A passage system separating pedestrian traffic

Abstract

The present invention provides a passage arrangement (10) in which pedestrian traffic arriving to and departing from public transportation stops are isolated from each other The present invention comprises three towers (22) and a walking plane (21), with at least two of the three towers having same helical arrangement, while the helical arrangement of one of the three towers is in the opposite orientation to that of said towers. According to at least one embodiment of the invention, to ensure that passengers accessing and leaving the stop are safely isolated, the two towers (22a) with the same helical arrangement are located at two ends, while the tower (22b) having the different helical arrangement is in the middle.

Description

[0001] A PASSAGE SYSTEM SEPARATING PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present invention relates to a passage adapted to be used for access to stops in urban public transportation networks. In particular, the present invention relates to providing access to public transportation stops in which arriving and departing pedestrian traffic are isolated from each other.

[0004] PRIOR ART

[0005] Pedestrian overpasses and underpasses are of great importance for pedestrians to have effective and safe contact with land roads inside and outside a city and to protect them from the hazards of vehicle traffic. In cities, in particular in densely populated metropolitan areas, such pedestrian overpasses and underpasses can also be used to access other public transportation networks that may or may not be connected to land roads.

[0006] In urban areas, pedestrian underpasses and overpasses commonly entail certain problems, particularly in the manner they are used to access public transportation systems. The foremost of these problems is the frequent encounter between groups of pedestrians who intend to access public transport systems from the pedestrian areas of the city and those who intend to access the pedestrian areas from the public transport, i.e. who leave public transport stops intending to get to a pedestrian area. Such encounters are caused by the lack of a mechanism and spatial arrangement that would allow these groups to be separated from each other in terms of flow direction, making it more difficult and complex for the passengers to access such services in crowded metropolitan areas.

[0007] Prior art document CN 112.252.776 A proposes a station arrangement that can be used to access suspended public transportation. Here, a central platform or bay is accessed through stairs from either side of a land road or a similar partition. Here, one-way and linear stair units at both ends provide access to an overpass and said overpass allows access to the platforms at an equal distance to both stair units. However, these overpasses and stair units are suitable for the collective use of passengers leaving the station and those intending to reach the station without being separated.

[0008] According to the teachings of the utility model CN 210.657.983 U, access to a pedestrian overpass is enabled by walkway / stairway elements comprising 180-degree turns from either end of a roadway or another spatial partition. The structure here is characterized by the use of steel and is adapted to modification for the purpose of accessing public transport. However, the arrangement in this document does not include any spatial setting or arrangement to prevent the incoming and outgoing pedestrian groups from interfering with each other.

[0009] Another prior art document, CN 208.151.775 U discloses an overpass enabling a surface rail system to be accessed centrally. Said overpass is accessed from both sides by stair units and is characterized by the connection of this suspension bridge type pedestrian crossing with the platforms of the surface rail system.

[0010] According to the teachings of CN 213.538.657 U, an arrangement is provided in which an overpass supported by columns is accessed from both ends of said columns by way of two separate stair units. These stair units can be used both by the pedestrian groups who arrive to and depart from the stop without being separated, thereby making both pedestrian groups flow together along the overpass.

[0011] In the overpass arrangements proposed in CN 216.739.211 U and CN 108.221.635 A, an overpass is accessed by two sets of stairs extending in opposite directions from either end of the overpass. Here again, access to an overpass is not arranged separately for incoming and outgoing pedestrian groups.

[0012] An aim of the invention is to propose a passage assuring safe transit of pedestrian traffic from one point to another.

[0013] Another aim of the invention is to develop pedestrian overpasses and underpasses used to access public transportation stops by devising a particular spatial relationship between towers and walking planes.

[0014] A further aim of the invention is to propose a passage system which safely isolates incoming and outgoing pedestrian traffic from each other by using tower groups with helical stairways having separate orientations.

[0015] Yet another aim of the invention is to propose an underpass or overpass system with which underground or surface public transportation stops can be accessed quickly and without complications thanks to isolation of passenger flow directions.

[0016] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The figures whose descriptions are given below, aim to exemplify a pedestrian passage system whose advantages with respect to the state of the art are already summarized above and will be discussed in detail hereinafter.

[0018] The figures are not to be construed as limiting the scope of protection as defined in the claims, and are not to be referenced solely in interpreting the scope of said claims without regarding the technique in the description. Figure 1 is an isometric view of an overpass according to an embodiment of the present invention with the outer walls removed.

[0019] Figure 2 is a sectional view of one of the towers forming the overpass according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 is a sectional view of another one of the towers forming the overpass according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 4 is a sectional view from another angle of one of the towers forming the overpass according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 5 is a detailed top view of the set of stairs comprised by the towers forming the overpass according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] For a better understanding of the present invention, the elements in the figures included in the description of the invention are individually numbered and each numbered element is described below.

[0025] 10) Passage arrangement

[0026] 21) Walking plane

[0027] 22) Tower

[0028] 22a) End tower

[0029] 22b) Central tower

[0030] 23) Stair unit

[0031] 24) Core

[0032] 25) Tower outer wall

[0033] 26) Walkway

[0034] The present invention relates to an overpass provided for pedestrian access to stops of public transportation networks commonly used in urban areas. Said passage (10) can be used not only for access to public transportation stops and for departing said stops to access / merge to pedestrian pathways, but also for connecting pedestrian walkways located at the ends of the passage. In particular, the invention provides a safe and convenient arrangement to access public transportation stops, in which arriving and departing pedestrian traffic are separated from each other, wherein the flow of pedestrians intending to reach the stop which is usually located at a central position, and the flow of pedestrians departing said stop are completely separated. The invention makes use of the screw theory, and comprises stairways consisting of stair units extending helically around a core (24) of a predetermined tower. According to at least one embodiment, there are two stairways consisting of said stair units, which are arranged as a set of ascending stairs and a set of descending stairs. The stair units winding around the core of a tower are arranged helically along the opposite sides of the core, extending up / down to a desired higher / lower elevation. In an exemplary embodiment, stair units (23) which ascend or descend helically around the opposite sides of a core with a quadrangular section enable access to opposite ends of a tower such that they end on mutually opposite sides. One of these stairways, which consist of two stair units, is adapted for ascending and the other one for descending, and there are applications with one-way entry / exit elements to ensure that each stairway is used according to its designated ascending or descending purpose. In other words, a stairway designated for descent and another stairway designated for ascent are arranged in a helical configuration.

[0035] Accordingly, one of the important advantages of the invention can be described as follows: In a passage arrangement known in the art, for example in an overpass, access to and from pedestrian walkways to public transport stations is enabled by stairways which use the inclined plane principle. Such stairways are not arranged continuously along the elevation difference between a walking plane and a road, but are typically split into two parts. Access to an overpass is provided by a set of stairs, followed by a plane whose elevation corresponds almost exactly to the middle point in height, which is followed by another set of stairs reaching the overpass. This entails the occupation of a horizontal plane with a total length of 950 to 1150 centimeters for a stairway having a total height of approximately 600 centimeters. Such stair blocks, which are constructed using in situ cement casting or prefabricated manufacturing methods, lead to waste of urban space since the triangular prism that defines the volume of the stairways cannot be fully utilized. Another advantage of the present invention lies in elimination of this non-utilized volume. This is accomplished by winding an inclined plane around a core (24), thereby occupying a much smaller space compared to 1 150 centimeters, and the core (24) around which the stairway is wound and the tower (22) comprising these elements are prevented from defining an unusable volume. Whereby, the core (24) can be arranged to include elevator applications as will be mentioned below.

[0036] In order to provide equal width for pedestrians who ascend and descend the stairways extending with stair units (23) arranged parallelly between a core (24) and a tower outer wall (25) along the height of the towers (22) in various embodiments of the invention, the core (24) space in said tower (22) is to be arranged centrally. According to an embodiment, each side of the core (24) is equidistant from each outer wall (25) of the towers (22). According to each embodiment of the invention, each entrance and exit of the stairways (23) consisting of the stair units (22) arranged helically around said towers (22) are provided with a gate on mutually opposite sides on the same elevation. In other words, entry to and exit from a tower is carried out through gates defined at the ends of the stairways designated for ascending or descending.

[0037] According to a general embodiment of the invention, the passage comprises three towers (22). These three towers are connected to each other by at least one walking plane (21) accessed by gates at a top or bottom level depending on whetherthe passage is an overpass or an underpass, and this at least one walking plane (21) comprises an inclination small enough to allow pedestrians to walk comfortably thereon. One of the characteristics of these three towers (22) is that they are divided into two separate types, differing in the arrangement and winding of the stair units (23). The stair units (23) that make up the stairways can be oriented either leftwards or rightwards around the core space and this difference in arrangement is a critical aspects of the invention.

[0038] At least two (22a) of these three towers (22) have identical helical arrangements, while one (22b) has a helical arrangement with an opposite orientation to that of the other towers and is arranged inversely. According to at least one embodiment of the invention, among these three towers, the towers (22a) having the identical helical arrangement are located at two ends, with the tower (22b) having the different helical arrangement being in the middle, and are intended for the pedestrian traffic to enter or leave the walking plane.

[0039] In various overpass embodiments proposed according to the present invention, the heights of the towers (22) can be set prior to construction. Consequently, the number, step width and feature of the stair units (23) wound around the core (24) space may also vary. According to an embodiment, the elevation difference between the base of said tower (22), i.e. its level leading to the street level, and at least one walking plane (21) is at least 600 centimeters. This ensures compliance with national and international highway height guidelines and directives, increasing adaptability of the invention. In other embodiments, this elevation difference can be increased or decreased. In addition to these height variations, the number of turns of the stair units (23) around the core can also vary according to specific applications. For example, according to an embodiment, the stairways consisting of stair units (23) can be arranged to have one complete turn around the core (24), while in another embodiment, the stairs can be arranged to have three quarters of a turn.

[0040] According to at least one embodiment of the invention, the helical arrangement of the stairs comprising the ascent and descent stair units of two (22a) of said three towers (22) and the helical arrangement of the other tower (22b) are in opposite orientations. Thus, pedestrians accessing the walking plane from the towers (22a) at the ends are simply connected to the stairway of the central tower (22b) which contains a spiral in the opposite direction allowing them to leave the walking plane (21) and descend to the platform or station. Conversely, pedestrians using the stairway of the central tower (22b) to leave the platform or station are connected to the descent-only stairways of the towers at the ends (22a), thereby enabling the departing and arriving pedestrian traffic to move in separate spatial directions.

[0041] According to an embodiment, the spatial configuration described in the previous paragraph enables arranging the gates at the end of the set of ascending stairs of the towers (22a) with the same helical arrangement on the same plane with the gate at the beginning of the set of descending stairs of the other tower (22b), and the gates at the beginning of the set of descending stairs of the towers (22a) with the same helical arrangement on the same plane with the gate at the beginning of the set of ascending stairs of the other tower (22b).

[0042] In order to separate groups of pedestrians arriving and departing the stop, the passage arrangement (10) of the present invention comprises a walkway (26) connecting only the gates at the end of the set of ascending stairs of the towers (22a) with the same helical arrangement and the gate at the beginning of the set of descending steps of the tower (22b) with the different helical arrangement; and another walkway (26) connecting only the gates at the beginning of the set of descending stairs of the towers (22a) with the same helical arrangement and the gate at the beginning of the set of ascending stairs of the tower (22b) with the different helical arrangement.

[0043] According to a preferred embodiment, the central tower (22b), whose helical arrangement differs from the other two towers, is used directly for entry to and exit from the public transport stop, while the other two towers (22a), whose helical arrangements are the same, are used for access between the walking plane and the walkways not directly connected to the public transport stop.

[0044] Particular embodiments can be devised based on various applications of the invention. In such an embodiment, the core (24) structure around which the stairways of the three towers (22) are wound, is adapted to be used as at least one elevator shaft. As such, the quadrangular space centrally positioned in the towers, acting as the core (24) can contain at least one elevator. Depending on the type of application, there can be one or two of such elevators and they can function compatibly with the separated pedestrian walkways. For example, in an embodiment, one of the elevators positioned in the same core (24) can have a first door accessible from the inner side of the entrance providing one-way access to the stairs used to access the passage, and a second door opening to the walking plane's pedestrian walkway for the passengers accessing the stop. According to various embodiments of the invention, among the stair units (23) intended to run in one direction wound around the cores (24) of the towers (22), the ones positioned exactly one above the other have a height of at least 250 centimeters, preferably 300 centimeters between each other. Accordingly, the height of said towers, i.e. the difference between the entry and exit sections of the stair units (23) following a full turn around the core (24), i.e. the full turn of the stairway winding corresponding to one pitch, should be at least 500, preferably 600 centimetres. This minimum height difference will make it possible for even the tallest individuals to use the passage (10) comfortably.

[0045] According to certain embodiments, the stair units (23) forming said stairways may be in the form of escalators. For embodiments comprising such stair units, the corners comprise a bevel gear mechanism to ensure that the stair units run around the core (24) at the corners with an angle of 90 degrees. The embodiments with such bevel gear mechanisms also comprise the sufficient number of required reducers and actuators applied at the turns along the entire tower (22). In embodiments where the stair units (23) are in the form of escalators, since it is clear that such actuators will contribute to the height of a tower (22), the height of these towers would increase by at least 100 centimeters in case of a winding of a complete turn. A winding of a complete turn preferably increases the previous elevation difference to 700 centimeters, compared to 600 centimeters in the above-mentioned embodiments.

Claims

CLAIMS1) A passage (10) adapted to be used for access to public transportation, comprising three towers (22) with at least one ascent stairway and at least one descent stairway consisting of stair units (23) arranged helically around a centrally positioned quadrangular hollow core (24), at least three gates connected to the ends of the ascent and descent stairways of the towers, and at least one walking plane (21), characterized in that: the helical arrangement of the ascent and descent stairways of two (22a) of the three towers (22) and the helical arrangement of the ascent and descent stairway of the other tower (22b) have opposite orientations, among the three towers (22), the gates at the end of the ascent stairway (22a) of the towers with the same helical arrangement (22) and the gate at the beginning of the descent stairway of the other tower (22b) are coplanar, among the three towers (22), the gates at the beginning of the descent stairway (22a) of the towers with the identical helical arrangement (22) and the gate at the end of the ascent stairway of the other tower (22b) are coplanar, said walking plane (21) comprises a walkway (26) connecting only the gates at the end of the ascent stairways of the towers (22a) having same helical arrangement and the gate at the beginning of the descent stairway of the tower (22b) having the different helical arrangement; and another walkway (26) connecting only the gates at the beginning of the descent stairways of the towers (22a) having the same helical arrangement and the gate at the end of the ascent stairway of the tower (22b) having the different helical arrangement.2) A passage (10) according to claim 1 , characterized in that the arrangement of said three towers (22) is such that the towers (22a) with the same helical arrangement are located at two ends, with the tower (22b) having the different helical arrangement being positioned in the middle.3) A passage (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tower (22b), whose helical arrangement is different, is arranged for directly entering and exiting the public transportation stop.4) A passage (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the towers (22a) with the same helical arrangement are used for access to walkways not directly connected to the public transport stop.5) A passage (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the quadrangular hollow core (24) centrally arranged in the towers comprises at least one elevator.6) A passage (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the descent and ascent stairways of the towers are escalators.7) A passage (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said at least three gates are arranged as follows: one gate at ground level and two gates at a level enabling access to the walking plane (21).8) A passage (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of towers (22a) having same helical arrangements and a plurality of towers (22b) having different helical arrangements so as to define a plurality of walking planes (21).

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