EP3634899A1

EP3634899A1 - Device for actuating elevator doors

Info

Publication number: EP3634899A1
Application number: EP18721396.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ugo LAGI
Original assignee: Fge Elettronica Srl
Current assignee: Fge Elettronica Srl
Priority date: 2017-05-10
Filing date: 2018-05-08
Publication date: 2020-04-15
Anticipated expiration: 2038-05-08
Also published as: EP3634899C0; CN110621607B; EP3634899B1; CN110621607A; IT201700050340A1; WO2018206530A1

Abstract

A device for actuating elevator doors, comprising means (2) for moving the car door (3), which are supported by the car (4) of the elevator, and at least one device (5) for coupling between the car door (3) and the floor doors (6), which is adapted to pass on command from an inactive condition to an active condition, in which it is adapted to render mutually integral the car door (3) and the floor door (6) that corresponds to the stopping floor of the car (4), and vice versa, the movement means (2) comprising at least one first flexible element (7) for motion transmission which is functionally connected to the car door (3) and is extended between first guiding wheels (8a, 8b), of which at least one is motorized, characterized in that the coupling device (5) can be actuated between the inactive condition and the active condition by means of a second flexible motion transmission element (9).

Description

DEVICE FOR ACTUATING ELEVATOR DOORS

The present invention relates to a device for actuating elevator doors.

As is known, elevators are provided with car doors, which allow access to the car which moves along the elevator shaft and are operated automatically to open or close by an actuation device that is mounted on the car itself and with floor doors which allow, at each floor, access to the elevator shaft.

Usually, the car door actuation device comprises a carriage which is integral with the car door and can be actuated so as to slide along a linear guide by means of a flexible element constituted by a belt which is extended between a pair of wheels with mutually parallel axes, of which one is idle while the other one is motorized.

In particular, when the car stops at a floor, the car door couples to the corresponding floor door, so that the opening actuation of the car door causes the opening traction of the floor door as well, making the car accessible to the user.

For safety reasons, a removable locking device is associated with each one of the floor doors and allows to lock the floor doors in the closed condition, in order to prevent their opening if the car is not present at the corresponding floor, and is deactivated following the coupling of the car door with the corresponding floor door.

Typically, the coupling between the car door and the floor door is provided by means of an expansion coupling device, also known as clamp or slide, which is associated with the car door, and by means of abutment elements, associated with the floor doors and designed to be engaged by the expansion coupling device, so as to render the car door integral with the floor door at which the car has stopped.

More particularly, the expansion coupling device is constituted essentially by a pair of bars which are substantially parallel, face each other and are oriented along the direction of movement of the car, while the abutment elements are constituted by idle rollers which are kinematically connected to the removable locking device of the corresponding floor door.

The bars of the expansion device can move on command between an inactive condition, in which they are mutually close, so as to not engage or engage simply by sliding the abutment elements provided on the floor doors, and an active condition, in which they are adapted to engage the abutment elements so as to render mutually integral the car door and the corresponding floor door.

Furthermore, in the transition from the inactive position to the active position, the bars of the expansion device produce a movement of the abutment elements which causes, by means of an adapted kinematic connection, also the deactivation of the removable locking device of the floor door, which has been rendered integral with the car door by the expansion device.

Currently, the actuation of the expansion device occurs in a so-called

"passive" manner, if it is provided by means of the same belt that actuates the car door, or occurs in an active manner, and in this case is provided by means of an actuator that is different and separate with respect to the one that actuates the belt that moves the car door.

The main advantage of the actuation of the active type of the expansion device resides in the independence of the movements between the expansion device and the car door, which makes it possible to activate the expansion device and consequently engage the floor door, rendering it integral with the car door, rapidly and without causing unwanted movements of the car door.

The main disadvantage of this solution, with respect to the passive one, is the increase in costs, due to the addition of servomotors, which are useful only for the activation of the expansion device and not for the movement of the car door, and the need to provide movable cables for supplying power to the servomotors, which, being integral with the expansion device, move with the car door.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a device for actuating elevator doors that is capable of improving the background in one or more of the aspects indicated above.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a device for actuating elevator doors that is capable of providing the movement of the doors of the elevator rapidly and safely.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for actuating elevator doors that is structurally very simple and furthermore can be provided by using commonly commercially available elements and materials.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for actuating elevator doors that allows to provide the coupling between the car door and the floor door by means of a coupling device that can be actuated either by using a solution of the passive type, avoiding however the drawbacks observed by this solution in the background art, or, as an alternative, by adopting a solution of the active type.

A still further object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the background art in a manner that is alternative to any existing solutions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for actuating elevator doors which, in addition to being highly reliable, is relatively easy to provide and competitive in cost.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a device for actuating elevator doors according to claim 1 , optionally provided with one or more of the characteristics of the dependent claims.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of some preferred but not exclusive embodiments of the device for actuating elevator doors according to the invention, illustrated by way of nonlimiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, with parts in cutout view, of a first embodiment of the device according to the invention, with the doors in the closed condition and a coupling device in the inactive condition;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 , in which however the coupling device is in the active condition;

Figure 3 is a view of the first embodiment of the coupling device with the doors in the open condition;

Figures 4 and 5 are perspective views of the removable kinematic transmission means, provided in the first embodiment, in two different conditions of their operation;

Figure 6 is a partially cutout perspective view of a second embodiment of the device according to the invention, in which the doors are in the closed condition and the coupling device is in the inactive condition;

Figure 7 is a view, similar to Figure 6, in which however the coupling device is moved into the active condition;

Figure 8 is a view of the second embodiment of the device according to the invention with the doors in the open condition;

Figure 9 is a top plan view of the second embodiment of the device according to the invention.

With reference to the figures, the device for actuating elevator doors according to the invention, designated generally by the reference numeral 1 , comprises means 2 for moving the car door 3, which can be constituted by one or more leaves.

The movement means 2 are supported by the car 4 of the elevator, conveniently at a beam 4a which is arranged above the opening for access to the car 4 that is designed to be closed by the car door 3.

Furthermore, there is at least one coupling device 5, which allows to couple the car door 3 to the floor doors 6 that close the openings for access to the elevator shaft at the various floors of the building and can also be provided by one or more leaves each for each floor.

In particular, the coupling device 5 is capable of passing on command from an inactive condition, shown for example in Figures 1 and 6, to an active condition, shown for example in Figures 2 and 7, in which it is adapted to render mutually integral the car door 3 with the floor door 6 related to the floor at which the car 4 has stopped, and vice versa.

As shown, the movement means 2 comprise at least one first flexible motion transmission element 7, which is constituted for example by a transmission belt or, as an alternative, by a chain or other equivalent element.

The first flexible element 7 is functionally connected to the car door 3 and unwinds, preferably along a closed path, between first guiding wheels 8a, 8b, of which at least one, particular the one designated by the reference numeral 8a in the illustrated examples, is motorized.

For example, the connection of the first flexible element 7 to the car door 3 is provided by means of a carriage 7a, which is mounted so that it can slide on linear guides, which are formed on the beam 4a of the car 4 and are not shown for the sake of simplicity, and is fixed, at one of its ends, to the car door 3 and, at its opposite end, to a clamp or bracket 7b, which in turn is fixed to the first flexible element 7.

The actuation of the coupling device 5 between its inactive condition and its active condition is performed by means of a second flexible motion transmission element 9, which is different from the first flexible element 7.

In particular, the second flexible element 9 can also be provided conveniently by a transmission belt or by a chain or the like and advantageously is extended along a closed path.

More particularly, the second flexible element 9 is extended advantageously between second guiding wheels 10a, 10b, which are conveniently arranged so that their own axes are parallel or, more preferably, coaxial to the axes of the first guiding wheels 8a, 8b.

According to a possible constructive solution shown in Figures 1-5, there are removable means for kinematic motion transmission 11 which have the function of rendering mutually integral in rotation at least one of the first guiding wheels 8a, 8b with at least one of the second guiding wheels 10a, 10b.

For example, these removable kinematic transmission means 1 1 are interposed between the first guiding wheel 8a and the second guiding wheel, designated in the figures by the reference numeral 10a, which is coaxial to the first guiding wheel 8a.

Advantageously, the removable kinematic transmission means 11 are adapted to pass from an active condition, shown in Figure 5, in which they provide a kinematic connection between the first guiding wheel 8a and the second guiding wheel 10a, so as to render them integral with each other, to an inactive condition, shown in Figure 4, in which the first guiding wheel 8a and the second guiding wheel 10a are kinematically mutually disconnected, so that the rotation of one is not transmitted to the other, and vice versa.

Again with reference in particular to the embodiment shown in Figures 1-5, the second guiding wheel 10a is keyed, integrally in rotation, about a driving shaft 12, which is moved in rotation by a motion source 12a and on which the first guiding wheel 8a is mounted so that it can rotate freely.

Conveniently, the removable kinematic transmission means 1 1 can be provided by virtue of electromagnetically activated junction means, which, by means of an electromagnetic force are capable on command of rendering the first guiding wheel 8a integral in rotation with the second guiding wheel 10a.

More preferably, the junction means are selectively capable of rendering the first guiding wheel 8a integral in rotation with the second guiding wheel 10a or of locking it with respect to the body of the motor 12, in order to keep the first guiding wheel 8a locked, when it is not integral with the second guiding wheel 10a, so that the car door 3 cannot move.

According to a different embodiment of the invention, shown in Figures 6-9, at least one of the first guiding wheels, for example the one designated by the reference numeral 8a, is functionally connected to a first motor 13, while at least one of the second guiding wheels, at least for example the one designated in the figures by the reference numeral 10b, is in turn functionally connected to a second motor 14, which can be actuated with a synchronized motion with respect to the first motor 13, conveniently by means of an electronic control unit, not shown.

With reference again to the example shown in Figures 6-9, it should be noted that the second guiding wheel 10b is keyed integrally in rotation on the shaft 15 of the second motor 14, while the first guiding wheel 8b, coaxial to the second guiding wheel 10b, is mounted freely on the same shaft 15.

In the two embodiments shown, the coupling device 5 conveniently comprises at least one pair of engagement bars 16a and 16b, which face each other, are mutually parallel and are oriented substantially along the direction of motion of the car 4.

In particular, the engagement bars 16a, 16b are mutually interconnected, by virtue of lever mechanism means 17, which allow to provide the transition of the engagement bars 16a, 16b from a mutually close position, such as the one shown for example in Figure 1 or Figure 6, in which the coupling device 5 is in the inactive condition, to a mutually spaced position, shown for example in Figures 2 and 3 and in Figures 7 and

8, in which the coupling device 5 is in the active condition, and vice versa.

As shown, one of the engagement bars, for example the one designated by 16a in the figures, is connected to the second flexible element

9, so that as a consequence of a traction applied by the second flexible element 9 to the engagement bar 16a it is possible to perform, by virtue of the lever mechanism means 17, the transition of the engagement bars 16a and 16b from the mutually close position to the mutually spaced position, and vice versa.

More particularly, the engagement bar 16a is, for example, connected to the second flexible element 9 by means of a lever 17a, which belongs to the lever mechanism means 17 and is articulated, at two of its ends, to the engagement bars 16a and 16b and, with an intermediate portion thereof, to the carriage 7a and engages the second flexible element 9 by means of a slot link coupling, formed by a pin 18, which is integral with a slider 9a, fixed to the second flexible element 9, and by a slot 19, which is formed in the lever 17a and along which the pin 18 can slide.

For the sake of completeness, it should be noted that the lever mechanism means 17 advantageously also comprise a second lever 17b, which is arranged below the lever 17a and is articulated, at its opposite ends, to the engagement bars 16a and 16b and, at an intermediate portion thereof, to the carriage 7a.

Conveniently, abutment elements 20a and 20b are associated with the floor door 6 and are arranged on mutually opposite sides with respect to the engagement bars 16a, 16b and are designed to be engaged by the engagement bars 16a and 16b, when they are moved into the mutually spaced position, so as to render the floor door 6 integral with the car door 4.

For example, these abutment elements 20a, 20b are mounted so that they can rotate freely, about respective mutually parallel axes, on corresponding supporting elements 21a and 21b which protrude upward from the floor door 6.

Conveniently, one of the abutment elements, for example the one designated by 20a, can be constituted by a roller 22, while the other abutment element 20b can be constituted by a cam 23 which is pivoted eccentrically to the corresponding supporting element 21b and is rigidly connected to an engagement lever 24, which is adapted to engage a retention pin 25 which is integral with the structure of the building, in order to provide the removable locking of the floor door 6 with respect to the structure of the building.

The operation of the device according to the invention is as follows. With reference to the embodiment of Figures 1-5, once the car 4 has reached the desired floor, with the car door 3 in the closed condition and the engagement bars 16a, 16b in the mutually close position, said bars are inserted between the abutment elements 20a, 20b, while the engagement lever 24 is engaged with the retention pin 25 so as to ensure the locking of the floor door 6 in the closed condition, as in the situation shown in Figure 1.

At this point, with the removable kinematic transmission means 11 in the inactive condition, the source of motion 12a is activated so as to rotate in one direction the driving shaft 12 and consequently the second guiding wheel 10a, which produces a movement of the second flexible element 9 which causes a movement of the slider 9a with sliding of the corresponding pin 18 along the slot 19 of the lever 17a and consequent rotation of the lever 17a, which thus pushes the engagement bars 16a and 16b toward the mutually spaced position, so that they can make contact with the abutment elements 20a and 20b.

The reaching of the mutually spaced position on the part of the engagement bars 16a and 16b causes the fastening of the engagement bars 16a, 16b against the abutment elements 20a and 20b, so as to render the car door 3 and the floor door 6 mutual integral, and furthermore produces the rotation of the cam 23 about its pivoting axis so as to cause the disengagement of the engagement lever 24 from the retention pin 25, as in the situation shown in Figure 2.

At this point, the removable kinematic transmission means 11 are actuated so as to move them to the active condition and thus render the first guiding wheel 8a integral in rotation with the second guiding wheel 10a. In this situation, continuing its rotation in the sense that produced the transition of the engagement bars 16a and 16b from the mutually close position to the mutually spaced position, the driving shaft 12 produces the rotation both of the second guiding wheel 10a and of the first guiding wheel 8a, with consequent movement both of the second flexible element 9 and of the first flexible element 7, which produces the movement of the carriage 7a in the sense that causes the opening movement of the car door 3, which, due to its coupling to the floor door 6 provided by the engagement bars 16a and 16b, draws with it for opening also the floor door 6, until the situation of Figure 3 is reached.

At this point, by reversing the direction of rotation of the driving shaft 12, the car door 3 and the floor door 6 can be returned to the closed condition, returning to the situation of Figure 2.

Subsequently, the removable kinematic transmission means 1 1 are returned to the inactive condition, so that the rotation of the driving shaft 12 can produce the movement only of the second flexible element 9 and the latter can act on the lever 17a, by means of the slider 9a, so as to return the engagement bars 16a and 16b to the mutually close position, thus achieving the uncoupling of the car door 3 from the floor door 6 and the return of the engagement lever 24 into engagement with the retention pin 25.

In the embodiment of Figures 6-9, instead, the movement of the first flexible element 7 is performed by means of the first motor 13, while the movement of the second flexible element 9 is performed by the second motor 14.

In particular, with this embodiment, starting from the situation of

Figure 6, which corresponds to the situation of Figure 1 of the preceding embodiment, the first motor 13 is kept motionless while the second motor 14 is actuated so as to move the engagement bars 16a and 16b into the mutually spaced position and thus achieve the coupling of the floor door 3 with the car door 6, as well as the disengagement of the engagement lever 24 from the retention pin 25, as in the situation of Figure 7.

At this point, the first motor 13 and the second motor 14 are actuated with a synchronous motion so as to move the car door 3 and the floor door 6 with it, moving them to the open condition, shown in Figure 8.

The synchronous motion of the first motor 13 and of the second motor 14 is maintained for the entire step of the opening of the doors 3 and 6 and, by reversing the direction of rotation of the first motor and of the second motor 13 and 14, also for the entire step of closure of the doors 3 and 6, until return to the situation of Figure 7 occurs. Once the step of closure of the doors 3 and 6 has ended, the transition of the engagement bars 16a and 16b from the mutually spaced position to the mutually close position is performed, actuating only the first motor 14 in the same direction that produced the closure of the doors 3 and 6 and stopping the rotation of the first motor 13, so as to return to the situation of Figure 6.

In practice it has been found that the invention achieves the intended aim and objects.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims; all the details may furthermore be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102017000050340 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1. A device for actuating elevator doors, comprising means (2) for moving the car door (3), which are supported by the car (4) of the elevator, and at least one device (5) for coupling between the car door (3) and the floor doors (6), which is adapted to pass on command from an inactive condition to an active condition, in which it is adapted to render mutually integral the car door (3) and the floor door (6) that corresponds to the stopping floor of the car (4), and vice versa, said movement means (2) comprising at least one first flexible element (7) for motion transmission which is functionally connected to the car door (3) and is extended between first guiding wheels (8a, 8b), of which at least one is motorized, characterized in that said coupling device (5) can be actuated between said inactive condition and said active condition by means of a second flexible motion transmission element (9).

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that said second flexible motion transmission element is extended between second guiding wheels (10a, 10b).

3. The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said second guiding wheels (10a, 10b) are arranged so that their axes are parallel to the axes of said first guiding wheels (8a, 8b).

4. The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one of said first guiding wheels (8a, 8b) is functionally connected to a first motor (13), at least one of said second guiding wheels (10a, 10b) being functionally connected to a second motor (14) that can be actuated with a synchronized motion with respect to said first motor (13).

5. The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises removable means for kinematic motion transmission (11) between at least one of said first guiding wheels (8a, 8b) and at least one of said second guiding wheels (10a, 10b).

6. The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said removable kinematic transmission means (11) comprise electromagnetically activated joining means.

7. The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said coupling device (5) comprises at least one pair of engagement bars (16a, 16b), which face each other and are mutually parallel and are oriented substantially along the direction of motion of the car (4), said engagement bars (16a, 16b) being mutually interconnected by virtue of lever mechanism means (17) which are adapted to allow the transition of said engagement bars (16a, 16b) from a mutually close position, in which said coupling device is in said inactive condition, to a mutually spaced position, in which said coupling device (5) is in said active condition, and vice versa, one of said engagement bars (16a, 16b) being connected to said second flexible element (9).

8. The device according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said first and second flexible elements (7, 9) are each constituted by a respective transmission belt.