Electrical transportation system

Claim 1

A transportation system comprising: guiding means for guiding a vehicle along a path; an electrical conductor disposed along said guiding means; a vehicle, an induction motor on said vehicle for propelling the vehicle; pickup means on said vehicle for conductively connecting said induction motor to the region of the electrical conductor adjacent said vehicle; a first section of said electrical conductor being disposed adjacent a first portion of said guiding means, a first power source means for applying power of constant frequency to said first section of electrical conductor; a second section of said electrical conductor insulated from said first section and disposed adjacent a decelerating portion of said guiding means, said second section of said electrical conductor comprising a plurality of calinear segments insulated from each other, at least a first of said segments comprising at least two subsegments insulated from each other, a second power source means comprising a plurality of AC power supplies each operating at a different frequency, said power supplies being connected to successive segments such that the frequency of the AC power to such segments decreases from segment to segment in the direction of vehicle travel and means associated with the AC power supply connected to said first segment for transmitting a different amplitude of AC power to each of said subsegments wherein the subsegment first to be utilized by the vehicle receives a lower amplitude of AC power than the second subsegment so that the induction motor produces a progressively increasing braking torque; and a third section of electrical conductor disposed adjacent an accelerating portion of said guiding means and a third power source means for transmitting AC power to said third section of said electrical conductor which has a frequency increasing from a first frequency to a second frequency in a given time interval when said third power source means is energized.