Transportation system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9302680-B2
Application number	US-201214354665-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 9, 2012
Priority date	Dec 19, 2011
Publication date	Apr 5, 2016
Grant date	Apr 5, 2016

Abstract

A transportation system includes a vehicle, a track having a traveling road surface on which the vehicle travels and guide parts which extend to both sides in a width direction of the traveling road surface. The track has a first section in which the vehicle is guided by the guide parts and travels on the track, and a second section in which the vehicle travels on the track by steering of the vehicle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A transportation system comprising:
a vehicle; and
a track having a traveling road surface on which the vehicle travels and guide parts which extend on both sides in a width direction of the traveling road surface,
wherein the track has
a first section in which the vehicle is guided by the guide parts and travels on the track, and
a second section in which the vehicle travels on the track by steering of the vehicle,
wherein the vehicle comprises:
a vehicle body,
running wheels which are attached to a lower portion of the vehicle body,
a steering mechanism which is configured to steer a direction of the running wheels with respect to the vehicle body,
a drive mechanism which includes an actuator and is configured to operate the steering mechanism by driving of the actuator to steer the direction of the running wheels, and
a guide mechanism which includes guided parts positioned on both sides in a width direction of the vehicle body and guided by the guide parts, and is configured to cause the steering mechanism to steer the direction of the running wheels in accordance with positions of the guided parts in the width direction of the vehicle body,
wherein the guide mechanism includes an auxiliary guided part which allows the steering mechanism to adjust the direction of the running wheels in accordance with the positions of the guided parts in the width direction of the vehicle body, and
wherein the track is provided such that the guide parts are at a distance equal to or greater than a preset gap from the guided parts of the vehicle, the track comprises an auxiliary guide part which guides the auxiliary guided part, and a gap between the auxiliary guide part and the auxiliary guided part is smaller than the preset gap between the guide parts and the guided parts.

2. The transportation system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a steering control switching control unit which is configured to control the driving of the drive mechanism in the second section, which is set in advance in the track and in which the steering mechanism is controlled by the drive mechanism, and is configured to stop the driving by the drive mechanism in the first section, which is set in advance in the track and in which the steering mechanism is controlled by the guide mechanism.

3. The transportation system according to claim 2 ,
wherein a distance between the guided parts is changeable.

4. The transportation system according to claim 3 ,
wherein the distance between the guide parts differs in the first section and the second section.

5. The transportation system according to claim 2 ,
wherein the distance between the guide parts differs in the first section and the second section.

6. The transportation system according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the guided parts is changeable.

7. The transportation system according to claim 6 ,
wherein the distance between the guide parts differs in the first section and the second section.

8. The transportation system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the distance between the guide parts differs in the first section and the second section.

9. The transportation system according to claim 1 ,
wherein the distance between the guide parts is the same in the first section and the second section.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Maeyama Hiroyuki
• Kanemori Toru
• Hoshi Mitsuaki
• Suzuki Takahiro
• Masukawa Masahisa
• Asanoma Toshiaki
• Katahira Kousuke

Classifications

• B60L2200/26

  Rail vehicles · CPC title

• B60L5/36

  with means for collecting current simultaneously from more than one conductor, e.g. from more than one phase · CPC title

• B61B13/00 Primary

  Other railway systems · CPC title

• B61B13/04

  Monorail systems · CPC title

• E01B25/28 Primary

  Rail tracks for guiding vehicles when running on road or similar surface (wheel tracks on roads E01C9/02) · CPC title