Ferry Bridge Gondola Platform Segmentation for Traffic Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ferry bridges face limitations in traffic flow due to the mixing of vehicle and passenger streams during embarkation and disembarkation, which hampers efficiency and safety.
Innovation Solution
A ferry bridge design with a gondola platform divided into a central vehicle zone and lateral passenger zones, where passenger access points are on the outer sides and vehicle access points are opposite, equipped with means to separate streams, allowing for independent movement and increased passenger access area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If vehicles and passengers share the same access points on the gondola, then the device complexity is reduced, but the productivity of embarkation and disembarkation decreases due to mixed streams
Solution Approach 1:
The gondola platform is segmented into distinct zones: a central zone for vehicle access and two lateral zones for passenger access. This spatial segmentation allows separate streams of vehicles and passengers to board and alight simultaneously without interference, thereby increasing productivity while maintaining manageable device complexity through clear functional zoning
2Area of stationary object
If passenger access points are located at the entrance to the vehicle roadway, then the device complexity is minimized, but the area available for passenger access is limited
Solution Approach 1:
Passenger access points are positioned on the outer lateral sides of the gondola platform, utilizing the lateral dimension rather than concentrating access at the front entrance. This dimensional shift dramatically increases the available passenger access area along the entire length of the gondola, allowing multiple simultaneous access points without significantly increasing structural complexity
3Reliability
If vehicles and passengers move through the same space during embarkation and disembarkation, then the device complexity is reduced, but harmful factors increase due to safety risks and traffic congestion
Solution Approach 1:
The gondola platform is segmented into distinct zones: a central zone for vehicle access and two lateral zones for passenger access. This spatial segmentation allows separate streams of vehicles and passengers to board and alight simultaneously without interference, thereby increasing productivity while maintaining manageable device complexity through clear functional zoning
Solution Approach 2:
The passenger access function is extracted from the vehicle access area and placed in dedicated lateral zones. By taking out the passenger access points from the central vehicle roadway entrance, the patent eliminates the harmful mixing of streams while the separation means remain relatively simple, maintaining good reliability without excessive complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A ferry bridge having two sets of posts anchored on either side of a thoroughfare, support at height a deck over which a carriage moves, wherein a pod is suspended from said carriage for providing the transport of vehicles and passengers between two ferry docks on either side of said thoroughfare, the platform of said pod being divided into a central area dedicated to the transport of vehicles and two side areas dedicated to the transport of passengers. the entrances to the passenger transport areas are arranged on the outer lateral sides of the pod relative to the axis of movement (A) of the pod. The entrances to the vehicle transport area are arranged on the sides opposite said lateral sides, and the ferry docks for the pod comprise a means for separating the vehicles and the passengers into two streams directed toward the specific entrances thereof, respectively.