AT523076A4 - Cable car station with safety barrier - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to simplify the operation of a cable car and at the same time ensure safe operation, at least one openable safety barrier (2) is provided in a cable car station (1), a sensor (3) for detecting an open state in the cable car station (1) the at least one safety barrier (2) is provided which, depending on the opening state, sends a sensor signal (Y) to a control unit (4) of a cable car drive (5), the control unit (4) controlling the cable car drive depending on the sensor signal (Y) received , the control unit (4) being provided to stop the cable car drive (5) upon receipt of a sensor signal (Y) corresponding to an open position of the safety barrier (2) or to reduce a drive speed of the cable car drive (5), the safety barrier (2) has a remote control unit (6) which can be controlled by means of a remote control unit (7), to return the safety barrier (2) from the open position in which the cable car drive (5) is stopped or the drive speed is reduced to a closed position in which the cable car drive (5) can be activated again or the drive speed can be increased again.

Description

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Cable car station with safety barrier

The present invention relates to a cable car station for at least one cable car, in which at least one openable safety barrier is provided, with a sensor for detecting an open state of the at least one safety barrier being provided in the cable car station, which generates a sensor signal as a function of the open state and sends a Sends cable car drive, the control unit controlling the cable car drive as a function of the sensor signal received. The invention further relates to a safety system for a cable car station with an openable safety barrier, as well as a method for operating at least one cable car with at least one cable car station in which an openable safety barrier

is arranged.

Cable cars are used to transport people and / or materials, usually between two or more cable car stations. For this purpose, a number of cable car vehicles, such as armchairs or cabins, are moved between the cable car stations, either rotating or in shuttle traffic. The cable car vehicles are moved between the cable car stations by means of at least one conveyor rope. The ropeway vehicle can be suspended on at least one support rope or the hoisting rope (aerial ropeways) or movably arranged on rails or the ground (funicular railways) and moved with at least one hoisting rope. The cable car can also be detachably or firmly clamped to the hoisting rope and moved with the hoisting rope. In the case of revolving cable cars, the cable car vehicles in a cable car station are often decoupled from the hoisting rope, for example by means of detachable cable clamps, and are moved through the cable car station at a lower speed in order to get on or off

To facilitate people or the loading or unloading of material.

Within cable car stations there are usually different areas with different access restrictions. For example, areas can be provided in which access is permitted both for the operating personnel of the cable car and for passengers, for example an entry / exit area. Often there are also areas in which access is only permitted for the operating personnel and in which access for passengers is not permitted or not desired. This can be, for example, areas outside the boarding / alighting area, in which there is no immediate risk of injury, but where access is forbidden to external persons, e.g. for operational reasons. In addition, there may also be areas in a cable car station in which access is prohibited for all persons for safety reasons, i.e. both company employees and operating personnel

also for external persons such as passengers. Such hazardous areas include

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in particular areas around the drive in which moving parts are located and / or

Live parts areas.

Entering such danger areas can lead to serious injuries, which is why they are usually separated by safety barriers. So far, mostly safety barriers have been used, which trigger an emergency stop of the drive of the cable car when they are opened. In the case of known cable cars, due to safety regulations, it is usually prescribed that an operator is always on site during the operation of the cable car, who monitors the operation and controls the cable car. Depending on the type and size of the system, one or more operating personnel may be present to ensure smooth operation. The operating personnel usually control the cable car from an operating room, from where there is also a good overview of the areas to be monitored, in particular entry / exit areas and danger areas. In addition, the operating staff usually also supports the passengers when getting on and off the cable car vehicles, e.g. in the chair of a chair lift or

in cabins of a gondola lift.

If a safety barrier was previously triggered, for example because a passenger accidentally or deliberately entered a separate area without supervision, an emergency stop of the cable car was automatically triggered and an alarm was often triggered at the same time. For example, it can be triggered by a mechanical contact switch that is actuated when the safety barrier is opened. For example, the contact switch interrupts the power supply to the cable car drive so that the drive is stopped immediately. The operating personnel already present in the area of the cable car station usually personally check the area around the safety barrier to determine under which circumstances and by whom the safety barrier was opened. After the check has been completed and it has been ensured that there are no more people in the forbidden area, the operation of the cable car can continue. For this purpose, the safety barrier was previously manually returned to the closed position by the operating staff, whereby the electrical contact was restored through the contact switch. The Veder approach of the cable car is usually also done manually, for example via the control

in the control room of the cable car station.

Due to the technical advancement in the field of automation technology, the trend in the field of transport has been moving in the direction of automated operation in recent years. For example, driverless subways are already in operation in some cities and fully automated systems are often used in internal transport processes. In such systems, the control of the transport process runs fully automatically

and staff is essentially only responsible for monitoring a smooth operation

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Operational and possibly required for emergencies. Even in the previously more personnel-intensive area of cable cars, efforts are therefore being made to enable operation that is as automated as possible or, on the way there, successively with fewer operating personnel

get along.

Based on the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to simplify the operation of a cable car and at the same time ensure safe operation

to guarantee.

According to the invention, the object is achieved in that the control unit is provided to stop the cable car drive upon receipt of a sensor signal corresponding to an open position of the safety barrier or to reduce a drive speed of the cable car drive, the safety barrier having a remote-controlled actuation unit which can be controlled by means of a remote control unit, in order to return the safety barrier from the open position in which the cable car drive is stopped or the drive speed is reduced to a closed position in which the cable car drive can be activated again or the drive speed can be increased again. As a result, it is no longer necessary, as was previously the case, for the operating personnel to manually return the safety barrier to the closed position, but this can now be done remotely. As a result, the drive can be completely stopped when the safety barrier is actuated, as has been customary up to now, or operation could also take place at a reduced speed, for example if there is no immediate risk of injury when entering the blocked area. After the remote controlled return of the safety barrier, the cable car drive can be reactivated, for example, from a control room within the cable car station, or the speed can be restored

increase.

The control unit is preferably provided, after the remote controlled return of the safety barrier from the open position to the closed position by the actuating unit, to automatically reactivate the cable car drive upon receipt of a sensor signal corresponding to the closed position or to increase the drive speed again. This essentially enables at least partially automated operation, because the remote-controlled closing of the safety barrier enables operation of the cable car to be resumed at the same time.

without having to be activated separately.

An alarm unit is preferably also provided in the cable car station and / or outside the cable car station in order to trigger a preferably optical and / or acoustic alarm when the open position of the safety barrier is detected by the sensor.

In this way, the operating personnel and / or possibly other passengers can be alerted.

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The actuation unit of the safety barrier can preferably be controlled wirelessly and / or wired via at least one stationary and / or portable remote control unit. For this purpose, at least one stationary and / or portable remote control unit is preferably arranged in the cable car station and / or outside the cable car station. The stationary and / or portable remote control unit is preferably arranged in a control room within the cable car station and / or in a central control room for several cable car stations. A mobile phone or a portable computer can advantageously be provided as the portable remote control unit. This enables a very flexible, locally independent control of the safety barrier to be created. As a result, it is no longer necessary for the operating personnel to reset the safety barrier personally, but this can be done from a control room or a central control room or from any location using a mobile device.

The sensor is preferably connected to the control unit in a wireless or wired manner. A wireless connection in particular creates a very simple system

created with little installation effort.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, a camera system with at least one camera and with an evaluation unit is provided as the sensor, at least the safety barrier being arranged in the recording area of the at least one camera, the evaluation unit being provided to evaluate the images recorded by the at least one camera in order to to recognize the opening state of the safety barrier and to send the sensor signal to the control unit. As a result, the opening state can be recognized by means of image recognition, which means that a separate sensor no longer has to be arranged directly on the safety barrier. In an advantageous manner, for example, more than one safety barrier can be connected to the

Camera system are monitored.

At least one camera is preferably provided in the cable car station, the at least one safety barrier being arranged in the recording area of the at least one camera, with a display unit in the cable car station, preferably in an operating room, and / or outside the cable car station, preferably a central operating room for several cable car stations Display of images and / or videos recorded by the camera is provided. This allows the operating staff to visually monitor the area of the safety barrier, e.g. from the control room, and to return the safety barrier to the closed position with the remote control unit, if

no more potential danger is recognized.

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Alternatively or additionally, a mechanical contact switch, inductive sensor, capacitive sensor, light barrier, laser sensor, magnetic sensor or ultrasonic sensor arranged in the area of the safety barrier can also be provided as the sensor. As a result, a suitable switch can be used depending on the application, for example a weather-resistant sensor can be used in an unprotected area. A redundant system could also be created if a further sensor is provided in addition to the camera system, as a result of which the failure safety and consequently the safety of the operation of the cable car can be increased.

This enables a relatively simple and robust system to be created.

The object is also achieved with a safety system in that the safety barrier has a remote-controlled actuation unit in order to move the safety barrier from an open position into a remote control unit

Returned closed position.

The object is further achieved with a method for operating a cable car in that the cable car drive is stopped by the control unit or a drive speed of the cable car drive is reduced when the safety barrier is moved from a closed position to an open position, the safety barrier being removed from the by means of a remote control unit Open position, in which the cable car drive is stopped or the drive speed is reduced, is returned to the closed position, in which the cable car drive can be activated again or the drive speed

can be increased again.

The present invention is explained in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, which are advantageous by way of example, schematically and not in a limiting manner

Shows embodiments of the invention. 1 shows a cable car station of a cable car in a plan view, and FIG. 2 shows a cable car station for three cable cars in a plan view

Fig. 3 several locally separated cable car stations for each one cable car with one

Central control room.

1 shows a cable car station 1 of a cable car S designed as a gondola lift. The basic structure and function of a cable car station 1 are known, which is why a detailed description is not given here. The representation is therefore greatly simplified and only the components essential for the invention are shown. The cable car S has several cable car vehicles F, which are moved with a hoisting rope 12. In the example shown, the cable car S is as

Run orbit, in which the cable car vehicles F fixed or detachable with the hoisting rope

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12 are coupled. The hoisting rope is deflected here by 180 ° around a revolving pulley 13 and is driven by the revolving pulley 13. For this purpose, a cable car drive 5, for example an electric drive, is provided, which drives the rotating pulley 13. Of course, this is only an example and several cable car stations 1 can also be provided in the cable car, for example two end stations and one or more middle stations, with a cable car drive 5 being provided in each cable car station. A deflection by less than 180 ° would also be fundamentally conceivable. As a rule, at least two cable car stations are usually provided, between which the cable car vehicles F travel, for example in order to transport people P and / or objects, with at least in

a cable car station 1, a cable car drive 5 is provided.

In the cable car station 1, a control unit 4 is provided, which is connected to the cable car drive 5 of the cable car S or is integrated therein. The control unit 4 can be used to control the cable car drive 5 in order to control the movement of the revolving pulley 13 and consequently the movement of the conveyor rope 12. As a result, the speed at which the cable car vehicles F are moved when they are connected to the hoisting rope 12 can be controlled. As is known, the cable car vehicles F of an orbit when entering a cable car station 1 can also be decoupled from the hoisting rope 12 in order to be able to move through the cable car station 1 at a mostly lower speed regardless of the speed of the hoisting rope 12. When leaving the cable car station 1, the cable car vehicles F can be coupled to the hoisting rope 12 again. As a result, a more comfortable boarding / disembarking in the cable car vehicles F within the cable car station 1 can be made possible and, due to the unchanged high speed of the hoisting rope 12, a high conveying capacity can nevertheless be achieved. In the uncoupled state, the cable car vehicles F can be guided, for example by means of rollers, on a guide rail (not shown) which is arranged in an upper region of the cable car station 1. The drive of the cable car vehicles F decoupled from the hoisting cable 12 during the movement within the cable car station 1 can for example take place via a known friction drive. In the context of the invention, the control unit 4 therefore controls not only the drive of the hoisting rope 12, but in particular also the drive of the

Cable car vehicles F in the uncoupled state within cable car station 1.

As a rule, an operating room 9 is also provided in a cable car station 1, from which the responsible operating personnel B controls the cable car, in particular the cable car drive 5. For this purpose, for example, a control desk 14 can be provided in the control room 9, for example in the form of a computer that is connected to the control unit 4. The control room 9 is usually arranged so that the operation of the cable car S

responsible operating personnel B the essential areas, in particular an input and / or

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Can see exit area. If an unforeseen event occurs which may endanger the safety of people, for example if a passenger falls when getting on / off a cable car F, the operating personnel B can intervene and the cable car drive 5 via the control panel 14

for example stop or at least reduce speed.

In a known manner, one or more openable safety barriers 2 can also be provided in the cable car station 1 in order to detect whether a person or an object is in an inadmissible manner in a certain area or is penetrating it. Such a safety barrier 2 is often arranged in areas which are particularly critical for safety, for example in the area of the cable car drive 5 of the cable car S, in which moving parts are located. A safety barrier 6 is often also arranged in an exit area of the cable car S, in which the cable car vehicles F are again with them

coupled to the hoisting rope 12 in order to increase the speed again.

In the exit area of a gondola lift, safety barrier 2 can be used, for example, to check the car's contour. The shape of the safety barrier 2 can be adapted, for example, in an essentially complementary manner to the outer contour of the cabins or a part thereof. In normal operation, the cable car vehicles F pass the safety barrier 2 with the smallest possible distance between the cabin and the safety barrier 2 transversely to the direction of travel, without the safety barrier 2 being actuated or triggered. However, certain dangerous situations can arise during operation of the cable car S, e.g. if a car door has not been locked or not fully locked, an object is jammed in the car door or a person is dragged along by the cable car, etc. In these cases, the outer contour of the car is correct , or a part of it, usually no longer matches the contour of the cabin in normal operation. As a result, the safety barrier 2 is actuated by being actuated or triggered, for example, through the car door protruding from the side (because it is not completely closed), the object or the person, and from one in normal operation

present closed position is shifted into an open position.

However, areas of a cable car station 1 can also be separated by means of a safety barrier 6, which are not critical in terms of personal safety or risk of injury, but to which, for example, access for external persons, e.g. passengers, is not permitted for operational reasons. Safety barriers 2 can be advantageous in particular in areas that are particularly relevant to safety and / or that are difficult to see by operating personnel B. In principle, many different elements can be used as the safety barrier 2 which are suitable for blocking a passage or a passage, for example doors, bars, etc. The

however, the specific design of a safety barrier 2 is irrelevant to the invention.

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In the example shown in FIG. 1, three safety barriers 2 are arranged. A safety barrier 2 is arranged here in the area of the cable car drive 5 below the rotating disk 13 in order to block access to the drive, in particular to the moving parts of the drive. To make the components easier to see, the rotating disk 13 is shown broken away in the area of the safety barrier. Another safety barrier 2 is arranged in the exit area of the cable car station 1, in which the cable car vehicles F are again coupled to the hoisting rope 12 in order to increase the speed of the cable car vehicles F from the low speed within the cable car station 1 to a relatively higher speed of the hoisting rope 12 increase. The safety barrier 2 in the exit area can be provided, for example, to check the contour of the cable car vehicles F, as explained above. The third safety barrier 2 is arranged adjacent to the control room 9 and separates the entry / exit area accessible to passengers from an area to which there is access

for external persons, especially passengers, is not permitted.

During normal operation of the cable car S, a safety barrier 2 is basically in a closed position in which the passage is blocked and can, for example, be moved from the closed position to an open position when actuated by a person or an object. Each safety barrier 2 is assigned a sensor 3 with which the opening state of the respective safety barrier 2 can be detected. The sensor 3 is connected to the control unit 4 and sends a sensor signal Y to the control unit 4 as a function of the opening state. The signal transmission can be wired or wireless. The control unit 4 processes the received sensor signal Y and controls the cable car drive 5 as a function of the sensor signal Y. In the simplest case, a mechanical contact switch, inductive sensor, capacitive sensor, light barrier, laser sensor, magnetic sensor or ultrasonic sensor arranged in the area of safety barrier 2 can be used as sensor 3 be provided, as on the safety barrier 2 in the area of the drive in FIG. 1

is indicated.

If the safety barrier 2 is actuated by moving it from the closed position to an open position, the sensor 3 detects the open position and sends a corresponding sensor signal Y to the control unit 4. In the simplest case, this can mean, for example, that the contact of a contact switch is interrupted. When the sensor signal Y corresponding to the open position is received, the control unit 4 can, for example, trigger an emergency stop of the cable car drive 5. This is particularly advantageous when a safety barrier 2 is actuated in an area that is particularly critical with regard to the risk of injury, for example in the area of the cable car drive

5 in Fig.1 or in the exit area of the cable car vehicles F from the cable car station 1. At

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less critical areas could, for example, simply reduce the

Speed of the cable car drive 5 take place.

Until now, when a safety barrier 2 was actuated, an emergency stop of the cable car S was usually triggered, for example because the safety barrier 2 in the exit area was actuated by a passenger who possibly wanted to board a cable car F too late. An actuation could, however, also take place, for example, from an object, such as an object jammed in the door of a cabin. The responsible operating personnel B has so far carried out a personal inspection of the area of the respective safety barrier 2 and identified the cause for the triggering of the safety barrier 2. When a proper state was determined or restored, the safety barrier 2 was manually closed. The cable car drive 5 was then reactivated manually by the same or a different person from the responsible operating staff B, usually from the control room 9 of the cable car station 1. Especially in the case of longer distances between the control room 9 and a safety barrier 2 and if the operation and monitoring is carried out, for example, only by one person of the operating personnel B, this can lead to relatively long waiting times until the operation of the cable car S resumes

can.

In the context of the invention, therefore, at least one safety barrier 2 is assigned a remote-controllable actuation unit 6 with which the safety barrier 2 can be moved back from the open position to the closed position without manual intervention by means of a suitable remote control unit 7. In the example according to FIG. 1, each of the three illustrated safety barriers 2 is assigned a remote-controllable actuating unit 6. “Remote control” or “remotely” in this context means in particular that the safety barrier 2 can be acted on by means of the actuation unit 6 in order to move the safety barrier 2 back from the open position to the closed position without the operator having to do this must be on site at the safety barrier 2. In the context of the invention, the closed position of the safety barrier 2 is generally understood to mean a position of the safety barrier 2 in the normal state in which unrestricted normal operation of the respective cable car S is possible. In the context of the invention, the open position is generally to be understood as any position of the safety barrier 2 which deviates from the closed position and which triggers restricted operation of the cable car S. The closed position and the

Open positions are detected by means of the at least one sensor 3.

A stationary remote control unit 7a, for example, can be provided as the remote control unit 7

be, for example, in the control room 9 of the cable car station 1 or in a room of

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the cable car separate control center is arranged and is operated by one person in the control room 9 or control center. A central control room 17 can be provided as the control center, for example, which is provided for controlling a number of locally separated cable cars, as will be explained in detail in FIG. The stationary remote control unit 7a can be integrated in the control desk 14, for example. However, a mobile remote control unit 7b could also be provided, by means of which the actuating unit 6 can be controlled locally independently of the control room 9, as indicated in FIG. 1 at the top left. For example, a suitable mobile phone, such as a smartphone or a suitable portable computer, such as a tablet computer or

similar.

The actuation unit 6 can, for example, have a suitable drive unit, such as an electric drive, via which the safety barrier 2 is reset. Of course, other drives, such as hydraulic, pneumatic, electromagnetic drives, are also possible. The actuation unit 6 can be controlled directly in that control signals are sent directly from the remote control unit 7 to the actuation unit 6. This signal transmission can take place wirelessly, for example via radio, or conventionally wired, e.g. via an electrical line. The control can, however, also take place indirectly centrally via the control unit 4 by sending the control signals from the remote control unit 7 to the control unit

4 are transmitted and the control unit 4 controls the actuation unit 6.

After the safety barrier 2 has been moved back into the closed position by the remote control unit 7, the closed position is detected by the sensor 3 and a corresponding sensor signal Y is transmitted to the control unit 4. This restores the operational state in which the cable car drive 5 can be started again or the speed can be increased again, for example by manual control by the operating personnel B. Preferably, the control unit 4 starts the cable car drive 5 upon receipt of the sensor signal corresponding to the closed position Y, however, automatically automatically or increases the speed of the cable car drive 5, depending on whether the drive was stopped when the safety barrier 2 was opened or whether the speed was merely reduced. It is important that a start of the cable car drive 5 or an increase in speed is only possible when the safety barrier 2 has been moved back into the closed position, that is, the safety barrier 2 has returned to its normal state. In the open position, this is not possible for safety reasons. Advantageously, the actuation unit 6 for closing the safety barrier 2 is only actuated after the operating personnel B has made sure that there is no danger in the area of the respective

Safety barrier 2 is no longer present.

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If, for example, the area of the activated safety barrier 2 cannot be viewed or can only be viewed with difficulty, it can be advantageous if the safety barrier 2 is monitored by a camera 10. The safety barrier 2 is arranged in the recording area of the camera 10 and the recorded images are transmitted, preferably in the form of a video, e.g. to a suitable display unit, e.g. to a monitor in the control room 9 or to the (e.g. stationary or mobile) remote control unit 7. The operating personnel B can then monitor the situation directly from the control room 9 or by means of the remote control unit 7 and move the safety barrier 2 into the closed position by means of the remote control unit 7 in order to put the cable car S back into operation, in particular to activate the cable car drive 5. As a result, an advantageous, partially automated operation of the cable car S can be achieved and the waiting times until the cable car S is started up can be achieved with the same safety

be shortened.

In the cable car station 1, an alarm unit 8 is preferably also provided which, when the sensor signal Y corresponding to the open position is received, triggers a preferably optical or acoustic alarm signal. Here, too, a direct, wireless or wired transmission of the sensor signal Y to the alarm unit 8 could take place or the alarm unit 8 can be controlled indirectly via the control unit 4, which receives the sensor signal Y. For example, a type of siren could be provided as the alarm unit 8 in order to signal the triggering of a safety barrier 2. For example, a signal lamp, for example a rotating beacon, could also be provided additionally or alternatively. A signal lamp can preferably be arranged for each safety barrier 2, so that the detection of the respectively activated safety barrier 2 is facilitated. An alarm unit 8 could, for example, also be arranged outside the cable car station 1, e.g.

in a central control room 17 (Fig. 3).

It is particularly advantageous if a camera system K is used as sensor 3, which has at least one camera 10 and an evaluation unit 11. The camera 10 is arranged in such a way that at least one safety barrier 2 is arranged in the recording area A of the at least one camera 10. If the spatial arrangement makes it possible, a plurality of safety barriers 2 can of course also be arranged in the recording area A of a camera 10, as is indicated by dashed lines in FIG. The evaluation unit 11 is provided to evaluate the images recorded by the at least one camera 10 in order to recognize the opening state of the safety barrier (s) 2 and to send a sensor signal Y corresponding to the opening state to the

Control unit 4 to send.

For this purpose, image recognition is implemented in the evaluation unit 11 in a known manner,

e.g. in the form of hardware and / or software which is designed to determine the opening state

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the respective safety barrier 2 to be detected. The use of such camera systems K is known in the prior art, for example under the term “machine vision” or “machine vision”. The evaluation unit 11 can, for example, form a unit with the camera 10 as shown, but could, for example, also be integrated in the control unit 4 or also be designed as a separate unit. By using a camera system K, for example, conventional sensors in the area of the safety barriers 2 can be dispensed with. In order to increase security, the camera system K and the sensors 3 could, however, also for reasons of redundancy

can be used in parallel.

Another advantageous embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to FIG. In Figure 2, a single cable car station 1 is shown for three cable cars S1-S3. Such a configuration can be advantageous, for example, in order to create a common boarding point from which passengers can be transported in several different directions. Here in cable car station 1, passengers can opt for a cable car S1- $ S3 and board the corresponding cable car F. By using a common, instead of three structurally separate cable car stations 1, a more cost-effective and space-saving design can be implemented. It is also possible to centrally control and close the cable cars S1- $ S3

monitor, whereby a simpler and cheaper operation can be achieved.

Previously, at least one person of the cableway personnel B was required for each cableway station 1 to control the cableway Si and to monitor the operation, so in the embodiment shown this is possible with a smaller number of people. In the example shown, therefore, only one control room 9 is provided, from which the three cable cars S1-S3 can be controlled via a central control unit 4. Each cable car S1-S3 is assigned its own cable car drive 5 in order to drive the respective revolving pulley 13 and to drive the cable car vehicles F, which are decoupled from the hoisting rope, within the cable car station 1. The cable car drives 5 are controlled by the central control unit 4, whereby, for example, the movement of the cable car vehicles F of the three cable cars S1- $ 3 can be synchronized or coordinated. The separate cable car drives 5 make it possible that not all cable cars S1-S3 always have to be in operation at the same time, but for example only one or two of the three cable cars S1- $ 3. Of course, a common cable car drive 5 could also be used for all

Cable cars S1- $ S3 are provided.

The exit areas of the cable cars S1-S3 are each assigned an openable safety barrier 2 which, according to the invention, has an actuation unit 6 which can be controlled by means of a remote control unit 7. Of course you could

but also only one safety barrier 2 can be provided, which can be remotely controlled

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Has actuating unit 6. The safety barriers 2 can be provided, for example, for checking the contour of the cabins of the cable car vehicles F, as explained at the beginning. The remote control unit 7 is arranged here in the form of a stationary remote control unit 7 a within the control room 9, in particular integrated into the control desk 14. The control desk 14 is connected to the central control unit 4 in order to control the cable car drives 5. A camera 10 of a camera system K, which functions as a sensor 3, is assigned to each safety barrier 2. The safety barrier 2 is in

The recording area A of the respective camera 10 is arranged.

The evaluation unit 11 of the camera system K is integrated in the control unit 4 here. As already described with reference to FIG. 1, the opening state of the safety barriers 2 is monitored by the camera system K by means of image recognition and a corresponding sensor signal Y is transmitted to the central control unit 4 when an open position of a safety barrier 2 is detected. Depending on the specific embodiment, the control unit 4, depending on the sensor signal Y, stops the cable car drives 5 of all cable cars S1- $ S3 or reduces their speed. With separate cable car drives 5, of course, only the respective cable car Si could be stopped or its speed could be reduced, at which the safety barrier 2

has been actuated.

In turn, one or more alarm units (not shown) are preferably provided inside and / or outside the cable car station 1 in order to signal the triggering of the safety barrier 2. In addition to a general alarm signal in the cable car station 1 in the form of a light or a siren, which is also perceptible to the passengers, the operating personnel B could also, for example, also display the respectively actuated safety barrier 2 in a suitable manner in the control room 9, for example on a monitor become. This allows a quicker response

take place because it can be recognized more quickly which safety barrier 2 has been actuated.

If not all of the safety barriers 2 can be seen from the control room 9, it is advantageous if the camera system K, in addition to its function as a sensor 3, is also used to display the situation to the operating personnel B in the control room 9 at least in the area of the triggered safety barrier 2, preferably as a Video transmission. As a result, it can be determined from the control room 9 whether a possible dangerous situation, such as a fallen person or a trapped object, has been eliminated and the respective safety barrier 2 can be moved back directly from the control room 9 into the closed position by means of the remote control unit 7b. The camera system K continues to monitor the safety barrier 2 and transmits a corresponding sensor signal Y to the control unit 4 when the closed position

was achieved. This restores the normal operating state in which the

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Cable car drive 5 of the respective cable car Si can, for example, be started again or the speed can be increased again, which can be done actively by operating personnel B from operating room 9, for example. In an advantageous embodiment, the control unit 4 controls the cable car drive (s) 5 automatically as a function of the received sensor signal Y upon receipt of the sensor signal Y in order to automatically restart the relevant cable car Si or all cable cars S1-S3

take or increase the speed again.

If the hazard potential continues to exist in the area of the triggered safety barrier 2, the operating personnel B can personally assess the situation in the area of the safety barrier 2 and restore the operationally safe state. In order to put the cable car Si or all cable cars S1-S3 back into operation as quickly as possible in this case, it can be advantageous if the safety barrier 2 is closed via a mobile remote control unit 7b (see, for example, FIG. 1) not shown in FIG can. It can be seen from this that the invention makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the operation of a cable car compared to conventional cable cars and, at the same time, to achieve a high level of operational reliability. According to a further advantageous embodiment, the remote controllability can also be used to close several of the safety barriers 2 in cable car stations 1 that are spatially separated from one another

actuate as explained below with reference to Fig. 3.

In FIG. 3, a part of a ski area is shown in a greatly simplified manner, through the valley of which a road 15 runs. There are three cable cars S1- $ S3 each with a first cable car station 1a in the form of a valley station and a second cable car station 1b in the form of a mountain station. Of course, further cable car stations 1 in the form of intermediate stations could also be provided in between. The cable cars S $ 1- $ 3 are designed as circulating railways and each have a large number of cable car vehicles F, which can be moved between the cable car stations 1a, 1b in a known manner by means of a hoisting rope 12 in order to transport people and / or objects from the valley station to the mountain station ( and vice versa). Between the cable car stations 1a, 1b, several cable car supports 16 are arranged in a known manner in order to guide the hoisting rope 12. Of course, the illustration is greatly simplified and only shows the features that are necessary for an understanding of the

Invention are essential.

In at least one cable car station 1a, 1b of each cable car S1- $ S3, a cable car drive 5 (not shown) is provided in order to drive the hoisting rope 12 by means of a revolving pulley 13 indicated by dashed lines. The cable car drive 5 is in turn controlled in each case by a control unit 4 (not shown), as has already been explained in detail

has been described. Due to the simpler installation, the cable car drive 5 is in the

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As a rule, the respective valley station 1a is provided. The structure and function of the cable cars S1- $ S3 has already been described with reference to Fig. 1 + Fig. 2, which is why at this point

will no longer be discussed in detail.

In the example shown, one or more safety barriers 2 (not shown) are provided in each of the cable car stations 1a, 1b of the three cable cars S1- $ S3, the functionality of which has already been described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. According to the invention, the safety barriers 2 each have an actuation unit 6 which can be controlled by means of one (or more) remote control unit / s 7 in order to move the safety barriers 2 from an open position after they have been triggered (in which the cable car drive 5 is interrupted or at least the speed is reduced). to be able to move back into a closed position (in which the cable car drive 5 can be activated again or the speed can be increased again). Of course, it would again be sufficient for the invention if a remote-controlled actuation unit 6 were assigned to only one safety barrier 2 of a cable car station Si. The remote-controlled relocation of the safety barrier (s) 2 by means of the remote control unit 7 and the subsequent start-up of the cable car drive 5 of the respective cable car Si can take place, for example, in separate steps. In an advantageous embodiment, the restarting could also take place automatically by the control unit 4 if the closed position of the safety barrier 2 was detected by the associated sensor 3 and a corresponding sensor signal Y from the respective control unit 4

was received.

In the example shown, a central control room 17 is provided as an alternative or in addition to any control rooms 9 (see FIGS. 1 + 2) provided within the cable car stations 1a, 1b. The central control room 17 is here locally separated from the cable car stations 1a, 1b of the cable cars S1-S3, for example in a separate building within the ski area. However, one of the control rooms 9 of the cable car stations 1a, 1b or a central control room 17 entirely outside the ski area could also be provided as the central control room 17. In the central control room 17, a stationary remote control unit 7a is provided, by means of which the operating units 6 of the safety barriers 2 of all cable car stations 1a, 1b of the cable cars S1- $ S3 can be remotely controlled in order to move the safety barriers 2 from an open position into a

Move back to the closed position.

Preferably, the cable car drive 5 can also be activated again from the central control room 17 after the closed position has been reached, or the speed can be increased again, for example by providing a central control desk (not shown) in the central control room 17, via which the control units 4 are controlled

can be. According to a preferred embodiment, the W restart takes place

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respective cable car drive 5 but automatically when the closed position of the safety barrier 2 is detected by the respective sensor 3 and a corresponding sensor signal Y has been transmitted to the control unit 4. By using a central control room 17, the cable cars S $ 1-S3 can be centrally controlled in an advantageous manner and at least partially automated operation of the cable cars S1-S3 can be achieved, so that no operating personnel B are present directly on site in the cable car stations 1a, 16

must be in order to close the safety barriers 2.

As an alternative or in addition to the illustrated stationary remote control unit 7a within the central control room 17, it would also be conceivable that the safety barriers 2 can in turn also be actuated by a mobile remote control unit 7b. As a result, the safety barriers 2 can be closed and, preferably, the respective cable car drive 5 can be started up, e.g. locally independently of the cable car stations 1a, 1b and the central control room 17, as indicated in FIG. The communication between the mobile remote control unit 7b and the control unit 4 of the respective cable car S1-S3 is preferably wireless, for example via a suitable radio link. A suitable mobile phone, in particular a smartphone and / or a portable computer, in particular a tablet computer, could, for example, be used as the mobile remote control unit 7b

be provided.

In order to be able to optically monitor the area of a safety barrier 2 even without the presence of operating personnel B in the cable car station 1a, 1b, it is advantageous if the area of the safety barrier 2 is monitored by means of a camera 10 (see FIG. 1), with the recorded images or Videos are presented on a display unit, preferably in real-time transmission. The display unit can for example be provided within the central control room 17, e.g. integrated in a central control panel in the form of a monitor. A suitable mobile remote control unit 7b could, for example, also serve as the display unit. As a result, if necessary, e.g. if a safety barrier 2 in one of the cable car stations 1a, 1b has been triggered and the cable car drive 5 has been stopped, the situation in the area of the triggered cable car can be checked via the display unit in the central control room 17 (or via the mobile remote control unit 7b)

Safety barrier 2 must be checked.

On the basis of the images or videos transmitted by the camera 10, it is easy to determine whether there is still a potential risk. If necessary, people from operating personnel B and / or emergency services can go to the site if, for example, passengers were injured when the safety barrier 2 was triggered. If it is determined on the basis of the transmitted images or videos that there is no longer any risk potential, the

Safety barrier 2 by means of the respective stationary and / or mobile remote control unit

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7a, 7b can be moved back into the closed position and the cable car drive 5 can

preferably restarted automatically.

If a mechanical contact switch, inductive sensor, capacitive sensor, light barrier, laser sensor, magnetic sensor, ultrasonic sensor, etc., arranged in the area of safety barrier 2 is provided as sensor 3 for detecting the opening state of safety barrier 2, a separate camera is used for optical monitoring of safety barrier 2 10 required. If a camera system K with at least one camera 10 and with an evaluation unit 11 is provided as the sensor 3, the camera 10 of the camera system K can advantageously also be used to transmit the recorded images and / or videos to the display unit. Due to the invention, it is therefore no longer necessary for operating personnel B to be permanently present in each cable car station 1a, 1b, but only, for example, when necessary, when disturbances in the operation of a cable car S $ 1-S3 occur that do not have a

Remote operation can be resolved.

Preferably, one or more alarm units 8 can again be provided inside and / or outside of the cable car stations 1a, 1b in order to trigger an alarm when a safety barrier 2 has been actuated. For example, alarm units 8 could be provided within the cable car stations 1a, 1b in order to signal the triggering of the safety barrier 2 to the passengers. Advantageously, however, an alarm unit 8 is also provided in the central operating unit 17 in order to signal to the operating personnel B by means of an alarm signal when a safety barrier 2 has been triggered and preferably also which safety barrier

2 was triggered.

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Claims (1)

15th 20th 25th 30th 35 1. DM-4171 AT Claims Cable car station (1) for at least one cable car ($ S) in which at least one openable safety barrier (2) is provided, with a sensor (3) being provided in the cable car station (1) for detecting an open state of the at least one safety barrier (2) , which sends a sensor signal (Y) to a control unit (4) of a cable car drive (5) depending on the opening state, the control unit (4) controlling the cable car drive (5) depending on the received sensor signal (Y), characterized in that the Control unit (4) is provided to stop the cable car drive (5) upon receipt of a sensor signal (Y) corresponding to an open position of the safety barrier (2) or to reduce a drive speed of the cable car drive (5), the safety barrier (2) being a remote-controlled actuation unit (6) which can be controlled by means of a remote control unit (7) in order to move the safety barrier (2) out of the open position in which the cable car drive (5) is stopped or the drive speed is reduced, returned to a closed position in which the cable car drive (5) can be activated again or the drive speed can be increased again. Cable car station (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (4) is provided after the remote controlled return of the safety barrier (2) from the open position to the closed position by the operating unit (6), the cable car drive (5) upon receipt of a to automatically reactivate the sensor signal (Y) corresponding to the closed position or the Increase drive speed again. Cable car station (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that an alarm unit (8) is provided in the cable car station (1) and / or outside the cable car station (1) in order to switch off when the open position of the safety barrier (2) is detected the sensor (3) to trigger a preferably optical and / or acoustic alarm. Cable car station (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the actuation unit (6) of the safety barrier (2) can be controlled wirelessly and / or wired via at least one stationary and / or portable remote control unit (7a, 7b), wherein preferably at least one stationary and / or portable remote control unit (7a, 7b) in the cable car station (1), preferably in a control room (9), and / or outside the cable car station (1), preferably in a central control room (17) for several cable car stations (1), is arranged. Cable car station (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the sensor (3) is connected to the control unit (4) in a wireless or wired manner. "18th 15th 20th 25th 30th 35 10. 11. 12th DM-4171 AT Cable car station (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a camera system (K) with at least one camera (10) and with an evaluation unit (11) is provided as the sensor (3), the at least one safety barrier (2 ) is arranged in the recording area (A) of the at least one camera (10), the evaluation unit (11) being provided to evaluate the images recorded by the at least one camera (10) in order to recognize at least the opening state of the safety barrier (2) and the sensor signal (Y) to the control unit (4) to send. Cable car station (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that at least one camera (10) is provided in the cable car station (1), the at least one safety barrier (2) in the recording area (A) of the at least one camera (10) ) is arranged, wherein in the cable car station (1), preferably in a control room (9), and / or outside the cable car station (1), preferably central control room (17) for several cable car stations (1), a display unit for displaying by the camera (10) recorded images and / or videos provided is. Cable car station (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a mechanical contact switch, inductive sensor, capacitive sensor, light barrier, laser sensor, Magnetic sensor or ultrasonic sensor is provided. Safety system for a cable car station (1), with an openable safety barrier (2), with a sensor (3) for detecting an open state of the safety barrier (2) and for generating a sensor signal (Y) depending on the opening state, characterized in that the safety barrier (2) has a remotely controllable operating unit (6) to the safety barrier (2) with a Remote control unit (7) returned from an open position to a closed position. Safety system according to Claim 9, characterized in that the safety system has an alarm unit (8) to generate a preferably optical alarm when the open position of the safety barrier (2) is detected by the sensor (3) and / or trigger an acoustic alarm. Security system according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that the security system has a stationary and / or mobile remote control unit (7a, 7b) for Has control of the actuation unit (6) of the safety barrier (2). Security system according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that as a sensor (3) a camera system (K) with at least one camera (10) and with one Evaluation unit (11) is provided, the at least one safety barrier (2) "19th the at least one camera (10) is arranged in the recording area (A), the evaluation unit (A) being provided to evaluate the images recorded by the at least one camera (10) in order to determine the opening state of the safety barrier (2) and generate the sensor signal (Y). 5 13. Security system according to one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that the security system has at least one camera (10) and a display unit for displaying images and / or videos recorded by the camera (10), wherein the at least one safety barrier ( 2) in the receiving area (A) of the at least one Camera (10) is arranged. 10 14. Safety system according to one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that a mechanical contact switch, inductive sensor, capacitive sensor, light barrier, laser sensor, which is arranged in the area of the safety barrier (2) is used as the sensor (3) Magnetic sensor or ultrasonic sensor is provided. 15. Method for operating at least one cable car (S) with at least one 15 cable car station (1) in which an openable safety barrier (2) is arranged, an opening state of the safety barrier (2) being monitored, a cable car drive (5) of the at least one cable car ($) being controlled by a control unit (4 ) is controlled, characterized in that the cable car drive (5) is stopped by the control unit (4) 20 or a drive speed of the cable car drive (5) is reduced when the safety barrier (2) is moved from a closed position to an open position, whereby the safety barrier (2) is moved by means of a remote control unit (7) from the open position in which the cable car drive (5 ) is stopped or the drive speed is reduced, is returned to the closed position, in 25 which the cable car drive (5) can be activated again or the drive speed can be increased again. 16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that the cable car drive (5) is automatically reactivated by the control unit (4) or the drive speed of the cable car drive (5) is increased again when the 30 Safety barrier (2) into the closed position using the remote control unit (7) was returned. 17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that when the safety barrier (2) is opened, a preferably optical and / or acoustic alarm in the Cable car station (1) and / or outside the cable car station (1) is triggered. 35 18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that the Safety barrier (2) via a, preferably in a control room (9) of the "20th 10 15th 19th 20th DM-4171 AT Cable car station (1) and / or in a central control room (17) for several cable car stations (1) outside the cable car station (1) arranged stationary remote control unit (7a) or via a portable remote control unit (7a), preferably a Cell phone or portable computer is controlled. Method according to one of Claims 15 to 18, characterized in that the opening state of the safety barrier (2) is monitored with a camera system (K), with at least one camera (10) providing images of the safety barrier arranged in the recording area (A) of the camera (10) (2) are recorded and the images are evaluated by an evaluation unit (11) by means of image recognition in order to achieve the To recognize the opening state. Method according to one of Claims 15 to 19, characterized in that images and / or videos of the safety barrier (2) arranged in the recording area (A) of the camera (10) are recorded by at least one camera (10) and on one, preferably in an operating room (9) of the cable car station (1) and / or a display unit arranged in a central control room (17) outside the cable car station (1) are displayed. "21