EP1118574B1 - Elevator plant with reduced shaftpit depth - Google Patents

Abstract

The lift system has a cabin in a cabin track (shaft) with reduced shaft pit depth. A temporary protection cavity is included under the cabin. When activated, this causes at least one of the braking devices in the movement track of the cabin to come into operation, e.g. by surfaces which grip rails, cables, walls etc.

Description

The present invention relates to an elevator installation with reduced shaft pit depth. In particular, the invention relates to the protection of the pit or the establishment of a temporary shelter in the pit.

The problem of securing shelters in pits in elevator shafts with reduced shaft pit depth, especially for active in the pit maintenance and repair personnel is known. This protection is usually by means of Fahrwegbegrenzern in the form of folding supports or stoppers, which are temporarily introduced into the car path and serve to prevent the car at a departure to the pit.

So is out of the EP 0 129 678 A1 an automatic device for securing a temporary working space in the pit known, which comprises a mechanically limited as Fahrwegbegrenzung in the travel of the car lever. When opening a door leading into the pit, the lever is forcibly pivoted into its securing position delimiting the path of the car, whereby the driving operation of the elevator is interrupted when the lever is pivoted. to prevent it from going below a predetermined position. The stopper element is mounted at one end on an axis of rotation located outside the guide rail and can be rotated about this axis of rotation in a protruding into the driving position. The known Fahrwegbegrenzer has the disadvantage that the car is supported only at one point on its outer edge. At greater load on the car or at a slightly greater impact speed on the known Fahrwegbegrenzer warping the car. In addition, the guide rail is slightly bent under the existing load.

Further Fahrwegbegrenzer are from the NL-A-9100059 , of the WO 97/23399 A2 , of the U.S. Patent 1,392,962 and the EP 0 922 663 known.

The GB 518,044 discloses a lift cage with an emergency stop button that can be triggered or actuated on the passenger side. An actuation of this emergency stop button has an interruption of the electrical circuits and thus stopping the drive of the elevator cage result, so that the elevator cage comes to a halt immediately after an actuation of the emergency stop button.

In contrast, an elevator system according to the invention with the features of claim 1 is proposed. Accordingly, the backup of a temporary (working) space in the pit takes place by triggering / pressing the already present at a cable lift safety gear.

The known safety gears are usually triggered by a speed limiter or a so-called slack rope detection. The triggering can be done both mechanically and electrically, but also in other ways such as pneumatic or hydraulic.

According to the invention the safety gear is actuated / triggered when a person wants to enter the shaft pit. This can on the one hand consciously by the person himself by pressing a correspondingly provided button, pulling a ni Levers or the like happened. This particular electrical or mechanical device for triggering the safety gear (triggering device) is preferably arranged outside of the hoistway, and is operated by the person before entering the hoistway. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the access door of the elevator shaft, for example by a so-called emergency release only openable, if previously the triggering device has been pressed. Preferably, the safety gear can be activated when the car is in a predetermined or predeterminable distance to the pit floor or the car falls below this minimum distance.

Alternatively or additionally, the triggering device is in operative connection with one of the lower access doors (and possibly other doors) to the elevator shaft, so that when the door is opened manually, the safety gear is automatically released. This has the advantage that the safety gear is triggered even when entering the shaft by a person who has no knowledge of a tripping device arranged outside the shaft. Advantageously, the activation takes place when opening the door only when the car is in a predetermined or predeterminable height above the shaft floor. This height is given, for example, when a person can slip through between the front lower edge of the car and the shaft bottom of the door.

Alternatively or additionally, means for activating in the pit may be provided directly, which are automatically actuated upon entering the pit and trigger the safety gear. These tripping devices may be, for example, light barriers (with light in the visible or invisible region), sensor mats (contact or anti-tread mats), gratings or step plates, Tension wires, or other known triggering options that produce a signal to trigger the safety gear or trigger the safety gear directly when entering / interrupting or otherwise actuated. Other triggering options include the use of ultrasound or radar, inductive and / or capacitive means or piezo-based means. The mats / grates can be supported over the entire surface or only in areas and can have switches with displacement or pressure evaluation.

Alternatively or additionally, sensors are provided in the car bay, which cause a triggering of the safety gear when the car falls below a minimum height above the pit floor. The sensors are activated only after opening the access door.

The tripping device advantageously comprises a circuit arrangement with two stable states, which is set from its first stable state to the second stable state upon actuation of the tripping device. Thus, it is prevented that, for example, when closing the access door by the person in the shaft and the associated closing of the circuit of the triggering device, the safety gear is disabled again. The switching device with the two stable states remains after closing the access door, leaving the treadmats, etc. in the second stable position, and can only be operated again from outside the shaft and returned to the starting position. During this time, the safety gear is triggered, so that no driving movement of the car or no driving movement of the car in the bottom stop is possible.

After actuation according to the invention, upon a further downward movement of the car, e.g. a blockade of the safety tongs on the guide rails, so that the car stops. As a result of the actuation according to the invention, the safety gear is triggered directly independently of upstream speed sensors or speed monitoring.

The invention is of course not limited to the use of safety devices on guide rails. For example, catch or brake devices on suspension or brake cables or a piston brake for hydraulic cylinders (hydraulic lifts) can be used. In guideless elevators, a safety gear may also be used to hold or jam the shaft walls or brake rails. If the hoistway is designed as a shaft scaffold, then the safety gear can also act directly on parts of the scaffold.

In a further embodiment of the invention, a Fahrwegbegrenzer can be introduced into the train of the car after the blockage of the car by the safety gear in addition. The introduction of the Fahrwegbegrenzers can be done manually or automatically.

• die Aktivierung der Fangvorrichtung mechanisch erfolgt, durch mechanische Blockierung des Fahrwegbegrenzers oder mechanische Auslösung der Schlaffseilerkennung;
• eine Bewegung der Trittplatte die mechanische Aktivierung auslöst;
• die Aktivierung von außerhalb des Schachtes durch elektrische oder mechanische Auslöseeinrichtungen erfolgt;
• die Aktivierung von außerhalb des Schachtes über Schalter oder Hebel erfolgt;
• die vorbestimmbare Höhe vorgegeben ist, bevor zwischen unterer Fahrkorbvorderkante und Schachttürboden eine Person durchschlüpfen kann;
• die Aktivierung erfolgt, wenn die Notentriegelung der Türen im unteren Schachtbereich betätigt wird.

Other alternative and advantageous aspects of the invention include that

• the activation of the safety gear takes place mechanically, by mechanical blockage of the travel limit limiter or mechanical release of the slack rope recognition;
• a movement of the footboard triggers the mechanical activation;
• the activation takes place from outside the shaft by electrical or mechanical tripping devices;
• the activation takes place from outside the shaft via switch or lever;
• the predeterminable height is predetermined before a person can slip through between the lower front edge of the cage and the shaft door bottom;
• the activation takes place when the emergency release of the doors in the lower shaft area is actuated.

The invention also encompasses a method for operating an elevator installation, in which a temporary shelter is set up under a car of the elevator installation in which a safety gear (already present in a cable lift) is activated.

It is understood that the above-mentioned features can be used not only in the particular combination given, but also in other combinations or in isolation, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. Lift system, comprising a car which can be moved in a car movement path with a reduced shaft pit depth and a gripping device which acts on a movement of the car and which can be initiated by first activation means, characterized in that second additional means for activating the gripping device are provided, with a temporary protection area being set up under the car by activation of the second additional means for activating the gripping device.
2. Lift system according to claim 1, in which the gripping device is designed to act on rails, cables, hydraulic cylinders, shaft walls or other suitable braking surfaces.
3. Lift system according to claim 1 or 2, in which the gripping device is activated when the car floor is at a predeterminable distance above the shaft pit ground.
4. Lift system according to claim 1 or 2, in which the gripping device is activated when the car floor is less than a predeterminable distance away from the shaft pit ground.
5. Lift system according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a mechanical movement limiter which can be introduced into the movement path of the car in addition to the gripping device.
6. Lift system according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the means for activating the gripping device are arranged in the area of the shaft pit.
7. Lift system according to any one of the preceding claims, in which activation is carried out by means of a speed limiter or loose-cable initiation.
8. Lift system according to any one of the preceding claims, in which activation is carried out electrically and/or mechanically and/or hydraulically and/or pneumatically.
9. Lift system according to any one of the preceding claims, in which activation takes place when doors or shutters in the lower shaft area serving as shaft access are opened while the car is above a predeterminable height.
10. Method for operation of a lift system having a car which can be moved in a car movement path with a reduced shaft pit depth, and having a gripping device which acts on a movement of the car and which can be initiated by first activation means, wherein a temporary protection area is set up under the car of the lift system by activation of the gripping device by means of second additional means for activating the gripping device.