EP2585349B1 - Installation à cables aeriens et à vehicule asservi, sans suspente - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to an overhead passenger transport installation, comprising two spaced aerial carrier cables extending parallel to the same level, being stretched between two pylons to form a curved traffic channel with a deformable boom, and a servo vehicle, positively guided, comprising a passenger compartment, four rollers, arranged in a rectangle, with two rollers, longitudinally spaced, rolling on one of the cables, and two rollers, longitudinally spaced, rolling on the other cable, for supporting and guiding the passenger compartment of the vehicle traveling on the curved track, and a connection device without hanger between the rollers and the passenger compartment to position the passenger compartment longitudinally, transversely and level.

The enslaved phrase positively guided means a certain guidance, without risk of random movements and in the technique of the cable cars more particularly a vehicle without suspension. The invention relates to an installation having a vehicle without a suspension, that is to say a vehicle that does not use gravity to maintain its verticality, which circulates on carrying cables with arrows.

STATE OF THE ART

The cableway installations, including cable cars, are generally located in mountains and include vehicles equipped with articulated lines, more or less long depending on the slope of the cables and the length of the cabins. The infrastructure of these cable cars is important and the During displacement, the cabin experiences random swaying and rocking which makes the use of such cable cars in an urban environment unacceptable.

The document FR2 575 985 describes an installation with two carrying cables on which four rollers roll, the axes of which are fixed rigidly to the four corners of the vehicle. The vehicle is positively guided, in the sense of the term in this description, but the vehicle follows the curved path of the cables with unacceptable inclinations for an urban carrier.

The documents EP0 561 095 and US4,641,587 concern overhead vehicles suspended from two carrying cables by suspension systems. The load-bearing cables are maintained horizontally, like suspension bridges, by an important infrastructure. It is, moreover, almost impossible to make horizontal paths with cables. According to the present invention the carrier cables are simply stretched between pylons of lower height because the vehicle has no hanger.

The document US2009 / 0038499 describes a vehicle whose suspension is constituted by cables. The carriage rolls on a curved load-bearing cable and the cab is not guided positively, in the sense of the present invention, since it undergo tilting and swings, longitudinal and transverse unacceptable for an urban carrier.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to allow the realization of an air facility, meeting the current requirements of transport in an urban environment, including high-speed travel, maximum comfort of passengers and light infrastructure. The passenger compartment of the vehicle must not undergo no accidental movement detrimental to the comfort of the passengers, despite the deflection of the cables. Unexpected movement may be tilting, level variation, vertical acceleration, or jarring as a track discontinuity passes.

In one embodiment, the cabin or passenger compartment is kept vertical or very slightly inclined, irrespective of the longitudinal slope of the cables on which the rollers roll, and whatever the transverse difference in the level of the cables, due in particular to a decentering of the transported load and / or the action of a side wind. The term vertical implies a horizontal floor of the cabin and later the terms vertical and horizontal will be used indifferently to designate the position of the cabin.

According to other implementations of the invention, the cabin remains at a constant level, the jolts are attenuated and the vertical acceleration, at the passage of the cable supports, is reduced within acceptable comfort limits.

The installation according to the invention is characterized in that the four rollers independently follow the variations in height of the cable in the space, during the displacement of the vehicle, that said connecting device comprises for each roller an individual positive jack, adjustable height, and that the vehicle comprises a central unit which controls the individual cylinders so as to compensate for variations in height of the various rollers, imposed by the cables, during movement on the curved track.

The expression, positive actuator adjustable in height, means that the device transmits, in a controlled manner, faithfully movements with a single possibility of height adjustment.

In one embodiment of the invention the central unit is controlled by a sensor of the inclination of the passenger compartment so as to move the various rollers height to maintain the passenger vertical.

The central unit can also be controlled by a level detector to maintain the level of the passenger compartment constant during the course and / or by a vertical acceleration sensor, especially when passing a pylon. According to an important development of the invention the vehicle rolls on the carrying cables, its center of gravity being located above the cables. The infrastructures (towers and stations supporting the carrying cables) are thus lower than the value of the height of the cabin and the suspension relative to a usual installation where the vehicle is suspended from the cables, which is appreciable in terms of insertion in urban areas, and very economical in terms of the cost of these infrastructures. All the mechanics and accessories of the vehicle can be grouped under the cockpit. In the case of traction by a cable, advantageously located below the level of the cabin, it can escape naturally downwards, which has the consequence of requiring only support rollers (excluding compression rollers whose passage under the vehicle would be problematic, as the passage of the support rollers poses problems for the suspended vehicles).

When the track presents a solution of continuity, in particular when passing the cables towards rails, an inadvertent movement of the cabin is inevitable. In one embodiment, each carrier cable is replaced by a pair of juxtaposed cables and each roller is replaced by a pair of rollers, juxtaposed on the same axis, rolling on the pair of juxtaposed cables. The cable-rail transitions are shifted longitudinally from one cable to the other so that the lift is always provided by one of the cables of the pair and the associated roller avoiding any jerk in passing. The redundancy of cables and rollers reduces the risk of accidents, one taking over from the other in case of incident on a roller or a carrier cable.

The vehicle may comprise one or more electric motors (not shown) for driving one or more rollers allowing it to be self-propelled. When the vehicle is towed by a towing cable, the engine takes over when the vehicle is disengaged from the towing cable. When this Traction cable is below the running level of the vehicle, the coupling clamp is retractable so that there is no vehicle element below the level of the rollers to ensure the freedom of movement of the vehicle in station.

Brief description of the figures

• Les figures 1 et 2 sont des vues en élévation d'une section d'une installation, illustrant respectivement le passage d'un véhicule sans correcteur d'assiette et celui d'un véhicule avec correction de l'assiette ;
• Les figures 3 et 4 sont des vues schématiques de face et de côté d'un véhicule selon l'invention ;
• Les figures 5 et 6 sont des vues de côté du véhicule illustrant la correction d'une inclinaison transversale ;
• Les figures 7 à 9 sont des vues de face montrant les positions successives du véhicule au passage d'un pylône ;
• Les figures 10 à 12 sont des vues de détails, en élévation, d'un amortisseur de support d'un galet, respectivement au passage d'un support court ;
• Les figures 13 et 14 sont des vues schématiques de face et de côté d'un véhicule selon une variante de réalisation de l'invention ;
• Les figures 15 et 16 sont des vues en élévation d'une installation, illustrant respectivement le niveau du câble porteur d'une ligne équipée d'un véhicule classique et celui d'une ligne équipée d'un véhicule selon les figures 13,14 ;
• Les figures 17 et 18 sont des vues analogues aux figures 3 et 4 illustrant une variante simplifiée ;
• La figure 19 est une vue analogue à la figure 2 montrant un dispositif de correction de trajectoire ;
• La figure 20 est une vue analogue à la figure 4 d'un perfectionnement selon l'invention ;
• La figure 21 est une vue partielle en perspective du véhicule selon la figure 20 illustrant le passage sur une solution de continuité de la voie.
• La figure 22 est une vue schématique de face d'un véhicule selon une variante de réalisation de l'invention ;
• Les figures 23 et 24 sont des vues analogues aux figures 13 et 14 illustrant la circulation d'un véhicule, selon l'invention, en station avec les pinces d'accouplement rétractées.

Other advantages and features of the invention will emerge more clearly from the following description of various embodiments of the invention given by way of example and represented in the accompanying drawings, in which:

• The Figures 1 and 2 are elevational views of a section of an installation, illustrating respectively the passage of a vehicle without attitude control and that of a vehicle with correction of the attitude;
• The Figures 3 and 4 are schematic front and side views of a vehicle according to the invention;
• The Figures 5 and 6 are side views of the vehicle illustrating the correction of a transverse inclination;
• The Figures 7 to 9 are front views showing the successive positions of the vehicle at the passage of a pylon;
• The Figures 10 to 12 are detailed views, in elevation, of a support damper of a roller, respectively to the passage of a short support;
• The Figures 13 and 14 are schematic front and side views of a vehicle according to an alternative embodiment of the invention;
• The Figures 15 and 16 are elevational views of an installation, respectively illustrating the level of the carrying cable of a line equipped with a conventional vehicle and that of a line equipped with a vehicle according to the Figures 13.14 ;
• The Figures 17 and 18 are views similar to Figures 3 and 4 illustrating a simplified variant;
• The figure 19 is a view similar to the figure 2 showing a trajectory correction device;
• The figure 20 is a view similar to the figure 4 an improvement according to the invention;
• The figure 21 is a partial perspective view of the vehicle according to the figure 20 illustrating the passage on a solution of continuity of the way.
• The figure 22 is a schematic front view of a vehicle according to an alternative embodiment of the invention;
• The Figures 23 and 24 are views similar to Figures 13 and 14 illustrating the circulation of a vehicle, according to the invention, in station with the retracted coupling clamps.

The same reference numbers are used in the various figures to designate similar or identical parts.

Detailed description of the invention

On the Figures 1 and 2 An overhead track 10 of an urban transport installation comprises two carrying cables 11, 12 stretched between pylons 13 and vehicles 14, 15 of almost parallelepipedal shape, having at each of the four corners a roller 16-19 rolling on the cables 11,12, a pair of rollers 16,17 at the front and a pair of rollers 18,19 at the rear. Each roller 16-19 is carried by a slide 20 ( figure 6 ) movable in a vertical slideway 21, fixed over the entire height of the vehicle 15. Each roller 16-19 is associated with a cylinder 22 (shown schematically by an arrow) of movement in height and all the cylinders 22 are connected to a central unit a level corrector 23 receiving information from an inclinometer 24 schematically represented by a pendulum.

Operation is clear from Figures 1 and 2 . On the figure 1 the vehicle 14 does not have a trimmer and the rollers 16-19 are rigidly attached to the vehicle. Between the two pylons 13 the vehicle follows the path of the cables 11,12 skipping, tilting forward and then backward, which is not acceptable.

According to the invention, represented in figure 2 , the pendulum 24 detects the forward tilting of the vehicle 15 and sends a movement order of the rollers before 16,17 downwards to compensate for the downward slope of the cables 11,12. Subsequently a relative movement of the rollers before 16,17 relative to the rear rollers 18,19 makes it possible to keep the vehicle 15 substantially vertical, by compensating for the longitudinal tilting corresponding to the deflection of the cables. The floor 25 remains horizontal throughout the path between the two pylons. In the example shown in figure 2 the floor 25 also remains at a constant level, as further described with reference to Figures 7-9 .

The device with individual travel of the rollers 16-19 also allows compensation of a transverse tilting of the vehicle, due in particular to a difference in level of the cables 11, 12. The figure 5 represents such a tilting, in the absence of a correction, the passengers having, for example, grouped on the left side of the vehicle 14. The pendulum 24 detects this transverse tilting and transmits to the attitude corrector 23 a movement order rollers 17,19 from left to down to restore the vertical position of the vehicle 15, shown in FIG. figure 6 .

According to an important development of the invention the independent roller device 16-19 ensures a rectilinear trajectory 29 of the vehicle 15, at a constant level, despite a significant arrow in the path constituted by the cables 11,12. On the figure 2 a detector (not shown), for example measuring the level of the vehicle 15 with respect to the ground, controls the downward movement of the four rollers 16-19 on the downhill path to reach the lower position, on arrival at the bottom of the the arrow of the cables 11,12. On the next course, uphill, the 16-19 rollers back to the top of the vehicle and we see that these deflections 16-19 rollers and ensure a straight trajectory of the vehicle on a wavy way in height. During the whole course, the vehicle is of course maintained horizontal, by the action differential of the rollers before 16,17 with respect to the rear rollers 18,19, for the longitudinal compensation and of the left rollers 17,19 compared to the right rollers 16,18 for a transverse compensation.

The respect of a rectilinear trajectory 29, in particular when crossing a shoe 26 of a pylon 13, is illustrated in FIGS. Figures 7 to 9 . The rectilinear trajectory is materialized by a laser beam 27 sent by a transmitter 28, integral with the vehicle, towards a fixed reference mark 30, for example provided on a pylon at the required level. The movements of the rollers 16-19 are controlled by the laser-beam attitude detector 27, as schematically represented by the direction of the arrows or jacks 22, and it is unnecessary to describe the operation in detail.

In practice the attitude correctors are more elaborate than those described above and they may include, for example, electronic systems for predicting and regulating the movements of the rollers or, for a given installation, an entire programming of the movements.

According to another development of the invention the attitude correction system is completed by a device for damping short and limited variations of the slopes of the track. The attachment of each roller 16-19 to its slide 20 comprises a damper 31, schematically represented in FIGS. Figures 10-12 by a pair of springs 32,33, which resiliently bias the roller towards a central position while allowing limited vertical movement. At the passage of a short support 34 of the cable 11 ( figure 11 ) the roller compresses the damper 31 upwards to absorb the shock without transmitting it to the vehicle. After the passage ( figure 12 ) the damper 31 returns to normal position. Such dampers are well known.

On the Figures 13 and 14 , which illustrate an alternative embodiment, the rollers 16-19 are arranged under the floor 25 of the vehicle 15, at each of the four corners. Each roller 16-19 is associated with a cylinder 22 for vertical displacement and all the cylinders are connected to the central unit 23. The rollers 16-19 are shown in the space available under the seats 40 located at the ends of the cabin, but if the necessary travel is greater than this space, the rollers 16-19 can advantageously be placed outside the bulk of the cabin. The traction system of the vehicle, represented here by a traction cable 38 and coupling clamps 39, can advantageously be located under the floor of the vehicle in the same way as the central unit 23 or any other accessory. The doors 42 of the cabin, which can be located on both sides, are guided and controlled from a mechanism 41 also located under the floor. A detector 24 for transverse tilting of the vehicle drives the central unit 23, which controls the jacks 22 so as to avoid excessive tilting which can cause a lateral fall of the vehicle.

The advantage of a cab layout over the cables is clear from the Figures 15 and 16 , which respectively represent a conventional installation with hanger and very tall pylons and an installation according to the invention.

Another variant is illustrated by the Figures 17 and 18 which are views similar to Figures 3 and 4 . The cylinders 22 connect the rollers 16-19 to the essential part of the passenger compartment 15, in this case the floor 25 which supports the passengers. In this embodiment the base of the passenger compartment consists of a bottom and a floor and the cylinders are interposed between the bottom and the floor, as shown in the figures. The operation is identical to those described above and this embodiment can be interesting when the variations in height remain low.

The figure 19 relates to a correction of trajectory to reduce or compensate the vertical acceleration of the vehicle, in particular when passing a pylon. The invention is applied to a vehicle of the type according to the Figures 13 and 14 , which will be referred to advantageously for further details, but it is clear that the described invention is applicable to the other vehicle systems described above. The vehicle 15 without suspension rolls by four rollers 16-19 on a pair of spaced carrier cables 11, 12. The rollers are arranged under the vehicle 15 and each roller is associated with a jack 22, interposed between the roller and the floor of the vehicle . The cylinders 22 of the vehicle, shown on the left in the figure, are controlled by a detector 46 of the vertical acceleration which drives the central unit 23.

The operation is easy to understand. During the course on the substantially horizontal portion of the track the cylinders 22 are in the extended position and they remain in this position as long as the vertical acceleration measured by the detector 46 remains low. At the approach of the tower 3 the variation of the slope of the cables 11,12 generates a rising vertical acceleration, detected by the detector 46, which controls a retraction of the cylinders 22 so as to bring the cab of the rollers. The trajectory of the cabin is thus different from that of the cables 11, 12 and its flattened shape generates a reduced vertical acceleration. After the passage of the top of the shoe of the pylon 3 the downward vertical acceleration generates a reverse operation which brings the jacks to the extended position.

In the version of the installation according to the figure 19 this is advantageously improved by attributing to the cylinders 22, in addition to the function of reducing the vertical acceleration, a function for maintaining the verticality of the cabin, described above. For this purpose it suffices to provide a sufficient stroke of the jacks 22, active all along the line and to add to the detector 46 a plate corrector (not shown) which controls the verticality of the cabin.

On the vehicle in the center of the figure 19 another embodiment of the actuators 22, according to the invention, has been shown, replacing the detector of the vertical acceleration. Upstream of the tower 3 is disposed, for example on the ground, a detector 47 arranged to capture the passage of the vehicle data, provided by a transmitter 48 and concerning the cable, in particular the inclination of the cable. The detector 47 retransmits to the central control unit 23 of the cylinders 22, information partly representative of the path of the cable to the passage of the pylon. Depending on the installation, this information may be sufficient to drive the cylinders to reduce the vertical acceleration. The information can be specified by arranging the detectors 47 in several locations, as well as by adding to the detector 47 other sensors (not shown) for example of the vehicle height position, which depends on the weight of the vehicle. The central unit 23 can still receive other information, such as the speed of the cable, which determines the vertical acceleration.

On the figure 20 , analogous to the figure 4 each carrier cable is split into two cables 11, 11 'and 12, 12', parallel and juxtaposed and each roller is split into two rollers 18, 18 'and 19, 19', juxtaposed on the same axis for rolling on the cable corresponding. It is understood that during the failure of one of the sets, for example 11-18, the set juxtaposed 11'-18 'provides the lift and lift.

The figure 21 represents the passage of a vehicle 15 of the cableways 11,11 '; 12,12 'at one lane at the 49,49' railway station; 50,50 ', each cable being extended by a rail and in the junction zone between the cable and the rail always remains a gap, respectively 51,51', due to the passage of the cables 11,11 ', deviated downwards and 52,52 'for the cables 12,12'. According to the invention the intervals 51, 51 'are offset longitudinally with respect to each other in such a way that the roller 11' passes the gap 51 'before the roller 11 crosses the gap 51. identically the intervals 52,52 'are shifted.

It has been previously explained that the juxtaposition of the cables and that of the rollers allows one of the rollers to replace the other in case of failure and it is understood that when crossing the interval 51 'by the roller 18' it is the roller 18 which takes over and provides support for the vehicle 15. Similarly at the passage of the interval 51 by the roller 18 the support is provided by the roller 18 '. The crossing of the other intervals is done of the same way. The passage of the vehicle from the cables to the rails takes place without any jarring and the crossing can be achieved at high speed.

The figure 22 is a view similar to the figure 13 showing an alternative embodiment. The four rollers (16-19) are fixed to a frame 62 and the cylinders 22 associated with each roller are interposed between the frame 62 and the passenger compartment 15.

The Figures 23 and 24 represent a vehicle 15, according to Figures 13.14 , disengaged from the towing cable 38, rolling station on rails 60 and whose coupling tongs 39 are retracted so as not to encroach on the floor template 61 of the station.

Claims (14)

1. An overhead installation for transporting people, comprising two overhead carrying cables (11,12) spaced apart from one another, extending in parallel manner on the same level, being stretched taut between two pillars (13) to form a curved running track presenting a deformable sag, and a positively guided, servo-controlled vehicle (15) comprising a passenger compartment (25), four rollers (16-19) arranged in the form of a rectangle, with two rollers (16,18) longitudinally spaced apart from one another running on one of the cables (11), and two rollers (17,19) longitudinally spaced apart from one another running on the other cable (12), to support and guide the passenger compartment of the vehicle running on the curved track, and a connecting device (22) without a hanger arm between the rollers (16-19) and the passenger compartment to position the passenger compartment longitudinally and transversely, characterized in that the four rollers (16-19) follow the height variations of the cable (11,12) in space independently, during movement of the vehicle, that said connecting device (22) comprises an individual positive height-adjustable jack for each roller, and that the vehicle comprises a central unit (23) which controls the different individual jacks so as to compensate the height variations of the different rollers, imposed by the cables, during movement on the curved track.
2. The installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the vehicle (15) comprises a device for measuring (24) the incline of the passenger compartment (25) which controls the central unit (23), and that the central unit (23) controls the jacks (22) to keep the passenger compartment (25) horizontal.
3. The installation according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cables (11,12) are located underneath the vehicle (15), and that the vehicle runs above the cables and comprises a detector (24) of transverse rocking of the vehicle which controls the central unit (23) so as to prevent any excessive transverse rocking and any sideways toppling of the vehicle.
4. The installation according to claim 3, characterized in that it comprises a hauling cable (38), underneath the vehicle, fitted between the carrying cables (11,12) and a clamp (39) for coupling to the cable fixed underneath the vehicle.
5. The installation according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the four rollers (16-19) and the four associated jacks (22) are located at the four corners of the passenger compartment and that the four jacks (22) present a vertical displacement, controlled by the central unit.
6. The installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the jacks (22) are fitted between the bottom of the passenger compartment and the floor (25) supporting the passengers.
7. The installation according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that each carrying cable (11,12) is doubled up into a pair of identical, juxtaposed carrying cables (11,11' and 12,12') of reduced cross-section, extending in parallel manner to one another and subjected to the same tension, and that each roller (16-19) is also doubled up into a pair of rollers (18,18' and 19,19'), the rollers of one and the same pair running on the cables of one and the same pair being fitted on the same spindle so that one of the rollers supports the vehicle in the case of malfunctioning of the other roller.
8. The installation according to claim 7, characterized in that each track constituted by the juxtaposed carrying cables (11,11' and 12,12') is connected to a track with fixed rails (49,49' and 50,50'), each rail extending one of the cables with a gap (51,51' and 52,52') between the end of the cable and that of the rail, and that the gaps (51- 52') are longitudinally staggered with respect to one another.
9. The installation according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the vehicle comprises a device for measuring the vertical acceleration (46) which controls the central unit (23) to command a reduction of the length of the jacks (22) when an ascending vertical acceleration takes place, and to subsequently command an elongation when a descending vertical acceleration takes place, in particular after having passed over the pillar (3).
10. The installation according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a detector (47), placed at a specific point up-line from the pillar (3), receives specific information conditioning the vertical acceleration when passing over the pillar (3), from an emitter (48) carried by the vehicle, when passing this point, the information being transmitted by the detector (47) to the central unit (23) which controls the jacks (22) to reduce the vertical acceleration.
11. The installation according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the vehicle (15) comprises a detector (28) of the variation of the height of the vehicle (15) which controls the central unit (23), which unit commands the individual jacks (22) simultaneously and by the same value to keep the level of the vehicle constant in particular when passing over the pillars.
12. The installation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the vehicle (15) comprises rollers (16-19) fixed to a chassis (49) and that the jacks (22) associated with each roller are fitted between the chassis (49) and the passenger compartment (15).
13. The installation according to any one of the foregoing claims, characterized in that the vehicle (15) comprises one or more electric motors driving one or more rollers (16-19).
14. Installation according to claim 4, characterized in that the clamp (39) for coupling to the hauling cable is retractable after it has been uncoupled from the hauling cable.

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