Patent Grant
9643817
The object of the invention is an elevator arrangement.
The solution according to the invention is well suited to low-rise and medium-rise buildings and even to extremely tall buildings in which one problem is that when the hoisting machine of the elevator is above, installation of the machine and peripheral structures is awkward, expensive and even dangerous. Additionally, the high-speed elevators in high-rise buildings require large fuses and there are often many elevators in one or more elevator groups. For this reason also the electric cabling needed for the elevator hoisting machines are expensive and in high-rise buildings this is even more pronounced because the electric cables from the power distribution boards below to the hoisting machines above are long. Long electric cables cause power losses and various interferences in their immediate environment, e.g. electromagnetic interferences. The solution according to the invention is also suited for a new elevator in low-rise buildings that previously had no elevator. In addition, the solution according to the invention is well suited to the modernization of old elevators.
Elevator solutions wherein the hoisting machine of the elevator is disposed on the base of the elevator hoistway, or close to the bottom part of the elevator hoistway, are known in the art. When the hoisting machine is disposed thus, the supporting ropes of the elevator cannot generally function simultaneously as the means intended for moving the elevator car, but instead separate traction ropes or traction belts are needed for the moving. One such prior-art solution is presented in international patent publication no. WO03/043927 A2, in which
Patent publications EP1097101 B1, EP1493708 A2, FR2813874 A1 and FR2823734 A1 also present corresponding elevator solutions, wherein the hoisting machine of an elevator is on the base of the hoistway, or close to it, and the supporting ropes of the elevator car and the traction ropes are separate. In all these solutions, however, there is only one large counterweight, the drawbacks of which solution have been explained in the preceding.
US patent publication no. US2007246303 A1 presents an elevator solution, some embodiments in which comprise two counterweights. This solution, however, differs from conventional elevator solutions in that the elevator car is supported and moved with chains and sprocket wheels and there are numerous hoisting motors; at least one hoisting motor per counterweight. Thus the solution is complex and prone to defects, and also precise synchronization of the speed between different hoisting motors is awkward. Likewise, for structural reasons the use of two counterweights does not here bestow any advantage in respect of better flexibility of layout designs.
The aim of the present invention is to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks and to achieve an inexpensive and easy-to-implement elevator arrangement, which combines the advantages of a hoisting machine disposed in the bottom part of the elevator hoistway and of flexible layout design. Additionally, the aim of the invention is to achieve an arrangement, which enables a number of different, easy-to-implement suspension options for an elevator with machine room below. Likewise, one aim is to achieve an elevator arrangement, which can be implemented with essentially the same type of elevator for different purposes, such as for residential apartment use, hotel use or some other commercial property use, and in which the balance of the elevator can be optimized in relation to energy consumption according to the amount and the nature of the elevator traffic.
Some inventive embodiments are also discussed in the descriptive section of the present application. The inventive content of the application can also be defined differently than in the claims presented below. The inventive content may also consist of several separate inventions, especially if the invention is considered in the light of expressions or implicit sub-tasks or from the point of view of advantages or categories of advantages achieved. In this case, some of the attributes contained in the claims below may be superfluous from the point of view of separate inventive concepts. Likewise the different details presented in connection with each embodiment can also be applied in other embodiments. In addition it can be stated that at least some of the subordinate claims can, in at least some situations, be deemed to be inventive in their own right.
One advantage, among others, of the solution according to the invention is that by means of it machine room space is saved. Another advantage is also that the solution according to the invention is space-efficient in the width direction, depth direction and also the height direction of the elevator hoistway. In the height direction, this enables the diverting pulleys in the top part of the elevator hoistway to be disposed outside the projection of the car such that the top edge of the elevator car in its upper position can drive between the diverting pulleys or even past the diverting pulleys to above them. In this case the smallest possible top clearance that can be utilized well is obtained. Yet another advantage is that by means of the arrangement according to the invention the rope arrangements and layouts of elevators can be diversified, which enables easier layout design.
Another advantage is that installation of a hoisting machine is easier and cheaper than when installing the hoisting machine into the top part of a building. Likewise the structures and peripherals of the elevator are in this case lighter and cheaper. Yet another advantage is that the same elevator concept can be used for different applications, e.g. for residential apartment use, hotel use or some other commercial property use, and the use of the elevator can be monitored after the original installation and, based on the results, the balance of the elevator can easily be changed to correspond better to the actual use of the elevator. Yet another advantage is faster and easier installation of an elevator.
The separation of the support means and the traction means enables their optimization for their purpose of use in terms of their dimensioning, method of use and properties. For example, now it is not necessary to take into account the durability to such a high surface pressure in the ropes preferably used as support means as if these ropes were driven by the aid of a traction sheave provided with undercut rope grooves.
The fact that the diverting pulleys in the top part of the elevator hoistway are disposed outside the projection of the car, such that the top edge of the elevator car in its upper position can drive between the diverting pulleys or even past the diverting pulleys to above them, is one aspect of the invention. This aspect, on its own or together with one or more attributes of an inventive feature presented in this application, defines the preferred inventive elevator solutions. A particularly advantageous solution from the viewpoint of this aspect, especially from the standpoint of space usage, is brought about by placing all the diverting pulleys and traction sheaves of an elevator otherwise than directly below or directly above the elevator car, in which case also both the support means supporting the elevator car and the compensating weight(s) as well as the traction means connecting the elevator car and the compensating weight(s) can be guided suitably on the side of the trajectory of the elevator car.
The aspect of the invention wherein the diverting pulleys in the top part of the elevator hoistway are disposed outside the projection of the car such that the top edge of the elevator car in its upper position can drive between the diverting pulleys or even past the diverting pulleys to above them, can be implemented also by overlapping the structures of the elevator car and the diverting pulleys and traction sheaves guiding the support means and the traction means such that the support means supporting the elevator car and the compensating weight(s) as well as the traction means connecting the elevator car and the compensating weight(s) are guided on the side of the trajectory of the elevator car.
In this presentation the invention is described a great deal as an elevator arrangement but the invention is also manifested as an elevator that comprises at least an elevator car to be moved in an elevator hoistway and one or more compensating weights and a hoisting machine moving via traction means the support means supporting said elevator car and compensating weights, the traction means connecting the elevator car and each compensating weight, the elevator car and the compensating weights. The invention is also manifested as an installation method or installation methods described in this presentation, in which case the elevator car is used as an aid for installation of the guide rails.
In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by the aid of some examples of its embodiment with reference to the simplified and diagrammatic drawings attached, wherein
One elevator arrangement according to the invention comprises at least an elevator car 1 configured to move up and down in an elevator hoistway and at least two compensating weights 2a, 2b, which are for their part connected to support the elevator car 1 by the aid of their own support means 3, such as by the aid of ropes or belts and also by the aid of e.g. diverting pulleys 4 mounted on bearings on the top part of the elevator hoistway. In addition, the elevator arrangement comprises a hoisting machine 6 provided with at least one traction sheave 5 or corresponding, and at least two or more traction means 7a, 7b, such as a rope or a belt, which are configured to transmit the rotational movement of the traction sheave 5 into linear movement of the elevator car 1 and of the compensating weights 2a, 2b. Characteristic to the invention, and common to all the different embodiments of the invention, is that each compensating weight 2a, 2b, or in some cases only one, or more than two, compensating weights, are connected by the aid of their own traction means 7a, 7b to one and the same hoisting machine 6. If there is only one compensating weight, for safety reasons there are nevertheless at least two traction means so that when one traction means loses its grip, the other one still grips and the elevator car is not able to rush to the roof with a small load pulled by the compensating weight.
The aforementioned two or more compensating weights 2a, 2b enable an essentially easy layout in elevator design. At the same time the layout also brings various space benefits. In this case one layout solution can be e.g. the type of layout in which, when viewed from above, at the center of the elevator hoistway is a plane formed by the car guide rails of the elevator and around this plane are four corners for different structural solutions. For example, two corners are used for the compensating weights 2a, 2b and their guide rails, one corner is used for safety devices, mainly e.g. for an overspeed governor, and one corner is used for other devices, such as for the trailing cables, et cetera. From the viewpoint of the layout, it is advantageous to situate the compensating weights 2a, 2b, with their guide rails, in the rear corners of the elevator hoistway.
A hoisting machine 6 provided with a traction sheave 5 is configured to move the elevator car, which hoisting machine is preferably disposed in the bottom part of the elevator hoistway, e.g. on the base of the elevator hoistway or right in the proximity of the base. In this case installation of the hoisting machine 6 is easy, and long electric cables from the bottom part of the building to the hoisting machine or to the cubicles are not needed. Additionally, at least one humidity sensor, which is arranged to issue an alarm and if necessary to stop the elevator if excessive water comes onto the base of the hoistway, is disposed on the base of the hoistway. In this way the elevator machine and the electrical components of the elevator can be protected from excessive humidity.
For each compensating weight separately its own traction means 7a, 7b is disposed between the bottom part of the compensating weights 2a, 2b and the bottom part of the elevator car 1, which traction means receives its movement transmission force from the traction sheave 5 of the hoisting machine 6.
The first traction means 7a is fixed at its first end to a first compensating weight 2a, is configured to leave the compensating weight 2a and go downwards and is led to pass under at least one diverting pulley 8a, after which the traction means 7a is led to a traction sheave 5, which rotates on the vertical plane, of a hoisting machine 6 disposed below the elevator car 1 from the first side of the traction sheave 5, and is configured to pass around the traction sheave 5 on a first point of the contact surface of the traction sheave 5 on the second side of the traction sheave 5, to return back to the first side of the traction sheave 5 and is led onwards to pass under at least a second diverting pulley 8b and to ascend after this to the elevator car 1, to the fixing point 10a on which elevator car the traction means 7a is fixed at its second end.
The second traction means 7b is configured to travel from the second compensating weight 2b via the traction sheave 5 to the elevator car in essentially the same manner as the first traction means 7a. In this case the second traction means 7b is fixed at its first end to a second compensating weight 2b, is configured to leave the compensating weight 2b and go downwards and is led to pass under at least one diverting pulley 9a, after which the traction means 7b is led to a traction sheave 5, which rotates on the vertical plane, of the hoisting machine 6 disposed below the elevator car 1 from the second side of the traction sheave 5, and is configured to pass around the traction sheave 5 on a second point of the contact surface of the traction sheave 5 on the first side of the traction sheave 5, to return back to the second side of the traction sheave 5 and is led onwards to pass under at least a second diverting pulley 9b and to ascend after this to the elevator car 1, to the fixing point 10b on which elevator car the traction means 7b is fixed at its second end.
The contact surface of the traction sheave 5 is so wide that both the traction means 7a, 7b fit side-by-side onto the contact surface of the traction sheave without interfering with each other. In this way one and the same hoisting machine 6 gives to both the traction means 7a, 7b a force producing linear movement of the elevator car 1 and of the compensating weights 2a, 2b.
In the arrangement according to
Each traction means 7a, 7b, in this embodiment e.g. a plurality of elevator ropes, connecting the elevator car 1 and the compensating weights 2a, 2b is fixed at its first end to an essentially immobile fixing point 14a, 14b that is below the elevator car 1 and that is provided with a prestressing element, such as a spring, from where both the traction means 7a, 7b are led to the diverting pulley 11a, 11b that is in connection with the compensating weight 2a, 2b, after passing over which diverting pulley both traction means 7a, 7b are led downwards to pass under the diverting pulley 8a, 9a that is below the elevator car 1 and onwards around the two traction sheaves 5, 5a, belonging to the hoisting machine 6, that are in synchrony with each other and rotating around a vertical axis, forming a so-called Extended Double Wrap loop.
In this case the first traction means 7a is led initially to the first traction sheave 5, after passing around which the first traction means 7a is led to a second traction sheave 5a and onwards after passing around the second traction sheave 5a again to the first traction sheave 5, after passing around which the traction means 7a is led to pass under a diverting pulley 8b below the elevator car 1 onwards up to a diverting pulley 12a in connection with the elevator car 1, after passing around the top of which onwards to its essentially immobile fixing point 15a below the elevator car 1, to which fixing point the second end of the traction means 7a is fixed.
Correspondingly in this case, the second traction means 7b is led initially to the second traction sheave 5a, after passing around which the second traction means 7b is led to the first traction sheave 5 and onwards after passing around the first traction sheave 5 again to the second traction sheave 5a, after passing around which the traction means 7b is led to pass under a diverting pulley 9b below the elevator car 1 onwards up to a diverting pulley 12b in connection with the elevator car 1, after passing around the top of which diverting pulley onwards to its essentially immobile fixing point 15b below the elevator car 1, to which fixing point the second end of the traction means 7b is fixed.
The first traction sheave 5 is fixed directly to the shaft of the hoisting machine 6, and the second traction sheave 5a is mounted on bearings allowing free rotation. The traction sheaves 5 and 5a are further connected to each other via a cogged belt 13, which synchronizes the speeds of rotation of the traction sheaves 5, 5a so that they are the same. With this solution an overall contact angle e.g. between the traction means 7a, 7b and the traction sheaves 5 and 5b of approx. 340° is achieved, in which the first angle of contact is approx. 160° and the second angle of contact is approx. 180°. Formed thus, the solution enables good frictional grip for the elevator ropes used as the traction means 7a, 7b.
In the arrangement according to
Correspondingly, the second traction means 7b is fixed at its first end to an essentially immobile fixing point 14b that is below the elevator car 1 and that is provided with a prestressing element, such as a spring, from where the traction means 7b is led to the diverting pulley 11b that is in connection with the compensating weight 2b, after passing over which diverting pulley the traction means 7b is led downwards to pass under the diverting pulley 9a that is below the elevator car 1 and onwards around the bottom of the second traction sheave 5a belonging to the hoisting machine 6, after which the second traction means 7b is led onwards up to a diverting pulley 12b in connection with the elevator car 1, after passing around the top of which diverting pulley onwards to its essentially immobile fixing point 15b that is below the elevator car 1 and that is provided with a prestressing element, such as a spring, to which the second end of the traction means 7b is fixed. In
In the arrangement according to
The suspension ratio of the support means 3 can be greater than 2:1, e.g. 4:1 or 6:1, in which case thin ropes can be used as the support means 3 and the diverting pulleys 4, 4b and 4c can be smaller in their diameter. In addition, the elevator arrangement can also be made to be such that the supporting is 1:1 but the traction is 2:1, 4:1 or 6:1.
In the arrangements according to
The solutions according to
Since the support means 3 are led by the aid of the diverting pulleys 4a also to the other side of the elevator car 1, the center points of mass can be situated as correctly as possible, owing to which the guide rail forces exerted on the guide rails 16 of the elevator car 1 can be balanced extremely well, which in turn improves the quality, durability and ride comfort of the elevator. Additionally, in the arrangement according to the invention, when modernizing a hydraulic elevator into an elevator solution according to the invention, the loadability of the elevator can be increased in relation to the surface area of the elevator hoistway, which further improves the capacity of the elevator.
Hydraulic elevators often have a power unit room and a power unit in the bottom part of the elevator hoistway, but at the side of the elevator hoistway. In connection with modernization, this space also can be utilized and a new electric machine 6 with traction sheave can be disposed in this ready machine space. The passage of the traction means 7 must in this case be led via additional diverting pulleys to the compensating weight 2 and to the elevator car 1, but these diverting pulleys can be small and inexpensive because the traction means 7 do not participate in supporting the elevator car 1 and the compensating weight 2, in which case the traction means 7 can be e.g. a toothed belt or corresponding. The power unit room can also be under the elevator hoistway, in which case the power unit room is separated from the elevator hoistway.
Subsequently, the next-to-lowest guide rails are fixed as an extension of the lowest guide rails 16a and the elevator car is lifted upwards supported by the hooks 17 with the elevator's own hoisting machine 6 and the installation is performed upwards one stage at a time in a jump-lift manner until the topmost guide rails are in their position. After this the diverting pulleys 4 at the top are installed into their final position at the top end of the guide rails 16 and the overspeed governor is installed finally into its position and also the joint 18 between the support means 3 and the traction means 7 is disassembled and also the compensating weights 2 are installed into their positions between the support means 3 and the traction means 7, after which the support means 3 are fixed to the compensating weights 2 at their second ends and the traction means 7 at their first ends. After this installation continues in the different stages for bringing the elevator to completion.
In the arrangements according to
In the elevator arrangement according to the invention the supporting of the elevator car 1 is separated from the moving means of the elevator car and smart materials, such as toothed belts, in which traction is not based on friction but instead on shape-locking, suited to the purpose are used as the moving means, i.e. as the traction means 7, 7a, 7b. Since the traction is not based on friction, one or more compensating weights 2, 2a, 2b, 2c can be used instead of counterweights, which compensating weights are disposed in the elevator hoistway space-efficiently in relation to the cross-section of the elevator hoistway and their mass is optimized according to the use of the elevator such that the elevator arrangement is made to function in the best possible way in relation to energy efficiency in exactly the use for which it has been delivered. By proceeding in this manner the use of a new or modernized elevator is monitored initially after installation of the elevator and according to the monitoring results the balancing is adjusted e.g. within such limits that the aggregate mass of the compensating weights 2-2c is some suitable value between −10 . . . 60% of the rated load of the elevator, preferably e.g. some suitable value between 0 . . . 50% of the rated load of the elevator. An elevator arrangement designed and optimized in this manner moves an imposed load as energy-efficiently as is possible. The aforementioned space efficiency can be further improved with traction sheaves and diverting pulleys that are small in diameter and that can be disposed in small spaces.
A spring element enabling pretensioning is described in connection with the fixing point at each end of the traction means 7, 7a, 7b presented in the figures. A corresponding function can be implemented actively with so-called constant-force tensioning means, which ensure that the traction means 7, 7a, 7b used remain sufficiently taut all the time.
In the solutions according to
It should also be noted that the different solutions presented above can be inventive features together with one or more other features of the invention.
It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited solely to the examples described above, but that it may be varied within the scope of the claims presented below. Thus, for example, the suspension solutions can be different to what is presented above.
It is further obvious to the person skilled in the art that the location of the hoisting machine can be elsewhere than what is presented above in the drawings. The hoisting machine can be on the base of the elevator hoistway, or close to the base, but also on some side of the elevator hoistway and also in the top part of the elevator hoistway.
It is also obvious to the person skilled in the art that the number of compensating weights can also be greater than two or three. There can be e.g. four, six, eight, ten or even more compensating weights disposed in a different manner.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20115479 | May 2011 | FI | national |
This application is a continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/FI2012/050450 which has an International filing date of May 9, 2012, and which claims priority to Finnish patent application number 20115479 filed May 18, 2011, the entire contents of both which are incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | PCT/FI2012/050450 | May 2012 | US |
| Child | 14053895 | US |
