Claims
- 1. A cable-way system comprising: an electrically conducting cable having alternately disposed electrically conductive and non-conductive turns at the outer surface thereof; and a self-propelled member moveable along said cable, said self-propelled member including a rotor extending around said cable and rotatably slidable over the same, the rotor having contacts in an electrically conductive relation with said electrically conductive turns for drawing electric power from said cable, at least two pulleys, between which said cable is disposed, rotatably supported on said self-propelled member, an electric motor operatively electrically connected to said rotor so as to receive electric power drawn by said contacts, and said motor being mechanically connected to at least one of said pulleys for rotating the same to cause said self-propelled member to move along said cable, and means for coupling auxiliary devices to the self-propelled member.
- 2. A cable-way system according to claim 1, wherein said pulleys are juxtaposed in a horizontal plane passing through a longitudinal axis of said cable, one of said pulleys having a rotational shaft connected to said electric motor, and further comprising mechanical means for transmitting the rotary motion from said one of said pulleys connected to the electric motor to the other of said pulleys.
- 3. A cable-way system according to claim 2, wherein said mechanical means comprises two gears engaged with one another and coaxial with said pulleys, respectively.
- 4. A cable-way system according to claim 1, wherein said at least two pulleys comprise three pulleys disposed in a vertical plane passing through a longitudinal axis of said cable, and further comprising means for mechanically connecting the pulleys in a manner in which the mutual positions thereof are fixed, said pulleys being located above and below said cable, respective, and at least one of said pulleys being mechanically connected to the electric motor.
- 5. A cable-way system according to claim 1, wherein said pulleys have treads.
- 6. A cable-way system according to claim 1, and further comprising regulation means for adjusting the linear distance between the rotational axes of said pulleys.
- 7. A cable-way system according to claim 1, wherein said pulleys each have a peripheral surface defining a groove, the grooves forming a space at a location where said peripheral surfaces face each another, and said space having a cross sectional shape corresponding to that of said cable, such that said peripheral surfaces are in rolling contact with said cable and conform to said outer surface of said cable.
- 8. A cable-way system according to claim 1, wherein said non-conducting turns are raised or in relief with respect to the conducting turns.
- 9. A cable-way system according to claim 1, wherein said cable also has parallel electrically conductive wires alternately disposed with respect to said electrically conductive turns.
- 10. A cable-way system according to claim 1, wherein said cable has an inside insulating member a longitudinal axis of the cable.
- 11. A cable-way system according to claim 1, wherein said rotor has an inner portion in sliding engagement with said cable.
- 12. A cable-way system according to claim 1, wherein said contacts for drawing electric power form the cable are brush sliding contacts.
- 13. A cable-way system according to claim 12, wherein said brush contacts are radially disposed around the rotor, and said rotor further has outer rings to which the brush contacts are connected, and second brushes slidingly coupled to said outer rings.
- 14. A cable-way system according to claim 1, and further comprising a gyroscope coupled to said self-propelled member via said means for coupling auxiliary devices.
Priority Claims (1)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
| 48359 A/88 |
Sep 1988 |
ITX |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. Ser. No. 07/407,641 filed Sept. 15, 1989 and now abandoned.
The present invention relates to a self-propelled cable-way unit running on a surface-conduction cable, and more particularly to a transportation unit running on a cable, which unit does not require for its own motion any motion of the cables themselves.
It is well known that both large-size and small-size cable-ways employ either a moving cable on which the load is suspended, said cable being called "the pulling cable" and a stationary cable which is called "the supporting cable", or a single "pulling and supporting" cable that is kept moving.
These types of cable-ways are subject to a number of problems, owing to the fact that they require a fixed installation for the cable(s), and a large number of mechanical contrivances consisting of guides and transmission means provided by pulleys, and owing to the fact that the cables must be well engineered to provide a proper pulling force.
U.S. Pat. No. 471,790 (M.W. Hassan) discloses an overhead cable-way device which utilizes a spirally threaded wire (B) acting both as a support for a car (D) travelling thereon as well as a means to conduct current to the car's driving motor.
Moreover, Lugo-Vina (U.S. Pat. No. 952,539) teaches a self-powered travelling carrier adapted for movement along a helically wound overhead wire.
Other similar devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,998 (Lipp) and U.S. Pat. No. 2,323,222 (Flinn).
An object of the cable-way unit according to the present invention is to obviate the drawbacks of the prior art. To achieve this object the present invention provides a single stationary cable which conducts electric current along its surface, and which performs the double function of supporting the load and of supplying electric power, or any other type of signals, to the self-propelled carriage suspended on the cable, as well as to any of various kinds of equipment connected to said carriage.
The cable-way unit according to the present invention is particularly well-suited to small cable-way systems or even portable cable-way systems employed in a number of different fields.
More particularly, the cable-way unit according to the present invention can be employed for automatically aiming television cameras or projectors, for performances and shows, for surveillance purposes, or for scientific research (archeology, speleology). If a plant of the type disclosed herein is used, overhead shots can be taken by providing the cable over a stadium, for instance, and fastening a television camera to said self-propelled carriage, and exploiting known electronically coded automatic control units to aim the camera.
Moreover, the present invention can also be employed for transferring materials or men over an obstacle, for rescues in case of fire, or in the mountains for passing over precipices, or over streams and so on. For instance, a unit of the type mentioned herein could be borne by a truck; a killick could be fastened to an end of the cable so that it could be thrown towards an inaccessible point or beyond an obstacle. Once the killick is fastened to the desired point, the self-propelled carriage can start moving along the cable.
Moreover, the present invention can also be adapted for use in the naval field, for transferring men or materials from one naval unit to another, or from a ship to land, and in the aeronautical field, for transferring materials or men from one helicopter to another, or even from one aircraft to another, so as to place the holds or the two aircraft in communication. As far as the means for passing the cable from one aircraft to another is concerned, the present system for refueling in flight can be employed.
The cable-way unit according to the present invention can be applied to space technology for transferring objects from one point to another on a space platform, or from a shuttle to a platform, or for guiding astronauts outside the shuttle.
These and other uses are facilitated according to the present invention through the provision of a cable-way unit which substantially comprises a multipolar cable that ensures an insulation of its individual conducting cables and a self-propelled carriage that is capable of shifting along said cable, such carriage being provided with all equipment suitable to perform the specific tasks for which it is intended.
Specifically, the cable-way unit of the present invention comprises a surface-conduction cable having conducting turns alternated with non-conducting turns, as well as a self-propelled member or carriage running on said cable and including a rotor member arranged around said cable and rotatably slidable over the same, provided with contacts for drawing electric current from the cable itself, at least two pulleys, between which said cable is disposed, for causing said self-propelled member or carriage to move along the cable, an electric motor that receives electric power drawn by said contacts and is mechanically connected to said pulleys, and means for providing a coupling for ancillary devices.
According to a preferred embodiment of the cable-way unit, two pulleys are juxtaposed in a horizontal plane passing through the axis of said cable, one of said pulleys being provided on a rotational axis connected to said electric motor, and mechanical means, preferably two gear wheels meshing with one another and coaxial with said pulleys, are provided to transmit the rotational output of the electric motor to at least one of the pulleys. More specifically, according to the present invention, three treaded pulleys can be mechanically connected in such positions as to exert contact pressure on the cable, such pulleys being provided above and below the cable, and at least one of said pulleys being mechanically connected to the output shaft of said electric motor.
Further, the distance between the axes of said pulleys can be adjustable, and the groove defined between said pulleys can conform to the shape of said cable.
Preferably the insulating turns of said cable are in relief or project radially outward with respect to the conducting turns.
Said conducting turns can be alternated with turns of other conducting wires in order to transmit different types of signals along said surface-conducting cable.
Said surface-conducting cable can be provided with an insulating member arranged inside the turns which in addition provides the cable with a higher mechanical strength. The inner insulating material can in turn be hollow in order to house more cables such as telephonic cables.
The rotor can have an inner surface so shaped as to slidingly engage said cable.
The contacts for drawing electric power from the cable can be sliding contacts such as brushes, preferably radially disposed around the rotor, said contacts being borne by the rotor member itself.
Still further, according to the invention, a gyroscope as an ancillary device can be coupled to the cable-way unit to stabilize the cable-way unit.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
407641 |
Sep 1989 |
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Patent Grant
5120911
