subject: Detachable Chairlift - Fiber Coupler - China 785nm Diode Laser Module [print this page] History History
Doppelmayr
The detachable chairlift didn't start with a chairlift, rather, it started with the Platter lift in 1908, as the sticks left the cable and attached when someone loaded onto the stick. Chairlifts did not start to become detachable until 63 years later in 1981, with the opening of the first ever high speed detachable quad in the world, the Doppelmayr built Quicksilver SuperChair at Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado, in 1981. This lift was relocated in 1999 to the Owl's Head Ski area in Quebec. For a couple of years, this was also the sole detachable quad in Colorado, until 1985 when Vail Ski Resort installed four Doppelmayr high speed quads. The original grip was slightly modified later on before the Vail quads were built (to the type seen in the picture at the top). Known as the Spring Series, these grips were known as DS-104 grips on high speed quads and DS-108s on eight passenger gondolas. In 1995, a newer grip was introduced called the Torsion series. Torsion grips were called DT-104 if on a high speed quad, DT-106 on a high speed six pack, or DT-108 on an eight passenger gondola. The Torsion grip is still made today as Doppelmayr CTEC's primary grip option.
Unlike Poma's grips, Doppelmayr grips are double position grips. When the chair enters a terminal, the angled roller is pushed down by a metal strip, which opens a grip jaw. The jaw remains open until the chair attaches back to the cable when leaving the terminal. Grip clamping force is measured just prior to the double position grips reattaching to the haul rope while a carrier (chair) is exiting the terminal, in contrast to Poma's grips, in which grip force can be measured as the grip travels through the contour. Insufficient grip force triggers an alarm and brings the lift to a halt before the carrier reaches the first breakover tower after the terminal. Because of this design, most Doppelmayr detachable lifts are designed to allow operation in reverse. This allows a grip force alarmed grip and carrier to be backed into the terminal in reverse and checked or taken offline.
Terminals
The original terminals on the Quicksilver Quad were all completely enclosed, but in 1985, in time for the Vail Ski Resort high speed quads, the terminal design changed to what is now classified as a CLD-260 terminal. These and the older terminals were the only types of terminals to use chains instead of tires for contours. In 1989, the old design was officially retired with the addition of the Avanti high speed quad at Vail, and a new design, called the UNI, was introduced. This design was utilized from 1989 to the last year of the DS-104 grip in 1994. In 1992, the design was changed slightly mainly in the entry funnels area. With the introduction of the Torsion series came the UNI-M terminal, which underwent a number of minor cosmetic changes between 1995 and 2002. Currently, two options are offered, the UNI-G terminal, and the UNI-GS terminal, which can be distinguished through the appearance of the end windows.
Poma
Poma entered this market within two to three years of the Quicksilver Quad's installation. Although hard to prove, the earliest known Poma quads are from circa 1985, such as the Coney Glade at Snowmass, the high speed quad at Mission Ridge (installed in 2005, ran at Winter Park Resort from 1985 to 2005), and others. Many of the original high speed quads they built were known as Alpha Falcon lifts, because they utilized a Falcon terminal with an Alpha drive unit at the far end. Very few lifts exist with this style. Later on, the Falcon drive terminal was modified to house the bullwheel inside the main terminal structure itself, eliminating the need to run the cable through the terminal. Poma was also slower at introducing tire contours over chains, and it wasn't until 1992 that tire contours were used by the company with the introduction of the Challenger terminal. This terminal would undergo changes with the windows before officially retired in 1998. At that time, the new Omega T-Grip came out and a new terminal known as the Phatboy (homophone and pronounced Fat-Boy) was introduced for it. It was replaced by a newer variant that mainly modified the windows on the ends in 2003.
Unlike Doppelmayr, the Poma grips are single position. In such method, they are pressed down, which opens the jaws to detach the chair, and then the jaws close and the spring is released. The process is reversed for attachment. This design allows grip force to be measured as the grip travels through the contour, and for the lift to come to a stop before the grip is reattached to the haul rope if insufficient grip force is detected. Unlike Doppelmayr lifts that check grip force while a grip and carrier are leaving the terminal, most Poma detachable lifts are not built to operate in reverse because a grip force failed grip can be brought to a halt within the terminal.
Poma is also known for building some very unusual lifts, mostly at Breckenridge Ski Resort, which include North America's only double loading chairlift (Quicksilver Six), the first high speed lift in Colorado with a midway load (SuperConnect), and the highest lift in North America, the Imperial Express SuperChair, at 12,840 feet.
