Railways – Selective delivery
Patent
1997-01-21
1999-09-21
Morano, S. Joseph
Railways
Selective delivery
104139, 104166, 104298, 246182R, 246187A, 701 20, B61B 1312
Patent
active
059539950
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a system for the transport by passive vehicles of the type in which the vehicles are moving with the assistance of wheels onto treadways of a track. As a way of ensuring the displacement of the vehicles, a series of rotary tubes are arranged without any discontinuity in the longitudinal direction of the track, and means for guiding the vehicles along the latter we provided, Each vehicle comprises at least two bogies carrying displacement wheels, at least one drive roller for propelling the vehicle through frictional contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotary tubes and the axis of rotation of which is steerable with respect to the axis of the tubes through pivoting about a substantially vertical axis between a position parallel to the tubes in which the rollers do not propel the vehicle and a position of maximum propulsion, and a device for guiding the vehicle adapted to co-operate with the guide means of the track.
The transport systems of this kind, which are known, exhibit the major inconvenience of requiring a relatively complex and expensive infrastructure and equipment on the vehicles intended to co-operate with this infrastructure with a corresponding complexity.
These systems in view of their excessive costs of installation and operation are not competitive with respect to other known transport systems, such as tramways. Thus the advantage of much better compatibility with the environment than the known systems are brought into disrepute by the above-mentioned economical inconveniences.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has as its object to propose a transport system of the type stated hereinabove which exhibits an even lower cost of installation and operation than the other competing transport systems while further increasing its environmental or ecological advantage.
To reach that goal, the transport system according to the invention is characterized in that the guide means of the track are formed of two parallel surfaces advantageously extending symmetrically with respect to the vertical middle plane of the track along the latter and in that the device for guiding each vehicle comprises wheels mounted onto a support made fast to the bogies so as to bear upon the guide surfaces.
According to one characteristic of the invention, the device for steering the propelling drive rollers is formed of an electric step motor.
According to another characteristic of the invention the transport system comprises a central control station adapted to dialogue with an emitter/receiver device on board each vehicle and the track is divided into sectors to each one of which is assigned a set speed in accordance with the topography of the track sector and if need be with the location with respect to the foregoing vehicles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention would be better understood and further objects, characteristics, details and advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the explanatory description which will follow, made with reference to the attached diagrammatic drawings given by way of example only illustrating an embodiment of the invention and in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the system for the transport by passive vehicles according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a simplified front view of the lower part of a vehicle according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view on a larger scale with parts broken away of the detail shown at III in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an automatic control system for a vehicle according to the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows one portion of a track 1 on which is travelling a vehicle 2 in particular for the transport of passengers, of which only both bogies 3 carrying two wheels 4 and the lower portion comprising two propelling drive devices 5 and two guide devices 6 each one associated with a bogie are shown.
The track 1 comprises a trench 8 which includes two parallel side surfaces 9 located in front
REFERENCES:
patent: 3077165 (1963-02-01), Pirelli
patent: 3356040 (1967-12-01), Fabrites
patent: 4593623 (1986-06-01), Gutekunst et al.
patent: 4766547 (1988-08-01), Modery et al.
patent: 4825135 (1989-04-01), Perez
patent: 4909153 (1990-03-01), Lacroix et al.
patent: 4922831 (1990-05-01), Ziegenfus et al.
Morano S. Joseph
Mourer Jean-Claude
Treviso Marc
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