JP2701973B2 - Elevator equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an elevator apparatus.

[Problems to be solved by the prior art and the invention]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an elevator device attached to a building or the like includes an elevator shaft provided along a vertical direction of the building, and a cage for accommodating a user. The cage is suspended in the elevator shaft by a wire cable, and is moved up and down in the elevator shaft by winding and pulling out the wire cable, and moves to the floor where a call is made from the user to carry the user. .

However, the conventional elevator apparatus cannot accommodate a plurality of cages in one elevator shaft. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the moving speed of the cage or to increase the number of elevator shafts in order to increase the amount of transport per unit time and unit area of the building for the user. However, there is a limit to the moving speed of the cage, and when the number of elevator shafts is increased, there is a problem that the space in the building cannot be used effectively because the use area of each floor of the building decreases. .

For this reason, an elevator apparatus in which a plurality of cages are movably accommodated in an elevator shaft formed in a loop shape by connecting the upper end and the lower end of each of the ascending route and the descending route with an upper passage and a lower passage. It has been proposed (see JP-A-62-275987). This elevator system
Each of the plurality of elevator cars circulates and moves in the same direction along the elevator shaft. As a result, a plurality of elevator cages can be accommodated in the elevator shaft, the amount of transport per user per unit time can be increased, and the space in the building can be used effectively.

However, in this elevator apparatus, when the cage on the ascending route descends, it is necessary to temporarily move to the top of the ascending route and move to the descending route via the upper passage. Also, when the cage on the descending route rises, it is necessary to move to the lowermost portion of the descending route and move to the ascending route via the lower passage. For this reason, in the above case, it is not possible to immediately respond to the call from the user, and the waiting time from when the user makes a call to when the cage arrives may be long. The improvement of the user's transportation volume was not enough.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and has as its object to obtain an elevator apparatus that can improve the transport amount of a user per unit time and can effectively use the space in a building. is there.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, an elevator apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of elevating passages, a traversing passage communicating between the elevating passages, and moving in the ascending and descending directions in the elevating passages. A plurality of cages that are movable in a first direction along the traversing passage and protrudable in a second direction that intersects the first direction, and protrude in the second direction. A moving unit capable of supporting the cage in a state, and moving means for moving the moving unit along the traversing path while the moving unit supports the cage;
have.

[Action]

In the present invention, the cage is moved in the ascending and descending directions in the plurality of elevating passages. In addition, the cage is supported by a moving part that protrudes in a second direction in a direction intersecting the first direction along the traversing passage. The moving part is moved along the traversing path while supporting the cage. For this reason, the cage can move between the elevating passages via the traversing passages, and a plurality of cages can be accommodated in the passage composed of the elevating passages and the traversing passages. Also, when a call is made by a user, the cage can move up and down in the elevating passage and immediately move to the floor where the call was made by the user. There is no longer the waiting time between arrival and the arrival of the cage. For this reason, the transport amount of the user per unit time can be improved.

When the cage moves in the ascending / descending passage in the ascending or descending direction, the moving unit can move in the direction opposite to the second direction and retreat to a position where it does not protrude into the passage. The presence of the part does not hinder the movement of the cage in the upward and downward directions.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a building 10 on which an elevator device according to the invention is mounted. The building 10 has an elevator shaft that extends in the vertical direction of the building 10.
12 are formed. The elevator apparatus has a plurality of (four or more) cages described later, and each cage moves within the elevator shaft 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the elevator shaft 12 is sized to accommodate four cages 18 arranged in a row in the horizontal direction, and each cage 18 is located in the vertical direction of the building 10. Ie the elevator shaft 12
Is a lifting passage 14 for raising and lowering the cage 18 over the entire length in the longitudinal direction. The elevator shaft 1 is provided on the inner wall surface 12A of the elevator shaft 12 corresponding to each of the elevating passages 14.
The elevating drive unit 20 is provided over the entire length in the longitudinal direction of No. 2. The lift drive unit 20 moves the cage 18 up and down along the lift passage 14. The details of the elevation drive unit 20 will be described later.

Each floor of building 10 has an elevator shaft 12
, An elevator hall 22 is formed. In the elevator hall 22, the user who calls the cage 18 has the cage.
The elevator hall 22 is provided with four entrances 24 corresponding to the elevating passage 14. Each entrance 24 is provided with a door 26 that can be opened and closed by a slide mechanism (not shown). Corresponding to the door 26, the cage 18 is also provided with a door 30 that is opened and closed by being guided and slid by the guide rail 28 (see FIG. 3), and is shown when the user gets on and off the cage 18. The door 26 and the door 30 are opened and closed in conjunction with each other by a driving means that is not used. This allows the user to move from the entrance 24 to the cage
You can get on and off at 18. A call button 82 for a user to call the cage 18 is attached to the elevator hall 22 on each floor, and each call button 82 is connected to the control device 80 (see FIG. 7). The control device 80 operates the call button 82 to operate the cage from the user.
Detect 18 calls.

A traversing drive unit 32 is mounted below the floor of the elevator hall 22 near the entrance 24. Elevator shaft
The space between the elevating passages 14 in the space 12 is a traversing passage 16. The traversing drive unit 32 moves the cage 18 located in the predetermined elevating passage 14 to another elevating passage 14 via the traversing passage 16. The traversing drive unit 32 will also be described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the lifting drive units 20 includes a pair of lifting guide rails 34 each having a substantially L-shaped cross section. The elevating guide rail 34 is oriented such that the substantially L-shaped tip portions 34A face opposite sides, and the longitudinal direction of the elevating guide rail 34 coincides with the longitudinal direction of the elevator shaft 12, that is, the elevating passage. It is fixed to the inner wall surface 12A of the elevator shaft 12 along the line 14. A rack 36 is engraved on the opposing surfaces of the elevating guide rails 34 over the entire length of the elevating guide rails 34 in the longitudinal direction.

A slide rail 38 is mounted on the upper surface of the cage 18, and a lifting assistance motor 40 is arranged corresponding to the slide rail 38. A not-shown bracket which is engaged with the slide rail 38 and is movable only in a direction approaching and away from the lifting drive unit 20 is fixed to the lifting assistance motor 40. With this, the lifting assist motor
40 is the direction approaching the lifting drive unit 20 (direction of arrow A in FIG. 3)
And can be moved only in the separating direction (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3). A hydraulic jack is provided on the top of the cage 18.
One end of the hydraulic jack 42 is attached, and the other end of the hydraulic jack 42 is attached to the lifting assist motor 40. The hydraulic jack 42 expands and contracts by the hydraulic pressure of oil supplied from a hydraulic motor 44 (see FIG. 7) via a pipe (not shown). The lifting assistance motor 40 is moved in accordance with the expansion and contraction of the hydraulic jack 42.

A pinion gear 46 is attached to a drive shaft of the lifting assistance motor 40. The pinion gear 46 is a lifting assist motor
40 is moved in a direction approaching the lifting drive unit 20 and the cage 18 is moved.
3 is engaged with the rack 36 of the elevating guide rail 34 in a state of being protruded toward the elevating drive unit 20 (the state shown in FIG. 3), and is moved in the elevating direction by the elevator assist motor 40 being driven. Driving force is applied. Note that this driving force acts as an aid to the driving force generated by the lifting linear motor 64 described later. Also, the lifting assistance motor 40
Is moved away from the lifting drive unit 20, the engagement between the pinion gear 46 and the rack 36 is released.

As shown in FIG. 4, two brackets 48 are attached to one side of the cage 18 along the vertical direction of the cage 18. Also, on the other side of the cage 18,
Brackets 48 are mounted at similar locations. Each bracket 48 pivotally supports a pivot arm 52 via a pin 50. One end of a hydraulic jack 54 is attached to the bracket 48.
Is attached to the rotating arm 52. The hydraulic jack 54 expands and contracts by the hydraulic pressure of oil supplied from a hydraulic motor 56 (see FIG. 7) via a pipe (not shown).

The pivot arm 52 is held at the position shown in FIG. 3 when the total length of the hydraulic jack 54 is extended, and is pivoted to the position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 3 when the total length of the hydraulic jack 54 is reduced.
A pair of rollers 58 is pivotally supported at the tip of the rotating arm 52. The pair of rollers 58 sandwich the distal end 34A of the elevating guide rail 34 while the rotating arm 52 is held at the position shown in FIG. Thus, the cage 18 is guided to move along the elevating guide rail 34. Also,
The state in which the rotating arm 52 has been rotated to the position shown by the imaginary line, and the above-described lifting assist motor 40 has been moved in a direction away from the lifting drive unit 20 to disengage the pinion gear 46 and the rack 36 from each other. This enables the cage 18 to move in the transverse direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of electromagnets 60 are provided between the two elevating guide rails 34 over the entire length of the elevating passage 14. An elevating magnet 62 composed of a permanent magnet is also attached to the cage 18 corresponding to the electromagnet 60. The electromagnet 60 and the elevating magnet 62 are a linear motor for elevating the electromagnet 60 as a primary side and the elevating magnet 62 as a secondary side.
64 (see FIG. 7). When a voltage is applied to the electromagnet 60, an attractive force acts between the electromagnet 60 and the elevating magnet 62, but the pair of rollers 58
By holding the distal end 34A of the 34, the gap between the electromagnet 60 and the ascending / descending magnet 62 is maintained at a predetermined interval, and operates as a synchronous linear motor. Further, by controlling the direction, magnitude and frequency of the voltage applied to the electromagnet by the control device 80, the cage 18 moves up and down in the elevating passage 14, and the movement is stopped. In addition,
When the cage 18 is lowered (and when the movement is stopped), regenerative braking is performed in which the linear motor 64 for elevation serves as a generator to convert kinetic energy of the cage into electric power and return it to the power supply system.

As shown in FIG. 3, a lifting passage is provided near the electromagnet 60.
A power supply line 66 is provided along 14. A current collecting shoe 68 that contacts the feed line 66 corresponding to the feed line 66 is provided in the cage 18.
Is installed. Electric power is supplied to the cage 18 from a power supply line 66 via a current collecting shoe 68, and the lighting, the hydraulic motors 44 and 56, the lifting / lowering motor 40, and the like in the cage 18 are operated.

An information cable 70 is provided near the electromagnet 60 along the elevating passage 14. As shown in FIG. 7, the information cable 70 is connected to the control device 80. The information cable 70 is formed of a leaky coaxial cable, radiates a signal being transmitted to the surroundings as an electromagnetic wave, and receives a signal described later from the cage 18. This information cable in the cage 18
An antenna 72 for receiving a signal leaked from the information cable 70 is attached corresponding to 70 (see also FIG. 3). The control device 80 outputs a control signal for controlling the operation of each device to the information cable 70, and operates the hydraulic motors 44, 56, the lifting assist motor 40, and the like according to the control signal transmitted via the information cable 70 and the antenna 72. Is controlled.

Further, an operation panel 74 operated by an occupant and a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of an occupant in the cage 18 are provided in the cage 18.
76 is installed. The sensor 76 is composed of, for example, an infrared sensor that emits infrared rays and checks the presence or absence of an occupant. When the occupant operates the operation panel 74 to specify the destination floor, the destination floor is controlled via the information cable 70 transmitted as a signal from the transmitting device 78.
Entered into 80. Also, the output signal of the sensor 76 is
The information is input from 78 to the control device 80 via the information cable 70. Further, position information of each cage 18 detected via the information cable 70 is also input to the control device 80.

A brake device (not shown) is attached to the cage 18. The brake device has a function of stopping the movement of the cage 18 and maintaining the stopped state, and stops the lift guide rail 34 by sandwiching it with a brake shoe or the like.

As shown in FIG. 5, a traversing drive unit 32 is disposed between a floor 84 near the entrance 24 of the elevator hall 22 on each floor of the building 10 and a ceiling 86 on the lower floor.
The traversing drive unit 32 includes a moving unit 88. As shown in FIG. 6, the moving unit 88 has a frame in which a pair of bridging members 94 and 96 are bridged between a pair of frame members 90 and 92. Each of the frame members 90, 92 has a hollow portion 90A, 92A formed along its longitudinal direction. Further, a pair of shaft support members 98A, 98B are fixed to the outer side surfaces of the frame members 90, 92 at one longitudinal end side. FIG. 5 and FIG.
As shown in the figure, a pair of shaft support members 98A, 98B respectively protrude from a top surface and a bottom surface of the moving unit 88, each of the rotation shafts (not shown) fixed to two rollers 100, 102. It is pivotally supported. Also, each frame member 9
The shaft support members 104A and 104B are also attached to the other ends in the longitudinal direction of 0 and 92, and similarly support the two rollers 106 and 108.

On the other hand, corresponding to the rollers 100 and 106 which are pivotally supported so as to protrude from the lower surface of the moving portion 88, the upper surface of the ceiling 86 has a longitudinal direction coinciding with the transverse direction of the cage 18 and is parallel to each other. A pair of traversing guide rails 110, 112
Are arranged. At both ends of the contact surface of the traversing guide rails 110 and 112 with the rollers 100 and 106, there are traversing guide rails.
An edge is provided over the entire length in the longitudinal direction of 110 and 112. As a result, the rollers 100 and 106 are traversed by guide rails.
The moving part 88 is guided along the longitudinal direction of the traversing guide rails 110, 112, that is, in the traversing direction of the cage 18, without deviating from 110, 112.

The traversing guide rails 110, 1 are also provided on the lower surface of the floor 84.
A pair of traversing guide rails 114 and 116 are disposed so as to face each other at a predetermined distance from the twelfth. The traversing guide rails 114 and 116 correspond to the rollers 102 and 108 which are supported so as to protrude from the upper surface of the moving section 88. Thus, the moving section 88 is more reliably guided along the transverse direction of the cage 18.

As shown in FIG. 6, a traversing motor 118 is mounted on the outer surface of the frame member 90. The traversing motor 118 includes a drive shaft 120 protruding along the longitudinal direction of the frame member 90, and pinion gears 122 and 124 are attached to both ends of the drive shaft 120, respectively. Further, the rotation shafts of the rollers 100 and 106 are the shaft support member 98B and the shaft support member 104A.
Through the pinion gears 126 and 128 at the tip of the rotating shaft.
Are attached. The pinion gears 126 and 128 mesh with the pinion gears 122 and 124, respectively. Accordingly, the driving force of the traversing movement motor 118 is controlled by the drive shaft 120, the pinion gears 122 and 124, and the roller via the pinion gears 126 and 128.
The moving portion 88 is moved along the traversing direction of the cage 18. The traversing motor 118 is connected to the control device 80 (see FIG. 7).
The operation is controlled by 80.

Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the hollow portions 90A and 92A of the frame members 90 and 92 accommodate the arms 130 and 132, respectively. Arm 13
Reference numerals 0 and 132 are movable along the longitudinal direction of the frame members 90 and 92. Racks 130A and 132A are engraved on surfaces of the arms 130 and 132 facing each other. Further, arm moving motors 134, 136 are attached to the inner side surfaces of the frame members 90, 92, and the drive shafts 134A, 136A of the arm moving motors 134, 136 are bridged through the shaft supporting members 138, 140. Element
It is supported on 96. Worm gears 142 and 144 are mounted in the middle of the drive shafts 134A and 136A.
Worm wheels 146, 148 supported by frame members 90, 92 mesh with 142, 144. Worm wheel 14
6, 148 are engaged with the racks 130A, 132A through holes (not shown) provided on the inner surfaces of the frame members 90, 92 in correspondence with the worm wheels 146, 148.

Thereby, the driving force of the arm moving motors 134 and 136 is transmitted to the arms 130 and 132 via the drive shafts 134A and 134B, the worm gears 142 and 144, and the worm wheels 146 and 148, and the arms 130 and 132 It is moved in the longitudinal direction of 92, that is, in the direction of projecting into the elevator shaft 12 and in the direction of retracting from inside the elevator shaft 12. The arm moving motors 134 and 136 are connected to the control device 80 (see FIG. 7), and the operation thereof is controlled by the control device 80. As shown in FIG. 5, when the arms 130 and 132 project into the elevator shaft 12, they can support the cage 18 stopped at the occupant's getting on / off position. At this time, a force to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 5 is applied to the moving portion 88 with the contact portion between the roller 100 and the traversing guide rail 110 as a fulcrum. The rotation is prohibited by the contact, and the state shown in FIG. 5 is maintained. By driving the traversing motor 118 in this state, the cage 18 is moved in the traversing direction together with the moving unit 88.

Next, as an operation of the present embodiment, control when the respective cages 18 are moved will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

In step 200, it is determined whether or not an instruction to move the cage 18 has been given. The cage 18 is provided with a call button 82 by the user.
Is operated, or the occupant in the cage 18 operates the operation panel 74 to specify the destination floor, thereby instructing movement. If there is no instruction to move the cage 18, the step 200 is repeated until the cage 18 is called or the destination floor is designated.

If there is a movement instruction, in step 202, a cage to be moved according to the movement instruction is selected. In the case of the movement instruction by the call button 82, the cage 18 located near the floor where the call button 82 is operated is selected.
In the case of a movement instruction from the operation panel 74, the cage 18 on which the operation panel 74 has been operated is selected.

In the next step 204, the destination floor of the selected cage is determined, and a movement route is set. In the case of the move instruction by the call button 82, the floor on which the call button 82 is operated is determined as the destination floor, and in the case of the move instruction by the operation panel 74, the specified destination floor is determined as the destination floor. As for the method of setting the movement route, for example, a movement route connecting the current position of the selected cage and the destination floor is assumed, and if another cage is stopped on the assumed movement route, the vehicle is traversed. The moving route is set by changing the assumed moving route so as to move to another ascending / descending passage 14 via the moving passage 16. In the case of traversing, among the traversing driving units 32 provided for each floor, a moving route is set so as to traverse using a traversing driving unit 32 that is not currently used.

In step 206, it is determined whether or not the movement route set in step 204 includes movement in the transverse direction.
If the determination in step 206 is negative, the set movement route does not include movement in the traversing direction, so the elevation linear motor 64 and the elevation auxiliary motor 40 are driven to move the selected cage 18. In the single ascending / descending passage 16, it is moved up or down to the destination floor.

If the determination in step 206 is affirmative, in step 210, the linear motor 64 for lifting and lowering and the motor 40 for lifting and lowering are driven to move the selected cage 18 in the lifting direction or the lowering direction in the lifting passage 16. The vehicle is stopped on the floor determined to traverse along the travel route, and the brake device is operated. In step 212, the traversing motor 118 is driven to make the moving unit 88 of the traversing drive unit 32 correspond to the elevating passage 14 where the cage 18 is stopped, and the arm moving motor 13 is moved.
4 and 136 are driven to project the arms 130 and 132 into the elevating passage 16 to support the cage 18. In the next step 214, the hydraulic motor 56 is driven to rotate the rotating arm 52, and the hydraulic motor 44 is driven to move the lifting assist motor 40 away from the lifting drive unit 20. This releases the pair of rollers 58 from nipping the elevating guide rail 34 and releases the engagement between the rack 36 and the pinion gear 46, thereby enabling the cage 18 to move in the transverse direction. Also,
At this time, the operation of the brake device is stopped at the same time.

In step 216, the traversing motor 118 is driven to move the moving unit 88 to the target elevating passage 16. Along with this, the cage 18 is also moved, and stops in the target elevating passage 16. In step 218, the turning arm 52 is turned again,
Along with lifting / lowering guide rails 34 arranged along the desired lifting / lowering passage 16 by a pair of rollers 58,
The lifting assist motor 40 is moved to the lifting drive unit 20 side, and the rack 36 and the pinion gear 46 are engaged. As a result, the cage 18 can be moved up and down in the elevating passage 16. Also,
At this time, the brake device is also operated.

In step 120, the arms 130 and 132 are retracted from inside the elevator shaft 12. In step 122, the operation of the brake device is released, and the linear motor 64 for lifting and lowering and the motor 40 for raising and lowering are driven to move the cage 18 up and down to the target floor. After the processing of step 122 is completed, the process returns to step 200 and the above processing is repeated.

In this way, when a call is made by the user, the cage 18 moves up and down in the elevating passage 14 and moves in the traversing passage 16 in the traversing direction, and there is no call from the user. Since the user can immediately move to the floor, the waiting time from when the user makes a call to when the car arrives does not increase. For this reason, the transport amount of the user per unit time can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the movement direction of the arms 130 and 132 is set to the direction in which the arms 18 protrude in the transverse direction of the cage 18.
It is only necessary that the cage 18 can be moved between a position where the first and second projections 132 project into the elevator shaft 12 and a position where the first and second projections are retracted from the inside of the elevator shaft 12 and that the cage 18 can be supported in the above-mentioned projected state.

Further, in the present embodiment, the traversing drive unit 32 is provided for each floor, but may be provided only on a specific floor, for example, the first floor, the top floor, and the bottom floor.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, in the present invention, the moving unit is moved along the traversing passage while the moving unit supports the cage, so that the amount of transport of the user per unit time can be improved. Thus, an excellent effect that the space in the building can be used effectively can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a building to which an elevator apparatus according to the present embodiment is attached, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the inside of an elevator shaft, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining details of a lifting drive unit. FIG. 4 is a side view of the cage, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining details of the traversing drive unit, and FIG.
7 is a schematic block diagram of the elevator apparatus, and FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the present embodiment. 12 ... elevator shaft, 14 ... elevator passage, 16 ...
Passage for traversing, 18 ... Cage, 88 ... Moving unit, 118 ... Motor for traversing, 130, 132 ... Arm, 134, 136 ... Motor for arm moving.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of elevating passages, a traversing passage communicating between the elevating passages, a plurality of cages moved up and down in the elevating passages, and the traversing passages. Is movable in a first direction along with and protrudable in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and is capable of supporting the cage in a state of protruding in the second direction. An elevator apparatus comprising: a moving unit; and a moving unit configured to move the moving unit along a traversing passage while the moving unit supports the cage.