Turnout of guideway beam-based transit system

Abstract

The turnout of the preferred embodiment of this invention comprises a plurality of guideway beams, at least one guide plate assembly, a plurality of carriage assemblies, a drive means, and at least one carriage assembly bed, wherein neighboring guideway beams are connected together by an articulated joint to form an adjustable segment. The guideway beam includes a guideway beam frame, and at least one inner beam. The guideway beam has at least one guideway beam segment, in which two sides of the guideway beam have different horizontal curvatures. The guide plate assembly includes first and second guide plates, and delineates curvature of the guideway to accommodate the state of the guideway segment in the turnout.

Description

This application is entitled to the benefit of provisional applications: Application No. 60/538,451 filed on Jan. 22, 2004, entitled “Double Crossover of Monorail”; and Application No. 60/609,174 filed on Sep. 10, 2004, entitled “Turnout of Monorail”.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The most popular turnout type used in the mainline guideway of the monorail system is known as the segmented switch, and the best known turnout type used in the mainline guideway of the maglev system is known as the flexible switch or the bendable switch. These switches were both invented by Rosenbaum et al. of Alweg of Germany as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,997,004, and 3,093,090.

As we understand it, the segmented switch of the monorail is a modified version of one of the embodiments described in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,004 by Rosenbaum et al. The segmented switch includes a series of flexible guideway beam segments, equipped with a flexible guide plate in each side, each segment having a rigid member at the longitudinal ends, and neighboring segments share the rigid member, a pivot that connects the neighboring segments and a bogie that carry the rigid member. The segmented switch is able to have any number of switch states in either direction including the straight state, and any number of segments. This switch, however, uses relatively short segments (or guideway beams), and thus could be costly to built a high-speed turnout.

A high-speed turnout for a maglev guideway system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,811 by Matsuura et al. is a direct derivation of the turnout described in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,093,090 by Rosenbaum, and uses a flexible beam as the means to create curvature of the guideway beam under a bent state. In these turnouts, the main guideway beam is a box beam of gradually decreasing width along its length so that the beam would bend when it is pulled in a lateral direction at the free-end. In the flexible switch, the potential problem would be that relates to metal fatigue, and could become a cause of concern in turnouts used in a crossover at the terminal that must change positions as frequently as every few minutes.

Other turnout types include a rigid steel girder type as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,767 by Mihirogi; the high-speed turnout of the JNR system that uses a series of rigid guideway beams that are carried by bogies that traverse in lateral directions; the switch proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,123 by Powell et al. that uses electro-magnetic means to switch between two switch states; and the turnout used in the double crossover of the Haneda Line, which is essentially a special type of pivot switch with beam-end segments capable of changing curvature of the guide plates by electro-mechanical means. The double crossover uses four of these turnouts and a pivotable slice of a guideway beam at the mid-point of the double crossover.

The turnout of the guideway beam-based transit system of our interest includes two or more of generally rigid guideway beams with an articulated joint between each pair of neighboring beams to form different states of the turnout. Earlier patents that use rigid guideway beams for a turnout include that by Schutze (U.S. Pat. No. 2,903,972). The fact that Schutze was one of the inventors of the aforementioned newer U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,004 probably is an indication that the turnout by Schutze was not satisfactory at least to the eyes of the inventors of the newer flexible beam switch. We believe Schutze's instinct of using the rigid guideway beam was right. If his turnout failed, we believe, it's because the guide plates of his turnout had neither adequate lateral support means nor adequate locking means.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of this invention is the provision of a turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system with at least one adjustable segment, in which the curvature of the guide plate is adjustable for different states of the turnout.

An object of this invention is the provision of a turnout (of a guideway beam-based transit system) having a minimum number of guideway beams.

An object of this invention is the provision of a turnout (of a guideway beam-based transit system) that is relatively easy to maintain.

An object of this invention is the provision of a turnout (of a guideway beam-based transit system) that is used in a double crossover for high- and medium-speed trains.

An object of this invention is the provision of a turnout (of a guideway beam-based transit system) that includes an expandable guideway beam.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Preferred Embodiment

A turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system of this invention includes a plurality of serially aligned generally rigid guideway beams, at least one guide plate assembly, a plurality of carriage assemblies, a drive means, and at least one carriage assembly bed, wherein guideway beams are connected together by articulated joints. The guide plate assembly comprises at least one guide plate in each side of the guideway beam, guide plate holders that slidably hold the guide plate, and tie bars that connect the guide plate holders. The guideway beams are mounted on carriage assemblies, wherein each of which is equipped with a guideway support frame, a bogie, gear sets, and wheels, and run on rail tracks that are laid on a carriage assembly bed. The drive means includes at least one motor and at least one driveshaft. The motor is rotatably connected to the driveshaft that includes universal joints, slip joints, and couplings such as Oldham couplings to handle minor changes in lengths and misalignments of shaft segments, and gear sets are adjusted for synchronized operation of the carriage assemblies. In the turnout that uses a plurality of serially installed driveshafts, the driveshafts of neighboring segments are rotatably connected using a gear set.

Our main interest is in the two-state turnout, which is able to switch between any predefined states. For the purpose of illustration, the discussion in this specification assumes the most popularly used straight/bent type turnout (see FIG. 1). The preferred embodiment of this invention includes two guideway beams 6 called the end beams, and at least one guideway beam 5 called the mid beam. In addition, any number, including zero, of plain straight guideway beams of steel or concrete structure having two horizontally straight side surfaces [the type shown in (B) of FIG. 4] may be added to the switch point end of the guideway beam 6.

The end beam 6 has two segments: one half-beam long beam segment with two flat (or horizontally straight) working surfaces; the other segment called a beam-end segment 2C with one side having a horizontally convexly curved working surface and the other side having a flat (or horizontally straight) working surface as shown in (B) of FIG. 3. The working surface of a side of the guideway beam is a part of the surface on the side of the guideway beam or an imaginary plane enveloping a group of working surfaces of means affixed to or placed along the side of the guideway beam that is pressed against the inner surfaces of a group of guide plate holders (or inner surface of a guide plate) under a locked state. In general, working surface of a means is a surface that is pressed against another means under a locked state. The mid beam 5 has three segments: two beam-end segments 2 with one side having a horizontally convexly curved working surface and the other side having a flat (or horizontally straight) working surface; and one mid-beam segment 4 with one side having a flat (or horizontally straight) working surface and the other side having a horizontally concavely curved working surface as shown in (A) of FIG. 3. The beam-end segment 2 in (A) of FIG. 3 equals generally a quarter of the guideway beam length, and the mid beam segment 4 equals generally a half of the guideway beam length.

The turnout 1A shown in FIG. 2 that uses two end beams 6A and at least one mid beam 5A [see (D) of FIG. 3] is a special case, wherein the mid beam 5A has a mid beam segment 4A that has two flat side surfaces. A turnout that has two end beams shown in (D) of FIG. 3 and no mid beams is another special case. In the turnouts of these special cases, the beam end segments 2AC of facing beam ends are generally of an arbitrary equal length.

The basic theme (common in all embodiments) of this invention is the use of the working surfaces of the generally rigid guideway beams and the flexible guide plates in forming the geometries of the adjustable segment of the turnout. The premise is that pressing of guide plate on one side of the serially aligned beams against the working surfaces of the guideway beam segments of the same side and locking up the guide plates of both sides along the adjustable segment of the turnout at the given state should ensure the turnout to form and maintain the geometry of the turnout for the given state.

Delineation of a turnout (or change curvature of the adjustable segment) by pressing the flexible guide plate against the working surfaces (of the sides) of the guideway beam segments is most effective in long guideway beams. The use of long guideway beams, however, will reduce the effective width of the running surface of the guideway beam. Possible undesirable effects could be that (1) the guideway beam frame becomes not strong enough to bear the weight of the train, and/or that (2) the running surface becomes too narrow for running trains on it. To avoid these undesirable effects, the guideway beams may have to be made taller than the normal height in the turnout segment, and/or the guideway beams may have to use an alternative movable runway board design (see FIG. 35).

A couple of examples are shown here for a cursory examination of the geometries of the key parts of the proposed turnout. In a turnout as shown in FIG. 1 (and an expanded view is shown in FIG. 5), if the beam are all 30 m long, and if the amount of lateral shifting is 70 cm per beam at the switch end of the beam (assume that a turnout is used in a crossover, has three movable guideway beams, and that the distance between two longitudinal center lines of the two parallel guideway tracks in a crossover is 4.20 m), then the turning angle between the two guideway beams θ is approximately 0.023 rad. The distance between the two pivot points of the inner beams, X1 and X2 in FIG. 5 under the straight state is 22.5 m (or, 15 m+7.5 m). The distance between X1 and X2 in FIG. 6 is approximately 22.499 m. If the guideway beam is 80 cm wide, the arc EBG is approximately 22.51 m and the arc FC′H′ is approximately 22.49 m under the bent state as shown in FIG. 6; the distance BB′ is approximately 7 cm; and the distances DD′ is approximately 2 cm. If we assume that the maximum allowable lateral acceleration is 0.1 g, and the maximum jerk 0.1 g/sec, the maximum speed is determined by the lateral acceleration of 0.1 g, and that is approximately 127 km/h.

In a turnout as shown in FIG. 2, if the beam are all 30 m long; if the amount of lateral shifting is 1.05 m per beam at the switch end of the beam (assume that a turnout is used in a crossover, has two movable guideway beams, and that the distance between two longitudinal center lines of the two guideway tracks in a crossover is 4.20 m); and if the half inner beam is 7.5 m long—or distance between X1 and X2 in FIG. 5 is 15 m, then the turning angle between the two guideway beams θ is approximately 0.035 rad. The distance between X1 and X2 in FIG. 6 is 14.998 m. If the guideway beam is 80 cm wide, the length equivalent to that of the arc EBG is approximately 15.01 m and the arc FC′H′ is approximately 14.98 m under the bent state as shown in FIG. 6; the distance equivalent to BB′ in FIG. 6 is approximately 6.6 cm. If we assume that the maximum allowable lateral acceleration is 0.1 g, and the maximum allowable jerk 0.1 g/sec, the maximum speed in this case is determined by the jerk limit. If we assume that the wheelbase is 7 m, the maximum speed is approximately 50 km/h.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, each of the guideway beams has a guideway beam frame with first and second sidewalls and at least one inner beam equipped with guide plate support means. Under the straight state, in the beam-end segment, the guide plate support means of the inner beam protrudes from the holes of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame and press against the guide plate holder on that side (or the first side), and during that time, the working surface of the second sidewall of the guideway beam frame presses against the guide plate holder on the on the other side (or the second side). The imaginary plane enveloping the working surfaces of the guide plate support means of a side of the inner beam is the working surface of that side of the inner beam. In the mid-beam segment, guide plate support means of the inner beam protrude from the holes of the second sidewall of the guideway beam frame and press against the guide plate holder on the second side, and during that time, the working surface of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame presses against the guide plate holders on the first side.

Under the bent state, in the beam-end segment, guide plate support means of the inner beam protrude from the holes of the second sidewall of the guideway beam frame and press against the guide plate holder on the second side, and during that time, the working surface of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame presses against the guide plate holders on the first side. In the mid-beam segment, guide plate support means of the inner beam protrudes from the holes of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame and press against the guide plate holder on that side (or the first side), and during that time, the working surface of the second sidewall of the guideway beam frame presses the guide plate holder on the on the other side (or the second side).

Thus every segment of the guide plate in either side is being pressing by either the working surface of the guideway beam or the working surface of the inner beam (or the working surfaces of the guide plate support means of the inner beam) under a locked state.

Second Embodiment

The second embodiment of this invention uses the same guideway types (as those types shown in FIG. 3) as the preferred embodiment. The guideway beam of the second embodiment also has a guideway beam frame with first and second sidewalls with holes for the tie bars, and an inner beam with first and second sidewalls with holes for the tie bars. The guide plate assembly includes tie bars with first and second tie-bar locking means on the first and second sides of the inner beam, respectively, affixed to the tie bars at specific locations, and a guide plate holder affixed to the tie bar on each side of the tie bar.

In this embodiment, each of the first and second sidewalls of the guideway beam frame has two working surfaces: one on the internal side of each of the first and second walls and the other on the external side of each of the first and second walls. In the beam-end segment of the guideway beam, the interior working surface of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame and the exterior working surface of the first sidewall of the inner beam are generally horizontally curved. The interior working surface of the second sidewall of the guideway beam frame and the exterior working surface of the second sidewall of the inner beam are generally horizontally straight.

The distance between the interior working surface of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame and the exterior working surface of the first sidewall of the inner beam is generally equal to the length of the tie-bar locking means along their (sidewalls') lengths under the straight state. These working surfaces lock up the tie bars by squeezing the tie-bar locking means under the straight state. During that time the exterior working surface of the second sidewall presses against the inner surfaces of the guide plate holders of the second guide plate.

The distance between the interior working surface of the second sidewall of the guideway beam frame and the exterior working surface of the second sidewall of the inner beam is generally equal to the length of the tie-bar locking means along their (sidewalls') under the bent state. These working surfaces lock the tie bars by squeezing the tie-bar locking means under the bent state. During that time the working surface of the exterior working surface of the first sidewall presses against the inner surfaces of the guide plate holders of the first guide plate.

In the mid-beam segment of the guideway beam, the interior working surface of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame and the exterior working surface of the first sidewall of the inner beam are generally horizontally straight. The interior working surface of the second sidewall of the guideway beam frame and the exterior working surface of the second sidewall of the inner beam are generally horizontally curved. The distance between the interior surface of the second sidewall of the guideway beam frame and the exterior surface of the second sidewall of the inner beam is generally equals to the second tie-bar locking means along their lengths under the straight state. These working surfaces lock the tie bars by squeezing the tie-bar locking means under the straight state. During that time the working surface of the exterior working surface of the first sidewall presses against the inner surfaces of the guide plate holders of the first guide plate.

The distance between the interior surface of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame and the exterior surface of the first sidewall of the inner beam is generally equals to the second tie-bar locking means along their lengths under the bent state. These working surfaces lock the tie bars by squeezing the tie-bar locking means under the bent state. During that time the exterior working surface of the second sidewall presses against the inner surfaces of the guide plate holders of the second guide plate. in a similar fashion described above for the beam-end segment.

Thus, in every segment of the guideway beam, the working surface of one side of the guideway beam is pressed against the guide plate on that side, and all the tie bars are firmly locked up by the tie-bar locking means.

Third Embodiment

The third embodiment of the turnout of this invention is generally identical to the second embodiment except that this embodiment is without the inner beam and the tie-bar locking means, and that the guideway beam may be of concrete construction. The third embodiment of the turnout includes a guideway beam with first and second sides with holes for the tie bars. A hole on one side of the guideway beam communicates with a hole on the other side of the guideway beam. The guide plate assembly includes first and second guide plates, guide plate holders, and tie bars. The guide plate holders of the first guide plate on the first side of the guideway beam and the guide plate holders of the second guide plate on the second side of the guideway beam are connected by the tie bars.

Under the straight state, the first guide plate holders presses against the working surface of the first side of the guideway beam in the mid-beam segments, and the second guide plate holders presses against the working surface of the second side of the guideway beam in the beam end segments. Under the bent state, the first guide plate holders presses against the working surface of the first side of the guideway beam in the beam-end segments, and the second guide plate holders presses against the working surface of the second side of the guideway beam in the mid-beam segments.

The practicability of this embodiment, as is, totally depends on the flexibility and rigidity of the guide plates. To compensate the lack of the inner beams and the tie-bar locking means, the flexible guide plates will have to be made thicker than that in the second embodiment. It is also possible to add a plurality of either type of the locking means shown in FIGS. 39 and 40 of the fourth embodiment of this invention.

Fourth Embodiment

The fourth embodiment of this invention includes any number (including zero) of generally rigid guideway beams of type (B) of FIG. 4 in the non-adjustment segment of the turnout, wherein the guideway beam is a plain box beam of steel or concrete structure, and at least one generally rigid guideway beam, in which one side has a generally flat working surface, and the other side has a concavely curved working surface as shown in (A) of FIG. 4 in the adjustment segment. The guide plate holders affixed to the sides of the carriage assemblies that carry the guideway beams in the adjustment segment. The adjustment segment has a plurality of stationary tie-bar locking means along the outer edges of the turnout, in addition to stationary and mechanically operated carriage assembly locking means. Under a locked state, the tie-bar locking means tightly presses the guide plate holders against the working surfaces of the guideway beams in the adjustment segment.

An alternative design of this embodiment uses guideway beam types shown in (B) and (C) of FIG. 4 of steel structure. This alternative design uses mechanically operated tie-bar locking means as shown in FIG. 40 in addition to stationary and mechanically operated carriage assembly locking means.

Fifth Embodiment

The fifth embodiment is conceptually identical to the fourth embodiment. This embodiment includes a plurality of generally rigid short guideway beams of type (A) of FIG. 4 in the adjustment segment, and any number (including zero) of generally rigid longer guideway beam of type (B) of FIG. 4 in the non-adjustment segment. The guideway beams are preferably of a concrete structure, and probably be as short as 3 m long and as long as 10 m. Neighboring guideway beams' facing beam-ends are placed on slidable plates that in turn are place on a carriage assembly. A pivot of the articulated joint means is affixed to the top surface of the carriage assembly. The carriage assembly has a set of wheels with a flange that run on a pair of rails on a carriage assembly bed. The pivot is pivotably connected to one of the guideway beams, and pivotably and slidably connected to the other of the guideway beams. The turnout includes a plurality of stationary locking means located along the outer edges of the turnout, and a plurality of mechanically operated locking means. This embodiment may be used as a multi-state turnout, wherein only the mechanically operated locking means are used.

An alternative design of this embodiment uses a plurality of “short” guideway beams of type (C) of FIG. 4, and at least one “longer” guideway beam of type (B) of FIG. 4. In a turnout that uses beams of these beam types, mechanically operated locking means will be used.

Sixth Embodiment

The sixth embodiment of this invention includes two generally rigid end beams and at least one generally rigid mid beam. The end beam has a half beam-long segment with one permanently horizontally straight (flat) working surface on each side; and the other segment with one flat working surfaces on each side under a straight state, and one curved surface on each side under a bent state. The mid beam has one flat working surface on each side under a straight state, and one curved surface on each side under a bent state. In addition, any number, including zero, of plain straight guideway beams of steel or concrete structure having two horizontally straight side surfaces [the type shown in (B) of FIG. 4] may be added to the switch point end of the end beam.

This embodiment uses cam assemblies as the means to change the curvature of the guide plates, and lock them at a given state. The imaginary plane that envelopes cam surfaces functions as the working surface of the guideway beam. At least one cam assembly extends along each side of the guideway beam. The cam assembly includes a plurality of cams mounted on a camshaft, which is rotatably connected to a driveshaft of a carriage assembly that carries the guideway beam. As in the fifth embodiment, the turnout of this embodiment may also be used as a multi-state turnout. The cam assemblies adjust the curvatures of the guide plates to the current turning angle (of the guideway beams) as the beam turns, and the turnout will have the correct guide plate curvature wherever the turnout stops turning.

All embodiments of the proposed turnout of this invention may be used in a double crossover. The double crossover may use four identical turnouts, wherein the carriage assemblies that carry the guideway beams of the turnouts operate on specially arranged tracks as shown in FIG. 56 (or FIG. 57), or the double crossover may use two turnouts equipped with the expandable guideway beam (shown in FIG. 53) and two turnouts without the expandable guideway beam.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above description and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more clearly understood from the following description when considered with the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustration only and not by way of limitation of the invention. In the drawings, like reference characters refer to the same parts in the several views:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the adjustable segment of a turnout of the preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the adjustable segment of a turnout of a special case of the preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of different guideway beam frame types applicable in a turnout of this invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of different guideway beam frame types applicable in a turnout of this invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the preferred embodiment under the straight state;

FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the preferred embodiment under the bent state;

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view of the guideway beam in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the preferred embodiment that depicts a monorail turnout under the straight state;

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 8 under the bent state;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a sidewall of the guideway beams of the monorail turnout of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the guideway beam and a carriage assembly of the turnout of FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams, a driveshaft, and carriage assemblies of the turnout of FIG. 8:

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment for a non-straddle-beam electro-dynamic suspension system;

FIG. 14 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the guideway beam and the carriage assembly of the turnout of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the track beds and their support systems in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 13 taken along A-A of FIG. 4;

FIG. 16 is a lateral cross-sectional view of a guideway beam and a carriage assembly in the adjustable segment of the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment for an electromagnetic suspension system;

FIG. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the track beds and their support systems in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a lateral cross-sectional view of a guideway beam and a carriage assembly in the adjustable segment of the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment for another electromagnetic suspension system;

FIG. 19 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the track beds and their support systems in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a lateral cross-sectional view of a guideway beam and a carriage assembly in the adjustable segment of the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment for a straddle-beam electro-dynamic suspension system;

FIG. 21 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the alternative design of the preferred embodiment for the straddle-beam electro-dynamic suspension system taken along B-B of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a lateral cross-sectional view of a guideway beam and a carriage assembly in the adjustable segment of the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment for an electro-dynamic suspension system that uses the Halbach arrays;

FIG. 23 is a longitudinal side view of the track beds and their support systems in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is a lateral cross-sectional view of a guideway beam and a carriage assembly in the adjustable segment of the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment for a straddle-beam linear induction motor system;

FIG. 25 is a longitudinal top view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the second embodiment under the straight state;

FIG. 27 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 26 under the bent state;

FIG. 28 is an enlarged schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 26;

FIG. 29 is an enlarged schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 27;

FIG. 30 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the second embodiment that depicts a monorail turnout under the straight state;

FIG. 31 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the guideway beam in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 30;

FIG. 33 is longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the third embodiment under the straight state that depicts a monorail turnout;

FIG. 34 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 33 under the bent state;

FIG. 35 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the guideway beam in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 33;

FIG. 36 is a top view of the fourth embodiment of the turnout and a second turnout of the same embodiment in a double crossover in fine dotted lines;

FIG. 37 is a is longitudinal cross-sectional view of a guideway beam in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the fourth embodiment that depicts an electromagnetic suspension system under the straight state;

FIG. 38 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guideway beams in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 37 under the bent state;

FIG. 39 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the guideway beam in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 37;

FIG. 40 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the guideway beam in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 37;

FIG. 41 is a top view of the fifth embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 42 is a longitudinal side view of a short-beam turnout of the fifth embodiment that depicts an electro-dynamic suspension system;

FIG. 43 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the short-beam turnout of FIG. 43 taken along E-E;

FIG. 44 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the short-beam turnout of FIG. 41;

FIG. 45 is a lateral cross-sectional view of a short-beam turnout of the fifth embodiment that depicts an electromagnetic suspension system;

FIG. 46 is a lateral cross-sectional view of a guide plate holder used in the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 47 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a guide plate holder used in the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 48 is a lateral cross-sectional view of a guide plate-end holder used in the fifth embodiment taken along F-F of FIG. 48;

FIG. 49 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a guide plate-end holder used in the fifth embodiment;

FIG. 50 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a guideway beam in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the sixth embodiment that depicts a monorail turnout under the bent state;

FIG. 51 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a guideway beam at the boundary of the adjustable segment of the turnout of the sixth embodiment that depicts a monorail turnout under the bent state;

FIG. 52 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the guideway beam in the adjustable segment of the turnout of FIG. 49;

FIG. 53 shows a lateral cross-sectional view of cams at the guideway beam end, at the quarter point of the guideway beam, and at the mid point of the guideway beam;

FIG. 54 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a switch point end of the expandable guideway beam;

FIG. 55 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the expandable guideway beam taken along G-G of FIG. 53;

FIG. 56 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the expandable guideway beam taken along H-H of FIG. 53;

FIG. 57 is a top view of four long-beam turnouts forming a double crossover;

FIG. 58 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an alternative design of the carriage assemblies;

FIG. 59 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of another alternative design of the carriage assembly;

FIG. 60 is a lateral cross-sectional view of an alternative design of the carriage assembly locking mechanism;

FIG. 61 is a lateral cross-sectional view of an alternative design of the drive means and the carriage assembly locking mechanism;

FIG. 62 is a top view of an alternative runway board design in the adjustable segment of the turnout for the monorail system;

FIG. 63 is a top view of an alternative runway board design in the adjustable segment of the turnout for the monorail system;

FIG. 64 is a top view of an alternative runway board design in the adjustable segment of the turnout for the monorail system;

FIG. 65 is an expanded lateral cross-sectional view of an alternative design of the guide plate holder;

FIG. 66 is an expanded longitudinal cross-sectional view of the alternative design of the guide plate holder;

FIG. 67 is an expanded longitudinal cross-sectional view of the guide plate and the tie-bar;

FIG. 68 is an expanded longitudinal cross-sectional view of another design for the guide plate and the tie-bar;

FIG. 69 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an alternative design of the guideway beam frame,

FIG. 70 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an alternative design of the tie-bar holder of the fifth embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 71 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Preferred Embodiment

The turnout 1 of the preferred embodiment of this invention comprises a plurality of serially aligned guideway beams (see FIG. 1), at least one guide plate assembly 40 (see FIGS. 8 and 9), a plurality of carriage assemblies 60 (see FIGS. 11 and 12), a drive means 68 (see FIGS. 11 and 12), and carriage assembly beds 70 (see FIGS. 11 and 12), wherein neighboring guideway beams are connected together by an articulated joint to form an adjustable segment 3. The turnout includes two end beams 6 and at least one mid-beam 5, wherein the end beams 6 are located at the ends of the adjustable segment. The guide plate assembly is equipped with one guide plate in each side of the guideway beam. The guide plate changes its curvature in the adjustable segment of the turnout. As is shown in FIG. 1, the guideway beam 5 (or the mid beam 5), which is of a steel structure, includes a frame 10, two inner beams 20, and the guideway beam 6 (or the end beam 6) that includes a frame 11, an inner beam 21. In a special case, the turnout could have only two end beams 6. In the turnout type 1A, which is another special case, as shown in FIG. 2, the turnout has mid beams of plain straight mid-segment.

FIGS. 5 through 7 show the basic geometries involved in the guideway beams, inner beams, and the guide plates of the preferred embodiment. FIGS. 5 through 7 represent a part of the mid beam 5 with a half of the guideway beam frame 10 (shown by ABCD in solid lines) and a full length of an inner beam 20 (shown by A′B′C′D′ in dotted lines), and a part of an end beam 6 with a guideway beam frame 11 (shown in solid lines) that includes an inner beam 21 (shown in dotted lines) with an emphasis on the working surfaces of the sidewalls of the guideway beam frames and the working surfaces of the guide plate support means of the inner beams. The inner beam 21 has only one arm (see FIG. 1), and that one-armed inner beam 21 has the same length as the two-armed inner beam 20.

The inner beams 20 and 21 are pivotable about X1 and X2, respectively. In the beam-end segments 2 of the guideway beam 5, the guideway beam frame 10 has a first sidewall with a horizontally convexly curved exterior working surface along an arc BE, and a second sidewall with a flat exterior working surface a straight line CF. An alternative design the guideway beam uses a guideway beam frame with a flat first sidewall with guide plate support means affixed to the external surface of the frame to form a convexly curved working surface. In this case, the surface (or plane) formed by the group of working surfaces of the guide plate support means of the guideway beam, is collectively called the working surface of the first sidewall (see FIG. 69).

Similarly in the beam-end segment of the guideway beam 6, the guideway beam frame 11 has a first sidewall with a horizontally convexly curved exterior working surface along an arc BG, and a second sidewall with a flat (or horizontally straight) exterior working surface along a straight line CH.

In a mid-beam segment 4 of the guideway beam 5, that is between two pivot points (see FIGS. 8 and 9) of the two inner beams 20 in the mid beam 5, the guideway beam frame 10 has first sidewall with a flat exterior working surface along a straight line AE, and a second sidewall with a horizontally curved exterior working surface along an arc DF.

The inner beam 20 has a pivot point X1 about which the beam pivots, and the inner beam 21 has a pivot point X2. In the beam-end segment 2, the inner beam 20 has a working surface of the first sidewall (formed by working surfaces of guide plate support means protruding from the first sidewall of the inner beam) along a horizontally straight line (B′E), and a working surface of the second sidewall (formed by working surfaces of guide plate support means protruding from the second sidewall of the inner beam) along a horizontally curved (concave) arc (C′F).

Similarly in the beam-end segment 2C, the inner beam 21 has a working surface of the first sidewall along a horizontally straight line (B′G′), and a working surface of the second sidewall along a horizontally convexly curved arc C′H′.

In the mid-beam segment 4, the inner beam 20 has first sidewall with a working surface along a horizontally convexly curved arc (A′E), and a second sidewall with a working surface along a horizontally straight line (D′F).

An arc A′EBG in FIG. 6, of which A′E in a dotted line and EBG in a solid line, represent the line along which the inner surfaces of the first guide plate holders are located under the bent state, and an arc DFC′H′ in FIG. 5 of which DF in a solid line and FC′H′ in a dotted line, represent the line along which the inner surfaces of the second guide plate holders are located under the bent state. A straight line AEB′G′, of which AE in a solid line and EB′G′ in a dotted line, represent the line along which the inner surfaces of the first guide plate holders are located under the straight state, and a straight line D′FCH, of which D′F in a dotted line and FCH in a solid line, represent the line along which the inner surfaces of the second guide plate holders are located under the straight state.

When the turnout changes its state from the straight state to the bent state, the end beam 6 turns about a pivot point X by θ relative to the mid beam 5, but the inner beams 20 and 21 stay generally at the same position relative to each other as before the turning.

As is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, each of the first and second sidewalls of the guideway beam frame 10 has holes 19. In the beam-end segment 2, the guide plate support means 22 of the first sidewalls of the inner beams 20 and 21 protrude through the holes 19 under the straight state; the guide plate support means 22 of the second sidewalls of the inner beams 20 and 21 protrude through the holes 19 under the bent state; the guide plate support means 22 of the first sidewalls of the inner beams 20 and 21 protrude through the holes 19 under the straight state; and the guide plate support means 22 of the second sidewalls of the inner beams 20 and 21 protrude through the holes 19 under the bent state. Note that FIGS. 8 and 9 are not in scale. The half-inner beam 21 is as long as the full-inner beam 20. In a turnout that has at least one straight segment (see FIG. 2), the guideway beam design is generally identical to the design of the end beam 6 except that the inner beam may be of arbitrary length relative to the guideway beam length.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the design of the turnout of the preferred embodiment. FIGS. 8 and 9 represent a part of the adjustable segment of the turnout of the preferred embodiment of this invention for a monorail system including a full length of the mid beam 5 and the beam-end segments 2 of the mid beam 5 and the end beam 6. As is shown in FIGS. 8, and 9 the turnout includes at least one mid beam 5 sandwiched by two end beams 6, and at least one guide plate assembly 40. The mid beam 5 comprises a guideway beam frame 10, two inner beam 20, power and communication systems, and shares an articulated joint with the end beam 6. The frame 10 of the mid beam 5 is generally of rigid construction, and includes the first and second sidewalls. The fist sidewall with a curved working surface is slightly longer than the second sidewall with a straight working surface, and thus, the space between the first sidewalls of neighboring guideway beams is narrower than the space between the second sidewalls of the neighboring guideway beams under the straight state. The inner beam 20 is supported by an inner beam support pivot 28 and an inner beam support pivot holder 29, and pivots about the axis of the pivot 28. A plurality of guide plate support means 22, each of which is a hollow cylinder (or a pipe) extend through holes on the two sidewalls of the inner beam 20. As shown in FIG. 11 also, the holes on the sidewalls of the inner beam are larger than the width of the guide plate support means 22 so that the guide plate support means 22 is longitudinally slidable within the holes, but not movable within the holes either laterally or vertically. Each of the first and second sidewalls of the guideway beam frame 10 has holes 19 and the guide plate support means 22 either fully protrudes from the holes 19 or partially within the hole. The holes of the guideway beam frame's sidewalls are just barely large enough to hold the guide plate support means 22. Two metal pieces 24 that are affixed to the guide plate support means 22 just inside the sidewalls of the inner beam 20 and prevent lateral movements of the guide plate support means 22 relative to the inner beam 20. It should be reminded that FIGS. 8 and 9 do not accurately represent the spacing between neighboring tie bars. The spacing between neighboring tie bars in a real world system will probably be somewhere between 50 cm to 1.00 m, and the guideway beam will probably be 20 to 30 m long.

The end beam 6 comprises a guideway beam frame 11, an inner beam 21, and a power rail and communication cables. The frame 11 of the end beam 6 is generally of rigid construction, and includes the first and second sidewalls. The inner beam 21 looks like the inner beam 20 that is twice as long, but cut off in one half, and includes a plurality of guide plate support means 22, an inner beam support pivot 28, an inner beam support pivot holder 29. The inner beam 20 of the mid beam 5 and the inner beam 21 of the end beam 6 are slidably connected together by a joint means 32. Gear teeth 36 are affixed to the end walls of the inner beams 20 at the middle of the guideway beam, and mesh together. In an alternative design, the inner beam 20 of the mid beam 5 and the inner beam 21 of the end beam 6 are rigidly connected together by a joint means or by bolts and nuts. In the turnout with rigidly connected inner beams, each of the pivot holders must allow sliding of the inner beam it carries in longitudinal directions. In the special case of the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 2, the half inner beams 20A and 21A may also be rigidly connected together.

The guide plate assembly 40 comprises guide plates 40-1, 40-2, and a plurality of guide plate holders 47, guide plate-end holders 49, and tie bars 42. The guide plate holders slidably hold the guide plates 40-1 and 40-2, and are connected by tie bars 42 that are slidably received by the cylindrical inner space of the guide plate support means 22. The guide plate-end holder 49 slidably holds guide plate ends. The guide plate-end holders 49 are affixed to the guideway beam frame 10 (or 11) at the boundary between the segments 2, and 4. The guide plates 40-1 and 40-2 are generally of half the length of the guideway beam. The guide plate 40-1 (or 40-2) may be of a single plate or a plurality of plates, and is flexible enough to bend under the bend state. The guide plate 40-1 and 40-2 can be as short as a quarter of the guideway beam length, and can be as long as practicable. In an alternative design, the guide plates are spanned between the mid point of the guideway beam and the mid point between the neighboring guideway beams. In the alternative design, the guide plate-end holders are affixed to the ends of the tie bars, and the guide plate holders at the boundaries between the beam-end segment and the mid beam segment are affixed to the guideway beam.

In the preferred embodiment, which embodies a turnout of the monorail system, the guide plate has a running surface on which the guide wheels run. In alternative designs of the turnout that embody maglev systems, the guide plates do not need a running surface.

As is shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the guide plate support means 22 protrude or peek through the holes 19 of the guideway beam frame 10, and the tie bars 42 that shares an axis with the guide plate support means extend through the holes 19. The articulated joint between the mid beam 5 and the end beam 6 (and between two of the mid beams 5) is equipped with at least one articulated joint means 15 with a pivot 16 and pivot holders 14. The pivot holder 14 of the end beam 6 is affixed to the guideway beam frame 11. The pivot holder 14 of the mid beam 5 is a hollow prism with a rectangular cross section, slidably received by a holder of the pivot holder 14, wherein the holder of the pivot holder 14 is also a hollow rectangular prism with a rectangular cross section, and the cross section of its interior walls surfaces is slightly larger than the exterior wall surfaces of the pivot holder 14.

As is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the carriage assembly 60 comprises carriage assembly housing 65, a beam support frame 67, a pivot 69 that pivotally connects the carriage assembly and the beam support frame, and a bogie 63. The carriage assembly enables the mid beam 5 to slide in longitudinal directions while the mid beam 5 traverses in a lateral direction. At the movable end of the mid beam 5, the beam support frame 67 slidably receives the mid beam 5, wherein the guideway beam is mounted on the slidable beam shoes 61-X. Non-drive wheels of the carriage assembly 60 runs on ordinary rails 71 that are laid on a carriage assembly bed 70. The drive wheels 74 run on rails with teeth 72 on the contact surface. The drive means 68 includes at least one motor 62, at least one driveshaft 66, and gear sets 64 that transmit torque generated by the motor 62 in an arbitrary segment of the turnout. The driveshafts in neighboring segments are rotatably connected together by a gear set. The carriage beam assembly 60 is kept in a locked position except when it is traveling from one position to another. The carriage assembly is locked up by a stationary locking means 90, and a locking means 92 that is mechanically lifted upward and downward. The teethed wheels 74 are rotatably connected to the driveshaft 66 that includes universal joints, slip joints, and couplings such as Oldham couplings to handle minor changes in shaft lengths and misalignments of shaft segments, and the gear sets are adjusted for synchronized operation of the carriage assemblies. At the fixed end of the end beam 6, the beam support frame 67 non-slidably receives the end beam 6, wherein the guideway beam is mounted on the fixed beam shoes 61.

As is shown in FIGS. 13 through 25, the preferred embodiment of this invention applied to various maglev systems uses generally the same design as the preferred embodiment of the turnout that embodies the monorail turnout in forming a curved adjustable segment. These maglev turnouts presented here use a common structure that includes a plurality of gate-shaped track bed support frames (51A, 51B, 51B′, 51C, 51D) comprising a top member and two side members, wherein the top member is placed on rollers (55A, 55B, 55B′, 55C, 55D, and 55E) that in turn is laid on the top board (13A, 13B, 13B′, 13C, 13D, and 13E) of the guideway beam frame, and the two side members of the track bed support frame affixed to the tie bars (42A, 42B, 42B′, 42C, 42D, and 42E).

Referring to FIGS. 13 through 15, the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment for an electro-dynamic suspension system (the type of maglev system used in the JNR system of Japan) includes a track bed 53A, with levitation and guidance coils 57A imbedded on its sidewalls, and runway boards 58A affixed to its inner top surface. The track bed 53A is of a frame structure with a letter H-shaped lateral cross section and a comb like longitudinal cross section, and is mounted on top of the beam member of the gate-shaped track bed support frames 51A and beams 51A′, wherein each side member of the gate-shaped frame 51A is affixed to the tie bar 42A and the guide plate holder 47A. The beam member of the gate-shaped frame 51A and the beams 51A′ are placed on rollers 55A that in turn are laid on the top board 13A of the guideway beam frame. The beams 51A′ are short enough not to contact the side members of the track bed 53A. The spacing between the neighboring tie bars in a real world system will probably be between 50 cm to 1.00 m, the track bed 53A length 3 m to 4 m, and the guideway beam length 20 to 30 m.

Referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment for an electro-magnetic suspension system (the type of maglev system used in the German Transrapid system) includes a track bed 53B with a gate-shaped lateral cross section and comb like longitudinal cross section; stators 57B and guidance rail 54B affixed to its sides; and a running surface 58B laid on top of the track bed 53B. The track bed 53 is placed on top of the beam member of the gate-shaped track bed support frames 51B, wherein the beam member of the frame is laid on rollers 55B, and each of the side members is affixed to the tie bars 42B, and the guide plate holder 47B.

Referring to FIGS. 18 and 19, the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment for another type of electro-magnetic suspension system (the type of maglev system used in the Japanese HSST system) includes gate-shaped rails 57B′ affixed to the ends of the top surface of the track bed tie bars 52B′, wherein the track bed tie bar 52B′ is wrapped around the top beam of the track bed support frame 51B′, and laid on rollers 55B′, which are placed on the top board 13B′ of the guideway beam, and each of the side member of the frame is affixed to the tie bar 42B, and the guide plate holder 47B.

Refereeing to FIGS. 20 and 21, the guideway beam in an alternative design of the preferred embodiment of the turnout for straddle-beam electro-dynamic suspension system (the type of maglev system used in the US M-2000 system) includes the track bed 53C with levitation and guidance coils 57C, and covers the track bed support frames 51C and 51C′. The frames 51C′ that are located between the two frames 51C have thinner side members, and thus it does not contact the side member of the track bed 53C. The guide plates 40-1C and 40-2C have holes and are directly slidably held by the tie bars 42C between the guideway beam frame and the track bed support frames 51C and 51C. The holes are wider than the width of the tie bars 42C for minor movements of the guide plates relative to the bars 42C. The two frames 51C next to the longitudinal edges of the track bed 53C contacts the inner surfaces of the side members of the track bed 53C.

Referring to FIGS. 22 and 23, the guideway beam in the turnout of an alternative design of the preferred embodiment of this invention for an electro-dynamic suspension system that uses tracks with litz cables and the Halbach arrays (as in the type of maglev system called the Inductrack conceived by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and being built by General Atomics) uses monorail guideway beams as the base structure. The guideway beam sandwiches the guide plates 40-1D and 40-2D between the sidewalls of the guideway beam frame and the side members of the track bed support frame 51D. The track beds 53D with linear synchronous motor windings 56D and the litz cables 57D are mounted on the frames 51D.

Referring to FIGS. 24 and 25, a straddle-beam linear induction motor system that uses guideway beams of a reverse T shape (as in the Colorado Intermountain Fixed Guideway Authority system). As is shown in the figure, the reverse T, in the turnout segment, may turn into a cross shape because the height of the beam in the turnout segment is greater than that in the ordinary segment. The guideway beam used in this system is based on the monorail guideway beam, wherein the key modification is in the use of a laterally extending beams 82E and 82E′ that support track beds 53E on two sides on which load bearing rails 57E are laid. The support bed 53E is affixed to two support beams 82E, and slidably mounted on support beams 82E′. A LIM (linear induction motor) support bed 53′E to which linear induction motor coils 56E are affixed is mounted on the frames 51E. The guide wheel rails 54E are affixed to the sides of the track bed support frame 51E at or near the top. The load bearing wheels 57E and the guide wheel rails 54E may be made of continuous elastic materials such as steel-reinforced rubber or nickel titanium to ensure ride comfort within the turnout segment.

The Second Embodiment

The turnout of the second embodiment of this invention has a different guideway beam design from the preferred embodiment. Otherwise, this embodiment is generally identical to the turnout of the preferred embodiment.

FIGS. 26 and 27 represent a half of the mid beam 5′ with a half of the guideway beam frame 10′ (shown by AEBCFD in solid lines) and a full length of an inner beam 20′ (shown by A′E′B′C′F′D′ in dotted lines), and a part of an end beam 6′ with a guideway beam frame 11′ (shown in solid lines) that includes an inner beam 21′ (shown in dotted lines) with an emphasis on the working surfaces of the sidewalls of the guideway beam frames and the working surfaces of the guide plate support means of the inner beams.

A straight solid line AE and curved solid line EB represent the working surfaces of the first sidewalls of the guideway beam frame 10′, and a curved line DF and a straight line FC represent the working surfaces of the second sidewalls of the guideway beam frame 10′. (note that the guideway beam frame's sidewall has two working surfaces, and both sidewalls are represented by the same line). A straight solid line A′E′ and curved solid line E′B′ represent the working surfaces of the first sidewalls of the inner beam 20′, and a curved line D′F′ and a straight line F′C′ represent the working surfaces of the second sidewalls of the inner beam 20′. Under the straight state, the working surface pair EB and E′B′, and another working surface pair FD and F′D′ are same distance d apart along their lengths under the bent state, where EE′=d and BB′=d and FF′=d and DD′=d. Here, the external surface of the first sidewall of the inner beam, and the internal surface of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame are actively engaged working surfaces.

Under the straight state, AA′ is greater than EE′, and CC′ is greater than FF′. Under the bent state, the working surface pair AE and A′E′, and another working surface pair FC and F′C′ are same distance d apart along their lengths, where AA′=d and EE′=d, and FF′=d and CC′=d. Here, the external surface of the first sidewall of the inner beam, and the internal surface of the first sidewall of the guideway beam frame are actively engaged working surfaces. Under the bent state, BB′ is greater than EE′, and DD′ is greater than FF′. The working surfaces of the sidewalls of the guideway beam frame 11′ are shown by solid lines, and the working surfaces of the sidewalls of the inner beam 21′ is shown by dotted lines. Generally the same phenomena observed, in the beam-end segment 2′ of the mid beam 5′ is also observed in the beam-end segment 2′ of the end beam 6′. Straight lines AG and DH in FIG. 13 represent the working surfaces of the guide plate holders under the straight state, and arcs AG and DH in FIG. 13 represent the working surfaces of the guide plate holders under the bent state.

FIGS. 28 and 29 represent the beam-end segment of the mid beam 5′ under the straight state, and the bent state, respectively. As is shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, Δ represents the amount of lateral distance traveled by a point A1 on the inner surface of the guideway beam frame's sidewall when the state of the turnout changes from one state to the other state, wherein Δ=θ×Y, and the point A1 is distance Y apart from the turning point of the guide plates (or the point F in FIGS. 26 and 27); δ represents the amount of lateral distance traveled by the working surface of the guide plate holder 47′ (shown by a point A2), when the state of the turnout changes from one state to the other state; d is the length of the locking means 25′ (and 27′). For the tie bar 42′ that is distance Y away from the adjustable segment boundary 11′, the locking means 25′ is affixed to the tie bar 42′ at (Δ−δ) away from the working surface of the guide plate holder 47′ for the guide plate 40-1′, and the locking means 27′ is affixed to the tie bar 42′ at (Δ−δ) away from the internal surface of the guide plate holder 47′ for the guide plate 40-2′.

FIGS. 30 and 31 represent a part of the adjustable segment of the turnout of the second embodiment of this invention that depicts a monorail turnout including a full length of the mid beam 5′ and a part of the end beam 6′. As is shown in FIGS. 30 and 31, the mid beam 5′ comprises a guideway beam frame 10′, two inner beam 20′ and at least one guide plate assembly 40′, power and communication systems, and shares an articulated joint with the end beam 6′. The frame 10′ of the mid beam 5′ includes the first and the second sidewalls. The inner beam 20′ is supported by an inner beam support pivot 28′ and an inner beam support pivot holder 29′, and pivots about the pivot 28′. The first and second sidewalls of the inner beam 20′ has holes 35′. Each of the first and second sidewalls of the guideway beam frame has holes 19′.

The end beam 6′ comprises a guideway beam frame 11′, an inner beam 21′, a power rail and communication cables, and shares at least one guide plate assembly 40′ and an articulated joint with the mid beam 5′. The frame 11′ of the end beam 6′ includes the first and the second sidewalls. A joint means 36′ articulately connect the inner beams 20′ and 21′. The inner beam 21′ is generally identical to half of the inner beam 20′ that is twice as long. The inner beams 20′ and 21′ may be slidably connected, or rigidly connected by bolt and nuts.

As is shown in FIGS. 30 through 32, the guide plate assembly 40′ comprises guide plates 40-1′, 40-2′, guide plate holders 47′, guide plate-end holders 49′, and tie bars 42′. The guide plate holders 47′ slidably hold the guide plates 40-1′ and 40-2′, and are connected by the tie bars 42′ that are slidably received by the holes 35′ on the inner beam's sidewalls and the holes 19′ on the guideway beam frame sidewalls. The holes 35′ on the sidewalls of the inner beam 20′ is wider than the cross section of tie bars 42′, and allow the tie bars 42′ to move in longitudinal directions of the mid beam 5′ within the holes. The holes 19′ are barely large enough for the tie bars 42′ to extend through them, and restrict any movements in longitudinal or vertical directions of the mid beam 5′. The guide plate-end holders 49′ are affixed to the guideway beam frame 10′ at the boundaries of the segments 2′, and 4′ with hinges, and holds two ends of the neighboring guide plates 40-1′, or two ends of the neighboring guide plates 40-2′. The guide plate-end holders 49′ are affixed to the guideway beam frame 11′ at the boundaries of the segments 2′, and 4′ with hinges, and holds two ends of the neighboring guide plates 40-1′, or two ends of the neighboring guide plates 40-2′. Locking means 25′ and 27′ are affixed to the tie bars 42′ at specified locations.

It must be apparent that the second embodiment of this invention is also applicable to the aforementioned maglev systems.

Third Embodiment

The turnout of the third embodiment has neither the inner beams nor the tie-bar locking means of the second embodiment. Otherwise, the design of the steel version of the turnout of this embodiment is generally identical to the turnout of the second embodiment. FIGS. 33 and 34 represent a part of the adjustable segment of the turnout of the third embodiment of this invention that depicts a monorail turnout including a full length of the mid beam 5″ and a part of the end beam 6″, and at least one guide plate assembly 40″. The guideway beams 5″ and 6″ have the first and the second sidewalls with laterally extending holes across the width of the guideway beams, and power rail and communication systems, and share an articulated joint. If a concrete beam is chosen, the articulated joint must be included in the carriage assembly (see FIGS. 58 and 59).

The design of the guide plate assembly 40″ is generally identical to the guide plate assembly 40′ of the second embodiment except that the guide plates 40-1″ and 40-2″ should be much wider than the guide plates 40-1′ and 40-2′ to compensate the lack of the inner beams and the tie-bar locking means. The guide plate assembly includes guide plates 40-1″ and 40-2″ on the sides of the guideway beam; tie bars 42″ that extend laterally along the internal space of the holes in the guideway beam, guide plate holders 47″, and guide plate-ends holders 49″.

As is shown in FIGS. 35 and 62, a runway board 17* is affixed to a guide plate holder 47* in each side of the mid beam 5*, and the runway board is mounted on rollers 55*, which are laid on a top board 13* of the mid beam 5*. Thus, the third embodiment combined with an alternative design of the runway board 17* provides the full width of the running surface of the monorail guideway beam.

It must be apparent that the third embodiment is also applicable to the aforementioned maglev systems. The guideway beams of this embodiment may be made of reinforced concrete or pre-stressed concrete.

Fourth Embodiment

Referring to FIGS. 36 through 39, the fourth embodiment of the turnout includes any number of guideway beam 6X of type (B) of FIG. 4, and at least one guideway beam of type (A) of FIG. 4; the track bed support frame 51X; carriage assemblies 60X; stationary carriage assembly locking means 90-1X and 90-2X; mechanically operated carriage assembly locking means 91-1X and 91-2X; stationary tie-bar locking means 92-1X and 92-2X; and a guide plate assembly. The guide plate assembly includes guide plates 40-1X and 40-2X on the sides of the guideway beam; tie bars 42X that extend across the width of the guideway beam through the holes on the guideway sidewalls; guide plate holders including continuous-guide plate holders 47X, and guide plate-ends holders 49X.

The fourth embodiment of the turnout includes stationary carriage assembly locking means 90-1X (and 91-2X), mechanically lifted/lowered carriage assembly locking means 91-1X, tie-bar locking means 92-1X and tie-bar locking means 92-2X that are placed alongside the outer edge next to the guideway beams 5X of the turnout. The stationary tie-bar locking means 92-1X and the straight sidewall surface of the guideway beam 10X squeeze the guide plate holders 47X, and lock the tie bars 42×under the straight state. The stationary tie-bar locking means 92-2X alongside the outer edge next to the guideway beams 5X of the turnout, and the straight sidewall surface of the guideway beam 10X squeeze the guide plate holders 47X, and lock the tie bars 42×under the bent state. The guide-plate holders 49X that slidably receive 40-1X and 40-2X are located generally at generally the longitudinal mid point of the guideway beam 5X, and the beam end of the guideway beam 6X that is closer to the guideway beam 5X. The guide plate-end holders at the mid point of the guideway beam 5X are affixed neither to the guideway beam not to the tie bars 42X. The guideway beam 6X has a short segment near the beam end next to the guideway beam 5X that is equipped with guide plates on the sides of the guideway beam. The short segment has two guide plate-ends: one at the beam end of the beam 6X, and the other at the end of the segment where the guide plates terminate. Those guide plate-end holders are affixed to the guideway beam 6X. At the fixed end of the turnout, the guideway beam 5X is connected to the first guideway beam of the non-turnout segment by an articulated joint.

An alternative design uses guideway beam types (C) and (B) of FIG. 4, wherein beams of beam type (C) of FIG. 4 replaces the beams of beam type (A) of FIG. 4 in the fourth embodiment. In addition, the alternative design replaces the stationary tie-bar locking means 92-1X and 92-2X by mechanically operated tie-bar locking means 92-1AX and 92-2AX. As is shown in FIG. 40, the alternative design of the fourth embodiment includes metal means 93AX affixed to tie bars 42AX, and the mechanically driven tie-bar locking means 92-1AX (under the straight state) and the mechanically driven tie-bar locking means 92-2AX—not shown in FIG. 40—(under the bent state) that protrude through holes 99AX created at the bottom of the guideway beam frame 10AX. Selected tie-bars are equipped with the mechanically operated locking means 92-1AX and 92-2AX, a tie bar is equipped with either 92-1AX or 92-2AX, and guide plate holders 47AX as shown in FIGS. 65 and 66, and a partial guide plate holders 47BX, the function of which is to bear much of the weight of the guide plate. The tie-bar locking means 92-1AX (and 92-2AX) together with the metal means 93AX lock up the tie bar 42AX. This tie-bar locking mechanism including shown in FIG. 40 is applicable to the third embodiment also.

Fifth Embodiment

As is shown in FIGS. 41 through 44, the fifth embodiment of the turnout comprises a plurality of serially aligned guideway beams 5Y connected by an articulate joint means, a guide plate assembly 40Y, a drive means 68Y, carriage assemblies 60Y with first and second sides, any number (including zero) of serially aligned guideway beams 6Y, and a carriage assembly bed. A mainline turnout preferably includes one long guideway beam 6Y as shown in FIG. 41, which depicts a turnout that is a part of a double crossover.

The guide plate assembly comprises first guide plate 40-1Y and second guide plate 40-2Y, guide plate holders including those that hold continuous guide plate segment 47Y (or continuous guide plate holders as shown in FIGS. 46 and 47) and those hold guide plate ends 49Y (or guide plate-end holders as shown in FIGS. 48 and 49), tie bars 42Y, and tie-bar holders 31Y with first and second sides. The guideway beams 5Y is used in the adjustment segment 3Y, and the guideway beams 6Y are used in the non-adjustment segment. At least one tie-bar holder 31Y is affixed to the bottom surface of the guide beam 5X, wherein the tie-bar holder 31Y has two sides and slidably holds the tie bar 42Y. The surfaces of the first sides of the tie-bar holders 31Y and the surfaces of the first sides of the carriage assemblies 60Y form a first working (horizontally straight) surface of the guide beams 5Y. The surfaces of the second sides of the tie-bar holders 31Y and the surfaces of the second sides of the carriage assemblies 60Y form a second (horizontally concavely curved) working surface of the guide beams 5Y.

The tie-bar holder does not necessarily have to be affixed to the guideway beam 5Y itself. If we call a portion of the turnout that comprising the guideway beam 5Y and the two carriage assemblies 60Y that carries the guideway beam “a guideway beam unit,” wherein neighboring guideway beam units share a carriage assembly, then as long as the guideway beam unit is equipped with at least one tie-bar holder, the intended purpose of having the tie-bar holder is achieved. For example, referring to FIG. 70, an alternative design includes tie-bar holders 31 BY that are slidably received by carriage assemblies 60BY.

The guide plate 40-1Y (or 40-2Y) may be of single plate design or of multi-ply design. The guide plates 40-1 and 40-2 are slidably held by guide plate holders 47Y and the guide plate-end holders in 49Y, wherein two guide plate ends are slidably received. The guide plate-end holders 49Y are affixed to the sidewalls of the tie-bar holders 31Y that are located longitudinally at the mid point of the guideway beams 5Y, and the guide plate holders 47Y are affixed to the sidewalls of the carriage assembly 60Y. The guide plate holders 47Y and the guide plate-end holders 49Y are exchangeable. In the two-state turnout, the guide plate-end holder 49Y presses against the sidewall of the tie-bar holder 31Y of the same side under a locked state. The guide plate-end holder enables the tangent of the working surface of one guide plate matches the tangent of the working surface of the other guide plate under all times. The guide plate 40-1Y and 40-2Y can be as short as half the guideway beam length, and can be as long as practicable.

The drive means 68Y includes at least one motor and one driveshaft in any arbitrary segment of the turnout, wherein disconnected driveshafts in neighboring segments are rotatably connected to one another by a properly adjusted gear set; and gear sets that rotatably connect the driveshaft and the wheels of the carriage assembly 60Y. The guideway beams 5Y are laid on slidable plates placed on the carriage assemblies 60Y. A pivot 16Y is affixed to the carriage assembly 60Y. The pivot 16Y is pivotably connected to one of the guideway beams 5Y, and pivotably and slidably connected to the other guideway beams 5Y, wherein the pivot 16Y is slidable along the longitudinal centerline of the guideway beam 5Y. This embodiment is especially effective in the following two cases: (1) when used in a double crossover, wherein the bogie-carrying tracks are laid in such a manner that the gaps between the guideway beams created under the bent state may be generally equally distributed among all or selected gaps as shown in FIG. 41; and (2) when used in a switch that switches between multiple tracks as in a terminal or a yard, wherein the most effective locking means to be used in this application may be the type that is shown in FIG. 60.

The guideway beam 6Y is articulately connected to the guideway beam 5Y by an articulated joint means, and the beam ends of 6Y and 5Y are carried by the carriage assembly 60Y. The guideway beam 6Y is carried by at least two carriage assemblies, one carriage assembly at each end of the guideway beam. The carriage assemblies in mid-span of the guideway beam 6Y has a pivot 16Y′ that pivotally connect the guideway beam 6Y and the carriage assembly 60Y′. The pivot 16Y′ is held by a pivot holder that is slidable along the longitudinal centerline of the guideway beam 6Y. To enable the use of a taller guideway beam 6Y than the guideway beam 5Y, the surface of the carriage assembly bed beneath the guideway beam 6Y may have to be lowered. At the fixed end of the turnout, the guideway beam 5Y is articulately connected to the first guideway beam of the non-turnout segment.

The turnout is driven by at least one motor 62Y that is rotatably connected to the driveshaft 66Y by at least one gear set. The driveshaft 66Y, in turn, is rotatably connected to the wheels by at least one gear set The guideway beams 5Y are kept in a locked position by stationary carriage assembly locking means 90-1Y (or 90-2Y), stationary tie-bar locking means 92-1Y (or 92-2Y), and mechanically operated carriage assembly locking means 91-1Y (or 91-2Y). The locking means and rails for the bogie wheels are laid on the carriage assembly bed. The guideway beams 6Y are kept in a locked position by mechanically operated carriage assembly locking means 91-1Y (or 91-2Y). Referring to FIG. 44, the fifth embodiment for an electro-magnetic suspension system shows a lateral cross-sectional view of the tie bar 42AY, tie-bar holder 49AY, stationary tie-bar locking means 92-2AY and 92-1Ay shown, guide plates 40-1AY and 40-2AY.

Sixth Embodiment

As is shown in FIGS. 50 and 51, the mid beam 5Z in the adjustable segment of the turnout of the sixth embodiment comprises a frame 10Z, cam assemblies 74-1Z and 74-2Z, cam assembly support means 26Z affixed to the guideway beam frame 10Z, and a cam drive mechanism 71Z. The cam assemblies 74-1Z and 74-2Z are generally identical in design even though the phases of the cams 84-1Z and the cams 84-2Z are offset by 180 degrees. The cam assembly 74-1Z comprises a camshaft 83-1Z, cams 84-1Z, sprocket wheels 76Z affixed to the camshaft 83-1Z. The cam assembly 74-2Z comprises a camshaft 83-2Z, cams 84-2Z, sprocket wheels 76Z affixed to the camshaft 83-2Z, and rotatably connected to the driveshaft 66Z through the cam drive mechanism 71Z. The cam assembly may have as many cams as practicable.

As is shown in FIG. 51, the end beam 6Z has two segments: one with cam assemblies and the other of a simple box beam structure. The half of the end beam 6Z that is equipped with the cam assemblies is generally of the same design as that of the mid beam 5Z except that the cam drive mechanism is provided near the boarder between the two segments. The cam assemblies of the guideway beams 5Z and 6Z will be synchronized so that smooth curvatures along the guide plates along each side of the guideway beams will be realized.

The guide plate assembly 40Z comprises guide plates 40-1Z and 40-2Z, and a set of guide plate holders (guide plates holders 47Z, and guide plate-end holders 49Z), and tie bars 42Z that connect the holders 47Z and 49Z of the two guide palates. In the guideway beam 5Z, the guide plate-end holders 49Z are affixed to the guideway beam frame 10Z at a quarter beam length away from the nearest guideway beam ends along the sides of the guideway beam frame. In the end beam 6Z, the guide plate holders 49Z affixed to the boundary between the beam end segment and the plain box beam segment.

FIG. 53 shows cross-sectional views of these cams 84-1Z and 84-2Z at (A) near the ends of the cam assemblies 74-1Z and 74-2Z, (B) at the quarter points, and (C) at the mid point. Under the straight state, am1 (or am2) of the cam 84-1Z contacts the guide plate 40-1Z and am2 (or am1) of the cam 84-2Z contacts the guide plate 40-2Z. As the turnout turns, the sprocket 76Z is turned by the cam drive mechanism 71Z, and the cam 84-1Z also turns. Turning of the cam 84-1Z forces the guide plate 40-1Z to change its curvature. Chord 2 that passes through the axis 0 always has generally the same length generally equaling the distance between the am1 and am2 at any segment of the cams 84-1Z and 84-2Z at all times. Thus, the distance between the working surfaces of the cams 84-1Z and 84-2Z is generally the same along the lengths of the cam assemblies 74-1Z and 74-2Z.

The same drive means, carriage assembly and carriage assembly beds as those illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 for the preferred embodiment of this invention is used for this embodiment. It must be apparent that the forth embodiment of this invention is also applicable to other aforementioned maglev systems.

Alternative Guideway Beam Design

As is shown in FIGS. 54 through 56, an end beam 6* having an expandable beam segment 102, which is affixed to an inner box beam 104 that is significantly longer than the expandable beam segment 102. The weight of the expandable beam segment 102 and the inner box beam 104 is supported by rollers 120, and through these rollers their weight is transmitted to the end beam 6*. Guide rollers 108 are affixed to the top of the inner box, and guide rollers 122 are affixed to the sides of the inner box. A jackscrew assembly 118 that is equipped with a screw 110, a gear set 114, and a chain 116 pushes and pulls the expandable beam segment 102 of the end beam 6*. The jackscrew is driven by the driveshaft 66* in the carriage assembly 60*. The expansion joint 112 for a runway board is reinforced by a metal plate 106, which is affixed to the inner surface of the end beam 6*, and the expansion joint 126 for sidewalls is reinforced by metal plates 128, which are also affixed to the inner surface of the end beam 6*. The gear ratio of the gear set 114 is adjusted in such a manner that the amount the end beam 6* is lengthened is exactly that needed to fill the gap between the two guideway beams that share a switch point under the crossing state. In another design, a motor that drives the jackscrew may be installed within the end beam 6*.

The same drive means, carriage assembly and guideway beam support as those illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 for the preferred embodiment of this invention is used for this embodiment. It must be apparent that all embodiments except for the fifth embodiment of this invention should be able to use this alternative design in a double crossover.

Other Alternative Designs

Referring to FIG. 57, when four turnouts 1Q, that use long guideway beams, are used to form a double crossover, tracks 77Q that carry the carriage assembly may be laid in such a manner that each neighboring pair of the guideway beams are separated with generally within an acceptable distance, preferably generally of equal distance, under the bent state. To attain this objective, each of the tracks 77Q of each turnout will have to be laid with a different angle 75Q.

As is shown in FIG. 58, a carriage assembly 60* of an alternative design is equipped with an articulated joint means 15*, and two carriage assemblies carrying neighboring guideway beams are connected by the articulated joint means. As is shown in FIG. 59, a carriage assembly 60** of another alternative design carries two neighboring guideway beam-ends.

Referring to FIG. 60, an alternative design of the carriage assembly locking mechanism includes locking means 90-1X* that locks a locking bar connecting the carriage assembly 60X* and wayside anchor 93-1X**, and locking means 90-2X* that locks a locking bar connecting the carriage assembly 60X* and a wayside anchor 93-2X**. Referring to FIG. 61, an alternative design of the drive means 68Y* and the carriage assembly 60Y* includes a carriage assembly 60Y* without a motor means, a drive means 68Y* that is placed along the outer edge of the turnout, and generally the same carriage assembly locking mechanism that was described above referring to FIG. 60.

Referring to FIGS. 62 through 64, alternative runway board designs of the monorail system 17X*, 17Y*, and 17Z* are connected to the guide plate holders by a plurality of pivots 48X*, 48Y*, and 48Z*, respectively. The runway boards 17X* and 17Y* pivot about pivots 28X* and 17Y, respectively.

FIGS. 65 through 68 are alternative guide plate holder designs. As is shown in FIGS. 65 and 66X**, a guide plate 40-1X** (or 40-2X**, not shown) has a plurality of depressions on its running surface, in each of which the head of guide plate holders 47X** are placed. A narrow opening is cut at the bottom of the depression. The guide plate holder 47X**, which is a bolt with a large head, is screwed into the tie bar 42X** in such a manner that there is a space between the guide plate holder's head and the facing end of the tie bar 42X** for the guide plate 40-1X** to slide along the side of the guideway beam frame. A hole 19X** on the guideway beam frame 10X** is barely large for the tie bars 42X** to extend through it.

Referring to FIG. 67, a guide plate holder is directly affixed to a guide plate 40-1Y**, and is articulately connected to the tie bar 42Y**. A hole 19Y** on the guideway beam frame 10Y** for a tie bar 42Y** is large enough for necessary longitudinal movements of a tie bar 42Y**.

Referring to FIG. 68, a guide plate holder 47*** of another alternative design is affixed to a guide plate 40-1*** (or 40-2**), and the guide plate holder 47*** is articulately connected to a tie bar 42***. The guide plate 40-1*** (or 40-2***) is relatively short, and only few tie bars will be connected to it through the guide plate holder 47***. The guide plate 40-1*** (or 40-2**) has a comb-shaped expansion joint edge at the two longitudinal ends.

Referring to FIG. 69, an alternative design of a guideway beam 5*** has a guideway beam of horizontally straight sides (or sidewalls) with a plurality of guideway segments. In each segment, both sides (or sidewalls) of the guideway beam have guide plate support means 44*** affixed to them. In each side (or sidewall) of each segment, working surfaces of the guide plate support means 44*** envelope an imaginary plane we call the working surface 46*** of that side (or sidewall) in that segment of the guideway beam.

As is shown in FIG. 71, an alternative design of the preferred embodiment includes end beams 6XX that is generally identical to one half of the mid beam 5XX. In the fixed end of the turnout, the guideway beam 6XX is not connected to the first guideway beam of a non-turnout segment. It is because the guideway beam 6XX must move in a lateral direction each time the turnout is switched into a different state. The distance equals AA′ and DD′ in FIG. 5. Any number of a plain box-shaped guideway beam may be added in either end of the turnout. A similar alternative design is possible to the second, and sixth embodiments.

The turnout may be equipped with a lubrication system that includes oil pump and a network of oil pipes. The turnout will be controlled by a turnout control system that is connected to the control system that is connected to a wayside signal system. Both the lubrication system and control system are not included in this specification.

The invention having been described in detail in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Patent Statutes, various other changes and modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in this art. It is intended such changes and modifications shall fall within the spirit and scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system comprising a plurality of serially aligned guideway beams, at least one guide plate assembly, a drive means, at least one carriage assembly bed, and a plurality of carriage assemblies, wherein

at least two of said guideway beams having a guideway beam frame and at least one inner beam,

said frame of said guideway beam being generally of rigid construction, and

said guideway beam having a plurality of guideway segments, wherein

said guideway beam frame in said guideway segment having first and second sidewalls,

said sidewalls having working surfaces in at least two of said guideway beam segment,

said working surface of said first sidewall of said guideway beam frame, and said working surface of said second sidewall of said guideway beam frame having horizontally different curvatures in at least one of said guideway segments.

2. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1, wherein

said guide plate assembly having first guide plate and second guide plate, a plurality of guide plate holders, and a plurality of tie bars,

said first and second guide plates being held by said guide plate holders, and

said guide plate holder of said first guide plate and said guide plate holder of said second guide plate being affixed to said tie bar.

3. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1, wherein

said guide plate assembly having first guide plate, second guide plate, and a plurality of tie bars, and

said first and second guide plates being connected to said tie bar.

4. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1, wherein

said first and second guide plates slidably being held by said guide plate holders.

5. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1, wherein

said first and second sidewalls of said guideway beam frame having a plurality of holes,

said tie bars of said guide plate assembly extend through said holes of said first and second sidewalls.

6. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1, wherein

said inner beam of one of said guideway beams and said inner beam of another one of said guideway beams being slidably connected together.

7. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1, wherein

said inner beam of one of said guideway beams and said inner beam of another one of said guideway beams being rigidly connected together.

8. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1, wherein

said guide plate having a running surface for guide wheels.

9. The turnout of a beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1, wherein

said guideway beam including a plurality of gate-shaped track bed support frames, wherein

said gate-shaped support frame having a top member and side members,

said tie bar being affixed to said side members,

said gate-shaped track bed support frame being mounted on said top member of said guideway beam frame.

10. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1, wherein

said turnout having two states,

said two states being a straight state and a bent state,

said guideway beams being separated by a generally acceptable distance under said bent state.

11. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1 wherein

said turnout having an expandable guideway beam.

12. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1 wherein

said turnout having a plurality of carriage assembly locking means.

13. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1 wherein

said turnout having first and second states,

said frame having first and second sidewalls,

each of said first and second sidewalls of said sidewalls having a working surface,

each of said first and second sidewalls of said frame having a plurality of holes,

said inner beam having first and second sidewalls,

each of said first and second sidewalls of said inner beam having a plurality of guide plate support means, and

each of said guide plate support means of said first sidewall having a working surface.

14. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 1 wherein

said turnout having first and second states,

said frame having first and second sidewalls,

each of said first and second sidewalls of said frame having a working surface,

said inner beam having first and second sidewalls,

each of said first and second sidewalls of said inner beam having a working surface,

said working surface of said first sidewall of said frame and said working surface of said first sidewall of said inner beam being separated by a generally equal distance along their lengths under said first state, and

said working surface of said second sidewall of said frame and said working surface of said second sidewall of said inner beam being separated by a generally equal distance along their lengths under said second state.

15. A turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system comprising a plurality of serially aligned guideway beams, at least one guide plate assembly, a drive means, at least one carriage assembly bed, and a plurality of carriage assemblies, wherein

said guideway beam having at least one guideway beam segment,

said guideway beam being generally of rigid construction.

said guideway beam in said guideway beam segment having first and second sides,

said first side and second side having a working surface in at least one of said guideway beams, and

said working surface of said first side of said guideway segment and said working surface of said second side of said guideway segment having horizontally different curvatures.

16. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

said guide plate assembly having first guide plate and second guide plate, a plurality of guide plate holders, and a plurality of tie bars,

said first and second guide plates being held by said guide plate holders, and

said guide plate holders of said first guide plate and said guide plate holders of said second guide plate being affixed to said tie bar.

17. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 16, wherein

said turnout having first and second outer edges,

said turnout having a plurality of locking means along said first outer edge, in at least selected segment of said first outer edge,

said turnout having a plurality of locking means along said second outer edge, in at least selected segment of said second outer edge,

said locking means on said first outer edge press against said guide plate holders of said first guide plate, and

said locking means on said second outer edge press against said guide plate holders of said second guide plate.

18. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

said guide plate assembly having first guide plate, second guide plate, and a plurality of tie bars, and

said first and second guide plates being connected to said tie bar.

19. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

said first and second guide plates slidably being held by said guide plate holders.

20. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

said guide plate having a running surface for guide wheels.

21. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

said turnout having two states,

said two states being a straight state and a bent state,

said guideway beams being separated by a generally acceptable distance under said bent state.

22. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15 wherein

said turnout having an expandable guideway beam.

23. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

said guideway beam including a plurality of gate-shaped track bed support frames, wherein

said gate-shaped support frame having a top member and side members,

said tie bar being affixed to said side members,

said gate-shaped track bed support frame being mounted on said top member of said guideway beam frame.

24. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

at least in one of said guideway beams said first working surface being flat, and

said second working surface being concavely curved.

25. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

said turnout having carriage assembly locking means.

26. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 16, wherein

said turnout having tie bar locking means,

metal means affixed to said tie bar, and

said tie-bar locking means and said metal means lock up said tie bar under a locked state.

27. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

said guideway beam being of steel structure.

28. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 15, wherein

said guideway beam being of concrete construction.

29. A turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system having at least one segment comprising a plurality of serially aligned guideway beams, at least one guide plate assembly, a drive means, at least one carriage assembly bed, and a plurality of carriage assemblies, wherein

said guideway beam generally of rigid construction,

said carriage assembly having first and second sides,

said guideway beam having first and second longitudinal ends,

facing longitudinal first and second ends of two neighboring guideway beams being slidably mounted on said carriage assembly,

a pivot being affixed to top surface of said carriage assembly,

said pivot pivotably connected to one of said neighboring guideway beams having said first end,

said pivot pivotably and slidably connected to the other of neighboring said guideway beams having said second end,

said guide plate assembly having first guide plate and second guide plate, a plurality of guide plate holders, and tie bars,

said first guide plate being slidably held by said guide plate holders,

said guide plate holder of said first guide plate being affixed to said first side surface of said carriage assembly, and said guide plate holders of said second guide plate being affixed to said second side surface of said carriage assembly, and

said guide plate holder of said first guide plate being affixed to said first side surface of said tie bar, and said guide plate holders of said second guide plate being affixed to said second side surface of said tie bar.

30. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 29, wherein

said guideway beam and two of said carriage assemblies on which said guideway beam being mounted on forming a guideway beam unit,

said guideway beam unit having at least one tie-bar holder,

said tie bar holder having first and second sides,

said first side of said tie bar holder and said first side of said carriage assemblies forming a first working surface,

said second side of said tie bar holder and said second side of said carriage assemblies forming a second working surface,

said first and second working surfaces having different curvatures under a locked state.

31. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 29, wherein

said first and second guide plates slidably being held by said guide plate holders,

said carriage assembly bed having a plurality of carriage assembly locking means.

32. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 29, wherein

said turnout having two states,

said two states being a straight state and a bent state,

said guideway beams being separated by a generally acceptable distance under said bent state.

33. A turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system comprising a plurality of guideway beams, at least one guide plate assembly, a drive means, at least one carriage assembly bed, and a plurality of carriage assemblies, wherein

said guideway beam being generally of rigid construction,

said guideway beam having first and second sides,

at least one of said guideway beams having a plurality of cam assemblies along first and second sides of said guideway beam, wherein

said cam assembly having a camshaft and a plurality of cams,

said cam being coaxially mounted on said camshaft, and

said cam shaft rotatably connected to said drive means.

34. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 33, wherein

said cam having a cam surface,

a plurality of said cam surface of cams on first side of said guideway beam having first imaginary plane enveloping said cam surfaces,

said first imaginary plane being working surface of said first side of said guideway beam,

a plurality of said cam surface of cams on same side of said guideway beam having second imaginary plane enveloping said cam surfaces,

said second imaginary plane being working surface of said second side of said guideway beam, and

said working surface of said first side and said working surface of said second side having generally identical horizontal curvature along lengths of said working surfaces.

35. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 33, wherein

said guide plate assembly having first guide plate and second guide plate, a plurality of guide plate holders, and a plurality of tie bars,

said first and second guide plates being held by said guide plate holders, and

said guide plate holders of said first guide plate and said guide plate holders of said second guide plate being affixed to said tie bar.

36. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 33, wherein

said guide plate assembly having first guide plate, second guide plate, and a plurality of tie bars, and

said first and second guide plates being connected to said tie bar.

37. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 33, wherein

said first and second guide plates slidably being held by said guide plate holders.

38. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 33, wherein

said guideway beam having a frame,

said frame having first and second sidewalls,

said first and second sidewalls of said frame having a plurality of holes,

said tie bars of said guide plate assembly extend through said holes of said first and second sidewalls.

39. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 33, wherein

said guide plate having a running surface for guide wheels.

40. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 33, wherein

said guideway beam including a plurality of gate-shaped track bed support frames, wherein

said gate-shaped support frame having a top member and side members,

said tie bar being affixed to said side members,

said gate-shaped track bed support frame being mounted on said top member of said guideway beam frame.

41. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 33, wherein

said turnout having two states,

said two states being a straight state and a bent state,

said guideway beams being separated by a generally acceptable distance under said bent state.

42. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 33 wherein

said turnout having an expandable guideway beam.

43. A turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system comprising a plurality of guideway beams, at least one guide plate assembly, a drive means, at least one carriage assembly bed, and a plurality of carriage assemblies, wherein

said turnout having two states,

said two states being a straight state and a bent state,

said guideway beams being separated by a generally acceptable distance under said bent state.

44. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 43, wherein

said guide plate having a running surface for guide wheels.

45. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 43, wherein

said turnout having first and second outer edges,

said turnout having a plurality of locking means along said first outer edge, in at least selected segment of said first outer edge,

said turnout having a plurality of locking means along said second outer edge, in at least selected segment of said second outer edge,

said locking means on said first outer edge press against said guide plate holders of said first guide plate, and

said locking means on said second outer edge press against said guide plate holders of said second guide plate.

46. A turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system comprising a plurality of guideway beams, at least one guide plate assembly, a drive means, at least one carriage assembly bed, and a plurality of carriage assemblies, wherein

said turnout including an expandable guideway beam.

47. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 46, wherein

said guide plate having a running surface for guide wheels.

48. The turnout of a guideway beam-based transit system as defined in claim 46, wherein

said turnout having first and second outer edges,

said turnout having a plurality of locking means along said first outer edge, in at least selected segment of said first outer edge,

said turnout having a plurality of locking means along said second outer edge, in at least selected segment of said second outer edge,

said locking means on said first outer edge press against said guide plate holders of said first guide plate, and

said locking means on said second outer edge press against said guide plate holders of said second guide plate.