Railways – Derailment guards – Supplemental car wheels and rails
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-11
2001-10-09
Le, Mark T. (Department: 3617)
Railways
Derailment guards
Supplemental car wheels and rails
Reexamination Certificate
active
06298791
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a lateral suspension assembly for a guided vehicle system.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
Conventional laterally guided vehicles rely on lateral guide rails to stabilize and direct them along the guideway. In one approach this is done with lateral rollers that engage the lateral rails and continuously hunt from side to side resulting in lateral bounce and uncomfortable “head toss”. This occurs because the lateral rollers on each side are fixed together in a four bar linkage so that any bump in a guide rail will be translated from the associated lateral guide roller to the entire mechanism and steer the castered support tires to move the vehicle in the other direction from the bump. Thus the vehicle is urged toward the other guide rail. As a result the vehicle swings from side to side causing noise, head toss and other passenger discomfort and wear and damage to the vehicle. In another approach, in order to avoid the head-toss problem the support tires are constantly steered toward one or the other of the guide rails causing scrubbing of the tires and premature wear. In addition, the force of friction between the tires and their footprint on the guideway is a significant distance from the center of gravity of the vehicle, causing annoying and dangerous roll forces on the passenger and vehicle. In such approaches the wide range and unpredictability of movement of the guide wheels and the vehicle as a whole require wider guideways and greater tolerances for power collection and communications and makes the lateral wheels' motion unreliable as an indicator of vehicle distance and position.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved lateral suspension assembly for a guided vehicle system.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a lateral suspension assembly which reduces head-toss and roll and provides improved guidance and lateral stability.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a lateral suspension assembly which avoids hunting and bounce and maintains a constant contact between the lateral wheels and guide rails despite wind loads and guide rail deviations.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a lateral suspension assembly which reduces necessary guideway width and tolerances for power collection and communication antennas.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a lateral suspension assembly which enables guide wheels to be used as indicators of distance and position.
The invention results from the realization that a truly safe, stable and comfortable guided vehicle can be achieved using a lateral suspension assembly that employs a pair of spaced lateral wheels which are biased to independently maintain constant contact with their respective guide rails.
This invention features a lateral suspension assembly for a guided vehicle system including a pair of lateral wheel housings each including a lateral wheel rotatable about spaced vertical axes for engaging spaced opposing guide rails of the guided system. A lateral limit link limits outward travel of the lateral wheels beyond a predetermined limit. There is a pair of spaced support arms pivotably attached at one end to the guided vehicle and at the other to the lateral wheel housings. A biasing device interconnected with each of the wheel housings urges the lateral wheels in contact with the guide rails.
In a preferred embodiment the lateral link limit may include a first shaft connected to one of the wheel housings, a second shaft connected to the other wheel housing, and a stop for limiting outward translation of the shafts relative to each other. Each support arm may include a pair of vertically spaced pivots attached to the guided vehicle and a pivot attached to one of the wheel housings. The biasing device may include a pair of biasing members one interconnected between each wheel housing and the guided vehicle. The biasing device may also include a damper associated with each biasing member. The lateral wheels may be generally vertically aligned with the center of gravity of the vehicle. At least one of the lateral wheel housings may include an encoder for monitoring the rotation of the associated lateral wheel. The biasing device may urge the lateral wheels outwardly in contact with the guide rails.
REFERENCES:
patent: 989958 (1911-04-01), Frahm
patent: 2016207 (1935-10-01), Lindenberg
patent: 2503120 (1950-04-01), Meyer
patent: 2744749 (1956-05-01), Fiedor
patent: 2887071 (1959-05-01), Settles
patent: 2901239 (1959-08-01), Sethna
patent: 3673966 (1972-07-01), Wilson
patent: 3675583 (1972-07-01), Sobey et al.
patent: 3788233 (1974-01-01), Colovas et al.
patent: 3811383 (1974-05-01), Butzow
patent: 3814025 (1974-06-01), Nelson
patent: 3831527 (1974-08-01), Peterson
patent: 3881427 (1975-05-01), Blume
patent: 3913491 (1975-10-01), Auer et al.
patent: 3977487 (1976-08-01), Katayose et al.
patent: 4092930 (1978-06-01), Takemura et al.
patent: 4183304 (1980-01-01), Forster
patent: 4223611 (1980-09-01), Dawson et al.
patent: 4259810 (1981-04-01), West
patent: 4265180 (1981-05-01), Uozumi
patent: 4267779 (1981-05-01), Binder
patent: 4436170 (1984-03-01), Mehren et al.
patent: 4522128 (1985-06-01), Anderson
patent: 4644692 (1987-02-01), Schindehutte
patent: 4671185 (1987-06-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 4708695 (1987-11-01), Sugiyama
patent: 4765648 (1988-08-01), Mander et al.
patent: 4798254 (1989-01-01), Lings
patent: 4803804 (1989-02-01), Bryant
patent: 4953472 (1990-09-01), Tutzer
patent: 4960290 (1990-10-01), Bose
patent: 5067608 (1991-11-01), McLellan
patent: 5094312 (1992-03-01), Hakel
patent: 5148631 (1992-09-01), Bayard et al.
patent: 5277124 (1994-01-01), DiFonso et al.
patent: 5431261 (1995-07-01), Olgac
patent: 5443282 (1995-08-01), Gipser
patent: 5551190 (1996-09-01), Yamagishi et al.
patent: 5558191 (1996-09-01), Lai
patent: 5755059 (1998-05-01), Schap
patent: 5832665 (1998-11-01), Miller et al.
patent: 5845581 (1998-12-01), Svensson
patent: 5848663 (1998-12-01), Kuriki
patent: 5906071 (1999-05-01), Buchanan, Jr.
patent: 5921026 (1999-07-01), Miller
patent: 5979114 (1999-11-01), Clark et al.
patent: 6009671 (2000-01-01), Sasaki
patent: 6120401 (2000-09-01), Wilken
patent: 1 161 936 (1964-01-01), None
patent: 14 05 857 A (1970-06-01), None
patent: 34 13 224 A (1985-11-01), None
patent: 40 32 378 (1992-04-01), None
patent: 43 01 986 A (1994-07-01), None
patent: 198 28 393 A1 (1999-07-01), None
patent: 88 241 B1 (1983-09-01), None
patent: 88 241 A (1983-09-01), None
patent: 464 720 A1 (1992-01-01), None
patent: 625 815 A2 (1994-11-01), None
patent: 747 281 A2 (1996-12-01), None
patent: 747 281 A3 (1997-08-01), None
patent: 605894 (1926-06-01), None
patent: 2 652 375 (1991-03-01), None
patent: 1 118 853 A (1968-07-01), None
patent: WO98 46467 (1998-10-01), None
Collins David C.
Garneau, Jr. Gerald A.
Lewis Albert E.
Iandiorio & Teska
Le Mark T.
Raytheon Company
LandOfFree
Lateral suspension assembly for a guided vehicle system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Lateral suspension assembly for a guided vehicle system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Lateral suspension assembly for a guided vehicle system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2617420