Ski lift apparatus and safety device

Ski lift apparatus comprising:

• a main support;
• at least one beam carried by the support;
• a rope-carrier assembly mounted on the beam and including at least two peripherally grooved sheaves;
• a continuous rope carried by the assembly for translation in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the rope;
• a vehicle carrier having a generally vertical hanger bar provided at its upper end with a laterally extending hanger arm fixedly secured at its free end to the rope;
• a rope guard mechanism including a base connected to the beam and a plurality of guard fingers movably mounted on the base;
• the free ends of the fingers being located adjacent to the rope-carrier assembly at the side remote from the main support and overlapping and spaced laterally from the upper outer margin of at least one of the sheaves a distance substantially less than the diameter of the rope to constitute barriers to positively prevent the rope from falling outward from the assembly;
• the guard fingers lying in a generally vertical plane in the path of travel of the hanger arm and being displaceable by contact of the arm about their movable connections with the base in the direction of movement of the arm;
• the rope-carrier assembly includes at least two primary rope carrying sheaves to normally receive and retain the rope during translation;
• and a secondary sheave is also provided and located on the beam at the side of the primary sheaves remote from the main support and with its upper margins at a lower level than the upper outer margins of the primary sheaves to receive and retain the rope on occasions when it leaves the primary sheaves and falls;
• the guard fingers of the rope guard mechanism overlap and are closely spaced laterally from the upper outer margin of the secondary sheave;
• and
• the axis of rotation of the secondary sheave is generally parallel to the axes of the primary sheaves and located between them in the direction of the paths of travel of the rope.

A safety device for use in combination with a ski lift apparatus having a main support, at least one beam carried by the support, a rope-carrier assembly mounted on the beam and including at least two peripherally grooved sheaves, a continuous rope carried by the assembly for translation in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the rope, and a vehicle carrier having a generally vertical hanger bar provided at its upper end with a laterally extending hanger arm fixedly secured at its free end to the rope, the device comprising:

• a rope guard mechanism having a base formed to be connected to the beam in predetermined position and attitude;
• and a plurality of guard fingers movably mounted on the base in such a position that their free ends will be located adjacent to the rope-carrier assembly at the side remote from the main support and spaced laterally from the upper outer margin of at least one of the sheaves a distance substantially less than the diameter of the rope to positively prevent the rope from falling outwardly from the assembly;
• the guard fingers lying in a generally vertical plane and being adapted to be located in the path of travel of the hanger arm and being displaceable by contact of the arm about their movable connections with the base in the direction of movement of the arm;
• the base includes a bearing mounting;
• an enclosure on the base surrounds the bearing mounting;
• a rotatable shaft has an inner portion journaled in the bearing mounting and an outer portion extending out of the enclosure;
• a hub is fixed on the outer portion of the shaft;
• and
• the guard fingers are mounted on the hub to extend radially and define a star wheel to rotate about the axis of the bearing mounting, wherein the guard fingers are resiliently connected to the hub for limited angular movement with respect to the hub in response to contact by a hanger arm.

A safety device for use in combination with a ski lift apparatus having a main support, at least one beam carried by the support, a rope-carrier assembly mounted on the beam and including at least two peripherally grooved sheaves, a continuous rope carried by the assembly for translation in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the rope, and a vehicle carrier having a generally vertical hanger bar provided at its upper end with a laterally extending hanger arm fixedly secured at its free end to the rope, the device comprising:

• a rope guard mechanism having a base formed to be connected to the beam in predetermined position and attitude;
• a plurality of guard fingers movably mounted on the base in such a position that their free ends will be located adjacent to the rope carrier assembly at the side remote from the main support and spaced laterally from the upper outer margin of at least one of the sheaves a distance substantially less than the diameter of the rope to positively prevent the rope from falling outwardly from the assembly;
• the guard fingers lying in a generally vertical plane and being adapted to be located in the path of travel of the hanger arm and being displaceable by contact of the arm about their moveable connections with the base in the direction of the movement of the arm;
• a safety sheave, carried by a bracket formed to be mounted on the beam, is provided in addition to the primary rope carrying sheaves and is arranged to be located with its upper margin below their upper margins in a position at the side of the primary sheaves remote from the main support to catch the rope upon displacement from the primary sheaves;
• the rope guard mechanism is formed to be so located that the guard fingers will be outwardly adjacent to the safety sheave;
• and
• a guide member is fixed on the sheave-holding bracket and slopes outward and downward to the inner upper edge of the safety sheave to guide a falling rope into the groove of the safety sheave.