Transportation system employing magnetic levitation, guidance and propulsion

Claim 2

A transportation system employing magnetic levitation having, in combination, a vehicle carrying a number of relatively long and thin superconducting coils capable, when energized, of generating fields at least of the order of 0.1 to 0.4 Tesla at a distance of 10 to 25 centimeters from the vehicle lower surface, said coils being disposed over a substantial length of the vehicle on either side of the lower half of the vehicle and having distributed end turns to minimize loss, a guideway comprising I-strips on either side thereof, said strips being spaced on the order of one-third to one times the vehicle width and located substantially under the corresponding superconducting vehicle coils, said I-strips comprising two longitudinal conducting members with conducting material between the longitudinal members but with most of the mass concentrated in the longitudinal members, the orientation angle and the location of the I-strips being such as to provide both levitation and guidance to the vehicle.

Claim 3

A transportation system as claimed in claim 1 in which steel strips are mounted in proximity to the I-strips in order to provide increased levitation force per watt of power dissipation.

Claim 4

A transportation system as claimed in claim 1 in which a linear synchronous motor winding is disposed between the I-strips and is excited from wayside power conditioning units and in which the vehicle contains further superconducting coils near said lower surface and located between the long and thin superconducting coils.

Claim 5

A transportation system as in claim 3 in which the guideway comprises a series of blocks and in which adjacent blocks of guideway are excited by alternate power conditioning units sO as to achieve smooth transition of the vehicle from one block to another.

Claim 6

A transportation system as claimed in claim 3 in which the power conditioning units normally provide power at the available power system frequency, in which the amplitude of the guideway excitation is controlled in response to feedback from the vehicle, the power conditioning units being so designed as to allow lower speed operation at a sub-harmonic of the power system frequency, and in which variable frequency power converters are located at suitable intervals along the guideway and are used to provide complete acceleration and deceleration capability.

Claim 7

A transportation system as claimed in claim 3 in which the I-strips are cryogenic or superconducting guideway in the vicinity of terminals to provide low speed levitation.

Claim 8

A transportation system as claimed in claim 1 in which the I-strips are cryogenic or superconducting guideway in the vicinity of terminals to provide low speed levitation.

Claim 9

A transportation system comprising, in combination, a vehicle which is magnetically levitated by repulsion or attraction from a strip or rail on either side of the vehicle, an armature winding disposed in a guideway between the two lift strips or rails, a series of conducting coils disposed over substantially the entire length of the vehicle above the armature winding, said coils being capable of being excited to produce the effect of alternating north and south poles underneath the vehicle, said armature winding being excited from wayside power conditioning units and normally producing a controllable power at substantially the same frequency as the power system input frequency, said power conditioning units being so designed as to make available sub-synchronous power for occasional lower speed operation, and additional variable frequency power converters located at suitable intervals along the guideway to provide complete acceleration and deceleration capability.

Claim 10

A transportation system comprising, in combination, a vehicle which is magnetically levitated by repulsion or attraction from a strip or rail on either side of the vehicle, an armature winding disposed in a guideway between the two lift strips or rails, a series of conducting coils disposed over substantially the entire length of the vehicle above the armature winding, said coils being capable of being excited to produce the effect of alternating north and south poles underneath the vehicle, said armature winding being excited from wayside power conditioning units and normally producing a controllable power at substantially the same frequency as the power system input frequency, said power conditioning units being so designed as to make available sub-synchronous power for occasional lower speed operation, and additional variable frequency power converters located at suitable intervals along the guideway to provide complete acceleration and deceleration capability.

Claim 11

A transportation system employing magnetic levitation having, in combination, a vehicle carrying a number of relatively long and thin superconducting coils capable, when energized, of generating fields at least of the order of 0.1 to 0.4 Tesla at a distance of 10 to 25 centimeters from the vehicle lower surface, said coils being over a substantial length of the vehicle on either side of the lower portion of the vehicle and with distributed end turns to minimize loss, a guideway comprising I-strips at each side of the guideway, said strips being spaced on the order of one-third to one times the vehicle width and being located substantially to register with corresponding superconducting vehicle coils, said I-strips comprising two longitudinal conducting members with conducting material between the longitudinal members but with most of the mass concentrated in the longitudinal members, the orientation angle and the location of the I-strips being such as to provide both levitation and guidance to the vehicle.

Claim 12

A transportation system employing magnetic levitation having, in combination, a vehicle carrying a number of relatively long and thin superconducting coils capable, when energized, of generating fields at least of the order of 0.1 to 0.4 Tesla at a distance of 10 to 25 centimeters from the vehicle lower surface, said coils being over a substantial length of the vehicle on either side of the lower portion of the vehicle and with distributed end turns to minimize loss, a guideway comprising I-strips at each side of the guideway, said strips being spaced on the order of one-third to one times the vehicle width and being located substantially to register with corresponding superconducting vehicle coils, said I-strips comprising two longitudinal conducting members with conducting material between the longitudinal members but with most of the mass concentrated in the longitudinal members, the orientation angle and the location of the I-strips being such as to provide both levitation and guidance to the vehicle.

Claim 13

Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 in which each of the superconducting coils comprises a plurality of coils which together act to provide the 0.1 to 0.4 Tesla fields and which produce, as well, higher field gradient than a single coil.

Claim 14

Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 in which the superconducting coils have distributed end turns to minimize loss.