Transportation system

Claim 2

In a transportation system having a predetermined path, a plurality of vehicles for concurrent movement along said path, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, system vehicle control means for generating a series of stepping signals, first means responsive to said stepping signals for generating vehicle drive signals for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store a set of signals representative of vehicle information in each storage register corresponding to the control area in which a vehicle is located, and second means responsive to each said stepping signal to transfer each said set of signals representative of vehicle information from the control area storage register in which those signals were stored prior to the generation of said stepping signal to the next control area storage register to supervise the synchronous movement of said vehicles along said path.

Claim 3

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which a plurality of vehicles concurrently move, a junction and a second path connected to said predetermined path at said junction, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, system vehicle velocity control for effectively circulating control signals along said path to move all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers and a storage register corresponding to said junction, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path and means coordinated with said junction for generating signals for controlling the selection of alternate paths at said junction on the basis of signals representative of vehicle destination information in said storage register corresponding to said junction.

Claim 4

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which a plurality of vehicles concurrently move, a junction and a second path connected to said predetermined path at said junction, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, system vehicle velocity control for effectively circulating control signals along said path to move all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers and a storage register corresponding to said junction, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path and means coordinated with said junction for generating signals for controlling the selection of alternate paths at said junction on the basis of signals representative of vehicle destination information in said storage register corresponding to said junction.

Claim 5

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, and a subsidiary path from which a vehicle may enter said predetermined path, said main and subsidiary paths being divided into a series of discrete control areas, system vehicle velocity control for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path, means for checking the availability of a control area in said Predetermined path by interrogating the storage register corresponding to said control area, means responsive to an indication of availability for placing a reservation signal in the interrogated storage register to reserve a control area in said predetermined path for the vehicle using the subsidiary path, and means for moving said reservation signal through storage registers corresponding to control areas of said predetermined path in synchronism with the movement of said vehicle along said subsidiary path.

Claim 6

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, and a subsidiary path from which a vehicle may enter said predetermined path, said main and subsidiary paths being divided into a series of discrete control areas, system vehicle velocity control for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path, means for checking the availability of a control area in said Predetermined path by interrogating the storage register corresponding to said control area, means responsive to an indication of availability for placing a reservation signal in the interrogated storage register to reserve a control area in said predetermined path for the vehicle using the subsidiary path, and means for moving said reservation signal through storage registers corresponding to control areas of said predetermined path in synchronism with the movement of said vehicle along said subsidiary path.

Claim 7

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, system vehicle velocity control for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, and means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path, including means for sampling all of said storage registers in sequence during each interval required for a vehicle to traverse a control area of said predetermined path.

Claim 8

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, system vehicle velocity control for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, and means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path, including means for sampling all of said storage registers in sequence during each interval required for a vehicle to traverse a control area of said predetermined path.

Claim 9

In a transportation system having a predetermined path, a plurality of vehicles for concurrent movement along said path, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, system vehicle control for effectively circulating control signals along said path including means for generating vehicle drive signals for moving all the vehicles on said path in synchronism along said path and a series of stepping signals, each said stepping signal corresponding to a desired traverse of a vehicle across a control area, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store a set of signals representative of vehicle information in each storage register corresponding to the control area in which a vehicle is located, and means responsive to each said stepping signal to transfer each said set of signals representative of vehicle information from the control area storage register in which those signals were stored prior to the generation of said stepping signal to the next control area storage register independent of the movement of said vehicles along said path.

Claim 10

In a transportation system having a predetermined path, a plurality of vehicles for concurrent movement along said path, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, system vehicle control for effectively circulating control signals along said path including means for generating vehicle drive signals for moving all the vehicles on said path in synchronism along said path and a series of stepping signals, each said stepping signal corresponding to a desired traverse of a vehicle across a control area, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store a set of signals representative of vehicle information in each storage register corresponding to the control area in which a vehicle is located, and means responsive to each said stepping signal to transfer each said set of signals representative of vehicle information from the control area storage register in which those signals were stored prior to the generation of said stepping signal to the next control area storage register independent of the movement of said vehicles along said path.

Claim 11

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, means for generating system control signals for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, means for generating actual vehicle position signals in each control area, and comparison circuitry for comparing said system control signals with said actual vehicle position signals for modifying the servo-propulsion system of said vehicles to maintain the vehicles in synchronous movement along said system, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, and means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path.

Claim 12

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, means for generating system control signals for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, means for generating actual vehicle position signals in each control area, and comparison circuitry for comparing said system control signals with said actual vehicle position signals for modifying the servo-propulsion system of said vehicles to maintain the vehicles in synchronous movement along said system, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, and means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path.

Claim 13

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, system velocity control including signal generating means for generating a serIes of signals that effectively define a series of electronic slots that circulate continuously along said path, for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, and means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path.

Claim 14

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, system velocity control including signal generating means for generating a serIes of signals that effectively define a series of electronic slots that circulate continuously along said path, for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, and means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path.

Claim 15

The system as claimed in claim 7 wherein said signal generating means is a pulse generator and means for changing the pulse repetition frequency of said signal generating means to change said system velocity.

Claim 16

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which a plurality of vehicles concurrently move, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, vehicle sensing means located at predetermined positions along said path, system vehicle velocity control for effectively circulating control signals along said path to move all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, including means for generating vehicle drive signals and a stepping signal corresponding to each traverse of a vehicle across a control area, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path and means responsive to each said stepping signal to transfer said signals representative of vehicle information from the control area storage register in which those signals were stored prior to the generation of said stepping signal to the next control area storage register and means responsive to vehicle information signals in said storage registers for interrogating said vehicle sensing means.

Claim 17

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which a plurality of vehicles concurrently move, means for dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, vehicle sensing means located at predetermined positions along said path, system vehicle velocity control for effectively circulating control signals along said path to move all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, including means for generating vehicle drive signals and a stepping signal corresponding to each traverse of a vehicle across a control area, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path and means responsive to each said stepping signal to transfer said signals representative of vehicle information from the control area storage register in which those signals were stored prior to the generation of said stepping signal to the next control area storage register and means responsive to vehicle information signals in said storage registers for interrogating said vehicle sensing means.

Claim 18

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, and a subsidiary path from which a vehicle may enter said predetermined path, said main and subsidiary paths being divided into a series of discrete control areas, vehicle sensing means located at predetermined positions along said path, system vehicle velocity control for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path, means responsive to vehicle information signals in said storage registers for interrogating said vehicle sensing means, means for checking the availability of a control area in said predetermined path by interrogating the storage register corresponding to said control area, means responsive to an indication of availability for placing a reservation signal in the interrogated storage register to reserve a control area in said predetermined path for the vehicle using the subsidiary path, and means for moving said reservation signal through storage registers corresponding to control areas of said predetermined path in synchronism with the movement of said vehicle along said subsidiary path.

Claim 19

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, and a subsidiary path from which a vehicle may enter said predetermined path, said main and subsidiary paths being divided into a series of discrete control areas, vehicle sensing means located at predetermined positions along said path, system vehicle velocity control for moving all the vehicles on said path along said path in synchronism with one another, and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path, means responsive to vehicle information signals in said storage registers for interrogating said vehicle sensing means, means for checking the availability of a control area in said predetermined path by interrogating the storage register corresponding to said control area, means responsive to an indication of availability for placing a reservation signal in the interrogated storage register to reserve a control area in said predetermined path for the vehicle using the subsidiary path, and means for moving said reservation signal through storage registers corresponding to control areas of said predetermined path in synchronism with the movement of said vehicle along said subsidiary path.

Claim 20

The system as claimed in claim 10 wherein said supervisory control includes means for sampling all of said storage registers in sequence during each interval required for a vehicle to traverse a control area of said predetermined path.

Claim 21

The system as claimed in claim 11 wherein said system vehicle velocity control includes means for generating a stepping signal corresponding to each traverse of a vehicle across the control area, and said supervisory control includes means responsive to each said stepping signal to transfer said signals representative of vehicle information from the control area storage register in which those signals were stored prior to the generation of said stepping signal to the next control area storage register.

Claim 22

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, pulse generating means for generating a series of pulses, conversion circuitry responsive to said series of pulses for generating signals that effectively define a series of electronic slots that circulate along said digital, means for changing the pulse repetition frequency of said pulse generating means to change the velocity of circulation of said slot signals along said path, and vehicle propulsion circuitry responsive to said slot signals for maintaining vehicle movement in synchronism with the movement of said slot signals.

Claim 23

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, pulse generating means for generating a series of pulses, conversion circuitry responsive to said series of pulses for generating signals that effectively define a series of electronic slots that circulate along said digital, means for changing the pulse repetition frequency of said pulse generating means to change the velocity of circulation of said slot signals along said path, and vehicle propulsion circuitry responsive to said slot signals for maintaining vehicle movement in synchronism with the movement of said slot signals.

Claim 24

The system as claimed in claim 13 wherein said vehicle propulsion circuitry includes means for generating actual vehicle position signals, and comparison circuitry for comparing said slot signals with said actual vehicle position signals for modifying the propulsion circuitry of said vehicle to maintain the vehicle in synchronism with said slot signals.

Claim 25

The system as claimed in claim 14 and further including electrical conductor means extending along said path and dividing said path into a series of discrete control areas, said electrical conductor being segmented and each said control area being defined by at least two adjacent segments of said conductor, each segment of said conductor having a significant electrical resistance characteristic so that ramp signals may be applied to said segments, and wherein said slot signals recurringly energize said conductor segments to cause said ramp signals to sweep along said path for controlling the movement of vehicles along said path.

Claim 26

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, pulse generating means for generating a series of pulses, conversion circuitry responsive to said series of pulses for generating signals that effectively define a series of electronic slots that circulate along said path, means for changing the pulse repetition frequency of said pulse generating means to change the velocity of circulation of said slot signals along said path, vehicle propulsion circuitry responsive to said slot signals for maintaining vehicle movement in synchronism with the movement of said slot signals and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, and means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path.

Claim 27

In a transportation system having a predetermined path along which vehicles move, pulse generating means for generating a series of pulses, conversion circuitry responsive to said series of pulses for generating signals that effectively define a series of electronic slots that circulate along said path, means for changing the pulse repetition frequency of said pulse generating means to change the velocity of circulation of said slot signals along said path, vehicle propulsion circuitry responsive to said slot signals for maintaining vehicle movement in synchronism with the movement of said slot signals and supervisory control comprising a series of storage registers, said series of registers including a register corresponding to each control area on said path, means to store signals representative of vehicle information in the storage register corresponding to the control area in which the vehicle is located, and means coordinated with said system vehicle velocity control for moving said vehicle information signals through said storage registers in synchronism with the movement of the vehicles along said path.

Claim 28

The system as claimed in claim 16 wherein said path has a junction, a storage register in said supervisory control corresponding to said junction, and means coordinated with said junction for generating signals for controlling the selection of alternate paths at said junction on the basis of signals representative of vehicle destination information in said storage register corresponding to said junction.

Claim 29

The system as claimed in claim 17 wherein a subsidiary path is provided from whiCh a vehicle may enter said predetermined path, said subsidiary path being divided into a series of discrete control areas, and said supervisory control includes means for checking the availability of a control area in said predetermined path by interrogating the storage register corresponding to said control area, means responsive to an indication of availability for placing a reservation signal in the interrogated storage register to reserve a control area in said predetermined path for the vehicle using the subsidiary path, means for moving said reservation signal through storage registers corresponding to control areas of said predetermined path in synchronism with the movement of said vehicle along said subsidiary path.

Claim 30

The system as claimed in claim 18 and further including vehicle sensing means located at predetermined positions along said path and means responsive to vehicle information signals in said storage registers for interrogating said vehicle sensing means.

Claim 31

The system as claimed in claim 19 wherein said system vehicle velocity control includes means for generating a stepping signal corresponding to each traverse of a vehicle across the control area, and said supervisory control includes means responsive to each said stepping signal to transfer said signals representative of vehicle information from the control area storage register in which those signals were stored prior to the generation of said stepping signal to the next control area storage register.

Claim 32

The system as claimed in claim 20 wherein said supervisory control includes means for sampling all of said storage registers in sequence during each interval required for a vehicle to traverse a control area of said predetermined path.

Claim 33

The system as claimed in claim 21 wherein path dividing means includes a segmented electrical conductor, each said control area is defined by at least two adjacent segments of said conductor, each segment of said conductor has a significant electrical characteristic so that ramp signals may be applied to said segments, and wherein said slot signals recurringly energize said conductor segments to cause said ramp signals to sweep along said path for controlling the movement of vehicles along said path.