Patent Publication Number: US-2019168779-A1

Title: Installation of aerial transport

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to aerial transport installations, in particular for transporting passengers. 
     STATE OF THE ART 
     At present, most aerial cable transport installations are used in the mountains and few of them are intended for urban transport. Certain installations equipping towns do however exist, but these installations are situated at great heights in order to avoid urban obstacles and also because they do not provide the possibility of negotiating tight bends. 
     US Patent Application US2016/0016593 can for example be cited which discloses a transport system by aerial hauling cable comprising a cable car segment with a carrying cable, a rails segment adjacent to the cable car segment, and a vehicle having a grip to couple the vehicle to the hauling cable. The rails segment comprises a motor-driven carriage having two pairs of wheels to run on the rails and configured to attach the grip in order to make the vehicle run on the rails segment when the vehicle is detached from the hauling cable. The system is however complex as a device has to be provided to power the motor-driven carriage in order to be able to drive the vehicle along the rail. The system is furthermore not suitable for an urban environment as, although the rails segment provides the possibility of negotiating tight bends, the rails require a large number of support pillars, which can make the installation cumbersome when obstacles have to be circumvented over large distances, for example to span rivers. 
     OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention consists in remedying these shortcomings, and more particularly in providing an aerial transport installation suitable for an urban environment. 
     Another object of the invention consists in providing an aerial transport installation providing the possibility of circumventing obstacles over large distances and enabling the vehicles to negotiate tight bends. 
     According to one feature of the invention, an installation of aerial transport is proposed, comprising a hauling cable, a travel path comprising a first segment equipped with two carrying cables extending along the hauling cable, and a vehicle comprising an attachment device configured to attach the vehicle to the hauling cable and a first running means configured to run on the carrying cables. 
     The travel path comprises a second segment equipped with two rails extending along the hauling cable, and the vehicle comprises a second running means configured to run on the rails. 
     A simple installation is thus provided which enables one or more vehicles to be hauled along a travel path, by means of a single hauling cable, enabling obstacles to be circumvented over large distances and tight bends to be negotiated in order to reach different locations which are not necessarily aligned. 
     The first running means can comprise two pairs of rotary sheaves configured to run respectively on the carrying cables. 
     The second running means can comprise two pairs of wheels configured to run respectively on the rails. 
     The second segment can also comprise at least one horizontal curve and guide means configured to guide the hauling cable along said at least one horizontal curve. 
     Advantageously, the second segment comprises at least one vertical curve, and the guide means is configured to guide the hauling cable along said at least one vertical curve. 
     The path of the first running means can be higher than the path of the second running means. 
     The first segment can be located above the second segment. 
     The installation can comprise a driving pulley to drive the hauling cable and two diverting pulleys to divert the hauling cable in the direction of the driving pulley. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other advantages and features will become more clearly apparent from the following description of particular embodiments of the invention given for non-restrictive example purposes only and represented in the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  schematically illustrates a top view of an embodiment of an aerial transport installation according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  schematically illustrates a side view of a detail of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  schematically illustrates a top view of another embodiment of an aerial transport installation; 
         FIG. 4  schematically illustrates a side view of an embodiment of a station of the aerial transport installation; 
         FIG. 5  schematically illustrates a front view of an embodiment of a vehicle of the installation; 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  schematically illustrate two front views of other embodiments of the aerial transport installation; and 
         FIG. 8  schematically illustrates a front view of another embodiment of the aerial transport installation. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In  FIG. 1 , an aerial transport installation  1  has been represented comprising an aerial hauling cable  2  designed to haul one or more vehicles  3 ,  4  above the ground, a travel path  5  along which the vehicles  3 ,  4  are hauled, a drive means  6  of the hauling cable  2 , and guide means  7  to  10  to guide the hauling cable  2  along the travel path  5 . The aerial transport installation  1  further comprises at least one station  11 ,  12  for the passengers to board and alight from the vehicles  3 ,  4 . 
     The drive means  6  is configured to drive the hauling cable  2  along the travel path  5 . The drive means  6  is preferably located inside a station  11 , called the drive station. The drive means  6  comprises a motor  13 , and a driving pulley  14  driven by the motor  13  and configured to drive the hauling cable  2 . The drive means  6  further comprises a tensioning means  15 ,  16  of the hauling cable  2 . The tensioning means  15 ,  16  can comprise two diverting pulleys  15 ,  16 , as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , arranged on each side of the driving pulley  14  to divert the hauling cable  2  in the direction of the driving pulley  14 . The axes of rotation of the driving pulley  14  and of the diverting pulleys  15 ,  16  are horizontal. As a variant, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the tensioning means  15 ,  16  comprises a single diverting pulley  15 , also called return pulley. According to this variant, the axes of rotation of the driving pulley  14  and of the return pulley  15  are vertical. 
     More particularly, the travel path  5  comprises at least one segment  17 ,  18 , called passing segment, configured to haul the vehicles  3 ,  4  over large distances. Each passing segment  17 ,  18  is provided with at least two carrying cables  19 ,  20  extending along the hauling cable  2 . Each passing segment  17 ,  18  preferably comprises a main carrying cable  19  and a secondary carrying cable  20 . The main carrying cable  19  is also called outer carrying cable as it is situated on the outside of the travel path  5 , and the secondary carrying cable  20  is also called inner carrying cable as it is situated on the inside of the travel path  5 . The passing segments  17 ,  18  are preferably straight. They also comprise support means  15 , illustrated in  FIG. 8 , to ensure that the carrying cables  19 ,  20  are kept above ground level. 
     The travel path  5  further comprises at least one bypass segment  21 ,  22  configured to haul the vehicles  3 ,  4  along horizontal curves, i.e. to take left-hand or right-hand bends. Each bypass segment  21 ,  22  is provided with at least two rails  23 ,  24  extending along the hauling cable  2 . Preferably, each bypass segment  21 ,  22  comprises a main rail  23  and a secondary rail  24 . The main rail  23  is also called outer rail as it is situated on the outside of the travel path  5  and the secondary rail  24  is called inner rail as it is situated on the inside of the travel path  5 . The main rail  23  and secondary rail  24  of the bypass segments  21 ,  22  are suspended above the ground and are designed to guide the vehicles  3 ,  4  along the travel path  5 . Each bypass segment  21 ,  22  in addition comprises one or more supports  32 , as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , on which the rails  23 ,  24  are mounted suspended above the ground. 
     In particular, each bypass segment  21 ,  22  comprises at least one curve  25  to  27  so as to guide the vehicles  4 ,  5  at different points, in particular points that are not aligned. A curve  25  to  27  can be an inner horizontal curve  25  directed towards the inside of the travel path  5 , also called concave horizontal curve, to guide the vehicles  3 ,  4  towards the inside of the travel path  5 . The curve can be an outer horizontal curve  26  directed towards the outside of the path  5  to guide the vehicles  3 ,  4  towards the outside of the path  5 , also called convex horizontal curve. The curves can further be vertical  27  in order to guide the vehicles  3 ,  4  upwards or downwards. For example, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the installation  1  comprises at least one station  11 ,  12  and a bypass segment  21 ,  22  can comprise at least one section situated outside the station  11 ,  12 . A bypass segment  21 ,  22  can also comprise at least one section situated outside the stations  11 ,  12 , i.e. at least one section of a bypass segment  21 ,  22  can be situated between the two stations  11 ,  12 . According to a variant illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a bypass segment  21 ,  22  can comprise a station section situated inside a station  11 ,  12 , and two external sections situated outside the station  11 ,  12 . Furthermore, the two external sections can be located on each side of a station  11 ,  12 , i.e. respectively located at the entrance and exit of a station  11 ,  12 . A section can be rectilinear. As a variant, a section corresponds to one or more curves  25  to  27  of a bypass segment  21 ,  22 . 
     The guide means  7  to  10  can comprise sheaves, i.e. small wheels having a groove so that the hauling cable  2  is able to pass inside the groove. The guide means  7  to  10  can comprise support sheaves  7 , on which the hauling cable  2  is placed in support, to support the hauling cable  2  above the ground. They can also comprise compression sheaves  8  which press on the hauling cable  2  in order to guide the latter along the vertical curves of the travel path  5  to move the vehicles  3 ,  4  in the upwards or downwards direction. The axes of rotation of the support sheaves  7  and compression sheaves  8  are horizontal. The guide means  7  to  10  can also comprise diverting sheaves  9 ,  10 , on which the hauling cable  2  presses, to guide the hauling cable  2  in parallel manner to the horizontal curves  25 ,  26  of the travel path  5 . More particularly, the axes of rotation of the diverting sheaves  9 ,  10  are vertical. In general manner, the sheaves  7  to  10  are located along the travel path  5  so that the hauling cable follows the vertical  27  and horizontal curves  25 ,  26  of the travel path  5 . To keep the hauling cable  2  above the ground and to guide it along the horizontal curves  25 ,  26  of the travel path  5 , one or more diverting sheaves  9 ,  10  are therefore located at each horizontal curve  25 ,  26 . 
     More particularly, at each inner horizontal curve  25 , diverting sheaves  9 , called inner diverting sheaves, are located on the inside of a closed loop described by the hauling cable  2  in order to guide the vehicles  3 ,  4  to the inside of the travel path  5 . On the contrary, at each outer horizontal curve  26 , diverting sheaves  10 , called outer diverting sheaves, are located on the outside of the hauling cable  2  to guide the vehicles  3 ,  4  to the outside of the travel path  5 . Furthermore, the support sheaves  7  are located underneath the hauling cable  2  and the compression sheaves  8  are located on the hauling cable  2 . 
     The travel path  5  can further comprise inclined curves, i.e. that are neither vertical nor horizontal, and sheaves can be inclined to guide the hauling cable  2  along the travel path  5 . 
     The installation  1  can comprise a single vehicle  3  or several vehicles  3 ,  4 . Each vehicle  3 ,  4  comprises a car  28 , or one or more chairs, to transport passengers, and an attachment device  29  is configured to attach the vehicle  3 ,  4  to the hauling cable  2 . 
     According to one embodiment, the attachment device  29  is a fixed grip to attach the vehicle  3 ,  4  to the hauling cable  2  in permanent manner. In this case, the drive means  6  has to be stopped so that the vehicles  3 ,  4  remain at a standstill to enable the passengers to board or alight from the vehicles  3 ,  4 . 
     According to another preferred embodiment, the attachment device  29  is a detachable grip to attach the vehicle  3 ,  4  to the hauling cable  2  in removable manner. The detachable grip can be opened for the vehicle  3 ,  4  to be detached from the hauling cable  2  or be closed to clamp the hauling cable  2  to haul it, i.e. to mechanically connect the vehicle  3 ,  4  to the hauling cable  2 . In other words, the vehicles  3 ,  4  are attached to the hauling cable  2  between two stations  11 ,  12  to be hauled at the speed of the hauling cable  2 , and in particular along the passing segments  17 ,  18  and bypass segments  21 ,  22 . The vehicles  3 ,  4  can be detached from the hauling cable  2  when the vehicles  3 ,  4  enter a station  11 ,  12 . 
     When a station  11 ,  12  is located at the level of a passing segment  17 ,  18 , the detached vehicles  3 ,  4  are moved on bypass circuits which are not represented for the sake of simplification. When a station  11 ,  12  is located at the level of a bypass segment  21 ,  22 , the vehicles  3 ,  4  detached from the hauling cable  2  are kept suspended on the rails  23 ,  24 . The detached vehicles  3 ,  4  can thus be moved at a speed which is lower than that of the hauling cable  2 , in particular to facilitate boarding and alighting of the passengers. 
     More particularly, the vehicles  3 ,  4  comprise first and second running means  30 ,  31 . The first running means  30  is configured to run on at least two carrying cables  19 ,  20 . For example, the first running means  30  comprises at least four rotary sheaves designed to run on the carrying cables  19 ,  20 , i.e. at least two rotary sheaves are situated on each side of the attachment device  29  to run respectively on the main carrying cable  19  and secondary carrying cable  20 . In  FIG. 1 , each vehicle  3 ,  4  comprises two pairs of rotary sheaves situated on each side of the attachment device  29 . The second running means  31  is configured to run on at least two rails  23 ,  24 . For example, the second running means  31  comprises at least four wheels, i.e. at least two wheels situated on each side of the attachment device  29  to respectively run on the main rail  23  and secondary rail  24 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     A vehicle  3 ,  4  is thus transferred from one segment  17 ,  18 ,  21 ,  22  of the travel path  5  to the other while remaining hauled by the hauling cable  2 . The passing segments  17 ,  18  enable the volume of the installation  1  to be reduced, in particular due to the fact that they require less supports than the bypass segments  21 ,  22 . Indeed, the bypass segments  21 ,  22  require several supports  32  to support the rails  23 ,  24 . 
     According to one embodiment, the path of the first running means  30 , i.e. the distance separating two rotary sheaves located facing one another on each side of the attachment device  29 , is higher than the path of the second running means  31 , i.e. the distance separating two wheels located facing one another on each side of the attachment device  29 . As a variant, the path of the first running means  30  is lower than that of the second running means  31 . It can also be envisaged for the paths of the running means  30 ,  31  to be identical. To facilitate transfer from one segment of the travel path  5  to the other, an overlap can be provided between two consecutive segments. To further facilitate transfer from one segment to the other, the segments are not situated at the same height. For example, the passing segments  17 ,  18  can be situated above the bypass segments  21 ,  22 . 
     A side view of the installation  1 , and more particularly a vehicle  3  situated at different points of the travel path  5  during its travel Y along the segments  17 ,  18 ,  21 ,  22 , has been represented in  FIG. 4 . In a first step, the vehicle  3  is situated at a first bypass segment  21  and the second running means  31  of the vehicle  3  runs on the rails  23 ,  24 . 
     In this first step, the first running means  30  is not in contact with the carrying cables  19 ,  20  and the latter do not participate in moving the vehicle  3 . In a second step, the vehicle  3  approaches a passing segment  17  and the first running means  30  comes into contact with the carrying cables  19 ,  20 . As the carrying cables  19 ,  20  are located above the rails  23 ,  24 , the second running means  31  leaves the rails  23 ,  24  and no longer participates in moving the vehicle  3 . In this second step, the first running means  30  runs on the carrying cables  19 ,  20  and the vehicle  3  continues to be hauled by the hauling cable  2 . Then, in a third step, the vehicle  3  approaches a second bypass segment  22 . The second running means  31  comes into contact with the rails  23 ,  24 , and the first running means  13  leaves the carrying cables  19 ,  20 . In this third step, the vehicle  3  continues to be hauled by the hauling cable  2  by running on the rails  23 ,  24 . Transfer of the vehicle  3  from the carrying cables  19 ,  20  to the rails  23 ,  24 , and vice versa, is facilitated by guiding the ends of the carrying cables  19 ,  20  towards the ground. The rails  23 ,  24  are moreover situated above the ground. In order to guide the carrying cables  19 ,  20  towards the ground, a first end of a carrying cable  19 ,  20  is fixed to an anchoring drum  33 , the carrying cable  19 ,  20  is then diverted, and the second end is fixed to a tensioning device  34  to manage the tension of the carrying cable  19 ,  20 . The assembly formed by the anchoring drum  33  and tensioning device  34  cooperates to keep the carrying cables  19 ,  20  taut. In particular, a passing segment  17 ,  18  is particularly suitable for travelling over large distances. A large distance is considered to correspond to a distance greater than that separating two consecutive supports  32  of a bypass segment  21 ,  22 . 
     An embodiment of a vehicle  3 ,  4  has been represented in  FIG. 5 . In this embodiment, the vehicle  3 ,  4  comprises a carriage  35  on which the attachment device  29  and the first and second running means  30 ,  31  are mounted. In other words, the running means  30 ,  31  are securely attached to the carriage  35 , and therefore to the vehicle  3 ,  4 . The running means  30 ,  31  is passive as the vehicle  3 ,  4  is moved by means of the hauling cable  2 . The running means  30 ,  31  therefore does not need to be motor-driven. Preferentially, the wheels of the second running means  31  are mounted rotating freely on the two lateral ends of the carriage  35 . The rotary sheaves of the first running means  30  can also be mounted rotating freely on the two lateral ends of the carriage  35 . The vehicle  3 ,  4  further comprises a hanger arm  36  on which the car  28  is fixed. The hanger arm  36  is preferentially connected to the carriage  35  by a pivot-link enabling pendulum of the car  28  with respect to the carriage  35 . 
     The attachment device  29  is a detachable grip comprising jaws which can open and close on the hauling cable  2 . The jaws comprise a top part  37  and a bottom part  38  and the hauling cable  2  is clamped between the top part  37  and the bottom part  38  of the jaws when the vehicle  3 ,  4  is attached to the hauling cable  2 . The detachable grip also comprises one or more springs  39  to keep the jaws closed on the hauling cable  2 . The detachable grip further comprises a lever  40  which presses on the spring  39  to open the jaws. The lever  40  is actuated in the station  11 ,  12  in order to be able to attach and detach the vehicle  3 ,  4  to and from the hauling cable  2 . The detachable grip is mounted on the carriage  35  by means of a support arm  41 . A support sheave  7  and compression sheave  8  have also been represented, their axes of rotation being directed horizontally. An inner diverting sheave  9  and outer diverting sheave  10  having their axes of rotation directed vertically have also been represented, respectively on the left and on the right of  FIG. 5 . 
     For example, the sheaves  7  to  10  of the guide means are mounted on the suspension means  42 , and the suspension means  42  is connected to the support  32 . Specific pillars can also be provided situated along the travel path  5  to support the sheaves  7  to  10  of the guide means. When there is no vehicle  3 ,  4  passing at the sheaves  7  to  10  of the guide means, the hauling cable  2  is pressing against the sheaves  7  to  10 . When the vehicles  3 ,  4  pass at a sheave  7  to  10 , the jaws are then in contact with the sheave  7 ,  8  and  10 , or it is the hauling cable  2  which is in contact with the outer diverting sheave  10 . In particular, the sheaves  7  to  10  of the guide means comprise a groove enabling the hauling cable  2  and the jaws to pass in the groove. In  FIG. 5 , a compression sheave  8 , a support sheave  7  and two diverting sheaves  9 ,  10  have been represented, but these sheaves  7  to  10  are not located in the same place, i.e. in the same plane, along the travel path  5 . Indeed, at a given location of the travel path  5 , there is generally only one sheave  7  to  10  of the same type, a support sheave  7 , a compression sheave  8 , an inner diverting sheave  9  or an outer diverting sheave  10 . Compression sheaves  8  and support sheaves  7  arranged facing one another can advantageously be provided at the same location to guarantee a vertical flexion of the hauling cable  2 . 
     In general manner, the main rail  23  is connected to the secondary rail  24  by the suspension means  42 . The suspension means  42  is mounted on the supports  32  to keep the rails  23 ,  24  above the ground. The suspension means  42  comprises a frame, and each rail  23 ,  24  is mounted on one end of the frame. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the frame of the suspension means  42  is U-shaped with the opening directed towards the ground, and the main and secondary rails  23 ,  24  are also U-shaped. 
     In  FIG. 6 , another embodiment has been represented in which the suspension means  42  comprises a C-shaped frame with the opening directed towards the ground. 
     Another embodiment of the rails  23 ,  24  of a bypass segment  21 ,  22  and of a vehicle  3 ,  4  suspended on the rails  23 ,  24  has been represented in  FIG. 7 . In this other embodiment, the suspension means  42  comprises a C-shaped frame with the opening directed towards the ground. The main rail  23  and secondary rail  24  are in the form of a full cylinder. The second running means  31  comprises four groups of wheels, two front groups  43 ,  44  situated respectively to the left and right of the attachment device  29  and two rear groups situated respectively to the left and right of the attachment device  29 , not represented for the sake of simplification. Each group of wheels  43 ,  44  comprises three wheels, a top wheel  45   a ,  45   b  located above a rail  23 ,  24 , a side wheel  46   a ,  46   b  pressing against one side of the rail  23 ,  24 , and a bottom wheel  47   a ,  47   b  located underneath the rail  23 ,  24 . The assembly formed by the twelve wheels of the second running means  31  enables the vehicle  3 ,  4  to be kept securely held on the rails  23 ,  24 . 
     An embodiment of a support means  50  to keep the carrying cables  19 ,  20  above the ground has been represented in  FIG. 8 . A vehicle  3  located at the level of the support means  50  has also been represented. The support means  50  is for example a line pillar comprising a brace  51  extending perpendicularly to the running direction of the hauling cable  2 . A frame  52  is mounted on the brace  51 , above the ground. The brace  51  comprises two ends  53   a ,  53   b  on which two shoes  54   a ,  54   b  are respectively mounted. The shoes  54   a ,  54   b  each comprises a groove to receive a carrying cable  19 ,  20 . A support sheave  7  mounted on the frame  52  of the line pillar  50  has also been represented. 
     The invention which has just been described is particularly suitable for travel paths which have horizontal curves and which require suitable segments, in particular involving the use of carrying cables, to circumvent obstacles over large distances.