EP0114129B2 - Departure regulator for gripping cable cars or cable chairs - Google Patents

Abstract

Gondola lift or chairlift with carriages supporting a gondola or a chair and having a grip for coupling on a continuously moving cable. In the terminals the carriages uncoupled from the cable run without stopping on a transfer rail. The carriages are regularly spaced and the transfer rail comprises a rail section equipped with a rhythm device which controls the release of the carriages at regular time intervals.

Description

The invention relates to an overhead cable transport installation according to the preamble of claim 1.

Installations of the kind mentioned, in particular the detachable gondolas or chairlifts, have the advantage of a distribution of loads along the cable and of boarding and disembarking of passengers at low speed. In the stations, the cabins are uncoupled from the cable, the latter running continuously at maximum constant speed. The spacing of the cabins on the cable is fixed by the cadence or the rhythm of the departures at the start of the installation, but during operation shifts are inevitable and the installation no longer works under optimal conditions, in this case at regular and maximum flow. It is possible to remedy this drawback by building up a stock of cabins at the station, which compensates for irregularities and allows regular successive departures. This stock implies a stoppage of the cabins which is accompanied by unpleasant shocks and disturbs the regular functioning of the whole.

The document FR-A-2172615 describes a transport installation of the type set out in the preamble of claim 1. Such an installation comprises a timing section for positioning in space and over time the vehicles opposite the loading or loading stations. unloading, especially of materials. The vehicles are driven in the station by a rotating cylinder with which an adjustable roller fixed to the vehicle cooperates, the orientation of which determines the speed of the vehicle. The timing system acts on the orientation of the roller to reposition a vehicle early or late. Differences in orientation of the rollers generate significant variations in the driving speeds and therefore offsets between the vehicles after their repositioning are inevitable. This system is complicated and does not ensure regular staggering of vehicles along the line.

The object of the present invention is to allow the realization of a gondola, chairlift or similar installation with continuous operation in which the regular staggering of the cabins along the line is kept automatically for the entire duration of operation, the timing being achieved. by simple means.

The installation according to the invention is characterized in that a cadence deviation detector disposed before the timing section delivers a deviation signal to a processing block controlling a change in speed of the cabin to restore the predetermined cadence.

The invention is based on the observation that the deviations occurring during a journey are relatively limited, only the cumulation of these deviations being annoying and that these deviations can be compensated for by a simple timing device preserving the continuous circulation of the cabins in the station.

The deviation detector measures the value of the advance or delay of the vehicle and programs the speed change of the vehicle to bring the latter at the exit of the timing section to the correct position.

The timing section coincides with or belongs to a speed change section, preferably from the cabin acceleration zone before coupling to the cable. A deviation detector programs the acceleration cycle to compensate for this deviation and restore uniform distribution. This provision requires a more elaborate acceleration control but does not impose any traffic constraints in the stations.

The invention is described in the present specification as being applied to a monocable or bicable gondola, but it is applicable to any transporter with passive vehicles, in particular to detachable chairlifts, gondolas and the like. The drive means can be of any type, identical or different, for example with fixed friction rollers, endless chains or belts, propellants, etc.

A timing device can be arranged in each station to ensure a regular distribution on each of the strands of the cable, but in some installations the differences are small enough to require a single timer in one of the stations. According to the invention, the timer is then provided at the arrival of the least used strand to ensure a regular distribution on the most loaded strand.

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique en perspective d'une station équipée d'un cadenceur d'un type connu en soi;
• les figures 2a et 2b montrent le cadenceur de la fig. 1, à échelle agrandie, en fonctionnement normal;
• les figures 3a et 3b correspondent aux fig. 2a et 2b pour une cabine en retard;
• les figures 4a et 4b correspondent aux fig. 2a et 2b pour une cabine en avance;
• la figure 5 est une vue schématique en élévation d'un cadenceur selon l'invention:
• les figures 6, 7, 8 représentent les courbes d'accélération respectivement d'une cabine normale, en retard et en avance, du dispositif selon la fig. 5.

Other advantages and characteristics will emerge more clearly from the description which follows of the embodiment of the invention, given by way of nonlimiting example and represented in the appended drawings, in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a station equipped with a timer of a type known per se;
• Figures 2a and 2b show the timer in fig. 1, on an enlarged scale, in normal operation;
• Figures 3a and 3b correspond to Figs. 2a and 2b for a late cabin;
• Figures 4a and 4b correspond to Figs. 2a and 2b for an early cabin;
• FIG. 5 is a schematic elevation view of a timer according to the invention:
• Figures 6, 7, 8 show the acceleration curves respectively of a normal cabin, late and early, of the device according to FIG. 5.

In the figures, an overhead cable 10 of a gondola extends between two end stations, passing through the stations on end pulleys 12, one of which drives the cable continuously. The tee The cabin shown is of the single cable type, the cable 10 being a carrying cable - tractor, but the invention applies to a two-cable installation as well as to chairlifts and cable-cars. At the entrance 16 to the station, the cabins 14 are uncoupled from the cable 10 and run on a transfer rail 18 at reduced speed allowing passengers to disembark and embark. At the exit 20 from the station, the cabin 14 is accelerated by a gravity launching device or by positive drive, in particular with rollers 22, before being coupled to the cable 10. Only one of the stations is shown in FIG. 1, the other possibly being identical. The deceleration of the cabin 14, uncoupled from the cable 10 at the input 16 of the station, is achieved by a train of rollers 24 frictionally engaging the carriage 26 for supporting the cabin 14. A transfer chain 28 with cleats drive 30 extends along the transfer rail 18 in a closed circuit and is driven at a given speed by any means, for example a motor. The chain 28 propels the stoppers 30 the cabins 14 on the rail 18 along the landing and boarding quays. Such a gondola is well known and it is unnecessary to describe it in more detail.

The last rollers of the deceleration train 24, for example the last four rollers 32, are driven at a constant speed V ₁ and define a timing section C, along the decelerating section D proper, defined by the other rollers 24. The chain 28 extends along the timing section C, the running speed V ₂ being slightly higher than that V ₁ imposed by the rollers 32. The drive by the chain 28 has priority in the sense that the rollers 32, for example with freewheel, are unable to oppose the driving of the cabin 14 at fast speed V ₂ . It is easy to understand that the tabs 30 regularly distributed along the chain 28, traveling at continuous speed V ₂ , regularly present the cabins 14 in the acceleration zone A to couple the cabins at regular spacing along the cable 10.

In normal operation, the uniform distribution is preserved and the assembly is arranged so that a cabin 14 uncoupled from the cable 10 and slowed down moves at slow speed V ₁ over the first half of the timing section C (fig. 2a) while being driven. by the rollers 32. A cleat 30 of the chain 28 moving at the higher speed V ₂ catches up and propels the cabin at high speed V ₂ over the other half of the timing section C. This rapid training is authorized by the free wheels of the rollers 32.

If during the journey the cabin 14 has taken a delay (fig. 3a, b) the cleat 30 catches up with the cabin before the half-way, possibly from the start of the timing section C if this delay is maximum. The cabin crosses the entire section C at high speed V ₂ by catching up. Conversely, a forward cabin travels at slow speed V ₁ on the section C, the cleat 30 only catching up with it at the end of the journey in the extreme case (FIG. 4a, b). The passage on the timing section C restores the regular distribution without stopping the cabs, the slight jerks when taken over by the cleat 30 can be amortized by any appropriate means. The length of the timing section C is sufficient to compensate for the maximum deviations likely to occur and it is adapted to the admissible differential speed. The combination of the timing section C and the decelerating section D facilitates the implementation, but it is obvious that the slow speed training can result from any other means of propulsion. The chain 28 has the advantage of perfect synchronism of the movements of all the cleats 30, but any other operating drive means can be used. At the end of the timing section C the cabin can be taken care of by another means of propulsion.

In the majority of cases the differences in distribution are small and it suffices to equip one of the two stations with a timing device, which is preferably arranged at the arrival of the strand of the least used cable.

Referring now to FIG. 5, which represents an embodiment of the invention, it can be seen that the timing section C is merged or included in the acceleration section A constituted by the train of rollers 22 driven in rotation by a variable speed electric motor 34 piloted by a control block 36. FIG. 6 represents the curve of variation of the tangential speed of the rollers 22 and consequently of the speed of the cabin 14 accelerated as a function of position "d" of the latter on the AC section in normal operation. At the entrance to this section AC is arranged a passage detector 38 of a cabin driven by the chain 28, which supplies a signal to the control unit 36. The latter receives a timing signal by a clock 40 and generates a signal d 'deviation when the booth comes early or late to the timing signal. The deviation signal modifies the control of the motor 34 to achieve an acceleration of the type shown in FIG. 7 in the event of delay, and of the type according to FIG. 8 in the event of advance. The time required for the journey of the section A-C is obviously less in the case of FIG. 7, where the acceleration occurs from the start of the section C, which allows catching up of the delay. In the case of FIG. 8, the acceleration takes place at the end in order to carry out the resetting in cadence. At the end of the section A-C, a control rail 42 causes the clamp to be coupled to the cable 10, the cabins being regularly distributed. Such a timer is preferably arranged at the outlet of the most used strand.

The timer can also be associated with the decelerator device 24, the embodiment resulting from the previous presentation. This arrangement nevertheless requires an elaborate device for driving the decelerating rollers. It is also conceivable without departing from the scope of the invention to insert, for example between the end of the chain 28 and the accelerator device, an independent timer.

Claims (2)

1. Overhead cable (10) transport installation with a continuously moving cable and loads, such as gondolas (14) or chairs coupled by detachable grips staggered along the line on said cable, said gondolas being uncoupled from the cable at the terminal entrance (16) for running on a transfer rail (18) before the coupling on the cable at the terminal exit (20), the space between the gondolas (14) on the line being given by the frequence of the departure and the travel path of the gondolas between the uncoupling and coupling sections in the terminal comprising a rhythm section (C) with continuously moving, equipped with a rhythm device (22) which may vary the travel time of the gondolas on said rhythm section (C) to impose a regular moving rhythm of the gondolas, characterized in that a rhythm difference detector (38) located before the rhythm section (C) sends a difference signal to a control block (36) which controls a speed change of the gondola to restore the set rhythm.

2. Installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the rhythm section (C) corresponds to the gondola (14) acceleration section (A) at the terminal exit (20) before coupling to the cable (10).

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