NON-STOP TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

Abstract

A passenger carrier of a transportation system includes a main body to carry a first group of passengers, a detachable departure compartment, detachably coupled to the main body, to carry a second group of passengers, and a processing device to issue a control signal to trigger a decoupling between the departure compartment and the main body, allowing the main body to travel along a first path without stop at a station and allowing the departure compartment to travel along a second path to enter and stop at the station.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a transportation system, and in particular, to a passenger carrier including one or more detachable compartments that allows passengers to disembark and/or board the passenger carrier while the main body of the passenger carrier travels continuously without stopping at a station.

BACKGROUND

Transportation systems, such as the high-speed railroad system, may include trains that travel from a start station to a final station with multiple stops at intermediate stations in between. When a train stops at an intermediate station, some of the passengers on board may disembark from the train. Similarly, passengers waiting at the station may board the train to travel to their respective destination stations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be understood more fully from the detailed description given below and from the accompanying drawings of various implementations of the disclosure. The drawings, however, should not be taken to limit the disclosure to the specific implementations, but are for explanation and understanding only.

FIG. 1 illustrates a transportation system according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates the disengagement of the coupling device between a departure passenger compartment and the main body of the train according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a train station in accordance to an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates the engagement of the coupling device between an attaching passenger compartment and the main body of the train according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of a computer system operating on the transportation system in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One objective of a mass transportation system is to reduce the time to transport a passenger from an origination station to a destination station. One way to reduce the time is to increase the travel speed of the transportation system. This type of solutions include high-speed trains. However, existing technology may impose an upper limit on the travel speed. Each significant increase of the speed limit may require very expensive upgrades to the railroad infrastructures.

Because of the nature of mass transportation systems, the intermediate stations between the start station and the final station are necessary for passengers whose destinations are those intermediate stations. Although a train may include multiple compartments (e.g., cars), the train travels as an integrated object that stops at each station to allow passengers to board and/or disembark. Every compartment of the train stops at all of these stations to allow passengers boarding and departure. These stops at the intermediate stations cause delays for those long haul passengers that do not leave the train at the intermediate stations. The delays also include the time for decelerating the train to a full stop and accelerating the train from a full stop to the cruising speed. These delays may increase the travel time for long haul passengers and constitute a significant portion of the travel time for passengers traveling on a high-speed railroad.

To overcome the above-noted and other deficiencies, implementations of the present disclosure include a transportation system that may provide for non-stop transportation for long haul passengers while allowing local passengers to depart the train at a station. Implementations of the disclosure may achieve non-stop travel for each passenger from his/her origination station to his/her destination station, while allowing other passengers to depart at in-between stations. Thus, implementations of the disclosure may significantly reduce the individual travel time for each passenger without the need to increase the speed limit of the railroad system.

The transportation system in this disclosure includes an infrastructure that is capable of moving passengers from one or more origination locations to one or more destination locations. The passengers in this disclosure can be human objects, animals, or cargo. The transportation system can be operated by the government or by a private corporation. Examples of the transportation system may include the railroad system (including high-speed railroad system), metropolitan subway systems, bus system, or any system that moves passengers. In some implementations, the transportation system may include tracks on which a passenger carrier (e.g., a train including a succession of cars) may transport passengers between different stations.

In one implementation, the passenger carrier may include a succession of interconnected compartments traveling along a track. The succession of compartments may include one or more passenger departure compartments (referred to as the departure compartment) that are detachably coupled to the rest of the succession of compartments (referred to as the main body of the passenger carrier). As the passenger carrier is approaching a station, the group of passengers that are about to leave the train at the station may stay at or move to the departure compartment while other passengers that travel beyond the station may stay at or move to the main body of the train. At a pre-determined location or time, an operator of the train may issue a request (e.g., by pushing a control button) that may send a control signal to a controller. Based on the control signal, the controller may cause the decoupling between the departure compartment and the main body, wherein the decoupling event may occur at a cruising speed of the passenger carrier. After a successful separation between the departure compartment and the main body, the main body of the train may continue to travel along the track towards a next station without stopping at the current station, thus substantially eliminating the station delays for those passengers on the main body of the train. In one implementation, the departure compartment may include a motor that may be driven by a second operator. The second operator may direct the departure compartment to a station platform so that the group of arrival passengers may disembark from the departure compartment at the station. In another implementation, the departure compartment may include a self-driving system that may direct the departure compartment to the current station. The self-driving system may include sensors (e.g., video cameras and Lidar sensor) and a computing system that implements artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms (e.g., neural networks) to guide the departure compartment to the current station based on data captured by the sensors.

In one implementation, a second group of the passengers (referred to as departing passengers) may be waiting at the station for travelling with the main body of the train. The departing passengers may already have boarded a motorized compartment waiting at the station. Once the main body of the train decoupled from the departure compartment travels past the station, the motorized compartment with the second group of departing passengers may chase down the main body of the train. When the motorized compartment carrying the second group of departing passengers catches up with the main body of the train, an operator on the motorized compartment may operate the coupling device to couple the motorized compartment to the main body. Once the motorized compartment is securely coupled to the main body of the train, the motorized compartment may become integral part of the train driven by the pilot operator of the train. In this way, passengers may arrive at and depart from the station without adversely affecting the travel time of the passengers carried by the main body of the train.

FIG. 1 illustrates a transportation system 10 according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1 as a non-limiting example, transportation system 10 may be a railroad system including a track 12 and a passenger carrier (e.g., a train) 14. Passenger carrier 14 may include a pilot 16 that provides driving force to the carrier. Pilot 16 can include any suitable types of engines such as, for example, electrical motors, diesel engines, combined engines (electrical and diesel engines), or steam engines. Pilot 16 may drive a succession of interconnected compartments 18, 20, 20 that carry passengers. Pilot 16 and the succession of compartments 18, 20, 22 may be interconnected using coupling device 24, 26, 28. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, pilot 16 may be coupled to compartment 18 using coupling device 28; compartment 18 may be coupled to compartment 20 using coupling device 26; compartment 20 may be coupled to compartment 22 using coupling device 24.

In one implementation, compartments 18, 20, 22 may be connected by a passage way 30, 32 through which passengers may move between two adjacent compartments. As shown in FIG. 1, passage way 30 may connect compartments 20 and 22; passage way 32 may connect compartments 18 and 20. Thus, passengers may move freely between compartments 18, 20, 22 while the passenger carrier 14 travels along track 12.

In one implementation, passenger carrier 14 may be divided into two parts including a main body and the detachable compartment 22 (referred to as departure compartment 22). The main body of passenger carrier 14 may be composed of pilot 16 and compartments 18, 20. When passenger carrier 14 approaches a station, a public announcement may instruct the group of passengers whose destination is the next station to move from the main body to departure compartment 22, and instruct other passengers to move to other compartments 18, 20 of the main body. When the group of arrival passengers have moved to departure compartment 22, an operator of the passenger carrier may shut down passage way 30 to prevent further passenger movements between compartments 20 and 22. Thus, departure compartment 22 is ready to be disengaged from the main body.

In one implementation, the operator may issue a request (e.g., by pushing a control button) to separate departure compartment 22 from the main body. The operator may issue the request responsive to determining that the passenger carrier has reached a pre-determined location for the disengagement or a pre-determined time for the disengagement. Alternatively, the request to separate may be automatically generated by a processing device onboard of the passenger carrier based on the determination that the passenger carrier has reached the separation point or time. Responsive to receiving the request, the processing device (as shown in FIG. 5) on pilot 16 may transmit a signal either through a wire or wirelessly to a controller circuit that controls the engagement of coupling device 24. Responsive to receiving the signal, the controller circuit may trigger the disengagement of coupling device 24 to separate departure compartment 22 from the main body.

FIG. 2 illustrates the disengagement of the coupling device between a detaching passenger car for passenger discharge and the main body of the passenger carrier according to an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, compartment 20 may include a controller 34 to control the engagement and disengagement of coupling device 24. Controller 34 may include a signal receiver (not shown) to receive electric signals from a transmitter located generated by the processing device. In one implementation, the processing device may be located in pilot 16 operated by an operator of the passenger carrier. The electric signal may indicate a request from the operator of pilot 16 to separate departure compartment 22 from the main body. Responsive to receiving the electric signal, controller 34 may trigger the disengagement of coupling device 24.

As shown in the detailed view in FIG. 2, coupling device 24 may include lock members 36 and a pin 38. Lock members 36 can be a clamp that is securely attached to compartment 20 and controlled by controller 34 using electromagnetic force. Pin 38 may be securely attached to departure compartment 22. When departure compartment 22 is coupled to the main body, lock members 36 may be securely locked onto pin 38. Responsive to receiving the electric signal to disengage coupling device 24, controller 34 may trigger lock members 36 to unlock from pin 38, thus separating departure compartment 22 from the main body.

Implementations of the present disclosure may allow arrival passengers to leave the passenger carrier at a current station and allow departing passengers waiting at the current station to board the passenger carrier while the main body travels non-stop. FIG. 3 illustrates a station in accordance to an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the area of a station 50 may include track 14 that passes through the station. Further, station 50 may include access tracks 40, 42 that are connected to the main track 14 through track switches 48A, 48B. Access track 40 may be connected to main track 14 via track switch 48A to allow departure compartment 22 to enter platform 44 after departure compartment 22 is separated from the main body of passenger carrier 12. Similarly, access track 42 may be connected to main track 14 via track switch 48B to allow motorized compartment 46 to enter main track 14 and catch up with the main body of the passenger carrier.

In one implementation, after the main body is separated from compartment 22 and the main body has passed track switch 48A, a control device (not shown) that operates track switch 48A may switch the main track to align with access track 40. Thus, an operator may drive departure compartment 22 to platform 44 and let the arrival passengers thereon to disembark at platform 44.

At platform 44, passengers intending to depart station 50 via the passenger carrier may already have boarded compartment 46. Another operator may drive the motorized compartment 46 to a position near track switch 48B. Once the main body of the passenger carrier passes track switch 48B, the control device controlling track switches may trigger track switch 48B to connect access track 42 with main track 14, thus allowing motorized compartment to enter main track 14 and catch up with the main body.

Once motorized compartment 46 catches up with the main body, controller 34 may trigger coupling device 24 to connect compartment 46 with the main body. FIG. 4 illustrates the engagement of the coupling device between compartment 46 and the main body of the passenger carrier according to an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, motorized compartment 46 may travel at a faster speed than that of the main body to catch up with the main body. Once approaching the main body, the operator of motorized compartment 46 may drive at substantially the same (or slightly faster) speed as the main body. Responsive to determining that compartment 46 is ready to be connected, controller 34 may trigger lock members 36 to lock onto pin 38 which is secured attached to compartment 46, thus using coupling device 24 to connect compartment 46 to the main body. Passengers on compartment 46 may then travel to the next station as part of the passenger carrier.

Passenger carrier 14 may include a computer system to issue request to controller 34. FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of a computer system operating in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

In certain implementations, computer system 500 may be connected (e.g., via a network, such as a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet) to other computer systems. Computer system 500 may operate in the capacity of a server or a client computer in a client-server environment, or as a peer computer in a peer-to-peer or distributed network environment. Computer system 500 may be provided by a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any device capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that device. Further, the term “computer” shall include any collection of computers that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methods described herein.

In a further aspect, the computer system 500 may include a processing device 502, a volatile memory 504 (e.g., random access memory (RAM)), a non-volatile memory 506 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM) or electrically-erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM)), and a data storage device 516, which may communicate with each other via a bus 508.

Processing device 502 may be provided by one or more processors such as a general purpose processor (such as, for example, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, a microprocessor implementing other types of instruction sets, or a microprocessor implementing a combination of types of instruction sets) or a specialized processor (such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), or a network processor).

Computer system 500 may further include a network interface device 522. Computer system 500 also may include a video display unit 510 (e.g., an LCD), an alphanumeric input device 512 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 514 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generation device 520.

Data storage device 516 may include a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 524 on which may store instructions 526 encoding any one or more of the methods or functions described herein.

Instructions 526 may also reside, completely or partially, within volatile memory 504 and/or within processing device 502 during execution thereof by computer system 500, hence, volatile memory 504 and processing device 502 may also constitute machine-readable storage media.

While computer-readable storage medium 524 is shown in the illustrative examples as a single medium, the term “computer-readable storage medium” shall include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of executable instructions. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall also include any tangible medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by a computer that cause the computer to perform any one or more of the methods described herein. The term “computer-readable storage medium” shall include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical media, and magnetic media.

The methods, components, and features described herein may be implemented by discrete hardware components or may be integrated in the functionality of other hardware components such as ASICS, FPGAs, DSPs or similar devices. In addition, the methods, components, and features may be implemented by firmware modules or functional circuitry within hardware devices. Further, the methods, components, and features may be implemented in any combination of hardware devices and computer program components, or in computer programs.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, terms such as “receiving,” “associating,” “determining,” “updating” or the like, refer to actions and processes performed or implemented by computer systems that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. Also, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” etc. as used herein are meant as labels to distinguish among different elements and may not have an ordinal meaning according to their numerical designation.

Examples described herein also relate to an apparatus for performing the methods described herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for performing the methods described herein, or it may comprise a general purpose computer system selectively programmed by a computer program stored in the computer system. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer-readable tangible storage medium.

The methods and illustrative examples described herein are not inherently related to any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general purpose systems may be used in accordance with the teachings described herein, or it may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to perform method 500 and/or each of its individual functions, routines, subroutines, or operations. Examples of the structure for a variety of these systems are set forth in the description above.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Although the present disclosure has been described with references to specific illustrative examples and implementations, it will be recognized that the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and implementations described. The scope of the disclosure should be determined with reference to the following claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which the claims are entitled.

Claims

1. A passenger carrier of a transportation system, comprising: a main body to carry a first group of passengers;a departure compartment, detachably coupled to the main body, to carry a second group of passengers; anda processing device to issue a control signal to trigger a decoupling between the departure compartment and the main body, allowing the main body to travel along a first path without stopping at a station and allowing the departure compartment to travel along a second path to enter and stop at the station.

2. The passenger carrier of claim 1, further comprising: a passage way to connect the main body and the departure compartment, wherein the passage way allows the first group of passengers and the second group of passengers to move between the main body and the departure compartment.

3. The passenger carrier of claim 2, wherein responsive to determining that the passenger carrier approaches the station, the processing device is to generate a public announcement to advise passengers whose destination is the station to move to the departure compartment and passengers whose destination is beyond the station to move to the main body.

4. The passenger carrier of claim 1, wherein determining that the passenger carrier approaches the station comprises determining that the passenger carrier reaches one of a pre-determined location or a pre-determined time.

5. The passenger carrier of claim 1, wherein a motorized compartment is to: depart from the station, traveling along a third path and carrying a third group of passengers;catch up with the main body after the decoupling between the departure compartment and the main body; andcouple to the main body to travel along the first path to a next station.

6. The passenger carrier of claim 1, wherein the transportation system is a train system, and the passenger carrier is a train, wherein the first path comprises a first train track, the second path comprises a second train track, and wherein after the decoupling between the departure compartment and the main body, the departure compartment is switched to the second path to allow the departure compartment to enter the station.

7. The passenger carrier of clam 1, wherein the decoupling between the departure compartment and the main body occurs while the passenger carrier travels along the first path at a cruising speed.

8. A highspeed train system, comprising: a train comprising: a main body to carry a first group of passengers that are destined beyond a station;a departure compartment, detachably coupled to the main body, to carry a second group of passengers that are destined at the station; anda processing device, responsive to approaching the station, to issue a control signal to trigger a decoupling between the departure compartment and the main body;a main track on which the main body of the train is to travel, without stopping at the station, toward a next station; andan access track, switchably connected to the main track, that is switched to connect to the main track after the decoupling to allow the departure compartment travels on the access track into the station.

9. The highspeed train system of claim 8, further comprising: a motorized compartment to:depart from the station, traveling along a second access track and carrying a third group of passengers;catch up with the main body after the decoupling between the departure compartment and the main body; andcouple to the main body to travel along the first track to a next station.

10. The highspeed train system of claim 8, wherein the highspeed train system allows each passenger to arrive at a respective destination without stopping for other passengers' departure from the train.