EP0227508B1 - Funicular transport installation with a safety device for emergency braking for at least one of the transport vehicles - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a transport installation on a guide track, in particular a railroad track or the like, using one or more cars on a route of the order of a few hundred meters, in which the or each car is driven the along said guide track by a cable, a conveyor, conveyor belts or the like; the invention relates more particularly to an improvement to a known type of car designed for this use and making it possible to cause reliable emergency braking, if necessary.

PCT patent application No. WO-A-81/02275 describes a transport installation by car (s) capable of accommodating a limited number of passengers (for example of the order of ten) and designed to transport these passages over average distances of the order of a few hundred meters.

In such an installation, a cable is permanently driven in a closed circuit along the track and the car or cars come to hang there momentarily by suitable clamping means, to be driven from one point to another.

According to the prior document, mentioned above, the force applied by the clamping means on the cable is representative of the load of the car, so that the setting in motion of the latter is always felt in the same way, in particular with the same acceleration, regardless of the number of passengers in the car. To do this, the or each car consists of two parts, respectively a rolling chassis, subject to moving on the track and a cabin suspended above the chassis by a set of links attached to a mechanism summing forces, forming weighing means. Furthermore, this same mechanism is coupled to the cable clamping means, so that on the clamping force developed by them, is representative of the cabin load, that is to say the number of passengers having taken place on board. This arrangement ensures a progressive departure of the car when the clamping means (in the form of braked pulleys approaching one another) close again by clamping the cable. When the car arrives at the station, the clamping means are released under the action of a cam actuating a lever integral with these and the car is slowed down when one or more braked wheels thereof come into operation. friction contact with a succession of decelerating bands traveling at increasingly low speeds.

According to another advantageous feature of the known system, the wheel braking means are also coupled to the force summing mechanism forming weighing means, so that the deceleration of the car is relatively independent of the load of the cabin.

This installation works completely satisfactorily but, in order to be able to envisage its operation under almost automatic conditions, even without supervision, a certain number of safety devices are necessary and in particular emergency braking means triggered when an abnormal operation is detected. Thus, patent FR-A-2 350 326 describes a vehicle on rail comprising braking means and release means capable, when they are actuated, of causing the vehicle to collapse, causing the braking means to be used. .

The invention provides such a type of improvement ensuring emergency braking with excellent operating reliability, this improvement being advantageously combined with the structure of the car defined above and in particular with the aforementioned weighing means.

In this spirit, the invention relates first of all to a transport installation on a guide track comprising at least one car capable of being driven along a track, said car comprising a chassis rolling on said track and a suspended cabin. to said chassis by a set of links attached to a force summing mechanism, characterized in that said cabin comprises braking means and that said force summing mechanism comprises means for releasing said links, capable, when they are actuated , cause the collapse of said cabin, causing the implementation of said braking means.

In the case where the or each cabin is driven by a cable or the like circulating along the track, the force summing mechanism is coupled to cable tightening means, integral with said car so that the force exerted by said clamping means is representative of the forces transmitted to said summing mechanism.

The invention also relates to a particular embodiment of such a mechanism summing forces, well adapted to exercise moreover the desired security organ function. Thus, this mechanism comprises a transverse shaft mounted with the possibility of rotation on the chassis and at the ends of which the shaft are fixed means for winding the aforementioned links. These are wound on said corresponding winding means, at the rate of two links for each end of said shaft so that the moments of the resulting couples are added. In addition, a sleeve is mounted coaxially with the shaft and a disconnectable coupling mechanism is arranged between the shaft and the sleeve to secure them while the cable tightening means are connected to the sleeve so as to develop thereon. ci a torque balancing the total torque exerted on the shaft under the action of said links, when the sleeve is integral with the shaft. In case of necessity, the coupling between the shaft and the sleeve is broken by a controlled release member, located on the track and the cabin, deprived of its suspension, collapses and stops over a relatively short distance since the uncoupling between the tree and the sleeve also causes the loosening of the clamping means engaged on the cable.

• -la figure 1 est une vue schématique en élévation de la partie inférieure de la voiture montrant en particulier le châssis roulant sur la voie, la représentation étant faite selon une coupe 1-1 de la figure 2;
• -la figure 2 est une vue de dessus montrant les principaux éléments du châssis roulant, la représentation étant faite selon une coupe II-II de la figure 1;
• -la figure 3 est une vue de détail selon la flèche III de la figure 2;
• -la figure 4 est une vue de détail selon la flèche IV de la figure 2;
• -la figure 5 est une vue de détail en perspective d'un mécanisme d'accouplement d'un arbre avec manchon, conforme à l'invention;
• -la figure 6 est une vue de détail, à plus grande échelle, d'un organe de déclenchement susceptible de coopérer avec le mécanisme d'accouplement de la figure 5; et
• -la figure 7 est une vue de détail illustrant une variante possible des moyens de freinage d'urgence agencés entre la cabine et le châssis roulant de la voiture.

The invention will be better understood and other advantages thereof will appear more clearly in the light of the following description of a currently preferred embodiment of an installation in accordance with its principle, given solely by way of example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view of the lower part of the car showing in particular the chassis rolling on the track, the representation being made in a section 1-1 of FIG. 2;
• FIG 2 is a top view showing the main elements of the rolling chassis, the representation being made according to a section II-II of Figure 1;
• FIG. 3 is a detailed view according to arrow III in FIG. 2;
• FIG. 4 is a detailed view along arrow IV of FIG. 2;
• FIG. 5 is a detailed perspective view of a coupling mechanism of a shaft with sleeve, according to the invention;
• FIG. 6 is a detail view, on a larger scale, of a triggering member capable of cooperating with the coupling mechanism of FIG. 5; and
• FIG. 7 is a detailed view illustrating a possible variant of the emergency braking means arranged between the cabin and the rolling chassis of the car.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a car 11 consisting of a rolling chassis 12 surmounted by a cabin 13 of which only the lower part is sketched. The cabin 13 is suspended above the chassis 12 by a mechanism which will be described later. The chassis 12 moves on a railway type track 14 (here made up of two rails 14a with an I-section), by means of four metallic wheels 15. A traction cable 16 runs continuously along the track 14, between the rails, in a closed circuit. It is driven by a motor located for example in a station and guided step by step and in particular in curves, by sets of pulleys; all these elements are conventional and are not shown in the drawings. Four uprights 18 are fixed under the floor 13a of the cabin and serve as an anchoring structure for links 19 ensuring the suspension of the cabin above the chassis. These links can be cables, but in the example described, they are advantageously chains. Each vertical upright has a telescopic structure, since comprising a tubular portion 20 integral with the cabin, inside which is mounted an element 21 movable longitudinally. A damping spring 22 is interposed between the bottom of the tubular portion 20 and the internal end of the element 21. This arrangement thus gives a certain vertical elasticity to the suspension of the cabin. The lower ends of the uprights 18, that is to say more particularly here, the ends of the elements 21, comprise horizontal bases 25, carrying anchor yokes 26 of the ends of the links 19 connected to the cabin 13.

In the example shown, and according to an important feature of the invention, the bases 25 also constitute four brake pads and are, for this purpose, arranged above the rails of the track 14. These pads are therefore capable of come into frictional contact with the rails in the event of the cabin 13 sagging relative to the rolling chassis 12. The undersides of the bases 25 may be provided with a friction material suitable for stopping the car over a predetermined distance so that deceleration is tolerable by passengers. A friction material of the type used in automobile brakes gives, for example, good results.

We will now describe more particularly the rolling chassis 12 and the cabin suspension means which are incorporated therein. The chassis consists of an infrastructure forming a sort of frame 30 which in particular carries the wheels 15, a force summing mechanism 31, forming weighing means, clamping means 32 of the cable 16 and two braked wheels 33 located in a same vertical plane. More specifically, the frame 30 consists of two longitudinal members 35 parallel to the rail and connected by crosspieces 36, 37, 38 and 39. Each longitudinal member 35 consists of a median section 40, tubular, at the ends of which are welded plates defining large yokes 41, 42. Each yoke supports one of the wheels 15 and a pinion 45 on which is wound the chain 19 connected to one of the uprights 18 (closest to the yoke) of the cabin 13. Each chain s 'therefore extends approximately horizontally and parallel to the track from the corresponding pinion 45, to the force summing mechanism 31, located approximately in the middle of the chassis. This mechanism comprises a transverse shaft 46 at the ends of which are mounted means for winding the end portions of the chains 19. The shaft 46 is mounted with the possibility of rotation in bearings 47 fixed to supports 48 themselves mounted between the two central sleepers 37 and 38. The winding means here consist of two pinions 50, respectively fixed to the ends of the shaft 46 and at the periphery of which the anchoring points of the aforementioned links are defined, at the rate of two links ( that is to say two chains 19) for each sprocket. The chains are wound on the pinions 50 so that the moments of the resulting couples are added. More precisely, the arrangement is in accordance with FIG. 3 where it can be seen that two chains 19 corresponding to the two uprights situated on the same side of the track, are fixed, for example welded, by their last link at points diametrically opposite of the corresponding pinion 50 and partially wrap around it so as to be stretched between the pinion 50 and the corresponding pinions 45 around which they are wound to connect, at the feet of the uprights 18 correspondents. The same arrangement is found at each end of the shaft and the chains are thus wound at the rate of two per sprocket in directions such that the moments of the four couples are added, that is to say act to rotate tree 46 in the same direction. Of course, the lengths of the chains are determined so that, when the shaft 46 is maintained in a certain angular position (for example that of FIG. 3), the cabin is suspended above the rolling chassis and that, when the shaft 46 is left to itself, the cabin 13 rests on the rails 14a by its bases 25 forming brake pads. The force summing mechanism which has just been described therefore constitutes a means of weighing the cabin 13 and the forces transmitted by the chains 19 are balanced by the cable clamping means 37 (and also by an actuation mechanism for the braked wheels 33) in such a way that the shaft 46 is normally maintained in an angular position such that the chains are tensioned and the cabin 13 is suspended above the rolling chassis 12. The connection between the shaft 46 of on the one hand, and the clamping means 37 and the actuation mechanism of the braked wheels 33 on the other hand, is effected by means of a sleeve 52 coaxial with the shaft 46 and carried by it. A sprocket 53 is fixed, for example welded, to the sleeve 52 (see FIG. 4) and a section of chain 54 is wound around this sprocket in a direction such that a force exerted on this chain tends to rotate the sleeve in a direction opposite to that along which the axis 46 is biased by the chains 19. The other end of this chain section 54 is fixed to a movable stop 55 with rollers 55a bearing while rolling on a fixed vertical surface 48a of a neighboring support 48. A transmission arm 58 is articulated at one end to the movable stop 55. This arm, substantially parallel to the shaft 46, ends with an adjustable needle 59 while a link 60 forming part of a control mechanism (not cable clamping means 32 of the cable 16 is articulated on the same arm near the movable stop 55. The cable clamping means essentially comprise two grooved pulleys 62 capable of bearing against one another by their fields by enclosing the cable 16. It is therefore understandable that with this arrangement, the cable clamping force is representative of the cabin load, which makes it possible, from a station, to control the acceleration given to the car, regardless of the number of passengers. When the cabin enters a station, a lever of said tightening mechanism (not shown) is actuated by a ramp fixed along the track so as to separate the car from the traction cable. Furthermore, the two braked wheels 33 are respectively mounted cantilevered on the crosspieces 36 and 39, by means of yokes 64 in which pivot the hub supports 65. A braking drum 66 is mounted coaxially with each wheel. A curved arm 67, carrying a friction lining, is articulated to each yoke 64 so that said lining can come into contact with the neighboring drum. The braking force is transmitted by a longitudinal arm 68 mounted floating between the other ends of the arm 67, by means of two rods 69, respectively, the needle 59 is supported in the middle of this longitudinal arm 68. The braked wheels 33 are pneumatic wheels and are likely to come into contact, in station, with a braking band 70 (sketched in phantom in Figure 2) running at lower speed, after disconnection of the cable tightening means, as indicated upper. The car is thus braked by the wheels 33 until the latter stops on the strip 70 which then ensures the transport of the car at its own speed. Again, it follows from the above description, that the braking force exerted on the drum 66 is representative of the load of the cabin, which allows better control of the deceleration thereof, whatever the Number of passengers.

Of course, the normal operation of the installation, as just described above, relative to the tightening of the cable from a station and the normal braking of the car, upon arrival at a station , assumes that the shaft 46 and the sleeve 52 are immobilized in rotation.

According to an important characteristic of the invention, this shaft and this sleeve can in fact be separated from one another, on command, and therefore constitute means for loosening the aforementioned links 19, susceptible, when they are actuated , to cause the collapse of the cabin 13, causing the implementation of the emergency braking means constituted here by the bases 25 coming to rest on the rails 14a. To do this, a coupling mechanism 72, disconnectable, visible in Figure 5, is arranged between the shaft 46 and the sleeve 52 to secure them in rotation, in normal operation. This mechanism 72 comprises two levers 73, 74, respectively integral with the shaft 46 and the sleeve 52 and located close to one another, in the vicinity of one end of the sleeve. At least one of the levers, in this case the lever 74 secured to the sleeve is articulated about an axis 78 perpendicular to the sleeve and biased by a spring 79 towards a predetermined position in the direction of the other lever. These levers carry respective lateral stops 80, 81 facing each other, making it possible to secure them in rotation when said stops are in contact through their faces 80a, 81a. In this position, in fact, said stops are kept in contact by the opposite couples acting on the shaft 46 and the sleeve 52, which has the double consequence of securing the shaft and the sleeve in rotation while immobilizing them in a chosen position determined by the balance which is established between the chains 19 and 54 in the stretched state. Furthermore, the ends of the levers 73, 74 are provided with engagement cheeks 85 coming substantially opposite one another, when the stops 80, 81 are in contact. This is the situation illustrated in FIG. 5. These two cheeks are held facing each other with a predetermined spacing by the fact that the surfaces in contact with the stops 80 and 81 are slightly biased with respect to each other. These stops also include inclined rear facets 80b, 81b sliding against one another by pushing the movable lever 74 against the action of the spring 79, when the system is "reset" by bringing the cheeks 85 together, this operation s 'effecting by turning the shaft 46 by means of a drive square 87 located at one end thereof. Furthermore, one or more triggering members 90 controlled, are arranged along the track so that an upper cam member 91 of such a triggering member can be introduced between the engaging cheeks 85 in passing of a car, so as to cause the separation of the stops 80, 81 and, consequently, the separation of the shaft 46 and of the sleeve 52. The relative rotation between these two elements causes both the collapse of the cabin and the release of the clamping means 32, which causes emergency braking stopping the car after a few meters. Such a triggering member is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the actuating position, that is to say with the cam 91 raised and about to separate the engagement cheeks 85 and in FIG. 6, trigger standby position, the cam then being too low to reach the engaging cheeks. More specifically, the trigger member 90 comprises a beam 92 articulated to a base 93 fixed to the track. This beam carries the cam member 91 at one end and a counterweight 94 at another end. This counterweight is sufficient to rotate the beam by straightening the cam 91. However, a control device 95, of the "electromagnetic suction cup" type, cooperates with the arm of the beam which carries the cam to keep it in a low position when it is powered. The interruption of the electrical supply to the control device causes the flail to tilt under the action of the counterweight and brings the cam 91 to the level of the path of the engaging cheeks. One end of the beam is provided with a locking pin 97 which engages at the end of the tilting stroke in a housing 98 provided on a vertical upright 99, fixed to the track. The lug and / or the upright are provided with elastic erasing means facilitating the locking of the lug in the housing. More specifically, the lug 97 is mounted movable longitudinally in a bore, against the action of a spring urging it outwards while the upright 99 is mounted on a block of elastically deformable material 100, such as rubber. A power supply network 101 of the control device or devices 95 is controlled by a monitoring system sensitive to the speed of the car or cars and / or to the relative speed between at least two cars. This monitoring system is not part of the invention and will therefore not be described in detail. It can consist of a plurality of sensors judiciously placed along the track. There is a particular advantage in monitoring the speed of a car on a slope. This speed may be higher than normal if the cable tightening means are defective. The emergency braking procedure can therefore be triggered in this case by measuring the speed of this car and by controlling the actuation of a trigger member 90 located at the entrance to the station. The monitoring system can also be designed to control the spacing of cars between stations by a "blocking" device conventionally used for railways and to control in the event of a fault the tilting of one or more judiciously arranged tripping devices. along the way.

Figure 7 shows a variant of the braking means. According to this variant, the uprights 18a integral with the cabin and carrying friction linings 102, are no longer combined with the suspension means of the cabin but are located above the wheels 15 of the rolling chassis. Under these conditions, the collapse of the cabin causes the implementation of emergency braking but it is exerted on the wheels 15 and no longer on the rails 14a.

The operation of the installation which has just been described is very simple and follows clearly from the description above. If, for one reason or another, the monitoring system associated with the channel detects abnormal operating conditions, it generates control signals resulting in the tilting of one or more flails 92, consequently causing the cams to straighten 91 corresponding. It should be noted that the approximately diamond-shaped profile of each cam 91 (see FIG. 2) and especially the fact that the beam 92 comes to lock in the high position thanks to the cooperation of the lug 97 and the neighboring upright 99, allow '' act effectively on the coupling mechanism, regardless of the direction of movement of the car. The system is therefore also capable of stopping a car going into reverse on a slope.

Of course, the invention can be the subject of several variants. As mentioned above, the tractor cable can be replaced by a conveyor or conveyor belts and, in general, the drive means of cars can be independent of the links allowing the cabin to be suspended above of the rolling chassis. The invention further relates to any means or arrangement capable of causing the loosening of these links for braking.

Claims (16)

1. A guide track transportation installation comprising at least one car (11) capable of being driven along a track (14), said car comprising a chassis (12) for rolling on said track and a cabin (13) suspended on said chassis by an assembly of connecting members (19) connected to a force summing mechanism (46, 50) characterised in that said cabin comprises braking means (25) and that said force summing mechanism comprises means (73, 74) for releasing said connecting members, said means being capable when they are actuated of causing sinking movement of said cabin, causing said braking means to come into operation.

2. Transportation installation according to claim 1 characterised in that said cabin comprises at least four brake shoes (25) in its lower part.

3. An installation according to claim 2 characterised in that said brake shoes are disposed at the ends of uprights (18) or the like which are fixed beneath the floor of the cabin above said track in such a way that the sinking movement of the cabin causes said shoes and said track to come into frictional contact with each other.

4. An installation according to claim 3 characterised in that said uprights further carry the means (26) for anchoring the ends of said connecting members, which ends are connected to said cabin.

5. An installation according to claim 4 characterised in that each upright (18) comprises a telescopic structure accommodating a damper spring (22).

6. An installation according to claim 2 characterised in that each brake shoe (102) is disposed above a wheel (15) of said chassis in such a way that the sinking movement of the cabin causes braking of the wheels of said chassis (Figure 7).

7. An installation according to claim 6 characterised in that said force summing mechanism comprises a transverse shaft (46) which is rotatably mounted on said chassis and to the ends of which shaft are fixed means (50) for winding said connecting members, that the connecting members each extend between an end of an upright (18) which is fixed with respect to said cabin and an anchorage point at the periphery of said winding means, there being at least two connecting members (19) for each end of said shaft, being wound on to said corresponding winding means in such a way that the moments of the resulting couples are added together.

8. An installation according to claim 7 characterised in that said connecting members (19) are chains and that said winding means comprise pinions (50) fixed to the ends of said shaft (46), the corresponding ends of said chains being fixed to the peripheries of said pinions.

9. An installation according to one of claims 7 and 8 characterised in that a sleeve (52) is mounted coaxially with said shaft and that a disconnectable coupling mechanism (72) is arranged between said shaft and said sleeve for securing them together.

10. An installation according to claim 9 characterised in that said coupling mechanism (72) comprises two levers (73 and 74) which are respectively fixed with respect to said shaft and said sleeve, one at least of said levers being pivoted and urged towards the other by a spring (79), that said levers are disposed one beside the other and comprise lateral abutments (80, 81) permitting them to be fixed together for rotary movement, said abutments being held in contact by oppositely directed torques applied to said shaft and said sleeve, that said levers are respectively provided with engagement flanges (85) which are disposed substantially facing each other when said abutments are in contact, and that at least one controlled triggering member (90) is disposed along the track in a position such that a cam-forming element (91) thereof can be introduced between said engagement flanges (85) when said car passes and move said abutments away from each other so as to disconnect said shaft and said sleeve from each other and cause the sinking movement of said cabin.

11. An installation according to one of the preceding claims of the type in which said car is driven by a cable or the like circulating along said track characterised in that in per se known manner said force summing mechanism (46, 50) is coupled to means (32) for gripping the cable, which are fixed with respect to said car, in such a way that the force exerted by said gripping means is representative of the forces transmitted to said summing mechanism.

12. An installation according to claim 11 and one of claims 9 and 10 characterised in that said gripping means (32) are connected to said sleeve (52) in such a way as to develop thereon a torque balancing the total torque applied to said shaft under the action of said connecting means when said sleeve is fixed with respect to said shaft, in such a way that separation of said shaft and said sleeve causes both the sinking movement of said cabin and release of said gripping means.

13. An installation according to one of claims 10 to 12 characterised in that said triggering member comprises a rocking member (92) pivotally mounted to a base member (93) fixed to the track, said rocking member comprising said cam-forming element (91) at one end and a counterweight (94) et another end, and that an electrical control device (95) such as for example an 'electromagnetic attractor' co-operates with an arm of the rocking member to hold said cam-forming element (91) in a lowered position when said electrical control device (95) is energised, interruption in the supply of power to the control device causing pivotal movement of the rocking member due to the effect of said counterweight into a position which moves said cam-forming element to the level of the trajectory of said engagement flanges.

14. An installation according to claim 13 characterised in that one of the ends of said rocking member is provided with a locking peg (97) which comes into engagement at the end of the tilting travel thereof into a housing means (98) provided on an upright (99) fixed to the track, said peg and/ or said upright being provided with resilient retraction means (97, 100) permitting locking of said peg in said housing means.

15. An installation according to claim 13 or claim 14 characterised in that an electrical power supply system (101) for said control device is pilot-controlled by a supervisory system which is responsive to the speed of the car or cars and/or to the spacing between two successive cars.

16. An installation according to one of claims 12 to 15 characterised in that said car further comprises at least one braked wheel (33) for normal stopping of said car in a station and that a mechanism (58, 59, 68, 67) for controlling the braking of said wheel is connected to said sleeve (52) to develop a braking force which is representative of the forces transmitted to said summing mechanism when said sleeve and said shaft are fixed with respect to each other.

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