Claims
- 1. A transportation system, comprising: a plurality of carrier vehicles, a guideway for guiding said carrier vehicles for movement therealong, and track means supported by said guideway, said track means including a pair of metallic electrically conductive left and right lower tracks for connection to one terminal of an electrical power source and a pair of metallic electrically conductive left and right upper tracks for connection to an opposite terminal of said electrical power source, said lower and upper tracks being so supported by said guideway as to be electrically insulated from each other, each of said carrier vehicles including electrically powered drive means for coaction with said guideway for effecting movement of said carrier vehicle along said guideway, front and rear pairs of left and right lower wheels for engagement with said pair of left and right lower tracks for support of said vehicle, front and rear pairs of left and right upper wheels engageable with said upper tracks to restrict rocking movements of said carrier vehicles, pressure applying means for urging said upper wheels into pressure engagement with said upper tracks, at least one of said front and rear pairs of left and right lower wheels including metallic peripheral portions for electrically conductive engagement with said lower tracks, at least one of said front and rear pairs of left and right upper wheels including metallic peripheral portions for electrically conductive engagement with said upper tracks, said metallic peripheral portions of said lower and upper wheels being insulated from one another, and first conduction means for conducting current from each of said metallic peripheral portions of said lower wheels to one terminal of said electrically powered drive means of said vehicle, and second conduction means for conducting current from each of said metallic peripheral portions of said upper wheels to an opposite terminal of said electrically powered drive means.
- 2. A transportation system as defined in claim 1 wherein said guideway includes a plurality of Y junctions each Y junction including an entrance and left and right exits, said pair of upper tracks of said guideway including left track portions positioned on the left in each of said Y junctions for continuous electrically conductive engagement by said metallic peripheral portions of said upper left wheels during movement from said entrance to said left exit and right track portions positioned on the right in each of said Y junctions for continuous electrically conductive engagement by said metallic peripheral portions of said upper right wheels during movement from said entrance to said right exit.
- 3. A transportation system as defined in claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second conduction means include slip ring means.
- 4. A transportation system as defined in claim 3, wherein said slip ring means includes conductive ring portions on the insides of and electrically connected to metallic rim portions of associated wheels, and brush means carried by said vehicle and urged axially in opposite outward directions and into pressure engagement with said conductive ring portions.
- 5. A transportation system as defined in claim 1, said left and right upper wheels being journaled by said carrier vehicle for rotation about horizontal axes, and said pressure applying means being operative to effect pressure engagement of said upper wheels with downwardly facing surfaces of said upper tracks.
- 6. A transportation system as defined in claim 5, said carrier vehicle including a main frame, and front and rear bogies including said front and rear pairs of left and right lower wheels, said front and rear pairs of left and right upper wheels and front and rear frames connected to said main frame for pivotal movement of said front and rear bogies about front and rear vertical turn axes, each of said bogies including lower bearing support means journaling said left and right lower wheels thereof from said frame thereof for engagement with said lower tracks, upper bearing support means journaling said left and right upper wheels thereof from said frame thereof for engagement with said left and right upper tracks, and spring means supported on said frame thereof operative to provide said pressure applying means to apply forces on said upper bearing support means to urge said right and left upper wheels into pressure engagement with said upper tracks.
- 7. A transportation system as defined in claim 6, said spring means being also operative to support said bogie frame on said lower bearing means, and electrically operated traction control means for controlling forces exerted by said spring means to control the pressure applied between said upper wheels and said upper tracks and to thereby also control the pressure applied between said lower wheels and said lower tracks.
- 8. A transportation system as defined in claim 7, said electrically operated traction means being controllable to determine weight components of applied forces while monitoring the existence of contact between said upper wheels with said upper tracks.
- 9. A transportation system as defined in claim 8, wherein said existence of contact between said upper wheels with said upper tracks is monitored by monitoring current flow between said upper wheels and said upper tracks.
- 10. A transportation system as defined in claim 8, wherein said electrically operated traction control means is operative to control said pressure applied between said upper wheels and said upper tracks as a function of determined weight components.
- 11. A transportation system as defined in claim 1, each of said tracks including elongated metal strips each of which has a width that is substantially greater than its thickness, and each of which has a length that is a fraction of the length of said track structure, said strips being engaged in side-by-side relation to form an assembly such that edge surfaces of said strips provide a wheel engaging surface in a first plane with opposite edge surfaces in a second plane that is parallel to said first plane, and connecting means for holding said strips together in a manner such as to allow for thermal expansions and contractions without changing the length of said track structure.
- 12. A transportation system as defined in claim 11, said strips having slots therein through which said connecting means extend, said slots being longitudinally spaced and being elongated in a longitudinal direction, the thickness of said strips and the lengths of said slots being such as to allow bending of said strips and assembly thereof in arcs such as to follow guideway turns of short radius.
- 13. A transportation system comprising a track structure for engaging wheels of a vehicle movable thereon, said track structure including elongated metal strips each being so positioned as to provide a width that is substantially greater than its maximum thickness and each having a length that is a fraction of the length of said track structure, said strips being arranged in groups with the strips of each group in end-to-end relation and with said groups of strips being engaged in side-by-side relation to form an assembly such that edge surfaces of said strips are in adjacent coplanar relation to provide a substantially continuous wheel engaging surface in a first plane with opposite edge surfaces in a second plane that is parallel to said first plane, and connecting means for holding said strips together in a manner such as to allow for thermal expansions and contractions without changing the length of said track structure.
- 14. A transportation system as defined in claim 13, wherein there are junction regions at which forward ends of strips of each of said groups are positioned in longitudinally spaced relation behind rearward ends of strips that are positioned in aligned forward relation with respect thereto, and said connecting means being engaged with strips on opposite sides of said assembly to hold said strips together in said side-by-side relation while allowing said thermal expansions and contractions of said strips and relative longitudinal movements of adjacent strips, said junction regions of each of said groups being in longitudinally offset relation to junction regions of other groups and having lengths that are quite short but that are sufficient to allow said thermal expansions and contractions of said strips without changing the overall length of said track structure, said track structure providing a substantially uniform resistance to bending along its length with nearly uniform deflections being obtained in response to movements of wheels therealong, approaching the deflections obtained with a solid continuous track structure.
- 15. A transportation system as defined in claim 14, including resilient support means underlying said opposite edge surfaces of said strips in said second plane and allowing deflection of said strips under wheel-applied loads.
- 16. A transportation system as defined in claim 15, wherein the width of each of said strips is a small fraction of the width of a vehicle wheel to be supported and wherein the number of said groups of strips is such that most of said strips engaged by a wheel are loaded in a central portion thereof to restrict deflection thereof to substantially the same degree as would be the case with a continuous strip extending along a long length of track.
- 17. A transportation system as defined in claim 16, said connecting means including longitudinally spaced elements that so tie said strips together as to inhibit deflection of each strip by other strips and thereby obtain a support for vehicle wheels which is nearly uniform and which approaches that of a continuous solid track structure.
- 18. A transportation system as defined in claim 13, wherein said strips have slots that are spaced along the length thereof and that extend in longitudinal directions, said connecting means including tie pins each having a shank portion and first and second parts at opposite ends of said shank portions, said first part being formed with an ear projecting radially outwardly from said shank portion, said shank portion and said first part being arranged to be extended through aligned slots in said strip to position said ear on the outside of a strip on one side of said assembly and to position said second part on the outside of a strip on the opposite side of said assembly, said tie pin being then rotatable to position said ear in holding relation against said outside of said strip on said one side of said assembly.
- 19. A transportation system, comprising: a plurality of carrier vehicles, a guideway including tracks for supporting said carrier vehicles for movement and including a plurality of Y junction portions each having an entrance and left and right exits, said tracks including left and right track portions in all portions of said guideway and additional track portions in said Y junction portions that cooperate with said left and right track portions to provide substantially continuous support of vehicles moving through said Y junctions, said additional track portions including portions that extend from left track portions at said entrances to left track portions at said right exits and portions that extend from right track portions at said entrances to right track portions at said left exits, said carrier vehicles including direction control means, and said guideway including left and right guide rib means extending along and on the outside of said left and right track portions for cooperation with said direction control means for guiding said carrier vehicle along said guideway, said direction control means being selectively operable between first and second conditions, each of said Y junctions including portions of said left guide rib means cooperating with said direction control means in said first condition thereof to guide said carrier vehicles from said entrance to said first exit and including portions of said right guide rib means cooperating with said direction control means in said second condition thereof to guide said carrier vehicles from said entrance to said second exit, said direction control means including left control means disposed in an inactive elevated position above said rib means and above the level of said track portions while in said second condition thereof and lowered to an active position in said first condition thereof for cooperation with said left rib means and right control means disposed in an inactive elevated position above said rib means and above the level of said track portions while in said first condition thereof and lowered to an active position in said second condition thereof for cooperation with said right rib means, a turn control member pivotal about a horizontal axis and supporting said left and right control means on opposite ends thereof, and means for controlling pivotal movement of said turn control member.
- 20. A transportation system as defined in claim 19, said left control means including a grooved wheel engageable with said left rib means and journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis, and said right control means including a grooved wheel engageable with said right rib means and journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis.
- 21. A transportation system as defined in claim 19, said left control means including a pair of wheels engageable with inner and outer sides of said left rib means and journaled for rotation about vertical axes, and said right control means including a pair of wheels engageable with inner and outer sides of said right rib means and journaled for rotation about vertical axes.
- 22. A transportation system, comprising: a plurality of carrier vehicles, a guideway including tracks for supporting said carrier vehicles for movement and including a plurality of Y junction portions each having an entrance and left and right exits, said tracks including left and right track portions in all portions of said guideway and additional track portions in said Y junction portions that cooperate with said left and right track portions to provide substantially continuous support of vehicles moving through said Y junctions, said additional track portions extending from left track portions at said entrances to left track portions at said right exits and extending from right track portions at said entrances to right track portions at said left exits, said carrier vehicles including direction control means, and said guideway including left and right guide rib means extending along and on the outside of said left and right track portions for cooperation with said direction control means for guiding said carrier vehicle along said guideway, said direction control means being selectively operable between first and second conditions, each of said Y junctions including portions of said left guide rib means cooperating with said direction control means in said first condition thereof to guide said carrier vehicles from said entrance to said first exit and including portions of said right guide rib means cooperating with said direction control means in said second condition thereof to guide said carrier vehicles from said entrance to said second exit, said direction control means including left control means disposed in an inactive elevated position above said rib means and above the level of said track portions while in said second condition thereof and lowered to an active position in said first condition thereof for cooperation with said left rib means and right control means disposed in an inactive elevated position above said rib means and above the level of said track portions while in said first condition thereof and lowered to an active position in said second condition thereof for cooperation with said right rib means, said left control means including a pair of wheels engageable with inner and outer sides of said left rib means and journaled for rotation about vertical axes, and said right control means including a pair of wheels engageable with inner and outer sides of said right rib means and journaled for rotation about vertical axes.
- 23. A transportation system as defined in claim 22, wherein said vehicles include left and right support wheels positioned in longitudinally spaced relation to said pairs of wheels and engaged with said tracks on the insides of said left and right guide rib means, said left control means further including a left position control wheel positionable opposite said left support wheel and on the outside of said left guide rib means, and said right control means further including a right position control wheel positionable opposite said left support wheel and on the outside of said left guide rib means.
- 24. A transportation system as defined in claim 23, said left and right position control wheels being rotatable about vertical axes.
- 25. A transportation system comprising a track structure formed from elongated metal elements that include wheel load supporting elements disposed in longitudinal alignment with one another and with small spacings in junction regions between adjacent ends thereof to allow for thermal expansion, each of said junction regions between two of said elements being in alignment with intermediate portions of others of said elongated metal elements, connecting means for holding said elongated metal elements together at points along the length thereof to restrict relative bending movements thereof while allowing relative longitudinal movements in response to thermal expansions and contractions, and resilient track support means for resiliently supporting said elongated metal elements of said track structure along its length, said elongated metal elements being so arranged in relation to each other and to said connecting means and said resilient track support means as to obtain a substantially uniform resistance to bending of said track structure along its length and to obtain deflections of said track structure in response to movements of wheels therealong that are nearly uniform and that approach those obtained with a solid continuous track structure.
- 26. A transportation system, comprising: a plurality of carrier vehicles, a guideway including tracks for supporting said carrier vehicles for movement and including a plurality of Y junction portions each having an entrance and left and right exits, said tracks including left and right track portions in all portions of said guideway and additional track portions in said Y junction portions that cooperate with said left and right track portions to provide substantially continuous support of vehicles moving through said Y junctions, said additional track portions extending from left track portions at said entrances to left track portions at said right exits and extending from right track portions at said entrances to right track portions at said left exits, said carrier vehicles including direction control means, and said guideway including left and right guide rib means extending along and on the outside of said left and right track portions for cooperation with said direction control means for guiding said carrier vehicle along said guideway, said direction control means being selectively operable between first and second conditions, each of said Y junctions including portions of said left guide rib means cooperating with said direction control means in said first condition thereof to guide said carrier vehicles from said entrance to said first exit and including portions of said right guide rib means cooperating with said direction control means in said second condition thereof to guide said carrier vehicles from said entrance to said second exit, said direction control means including left control means disposed in an inactive elevated position above said rib means and above the level of said track portions while in said second condition thereof and lowered to an active position in said first condition thereof for cooperation with said left rib means and right control means disposed in an inactive elevated position above said rib means and above the level of said track portions while in said first condition thereof and lowered to an active position in said second condition thereof for cooperation with said right rib means, said left and right control means including left and right control wheels engageable with said left and right rib means.
- 27. A transportation system as defined in claim 26, wherein said vehicles include left and right support wheels positioned in longitudinally spaced relation to said left and right control wheels and engaged with said tracks on the insides of said left and right guide rib means, said left control means further including a left position control wheel positionable opposite said left support wheel and on the outside of said left guide rib means, and said right control means further including a right position control wheel positionable opposite said left support wheel and on the outside of said left guide rib means.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The priority of the following prior copending national applications is claimed, this application being a continuation-in-part thereof:
The priority of the following prior international application is also claimed in which the designated offices include the US, this application being a continuation-in-part thereof:
International Application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, naming AUTRAN CORP. for all designated states except US and naming Van Meter Lund for the US, International application No. PCT/US96/09390, International filing date 06 Jun. 1996.
The disclosures of said prior applications are incorporated herein by reference.
US Referenced Citations (18)
Related Publications (2)
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477182 |
Jun 1995 |
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481771 |
Jun 1995 |
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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475750 |
Jun 1995 |
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