Evacuated Tube Wireless Communication Base Station Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communication systems face challenges in providing efficient and reliable communication with moving capsules in evacuated tube transportation systems, due to the tube's shielding effect, high speeds, and limited line of sight.
Innovation Solution
A wireless communication system is implemented with a plurality of base stations arranged inside the evacuated tube, connected in a backbone communication path to an exterior network, and equipped with a mobile router in the capsule to facilitate communication using a frequency band of 55-75 GHz, particularly around 60 GHz.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If base stations are arranged inside the evacuated tube, then communication coverage is improved, but the tube wall shielding effect blocks electromagnetic waves
Solution Approach 1:
The tube is divided into multiple sections with base stations distributed along its length. Each base station serves a specific segment, and the tube structure is segmented to allow electromagnetic wave passage through designated communication zones while maintaining vacuum integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Communication chambers or waveguide structures are introduced as intermediaries between the vacuum tube interior and the electromagnetic waves. These intermediaries allow signal transmission through the tube wall shielding by providing dedicated pathways that penetrate or bypass the shielding effect.
2Speed
If capsules travel at high speed, then transportation efficiency is improved, but handovers between base stations become problematic
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple base stations are positioned in advance along the capsule's trajectory with overlapping coverage zones. The system proactively establishes communication links with upcoming base stations before the capsule leaves the current one, ensuring seamless handover at high speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The base station activation and deactivation is made dynamic based on capsule position and speed. The system continuously adjusts which base stations are active and how their coverage zones overlap, optimizing handover timing and signal strength adaptation as the capsule accelerates or decelerates.
3Area of stationary object
If the tube diameter is narrow, then space utilization is improved, but direct line of sight is limited to a few kilometers
Solution Approach 1:
The communication system transitions from relying on direct line-of-sight propagation to using waveguide modes along the tube structure. By utilizing the tube walls themselves as waveguides, electromagnetic energy propagates in a different dimensional mode (along the tube length rather than through direct space), enabling communication beyond the geometric line-of-sight limit.
Solution Approach 2:
The tube structure itself is transformed into a continuous waveguide that carries electromagnetic energy over long distances. This creates a continuous communication pathway along the entire tube length, eliminating the need for direct line-of-sight between transmitter and receiver and enabling uninterrupted signal propagation despite the narrow diameter.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless communication system for an evacuated tube transportation system, wherein the evacuated transportation system comprises a tube or tunnel which is at least partly evacuated to provide a low-pressure within the tube/tunnel, and a guiding structure to guide a moving capsule along the tube/tunnel. The wireless communication system comprises a plurality of base stations arranged on the inside of the tube/tunnel, distributed along the length of the tube/tunnel, and connected together in a backbone communication path, the communication path further being connected to an exterior network, enabling communication with at least one stationary communication server outside the tube/tunnel, and wherein the moving capsule comprises a router for communication with said base stations.