JP4530857B2 - Elevator system and its sheave assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The elevator system has an elevator car (12) selectively movable along a guide rail and a machine positioned and supported atop of the rail. A sheave assembly (32) is supported on the car and accommodates the rail within a hoistway. The assembly has two sheave portions (54) rotatable about a common axis, with a spacing between the portions, where the rail extends into the spacing.

Description

  The present invention relates to an elevator system, and more particularly to a space efficient elevator system including a guide rail on which a hoisting machine is installed and a sheave design for receiving the guide rail.

  Elevator systems generally include a car and a counterweight that move within a hoistway. Roping connects the car and the counterweight and supports them as they move. The motor moves the rope and moves the car up and down. Usually, the car includes a roller assembly that cooperates with the guide rail to guide the car in the hoistway. Conventionally, the motor has been installed in the machine room located at the top of the hoistway.

  The idler sheave installed in the car, for example, forms part of a roping system that moves the car up and down with a counterweight. Roping passes through idler sheaves at various locations in the system, such as a car and a counterweight. The idler sheave necessarily takes place in the hoistway, and the guide rail extends from the inner surface of the hoistway wall toward the car. Various hoist mounting methods have been proposed, but building equipment and safety regulations may require expensive equipment and control.

  Recently, elevator systems without a machine room have been developed, eliminating the need for a separate machine room. Elevator systems without machine rooms have been developed in response to consumer demands for simpler and more efficient space utilization of elevator systems. Even with such a system, it is still necessary to reduce the space occupied by the elevator system.

    It is desirable to minimize system costs for reducing hoistway space and to easily install elevator cars in the hoistway. In addition, buildings are typically not designed with special containment facilities for elevator systems.

  For these reasons, it is desirable to design an elevator system that is adapted to effectively utilize the hoistway space. The present invention addresses these needs.

Generally speaking, the present invention relates to an elevator system having a unique sheave arrangement.
The sheave arrangement accommodates a portion of the guide rail, requires less space in the hoistway, and allows for a more diverse arrangement of system components.

  The elevator system designed according to the invention comprises a car and at least one guide rail for guiding the car as it moves in the hoistway. The sheave assembly installed in the car includes at least two sheave portions, the sheave portions having a gap between each other and rotating about a common axis. The sheave portion is installed around a common shaft arranged around a common axis or around a divided shaft. The rail extends in the gap between the sheave portions so that at least a portion of the rail enters the gap between the sheave portions.

  Therefore, the elevator system which implement | achieves more efficient space utilization by arrangement | positioning of the component of the system which is this invention is provided.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in an embodiment of the present invention, an elevator system 10 is shown that includes an elevator car 12 supported to move within a hoistway 14. The hoistway 14 includes a guide rail 38 that is located on the inner surface 24 of the hoistway 14 and is attached to the counterweight bracket 56. The counterweight bracket 56 is attached to the inner surface 26 on the opposite side. The guide rail 38 guides the movement of the elevator car in the hoistway 14. The counterweight bracket 56 forms a space for movement of the counterweight 22 that extends over the entire length of the hoistway 14.

  As is well known, when the elevator car 12 moves, the counterweight 22 also moves. The counterweight 22 is guided by a guide rail 40 installed in the hoistway (see FIG. 3). The elevator car 12 and the counterweight 22 include sheave assemblies 32, 34 that cooperate with the roping 36 and the hoist 16 to raise and lower the elevator car 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the sheave assembly 32 is installed on the base portion 48 of the elevator car 12. However, it is within the intended scope of the present invention that if desired, the sheave assembly 32 can be mounted elsewhere in the elevator car 12 or elsewhere in the system 10, as is well known to those skilled in the art. Is in. The elevator car 12 also includes roller assemblies 28, 30 installed at the upper and lower ends of the elevator car 12, the roller assemblies being along guide rails 38 that maintain proper placement of the elevator car. Moving.

  The hoist 16 of the exemplary elevator system 10 is installed and supported at the upper end of at least one of the guide rails 38, 40. By supporting the hoist 16 at the upper ends of the guide rails 38, 40, the need for an independently installed machine room used in conventional elevator systems is eliminated. The elevator system 10 without a machine room is designed so as to effectively utilize the space of the hoistway 14 and not require a separate machine room. The use of guide rails to support the hoist 16 provides the additional advantage that some components can be minimized.

  The elevator system 10 maximizes the space in the hoistway 14. The method of the present invention allows the guide rail 38 to be installed as close as possible to the elevator car 12. The sheave assembly 32 includes a gap 62 between the belt engaging portions 54 having a predetermined shape, so that the guide rail 38 can be brought closer to the elevator car 12.

  The sheave assembly 32 is installed on the base portion 48 of the elevator car 12. At least two belts 36 pass through idler sheave assemblies installed on each side of the elevator car 12, one end of which is attached to one upper end of the guide rail 38. Fixed to hitch 18. The other end of each belt 36 passes through the hoist 16 and the idler sheave assembly 34 for the counterweight 22, and then is attached to the end hitch 20 attached to the upper end of the guide rail 38 having the hoist 16. Fixed. Although shown limited to one type of roping configuration, it should be understood that other forms of hoistway roping for raising and lowering the elevator car 12 are within the intended scope of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 3, each guide rail 38 includes a mounting portion 64 attached to the inner surface 24 or the counterweight bracket 56. The guide portion 66 extends from the rail attachment portion 64. The guide 66 cooperates with the roller assemblies 28, 30 as is well known. Since the guide portion 66 of the guide rail 38 can extend to the car 12 side beyond the belt engaging surface on the sheave portion 54 of the sheave assembly 32, the space in the hoistway 14 is saved. By extending the guide portions 66 of each guide rail 38 between the sheave portions 54 of the sheave assembly 32, space for components of the elevator system 10 is reduced and space in the hoistway 14 is saved.

  The exemplary sheave assembly 32 includes four individual sheave portions 54 supported around a common shaft 50. The sheave portion 54 is divided into two groups of two idler sheave portions 54 by the gap 62. Each idler sheave portion 54 has an outer diameter 74 (FIG. 4). Some of the guide portions 66 of each guide rail 38 extend in a gap 62 between the shaft 50 and the flat surface 72 that is a tangent to the outer diameter 74 of the sheave portion 54. The gap 62 has an outer dimension smaller than the outer diameter 74 of the sheave portion. In the illustrated embodiment, the outer dimension of the shaft 50 defines a smaller outer dimension.

  Referring to FIG. 4, in another embodiment of the present invention, shafts 51 and 53 divided about a common shaft 58 are supported to support the sheave portion 54 so that it can rotate. In this embodiment, the smaller outer dimensions are further reduced compared to the embodiment with the common shaft 50 of FIG.

  Referring to FIG. 5, the shaft 50 is supported by a support member 52 attached to the elevator car 12. Each sheave portion 54 has an outer diameter 74. The outer diameter 74 has a first distance from the rotation shaft 58. The guide portion 66 of the guide rail 38 has a second distance 77 from the rotation axis. The second distance 77 is shorter than the first distance 75 so that a part of the guide rail 38 extends into the gap 62 between the sheave portions. That is, the plane 72 that is a tangent to the outer diameter 74 of the sheave portion 54 crosses the gap 62, and at least a part of the guide portion 66 of the guide rail 38 intersects the plane 72.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the guide rail 38 is engaged with the roller assembly 28 of the elevator car 12. The rope 36 is shown in a position relative to the guide rail 38 and the roller assembly 28. A plane 72 that is a tangent to the outer diameter 74 of the sheave 54 is shown with respect to the rope 36 and intersects a portion of the guide rail 38. By attaching the idler sheave assembly 32 so as to form a gap 62 through which the guide portion 66 can extend, the space available for the elevator car 12 is increased, and a valuable and useful space in the hoistway 14 is also provided. Is effectively secured. The increased space in the hoistway 14 realized by the present invention can meet consumer demand for effective use of the hoistway.

  Referring to FIG. 5, an enlarged view of the sheave assembly 32 is shown. The sheave portion 54 is supported by the common shaft 50 around the shaft 58 and includes a bearing assembly 60 mounted in each sheave portion 54. The bearing assembly 60 may be of any type known to those skilled in the art. In this embodiment, two sheaves 54 are shown on both sides of the guide rail 38 with corresponding ropings 36. It should be understood that using a split shaft to support the sheave 54 is within the intended scope of the present invention.

  Referring to FIG. 7, another form of sheave assembly comprising three idler sheave portions 54 on one side of the gap 62 is illustrated. The number of sheave portions 54 installed on one side of the guide rail 38 is a specification according to the application, and three, four, five, or a combination thereof can be used according to the requirements of a specific application.

  The counterweight 22 includes a sheave assembly 34 similar to the sheave assembly 32 installed in the elevator car 12. In the present embodiment, the guide rail 40 for the counterweight 22 does not extend between the sheave portions 54 of the sheave assembly 34 attached to the counterweight 22.

  The foregoing description is exemplary and not merely a material specification. The present invention has been described in an illustrative manner. It is to be understood that the terminology used is not intended to be limiting, but is intended to be in the nature of the words being described. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. While preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, those skilled in the art will appreciate that certain variations are within the scope of the invention. It should be understood that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described within the scope of the appended claims. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine the precise intent and content of this invention.

1 is a schematic diagram of an elevator system designed in accordance with the present invention. The side view of the elevator car provided with a guide roller and an idler sheave assembly. The top view of the elevator car and the counterweight. The top view of the other Example of this invention. An enlarged view of the idler sheave assembly and the counterweight of the elevator car. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an elevator car roller assembly and a counterweight sheave assembly. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of another embodiment of the idler sheave assembly.

Claims (14)

A machine room-less elevator system,
With the basket (12),
At least one sheave assembly (32) having at least two belt-engaging sheave portions (54) installed in the car (12) and having a predetermined shape spaced axially;
With
Each of the sheave portions (54) includes a first radial dimension (74), and a gap (62) between the sheave portions (54) includes a second radial dimension that is smaller than the first radial dimension;
Further comprising at least two belts (36) passing through the at least one sheave assembly (32) ;
At least one rail (38) installed in the hoistway (14) guides the car (12), and a portion (66) of the rail (38) is between the sheaves (54). Elongate,
Further comprising a shaft for supporting the sheave portion (54) so as to rotate about an axis, the shaft comprising a common shaft (50) for supporting the sheave portion (54). Type elevator system. Each of the sheave portions (54) includes an outer diameter surface that is separated from the rotational axis of the sheave assembly by a first distance, and the rails disposed in a gap between the sheave portions include the rail from the rotational shaft. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the elevator system is separated by a second distance shorter than the first distance. The elevator system according to any of claims 1 or 2 , further comprising at least one sheave assembly (32) located on the opposite side of the car. The elevator system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , comprising a plurality of sheave portions (54) installed on both sides of the gap (62) and a plurality of corresponding load bearing belts (36). The elevator system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the sheave portion (54) includes individual members on both sides of the gap (62). The elevator system according to claim 5 , comprising a plurality of individual members installed on both sides of the rail (38). The hoistway (14) includes a first rail and a second rail (38) installed on opposite sides of the car (12),
A first sheave assembly (32) is installed on one side of the car (12);
The elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that a second sheave assembly (32) is installed on the other side of the car (12). 8. Elevator system according to claim 7 , comprising a hoisting machine (16) mounted on the rail (38, 40). 8. The elevator system according to claim 7 , comprising a counterweight (22) having a sheave assembly (34) having at least two sheave portions rotating about a common axis and having a gap between the sheave portions. The elevator system according to claim 9 , comprising a common shaft that supports the two sheave portions of the counterweight (22). The elevator system according to claim 9 , comprising a separate shaft for supporting the sheave portion of the counterweight (22). 10. The elevator system according to claim 9 , comprising a composite bracket supporting at least one of the car rail (38) and the counterweight rail (40). The elevator system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the sheave assembly (32) is attached to a lower end of the car (12). The elevator system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the sheave assembly (32) is attached to an upper end of the car (12).

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