U.S. patent number 3,854,412 [Application Number 05/388,755] was granted by the patent office on 1974-12-17 for switch for use in a magnetic suspension railroad.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Siemens Aktiengesellschaft. Invention is credited to Hans-Jurgen Dull.
United States Patent |
3,854,412 |
Dull |
December 17, 1974 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
SWITCH FOR USE IN A MAGNETIC SUSPENSION RAILROAD
Abstract
An improved switch for use in a magnetic suspension railroad of
the type wherein primary conductor loops in a vehicle react with
secondary conductor loops or conducting plates installed in the
roadbed to provide support and/or guidance of the vehicle, in
which, at the area of the switch, the secondary conductor loops or
plates are provided only on the two outer sides of the switch and
the primary current carrying loops in the vehicle are mounted so
that they can be moved out of the action range of the secondary
conductor loops or plates in order to select the direction of
travel when the switch is encountered. In an alternate embodiment
the secondary plates are adapted for movement out of the action
range of the primary loops.
Inventors: |
Dull; Hans-Jurgen (Erlangen,
DT) |
Assignee: |
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
(Munchen, DT)
|
Family
ID: |
25763743 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/388,755 |
Filed: |
August 15, 1973 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Aug 25, 1972 [DT] |
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2241790 |
Aug 25, 1972 [DT] |
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2241789 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
104/130.02;
104/282; 310/90.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B61B
13/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B61B
13/08 (20060101); B60m 007/00 (); B61b
013/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;104/148MS,148SS,130
;308/10 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Ward, Jr.; Robert S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kenyon & Kenyon Reilly Carr
& Chapin
Claims
What is claimed:
1. In a magnetic suspension railroad in which a vehicle is
magnetically suspended and guided by the reaction of primary
current carrying conductor loops in the vehicle with secondary
conductor means installed on the roadbed, an improved switching
arrangement for switching the vehicle between a straight track and
a curved track comprising:
a. first secondary conductor means following a direction parallel
to the direction of the straight portion of track;
b. second secondary conductor means following the path of the
curved section of the track;
c. means comprising primary conductor loops installed in the
vehicle arranged to react with said first and second secondary
conductor means; and
d. means to selcetively provide for relative movement of said
primary conductor loops with respect to said first and second
secondary conductor means so that in the switch area only one
secondary conductor plate is in the action range of said primary
conductor loops.
2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein primary conductor
loops for guidance are installed on each side of said vehicle, said
first secondary conductor means comprises a conductor plate
arranged along the outside of the straight section of track, said
second secondary conductor plate comprises a conductor plate
arranged along the inside of said curved section of track and said
means to provide relative motion comprises means to selectively
move the primary conductor loops on one or the other sides of said
vehicle out of the range of its associated secondary conductor
plate.
3. The invention according to claim 2 wherein said means to move
comprise means to swing said primary conductor loops away from
their associated secondary plates.
4. The invention according to claim 3 wherein at least in the area
of the switch the secondary conductor plates are arc shaped.
5. The invention according to claim 4 wherein a single primary
conductor loop is provided on each side for both guidance and
suspension and wherein there are installed in addition to said
secondary conductor means a guidance conductor plate and a support
conductor plate and wherein in the operating position said primary
conductor loop additionally co-operates with said guidance
conductor plate and when in the retracted position co-operates with
said support conductor plate.
6. The invention according to claim 2 wherein said primary
conductor loops are mounted for vertical up and down motion and
said means to move said primary conductor loops comprises means for
retracting said loops out of the range of their associated
secondary conductor plate.
7. The invention according to claim 1 wherein said means for
obtaining relative motion comprise means to move said secondary
conductor means in a vertical direction in and out of the range of
their associated primary conductor loops.
8. The invention according to claim 7 wherein said first secondary
conductor plate is arranged on the outside of said straight section
of track and said second secondary conductor means on the inside of
said curved section of track, each of said first and second
secondary conductor plates being mounted for vertical motion and
said means to provide motion comprises means to selectively raise
and lower said first and second secondary conductor plates.
9. The invention according to claim 8 wherein said first secondary
conductor means comprises a conductor plate arranged in the center
of said straight section of track and said second secondary
conductor means comprises a conductor plate in the center of said
curved section of track, each of said first and second secondary
conductor plates being mounted for vertical motion and wherein said
means for moving comprise means for selectively extending and
retracting said first and second secondary conductor means.
10. The invention according to claim 9 wherein the first and second
secondary conductor plates are located in the same plane as the
reaction rail of the linear motor associated with said vehicle.
11. The invention according to claim 10 wherein a single plate is
used to provide the function of both secondary conductor plate and
the reaction rail of the linear motor.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to magnetic suspension railroads in general
and more particularly to an improved switching arrangement for such
magnetic railroads.
In a magnetic suspension railroad, current carrying primary
conductor loops are installed in the vehicle and react with
secondary loop or conductor plates installed at the roadbed to
support and/or guide the vehicle. One type of magnetic suspension
railroad is disclosed in the article Model Paper "The Magnetplane;
Guided Electromagnetic Flight" by H. Kolm and Richard D. Thornton,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
published May 1, 1972, pp. 7 and 8. As disclosed therein a section
of track about a mile long for use with a magnetic suspension
railroad is mounted on sliding bearing supports to make connection
with a second or third track possible. Obviously such a design is
prohibitively expensive.
In German Pat. No. 707,032 a magnetic suspension railroad in which
the lifting forces needed for suspension are generated by
electromagnets arranged on the roof of the vehicle which cooperate
with stationary steel rails on the track is shown. In this
railroad, lateral guidance forces are generated by electromagnets
which are arranged on both sides of the vehicle and which react
with steel rails placed alongside the path. To provide switching
from one track to another steel rails for lateral guidance are
provided on the two outer sides in the area of the switches. To
select travel direction when encountering the switch, one of the
rows of electormagnets is disconnected so that the vehicle will
continue, guided by the oppositely directed forces of the support
system and part of the guidance system. With a design such as this
the need to move a section of track is avoided. However, the
current in the conductor loops of the electromganets in the vehicle
must be continuously controlled by spacing control devices using
converters in order to maintain a given spacing between the
electromagnets and the stationary steel rails. With this manner of
operation, sufficiently large attraction forces can be generated in
the direction of those lateral guidance magnets which are operative
during switching but only small forces may be generated in the
opposite direction. Thus, guidance of the vehicle is not reliably
assured in all operating situations. Thus there is a need for an
improved arrangement for switching a vehicle from one track to
another in such a suspension railroad. Such a switching arrangement
should avoid having to move sections of track and should provide
stable lateral guidance at all times, without affecting the lifting
function of the suspension arrangement.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The switching arrangement of the present invention fills these
needs. In the arrangement of the present invention electric
conductor plates are used as the secondary reaction members which
react with the primary conductor loops in the vehicle. In some
embodiments the primary conductor loops are arranged so that they
can be moved out of the action range of the secondary conductor
plates on either side to thereby select the direction of travel.
This is accomplished in one embodiment by swinging the primary
conductor loop out of the way and in another by retracting it.
Removal of one of the magnets or primary conductor loops on the
vehicle will cause the motion of the vehicle to continue in the one
or the other direction of travel depending on which was removed. In
this embodiment, in the area of the switches the secondary
conductor plates are installed only on the outsides of the two
paths to prevent interference as the train moves through the switch
from one track to the other.
In another embodiment the same principal is employed with the
difference being that rather than moving the primary conductor
loops, the secondary conductor loops (throughout the specification
the words secondary conductor loops and plates should be considered
to mean one or both) are moved in the area of the switch. Thus,
again interaction occurs only between one primary conductor loop
and one of the secondary conductor loops installed on the outside
of either the main track or the switched track. In a further
embodiment, a single central secondary conductor for guidance is
installed and means provided in the area of the switch to cause
either the straight or curved section of secondary conductor to be
moved into the action range of the primary conductor loops of the
vehicle. The result is a simple design of the switch without any
moving parts thereby increasing operational reliability and
permitting closer spacing of trains since the direction of travel
is set in the vehicle and can readily be monitored.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-section through the roadbed of a magnetic
suspension railroad and shows a vehicle having the movable primary
conductor loops of the present invention installed.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of a switch constructed according to the
present invention.
FIG. 3 is a cross-section through the roadbed illustrating a
vehicle having a different type of conductor loop arrangement which
is used for both suspension and guidance.
FIGS. 4a and 4b illustrate an arrangement in which the primary
conductor loops may be retracted out of the range of the secondary
plates.
FIGS. 5a and 5b illustrate another embodiment in which the
secondary loops are selectively retractable.
FIGS. 6a and 6b illustrate an embodiment with a single retractable
secondary loop in the center.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
On FIGS. 1 and 2 the railroad roadbed is designated by the
reference numeral 1. Supported on the roadbed on each side thereof
are line conductor plates 3. These react with current carrying
loops 4 in the vehicle to create a magnetic force which suspends
the vehicle F above the roadbed. The conductor plates 3 are
installed only in the areas of the roadbed outside of the switch as
shown on FIG. 2. Within the switch area plates 12 shown on both
FIGS. 1 and 2 are installed in their place. The plates 12 which
have a larger area are required since when going through the switch
the primary loops may pass over various areas of the switch. By
installing a plate 12 which essentially covers the whole switch
area except for the wheel openings, adequate support is maintained
no matter what the position of the vehicle within the switch. On
support members 2 associated with the roadbed are conductor plates
5 which react with current carrying loops 6 in the vehicle to
generate magnetic lateral guidance forces. In conventional fashion
the vehicle F will be provided with a stator part (not shown) of a
linear motor which co-operates with a reaction rail on the line to
generate propulsion forces. Also supported on the roadbed 1 are
tracks 9 which are used for the takeoff and landing of the vehicle
F using retractable wheels 10. In operation the vehicle starts out
with the wheels down resting on the tracks 9. The linear motor is
switched on and the vehicle F is accelerated from a standstill
running on the wheels 10. After a given minimum speed is reached
lifting forces are generated in the support system comprising the
conductor plates 3 and the conductor loops 4 and lateral guidance
taken over by the conductor loops 6 reacting with the conductor
plates 5. Once so suspended, the wheels 10 of the vehicle F are
retracted. In the area of the switch W, the secondary conductor
loops or plates 5 are provided as on straight sections of the line
but only on the two outer sides, designated A and B, of the
roadbed. To select the direction of travel the primary loops 6 are
adapted so that they can be swung out of the action range of the
secondary conductor plates on either of the two outer sides A and
B. For this purpose the conductor loops 6 are pivoted at a point 6a
and are connected through an actuating rod 6b to a positioning
device ST. The two positioning devices ST are interlocked so that
only one of the loops 6 may be retracted at one time. As shown on
FIG. 1 the lefthand conductor loop is swung out of the action range
of its conductor plate 5 so that the vehicle will follow the curved
branch track shown on FIG. 2. If it were desired to continue
straight the lefthanded conductor loop 6 would be left in
engagement with the conductor plate 5 and the righthanded conductor
loop 6 swung out of the range of its associated conductor plate
5.
To facilitate the swinging out of the loops 6, the secondary
conductor plates 5 are of an arc shaped cross-section. This type of
shaped section is provided at least in the area of the switch W. In
order to allow presetting of the direction of travel before
reaching the switch, a section of the line ahead of the switch W
should also be equipped with the conductor plates 5 curved in the
arc like fashion. If desired the whole line may be equipped with
conductor plates bent in this nature thereby permitting a selection
of travel at any time, even before the vehicle leaves the station.
In the area of the switch, an additional ferromagnetic rail 13 is
provided which will interact with the primary conductor loop 6 to
exert an attraction force opposing the centrifugal force.
An alternate embodiment of the invention wherein swing-out primary
loops are used is illustrated by FIG. 3. In a manner similar to the
embodiment of FIG. 1, conductor plates 3 are supported on the
roadbed so they interact with primary loops 6 in the vehicle F. In
this embodiment, the two conductor plates 3 are arranged at an
angle to each other and the primary conductor loops 6 arranged for
rotation out of the range of the conductor plates in a manner
similar to that described above in connection with FIG. 1. In this
embodiment, during normal operation the interaction of the loops 6
and the conductor plates 3 provides both support and guidance.
During switch operation, the conductor loop 6 which is swung out so
as to not react with the conductor plate 3 reacts with the
conductor plate 12 therebelow to provide a suspending force on that
side of the vehicle while the remaining primary conductor loop 6
reacts with its associated conductor plate 3 to provide both
guidance and support as described above. Conductor plates 13 are
also installed vertically on each side of the roadbed on supports 2
for use in lateral guidance. When the primary conductor loop 6 is
swung out as shown by the left hand loop on FIG. 3 it is moved away
from the plate 13 so that guidance is no longer effective and
co-operates, as noted above, with the conductor plates 12 to
maintain suspension.
A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated by FIGS. 5a
and b which are respectively a plan view of the switch and a
cross-sectional view through a section of track. In a manner
similar to that described above in connection with FIG. 1, the
interaction between the primary conductor loops 4 and either the
secondary plates 3 or the plate 12 provide for suspension of the
vehicle. The secondary guidance plates 5 are installed on the
outsides of the switch W as shown on FIG. 5a in a manner similar to
the installation on FIG. 2. These interact with the primary
conductor loops 6 to provide for guidance of the vehicle. Each of
the primary conductor loops 6 is supported for vertical motion with
respect to the vehicle and will have a rack gear or the like
arranged on a vertical member 6a which engages pinion gears driven
by a motor 6b so that the primary coils 6 may be moved up and down.
As shown, when in the up position the primary coils 6 are out of
the action range and guidance is maintained by the remaining
primary conductor loop in the manner described above. Operation of
the up and down movement of the two primary conductor loops 6 will
be controlled by interlocked controllers in a manner similar to the
swinging out control of the embodiment of FIG. 1.
The same results may be obtained by making the secondary conductors
5 in a manner such that they are retractable. Such an arrangement
is shown by FIGS. 5a and 5b. As in the previous embodiments the
secondary plates 5 in the area of the switch are provided on the
outside only. (The one, more correctly, is on the inside of the
curve). As shown by FIG. 5a the secondary plates 5 are constructed
in sections, each of which sections is mounted for vertical motion
up and down as illustrated by FIG. 5b. Also, as shown on FIG. 5a,
the secondary conductor plates 3 used for support are carried
through the switch. As indicated the plate 12 used in the previous
embodiments may equally well be used herein.
FIG. 5b illustrates the manner in which the secondary conductor
plates 5 are supported for vertical motion. Each of the sections of
plate 5 are supported in suitable bearing means within a recess in
which they can move up and down. The support in which the plates
are mounted has attached to it a rod coupled to a piston K.
Hydraulic pumps may be used in conventional fashion to supply fluid
to or remove it from the cylinders containing the pistons K to
thereby move the vertical plates 5 up and down in order to select
direction of travel in the area of the switch. In the position
shown the secondary conductor plate 5 for the curved switch section
is in the up position and the plate 5 for the straight section of
track in the down position. Thus the vehicle will be directed off
the straight section of track onto the curved section.
FIGS. 6a and 6b illustrate a similar embodiment in which only a
single secondary conductor plate 5 is used for guidance. The
support arrangement with primary loops 4 and conductor plate 3
and/or 12 is as described above. For guidance purposes only a
single secondary conductor plate 5 placed in the middle of the
roadbed is used. In a manner similar to that described above,
guidance is provided by the interaction of the primary loops 6 with
the secondary plate 5. In the area of the switch W, the secondary
plate 5 is mounted for vertical motion. Separate plates 5 are
provided for the straight section and th curved section. The
section 5 for the straight portion is coupled through a rack gear
or the like 5a to a pinion gear mounted on a motor 5b which may be
used for driving the plate 5 up and down. Also attached to the
coupling between the plate 5 and the motor 5b is a rocker arm 5c
having its other end connected to a member coupled to the secondary
conducting plate 5 associated with the curved section of track.
Thus operation of the motor 5b in one direction will cause the
secondary conductor plate associated with the straight section of
track to be moved to the up position and that associated with the
curved section to the down position. Reversal of the motor to
retract the secondary plate 5 for the straight section of track
will cause the secondary conductor plate 5 for the curved section
to be raised. Thus, by the control of these two secondary
conducting plates used for guidance, the vehicle can be caused to
follow either the straight or curved path depending on which of the
secondary plates is in the raised position.
In the embodiment of FIGS. 6a and 6b the conductor plate 5 may be
arranged in the same plane as the reaction rail which is used with
the linear motor, i.e., they would be contained within the same
support and arranged one atop the other. Also the plate 5 may be
used as both a secondary conductor plate for guidance and as the
reaction rail of the linear motor.
Thus an improved arrangement for switching a magnetically suspended
vehicle from one track to another has been shown. Although specific
embodiments have been illustrated and described it will be obvious
to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made
without departing from the spirit of the invention which is
intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.
* * * * *