Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited

Shunji Morichika

Katsuaki Morita

Masahiro Yamaguchi

Kosuke Katahira

Kousuke Katahira

Hiroyuki Kono

Mitsuaki Hoshi

Hiroshi Yamashita

Masahisa Masukawa

Hiroyuki Mochidome

Yasuhiro Nagamichi

In a track type protection system comprising an automatic steering mechanism and a fail-safe mechanism, provided is a detection mechanism which can detect a deviated value of a vehicle, widthwise of a track, and which is highly reliable. The track type transportation system in which the vehicle runs on the road surface of the track, comprising the steering mechanism for automatically steering the front and rear wheels of the vehicle by means of actuators, and the fail-safe mechanism composed of a protection track defined on the road surface of the track, and protection wheels provided in the lower part of the vehicle and adapted to run in the protection track without making contact with the protection track, wherein there are provided a pair of noncontact type displacement meterswhich are attached to a support bracketsuspended downward from the lower part of the vehicle body, and which are arranged in the protection trackso as to irradiate detection waves a onto the left and right side wallsof the protection track, thereby the distances from the noncontact type displacement metersto the left and right side walls of the protection track are measured by the pair of noncontact type displacement meters.

Track type transportation system

A guided vehicle transportation system is described in the application. The system includes guard wheels and a guard rail positioned along a center line of a guide track. The guard rail has a groove in which the guard wheels are received with a predetermined clearance between the periphery of the guard wheels and side walls of the groove. The guard rail has a flange extending toward the groove at the top of each side wall. The vehicle has first arms extending in longitudinal direction and being attached rotatably at a central part of an axle provided for suspending each pair of front wheels and rear wheels, and the guard wheels are attached rotatably and directly to the both end parts of the first arms or attached rotatably to both end parts of second arms each of which is attached to a corresponding end part of the first arms.

Guided vehicle transportation system

The essential feature of the present invention is the provision of a track transportation system in which a vehicle runs on a predetermined track, being automatically steered, having a simplified and lightweight structure so as to surely ensure a safety, and to be capable of carrying out efficient and high-speed operation. The track transportation system according to the present invention incorporates a steering mechanism for automatic steering by means of an M actuator, a protection guide rail laid on the track, protection guide wheels which travel together with the vehicle along the protection guide rail without making contact with the latter, and a control means for controlling automatic steering in accordance with a result of determination by a track data determining means for determining a straight portion, a curved portion, a turnout portion or the like of the track in view of vehicle position data, and steering caused by the protection wheels making contact with the protection guide rail.

Track transportation system

According to a steering control method, before starting, a pattern steering angle table on which pattern steering angles for the front and rear wheels at respective change points of the track are listed is prepared in view of a track condition, etc. from a departure point to a destination point, a vehicle is steered in accordance with a pattern steering angle read from the table, a track widthwise position of the vehicle on running is detected so as to calculate correcting steering angles by which the track widthwise position of the vehicle coincides with a desired position, and the correcting steering angles are added to pattern steering angles so as to obtain desired steering angles by which the front wheels are steered. The pattern steering angle, the corrected steering angle and the desired steering angle are calculated for each of the front and rear wheels, independent from each other.

Method of and apparatus for controlling steering of a vehicle

The present invention provides the structure of a bogie for a vehicle in a track type transportation system in which the vehicle runs along a predetermined track, which can be simplified, and lightweight and which can be run at a high speed with the maintainability therefor being enhanced, comprising a guide raillaid on the track, guide wheelscapable of traveling being made into contact with the guide rail, a guide armattached thereto with the guide wheels, and a guide wheel support bracketfor supporting the guide armarranged underneath an axleof the vehicle so that the guide armis pivotable around a pivotal vertical support shat, left and right of the vehicle, and the guide arm, the guide wheelsand the guide wheel support bracketconstitute a unit structure which is attached to the axleor a bogie frameof the vehicle.

Bogie structure for a track vehicle

Structure of a bifurcation site and crossover site of a guideway in a guided vehicle transportation system; in which the guideway consists of left and right roadbeds, a depression between the roadbeds, and a guard rail having a U-shaped groove laid down on the depression; and a fail-safe mechanism is constituted by the guard rail and guard wheels attached to the vehicle; is proposed. The vehicle is equipped with automatic steering mechanisms for steering front and rear wheels and guard wheels supported laterally rotatably by front and rear supporting arms which are supported laterally rotatably underside the vehicle. The guard wheels are received in the groove of the guard rail. A movable guard plate and driving means thereof are provided to switch connection of the groove of the guard rail at a bifurcation thereof, and a movable plate and driving means thereof are provided to be able to plug or cover each of openings of grooves of guard rails in a region where the guard rail crosses a roadbed so that the movable plate is moved to plug or cover the groove thereby preparing a flat surface level with the roadbed.

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Shunji Morichika