Loading/unloading system and vehicle interface for a transportation system and methods of use

Abstract

A modular loading and unloading system for a high-speed transportation system, the system including an airlock loading zone, at least one airlock arranged in the airlock loading zone and connecting the airlock loading zone to a transportation tube of the high-speed transportation system. The airlock loading zone is configured to receive a plurality of capsules, payloads, and / or cars, and is operable to arrange the plurality of capsules, payloads, and / or cars for insertion into a high-speed transportation vehicle arranged in the airlock.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 400,913, filed Sep. 28, 2016, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 471,773, filed Mar. 15, 2017, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 500,735, filed May 3, 2017, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE1. Field of the Disclosure[0002]The present disclosure relates to a high-speed transportation system, and more specifically, to a loading / unloading system for a high-speed transportation system, systems and methods of loading / unloading modular elements in a high-speed transportation system, and to methods for using the high-speed transportation system.2. Background of the Disclosure[0003]A high-speed, high-efficiency transportation system may utilize a low-pressure environment in order to reduce drag on a vehicle at high operating speeds, thus providing the dual benefit of allowing ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]Another embodiment is related to a method for loading and / or unloading cars (e.g., automobiles, trucks, vans, etc.) for a high-speed transportation system. Passengers and / or cargo are loaded into cars in a docking bay. In embodiments, the docking bays may be part of a larger elevator system that is operable to move the docking bays, for example, both horizontally and vertically, when necessary. The elevator system delivers the bay to the necessary airlock loading station. The vertical and horizontal arrangement and movement of the docking bays within the elevator system allows for loading and / or unloading of passengers and / or cargo to and from capsules (and / or loading / unloading of cars) to occur simultaneously across several floors, such that all of the capsules or cars that form the modules of a single cartridge can be loaded simultaneously, for example. This allows for queuing of capsules for easier, faster, and / or automated loading. The capsules are assembled into cartridges in the airlock loading stations, and loaded into the shell while the shell is engaged with the airlock. In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, this allows the shells to be rapidly loaded and unloaded without having to depressurize and re-pressurize the airlock, which represents significant time expenditure. The totality of this system allows for the departure of vehicles, for example, as frequent as every ten seconds, which is considerably faster than presently considered high-speed transportation systems.

[0013]A further embodiment is related to a method of using a high-speed transportation system for long range asset management. An economic concept called “clustering” suggests that geographical distance between and manufacturers and necessary resources is a key factor in the economic success of the region. One of the promises of an high-speed transportation system is that it can expand the clustering effect by allowing otherwise remote locations to be directly connected with minimal time delay. The aforementioned modular vehicles may be configured such that they can be used for purposes outside of transit within a substantially enclosed, controlled environment, high-speed transportation system, e.g., they may be used as general purpose cars and as part of an autonomous ride-sharing service. An autonomous car may be configured such that it may retrieve a passenger(s) and cargo in a first location, engage with the high-speed transportation system, arrive at a second location, and deliver the passenger(s) and cargo to a final destination. This configuration serves to extend the natural range of a vehicle such that it can utilize a point-to-point or network of high-speed transportation systems to travel between remote locations that would be otherwise inaccessible through the normal course of the vehicle's range and / or within a reasonable time or cost.

[0014]An additional embodiment is directed to a method of utilizing a high-speed transportation system to optimize the location of geographically remote assets in accordance with demand and / or other factors. For example, if a high-speed transportation system is connecting a city pair, a fleet of autonomous ride share vehicles may be transferred from a first city to a second city rapidly and easily if they are being underutilized in the first city and demand has risen in the second city. This has the effect of lowering the size of standby vehicles because demand can be equalized across a greater distance, and connect two otherwise geographically and economically remote regions as if they were adjacent.

Problems solved by technology

This presents two issues that have not been faced by present transportation methods: rapid vehicle priming and airlock re-pressurization.

Delays in boarding can lead to overall systemic delays.

For example, in a low-pressure transportation system, onboarding individual passengers while the transportation vehicle is on the track would negate some or all of the gains in overall system efficiency.

Additionally, the depressurization of the airlock for takeoff and re-pressurization for boarding introduces another significant delay.

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