U.S. patent application number 12/113238 was filed with the patent office on 2008-11-13 for device for conveying people and/or goods.
This patent application is currently assigned to INNOVA PATENT GMBH. Invention is credited to Philipp Erhart.
Application Number | 20080276826 12/113238 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39650946 |
Filed Date | 2008-11-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080276826 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Erhart; Philipp |
November 13, 2008 |
Device for Conveying People and/or Goods
Abstract
A device for conveying people or other objects, for example a
car of an aerial cableway or a cable railroad, has a driveless
running gear, which is pulled along a track cable. The car has
consumers for electrical energy and an electrical energy storage
device. Electrical energy is obtained by friction wheels on the
running gear. The friction wheels are connected to a generator. The
electrical energy is stored in the electrical energy storage
device.
Inventors: |
Erhart; Philipp; (Lauterach,
AT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LERNER GREENBERG STEMER LLP
P O BOX 2480
HOLLYWOOD
FL
33022-2480
US
|
Assignee: |
INNOVA PATENT GMBH
Wolfurt
AT
|
Family ID: |
39650946 |
Appl. No.: |
12/113238 |
Filed: |
May 1, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
105/149.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B61B 12/002
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
105/149.1 |
International
Class: |
B61B 3/00 20060101
B61B003/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 7, 2007 |
AT |
A 702/2007 |
Claims
1. A conveying device, comprising: a driveless running gear
configured to be pushed or pulled along a travel way; an electrical
energy storage device connected to and traveling with said running
gear along said travel way; at least one consumer for electrical
energy connected to said electrical energy storage device; and an
apparatus for obtaining electrical energy from a relative movement
between said running gear and said travel way and for storing the
electrical energy obtained thereby in said electrical energy
storage device.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said travel way is a
track cable.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said travel way is
formed with rails.
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said running gear
includes rollers running on said travel way.
5. The device according to claim 4, wherein said apparatus for
obtaining the electrical energy includes a generator connected to
at least one of said rollers.
6. The device according to claim 5, wherein said generator is a
wheel hub generator disposed in at least one of said rollers.
7. The device according to claim 6, wherein said wheel hub
generator is fitted onto a shaft of said at least one roller.
8. The device according to claim 1, which comprises at least one
friction wheel mounted to said running gear and frictionally
connected to said travel way, and wherein said apparatus for
obtaining the electrical energy includes a generator connected to
said at least one friction wheel.
9. The device according to claim 8, wherein said generator is a
wheel hub generator disposed in said friction wheel.
10. The device according to claim 11, wherein said wheel hub
generator is fitted onto a shaft of said friction wheel.
11. The device according to claim 1, wherein said energy storage
device includes at least one of rechargeable batteries and
capacitors.
12. The device according to claim 1, which comprises a gondola car
of an aerial cableway mounted to a carried by said running
gear.
13. The device according to claim 1, which comprises a car of a
funicular railroad mounted to said running gear.
14. The device according to claim 1, which comprises a vehicle of
an amusement ride.
15. The device according to claim 1, wherein said consumer is a
heating device.
16. The device according to claim 1, wherein said consumer is a
heating device selected from the group consisting of a seat heater,
a floor heater, and a car air heater.
17. The device according to claim 1, wherein said consumer is a
device selected from the group consisting of an air conditioning
unit and a multimedia device.
18. The device according to claim 1, wherein said consumer is a
device selected from the group consisting of a lighting system, a
drive for a car door, and a measuring device.
19. The device according to claim 1, wherein said consumer is a
device selected from the group consisting of a motor for rotating a
gondola car, a device for active pendulum damping, and a drive for
an active moving gear for cornering.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.
119, of Austrian patent application A 702/2007, filed May 7, 2007;
the prior application is herewith incorporated by reference in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
[0002] The invention relates to a device for conveying people
and/or other objects with a driveless running gear, which is pushed
or pulled along a travel way, with at least one consumer for
electrical energy and with an electrical energy storage device.
[0003] Such devices are, for example, cars of aerial cableways and
funicular railroads. Since the running gears of the cars of aerial
cableways and funicular railroads do not have dedicated drives
since they are pulled with the aid of cables, they do not
necessarily have an external electrical energy supply. While an
electrical energy supply to aerial cableways on the section between
the cableway stations is virtually impossible, this would be
possible in the case of funicular railroads, but is associated with
considerable complexity since a busbar would need to be provided
along the entire section in order to permanently supply electrical
energy externally to electrical consumers.
[0004] In the context of the invention, electrical consumers can be
multimedia devices, lighting systems, drives for car doors,
measuring devices, motors for rotating cars, devices for active
pendulum damping, drives for active moving gears for cornering,
air-conditioning units or heating devices, for example seat heaters
or floor heaters. This list is by way of example only and it is not
complete.
[0005] Although it is known from the prior art to equip cars of
cableways with electrical energy storage devices such as
rechargeable batteries in order to supply current to electrical
consumers within the section, these energy storage devices need to
be designed to be relatively large in the case of consumers with a
relatively high power rating and the charging power in the stations
needs to be likewise very great in particular in the case of short
stops, which can only be realized in a technically relatively
complex manner.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a
transport device, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages
of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type
and which renders it possible to ensure power supply to electrical
consumers in a technically simple manner.
[0007] With the foregoing and other objects in view there is
provided, in accordance with the invention, a conveying device,
comprising:
[0008] a driveless running gear configured to be pushed or pulled
along a travel way;
[0009] an electrical energy storage device connected to and
traveling with said running gear along said travel way;
[0010] at least one consumer for electrical energy connected to
said electrical energy storage device; and
[0011] an apparatus for obtaining electrical energy from a relative
movement between said running gear and said travel way and for
storing the electrical energy obtained thereby in said electrical
energy storage device.
[0012] In other words, the objects of the invention are achieved in
that there is provided an apparatus for obtaining electrical energy
from the relative movement between the running gear and the travel
way and for storing the energy thus obtained in the electrical
energy storage device.
[0013] The invention makes use of the fact that, as a result of the
relative movement between the travel way, i.e. for example the
track cables in the case of aerial cableways or the rails of
funicular railroads, and the running gear, energy can be obtained
without any problems.
[0014] If, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the running
gear runs on the travel way via rollers, a generator can be
connected to at least one roller, by means of which generator the
electrical energy is obtained. In this case it is only necessary to
connect one or more of the rollers which are provided in any case
to a generator.
[0015] In an alternative, likewise preferred embodiment of the
invention, at least one friction wheel is arranged on the running
gear, which friction wheel is frictionally connected to the travel
way, the friction wheel being connected to a generator. This
embodiment provides the advantage that existing and optimized
running gear constructions do not need to be altered in terms of
the mounting of the running wheels since one or more separate
friction wheels are used for driving the generator, which friction
wheels are likewise mounted on the running gear.
[0016] In the context of the invention, the generator can be a
wheel hub generator, which is preferably arranged in the roller or
in the friction wheel. Alternatively, the wheel hub generator can
also be fitted to the shaft of the roller or the friction
wheel.
[0017] Other features which are considered as characteristic for
the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
[0018] Although the invention is illustrated and described herein
as embodied in a device for conveying people and/or other objects,
it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown,
since various modifications and structural changes may be made
therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and
within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
[0019] The construction and method of operation of the invention,
however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof
will be best understood from the following description of specific
embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying
drawing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0020] The sole FIGURE of the drawing is a diagrammatic side
elevation showing a gondola according to the invention in an aerial
cableway system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0021] The device 1 according to the invention of the exemplary
embodiment in accordance with the attached drawing has, as is
conventional in the prior art, a running gear 2, which moves in
pendulum fashion or circulates via rollers 3 on a track cable 4
between two cableway stations. The running gear 2 is a passive
running gear, i.e., a driveless running gear. In the context of the
invention it is naturally also possible for the running gear 2 to
run over two track cables 7 which are arranged parallel next to one
another. It will be understood that the invention is not restricted
to a specific number or arrangement of track cables 4. The running
gear 2 is driven by way of a pull cable 5 or haulage cable, on
which the running gear 2 is fixed by way of a suitable clamping
device 6.
[0022] A gondola car 7 is suspended from the running gear 2 with
the aid of suspension arm 8, the suspension arm 8 being connected
to the running gear 2 via an articulated joint 9 and to the car 7
via suspension means 10, in order that the car 7 always hangs as
vertically as possible beneath the running gear 2.
[0023] In addition to the running wheels 3, two friction wheels 11
are mounted on the running gear 2. The friction wheels are
frictionally connected to the track cable 4. A wheel hub generator
is installed in each of the friction wheels 11. Each wheel hub
generator converts the rotary movement of the friction wheels 11
into electrical energy. It would naturally also be possible for
generators to be attached to the shafts of the friction wheels 11
or for a common generator to be provided for a plurality of
friction wheels 11, which common generator is connected to the
friction wheels 11 via mechanical joints or gear mechanisms.
Depending on the level of the electrical power to be produced, it
is also possible for only one friction wheel 11 or more than two
friction wheels 11 to be used in order to optimize the mechanical
loading and the wear of the friction wheel(s) 11.
[0024] Electrical lines 12 run from the wheel hub generators along
the suspension arm 8 downwards towards a controller 13, which
firstly controls the charging of an energy storage device 14, for
example an accumulator or a rechargeable battery, and secondly
controls the supply to an electrical consumer 15. Via the
controller 13, either always the energy storage device 14 can be
fed by the generator and the consumers can then be supplied the
energy stored in the energy storage device 14, or one or more
consumers 15 can be fed directly. A parallel feed to the energy
storage device 14 and the consumer 15 is also possible. As an
alternative or in addition to for example one or more rechargeable
batteries 14, one or more capacitors can also be used as energy
storage devices, which capacitors have different properties than
rechargeable batteries in terms of the capacity and charging and
discharging speed and can therefore have more suitable properties
in combination with certain consumers.
[0025] Although the energy drawn via the friction wheels 11
additionally needs to be applied by the main drive, which is used
to drive the running gear 2 with the aid of the pull cable 5, the
additional power requirement is quite negligible, i.e., it is
generally very low in comparison with the main drive power, with
the result that it is not expected the main drive will be made more
expensive, whereas a very simple and effective possibility is
provided by the invention for supplying the vehicle 1 with
electrical energy during the entire traveling time.
[0026] The present invention has been explained in combination with
a gondola car of an aerial cableway, but the invention is not
restricted to aerial cableways, but can also be used, for example,
in funicular railroads, with the friction wheels then being
frictionally connected, for example, to the rails of the funicular
railroads. However, the invention can also be used in other devices
for conveying people, such as entertainment devices, which do not
have a dedicated drive and are either permanently pushed or pulled
or such as, for example, roller coasters are conveyed only
temporarily by a drive to a high level and then travel along a path
driven by the force of gravity and in the meantime can be supplied
with electrical energy in a simple manner by means of the
invention.
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