FR2476581A1 - SYSTEM FOR THE CONTINUOUS CONTINUOUS DELIVERY OF PASSENGERS OVER A FEW HUNDRED METERS USING VEHICLE RAMES OPERATING IN SHUTTLES - Google Patents

Abstract

Installation for conveying travellers, according to which the entrances and exits for the travellers to the stations (S1, S2) are at the end of the platform, the entrances at the end of the departing trains (R1, R2), and the exits at the head of the incoming trains; the length of the journeys of the trains between two stations, the length of time they are parked, and consequently the length of the gaps between two successive departures or arrivals are the same; each train (R1, R1) offers a number of places which is greater than the number of travellers who, at the busiest times, come through the entrance of the embarking platform between two successive departures; the length of the trains is substantially equal to the distance which a person walking at the speed of the travellers progressing along the embarking platform during the busiest times can cover between two departures.

Description

The present invention relates to a system for the transportation of travelers, comprising at least one train of vehicles, commuting between two terminal stations a few hundred meters apart, each of which is equipped with at least one platform for serving the oar of a length at least equal to that of the oar; the parking of a train in a station must obviously be sufficient to allow this service, that is to say for disembarking and boarding passengers, if the passenger service is provided in both directions of traffic, to their disembarkation or their embarkation only if it is only insured in one direction.

Many cable cars and railways, in particular rack and pinion, use such a system, the major drawback of which is that the trains are only immediately accessible to passengers at certain times and in certain circumstances, that is to say when they are stopped at a station and their loading in travelers is not complete.

Outside these hours and in such circumstances, any traveler who arrives at the entrance to a station must wait for the arrival of a train, and possibly its evacuation, before being able to access it. If it arrives at the moment when a train leaves the station, the duration of this wait is substantially equal to the interval between two successive departures from the same station, and it will be almost double if a number of passengers equal to that that can transport the train arrived before him at the station.

These waste of time, generally very badly accepted, are at the origin of the opinion, false but commonly accepted, that one cannot expect from a system of shuttles circulating between two not far distant points, a service of sufficient quality, that is to say at least equal to that of the service which a conveyor belt or any other system with continuous or pseudo-continuous movement can provide.

The present invention relates to an arrangement of a shuttle system, capable in particular of very advantageously replacing in all respects the conveyor belts (moving walkways) currently used, in particular in certain corridors of the metropolitan of Paris, but offering numerous other possibilities, this arrangement being such that travelers always progress in the same direction, from entry to exit from the system, first by walking on the departure platform, then transported, seated, supported, or standing, at a speed multiple of their normal walking speed, and finally by walking on the quay of arrival until the exit, the only times of interruption of their progression being those, very brief, necessary for their embarkation and their disembarkation, without excessive haste and safely.

To this end, this system for passenger transport is characterized by the combination of the following means - passenger entrances and exits at stations are
end of platform, entrances at the tail of departing trains and
the outputs at the head of the trains upon arrival, - the duration of the journeys of the trains between two stations, that of
their parking lots, and consequently that of the intervals
between two departures, or two successive arrivals in a
same station, are always much the same, - each train offers a number of seats greater than the number of
travelers who, at the time of the greatest influx, fran
the entrance to the embarkation platform during the interval
time between two successive departures, - the length of the trains is substantially equal to the distance
that can travel, during the time interval between two
successive departures, a person walking at the speed of
column of travelers advancing on the boarding platform
during the peak season.

Under these conditions, the progress of the column of travelers on the quays is not slowed down before boarding, and the travelers find themselves, when boarding, distributed on the quay as evenly as possible, as long as possible, which makes it easier and faster to board
In the most frequent case where the system comprises two oars, to ensure the absolute synchronism of their movements one can have recourse to traction by cabal, each of the oars being able to be made integral with the same cable by means of a fixed clamp .

To facilitate the embarkation and disembarkation of travelers, this system can also be arranged so that the accesses to each train on at least one of its lateral faces, and the places offered in this train, are distributed as regularly as possible over the entire length of the train, and that the total width of the accesses provided on a lateral face of a train is as large as possible and preferably substantially equal to its length.

The platforms assigned, either exclusively for embarkation or exclusively for disembarkation in the case of passenger transport in one direction, are also affected in the case of transport in two directions, to avoid mixing of the two flows of travelers going in opposite directions. An exception is made to this rule if the configuration of the premises in a station makes it impossible to build more than one platform.

The duration of parking of the trains is strictly limited to that necessary for the ascent or descent of passengers without excessive haste and in complete safety.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the trains are divided into separate locations, possibly materially separated, as similar to each other as possible, each of which can contain only one passenger, preferably facing the direction of travel. market ; it is of course possible to provide, at regular intervals or not, larger spaces, to allow the loading of trolleys, large suitcases or any other impedimenta.

All travelers can go up or down simultaneously, the ascent and descent being done by a simple step.

In the case where the pitches can only accommodate one traveler, the oars are very narrow, their width hardly exceeding that of the shoulders of a robust man
Three arrangements can be envisaged:
- or else each location is accessible by one and the other side faces of the train; one can in this case provide, either that each traveler uses an access for the rise and the other for the descent, or that all the travelers traveling in one direction use an access, while all the travelers traveling in the other direction use the other access
- or each location has only one access, all the accesses being grouped on the same lateral face of the train
- Or each location having, as before, only one access, this access is sometimes on a side face, sometimes on the other.

In some cases the separate locations in which the trains are divided are much larger and can each contain at least two passengers; these always have access on one side for the ascent and another on the other side for the descent.

To facilitate the placement of passengers on the boarding platform, it can be divided longitudinally into as many separate transverse bands as there are separate locations offered in the trains, whether these locations are each for one or for several passengers, so that, during the parking of the train, each transverse strip corresponds to a separate space for the train offered to passengers. The number of passengers on each transverse strip at the time of boarding must obviously not exceed the number of passengers that can accommodate each location on the train.

The seats in the train can be numbered, the numbers of these places being written on the departure platform, to the right of these places, when a train is stopped.

To regulate the progress, on the embarkation quay, of the column of travelers, one can use a signaling which materializes the speed of progression of the column.

This signaling will be used in particular in the event of low traffic, to limit the speed of the passenger column to a speed significantly lower than the normal speed of an isolated pedestrian, and to be able to reduce the length of the train accordingly.

This system provides faster and less tiring passenger routing than that provided by conventional moving walkways.

These allow the traveler to move at a speed of 2.5 km, if he is standing still on the sidewalk, and at a speed of 7 km / h if he is walking at normal speed. The average speed of movement between entering and leaving the sidewalk is therefore around 5 km / h. Similarly, travelers make on average during this trip only about a third of the steps they should have taken in the absence of the sidewalk
With the arrangement of the routing system according to the present invention, the displacement of the traveler between the entry and the exit of the system will be carried out at approximately the same speed for all, this speed being able to vary from 7 km / h for the most shorter, more than 12 km / h for the longest. In the first case, the number of steps that travelers will have to take will be only a quarter of that of the steps they would have had to take in the absence of "mechanization ". In the second case, it will be less than a fifth.

A higher speed is thus obtained from the passengers and a reduction in walking time.

In addition, this routing system offers the advantage of being of a cost of installation and maintenance much lower than that of moving walkways, of much greater robustness, of greatly improved reliability, of make it possible to cross much greater distances between two terminal stations, not to impose a rectilinear course, but to allow curves, even of small radius, as well as variations in profile in length, to be passable at level, and to be able to be installed both in a covered space and in full ai-r.

Finally, the power of this system is modular, that is to say that it can vary depending on the amount of traffic, while the power of the conventional moving walkway is always equal to approximately one hundred travelers per minute.

In the case of the preferred embodiment, the nominal power of the system can reach 150 passengers per minute per direction of travel.

If the separate locations in the trains can contain more than one passenger, the nominal power of the system is even much greater.

The accompanying drawing shows, by way of example, a form of embodiment of the invention in the case where the system comprises two trainsets of vehicles.

Figure 1 is a schematic view.

Figure 2 is a front view of a vehicle train.

Figures 3 and 4 are side views of a vehicle of this train.

The two trainsets R1 and R2 are towed and their movements synchronized by cables; they travel by shuttle on a single track, except in the crossing zone halfway between stations S1 and
It will be assumed that the separate locations, possibly separate, of each train can accommodate only one traveler each.

In this case, a line of travelers whose head has just arrived at the entrance A1 of the embarkation platform E1 of the station S1, when the start signal of the train R1 sounds, progresses regularly on this platform and arrives at its end B1 just when the other train -R2, which left station S2 while the head of the queue was in A1, has just stopped at station S1; the capacity of this train is greater than the number of passengers in the queue, distributed on the boarding platform E1, between its entrance A1 and its end B1, when the density of this queue is maximum.

Under these conditions, all the passengers in this queue, distributed on the platform E1 between Al and B1 can board the train R2 simultaneously when it stops, while the passengers who occupied it while descending from the other side, on the platform landing D1.

The latter form a line, whose stubbornness, which is in A1 can leave the station immediately, through the corridor C1 and whose tail, which is in B1 can progress on the landing platform D1 and arrive at the exit A1 of the station S1 just before the R1 train stops at the station so it does not interfere with passengers getting off.

The continuity of passenger routing is manifested in the fact that the passenger column is found at the bottom of the system in the same consistency as it had at the entrance, since the last passenger leaving the R2 train crossed the exit just before the first passenger of the next train R1.

The sections of passenger queues using this system therefore progress in the same direction, in an almost continuous manner, the only time interrupting this progression being that necessary for the ascent of some and the simultaneous descent of others, time which, without qu 'they hurry and safely, can be of the order of a few seconds, less than or at most equal to 5 seconds.

The ascent and descent of travelers to the other station S2 is done in the same way.

The use of the system described above would not be modified in the case where some of the locations of the train, preferably uniformly distributed, and whose position relative to the platform, when the train is stopped, can be indicated on the platform, were of larger dimensions, to allow a traveler to go up with a child, or with luggage or other impedimenta.

The trains can be made up of small vehicles 1 as shown in Figures 2 to 4, carried by two pairs of wheels 2 and 3 and divided by five pairs of uprights 4 to 8 in four locations of the same dimensions, with a fifth location, of slightly larger dimensions, straddling two successive vehicles; between each pair of uprights, such as 4 and 4a, a plate 9 can be provided which can be used as a backrest which, when a traveler, preferably facing the direction of travel, rests on it, causes the pivoting up to the horizontal of two lateral arms 10 and 11, on each side of the space, which fold down automatically, as soon as the traveler stops leaning on it, thus allowing him to get off the train, and freeing access for the traveler who, on the opposite platform, wishes to go up there.

This device 9, 10 and 11 for backing and lateral limitation of the locations of the trainsets, is mounted symmetrically with respect to each pair of uprights, such as 4 and 4a; it therefore allows its use, in an identical manner, by travelers occupying these locations in the direction of travel, whatever it is.

This system is intended for travelers walking at an optimal speed, which is generally normal walking speed; it is interesting for its proper functioning to facilitate the traveler to adopt this optimum speed.

We can for this purpose provide on the boarding platform a platform edge in translucent material covering a ramp of equidistant electric lamps, a decimeter for example, of which only those one meter from each other would be lit simultaneously, the others remaining extinguished, each group of lighted lamps separated by one meter going out just before the next group lights up, the apparent progression of these groups of lighted lamps simultaneously corresponding to the determined optimum running speed.

This lighting can start to operate at each departure of trains, extend at each arrival of trains, and remain off until the next departure of trains, that is to say during all the time reserved for the rise of passengers spread over the embarkation platform, and at the simultaneous descent, onto the disembarkation platform, of the passengers transported by the train which has just stopped.

The operation of this lighting can obviously be automatic. and controlled by that of the oars.

It is also possible to provide optical or phonic systems to indicate to travelers arriving or progressing on the platform the time they have before arriving at the station of the train in which they will have to board.

It is, moreover, understood that the embodiment of the invention which has been described above with reference to the appended drawing has been given for information only and is in no way limitative and that numerous modifications can be made to take account of the problems. private individuals, depending on the traffic to be expected, the distances to be covered, the spaces available, and which its great flexibility makes it possible to resolve by appropriately choosing the various parameters that this system comprises for the almost continuous routing of travelers, over a few hundred of meters, using trainsets of vehicles operating in shuttles.

Claims (9)

- CLAIMS 1. Passenger routing system, including with at least one train of vehicles, commuting between two terminal stations a few hundred miles apart meters, each of which is equipped with at least one quay for the train set 1 service at least equal in length to the train, characterized by the combination of the following means - passenger entrances and exits to stations, are in end of platform, entrances at the tail of departing trains, and train trips on arrival, - the duration of the train journeys between two stations, that of their parking lots, and consequently that of the intervals between two departures, or two successive arrivals in the same station, are always much the same, - each train offers a number of seats greater than the number of travelers who, at the peak of traffic, cross feels the entrance to the boarding platform during the time between two successive departures, - the length of the trains is substantially equal to the distance that can travel, during the time interval between two successive departures, a person walking at the speed of column of travelers advancing on the boarding platform during the peak period 2. System according to claim I, characterized in that the accesses to each train, on at least one side, and the places offered in this train are also distributed regularly as possible over the entire length of the train, and the total width of the accesses provided on a lateral face of a train is as large as possible and preferably substantially equal to its length. 3. System according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the duration of parking of the trains is strictly limited to the time necessary for passengers for the ascent or descent, without excessive haste and safely. 4. System according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the embarkation platform is divided longitudinally into as many distinct transverse bands as there are locations offered in the trainsets, as these locations either for one or for several travelers. 5. System according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the places offered in the train are numbered, and these same numbers are registered on the embarkation platform to the right of the places offered when the train is stopped. 6. System according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the trains have a number of locations of larger dimensions than the others. 7. System according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the trainsets are divided into separate locations, as similar to each other as possible, each of which can contain only one traveler, standing in the direction of travel. 8. System according to claim 7, characterized in that the oars are very narrow, their width hardly exceeding that of the shoulders of a robust man. 9. System according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, to regularize the progress, on the embarkation platform, of the passenger column, a signaling materializes the speed of progression of the column.