Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Maintenance vehicle for operations along an aerial ropeway of a
mechanical lift installation
Background of the invention
The invention relates to a maintenance vehicle for performing operations
along an aerial ropeway of a mechanical lift installation comprising a car
suspended on the rope by connecting means comprising:
- a top part fixed to the rope,
- a bottom part fixed to the car,
- and articulation means of the top part with respect to the bottom part
allowing relative swivelling, in a vertical plane parallel to the rope, of the
top and bottom parts forming a variable angle between them.
State of the art
When operations have to be performed along an aerial ropeway of a
mechanical lift installation, in particular on a rope pressing and guiding
sheave assembly located on a pylon of the installation (in the event of an
unscheduled incident or in case of programmed preventive maintenance),
the personnel in question has to load all the indispensable equipment into a
motor vehicle to be able to reach the pylon. The personnel then has to hoist
this equipment up to the pylon catwalks before they can carry out the
assignment proper.
It is clear that successive handling of the equipment results in a great deal
of
time-wasting, whereas hoisting it up to the catwalks represents a risk of
falling for the personnel and/or equipment as well as being superfluously
tiring. Finally, certain pylons of the installation may be inaccessible by
motor
vehicle, which leads to time being wasted and additional fatigue. These
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different drawbacks become all the more important in case of preventive
maintenance during which all the sheave assemblies of the installation are
checked, as this results in an increase of the risks involved and is more
tiring
for the personnel.
For operation of the installation, the document EP0227540 describes an
installation in which the cars are coupled to the carrying-hauling ropes by
hangers each of which is connected to the car by means for mobile
association with the car, these means for mobile association enabling the
position of the hangers to be modified with respect to one another and/or with
respect to the ropes. The means for mobile association are articulation
means making a swivel, sliding or rotating link with a horizontal,
longitudinal
and/or transverse axis. On the line, due to the gravity effect applied to the
car, such articulation means ensure that the bottom part (and therefore the
car) is automatically horizontal whatever the angle of incline of the rope
with
respect to the horizontal. Such cars do not enable operations to be
performed on the line in comfortable and totally safe manner on account of
the fact that horizontality is constantly maintained.
Object of the invention
The object of the invention consists in providing a maintenance vehicle that
limits risks and fatigue for personnel while at the same time reducing the
time
required for the operation.
The vehicle according to the invention is remarkable in that the connecting
means on the one hand comprise means for adjusting the angle between the
bottorn part and the top part, up to an inclined position of the car with
respect
to the vertical, and on the other hand comprise means for securing the car in
the inclined position.
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When the maintenance vehicle arrives near the sheave assembly to be
repaired or checked (due to the carrying and hauling performed by the aerial
ropeway), the adjustment means are actuated by the personnel so that the
angle between the top part and the bottom part is substantially equal to zero.
This then results in the bottom part (and therefore the car) being
substantially
parallel to the rope. This inclined position of the car with respect to the
vertical, then ensured by the securing means, facilitates the operation
performed by the personnel directly from the car on the sheave assemblies
which are also inclined in a direction parallel to the slope of the rope.
According to a preferred embodiment, the adjustment means comprise a
cog-wheel fixed on the top part in a plane parallel to said vertical plane and
operating in conjunction with an endless screw mounted rotating on the
bottom part.
Other technical features can be used either alone or in combination:
- the endless screw is fixed to one end of a transmission shaft equipped at
its opposite end with a crank positioned inside said car,
- disengagement means are inserted between the articulation means and
the adjustment means,
- the bottom part comprises an articulated operating arm,
- the car comprises at least one platform able to be moved by moving
means between a retracted position where the platform is housed inside
said car and an extended position where the platform is outside the car,
- the moving means comprise a hinge with an axis perpendicular to the
rope,
- the car comprises means for adjusting the height of the hinge with
respect to the floor of the car,
- the car is equipped with means for adjusting the incline of the floor of the
platform with respect to the floor of the car in the extended position,
- the moving means comprise a sliding link in a direction included in a
plane perpendicular to the floor of the car,
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- the car comprises an electricity generating set and/or an electric power
supply battery and/or a lubrication unit.
Brief description of the drawings
Other advantages and features will become more clearly apparent from the
following description of a particular embodiment of the invention given for
non-restrictive example purposes only and represented in the accompanying
drawings, in which:
- figure 1 represents, in transverse view, an example of a maintenance
vehicle according to the invention in which the platforms are in the
retracted position,
- figure 2 is a transverse view of the vehicle of figure 1 in which the
platforms are in the extended position,
- figure 3 is a longitudinal view of the vehicle of figures 1 and 2,
- figure 4 is a top view of the vehicle of figures 1 to 3.
Description of a preferred embodiment of the invention
Maintenance vehicle 10 represented in figures 1 to 4 is designed for
maintenance personnel to be able to gain access along a mechanical lift
installation comprising two continuously-running parallel carrying-hauling
ropes 11, 12. This type of installation with two ropes arranged in the same
horizontal plane results in a considerable increase of the lateral stability
and
the resistance to side winds.
In the figures, the two ropes 11, 12 extend in parallel manner between two
terminals (not shown) equipped with pulleys. The two ropes 11, 12 form two
continuously-running endless loops arranged on the same horizontal level
and supporting cars (not shown) coupled on the line to ropes 11, 12, to run in
a closed circuit on the up-line and down-line formed by the two rope loops.
The two ropes 11, 12 are driven in synchronism by suitable motors.
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According to the invention, maintenance vehicle 10 consists of a car 13
suspended on ropes 11, 12 by connecting means comprising a top part 14
fixed to ropes 11, 12 and a bottom part 15 fixed to the roof of car 13. Car 13
5 is of a different type from the cars normally used for operation of the
installation, in accordance with the rest of the description.
Bottom part 15 comprises a suspension arranged in the verticai longitudinal
plane of symmetry of ropes 11, 12 and articulated by articulation means on
top part 14 which comprises a carriage supporting two pairs of detachable
grips 16 to secure the carriage to the two ropes 11, 12 on the line and to
disconnect maintenance vehicle 10 in the terminals by disengaging grips 16.
The carriage supports two grips 16 for each rope 11, 12 and these grips 16
are offset with respect to one another in the longitudinal direction of
movement of the carriage. The two grips 16 coupled to the same rope 11, 12
are arranged symmetrically on each side of the transverse axis of symmetry
of the carriage.
The carriage is formed by two parallel longitudinal beams 18 which are joined
to one another by a transverse tube 19 of circular external cross-section.
Grips 16 of one and the same rope 11, 12 are fitted near the ends of one and
the same beam 18. Transverse tube 19 is perpendicular to longitudinal
beams 18. Longitudinal beams 18 and transverse tube 19 are substantially
coplanar. The transverse distance separating longitudinal beams 18 is
adjusted according to the distance separating ropes 11, 12, which distance is
greater than the width of vehicle 10.
The articulation means, which first comprise transverse tube 19 fixedly
attached to top part 14, also comprise a sleeve 20 fixedly attached to bottom
part 15 and enveloping transverse tube 19 with bearing rings fitted
intermediately. Sleeve 20 is thereby mounted rotating around transverse tube
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19. Sleeve 20, which is formed by a dismountable double-shell assembly,
forms an integral part of the suspension referred to previously.
The four grips 16 form a rigid connecting quadrilateral between ropes 11, 12.
This results in a very great stability of car 13 to roll and yawing, whereas
the
articulation means provide a very great freedom of movement of car 13 for
pitch by swivelling of sleeve 20 around transverse tube 19. In other words,
the articulation means of top part 14 with respect to bottom part 15 allow
relative pivoting, in a vertical plane parallel to ropes 11, 12 (i.e. the
vertical
plane of symmetry of ropes 11, 12), of top part 14 and bottom part 15 forming
a variable angle between them (not shown). The articulation means on the
other hand do not provide any possibility of relative pivoting in a transverse
vertical plane.
Each grip 16 is advantageously mounted on the carriage via a damper unit
17 allowing a slight rotation of one grip 16 with respect to the other one on
one and the same rope 11, 12, and of grips 16 of one of ropes 11, 12 with
respect to those of the other rope 11, 12 to prevent any slewing of the
carriage.
Four support arms 21 forming an integral part of the suspension provide a
rigid connection between sleeve 20 and a frame 22 securedly affixed to the
roof of car 13. Frame 22 belongs to bottom part 15 of the connecting means
and can comprise an assembly of at least two longitudinal beams and at
least one transverse beam.
According to the invention, maintenance vehicle 10 further comprises
adjustment means of the angle between bottom part 15 and top part 14, up
to an inclined position of car 13 with respect to the vertical. During this
adjustment, car 13 performs a swivelling movement in the vertical plane of
symmetry of ropes 11, 12, said swivelling movement being achieved by
sleeve 20 swivelling around transverse tube 19. In the alternative
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embodiment represented, the adjustment means comprise a cog-wheel 23
fixed on top part 14 in a plane parallel to the vertical plane of symmetry of
ropes 11, 12. Cog-wheel 23 operates in conjunction with an endless screw
24 mounted rotating on bottom part 15. More precisely, cog-wheel 23 is
securedly affixed to the median part of transverse tube 19, the axis of cog-
wheel 23 coinciding with that of transverse tube 19. The nominal diameter of
cog-wheel 23 is such that the teeth are salient outwards from sleeve 20
through a pass-through slot arranged in the thickness of sleeve 20 in a cross-
sectional plane of sleeve 20 perpendicular to the axis of the latter. It is
clear
that cog-wheel 23 can be formed by a complete wheel having teeth over the
whole of its periphery, but can also be formed by an angular sector only.
Endless screw 24 is further fixed to one end of a transmission shaft 25,
equipped at its other end with a crank 29 positioned inside said car 13. In
practice, endless screw 24 is mounted rotating on bottom part 15 as it is
i5 mounted fixed to the end of transmission shaft 25 which is itself mounted
rotating on bottom part 15. For this purpose, transmission shaft 25 is guided
in rotation, at its bottom part, in a first bearing 26 fitted on the end of a
support 27 securedly attached to frame 22 and extending in the direction of
the floor of car 13, and, at its top part, in a pair of second bearings 28
securedly attached to sleeve 20. Transmission shaft 25 is, in this particular
alternative embodiment, perpendicular to the floor of car 13.
It is apparent from the foregoing that actuation of crank 29 by the personnel
embarked on board car 13 drives transmission shaft 25 in rotation. This
results in rotational movement of endless screw 24 with respect to bottom
part 15. The teeth of endless screw 24 being engaged in the teeth of cog-
wheel 23, the rotational movement of endless screw 24 causes relative
swivelling of sleeve 20 around transverse tube 19. In other words, manual
actuation of crank 29 enables the angle that the top part 15 and bottom part
14 form between them to be adjusted as required.
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If no action is exerted on the adjustment means and due to the effect of
gravity applied to car 13, free swivelling of sleeve 20 around transverse tube
19 ensures that bottom part 15 (and therefore the whole car 13) is
automatically horizontal whatever the angle of incline of ropes 11, 12 with
respect to the horizontal. In this horizontal position, maintenance vehicle 10
is moved along the line by the carrying and hauling performed by ropes 11,
12. When vehicle 10 reaches the proximity of sheave assembly to be
repaired or checked, the personnel presses a stop button 36 which emits a
stopping order, by secured remote control, to stop running of ropes 11, 12.
After ropes 11, 12 have stopped running, crank 29 is actuated by the
personnel to adjust the angle between top part 15 and bottom part 14 so that
it is substantially equal to zero. After this adjustment, bottom part 15 (and
therefore car) is substantially parallel to ropes 11, 12. This inclined
position of
car 13 with respect to the vertical (position which is not represented)
facilitates maintenance operations by the personnel directly from car 13 on
the sheave assemblies, since the latter are inclined parallel the slope of
ropes 11, 12.
The connecting means between car 13 and ropes 11, 12 further comprise
securing means for blocking car 13 in the inclined position. It is clear that
these securing means will be actuated by the personnel after the above-
mentioned adjustment has been made. In other alternative embodiments, it is
possible to provide for blocking to be automatic as soon as the personnel
releases crank 29 after adjustment of car 13 to the inclined position. Such
securing means can be achieved by any known mechanical means (for
example a return-check ratchet mechanism) enabling positive securing of car
13 in the inclined position. The securing means can be unlatched as soon as
required, in particular during movement of vehicle 10 on the line, for the
comfort of the personnel.
It is further possible to provide disengagement means (not shown) inserted
between the articulation means and the adjustment means. Such
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disengagement means will be used so long as the maintenance vehicle is on
the line and at a distance from the sheave assembly to be repaired or
checked. Such disengagement means can be achieved by any suitable
known mechanical means.
To allow easy access to a sheave assembly of the installation after
maintenance vehicle 10 has been conveyed to this sheave assembly by
ropes 11, 12 and after car 13 has been adjusted and secured in the inclined
position, car 13 comprises at least one platform able to be moved by moving
means between a retracted position (figure 1) where the platform is housed
inside car 13 and an extended position (figure 2) where the platform is
outside car 13. The example illustrated in figures 1 to 4 comprises two
longitudinally opposite platforms, referenced 30, 31, respectively arranged
upstream and downstream from car 13 (in the longitudinal direction of
movement of vehicle 10) when they are in the extended position. When car
13 is in the inclined position and platforms 30, 31 are in the extended
position, floors 301, 311 of platforms 30, 31 are substantially parallel to
ropes
11, 12. However, to compensate an excessive incline of the car in the
inclined position, car 13 is equipped with adjustment means (not shown) for
adjusting the incline of floor 301, 311 of each platform 30, 31, when it is in
the extended position, with respect to the floor of car 13. When a platform
30,
31 is in the retracted position, its floor 301, 311 is pressed onto the
outside of
the corresponding wall of car 13. In figure 4, only platform 30 is represented
in the extended position. Ladders 38 provide access to platforms 30, 31 from
the floor of car 13.
In the example illustrated, the moving means associated with a platform 30,
31 comprise a hinge, respectively 302, 312, the axis whereof is parallel to
the
floor of car 13. Each platform 30, 31 is mounted on car 13 by a swivel link
with an axis parallel to the floor of car 13. Car 13 comprises means for
adjusting the height of hinge 302, 312 with respect to the floor of car 13.
The
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moving means can however comprise a slide link sliding in a direction
included in a plane perpendicular to the floor of the car.
Whether the moving means associated with a platform 30, 31 comprise a
5 hinge or a slide link, movement of platform 30, 31 from one position to the
other can be triggered either manually or by electrical means.
To guarantee maximum safety, each platform 30, 31 comprises a guard-rail
303, 313 fitted on floor 301, 311 of platform 30, 31 in such a way that guard-
10 rail 303, 313 is unfurled when platform 30, 31 moves to the extended
position
and folded back when moving to the retracted position. Guard-rails 303, 313
can however be assembled fixed on floors 301, 311 without departing from
the spirit of the invention. The tubular structure of each guard-rail 303,
313,
and also a gate for access to car 13, can be covered with coating panels 37,
which may be transparent.
To facilitate the operations carried out along aerial ropes 11, 12, bottom
part
15 comprises an operating arm 32 articulated around an axis perpendicular
to the roof of car 13 and which may be telescopic. Car 13 further comprises
an electricity generating set 33 and/or an electric power supply battery 34
and/or a lubrication unit 35 and/or one or more toolboxes 39 housed under
fold-down seats 40.
Finally, it is clear that the invention can be adapted to a mechanical lift
installation having a single aerial rope, such as for example a gondola car or
a chair-lift. In this case, the top part of the connecting means is formed
only
by a grip for securing to the rope whereas the bottom part is formed by a
hanger securedly attached to the vehicle. The articulation means of the grip
with respect to the hanger allow a first relative swivelling of the hanger and
grip in a first vertical plane including the rope, and possibly a second
relative
swivelling in a second vertical plane perpendicular to said first plane.
According to the invention, the connecting means will comprise means for
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adjusting the angle formed between the grip and hanger in the first plane, up
to an inclined position of the car with respect to the vertical in the first
plane,
as well as means for securing the car in the inclined position.
