Aerial Cableway Vehicle Positioning and Speed Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for controlling vehicle movement in cable car stations are inefficient, particularly in detachable cable cars, where vehicles can have different speeds, leading to collision risks and requiring numerous sensitive sensors that are difficult to maintain.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that determine the position of each vehicle, calculate separation and stopping distances, and adjust speed based on residual distance to ensure safety, using digital image acquisition and radiofrequency identification, reducing the need for multiple sensors and enhancing reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If inductive sensors are used to detect vehicle presence in different areas of the station, then vehicle position detection is achieved, but the number of sensors increases making maintenance difficult and the system sensitive to lightning and overvoltages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensor functions into a single optical sensor system that simultaneously detects vehicle presence, measures distance, and determines position. This merging eliminates the need for multiple separate inductive sensors distributed throughout the station, reducing maintenance complexity while maintaining detection precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical/electrical inductive sensors with an optical detection system using light beams and photodetectors. This substitution eliminates sensitivity to electrical disturbances like lightning and overvoltages, while the optical system achieves accurate position detection through light travel time or phase measurement.
2Productivity
If vehicles are allowed to have different speeds in the station for detachable cable cars, then throughput is improved, but collision risk between vehicles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback control system where optical sensors continuously monitor the distance between vehicles in real-time. When the distance falls below a predetermined safety threshold, the system automatically sends speed adjustment commands to slow down or stop approaching vehicles, preventing collisions while allowing variable speeds for optimized throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary distance measurement and speed adjustment before vehicles reach potentially dangerous proximity. By continuously measuring inter-vehicle distance and proactively adjusting speeds based on predicted trajectories, the system prevents collision scenarios before they occur, enabling safer variable-speed operation.
3Productivity
If the distance between vehicles is reduced to increase throughput, then station efficiency is improved, but the risk of collision increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic speed adjustment based on real-time distance measurements. Vehicles can operate at higher speeds when distances are sufficient, but automatically slow down when approaching closer vehicles. This dynamic control enables reduced inter-vehicle spacing for increased throughput while maintaining collision prevention through adaptive speed management.
Data Source
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AI summary
The method involves determining a vehicle position in a station zone (S1). Separation distance between the vehicles from the vehicle positions, stopping distance based on the position of the vehicles, and residual distance equal to a difference between the separation distance and the stopping distance are determined (S3-S5). Vehicle traveling speed is changed (S8) when the residual distance of the vehicles is less than safety distance. Information of the traveling speed of the vehicles is measured (S2). An independent claim is also included for a device for supervising movement of vehicles inside a station of an aerial cableway.