US 2023/0095321 A1Published application

Solar Personal Rapid Transit System with Autonomous Pods

AssigneeSolar Mobility, LLC

InventorsHuiming YIN, Frank PAO, Junhui LOU, Mehdi ZADSHIR

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Abstract

The solar personal rapid transit (PRT) system is configured to provide a transportation system with higher material, energy, environmental, and economic sustainability. The solar PRT system includes autonomous vehicles or “pods” that travel on a rail guideway above the pods. The pods are configured for moving people and objects from one location to another along the rail guideway. Each pod is coupled to a drive unit via a hanger for moving the pods through the guideway. The drive unit includes wheels with flanges proximate to the outside edges of the guideway rails. A combination of tongue tracks and a switch blade is used to route the pods onto different tracks. A pre-tension frame supports each section of the guideway and includes a smart cushion that changes the length of the section based on environmental temperature. The smart cushion is further used with a BIPV module for a roof.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A transit system, comprising:

a rail guideway comprising one or more junctures, each juncture comprising:
main tracks comprising a first main rail and a second main rail;
turn tracks comprising a first turn rail and a second turn rail;
a first tongue rail comprising a first end aligned with:
the first main rail and a moveable second end;
and
a second tongue rail comprising a first end aligned with the second turn rail and a moveable second end;
a drive unit comprising:
a first set of wheels for traveling on the first main rail, each of the first set of wheels comprising a first flange residing proximate to an outside edge of the first main rail and distal from an inside edge of the first main rail;
and
a second set of wheels for traveling on the second main rail, each of the second set of wheels comprising a second flange residing proximate to an outside edge of the second main rail and distal from an inside edge of the second main rail;
and
a switch control system, comprising:
a switch blade comprising a pivot end and a movable end, the pivot end residing at a location proximate to the second main rail and the first turn rail, wherein a gap exists between the pivot end, the second main rail, and the first turn rail,
wherein to facilitate a movement of the drive unit from the main tracks to the turn tracks:
the moveable end of the first tongue rail is positioned to form a gap between the movable end of the first tongue rail and the first main rail,
the movable end of the switch blade is positioned to align with the first main rail, and
the moveable end of the second tongue rail is positioned to align with the second main rail.

15 more elements

A building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) module, comprising:

laminated glass comprising a first end and a second end;
a first clamp comprising a first end, a second end, and a first mid-point of the first clamp, wherein a length, of the first clamp is coupled to a first end of the BIPV module;
a second clamp comprising a first end, a second end, and a second mid-point of the second clamp, wherein a length of the second clamp is coupled to a second end of the BIPV module;
a central column comprising a first end and a second end of the central column, the first end of the central column coupled to the first mid-point of the first clamp, the second end of the central column coupled to the second mid-point of the second clamp, wherein the central column is coupled beneath the BIPV module;
and
a smart cushion coupled between the central column and the second clamp, wherein the smart cushion adjusts a length of a section of the BIPV module based on changes in environmental temperature.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/935,151Filed 26 Sep 2022
Priority: 26 Sep 2021
Published: 30 Mar 2023
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification13 codes

B61B 3/02
Elevated railway systems with suspended vehicles: with self-propelled vehicles
B61C 3/00
Electric locomotives or railcars
E01B 7/04
Tongues; Associated constructions: constructions with tongues turning about a vertical pivot at the end
E01B 25/22
Tracks for special kinds of railways: tracks for railways with the vehicle suspended from rigid supporting rails