Workings of a high speed lift

[Marc]

Has anyone else besides me and my pocket protector wearing, calculator carrying, nose in book type, too curious for our own good friends ever taken the time to look up and figure out how the chairs on a high speed lift are accelerated and deccelerated?


It is actually quite simple which makes it very cool. I was fascinated by it when I first took the time to actually sit there and figure it out.


Am I alone on this one?

[JimG.]

Originally Posted by Marc

Am I alone on this one?

No. I'm sure there are others who enjoy a nice round of drinks or a long drag of their favorite herb so they can go outside and stare aimlessly at whatever catches their attention first .

[bvibert]

Yes, I've always been intrigued by the workings of the high speed lifts. Not for the reasons Jim suggested though...

[Marc]

Originally Posted by JimG.

No. I'm sure there are others who enjoy a nice round of drinks or a long drag of their favorite herb so they can go outside and stare aimlessly at whatever catches their attention first .

Touche...


How about this, I'll let anyone who explains how they work correctly give me a big hug and kiss at the next outing I attend.***



***Disclaimer: you must be female to collect said reward.

[ozskier]

Unfortunately, I don't have time to really go into this so I will keep it brief.

Each manufacturer works a little bit differently. They all have different grip mechanisms, travel mechanisms, electronics for terminal speed & chair spacing, anti collision, etc. Some of the old terminals are belt driven, some are wheel based, it varies.

I've also go the blueprints for the Jordan Express at Sunday River kicking around my apartment somewhere. The things unfold out to be over 12 feet long.

If you're going to be at Wachusett tomorrow night I can tell you how they work over some beers. Sky will be there and it is my last time at big Wa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detachable_chairlift

[Marc]

Ironically enough, I will be there. We need to set a time to meet, I've been wanting to ski with Sky for a while. And since you're going to be like a celebrity now, I'll def. be there.



The one I studies over several runs with the summit express quad at snow.

Most of the ones I've seen work like this:

The speed changes when the chair is detached are controlled by wheels with tires contacting the chair on a friction pad on top of the chair.

Along the back of the lift house when the chair moves at a constant speed the wheels are all geared together at 1 to 1, so each wheel has a gear on the same axle, and between each axle is another gear to keep the wheels spinning the same direction.

When the chair needs to accelerate, it moves to the straight section where there is a long row of tires driven by a linear arrangment of several short belts. The pulley size is varried so each wheel spins a little faster than the one previous. The chair finally matches speeds with the cable and the clamp is released. It works in reverse at the top. Or actually the same, depending on how you look at it.

I thought it was a very good design. Robust. And belts are cheap and easy to replace.

We figured the desired affect could be accomplished using several electric motors, one per wheel, each geared to spin slightly faster than the previous wheel.

A gearing arrangement could be used as well I suppose, but would be difficult, geometrically, to keep the wheels evenly spaced, and thus a constant acceleration...



I have too much spare time probably, right?

[NYDrew]

I can make pictures with my hands on how it works but dont know it well enough to even try to explain it, all i got down well enough is that little wheel on the bracket gets pushed down releasing the chair from the cable, it slows down onto a track of some kind and then is reattatched to the cable when the wheel is released. Besides that, i think the whole thing works like a clock, just a series of gears controlling timing and spacing.

Good one where you can really see it in action (not to much blocking your view) is the quad at windham.

If it turn out that I am correct, a simple thank you will suffice over a hug and kiss.

[ozskier]

The summit quad at Mount Snow is a retrofit too. Yan terminals, grips and sheave trains all modified by Poma of America.