SELF-PROPELLED CABLE-WAY UNIT RIDING UPON A SURFACE CONDUCTION CABLE

Abstract: A cable-way unit is disclosed and claimed, said cable-way unit consisting of a surface-conduction cable (1) comprising conducting turns (12, 13) alternated with non-conducting turns (11), and of a self-propelled member or carriage (2; 18) rid­ ing upon said cable (1), which comprises a rotor member (3; 19) arranged around said cable (1) and rotatably slidable on the same, and provided with contacts (14, 15) for drawing electric current from the cable (1) itself, driving means (8, 16, 17; 28, 23) for causing said self-propelled member or carriage (2; 18) to move forward along said cable (1), an electric motor (4; 20) that receives power (9) drawn by said contacts (14, 15) and is mechanically connected (6, 7; 21 24) to said driving means (8, 16, 17; 22, 23) and means (10) for realizing the coupling with auxiliary structures.

Description: The object of the present invention consists in a self-propelled cable-way unit running on a surface-conduction cable, and more particularly it consists in a transportation unit running on a cable, which unit does nor require for its own motion any motion of the cables themselves, so that the drawbacks due to the motion of cables are removed and a wider possibility of employment is realized. It is well known that both large-size and small-size cable-ways are realized either by means of a moving cable on which the load is suspended, said cable being called "the pulling cable" and by means of a stationary cable which is called "the supporting cable", or by means of a single "pulling and supporting" cable that is kept moving. This type of realization gives rise to a number of problems, in particular owing to the fact that it is necessary to build a fixed type plant, and to the fact that many drawbacks stem from the adoption of a large number of mechanical contrivances consisting of guides and transmission means through pulleys, as well as to the fact of being forced to design a well determined pulling action for all cables of the plant. In DE-A-3715904 a cable-way unit is described, which is made up of a self-propelled member or carriage that runs on a cable, which comprises a rotor member arranged around said cable and rotatably slidable on the same, motion means for causing said self-propelled member or carriage to move the cable, an electric motor which receives electric power which is mechanically connected to said motion means, and means for coupling the carriage itself to auxiliary structures. All such drawbacks are obviated by the cable-way unit according to the present invention which provides a single stationary cable which is so realized as to conduct electric current along its surface, and which performs the double function of supporting the load and of supplying electric power, or any other type of signals, for allowing the self-propelled carriage suspended on the cable, as well as the whole equipment of various kinds connected to said carriage, to operate correctly. The cable-way unit according to the present invention is particularly fit for realizing small cable-way systems or even portable cable-way systems to be employed after suitable adaptation to a number of different fields. More particularly, the cable-way unit according to the present invention can be employed for automatically aiming television cameras or projectors, for performances and shows, for surveillance purposes, or for scientific research (archaeology, spelaeology). If a plant of the type disclosed herein is available, overhead shots can be taken by stretching the cable for instance over a stadium and fastening a television camera to said self-propelled carriage, and exploiting the aiming possibilities of electronically coded automatic control units. Moreover, the object of the present invention can also be employed for transferring materials or men over an obstacle, for rescues in case of fire, or in the mountains for passing over precipices, or over water streams and so on. For instance, a unit of the type mentioned herein could be borne on board by a truck; a killick could be fastened to an end of the cable so that it could be thrown towards an inaccessible point or beyond an obstacle. Once the killick is fastened to the desired point, the self-propelled carriage can start moving along the cable. Moreover, structures can also be designed and realized for use in the naval field, for transferring men or materials from a naval unit to another, or from a ship to land, and for employment in the aeronautical field, for transferring materials or men from a helicopter to another one, or even from an aircraft to another one, putting the holds of the two aircraft in communication by means of the cable disclosed herein. As far as the operation of causing the cable to pass from an aircraft to another one, the system employed at present for refueling in flight can be referred to. The cable-way unit according to the present invention can be employed in the field of space applications for transferring objects from a point to another one of a space platform, or from the shuttle to platforms, or as a guiding cable for astronauts who operate outside the shuttle, after suitable adaptations in the choice of the materials employed for the construction of said unit and in the practical realization of the same. These and other results are obtained according to the present invention through the realization of a cable-way unit which substantially comprises a multipolar cable that ensures the mutual insulation among the single conducting cables and a self-propelled carriage that is capable of shifting along said cable, such carriage being provided with all equipment suitable to perform the specific tasks for which it is intended. Accordingly, it is a specific object of the present invention a cable-way unit according to the claim 1. According to a preferred embodiment of the cable-way unit according to the present invention, said driving means are made up of a set of rolling members each one of them comprising at least a rolling member and in particular balls or shaped rollers which are slidable within helical grooves which are obtained circumferentially along the diametrical direction in the inside surface of the casing of the rotor member, a groove being provided for each set of rolling members; the mechanical connection between the motor and the driving means being realized through toothed or non-toothed belt means or through a chain, which means couple with a pulley arranged externally on said casing and with a pulley borne by the shaft of said motor. Preferably said rolling members will be so arranged as to rotate about a pivot or axis which is integral with the rotor, so that such members are forced to follow the rotor itself in its rotation about the cable. The number of rolling members as well as the set of rolling members can be varied according to particular requirements. The driving means, again according to the present invention, can be made up of tired pulleys which are mechanically connected in order to keep the mutual position and the contact pressure on the cable, such pulleys being provided above the cable as well as below the same, at least one of said pulleys being mechanically connected to the shaft of said electric motor. Preferably the insulating turns of said cable are in relief or projecting with respect to the conducting turns. Said conducting turns can be alternated with turns of other conducting wires in order to have at disposal a number of different types of signals along said surface-conducting cable. Said surface-conducting cable can be provided with an insulating member arranged inside the turns which in addition supplies the cable with a higher mechanical strength. The inner insulating material can in turn be hollow in order to house more cables as for instance telpheric cables. The contacts for drawing electric power from the cable can be made up of sliding contacts like brushes, said contacts being borne by the rotor member itself. Said contacts can also be made up of said rolling members which, during rotation of said rotor member, come always in contact with the same conducting turn as they are borne within a groove, and in that case the rotor member casing is to be realized in the form of two half-shells which are insulated with respect to one another. This invention will be disclosed in the following according to some preferred embodiments of the same, with particular reference to the figures of the enclosed drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a partially cut-away side view of a cable-way unit according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a cut-away side view of the rotor member of the cable-way unit according to the present invention; Figure 3 is a partially cut-away side view of the member shown in Figure 2; and Figure 4 is a schematic, cut-away side view of a second embodiment of the cable-way unit according to the present invention. Figure 1 shows the surface-conduction cable 1 on which the carriage 2 is caused to run by the rotor member 3. The motion of the rotor 3 that rotating along the cable 1 causes the carriage 2 to move is transmitted by the electric motor 4 through the shaft 5 that bears the toothed wheel 6 driven by the motor 4 which engages with the toothed belt 7 that on the other side engages with teeth 8 obtained in the outside part of the casing of the rotor member 3. The electric motor 4 is supplied with electric power drawn from the cable 1 through the connection 9 with the rotor member 3. The reference numeral 10 points out the bracket to which the structure concerning the particular embodiment of the cable-way unit is fastened. The surface-conducting cable 1 (see Figure 2) consists of insulating turns 11 alternated with conducting turns (12, 13). Turns 11 will be realized in relief or raised with respect to turns 12 and 13 so that the latter are protected against short-circuits if the cable 1 happens to coil round itself during service or if it happens to contact external conducting surfaces. The number of conducting turns belonging to different cables will be variable according to the specific requirements so that signals of different types can be conveyed for a number of different applications. The insulating turns 11 and the conducting turns 12, 13 are coiled round an insulating core (not shown) which can also serve the purpose of strengthening said cable 1 and which can be also exploited for placing inside the same some more cables, as for instance a telephone cable, which cables can be employed for services which are not specific for the operation of the unit itself (motion and orientation of the carriage 1 as well as of the structures connected to the same). The rotor 3 draws electric power from the turns 12 and 13 through the sliding contacts 14 and 15 which are connected to the connection 9 with the electric motor 4 that, when so energized, supplies power to rotor member 3 in the form of mechanical power so as to make it possible the operation of said cable-way unit. The rotation of the rotor member 3 around the cable 1 occurs through a set of balls 16 (see also Figure 3), each one of said balls being slidable along a helical groove formed by the turns 11 of the cable 1 and by a groove 17 (a groove 17 is provided for each ball 16) which is obtained along the diametrical direction in the inner surface of the casing of the rotor 3. According to the embodiment of the cable-way unit of the present invention that is shown in Figure 4, a self-propelled carriage 8 is provided which bears a rotor member 19 which is realized according to the features disclosed above as regards the drawing of electric power from said cable 1, and which is electrically connected to a motor 20 that is in turn provided with a toothed pulley 21. The carriage 18 is provided with two tired pulleys 22 that are resting on the top portion of said cable 1, and with a pulley 23 pressing on the cable 1, which pulley is caused to move by the motor 20 through the belt 24. Keeping unchanged all fundamental technical characteristics of the cable-way unit disclosed above, said unit according to the present invention can also be structurally adapted to a number of different requirements for various applications. For instance, in space applications it can assume the sizes of a small self-propelled unit provided with a handle. As already disclosed above, said cable 1 can be provided with turns 12, 13 corresponding to different cables that carry different types of signals which are required for the full operation of the whole structure. In case of a single pair of turns 12, 13 carrying the electric signal for the operation of the rotor member 3 and then for the forward motion of the carriage 2, a device can for example be provided which is capable of reading coded signals conveyed along the cable 1, which device could also be capable of controlling the orientation and aiming of a television camera or of performing other functions. Signals from the conducting turns 12, 13 can be drawn through a number of different kinds of sliding members or through the balls 16 themselves. In that case it will be sufficient to insulate the two halves of the casing of the rotor member 3. The balls 16, whose number can be varied at will depending on specific requirements, can also be substituted with similar rolling members, as for instance with shaped rollers.

Claims: A cable-way unit comprising a self-propelled member or carriage (2) that runs on a cable (1) which comprises a rotor member (3) arranged round said cable (1) and rotatably slidable on the same, motion means for causing said selfpropelled member or carriage (2) to move along the cable (1), an electric motor (4) which receives electric power and is mechanically connected to said motion means, and means (10) for coupling the carriage (2) itself to auxiliary structures, characterized in that the cable (1) is a surface-conducting cable (1) comprising alternately conducting (12, 13) and non-conducting (11) turns, in that said rotor member (3) is provided with contacts (14, 15) for drawing electric current from said cable (1) and in that the electric motor (4) receives electric power drawn by said contacts (14, 15). A cable-way unit according to claim 1, characterized in that said motion means are made up of a set of rolling members (16), each one of them comprising at least one rolling member, said rolling members (16) being slidable along helical grooves realized by the turns (11, 12, 13) of said cable (1) and along circumferential grooves (17) obtained in the inner surface of the casing of the rotor member (3), a groove (17) being provided for each set of rolling members (16); the mechanical connection between the motor (4) and said motion means being realized through belt or chain means (7) which engage with a pulley (8) that is arranged externally on said casing as well as with a pulley (6) borne by the shaft (5) of said motor (4). A cable-way unit according to claim 2, characterized in that each one of said rolling members (16) is arranged round a pivot or rotation axle which is integral with said rotor member (3). A cable-way unit according to claims 2 or 3, characterized in that said rolling members (16) are made up of balls. A cable-way unit according to claims 2 or 3, characterized in that said rolling members (16) consist of shaped rollers. A cable-way unit according to claim 1, characterized in that said motion means consist of tired pulleys (22, 23) which are mechanically connected for keeping their mutual positions fixed and are arranged above said cable (1) and below the same; at least one (23) of said tired pulleys (22, 23) being mechanically connected to the shaft (21) of the electric motor (20). A cable-way unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said insulating turns (11) are raised or in relief with respect to the conducting turns (12, 13). A cable-way unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said conducting turns (12, 13) are alternately arranged with respect to the turns of other conducting wires which are arranged in parallel so as to form said surfaceconducting cable. A cable-way unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an inside insulating member is arranged within said surface-conducting cable (1), said insulating member extending along the direction of the longitudinal extend of the cable (1) itself. A cable-way unit according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said contacts (14, 15) for drawing electric power from the cable (1) are made up of brush sliding contacts (14, 15). A cable-way unit according to claims 2 or 3 characterized in that said contacts consist of said rolling members (16), the casing of the rotor member (3) being realized in the shape of two half-shells which are insulated with respect to one another.

Inventors: GAZZOLA, GIOVANNI ANDREA
Applicants: CABLE LINK S.R.L.
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B61B7
IPC codes: B61B7, F16C1, B61C13, F16H25, B61B13