CABLE CAR TRAFFIC SYSTEM IN A CABLE CAR FACILITY

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for moving cable car vehicles in a cable car installation with at least one drive wheel, which is height adjustable by means of a lifting device relative to the cable car vehicles, in order to make them move, at least one drive wheel being movable along a roadway.The present invention further relates to an electric lifting device comprising an electric drive motor, a threaded sleeve (42) which is rotated by said drive motor and held in its raised position, or the like, and a height-adjustable lifting screw (44) by the threaded sleeve (42) by which said drive wheel is height-adjustable, the threaded sleeve (42) and the lifting screw (44) having front faces, an upper and a lower, mutually associated, provided with stops (49a, 50a, 53a, 54a) located at least approximately in planes perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the threaded sleeve (42), or the like, which mutually come into contact in the upper and lower terminal position of the lifting screw (44), further rotation of the threaded sleeve (42) being prevented.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for moving cable car vehicles in a cable car system with at least one conveyor wheel, which is height-adjustable relative to the cable car vehicles by means of a lifting device in order to be brought to the system, whereby they can be moved along a track by means of the at least one conveyor wheel.

[0002] It is known to design cable car systems with storage facilities in which the cable car vehicles can be stored, particularly outside of operating hours. These are so-called cable car vehicle garages, in which the cable car vehicles, for example after the cable car system has ceased operation, are moved on storage rails and arranged close together. In order to carry out this storage, the conveyor wheels associated with the storage rails must be adjustable in the vertical direction.

[0003] In the lower end position, the conveyor wheels are in contact with drive surfaces on the cable car vehicles, allowing the cable car vehicles to be moved along the storage rails by means of the conveyor wheels. In the upper end position, the conveyor wheels are spaced away from the drive surfaces of the cable car vehicles, preventing the cable car vehicles from being moved by the conveyor wheels.

[0004] Reference is made, for example, to EP 774392 A1, which explains the design and operation of such a storage system.

[0005] In known storage systems of this type, the height of the conveyor wheels is adjusted by means of a lifting device, which is operated hydraulically or pneumatically. However, such lifting devices do not meet the technical requirements placed upon them because they require a great deal of maintenance.

[0006] To avoid this disadvantage, an electric lifting device can be provided, which is designed with an electric motor and a height-adjustable lifting spindle. However, with such a lifting device, it must be ensured that the positioning movement stops when the upper or lower end position of the lifting spindle is reached, without any locking or jamming of the contacting surfaces, as otherwise it would be difficult to reverse the lifting spindle's adjustments.

[0007] The present invention is therefore based on the objective of creating an electric lifting device in which locking or jamming of the components coming into contact with each other is prevented in the end positions of the lifting spindle. This is achieved according to the invention by providing an electric lifting device which is designed with an electric drive motor, with a threaded sleeve rotatable by the motor and held in its vertical position, and with a lifting spindle height-adjustable by the threaded sleeve, by which the height of at least one conveyor wheel can be adjusted. The threaded sleeve and the lifting spindle are provided with stops on their respective upper and lower end faces, which, in their operating position, lie at least approximately in normal planes to the direction of rotation of the threaded sleeve. These stops are located in the upper and lower end faces, respectively.The lower end position of the lifting spindle brings the threaded sleeve into contact with each other, thus preventing further rotation of the threaded sleeve.

[0008] Preferably, the lifting spindle is designed with two spaced-apart, profiled stop discs, between which it is formed by an external thread, by which it is guided in a threaded bore of the threaded sleeve. The threaded sleeve is designed with profiles corresponding to those of the stop discs. The threaded sleeve may be designed with axial extensions, which are also profiled. Preferably, the opposing end faces of the stop discs and the extensions of the threaded sleeve are designed with radially extending profiles, which are provided with stop surfaces located at least approximately in planes perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the threaded sleeve.Furthermore, the lifting spindle is preferably designed with a locking bolt having a polygonal cross-section, which is guided in a correspondingly profiled opening in a locking plate, thereby securing the lifting spindle against rotation. In addition, the threaded sleeve is preferably designed as a worm gear, which interacts with a drive spindle of the drive motor.

[0009] Furthermore, the electrical winding of the drive motor is preferably equipped with a thermal contact located in the supply line of the drive motor, which is opened when a thermal limit value in the drive motor is exceeded, thereby switching off the drive motor.

[0010] A lifting device according to the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing. The drawing shows: FIG. 1 an electric lifting device according to the invention, wherein the lifting spindle is in its lower end position, in side view, FIG. 1A the electric lifting device, wherein the lifting spindle is in its upper end position, in side view, FIG. 2 the drive of the lifting device, in axonometric view, FIG. 3 the drive of the lifting device, wherein the lifting spindle is in its lower end position, in side view and partially in section, and FIG. 3A the drive of the lifting device, wherein the lifting spindle is in its upper end position, in side view and partially in section.

[0011] In the FIG.1 und FIG.1A The upper components of a cable car 1 are shown. These are, on the one hand, a running gear with at least one roller 11, which is movable along a guide rail 21, and on the other hand, a clamping device 12, by means of which the cable car 1 can be clamped to a haul rope 22. The clamping device 12 is designed with an adjusting roller 13, with an adjusting lever 14 with clamping jaws 15, and with a support roller 16. Furthermore, the cable car 1 is designed with a drive surface 17, to which height-adjustable drive wheels 23 can be attached for moving the cable car 1 through a cable car station or for moving it in a garage.

[0012] For this purpose, a lifting device 3 is provided, through which the conveyor wheels 23 are moved into the FIG.1 lower end position shown, in which they rest against the drive surface 17 or in the FIG.1A The upper end position shown, in which they are lifted off the drive surface 17, is adjustable.

[0013] The lifting device 3 has an electric drive motor 31, by which an adjusting rod 33 can be adjusted in height via a gearbox located in a housing 32. The adjusting rod 33 is rigidly connected to a support beam 34, on which a group of conveyor wheels 23 and pulleys 35, by means of belt drives, are mounted.

[0014] In FIG.1 The conveyor wheels 23 are adjusted to their lower end position by means of the lifting device 3, causing them to rest against the drive surfaces 17, so that the cable car vehicles 1 can be moved along a track in the form of the guide rail 21. In contrast, in FIG.1A the conveyor wheels 23 in their upper end position, which lifts them off the drive surfaces 17, so that the cable car vehicles 1 cannot be moved.

[0015] The following is based on the FIG.2 The drive mechanism of the lifting device 3 is explained as follows: This drive comprises the electric drive motor 31, which rotates a drive spindle 41. A threaded sleeve in the form of a worm gear 42 is located in the housing 32, which is mounted between two bearings 43 that are vertically spaced apart in the housing 32 in the operating position. The drive spindle 41, which meshes with the worm gear 42, allows the worm gear 42 to rotate about an axis that is at least approximately vertical. The worm gear 42 has a central threaded bore 42a in which a lifting spindle 44 is guided, which has an external thread 44a.

[0016] At its upper end, the lifting spindle 44 is formed with a locking bolt 45 with a polygonal cross-section, which passes through a locking plate 46 attached to the housing 32 in an opening 46a that is also polygonal, thereby securing the lifting spindle 44 against rotation.

[0017] By rotating the worm gear 42, the lifting spindle 44 is adjusted in a vertical direction. When adjusting the lifting spindle 44 within the worm gear 42 in a vertical direction, it must be ensured that the drive is switched off as soon as the lifting spindle 44 reaches its upper or lower end position, in order to prevent the opposing surfaces of the worm gear 42 and the lifting spindle 44 from locking or jamming together.

[0018] As this can be seen from the FIG.3 und FIG.3A As can be seen, the housing 32 contains the bearings 43 for the worm gear 42, which can be rotated about an at least approximately vertical axis by the drive spindle 41. The lifting spindle 44 is guided in the threaded bore 42a of the worm gear 42, and its position is adjusted downwards or upwards by rotating the worm gear 42.

[0019] In FIG.3 The lower end position of the lifting spindle 44 is shown and in FIG.3A The upper end position of the lifting spindle 44 is shown. Here, the conveyor wheels 23 are in the FIG.1 und FIG.1A The depicted end positions are adjusted.

[0020] The worm gear 42 is formed with axial extensions 47 and 48, which have, on their upper and lower end faces respectively, rib-like profiles 49 and 50 extending at least approximately radially, forming stop surfaces 49a and 50a that lie in planes perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the worm gear 42. The lifting spindle 44 is formed in the region of the worm gear 42 with an upper stop disk 51 and a lower stop disk 52, both of which have, on their end faces associated with the axial extensions 47 and 48 respectively, rib-like profiles 53 and 54 that extend at least approximately radially, forming stop surfaces 53a and 54a that also lie in planes perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the worm gear 42.

[0021] When the lifting spindle 44 is moved to one of its two end positions, the stop surfaces 53a and 54a, located on the stop discs 51 and 52 of the lifting spindle 44, come into contact with the stop surfaces 49a and 50a of the extensions 47 and 48, respectively. This prevents further rotation of the worm gear 42 and thus also of the drive spindle 41, thereby switching off the drive motor 31. This prevents the worm gear 42 and the lifting spindle 44 from becoming jammed together. Consequently, the lifting spindle 44 can then be moved to the other end position without any difficulty.

[0022] Since the worm gear 42 is locked in its rotation in the upper and lower end positions, the drive motor 31 cannot build up any preload in the thread of the lifting spindle 44. The drive motor 31 is designed to be able to lock. The total stroke time of the lifting spindle 44 from the lower to the upper end position is designed for approximately 3 seconds. Because the electrical control system is configured to interrupt the power supply after 5 seconds, thermal overload of the drive motor 31 is prevented. For additional safety, the electrical winding of the drive motor 31 is equipped with a thermal contact located in the drive motor's power supply line. This contact opens when a thermal limit is exceeded in the drive motor 31, thereby also switching off the drive motor 31.

[0023] In this embodiment, the drive spindle 41 of the electric motor 31 and the lifting spindle 44 are located at right angles to each other and are coupled via a bevel gear. However, this spatial arrangement is irrelevant for the design according to the invention. For example, the drive spindle of the drive motor can be aligned parallel to the lifting spindle, with the drive coupling effected via a drive pinion.

Claims

1. Apparatus for moving ropeway vehicles (1) in a ropeway system, comprising at least one conveying wheel (23) which, by means of a lifting device (3), is height-adjustable relative to the ropeway vehicles (1) in order to be brought to bear against the latter, as a result of which said vehicles (1) can be moved along a track (21) by means of the at least one conveying wheel (23), characterized in that an electric lifting device (3) is provided which is configured with an electric drive motor (31), with a threaded sleeve (42) which is held in its height position and which can be rotated by said drive motor (31), and with a lifting spindle (44) which is height-adjustable by means of the threaded sleeve (42) and by means of which the at least one conveying wheel (23) is height-adjustable, wherein the threaded sleeve (42) and the lifting spindle (44) are configured with stops (49a, 50a, 53a, 54a) on the associated upper and lower end faces, said stops (40a, 50a, 53a, 54a) being located at least approximately in planes normal to the direction of rotation of the threaded sleeve (42) and coming to bear against one another in the upper and lower end position of the lifting spindle (44), thereby preventing further rotation of the threaded sleeve (42).

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the lifting spindle (44) is configured with two stop discs (51, 52) which are spaced apart from one another and which are provided with profilings (53, 54), between which stop discs (51, 52) the lifting spindle is configured with an external thread (44a), by which it is guided in a threaded bore (42a) of the threaded sleeve (42), and in that the threaded sleeve (42) is configured with profilings (49, 50) which are associated with the profilings (53, 54) of the stop discs (51, 52).

3. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the threaded sleeve (42) is configured with axial extensions (47, 48) which are configured with profilings (49, 50).

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the mutually facing end faces of the stop discs (51, 52) and of the extensions (47, 48) of the threaded sleeve (42) are configured with radially extending profilings (53, 54, 49, 50) which are provided with stop surfaces (53a, 54a, 49a, 50a) located at least approximately in planes normal to the direction of rotation of the threaded sleeve (42).

5. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the lifting spindle (44) is configured with a securing bolt (45) which is polygonal in cross-section and which is guided in a counter-profiled aperture (46a) of a securing plate (46).

6. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the threaded sleeve (42) is configured as a worm wheel which cooperates with a drive spindle (41) of the drive motor (31).

7. Apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the electrical winding of the drive motor (31) is configured with a thermal switch located in the supply line of the drive motor (31), which thermal switch is opened when a thermal limit value in the drive motor (31) is exceeded, thereby switching off the drive motor (31).