Abstract:
The public highway system includes automated, elevated single lane throughways having wide and narrow gauge rail track arranged in various combinations. A control system regulates spacing of bimodal vehicles while maintaining a uniform speed for all vehicles on the system. The bimodal vehicles perform as conventional automobiles on conventional roadways and as fully automated safe high speed vehicles on elevated single lane, single speed, high-density electric rail guideways using static vertical switching accomplished by operation of variable gauge rail wheels on the vehicle to engage with or disengage from a wide gauge track portion wider than the bimodal vehicles. Vehicles enter/leave the mainline on the narrower gauge track. The wider gauge is for passing over off-ramps or in switching systems. A single lane can handle 15,800 veh/hr including mixed use such as mail, freight, mass transit in captive driverless vehicles with exclusive off-ramps to federal, commercial, industrial and public terminals.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/202,295, filed Feb. 17, 2009. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to vehicle traffic systems, and particularly to a public highway system that uses dual use vehicles and vertical switching guideways. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    There is a need for a unique design for an alternative mode of transportation to supplement our automobile freeway systems, which have become grossly overcrowded in the urban and suburban environment. Until now there has never been a concept that demonstrates that a practical, viable, economical, bimodal guideway/vehicle system can be developed with current state-of-the-art knowledge to supplement our 100 year old crumbling highway system. It would be desirable to have dual use vehicles that are a new form of automobile that integrates an additional but separate operating subsystem. There is a need for a system that, in addition to its conventional street operating mode, utilizes a dual use vehicle that can operate on elevated (grade separated) single lane dedicated guideways. The guideway mode of operation should be fully automated, electric, safe, non-polluting, offering vehicle speeds of 120 mph. With this country&#39;s addiction to oil, the world wide demand for oil, the anticipated shortage of oil and the pollution created by burning fossil fuels, we are long overdue for a new system of transportation which can supplement our current system with a much safer, electric portal-to-portal system. 
         [0006]    Thus, a public highway system solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The public highway system includes an automated, elevated single lane throughway comprised of wide and narrow gauge rail track arranged in various combinations. A control system within each vehicle regulates spacing of dual use vehicles while maintaining a uniform speed for all vehicles on the system. The rail switching is vertical and is accomplished by operation of variable gauge rail wheels on the vehicle to engage with or avoid engaging with a wide gauge track portion of the rail guide. On-ramps are taken by the vehicle temporarily engaging with a rising wide gauge section of track that begins in parallel with the narrow gauge track to separate tested vehicles from the abort track. Off-ramps are taken by the vehicle avoiding engagement with a wide gauge section of throughway track initially in parallel with the narrow gauge track, the narrow gauge track descending to remove the vehicle from the throughway. Staying on the throughway involves engagement of the variable gauge wheels with the wide gauge track. 
         [0008]    There will be multiple entrance and exit gated areas at each mainline, i.e., throughway switch permitting smooth access or egress to and from these dual mode systems. Alternatively, a system using magnetic levitation or aerodynamic levitation in lieu of wheels is contemplated. 
         [0009]    There also will be special parking structures designed to handle large numbers of these vehicles automatically by assigning each vehicle to a space using a modified guideway to deliver, store and retrieve said vehicle. 
         [0010]    These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a public highway system according to the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective view of a vehicle with retractable variable gauge rail wheels in a narrow gauge configuration according to the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view of a vehicle with retractable variable gauge rail wheels in a wide gauge configuration according to the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a front view, partially in section, of the rail support and vehicle of the public highway system according to the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the vehicle selectively engaging an on-ramp section of the public highway system according to the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6A  is a perspective view of the vehicle selectively engaging an off-ramp section of the public highway system according to the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6B  is a perspective view of the vehicle selectively engaging a through section of the public highway system according to the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the vehicle traveling along a throughway portion of the public highway system according to the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a partial section view of the track in relation to the vehicle wheel assembly according to the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 9A  is a plan view of a parking structure for vehicles of the public highway system according to the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9B  is a side view of a parking structure for vehicles of the public highway system according to the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 10  is a block diagram of a control system of the public highway system according to the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the vehicle selectively engaging a grade assist portion of the public highway system according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0024]    Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  5 ,  6 A,  6 B, and  7 , the public highway system includes an automated, elevated single lane throughway comprised of wide and narrow gauge rail track arranged in various combinations. As shown in  FIG. 10 , a control system regulates spacing of dual use vehicles  12  while maintaining a uniform speed for all vehicles on the system. As shown in FIGS.  2 , 3 , and  5 , vertical rail switching is accomplished by operation of variable gauge rail wheels  25  on the vehicle  12  to engage with or avoid engaging with a wide gauge track portion  512  of the rail guide. On-ramps  505   a  are taken by the vehicle  12  temporarily engaging with a rising wide gauge section of track  512  that begins in parallel with the narrow gauge track  511  at entrance area  510 . Off-ramps  505   b  are taken by the vehicle avoiding engagement with a wide gauge section  512  of throughway track initially in parallel with the narrow gauge track  511 , the narrow gauge track  511  descending through open space between rails of the wide gauge track  512  to remove the vehicle  12  from the throughway. Staying on the throughway involves engagement of the variable gauge wheels  25  with the wide gauge track  512 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3 , and  8 , dual use vehicle  12  is an automobile specially designed and manufactured to meet rigid specifications and safety tests to allow it to operate on a grade separated, preferably electric high speed automated guideway having narrow gauge rails  511  and wide gauge rails  512 . Features of a conventional automobile are maintained in that the vehicle still has conventional wheels  15  for street and highway use. 
         [0026]    For use in automated highway system  10 , the vehicle  12  has the ability to extend a front and rear pair of variable gauge flanged rail engagement wheels  25 . Additionally a front and rear pair of fixed gauge (narrow gauge) flanged rail engagement wheels  30  are extended for operation with guideway system  10 . Left and right portions of hydraulic actuation system H independently control the variable gauge rail wheels  25  and the fixed gauge rail wheels  30 . All eight of these wheels are driven by electric motor system M, either individually, in pairs or by one common motor. All eight wheels can be totally withdrawn into the vehicle  12  or extended horizontally out of the vehicle  12 . When operating in the street mode the wheels  25  and  30  are in the withdrawn position. 
         [0027]    When operating on the guideway system  10  the narrow gauge wheels  30  are fixedly extended to engage narrow gauge track  511  wherever narrow gauge track  511  is positioned in the system  10 . The variable gauge rail wheels  25  are extended to either a narrow gauge position or a wide gauge position that engage either narrow gauge track  511  or wide gauge track  512  depending on navigation control commands from a vehicle navigation computer  1016 . 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , throughway areas of the guideway utilize only the narrow gauge track  511 . As shown in  FIG. 6   a , the narrow gauge track  511  is also used to take an off-ramp  505   b . The wide gauge track  512  is used for over-passing off ramps  505   b , as shown in  FIG. 6   b , and for entering the system  10 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The vehicle  12  rides between two rails mounted on top of concrete beams on either side of the vehicle  12 . When the steel wheels  25 , and/or  30  contact the steel rails, electric power is picked up from the guideway and the vehicle  12  begins to move on the guideway  10  under electric power. At the first few feet of every on-ramp area  510 , the system  10  performs an automated inspection of the bi-modal, i.e., dual use vehicle  12  to verify the vehicle&#39;s ability to meet predetermined automated guideway system operating criteria. The vehicle  12  is permitted to proceed to a holding area to await an assignment to a position in the traffic pattern if the vehicle  12  meets the predetermined automated guideway system operating criteria. 
         [0029]    After receiving a guideway signal that an open position is available, the system  10  assigns a position on the guideway for the vehicle and then causes the vehicle  12  to accelerate at a precise rate to assume the position within traffic on the guideway. The system  10  causes all traffic on the guideway to flow at a constant speed. Each guideway in the overall system  10  may be set by the system  10  to flow traffic at a system specified speed for that particular guideway, i.e., 60 mph for urban with frequent on/off ramps, 90 mph for suburban with less frequent ramps, and 120 mph for interurban with the fewest ramps. These are merely exemplary speed values since analysis will determine the optimum velocity for each individual guideway on a case-by-case basis. All on/off ramps are designed for vertical rather than horizontal switching. With the exception of the vehicle  12 , there are preferably no moving parts in the guideway  10 .  FIG. 10  illustrates a possible control system  1000  utilized by automated public highway system  10 . Responsive to commands from control system  1000 , switching is performed by the vehicle  12  rather than by the track. 
         [0030]    Passive coded bar graphs  11  for the bimodal system vehicles may be disposed at regular intervals within the guideway  10 , e.g., on a portion of the vertical guideway supports  45 , or on some other structure in proximity with the guideway  10 . Electro-optical laser scanners (Sensors  1012 ) in the vehicle receive data from the guideway bar graphs to determine speed and location of vehicle  12  so that the system  10  can place vehicle  12  in an unassigned position. Sensing devices  1012  may employ technologies such as laser, radar, GPS and/or interaction with the guideway to provide precise vehicle location and velocity at all times. The sensors  1012  report vehicle speed and acceleration so that control portion of the system, e.g., processor  1010  can determine whether to permit the vehicle  12  to continue on the guideway of system  10 . If the test performed by the system  10  detects an anomaly in any of the vehicle&#39;s bimodal components, the system  10  causes the vehicle  12  to withdraw the variable gauge wheels  25  to the narrow gauge position in order to continue to an off ramp via narrow gauge rails  511  to abort entry into throughway portion of the highway system  10 . 
         [0031]    If the vehicle  12  passes the test it continues with its wheels  25  still in the wide gauge position. At this point a wide gauge track  512  initially adjacent and parallel to the narrow gauge  511  rises up to meet the thoroughfare via a transition zone where narrow gauge track  511  is again disposed between the wide gauge rails  512  and the vehicle  12  again rides the narrow gauge  511  and wide gauge  512  rails for a short distance until the wide gauge  512  terminates as the narrow gauge  511  in transition zone  505   a  (as shown in  FIG. 1 ) continues upward to meet a thoroughfare portion of the rail guide system  10 . 
         [0032]    Riding only on the narrow gauge the vehicle  12  is commanded to withdraw the variable gauge wheels  25  to the narrow gauge position prior to continuing up the ramp and joining the main line at transition zone  505   a . Thus the vehicle will proceed to join the main guideway of system  10  while riding on the narrow gauge  511 . Vehicles ahead of and behind this vehicle that were already on the main guideway would be riding on the outer gauge as well as the inner gauge after it rejoined the main line of system  10 . Once the inner gauge  511  and outer gauge  512  tracks are running at the same level and parallel to each other the outer gauge  512  fades away and all vehicles are riding on the inner gauge  511  in a throughway portion of system  10 . 
         [0033]    As shown in  FIG. 6B , if the vehicle  12  is to remain on main thoroughfare of the guideway and not exit at the next off ramp the vehicle  12  must be directed to extend the variable gauge wheels  25  to the wide gauge position so that the wide gauge wheels  25  will pick up the outer gauge track  512  and travel across off-ramp  505   b . With the variable gauge wheels  25  in the wide gauge position the vehicle  12  will remain on the main thoroughfare portion of the guideway of system  10  indefinitely. Moreover, as shown in  FIG. 11  if there is a requirement for a high vertical gradient that might cause the vehicle to slip while trying to advance along the track system  10 , outer rail  511  may have teeth  1100  instead of a smooth rail surface thereby allowing accessory wheel teeth  1105  on vehicle  12  to engage the wide track  511  for greater traction. 
         [0034]    For each vehicle on the automated guideway  10 , sensors  1012  of control system  1000  (shown in  FIG. 10 ) communicate information about vehicle location to processor  1010 . The processor  1010  is in operable communication with vehicle speed controller VSC  1014 , vehicle navigation controller VNC  1016  and vehicle diagnostic controller VDC  1018  to permits high-speed vehicles to operate at close headways when exiting or entering the system. 
         [0035]    Speed limitations on the highway system  10  may be determined by the coefficient of friction between the wheel systems  25  and  30  and the track systems  511  and  512  during, e.g., bad weather, the maximum grade of a specific guideway, and the power available in each of the vehicles  12 . Under nominal conditions a preferred speed for vehicle  12  is approximately 120 mph. A preferred nominal grade is approximately 2%, and nominal headwinds are less than 60 mph. 
         [0036]    By eliminating major intersections/clover-leafs between separate guideways the system  10  eliminates the potential for an entire system blockage. All transfers between guideways of system  10  are performed while the vehicle is on a roadway, i.e., a first guideway can be exited, while a second guideway can be entered which will take the driver closer to his/her destination. In case of emergency, all vehicles can be stopped simultaneously and then directed to the next off-ramp at slow speed. 
         [0037]    The vertical switching of automated guideway system  10  uses considerably less land space since the space directly under the elevated portion of the guideway can be used for switching and other purposes. 
         [0038]    The vertical switch is designed to effectively handle continuous high speed loading or off-loading a guideway by incrementally splitting ramps such as ramps  505   a  and  505   b . Each pair of ramps would increase or decrease vehicle velocity by 50%. Thus a high traffic area on-ramp could have as many as 8 starting on-ramps operating at 15 mph combining the 8 into 4 ramps increasing vehicle velocity to 30 mph, these combining into 2 ramps at 60 mph and combining this traffic into one on-ramp at 120 mph. 
         [0039]    Design of guideway system  10  provides the ability to add on and off-ramps to an existing guideway with minimum down time, thereby offering additional flexibility to a guideway planning commission. 
         [0040]    The vertical switching of guideway system  10  makes it possible to design a single lane guideway which can handle more traffic than a four lane highway, with great savings in lives, land use, reduced pollution, and less construction costs. The average four-lane highway handles approximately 10,000 vehicles per hour at 60 mph. A single lane bimodal guideway of system  10  is designed to handle over 15,000 vehicles per hour at 120 mph. 
         [0041]    The system provides enhanced safety through automated control system  1000 , which can also be redundant with redundant versions of processor  1010 , redundant controllers  1014 ,  1016 , and  1018 , as well as redundant sensors  1012 . Due to the automated control system  1000 , upon receipt of a signal from the guideway that an empty position is available, the vehicle  12  will proceed to accelerate at a specified rate until it reaches the design speed. The information transfer from guideway to vehicle sensors determines that the space allocated and speed of the vehicle  12  are compatible and the vehicle continues to enter the flow of traffic. Each vehicle maintains a preferably 40-foot electrical/mechanical space when it enters the system  10 . All spaces or positions are maintained by the vehicle interfacing with the track and front and rear distance sensors. 
         [0042]    Each vehicle maintains its position at the center of the 40-foot space through redundant locating systems. The entire guideway system relies heavily on: redundant subsystems, high reliability critical parts, and thorough testing at all phases of development as well as at every on-ramp. Safety and reliability are the main reasons for determining that the guideway mode should be a separate subsystem from the rest of the automobile. This mode needs to be protected by the automobile such that it cannot be damaged except in the most destructive types of street/highway accidents. The subsystems, such as controllers  1012 ,  1014 ,  1016 , and  1018 , are fully enclosed in the body of vehicle  12  and may also be enclosed in a heavy metal jacket. Safety and reliability are the two most important features of the fully automated high-speed transportation system  10  described herein. 
         [0043]    Once on the guideway, full automation of the system  10  safely relieves the driver from a requirement of attentiveness. The operator sets the NAV controller  1016  to exit at the desired off-ramp. Prior to arriving at the designated off-ramp an alarm will notify the occupants to prepare to exit. The operator must prepare to take control of the automobile  12  in the street mode. At a predetermined location on the narrow gauge track  511  the vehicle  12  will place the variable gauge wheels  25  in the narrow gauge mode. This will permit the vehicle to ride only on the narrow gauge and exit the system while those vehicles having wheels  25  in the wide gauge mode will continue on the main line having connected with the wide gauge track before reaching the exit ramp  505   b.    
         [0044]    Down the off-ramp the exiting vehicle may transfer to other off-ramps, reducing speed all the time, from 120 mph, to 60 mph, to 30 mph, and finally to 15 mph and down a gently sloping ramp to the street where the driver takes over. The driver may then guide vehicle  12  into a parking facility  900  (shown in  FIGS. 9A-9B ) that is specially designed to store parked cars in columns using their rail wheels. The parking structure is rectangular and has a plurality of elevator shafts  905  disposed between a plurality of rail guided passageways  907 . A vehicle  12  may be manually and/or automatically guided into one of the spaces  907  for storage on its rail wheels. For each elevator-passageway combination there is an entrance path  909 . The parking facility  900  advantageously utilizes the rail wheels of vehicles  12  to store the vehicles in a compact manner while maximizing office/retail area of the building. 
         [0045]    Referring now to  FIGS. 4 and 8  it is shown that the vehicles  12  travel on steel wheels  25  and  30 , riding steel rails  511  or  512 , the rails being supported by prefabricated, steel reinforced concrete support structures  40  and  45  attached to vertical support beam  39 , which extends from the ground over right-of-way of system  10 . It is next to impossible to fall off the guideway unless the aforementioned support structures  39 ,  40  and  45  fail. To ensure that vehicle  12  does not accidentally fall away from the support system, a pair of wheel supports  800  may be attached to and laterally extend away from the vertical guideway supports  45 . 
         [0046]    The vehicles  12  can still have large conventional gasoline engines, or may be all-electric or hybrids of the two propulsion systems for the off-guideway street mode. Accessories of vehicle  12  may include, but not be limited to television, telephones, food support, workstations, and the like, since the vehicles are automatically driven on the guideway of system  10 , leaving the occupants to engage in activities other than watching the road. System power cables, control cables, and the like may be disposed under protective cap  50 . 
         [0047]    Preferably, the system  10  supplies electric power to the vehicles  12  through electrified rails and/or high-speed pantographs or shoes extending from the vehicles  12 . 
         [0048]    Guideway construction is of a preformed, pre-cast, pre-stressed/post stressed steel reinforced guideway support base  40 . Vertical guideway supports  45  extend from guideway support base  40  and house the rails  511  and  512 . The support post, stanchion  39  is also steel reinforced and extends from the ground, supporting guideway support base  40  at top of the stanchion  39 . The support base  40  may be adjustably pivotal with respect to stanchion  39  to allow maintenance and construction crews to fine tune a tilt angle of the guideway for perfect alignment of guideway sections. 
         [0049]    Specially designed guideway construction trains can be designed for laying down the guideway tracks and their supporting structures. These trains may have a self-propelled railroad type crane at the front end followed by a type of flatbed for receiving pre-fabricated stanchions or beams and rails from the central constructing site. A construction site or sites will be selected along a planned guideway corridor, determined primarily by land availability, environmental and pollution assessments. A relatively short guideway of twenty miles or less may only require a single construction site. Inter-city, interstate guideways may require several such temporary sites. 
         [0050]    The stanchions and beams for the guideway are fabricated, molded/preformed at the site. The site is the starting point and supply center for a portion of the guideway. The elevated track can be extended from a site in any direction. The concept of laying down the track/guideway ahead of the train relies heavily on railroad construction technology. The major differences between the two systems to be taken into account when comparing them are Weight; the bimodal vehicle weighs approximately one fortieth ( 1/40) the weight of a loaded railroad car, track gauge; the bimodal uses a much wider track gauge and rides between the tracks rather than above them, thus a much lower center of gravity (track gauge is over six feet versus four feet eight ½ inches for railroads), track support; bimodal will be almost entirely elevated with the tracks riding on concrete and steel beams whereas most railroad rails ride on wooden ties laid on rock ballast, land use; bimodal requires minimal land use using previously established rights of ways whereas railroads require wide fenced right of ways and controlled road crossings which often conflict with surface traffic, portal-to-portal; as with the automobile bimodal has the unique ability to deliver its passengers/driver direct from departure point to destination point. No other form of transportation is required. 
         [0051]    All braking on the system  10  is energy efficient, recuperative or dynamic electric braking with mechanical backup using braking energy to generate electric power back into the power grid. 
         [0052]    The public highway system also contemplates the use of magnetic levitation (maglev), air cushion/air bearings in place of steel wheels on rails and using linear induction motors (LIM) rather than rotary electric motors. Also, a variety of wheel-rail configurations are contemplated by the public highway system. Moreover, the system would also allow for transportation of freight and mail and mass transit in fully automated terminal-to-terminal driverless captive vehicles. 
         [0053]    It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.