Patent
Section Links: What | Glideway | Vehicle | Patent
The inventor of the BiModal Glideway, William D. Davis, Jr., has been granted United States Patent No. US 7,788,000 for his innovative public highway system.
Abstract from the patent:
The public highway system includes automated, elevated single lane throughways having wide and narrow gauge rail track arranged in various combinations. A control system regulates spacing of bimodal vehicles while maintaining a uniform speed for all vehicles on the system. The bimodal vehicles perform as conventional automobiles on conventional roadways and as fully automated safe high speed vehicles on elevated single lane, single speed, high-density electric rail guideways using static vertical switching accomplished by operation of variable gauge rail wheels on the vehicle to engage with or disengage from a wide gauge track portion wider than the bimodal vehicles. Vehicles enter/leave the mainline on the narrower gauge track. The wider gauge is for passing over off-ramps or in switching systems. A single lane can handle 15,800 veh/hr including mixed use such as mail, freight, mass transit in captive driverless vehicles with exclusive off-ramps to federal, commercial, industrial and public terminals.
