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EP-4452686-B1 - METHOD OF TRANSFERRING A VEHICLE MODULE OVER AN INFRASTRUCTURE, INFRASTRUCTURE, VEHICLE MODULE AND USE THEREOF

EP4452686B1EP 4452686 B1EP4452686 B1EP 4452686B1EP-4452686-B1

Inventors

  • HUSSEY, Nigel Edward

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20221215

Claims (15)

  1. A method of transferring a vehicle module over an infrastructure, comprising providing said infrastructure (10), wherein the infrastructure comprises at least one individual track (11), in particular a multitude of interconnected tracks, wherein each track comprises at least one series of coils (12), in particular a plurality of series of coils, wherein series of coils extend in the direction of the width of the track, wherein each series of coils is adapted to provide a levitational magnetic force wherein coils are placed at a distance from one another, at least one switch per series of coils, wherein each coil individually can be energized by an electrical current and de-energized, wherein each coil is adapted to be energized in a pulsed mode, wherein on at least one side of the track side coils are provided adapted to provide a larger magnetic field than central coils at a central part of the track, such as wherein the side coils have an increased number of windings compared to the central coils, or wherein the side coils comprise a magnetic insert, at least one controller for energizing individual coils such that at a side of the track a larger magnetic field is provided than at a central part of the track, optionally a vehicle module track-position locator, an electrical power supply for providing an electrical current, providing said vehicle module (20), wherein said vehicle module comprises an array of permanent magnets (21), preferably at a bottom side (22) thereof, optionally at least one seat (23), an identifier (24), and an optional control interface(25), providing a vertical magnetic field in the track at a location of the vehicle module, thereby lifting the module, providing a horizontal magnetic field in the track at a changing location of the vehicle module, thereby hovering the module at a certain speed in a horizontal direction over the track, providing an opposite magnetic field in the track preferably controlling the horizontal magnetic field, such as by controlling respective side coils and central coils, thereby decelerating the module, and cancelling the vertical magnetic field in the track thereby letting the module down to the track.
  2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in an inclined section of the track at least one series of coils is tilted over an angle α in a direction of the inclination, in particular wherein α is 0.5-2 times an inclination angle, and/or wherein in a left or right curved section of the track at least one series of coils is tilted inwards over an angle β, in particular wherein β is 0-30 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane, more in particular wherein β is 2-15 degrees.
  3. The method according to any of claims 1-2, wherein at a junction of tracks at least one series of coils comprises a magnetic insert, such as a magnetic core, wherein the magnetic insert is adapted to move in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the track, in particular through automation, thereby providing a positive or negative magnetic gradient in a direction of one of the tracks, in particular wherein the magnetic gradient is 50-200% relative to the levitational magnetic force.
  4. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein on a straight part of the track, based on a location of the vehicle module, at least one controller is adapted to energize coils directly behind the vehicle module 10-50% more than the coils underneath the vehicle module, and/or at least one controller is adapted to energize coils directly in front of the vehicle module 1-10% less than coils underneath the vehicle module, relative to a direction of movement of the vehicle module.
  5. The method according to any of claims 1-4, wherein at least once two series of coils are interrupted by at least one of an electrically conducting plate (14) and permanent magnet plate (15), wherein the plate extends in a longitudinal direction and width direction of the track, and/or wherein each series of coils is located below a surface of the track, and/or wherein at least one coil and/or part thereof may or may not be tilted with respect to a perpendicular of the surface of the track, such as tilted 0-40°, preferably 2-30°, more preferably 5-20°.
  6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, comprising a feature selected from series of coils whose respective centres are separated by a mutual distance of 1 -50 cm, a track has a width of 0.6-3 m, and a vehicle module has a width of 0.6-3 m, and a vehicle module has a length of 0.6-3 m, and an empty vehicle module has a weight of 150-750 kg, such as 200-300 kg, or a track has a width of 0.05-0.3 m, and a vehicle module has a width of 0.03-0.4 m, and a vehicle module has a length of 0.05-0.4 m, and an empty vehicle module has a weight of 0.05-2 kg, such as 0.1-0.5 kg, or a track has a width of 0.1-1.5 m, and a vehicle module has a width of 0.1-1 m, and a vehicle module has a length of 0.1-1 m, and an empty vehicle module has a weight of 4-50 kg, such as 10-25 kg, at least two vehicle modules are connectable, a coil, each individually, has a length 1-60 cm, preferably 2-40 cm, such as 10-30 cm, a coil, each individually, has a radius of 1-20 cm, preferably 2-10 cm, more preferably 3-6 cm, a coil, each individually, has a thickness of 0.1-10cm, preferably 0.2-5 cm, more preferably 1-3 cm, a coil, each individually, has a number of windings n c ∈[1,10000]/m, preferably 10-5000, more preferably 50-2500, such as 100-500, a coil, each individually, comprises an electrically conducting material, such as a metal, such as copper or aluminium, a series of coils is adapted to provide a magnetic field Bz of 10 -3 -10 1 [T], preferably 5*10 -3 -2 [T], more preferably 10 -2 -10 -1 [T], over a width of a track 1-100/m coils in series are provided, two series of coils are separated by a respective centre distance of 1-20 cm, a magnet comprises high magnetic density materials, a magnet comprises at least one magnetic material selected from Group 3-12, Period 4-6 elements, such as Fe, Co, Ni, and Nd, and combinations thereof comprising such a magnetic material, such as Nd 2 Fe 14 B, FePd, FeCo, and FePt, and/or a material selected from lanthanoids, scandium, yttrium, and combinations thereof, such as from Sc, Y, Sm, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb, Tb, such as Tb, each coil individually is adapted to receive a current of 0.5-200 [A], preferably 1-100 [A], such as 5-50 [A], wherein a switch is adapted to switch within 1000 µsec, preferably within 100 µsec, at least one switch per individual coil or per row of coils, and wherein each coil is adapted to be energized within 1-10 5 µsec, and combinations thereof, and/or wherein each coil or row of coils is energized in pulses with a duration of 1-100 msec, wherein preferably a length of a pulse is adapted to the speed of the vehicle module, and/or wherein the speed of the vehicle module is from 0-150 m/sec, preferably from 0-75 m/sec, more preferably from 0-40 m/sec, such as 5-30 m/sec.
  7. The method according to any of claims 1-6, wherein at least one of the vehicle module comprises an array of i∈[1,p] magnets with the same field orientation, such as arranged in a strip-like manner, typically whereby strips of magnets are aligned in a direction of motion and are spatially separated in a direction perpendicular to the direction of motion,50-100% of the bottom of the vehicle is provided with magnets, magnets have a height of 1-25 cm, preferably 1.5-10 cm, such as 2-5 cm, a length of all magnets is 20-200 cm; preferably 40-120 cm, such as 45-100 cm, wherein magnets are provided above or below the bottom of the vehicle, preferably below the bottom, wherein a total volume of magnets is 0.1*10 -3 -100*10 -3 m 3 , wherein a magnetic moment is 0.1-2000 Am 2 , wherein coils provide an acceleration/deceleration of 0.01-10 m/sec 2 , preferably 0.2-5 m/sec 2 , and wherein an additional braking mechanism provides a deceleration of 1-20 m/sec 2 , preferably 2-10 m/sec 2 .
  8. The method according to any of claims 1-7, wherein vehicle module (20) comprises a base with magnetic strips, wherein a number of magnetic strips p is equal to a number of coils in a single row and the coil width is preferably 30-90% of a respective diameter of the coil, such as 40-70%, and/or wherein a magnet has a volumetric susceptibility of 10 3- 10 6 .
  9. The method according to any of claims 1-8, wherein the controller is adapted to control hovering and propagation of the vehicle module, and/or wherein a multitude of vehicle modules is transferred, and/or wherein the infrastructure is partly or fully incorporated in an existing infrastructure, wherein at least one track, each individually, is covered by a protecting layer (16), such as a 0.2-5 cm thick polymeric layer, preferably a recycled polymeric layer.
  10. The method according to any of claims 1-9, wherein the infrastructure comprises physical and/or controllable guiders (13), such as a rail, and guidance coils, wherein guidance coils may be oriented accordingly.
  11. The method according to any of claims 1-10, wherein the vehicle module is a monocoque, wherein the vehicle module preferably comprises at least one composite, and/or wherein a drag coefficient of the vehicle C D <0.3, preferably C D <0.2, such as 0.05<C D <0.13, such as a droplet shaped vehicle, and/or wherein a vehicle module impact on collision is minimized.
  12. An infrastructure (10) for a method according to any of claims 1-11, comprising at least one individual track (11), wherein each track comprises at least one series of coils (12), wherein series of coils extend in the direction of the width of the track, wherein each series of coils is adapted to provide a levitational magnetic force and a horizontal magnetic force, wherein the horizontal magnetic force is directed along the length direction of the track, wherein coils are placed at a distance from one another, at least one switch per series of coils, wherein each coil individually can be energized by an electrical current and de-energized, wherein on at least one side of the track side coils are provided adapted to provide a larger magnetic field then central coils at a central part of the track, such as wherein the side coils have an increased number of windings compared to the central coils, or wherein the side coils comprise a magnetic insert, a controller for energizing individual coils such that at a side of the track a larger magnetic field is provided than at a central part of the track, optionally a vehicle module track-position locator, and an electrical power supply for providing an electrical current, in particular an indoor infrastructure, such as a logistics infrastructure, or a toy race track, a toy train track, or a wafer transporter, or an outdoor infrastructure, in particular further comprising at least one in-frastructural element as mentioned in claims 2-11.
  13. The infrastructure according to claim 12, comprising a hollow tube-like structure (17) under the road, wherein a surface of the tube-like structure comprises a polymeric material (16), such as a plastic, such as a recycled plastic, wherein the surface is preferably removable attached, wherein in the tube-like structure coil receiving elements (18) are provided, such as a rack with tilted coil positions.
  14. A vehicle module (20) for a method according to any of claims 1-11, wherein said vehicle module comprises an array of permanent magnets (21), preferably at the bottom side (22) thereof, optionally at least one seat (23), preferably 2-9 seats, such as 3-4 seats, an identifier (24), and an optional control interface (25), in particular further comprising at least one vehicle element as mentioned in claims 2-11.
  15. A series of coils of the infrastructure of any of claims 12-13, wherein, in the series of coils, coils are adjacent to one and another, and wherein each coil individually has an oblong shape with a width (w) and a length (l), in particular wherein the length is more than two times larger than the width.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is in the field of a National Individual Floating Transport Infrastructure (NIfTI) wherein floating vehicles can travel by magnetic levitation and propagation. The vehicles can travel at a controllable height above the existing, albeit modified, road infrastructure and at relatively high speeds. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is in the field of individual transportation. Until now, cars based on the combustion engine have played an important role in transporting people. Recently, a transition towards partly or fully electrically driven cars has started, and further partly or fully self-driving vehicles are on their way to being developed. If a full transition towards electrically driven vehicles would take place, the energy demands on our power generation and distribution infrastructure would be enormous. Moreover, fatalities and injuries due to road accidents have remained roughly constant over the past two decades and even with the gradual introduction of autonomous vehicles, the design of modem cars, coupled with their weight, means that any collision with such a vehicle will likely lead to serious injury or even death. Finally, congestion due to our current infrastructure and the sheer volume of traffic represents a major economic and productivity cost to both developed and developing economies. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to change with the advent of the electric car. In the search for an alternative means of transportation of passengers and freight, the magnetic levitation concept has been developed. The concept relates to a system conceived for train transportation. It uses two sets of magnets, a first set to lift the train up, and a second set to move the 'floating train" ahead. Since the train is floating, friction is virtually absent and the train can move at great speed. An advantage of this technology is the absence of moving parts. However, the train still needs to travel along a guideway of magnets which control the train's stability and speed, and in view of safety, movement of the train is limited to a direction of propagation. The trains can move fast and acceleration and deceleration is also much faster than e.g. for other vehicles such as conventional trains; safety and comfort are still points of attention. The power needed for levitation is relatively small, whereas air resistance and drag, especially at lower speeds, consume most energy. This could be overcome by moving vehicles in a vacuum environment. The construction of magnetic levitation systems is however relatively costly, though production and maintenance is cheaper, compared to high speed trains. Not many systems are in operation yet. Some documents recite propagation of vehicles. JP 2002 238109 (A) recites a system for driving, propelling and controlling a small and lightweight car with a linear motor. Thereto magnetic coils for driving and propelling the car and permanent magnets are each provided at the ground side and at the vehicle side respectively. The coils are arranged in a linear state to the direction of movement, with each coil being wired in parallel with slip rails in a ladder state. US 3,815,511 (A) recites a magnetic propulsion and levitation system for a vehicle which is adapted to travel over an established roadbed. The system includes one or more superconducting magnets carried by the vehicle and a plurality of coils embedded in the roadbed in the path of travel of the vehicle. The coils are sequentially energized at a predetermined position relative to the superconducting magnet for establishing levitation and propulsion forces. It is noted that superconducting magnets typically require cooling to low temperatures. WO 2001/066378 A1 recites a transport system with a pair of levitating rails, and each of the levitating rails has a core with a plurality of coils extending circumferentially around each of the cores. The coils are perpendicular to the lengths of the levitating rails. Each of the levitating rails has an upper surface directly above the core. A vehicle has wheels that roll on the upper surfaces of the levitating rails in a nonlevitating position. The vehicle has a plurality of magnets that create magnetic fields that pass through the coils while the vehicle is moving along the levitating rails. The magnetic fields induce current, which in turn causes an opposing magnetic field that levitates the vehicle. A steering rail having a plurality of coils is mounted to at least one of the guideways. Permanent steering magnets are located on each side of the steering rail to magnetically steer the vehicle along the guideways. WO 2019/143469 A1 recites a magnetic levitation system includes a guideway and a vehicle. The guideway has ferromagnetic yokes and induction coils. The vehicle has levitation magnets for magnetic interaction with the ferromagnetic yokes wherein the vehicle levitates relative to the guideway. The vehicle has stabiliza