The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to elevator systems and, more particularly, to systems for unlocking elevator landing doors.
In a typical elevator or lift installation, a vertically moving elevator car can be positioned at one of a number of landing floors so as to align elevator car doors with corresponding landing doors located at one of the landings. Modem installations typically have one or more horizontally sliding elevator car doors and at least one sliding landing door located at each of the landing floors, all of which remain closed during movement of the elevator car.
Upon arrival of the elevator car at a landing, a door opening mechanism is activated which drives the elevator car door horizontally to open the elevator car door. In typical installations, a door coupling employing one or more vanes projecting from the surface of the elevator car door in the direction of the adjacent landing door engages various structures of the landing door. For example vanes, rollers, or other protrusions can be configured to project from the landing door to enable engagement and/or coupling between the elevator car door and the landing door. Through the engagement and/or coupling, the elevator car door drives the landing door horizontally open. As such, passengers can enter or exit the elevator car.
Elevator codes and regulations may require that the landing doors remain locked and fastened securely to prevent opening and thereby prevent unauthorized opening unless an elevator car is positioned directly adjacent the landing (e.g., engagement/coupling of doors). Further, elevator car doors may be required to remain latched against manual movement unless the elevator car is positioned at a landing, and the doors are aligned (e.g., detected alignment) and/or engaged/coupled. Various mechanisms and systems have been employed to secure and unsecure landing and elevator car doors.
According to some embodiments, elevator door coupling systems are provided. The elevator door coupling systems include a car door lock having a coupling element and a lock element, the lock element operably connected to a latch for locking the car door lock and a landing door lock having a movable plate, a first contact element mounted to the movable plate and configured to engage with the coupling element and a second contact element configured to engage with the lock element. In operation, the coupling element is operable to apply force to the first contact element and cause the movable plate to rotate and as the movable plate rotates, the second contact element applies force to the lock element to urge the latch from a locked position to an unlocked position.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include a car lock support, wherein the coupling element is pivotably mounted to the car lock support by at least one first movable mount and the lock element is pivotably mounted to the car lock support by at least one second movable mount.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include that the car door lock further includes a deterrent element arranged to prevent unauthorized or improper operation of the car door lock.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include that the landing door lock further includes a landing door latch for locking the landing door lock.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include that the movable plate includes an extension arm, wherein the second contact element is located on the extension arm.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include an unlocking screw located on the extension arm.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include at least one position sensor operably connected to at least one of the car door lock and the landing door lock.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include that the first contact element is a first roller and the second contact element is a second roller.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include that the first roller is larger than the second roller.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include that the lock element is maintained in a locked state by operation of gravity unless acted upon by the second contact element.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator door coupling systems may include a landing lock support, wherein the landing door lock is mounted to the landing lock support, and the landing lock support is mountable to a frame of a landing door of an elevator system.
In some embodiments, an elevator system is provided that includes an elevator car located within an elevator shaft, a landing having a landing door openable on the elevator shaft, and an elevator door coupling system in accordance with one or more of the features described above.
In addition to one or more of the features described above, or as an alternative, further embodiments of the elevator systems may include that the elevator shaft comprises a plurality of additional landings, wherein each additional landing comprises a respective landing door lock.
The foregoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated otherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation thereof will become more apparent in light of the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following description and drawings are intended to be illustrative and explanatory in nature and non-limiting.
The subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the present disclosure are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The tension member 107 engages the machine 111, which is part of an overhead structure of the elevator system 101. The machine 111 is configured to control movement between the elevator car 103 and the counterweight 105. The position reference system 113 may be mounted on a fixed part at the top of the elevator shaft 117, such as on a support or guide rail, and may be configured to provide position signals related to a position of the elevator car 103 within the elevator shaft 117. The position reference system 113 and/or a safety system can include a speed-governor system 119, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. In other embodiments, the position reference system 113 may be directly mounted to a moving component of the machine 111, or may be located in other positions and/or configurations as known in the art. The position reference system 113 can be any device or mechanism for monitoring a position of an elevator car and/or counter-weight, as known in the art. For example, without limitation, the position reference system 113 can be an encoder, sensor, or other system and can include velocity sensing, absolute position sensing, etc., as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art.
The elevator controller 115 is located, as shown, in a controller room 121 of the elevator shaft 117 and is configured to control the operation of the elevator system 101, and particularly the elevator car 103. For example, the elevator controller 115 may provide drive signals to the machine 111 to control the acceleration, deceleration, leveling, stopping, etc. of the elevator car 103. The elevator controller 115 may also be configured to receive position signals from the position encoder 113. When moving up or down within the elevator shaft 117 along guide rail 109, the elevator car 103 may stop at one or more landings 125 as controlled by the elevator controller 115. Although shown in a controller room 121, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the elevator controller 115 can be located and/or configured in other locations or positions within the elevator system 101 and/or in a distributed networking system (e.g., internet or cloud-based). In some embodiments, the elevator controller 115 can be configured to control features within the elevator car 103, including, but not limited to, lighting, display screens, music, spoken audio words, etc.
The machine 111 may include a motor or similar driving mechanism. In accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, the machine 111 is configured to include an electrically driven motor. The power supply for the motor may be any power source, including a power grid, which, in combination with other components, is supplied to the motor. The machine 111 may include a traction sheave that imparts force to tension member 107 to move the elevator car 103 within elevator shaft 117.
Although shown and described with a roping system including tension member 107, elevator systems that employ other methods and mechanisms of moving an elevator car within an elevator shaft may employ embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, embodiments may be employed in ropeless elevator systems using a linear motor to impart motion to an elevator car. Embodiments may also be employed in ropeless elevator systems using a hydraulic lift to impart motion to an elevator car.
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As shown in
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When disposed in the orientation as shown in
In contrast,
The typical elevator car door coupling may be overly large for certain applications, and thus a more compact or lower profile elevator car door coupling may be advantageous. For example, the elevator car door coupling 300 includes both first and second vanes 302, 304 (or blades) that are engageable with rollers to operate simultaneously or in concert. That is, the first and second vanes 302, 304 are operably connected such that when one of the first and second vanes 302, 304 moves, the other of the first and second vanes 302, 304 also moves. Such systems may be overly large or complex. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to elevator car door coupling that employ a single first coupling blade that is engageable with a roller to operate the door and a single second coupling blade to lock/unlock the elevator car door. Thus, a typical two-vane or two-blade configuration may be eliminated.
To achieve this coupling configuration, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a landing door coupling includes a first contact element (e.g., a roller, rotating or pivoting pad, non-frictional element, friction reduced materials, etc., and/or combinations thereof) and a second contact element (e.g., a roller, rotating or pivoting pad, non-frictional element, friction reduced materials, etc., and/or combinations thereof). In some embodiments the first contact element may be a relatively large roller and the second contact element may be a relatively small roller. Such configuration may be in contrast to the two relatively large rollers that are typically employed, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. When an elevator car is located at a landing, e.g., within a door zone, the first contact element is configured to engage with the first blade and unlock the landing door. The second contact element is configured to push upon the second blade to enable the unlocking of a car door locking mechanism. That is, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the operation of the coupling elements of the landing door (e.g., the blades/vanes) is independent of each other. In other embodiments, the first and second contact elements may be the same size, either both relatively small or both relatively large. In embodiments incorporating one or more small rollers as the contact elements, the reduction in roller size may enable reduced total size or occupied volume of the elevator system door couplings.
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The elevator car door lock 402 includes a coupling element 408, a lock element 410, and a deterrent element 412. The coupling element 408 is moveable about one or more first movable mounts 414, which rotate about respective first pivots 414a. The first movable mounts 414 are mounted to the car lock support 406 so that the coupling element 408 is movable relative to the car lock support 406, about the first pivots 414a. Further, in some embodiments, one of the first movable mounts 414 may be configured to engage with a door belt or other similar door operating element, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. The lock element 410 is moveable about one or more second movable mounts 416, which are movable about respective second pivots 416a. The second movable mounts 416 are mounted to the car lock support 406 so that the lock element 408 is movable relative to the car lock support 406 about the second pivots 416a. The deterrent element 412 is fixedly connected to the car lock support 406 and is arranged to prevent unauthorized or improper operation of the elevator car door lock 402, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. The coupling element 408 and the lock element 410 are configured to operate independently of each other, as described herein. The lock element 410 is operably connected to a car door latch 418 that provides locking functionality for the elevator car door lock 402 (and an associated elevator car door). The lock element 410, in some embodiments, is arranged such that it remains in the locked position (shown in
The landing door lock 404 shown in
The movable plate 422 is configured to move by application of force applied by the coupling element 408 of the elevator car door lock 402 to the first contact element 424. In operation, when the coupling element 408 of the elevator car door lock 402 is rotated by the first movable mounts 414, and the elevator car door lock 402 is located at the elevator landing door lock 404, the coupling element 408 will contact the first contact element 424 to urge the movable plate 422 to rotate. As the movable plate 422 is rotated, the second contact element 426 will contact the lock element 410 of the elevator car door lock 402. This operation will cause the lock element 410 to urge movement and operation of the car door latch 418, thus unlocking an associated elevator car door. Simultaneously, as the movable plate 422 is rotated, the landing door latch 428 will be operated to unlock an associated elevator landing door. This engagement, and the unlocked state, is shown in
Also shown in
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The elevator car door lock 502 includes a coupling element 508, a lock element 510, and a deterrent element 512. The coupling element 508 is moveable about one or more first movable mounts 514 and the lock element 510 is moveable about one or more second movable mounts 516, as described above. The coupling element 508 and the lock element 510 are configured to operate independently of each other, as described herein. The lock element 510 is operably connected to a car door latch 518 that provides locking functionality for the elevator car door lock 502 (and an associated elevator car door). The landing door lock 504 includes a landing lock support 520 with a movable plate 522 mounted thereto. The movable plate 522 has fixedly (and rotatably) mounted thereon a first contact element 524 and a second contact element 526. The movable plate 522 includes a landing door latch 528, which is operable to provide locking functionality for the elevator landing door lock 504 (and an associated elevator landing door).
The movable plate 522 is configured to move by application of force applied by the coupling element 508 of the elevator car door lock 502 to the first contact element 524, as shown in
Turning now to
As shown, the movable plate 622 includes an extension arm 634. The extension arm 634 includes an unlocking screw 636 and the second contact element 626. The unlocking screw 636 is arranged to enable unlocking of the landing door from the landing (e.g., using a triangular key) as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art. The second contact element 626 is arranged on an end 638 of the extension arm 634, with the extension arm 634 enabling positioning of the second contact element 626 relative to the lock element of a car door lock, as shown and described above.
Advantageously, embodiments described herein provide elevator door coupling systems that are configured to prevent the car door from being opened outside of the door zone and allow for the elimination of elements located within the elevator shaft, thus reducing the amount of space occupied by various elevator system components and elements. Further, due to the default state of the lock element, elevator door coupling systems of the present disclosure do not need electrical actuators and/or complex mechanical parts for operation.
Advantageously, and as will be apparent from the above description and illustrations, a position of the elevator car door lock and/or the landing door lock can be monitored with receiving elements of position sensors oriented face down. By orienting the electrical contacts of the receiving elements face down, dust or other particles or debris may not be able to fall into and interfere with operation of the position sensors. Moreover, in some such embodiments, a compression spring for operation of the position sensor(s) may be eliminated, due to the orientation of the position sensor(s) and the other features of embodiments described herein.
While the present disclosure has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the present disclosure is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the present disclosure can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions, combinations, sub-combinations, or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, while various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the present disclosure may include only some of the described embodiments.
Accordingly, the present disclosure is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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18306347.8 | Oct 2018 | EP | regional |