This application is a 371 of PCT/IB08/03737 Dec. 19, 2008.
Elevator systems require electronic components to control the desired operation of the elevator system. Drive and power electronics are used to control the power supplied to the elevator machine and the way in which the machine causes the elevator car to move. Control electronics are also used for inspection and maintenance procedures and passenger assistance such as emergency rescue operations. For many years such control electronics were kept in a machine room outside of the hoistway. More recently, it has become desirable to provide machine roomless elevator systems to eliminate the space requirements for providing a separate machine room. While there are advantages to such arrangements, they present new challenges.
One challenge associated with eliminating the machine room is finding a suitable location for the control electronics of the elevator system. Various approaches have been suggested. One approach shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,114,594 includes supporting a control arrangement at the location of a doorframe for a hoistway door. The arrangement of that document includes an opening toward the interior of a hoistway and another opening facing outside the hoistway. The opening facing the inside of the hoistway is larger than the other to provide access to the control arrangement for a technician located in the hoistway. It is desirable to eliminate or minimize the amount of time an individual needs to be inside the hoistway for maintenance, inspection or other reasons. Another arrangement is shown in the Published Application WO 03/072478. That arrangement has the drawback of significantly increasing the size of a door surround.
An exemplary enclosure for housing electronics useful with an elevator system includes a first sidewall. A second sidewall is adjacent the first sidewall. A third sidewall is at an oblique angle relative to the first sidewall. The third sidewall provides a support surface for supporting electronics inside the enclosure. The first and second sidewalls are moveable relative to the third sidewall to provide a single opening facing the support surface.
An exemplary elevator door frame assembly includes a header. A first jamb member is near a first end of the header. A second jamb member is near a second end of the header. The second jamb member includes an enclosure for supporting elevator system electronics. The enclosure includes a first sidewall, a second sidewall adjacent the first sidewall and a third sidewall that is obliquely oriented relative to the first sidewall. The first and second sidewalls are moveable relative to the third sidewall to provide a single access opening into the enclosure.
An exemplary elevator system includes an elevator car that is moveable within a hoistway. Doorways are positioned at landings along the hoistway. Each of the doorways has at least one door that is selectively open or closed to selectively provide access to the hoistway or the elevator car from the landing. At least one of the doorways includes an electronics enclosure that houses electronics that are configured to control movement of the elevator car. The electronics enclosure is located on one side of at least one of the doorways. The electronics enclosure includes a first sidewall, a second sidewall adjacent the first sidewall and a third sidewall that is obliquely oriented relative to the first sidewall. The first and second sidewalls are moveable relative to the third sidewall to provide a single access opening facing the third sidewall for allowing access to the electronics from a landing side of the doorway.
The various features and advantages of disclosed examples will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.
Each landing 26 includes a hoistway doorway 30 comprising a header 32, a first jamb member 34 and a second jamb member 36. The jamb members 34 and 36 are near opposite ends of the header 32. At least one door 38 is moveable between an open and a closed position to selectively provide access to the hoistway or the elevator car 22 if the elevator car is at the corresponding landing 26.
In the example of
As shown in
The first sidewall 42 and second sidewall 44 are moveable relative to the third sidewall 46 to expose the access opening 48. Being able to move both of the first sidewall 42 and the second sidewall 44 allows for establishing a relatively wider access opening 48 compared to an opening provided by just one of those sidewalls. The two sidewall openings and the oblique orientation of the third sidewall 46 provides more convenient and effective access to any electronics within the enclosure 40.
In the example of
Having the ability to provide a variety of electronic components within the housing 40 and being able to access each of them from the landing side of the doorway 30 increases efficiency and reduces the requirement for an individual to enter the hoistway 24 to perform any procedures involving electronic components of the type housed within the enclosure 40.
Although schematically illustrated as distinct modules, those skilled in the art will realize that such example capabilities and control functions may be realized in different manners, depending on the design of the particular elevator system. Accordingly, any one or more of the above modules could be combined such as, for example, the inspection module 50 and the emergency operations module 54 could be combined into a joint emergency and inspection module. Similarly, the drive module 58 and the controller module 59 could be combined and/or the car communication module 60 and the remote elevator monitoring module 62 could be combined to facilitate enabling a remote technician to communicate directly with passengers in the car. The above description is intended to demonstrate how a wide variety of electronics and control components can be supported within the enclosure 40 and accessed through the single access opening 48.
As can be appreciated from
The example enclosure 40 includes additional sidewalls 70, 72 and 74. The sidewalls 70 and 74 will not be exposed to elevator passengers when the example arrangement is installed at a landing 26. The sidewall 72 may be exposed and can have the same finished surface as the rest of the doorway 30 including the first sidewall 42 and second sidewall 44.
The example of
In one example, the sidewalls 70, 72, 74 and the stop surface 76 are distinct pieces that are joined together when assembling the enclosure 40. In another example, the sidewalls 70, 72, 74 and the stop surface 76 are all formed from a single piece of material. In one such example, a single metal sheet is bent to form the sidewalls and the stop surface.
As best appreciated from
As can be appreciated from
Another feature of the example shown in
Another feature of the example shown in
As can be appreciated from the above description, the example enclosure 40 provides convenient and effective access to control electronics supported within a door frame structure at a landing of an elevator system. The unique arrangement of the support surface 46′ relative to the single access opening 48 increases the effective space within the enclosure 40 to facilitate access to and manipulation of components within the enclosure 40 without requiring the overall structure of the enclosure 40 or the corresponding door frame to be increased compared to conventional and aesthetically pleasing door frame designs.
In some examples, one enclosure 40 is provided on one side of the doorway and a second enclosure is provided on the other side of the doorway. In some examples, the enclosure 40 is provided on the large column side of the doorway to facilitate including more space within the enclosure 40 to house larger sized components such as batteries, for example.
The preceding description is exemplary rather than limiting in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed examples may become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not necessarily depart from the essence of this invention. The scope of legal protection given to this invention can only be determined by studying the following claims.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB2008/003737 | 12/19/2008 | WO | 00 | 6/15/2011 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2010/070378 | 6/24/2010 | WO | A |
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