US2377483A - Elevator - Google Patents

Description

June 5, 1945. E. ELLIS 2,377,483

ELEVATOR Filed Sept. 9, 1942 10 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR CHARLES E. ELL/5 ATTORN EY C. E. ELLIS Jung 5, 1945.

ELEVATOR Filed Sept. 9, 1942 10 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CHARLES E. ELL/S w (Z4 14; Z dz ATTORNEY June 5; 1945.

Filed Sept. 9, 1942 10 Sheets-Sheet I5 INVENTOR CHARLES E. ELL/5 Mxm ATTORNEY June 5, 1945.

c; E.. ELLIS ELEVATOR 10' Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 9, 1942 Fleas;

INVENTOR c/mkLEs 1;". ELL/S} BY M My ATTORNEY C. E. ELLIS June 5, 1945.

ELEVATOR Filed Sept. 9, 1942 l0,Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR CHARLES E. ELL/S 2M 1% v ATTORNEY C. E. ELLIS June 5, 1945.

ELEVATOR 1o Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Sept. 9, 1942 INVENTOR CHARLES E. ELL/5 ATTORNEY C. E. ELLIS June 5, 1945 ELEVATOR Filed Sept. 9, 1942 10 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR CHARLES E. ELL/S N m x m MM .Fune 5, 1945. c. E. ELLIS 2,377,483

ELEVATOR Filed Sept. 9, 1942 1o Sheets-Sheet a 24 N EV L, I i /2611 6II S INVENTOR FIGJS. f ii z ATTORNEY June 5, 1945.

c. E. ELLIS ELEVATOR Filed Sept. 9, 1942 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTOR CHARLES E. ELL/S Y E N M T T f YM C. E. ELLIS June 5, I945.

ELEVATOR Filed Sept. 9, 1942 10 Sheets-Sheet l0 l INVENTAOR CHARLES E. ELL/S CZMfaLM ATTORNEY Patented June 5, 1945 U N l TED I STATES PATENT 1 OFF] CE a aswgsa a I ELEVATOR. I Charles 1:. Ellis; Mahwah, N. .L, assignor to Sedgwick Machine Works, Inc.;.Po'nghkeepsle; N.'Y.,. a corporation ofi-New York.

Application September 9, 1942, SerialNo'. 457,690 l 2e Glaiins; (01.187-76) This invention relates to elevators; andwithin the term elevator I include equipment sometimes referred to as. hoists. Various features and aspects of the-invention are applicable to different types of elevators used for a variety of purposes. However, the invention will be dis: closed as applied to an elevator designed "for transferring heavy loads from one level to another. Among the uses for such an elevator is in vehicle terminals where the trucks or busses are stored at a level below the street and are raised to thestreet level to receive loads? and start their runs. Anotheruse is for handling aircraft.

Among the objects of the invention are the provision of a large platform elevator which automatically decelerates the car in an advantageous manner as the car approaches a. landing; the provision of supplementary or additional sup-.- port for a car when at the landing; the provision of means for automatically .bringing the additional support into play as the car reaches the landing; the provision of means for locking a car against unintended movement away from a landingpthe provision of improved means for automatically cutting off the power'and clamping a car to the guide rails'upon breaking ofv the hoisting element; the provision of means'for cutting off the power and clamping a car to the guide rails upon the breaking of anyone of a plurality of hoisting elements; and the provision of improved means for connecting'a car to'a link chain or other flexible hoisting element usedjto lift the car.

Various additional objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from av consideration of the following disclosure.

Fig. I of the drawings is a largely diagrammatic plan view. The View shows the elevator car at the upper landing and has parts broken away to show elements located at lower levels.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic elevational viewshowing the general arrangement of the elevator, including upper and lower landings or levels.

Fig; 3 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view showing an endless hoisting chain and driving attachment from the chain to the elevator car; The view istaken in general .on line 3-3-'cf Fi 2..

Fig. 4 is a large diagrammatic plan view showing one corner of the car supported by thesupplementary supporting means at a landing.

Fig. is a largely diagrammatic view corresponding to Fig. 4, but showing the supplemem" tary supporting means in disengage positionyas when-the car is in motion.

ing a shuttle assembly; or shuttle, which is, connected to one of the hoisting chains andwhich' transmits" .the lifting force jirom the "hoisting chain to the car;

Fig. '10 is a plan view;parti ally.in section,ishow= ing analternativefmm. of hitch 'forhitching the hoisting chain to" the shuttle. I

Fig. ('11 is a side" elevation; partially in section, showing the shuttle assembly"; or .shuttl'e;'.with the hoisting. chain attachedtheretoz. The. View is from" the directionof the arrow H, in'Fig. 9.

Figiflz is a front elevation. partially in section, of the shuttle; looking from the direction ofthe arrows I2 in Figs; '9 and 111' Fig. 13 is a diagrammatic elevationalview showing safety mechanism 'for" automatically clamping the elevator car to the guide'railsupon failure of a hoistingchain or a driv'e'chain." I

Fig. 14 is a largely diagrammatic detaii view showingin elevation a portion of the overspeed governor chain and a lever movedthereby-in the event of too rapid descent of the elevator.

Fig. 15 is a 'largely'dia'grammatic elevational view showing locking mechanism operable "to lock the car against unintendedmovemen-t away from a landing. This view shows the parts in looking position.

Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 15. but showin the'parts in unlocked position.

Fig. -17 is a simplified circuit diagram showing in skeleton fashion some of the" electrical operating and control features that'may be usedin connection with the elevator.

Reference will first be hadprincipally to Figs.

1 and 2. 1' An elevator 'car 20','shown as a platform type car, is guided for vertical movement in'a generally rectangular shaftway which; includes lower landing 2| and" upper landing 22. The'shaft structure which provides the shaftway is of conventional construction-and therefore omyifragments of the shaftstru'cture are shownin various figures ofthedrawings... For example, the shaft structure preferably includes four conventional T-shaped vertical guide rails, one of which is shown at 24 in Fig. 13.

Provision may be made to carry off water dripping from wet vehicles, or from other sources. Figs. 1 and 6 show the edge of the upper landing provided with a gutter I. This gutter is covered with a flexibly mounted covering strip 2. Strip 2 is amply perforated to allow water to reach the gutter and it projects into overlapping relation with the shaftway. The edge of the'ca'r is provided with a gutter 3, partially covered by a perforated strip 4, which has its free edge supported by a perforated gutter partition 5. With the car at the upper landing as shown in Fig. 6, strip 4 underlaps strip 2; and the strips 2 and 4.provide appropriate running surface to pass the wheels of a vehicle over the gutters. Water may be dis-' charged from gutters and 3 in any suitable way (not shown).

Hoisting chains and drives therefor At one side of the shaftway (see Fig. 2) there are a pair of vertically arranged endless hoisting elements and 26 which are preferably link chains. These hoisting or lift chains run over upper sprocket wheels 25a and 26a, respectively, andover lower sprocket wheels 2512 and 26b, respectively. These sprocket wheels are mounted on the shaft structure (see Fig. 3); and preferably the mounting for the lower sprockets 25b and 25b includes conventional means (not shown) for shifting the axle of the sprockets to tighten chains 25 and 26 as they lengthen due to wear at the 4 joints.

In the pit of the elevator there are suitably journalled cross shafts 28 and 29 driven by an electric motor 30 through reduction gear units 3| and'32. Conventional brake mechanism may be provided at 34 and 35 on the motor shaft. On one end of shaft 28 there is a sprocket 28a which is connected by drive chain 21 to a sprocket 36 which is fixed to and drives lower sprocket 25b of lift chain 25. Similarly, one end of shaft 29 is provided with a sprocket 29a which is connected by drive chain 31 with sprocket 38, Sprocket 38 is fixed to and drives lower sprocket 26b of lift chain 26. Chains 21 and 31 may be tightened by idlers 21a and 31a which are mounted for adjustment in the directions indicated by the arrows associated therewith, respectively.

The weight of car 2|] is hung onto hoisting chains 25 and 26 through chain hitches H (see also Fig. 3) Thus, the car is raised and lowered.

by movement of chains 25 and 26 which move in step.- To minimize horizontal side thrust on the vertical guide rails for car 20 hoisting chains 25 and 25 are driven in opposite directions as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. The movement of shuttles, which will be described later, would otherwise tend to produce a heavy side thrust.

As previously pointed out, hoisting chains-25 and 25 are located at one side of the elevator shaftway. These chains, with their sprockets, drives, and hitches to the car are duplicated at the opposite side of the shaftway. Thus. there are four hoisting chains in all. Upper sprockets'for the second set of hoisting chains arerindicated at 39 and 40 in Fig. 1. The drives to these duplicate hoisting chains are from the opposite ends of shafts 28 and 29, through sprockets 28b and 29b, drive chains 4| and 42, and sprockets 44 and 45 which are fixed to and drive the lower sprockets of the hoisting chains, respectively. A

When the car is moving between the landing 2| and 22 the hitches H are. being moved verti cally by the hoisting'chains at the same speed that the chains move. Thus, the speed of car 2|] is then the same as the linear speedof chains 25 and 26. However, as the car approaches a landing, that portion of the chain to which hitch H is attached, changes direction in passing around the sprocket wheel, with the result that the hitch H is given a horizontal component of movement. Thus, the vertical component of movement of the hitch H gradually diminishes, thereby decelerating the car. The upper and lower sprockets of lift chains 25 and 26 are so positioned that the car is appropriately leveled at the landing when the hitch H has passed substantially one-fourth of the way around an upper or lower sprocket, by which time the vertical component of movement of the hitch has been eliminated, or nearly eliminated. If the lower sprockets be shifted downwardly to tighten the lift chain, the electrical control mechanism can be adjusted to stop the car before the hitches H reach lower dead center position.

In order that a hitch H may pass around the sprockets with the chain, the hitch is arranged for both turning and lateral movement with respectto car 20. The'structure involved will be inore fully described later, but Fig. 3 shows that the hitch H projects from a shuttle assembly, or shuttle, S. This shuttle is adapted to move back and forth on upper rail R1 and lower rail R2 both of which rails are attached to the structure of car 20. Through lever action, lifting force from chain 25 is applied upwardly to rail R1 with a lesser downward force applied to rail R2. As shown in Fig. 1, there is a shuttle S for each of the four lift chains.

Interlock between our and shaft structure at landing Referring to Fig. 5, the shuttle S is shown in 1' the position it occupies when hitch H is being moved'vertically by the lift chain, the car 20 bein between landings. The nearest corner of the car is provided with an engagement assembly E having engagement means adapted to engage with a.

' supporting bracket B that is mounted on the statlonary shaft structure near the landing. The assembly E includes a supporting plate attached to the framework of car 20. Beneath this plate and pivoted to it is a triangular, horizontally swinging frame 5| having a projecting axle 52. Axle 52 carries spaced rollers 54 and 55. A connectin rod 56 connects the swinging frame 5| to shuttle S.

As the car 20 approaches the landing, chain hitch H moves toward dead center position on the sprocket, thereby moving the shuttle S to the position shown in Fig. 4. This shuttle movement, through connecting rod 56, swings frame 5| and engages roller 54 with supporting bracket B. As best seen in Figs. 6, '7, and 8, the supporting bracket B has a channel at 51 which receives roller 54. The bottom horizontal wall or shelf 58 of the channel is cam shaped in such manner that the reaction between it and roller 54 results in a wedging action that accurately levels and supports the edge of car 2|] at the landing. The cam 58 has a central dwell zone 59 which is occupied by roller 54 when the car is at rest at the landing.

As the axle 52 is swung into engaged position shown in Fig. 7, roller is confined between bearing plates 60 and 5| which are attached to the structure of car 20. Bearing plate 60 is replaceably mounted beneath supporting plate 56.

Bearing plate GI- is replaceably mounted-on an I-beam 62 which is part of the framework'of car 20.

To lower the car, the direction of the movement of the lift chains is normally reversed. However, harm will not result, if motion is accidentally continued in the same direction, with the result that the hitch H passes entirely over the upper sprocket and descends on the opposite Side. In such an event, roller 54 passes out at the opposite end of channel 57 thereby disengaging the car from the bracket B which provides supplemental support at the landing. Asshown in Fig. 1 there are four engagement assemblie E, one ateach corner of car 20. Each engagement assembly is operated from one of the shuttles S through a connecting rod 56. The shaftstructure is, of course, provided with brackets B for all of the engagement assemblies E. As shown in Fig. 2 supporting brackets B may be provided for the different landings, the engagement E cooperating with them at the different landings. In the case of a two landing elevator the brackets B may be eliminated at the lower landing and conventional bumpers or bufiers be used for sup- Reference will be had primarily to Figs. 9,10,

11 and 12. The shuttle S has a frame designated as a whole by 64, which is of bolted and welded construction. This fram includes vertical wall or. web portions 65, B6, 61, 68, 69, I0, 'II', and I2; upper horizontal webor body portions 'I4, I5, 'IE, and TI; and lower horizontal web or body por tions I8, 19, 80', and 83'. 1 A shaft 8| is journalled in the frame, with bearings at 82 and 84'. One end of the shaft is provided with a roller 85 which rolls'on rail R2. Spaced slightly from rollerv .85 is.,a washer 86 which is welded to shaft'8l and which limits'end play of the shaft. The opposite-end oftheshaft.

of chain hitch H. In assembly the .socket may.

be shrunk on stem 88 and then'the hitch may bewelded to shaft portion 81. v

Supported by and spanning the space between verticalframe portions 65. and 66 is an axle 89 on which rotates a roller 95'. spanning thespace between vertical frame portions 81 and 68 is an axle ill on which rotates a roller 92. Rollers 90 and 92' are beneath, and. bear against, upper rail R1, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12. Four stub axles projectuupwardly from the shuttle frame and carry rollers 93, '94; '95 and 96, which are adapted to roll-'onthe sides of the head of rail R1 and thereby keep the shuttle on the track. The shuttle-is also providedwith pairs of horns 91, 91a, and 98, 98a. The

head of rail R1 is received between thehorns of" these pairs of horns, as; best seen-in Fig. 11. The purpose of these horns will be pointed out later.

The appropriate end of the shuttle frame is provided with ears 99 and I to which is. se-

cured connecting rod 56 that operates 'engage-' ment assembly E (Figs 1, 5, and 6). The at-' tachment of rod 56 to the shuttle. may be by a' bolt IOI having an eccentric portion I IJZZwhich passes through rod 56. By turning this bolt'to different angular positions, the efiective length of rod 56 may be adjusted.

The hitch H is recessed or channeled. at I04 Supported by and lished by the axes of chain pins I and I06 (see also Fig. 11). Thus, theload is applied directly and embraces both sidesof the hoisting chain C (which may be considered as any one of thefour; hoisting chains for can-20)". Two 'COIISBCUCIVB" downward to the center line of the chain, without imposing buckling or kinking forces on the chain. The hitch may be made with a central ball-like movable member I01 which may have a separate segment IBM to facilitate assembly. In assembly, short: lengths of chainC are first secured tothe movable member I01. The body of the movable membenpreceded by segment IIIIa,

. isinserted somewhat edgewise'into the ball-like thereby permit limited wobbling movementbetween hitch Hand chain 0.. This available wob-' bling movement prevents torsional stressv from: being applied toithe chain by'hitch H. Thehitoh H is also disclosed in an.- applicationof Alexis W. LeIrzimon,-.=Serial- No..463,629,. filed October 28,. 194

A modified form. of hitch; is shown'Fig. 10. Here two consecutive iointsof the chain Care pinned. to. the legs of a yoke- I [8.1 The yoke is provided with a stub shaft III which piyotally. connects it to. an, arm I12 that extends from stem The shuttle S is constructed with suitable bearings, grease passages. grease fittings, etc.

The various bearings forrollers, shaft, etc;, are preferably providedwith bushings of bearing material, such'as bushings H4 (three shown) in Fig. 9. To; avoid confusion, grease passages, grease grooves, and grease-fittingshave been eliminated from the drawings.

Emergency stopping mechanism Figs. 13 and 14 show diagrammatically mechanism for'cutting ofif the power, and wedging the car 20 (Fig. 1) to. the guide. rails in theevent of breakage of a drive'or lift chain or in. the event that the elevator overspeeds in descending. Everything shown inthese figures is attached to or carriedby the structure of the elevator car except the vertical guiderail.

Positioned to move adjacent to. the guide rail. 24 is emergency stop mechanism which automatically wedges the car to. the. rail when the mechanism is tripped onset into. action. This step mechanism, which. is designated as a whole by I24, is conventional. and. well-known in the elevator art. 'Brieflydt includesa pair of superimposed rollers ,(not shown), which are adapted to be wedged by inclined (planes on the back of member I25 into/locking. engagement with the guide rail 24. Normally, these two rollers are spaced from the guide rail, but are adapted to be moved upwardly into locking position by levers I25 and pi'voted'tomember I25 at I28a. and I2'la respectively. The outer ends of these levers are connected together for coordinated; movement by a link I28 that is biased downwardly by a spring I29. A pin I 30 normally blocks movement of leverf I 21; thereby-holding both levers against movement by spring I29. Upon movement of pin I 30 to the right, as indicated by the arrow, lever I2-'I is freed and spring I l9. so moves levers I'll-and I 26--that"they elevate the-locking rollers I21, respectively. These levers are (not shown) into locking engagement withthe guide rail 24. It will beunderstood that the structure described in this paragraph is'convene'.

tional and well-known to the elevator art. 1

A lon angle iron I3I spans the space between the two shuttles. S on each side of the elevator car (see Fig. 1). Attached to the frame of each of -the shuttles S is a short length of angle iron I32 adapted, as hereafter explained, to engage-the; angle iron I3I (see also Figs. 11 and 12). Upon breakage of a lift chain (e.g., chain in Figs. 2 and 3), or upon breakage of the corresponding drive chain (e. g., the chain 21 in Fig. 2), the

lifting force applied to hitch H is removed with the result that the-shuttle S drops by gravity away from upper shuttle rail R1; Thusimost of the weight of the shuttle is applied through'angle iron I32 to angle iron I3I to operate mechanism as will presently be pointed out. I

A beam I53 limits the downward movement of the shuttle S asit pivots on lower rail R2. The downward movement of the shuttle may be enough to disengage side rollers 95 and 96 (Fig. 11) and 63 and 84 (Fig. 9) from rail R1. For this reason horns 98, 98a (Fig. 11) and 91, 81a (Fig. 9) are provided to keep the shuttle sufllciently aligned with rail R1.

Along stationary shaft I34, which spans the distance between two shuttles S (and also the distance between two guide rails) at one side of the car 20, has mounted on it a long rotatable sleeve I35. Fixed to the near end of this sleeve is an arm I38. Further down the shaft there is fixed to sleeve I the lever I36 which projects both up and down. Lever I36 includes a web I31 the width of which extends lengthwise of shaft I34. At intervals along sleeve I35 there are fixed several arms I33 (one shown) which carry angle iron I3I. Thus arms I33, I38, I36 and web I31 all rotate in unison with sleeve I35. A rod I23 projects from a ring I22 which can oscillate on pivot I2 I. This rod carries a compression spring I20 which bears against web I31 to bias the parts into the position shown.

When angle iron I3I is pulled down by shuttle S it operates through arms I33 to rotate sleeve I35 counterclockwise. This results in counterclockwise rotation of lever arm I38, two way lever I36, and web I31. The movement of arm I38 shifts link I39 in the direction of its arrow and thereby moves lever I40 in a clockwise direction. The movement of lever I40 withdraws pin I30, thereby allowing spring I29 to set the locking rollers (not shown) into locking engagement with guide rail 24 as previously pointed out.

Starting withthe parts in the position shown in Figs. 13 and 14, I will now show how the car is stopped in case of overspeed in descending. The elevator is equipped with a conventional overspeed chain I (Fig. 14) which passes over top and bottom sprockets (not shown) and drives a conventional governor (not shown) located in the elevator pit. This chain is driven by the movement of the elevator car. If the car overspeeds in descendim, the governor acts to stall the overspeed chain I45, with the result that lever I46 will be swung in a clockwise direction. The overspeed chain and the governor just referred to are well known in the art. When lever I46 is swung clockwise, it acts through link I41 to move lever arm I33 downwardly, just asthough this lever were moved downwardly by the action of angle I32 on the shuttle. Thus the safety mechanism I24 is tripped in the same manner and the lockdescribed.

The far end of sleeve I35 is provided with a ing rolls set against the guide rail 24 as previously duplicate of arm I38 connected to operate duplicate stop mechanism I24 that is associated with the other vertical guide rail that is on the same side of the car. Thus, if either of the shuttles S on the one side of the ca! drop, or if, overspeed chain I45 moves lever I46, sleeve I35 will be rotated and trip the stop mechanism I24 associated with both guide rails on the one side of the Mechanism for locking the car against unintended movement away from the upper landing This is shown in Figs. 15 and 16 wherein the structure I10 is attached to the structure of the elevator shaftway. The locking arms HI and I12 are adapted to embrace and confine the two chain hitches, H at one side of the car .when those hitches are at rest in the upper dead center position they occupy with the car at the upper landing (see Fig. 2). Fig. 15 shows the hitches H so confined, th hand lever I14 being inthe position shown in full lines. Upon movement of the handle I14 to the position shown in dot-dash lines, link I16 moves to the left, andmthrough connecting link I11 and lever arm I18, swings locking arm I1I upwardly about its pivot .I19.

40 At the same time the movement of link I16 swings bell crank lever I counterclockwise and through link I8I swings bell crank lever I82 clockwise.

This, through link I84 and lever arm I85 swings locking lever I12 upwardly about its. pivot I86. The raised or disengaged position of locking arms HI and I12 is shown in Fig..16.

The hand lever I14 may be suitably located as ing arms HI and I12 from the hitch'H as is shown in Fig. 16.

Electrical system The elevator may be operated by any suitable electrical system having any known desirable operating and control features and characteristics. Accordingly, no attempt has been made, to disclose a full fledged electrical system,. but Fig.17 shows in skeleton fashion certain desirable electrical features that may be included in the system.

The motor 30 is a compound direct current motor having a series'field 20I-,a shunt field 202, and an armature 203. The motor is adapted'to be set in operation by up and"down push buttons 204 and 205 which may be mechanically interlocked in known fashion so that both push This prevents the ele-- line.

adapted 1to-be opened by the action of pin [30 buttons can not be depressed at the same time. Fig. 1'? assumes that the elevator is at rest at the lower landing. Upon depressing up push button 204 circuit is mad from the positive side of the line, through six safety switches 206a, 206 (four) and 2051), up push button 204, conductor I99, and relay winding 20'! of the up relay to ground, which is the negative side of the This operates the up relay which holds by circuit from the positive side of the line, safety ture 209, conductor I98, switch 2H), conductor 139, and relay winding 20'! to ground. The shunt field 202 of the motor is energized from the positive side of the line, conductors 2!! and 2!6, armature 2!2, conductor 2 I4, shunt field winding 202, and conductor 2!5 to ground. The armature and the series field 20! are energized from thepositive side of the line, conductors 2!! and 2l6, armature 2!!, conductors 2l8 and 2H armature 203, conductor 220, armature 22!, conductor 222, series field 20!, and conductor 2I5 to ground.

The motor is thus set in operation to move the elevator up. When the elevator reaches the upperlan-ding cam 224 (which will be referred to later) opens switch 2!0. This breaks the hold- .ing circuit of the up relay, thereby automatically stopping the elevator at the upper landing.

To return the car to the lower landing down push button 205 is depressed. This energizes the winding 225 of the down relay as follows: Positive side of the line, safety switches 206a, 206 and 206b, conductor 226, down push button 205, conductor 221, and the winding 225 of the down relay to ground. The down relay holds by a circuit from the positive side of the-line, safety switches 206a, 206 and 206?), conductors 208 and 228, armature 229, conductor 230, switch 23!, conductor 221, and winding 225 of down relay to ground. The shunt field 2512 is energized in the same direction as for up movement by circuit from the positive side of the line, conductors 2!! and 232, armature 233, conductor 234, shunt winding 202, and conductor 2 !5 to ground. The series field 20! is energized in the same direction as for up movement, but armature 203 is energized in the opposite direction. The circuit is from th positive side of the line, conductors 2! l and 232, armature 235, conductor 236, armature 203, conductor 2!9, back contact of armature 22 I, armature 22!, conductor 222, series field 20!, and conductor 2| 5 to ground,

The cam 224 may be arranged in any suitable fashion so that it opens switch 21!). upon the elevatorv reaching the upper landing and opens switch 23! upon the elevator reaching the lower landing. This may be accomplished in various ways, as by placing the switches 2!0 and 23! on the shaft structure and placing the cam 224 on the car to engage the switches at the proper times. I prefer, however, to place both the switches 2!0 and 23I-on the car and to place the cam 224 on. one of the chain hitches H. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the hitches H are turned upwardly at the upper landing and downwardly at the lower landing. This makes it feasible to so position switches 2!0 and 23! that, with the cam 224 on the hitch, it will open switch 2!0 at the top landing and open switch 23l at the bottom landing.

.Safety switches 206 are four in number, one

being associated with each of the safety stop mechanisms I24 (Fig. 1.3) for the .fourguide rails. As shown in Fig- 13, theswitch.206 is switches 206a, 206 and 20622, conductor 208, armawhenthe pin is moved 'to the right to release the mechanism which wedges the car to the guide opening of anyone of the switches 206 will release either relay that happens to be in operated position and thereby stop motor 30.

=Safety switch 206a is associated with the mechanical locking mechanism of Figs. 15 and 16, being arranged to be opened bythe mechanical locking mechanism when hitches H are locked against movement. Thus the elevator motor cannot be energized when the lock of Figs. 15 and'16 is in operated position. '-'safety switch 20612 is opened: .bythe conventionaloverspeed governor (not shown) in case the car 'overspeedsr in -'descending.

In compliance with the patent statutes I have disclosed-the best form in which I have contemplated applying my. invention. It-will be realized, however, that the invention may be'embodied in many specific forms, andtherefore the'disclosure is to be considered as illustrative ofthe'invention rather than limiting the scope of the same.

WhatI claim is: V 1 1 1. In an elevator having a shaft structure including a landing, a car, and mechanism to-move the car to the landing; the improvement which comprises; mterengageable roller and roller-receiving elements to provide additional support for the car at the'landing, i one of the elements being. mountedon the shaft structureadjacent to the landing and the :other'element being attached to the car; and means powered by the mechanism which moves the-car to the landing and operative to positively engage said interengageable elements.

2. An-elevator construction as in claim 1 in which the interengageable elements have a camming action'that tends to level the car at 'the landing. Q i

3. -In an: elevator. having ashaft structure including a landing, a car, and means including a flexible hoisting element toxmove the carto the landingthe flexible hoisting element having a portion which changesdirectionas theca'r approaches the landing; the improvement which comprises: interengageable elements to provide additional support for thecar at thelanding, one of the elements being mounted on the-shaft structure adjacent to the landing, the otherelement being attached to the car, and both elements being remotefrom the flexible hoisting element; an actuator connected to saidother element and operable to effect engagement of the interengageable elements; and means connecting said actuator to said portion of -theflexible hoistingelement for operation of the actuator through/the change of direction of said portion of the flexible hoisting element as the car approaches the landing.

4. In anelevator having a shaft structureincluding a landing, a car, and means including a flexible hoisting element to move the car to and from the landing, the flexible hoisting-element having a portionwhich changes direction asthe car approaches and leavesv the landing; their n provement which comprises: interengageable elements to provide additional support for the car at the landing, one of the elements being mounted on the shaft structure adjacent to the landing, the other element being attached to the car, and both elements being remote from the flexible hoisting element; an actuator connected to said other element and operable to effect engagement of the interengageable elements; and means connecting said actuator to said P rtion of the flexible hoisting element for operation of the actuator through the change of direction of said portion of the flexible hoisting element as the car approaches and leaves the landing to thereby eifect engagement and disengagement of said interengageable elements regardless of the direction of travel of the flexible hoisting element.

5. In an elevator having a shaft structure providing a generally rectangular shaft and a landing, a generally rectangular car, and means including four flexible hoisting elements to move the car to the landing, the flexible hoisting elements having portions which change direction as the car approaches the landing; the improvement which comprises: four sets of interengageable elements to provide additional support for the corners of the car when at the landing, one of the elements of each set being mounted on the shaft structure adjacent to the landing and the other element being attached to the car adjacent to a corner thereof, and means connected to said portion of the flexible hoisting element and operable through change of direction of said portions of the flexible hoisting element to effect engagement of the interengageable elements of said four sets of elements.

6. In an elevator having a shaft structure including a landing, a car, and means including an endless flexible hoisting element to move the car to the landing, the flexible hoisting element having a portion which changes direction as the car approaches the landing; the improvement which comprises: a shuttle mounted on the car structure to transmit lifting force to the car, the shuttle being shiftable back and forth with respect tion, interengageable elements to provide additional support for the car at the landing, and an operating connection from the shuttle to engage said elements in response to the shifting movement of the shuttle as the car approaches the landing.

7. Elevator construction as in claim 6, in which the shuttle includes a member journalled on an axis cross-wise of the shuttle movement, and the flexible hoisting element is connected to such member.

8. Elevator construction as in claim 6, in which the shuttle includes a projecting recessed member, and the flexible hoisting element is nested in the recess and connected at both sides to the recessed member.

9. Elevator construction as in claim 6, in which the shuttle is provided with wheels, and the car is provided with rails on which the wheels run.

10. Elevator construction as in claim 6, in which the shuttle includes a yoke pivoted on a stub axle, and the flexible hoisting element is connected to the yoke.

11. Elevator construction as in claim 6, in which the shuttle includes a member journalled on an axis cross-wise of the shuttle movement,

a yoke is pivotally connected to such membe'ron an axis perpendicular to the axis of the member, and the flexible hoisting element is connected to the yoke.

12. Elevator construction as in claim 6,' in which the flexible hoisting element is a link chain, and the shuttle is connected to the chain at two consecutive joints thereof.

13. Elevator construction as in claim 6, in which the flexible hoisting element is a link chain, the shuttle includes a projecting recessed member, the chain is nested in the recess, and both sides of the recess are pivotally connected to the chain at two consecutive joints thereof.

14. An elevator comprising: a car, a landing, a pair of flexible hoisting elements, hitches connecting the hoisting elements to the car, wheels over which the hitches pass to substantially dead center position when the car is at the landing, and means to mechanically lock both hitches in such dead center position to thereby prevent the car from moving away from the landing.

15. An elevator comprising: a car, a landing, a flexible hoisting element, a hitch connecting the hoisting element to the car, a wheel over which the hitch passes to substantially dead center position when the car is at the landing, and means to mechanically lock the hitch in such dead center position to thereby prevent the car from moving away from the landing.

16. In an elevator having a shaft structure including a landing, a car, and means including lift chains to move the car to and from the landin the chains having portions respectively which change direction as the car approaches and leaves the landing; the improvement which comprises: four lift chains, four sets of interengageable elements to provide additional support for the car at the landing, one element of each set bein mounted on the shaft structure adjacent to the landing and the other being attached to the car, four shuttles attached respectively to said portions of the chains and given movement through the changes of direction of said portions of the chains as the car approaches andleaves the landing, and four operatingconnections from the shuttles to the sets of interengageable elements respectively to engage and disengage the elements in response to said movement of the shuttles.

1'7. In an elevator having a car, and means including a flexible hoisting element to move the car, the flexible hoisting element having a portion which changes direction during part of the car movement; the improvement which comprises: a track on the car adjacent to the flexible hoisting element, a second track on the car removed from the flexible hoisting element and parallel to the first track, a shuttle frame mounted on the car structure to transmit lifting force to the car, the shuttle frame having wheeled engagement with both of said tracks and being shiftable back and forth on said tracks, a member carried by the frame and journalled on an axis crosswise of the shuttle movement, and means connecting said member to the flexible hoistin element.

18. In an elevator having a car, and means including a flexible hoisting element to move the car, the flexible hoisting element having a portion which changes direction during part of the car movement; the improvement which comprises: a shuttle frame mounted on the car structure to transmit lifting force to the car, the Shuttle frame being shiftable back and forthwith respect to the car; track-and-wheel means on which the shuttle frame is mounted for the shifting movement, said means including first and second tracks located at different distances from the flexible hOistillg element; and an operating connection from the shuttle frame to the hoisting element.

19. Elevator construction as in claim 18, in which the first track is close to the flexibl hoisting element and the second track is removed therefrom, and the shuttle frame is provided with two wheels running on the first track and with one wheel running on the second track.

20. Elevator construction as in claim 18, in which the first track is close to the flexible hoisting element and the second track is removed therefrom, and the shuttle frame is provided with a wheel engaging the first'track upwardly and with a wheel engaging the second track downwardly.

21. In an elevator having a car, and means including a flexible hoisting element to move the car, the flexible hoisting element having a portion which changes direction during part of the car movement; the improvement which comprises: a shuttle frame mounted on the car structure to transmit lifting force to the car, the shuttle frame being individual to said hoisting element and being shiftable back and forth with respect to the car, spaced tracks attached to the car on which the shuttle frame shifts, trackengaging means carried by the shuttle frame and engaging one track from above and the other track from below, and an operating connection from the shuttle frame to the hoisting element.

22. Elevator construction as in claim 21, in which there are a plurality of flexible hoisting elements, and there are shuttle frames and pairs of tracks individual to the respective hoisting elements.

23. Elevator construction as in claim 21, in which the shuttle frame drops away from one track upon failure of the flexible hoisting element.

24. Elevator construction as in claim 21, in

which the elevator car is provided with emergency holding means, the shuttle frame drops away from one track upon failure of the flexible hoisting element, and means are provided to initiate the action of the emergency holding means by the dropping of the shuttle frame.

25. In an elevator having a car, and means including a flexible hoisting element to move the car, the flexible hoisting element having a portion which changes direction during part of the car movement; the improvement'which comprises: a shuttle frame mounted on the car structure to transmit lifting force to the car, the shuttle frame being shiftable back and forth with respect to the car; a member carried by the frame and journalled on an axis crosswise of the shuttle movement; and a yoke pivoted to the journalled member on an axis crosswise of the axis of the member, the yoke being connected to the flexible hoisting element.

26. In an elevator having a car, and means including a link chain to move the car, the chain having a portion which changes direction during part ofthe car movement; the improvement which comprises: a shuttle frame mounted on the car structure to transmit lifting forces to the car, the shuttle frame being, shlftable back and forth with respect to the car; and a member carried by the frame and journalled on an axis crosswise of the shuttle movement, said member having a pro- J'ecting rec ssed portion, the chain being nested in the recess, and both 'sides of the recess being pivotally connected to the chain at two consecutive joints thereof; and the axis of said journalled member lying in the planeestablished by the axes of the two pivotal connections to said chain.

27. In an elevator having a shaft structure including a landing, a car, mechanism to move the car to the landing, and a pair of interengageable elements to provide additional support for the car at the landing, one of said elements being mounted on the car and the other being mounted on the shaft structure; the improvement which comprises: one of the interengageable elements being a receiving member, and the other being a swinging member having a portion which swings into engagement with the receiving member; and

power operated means operable to positively move the swinging member into engagement with the receiving member; the receiving member being shaped to receive the swinging member from opposite sides of the receiving member and the swinging member being engageable with the receiving member from either side thereof.

28. In an elevator having a shaft structure including a landing, a car, mechanism to move the car to the landing, and a pair of interengageable elements to provide additional support for the car at the landing, one of said elements being mounted on the car and the other being mounted on the shaft structure; the improvement which comprises: one of the interengageable elements being a receiving member, and the other being a swinging member having a portion which swings into engagement with the receiving member; and power operated means operable to positively move the swinging member into engagement with the receiving member; the receiving member having a cam surface provided with a dwell zone and with vertically-acting camming zones on either side of the dwell zone, and the engaging portion of the swinging member being a cam follower.

29. In an elevator having a shaft structure including a landing, a car, mechanism to move the car to the landing, and a pair of interengageable elements to provide additional support for the car at the landing, one of said elements being mounted on the car and the other being mounted on the shaft structure; the improvement which comprises: one of the interengageabl elements being a, receiving member, and the other being a swinging member having a, portion which swings into engagement with the, receiving member; and power operated means operableto positively move the swinging member into engagement with the receiving member; the receiving member having a cam surface provided with a vertically-acting camming zone and a dwell zone, the engaging portion of the swinging member being a cam follower, and the camming zon being shaped to receive such cam' follower as the car approaches the landing.

CHARLES E. ELLIS.

Images