JPH09193790A - Underwater gondola - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the need of an underwater work at the time of installation, and solve a problem regarding environmental disruption by detachably mounting a gondola on a fixture jointed to two sets of ropes extended between four sets of two pairs of rope pulleys faced to each other via the sea, the lake, the marsh or the like, and providing the gondola with a ballast tank or the like. SOLUTION: Four set of two pairs of rope pulleys faced to each other via the sea, the lake or the marsh are laid on a structure such as a tower on the land or the water, and a jointing fixture 5 with a weight 7 at a lower part is jointed to a part of a rope 6 (6A and 6B) wound around and driven with the pulleys. A gondola seat 9 is, then, mounted on the jointing fixture 5 via a pin 17. In this case. the gondola seat 9 is adjustable in angle along both front and rear directions on the operation of a tilting device 12. Furthermore, a gondola 26 is mounted on the gondola seat 9 via a detaching device and kept separable in an emergency, for a repair or the like. At the time of operation, water is discharged from a dedicated ballast tank for keeping the gondola 26 afloat for crew to go onboard or disembark.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device used especially for underwater tourism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for underwater sightseeing, an underwater observation tower, a sightseeing ship with an observation window on the bottom of the ship, a self-submersible submersible,
It is known that the vehicle runs along a rail or the like laid on the seabed, and it is similar to the present invention.
"Underwater ropeway" is proposed.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventional underwater observatory towers, underwater sightseeing boats, etc. have a limited viewable range and environmental destruction at the time of installation. Then there were the following problems. (A) Since there is a single rope, if there is a tidal current, the underwater gondola will be easily swept and the shaking will be large, making it difficult to control the attitude and limiting the installation location. (B) Underwater gondola is apt to shake. The present invention has been made to eliminate these drawbacks.

[0004]

According to the present invention, as shown in the figure, two pairs of rope cars 1 facing each other with a sea or lake or the like 2 sandwiched therebetween are installed via a land or water structure, and the rope cars are installed. Two pairs of ropes 6 which are stretched between 1 and movable along the water bottom 3 are provided, and the gondola 4 is detachably connected to the upper part of the connecting fitting 5 incorporated in the rope 6, and the connecting fitting 5 It is characterized in that a weight 7 is connected to the lower part of the above, and that the gondola 4 is provided with a ballast tank 10, a dedicated ballast tank 11 and a ballast water supply / discharge device, which is similar to the "underwater ropeway", According to the present invention, the ropes 6 are provided in two pairs, the two pairs of rope cars 1 are spaced apart from each other, and the ropes 6 are stretched in an X-shape to provide a lateral supporting force to the ropes 6 and the weight 7 Of the gondola 4 due to the interaction with the downward force It increases the resistance to flow, and by providing the gondola base 9 and tilting device 12 between the connecting fitting 5 and gondola 4, it is possible to improve the stability and operability of the gondola 4. The above-mentioned problems can be solved by the above.

[0005]

Operation: The gondola 4 is attached to the upper part of the connecting fitting 5 connected to the rope 6 via the gondola base 9, and the weight 7 is attached to the lower part of the connecting fitting 5. When moving underwater, since the buoyancy of the gondola 4 is set so that the downward force of the weight 7 overcomes the buoyancy of the underwater gondola 4, the underwater gondola 4 can dive in a stable state. There are two pairs of ropes 6, and the distance between the ropes 6 is larger at the portion of the rope wheel 1 than at the portion where the ropes 6 are connected.
The tension of the rope and the downward force of the weight 7 have the effect of limiting the lateral movement of the underwater undola 4, and the gondola 4 exerts a lateral force due to the tidal current. Even if you receive it, you can limit the lateral movement and suppress the shaking. The reason why the movement of the gondola 4 can be restricted by using two pairs of ropes 6 is as shown in the figure.
When the weight 39 is hung with and a lateral force 40 is applied, the weight 39 moves with one string 38, but when the string 38 is two, the lateral force 40 does not move until it becomes a certain magnitude.
The simple explanation is that. Gondola 4
Adjusts the buoyancy according to the number of passengers (weight) by pouring and draining the ballast tank 10 and the dedicated ballast tank 11 to make the gondola 4 less buoyant than the downward force of the weight 7 while moving in the water. When getting on or off, the buoyancy of the gondola 4 is increased so that the protrusion 17 of the gondola 4 appears above the water surface. To prevent the gondola 4 from becoming unstable because the buoyant force of the gondola 4 is made larger than the downward force of the weight 7 when the occupant gets in and out, by lifting the gondola 4 with a rope 6 and applying a downward load to the rope 6, Gondola 4
Stabilize. At the same time, a mooring device (not shown) is provided. The ballast tank 10 and the dedicated ballast tank 11 are optimally arranged so that the underwater gondola 4 is stable.

[0006]

EXAMPLES An example of the present invention will be described below.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes two or four pairs of rope cars that face each other across the sea or lake, and are installed on the tower 18 or on a land or water structure (not shown). The rope 6 is driven via the rope wheel 1 by a drive device (not shown). Reference numeral 5 is a connecting fitting, and two pairs of four ropes 6 are connected to both ends. Reference numeral 9 denotes a gondola base, which is mounted on the connecting fitting 5 via a pin 17 so that the tilting device 11 can change the angle of the gondola base 9 with respect to the connecting fitting 5 in the front-back direction. If necessary, another tilting device (not shown) is provided so that the angle can be changed in the lateral direction. 13 is a mounting rod, which is fixed to the gondola base 9,
Is usually fixed to the attachment / detachment device 14 attached to
It is designed to be detached in case of emergency or repair. Further, since the two positioning pins 15 are fixed to the gondola base 9 and the tips thereof are sharpened, they can be easily attached / detached to / from the positioning holes 16 of the gondola 4, so that they can be easily lifted up in an emergency. Gondola 4 and gondola stand 9 usually come off
They are combined so that there is no movement between them. As a result, the gondola 4 moves in the vicinity of the water bottom 3 along with the movement of the rope 6, and the inside of the gondola 4 can be observed through the observation window 27. When the occupant gets on and off, the water in the exclusive ballast tank 11 is discharged to float up and the protrusion 26 is brought out to the surface of the water. At the same time, the rope 6 is used to move the gondola 4
To stabilize the gondola 4, and at the same time mooring the gondola 4 with a mooring device (not shown) and opening and closing the watertight cover 8. When diving from the floating state, water is supplied to and drained from the ballast tank 10 to adjust the buoyancy according to the number of passengers (weight), and water is supplied to the dedicated ballast tank 11. In an emergency, the gondola is levitated by separating the attachment / detachment device 14 from the mounting rod 13. However, in this case, the gondola does not suddenly levitate and water resistance is applied to both sides of the gondola 4 so that the occupant is safe. A brake plate 25 is attached to increase the number. The method of water supply and drainage of the ballast tank 10 and the dedicated ballast tank 11 is as follows.
As shown in the explanatory diagram, when the gondola 4 floats, the valve 34 and the valve 3 with the air supply pipe 29 protruding to the water surface.
6 is opened, and the compressed water is blown from the air supply pipe 29 to discharge the internal water from the water supply / drainage pipe 31. When diving, the valves 33 and 36 are opened, and the water naturally flows in from the water supply / drainage pipe 31. At the same time, air is exhausted from the exhaust pipe 30. Also, a level detector 32 is installed for water surface monitoring. The intake pipe 29 and the exhaust pipe 30 are connected to the gondola 4
Before it floats, it is mounted so that it projects above the gondola 4 so that it appears above the surface of the water. In the case of ascending in an emergency, in general, it is only necessary to separate the attachment / detachment device 14, but if it is necessary to increase the buoyancy, use the compressed air from the high-pressure air tank 37 installed in the underwater gondola 4. The valve 35 is opened and the air supply pipe 29 is opened.
By connecting with, the ballast tank 10 and the dedicated ballast tank 11 can be drained similarly to the above. When the gondola 4 tilts in the front-back direction due to the inclination of the rope 6 while the gondola 4 is moving in water, it can be corrected by moving the tilting device 11. As equipment for passengers getting on and off the gondola 4, for example, a pier 20 and a boarding equipment 21 shown in the figure.
Is installed. An unillustrated gondola mooring device is also provided. One of the two pairs of drive devices for the rope 6 is the machine building 1 shown in the figure.
Rope car 1 installed in 9 and attached to two towers 18
Up to now, they are connected via a plurality of rope cars (not shown) via the inside of the tower 18 and the above-ground portion. The other is also installed on land or over water. The 2 to 4 drive units move individually in pairs, and the moving course 41 of the gondola 4 is preliminarily adjusted according to the situation of the water bottom 3 by a computer or the like.
The depth change is set, and the amount of rope is controlled so that the gondola 4 moves up and down in the water. As a result, there are less restrictions on the installation location due to the shape of the bottom 3 of the water.
The depth change setting of 1 can be changed easily. Further, the drive device can be controlled by a signal from the gondola 4 or the like while the gondola 4 is moving. Therefore, a signal transmitter / receiver is installed separately. As a result, the moving course 41 can be freely changed within a certain range while the gondola 4 is moving, and the rope 4 can be stopped and the emergency winding can be performed by an emergency signal. The gondola 4 is equipped with various sensors (not shown) such as a water bottom contact detection device and a sonar for detecting the distance to the water bottom 3. In the present invention, since the depth of the gondola 4 is not assumed to be too deep, a supply / exhaust pipe provided with a bendable and rotatable universal joint 28 at both end mounting portions and a central portion as shown in the figure for supply / exhaust inside the gondola 4 is provided. 22 and the like may be connected to the gondola 4, and a supply / exhaust floating body 23 for intake and exhaust may be installed and connected on the water. still,
A safety light 24 is attached to the air supply / exhaust float 23 for safety.
Also, various devices may be loaded as needed. Further, a transmitter / receiver may be stacked on the air supply / exhaust body 23, and the gondola 4 may be connected with a signal cable, and the transmitter / receiver may be installed in the drive unit of the rope 6.

[0007]

The present invention has the following effects. (B) A wide range of water can be observed along the rope. (B) Underwater construction is not necessary or necessary at the time of installation, and the problem of environmental damage can be reduced. (C) Maintenance is easy because there is little or no equipment underwater. (D) Since there are two pairs of ropes and the structure that can limit the lateral movement and sway of the gondola, it can be installed in places with tidal currents. (E) Since the moving course of the gondola can be set freely, there are few restrictions on the shape of the water bottom at the installation location. (F) You can freely change the movement course within a certain range while the gondola is moving.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the gondola portion of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a gondola portion of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a ballast tank water supply / drainage method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of the movement of the gondola of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Rope car 2 Sea or lake 3 Water bottom 4 Gondola 5 Connecting fitting 6,6
A, 6B Rope 7 Weight 8 Cover 9 Gondola stand 10 Ballast tank 11 Special ballast tank 12 Tilt device 13 Mounting rod 14
Attachment device 15 Positioning pin 16 Positioning hole 17
Pin 18 Tower 19 Machine Building 20
Pier 21 Boarding equipment 22 Air supply and exhaust pipe 23
Air supply / exhaust float 24 Warning light 25 Braking plate 26
Projection 27 Observation window 28 Universal joint 29
Air supply pipe 30 Exhaust pipe 31 Water supply / drain pipe 32
Level detector 33 Valve 34 Valve 35
Valve 36 Valve 4 37 High-pressure air tank 38 String 39 Weight 40
Lateral force 41 Gondola movement course

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. Two pairs, four which oppose each other across a sea or lake.
Set up a pair of rope cars via land or water structures,
The gondola is detachably attached to the upper part of the metal fitting which is stretched between the rope cars and is connected to two pairs of ropes that can move in water, and a weight is attached to the lower part of the metal fitting, and a ballast tank and ballast water are attached to the gondola. An underwater gondola characterized by a supply and discharge device. 2. An underwater gondola characterized in that the moving course of the gondola in water can be set and controlled during operation by independently controlling and driving the right and left ropes for moving the gondola.