TRACK TYPE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

• US 20100036553A1
• Filed: 01/21/2008
• Published: 02/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd. (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Inventors: Morichika, Shunji, Katahira, Kousuke, Morita, Katsuaki, Yamaguchi, Masahiro, Hoshi, Mitsuaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,761,972 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B61B 10/04 with vehicles rolling trackless on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: B61F 9/00 Rail vehicles characterised by means for preventing derailing, e.g. by use of guide wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B61F 9/005 by use of non-mechanical means, e.g. acoustic or electromagnetic devices
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/265 especially adapted for guiding road vehicles carrying loads or passengers, e.g. in urban networks for public transportation

Abstract

In a track type protection system comprising an automatic steering mechanism and a fail-safe mechanism, provided is a detection mechanism which can detect a deviated value of a vehicle, widthwise of a track, and which is highly reliable. The track type transportation system in which the vehicle runs on the road surface of the track, comprising the steering mechanism for automatically steering the front and rear wheels of the vehicle by means of actuators, and the fail-safe mechanism composed of a protection track defined on the road surface of the track, and protection wheels provided in the lower part of the vehicle and adapted to run in the protection track without making contact with the protection track, wherein there are provided a pair of noncontact type displacement meters 13 which are attached to a support bracket 64 suspended downward from the lower part of the vehicle body, and which are arranged in the protection track 14 so as to irradiate detection waves a onto the left and right side walls 14a of the protection track, thereby the distances from the noncontact type displacement meters 13 to the left and right side walls of the protection track are measured by the pair of noncontact type displacement meters.

Claims

1. A track type transportation system in which a vehicle runs on a road surface of a predetermined track, comprising a steering mechanism for automatically steering front and rear wheels of the vehicle by means of actuators, and a fail-safe mechanism composed of a protection track defined on the road surface of the track, and protection wheels provided in a lower part of the vehicle and adapted to run in the protection track without making contact with the protection track, characterized by

a pair of noncontact type displacement meters attached to a bracket suspended downward from a lower part of a vehicle body, and arranged in the protection track, for emitting detection waves respectively toward left and right side walls of the protection track,

wherein distances between mounted positions of the noncontact type displacement meters and the left and right side walls of the protection track are measured by the pair of noncontact type displacement meters.

2. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the pair of noncontact displacement meters are arranged so as to emit the detection waves in order to irradiate the detection waves to the left and right side walls, orthogonal thereto or obliquely thereto.

3. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that a cover for surrounding the pair of noncontact type displacement meters so as to prevent reflection light from disturbance light reflected upon the walls of the protection track, from being overlapped with laser beams from the noncontact type displacement meters.

5. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that each noncontact type displacement meter is a laser type displacement meter or an ultrasonic type displacement meter.

6. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that there is provided a contact type displacement meter composed of:

a pair of contact members attached to the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the contact type displacement meters so as to be movable, widthwise of the protection track,

means for always urging resilient forces so as to press the contact members against the left and right side walls of the protection track,

means for detecting positions of the contact members which make into contact with the left and right side walls of the protection track, and

means for holding the pair of contact members at stand-by positions which are spaced from the left and right side walls of the protection track.

7. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 6, characterized in that rollers are used as the pair of noncontact type displacement meters, and there are provided arms having one end part attached to the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the noncontact type displacement meters, so as to be so as to be pivotable, widthwise of the protection track, and the rollers are attached to the other end part of the arms.

8. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 6, characterized in that rollers are used as the pair of contact members, and there are provided electric motor driven cylinders provided to the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the noncontact type displacement meters, and having piston rods which are extendable and retractable, being directed widthwise of the protection track, and link mechanisms attached to the piston rods of the electric motor driven cylinders so as to constitute parallelograms, and the rollers are attached to the link mechanisms.

9. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 6, characterized in that rollers are used as the pair of the pair of contact members, and there are provided a plurality of slide rods arranged in parallel, widthwise of the protection track, in the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the noncontact type displacement meters, and slide guides for supporting the slide rods which are therefore slidable, widthwise of the protection track, and the roller are attached to the front end parts of the slide rods.

10. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 6, characterized in that roller are used as the pair of contact members, and there are provided link mechanisms arranged in the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the noncontact type displacement meters so as to be expandable and shrinkable widthwise of the protection track, and the rollers arew attached to the front end of the link mechanism.

4. A tack type transportation system in which a vehicle runs on a road surface of a predetermined track, comprising a steering mechanism for automatically steering front and rear wheels of the vehicle by means of actuators, and a fail-safe mechanism composed of a protection track defined on the road surface of the track, and protection wheels provided in a lower part of the vehicle and adapted to run in the protection track without making contact with the protection track, characterized by

a pair of noncontact type displacement meters attached to a bracket suspended downward from a lower part of a vehicle body, and arranged in the protection track, for emitting detection waves respectively in a vehicle running direction of the protection track, and

reflectors for reflecting the detection waves emitted from the pair of noncontact type displacement meters, onto the left and right side walls of the protection track,

wherein distances from mounted positions of the noncontact type displacement meters to the side walls of the protection track are measured by the pair of noncontact type displacement meters.

11. A track type transportation system in which a vehicle runs on a road surface of a predetermined track, comprising a steering mechanism for automatically steering front wheels and rear wheels of the vehicle by means of actuators, and a fail-safe mechanism composed of a protection track defined on the road surface of the track, between a pair of left and right side walls extending in parallel with a vehicle running direction, and protection wheels provided to the lower part of the vehicle running in the protection track defined between the left and right side walls, characterized in that

there are provided a pair of noncontact type displacement meters attached to a bracket suspended downward from a lower part of a vehicle body, which are arranged in a space within the protection track defined between the pair of side walls so as to irradiate a detection wave (emission wave) emitted from one of the noncontact type displacement meters onto to the one of the side walls of the protection track and a detection wave emitted from the other one of the noncontact type displacement meters onto the other one of the side walls, and the pair of noncontact type displacement meters receive reflection waves from the side walls so as to measure distances from mounted positions of the respective noncontact type displacement meters to the left and right side walls of the protection track, in order to detect left and right deviated values of the vehicle with respect to the protection track.

12. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 11, characterized in that the noncontact type displacement meters are arranged so that the directions of emission of the detection waves are directed, oblique to directions orthogonal to the extending direction of the pair of left and right side walls of the protection track or the positions of the centers of the mounted places of the displacement meters are shifted toward the side walls opposite to the directions of emission of the detection waves in order to obtain optical path lengths from respective mounted positions of the pair of noncontact type displacement meters to the left and right side walls of the protection track.

13. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 12, characterized in that a cover surrounding the pair of noncontact type displacement meters is made of a photoabsorption member coated thereover with a black body or a dark color body, except parts corresponding to inlet and outlet paths of detection waves from the pair of noncontact type displacement meters, in order to prevent reflection light from disturbance light reflected upon the protection track walls, from being overlapped with laser beams from the displacement meters.

14. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 11, characterized in that reflection surfaces are arranged on optical paths on which detection waves are emitted from the pair of noncontact type displacement meters respectively toward the side walls, in order to obtain optical distances from the respective mounted positions of the pair of noncontact type displacement meters to the left and right side walls of the protection track.

15. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 11, characterized in that the noncontact type displacement meters are laser type displacement meters or ultrasonic type displacement meters.

16. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 11, characterized in that there are provided a contact type displacement meter comprising a pair of contact members attached to the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the noncontact type displacement meters so as to be movable widthwise of the protection track, shifting means for shifting the contact members up to positions at which the contact members are pressed against the left and right side walls of the protection track through the intermediary of resilient force urging means, means for detecting positions of the contact members making respectively contact with the left and right side walls of the protection track, and stand-by means for holding the contact members at stand-by positions space from the left and right side walls of the protection track, and determination means for determining whether the noncontact type displacement meters are malfunctioning or not, wherein the contact members are held at the stand-by positions spaced from the left and right side walls of the protection track, by means of the stand-by means if the noncontact type displacement meters are normally operated, and upon determination of malfunctioning, the pair of contact members are displaced from the stand-by positions to pressing positions on the associated left and right side walls of the protection track by the shifting means so as to be located at the pressing positions on the left and right side walls of the protection track through the intermediary of the resilient force urging means, thereby to detect left and right deviated values of the vehicle with respect to the protection track through the intermediary of the contact members.

17. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 16, characterized in that the shifting means is constituted so as to allow the pair of contact members to move symmetrically, and the resilient forces of the resilient force urging means are balanced at the pressing position on the left and right side walls of the protection track.

18. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 16, characterized in that rollers are used as the pair of contact members, there are provided arms which are attached at one end part to the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the noncontact type displacement meters so as to be pivotable widthwise of the protection track, the rollers are attached to the other end part of the arms.

19. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 17, characterized in that rollers are used as the pair of contact members, and there are provided electric motor driven cylinders provided in the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the noncontact type displacement meters and having piston rods which are extendable and retractable widthwise of the protection track, and link mechanisms attached to the piston rod of the electric motor driven cylinders and constituting a parallelogram, and the rollers are attached to the link mechanisms.

20. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 16, characterized in that rollers are used as the pair of contact members, there are provided a plurality of slide rods arranged in the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the noncontact type displacement meters, in parallel with each other widthwise of the protection track, and a slide guide for slidably supporting the slide rods, widthwise of the protection track, and the rollers are attached to the front end parts of the slide rods.

21. A track type transportation system as set forth in claim 17, characterized in that rollers are used as the pair of contact members, there are provided a link mechanism which are expandable and shrinkable widthwise of the protection track, in the lower part of the vehicle in the vicinity of the noncontact type displacement meters, and the rollers are attached to the front end parts of the link mechanisms.