Zip Line Emergency Egress Trolley Control System
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing zip line systems are inadequate for safely and efficiently evacuating multiple workers from a single loading deck, particularly in emergency situations where time is critical and conventional exits are impractical, due to lack of control over trolleys and potential impacts between them.
Innovation Solution
A zip line system with secured anchors, platforms, and a launch/landing mechanism that includes a launch block for mechanical and electronic registration of trolleys, allowing for independent operation and braking, ensuring safe and simultaneous launch and landing of multiple trolleys from a single deck.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple trolleys are launched simultaneously from a single loading deck to rapidly evacuate workers, then evacuation speed and productivity are improved, but the risk of trolley impacts and loss of control increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates sensors that detect the presence and position of trolleys on the cable, providing real-time feedback to the control system. This enables automatic control of trolley spacing and braking, allowing multiple trolleys to be launched simultaneously while maintaining safe distances and preventing impacts, thus resolving the contradiction between evacuation speed and control reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical control with an automated electronic control system that uses sensors and actuators to manage trolley movement. This substitution enables precise control of multiple trolleys simultaneously, allowing rapid evacuation while maintaining safety through automated spacing and braking mechanisms
2Reliability
If traditional solo zip line operation is used, then control and safety are maintained, but evacuation efficiency and productivity are insufficient for multiple workers
Solution Approach 1:
Each trolley is equipped with its own braking mechanism that can be automatically activated based on sensor input. This self-service capability allows individual trolleys to control their own movement and stopping, enabling multiple trolleys to operate independently and simultaneously while maintaining safety, thus improving evacuation efficiency without sacrificing control
Solution Approach 2:
The system divides the evacuation process into independent trolley units, each with its own control capabilities. This segmentation allows multiple workers to be evacuated simultaneously through separate trolleys while maintaining individual control over each unit, resolving the contradiction between safety control and evacuation efficiency
3Reliability
If overhead braking mechanism is used to control trolley speed and prevent impacts, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary electronic control system that coordinates between sensors detecting trolley positions and actuators that apply braking force. This intermediary layer simplifies the overall system by using electronic control signals rather than complex mechanical linkages, achieving safety through automated coordination while reducing mechanical complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables rapid, safe, and reliable evacuation of multiple workers by allowing independent control and braking of trolleys, reducing the risk of impacts and ensuring efficient emergency egress.
Implementation Method 1
A zip line necessarily contains no intervening supports. It typically relies on gravity, although some short lines may be more level.
Data Source
AI summary
Emergency egress systems carry multiple riders simultaneously accessing zip line catenary from higher, inaccessible, working locations to lower, safer areas. Hangers above the track line suspend trolleys to avoid weighting the catenary unduly at the high end, which might otherwise alter (reduce) clearance distances and safety of riders above a launch platform (deck). Catenary shape is controlled against approaching a launch deck by sequencing the release from the hangers of each trolley to roll along the catenary with its own rider. Autonomous braking, inter-trolley bumpers, and vertical stabilizers enable each rider to quickly occupy a seat (harness, etc.) and launch onto the track line, unconcerned with riders ahead or behind until underway. Multiple trolleys may thus load, launch, and in close proximity on a single line, regardless of the total weight of multiple riders.