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US 9,802,633 B1Granted
Fixed guideway transportation systems having lower cost of ownership and optimized benefits
AssigneeCybertran International Inc.
InventorsEugene Iwao Nishinaga, Kevin Kohei Nishinaga, Neil Sinclair, Harry Burt, Dexter Vizinau
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates generally to ground transportation systems, and more particularly to a fixed guideway transportation system that achieves a superior ratio of benefits per cost, is lower in net present cost and thus more easily justified for lower density corridors, and can provide passenger carrying capacities appropriate for higher density corridors serviced by mass rapid transit systems today.
Claims18
A driverless transportation system consisting essentially of:
- a fixed guideway forming a route for transporting a plurality of driverless vehicles thereon;
- separated grade at all mode crossings along the route;
- off-line stations at all stops within the route;
- and
- a control system for controlling movement of the vehicles throughout the route,
- wherein the control system comprises controllers in each of the vehicles communicating with one or more higher-level controllers, wherein vital control functions that have been verified to have a predetermined low failure rate are concentrated in the higher-level controllers to the exclusion of any such vital control functions in the vehicles, and
- wherein the control system provides an optimal traffic density by eliminating fixed obstacles along the route, and
- wherein the vehicles are sized to transport an optimal number of passengers for the optimal traffic density.
5 more elements
A driverless transportation system comprising:
- a first local system consisting essentially of:
- a first fixed guideway forming a first local route for transporting a plurality of driverless vehicles thereon;
- street-traffic separated at all mode crossings along the first local route;
- first off-line stations at all stops within the first local route;
- and
- a first control system for controlling movement of the vehicles throughout the first local route,
- wherein the first control system comprises controllers in each of the vehicles communicating with one or more first higher-level controllers, wherein vital control functions that have been verified to have a predetermined low failure rate are concentrated in the first higher-level controllers to the exclusion of any such vital control functions in the vehicles, and
- wherein the first control system achieves an increased traffic density by eliminating fixed obstacles along the first local route, and
- wherein the vehicles are sized to achieve a line capacity such that a benefit to cost of ownership ratio is optimized;
- a second local system consisting essentially of:
- a second fixed guideway forming a second local route for transporting the plurality of driverless vehicles thereon;
- street traffic separated at all mode crossings along the second local route;
- second off-line stations at all stops within the second local route;
- and
- a second control system for controlling movement of the vehicles throughout the second local route,
- wherein the second control system comprises the controllers in each of the vehicles communicating with one or more second higher-level controllers, wherein vital control functions that have been verified to have a predetermined low failure rate are concentrated in the second higher-level controllers to the exclusion of any such vital control functions in the vehicles, and
- wherein the second control system achieves an increased traffic density by eliminating fixed obstacles along the second local route;
- and
- an inter-city line connecting the first and second local systems on which vehicles designed and certified to achieve higher speeds operate.
16 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.