Claims
- 1. A load bearing assembly for use in an elevator system, comprising:
a plurality of non-ferromagnetic fibers arranged into at least one cord; and at least one ferromagnetic element associated with the cord such that a physical characteristic of the ferromagnetic element changes responsive to strain on the non-ferromagnetic fibers and thereby provides an indication of a condition of the assembly.
- 2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the ferromagnetic element comprises a wire.
- 3. The assembly of claim 2, including a polymer coating on the wire.
- 4. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the wire is incorporated into the cord.
- 5. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the non-ferromagnetic fibers are wound in a generally helical arrangement and the wire is wound with the non-ferromagnetic fibers.
- 6. The assembly of claim 1, including a jacket surrounding the cord and wherein the ferromagnetic element is supported within the jacket with a selected orientation relative to the cord.
- 7. The assembly of claim 1, including a plurality of cords of the non-ferromagnetic fibers and including a corresponding plurality of ferromagnetic elements with each ferromagnetic element associated with a respective one of the cords.
- 8. The assembly of claim 7, wherein each ferromagnetic element comprises a steel wire.
- 9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the ferromagnetic element breaks responsive to the strain.
- 10. A method of assembling a load bearing assembly for use in an elevator system, comprising:
arranging a plurality of non-ferromagnetic fibers into at least one cord; and arranging a ferromagnetic element relative to the cord such that a physical characteristic of the ferromagnetic element changes responsive to strain on the non-ferromagnetic fibers and thereby provides an indication of a condition of the assembly.
- 11. The method of claim 10, including forming a plurality of cords of non-ferromagnetic fibers and arranging a ferromagnetic element relative to each of the cords whereby each ferromagnetic element provides an indication of the condition of each cord, respectively.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the ferromagnetic element comprises a wire.
- 13. The method of claim 10, including incorporating the ferromagnetic element into the cord.
- 14. The method of claim 10, including placing the cord within a jacket and supporting the ferromagnetic element within the jacket in a selected relationship to the cord.
- 15. A method of determining a condition of a load bearing assembly that has a plurality of non-ferromagnetic fibers arranged into at least one cord, comprising the steps of:
arranging a ferromagnetic element in a selected relationship with the cord such that a physical characteristic of the ferromagnetic element changes responsive to strain on the non-ferromagnetic fibers; determining a number of changes in the physical condition of the ferromagnetic element along a length of the assembly; and determining a condition of the assembly using the determined number of changes.
- 16. The method of claim 15, including determining a number of breaks in the ferromagnetic element.
- 17. The method of claim 15, including predetermining a belt condition index and determining a relationship between the detected number of breaks and the belt condition index.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the belt condition index is based upon a number of breaks in the ferromagnetic element within a selected portion of the length of the assembly under determined strain conditions.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of the copending application having Ser. No. 09/970,451, which was filed on Oct. 2, 2001.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09970451 |
Oct 2001 |
US |
Child |
10025327 |
Dec 2001 |
US |