JP2003182944A - Elevator device having drive unit and control unit arranged in elevator hoistway - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To guarantee simple maintenance of a control unit having the maximum safety as much as possible and advantageous facility cost as much as possible by a drive unit and the control unit arranged in an elevator hoistway. <P>SOLUTION: In an elevator device 1, the drive unit 4 and the control unit 5 are arranged in the elevator hoistway 2. An elevator cage 3 guided in the elevator hoistway 2 can move by the drive unit 4 when the control unit 5 is arranged at an operation position. The control unit 5 can be moved to a maintenance position where access is possible in only the elevator hoistway 2 from the operation position by means 10, 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention proceeds from an elevator installation having a drive unit and a control unit arranged in an elevator hoistway as described in the introductory part of claim 1.

[0002]

2. Description of the Prior Art Conventionally, special engine rooms were used for elevator installations, in particular for accommodating drive units and control units. However, this requires, for example, an additional engine room on the roof of the building, which causes considerable additional costs. Therefore, an elevator system has been proposed in which a drive unit and a control unit are arranged in an elevator hoistway space without a separate engine room.

EP-A-0710618 shows such an embodiment in which the elevator car has a drive wheel elevator which moves along an elevator guide rail. The drive engine unit is arranged at the upper end of the guide rail on the carrier outside the travel path of the elevator car. The current supply and control of the elevator are likewise arranged on this carrier. In the case of maintenance work of such an elevator, which has to be regulated for safety reasons, or in the case of a failure, however, due to the fixed configuration and the narrow space above the elevator hoistway, the elevator controls It is extremely difficult to remove and inspect.

According to US Pat. No. 6,230,845, it has been proposed to arrange a control box in the space in the elevator hoistway where the elevator car does not run. By means of one mechanism, the control box can be swiveled towards the elevator hoistway door and thus accessible from the floor outside the elevator hoistway space. In one form of the embodiment disclosed therein, two switches are located on the control box.
One serves the purpose of releasing the elevator for use in the case of correct turning of the control box into the elevator hoistway space. Other switches serve the purpose of releasing the elevator for conditional use as the control box swivels out. However, this arrangement is relatively complex and therefore expensive. Furthermore, the security of such a configuration is not always guaranteed, since unauthorized persons can interfere with the control unit from the outside.

[0007] According to FR-A-2792467 it was proposed to mount a control box outside the elevator hoistway at the ceiling of the building near the elevator hoistway door. The control box is pivotable downwards in the form of a folding door, whereby the control components are accessible for maintenance work. However, this too can be accessed by unauthorized people,
The safety of the elevator system will be impaired. Furthermore, the controls located outside the elevator hoistway require additional wiring and a relatively complex control box, increasing equipment costs.

[0006]

[Patent Document 1] European Patent Application Publication No. 0710618

[Patent Document 2] US Pat. No. 6,230,845

[Patent Document 3] French Patent Application Publication No. 2792467

[0007]

The invention is based on an elevator installation of the kind mentioned in the introduction, which has a drive unit and a control unit arranged in the elevator hoistway.
The purpose is to ensure a simple maintenance of the control unit, which has the highest possible safety and the most favorable equipment costs.

[0008]

According to the invention, this is achieved by the features of claim 1.

The core of the invention is therefore that by some means it is possible to move the control unit from the operating position to a maintenance position which is accessible only in the elevator hoistway.

An advantage of the present invention is found above all in that the control unit can be moved to a maintenance position which is easily accessible in the elevator hoistway, but is accessible only in the elevator hoistway. On the one hand, the control unit
As easily accessible as the drive unit,
The drawbacks of the prior art are thereby overcome, and, on the other hand, an unauthorized person does not have any external access to the control unit, so that a high degree of security can be guaranteed. Furthermore, the arrangement according to the invention is very cost-effective compared to the known arrangements.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are apparent from the dependent claims.

It is advantageous to fold the control unit downwards by means of a hinge mechanism, thus allowing access to the control unit and the drive unit.

Thus, it is advantageous if the control unit and the drive unit are constructed as compact units, which simplifies the installation and reduces the structural height.

Furthermore, it is particularly advantageous that the control unit in the maintenance position activates the existing emergency limit switch to block the cage. In this way, the cage can no longer be raised, which protects maintenance personnel from unintentional running of the cage. Therefore, the additional safety and / or monitoring contacts known and previously used no longer have to be used.

Examples of embodiments of the present invention are explained in detail below with reference to the drawings. All features which are not essential for a direct understanding of the invention have been omitted. Similar elements in the various figures are given the same reference numerals.

Only the essential elements are shown for the understanding of the present invention. Cables as well as electrical leads for the movement of the elevator car, for example, are not shown.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An elevator installation 1 according to FIG.
Are arranged in the self-standing elevator hoistway 2.
This elevator installation 1 essentially consists of an elevator car 3, a drive unit 4, a control unit 5 and a guide structure 7. The drive unit 4 is connected to the guide structure 7 via the engine mounting plate 6.
The control unit 5 comprises a control component 8 which can be mounted, for example, as a module that can be plugged into the control unit. The control unit 5 includes a hinge mechanism section 11 and a latch 10.
Are connected to the drive unit 4 by. As the hinge mechanism portion, for example, a known hinge or rotary joint can be used. The drive unit 4 and the control unit 5 are
It forms one compact unit, which facilitates installation in the elevator hoistway. The elevator car 3 can be moved up and down in the elevator hoistway 2 by a drive unit 4 in order to convey people and goods.
In the upper area of the cage, a cam 12 is arranged which rides on the emergency limit switch 9 when rising, whereby the control unit stops the drive unit and thus the cage. This prevents the elevator car from traveling beyond the top floor.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the drive unit 4 connected to the control unit 5 by the hinge mechanism section 11 and the latch 10. Several control components 8
It can be arranged in the control unit 5. In that case, latch 1
0 is a latch element 10a which is arranged on the control unit 5 and has a recess, and another latch element 10 which is arranged on the drive unit and which engages this latch element 10a.
b and can work.

FIG. 3 shows the control unit 5 in the maintenance position. A maintenance worker for the purpose of maintenance moves the elevator cage 2 to a position suitable for maintenance, and opens a hatch (not shown) on the cage roof. Through a slight lifting of the control unit 5, the latch is released by the latch elements 10a, 10b and the control unit 5 is folded down. In that case, the emergency limit switch 9 is actuated by the underside of the control unit 5 to lock the cage. A cam (not shown) can be attached to the control unit 5 for actuation of this switch. Thus, the cage 3 can no longer be raised, which protects the maintenance personnel from unintentional running of the cage. The known additional safety and / or monitoring contacts therefore no longer have to be used. The downwardly folded control unit 5 allows maintenance personnel to service and / or replace control components. Furthermore,
Access to the drive unit 4, which is likewise possible to be serviced, is free due to the downwardly folded control unit 5. After the maintenance has been carried out, the control unit 5
It pivots back up and is stopped by the latch elements 10a, 10b. The upward swing releases the emergency limit switch 9 and the safety circuit, the control unit releases the drive unit again and the cage is movable. Further improvement of the safety of maintenance personnel is due to the unintentional running or movement of the cage after the further release of the emergency limit switch.
This can be achieved in that it is prevented by the maintenance work mode, which has to be manually switched to release again.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the illustrated and described examples of embodiments. The upward turning and the downward turning of the control unit 5 can be performed by a device other than the above-mentioned hinge mechanism section. The latching of the control unit in the operating position can also be carried out by other means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a hoistway of an elevator installation.

2 shows a plan view of a control unit and a drive unit of the elevator installation according to FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the hoistway of an elevator installation with a control unit folded downwards.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 elevator equipment 2 elevator hoistways 3 elevator cage 4 drive unit 5 control unit 6 Engine mounting plate 7 Guide structure 8 Control components 9 Limit switch 10 latch 11 Hinge mechanism 12 cams 10a, 10b Latch element

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 3F002 CA03 DA09 GB02                 3F304 BA01 BA22 EA05 EB17                 3F305 BA11 BD04

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An elevator cage (3) having a drive unit (4) and a control unit (5) arranged in an elevator hoistway (2) and guided in the elevator hoistway (2), An elevator installation (1) which is movable by the drive unit (4) and the control unit (5) is placed in an operating position, the control unit (5) being provided by means (10, 11) An elevator installation, characterized in that it can be moved from the operating position to a maintenance position accessible only in the elevator hoistway (2). 2. The control unit (5) is capable of pivoting from the operating position to the maintenance position accessible only within the elevator hoistway (2) by means of a hinge mechanism (11). The elevator apparatus according to claim 1. 3. Elevator device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the drive unit (4) and the control unit (5) are configured as compact units. 4. The drive unit (4) and the control unit (5) are arranged at the upper end of the elevator hoistway and / or the guide structure (7). The elevator apparatus according to claim 3. 5. The drive unit (4) and the control unit (5) are fixed to the guide structure (7) by a motor mounting plate (6).
The elevator apparatus according to claim 4. 6. An emergency limit switch (9) is arranged so that it is operable to lock the elevator car (3) when the control unit (5) is arranged in the maintenance position. Claims 1 to 5 characterized
The elevator apparatus according to claim 1.