Cableway system with a carrying and conveying cable

This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119, of Austrian patent application A 2048/2007, filed Dec. 17, 2007; the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present invention relates to a cableway system having a carrying and conveying cable on which transportation devices, such as lift chairs or gondolas that are supported on load-bearing bars can be fastened by means of clamps. The cable is guided, in the stations, over reversing pulleys. At least one of the pulleys is driven. Furthermore, the cable is guided, between the stations, over supporting rollers and beneath holding-down rollers, it being the case that a first strand of the carrying and conveying cable is guided in each case over at least one deflecting pulley or over a group of deflecting rollers and a second strand is guided over at least one deflecting drum, which is formed with at least one recess for accommodating the load-bearing bar of one of the transportation devices, whereby the two strands can be moved along a path having at least one angled portion.

Conventional cableway systems have a carrying and conveying cable to which transportation devices, such as chairs and gondolas, are clamped. The transportation devices here either are firmly clamped to the carrying and conveying cable or are clamped in a releasable manner, it being the case that the transportation devices, in the stations, are uncoupled from the carrying and conveying cable and moved through these stations at a speed which is substantially reduced in relation to the speed of the carrying and conveying cable, as a result of which passengers can board the transportation devices or disembark therefrom. The transportation devices are fastened on the carrying and conveying cable by clamping means which, at one of the two ends, are formed with clamping jaws and have the top region of a load-bearing bar fastened at their other end, a transportation device being located at the bottom end of the load-bearing bar.

The carrying and conveying cable is guided, in the stations, over deflecting pulleys, of which at least one is a driven pulley. Furthermore, over the course taken by the cableway system, the carrying and conveying cable is retained by means of supporting rollers and guided through beneath holding-down rollers. The clamping means and the load-bearing bars, in respect of the cable-deflecting pulleys, are each located laterally outside the carrying and conveying cable, this making it possible for the carrying and conveying cable, with transportation devices firmly clamped thereto, to be guided over the deflecting pulleys located in the stations.

The topography of the terrain in which a cableway system is erected would often make it expedient for the path of this cableway system to be formed with at least one angled portion. As far as a first strand of the carrying and conveying cable is concerned, it is possible for the strand to be guided around at least one deflecting pulley, or over a group of deflecting pulleys, against which the inside of this strand of the carrying and conveying cable ends up in abutment, as a result of which the path may be provided with an angled portion. However, it is only possible to have one such angled portion, in the case of which the inside of the carrying and conveying cable butts against the deflecting pulley, since the load-bearing bars for the transportation devices, which cannot be moved over the prior-art deflecting pulleys, are located on the outside of the carrying and conveying cable.

Even if to be precise one of the two strands of the carrying and conveying cable is guided along a path formed with at least one angled portion, the fact remains that, on account of the load-bearing bars located on the outside of the carrying and conveying cable, it is not possible for the second strand to be guided along a path running more or less parallel to the first strand. Rather, it is then necessary for the second strand to be guided along a path which deviates from that of the first strand. Such a cableway system, however, is very disadvantageous insofar as, on the one hand, it requires more or less double the number of supports and, on the other hand, the amount of surface area required is substantially increased. For both these reasons, cableway systems which run over a rectilinear path are usually erected.

European patent EP 556 139 B1 discloses an aerial cableway system of chairs which is formed with a deflecting arrangement which is intended to solve this problem. This deflecting arrangement comprises a deflecting pulley which is formed, on the one hand, with a recess for accommodating a load-bearing bar and, on the other hand, with a plurality of deflecting rollers. As long as there is no load-bearing bar for a chair located on the carrying and conveying cable, this deflecting pulley is located in a predetermined rotary position and the carrying and conveying cable is guided over the deflecting rollers. As soon as a load-bearing bar approaches, the deflecting pulley is made to rotate, the carrying and conveying cable coming into direct abutment with this deflecting pulley and the load-bearing bar for the relevant chair being accommodated by the recess located therein. The deflecting pulley is then rotated into its starting position, in which it is retained until the next load-bearing bar arrives.

The prior art configuration is disadvantageous for a number of reasons: Since the carrying and conveying cable is guided over a multiplicity of deflecting rollers of a very small diameter, the carrying and conveying cable experiences very high levels of compressive loading, as a result of which it is subjected to pronounced wear. In addition, these deflecting rollers give rise to high maintenance outlay, they are very susceptible to malfunctioning and they cause pronounced levels of noise. Furthermore, the design of this deflecting arrangement necessitates a minimum spacing between the successive load-bearing bars. In addition, this deflecting pulley has to be assigned a drive motor to rotate it out of the rest position. Finally, it is not possible, in the case of this deflecting arrangement for the carrying and conveying cable to be moved counter to the normal conveying direction.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an aerial cableway system with a carrying ad/or conveying cable which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which provides for a cableway system that follows a path of at least one angled portion, but avoids the disadvantages that are inherent in prior art cableway systems of this type.

With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a cableway system, comprising:

a carrying and conveying cable extending between stations, and transportation devices (e.g., chairs, gondolas) supported thereon by way of load-bearing bars that are selectively fastened to said cable by means of clamps;

reversing pulleys, including at least one driven pulley, for guiding said carrying and conveying cable in the stations;

at least one deflecting drum and a plurality of supporting rollers and holding-down rollers disposed to guide said carrying and conveying cable between the stations;

said carrying and conveying cable extending along a first strand guided over a group of deflecting rollers and along a second strand guided over said deflecting drum, to commonly move along a path having at least one angled portion;

said deflecting drum being rotated continuously by said carrying and conveying cable, and having a plurality of circumferentially distributed recesses formed therein for accommodating respective said load-bearing bars of said transportation devices as said transportation devices are moved past said deflecting drum.

In other words, the objects of the invention are achieved in that the deflecting drum, which is assigned to the second strand and is rotated continuously by the carrying and conveying cable, is provided with a plurality of circumferentially distributed recesses which accommodate the load-bearing bars for the transportation devices as they are moved via this deflecting drum. The deflecting drum, which is provided with circumferentially distributed recesses, is preferably formed with a conical lateral surface, and an actuator, by means of which it is possible to adjust the height position of the deflecting drum, is provided. Furthermore, groups of supporting and holding-down rollers are preferably provided, over the course of the second strand of the carrying and conveying cable, upstream and/or downstream of the deflecting drum and retain the second strand in a predetermined height position. As an alternative to this, it may not be possible to adjust the height position of the deflecting drum, and the carrying and conveying cable may be assigned at least one guide roller which can be adjusted in height by means of an actuator and by way of which the carrying and conveying cable can be adjusted in height in relation to the deflecting drum.

According to further-preferred embodiments, the deflecting drum is assigned at least one measuring device which can sense a transportation device approaching the deflecting drum, and further provided is a control means, which can control the actuator for the deflecting drum and/or for the at least one guide roller. Furthermore, the deflecting drum may also be formed with a measuring device which can establish the rotary position of the deflecting drum and of which the starting signals are likewise passed on to the control means. Finally, it is also possible for the actuator to be assigned a measuring device which can establish the height position of the deflecting drum and/or of the at least one guide roller for the carrying and conveying cable and of which the starting signals are likewise passed onto the control means.

Further measuring devices for monitoring and/or additional control purposes are also provided.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.