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EP-4737256-A1 - METHOD OF CONTROLLING A CABLE TRANSPORT SYSTEM AND SAID CABLE TRANSPORT SYSTEM

EP4737256A1EP 4737256 A1EP4737256 A1EP 4737256A1EP-4737256-A1

Abstract

Control method of a cable transport system, preferably aerial; the cable transport system (1) comprising at least two boarding and/or disembarking stations (3), a traction cable (2) extending along a preferably looped path (P), and at least one transport unit (8) moved by the traction cable (2); the control method comprising a configuration mode and an operating mode, in which in the configuration mode, an artificial intelligence system and/or a mathematical model and/or a table and/or a function and/or an algorithm is defined, which describes the oscillations of the vehicle as a function of the wind measured and the position and speed of the vehicle detected at a given instant and in which, in the operating mode, the oscillations of the transport unit (8) are estimated by means of said artificial intelligence system and/or mathematical model and/or table and/or function and/or algorithm.

Inventors

  • TSCHINKEL, GUENTER

Assignees

  • LEITNER S.p.A.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20251029

Claims (15)

  1. Method for controlling an aerial cable transport system; the aerial cable transport system (1) comprising at least two boarding and/or disembarking stations (3), a traction cable (2) extending along a preferably looped path (P), and at least one transport unit (8) moved by the traction cable (2) along the path (P); the control method comprising an operating mode including the steps of: - detecting at least one wind parameter, preferably wind speed and/or direction, through at least one first wind sensor assembly (10) installed at least at one fixed point of the cable transport system (1) or near it and/or through weather information, preferably the wind sensor assembly (10) is not installed on the transport unit (8); - detecting the position and/or speed of the transport unit (8) along the said path (P); - estimating the inclinations and/or oscillations, preferably transverse to the direction of travel, of the transport unit (8) based on the detected wind parameter, the detected position and/or speed of the transport unit (8), and based on an artificial intelligence system and/or a mathematical model and/or a table and/or a function and/or an algorithm preferably defined during a previous configuration mode.
  2. Control method of claim 1; the method comprising the configuration mode in which the mathematical model and/or the table and/or the function and/or the algorithm and/or the artificial intelligence system is defined; in which this configuration mode includes the sub-steps of: - preferably detecting at least one wind parameter, preferably wind speed and/or direction, through a second wind sensor assembly (12) installed on the transport unit (8); - detecting an inclination and/or oscillation of the transport unit (8) preferably transverse to the direction of travel through an inclination sensor assembly (14) installed on the transport unit (8); - detecting at least one wind parameter, preferably wind speed and/or direction, through at least one first wind sensor assembly (10) installed at least at one fixed point of the cable transport system (1) or near it and/or through weather information; - detecting the position and/or speed of the transport unit (8) along the said path (P); - defining the artificial intelligence system and/or the mathematical model and/or the table and/or the function and/or the algorithm based on the detected inclinations and/or oscillations of the transport unit (8), based on the wind parameter detected through at least one first wind sensor assembly (10) and/or through weather information, based on the position and/or speed of the transport unit (8) along the said path (P), and preferably based on at least one wind parameter detected through the second wind sensor assembly (12).
  3. Control method of claim 1 or 2; in which the artificial intelligence system is defined through a machine learning algorithm.
  4. Control method of any of the preceding claims; in which the mathematical model and/or the table and/or the function and/or the algorithm is defined empirically and/or through a stochastic or deterministic model.
  5. Control method of any of the preceding claims; comprising the step of estimating and/or measuring the load on the transport units (8) during the configuration mode and defining the artificial intelligence system and/or the mathematical model and/or the table and/or the function and/or the algorithm based on the load of the transport units (8); in which in the operating mode the method comprises the step of estimating and/or measuring the load of the transport units (8) and estimating the oscillations of the transport unit (8) based on the detected load of the transport units (8).
  6. Control method of any of the preceding claims; comprising the step of slowing down and/or stopping the movement of the transport units (8) when the estimated oscillation is greater than a certain threshold, preferably the certain threshold is a function of the position of the transport unit (8) along the path (P).
  7. Control method of any of the preceding claims; comprising the step of issuing an alarm signal, and preferably activating a light and/or sound signal through the alarm signal, when the estimated oscillation is greater than a certain threshold, preferably the certain threshold is a function of the position of the transport unit (8) along the path (P).
  8. Cable transport system, preferably aerial; comprising at least two boarding and/or disembarking stations (3), a traction cable (2) extending along a preferably looped path (P) wrapped around two pulleys, one of which is motorized, and at least one transport unit (8) moved by the traction cable (2) preferably along the circular path; in which the cable transport system, when operating in an operating mode, comprises: - at least one first wind sensor assembly (10) installed at least at one fixed point of the cable transport system (1) or near it and/or a weather information reception unit (16) to detect at least one wind parameter, preferably wind speed and/or direction, preferably the first wind sensor assembly (10) is not installed on the transport unit (8); - a position and/or speed sensor assembly (20), preferably comprising at least one encoder installed on one of the two pulleys, to detect the position and/or speed of the transport unit (8) along the said path (P); and - a control unit (100) communicatively coupled with at least one first wind sensor assembly (10) and/or a weather information reception unit, to receive at least one wind parameter; in which, when the cable transport system (1) operates in the operating mode, the control unit (100) is communicatively coupled with the position and/or speed sensor assembly (20) to receive the position and/or speed of the transport unit (8); in which the control unit (100) is configured to estimate the oscillations and/or inclinations, preferably transverse to the direction of travel, of the transport unit (8) based on the detected wind parameter, the detected position and/or speed of the transport unit (8), and based on an artificial intelligence system and/or a mathematical model and/or a table and/or a function and/or an algorithm preferably defined during a previous configuration mode.
  9. Cable transport system of claim 8, in which during the configuration mode preferably different from the operating mode, the cable transport system (1) comprises: - preferably a second wind sensor assembly (12) installed on the transport unit (8) configured to detect at least one wind parameter, preferably wind speed and/or direction; - an inclination sensor assembly (14) installed on the transport unit (8), configured to detect an inclination and/or oscillation of the transport unit (8) preferably transverse to the direction of travel; - at least one wind sensor assembly (10) installed at least at one fixed point of the cable transport system (1) or near it and/or the weather information receiver to detect at least one wind parameter, preferably wind speed and/or direction, preferably the first wind sensor assembly (10) is not installed on the transport unit (8); - the position and/or speed sensor assembly (20), preferably with at least one encoder installed on one of the two pulleys, to detect the position and/or speed of the transport unit (8) along the said path (P); - a processing unit (50) configured to define the artificial intelligence system and/or the mathematical model and/or the table and/or the function and/or the algorithm based on the inclinations and/or oscillations of the transport unit (8), based on at least one wind parameter detected through at least one first wind sensor assembly (10), and based on the position and/or speed of the transport unit (8) along the said path (P), preferably the processing unit (50) being the same or partly the same as the control unit (100).
  10. Cable transport system of claim 8 or 9, in which the artificial intelligence system is defined through a machine learning algorithm; and/or the mathematical model and/or the table and/or the function and/or the algorithm is defined analytically preferably empirically and/or through a stochastic or deterministic model.
  11. Cable transport system of any of claims 8 to 10, comprising a load measurement and/or estimation system (40) on the transport units (8), in which during the configuration mode, the processing unit (100) is configured to define the artificial intelligence system and/or the mathematical model and/or the table and/or the function and/or the algorithm based on the load of the transport units (8); in which in the operating mode the control unit (100) is configured to estimate the oscillations of the transport unit (8) based on the detected load on the transport units (8).
  12. Cable transport system of any of claims 8 to 11; in which, preferably in the operating mode, the control unit (100) is configured to slow down and/or stop the movement of the transport units (8) when the estimated oscillation is greater than a certain threshold, preferably the certain threshold is a function of the position of the transport unit (8) along the path (P).
  13. Cable transport system of any of claims 8 to 12; in which the transport system (1), preferably the control unit (100), is configured to issue an alarm signal and preferably activate a light and/or sound signal when the estimated oscillation is greater than a certain threshold, preferably the certain threshold is a function of the position of the transport unit (8) along the path (P).
  14. A computer program configured to control a cable transport system (1) and directly loadable into a memory of a control unit (100) to perform the steps of the method of any of claims 1 to 7 when the program is implemented by the control unit (100).
  15. A program product comprising a readable medium on which the program of claim 14 is stored.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application claims priority from Italian patent application no. 102024000024195, filed on October 29, 2024, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method of controlling a cable transport system. The present invention also relates to said cable transport system, preferably aerial. PRIOR ART As known, aerial cable transport systems are used in skiing/mountain resorts, in which the aerial cable transport systems are called ski lifts. However, aerial cable transport systems are also advantageously applied in urban contexts where ground transport is congested. In the currently known aerial cable transport systems, the passengers and/or sports equipment are transported along a predefined path by means of one or more transport units moved one after the other between two terminal stations, also known as top and bottom stations, situated at the ends of the transport system and in which passengers safely board onto and disembark from the transport units. In some cases, one or more intermediate stations are present between the top station and the bottom station. Furthermore, the cable transport systems can also transport goods and/or construction materials. In particular, the term "aerial" refers to cable transport systems on which the transport units are moved and supported by at least one cable in a raised position relative to the underlying ground or relative to other underlying structures, if there are any. By way of example, the transport systems can be chair lifts, in which each transport unit comprises a chair for accommodating one or more passengers, or cable cars, in which each transport unit comprises a cabin for accommodating one or more passengers. In one embodiment, the transport system comprises both one or more seats and one or more cabins, such cable transport system also being known as a telemix. The currently known aerial cable transport systems can be of the "single-cable" type, in which the main cable also performs the function of traction cable, or can be of the "two-cable" and "three-cable" type, in which, in addition to the traction cable, one or two main cables are respectively present. When the system is operating, the transport units are subjected to oscillating movements transverse to the direction of travel, due to the air currents that hit them and, in particular, dependent upon the direction and speed of such air currents and, in general, upon the wind. Particularly for single-cable systems, in the case of strong wind, such oscillations can be very dangerous, because they can cause collision of the transport units with the supports and/or pylons situated along the path and/or with the structural elements of the station and/or with other transport units which are travelling in the opposite direction. These collisions can result in material damage and, above all, a risk for the passengers. In general, the stations are permanently supervised by an operator during functioning of the cable transport system. Each operator of each station must monitor the correct functioning of the system and the weather conditions, so as to act on said system by slowing the speed of advancement of the transport units and/or stopping advancement of the transport units based on functioning of the system and/or the events that the operator detects. In particular, the operator has the task of controlling the cable system also based on the extent of the oscillations of the transport units caused by the wind. One of the drawbacks of the prior art is due to the fact that the operator might not notice, or notice late, an excessive oscillation of the transport units and, consequently, not act on the system in an opportune or prompt manner. Furthermore, this problem is accentuated in the case of poor visibility, such as, for example, in the presence of fog or snow. Another drawback is due to the fact that the presence of an operator in each station means the system has a high operating cost, due to the hourly cost of each operator in each station of the system. Furthermore, such operators are difficult to find. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to obtain a method for controlling a cable transport system that reduces or solves at least one of the drawbacks indicated here above. In accordance with the present invention, a method for controlling a cable transport system, preferably aerial, is obtained according to one of claims 1 to 7. In one embodiment, the control method comprises a configuration mode and an operating mode; in which in the configuration mode, an artificial intelligence system and/or a mathematical model and/or a table and/or a function and/or an algorithm is defined, which describes the oscillations of the vehicle as a function of the wind measured at one or more fixed points of the system and the position and speed of the transport unit detected