Patent Application
20200055707
The embodiments herein relate to elevator sheaves and more specifically to a friction liner and a traction sheave.
Traction liners may be stretched over a sheave with the ends of a traction liner connected using a chain, or otherwise fastened to the sheave. These liners and method of attaching the liners may not work with liner materials having low elasticity. Using chain connectors may result in adverse effects on ride quality, may require special tooling, and may be difficult to install. Using wedge shaped liner that frictionally interlocked may be time consuming to install and remove.
Disclosed is a liner for a traction sheave comprising a top surface and a bottom surface mutually spaced on a height-wise axis (H), a front surface and a back surface mutually spaced on lengthwise axis (L), and a plurality of side surfaces including a first side surface and a second side surface mutually spaced in a widthwise axis (W), wherein in a first cross sectional profile of the plurality of side surfaces forms convergent-divergent profile.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate the first profile is symmetric about the height-wise axis.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate the first profile is constant along a lengthwise span of the liner.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate in the top surface of the liner comprises a concave profile.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate the concave profile is a semicircular profile.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate in the bottom surface of the liner includes a first groove extending height-wise upwardly.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate in the bottom surface of the liner includes a plurality of upwardly extending grooves including the first groove and a second groove.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate the first profile includes a first neck portion whereat the liner is widthwise narrowest, the first neck portion being height-wise below the bottom of the semicircular profile.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate a height-wise top of the liner has a first widthwise span, a height-wise bottom has a second widthwise span, and the first widthwise span is greater than the second widthwise span.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate a bottom portion of the liner is height-wise below the first neck portion, and the liner is widthwise resiliently flexible in the bottom portion.
Further disclosed is a system comprising a traction sheave and the liner that includes one or more of the above disclosed features and elements, and wherein the traction sheave comprises a cavity having a same height-wise span as the liner, the cavity comprises a plurality of side surfaces having a second profile that is complementary to the first profile wherein the liner comprises a nominal clearance fit when seated within the cavity.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate the cavity includes a second neck and wherein the bottom of the liner comprises a press fit against the second neck.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate when seating the liner in the cavity, the liner is urged in a height-wise downward direction from a top opening of the cavity until the first bottom surface of the liner is proximate a second bottom surface of the cavity.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate the bottom of the liner widthwise compresses when being press fit through the second neck.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate the bottom of the liner comprises one or more grooves whereby the bottom of the liner widthwise compresses when being press fit through the second neck.
Further disclosed is a method of installing a liner in a cavity in a traction sheave, the liner comprising a top surface and a bottom surface mutually spaced on a height-wise axis (H), a front surface and a back surface mutually spaced on lengthwise axis (L), and a plurality of side surfaces including a first side surface and a second side surface mutually spaced in a widthwise axis (W), wherein in a first cross sectional profile of the plurality of side surfaces forms convergent-divergent profile, and the cavity includes a same height-wise span as the liner, the cavity comprising a plurality of side surfaces having a second profile that is complementary to the first profile wherein the liner comprises a nominal clearance fit when seated within the cavity, the method comprises urging the liner in a height-wise downward direction from the top of the cavity until the bottom surface of the liner is proximate a second bottom surface of the cavity.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate the first profile includes a first neck portion whereat the liner is widthwise narrowest, and a bottom of the liner is height-wise below the first neck, and wherein the cavity includes a second neck and wherein the bottom of the liner comprises a press fit against the second neck.
In addition to one or more of the above disclosed features and elements or as an alternate the bottom of the liner comprises one or more grooves whereby the bottom of the liner widthwise compresses when being press fit through the second neck.
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 present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicate similar elements.
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. 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 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 controller 115 may provide drive signals to the machine 111 to control the acceleration, deceleration, leveling, stopping, etc. of the elevator car 103. The controller 115 may also be configured to receive position signals from the position reference system 113 or any other desired position reference device. 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 controller 115. Although shown in a controller room 121, those of skill in the art will appreciate that the controller 115 can be located and/or configured in other locations or positions within the elevator system 101. In one embodiment, the controller may be located remotely or in the cloud.
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.
Turning to
The plurality of side surfaces in the liner 210 form a first profile which may form a convergent-divergent profile. The plurality of liner surfaces may have a constant profile. The liner 200 may be symmetric about the height-wise axis H. The top surface 220 may form a concave profile. The concave profile may be a semicircular profile.
Turning to
A bottom portion 340 of the liner 200 may be height-wise between the first neck portion 320 and the first bottom surface 230. The liner 200 may be widthwise resiliently flexible in the bottom portion 340. With this configuration the liner 200 may be fixedly mated to the traction sheave 210, discussed below.
In one embodiment the liner 200 has a length that approximates or is the same as the circumferential span of the traction sheave 210. In such embodiment the liner 200 maybe seated, that is, installed in the sheave 210 as a single piece. In one embodiment the liner 200 has a length that is greater than the circumferential span of the traction sheave 210. In such embodiment the liner 200 maybe installed in the traction sheave 210 as a single piece and trimmed during installation to a length that approximates or is the same as the circumferential span of the traction sheave 210. In one embodiment the liner 200 has a length that is less than the circumferential span of the traction sheave 210. In such embodiment, a plurality of the liners 200 may be installed in the traction sheave 210 as may be required to accommodate the circumferential span of the traction sheave 210.
Turning now to
As illustrated in
A method of installing the liner 200 in the traction sheave 210 includes urging the liner 200 in a height-wise downward direction from the top 360 of the cavity 350 until the 230 bottom surface of the liner 200 is proximate the second bottom surface 370 of the cavity 350. This process is illustrated in
Due to the interference fit at the neck portion 400 of the cavity 350, the bottom portion 340 of the liner 200 contracts in the widthwise direction as it passes through the neck portion 400 of the cavity 350. Thereafter the bottom portion 340 of the liner 200 expands in the widthwise direction when fully seated in the cavity 35, that is, when the first bottom surface 230 is adjacent the second bottom surface 370. This configuration fixedly positions the liner 200 in the cavity 350. The groove 280 or grooves 280, 290 in the bottom portion 340 of the liner 200 enable a reduction of the downward force required to seat the liner 200 in the cavity 350. The liner 200 may be widthwise resiliently flexible in the bottom portion 340 to enable downwardly passing through the neck portion 400 of the cavity 250 in the traction sheave 210.
With the above disclosed embodiments, the cavity 350 contains an integrated retention feature, which may be an undercut groove, referred to above as the neck portion 400, which may eliminate a need for ancillary fastening hardware. The liner 200 may have protrusions, referred to above as grooves 280, 290, at the base 340 which may be contained within the undercut cavity. The liner may 200 be forced into the cavity 350 and firmly retained by interlocking of the liner 200 in the cavity 350. The insertion force may be adjusted by 1) changing an amount of interference between the liner 200 and cavity during the insertion process and/or 2) by adding a groove 280 (or multiple grooves 280, 290) to the base 340 of the liner 200.
The disclosed embodiments may also provide a low liner and method of liner retention that may not require special tooling, may be easy to install and remove, and may not affect existing sheave dimensions, such as pitch and diameter. The disclosed liner and method of attachment may also enables a continuous manufacturing process, for example by extrusion, depending on a selected liner material.
The term “about” is intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity and/or manufacturing tolerances based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, element components, and/or groups thereof.
Those of skill in the art will appreciate that various example embodiments are shown and described herein, each having certain features in the particular embodiments, but the present disclosure is not thus limited. 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.
