EP3871745A1 - Cabin provided with a device for locking and unlocking the doors and installation for transporting passengers comprising at least one such cabin - Google Patents

Abstract

A passenger transport cabin has at least one door (P1, P2), an interior floor (C) and a threshold (S) located on either side of the door, and a locking device comprising a lug (E ) integral with the door and projecting outwardly from the cabin and a locking finger (4) movable between a locking position and an unlocking position. An actuating mechanism comprises a pedal (7) positioned under the interior floor (C) of the cabin and accessible through a hatch in the cabin floor and a kinematic connection between the pedal (7) and the finger (4) located under the interior floor (C) and the sill (S) of the cabin. The finger constitutes, in the locked position, a stop on the trajectory of the lug (E). In the unlocked position, the finger is erased under the threshold (S) of the cabin.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the locking and unlocking of the doors of cabins transporting passengers and moving along a path the angle of which with respect to the horizontal is not constant.

In particular, the invention finds its application in transport installations used in amusement parks such as those of the “big wheel” or Ferri wheel type.

STATE OF THE PRIOR ART

Such installations are described, in particular, in the documents FROM 476,892 and WO 2012/140330 where they comprise spherical cabins supported by a mobile structure rotating relative to a fixed structure around an axis of revolution, and displaced in rotation relative to the mobile structure around an axis parallel to the axis of revolution.

The cabins used in these installations are generally provided with side doors allowing the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers, each door being provided, in the upper part, with an opening and closing member and, in the lower part, with a lug projecting outwards and coming, in the closed position, into abutment against a locking finger capable of retracting, in the open position, under the floor of the cabin.

These doors are thus equipped with secure means ensuring their opening and closing automatically and locked at the level of an access landing located in the lower part of the installation.

Such means of automatic opening and closing of the doors of large wheel cabins are described in the documents CN206342901U and JP2006075526A . These means are designed in a secure manner to prevent any opening, accidental or intentional, from inside the cabins.

However, in the event of a breakdown in the installation, some cabins are immobilized at altitude and it may then be necessary to unlock the doors to allow them to be opened and the evacuation of the passengers by means of external equipment.

In other circumstances, there may also be an accidental blocking of the doors which prevents the exit of passengers at the level of the disembarkation landing.

Furthermore, during maintenance operations on the installation and for practical reasons, it may prove useful for the operators to open the doors from inside the cabins, which requires prior unlocking.

However, the cabins do not have any means of unlocking the doors which is accessible and operable from the inside. However, for obvious safety reasons, such unlocking means should not be easily accessible, even accidentally, at the risk of causing accidental falls.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In this context, the aim of the invention is to provide a simple, reliable and secure technical solution allowing conventional locking / unlocking of the doors from the outside and also offering the possibility of occasional, manual and easy unlocking from the outside. inside the cabin in an emergency or maintenance situation, and not constituting an obstacle or hindrance to passengers entering and exiting the cabin.

This goal is achieved by means of a cabin comprising at least one door movable between an open position and a closed position, an interior floor and a threshold located on either side of the door in the closed position, the cabin comprising a device locking and unlocking device comprising a lug integral with the door and projecting outwardly from the cabin, and a locking finger movable between a locking position and an unlocking position, said finger constituting, in the locked position, a stop on the path of the lug from the closed position to the open position of the door, characterized in that the locking finger in position unlocking mechanism is erased under the cabin threshold, the locking and unlocking device comprising an actuating mechanism, the actuating mechanism comprising a pedal positioned under the interior floor of the cabin, and a kinematic connection between the pedal and the locking finger, located under the interior cabin floor and the cabin sill.

Preferably, the pedal is accessible via an access hatch in the interior floor of the cabin. When manual opening from inside the cab is required, it is possible to access the pedal by lifting the hatch and to easily operate the mechanism. This can be done by a passenger receiving instructions from outside or by an operator who entered the cabin through a roof hatch.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the kinematic connection comprises a lever mounted on a pivot and carrying the finger and the pedal, the pedal preferably being between the pivot and the finger, the lever being movable between a first position in wherein the locking finger is in the unlocked position and a second position in which the locking finger is in the locked position.

According to a specific variant, the actuation mechanism comprises an actuator capable of driving the lever from the first position to the second position. This actuator can be monostable, for example with a stable position corresponding to the locking position of the finger, or bistable, the two locking and unlocking positions being stable positions.

According to an advantageous characteristic of the cabin of the invention, the actuator is linked to the lever by means of a return lever, pivoting about an axis parallel to the pivot, a body of the actuator being mounted to pivot around of an axis parallel to the pivot. Such a mechanism allows an advantageous reduction of the torques.

Preferably, the lever and the actuator are mounted to pivot on a frame of the actuating mechanism, fixed to a frame of the cabin and the pivot pivots about a substantially horizontal axis.

According to another variant, the actuator comprises an electromagnet cylinder comprising a rod movable in translation, one end of which is connected to the return lever.

According to yet another characteristic, the locking finger carries a sole which is received, in the open position, in a cavity formed in the threshold of the cabin. The sole, where appropriate, constitutes a second pedal allowing actuation of the locking device by an operator from outside the cabin. Alternatively, the locking finger itself constitutes a pedal. For this purpose, reliefs or texturing of the projecting end of the locking finger can be provided, for easy maneuvering with the foot.

According to another feature, the locking finger is shaped so as to be biased by the lug in a direction opposite to the unlocking position when the lug is in abutment against the locking finger.

According to other characteristics, the locking and unlocking device is coupled to the opening and closing members of the door and is disengageable.

Provision is further made for a conduit passing through the threshold to be formed to accommodate the locking finger.

Another object of the invention is a passenger transport installation comprising at least one cabin as described above, supported by a movable structure rotating with respect to a fixed structure around an axis of revolution and displaced in rotation with respect to the structure mobile around an axis parallel to the axis of revolution.

The locking and unlocking device fitted to the cabins of the invention is very compact and can therefore be easily accommodated under the floor of the cabin. In an emergency, this device offers the possibility of unlocking by pressing the foot on the pedal from inside the cabin without compromising the safety of passengers in normal transport situation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge on reading the description which follows, with reference to the appended and detailed figure below.

• [Fig. 1B] est une vue latérale de la cabine de la figure 1A.
• [Fig. 2] est une vue en perspective d'un mode de réalisation du dispositif de verrouillage et de déverrouillage destiné à équiper la cabine de l'invention.
• [Fig. 3A] est une vue de dessus du dispositif de la figure 2.
• [Fig. 3B] est une vue de derrière du dispositif de la figure 2.
• [Fig. 4] est une vue de dessus en coupe partielle selon les plans IV-IV en pointillés du dispositif représenté sur la figure 5A.
• [Fig. 5A] est une vue latérale en coupe selon le plan V-V du dispositif représenté sur la figure 3B dans son caisson sous la cabine, en position de verrouillage des portes.
• [Fig. 5B] est une vue latérale en coupe selon le plan V-V du dispositif représenté sur la figure 3B en position de déverrouillage des portes.

[ Fig. 1A ] is a front view of a cabin according to the invention equipped with an embodiment of the locking and unlocking device with the doors in the open position.

• [ Fig. 1B ] is a side view of the cabin of the figure 1A .
• [ Fig. 2 ] is a perspective view of an embodiment of the locking and unlocking device intended to equip the cabin of the invention.
• [ Fig. 3A ] is a top view of the device of the figure 2 .
• [ Fig. 3B ] is a rear view of the device of the figure 2 .
• [ Fig. 4 ] is a top view in partial section according to the dotted planes IV-IV of the device shown in FIG. figure 5A .
• [ Fig. 5A ] is a side sectional view along the plane VV of the device shown in figure 3B in its box under the cab, in the door locking position.
• [ Fig. 5B ] is a side sectional view along the plane VV of the device shown in figure 3B in the door unlock position.

For greater clarity, identical or similar elements are identified by identical reference signs in the text and in the figure.

Naturally, the embodiments of the invention, illustrated by the appended figures and described below, are given only by way of non-limiting examples. It is explicitly provided that we can offer and combine different modes to offer others.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The cabin of the invention is equipped with a device intended to ensure the locking as well as the unlocking of the doors. This cabin is integrated into passenger transport installations and, more particularly, installations of the “ferris wheel” or Ferri wheel type which are generally found in amusement parks.

These cabins are in a generally spherical shape, as partially illustrated on the figures 1A and 1B . They are supported by a mobile structure rotating relative to a fixed structure around an axis of revolution (not shown) and are displaced in rotation relative to the mobile structure around an axis parallel to the axis of revolution.

This cabin comprises at least one door P1, P2 movable between an open position and a closed position, an interior floor C and a threshold S located on either side of the doors in the closed position. Each of the doors (here the two doors P1, P2 ) is provided with opening and closing members F. positioned in the upper part and on the sides of the opening, to guide a tilt-and-slide movement.

The cabin is also equipped with a locking and unlocking device comprising a lug E integral with the door and projecting outwards from the cabin and a locking finger 4 movable between a locking position and a position unlocking.

In the locked position, the finger 4 constitutes a stop on the trajectory of the lug E from the closed position to the open position of the door. In the unlocked position, the finger 4 is erased or retracted under the threshold S of the cabin. The must 4 can advantageously be provided with a V-shaped notch 44 oriented so as to come into contact with the lug E during an attempt to open the tilt-and-slide door P. The notch 44 forms a ramp which tends to raise the finger 4 when the force to open the lug E is exerted.

In a manner known per se, the members F for opening and closing the doors are coupled to the locking / unlocking device via an electromechanical system controlled by a microprocessor. In this configuration, the closing and opening of the doors as well as their locking are carried out automatically and synchronously at the level of an access landing located in the lower part of the installation and intended for the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers. passengers.

The object of the invention is to improve the current automatic locking / unlocking means by providing them with a manual unlocking member accessible from inside the cabin.

For this purpose and according to the invention, the locking device comprises an actuating mechanism comprising, on the one hand, a pedal 7 positioned under the interior floor C of the cabin and accessible through a hatch in its floor and, from on the other hand, a kinematic connection between the pedal 7 and the locking finger 4 , this connection being located under the interior floor C and under the threshold S of the cabin which is here located on the same level with the floor.

In the preferred embodiment shown, in particular, on the figures 2 and 5A , 5B , the kinematic link comprises a lever 1 mounted on a pivot 11 and carrying the locking finger 4 and the unlocking pedal 7. The pedal 7 is preferably mounted between the pivot 11 and the finger 4 and the lever 1 is movable between a first position in which the locking finger 4 is in the retracted position for unlocking the doors and a second position in which the finger 4 is deployed above the threshold S in the door locking position.

The actuating mechanism comprises an actuator 2 capable of driving the lever 1 from the first position to the second position. For this purpose, the actuator 2 is linked to the lever 1 by means of a return lever 3 pivoting about an axis parallel to the pivot 11, an end part of the body of the actuator being mounted to pivot around an axis parallel to the pivot 11.

Preferably, the lever 1 and the actuator 2 are mounted to pivot on a frame of the actuating mechanism, fixed to a frame of the cabin and the pivot 11 pivots about a substantially horizontal axis.

In the preferred embodiment shown, the lever 1 is in the form of a longitudinal section arranged under the floor C of the cabin and the actuator 2 and here comprises an electromagnet jack comprising a rod 20 movable in translation, one of which is end is connected to the return lever 3 via an articulated connection ( figure 4 ). This actuator 2 is coupled to the door opening and closing members F and is disengageable.

The pedal 7 is mounted in the upper part 10 of the profile forming the lever 1 and is intended to support the foot of a passenger or of a maintenance operator with a view to performing a “manual” unlocking, in particular, in case of emergency. Preferably, the pedal 7 is attached and fixed to the lever 1.

The kinematic connection between the pedal 7 and the finger 4 is described in detail below. The end of the lever 1 located inside the cabin and under the floor C (hereinafter referred to as the inner end 1a ), is mounted on the pivot 11 of substantially horizontal axis X while its other end located at the outside the cabin under the threshold S (referred to as the outer end 1b), carries the locking finger 4 , as illustrated by the figures 2 , 5A and 5B .

The locking finger 4 has a textured upper surface 8 to facilitate support of the foot without slipping. The locking finger 4 is housed, in the open position, in a cavity A formed under the floor C of the cabin ( figure 5A, 5B )

The outer end 1b of the lever 1 is provided with an articulation ensuring, on the one hand, the connection with the frame B of the cabin under the floor C and, on the other hand, the vertical movement of the locking finger 4.

This articulation is equipped with an encoder 5 fixed under the section 1 coupled to a position sensor 6, as illustrated by the figures 5A, 5B . Side ends of the sensor 6 are housed in openings made in the side members L, as illustrated by figure 2 .

The lever 3 for reference here comprises a flange at right angles, the ends 31, 32 are connected rotatably, respectively, to the lower part of the lever 1 via a pivot pin 31a supported by a first bracket on and to the rod 20 of the actuator 2 by a first ball 23.

The central part 33 of the lever 3 is bent and connected, for its part, to the cabin by a second ball joint 30 carried by a second bracket D. The bracket D is bolted to a cross member T fixed to the frame B of the cabin under the floor C, as illustrated by figures 2 and 5A . The actuator 2 is fixed here on the frame B with a slight downward inclination in the direction of the return lever 3.

The pivot 11 of the inner end of the lever 1 is mounted on the X-axis between two bearings secured K L of the longitudinal members fixed on the frame B of the cab as shown by the figures 2 and 3A , 3B .

When the cabin is provided with two doors P1, P2, each of the doors is equipped with a locking and unlocking device of the invention. The devices are housed juxtaposed in a box M placed under the cabin and accessible via the access hatch in the floor C, as illustrated by the figures 1A , 1B and 5A . This box M is located on either side of the doors P1, P2 between the exterior threshold S and the interior floor C of the cabin and is provided, in its upper part, with sealing diaphragms m through which the fingers 4 of locking when moving up and down.

The cabin is locked automatically at the level of the lower landing of the installation for the boarding of passengers, immediately after closing the doors P1, P2. For each door, this locking is obtained by activating the actuator 2 coupled to the members F for opening and closing the doors.

With the embodiment of the device of the invention shown in the figures and described above, the locking is performed as follows. Rod 20 of the actuator 2 is deployed, here inclined downwards, by pushing the end 32 of the return lever 3 which then pivots around the axis of the ball joint 30. The end 31 of the lever 3 lifts the outer end 1b of lever 1 upwards by driving finger 4 out of cavity A through duct m, thus passing from the retracted position of the figure 5B to the protruding position of the figure 5A in contact with the lug E of the corresponding door. Automatic unlocking is carried out according to reverse kinematics, prior to or jointly with the opening of the doors.

The actuator 2 being disengageable, it is thus possible, thanks to the invention, to perform manual unlocking upon intervention by a passenger or, for example, by a maintenance operator.

In this situation, the person wishing to unlock the doors presses, preferably with his foot, either outside the cabin on the sole 8, or from inside the cabin on the pedal 7 through the hatch of the box. M. These supports have the effect of making the finger 4 enter its housing A by pushing back the rod 20 of the actuator 2, possibly by force if the latter is not in the disengaged state.

Claims (12)

Cabin for a passenger transport installation, comprising at least one door (P1, P2) movable between an open position and a closed position, an interior floor (C) and a threshold (S) located on either side of the door in closed position, the cabin comprising a locking and unlocking device comprising a lug (E) integral with the door and projecting outwards from the cabin, and a locking finger (4) movable between a locking position and an unlocking position, said finger constituting, in the locked position, a stop on the trajectory of the lug (E) from the closed position to the open position of the door, characterized in that the locking finger in the locked position unlocking is erased under the threshold (S) of the cabin, the locking and unlocking device comprising an actuating mechanism, the actuating mechanism comprising a pedal (7) positioned under the interior floor (C) of the cabin, and a kinematic connection between the pedal (7) and the locking finger (4), located under the interior floor of the cabin and the threshold (S) of the cabin. Cabin according to Claim 1, characterized in that the kinematic connection comprises a lever (1) mounted on a pivot (11) and carrying the finger (4) and the pedal (7), the pedal (7) preferably being between the pivot (11) and the finger (4), the lever (1) being movable between a first position in which the locking finger is in the unlocking position and a second position in which the locking finger is in the locking position. Cabin according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the actuating mechanism comprises an actuator (2) capable of driving the lever (1) from the first position to the second position. Cabin according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the actuator (2) is linked to the lever (1) by means of a return lever (3), pivoting about an axis parallel to the pivot (11), an actuator body being mounted to pivot about an axis parallel to the pivot (11). Cabin according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the lever (1) and the actuator (2) are mounted to pivot on a frame of the actuating mechanism, fixed to a frame of the cabin. Cabin according to one of Claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the pivot (11) pivots about a substantially horizontal axis (X). Cabin according to Claim 4, characterized in that said actuator (2) comprises an electromagnet jack comprising a rod (20) movable in translation, one end of which is connected to said return lever (3). Cabin according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking finger (4) is shaped so as to be biased by the lug (E) in a direction opposite to the unlocking position when the lug (E) is in abutment against the locking finger (4). Cabin according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one door is equipped with opening and closing members (F), said locking and unlocking device being coupled to said opening members (F) and closing and being disengageable. Cabin according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pedal is accessible via an access hatch in the interior floor. Cabin according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a duct (m) crossing the threshold (S) is formed to accommodate the locking finger (4). Passenger transport installation comprising at least one cabin according to one of the preceding claims supported by a movable structure rotating with respect to a fixed structure around an axis of revolution and displaced in rotation with respect to the movable structure around a axis parallel to the axis of revolution.

Images