Railways – Slotted conduit
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-29
2001-06-05
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Railways
Slotted conduit
C104S139000, C104S249000, C104S250000, C104S251000, C104S259000, C191S02300R, C191S025000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06240852
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Automobile travel is by far the most dangerous form of travel in this country. About 50,000 people are killed each year, and more than a million people are injured. At the same time, roads and highways are becoming more congested—a situation which lends itself to increased travel time and more accidents.
Various systems for keeping vehicles a safe distance apart even while they are traveling at high speeds have been studied since Rosenfeld, U.S. Pat. No. 1,983,882. One of the most recent such systems is disclosed by Butssuen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,644, which issued Nov. 12, 1996.
But each of the prior art combinations works best only when the vehicles involved are traveling under good road conditions. Their respective braking systems rely on tire-to-road surface contact, an approach which may fail during heavy rain or snow events.
Further, these vehicles depend on tire-to-road surface contact for stability when cornering. Even though many accidents are caused when a driver loses control of his vehicle while turning, the prior art has largely ignored this problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved transportation system in which existing highways and overroad vehicles are modified in such a way that not only can the vehicles travel safely at high speeds, but also both the total number of accidents and the average travel time are reduced.
A further object of the present invention is provide such an improved transportation system in which vehicles can be braked efficiently even under bad road conditions caused by rain, snow or the like.
A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved transportation system in which the degree of contact between ground structures and vehicles travelling thereon is sufficient to stabilize the latter under windy conditions or during high speed cornering.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved transportation system utilizing vehicles equipped with controls which an operator can set, at the outset of a trip, to select the destination of his or her choice and which will then direct the vehicle to this destination without further intervention on the part of the operator.
The improved transportation system according to the present invention comprises a structure which defines at least one elongated cavity with a pair of opposing vertical sidewalls situated beneath a generally conventional roadway surface. Disposed on each of the vertical sidewalls are at least one braking surface insert and at least one contact plate for vehicle stabilization. The structure further defines a slot which communicates with the cavity and extends upwardly therefrom to the road surface, this slot being sufficiently narrow that vehicles with standard automobile tires or larger can drive over the top of the slot without difficulty.
The improved transportation system further comprises a plurality of vehicles, each vehicle having at least one retractable, projecting member. Prior to use, the projecting member, which extends longitudinally and downwardly from the vehicle, is lowered through the slot; and, once through it, elements of the projecting member, including a pair of wheels and a pair of brake shoes, unfold within the cavity. When unfolded, each wheel is in a position to rotate horizontally about its own vertical axis; and as the wheel rotates, it presses against the track-like contact plate. Preferably, two such tracks are spaced apart from and mounted generally parallel to each other within the opposing sidewalls of the cavity. Each track is utilized to stabilize the vehicle as it travels around curves or under high wind conditions. Electrical contacts for powering electric vehicles are preferably also located within the track.
In addition, the improved transportation system comprises braking means rotatably connected to the projecting member. The braking means includes a pair of elongated brake shoes and hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders, the brake shoes, in the preferred embodiment, being attached to the distal ends of double shafts in each cylinder. When the cylinders are activated, the brake shoes interact with braking surface inserts mounted on the opposing vertical sidewalls of the cavity. The braking means, which is kept dry under all weather conditions, offers superior performance over that currently available in conventional automobiles.
REFERENCES:
patent: 613084 (1898-10-01), Smith
patent: 3774542 (1973-11-01), Walsh
patent: 4228998 (1980-10-01), Trickel
patent: 5454328 (1995-10-01), Matsuzaki et al.
patent: 5778796 (1998-07-01), Kim
patent: 5992575 (1999-11-01), Kim
patent: 1743962A (1992-06-01), None
Jules Frantz F.
Leon Harry I.
Morano S. Joseph
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