Transport system

Railways – Elevated structure

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C104S242000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06389982

ABSTRACT:

This patent application concerns a transport system with rail-going vehicles or cabins, where the vehicles are directed by and run on along running rails. The rails are arranged into a track system that forms a continuous ring track, and where the stations for disembarking and embarking always are separate from the main track. This application describes both the track system as a whole, and the rails and vehicles as details in the transport system. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tracks are installed on posts, and will therefore not require significant ground real estate. The stations can be designed to be integrated parts of buildings, preferably on higher floors. The transport system as a whole offers advantages of safety, and can be designed to be of little complexity, which offers advantages regarding costs for installation, maintenance and repair.
Introduction
For several years, the applicant has thought about transport systems which could deal with most of the significant communication problems in larger cities, in particular relating to getting around, pollution and noise. There have been performed studies, research and development within this area for more than 30 years, and firms such as Boeing, Ford, General Motors, Honeywell, Matra, MBB, Otis Elevator, Raytheon, and Siemens have been involved in large projects as illustrated by examples in FIG.
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. Research in the area of transportation has been performed at universities in Boston (Harvard and MIT), Minnesota, Seattle, Palo Alto (Stanford) and Gothenburg. Extensive evaluations have been performed for the cities of Gävle, Gothenburg and Stockholm, but all these projects have failed, in large degree because of lack of continuous engagement from public authorities, in spite of the prognosis's predicting profitability even without subsidies. In particular, there was great interest in the USA in the early seventies, but the “Conventional Rail”-industry succeeded through political lobbying to stop the use of public funds on the development of new solutions. A present advantage of this early work is that most of the fundamental concept patents have long expired.
Work has been performed on Automated People Movers (hereafter called APM) since the sixties. Most of the approximately 100 installed systems are in the category Group Rapid Transit (hereafter called GRT), where automated vehicles go in a pre-determined route with a large number of passengers. Mini-GRT also goes in a pre-determined route, but only with 4-10 passengers. Personal Rapid Transit (hereafter called PRT) has off-line stations, where the vehicles pass all stations where they have no business. This allows non-stop transport with typically 2-6 people in each vehicle. For the cases of Mini-GRT and PRT, the low weight of vehicles makes it attractive cost-wise to elevate the track from ground level, which release real estate and allow avoiding conflict with ground-based traffic. Simultaneously, it is calculated that the total system cost for the same capacity is dramatically reduced by using PRT with respect to GRT, so that for a given amount significantly better coverage and increased number of stations is possible.
Elevated systems are not in use today, with the exception of some airports and in amusement parks, and only implemented as Mini-GRT. Previously the costs associated with computer systems were prohibitive for realising PRT, and less was known of light metals and composites. But a few years ago, the Chicago transportation authorities assigned Raytheon the task of building a prototype system and large sums of money have been committed. This system, called PRT2000, has already been demonstrated, but the community of practice agrees that it is built so costly and complex that it will not be possible to sell afterwards. But even though it is only designed to transport people, it is always advantageous that someone takes the lead and demonstrates to a sceptical world that someone believes that such a system will be both useful and possible to realise.
The system, according to the invention described in this application, is for simplicity called “Skyway”, as in Subway, Highway, Railway, etc. Introducing a new mode of transport, a system according to the invention Skyway, elevated from ground level, will be more affordable than all alternatives. The system according to the invention will be fully automatic, and will be able to transport both people and goods (in automated containers) at low cost and having low energy consumption. Apart from the unusual aesthetics, the system only to a limited degree affects the environment. The vehicles can be both privately and publicly owned, and need not be a public system. Previous projects have not failed exclusively because of failing technology, but also because of faults in concept and business model, as well as a lack of focus on public decision concepts.
The Skyway-system according to the invention is ideally suited for installation in existing city centres as it only requires limited real estate and will give limited disturbance to the existing patterns of traffic during installation, because of a large degree of prefabrication. As an example, related to the building of a completely new part of a city, for example at the geographically central area at Fornebu Airport (closing and released in 1998), a system can according to the invention be installed after erecting the skeletons of buildings. In addition, the system can be easily expanded, allowing expansion according to real needs rather than estimated needs.
By the preferred embodiment of a PRT transport system according to the invention, the stations
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will in a simple way be integrated in the buildings (FIG.
2
), and simultaneously the system will be affordable enough to provide extensive coverage. One can further enhance these synergies by using a PRT system as “horizontal elevators”. One can then conveniently go from one building to another in air-conditioned climate. This will integrate buildings over large ground areas. Elevating tracks above ground, using wall fasteners or posts provides increased opportunities for green areas and gives less conflict with other modes of transport. In a vehicle according to the invention there will be seats, but it will also give room to standing passengers, for bicycles, baby strollers and wheelchairs.
Aesthetically, transportation structures above ground represent for many people something new and thereby initially something negative, feelings to be taken quite seriously. During recent years, it has increasingly been acknowledged that the lack of accessibility within some cities has reached intolerable levels, and the costs of underground systems have become prohibitive. Further, there is increased focus on the exhaust gases from combustion engines and noise, and not the least on the consumption of energy from transportation itself. Energy consumption from land-based transport is to a large extent to be attributed to frequent starts and stops, and that the weight of physical safety features is high. A system where the vehicles do not stop between start and destination and thereby is subjected to fewer accelerations, and which also is designed so that the vehicles can not collide with each other, and where the vehicles have lower weight, will in total consume less energy. By electric operation one avoids local pollution and limits noise.
Installation-wise and development-wise, it may be right to design the system to operate in Mini-GRT mode in a simple network initially. Later, one can make the most used stations off-line, which will allow non-stop transport in PRT mode.
Known system concepts, known technology from the field.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,380,732 “Pleasure Railway Structure” describe an amusement park vehicle with railway-type wheels with inner flange. The vehicles drive on two rails on crossties where each rail is put together by a flat rolling surface being higher than the inner flange of the wheel, a covering beam arranged horizontally and standing on its short cross-section side face, with

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