AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION INVENTION TITLE: CHAIR FOR A CHAIRLIFT The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 08/09/09,va 18130 covpag speci, I la The invention relates to a chair of a chair lift having seats with a seat surface and with a protective bar which extends transversely over the seats and can be pivoted from an open position into a closed position. 5 The invention furthermore relates to a chair lift with chairs of this type. Chairs for chair lifts have at least one seat, generally up to eight or more, for example ten, seats 10 located next to one another. In order to prevent the passengers from falling out from or slipping off the chair, said chairs have protective bars which go over the entire width of the chair. Said protective bars can be pivoted from a position in which they are located 15 above the passengers (open position) into a position in which a crossbar extends in front of the passengers over the thighs thereof (closed position). In addition, footrests are also frequently provided on the protective bars. 20 Since, in accordance with the regulations, the distance between the protective bar and seat surfaces is dimensioned in such a manner that even tall passengers having longer legs have a comfortable amount of space 25 under the protective bar, said distance is generally too large for shorter people, and therefore said shorter people may slip through under the crossbar, in particular if, due to their shorter legs, they cannot support their feet on the footrests. 30 In order to reduce this slipping-through risk for smaller people, it is known from AT 411 523 B and AT 411 946 B to arrange securing parts, in particular protective panels, on the protective bars, said 35 securing parts, in the closed position of the protective bar, extending in the direction towards the center of the front edge of the respective seat surfaces. After the protective bar has been pivoted into its closed position, said securing parts are - 2 located between the passengers' thighs. One problem which may occur in this case is that, when the protective bar is closed, a securing part may press against a passenger's thigh if the passenger is not 5 sitting correctly on his seat. In addition, irrespective of whether a securing part is or is not present, there is the risk of a passenger sitting on the transition region from one seat to another and then his leg possibly being pinched by a support tube of a 10 footrest, said support tube extending downwards between a passenger's legs or between two seats. The invention is based on the object of providing a chair of the generic type mentioned at the beginning 15 which avoids said risks. This object is achieved according to the invention in that separating elements rising over the seat surfaces are arranged between the seat surfaces. 20 Preferred and advantageous embodiments of the transporting means according to the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims. 25 The separating elements make it possible for a passenger to notice immediately if he is sitting in the transition region from one seat to an adjacent seat. He will then immediately correct his sitting position even before the protective bar is pivoted into its closed 30 position. The passenger's legs are then automatically in a position in which unpleasant collisions with the securing part or the support tube for the footrests are largely avoided. However, even in the case of chairs of chair lifts which have neither securing parts nor 35 footrests, the separating elements are helpful, since they assist the passengers in finding a correct sitting position on their seat.
-3 It is particularly preferred if separating elements likewise rising over the seat surfaces are arranged next to the seat surfaces of the two outer seats in the region of the boundary of the chair. 5 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the separating elements have an upper side, the height of which is greater in relation to the seat surfaces in a front region located in the region of a front edge of 10 the seat surfaces than in a region located therebehind. As mentioned above, it is generally important for the passengers' legs to be in a largely correct position. The passengers' bottom is then also automatically approximately in the center of the seat. As a result of 15 the fact that the height of the separating elements is greater in the front region than in the region located further to the rear, the passengers' legs are largely correctly positioned in each case. On the other hand, some passengers who are somewhat wider could find it 20 annoying if the separating elements press into their bottom even when they are in the correct sitting position. This is prevented by the separating elements being lower in the rear region. 25 In this case, provision could be made for the separating elements not to protrude over the seat surface at all in the central region and in particular in the rear region. However, it is preferred in the invention if the separating elements also protrude 30 somewhat over the seat surface in the central and rear regions, since the passengers, both when sitting down and also during the journey, keep the positive feeling of sitting correctly because of the relatively low height without this being found annoying. 35 In order to achieve this purpose, within the context of the invention, the height of the upper side of the -4 separating elements in relation to the seat surface can decrease continuously to the rear. However, the height of the upper side of the separating 5 elements in relation to the seat surface can also decrease discontinuously to the rear. This embodiment can preferably be developed by the height of the upper side of the separating elements in relation to the seat surfaces decreasing initially continuously or 10 discontinuously to the rear and subsequently running substantially parallel to the seat surfaces. Since seat surfaces are generally not completely flat but rather have a curvature or bulge to a greater or 15 lesser extent, with these embodiments of the invention, the separating element according to the invention can also be optimally matched to the respective shape of the seat surface. 20 In the invention, it is preferred if the width of the separating elements decreases upwards and in particular if the separating elements have side surfaces which, at least in some regions, are concavely curved. As an alternative or in addition thereto, within the context 25 of the invention, seat surfaces can be convexly curved at least in some regions or can be rectilinear at least in some regions. Irrespective of the profile of the side surfaces, it is preferred if the upper side of the separating elements is rounded over the entire length 30 thereof or at least in some sections. Although it would be possible within the context of the invention to design the separating elements, for example, to be relatively narrow and to have parallel 35 side walls, the above-described embodiments are preferred, since the side walls then have a shape which is found to be more pleasant for the passenger if he touches the separating elements.
- 5 Since the separating elements are intended to have an annoying but not too unpleasant effect on a passenger in the event of a collision therewith, it is 5 furthermore preferred if the separating elements are at least partially composed of an elastically deformable material. Depending on the embodiment of the invention, separating elements can be entirely or partially composed of a relatively soft material, for example 10 foam or the like, or of a relatively hard material, or of a combination of such materials. Within the context of the invention, the separating elements can be connected to the chair releasably or 15 nonreleasably. Further features and advantages of the invention emerge from the description below of a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention with reference to the 20 drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a chair according to the invention in side view, Fig. 2 shows a section of the chair from the front 25 with the protective bar closed, Fig. 3 shows the section from Fig. 2 from above with the protective bar open, Fig. 4 shows a section through a seat with a separating element according to the invention, 30 Fig. 5 shows the separating element according to the invention in an oblique view, Fig. 6 shows another oblique view of the separating element according to the invention, Fig. 7 shows a view of the separating element 35 according to the invention from the rear, Fig. 8 shows a side view of the separating element according to the invention, - 6 Fig. 9 shows a section through the separating element according to the invention along the line IX-IX in Fig. 8, and Fig. 10 shows a section through the separating element 5 according to the invention along the line X-X in Fig. 8. Fig. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a chair 1 according to the invention which, as is known per se, has a frame 10 2 which is coupled via a joint 3 with a supporting rod 4 and a clamping device 5 to a traction cable 9. The chair 1 has a plurality of seats 14 which are located next to one another and have a seat surface 6 and a backrest 7. In order to prevent passengers falling from 15 the chair 1, a protective bar 8 can be moved from an upper and open position (illustrated in Fig. 1) into a lower and closed position (likewise illustrated in Fig. 1) . The protective bar 8 can be closed and opened either automatically with the aid of a mechanism 15, 20 which interacts with a device (not illustrated) provided in the stations, or manually by the passengers. In addition, the chair may also have a hood 16. 25 With the aid of the closed and encircling traction cable 9 (merely indicated in Fig. 1), the chairs 1 are conveyed from a valley station (not illustrated in the drawings), if appropriate via one or more intermediate stations, to a mountain station and back again. In this 30 case, the chairs 1 can either be decoupled from the traction cable 9 and coupled again to the latter in the stations with a clamping device 5, as illustrated by way of example in Fig. 1, or it is also possible for the chairs to be clamped fixedly to the traction cable 35 9. So that the passengers, whose thighs 17, 18, 19 are illustrated symbolically in Figs 2 and 3, take up a -7 correct position on the seats 14, separating elements 11 according to the invention are fitted between the seats 14 and rise over the seat surface 6 of the seats 14. It is desirable and required for the passengers to 5 take up a correct sitting position in particular if additional devices for protecting or for the comfort of the passengers are fitted to the protective bar. A device for protecting the passengers may be, for example, a securing part, in particularly a protective 10 panel 12, which, in the closed position of the protective bar 8, extends between the passengers' thighs 17, 18, 19 and prevents in particular shorter people, such as children, from slipping through under the protective bar 8. However, it is important for this 15 purpose that the protective panels 12 are arranged between the passengers' thighs 17, 18, 19, which, in turn, presupposes a correct sitting position of the passengers on the seats 14. In addition, in particular when the protective bar 8 is closed automatically, the 20 protective panel 12 is to be prevented from pressing onto a passenger's thigh 17, 18, 19 because the passenger is not sitting correctly on his seat 14 and, when the protective bar 8 is closed, one thigh 17, 18, 19 is entirely or partially located under the 25 protective panel 12. Other devices which serve for the comfort of the passengers may be, for example, footrests (not illustrated) which are likewise fastened to the protective bar 8 via support tubes and, in the closed position of the protective bar 8, protrude 30 downwards either between a passenger's legs or between the individual seats 14 and therefore between the legs of passengers sitting next to one another. In this case too, when the protective bar 8 is closed, the support tubes are to be prevented from pressing onto a 35 passenger's leg if said passenger is not in the correct sitting position.
- 8 By means of the separating elements 11 according to the invention, a passenger notices immediately if he is not sitting correctly in the center of a seat 14, and therefore he can correct his sitting position even 5 before the protective bar 8 is automatically or manually closed. As mentioned, it is particularly important for the legs to be arranged correctly in the region of a front edge 10 20 of the seat surfaces 6, in which region the support tubes and/or the protective panels 12 are located here. For this reason, the separating elements 11 have a greater height in a front region or section 21 located in the region of the front edge 20 than in the central 15 region 22 located therebehind and in the end region 23. As a result of the fact that the central region 22 and the rear region 23 are lower than the front region 21, it is also avoided that people not quite sitting in the center of a seat 14 or people who are somewhat taller 20 or wider and therefore require the entire seat width and therefore touch the separating elements 11 on one or both sides, find this unpleasant. This problem does not arise in the front region, and therefore the greater height thereof does not have a negative effect 25 on how the passengers feel. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated, the separating element 11 therefore has a front region 21 raised to a great extent in relation to the seat surface 11, a 30 lower region 22 which is located therebehind and runs substantially parallel to the seat surface 6, and a rear region 23 which, in turn, runs in a manner sloping down as far as the end 24. 35 Theoretically, it would also be possible for the separating elements 11 to have a substantially straight upper side or upper edge 26 running substantially parallel to the seat surface 6, since, because of the -9 generally rounded portion of the seat surface 6 in the region of the front edge 20, the upper edge 26 is automatically at a greater height in relation to the rounded and sloping section of the seat surface 6 5 located directly thereunder than in the sections located therebehind and having a substantially flat seat surface 6, since the effect according to the invention will also occur here. However, it is preferred, within the context of the invention, if the 10 upper side 26 of the front region 21 is also raised with respect to the actual, substantially flat seat region of the seat surface 6 in relation to those sections 22 and 23 of the upper side 26 which are located therebehind. 15 In order for a passenger to find contact with the separating elements 11 according to the invention to be as pleasant as possible, in the embodiment illustrated the separating element 11 has a substantially 20 triangular or trapezoidal cross-sectional shape in which the side surfaces 25 are additionally arched somewhat concavely inwards. In addition, the separating element 11 is rounded on the upper side 26. 25 In addition, in order to get passengers, in particular children, to spread their legs apart somewhat and to sit down correctly on the seats 14 so that the protective panel 12 can easily be arranged between the legs, a central region 13 may be arranged in the region 30 of the front edge 20 of each seat or at least some seats 14, said region differing with regard to its graphical design from the regions arranged laterally next thereto. Said central region may be a marking 13, for example a graphic, in particular a picture, a 35 pattern, a logo, for example a company logo, or the like. In a simple embodiment, the marking 13 may constitute a geometrical figure of greater or lesser simplicity (for example a circle, cross, triangle, - 10 square or line) which already per se identifies the region to be free. The marking may also be for example, a picture of a comic figure or of a mascot in order, in particular, to motivate children to leave said region free by their attention being drawn, at least as they get into the chair 1, to the picture and being prompted to sit 5 down correctly on the seat 14 and to spread their legs apart somewhat For the fastening of the separating elements 1I according to the invention between the seats 14 on the chair 1, the lower side of said separating elements has a web 27 on which fastening tabs 28 are arranged on both sides. With the fastening tabs 28, 10 the separating elements are screwed down on the chair, the fastening tabs 28 subsequently being covered by the seat cushions located thereon. In summary, an exemplary embodiment of the invention can be depicted as follows: A chair I of a chair left has seats 14 with a seat surface 6 and a protective bar 8 15 which extends transversely over the seats 14 and can be pivoted from an open position into a closed position. Separating elements 1 rising over the seat surfaces 6 are arranged between the seat surfaces 6. By means of the separating elements 11, a passenger notices immediately if he is sitting in the transition region from one seat 14 to an adjacent seat 14. He will then immediately correct his sitting position even 20 before the protective bar 8 is pivoted into its closed position. 08/09/09,va 18130 plO speci,10