EP4200241A1

EP4200241A1 - Method for forming and smoothing a hollow-profile guide rail of a lift system

Info

Publication number: EP4200241A1
Application number: EP21746492.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Erich Bütler; Romeo LO JACONO; Mischa SALVENMOSER
Original assignee: Inventio AG
Current assignee: Inventio AG
Priority date: 2020-08-18
Filing date: 2021-07-23
Publication date: 2023-06-28
Also published as: WO2022037897A1; US20230322525A1; CA3191694A1; CN115943116A; AU2021326959A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for forming and smoothing a hollow-profile guide rail (101) of a lift system, comprising the use of a smoothing apparatus (1). The smoothing apparatus (1) is designed to smooth opposing surfaces (109, 111) on a hollow-profile guide rail (101) of a lift system. The smoothing apparatus (1) comprises a guide device (3), a removal device (5) and a pressing device (7). The guide device (3) is designed, for example with the aid of rollers (15), to be moved in a low-friction manner in a longitudinal direction (9) along a first (109) of the opposing surfaces (109, 111) and in so doing to guide the smoothing apparatus (1) along the first surface (109). The pressing device (5) is designed, for example with the aid of spring elements (21), to press the removal device (7) away from the guide device (3) and toward a second (111) of the opposing surfaces (109, 111). The removal device (5) is designed, for example with the aid of a rasp element (25), to remove material from the second surface (111) during a movement in the longitudinal direction (9) along the second surface (111).

Description

Method for forming and smoothing a guide rail of an elevator system designed as a hollow profile

description

The present invention relates to a method for forming and smoothing a guide rail of an elevator system designed as a hollow profile.

Elevators are used to transport people within buildings between different levels. In this case, an elevator system generally has at least one elevator car and, in many cases, a counterweight coupled in opposite directions to the elevator car. The elevator car and possibly the counterweight are typically moved vertically within an elevator shaft and are guided by guide rails.

Conventionally, there are guide rails for guiding the elevator car on the one hand and guide rails for guiding the counterweight on the other hand. Surfaces of the guide rails can serve as guide surfaces on which, for example, guide shoes and/or guide rollers attached to the elevator car can be supported in order to ensure lateral guidance of the elevator car during its vertical movement along the guide shaft. In many cases, the surfaces of the guide rails can simultaneously also serve as braking surfaces on which, for example, a brake attached to the elevator car can act in order to be able to brake a movement of the elevator car relative to the guide rail. A brake can act, for example, as an emergency stop and/or as a safety brake.

Conventionally, guide rails are typically formed using profiles that are T-shaped in cross section. In this case, a guide rail is typically composed of a plurality of sections which are attached to a shaft wall of the elevator shaft one above the other and flush with one another along a travel path. A solid central web of the T-shaped profile protrudes from the shaft wall into the interior of the elevator shaft and can, for example, be gripped by a guide shoe attached to the elevator car. The guide shoe can Guide rollers or slides which can move along and bear against opposite surfaces of the central web of the T-shaped profile. If necessary, the same surfaces can also serve as braking surfaces.

Surfaces of the conventional T-shaped guide rails should be as flat as possible. WO 2019/008708 A1 describes a device for smoothing such guide rails.

Installing an elevator system with traditional guide rails can be labor intensive. In particular because different guide rails are typically used for the elevator car on the one hand and the counterweight on the other hand, the effort involved in installing these guide rails can be high. In addition, the fact that the same surfaces of the guide rails serve as guide surfaces and optionally as braking surfaces can lead to problems such that these surfaces can be deformed in the event of emergency braking and their quality as guide surfaces is then deteriorated.

Special guide rails for elevator systems have been developed with the help of which the aforementioned deficits can be reduced. Such guide rails are formed using a hollow profile, which can have a more complex shape than conventional T-profiles and which can be used to form a number of different guide surfaces and/or braking surfaces on a single guide rail.

Examples of such hollow profile guide rails are described in patent applications previously filed by the applicant of the present patent application. For example, the earlier application WO2020127787 describes possible configurations of hollow profile guide rails, as they can also be implemented for the guide rails described herein, the content of the earlier application being incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

The use of hollow profile guide rails can reduce the effort involved in assembling an elevator system, since significantly fewer guide rails, ie ideally only one or two guide rails, are installed in the elevator shaft will need. The hollow profile can preferably be formed by joining and/or welding different sheet metal strips. In this way, the hollow profile can be manufactured relatively dimensionally stable, easily and/or inexpensively.

Typically, the hollow profile is first produced as a continuous strand and then divided into shorter sub-strands for transport purposes. The partial strands can then be fixed in the elevator shaft during assembly of the elevator installation. The partial strands should be arranged one above the other parallel to the travel path of the elevator car in such a way that they form a guide rail that is essentially flush with one another and abutting one another, in which several guide surfaces and/or braking surfaces extend along the travel path as flatly and without gaps as possible.

However, it was recognized that, for example, when the originally produced long hollow profile strand is divided into sub-strands, burrs can form at the separating points created in the process. In addition, it was recognized that local deformations can occur when the hollow profile strand is produced and/or when it is divided into partial strands, so that a cross section of the hollow profile is not homogeneous along the entire length of the guide rail. Instead, a guide rail composed of the partial strands can have locally lateral unevenness.

It has been observed that problems with the operation of the elevator system can arise due to burrs and/or lateral unevenness on the guide rail. For example, increased wear can occur if, for example, a guide shoe of the elevator car is repeatedly guided over burrs or lateral unevenness. As an alternative or in addition, for example, considerable noise can be generated if, for example, the guide shoe of the elevator car is guided over burrs or lateral unevenness. In this case, noises can not only be audible within the elevator car and thus for passengers, but can also be distributed, for example, over the guide rail and can therefore be perceived as disturbing throughout the building. There may therefore be a need to be able to form a guide rail in an elevator system with as little effort as possible and in particular to largely avoid the problems described above, which result from the existence of burrs and/or unevenness on the guide rail. In particular, there may be a need to be able to smooth surfaces on a guide rail designed as a hollow profile efficiently, reliably and/or with little effort.

Such a need may be met by the subject matter of any of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims and the following description.

According to the invention, a method for forming a guide rail of an elevator system designed as a hollow profile is described. The procedure has the steps:

- Provision of several sections of the guide rail,

- arranging adjacent sections in the longitudinal direction one above the other and flush with each other,

- Smoothing of mutually opposite surfaces on the hollow profile of the guide rail by inserting a smoothing device between the mutually opposite surfaces of the guide rail in such a way that the guiding device bears against a first of the surfaces and the removal device bears against a second of the surfaces, the smoothing device having: a guiding device , a removal device, and a pressing device, wherein the guiding device is set up to be moved with low friction in a longitudinal direction along a first of the opposite surfaces and in doing so to guide the smoothing device along the first surface, the pressing device being set up to move the removal device away from the guide means and towards a second of the opposed surfaces, and wherein the removal means is adapted to, upon movement in the longitudinal direction along the second n surface material from the second surface to remove, and

- displacing the trowel in a longitudinal direction along the first surface.

A first independent invention not covered by the claims can be seen in a smoothing device for smoothing mutually opposite surfaces on a guide rail of an elevator system designed as a hollow profile. The smoothing device has a guide device, a removal device and a pressing device. The guide means is adapted to be moved with low friction in a longitudinal direction along a first of the opposing surfaces, thereby guiding the trowel along the first surface. The pressing device is adapted to press the removal device away from the guide device and towards a second of the opposite surfaces. The removal device is set up to remove material from the second surface during a movement in the longitudinal direction along the second surface.

A second independent invention not covered by the claims can be seen in a method for smoothing mutually opposite surfaces on a guide rail of an elevator system designed as a hollow profile. The procedure comprises at least the following steps:

- inserting a smoothing device according to an embodiment of the first independent invention not covered by the claims between the mutually opposite surfaces of the guide rail such that the guide device abuts a first of the surfaces and the removal device abuts a second of the surfaces, and

- displacing the trowel in a longitudinal direction along the first surface.

A third independent invention not covered by the claims can be seen in a method for forming a guide rail of an elevator system designed as a hollow profile, the method comprising at least the following steps:

- Provision of several sections of the guide rail,

- arranging adjacent sections longitudinally one above the other and in alignment with each other, and - smoothing mutually opposite surfaces on the hollow profile of the guide rail by means of a method according to an embodiment of the second independent invention not covered by the claims.

Possible features and advantages of embodiments of the invention can be considered, among other things, and without limiting the invention, as being based on the ideas and insights described below.

Briefly and simply summarized, an essential idea underlying the invention is that it was recognized that tools and methods, such as those used to smooth out unevenness when installing conventional T-profile guide rails, are often not used satisfactorily with guide rails designed as a hollow profile can become. In order to be able to smooth out bumps on such hollow-profile guide rails, a structurally simple tool in the form of a smoothing device is therefore proposed, which is specially adapted to the conditions in such guide rails, with the aid of which bumps can be smoothed out easily, efficiently and without a high risk of damaging the surfaces of the guide rails. can be smoothed. The smoothing device is designed to be used between opposing surfaces of the guide rail. On the one hand, the smoothing device should be supported by a guide device on one of the opposite surfaces and be guided by it. On the other hand, a removal device should be able to remove excess material from the opposite, second surface of the guide rail. For this purpose, the removal device is pressed by a pressing device in a targeted manner with a suitable mechanical pretension away from the guide device towards the second surface. The entire smoothing device can be constructed in a relatively simple manner. For example, the smoothing device can be designed without active actuators and/or controls. Alternatively, as a passive tool, the trowel can be attached to the guide rail by a technician and then moved along the guide rail while troweling a surface of the guide rail.

Possible properties and advantages of embodiments of the smoothing device and the use of the smoothing device are explained in more detail below. As briefly mentioned in the introduction, guide rails in elevator systems have so far usually been constructed using a large number of solid T-profiles. The T-profde were arranged in a row. A tongue and groove arrangement could be provided on the end faces of the T-profiles, so that adjacent T-profiles could be aligned with one another. If necessary, adjacent T-profiles could be welded together at the end faces. The resulting unevenness could be smoothed out with tools such as an angle grinder, a rail planer, a belt sander or similar.

Modern guide rails in the form of hollow profiles are made of sheet metal which, in comparison to the T-profiles of conventional guide rails, has a significantly lower material thickness. Accordingly, no tongue and groove arrangements can generally be provided on the end faces of such hollow profile guide rails. A flush alignment of adjacent guide rails can therefore be more complex than with conventional guide rails. For example, connecting elements or pins can engage in the hollow sections of adjacent guide rails in order to be able to align them relative to one another.

However, it has been observed that when manufacturing the hollow profile guide rails and in particular when dividing a long rail run into individual sub-runs or rail segments, it can happen that the rail segments are slightly deformed, especially near their ends, i.e. the shape and/or dimensions of the cross section of the rail segments can vary locally. The cross section of a hollow section rail segment is also said to "breathe" slightly along its length. This can lead to lateral unevenness on surfaces of the guide rails.

Burrs on the ends of rail segments and/or an arrangement of adjacent guide rail segments that is not exactly aligned can also lead to lateral unevenness on the surfaces of the guide rails.

The lateral unevenness described should be smoothed out, in particular to avoid excessive wear on components to be guided, such as guide shoes, guide rollers or the like, and/or to avoid excessive To avoid noise when moving such leading components over the bumps away.

However, it has been recognized that the methods and tools used to smooth conventional T-Profd guide rails often appear unsuitable for hollow profile guide rails. For example, it was recognized that conventional rail planers generally cannot be used to smooth relatively complex-shaped surfaces of a hollow profile guide rail. Attempts to smooth out unevenness using an angle grinder, for example, usually lead to unsatisfactory results. In particular, it was recognized that there is a high risk of damaging the sensitive surface of hollow profile guide rails when using such conventional methods and tools, for example by producing local dents and/or by locally removing a layer serving as corrosion protection.

A method is therefore proposed which includes the use of a tool in the form of a smoothing device. Although the tool has a relatively simple design, it is specially adapted to the needs and circumstances of smoothing unevenness on hollow profile guide rails.

The smoothing device has a guide device, a removal device and a pressing device. Possible configurations and properties of these components are described in detail below.

The guide device is set up to guide the smoothing device along a first of the two opposite surfaces of the hollow profile when it is moved in the longitudinal direction along the guide rail. For this purpose, the guide device is designed to be moved with little friction in the longitudinal direction along the first surface. Frictional forces between the guide device and the first surface of the guide rail should remain so low that the entire smoothing device can be moved along the guide rail, preferably manually by a technician. In order to be able to move the guide device precisely along the first surface, it should be able to be supported on the first surface either over an area or at a number of spaced positions.

According to one embodiment, the guide device can have at least two contact devices for this purpose, which are arranged and configured in such a way that the smoothing device can be placed against the first surface with contact surfaces of each of the two contact devices and can be moved along the first surface with little friction in order to move the smoothing device along the first surface respectively.

The abutment devices can be designed, for example, as a sliding element or roller. In this case, a contact surface can be a sliding surface of a sliding element or a peripheral surface of a roller directed towards the first surface of the guide rail. The sliding element or the roller can be formed from a material or can be coated with a material that enables low sliding resistance or low rolling resistance when moving along the first surface of the guide rail.

According to one embodiment, the two abutment devices are arranged at a distance from one another in relation to the longitudinal direction.

In other words, the at least two contact devices can be arranged on the smoothing device in such a way that they are arranged one behind the other in relation to the longitudinal direction. A distance between the abutment devices can preferably be larger than typical dimensions of unevenness to be smoothed. For example, such a distance can be greater than 5 cm, preferably greater than 10 cm.

According to one embodiment, the guide device can have at least one roller, which is arranged and configured in such a way that the smoothing device can be placed against the first surface with a peripheral surface of the roller and rolled along the first surface in order to guide the smoothing device along the first surface. The guide device preferably has at least two rollers, which are arranged and designed in such a way that the smoothing device can be placed on the first surface with one peripheral surface of each roller and rolled along the first surface in order to guide the smoothing device along the first surface.

Since at least one or preferably even at least two of the contact devices of the guide device are designed as rollers, the guide device can be moved along the first surface of the guide rail with particularly little friction. The respective peripheral surface of the roller defines a relative positioning of the guide device in relation to the first surface.

According to one embodiment, the removal device can be set up to contact the second surface of the guide rail at a plurality of contact points spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction along a plane and to contact the second surface with at least one sharp-edged removal component in order to, during movement in the longitudinal direction along the second surface to remove material from the second surface.

In other words, the removal device is preferably designed in such a way that it does not just contact the second surface opposite the first surface at a point or along a line transverse to the longitudinal direction, but this second surface at several different points that are spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal direction and which are in a common plane to contact. The removal device is thus supported flatly on the second surface of the guide rail or at a plurality of points on a plane formed by the second surface. While the guide device is supported on the first surface of the guide rail in such a way that it can not only be guided by the first surface but also cannot be tilted relative to the first surface, the removal device is similarly on the opposite second surface of the guide rail supported so that it is guided by the second surface and cannot tilt substantially relative to the second surface.

In this case, the removal device has a removal component. At least one end of this removal component directed towards the second surface of the guide rail is sharp. The removal component is arranged and held on the removal device in such a way that the sharp-edged end of the removal component contacts this second surface. When the removal device moves in the longitudinal direction relative to the second surface of the guide rail, material protruding from the sharp-edged removal component is removed from the second surface, for example by cutting. The ablation component can have a single blade, for example, and can thus be designed similar to a planer.

With a removal device designed in this way, the smoothing device can smooth lateral unevenness on the second surface of the guide rail efficiently and easily. In this way, a risk that more material than required is removed and that dents are generated as a result, for example, can be minimized.

According to one embodiment, the removal device can have a plurality of sharp-edged removal components which are designed to contact the second surface of the guide rail at a plurality of contact points spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction along a plane in order to remove material from the second surface when moving in the longitudinal direction along the second surface to remove surface.

In other words, a plurality of removal components can be provided on the removal device, each of which makes contact with the second surface of the guide rail with a sharp-edged end. The contact points at which the different removal components touch the second surface should be arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction and spaced apart from one another. When the trowel is moved in the longitudinal direction along the second surface of the guide rail, the different cutting components can successively cut material from the second surface at the different contact points.

Each of the various cutting components can have a sharp blade similar to a planer. Alternatively, the removal device can have a plurality of protruding, sharp-edged burrs on a common surface. For example, the removal device can be designed similar to a rasp. As a further alternative, several sharp-edged tips can be used on the removal device as removal components be provided, with which the removal device can remove material from the second surface. For example, the removal device can be designed similar to a file or a surface covered with sandpaper.

With a removal device designed in this way, excess material on lateral unevennesses of the second surface of the guide rail can be removed particularly efficiently and/or gently.

According to one embodiment, the ablation component has a width in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction, which corresponds at least to a width of the second surface to be smoothed.

In other words, a blade or a burr or a sum of a large number of sharp-edged tips can have a width which is at least as wide as the second surface of the guide rail to be smoothed. The second surface can thus be smoothed over its entire width with the aid of the smoothing device without having to displace the smoothing device in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction.

According to one embodiment, the removal device can be a passive, inherently rigid component.

In other words, the removal device can be designed as a passive component which cannot generate any movement on its own. In particular, the removal device does not need to have a drive, a controller, an energy supply and/or the like, as for example an angle grinder or a belt grinder. Instead, the removal device can be designed as a very simple component and, similar to a plane, a rasp, a file or the like, can only remove material from a surface when it is moved by a person relative to the surface.

The removal device can be designed as an inherently rigid component, in which individual areas or components of the removal device can essentially not be moved relative to other areas or components of the removal device. In particular, the removal device can be designed in one piece. For example For example, the removal device can be designed as a plate in which blade-like or pointed projections are provided on a side directed towards the second surface.

According to one embodiment, the removal device can be held stationary relative to the guide device in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, the removal device can be held displaceably relative to the guiding direction in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction away from the guiding direction.

In other words, the smoothing device can be designed in such a way that its removal device can be moved at least slightly in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction in which the smoothing device is to be displaced when smoothing the guide rail, but cannot be displaced in the longitudinal direction itself relative to the guide device is. Accordingly, the guide device and the removal device always remain at the same height in relation to the longitudinal direction when the smoothing device is moved in the longitudinal direction along the guide rail. The guide device can thus always suitably support the removal device and guide it along the first surface of the guide rail. However, the removal device can move slightly towards or away from the guide device transversely to the longitudinal direction. Accordingly, the abrader can to some extent follow any bumps or deviations from perfectly parallel alignment of the first and second surfaces. The removal device is supported on the guide device via the pressing device and is mechanically preloaded by the pressing device towards the second surface to be smoothed.

According to one embodiment, the pressing device has at least one elastic spring element, which is mounted on the guide device on the one hand and on the removal device on the other hand.

In other words, the pressing device has at least one elastically deformable spring element. This elastically deformable element can be, for example, a spring, an elastomer component or the like. The spring element is held or mounted on the guide device on one side. On an opposite side, the spring element is held on the removal device or stored. Accordingly, the spring element of the pressing device connects the guide device to the removal device, so that these can be moved slightly towards or away from one another due to the elastic deformability of the spring element.

An elasticity or a spring constant of the spring element can be selected such that the removal device is supported on the guide device via the pressing device in such a way that it is pressed with a desired force or a desired pressure against the second surface of the guide rail to be smoothed. The force or the pressure can be selected in such a way that on the one hand excess material is efficiently removed from the surface to be smoothed when the smoothing device is moved in the longitudinal direction, but on the other hand the forces that arise here, i.e. in particular frictional forces, which counteract the movement in the longitudinal direction, are not become excessively high so that the trowel can preferably be easily moved by one person's hand.

According to one embodiment, the pressing device has at least two elastic spring elements which are each mounted on the guide device on the one hand and which are each mounted on the removal device on the other hand and which are spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction.

In other words, the removal device can be supported on the guide device via at least two spring elements arranged spaced apart in the longitudinal direction. As a result, a force transmission between the removal device and the guide device can be made spatially more uniform. In particular, it can be avoided that the guide device tilts excessively relative to the removal device about an axis transverse to the longitudinal direction.

Embodiments of the described smoothing device can be used in a method according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the invention for smoothing surfaces of a guide rail as follows: first the smoothing device is inserted between the opposite surfaces of the guide rail. The smoothing device is positioned in such a way that its guide device rests on the first surface of the guide rail on the one hand and on itself this can support and that its removal device on the other hand rests against the second surface of the guide rail to be smoothed and is pressed against this second surface with a pressure effected by the pressing device. The trowel is then successively displaced in the longitudinal direction along the guide rail and thus moves along the first and second surfaces thereof.

The smoothing device is preferably moved by a technician who holds the smoothing device, for example by a handle provided on it, and pushes it along the guide rail. During this longitudinal movement, the removal device removes excess material on lateral unevenness of the second surface of the guide rail. If necessary, the smoothing device can be moved back and forth several times in the longitudinal direction. In order to smooth the first surface of the guide rail as well, the smoothing device can be removed from the position between the opposite surfaces and then rotated through 180° and re-inserted and again displaced in the longitudinal direction with the removal device then lying against the first surface.

In a method of forming a hollow-profile guide rail according to an embodiment of the third aspect of the invention, such smoothing of opposite surfaces may be performed after a plurality of prepared sections or segments of the guide rail are longitudinally stacked and aligned adjacent to each other. Any burrs or other lateral unevenness, as they preferably occur at transitions between adjacent sections of the guide rails, can be smoothed out easily and with little effort.

It is pointed out that some of the possible features and advantages of the invention are described herein with reference to different embodiments of a trowel on the one hand and a method for troweling on the other hand. A person skilled in the art will recognize that the features can be combined, adapted or interchanged as appropriate to arrive at further embodiments of the invention. Embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, neither the drawings nor the description being to be construed as limiting the invention.

1 shows a cross-sectional view of a guide rail designed as a hollow profile.

2 shows a side view of a smoothing device according to an embodiment of the present invention between surfaces to be smoothed of a guide rail designed as a hollow profile.

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a removal device of a smoothing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The figures are merely schematic and not true to scale. The same reference symbols denote the same features or features that have the same effect

FIG. 1 shows a cross section through a guide rail 101 of an elevator system designed as a hollow profile. In contrast to conventional guide rails, which are usually constructed with solid T-shaped steel profiles several millimeters thick, such a guide rail 101 is formed from relatively thin sheet metal. The sheet metal can be provided as a rolled profile or strip material. The hollow profile forming the guide rail 101 can have a relatively complex geometry, in which several different surfaces are formed on an outside of the hollow profile, which are intended to serve different functions when the guide rail 101 is in use.

For example, the guide rail 101 shown in FIG. 1 has a first area that forms guide surfaces 103 for guiding an elevator car. These guide surfaces 103 comprise a first surface 109, a second surface 111 and a third surface 113. The first surface 109 and the second surface 111 face one another and are connected by the third surface 113 arranged transversely to these two surfaces 109,111. Preferably, the first surface 109 and the second surface 111 are parallel to each other. Overall, the three surfaces 109, 111, 113 form the guide surfaces 103 with a concave design U-shaped cross section. Guide elements such as a guide shoe attached to the elevator car or guide rollers can be moved along these guide surfaces 103 and are supported on the three surfaces 109, 111, 113, so that the elevator car can be guided in three spatial directions.

In another area, the guide rail 101 forms guide surfaces 105 for guiding a counterweight. In the example shown, these guide surfaces 105 are formed by two convex sections of the hollow profile which are bent through 180° and are oriented in opposite directions. Guide shoes on the counterweight can be supported on opposite surfaces in these two partial areas, so that the counterweight can be guided in a total of four spatial directions.

Furthermore, the guide rail 101 can have a braking surface 107 on which the elevator car and/or the counterweight can be braked, for example by engaging a brake shoe. In the example shown, the braking surface 107 is formed by a convexly bent or folded part of the hollow profile.

An entire guide rail 101, possibly several dozen or even hundreds of meters long, is typically composed of sections 101a, 101b. In particular, adjacent to a transition joint 115 (see Fig. 2) between adjacent sections 101a, 101b, lateral unevenness can occur, for example due to burrs that were formed when a strand that was initially formed as a continuous hollow profile was cut into partial strands, or due to local deformations the sections 101a, 101b. Unevenness due to locally varying sheet metal thicknesses of the metal sheets used for the guide rail 101 can also occur.

Local unevenness can be smoothed relatively easily with suitable tools on convex areas, such as those that occur, for example, on the guide surfaces 105 for guiding the counterweight or on the braking surface 107 . At concave areas such as the U-shaped into the interior of the hollow section reaching area for forming the guide surfaces 103 for guiding the In the elevator car, however, smoothing out lateral unevenness can be difficult. In particular, it was observed that when attempting to smooth out lateral unevenness in such concave regions using conventional tools, irreversible damage such as local dents in the guide rail 101 can very easily be produced. In addition, an anti-corrosion layer provided on the surfaces of the hollow profile, such as a zinc layer, can be damaged or locally removed when attempting to smooth such surfaces in a conventional manner, which can lead to later signs of corrosion on the guide rail 101 .

A special tool in the form of a smoothing device 1 is therefore described. An exemplary embodiment of such a smoothing device 1 is shown in FIG.

The smoothing device 1 has a guide device 3, a removal device 5 and a pressing device 7. When the smoothing device 1 is inserted into a concave area of a guide rail 101 with a first surface 109 and a second surface 111 opposite this, the guide device 3 can be moved along with little friction of the first surface 109 are moved, whereas the removal device 5 is pressed against the second surface 111 by the pressing device 7 supported on the guide device 3 . A predetermined contact pressure, which is dependent on the pressing device 7, preferably acts between the removal device 5 and the second surface 111. The removal device 5 is designed for this purpose when the smoothing device moves

I to remove material that protrudes laterally in a longitudinal direction 9 along the guide rail 101 from the second surface 111 of the guide rail 101 and thus to smooth it.

In the example shown, the smoothing device 1 has two attachment devices

II in the form of rollers 15. These rollers 15 can each bear against the first surface 109 with their peripheral surface 17 acting as a contact surface 13 and can roll along it with little friction when the smoothing device 1 is moved in the longitudinal direction 9. The two rollers 15 are arranged at a distance from one another in relation to the longitudinal direction 9, so that the guide device 1 can be moved via the rollers 15 to in Longitudinally 9 spaced positions on the first surface 109 of the guide rail 1 can be supported. In the example shown, the two rollers 15 are rigidly connected to one another via one or more longitudinal struts 23 .

The pressing device 7 is provided between the guide device 3 and the removal device 5 in order to elastically spread the aforementioned two components away from one another in a direction, i.e. transversely to the longitudinal direction 9 . For this purpose, the pressing device 7 in the example shown has two spring elements 21, one end of which is mounted on the guide device 3, i.e. for example on the longitudinal strut 23, and the other end of which interacts with the removal device 5. The spring elements 21 are dimensioned in terms of their dimensions and spring tensions such that a desired mechanical prestress is effected on the removal device 5 towards the second surface 111 to be smoothed when the smoothing device 1 is inserted between the two surfaces 109, 111.

The removal device 5 can be designed as a passive, inherently rigid component. For example, the removal device 5 can be designed as a type of solid plate which has one or more sharp-edged removal components 19 on its surface directed towards the surface 111 to be smoothed. The removal components 19 are preferably designed and arranged in such a way that they contact the surface 111 of the guide rail 101 to be smoothed at a plurality of contact points 29 spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction 9 when the smoothing device 1 is arranged between the two surfaces 109, 111 running parallel to one another. The various contact points 29 preferably all lie in a common plane, which corresponds to the plane of the surface 111 to be smoothed.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the removal device 5 can be in the form of a rasp element 25 . On a rigid, cuboid base body 31, outwardly protruding rasp structures 33 can be provided, which are sharp-edged at their edges directed away from the base body 31 and protruding toward the surface 101 to be smoothed. The rasp element 25 of the removal device 5 can have a width B (see FIG. 3) which essentially corresponds to a width b (see FIG. 1) of the surface 111 to be smoothed. To smooth the second surface 111, the smoothing device 1 can thus be inserted manually between the two surfaces 109, 111 by a technician. The technician can then move the smoothing device 1 in the longitudinal direction 9 along the guide rail 101, for example with the aid of handles 27 provided on it. The smoothing device 1 can be moved along the first surface 109 with relatively little friction via its guide device 3 and guided by it. At the same time, the removal device 5 is pressed by the pressing device 7 evenly and parallel to the first surface 109 against the second surface 111 and removes any laterally protruding material from the second surface 111 with its sharp-edged removal components 19 in the area of the contact points 29 . Due to the precise guidance of the smoothing device 1 and the uniform contact pressure of its removal device 5 against the second surface 111, the risk of excess material being removed from the second surface 111 and thus dents being formed is extremely low. Furthermore, since the removal device 5 is only pressed against the second surface 111 with a limited pressure predefined by the pressing device 7, it is generally possible to prevent an anti-corrosion layer present on the surface 111 to be smoothed from being locally removed or damaged.

Finally, it should be noted that terms such as "comprising," "comprising," etc. do not exclude other elements or steps, and terms such as "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be pointed out that features or steps that have been described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments can also be used in combination with other features or steps of other exemplary embodiments described above. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting.

Claims

patent claims . Method for forming a guide rail (101) designed as a hollow profile for an elevator installation, comprising:

- Providing several sections (101a, 101b) of the guide rail (101),

- arranging adjacent sections (101a, 101b) in the longitudinal direction (9) one above the other and aligned with one another,

- Smoothing of opposite surfaces (109, 111) on the hollow profile of the guide rail (101) by inserting a smoothing device (1) between the opposite surfaces (109, 111) of the guide rail (101) in such a way that the guide device (3) on a first (109) of the surfaces (109, 111) and the removal device (5) rests on a second (111) of the surfaces (109, 111), the smoothing device (1) having: a guide device (3), a removal device (5), and a pressing device (7), wherein the guide device (3) is adapted to be moved with little friction in a longitudinal direction (9) along a first (109) of the opposite surfaces (109, 111) and thereby the smoothing device (1) along the first surface (109), wherein the pressing device (5) is adapted to move the removal device (7) away from the guide device (3) and towards a second (111) of the opposite pressing surfaces (109, 111), and wherein the removal device (5) is set up to remove material from the second surface (111) during a movement in the longitudinal direction (9) along the second surface (111), and

- Displacing the smoothing device (1) in a longitudinal direction (9) along the first surface (109).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the guide device (3) of the smoothing device (1) has at least two contact devices (11) which are arranged and designed in such a way that the smoothing device (1) is to be placed with contact surfaces (13) of each of the two contact devices (11) on the first surface (109) and to be moved with little friction along the first surface (109) in order to move the smoothing device (1) along the first surface (109 ) respectively.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the two abutment devices (11) are arranged spaced apart in relation to the longitudinal direction (9).

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the guide device (3) has at least one roller (15) which is arranged and designed such that the smoothing device (1) with a peripheral surface (17) of the roller (15) on the first surface (109) and to roll along the first surface (109) to guide the trowel (1) along the first surface (109).

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the guide device (3) has at least two rollers (15) which are arranged and designed such that the smoothing device (1) each having a peripheral surface (17) of the rollers (15) on the first surface (109) and to be rolled along the first surface (109) to guide the trowel (1) along the first surface (109).

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the removal device (5) is set up to contact the second surface (111) of the guide rail (101) at a plurality of locations spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction (9) along a plane and the second surface (111) with at least one sharp-edged removal component (19) in order to remove material from the second surface (111) during the movement in the longitudinal direction (9) along the second surface (111).

7. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the removal device (5) has a plurality of sharp-edged removal components (19) which are adapted to the second surface (111) of the guide rail (101). contacting a plurality of contact points spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction (9) along a plane in order to remove material from the second surface (111) during movement in the longitudinal direction (9) along the second surface (111).

8. The method according to any one of claims 6 and 7, wherein the removal component (5) in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction (9) has a width (B) which corresponds to at least a width (b) of the second surface (111) to be smoothed .

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the removal device (5) is a passive, rigid component.

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the removal device (5) is held stationary relative to the guiding device (3) in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction (9) and wherein the removal device (5) relative to the guiding direction (3) in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction (9) away from the Lührungsrichtung (3) is held displaceable.

11. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pressing device (7) has at least one elastic spring element (21) which is mounted on the one hand on the guide device (3) and which is mounted on the other hand on the removal device (5).

12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the pressing device (7) has at least two elastic spring elements (21), which are each mounted on the guide device (3) on the one hand and which are each mounted on the removal device (5) on the other hand and which in are arranged spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction (9).