Patent Application
20060201748
The present invention relates to a method as defined in the preamble of claim 1 and to an apparatus as defined in the preamble of claim 5 for adjusting the distance between the cars of a double-deck elevator.
The invention relates in particular to adjustment of the car distance between the elevator cars of a so-called double-deck elevator in which the cars are placed one above the other in the same car frame. In this context, adjustment of the inter-car distance is also termed adjustment of the inter-floor distance.
Elevators having two elevator cars placed one above the other in the same car frame are used e.g. in tall buildings to increase the transport capacity. Such double-deck elevators can serve e.g. as collector elevators.
Traditionally, double-deck elevators have fixed inter-car distances, as described e.g. in the old German patent specification DE1113293. However, double-deck elevators with a fixed inter-car distance involve the problem that in many buildings the distances between floors are not equal. Often, especially in modern tall buildings, the entrance lobby is higher than the other stories. Likewise, the building may have other special stories of varying height. In addition, in tall buildings the tolerances may repeat themselves, and thus the story heights of upper and lower floors may be different. In such buildings, in double-deck elevator solutions with a fixed inter-car distance only one of the cars can be driven exactly to the correct position while the other one remains above or below the floor level by a distance corresponding to the difference.
To solve the above-mentioned problem, double-deck elevators have been developed in which the vertical distance between the elevator cars mounted in the same car frame, i.e. the inter-floor distance can be adjusted. European patent application No. EP1074503 proposes a number of solutions to address the above-mentioned problem.
Similarly,
The aforesaid EP specification EP1074503 itself proposes two elevator cars placed one above the other in the car frame and coupled to be moved by thick screw bars in relation to each other and the car frame. The screw bar moving the upper car and the screw bar moving the lower car have threads of opposite pitch, and consequently the elevator cars move in opposite directions when the screw bars are rotated. The drive motor of the screw bars is placed in the upper part of the car frame.
Although the prior-art solutions referred to above do overcome the aforesaid drawback caused by a fixed inter-car distance in double-deck elevators, these solutions are not without problems. All the above-mentioned solutions are complicated in structure and involve unnecessary additional weight in the car frame. Moreover, they take up space that would be needed for other equipment in the car frame. A further problem is that the drive means, such as motors and power cylinders in the car frame require operating energy, which has to be supplied to the moving car frame from outside. For example, an electric motor requires separate supply of power via the car cable to the car frame. Likewise, the power cylinders or equivalent need their own power supply. An additional problem is that the devices moving with the car frame are difficult to adjust and maintain because these operations have to be performed in the elevator shaft on the top of the car frame or otherwise in connection with the car frame.
The solution of the present invention aims at eliminating the above-mentioned drawbacks and providing a reliable and economical method and apparatus for adjusting the inter-car distance of a double-deck elevator, in which solution at least one of the elevator cars placed one above the other in the car frame can be moved in relation to the car frame and the other elevator car. A further aim is to create a solution for adjustment of the said inter-car distance permitting easy adjustment and maintenance.
The method of the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the characterization part of claim 1, and the apparatus of the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the characterization part of claim 5. Other embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the other claims.
The solution of the invention has the advantage of simple and clear structure. A further advantage is that the devices needed for adjustment of the car distance between the elevator cars are disposed in a fixed place either in the machine room or e.g. on the bottom of the elevator shaft. Thus, the adjusting devices are easily accessible and therefore easy to adjust and maintain. Another advantage is that the car frame need not be provided with a supply of electricity to the devices used to adjust the inter-car distance. Due to easy and good adjustability, the elevator cars of the double-deck elevator can be driven accurately to their respective floor levels regardless of things like different loads of the elevator cars, because load compensation can be taken into account in the adjusting device.
In the following, the invention will be described in detail with reference to an example and the attached drawings, wherein
The passage of the adjusting rope 13 can be seen best from
When the car frame 3 suspended by the hoisting ropes 2 is moving vertically, the adjusting rope 13 runs at the same rate in the set of adjusting wheels 14 around the diverting pulleys 17 and 18 and the upper elevator car 6 remains stationary in relation to the car frame 3. When the upper car is to be raised or lowered in relation to the car frame or the lower car 7 by means of the adjusting mechanism 10, the adjusting rope 13 is pulled upwards or lowered downwards as necessary. The car frame 3 and the lower elevator car 7 now remain stationary, but the upper elevator car 6 is moving in the vertical direction. When the adjusting rope 13 is pulled upwards in the direction of the adjusting mechanism 10, the loop of the adjusting rope 13 over the diverting pulleys 17 and 18 in the set of adjusting wheels 14 is tightened and the vertical distance between the diverting pulleys is reduced. Thus, the upper elevator car 6 rises and the intercar distance increases. Correspondingly, when the adjusting rope 13 is delivered downwards in the direction away from the adjusting mechanism 10, the loop of the adjusting rope 13 over the diverting pulleys 17 and 18 in the set of adjusting wheels 14 is slackened and the vertical distance between the diverting pulleys 17 and 18 is increased. Thus, the upper elevator car 6 is lowered and the inter-car distance decreases.
By the method of the invention, the adjustment of the vertical distance between the elevator cars is thus accomplished by moving the upper elevator car 6 in the vertical direction by means of the adjusting rope 13 either by pulling the adjusting rope 13 upwards or by lowering it downwards.
It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that different embodiments of the invention are not limited to the example described above, but that they may be varied within the scope of the claims presented below. Thus, to change the distance between the elevator cars in the car frame 3, it is also possible to use other adjusting mechanisms than that described above. For example, the adjusting ropes 13 can also be pulled upwards and lowered downwards by means of hydraulic cylinders or equivalent power cylinders, as well as by means of screw mechanisms, because the adjustment distance is not long.
It is likewise obvious to the skilled person that the adjusting mechanism may be disposed in the lower part of the shaft, in which case the second ends of the adjusting ropes 13 are fastened to the top of the elevator shaft. In addition, the rope suspension of the set of adjusting wheels 14 may differ from the above description in respect of the number of diverting pulleys or grooves and the number of times the adjusting rope is passed around the diverting pulleys.
It is also obvious to the person skilled in the art that, instead of the upper elevator car 6, the lower elevator car 7 may be adjustable in the manner described above by means of adjusting ropes 13, in which case the upper elevator car 6 is correspondingly mounted to be immovable with respect to the car frame 3.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20031148 | Aug 2003 | FI | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/FI04/00278 | May 2004 | US |
| Child | 11349935 | Feb 2006 | US |
