Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CHAIR FOR A CHAIRLIFT
The present invention relates to a chair for chairlifts,
having at least one seat part which is pivotable about a
horizontal axis.
The present invention also relates to a method for pivoting
at least one seat part of a chair of a chairlift.
In order to be able to transport passengers safely, chairs of
chairlifts have a safety bar. A problem with a closed safety
bar is that particularly large passengers may have a space
problem between the underside of the closed safety bar and the
seat part. The problem cannot be remedied by generally
increasing the distance between the seat part and the
underside of the closed safety bar since too large an
intermediate space would considerably increase the risk of
smaller people, especially children, falling. Therefore, for
larger passengers, individual adaptation, complying with the
regulations in force, is desirable.
In EP 1 721 801 A, this takes place by means of elastic
elements on the safety bar, which press from above on the
thighs of the passengers and yield elastically in the case of
large people. Although the risk of even small passengers
slipping through can be minimized as a result, it can give
rise to an oppressive feeling for some passengers.
Therefore, the invention is based on the object of creating
an apparatus of the type mentioned at the beginning, which
affords more comfort to large passengers without reducing
safety in the process.
This object is achieved in the case of a chair of the type
mentioned at the beginning in that an elastic element is
arranged between the seat part and a frame of the chair and
pushes the seat part upward.
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The object is also achieved by a method of the type mentioned
at the beginning in that the seat part is pivoted counter to
the force of an elastic element.
A particular advantage of the elastic element in the apparatus
according to the invention is that the distance between the
seat part and the underside of the safety bar is variable, and
so, in particular in the case of larger and generally also
relatively heavy people, the elastic element is compressed and
the space between the safety bar and the seat part thus becomes
larger.
In a preferred embodiment, the elastic element is pretensioned
in an upper, unloaded position of the seat part. This position
is referred to as the starting position. As a result of the
pretension, oscillation or rocking of the elastic element is
intended to be reduced to a minimum.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the
pretension of the elastic element in the starting position is
greater than a defined weight force of a passenger. If the
force of the elastic element is greater than the weight force
of a passenger, the seat part will remain in the starting
position on account of the elastic element. This is desired
in particular in the case of smaller passengers and children,
in order not to increase the clear distance.
By means of an actuating device, the seat part can be pivoted
into a lower entry and/or exit position counter to the force
of the elastic element. In this case, a seat face of the seat
part forms, in the lower entry and/or exit position, an
approximately horizontal plane and allows particularly smaller
passengers to get on and off more easily.
Within the scope of the invention, provision can also be made
for the seat part to be lockable in the entry and/or exit
position. Throughout the passage through a station, the seat
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part can thus be fixed entirely in its comfortable lower entry
and/or exit position.
In a particularly preferred embodiment, in order to lock the
seat part in the lower position, provision is made for a
locking element connected to the seat part to be connected to
the actuating device via a control element, wherein,
furthermore, the locking element connected to the seat part
is lockable in the entry and/or exit position by way of a
blocking element.
In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the
blocking element is movable into a locking position and into
a releasing position by the control element, wherein the
locking position is understood to be the position in which the
seat part is locked in its lower entry and/or exit position,
and the releasing position is understood to be the position
in which the seat part can be pivoted.
In the releasing position of the blocking element, the force
of the elastic element will automatically attempt to pivot the
seat part with a passenger located thereon into the upper
position or starting position and to limit the space between
the underside of the safety bar and the seat part to a defined
minimum.
Body weight or height and the resultant space requirement
between the underside of the closed safety bar and the seat
part are generally mutually dependent variables. People with
a body weight of, for example, 90 kg generally have either
longer legs or bigger thighs than lighter people. In order to
adapt the space requirement between the underside of the
safety bar and the seat part to the length of the legs or to
the thighs of a passenger, the elastic element is dimensioned
such that, with a passenger who has a body weight of, for
example, less than 80 kg, the seat part is pivoted back
completely from the lower entry and/or exit position into the
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starting position after the seat part has been released. The
space between the underside of the closed safety bar and the
seat face is thus reduced to a defined minimum and the risk
of smaller people slipping through between the safety bar and
seat part is reduced.
For a passenger with a body weight of, for example, 95 kg, it
is possible to assume that they require more space between the
underside of the closed safety bar and the seat part in order
to sit comfortably. The elastic element is in this case
dimensioned such that the seat part does not pivot back into
the starting position after being released. The passenger
therefore has more space under the safety bar.
When seat parts of a chair are separately pivotable, a larger
and relatively heavy passenger thus has more space between the
underside of the closed safety bar and the seat part than a
smaller passenger sitting next to them. While ensuring safety
for smaller and older passengers and possibly making it easier
for them to get on and/or off, the comfort particularly for
larger passengers is considerably improved.
Further preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject
matter of the remaining dependent claims.
Further features and advantages of the invention can be
gathered from the following description of a preferred
exemplary embodiment of the invention with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a side view of a chair of a chairlift with a
first embodiment of an apparatus according to the
invention in a starting position,
Figure 2 shows a side view of the apparatus from figure 1 in
an entry and/or exit position, and
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Figure 3 shows a second embodiment of the apparatus according
to the invention.
Figures 1 and 2 show an elastic element 2 which is arranged
5 between a seat part 4, pivotable about an axis 19, and a frame
7 of a chair 1. Furthermore, a pivotably mounted safety bar
8, a back part 18 and a tilting element 6 that is pivotable
about a bolt 9 are mounted on or fastened to the frame 7. The
tilting element 6 is deflected via an actuating device which
has a drive and a Bowden cable 5.
The drive (not illustrated in the drawings) of the actuating
device has for example a lever which is arranged on a support
bar of the chair 1, as is known in principle for example from
EP 1 780 091 A. The type of drive of the actuating device is,
however, not limited to a mechanical apparatus, but can also
be an electric or other drive.
In figure 1, the seat part 4 is shown with the elastic element
2 in an upper, unloaded starting position. In this case, the
elastic element 2 already has, in the starting position, a
defined pretension. The safety bar 8 is in a closed position.
The elastic element 2 is a coil spring in the figures shown,
but can also be any other type of spring, for example an
annular spring, polymer spring, leaf spring, disk spring,
torsion spring or scissors spring, and is referred to below
as spring 2. In the position illustrated in figure 1, the
space between the underside of the closed safety bar 8 and the
seat part 4 for passengers is limited to a defined minimum,
which is designed for smaller and average passengers.
In figure 2, the seat part 4 has been pivoted downward counter
to the force of the spring 2 by means of the tilting element
6 and the spring 2 is fully tensioned. The seat part 4 is now
in a lower entry and/or exit position. The tilting element 6
is actuated in this case via the drive and the Bowden cable 5
of the actuating device.
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If use is made for example of a drive as described in
EP 1 780 091 A, the lever of the drive is actuated by means
of a control rail in a station of the chairlift. The tilting
element 6 is actuated in particular in an entry and/or exit
area of the station. Directly before the exit area, the lever
is actuated via the control rail and the seat part 4 is pivoted
into the lower exit position. Throughout the time spent in the
exit area, the lever bears against the control rail. After the
exit area has been left, the seat part 4 pivots back up into
the starting position at the end of the control rail.
Immediately before the entry area, the lever is actuated again
via a control rail and the seat part 4 is pivoted downward
into the entry position. While passing through the entry area,
it is easier for the passengers to sit down on the chair 1 on
account of the pivoted position of the seat part 4. After the
entry area has been left, the control rail also ends and the
seat part 4 can pivot up in the case of small and average
people or remains down in the case of heavier people.
In a preferred embodiment, the seat part 4 can be locked in
the entry and exit position throughout the passage through the
station by way of a dead-center locking mechanism on the lever.
Immediately after the chair 1 enters the station, the lever
is actuated only once and locked by the dead-center locking
mechanism. Only immediately before the station is exited is
the lever actuated again via a control rail and the dead-
center locking mechanism released. The seat part 4 is then no
longer locked and can pivot up.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the tilting
element 6 can be dispensed with and the Bowden cable 5 or a
linkage of the drive or the drive itself is directly connected
to the seat parts 4 and pivots the seat parts 4 into the lower
position. In order to keep the seat parts 4 in the lower entry
and/or exit position, the seat part can be locked for example
via the drive of the actuating device, as described above.
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Figure 3 shows a further-developed embodiment of the
invention, in which a control element 14 is connected to the
tilting element 6 and is actuated thereby. The control element
14 has an opening 13 with a control slot in which a bolt 12
of a locking element 10 is received, said locking element 10
being firmly connected to the seat part 4. The control element
14 is moved in the direction of the double arrow 21 by the
tilting element 6. As a result, the seat part 4 can be pivoted
counter to the force of the spring 2 via the locking element
10 connected to the control element 14 via the opening and the
bolt 12.
The actuating device can consist of the same components as
described above.
In order to pivot the seat part 4 counter to the spring 2 with
the embodiment according to the invention in figure 3, it is
necessary, as described for figures 1 and 2, for a force to
be applied to the control element 14 via the Bowden cable 5
and the tilting element 6. The control element 14 moves in
this case, with the bolt 12 bearing against the left-hand end
of the opening 13, toward the right in the direction of the
arrow 21. In this case, the control element 14 moves maximally
to such an extent that the spring 2 is tensioned to a maximum
and a blocking element 11, loaded in the counterclockwise
direction by a spring has latched in place in a recess 16 in
the locking element 10 and locks the seat part 4 in the lower
entry and/or exit position, as is illustrated in figure 3.
In addition to the opening 13, the control element 14 has a
defined control cam 15 against which the blocking element 11
bears under spring force and is guided. By means of the control
cam 15, the blocking element 11 located in the locking position
is deflected out of the recess 16 in the locking element 10
and thus the seat part 4 is released. To this end, the control
element 14 has to be moved to the left in the direction of the
arrow 21 via the Bowden cable 5 and the tilting element. The
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defined control cam 15 is in this case formed such that the
blocking element 11 bearing against the control element 14 is
moved out of the recess 16. The bolt 12 is unloaded in this
case and is located between the two ends of the opening 13 or
the control slot thereof, such that the seat part 4 can move
up by way of the force of the spring 2.
In a further development of the embodiment in figure 3, upon
continuation of the movement of the control element 14 toward
the left in the direction of the arrow 21, the seat part 4 can
be pivoted right up against the back part 18. This embodiment
according to the invention thus allows the seat part 4 to
pivot from the lower entry and/or exit position into the
starting position and, if necessary, further into an uppermost
position in which the seat part 4 bears against the back part
18 or has been pivoted up at least into the vicinity of the
back part 18. In order to lock the seat part 4 in the uppermost
position, a further recess (not illustrated), in which the
blocking element 11 latches, is located on the locking element
10. In order to unlock the seat part 4 from the locked
uppermost position, the blocking element 11 is, as described
above, deflected out of the recess by means of the control
element 14. To this end, the control element 14 has, in this
embodiment, an extension of the control cam 15 in order to
deflect the blocking element 11 out of the lock.
In all embodiments of figure 3, the opening 13 has to be at
least long enough for the seat part 4 to be able to be pivoted
from the starting position into the lower entry and/or exit
position when a heavy person sits down on the seat, plus the
diameter of the bolt 12.
In the embodiment in figure 3, upon entering the station, the
lever (not illustrated) of the drive has to be deflected only
once by the control rail to such an extent that the seat part
4 is pivoted right down with the locking element 10 and is
locked by the blocking element 11. Shortly before the station
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is exited, the lever is then actuated again via a control rail
and pivoted out of the recess 16 to such an extent that the
blocking element 11 is deflected by means of the control
element 14 to such an extent that the seat part 4 is released
again.
The use of a blocking element 11 to lock the seat part 4 in
the entry and/or exit position is not absolutely necessary in
the embodiment in figure 3, either. Alternatively, some other,
electric, pneumatic, hydraulic or mechanical apparatus can
also be used to lock the seat part 4.
A mechanical reversal between the locking element 10 and the
control element 14 is of course possible inasmuch as the bolt
12, which is fastened to the locking element 10, is then
located on the control element 14 and engages in an opening
in the locking element 10.
