing fin or the distance between the side of the lane deviation preventing fin and side walls of a pair of ditches which are installed in a main lane,

wherein the magnetically levitated guiding system is responsive to the information collected by the sensing system and traveling position sensor and guides the pallet magnetically so that the lane deviation preventing fins travel in the ditches without contacting the walls of the ditches,

a control system for the magnetically levitated pallet body supporting system, including

electromagnets installed on right and left sides of the lane deviation preventing fins,

absorption plates installed on a section of the ditches of the main lane and which absorb the force generated by the electromagnets, and

distance sensors which measure the height of the magnetic levitation generated by the magnetically levitated pallet body supporting system, wherein the control system controls the force generated by the electromagnets,

a road, in which the pallet travels, and which includes the main lane having the ditches in which the lane deviation preventing fins can be positioned, wherein the dimensions of the ditches are selected so that said lane deviation preventing fins can move in the ditches without contacting the side walls of the ditches, and so that said lane deviation preventing fins mechanically prevent the pallet from deviating from the main lane in the event contact is made with the side wall of the ditches,

a mode-interchange at which the vehicle or container can be loaded on said pallet or unloaded from said pallet,

a driving control system providing driving control of the propulsion, braking and magnetic levitation for each individual pallet based upon information regarding driving conditions collected from

sensors installed on the main lane, which include a position display apparatus, vehicle detecting sensors, and an image treating apparatus.

from sensors on the pallet and a remote controller associated with the pallet which relate to the driving conditions of the pallet, and

information from communication apparatus, which is installed on the road, and from communication between pallets,

a diverging system in which the direction of the pallet is controlled automatically by the magnetically levitated guiding system to exit from the main lane and enter a different target lane at a diverging section of the road system by controlling the power of the electromagnetic field of the electromagnets on the lane deviation preventing fins in response to diverging signals which come from the pallet, the remote controller associated with the pallet, and from road side and position information at the diverging section so that the lane deviation preventing fins do not contact the side walls of the ditches in the road,

a merging system in which the direction of a pallet is controlled automatically by the magnetically levitated guiding system to enter the main lane from a branch lane at a merging section by controlling the power of the electromagnetic field of the electromagnets on the lane deviation preventing fins based on merging signals from the pallet, the remote controller and the road side and position information at the merging section so that the lane deviation preventing fins do not contact the side walls of the ditches in the road.

4. The transportation/logistics system of claim 2, wherein on the road a rail is installed on an overhang section which is protruding from the side wall of the ditch to match with the electromagnets of the magnetically levitated body supporting system which are installed on the side of the lane deviation preventing fin.

75. The transportation/logistics system ofclaim 1 or 2, wherein information is collected about a distance error between the lane deviation preventing fin in the traveling direction and the side wall of the ditch, the distance error information including information about the separation between the lane deviation preventing fin in both right and left lateral directions and the side wall of the ditch, the headway distance to a front traveling pallet, traveling information from the infrastructure such as the ditch and the traveling road, and information which is collected by the sensors, which are installed on the pallet, and further wherein said above information is sent to a computer on the pallet, and after said information is treated, an angle of steering is determined based on the analysis of the accumulated data and said treated information, and the steering system is operated based on said determined information.