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US3838648A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Personal transportation system

Assignee: Dahlberg Industries Inc
•
Filing: 1973-10-24
•
Granted: 1974-10-01
•
Expires: 1993-10-24
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Abstract

Abstract The disclosed system is based on a guideway track or ''''monorail'''' of deep channel or W configuration having an upraised carriage supporting rib or rail in the bottom of the channel with troughs or gutters on either side to collect water, dirt, etc. This track is cast in sections, straight or curved, and aligned sections are usually set into the ground with coping and flexible cover or closure means at the top, generally located at ground level. The carriage frame is supported on a vertical spine comprising a main upright plate which carries traction drive wheels on forks pivoted to the end of the plate. The plate also carries vertical axled side rollers contacting the guideway side walls to support the carriage laterally. An endless heavy Vee belt, driven by electric motor, drives the traction wheels and serves also as a cushion between them and the track rib insuring good traction even on steep slopes. The wheel-carrying forks are directionally controlled by feeler rollers which ride against the channel side walls to detect curves or switching points and, through control linkage, to ''''program'''' the direction of movement. Power is supplied through electric conductors built inside the closed channel and major control functions, such as switching, speed, spacing between successive vehicles, etc., are fed to conductors or bus bars within the guideway; preferably, only simple start, stop and turn controls are built into the carriages themselves, simplifying passenger control, subject to overall system control programmed into the channel-track. The vault-like channel structure of the guideway affords electrical safety and forms a conduit for supply of heated or cooled air, from supply plants along the line, to keep the track free of ice in winter and to keep passengers in carriages warm or cool as needed. Conditioned air is scooped from the guideway into the passenger compartment. Applications to golf courses, ski lifts and to various municipal or industrial complexes of moderately dense personal transport requirements are described.

Inventors

  • 👤 A Dahlberg
  • 👤 J Lekas

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-01 12:29
CPC Classifications
E; E01; E01B; E01B25/00; E01B25/08; E01B25/12; B; B61; B61B; B61B5/00; B61B5/02; B61B5/025

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim 159 words
A personal transportation system of the character described, which comprises, in combination, a guideway of upright channel cross section substantially set into the ground and having spaced upright sidewalls and a carriage supporting rib or monorail at the bottom of the channel, a frame including an upright support for a carriage, a carriage mounted on said upright support, a front support wheel and a rear support wheel mounted in said upright support, each of said wheels being grooved in its outer periphery, a heavy elastic traction belt passing around said wheels in the grooves thereof to support said wheels on said supporting rib or monorail, side rollers mounted in said upright support for contacting the channel side walls and giving lateral support to said carriage through said upright support, an electric supply line in said guideway, a motor mounted in said frame to drive said traction belt, and means for bringing power from said electric line to said motor.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 159 words
A personal transportation system of the character described, which comprises, in combination, a guideway of upright channel cross section substantially set into the ground and having spaced upright sidewalls and a carriage supporting rib or monorail at the bottom of the channel, a frame including an upright support for a carriage, a carriage mounted on said upright support, a front support wheel and a rear support wheel mounted in said upright support, each of said wheels being grooved in its outer periphery, a heavy elastic traction belt passing around said wheels in the grooves thereof to support said wheels on said supporting rib or monorail, side rollers mounted in said upright support for contacting the channel side walls and giving lateral support to said carriage through said upright support, an electric supply line in said guideway, a motor mounted in said frame to drive said traction belt, and means for bringing power from said electric line to said motor.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 22 words
A system according to claim 1 in which the carriage includes means for controlling the power from said line to said motor.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 57 words
A system according to claim 1 in which the carriage support includes a main middle support section and front and rear wheel carriers pivoted to said main section so they can be steered, separate wheels being mounted respectively in said carriers and means under control of the horizontal profile of said side walls for steering said wheels.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 49 words
A system according to claim 1 which includes a pair of side wall contactors mounted on a pivoted structure, said pivoted structure being supported in said upright support, and means for moving the front and rear wheel carriers in response to contact between said contactors and said side walls.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 31 words
A system according to claim 1 which includes switching means in said guideway to selectively move the carriage onto a side track or to continue it on an original guideway line.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 21 words
A system according to claim 1 in which the guideway consists of monolithic sections of concrete joined together in smooth joints.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 23 words
A system according to claim 6 in which switching sections in the conduit are provided for selectively leading the carriage into alternative guideways.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 38 words
A system according to claim 1 in which the guideway includes extra electric conduits, means for supplying power to said conduits, and means outside the carriage for varying the power so supplied to control operations of said carriage.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 42 words
A system according to claim 8 in which a movable switching ramp is set in the guideway bottom and a diverter rail is mounted in the guideway, and wherein the carriage includes means for selective engagemEnt or non-engagement with said diverter rail.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 35 words
A system according to claim 1 wherein the track is partially closed at its top by cove means to reduce the width of the space between said side walls at the top of the channel.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 37 words
A system according to claim 10 which includes a flexible elastic cover flap connected to at least one of said cove means and normally overlying closely and covering the channel to exclude moisture and other foreign matter.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 45 words
A system according to claim 10 which includes a flexible closure for the channel to exclude foreign matter from the channel, thereby forming of the channel a closed conduit, and means for supplying conditioned air to said channel to temper the air in the carriage.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 44 words
A system according to claim 1 which includes a flexible cover for the channel, means on the carriage for opening said cover as the carriage passes over it, and means for supplying artificially conditioned air to the carriage through said opening in the cover.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 34 words
A system according to claim 1 which includes a complete circuit of said guideway, a station alongside said guideway, and a plurality of sidings at said station for storing plural carriages at said station.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 118 words
A system according to claim 1 in which the front and rear support wheels are mounted in pivoted forked carriers each secured to the upright support, wherein sidewall contacting rollers are pivotally mounted in said upright support, movable means mounted in said upright support adapted to be changed in position by said contacting rollers when there is a change in the curvature of the guideway, and means connecting said movable means to said pivoted forked carriers to impart a steering movement to said wheels and to the belt between said wheels and the track rib in response to said curvature, whereby curvature in said guideway is programmed into the direction of movement of said belt along said rib.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 43 words
A system according to claim 15 in which the support wheels and said belt are driven through a pulley which supports said belt and wherein an additional belt on the same pulley inside the first mentioned belt is connected to the drive motor.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim 46 words
A system according to claim 1, which includes a track having first and second stop positions, and automatic means on the carriage for moving said carriage from said first to said second stop position, including means for automatically stopping the carriage in the second stop position.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim 63 words
A system according to claim 1 which includes a removable switching ramp insertable in the guideway beside said rib or monorail, and a shiftable lifting roller mounted on the carriage, and means for selectively setting said roller in a lift position to shift the carriage weight onto said switching ramp or to have the roller in inoperative position for non-engagement with said ramp.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim 58 words
A system according to claim 18 which includes an isolation roller on either side of said carriage frame, a diverter rail on each side of the guideway at a switching point, and means for selectively engaging one of said isolation rollers with the diverter rail on its side, to select the path of travel at said switching point.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US1541281A Cited
US2542236A Cited
US3381541A Cited
US3791308A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1977-09-30 1978-04-01 1978-10-01 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1981-09-30 1982-04-01 1982-10-01 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1985-09-30 1986-04-01 1986-10-01 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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