FI126645B

FI126645B - Elevator

Info

Publication number: FI126645B
Application number: FI20165419A
Authority: FI
Inventors: Wei Hao Wang; zhi gang Li
Original assignee: Kone Elevators Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-05-18
Filing date: 2016-05-18
Publication date: 2017-03-31
Also published as: CN106315323A; CN206529174U; FI20165419A; CN106315323B

Description

ELEVATOR

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to an elevator, particularly to an elevator for vertically transporting passengers and/or goods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In the known elevators, the car travels along guide rails in a hoistway. An elevator typically comprises two or more vertically spaced apart landings where the car can be stopped so that the passengers can enter or exit it. For various reasons, such as for ensuring safe elevator operation and for proper controlling the elevator, the elevator needs to be informed of the car position relative to landings. The elevator can use the information for multiple alternative purposes. The known elevators are often provided with an arrangement for detecting car position that can be used to detect if and when the car is at a landing zone as well as identify at which landing zone the car is currently positioned. Such an arrangement can also be provided for detecting whether the car is leveled accurately at a landing. For example, if the car position detector arrangement detects that the car has shifted too far from the intended level while parked at a landing, the car position can be corrected by a so-called releveling function.

[0003] In a prior arrangement for detecting car position, known by the applicant, the arrangement comprises a detector arrangement mounted on the elevator car. The detector arrangement being mounted on the car, the detectors thereof travel along with the car. The arrangement further comprises a plurality of vertically spaced apart counterpart arrangements for said detector arrangement traveling with the elevator car. The counterpart arrangements are mounted inside the hoistway beside different landings, whereby the detector arrangement mounted on the elevator car can detect a counterpart arrangement when it is positioned at any of the landings. Each counterpart arrangement comprises a counterpart member for a detector of the detector arrangement mounted on the elevator car.

[0004] In prior art, such solutions have been suggested where the counterpart components have been mounted on a guide rail. One solution of this kind has been presented in document CN102344062.

[0005] In solutions of prior art, the components for mounting have been made of welded metal structures. Generally in prior art, the position of the hoistway side counterpart has been mainly adjusted by variating the exact point where the equipment engages the guide rail. It has occurred that free mounting of the components on the guide rail is at some level in the hoistway difficult due to some obstacle appearing at the specific point where the equipment needs to be mounted. It is possible to overcome this problem by having different size components so that if an obstacle is at the point where the equipment needs to be mounted, a different component is then used. As an alternative, metal parts have been bent at the site so that the counterpart member becomes positioned as desired. In general, a drawback of the solutions of prior art has been that the arrangement for detecting car position has been slow and laborious to install due to difficulties in positioning the car side components and the hoistway side counterpart arrangements accurately relative to each other.

[0006] Related prior art has been disclosed, inter alia, in documents EP1726553A1, JP2006321614A, CN204873306U and US2015096844A1.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The object of the invention is to introduce an elevator that is improved in terms of its position detection. An object is to introduce a solution by which one or more of the above defined problems of prior art and/or problems discussed or implied elsewhere in the description can be solved. An object is particularly to introduce an elevator solution wherein a car position detection arrangement can be installed simply, accurately, swiftly and freely of other components of elevator.

[0008] It is brought forward a new elevator comprising a hoistway; and an elevator car movable in the hoistway; and a counterweight movable in the hoistway; and a vertically oriented guide rail for guiding the elevator car; and a vertically oriented guide rail for guiding the counterweight; and vertically spaced apart landings; and a car position detection arrangement. The car position detection arrangement comprises a detector arrangement, which is mounted on the elevator car and comprises a first detector having a first detection range; and a plurality of vertically spaced apart counterpart arrangements for said detector arrangement, which are mounted on a guide rail inside the hoistway beside vertically spaced apart landings. Said first detector is arranged to detect presence of a first counterpart member within the first detection range. Each said counterpart arrangement comprises a horizontally oriented elongated supporting arm, which elongated supporting arm comprises a first end mounted on a guide rail and a second end. Each said counterpart arrangement further comprises a mounting base for one or more counterpart members, which mounting base is mounted on the second end of the elongated supporting arm; and a first counterpart member for said first detector which first counterpart member is mounted on the mounting base and positioned to be within the vertical projection of the detection range of the first detector. Said mounting base is made of plastic, and it is mounted on the elongated supporting arm with steplessly adjustable fixing means, the position of the mounting base relative to the elongated supporting arm being adjustable in vertical direction, and said first counterpart member is mounted on the mounting base with stepwise adjustable fixing means, the position of the first counterpart member relative to the mounting base being adjustable in vertical direction. Said guide rail on which the first ends of the counterpart arrangements are mounted comprises plurality of guide rail sections placed on top of each other, the ends of successive guide rail sections being fixed to each other with a fixing plate extending over the seam formed between the ends of the successive guide rail sections, and the first ends of the counterpart arrangements are mounted on the guide rail such that they are vertically displaced from the fixing plates, and the vertical position of the first counterpart member relative to the elongated supporting arm is adjustable in vertical direction between a topmost position and a lowermost position that are at least 250 mm apart in vertical direction. With this solution one or more of the above mentioned objects are achieved. Plastic material of the mounting base installed between the counterpart member and the arm enables long range of adjustability between the counterpart member and the arm utilizing complicated and vertically large structures without addition of weight to the free end of the arm. This allows use of a long arm as the mass located at the end of the arm remains low despite the long range of adjustability and complex structures. Hereby, the mass located at the end of the arm is not prone to swing with low frequency and large amplitude. This is essential for maintaining the counterpart member correctly placed, which is essential particularly in the elevator where the counterpart is a part of a car position detection arrangement where displacement of millimeters of the free end of the arm could possibly be harmful. Due to the long range of adjustability, the freedom of placement of the system relative to other components mounted on the guide rail is improved. Particularly, the counterpart arrangement can be swiftly be installed regardless of position of the fixing plates, i.e. the so-called fish plates, used for fixing successive guide rail sections to each other. This brings about that simple, accurate, swift and unlaborious installation is made possible. In the elevator, the position of the mounting base relative to the elongated supporting arm is steplessly adjustable in vertical direction between a topmost position and a lowermost position that are at least 50 mm apart in vertical direction, and the position of the first counterpart member relative to the mounting base is stepwise adjustable in vertical direction between a topmost position and lowermost position that are at least 200 mm apart in vertical direction.

[0009] Preferable further details are introduced in the description as well as in the dependent claims, which further details can be combined with the elevator individually or in any combination.

[0010] The elevator is preferably such that it controls movement of the car in response to signals from user interfaces located at landings and/or inside the car so as to serve persons on the landings and/or inside the elevator car. Preferably, the car has an interior space suitable for receiving a passenger or passengers, and the car can be provided with a door for forming a closed interior space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] In the following, the present invention will be described in more detail by way of example and with reference to the attached drawings, in which

Figure 1 illustrates an elevator according to an embodiment.

Figure 2 illustrates details of the elevator of Figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates three dimensionally preferred details of the counterpart arrangement of the elevator of Figure i.

Figure 4 illustrates a front view of parts of Figure 3 (guide rail not showed).

Figure 5 three dimensionally the structure of the guide rail of figures 1-3.

Figures 6 illustrates the mounting base of the counterpart arrangement in its uppermost position relative to the supporting arm.

Figures 7 illustrates the mounting base of the counterpart arrangement in its lowermost position relative to the supporting arm.

Figures 8 illustrates the counterpart member of the counterpart arrangement in its uppermost position relative to the mounting base.

Figures 9 illustrates the counterpart member of the counterpart arrangement in its lowermost position relative to the mounting base.

Figure 10 illustrates partially an exploded view of structures of the supporting arm. Figure 11 illustrates a cross sectional view A-A of Figure 4.

Figure 12 illustrates a cross sectional view B-B of Figure 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of an elevator according to a preferred embodiment. The elevator comprises a hoistway 1, an elevator car 2 vertically movable in the hoistway 1, as well as one or more vertically oriented guide rails 4 for guiding the elevator car 2. The elevator further comprises an counterweight 3 vertically movable in the hoistway 1, as well as one or more vertically oriented guide rails 5 for guiding the counterweight 3. For the sake of clarity, only one guide rail 4, 5 has been illustrated for each of the car 2 and the counterweight 3 in Figure 1. However, it is preferable that the elevator comprises two of said guide rails 4, 5 for each of the car 2 and the counterweight 3. The car 2 and the counterweight 3 are interconnected by a suspension roping R passing around one or more rope wheels mounted 6 in proximity of the upper end of the hoistway 1.

[0013] The elevator comprises vertically spaced apart landings L1-L3 where the car 2 can be stopped so that the passengers can enter or exit it. The car 2 has a car door D through which the passengers can pass. The landings L1-L3 are preferably provided with landing doors d as illustrated.

[0014] The elevator comprises a car position detection arrangement 7,10. The car position detection arrangement comprises a detector arrangement 7 mounted on the elevator car 2, and a plurality of vertically spaced apart counterpart arrangements 10 for said car position detector arrangement 7, which counterpart arrangements 10 are mounted on a guide rail 4 inside the hoistway 1 beside different vertically spaced apart landings L1-L3.

[0015] The principle and cooperation of the detector arrangement 7 and the counterpart arrangement 10 are illustrated in Figure 2. The detector arrangement 7 comprises at least a first detector 8 having a first detection range 9, and each counterpart arrangement 10 comprises a first counterpart member 11 for said first detector 8 that is mounted on the car 2. Said first detector 8 is arranged to detect presence of the first counterpart member 11 within the first detection range 9 thereof. The detector arrangement 7 being mounted on the car, the detectors 8 thereof travel along with the car 2. Each said first counterpart member 11 is positioned to be within the vertical projection of the detection range 9, and thereby in the path thereof. Each first counterpart member 11 is arranged to enter the first detection range 9 when the car 2 is moved such that the first counterpart member 11 in question and the first detection range 9 are vertically level with each other.

[0016] The counterpart arrangement 10 has been illustrated in Figure 2 schematically and in further details in Figure 3.

[0017] Each said counterpart arrangement 10 comprises a horizontally oriented elongated supporting arm 12, which elongated supporting arm 12 comprises a first end 13 mounted on a guide rail 4 and a second end 14, and a mounting base 15 for one or more counterpart members 11,21, which mounting base 15 is mounted on the second end 14 of the elongated supporting arm 12; and a first counterpart member 11 mounted on the mounting base 15. Said guide rail 4 on which the counterpart arrangements 10 have been mounted is preferably the guide rail for guiding the elevator car 2, whereby the counterpart members 11,21 mounted by it will be simply close to the car 2 and the detector arrangement 7 mounted thereon.

[0018] The horizontally oriented elongated supporting arm 12 is preferably furthermore oriented parallel with a wall of the car 2. Thus, when the car 2 is level with it, close positioning, and thereby positioning for making the detector and the counterpart thereof to meet, is achieved simply without collision risks or need for the detectors to protrude far outside the vertical projection of the car 2.

[0019] In the preferred embodiment, the counterpart member position of each counterpart arrangement 10 is made adjustable such that simple, accurate, swift and unlaborious installation is possible. This is made possible by the mounting base 15 being made of plastic and by a long range of adjustability provided thereby, the adjustability particularly being made to consists of a combination of adjustability between the elongated supporting arm 12 and said mounting base 15, as well as adjustability between said mounting base 15 and the counterpart member(s) 11,21 mounted thereon. It is further preferable, although not necessary, that said adjustability is provided by stepwise and stepless adjustment connections that are in series as will be also described hereinafter.

[0020] Figure 5 illustrates three dimensionally further details of the structure of the guide rail 4 of figures 1-3 on which the first ends 13 of the counterpart arrangements 10 are mounted. As illustrated, the guide rail 4 on which the first ends 13 of the counterpart arrangements 10 are mounted comprises plurality of elongated guide rail sections 4a,4b placed on top of each other. Each guide rail section 4a,4b is oriented in vertical direction v. The ends of successive guide rail sections 4a,4b are fixed to each other, end to end, with a fixing plate 50 extending over the seam 51 formed between the ends of the successive guide rail sections 4a,4b. The first ends 13 of the counterpart arrangements 10 are mounted on the guide rail 4 such that the first ends 13 are vertically displaced from the fixing plates 50. In practice, the first ends 13 are mounted above the fixing plates 50 as illustrated, or below the fixing plates 50. Thus, they are mounted on the guide rail 4 in a point that is not within the height of the fixing plate 50. Mounting the first ends 13 on a naked point of the guide rail 4 and still positioning the counterpart memberfs] 11,21 such that they are placed beside the fixing plate 50 is enabled by the structure enabling long range of vertical position adjustment as described elsewhere in the application. Figure 5 illustrates a simplified configuration for the sake of clarity. Figure 5 illustrates only two guide rail sections, but the number of guide rail sections of the guide rail 4 is preferably greater than two. The length of each guide rail section is preferably 2-7 meters.

[0021] Said mounting base 15 is made of plastic. It is mounted on the elongated supporting arm 12 with adjustable fixing means 16a,16b, the position of the mounting base 15 relative to the elongated supporting arm 12 being adjustable in vertical direction v, and said first counterpart member 11 is mounted on the mounting base 15 with adjustable fixing means 17a,17b,17c, the position of the first counterpart member 11 relative to the mounting base 15 being adjustable in vertical direction v. The adjustability of the mounting base 15 is furthermore in such scale that the vertical position of the first counterpart member 11 relative to the elongated supporting arm 12 is adjustable in vertical direction between a topmost position and a lowermost position that are at least 250 mm apart in vertical direction v. The adjustability will be further described later in the application referring to Figures 6-9.

[0022] The material of the mounting base 15 being plastic allows with low weight and simple manufacturing process such complexity in structure of the mounting base 15 that is needed providing adjustability between the supporting arm 12 and the mounting base 15 as well as between the counterpart memberfs] 11,21 and the mounting base 15. At the same time it allows designing large size that is needed for providing long range in the adjustability adequate to enable adjusting the position of the counterpart member[s] 11,21 such that they are placed beside the fixing plate 50 even when the mounting point of the supporting arm is displaced from the fixing plate 50.

[0023] In the following, the details will be further described referring to Figures 6-9. Said mounting base 15 is made of plastic and mounted on the elongated supporting arm 12 with adjustable fixing means 16a,16b as illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. The position of the mounting base 15 relative to the elongated supporting arm 12 is adjustable in vertical direction v. The adjustable fixing means 16a,16b are preferably steplessly adjustable fixing means, as presented. The position of the mounting base 15 relative to the elongated supporting arm 12 is steplessly adjustable in vertical direction v between a topmost position and a lowermost position, wherein said topmost position and lowermost position are preferably at least 50 mm apart in vertical direction v. The vertical adjusting range of the steplessly adjustable fixing means 16a,16b is thereby at least 50 mm. Thereby substantial stepless adjustability is provided by which finetuning is made possible in most elevator cases. Figure 6 illustrates the mounting base 15 in its topmost position and a Figure 7 illustrates the mounting base 15 in its lowermost position. The mounting base 15 is in the presented embodiment movable steplessly between these positions.

[0024] In the preferred embodiment presented, said steplessly adjustable fixing means 16a,16b comprise a hole 16a provided on the mounting base 15, which hole 16a is elongated in vertical direction v, and a tightening bolt 16b extending through said elongated hole 16a. The tightening bolt 16b is fixed on said elongated supporting arm 12 stationary in vertical direction v. For this purpose the supporting arm can comprise a threaded hole wherein the tightening bolt 16b is screwable, or alternatively there can be round hole in the supporting arm 12 through which the tightening bolt extends and a nut on the back side of the supporting arm 12. The hole 16a provided on the mounting base 15 is preferably at least 50 mm long in vertical direction v whereby this long adjustability is provided.

[0025] The mounting base 15 comprises a first support section 15a against which a first counterpart member 11 can be fixed. In the presented case, there is also a second support section 15b against which a second counterpart member 21 can be fixed. Hereby, in this example two counterpart members 11,21 can be fixed on the mounting base 15 as showed in Figures 3, 4, 8 and 9. Each said support section 15a,15b is preferably a profile flange having a support face facing in the longitudinal direction d of the supporting arm 12. Thus, a plate-shaped counterpart member 11,21 can be fixed by each said supportsection 15a,15b such thatthe plane thereof is vertical and orthogonal to the horizontal direction that is the longitudinal direction d of the supporting arm 12, which is advantageous for the relative positioning of the counterpart member 11,21 and the detector 8,18, as well as their interaction.

[0026] As mentioned, said first counterpart member 11 is mounted on the mounting base 15 with adjustable fixing means 17a, 17b, 17c, which are preferably stepwise adjustable fixing means 17a, 17b, 17c, as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. In the illustrated embodiment, the position of the first counterpart member 11 relative to the mounting base 15 is stepwise adjustable in vertical direction v between a topmost position and lowermost position that are at least 200 mm apart in vertical direction v. The vertical adjusting range of the stepwise adjustable fixing means 17 is thereby at least said 200 mm. The adjusting range of the adjustable fixing means 16a, 16b being said at least 50 mm, the overall adjusting range of the second counterpart member 21 then becomes at least 250 mm. The adjustability being as preferred, it is constituted by stepwise and stepless adjustment The range at least 250 mm will be enough to provide adjustability exceeding the need caused by fixing plates fishplates as well as fixing brackets utilized in mounting of guide rails in most common elevators.

[0027] Figure 8 illustrates the first counterpart member 11 in its topmost position and a Figure 9 illustrates the first counterpart member 11 in its lowermost position. The first counterpart member 11 is movable stepwise between these positions relative to the mounting base 15. In the presented case, between these extreme positions relative to the mounting base 15 the first counterpart member 11 is also positionable in intermediate positions relative to the mounting base 15 due to the great amount of holes 17a,17b present in the preferred implementation illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. The implementation is explained in further details in the following.

[0028] Said stepwise adjustable fixing means 17a, 17b,17c comprise plurality of fixing holes 17a provided on said mounting base 15 that are spaced apart in vertical direction v, and plurality of holes 17b provided on said first counterpart member 11 that are spaced apart in vertical direction v, the holes 17a of the mounting base 15 and the holes 17b of the first counterpart member 11 being positioned relative to each other such (e.g. at regular intervals] that said mounting base 15 and said first counterpart member 11 are mountable against each other in plurality of vertical positions such that the holes 17a of said first counterpart member 11 and the holes 17b of said mounting base 15 coincide, and said stepwise adjustable fixing means 17a, 17b, 17c further comprise one or more fixing bolts 17c extending through coinciding holes 17a, 17b of said first counterpart member 11 said mounting base 15. The holes 17a of the mounting base 15 and the holes 17b of the counterpart member 11 are preferably short in vertical direction, such as less than 15 mm in vertical direction as illustrated or round, as they are not intended to provide stepless adjustability.

[0029] The aforementioned stepwise adjustability enables prepositioning of the mounting base 15 and the counterpart member 11 such that the position of the counterpart member 11 is roughly as desired. The prepositioning can be performed when mounting the individual counterpart arrangement 10 on the guide rail 4. At this stage, the finetuning is not necessary, and possibly not even possible, whereby it is preferably done later. The stepless adjustment allows the later finetuning of the counterpart member 11 position such that the specific relative position between it and the detector(s) mounted on the car 2 can be obtained with high accuracy while avoiding with high degree the need to change the position of the complete counterpart arrangement 10. The process can be, for instance, such that the counterpart arrangements 10 are first all distributed and mounted at roughly correct vertical positions in the hoistway 1, even already before installation of the car 2. At a later stage in the installation process of the elevator, they all are finetuned to the exactly correct position by driving the car 2 at each landing and while at the landing adjusting the first counterpart member 11 to be level with the detection range 9 of the first detector 8. The desired exact position of each first counterpart member 11 is within the adjustment tolerance of the stepwise adjustment, due to the rough adjustment carried out earlier. Thus, the final exact position of each first counterpart member 11 can be adjusted by stopping at each landing and with one drive of the car 2 working from the roof of the car 2. The process thus obtained is very swift and simple. The process is to be performed for each pair of detector and counterpart member 8,18;11,21 in this manner, when there are plurality of counterpart members 11,21 comprised in each counterpart arrangement 10. The long range of adjustment on the other hand allows positioning of the counterpart arrangement 10 vertically apart from the level of fixing plates [fish plates] of the guide rail and/or from the level of guide rail brackets used for fixing the guide rail immovably on a wall of the hoistway. The range specified provides adjustability that is adequate to allow free positioning with most known brackets and fishplates. If the fish plate or a bracket happens to be positioned at a troublesome level, owing to the long range of adjustment, the counterpart arrangement 10 can be position above it or below it, and adjusted such that it comes to be positioned optimally relative to the landing and car detectors.

[0030] It is preferable, although not necessary, that the detector arrangement 7, which is mounted on the elevator car 2, further comprises a second detector 18 having a second detection range 19, as illustrated in Figure 2. Owing to the plastic material, a mounting base 15 of increased size and more complex structure, is simple to produce without problems in performance thereof. In this case, each said counterpart arrangement 10 further comprises a second counterpart member 21 for said second detector 18, as illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. Then, correspondingly as already explained with the first counterpart member 11, the second counterpart member 21 is positioned to be within the vertical projection of the second detection range 19 of the second detector 18 and said second detector 18 is arranged to detect presence of the counterpart member 21 within the second detection range 19, and each said counterpart arrangement 10 further comprises a second counterpart member 21 mounted on the mounting base 15. Thus, a dual system is formed whereby two parallel position detections of the car are provided. These can be used for different purposes and their spatial features optimized individually, while at the same time utilizing common mounting components so that a very compact, yet simply variable overall arrangement can be provided. For example, the vertical length of each counterpart member 11, 21 can be optimized so that the level where detection by the relevant detector is realized, becomes as desired. One of the counterpart members 11, 21 can be utilized for detecting whether the car 2 is within a larger vertical zone e.g. for being used to indicate when the car 2 has reached a certain point during its arrival a landing so that the door(s) d,D leading to the closest landing can be operated accordingly. The other one can be utilized for detecting whether the car 2 is within a short vertical zone where is should not exit while parked at a landing. Exit from the short vertical zone can then be used for triggering releveling function. These are, however, only preferred examples of the functions where the elevator can utilize the detection(s), as there are various alternative functions where the elevator could utilize information obtained by this kind of detection(s).

[0031] As illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, said second counterpart member 21 is mounted on the mounting base 15 correspondingly as already explained with the first counterpart member 11, with stepwise adjustable fixing means 27a, 27b,27c, the position of the second counterpart member 21 relative to the mounting base 15 being stepwise adjustable in vertical direction between a topmost position and lowermost position that are at least 200 mm apart in vertical direction, the vertical adjusting range of the stepwise adjustable fixing means 27a, 27b,27c is thereby at least said 200 mm. The overall adjusting range of the second counterpart member 21 then becomes at least 250 mm that is constituted by stepwise and stepless adjustment. This will be enough to provide adjustability exceeding the need caused by fixing brackets and fishplates utilized for mounting guide rails in most common elevators. Figure 8 illustrates the second counterpart member 21 in its topmost position and a Figure 9 illustrates the second counterpart member 21 in its lowermost position.

[0032] Correspondingly as already explained with the stepwise adjustable fixing means of the first counterpart member 11, said stepwise adjustable fixing means 27a, 2 7b,2 7c of the second counterpart member 21 comprise plurality of fixing holes 27a provided on said mounting base 15 that are spaced apart in vertical direction v, and plurality of holes 27b provided on said second counterpart member 21 that are spaced apart in vertical direction v, the holes 27a of the mounting base 15 and the holes 27b of the second counterpart member 21 being positioned relative to each other such [e.g. at regular intervals] that said mounting base 15 and said second counterpart member 21 are mountable against each other in plurality of vertical positions such that the holes 17a of said second counterpart member (21) and the holes 27b of said mounting base 15 coincide, and said stepwise adjustable fixing means 27a, 27b,27c further comprise one or more fixing bolts 27c extending through coinciding holes 27a,27b of said second counterpart member 21 said mounting base 15.

[0033] The stepwise adjustable fixing means 27a, 27b,27c; 17a, 17b,17c of the first counterpart member 11 and the second counterpart member 21 are adjustable separately from each other. Said first counterpart member 21 and said second counterpart member 21 are mounted on the mounting base 15 with separate stepwise adjustable fixing means 27a, 27b,27c; 17a, 17b,17c, their positions relative to the mounting base 15 being stepwise adjustable in vertical direction v independently of each other. Thus, exact positions of the first and second counterpart member 11,21 can be independently set.

[0034] Generally, each of said detectors 8,18 is a contactless electric detector suitable for detecting presence of a counterpart member within the detection range thereof. Preferably, each of said detectors 8,18 presented is preferably such that it is configured to produce a magnetic field within the detection range 9,19 thereof, and to detect changes in the magnetic field caused by metal entering or exiting the magnetic field, and each said counterpart member 11,21 presented is a vertically oriented elongated metal member, such as an elongated metal plate. Each of said detectors 8,18 presented can be in the form of an oscillator detector 8,18.

[0035] Each said elongated supporting arm 12 is preferably made of plastic. It is also preferable, that the overall length of the elongated supporting arm 12 is simply variable to fit the elevator. Installation of this kind of elevator is hereby swift, and the manufacturing and maintenance costs thereof are reduced because same components can be used with elevators having different elevator layouts. The variability of length of said elongated supporting arm 12 is provided preferably as illustrated in Figure 2. In this embodiment, the elongated supporting arm 12 comprises an elongated arm section 12a made of plastic and forming the first end 13 of the elongated supporting arm 12 that is mounted on a guide rail 4, and an end section 12b made of plastic forming the second end 14; and a connector section 12c made of plastic, positioned between the and the elongated arm section 12a and the end section 12b and connecting these rigidly to each other, wherein said connector section 12c is a tube profile part having a first and second open ends, one end pointing in longitudinal direction d of the supporting arm 12 towards the elongated arm section 12a, and the other end pointing in longitudinal direction d of the supporting arm 12 towards the end section 12b, and an end of the elongated arm section 12a has been inserted into the first open end of the connector section 12c, and an end of the end section 12b is inserted into the second open end of the connector section 12c. The connector section 12c can be fixed by screws to the elongated arm section 12a and/or the end section 12b so as to facilitate firmness of the connection, for instance.

[0036] The connector section 12c being a tube profile part having a first open end and second open end provides that it can be manufactured to be of any desired length simply by first forming a tube profile and cutting a desired length from it. By choice of length of the connector section 12c, i.e. the length of the tube profile part, the distance between the elongated arm section 12a and the end section 12b can be simply set to be as desired without modifying the elongated arm section 12a or the end section 12b, which are more complicated plastic components, and require manufacturing with a specific mold in an injection molding process. Variation of a tube profile part, on the other hand, does not require having several different molds, because this kind of part can be made by cutting from a longer piece, even on the installation site. The resulting overall structure of the counterpart arrangement is extremely well adjustable in all important directions whereby the elevator becomes very simple, accurate, swift and unlaborious to install.

[0037] It is also an advantage that the second end 14 can be detached from the first end 13, and the vertical position of the counterpart member(s) 11,21 as well as the mounting base, supported by the second end 14 can be adjusted without affecting other adjustments, such as the lateral and vertical position of the supporting arm 12 relative to the guide rail. Adjustments of the counterpart member(s) 11,21 as well as of the mounting base need not be done in a difficult working position. Particularly, the stepwise adjustment of the counterpart member(s) 11,21 do not need to be connected with the guide rail 4 when adjusting them. Thus, the adjustment thereof can be done effectively while the end section 12b is detached from the arm section 12a already earlier mounted on the guide rail 4.

[0038] Figures 10 to 12 illustrate details of the elongated arm section 12a, the end section 12b and the connector section 12c. Figure 9 illustrates an exploded view, Figure 11 illustrates a cross sectional view A-A of Figure 4 and Figure 12 illustrates a cross sectional view B-B of Figure 4.

[0039] Said connector section 12c is a tube profile part having an inside space of rectangular cross section, and the end of the elongated arm section 12a inserted into the first open end of the connector section 12c, and the end of the end section 12b inserted into the second open end of the connector section 12c are both rectangular.

[0040] In Figure 1, the suspension ratio of the elevator is 1:1. However, this is only one exemplary way to suspend the car 2 and counterweight 3. For example, the suspension ratio could alternatively be 2:1 where the car and the counterweight are each supported by the rope 1 via an additional rope wheel mounted on the car and the counterweight, respectively. Of course, the invention can be used also with any other kind of suspension ratio.

[0041] The guide rail 4 on which the counterpart arrangements 10 are mounted, as well as the guide rail sections 4a,4b comprised in it, has a T-shaped cross-section, as illustrated in Figures. Then, it comprises a back section having a back face against which the elongated supporting arm 12 can be mounted to lean, and a guide section along which a guide member can travel. The guide member is mounted on the elevator unit being guided by the guide rail, i.e. the car or counterweight. The guide member may be a set of rollers or sliders, for instance. The guide rail being T-shaped, the guide section and the back section are substantially plate shaped and, the guide section protrudes from the center area of the back section orthogonally towards the front side of the guide rail 4.

[0042] Said mounting base 15 is preferably made of plastic by injection molding. Injection molding process allows the mounting base 15 to be designed to have a complicated structure with small amount of additional processing. The mounting base 15 can be a one-piece plastic part, or alternatively it can consist of two or more plastic parts connected together. The components 12a,12b,12c of the supporting arm 12 are preferably also made of plastic by injection molding. Said plastic of the mounting base 15 and/or of the components 12a, 12b, 12c of the supporting arm 12 can basically be any plastic material, such as plastic comprising thermosetting polymer (e.g. epoxy, phenolic] or thermoplastic polymer (e.g. nylon, polyethylene, or polystyrene]. So as to have an improved dimensional stability of the components in high temperature conditions (e.g. during fire], the plastic preferably comprises thermosetting polymer.

[0043] As for the dimensions of the components, it is preferable that the elongated supporting arm 12 is more than 400 mm long. In each counterpart arrangement 10, the mounting base 15 is mounted via only one arm 12, whereby the system is easily sensitive to sway problems. In context of solutions necessitating an arm more than 400 mm long, the challenges related to sway of the arm become substantial. The fixing plate 50 on the other hand is preferably more than 150 mm long in vertical direction v so that it can firmly fix the consecutive guide sections to each other.

[0044] It is to be understood that the above description and the accompanying Figures are only intended to teach the best way known to the inventors to make and use the invention. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The above-described embodiments of the invention may thus be modified or varied, without departing from the invention, as appreciated by those skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that the invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

An elevator comprising an elevator shaft (1}; and an elevator car (2) movable within the elevator shaft (1); and a counterweight (3) movable within the elevator shaft (1); and a vertical guide (4) for guiding the elevator car (2). and a vertical guide (5) for controlling the counterweight (3); and vertically spaced floor planes (L1-L3); and a basket position identification arrangement (7,10) comprising a sensor arrangement (7) mounted on the elevator car (2) and comprising: a first sensor (8) having a first detection range (9); and a plurality of vertically spaced counterpart arrangements (10) for said sensor arrangement (7) mounted in the elevator shaft on one of the vertical guides (4,5) vertically spaced floor planks (L1-L3); wherein said first sensor (8) is arranged to detect the presence of a first counterpart element (11) within the first detection range (9), and wherein each of said counterpart sub-arrangements (10) comprises a horizontal elongated support arm (12), the elongated support arm (12) comprising a first end (13) mounted on a guide (4) and a second end (14); and an mounting base (15) for one or more counterpart members (11, 21) mounted on one end (14) of the support arm (12); and a first mating member (11) for said first sensor (8), the first mating member (11) being mounted on a mounting base (15) and positioned within a vertical projection of the detection base (9) of the first sensor (8), characterized in plastic, and said mounting base (15) is mounted on an elongated support arm (12) with infinitely adjustable fastening means (16a, 16b), and the position of the support base (15) relative to the elongated support arm (12) is adjustable vertically (v); is mounted on the mounting base (15) with stepwise adjustable fastening means (17a, 17b, 17c), and the position of the first mating member (11) relative to the supporting member (15) is vertically adjustable (v) and said guide (4) (13) is mounted, comprises a plurality of guide sections (4a, 4b) superimposed, and the ends of the successive guide portions (4a, 4b] being secured to each other by a fastening plate (50) extending over a seam (51) formed between the ends of the successive guide portions (4a, 4b] and the first ends (13) of that they are vertically spaced from the mounting plates (50] and the vertical position of the first counterpart member (11) relative to the elongated support arm (12) must be vertically adjustable between the upper position and the lowest position at least 250 mm vertically (v); 15] the position relative to the elongated support arm (12) shall be infinitely adjustable vertically (v) between the upper position and the lowest position at least 50 mm apart in the vertical position (v) and the position of the first counter member (11) relative to the mounting base (15) vertically (v) the highest position and the lowest position not less than 200 m m apart vertically (v], between.

Elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that said infinitely adjustable fastening means (16a, 16b) comprises a hole (16a) arranged in the mounting base (15), the hole (16a) being elongated vertically (v) and a clamping bolt (16b) which extends through said elongated bore (16a), and the clamping bolt (16b) is fixed in said vertical (v) position on said elongated support arm (12).

Elevator according to claim 2, characterized in that said hole (16a) arranged in the mounting base (15) is at least 50 mm long in the vertical direction (v).

Elevator according to claim 3, characterized in that said stepwise adjustable fastening means (17a, 17b, 17c) of said first counterpart element (11) comprises a plurality of fastening holes (17a) arranged in said mounting base (15) and spaced vertically (v), and a plurality of holes (17b) disposed vertically (v) in said first mating member (11) and the holes (17a) of the mounting base (15) and the holes (17a) of the first mating member (11) relative to one another; 15) and said mating member (11) can be mounted against each other in a plurality of vertical positions with the holes (17a) of the mounting base (15) and the holes (17a) of the mating member (11), and said stepwise adjustable fastening means (17a, 17b, 17c) comprising one or more mounting bolts (17c) extending from the first mating member (11) and the mounting base (15) through aligned holes (17a, 17b).

Elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that said first sensor (8) is adapted to produce a magnetic field within its detection range and to detect changes in the magnetic field caused by metal entering or leaving the magnetic field, and the first counter member (11) is a vertical elongated metal member.

Elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that said guide (4) on which the counterparts (10) are mounted has a T-shaped cross-section.

Elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that the identification arrangement (7) further mounted on the elevator car (2) further comprises a second detector (18) having a second detecting range (19), and each said counterpart arrangement further comprises a second counterpart element (21). said second sensor (18), which second mating element (21) is mounted on a mounting platform (15) and is positioned within a vertical projection of the detection sensor (19) of the second sensor (18), and said second sensor (18) is arranged to detect the presence of (19), said second mating member (21) is mounted on the mounting base (15) by adjustable fastening means (27a, 27b, 27c), and the vertical position of the second mating member (21) relative to the mounting member (15) is adjustable (v) and 21) the vertical position relative to the elongated support arm (12) must be vertically adjustable in the upper position; a between the lowest position which is at least 250 mm apart in the vertical direction (v).

Elevator according to claim 7, characterized in that the mounting base (15) comprises a first support section (15a) against which the first counterpart (11} is fixed) and a second support section (15b) against which the second counterpart (21) is fixed.

Elevator according to claim 7, characterized in that the position of the second counterpart element (21) with respect to the mounting platform (15) is adjustable vertically (v} between the upper position and the lowest position at least 200 mm apart in the vertical position (v}.

Elevator according to claim 9, characterized in that said adjustable fastening means (27a, 27b, 27c}, wherein said second mating member (21} is mounted on a mounting platform (15) are step-adjustable mooring means (27a, 27b, 27c}, and (21} position relative to the mounting platform (15} must be stepwise adjustable between the top position and the lowest position at least 200 mm apart in the vertical position (v}.

Elevator according to claim 10, characterized in that said stepwise adjustable fastening means (27a, 27b, 27c} of said second counterpart element (21} comprises a plurality of fastening holes (27a) arranged in said mounting base (15), a plurality of holes (27b) provided in said second counterpart (21}) spaced vertically (v) and the holes (27a) of the mounting base (15) and the holes (27a) of the second counterpart (21) such that said mounting plate ( 15) and said second mating member (21) can be mounted against each other in a plurality of vertical positions with the holes (27a) of the second mating member (21) and the holes (27a) of the mounting base (15), and said stepwise adjustable fastening means (27a, 27b, 27c) ) further comprising one or more fastening bolts (27c) extending in line with the second mating member (21) and mounting base (15) through the holes (27a, 27b).

Elevator according to claim 11, characterized in that said first mating member (11) and said second mating member (21) are mounted on the mounting base (15) by separate stepwise adjustable fastening means (27a, 27b, 27c; 17a, 17b, 17c) and the positions relative to the mounting base (15) are step-adjustable vertically (v) independently of one another.

Elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that each of said horizontal elongated support arms (12) is made of plastic.

Elevator according to claim 13, characterized in that each of said horizontal elongated support arms (12) comprises an elongated shaft portion (12a) made of plastic and forming a first end (13) mounted on a guide (4); and an end portion (12b) made of plastic and forming a second end (14); a connecting portion (12c) made of plastic disposed between and extending rigidly between the elongate shaft portion (12a) and the end portion (12b), wherein said connecting portion (12c) is a tubular profile portion having a first open end and a second open end, and a first open end the head points toward the elongated shaft portion (12a) and the other open end points toward the end portion (12b), and the end of the elongated shaft portion (12a) is disposed at the first open end of the junction portion (12c) and the end portion is positioned at the second open end.

Elevator according to claim 14, characterized in that said connecting portion (12c) is a tubular profile portion having an interior having a rectangular cross-section and an end of an elongated shaft portion (12a) disposed at the first open end of the connecting portion (12c) and the end disposed at the other open end of the joint portion (12c) is each rectangular.

Elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that the fastening plate (50) is more than 150 mm long in the vertical direction (v).

Elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that the elongated support arm (12) is more than 400 mm long.

Elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that said mounting base (15) is made of plastic by injection molding.