US3850110A - An aerial rope tramway - Google Patents

Abstract

An aerial rope tramway for a ski tow and having a cable grip clamp arrangement wherein the arrangement includes a fixed outer jaw member connected with the ski lift chair hanger bar and an inner movable jaw member and a spring cartridge within the arrangement between the fixed and movable jaws for urging the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw for tight engagement of the clamp arrangement about the cable, the cartridge including a plurality of pairs of opposed Belleville spring washers. A further feature is to provide for a flat generally vertical shoulder on the fixed jaw for engagement with a generally flat vertical surface of the bull wheel liner to prevent the ski lift chair from swinging outward by centrifugal force as it comes around the bull wheel. A further feature is to provide for a spring washer installed in the outer barrel portion of the fixed jaw member for engagement with the chair clamp that is disposed peripherally about the barrel portion of the fixed jaw member to exert pressure against the end of the chair clamp in order to prevent swinging of the chair back and forth, in the line of the cable.

Description

United States Patent [191 Berry et al.

[ NOV. 26, 1974 AN AERIAL ROPE TRAMWAY [75] Inventors: Walter V. Berry, Pittsburgh; Paul J.

Hunziker, Zelienople, both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Pullman Incorporated, Chicago, Ill.

[22] Filed: May 14, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 359,812

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 174,754, Aug. 25, 1971, Pat. No.

[52] US. Cl 104/223, 74/230.7, 74/230.9, 104/173, 104/197, 104/202, 104/216 [51] Int. Cl B61b 7/20 [58] Field of Search 104/173 R, 173 ST, 182,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,391,650 7/1968 Goforth et a1. 104/173 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,147,252 4/1963 Germany 104/200 Primary ExaminerLloyd L. King Assistant Examiner-Randolph A. Reese Attorney, Agent, or FirmRichard .1. Myers; Hilmond O. Vogel [5 7] ABSTRACT A'n aerial rope tramway for a ski tow and having a cable grip clamp arrangement wherein the arrangement includes a fixed outer jaw member connected withthe ski lift chair hanger bar and an inner movable jaw member and a spring cartridge within the arrangement between the fixed and movable jaws for urging the movable jaw toward the fixed jaw for tight engagement of the clamp arrangement about the cable, the cartridge including a plurality of pairs of opposed Belleville spring washers. A further feature is to provide for a flat generally vertical shoulder on the fixed jaw for engagement with a generally flat vertical surface of the bull wheel liner to prevent the ski lift chair from swinging outw'ard by centrifugal force as it comes around the bull wheel. A further feature is to provide for a spring washer installed in the outer barrel portion of the fixed jaw member for engagement with the chair clamp that is disposed peripherally about the barrel portion of the fixed jaw member to exert pressure against the end of the chair clamp in order to prevent swinging of the chair back and forth, in the line of the cable.

3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAnimmvz 3.850.110

SHEET 10F- 2 FIG.2

AN AERIAL ROPE TRAMWAY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The field of art to which this invention pertains is in the ski tow arrangements such as chair lifts, rope tows, T-bar, gondolas, aerial tramways and mono-cables and in particular relates to an aerial rope tramway having a clamp arrangement for attaching the hanger bar to the cable or tow line.

2. Description of the Prior Art The clamp arrangement is the most vital component of a snow ski tow system because the safety and success of the entire system is dependent upon the quality of the clamping device. Slippage of the cable through the clamp could create serious accidents. In order to eliminate the danger of slippage and to compensate for variations in cable thickness, loss of friction between clamp and cable and changes in tension or temperature and,

further, to provide a breathing between the multistrand cable and the cable clamp, it is customary to provide Belleville type spring disc washers inserted between the spindle and the clamp. Proper installation requires that in assembly every other spring washer be reversed. On occasion, reversal of the spring washers was inadvertently not followed and such nesting arrangement caused failure of the clamp, causing the ski chair to slip back down the cable and causing injury to the occupants of the ski chair. The following disclosed novel and inventive arrangement obviates this difficulty and danger.

SUMMARY The present invention relates tocable grips for aerial rope tramways such as ski tows and chair lifts. It is a prime object of this invention to design a sealed cartridge into which these Belleville spring washers are correctly assembled which removes the necessity of as sembly on the job and prevents the possibility of incorrect assembly that can create accidents and wherein this sealed cartridge can then be inserted into a cable clamping device or arrangement after which pressure on the cable is applied by loadingthe Belleville spring washers until the desired force is applied on the clamping arrangement for holding the clamping arrangement fixed about the cable or tow line whereby an attached ski chair or the like by way of the clamping arrangement is prevented from slipping downhill.

Another object of the invention is to provide for an inspection window on each side of the sealed cartridge so that the Belleville springs can be visually assembled.

' need for guard rails which create wear on the chair lift components and thereby resulting in ultimate failure and a possible injury accident.

Still another object of this invention is to provide for a spring means installed in the barrel of the fixed clamp part of the cable clamp arrangement for urging the chair clamp part into engagement with the fixed clamp to prevent swinging of the chair back and forth in line with the cable whereby stability is added to the chair, particularly in the presence of high wind.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view of a snow ski oraerial rope tramway in the form of a chair lift;

FIG. 2 is a transverse view across the tow line and illustrating a supporting sheave at one of several towers and the clamp arrangement and chair hanger bar;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view through a clamping arrangement and the horizontal bull wheel situated at one of two terminal stations;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view through a springcontaining cartridge of the instant invention;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view illustrating the elongated side of the cartridge; and

FIG. 6 is an end view of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention presented here relates to improvements in cable grips for aerial tramways, chair lifts and T-bars operating with monocables. A number of such cable grips are fixed to a continuously operating cable and at short distances from another, such distances being determined by the number of passengers the operator wishes to transport per hour. Passengers can be seated in chairs (whether designed for one, two or four passengers), in gondolas, or the passengers can be towed with T-bars. Lifts of this type run on cables which pass over numerous supporting sheaves fixed on several towers. The sheaves guide the continuously running operating cable and the aforementioned cable grips, which in turn carry chairs, gondolas or T-bars on a hanger. A horizontal wheel is situated in each of the two terminal stations which guides the continuously operating cable around to proceed back in the opposite direction. One of these wheels is joined to a power unit.

The particular inventive arrangement disclosed herebelow involves spring-loaded inner and outer cable clamp members as, for instance, shown in the prior art by U.S. Pats. No. 3,416,462 and 3,420,189.

With reference to the drawings and, in particular with reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a view of a snow ski or aerial rope tramway in the form of a chair lift arrangement 1 which includes the continuous cable or tow line 2, the clamp arrangement 3 and the chair 4. FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the cable 2 and the clamp arrangement 3 extending and engaging with the supporting sheave 5 which is located at one of the towers. FIG. 3 shows the engagement of the outer or fixed clamp or jaw member 6 with the bull wheel resilient liner 7 received in the bull wheel U-shaped flange structure 8 of the bull wheel 9. In addition to the outer fixed clamp or jaw member 6, the clamp arrangement 3 also includes the inner movable clamp or jaw member 10. The outer fixed jaw 6 has a U-shaped jaw end arm lla which has a liner engaging portion 11b which has an outer shoulder or surface 11 that is generally vertical and has an upper or generally horizontal surface 12 that is sloped and is continuous with the shoulder 11 to form a knuckle which is set in recess 13 of the bull wheel liner 7. The recess 13 is formed with complemental surfaces 14 and 15 which cooperate with the shoulder 11 and surface 12 to form a seat for the outer end 11b of the outer jaw member 6. The liner engaging knuckle of the fixed jaw 6 has an arcuate inner portion 16 that engagingly encompasses little more than onehalf of cable or tow line 2. The movable jaw member 10 has an outer arm portion 18 extending between the U-shaped jaw end arm 11a and having an outer arcuate or concave portion 19 that engages about a'remaining third of the cable 2. The movable jaw member 10 has an inner shaft portion 20 fixed to the outer portion 18 and slidably received in bore 22 of the tube or sleeve 23 of the barrel 21 of the fixed jaw member 6. A bronze bushing or sleeve bearing 24 surrounds the sleeve 23 and an annular tubular chair clamp 25 surrounds the bushing 24. The clamp 25 is connected to the chair 4 by the hanger bar 25a. The chair clamp 25 and the bushing 24 are entrapped between the barrel flange 26 of barrel 21, the retainer 27, and annular Belleville spring washer means 28 in the form of opposed ring Belleville spring washers 29 and 30 which nest in recess 31 formed between retainer ring 27 and base 32 of threaded end nut ring portion 33 of barrel nut 34 threaded on the threaded reduced annular end part 35 of fixed jaw barrel sleeve 23. A further retainer ring 36 in cutout 31 cooperates with retainer 27 in entraining spring unit 28.

A Belleville spring-containing tubular sealed cartridge 37 is stowed in the barrel sleeve bore 22 between the inner flat end 37a of shaft portion 20 on the inner end 38 of the bore 22 and the inner end 39 of the threaded Belleville spring compression or load adjusting stud 40. The stud 40 is threadably adjustable in threaded bore 41 of the outer reduced end portion 42 of the nut 34. A set screw 43 in the threaded vertical bore 44 in nut ring portion 33 threadingly engages threads of reduced end 35 to prevent rotation of nut 34 once it is adjusted in position on threaded end 35 of the fixed jaw member 6. The stud 40- is provided with an outer turning nut head 45 at its free outer end and is provided with a locking nut 46 and an associated keyed lock washer 47 intermediate its outer end and disposed against the outer face 48 of the reduced end portion 42 of the nut 34. The desired extension of the stud 40 into the sealed cartridge 37 is maintained by the nut 46 and associated keyed lock washer 47. The cartridge 37 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) includes an annular tubular housing 49 which has welded thereto, as indicated by w, opposed outer end spring retaining rings 50 and 51. Since either ring 50 or 51 is identical, the spring cartridge can be installed in the clamp arrangement from either end of the cartridge. Each ring 50 or 5 l'is provided with an associated plain disc washer 52 and each washer 52 bears against a respective end of an assembly of a plurality of Belleville spring units 53. Each of the plain disc washers 52 closes a respective end of the cartridge. Each Belleville spring assembly comprises two convex spring elements 54 and 55 spaced one over the other and facing two similarly spaced spring elements 56 and 57 in similarly bowed or convex relation with elements 54 and 55. Each spring element 54, 55, 56 or 57 comprises a spring-like member having an outer ring portion 58 that is deflected or angled away from its flat or vertical axis and is provided with a central opening 59. When the adjusting stud 40 engages one of the washers 52 it permits compression for flattening of the various spring elements of the various Belleville spring assemblies 53 so as to place a compression load on the movable jaw member 10.

The sealed cartridge housing 49 into which the spring washers 54, 55, 56 and 57 are correctly assembled con- 5 sequently removes the necessity of assembly at the ski site or on the job and prevents a possibility of incorrect assembly that can create accidents. The flat shoulder 11 of'flxed clamp 6 presses against the yielding bull wheel liner 7 and prevents the chair from swinging outwardly by centrifugal force as it comes around the bull wheel 9. This eliminates the need for guard rails which create wear and ultimate failure on the components which rub against the guard rail. This feature prevents ultimate failure and a resultant accident. The spring washer arrangement 28 is installed in the barrel 21 of the fixed clamp 6 for the purpose of exerting tension or pressure against the end 60' of the chair clamp 25 in order to prevent swinging of the chair 4, back and forth, in line with the cable 2. This feature adds stability to the chair, particular in the presence of high wind. The cartridge housing 49 is provided with a window 60 for viewing and inspecting the spring washers to check for broken spring washers and proper installation of the washers.

The foregoing description and drawings merely explain and illustrate the invention and the invention is not limited thereto, except insofar as the appended claims are so limited, as those skilled in the art who have the disclosure before them will be able to make modifications and variations therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An aerial rope tramway including a cable, an outer fixed cable clamp, an inner movable clamp, a chair connected to the outer clamp and resilient means for urging the movable clamp against said cable between the fixed and movable clamps,

said outer clamp having a cable end including a knuckle means,

a bull wheel for driving the cable and including a resilient liner, said liner having a surface means including'a concave surface means for receiving and engaging the knuckle means of the outer clamp,

said knuckle means having an outer generally vertical flat surface and an upper generally partially horizontal and diagonal surface connected to the upper end of said flat surface and extending in a sloped direction upwardly and outwardlyv away from said surface means of said resilient liner, and

said concave surface means of said resilient liner being complementary to said flat and upper surfaces of said knuckle means for effectively restraining the chair from swinging outwardly by centrifugal force as it comes around the bull wheel during operation of said tramway. V

2. An aerial rope tramway including a passenger carrier means, a cable and a cable clamp assembly for attaching the passenger carrier means to the cable and 60 glrive means including a bull wheel for driving the casaid clamp assembly including an outer fixed cable clamp and an inner movable cable clamp, said outer fixed clamp having one portion including a barrel means and a barrel flange about said barrel means and a resilient means,

said movable clamp being reciprocably disposed within the barrel means of said fixed clamp and said fixed clamp having a second portion and said movable clamp being urged by said resilient means toward said second portion of the fixed clamp for compressing the cable between said fixed and movable clamps,

a passenger carrying means clamp connected to said passenger carrier means and disposed about said barrel means and biasing means including a spring washer means disposed about said barrel means and engaging said carrying means clamp, and a ring nut means connected to said barrel means and en gaging said spring washer means for urging said carrying means clamp into tight engagement with said barrel flange of said fixed clamp.

3. An aerial rope tramway including a passenger carrier means, a cable and a cable clamp assembly for attaching the passenger carrier means to the cable and drive means including a bull wheel for driving the cable,

said clamp assembly including an outer fixed cable clamp and an inner movable cable clamp,

said fixed clamp having a barrel portion having a bore and a portion of the movable clamp extendable in said bore,

resilient means within said bore urging said movable clamp toward said fixed clamp,

a carrier means clamp surrounding the barrel portion,

adjusting means urging said resilient means into engagement with said movable clamp within said bore of the barrel portion, and

biasing means surrounding the barrel portion in a cutout portion of the barrel portion and engaging with and urging the carrier means clamp toward a flange at the other end of the barrel portion for fixing the carrier means clamp against rotational movement about the barrel portion.

Claims (3)

1. An aerial rope tramway including a cable, an outer fixed cable clamp, an inner movable clamp, a chair connected to the outer clamp and resilient means for urging the movable clamp against said cable between the fixed and movable clamps, said outer clamp having a cable end including a knuckle means, a bull wheel for driving the cable and including a resilient liner, said liner having a surface means including a concave surface means for receiving and engaging the knuckle means of the outer clamp, said knuckle means having an outer generally vertical flat surface and an upper generally partially horizontal and diagonal surface connected to the upper end of said flat surface and extending in a sloped direction upwardly and outwardly away from said surface means of said resilient liner, and said concave surface means of said resilient liner being complementary to said flat and upper surfaces of said knuckle means for effectively restraining the chair from swinging outwardly by centrifugal force as it comes around the bull wheel during operation of said tramway.

2. An aerial rope tramway including a passenger carrier means, a cable and a cable clamp assembly for attaching the passenger carrier means to the cable and drive means including a bull wheel for driving the cable, said clamp assembly including an outer fixed cable clamp and an inner movable cable clamp, said outer fixed clamp having one portion including a barrel means and a barrel flange about said barrel means and a resilient means, said movable clamp being reciprocably disposed within the barrel means of said fixed clamp and said fixed clamp having a second portion and said movable clamp being urged by said resilient means toward said second portion of the fixed clamp for compressing the cable between said fixed and movable clamps, a passenger carrying means clamp connected to said passenger carrier means and disposed about said barrel means and biasing means including a spring washer means disposed about said barrel means and engaging said carrying means clamp, and a ring nut means connected to said barrel means and engaging said spring washer means for urging said carrying means clamp into tight engagement with said barrel flange of said fixed clamp.

3. An aerial rope tramway including a passenger carrier means, a cable and a cable clamp assembly for attaching the passenger carrier means to the cable and drive means including a bull wheel for drIving the cable, said clamp assembly including an outer fixed cable clamp and an inner movable cable clamp, said fixed clamp having a barrel portion having a bore and a portion of the movable clamp extendable in said bore, resilient means within said bore urging said movable clamp toward said fixed clamp, a carrier means clamp surrounding the barrel portion, adjusting means urging said resilient means into engagement with said movable clamp within said bore of the barrel portion, and biasing means surrounding the barrel portion in a cutout portion of the barrel portion and engaging with and urging the carrier means clamp toward a flange at the other end of the barrel portion for fixing the carrier means clamp against rotational movement about the barrel portion.

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