Patent Application
20060207835
This invention generally relates to a roller guide assembly for an elevator system. More specifically this invention relates to a roller guide having a roller hardness that is selectively variable.
Elevator systems typically include a car that moves within a hoistway to transport passengers or items between various levels in a building. Guide rails mounted within the hoistway guide the elevator car within the hoistway. The elevator car includes a plurality of roller guides that guide the car along each guide rail. Inconsistencies in the guide rails can cause unwanted vibrations of the elevator car. In some instances, undesirable vibration requires guide rail realignment. Further, guide rails are fabricated within a specific set of tolerances to provide a desired elevator ride quality. Restrictive tolerances for guide rails require costly fabrication techniques and processes that add to the cost of the elevator system.
Typically, roller guides are mounted to the elevator car with spring or damper assemblies to cushion and absorb some of the inconsistencies present along the guide rail and vibrations transmitted to the elevator car. Such roller guide assemblies can only accommodate a fixed amount of guide rail inconsistency and associated elevator car vibrations. The fixed dampening rate provides optimal ride quality within a limited operational range. Further, the capabilities of springs and dampers to dampen out vibration are constrained by alignment requirements necessitated by increased elevator car speeds. Ride quality for the elevator car is balanced between the desire for a smooth ride and functional elevator parameters such as lift weights and elevator car speeds.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop a roller guide assembly capable of adapting to vibrations and guide rail inconsistencies to improve elevator ride quality.
In embodiment of this invention is a roller guide assembly including a roller having a hardness variable in response to a magnetic field.
In one example, the inventive roller includes a membrane defining a generally annular chamber containing a fluid that changes viscosity characteristics in the presence of an applied magnetic field. A magnetic field generator associated with each roller generates a magnetic field of varying strength to changes viscous properties of the fluid. The variable viscous properties of the fluid result in corresponding changes in roller hardness. A change in roller hardness optimizes dampening characteristics according to currently sensed elevator orientation and operational conditions (i.e., vibrations) to provide improved ride quality.
Accordingly, this invention improves elevator car ride quality by varying roller hardness according to current elevator operating conditions.
The various features and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the currently preferred embodiment. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows:
Referring to
The hardness of each roller 16 varies in response to changes in the magnetic field 20 to counteract vibrations, for example. Vibrations can be caused by inconsistencies in the guide rail 28 or by combinations of speeds and loads transported by the elevator car. Further, lifting motors and other elevator system components can contribute to undesirable vibrations of elevator car 12. Variation in the hardness of each of the rollers 16 adapts to vibrations of varying magnitude to improve ride quality.
A controller 24 is programmed to selectively vary the roller harnesses responsive to the operating conditions. A sensor device 26 is supported to sense vibrations and orientation of the elevator car 12 relative to a desired orientation. The sensor device 26 is preferably an accelerometer for sensing vibrations within the structure of the elevator car 12. Although an accelerometer is used in the illustrated example, any sensing device known in the art may be used for obtaining information on current conditions such as vibrations or orientation of the elevator car 12. Information from the sensor device 26 is provided to the controller 24, which responsively controls the roller harnesses to adjust the ride quality. In the illustrated embodiment the controller 24 is supported for movement with the elevator car 12, however, the controller 24 maybe disposed in any other location.
Given this description, those skilled in the art will be able to program a commercially available controller or to develop dedicated hardware, software of both to achieve the desired roller hardness control to meet their specific needs.
Each roller 16 is disposed adjacent a magnetic field generator 18. The magnetic field generator 18 produces the magnetic field 20. Preferably, each of the plurality of rollers 16 is disposed adjacent a separate corresponding magnetic field generator 18. Separate magnetic field generators 18 for each roller 16 provide independent control of roller hardness for each roller 16.
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It is within the contemplation of this invention to utilize any type of fluid responsive to an applied magnetic field to change viscous properties. Those skilled in the art who have the benefit of this description will be able to select magnet-rheological fluids and formulations according to application-specific parameters.
The membrane 30 is supported about a circumference of a solid disk 31 and defines a generally annular cavity 36. The membrane 30 comprises the surface of the roller 16 in guiding contact with the guide rail 28. The fluid 22 within the membrane 30 changes viscous properties in response to proportionate changes in strength of the applied magnetic field 20. Viscosity changes in the fluid 22 results in corresponding changes in hardness of the roller 16 to compensate and dampen vibrations of the elevator car 12.
Referring to
The controller 24 compares the sensed condition to a desired condition and responsively controls each magnetic field generator 18 to produce a corresponding magnetic field 20 to control the viscous properties of the fluid 22 and obtain a desired hardness for each roller 16. The strength of the magnetic field 20 is varied for each specific roller 16 in proportion to a difference between the desired condition and a sensed condition. The changing hardness optimizes dampening properties for each roller 16 to dampen and isolate vibrations of the elevator car 12. Further, the controller 24 independently controls the hardness of each roller 16 such that the combined effect of dampening properties results in an optimized, smoother ride.
Operation of the elevator system 10 of this invention reduces the effects of vibration during movement of the elevator car 12 to improve ride quality and reliability. Further, optimization of the selectively variable dampening characteristics of the inventive rollers 16 accommodates a wider variety of guide rails 28.
The foregoing description is exemplary and not just a material specification. The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and should be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. The preferred embodiments of this invention have been disclosed, however, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that certain modifications are within the scope of this invention. It is understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. For that reason the following claims should be studied to determine the true scope and content of this invention.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US03/11596 | 4/15/2003 | WO | 10/13/2005 |
