Transit system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A transit system, comprising:
- a) an elongate guideway, including;
i. a riding surface, having functionally interchangeable transit and transition lanes;
ii. a plurality of rider access portals, disposed in a side of the guideway, located at a plurality of destination locations; and
iii. vehicle access portals, configured to allow vehicles to enter or leave the guideway;
b) a plurality of autonomous vehicles, disposed within the guideway, configured for transporting riders, the autonomous vehicles having rider entry doors configured to selectively align with any of the rider access portals and allow the riders to enter the vehicle when the autonomous vehicle stops in the guideway adjacent to one of the rider access portals, the transit lane being configured to accommodate the autonomous vehicles traveling at a transit speed, and the transition lane being oriented substantially parallel to the transit lane and located adjacent to the rider access portals, at least some of the autonomous vehicles being configured for independent operation and control by a driver outside of the guideway; and
c) a control system, configured toi. automatically direct one of the plurality of autonomous vehicles along the guideway and to enter the transition lane to stop adjacent to a selected one of the rider access portals in response to a request from one of the riders; and
ii. automatically guide the one autonomous vehicle along the guideway to a destination location selected by the rider.
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Abstract
A point-to-point transit system for riders includes an elongate guideway, a plurality of autonomous vehicles disposed in the guideway, a plurality of selectively actuable rider access portals in the side of the guideway, and a control system, configured to automatically guide the vehicles within the guideway. The rider access portals are configured to allow ingress and egress of riders to the autonomous vehicles in the guideway. The control system is configured to allow each vehicle to travel between origin and destination locations that are independently selected by a rider.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A transit system, comprising:
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a) an elongate guideway, including; i. a riding surface, having functionally interchangeable transit and transition lanes; ii. a plurality of rider access portals, disposed in a side of the guideway, located at a plurality of destination locations; and iii. vehicle access portals, configured to allow vehicles to enter or leave the guideway; b) a plurality of autonomous vehicles, disposed within the guideway, configured for transporting riders, the autonomous vehicles having rider entry doors configured to selectively align with any of the rider access portals and allow the riders to enter the vehicle when the autonomous vehicle stops in the guideway adjacent to one of the rider access portals, the transit lane being configured to accommodate the autonomous vehicles traveling at a transit speed, and the transition lane being oriented substantially parallel to the transit lane and located adjacent to the rider access portals, at least some of the autonomous vehicles being configured for independent operation and control by a driver outside of the guideway; and c) a control system, configured to i. automatically direct one of the plurality of autonomous vehicles along the guideway and to enter the transition lane to stop adjacent to a selected one of the rider access portals in response to a request from one of the riders; and ii. automatically guide the one autonomous vehicle along the guideway to a destination location selected by the rider. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A transit system, comprising;
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a) an elongate guideway, having a transit lane and a substantially parallel transition lane, the transit and transition lanes being functionally interchangeable, and including vehicle access portals, configured to allow vehicles to enter or leave the guideway; b) a plurality of autonomous vehicles, disposed in the guideway and configured to travel therein, at least some of the autonomous vehicles being configured for independent operation and control by a driver outside of the guideway; c) a plurality of selectively actuable rider access portals, disposed along the guideway adjacent to a lane of the guideway to be locally and at least temporarily designated as the transition lane, configured to allow ingress and egress of riders to the autonomous vehicles in the guideway; and d) a control system, configured to automatically guide the autonomous vehicles within the guideway, to allow the autonomous vehicles to transition between the transit lane and the transition lane, and allow each vehicle to travel between origin and destination locations independently selected by a rider, at least some of the origin and destination locations comprising a rider access station, disposed adjacent to at least one of the selectively actuable rider access portals. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A transit system, comprising:
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a) an elongate guideway, including; i. a riding surface, having functionally interchangeable transit and transition lanes; ii. a plurality of rider access portals, disposed in a side of the guideway; and iii. vehicle access portals, configured to allow vehicles to enter or leave the guideway; b) a plurality of rider stations, each rider station being located adjacent to at least one of the rider access portals; c) a plurality of autonomous vehicles;
disposed within the guideway, configured for transporting riders between the rider access portals, the autonomous vehicles having rider entry doors configured to align with the rider access portals and to allow the riders to enter one of the autonomous vehicles when the one autonomous vehicle stops in the guideway adjacent to one of the rider access portals, at least some of the autonomous vehicles being configured for independent operation and control by a driver outside of the guideway;d) the transit lane being configured to accommodate the autonomous vehicle traveling at a transit speed, and the transition lane being located adjacent to the rider access portals; and e) a control system, configured to (i) automatically direct the one of the plurality of the autonomous vehicles along the guideway to a selected rider access portal in response to a request from a rider, and allow the rider to enter therein; and (ii) automatically guide the one autonomous vehicle along the guideway to a destination location selected by the rider, the control system being enable to combine the one autonomous vehicle into a controllably linked “
train”
with at least one other autonomous vehicle for travel in the transit lane, and to cause the one autonomous vehicle to detach from the controllably linked “
trains”
of autonomous vehicles, and move to the transition lane to stop at the selected destination.
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Specification