Cable transportation system with at least one haul cable and a trolley, and relative operating method

Abstract

A cable transportation system having a rolling track extending along a designated path; a trolley configured to roll along the rolling track; a haul cable extending along the designated path and selectively connectable to the trolley; and at least one roller assembly having a frame, a plurality of rollers fitted movably to the frame, and elastic members located between the frame and the rollers to enable the rollers to assume a first operating position contacting the haul cable, and a second operating position lower than the first operating position and contacting the trolley as the trolley runs along the roller assembly.

Claims

1. A cable transportation system comprising: a rolling track extending along a designated path; a trolley configured to roll along the rolling track; a haul cable extending along the designated path and selectively connectable to the trolley; and a roller assembly including: a frame, a plurality of elastic members, and a plurality of aligned, upwardly biased rollers movably fitted to the frame, wherein each roller is connected to the frame by at least one of the elastic members to enable each of said rollers to independently move to: a first operating position contacting the haul cable, and a second operating position lower than the first operating position and contacting the trolley as the trolley runs along said roller assembly, wherein in the second operating position, said roller is configured to at least partially support the trolley as the trolley runs along said roller assembly.

2. The cable transportation system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the rollers rotates about a first axis crosswise to the designated path.

3. The cable transportation system of claim 2, wherein the roller assembly includes at least one movable arm hinged to the frame about a second axis crosswise to the designated path, at least one of the rollers being fitted to said movable arm to rotate about the first axis.

4. The cable transportation system of claim 3, wherein the roller assembly includes at least one fixed arm coupled to the frame and adjacent to said movable arm, the movable arm and the fixed arm configured to define a seat for at least one of: at least one of the elastic members and a shock absorber.

5. The cable transportation system of claim 1, wherein the roller assembly includes a plurality of shock absorbers and each of the rollers is connected to the frame utilizing at least one of the shock absorbers.

6. The cable transportation system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of rollers are each located beneath the haul cable.

7. The cable transportation system of claim 1, wherein a distance between at least one of the rollers and the rolling track varies as a function of a load on the at least one roller.

8. The cable transportation system of claim 1, which includes a supporting cable, wherein the frame of the roller assembly has a seat configured to: (i) partly house the supporting cable, and (ii) define part of the rolling track along the roller assembly.

9. The cable transportation system of claim 1, wherein the trolley includes a clamp configured to grip the haul cable and at least one of the rollers includes a groove configured to house the haul cable and the clamp.

10. The cable transportation system of claim 9, wherein, in use, the clamp extends partly beneath the haul cable and is positioned directly contacting said roller.

11. The cable transportation system of claim 10, wherein the clamp includes two wedge-shaped end cams, said cams configured to: (i) lower each of said rollers to the second operating position, and (ii) enable each of said rollers to a gradual springback to the first operating position.

12. The cable transportation system of claim 1, wherein the haul cable is located beneath the rolling track.

13. The cable transportation system of claim 1, wherein in the first operating position, the roller is configured to at least partially support the haul cable.

14. A cable transportation system roller assembly comprising: a frame; a plurality of elastic members; and a plurality of aligned, upwardly biased rollers movably fitted to the frame, wherein each roller is connected to the frame by at least one of the elastic members to enable each of said rollers to independently move to: a first operating position in which said roller is configured to contact a haul cable, and a second operating position in which said roller is configured to contact a trolley, said second operating position being lower than the first operating position, wherein in the second operating position, said roller is configured to at least partially support the trolley.

15. The cable transportation system roller assembly of claim 14, which includes a plurality of shock absorbers, wherein each of the rollers is connected to the frame utilizing at least one of the shock absorbers.

16. The cable transportation system roller assembly of claim 14, which includes at least one fixed arm coupled to the frame and adjacent to at least one movable arm, the movable arm and the fixed arm configured to define a seat for at least one of: at least one of the elastic members and a shock absorber.

17. The cable transportation system roller assembly of claim 14, wherein in the first operating position, the roller is configured to at least partially support the haul cable.

18. A method of operating a cable transportation system, the method comprising: utilizing a haul cable to run a trolley along a rolling track extending along a designated path, said haul cable: (i) extending along the designated path, (ii) being selectively connectable to the trolley, and (iii) being supported along a portion of the designated path defined by a roller assembly including a frame, a plurality of aligned, upwardly biased rollers movably fitted to the frame, and a plurality of elastic members, each roller being connected to the frame by at least one of the elastic members; as the trolley runs along the roller assembly, independently lowering each of the rollers from a first operating position wherein said roller is in contact with the haul cable to a second operating position wherein said roller is in contact with the trolley, wherein the trolley is configured to simultaneously maintain a quantity of the rollers in the second operating position, said quantity of the rollers being less than said plurality of rollers, and wherein in the second operating position, said roller at least partially supports the trolley; and after the trolley runs past the roller assembly, restoring each of the rollers to the first operating position.

19. The method of claim 18, which includes cushioning any movement of each of the rollers between the first operating position and the second operating position.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the trolley includes a clamp configured to grip the haul cable, and each of the rollers includes a groove configured to house the haul cable and the clamp, and which includes utilizing the clamp to lower each of the rollers to the second operating position.

21. The method of claim 20, which includes utilizing two wedge-shaped cams at opposite ends of the clamp to respectively lower each of the rollers to the second operating position and enable each of the rollers to gradually springback to the first operating position.

22. The method of claim 18, which includes, in the first operating position, the roller at least partially supporting the haul cable.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) A non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic, partly sectioned side view, with parts removed for clarity, of a cable transportation system in accordance with the present disclosure;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a larger-scale, partly sectioned front view, with parts removed for clarity, of the FIG. 1 cable transportation system; and

(4) FIGS. 3 and 4 show larger-scale side views, with parts removed for clarity, of a detail of the FIG. 1 system in respective operating positions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) Referring now to the example embodiments of the present disclosure illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, number 1 in FIG. 1 indicates as a whole a cable transportation system comprising a haul cable 2; two supporting cables 3 (FIG. 2); a trolley 4 configured to run along supporting cables 3; and a roller assembly 5 configured to support supporting cables 3 and haul cable 2. Supporting cables 3 define a rolling track 6, along which trolley 4 runs, and which extends along a designated or given path P between two arrival/departure stations (not shown in the drawings).

(6) Though the example shown refers specifically to a three-cable system, in which the rolling track is defined by two supporting cables, the present disclosure also applies to two-cable systems, in which the rolling track is defined by one supporting cable, and to cable railways, in which the rolling track is defined by rails.

(7) Trolley 4 comprises a frame 7; four rocker arms 8 (only two shown in FIG. 1), each hinged to frame 7 and supporting two wheels 9; and a camp 10 configured to selectively grip haul cable 2. As shown in FIG. 2, each wheel 9 comprises a groove 11 configured to partly house supporting cable 3. Clamp 10 comprises two jaws 12, which are configured to grip haul cable 2, are held in the grip position by a spring 13, and are selectively released by rollers 14 and 15 configured to engage cams (not shown) at the arrival/departure stations (not shown). Frame 7 comprises an arm 16 configured to support a transportation unit (not shown in the drawings). In other words, cable transportation system 1 is a so-called automatic drive-by clamp system.

(8) As shown in FIG. 2, clamp 10 extends along an elongated portion, parallel to path P, and comprises two wedge-shaped end cams 17.

(9) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, roller assembly 5 may be fixed to a pylon (not shown) or other fixed structure of the cable transportation system, and is configured to support haul cable 2 and, in the example shown, the two supporting cables 3 along a portion of path P. As shown in FIG. 2, roller assembly 5 comprises a frame 18, and a plurality of rollers 19 fitted movably to frame 18, which comprises two beams 20 parallel to each other and to path P and configured to support supporting cables 3. In the example shown, each beam 20 comprises a bar 21, in which a seat 22 is formed to house one of supporting cables 3; beams 20 are connected to each other by plates 23; and rollers 19 are located between the two beams 20, under supporting cables 3 (i.e., under rolling track 6), to support haul cable 2, which is located halfway between the two supporting cables 3, under rolling track 6.

(10) As shown in FIG. 1, rollers 19 are located under haul cable 2 and supported by elastic members 24. In the embodiment shown, each roller 19 is movable, independently with respect to frame 18 and the other rollers 19, between a first operating position contacting haul cable 2, and a second operating position lower than the first and contacting clamp 10. In FIG. 1, four rollers 19 at apposite ends of roller assembly 5 are in the first operating position; three centre rollers 19 under clamp 10 are in the second operating position; and two rollers 19 at the cams are in an intermediate position between the first and second operating positions.

(11) As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each roller 19 rotates about an axis A1 crosswise to designated or given path P, has a groove 25 (seen in FIG. 2) configured to house haul cable 2 and clamp 10, and is associated with a respective elastic member upwardly supporting roller 19. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, cable transportation system 1 comprises a plurality of movable arms 26, and a plurality of fixed arms 27.

(12) As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each movable arm 26 supports a roller 19, and is hinged to frame 18 about an axis A2 parallel to axis A1. Each fixed arm 27 is located close to a movable arm 26; and movable arm 26 and fixed arm 27 are configured to define, between their free ends, a seat for an elastic member 24, which, in the example shown, works by compression and is, in one embodiment, a coil spring. Roller assembly 5 also comprises, for each roller 19, a shock absorber 28, which extends, parallel to elastic member 24, between the free ends of movable arm 26 and fixed arm 27.

(13) FIG. 3 shows elastic member 24 extended, and roller 19 in the first operating position contacting haul cable 2; and FIG. 4 shows elastic member 24 compressed, and roller 19 in the lower second operating position contacting clamp 10.

(14) As shown in FIG. 1, rollers 19 and rolling track 6 are separated by a vertical distance D1; and clamp 10 is configured so that, as trolley 4 runs along roller assembly 5, rollers 19 are positioned contacting clamp 10, and drop with respect to rolling track 6. That is, when positioned contacting clamp 10, each roller 19 is at a distance D2, greater than D1, from the rolling track, so, as trolley 4 runs along roller assembly 5, rollers 19 are lowered from the first to the second operating position, and haul cable 2 is only moved slightly and never extracted from grooves 25 (FIG. 2) in rollers 19, thus minimizing oscillation of the haul cable. Moreover, the shock absorbers prevent oscillation of rollers 19 as they spring back into position; and rollers 19 are never completely unloaded. That is, the loads on roller assembly 5 are distributed over the various component parts of roller assembly 5, even as trolley 4 runs past.

(15) The present disclosure also covers embodiments not described in detail herein, as well as equivalent embodiments within the protective scope of the accompanying Claims. For example, the elastic members may be defined by leaf springs or other elastic members, and the rollers may be connected to the frame in various other ways. Accordingly, changes may be made to the present disclosure without, however, departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the accompanying Claims. It should thus be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.