TOUR AND LEISURE CART MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND RAIL TRACK MAINTENANCE METHOD
A tour and leisure cart management system capable of allowing large numbers of tourists to access nature reserves without damaging ecologically sensitive areas. The cart system is installed in areas having excellent views, places where various memorials or educational materials are displayed, nature reserves where wildlife lives and access is restricted, undeveloped areas that are difficult to access, swamps which are difficult to access using typical vehicles and so on, in order to enable tours of various natural features, animals, plants and educational materials, without incurring high construction costs for road construction and rail installation.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tour and leisure cart management system which is installed in regions such as nature reserves, inhabited by animals and plants requiring that extreme care be taken, undeveloped regions difficult for humans to access, and swamps where traffic, such as vehicles, cannot travel, so that sightseeing is made possible without destroying the ecosystem of various resident animals and plants. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cart management system which can also be utilized as leisure sport equipment, by which a user can drive a rail cart using his/her own strength through a scenically beautiful region while enjoying the scenery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many railroad tracks installed in areas producing coal, cement and wood have been decommissioned and neglected because they have become unprofitable. Such areas are mostly located on mountains, which are difficult for ordinary people to access, and thus a rail cart capable of riding on the railroad tracks has been developed in order to develop such areas as tourist facilities.
The inventor has developed Korean Utility Registration No. 368841, entitled “Manually Controlled Power Train on Railroad” and No. 371751, entitled “Rail Cart Powered by Wind,” and has been managing such equipment in regions such as Jeong-seon, Gang-won Province, Korea.
Such a rail cart system, which is installed to use abandoned railroad tracks and is driven manually without additional power, can attract tourists and thus help stimulate regional economies.
However, the rail carts of the above type can be managed only in regions where railroad tracks are installed. In addition, such railroad tracks are mostly single sets of tracks, so that a large number of people cannot drive rail carts without having to wait for a long time.
As another problem, after the rail carts are used, they must be returned to their starting place by additional workers and/or other devices for hauling the rail carts. Such drawbacks substantially decrease profitability.
As a further problem, it is impossible to use the rail carts in areas where rail tracks are not installed.
That is, there is an increasing number of people who want to experience scenes in beautiful areas such as lakesides, beaches, tree farms, resort towns, and ecological parks. However, such an experience can be had merely by walking or boating through swamps, valleys, lakes and so on. Roads or footpaths installed for people to access the interior of the swamps, the valleys, the lakes and so on inevitably destroy nature. The surrounding environment is heavily destroyed by road construction or people who drive cars or walk on the road. Thus, development is often prohibited. Recently, after large numbers of tourists and vehicles caused the extinction of many trees and birds in the Korea National Arboretum, vehicle access was prohibited and the number of tourists per day is also limited.
In the case of famous mountains visited by large numbers of people, a gap year system for prohibiting access by people has unavoidably been introduced. Even though tourist tracks in the mountains are restricted to particular regions, the tracks are inevitably widened or destroyed by large numbers of seasonal tourists, and thus foliage surrounding the tracks perishes. Accordingly, the gap year system was introduced to protect nature by prohibiting access by people. In addition, natural swamps and protected forests are basically prohibited from access so that their natural state can be preserved.
However, blocking tourists has not only the positive aspect of conserving nature, but also the negative aspect of impoverishing nearby areas. Furthermore, it is effective to provide access areas rather than blocking access to nature reserves. Although the need to set aside areas to encourage the conservation of nature is increasing, suitable measures therefor have not yet been proposed. Accordingly, longstanding conflicts between developers and environmentalists are deepening, because the conservation of nature cannot coexist with development.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention has thus been made to solve the aforementioned problems with the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tourist system capable of allowing large numbers of tourists to access nature reserves without injuring the ecological systems.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system capable of allowing easy access to sightseeing areas which are difficult to access and where railroad tracks are not installed, by installing a simple support structure and a rail track and developing carts for driving on the rail track.
A further object of the invention is to provide a tour cart management system that includes a multiple structure of two or more sets of rail tracks, in which a turntable or a resting place is installed so that tourists can take a rest while enjoying tours on carts.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tour cart management system including a multiple structure of two or more sets of rail tracks, so that the number of users can be greatly increased without having to destroy nature.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a rail system enabling tours and leisure, for which one need not construct a tunnel, build a bridge or remove a protruding part of a mountain for the purpose of road or footpath construction, and in which running rails are installed a preset distance from the ground, which is required in order to conserve nature, thus permitting tourism without injuring the ground, so that the ecological paths of animals can be preserved.
According to an aspect of the invention for realizing the object, the cart driving rail system of the invention can be installed in areas having excellent scenery, places where various memorials or educational materials are displayed, nature reserves where wildlife resides and access is restricted, undeveloped areas that are difficult to access, swamps which are difficult to access using typical vehicles and so on, in order to enable tours for various natural resources, animals, plants and educational materials, without having to consume a massive amount of construction costs for road construction and rail installation.
The invention provides a rail system which is installed a preset distance from the ground so that the rail system does not directly contact the ground or animals/plants in nature reserves.
The invention provides a rail system that includes turntable structures in specific places so that a cart can reverse its direction or move from one rail to another one if necessary in order to access a desired place, which is an improvement on the a conventional system, in which carts can move only in one direction.
The invention also provides a rail system which is installed a preset distance from the ground using rails made of square iron pipes, which are suitably bent according to the installation site, and a pillar structure capable of fixing the rails at a specific location in the ground.
The invention further provides a rail system capable of allowing tours regardless of obstacles such as swamps, steep slopes and rivers, using a pillar structure to fix rails above the swamp, an additional support structure to support rails on the steep slope, or a simple reinforcement structure attached to the edge of a bridge in the case of a river.
The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown.
Referring to
The track 100 of the invention is implemented using adjustable rails installed a preset distance from the ground, as shown in
In the case where the adjustable rails are installed on ground which is not flat but is uneven, that is, has height differences, holders for fixing the rails 50 to pillars 1 are adjusted in position to make the rails parallel with the horizon. Sinkage prevention plates 3 are provided to prevent the pillars 1 from sinking into the ground. The sinkage prevention plates 3 have a wide and planar base structure to prevent sinking. On the other hand, if the ground where the rails will be installed is flat, ties are installed directly on the ground without the use of additional pillars, and then the rails are installed on the ties. In the case of soft ground, which is not strong enough to withstand the load of running carts, auxiliary bases are installed to prevent deformation of the rails.
Referring to the flat rails shown in
When installing the rails of the invention, the rails 50 are cut to have inclined sections at each end thereof, as shown in
The turntable 200 is configured to allow a cart to be moved to another track without having to obstruct a following running cart, by which a user can drive the cart to a resting place R as shown in
The detailed installation position and operation of the turntable 200 are illustrated in
The road crossing structure 300 is as shown in
The waterside track 400 of the invention is installed beside a water body such as a river or lake, and in particular, on a slope, or at least partially fixed underwater. The waterside track 400 also includes a bridge crossing a river. The installation position of the waterside track 400 will be described below with reference to
Referring to
Referring to
Another embodiment of the waterside track of the invention can be realized using a simple additional structure in a swamp or lake so that the running rails can be installed without causing interference to pedestrians or vehicles crossing an existing bridge on the swamp or lake.
In more detail, referring to
This aspect of the invention allows the running rails to be installed on an existing structure, such as an overpass or a bridge, so that the tour carts can drive on the rails as desired.
In another aspect of the invention, joints of the running rails are slanted in order to suppress vibration and noise occurring at the joints of the running tracks, thereby greatly improving driving comfort.
In more detail, as shown in
Referring to
According to another aspect of the invention, the running rails are implemented as hollow iron members, unlike conventional rails, and thus can be easily installed, disassembled and modified. In particular, curved rails can be modified before installation so as to match various conditions at installation sites.
As a measure to facilitate the continuous assembly of running rails, the joining block 13 is used to assemble the rails with 45° inclined sections. Furthermore, the invention also proposes a cutting and replacement structure, by which a broken or damaged rail can be easily cut or removed from the rail track and a new rail can be easily installed.
In greater detail, as shown in
cutting a damaged rail portion 16 at an inclination of 45° from a main rail M when the rail portion 16 is broken or damaged to the extent that rail function is lost;
preparing a repair rail portion 55 having a length matching that of the damaged track portion 16 and end sections corresponding to cut sections of the main rail M;
inserting repair joining blocks 31 into the main rail M through the cut sections and connecting the repair rail portion 55 to the main rail M;
inserting jigs into adjustment holes 33 in both side faces of the repair rail portion 55 (see
when the aligning has been accomplished, fixing the repair joining blocks 31 to the main rail M by fixing bolts.
Another aspect of the invention is that the height of pillars for curved running rails can be adjusted according to the direction and degree of curves to the outer circumference of the rails in order to obtain a suitable inclination angle, thereby helping the cart safely and stably drive along the curved rail track. Unlike train rails, the running rails of the invention are designed such that vertical positions of the holders and the pillars can be adjusted in order to properly disperse vertical and lateral weight caused by the radius of the curve.
A further aspect of the invention serves to overcome the drawback in which it is difficult for carts to run on the rails when the top surface of the rails freezes, by providing slits in the top surface of the rails in the direction perpendicular to the running direction (i.e., perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the rail). The slits may include small protrusions or indentations on the top surface of the rails to create a suitable level of frictional force with the drive wheels of the carts when they contact the slits in order to ensure safe driving.
Another aspect of the invention is to provide sensors at specific points along the rails to detect the passage of carts. In this way, when a sensor detects a cart arriving at a specific place, it is possible to make an announcement to the cart about the name of the place, tell stories associated with the place, describe famous sights, and so on.
Since the tour and leisure cart management system of the invention may be installed generally in famous sightseeing areas, nature reserves, wildlife preserves and the like, guidance and publication for regional development and sightseeing tours can be provided, focusing on animals/plants inhabiting the corresponding region and on various information pertaining to the corresponding region.
In the case of a flat installation technique, if the ground meets a predetermined strength requirement and does not easily sink, the pillars or sinkage prevention plates need not be installed, but common iron pipes are arranged sequentially to support rails, thereby constructing ties 7a (see
In the case where the ground is sloped and thus rails are not arranged horizontally, the height difference between the two pillar rows is measured so that the measured height difference can be compensated for. If sufficient support cannot be provided by the pillar rows, suitable auxiliary pillars 1a are provided to the pillar rows to ensure reinforcement. The auxiliary pillars are shown in
According to the rail system of the invention as set forth above, it is possible to use carts irrespective of whether railroad rails were previously installed, as an improvement over the prior art, in which the carts can be driven only on existing rails previously used for trains. Accordingly, tourists can access areas that are difficult to access but have excellent scenery, using manually powered carts instead of internal combustion engines, in order to allow tourism while still prohibiting actual pedestrian or vehicle access to these areas, thereby enabling the preservation of nature.
The installation operation of the invention can be carried out while retaining the wilderness and natural environments, unlike in conventional railroad or road construction, and furthermore, the rail system can be installed so that it does not contact the ground, merely using pillars. This arrangement basically prohibits tourists from contacting the ground in order to prevent damages to natural areas. This can satisfy both the need to preserve nature and the need to stimulate tourism based on the natural areas, thereby ensuring tax revenues for local governments while enabling the preservation of nature.
In particular, the invention uses a cart system capable of operating without a power supply (e.g., electricity and gasoline), and thus is easily installed in remote areas. Furthermore, no complicated mechanism or process is needed to manage the cart system.
Because the cart system is driven manually, slight deformation or distortion of the rails may make driving difficult. To cope with this, the rails are connected together at a slight angle so that the deformation or distortion of the rails does not obstruct driving.
Claims
1. A tour and leisure cart management system, comprising:
- a driving track configured for rail carts to drive thereon, the driving section comprising hollow, square, rod-shaped running rails each having an inclined cross section at an end to be assembled with another one of the running rails, and a joining block inserted into the end of the hollow rail through the inclined cross section, the rails being assembled sequentially to define the driving track;
- a turntable for allowing the rail carts to turn around, the turntable comprising turntable rails and locking devices fixing the turntable rails to respective running rails, each of the turntable rails having a rotation shaft installed in a lower central part thereof, each of the locking devices capable of being locked and unlocked by a rod-shaped lock connected with a lever of a handle;
- a road crossing structure for the running track, the road crossing structure comprising a gutter-shaped reinforcement structure installed in ground, wherein a connector fixedly connects a pillar fixed to an outer underground with a holder at an outer edge of the reinforcement structure;
- a waterside track installed alongside a water body, and having an underwater pillar for supporting a portion of the running track alongside the water body; and
- a cart storage unit for storing the carts.
2. The tour and leisure cart management system according to claim 1, wherein an indentation is formed in a bottom of the joining block inserted into the end of the hollow rail.
3. The tour and leisure cart management system according to claim 1, wherein the pillar of the driving track is provided at a lower portion, fixed underground, with a sinkage prevention plate, and is connected at an upper end to a corresponding one of the running rails by the holder.
4. The tour and leisure cart management system according to claim 1, wherein ties are arranged with a predetermined distance therebetween, and the running track is fixed onto the ties by fixing bolts and nuts.
5. The tour and leisure cart management system according to claim 1, wherein the road crossing structure comprises a base in a form of a gutter for supporting a bottom of the running track by using vertical and horizontal reinforcement members, and a linking member of the pillar is connected to a corresponding one of the rails by a connector, in an inside space defined by the vertical reinforcement member.
6. A rail track maintenance method for a tour and leisure cart management system, the method comprising steps of:
- cutting a damaged rail portion from a main rail at an angle of 45° when the rail portion is broken or damaged to an extent that rail function is lost;
- preparing a repair rail portion having a same length as a damaged track portion and end sections corresponding to cut sections of the main rail;
- inserting repair joining blocks into the main rail through the cut sections and connecting the repair rail portion to the main rail;
- inserting jigs into adjustment holes in both side faces of the repair rail portion and aligning main assembly holes of the repair joining blocks with main assembly holes of the main rail; and
- when alignment is accomplished, fixing the repair joining blocks to the main rail using fixing bolts.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 27, 2007
Publication Date: Dec 13, 2007
Inventor: Mu Young Hwang (Seoul)
Application Number: 11/741,094
International Classification: A63G 21/04 (20060101);