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US 6,324,994 B1Granted
Hybrid transit system
OwnerCharles A. Glenninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A hybrid transit system comprising a transit corridor and a hybrid vehicle for carriage of people and goods within the corridor. The transit corridor includes railway sections, roadway sections and transit corridor junctions between the two sections. The railway sections include a pair of steel rails and a traction strip in a parallel arrangement. The roadway sections include paved roads. The hybrid vehicle is supported by a plurality of dual mode wheels and propelled by a traction wheel system. Each dual mode wheel is comprised of a flanged section for cooperation with the rails of the railway section and a rim section, including a tire, for cooperation with the paved roadway of the roadway section. A traction wheel system engages the traction strip or roadway surface to propel the hybrid vehicle.
Claims21
A hybrid transit system comprising:
- a transit corridor including,
- a railway section comprising an upwardly facing traction surface and a pair of spaced rails,
- a roadway section comprising a paved roadway, and
- a junction between said railway section and said roadway sections;
- and
- a hybrid vehicle for movement within said transit corridor, including:
- a plurality of dual-mode wheels mounted to said hybrid vehicle for rotation about a first axis, each said dual-mode wheel having a flanged section for cooperation with a said rail and a tire section for cooperation with said paved roadway, at least two of said dual-mode wheels also mounted for simultaneous pivoting about a second axis and said first axis, and
- propulsion means for propelling said hybrid vehicle;
- wherein said hybrid vehicle is supported and guided within said railway section substantially by the cooperation of said plurality of flanged sections and said rails, and said hybrid vehicle is supported and guided within said roadway section substantially by the cooperation of said tire section and said roadway and said hybrid vehicle is supported and guided within said junction substantially by the cooperation of at least one of said flanged section with said rail or said tire section with said roadway.
6 more elements
A hybrid transit system comprising:
- a transit corridor including,
- a railway section comprising an upwardly facing traction surface and a pair of spaced rails,
- a roadway section comprising a paved roadway, and
- a junction between said railway section and said roadway sections;
- and
- a hybrid vehicle for movement within said transit corridor, including:
- a plurality of dual-mode wheels mounted to said hybrid vehicle for rotation about a first axis, each said dual-mode wheel having a flanged section for cooperation with a said rail and a tire section for cooperation with said paved roadway, at least two of said dual-mode wheels also mounted for simultaneous pivoting about a second axis and said first axis, and
- propulsion means for propelling said hybrid vehicle comprising a traction wheel pivotably mounted to said hybrid vehicle independently of said dual-mode wheels for powered rotation about an axis, said traction wheel engageable with said traction surface to propel said hybrid vehicle within said railway section and engageable with said paved roadway to propel said hybrid vehicle within said roadway section.
5 more elements
A hybrid vehicle for use on both a railway and a roadway, comprising:
- a chassis;
- a plurality of dual-mode wheels mounted to said chassis in spaced pairs, each spaced pair rotatable about a respective first axis, each said dual-mode wheel having a flanged section and a tire section, at least two of said dual-mode wheels also mounted for simultaneous movement about both a second axis and said first axis, wherein each said flanged section and respective said tire section rotate about said respective first axis independently of one another in a first rotational direction and dependently in a second rotational direction;
- and
- a propulsion system for moving said vehicle, wherein said hybrid vehicle is supported on said railway substantially by the plurality of wheel flanged sections each cooperating with a rail and said hybrid vehicle is supported on said roadway substantially by the plurality of tire sections cooperating with said roadway.
1 more element
A hybrid vehicle for use on both a railway and a roadway, comprising:
- a chassis;
- a plurality of dual-mode wheels mounted to said chassis in spaced pairs, each spaced pair rotatable about a respective first axis, each said dual-mode wheel having a flanged section and a tire section, at least two of said dual-mode wheels also mounted for simultaneous movement about both a second axis and said first axis wherein the dual-mode wheels are non-powered;
- and
- a propulsion system for moving said vehicle;
- wherein said hybrid vehicle is supported on said railway substantially by the plurality of wheel flanged sections each cooperating with a rail and said hybrid vehicle is supported on said roadway substantially by the plurality of tire sections cooperating with said roadway.
2 more elements
A vehicle, comprising:
- a chassis;
- a plurality of wheels mounted to said chassis in spaced pairs, each spaced pair rotatable about a respective first axis, at least two of said wheels also mounted for simultaneous movement about both a second axis and said first axis;
- and
- a propulsion system for moving said vehicle comprising a traction wheel system having a traction wheel pivotably mounted to said vehicle independently of said wheels for powered rotation about an axis, said traction wheel engageable with an upwardly facing traction surface to generate a tangential force and a normal force, said tangential and normal forces having a fixed ratio.
1 more element
A hybrid transport method, comprising:
- defining a departure location and an arrival location;
- providing a transit corridor linking said departure and arrival locations, said transit corridor having a railway section comprising an upwardly facing traction strip and a pair of spaced rails and a roadway section comprising a paved roadway;
- providing a hybrid vehicle at said departure location, said hybrid vehicle including:
- a plurality of non-powered dual-mode wheels mounted to said hybrid vehicle in spaced pairs, each spaced pair rotatable about a respective first axis, each said dual-mode wheel having a flanged section for cooperation with a said rail and a tire section for cooperation with said paved roadway, at least two of said dual-mode wheels also mounted for simultaneous rotation about said respective first axis and pivotal movement about a second axis, and
- a traction wheel pivotably mounted to said hybrid vehicle independently of said dual-mode wheels for powered rotation about an axis, said traction wheel cooperating with said traction strip to propel said hybrid vehicle within said railway section and said paved roadway to propel said hybrid vehicle within said roadway section;
- loading said hybrid vehicle;
- driving said hybrid vehicle along said transit corridor from said departure location to said arrival location;
- and
- unloading said hybrid vehicle.
6 more elements
A traction wheel system comprising:
- a friction surface;
- a power source having a rotational axis;
- and
- a traction wheel connected through a transmission to the power source, the transmission pivotally mounted by a transmission mount about said rotational axis for engagement of the traction wheel with said friction surface, wherein said engagement generates a tangential force and a normal force, said tangential and normal forces having a fixed ratio and transmitted only through the transmission to the transmission mount.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.