Railways – Terminals and stations – Passenger
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-08
2001-03-20
Le, Mark T. (Department: 3617)
Railways
Terminals and stations
Passenger
C104S178000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202563
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the technical field of aerial cable transport installations, notably cars or seats, suspended by coupling clamps to the cable, said clamps being disengageable.
More particularly, the invention relates to a process enabling both the storage and the taking from stock of the vehicles of an aerial cable installation, this process being implemented during the installation shutdowns, for example during a slack period or at the end of the day.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
The storage of the vehicles of an aerial cable transport entails numerous technical problems that have been variously approached in the prior art.
EP-369.981 describes a storage installation for cable cars. This installation comprises a storage rail pivoting around a horizontal shaft, the seats or cars motion being induced, along the storage rail, by the gravitational force.
The storage zone described in EP-369.981 occupies a considerable ground surface, is thus cumbersome nearby an end station of the installation, and is expensive.
FR-2.598.373 describes an arrangement of transfer tracks and/or garage tracks for a disengageable car or chair lift. If this arrangement avoids the bumping between vehicles while maintaining a minimal space between them, it induces an encumbered space and an additional cost for the transport installation.
FR-2.654.052 describes a process for the starting-up and shutting-down of an aerial cable transport installation.
Contrarily to most of the installations known in the prior art, the installation described in FR-2.654.052 is devoid of a large size shed adjacent to the departure and arrival stations for the storage of cars or seats on branch tracks.
These sheds are expensive, notably in mountainous or rough regions.
In the facility described in FR-2.654.052, the cars are stored in the stations, using a part of the launching device and a part of the deceleration device, each of these devices comprising two sections, one of which being the storage one.
The installation described in FR-2.654.052 has many drawbacks.
In particular, the storage zone of the cars is of limited dimensions since it is necessary, according to this facility, to maintain an acceleration or a deceleration zone to reduce the speed of the vehicle.
Moreover, the utilization of motors synchronized to the speed of the cable which transmit the movement to the pneumatics which have between them a speed ratio of 1, and the fact that the storage zone functions step by step to enable the storage of cars at regular intervals generates a substantial investment both in electronic and mechanical management equipment.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a process enabling both the storage and taking from the stock of the vehicles of aerial cable transport installations, which does not present the drawbacks known in the prior art.
To this end, the invention relates, according to a first embodiment, to a process for the shutdown of an aerial transport installation with cables, one of which at least being a towing cable, said installation comprising a plurality of cars fixed to the cable(s) through at least one disengageable clamp, said process including the following steps:
a/ braking and stopping of a first car in the vicinity of the exit of the station, via the engagement of a means for braking and stopping the car;
b/ transfer of the other cars to be found in the station during step a/, the speed of the cable being approximately constant;
c/ braking and stopping of a second car, at a certain distance from the first car, via the engagement of a means for braking and stopping a car, associated to the second car;
d/ transfer of the other cars to be found in the station during step c/, the speed of the cable being approximately constant;
e/ repetition of the steps c/ and d/, it being possible to use the entire length of the station for the storage of the cars.
The invention relates, according to a second embodiment to a process for the startup of an aerial transport installation with cables, one of which at least being a towing cable, said installation comprising a plurality of cars fixed to the cable(s), said process including the following steps:
a/ launching of a first car (
2
a
) located at the beginning of the acceleration section by disengagement of a car stopping means and by coupling said car (
2
a
) to the towing cable;
b/ transfer of the other cars to be found in the station during step a/, the speed of the cable being approximately constant;
c/ launching of a second car (
2
b
) located at the beginning of the acceleration section, by disengagement of a car stopping means and coupling of said car (
2
b
) to the towing cable;
d/ transfer of the other cars to be found in the station during step c/, the speed of the cable being approximately constant;
e/ repetition of steps c/ and d/, until all the cars are rhythmically placed once again on the installation.
The invention also relates to an aerial cable transport installation implementing said process.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4627361 (1986-12-01), Tarassoff
patent: 4712486 (1987-12-01), Tarassoff
patent: 4843968 (1989-07-01), Rikli
patent: 5105745 (1992-04-01), Tarassoff
patent: 5575215 (1996-11-01), Egli et al.
patent: 2583363 (1986-12-01), None
patent: 2605574 (1988-04-01), None
patent: 0557179 (1993-08-01), None
Tarassoff Serge
Vibert Gilles
Le Mark T.
Parkhurst & Wendell LLP
Pomagalski SA
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