PARKING SYSTEM FOR CABLEWAY VEHICLES

Abstract

Parking system to improve the parking and feeding of cableway vehicles. Each cableway vehicle has connecting elements designed to detachably connect adjacent cableway vehicles. When parking, a jointly movable vehicle combination of detachably connected cableway vehicles is parked on the parking track. For feeding cableway vehicles, a parking track conveyor pulls the vehicle combination from the parking track toward the feed track until the detachably connected connecting elements of two cableway vehicles at an end of the vehicle combination facing the track end are in an effective range of an actuating device. The actuating device detaches the connecting elements between these two cableway vehicles, and the feed track conveyor moves the cableway vehicle located at the end of the vehicle combination facing the track end away from the parking track.

Claims

1. A parking system for a plurality of cableway vehicles of a cableway, the cableway including a feed track, a feed track conveyor provided on the feed track for moving the plurality of cableway vehicles along the feed track, and a traction cable, in which the plurality of cableway vehicles are couplable to and decouplable from the traction cable, the parking system comprising: a parking area with a parking track for parking the cableway vehicles, the parking track having an axial track end that is connected to the feed track, wherein, in states decoupled from the traction cable, the cableway vehicles are movable from the feed track over the track end and into the parking track; the cableway vehicles each have at least two connecting elements structured and arranged to detachably connect adjacent cableway vehicles to one another, wherein, via the connecting elements, at least two cableway vehicles are detachably connected to one another as a jointly movable vehicle combination that is parkable on the parking track; an actuating device arranged in a region of the track end; and a parking track conveyor provided on the parking track is structured to pull the jointly movable vehicle combination from the parking track in a direction of the feed track, until the detachably connected connection elements between adjacent cableway vehicles located at an end of the pulled jointly movable vehicle combination facing the track end reach an effective range of the actuation device, where the actuation device is configured to detach the detachably connected connecting elements between the adjacent cableway vehicles, wherein, after the actuation device detaches the detachably connected connecting elements between the adjacent cableway vehicles, the feed track conveyor is configured to move a forwardmost cableway vehicle of the adjacent cableway vehicles located at the end of the pulled jointly movable vehicle combination away from the parking track.

2. The parking system according to claim 1, wherein the feed track conveyor is configured to move a first cableway vehicle to be parked in a direction toward an end of the parking track and, when the first cableway vehicle to be parked reaches an effective range of a connecting element of a second cableway vehicle located in an area of the end of the parking track, and wherein the actuating device acts upon at least one of the connecting elements of the first or second cableway vehicle to detachably connect the first and second cableway vehicles, thereby forming the jointly movable vehicle combination on the parking track, and wherein one of the feed track conveyor or the parking track conveyor is configured to push the jointly movable vehicle combination into the parking track for parking until the first cableway vehicle is located in the area of the track end.

3. The parking system according to claim 1, wherein the actuating device is designed to be active and comprises an actuator that interacts with the detachable connecting elements of the cableway vehicles in order to generate an actuating force for connecting or detaching the connecting element.

4. The parking system according to claim 1, wherein the actuating device is designed to be passive and interacts with the cableway vehicle during movement of the cableway vehicle to generate an actuating force for connecting or detaching the connecting element.

5. The parking system according to claim 4, wherein the passive actuating device comprises a positive guide, and wherein movement of the cableway vehicles along the positive guide generate the actuating force to connect or detach the adjacent cableway vehicles to one another via the connecting elements.

6. The parking system according to claim 1, wherein one of the at least two connecting elements of the cableway vehicles is designed as a hook element and another of the at least two connecting elements of the cableway vehicles is designed as an eyelet element, and wherein, one of: the hook element of a first cableway vehicle engages in the eyelet element of a second cableway vehicle adjacent the first cableway vehicle to connect the cableway vehicles together, or the hook element of a first cableway vehicle disengages from the eyelet element of a second cableway vehicle adjacent the first cableway vehicle to detach the adjacent cableway vehicles.

7. The parking system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cableway vehicles each comprise a transport body and a hanger connected to the transport body, wherein the hanger is configured to fasten a respective cableway vehicle to the traction cable, and wherein the connecting elements are provided on the hanger of the respective cableway vehicle.

8. A cableway comprising: at least one cableway station, wherein the at least one cableway station comprises a parking system according to claim 1.

9. A method for operating a parking system for a plurality of cableway vehicles of a cableway, comprising: moving with a feed track conveyor cableway vehicles in a state decoupled from a traction cable of the cableway from a feed track to a parking track via a track end of the parking track connected to the feed track; wherein the cableway vehicles each have at least two connecting elements, and the method further comprises detachably connecting at least two cableway vehicles to one another via the connecting elements to form a jointly movable vehicle combination; parking the jointly movable vehicle combination on the parking track; pulling the parked jointly movable vehicle out of the parking track and in a direction of the feed track with a parking track conveyor of the parking track until the detachably connected connecting elements of adjacent cableway vehicles located at an end of the jointly movable vehicle combination facing the track end reach the effective range of an actuating device arranged in the region of the track end; detaching via the actuating device the detachably connected connecting elements between the adjacent cableway vehicles; and moving via the feed track conveyor a forwardmost cableway vehicle of the adjacent cableway vehicles located at the end of the jointly movable vehicle combination facing the track end away from the parking track.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, for parking, the method further comprises: moving via feed track conveyor a first cableway vehicle to be parked in a direction toward an end of the parking track until the first cableway vehicle to be parked reaches an effective range of a connecting element of a second cableway vehicle located in an area of the end of the parking track, via the actuating device, detachably connecting at least one of the connecting elements of the first or second cableway vehicle to detachably connect the first and second cableway vehicles, thereby forming the jointly movable vehicle combination on the parking track, and pushing via one of the feed track conveyor or the parking track conveyor the jointly movable vehicle combination into the parking track for parking until the first cableway vehicle is located in the area of the track end.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The present invention is described in greater detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, which show schematic and non-limiting advantageous embodiments of the invention by way of example. In the figures:

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a cableway station with a parking system according to the invention,

[0034] FIG. 2 shows a cableway vehicle with connecting elements according to the invention,

[0035] FIGS. 3A-3C show an actuating device designed as a positive guide, and

[0036] FIG. 4 shows a connection of two connecting elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the present invention in more detail than is necessary for the fundamental understanding of the present invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the present invention may be embodied in practice.

[0038] In FIG. 1, a cableway station 20 of a cableway 1 (e.g., a circulating cableway), e.g., a valley or mountain station, is shown only schematically in a plan view. The cableway 1 usually has at least one further cableway station, e.g., a mountain or valley station or a middle station, which is not shown in FIG. 1. A traction cable 3 runs between the cableway stations 20, e.g., on cable sheaves 23 in the cableway stations 20, wherein at least one cable sheave 23 is driven by a cableway drive 24. A plurality of cableway vehicles 2, such as gondolas or chairs, are transported on the traction cable 3 between the cableway stations 20. In a cableway station 20, the cableway vehicles 2 are decoupled from the traction cable 3 in a known manner after entering the cableway station 20. Before exiting the cableway station 20, the cableway vehicles 2 are re-coupled to the traction cable 3. Cable clamps 61 (shown in FIG. 2) on the cableway vehicles 2 are used for decoupling and coupling. A station conveyor 25, e.g., a tire conveyor or a continuous conveyor, is provided for moving a cableway vehicle 2, which has been decoupled from the traction cable 3, in the cableway station 20. At least one guide rail 26 can be provided in the cableway station 20, along which the (decoupled) cableway vehicles 2 can be guided in the cableway station 20. As is known, the cableway vehicles 2 are moved suspended by the station conveyor 25 in the cableway station 20 along the guide rail 26.

[0039] FIG. 1 shows the basic structure of the parking system 10 according to the invention. The parking system 10 can be located in or near one of the cableway stations 20 of the cableway 1. The parking system 10 may be at the same or a different level than the cableway station 20. The parking system 10 has a parking area P. The plurality of cableway vehicles 2 are parked in the parking area P. For this purpose, there is at least one parking track 11 in the parking area P. The invention will be described below only with one parking track 11, although several parking tracks 11 can of course also be provided in the parking system 10. The parking track 11 in FIG. 1 has, for example, a straight course. Of course, depending upon the embodiment of the parking system 10, the parking track 11 can also have any other course. The parking system 10 can, for example, be housed in a building, such as a hall, in order to protect parked cableway vehicles 2 from the weather.

[0040] The parking track 11 has an axial track end 11a, wherein a feed track 21 of the cableway 1 is connected to the track end 11a of the parking track 11. Connected does not necessarily mean that the feed track 21 and parking track 11 are directly connected to each other, but that it is possible to move a cableway vehicle 2 from the feed track 21 to the parking track 11, and vice versa. In one embodiment, the parking track 11 ends at the axial track end facing away from and opposite the feed track 21. The parking track 11 is designed as a dead-end track for this purpose. The parking track 11 can also be designed as a closed track, wherein closed means that the track end of the parking track 11 facing away from the feed track 21 is connected to the track end 11a or the feed track 21. If more than one parking track 11 is provided in the parking area P, junctions 28 from the feed track 21 may be provided. A switch can be provided at a junction 28, or the junction 28 can be designed as a switch in order to connect a parking track 11 to the feed track 21 and, depending upon the position of the switch, to guide a cableway vehicle 2 from the feed track 21 onto a parking track 11 or to guide it further along the feed track 21. In FIG. 1, an additional parking track 11 is only schematically indicated (dashed line). As already mentioned, the invention will be described below with one parking track 11.

[0041] The cableway vehicles 2 in a state decoupled from the traction cable 3 of the cableway 1 can be moved in the decoupled state from the feed track 21 over the track end 11a into the parking track 11. The feed track 21 is connected to the station conveyor 25 in the cableway station 20, e.g., via a switch 27, in order to transfer a cableway vehicle 2 from the station conveyor 25 onto the feed track 21, or vice versa. The feed track 21 and the parking track 11 are preferably designed in such a way that the cableway vehicles 2 are moved suspended from the respective track along the respective track and, in the case of the parking track 11, are parked suspended. Alternatively, the cableway vehicles 2 can also be moved or parked stationary on the respective track (e.g., on a trolley). However, the embodiment of the respective track is irrelevant for the coupling of the cableway vehicles 2 according to the invention.

[0042] A feed track conveyor 22 is provided on the feed track 21 for moving a cableway vehicle 2 along the feed track 21. The feed track conveyor 22 can be designed in a known manner as a tire conveyor, continuous conveyor, or other suitable conveyor. For this purpose, a guide rail for the cableway vehicle 2 can also be provided in the region of the feed track conveyor 22.

[0043] In a known manner, the cableway vehicles 2 are designed to transport persons and/or objects. For this purpose, the cableway vehicles 2 comprise a transport body 5 which is designed to accommodate persons and/or objects to be transported. In the figures, a cabin is shown as an example as the transport body 5 of the cableway vehicles 2, wherein a number of chairs can also be provided as the transport body 5 (e.g., in a chair lift).

[0044] The cableway vehicle 2 further comprises a hanger 6, wherein the hanger 6 serves to fasten the cableway vehicle 2 to a traction cable 3. The hanger 6 is connected to the transport body 5for example, via a suitable screw connection. The cable clamp 61 is arranged on the hanger 6, via which the cableway vehicle 2 can be detachably coupled to the traction cable 3 in a known manner. The cable clamp 61 is shown only schematically in FIG. 2. The cable clamp 61 can clamp the traction cable 3 under the action of a clamp spring (not shown), wherein the cable clamp 61 can be mechanically actuated for opening via a clamp actuation in the cableway station 20. A running gear 62 with a plurality of rollers 63 can be provided on the hanger 6. The rollers 63 are arranged rotatably on the running gear 62. When the running gear 62 is used on a cableway vehicle 2, the rollers 63 run on supporting cables 33 which are stretched between two cableway stations 20 of the cableway 1. In FIG. 2, the cableway vehicle 2 with a running gear 62 is shown as an example.

[0045] Furthermore, at least one guide roller can be arranged on the hanger 6 which cooperates with a guide rail in the cableway station 20 and/or in the parking system 10 in order to guide the cableway vehicle 2 along guide rails. The parking track conveyor 15, the feed track conveyor 22, and the station conveyor 25 are each designed, for example, as a tire conveyor in which a plurality of driven tires are rotatable arranged one behind the other in the conveying direction of the cableway vehicles. The tires interact with a friction lining on the hanger 6 of the cableway vehicle 2 decoupled from the traction cable 3 in order to move the vehicle through the cableway station 20 and/or through the parking system 10 by rotating the tires, e.g., along a guide rail.

[0046] According to the invention, the cableway vehicles 2 each have at least two connecting elements 4 which are designed to detachably connect two adjacent cableway vehicles 2 to one another during operation of the parking system 10. The cableway vehicles 2, which are detachably connected to one another via the connecting elements 4, form a jointly movable vehicle combination 12. The vehicle combination 12 is designed to be pulled or pushed along the parking track 11 in a conveying direction F (indicated by a double arrow in FIG. 1) without cableway vehicles 2 becoming detached from the vehicle combination 12. Due to the connecting elements 4, it is irrelevant which cableway vehicle 2 in the vehicle combination 12 is used for the movement of the vehicle combination 12. This simplifies the maneuvering of cableway vehicles 2 in the parking area.

[0047] Preferably, the connecting elements 4 are provided on the hanger of the respective cableway vehicle 2. As shown by way of example in FIG. 2, the connecting elements 4 on the running gear 62 (if present) are provided on the hanger 6 of the cableway vehicle 2. Of course, the connecting elements 4 can also be arranged on the transport body 5 of the cableway vehicles 2. For example, depending upon the embodiment of the cableway vehicles 2 or the cableway 1, it may be appropriate to attach the connecting elements 4 to the hanger 6 or to the transport body 5. In order to enable a relative movement of the connected cableway vehicles 2 to one another, the connecting elements 4 can be hinged on the cableway vehicles 2, or the connecting elements 4 are designed to enable the movement.

[0048] The connecting elements 4 can be designed differently. For example, the connection can be mechanical, magnetic, etc. As connecting elements 4, for example, a type of plug connector, screw connector, quick-release coupling, etc., can be used. As shown in FIG. 2, one of the two connecting elements 4 of the cableway vehicle 2 is preferably designed as a hook element 4a, and the other of the two connecting elements 4 of the cableway vehicle 2 is designed as an eyelet element 4b. Another possibility is to use a component of the hanger 6 (e.g., a frame of the running gear 62) itself as a connecting element 4 (e.g., as an eyelet element 4b). Two connecting elements 4 can also be connected to each other via a separate coupling part. For example, both connecting elements 4 are designed as hook elements 4a, and a bracket is used as the coupling part, which is hooked into both hook elements 4a in order to connect the cableway vehicles 2 to each other. The coupling part can also, if advantageous, be hooked in manually (e.g., by the cableway staff) to establish the connection. The connection and detachment of the connecting elements 4 should preferably be quick and uncomplicated, and the connection of the cableway vehicles 2 should be reliable.

[0049] For example, in FIG. 2 the hook element 4a is T-shaped, and the eyelet element 4b is C-shaped. Of course, the connecting elements 4 can have a different shape, as long as they allow the cableway vehicles 2 to be detachably connected to one another. To connect the cableway vehicles 2, during operation of the parking system 10, the hook element 4a of one cableway vehicle 2 engages with the eyelet element 4b of the adjacent cableway vehicle 2. To detach the cableway vehicles 2, the hook element 4a of one cableway vehicle 2 and the eyelet element 4b of the adjacent cableway vehicle 2 are separated again. The connecting elements 4 can be designed to be partially movable in order to enable engagement and separation. For example, the eyelet element 4b could be designed to be pivotable in order to connect or detach it from the hook element 4a. Alternatively or additionally, the engagement and separation of the two connecting elements 4 takes place by a relative movement of the cableway vehicles 2 to one another, as will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 3A-3C.

[0050] The parking system 10 comprises an actuating device 13 which is designed to connect or detach the connecting elements 4 of the cableway vehicles 2. The actuating device 13 is arranged in the area of the track end 11a of the parking track 11. The actuating device 13 is shown schematically in FIG. 1. The actuating device 13 comprises an effective range in which the connecting elements 4 of the cableway vehicles 2 can be connected to or detached from one another by the actuating device 13. The actuating device 13 is preferably designed to be active, wherein the actuating device 13 comprises an actuator. The actuator is designed to interact with the connecting elements 4 of the cableway vehicles 2 in order to generate an actuating force for connecting or detaching the connecting elements 4. Depending upon the embodiment of the connecting elements 4, a suitable actuator can be used. For example, the actuator is designed as a hydraulic cylinder which applies the actuating force to one of the two or both connecting elements 4 (e.g., designed as a plug-in connector) in order to connect or disconnect them.

[0051] Alternatively, the actuating device 13 can be designed passively. The actuating device 13 is designed to interact with the cableway vehicle 2 during the movement of the cableway vehicle 2 in order to generate the actuating force for connecting or detaching the connecting element 4. The passive actuating device 13 is preferably designed as a positive guide 14. The positive guide 14 has a predetermined course along which the cableway vehicles 2 are moved. The positive guide 14 preferably runs from the feed track 21 over the track end 11a into the parking track 11. During operation of the parking system 10, the cableway vehicles 2 are moved along the course of the positive guide 14, wherein the actuating force is generated on the connecting elements 4 in order to connect or detach the cableway vehicles 2 via the connecting elements 4. For example, the cableway vehicles 2 are moved along the course of the positive guide 14 by guide rollers on the hanger 6, which interact with the positive guide 14.

[0052] By way of example, a top view of the cableway vehicles 2, which is depicted in FIGS. 3A-3C, shows a connection of two cableway vehicles 2 via the connecting elements 4 (as shown in FIG. 2) by the actuating device 13 designed as a positive guide 14. FIG. 4 shows a more detailed view of the connecting element 4 of the cableway vehicles 2. The course of the positive guide 14 is shown in the form of an S-shaped track section in the axial conveying direction F. Both cableway vehicles 2 move in the conveying direction F (e.g., in the direction of the end of the parking track facing away from the feed track) along the course of the positive guide 14. After the preceding cableway vehicle 2 has passed the S-shaped track section, the two cableway vehicles 2 are arranged offset from each other transversely to the conveying direction F (FIG. 3A). Due to the laterally offset arrangement of the cableway vehicles 2 transverse to the conveying direction F, the hook element 4a of the cableway vehicle 2 preceding in the conveying direction F and the eyelet element 4b of the cableway vehicle 2 following in the conveying direction F is initially laterally offset from one another. Due to the course of the positive guide 14, the cableway vehicle 2 arranged downstream in the conveying direction F is moved relative to the preceding cableway vehicle 2. As shown in FIG. 3B, the S-shaped track section causes a rotation around the vertical axis of the cableway vehicle 2 (indicated by an arrow R in FIG. 3B). The hook element 4a of the preceding cableway vehicle 2 engages with the eyelet element 4b of the downstream cableway vehicle 2. Due to the further course of the positive guide 14, the downstream cableway vehicle 2 is rotated in the opposite direction around the vertical axis (indicated by an arrow R in FIG. 3C), wherein the connection between the two cableway vehicles 2 is established.

[0053] FIG. 4 shows the connection of the two cableway vehicles 2 via the connecting elements 4, which are arranged on the respective running gears 62 of the cableway vehicles 2. Similarly, when the cableway vehicles 2 move in the opposite direction of travel, the connection of the connecting elements 4 can be detached. The positive guide 14 is advantageous, because the cableway vehicles 2 are moved anyway for parking and feeding, and the connection can thus be easily established without additional actuators.

[0054] In the following, an exemplary parking process of two cableway vehicles 2 of the cableway 1 is described, with reference being made to FIG. 1. For example, at the end of the operating time of the cableway 1, the cableway vehicles 2 are parked in the parking system 10 to protect them from the weather. In a first step, the two cableway vehicles 2 to be parked are detached from the traction cable 3 of the cableway 1 (and also from the supporting cables 33, if present) after entering the cableway station 20. The two cableway vehicles 2 reach the station conveyor 25 and are thus transferred one after the other along the guide rail 26 via the switch 27 to the feed track 21. Once they arrive on the feed track 21, the feed track conveyor 22 takes over the movement of the cableway vehicles 2.

[0055] To park the two cableway vehicles 2, both cableway vehicles 2 are moved with the feed track conveyor 22 in the direction of the track end 11a of the parking track 11 until they reach the effective range of the actuating device 13 arranged in the area of the track end 11a. If necessary, the second of the two cableway vehicles 2 arranged downstream in the conveying direction is moved further in the direction of the track end 11a of the parking track 11 by the feed track conveyor 22 until a connecting element 4 reaches the effective range of a connecting element 4 of the preceding cableway vehicle 2. Depending upon the embodiment, the actuating device 13 acts actively, for example, upon at least one of the connecting elements 4 of the cableway vehicles 2, or passively, for example, upon one of the two cableway vehicles 2 or upon at least one of the connecting elements 4 of the cableway vehicles 2, so that the two cableway vehicles 2 are detachably connected to one another via the connecting elements 4. As a result, a jointly movable vehicle combination 12 is formed from the two cableway vehicles 2 which are detachably connected to one another via the connecting elements 4. The feed track conveyor 22 or the parking track conveyor 15 pushes the formed vehicle combination 12 into the parking track 11 for parking until the cableway vehicle 2, which is subsequently moved to the track end 11a by the feed track conveyor 22, is located in the area of the track end 11a. Further cableway vehicles 2 are detachably connected to the vehicle combination 12 in the same way via respective connecting elements 4. In this case, it is advantageous if the vehicle combination 12 is successively pushed further into the parking track 11 by each newly added cableway vehicle 2. This can be repeated until the parking track 11 is filled with cableway vehicles 2.

[0056] To feed the two parked cableway vehicles 2, the vehicle combination 12 is pulled with the parking track conveyor 15 of the parking track 11 out of the parking track 11 in the direction of the feed track 21 until the detachably connected connecting elements 4 of the two cableway vehicles 2 (still located in the vehicle combination 12) reach the effective range of the actuating device 13 arranged in the area of the track end 11a. The pulling of the entire vehicle combination 12 is possible only because the cableway vehicles 2 are connected to each other via the respective connecting elements 4. The actuating device 13 acts actively, for example, upon at least one of the connecting elements 4 of the cableway vehicles 2, or passively, for example, upon one of the two cableway vehicles 2 or upon at least one of the connecting elements 4 of the cableway vehicles 2, so that the detachably connected connecting elements 4 between the two cableway vehicles 2 located in the area of the track end 11a and in the effective range of the actuating device 13 are detached, whereby the vehicle combination 12 is successively dissolved.

[0057] In each case the detached cableway vehicle 2 is taken over by the feed track conveyor 22 and moved away from the parking track 11 on the feed track 21. The feed track conveyor 22 moves the cableway vehicles 2 to be fed in the direction of the station conveyor 25, e.g., to the switch 27, in order to transfer them via the switch 27 to the station conveyor 25. Once they arrive on the station conveyor 25, the station conveyor 25 takes over the movement of the cableway vehicles 2 along the guide rail 26 in the direction of the traction cable 3. Before exiting the cableway station 20, the two cableway vehicles 2 are re-coupled to the traction cable 3. This process is repeated for each cableway vehicle 2 in the vehicle combination 12, so that the vehicle combination 12 is successively dissolved.

[0058] It is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limiting of the present invention. While the present invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it is understood that the words which have been used herein are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitation. Changes may be made, within the purview of the appended claims, as presently stated and as amended, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention in its aspects. Although the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, the present invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims.