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US 11,524,709 B2Granted
Electric rail vehicle
AssigneeParallel Systems, Inc.
InventorsMatthew Soule, John Howard, Benjamin Stuart Stabler
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The electric vehicle can include: a payload interface, a payload suspension, a chassis, a set of bumpers, a sensor suite, a controller, a chassis suspension, and an electric powertrain. The electric vehicle 100 can optionally include a payload adapter, a power source, a cooling subsystem, and/or any other suitable components. The electric vehicle functions to structurally support a payload, such as a cargo container (e.g., intermodal container, ISO container, etc.), and/or to facilitate transportation of a payload via railway infrastructure.
Claims21
An electric rail vehicle comprising:
- a chassis defining a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, the chassis having a stiffness mismatch between the lateral and longitudinal axes;
- a set of bumpers mounted to the chassis, the set of bumpers comprising an abutment surface at a maximal extent of the electric rail vehicle along the longitudinal axis;
- a payload interface configured to mount a cargo payload to the electric rail vehicle;
- a bolster bowl rotatably mounting the payload interface to the chassis;
- a plurality of suspension elements coupling the payload interface and the chassis which are symmetrically distributed relative to a midsagittal plane of the chassis;
- an electric powertrain mounted to the chassis and comprising:
- a traction motor and a pair of wheelsets, wherein at least one wheelset of the pair is rotatably coupled to an output of the traction motor, wherein each wheelset comprises:
- a split axle and a rail wheel at each end of the split axle, wherein the electric rail vehicle further comprises a chassis suspension independently coupling each rail wheel to the chassis;
- a battery electrically coupled to the electric powertrain;
- a set of sensors comprising:
- a bumper feedback sensor and a GPS sensor;
- and
- a vehicle controller mechanically coupled to the chassis and configured to autonomously control the electric powertrain based on measurements from the set of sensors.
10 more elements
A rail system for autonomously transporting a cargo container comprising a pair of electric rail vehicles, each electric rail vehicle comprising:
- a payload interface, the cargo container removably mounted to the payload interface;
- a chassis defining a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, wherein the chassis is more torsionally compliant about the longitudinal axis than about the lateral axis;
- a set of bumpers mounted to the chassis, the set of bumpers comprising an outboard bumper comprising an abutment surface at a maximal extent of the vehicle along the longitudinal axis and extending beyond the cargo container along the longitudinal axis;
- a bolster bowl rotatably mounting the payload interface to the chassis;
- a plurality of suspension elements coupling the payload interface and the chassis which are symmetrically distributed relative to a midsagittal plane of the chassis;
- an electric powertrain mounted to the chassis and comprising:
- a traction motor and a pair of wheelsets, wherein at least one wheelset of the pair is rotatably coupled to an output of the traction motor, wherein each wheelset comprises:
- a split axle and a rail wheel at each end of the split axle, wherein the electric rail vehicle further comprises a chassis suspension independently coupling each rail wheel to the chassis;
- a battery electrically coupled to the electric powertrain;
- and
- a bumper feedback sensor coupled to the outboard bumper and configured to measure compressive force at the outboard bumper.
8 more elements
A rail system for autonomously transporting a cargo container comprising
- a pair of electric rail vehicles, each electric rail vehicle comprising:
- a payload interface, the cargo container removably mounted to the payload interface;
- a chassis defining a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, wherein the chassis is more torsionally compliant about the longitudinal axis than about the lateral axis;
- a set of bumpers mounted to the chassis, the set of bumpers comprising an outboard bumper comprising an abutment surface at a maximal extent of the vehicle along the longitudinal axis and extending beyond the cargo container along the longitudinal axis;
- a bolster bowl rotatably mounting the payload interface to the chassis;
- a plurality of suspension elements coupling the payload interface and the chassis which are symmetrically distributed relative to a midsagittal plane of the chassis;
- an electric powertrain mounted to the chassis and comprising a plurality of rail wheels;
- a battery electrically coupled to the electric powertrain;
- and
- a bumper feedback sensor coupled to the outboard bumper and configured to measure compressive force at the outboard bumper;
- and
- a spanning structure mounted to the payload interface of each electric rail vehicle of the pair, wherein the cargo container is removably mounted via the spanning structure.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.