The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to the field of elevators and, more particularly, to a multi-car elevator system.
Ropeless elevator systems, also referred to as “self-propelled elevator systems,” are useful in certain applications (e.g., high-rise buildings) where the mass of the ropes for a roped system is prohibitive and there is a desire for multiple elevator cars to travel in a single lane of a hoistway. There exist ropeless elevator systems in which a first lane is designated for upward-traveling cars and a second lane is designated for downward-traveling cars. A transfer station at each end of the hoistway is used to move cars horizontally between the first lane and second lane.
According to a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the invention, an elevator system includes a first elevator car supported for vertical movement in a lane of a hoistway. A second elevator car is configured to operate and move vertically in the lane below the first elevator car independently thereof. At least one buffering device is supported on at least one of the elevator cars to absorb energy upon contact between each buffering device and the other elevator car.
In an aspect of the embodiment, at least one buffering device is positioned on at least a top portion of the second elevator car and facing toward the first elevator car, and/or at least one buffering device is positioned on at least a bottom portion of the first elevator car and facing toward the second elevator car. In a version of this aspect, at least one buffering device is positioned at least at an upper or a lower part of a linear motor system of at least one of the elevator cars.
In another aspect, at least one first buffering member is positioned on a bottom portion of the first elevator car, and/or at least one second buffering member is positioned on a top portion of the second elevator car. In a version of this aspect, at least one first buffering member is positioned on a bottom portion of the first elevator car, at least one corresponding second buffering member is positioned on a top portion of the second elevator car, and corresponding ones of the first and second buffering members contact each other upon contact between the first and second elevator cars. In an example of this version, the first buffering member includes a reaction plate, and the second buffering member includes a buffer.
In still another aspect, each buffering device is mechanical, electric, magnetic, or any combination thereof. In a version of this aspect, the buffering device includes a spring, a shock absorber (including fluid or not), an electromechanical device, or a repulsive-magnetic-force-generating component.
In yet another aspect, the buffering device is equipped with a sensor to detect the contact, integrity, and/or operability (in a non-contacting state) of the buffering device. The detection and/or a condition of the buffering device are/is readable by a sub-system of the elevator system.
Each buffering device dissipates or minimizes the energy transmitted from one of the elevator cars to the other if the elevator cars contact each other in the lane during operation of the elevator system. In this way, the buffering device manages the mechanical energy of the contact, allowing for safe operation of the elevator system and travel of the elevator cars to respective successive floors of, for example, a high-rise building. Also, reactive forces between the elevator cars are generated, and resetting of the buffering device(s) is not required.
The subject matter that is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:
As shown in
Above the top floor of the hoistway 11 is an upper transfer station 30 to impart horizontal (or lateral) motion to the cars 14 to move the cars 14 between and among the lanes 13, 15, 17. It should be understood that the upper transfer station 30 may be located at the top floor rather than above the top floor. Below the first floor of the hoistway 11 is a lower transfer station 32 to impart horizontal motion to the cars 14 to move the cars 14 between and among the lanes 13, 15, 17. It should be understood that the lower transfer station 32 may be located at the first floor rather than below the first floor. Although not shown in
The cars 14 are propelled using a linear-magnetic-motor system having a primary, fixed portion 16 and a secondary, moving portion 18. The primary portion 16 includes windings or coils mounted at at least one side of each lane 13, 15, 17. The primary portion 16 also is supplied with drive signals to control movement of the cars 14 in their respective lanes. The secondary portion 18 includes permanent-magnet arrays mounted to at least one side of each car 14 and is designed to react to large loads.
As shown in
It should be understood that the elevator system 10, in general, and the hoistway 11, upper and lower transfer stations 30, 32 (and any intermediate transfer station), and linear motor system, in particular, can have any suitable structure. It should be understood also that the hoistway 11, lanes 13, 15, 17, upper and lower transfer stations 30, 32 (and any intermediate transfer station), and linear motor system can have any suitable relationship with each other. It should be understood also that each of the cars 14 can move within the hoistway 11 and in the corresponding lane 13, 15, 17 in any suitable manner. It should be understood also that any suitable number of cars 14 can travel in a corresponding lane in any suitable direction. It should be understood also that each of the transfer stations 30, 32 can impart horizontal motion to the cars 14 in any suitable manner. It should be understood also that the cars 14 can be propelled using any suitable propulsion system—e.g., an on-board propulsion (e.g., on-board rotary magnetic screws) such that structure of each car 14 may be more similar to that of a conventional rope-elevator car including a frame through which propulsion is directed. It should be understood also that, in the case of a ropeless elevator system, the cars 14 thereof can be propelled using any suitable propulsion system as well.
In an aspect, at least one buffering device 34 is positioned on at least a top portion of the second car 14b and facing toward the first car 14a, and/or at least one buffering device 34 is positioned on at least a bottom portion of the first car 14a and facing toward the second car 14b. In a version of this aspect and as shown in
It should be understood that, although structure of the frame 42 and various members of the frame 14 shown are conventional, they can be of any suitable structure. It should be understood also that the frame 42 can be operatively mounted to the cabin 20 in any suitable manner. It should be understood also that, in the case of a frameless elevator system, each buffering device 34 is positioned at least at a top or bottom structure of the elevator system. In an aspect of this case, the buffering device 34 is arranged substantially perpendicular to the respective top or bottom structure so that the buffering device 34 extends beyond the structure.
Returning to
Each buffering device 34, as an energy-absorbing device, can be made of any suitable number and kind of materials. For instance, each buffering device 34 can be mechanical, electric, magnetic, or any combination thereof. In an aspect, the buffering device includes a spring, a shock absorber (including fluid or not), an electromechanical device, or a repulsive-magnetic-force-generating component. Also, in an aspect, the buffering device 34 is equipped with a sensor—such as a microswitch—to detect the contact, which detection is readable by, for example, an integrity-management system of the elevator system 10. The sensor detects further integrity and/or operability (in a non-contacting state) of the buffering device 34, and a condition or health of the buffering device 34 is readable by a sub-system of the elevator system 10 as well.
In operation, each buffering device 34 is configured to contact a car 14 or another buffering device 34 as two cars 14 come together either during normal operation, such as during landing of the cars 14 at respective successive floors of the hoistway 11 (or otherwise in connection with primary motion control of the cars 14). Upon such contact, the buffering device 34 progressively deforms, thereby effectively dissipating energy associated with the contact. In this way, the buffering device 34 manages potential energy of contact between the cars 14 and can act as a safety back-up to a primary motion controller of the elevator system 10. The sensor detects the contact, which is readable by the integrity-management system of the elevator system 10.
The buffering device 34 can be a multiple-use device or frangible. Also, a simple visual inspection of each buffering device 34 can confirm that the buffering device 34 is intact and operative. The integrity-management system also can be used to verify integrity of the buffering device 34.
Each buffering device 34 dissipates or minimizes the energy transmitted from one of the cars 14 to the other car 14 if the cars 14 contact each other in the lane 13, 15, 17 during operation of the elevator system 10. In this way, the buffering device 34 manages the mechanical energy of the contact, allowing for safe operation of the elevator system 10 and travel of the cars 14 to respective successive floors of, for example, a high-rise building. Also, reactive forces between the cars 14 are generated, and resetting of the buffering device(s) 34 is not required.
In the above embodiments, the buffering devices 34 are on the top and/or bottom of cars 14 to absorb energy in a vertical direction. Similar buffering devices 34 may be employed in the transfer stations 30 and/or 32 to dissipate or minimize the energy transmitted from one of the cars 14 to the other car 14 in a horizontal direction. In such embodiments, the buffers may be positioned on holding carriages within the transfer station that carry and transport the cars 14 horizontally.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions, or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various non-limiting embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2016/013781 | 1/18/2016 | WO | 00 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62105807 | Jan 2015 | US |