Patent Application
20170158463
This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201510867956.6, filed Dec. 2, 2015, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. §119, the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to the technical field of elevators, relates to the cleaning and maintenance of elevator guide rails, and in particular to an elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus capable of automatically cleaning and removing foreign matters such as anti-rust coatings on an elevator guide rail and a method for cleaning an elevator guide rail by using the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus.
Cars in elevator systems are driven to lift in elevator hoistways along guide rails thereof. In order to guide cars along guide rails, guide apparatuses such as guide shoes are provided on cars of elevator systems.
Elevator guide rails, as one of critical components in elevator systems, have to keep their operating surfaces clean during the lifting movement of cars along their guide rails. Thus, cleaning apparatuses are needed for cleaning foreign matters. Moreover, elevator guide rails also need to be maintained such as rust prevention, especially before the elevator systems are set into service (e.g. from leaving factory to installation of elevator systems), during which stage, the operating surfaces of the elevator guide rails may have been not used for a relatively long time and thick anti-rust coatings (such as anti-rust oil) need to be coated on the operating surfaces of the elevator guide rails to protect the elevator guide rails from rust.
Thus, the cleaning of elevator guide rails includes removing the anti-rust coatings on the operating surfaces before the normal operation of elevator systems.
Since the anti-rust coatings are usually highly viscous and thick and difficult to remove, in the prior art, foreign matters such as anti-rust coatings are usually removed manually by workers during the installation of elevator systems, which is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also requires to work in the elevator hoistways and thus has serious labor intensity, low efficiency and some risk.
A cleaning apparatus disclosed in application No. CN201020637950.2 entitled “Automatic cleaning apparatus for elevator guide rail” is that a brush is integrally installed onto a guide shoe and the brush acts on an operating surface of a guide rail. Such a cleaning apparatus can merely remove foreign matters which are easy to remove such as dust on the guide rail surface, and the like, and can be merely applied to simple cleaning and maintenance of elevator systems during normal operation and cannot be applied to cleaning and removing of foreign matters such as anti-rust coatings on elevator guide rails. Other elevator guide rail cleaning apparatuses in the prior art cannot automatically clean and remove foreign matters such as anti-rust coatings on elevator guide rails either.
An object of the present invention is to provide an elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus capable of automatically cleaning foreign matters such as an anti-rust coating on an elevator guide rail.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an elevator guide rail cleaning method capable of automatically cleaning foreign matters such as an anti-rust coating on an elevator guide rail.
In order to achieve the above objects and other objects, the present invention provides the following technical solution.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus is provided, including:
a base;
a scraping component installed opposite to an operating surface of an elevator guide rail; and
a wiping component installed opposite to the operating surface of the elevator guide rail;
wherein the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus is detachably installed on a guide apparatus of an elevator system.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the base is provided with a first installation part and a second installation part, the scraping component is detachably installed on the first installation part, and the wiping component is detachably installed on the second installation part.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the apparatus further includes a pressure component for the scraping component to bias a certain pressure to the operating surface of the elevator guide rail.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the pressure component includes a spring and a plug, wherein the spring is placed in a positioning cylinder provided on the first installation part and causes a first end of the spring to apply a pressure to the scraping component and a second end of the spring to abut the plug fixed on the positioning cylinder.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the scraping component is mainly made of polyformaldehyde resin (POM) and integrally formed.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the scraping component includes a scraping plate and a scraping bar provided on the scraping plate in a projection manner.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, there are three or more scraping bars and a plurality of scraping bars are disposed perpendicularly relative to a length direction of the elevator guide rail.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, an operating surface of the scraping plate is provided with a plurality of accommodation grooves.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, each of the accommodation grooves is provided between adjacent scraping bars.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the width of the accommodation groove is 10 mm to 50 mm.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, there are two scraping components and the two scraping components are installed opposite to each other.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the wiping component is mainly made of felt.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the wiping component is square-shaped.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, there are two wiping components and the two wiping components are installed opposite to each other.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the apparatus further includes a cleaning liquid supply apparatus for supplying a cleaning liquid to the wiping component.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the cleaning liquid supply apparatus includes:
a cleaning liquid container fixed on the base and located above the wiping component;
a liquid flow pipe for guiding the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid container to the wiping component; and
a siphon component provided at one side of the liquid flow pipe close to the wiping component.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the guide apparatus is a guide shoe installed underneath a car of the elevator system.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the wiping component is located underneath the scraping component.
In the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the apparatus further includes installation supports for detachably installing the base on the guide shoe.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for cleaning an elevator guide rail by using the above elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus is provided, including the following steps:
step 1: installing the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus on a guide apparatus of an elevator system;
step 2: running the elevator system to cause the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus and the guide apparatus to move relative to the elevator guide rail synchronously, cause the scraping component to scrape and remove an anti-rust coating on an operating surface of the elevator guide rail, and cause the wiping component to wipe the operating surface of the elevator guide rail; and
step 3: detaching and removing the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus.
In the method for cleaning an elevator guide rail according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, in step 2, a cleaning liquid is supplied to the wiping component to dissolve the anti-rust coating.
In the method for cleaning an elevator guide rail according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, in step 2, the guide apparatus moves upwards from the bottom of an elevator hoistway.
In the method for cleaning an elevator guide rail according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein, the method for cleaning an elevator guide rail is carried out during the installation of the elevator system.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, a scraping component used in any of the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus above is provided.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a wiping component used in any of the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus above is provided.
The elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus according to the present invention has high automatic cleaning degree and low labor intensity, and can effectively remove foreign matters such as anti-rust coatings on an elevator guide rail through dual cleaning in combination with a scraping component and a wiping component, which has high cleaning efficiency and good cleaning effects. Moreover, the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus may be repeatedly installed and used in different elevator systems.
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more complete and clear from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same or similar elements adopt the same reference numerals.
Some of the possible embodiments of the present invention are introduced hereinafter, which are intended to provide a basic understanding of the present invention rather than determining critical or decisive elements of the present invention or defining the scope of protection. It will be readily understood that one of ordinary skill in the art may, according to the technical solution of the present invention, propose other alternative implementations without changing the essential spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the following particular embodiments and drawings are merely an illustrative description of the technical solution of the present invention and shall not be deemed as the entirety of the present invention or deemed as a definition or limitation of the technical solution of the present invention.
In the following description, for the sake of description, a direction where an elevator guide rail is located is defined as direction z, that is, an upward and downward direction, and a direction perpendicular to an operating surface of the elevator guide rail is defined as direction x, and a direction perpendicular to direction z and direction x is defined as direction y.
An elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is used for cleaning an elevator guide rail 11 (as shown in
In particular, the elevator guide rail according to an example of the present invention is coated with anti-rust oil after leaving the factory to protect the operating surface of the elevator guide rail and prevent the same from rust. The anti-rust oil usually has relatively high viscosity and the anti-rust oil coating is also relatively thick and thus it is difficult to remove. The elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is exemplarily used to remove the anti-rust oil on the operating surface of the elevator guide rail.
As shown in
In an embodiment, the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10 also includes a scraping component 120 and/or a wiping component 140. In order to install the scraping component 120 opposite to the operating surface of the elevator guide rail, the base 100 is fixedly provided with a first installation part 110 and the scraping component 120 is detachably installed on the first installation part 110. In order to install the wiping component 140 opposite to the operating surface of the elevator guide rail, the base 100 is fixedly provided with a second installation part 130 and the wiping component 140 is detachably installed on the second installation part 130.
In order to cause the scraping component 120 to effectively scrape the anti-rust oil on the operating surface of the elevator guide rail, the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10 is also provided with a pressure component which acts on the scraping component 120 so that the scraping component 120 can bias a certain action force on the operating surface of the elevator guide rail. The magnitude of the action force may be adjusted and set in particular depending on the cleaning effects of the anti-rust oil.
In the case where the operating surfaces of the elevator guide rail to be cleaned are two parallel operating surfaces, there are two scraping components 120 and two wiping components 140 respectively. Each scraping component 120/wiping component 140 is provided corresponding to one operating surface. Thus, the two scraping components 120 are installed opposite to each other in direction x and the two wiping component 140 are installed opposite to each other in direction x.
Referring to
Continue with
The surface of the scraping plate 121 opposite to the operating surface of the elevator guide rail may be provided with a plurality of accommodation grooves 126. The accommodation groove 126 is provided between two adjacent scraping bars 122. In this way, the anti-rust oil scraped, by scraping bars 122, from the operating surface of the elevator guide rail may be at least partially accommodated in these accommodation grooves. A plurality of accommodation grooves may also be disposed in parallel in direction y. The width of the accommodation groove 126 is determined by a spacing between the scraping bars 122. The widths of the plurality of accommodation grooves 126 may be the same or different. Optionally, the width of the accommodation groove is in a range greater than or equal to 10 mm and smaller than or equal to 50 mm, such as 25 mm.
A particular thickness of the scraping plate 121 may be set particularly according to the type of the elevator guide rail. For example, the greater the distance between the operating surfaces of the elevator guide rails, the smaller the particular thickness of the scraping plate 121. In this way, in the case where the scraping component 120 can be installed detachably relative to the base 100, a corresponding thickness of the scraping plate 121 may be selected according to different elevator guide rail models or types.
Continue with
It should be noted that the scraping component 120 may be designed correspondingly according to structural changes of the first installation part 110, the particular structure of which is not limited to the above embodiment.
The spring used in the pressure component may provide enough pressure to the scraping component 120 and is easy to adjust and set. In other alternative embodiments, however, the pressure component may be other elastic elements.
Referring to
The thickness of the wiping component 140 in direction x may be set according to the particular elevator guide rail model or type. In the case where the distance between the two installation plates of the second installation part 130 (direction x) is determined, wiping components 140 with different thicknesses may be provided to correspond to different models or types of elevator guide rails.
Further, referring to
In an embodiment, the cleaning liquid supply apparatus mainly includes a cleaning liquid container 161, a liquid flow pipe 162 and a siphon component 163. An installation support 164 may be provided on the base 100 correspondingly for installing and fixing the cleaning liquid container 161. The cleaning liquid container 161 may be in particular located above the wiping component 140. One end of the liquid flow pipe 162 is inserted into the cleaning liquid container 161 and the other end is placed on the wiping component 140 for guiding the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid container 161 to the wiping component 140. The siphon component 163 is provided at one side of the liquid flow pipe 162 close to the wiping component 140. In this way, when the cleaning apparatus 10 prepares to carry out the cleaning work, the siphon component 163 may be pressed to guide the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid container 161 located above to the wiping component 140. The cleaning liquid supply apparatus in this embodiment supplies the cleaning liquid to the wiping component 140 continuously during cleaning based on siphon principles, the operation of which is simple and convenient and the effects are good.
In an embodiment, the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10 is installed on the guide shoe underneath the car of the elevator system. The wiping component 140 is also located underneath the scraping component 120. Correspondingly, the second installation part 130 is provided underneath the first installation part. In this way, when the guide shoe moves upwards synchronously with the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10 along the elevator guide rail, most or main anti-rust oil on the operating surface of the elevator guide rail is first scraped by the wiping component 120 and then the remaining anti-rust oil is cleaned and removed by the wiping component 140. The cleaning effects of the operating surface that is subjected to a scraping process and a wiping process successively are good.
It should be noted that different shapes of installation supports may be correspondingly designed depending on the guide shoe structures used by different elevator systems.
First, as shown in
Furthermore, as shown in
It should be noted that if one upward movement cannot effectively clean the guide rail, the above process may be repeated by controlling the elevator system. And, in the above process, the cleaning liquid supply apparatus may supply the cleaning liquid to the wiping component 140 continuously to dissolve the anti-rust oil on the operating surface of the elevator guide rail, which has better wiping effects.
Furthermore, as shown in
By then, the cleaning work of the elevator guide rail is completed and the anti-rust oil on the elevator guide rail is cleaned up. The elevator system may start normal operation.
It should be understood that the cleaning method shown in
The above method for cleaning the elevator guide rail needs human intervention during the installation and detachment of the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10, and thus it is basically completed automatically, which greatly reduces the labor intensity of the worker and has high cleaning efficiency and good cleaning effects.
It should be noted that, although the above examples are illustrated in terms of removing the anti-rust oil on the elevator guide rail by the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10, it should be understood that the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10 may also remove other foreign matters on the anti-rust oil on the elevator guide rail and the elevator guide rail cleaning apparatus 10 may also be applied to remove other foreign matters like anti-rust oil on the elevator guide rail.
The above examples mainly illustrate the elevator rail cleaning apparatus and cleaning method using the same, according to the present invention. Although only some embodiments of the present invention are illustrated, one of ordinary skill in the art shall understand that the present invention may be implemented in many other forms without departing from the gist and scope thereof. For example, the scraping bars 122 of the scraping component 120 are provided in a non-parallel fashion, the wiping component 140 is made of a nanometer sponge and so on. Therefore, the illustrated examples and embodiments are considered as illustrative rather than restrictive. Various modifications and replacements may be included in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201510867956.6 | Dec 2015 | CN | national |
