KR20060132724A - Elevator inspection system - Google Patents

Abstract

An elevator system comprises a hoistway; an elevator car (12) arranged to move vertically within the hoistway; a plurality of landings opening into said hoistway; and a pit (22) located below a lowermost landing (18). The elevator system further comprises an engineer interface, e.g. a key switch, located at or near the lowermost landing arranged to generate a control signal for moving the elevator car to a predetermined parking position above the lowermost landing thereby allowing access to the pit.

Description

Elevator Inspection System {ELEVATOR INSPECTION SYSTEM}

The present invention relates to a system for improving the safety of elevator engineers who need to access a pit of an elevator, and in particular, but not exclusively, to an elevator system in which the pit has a reduced depth compared to the standard depth.

As part of routine inspection and maintenance work, an elevator engineer usually needs access to the elevator pit on the floor of the hoistway. In many elevator systems, the pit is sufficiently dimensioned to have a space for a person to squat in, even if the elevator car is on a fully compressed buffer. For example, the EN81 standard limits the minimum space of 0.5 x 0.6 x 1.0 meters. In addition, there are other standards and conventions that require a minimum vertical clearance between elements mounted in the pit and elements mounted on the underside of the elevator car.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, there are elevator systems with or without feet that are shallower than those specified above. In general, it is desirable to install an elevator with a minimum possible depth of pit consistent with safety requirements because it minimizes assembly costs.

It is an object of the present invention to improve the safety of engineers who need to access the feet of any elevator system except for those with relatively shallow feet.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hoistway, an elevator car arranged to move vertically inside the hoistway, a plurality of hoistways opened by the hoistway, and a pit located below the lowest hoistway, the predetermined being above the lowest hoistway. An elevator system is provided, which is arranged to move the elevator car to a parking position to generate a control signal to allow access to the pit, and further comprising an engineer interface located at or near the lowest platform.

Thus, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the interface allows the engineer to raise the elevator car from the lower platform to a specific parking position that allows access to the elevator pit.

Preferably, the elevator comprises a locking arrangement which prevents the movement of the car if the car is in the parking position. In a preferred embodiment, logical locking means is provided. For example, the controller for the elevator may be configured to prevent movement of the car until the engineer interface described above is activated when the car is in the parking position.

In a preferred embodiment additionally or alternatively, a means of good access from under the car is provided for locking the car against the guide rail. If the engineer is within the pit, the engineer can then lock the car in a state that actually or at least actually prevents further downward movement of the car. Therefore, the present invention essentially provides a "virtual pit" which gives the engineer a workspace with some degree of safety, even if it is not actually provided due to the dimensions of the pit.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided an operation of an elevator system having a hoistway, an elevator car arranged to move vertically within the hoistway, a plurality of hoistways opened by the hoistway, and a pit located at the bottom of the hoistway below the lowest hoistway. A method is provided that includes moving an elevator car to the lowest platform, generating a control signal, and moving the car to a predetermined parking position above the lowest platform in response to the control signal.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a logic adapted to receive a first control signal from an engineer interface, logic for generating a second control signal to an elevator machine to move the car upwards, and the elevator car to a predetermined parking position Operating an elevator system, including logic to receive a signal indicating that it has arrived and logic to generate a control signal to the elevator machine to stop further movement of the car until further control signals are received from the interface. Software for doing this is provided.

The engineer interface may take any convenient form, but the form and / or location of the interface is preferably sufficient to prevent operation by unauthorized persons. In a preferred embodiment, the interface includes a key switch that can be located, for example, near the car call button of the lowest landing. Alternatively, the switch can be located in a cabinet at or near the lowest landing.

According to the present invention, the engineer who needs to access the pit calls the elevator to the lowest platform to confirm that no one is inside the car, and then activates a key switch or other interface to send the elevator to the parking position. The engineer then opens the landing doors and locks them open as originally known in the art. The engineer then activates a pit entry switch located in the hoist which is only accessible from the lowest hoist. Pit entry switches are safety cutout switches that interrupt power to the elevator machine and prevent further operation of the elevator. The engineer then enters the pit and optionally secures the elevator car to the guide rails. According to the present invention, all the work required to safely enter the pit can be performed from the lowest platform without the need to access an elevator controller normally located in the machine room or in the layout without the machine room.

Alternatives for the engineer interface include code entry keypads, swipe cards, magnetic identification cards, smart card readers, or any other device that allow for identification of a user's identification and / or permission. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a front view of the lowest elevator platform including a close-up of a switch panel.

2 is a cutaway view of an elevator passage showing a car of the lowest platform.

3 is a detailed view showing the car safety bolt arrangement.

4 shows the car 12 descending from one of the higher platforms.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Figs. 2 and 4, showing the car in the pit approach parking position.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown a set of standard corridor doors 2 of the lowest platform, with a control panel 4 shown more clearly in the detail of FIG. The control panel 4 includes a car call button 6 and a called car indicator 8 as is well known in the art. However, the control panel 4 is also equipped with a key switch 10 for initiating a pit access operation to be described later.

A hoistway and a car are shown in the notch of FIG. The car 12 is closed by a pair of sliding doors 14 as is well known in the art. The car 12 is supported in this embodiment to move vertically with respect to a pair of guide rails 16, both of which are present on the left side of the car in a so-called rucksack structure. 2 shows a car 12 aligned with the lowest landing 18. A toe guard or apron 20 extends downward from the bottom of the car 12 into the pit 22 formed below the lowest landing 18. As can be seen schematically from FIG. 2, the pit 22 is relatively shallow compared to the height of the car 12 and does not provide adequate space to safely accommodate squats in it.

Further, a lower part of the car 12 is equipped with a safety bolt mechanism 24 which will be described later in more detail with reference to FIG. A corresponding locking plate 26 is mounted to one of the guide rails 16 so that it is horizontally aligned with the locking bolt mechanism 24. However, it can be seen that the bolt mechanism and the locking plate are not vertically aligned in the position shown in FIG.

3 shows the safety bolt mechanism 24 and the locking plate 26 in more detail. The locking plate 26 is clamped against the flat outward surface of the T-shaped guide rail 16 by four clamps 28. The safety bolt mechanism 24 includes a bolt housing 30 fixed to the bottom of the car 12 and a bolt member 32 slidably housed in the housing 30. The right angle handle 34 of the bolt is moved within the wide U-shaped slot 35 so that the bolt member 32 can be locked in both the retracted and deployed positions. Although disassembled for clarity in FIG. 3, the safety bolt housing 30 and the locking plate 26 are actually deployed from the position where the tapered end of the bolt member 32 has been retracted when accurate vertical alignment is achieved. They are close enough to each other to fit into the corresponding holes 36 of the locking plate 26 when moved to the locked position. This actually works to lock the car against the guide rails to prevent vertical movement of the car.

Pit access operations are described with further reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. During normal operation of the elevator, the key switch 10 located in the button panel 4 of the lowest lift is in the position shown in Fig. 1 with its slot vertical.

However, if the engineer needs to access the elevator pit for maintenance, the first engineer calls the elevator using the call button 6 in the usual manner. 4 shows a car descending from the upper landing. When the car 12 arrives at the lowest platform 18, the engineer first confirms that all passengers have left the car. The engineer then inserts the required key into the key switch 10 to switch to the maintenance state as indicated by the adjacent markings. This causes a current in the elevator machine to generate a signal to the elevator controller to slowly raise the car 12.

When the car 12 reaches a certain predetermined parking position as shown in Fig. 5, the hoist position sensor (not shown) in turn sends a signal to the elevator controller which stops the machine to stop the movement of the car 12. do. Many suitable position sensors are known in the art, for example magnetic field sensors.

When the car 12 is in this position, the engineer then opens and locks the sliding hallway door 2 in a manner well known in the art. Thereafter, the engineer reaches the hoistway from the hoist 18 and operates the handle 34 of the safety bolt mechanism 24 to unfold from the retracted position where the bolt member passes through the opening 36 of the locking plate 26. Can be moved to a fixed position. This actually prevents the movement of any unwanted car 12. Once the car is locked in place in this manner, the engineer can safely enter the pit 22 from the landing 18 to perform any inspection necessary for maintenance. However, no matter how shallow the pit 22 is, the height of the car 12 above the lowest platform 18 in the parking position shown in FIG. 5 is increased by the engineer for inspection and repair despite the apron 20. It can be seen that it is high enough to make it easy to enter and exit from it. In addition, the lower surface itself of the car 12 can be inspected. Thus, the present arrangement provides a "virtual" pit.

When the engineer completes the inspection or maintenance, the engineer then exits the pit 22 to release the safety bolt 24, close the landing door 2 and return the key switch 10 to its normal operating position. This sends an additional signal to the controller so that normal operation of the elevator can be resumed.

Although not shown in this embodiment, a pit entry switch may also be provided in the hoistway as an additional safety measure to prevent the movement of the car. The switch can be accessed from the platform to allow the engineer to press the switch before reaching the platform and entering the pit.

Claims (8)

An elevator car 12, an elevator car 12 arranged to move vertically inside the hoistway, a plurality of hoists opened by the hoistway, and a pit 22 positioned below the lowest hoistway 18, above the lowest hoistway And an engineer interface (10) arranged to move the elevator car to a predetermined parking position to generate a control signal for allowing access to the pit and positioned at or near the lowest landing. 2. Elevator system according to claim 1, comprising locking means (24, 26) for locking the car with respect to the guide rails (16). 3. Elevator system according to claim 2, wherein the locking means (24, 26) are accessible from below the car (14). 4. Elevator system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the engineer interface comprises a key switch (10). The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the engineer interface (10) is located adjacent to the elevator call button (6) in the lowest landing (18). 6. Elevator system according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising logic means for preventing movement of the car when in the parking position. An elevator system having a hoistway, an elevator car 12 arranged to move vertically inside the hoistway, a plurality of hoists opened by the hoistway, and a pit 22 located at the bottom of the hoistway below the lowest hoistway 18 A method of operation, the method comprising moving an elevator car to the lowest platform, generating a control signal, and moving the car to a predetermined parking position above the lowest platform in response to the control signal. . Logic adapted to receive a first control signal from the engineer interface 10, logic for generating a second control signal to the elevator machine to move the car 12 upwards, and the elevator car reaches a predetermined parking position. Logic for receiving a signal indicative of an elevator and logic for generating a control signal to the elevator machine to stop further movement of the car until an additional control signal is received from the interface. Software to operate.

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