(57) An aerial tramway system and method are disclosed in which pairs of haul ropes (31,32,41,42)
are mounted to vertically oriented bull wheels (33,34,43,44). The drive bull wheels
are preferably mounted to a common drive shaft (91) to help synchronize haul rope
advancement. An adjustment assembly (72) is provided on one of the pair of drive bull
wheels to enable dynamic adjustment of the effective radius of the bull wheel without
changing the bull wheel rotation rate. Adjustment is based upon sensor feedback to
precisely synchronize the haul rope advancement. The aerial tramway system further
includes a first pair of endless loop haul ropes (31,32) operating in one direction
and a second pair of endless loop haul ropes (41,42) operating in an opposite direction.
The passenger carrier units (24) are demountably attached to the haul ropes and transferred
along transfer paths (61,62,63,64) between stations at the end of the haul ropes so
as to provide a system in which the passenger carrier units can be continuously cycled
around the loop formed by the two pairs of haul ropes. An adjustable bull wheel assembly
and method of employing the same to maintain haul rope synchronism are also disclosed.
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