This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202011201997.9, filed Nov. 2, 2020, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. ยง 119, the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference
The present application relates to the field of elevators, and more specifically, the present application relates to a safety exit assembly for an elevator car of an elevator system.
As a tool for improving the walking of passengers between floors or shortening the walking distance of passengers, passenger transportation devices are very common in daily life. As an example, the most common passenger transportation devices are escalators and elevators that are usually used between floors of commercial buildings, and moving walkways that are usually used in large airports.
For an elevator system, it has an elevator car that usually runs in a dedicated hoistway, and has a relatively closed operating space. In order to avoid problems such as system failure during operation, a safety exit is usually provided on a top of the elevator car to provide an escape passage in case of emergency. For a type of elevator system, it may have two or more elevator cars that do not interfere with each other in the same hoistway. In this case, a safety exit may be further provided at a bottom of one of the elevator cars which is positioned higher. As to this type of bottom safety exit, it is used as both a safety exit and a part of a car floor to provide foot support for passengers under daily conditions, and it is opened in case of emergency so that passengers can enter the hoistway to escape. As a tool for improving the walking of passengers between floors or shortening the walking distance of passengers, passenger transportation devices are very common in daily life. As an example, the most common passenger transportation devices are escalators and elevators that are usually used between floors of commercial buildings, and moving walkways that are usually used in large airports.
For an elevator system, it has an elevator car that usually runs in a dedicated hoistway, and has a relatively closed operating space. In order to avoid problems such as system failure during operation, a safety exit is usually provided on a top of the elevator car to provide an escape passage in case of emergency. For a type of elevator system, it may have two or more elevator cars that do not interfere with each other in the same hoistway. In this case, a safety exit may be further provided at a bottom of one of the elevator cars which is positioned higher. As to this type of bottom safety exit, it is used as both a safety exit and a part of a car floor to provide foot support for passengers under daily conditions, and it is opened in case of emergency so that passengers can enter the hoistway to escape.
The present application aims to provide an improved safety exit assembly for an elevator car, and an elevator system, so as to efficiently and reliably realize opening and closing of a safety exit.
In order to achieve at least one object of the present application, according to an aspect of the present application, a safety exit assembly for an elevator car is provided, which includes: a door panel, which is configured to open and close a safety exit of the elevator car, and which has an upper surface and a lower surface; a moving assembly, which includes a guide block provided on a lower surface of the door panel, and a guide rail which guides the door panel to move downward and translate through a cooperation with the guide block; a drive assembly, which drives the door panel to reciprocate along the guide rail, in a controlled manner; and a locking assembly, which includes an unlocking element provided on an upper surface of the door panel; wherein the unlocking element is electrically connected to the drive assembly, and an unlocking action of the unlocking element triggers the drive assembly to drive the door panel to move until the safety exit is opened.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety exit assembly further includes a limit switch, which is configured to sense an end point of the movement of the door panel along the guide rail and which is electrically connected to the drive assembly, and a sensing signal of the limit switch triggers the drive assembly to stop driving the door panel.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety exit assembly further includes a reset switch, which is electrically connected to the drive assembly, and a reset action of the reset switch triggers the drive assembly to drive the door panel to move until the safety exit is closed.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the locking assembly further includes a safety switch which is provided between the lower surface of the door panel and the guide rail and which is associated with the unlocking element; wherein the unlocking action of the unlocking element drives the safety switch to be turned off, thereby triggering the elevator car to stop moving.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety switch includes a switch contact provided on the lower surface of the door panel and a switch body provided on the guide rail.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the locking assembly further includes a stop element which is provided on the lower surface of the door panel, and which is associated with the unlocking element; wherein the stop element has a stop state in which the door panel is prevented from moving, and a movable state in which the door panel is allowed to move, and the unlocking action of the unlocking element drives the stop element to convert from the stop state to the movable state.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the stop element includes: a stop insert associated with the unlocking element, and a stop notch disposed on the guide rail; wherein in the stop state, the stop insert is inserted into the stop notch, and in the movable state, the stop insert moves out of the stop notch.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the stop element and the safety switch are integrated into a single piece, and are simultaneously associated with the unlocking element.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the guide rail includes a first section and a second section; wherein the first section guides the door panel to move to a first height lower than the safety exit, and the second section guides the door panel to move in a horizontal direction while maintaining the first height.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the drive assembly includes an electric push rod, a pneumatic push rod or a hydraulic push rod.
In order to achieve at least one object of the present application, according to another aspect of the present application, an elevator system is further provided, which includes: a plurality of elevator cars, one of which positioned relatively higher has a floor provided with a safety exit; and a safety exit assembly which has: a door panel which is provided at the safety exit and is configured to open and close the safety exit, wherein the door panel has an upper surface and a lower surface, and the upper surface of the door panel is flush with the floor; a moving assembly, which includes a guide block provided on the lower surface of the door panel, and a guide rail which is provided at a bottom of the floor and which guides the door panel to move downward and translate relative to the floor through a cooperation with the guide block; a drive assembly, which is installed at the bottom of the floor and which drives the door panel to reciprocate along the guide rail in a controlled manner; and a locking assembly, which includes an unlocking element provided on the upper surface of the door panel; wherein the unlocking element is electrically connected to the drive assembly, and an unlocking action of the unlocking element triggers the drive assembly to drive the door panel to move until the safety exit is opened.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety exit assembly further includes a limit switch electrically connected to the drive assembly, and the limit switch includes a switch body installed at the bottom of the floor and a switch contact installed at the lower surface of the door panel; wherein when the door panel reaches an end point of its movement along the guide rail, the switch contact of the limit switch is engaged with the switch body, and the drive assembly is triggered to stop driving the door panel.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety exit assembly further includes a reset switch which is installed at the bottom of the floor and is electrically connected to the drive assembly, wherein a reset action of the reset switch triggers the drive assembly to drive the door panel to move until the safety exit is closed.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the locking assembly further includes a safety switch which is provided between the lower surface of the door panel and the guide rail and which is associated with the unlocking element; wherein the unlocking action of the unlocking element drives the safety switch to be turned off, thereby triggering the elevator car to stop moving.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety switch includes a switch contact provided on the lower surface of the door panel and a switch body provided on the guide rail.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the locking assembly further includes a stop element which is provided on the lower surface of the door panel, and which is associated with the unlocking element; wherein the stop element has a stop state in which the door panel is prevented from moving, and a movable state in which the door panel is allowed to move, and the unlocking action of the unlocking element drives the stop element to convert from the stop state to the movable state.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the stop element further includes: a stop insert associated with the unlocking element, and a stop notch disposed on the guide rail; wherein in the stop state, the stop insert is inserted into the stop notch, and in the movable state, the stop insert moves out of the stop notch.
In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the stop element and the safety switch are integrated into a single piece, and are simultaneously associated with the unlocking element.
According to the safety exit assembly for an elevator car and the elevator system of the present application, the door panel moves downward and translates relative to the safety exit provided on the floor of the elevator car with the aid of the moving assembly, thereby enabling the door panel to kept flush with the floor of the elevator car in the closed state, which prevent passengers from being tripped; whereas in the open state, the safety exit can be fully opened to facilitate the escape of passengers; through the cooperation of the drive assembly and the locking assembly, the door panel at the safety exit can be reliably locked and driven to ensure its stability under normal conditions, thereby reducing vibration and noise; and quick opening in case of emergency can be realized.
Hereinafter, the present application will be described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that the present application can be implemented in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided herein to make the disclosure of the present application more complete and similar, and to fully convey the concept of the present application to those skilled in the art.
In addition, for any single technical feature described or implied in the embodiments mentioned herein, or any single technical feature shown or implied in individual drawings, the present application still allows these technical features (or equivalents thereof) to be further arbitrarily combined or added or deleted without any technical obstacle, thereby obtaining more other embodiments of the present application that may not have been directly mentioned herein.
In the present application, a safety exit assembly 100 that has been installed on a floor of an elevator car of an elevator system, and its arrangement associated with the elevator car will be exemplarily described with reference to
Referring to the drawings, an elevator system 200 shown in
Various components and functions of the safety exit assembly 100 will be described in detail below with reference to
In addition, the safety exit assembly 100 further includes a drive assembly 130, which is installed at the bottom of the floor and can drive the door panel to reciprocate along the guide rail 122 in a controlled manner. As a result, the door panel 110 of the safety exit assembly 100 is automatically and smoothly driven. In addition, when the safety exit assembly 100 is not opened, the drive assembly 130 may also reliably abut the door panel against the safety exit fixed on the floor of the car, so as to realize close engagement between the two and avoid vibration and noise. As a specific example, the drive assembly 130 may include an electric push rod, a pneumatic push rod or a hydraulic push rod.
Furthermore, the safety exit assembly 100 further includes a locking assembly to perform a function of locking and unlocking the door panel 110. First, the locking assembly should include an unlocking element 141 provided on the upper surface of the door panel 110, and the unlocking element 141 is electrically connected to the drive assembly 130 so that operations of the two are related. For example, in case of emergency, a passenger performs an unlocking action by operating the unlocking element 141, which can trigger the drive assembly 130 due to the association so as to drive the door panel 110 to move until the safety exit is opened. As a specific example, a common triangular lock and key structure may be adopted for the unlocking element 141.
The safety exit assembly for the elevator car under this arrangement can remain flush with the floor of the elevator car in the closed state to prevent passengers from being tripped, and in the open state, the safety exit can be fully opened to facilitate the escape of passengers; moreover, reliable locking and driving of the door panel at the safety exit can be realized to ensure its stability under normal conditions, thereby reducing vibration and noise; and quick opening in case of emergency can be realized.
The following description will continue to introduce configurations of various components of the safety exit assembly. In addition, in order to further improve the reliability and comfort or in consideration of improvements in other aspects, some additional parts may be added, as will also be exemplified below
For example, as shown in
Furthermore, referring to
In addition, referring to
Turning to
Specifically, the stop element 143 mentioned above may include a stop insert 143a associated with the unlock element 141, and a stop notch 143b provided on the guide rail 122. In the stop state, the stop insert 143a is inserted into the stop notch 143b, thereby realizing the mechanical locking of the downward movement and translational movement of the door panel; and in the movable state, the stop insert 143a moves out of the stop notch 143b, thereby realizing the mechanical unlocking of the downward movement and translational movement of the door panel.
More specifically, as an example, the stop element 143 and the safety switch 142 may be integrated into a single piece, and are simultaneously associated with the unlocking element 141, thereby realizing associated operations and control of multiple components and making the entire operation process simpler and more convenient.
A series of escape operations in an emergency state of an elevator system in which the safety exit assembly of an embodiment of the present application is applied will be described below with reference to
In the above examples, the safety exit assembly for an elevator car and the elevator system of the present application are mainly described. Although only some of the embodiments of the present application have been described, those skilled in the art should understand that the present application may be implemented in many other forms without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Therefore, the illustrated examples and embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the present application may cover various modifications and replacements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202011201997.9 | Nov 2020 | CN | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20220135377 A1 | May 2022 | US |