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US 2011/0226151 A1Published application
Hybrid personal transit system
OwnerThomas PUMPELLYinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for hybrid personal transit and components thereof is disclosed. The hybrid personal transit (“HPT”) system can be a system of combined highway and monorail transportation methods, which allows roadworthy HPT vehicles to transition onto, and run on, a system of monorails. The rails can be built on the ground, on poles, or in tunnels. A unique drive system will allow each HPT vehicle to alter drive output from the HPT vehicle's tires to a rail drive system.
Claims17
A personal transit vehicle comprising:
- an enclosure;
- a plurality of road wheels coupled to the enclosure which are powered to propel the personal transit vehicle along a road;
- a road wheel suspension system attached to each of the plurality of road wheels, wherein the road wheel suspension controls a positioning of the road wheels over a range, from substantially vertical to substantially horizontal;
- and
- a rail engagement system, wherein the rail engagement system couples the substantially horizontal road wheels of the personal transit vehicle to a rail during a rail-guided operation.
2 more elements
A personal transit vehicle rail system comprising:
- a center portion;
- a top portion including a bearing plate coupled thereto, wherein the center portion has a narrower cross-sectional width than the top portion;
- and
- a plurality of sensors configured to communicate with a personal transit vehicle.
1 more element
A method of personal transit comprising:
- driving a personal transit vehicle on a first roadway;
- driving the personal transit vehicle from the first roadway onto a rail;
- retracting a plurality of road wheels from a substantially vertical position to a substantially horizontal position;
- engaging the road wheels with the rail on opposing vertical sides;
- engaging a bearing plate on a top portion of the rail with the personal transit vehicle;
- controlling operation of the personal transit vehicle from a remote location;
- and
- driving the personal transit vehicle from the rail onto a second roadway.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.