Cable Car Drive Control Using Deflection and Wind Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cable car safety systems are inadequate in monitoring and responding to potential hazards, particularly at station entrances, due to limitations in detecting vehicle deflection and wind gusts, leading to conservative measures that may not be necessary and result in reduced efficiency or accidents.
Innovation Solution
A method that measures vehicle deflection and detects wind gusts before the station entrance, transmitting this data to the cable car control unit to adjust the cable car drive, considering the direction of wind gusts for more precise control, using a radio transponder for wireless communication and energy efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If wind sensors are arranged along the cable car route to monitor wind conditions, then the reliability of safety monitoring is improved, but the device complexity and costs increase due to the need for multiple sensors at all neuralgic positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the wind sensing function from multiple distributed sensors and concentrates it into a single wind sensor located at the station. This single sensor measures wind conditions before the cable car enters the station, which is then combined with deflection measurements to assess safety, eliminating the need for multiple wind sensors along the route.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces deflection measurements as an intermediary parameter that indirectly reflects wind conditions affecting the cable car. Instead of directly measuring wind at multiple points, the system measures the cable car's deflection from vertical, which is caused by wind forces, and combines this with a single wind sensor reading to comprehensively assess safety.
2Reliability
If the operating staff reduces cable speed or stops the cable car completely when wind speed exceeds a certain level, then the safety of the cable car operation is improved, but the productivity decreases due to unnecessary speed reductions or stops
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the control unit continuously receives deflection measurements from the cable car and wind measurements from the wind sensor. Based on this real-time feedback, the control unit dynamically adjusts the cable car operation - only reducing speed or stopping when the combination of deflection and wind measurements indicates actual danger, rather than responding to wind speed alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the safety assessment parameters from relying solely on wind speed thresholds to using a combined assessment of deflection angle and wind conditions. This parameter change allows for more precise safety evaluation, enabling the system to maintain normal operation when deflection is within safe limits even if wind speed is elevated, and to intervene only when actual dangerous deflection occurs.
3Measurement precision
If wind sensors are placed at all neuralgic positions to detect wind conditions, then the measurement precision of wind conditions is improved, but the loss of time for data processing and response increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the wind measurement function from multiple distributed sensors and concentrates it into a single wind sensor at the station, reducing the time needed to collect and process data from multiple sources while maintaining adequate measurement precision through the combination of this single wind measurement with deflection data.
Data Source
AI summary
In order to be able to more reliably assess and react to the potential hazard when a vehicle of a cable car enters a station of the cable car, it is provided that the deflection of the vehicle before the station entrance is measured by the sensor and transmitted to the cable car control unit, that at the same time the occurrence of a wind gust before the station entrance is detected by the cable car control unit and that the cable car control unit controls a cable car drive as a function of the transmitted deflection and of the detected wind gust.