US2848077A

US2848077A - Elevator guide rail fastener

Info

Publication number: US2848077A
Application number: US560960A
Authority: US
Inventors: Tofanelli Daniel Dario
Original assignee: Otis Elevator Co
Current assignee: Otis Elevator Co
Priority date: 1956-01-24
Filing date: 1956-01-24
Publication date: 1958-08-19
Anticipated expiration: 1975-08-19

Description

Aug. 19, 1958 D. D. TOFANELLI 2,848,077

ELEVATOR GUIDE RAIL FASTENER Filed Jan. 24. 1956 DfiN/EL 0112/0 TOFAAELU INVENTOR BY ATTOR-NEY nited States Patent Ufiice 2,848,077 Patented Aug. 19, 1958 ELEVATOR GUIDE RAIL FASTENER Daniel Dario Tofanelli, Bronxville, N. Y., assignor to Otis Elevator Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 24, 1956, Serial No. 560,960

6 Claims. (Cl. 189-.35)

This invention relates to a guide rail fastener for forming elevator guide rails to a supporting structure.

In the past guide rails for both the elevator car and its counterweight were rigidly attached to the elevator hoistway walls or to the building structure at predetermined points along the length of the guide rails. The common practice utilized guide rails which were prefabricated in individual sections of suitable lengths, such as sixteen-foot sections. These sections were rigidly attached to the hoistway walls in abutting relation and in order to prevent a deformation of the guide rails due to building compression or thermal expansion it was necessary to leave a gap between the abutting edges of adjacent sections. Since the amount of building settling is not readily susceptible to perdetermination, the dimension of the gap between guide rail sections could not be precisely ascertained. When an excessive opening was preset for this gap, the guide rail sections would not abut after building compression and the elevator car would be subjected to a series of bumps during its vertical travel; when an inadequate opening was preset, the guide rail sections would be deformed due to building compression and the vertical travel of the elevator car would be rough and uneven.

Heretofore the guide rail sections were rigidly attached to a supporting structure by rail clamps, a conventional design of which is disclosed in Patent No. 2,700,434, granted January 25, 1955. These prior rail clamps were secured by means of a nut and a bolt extending through an aperture inthe clamp and through an aperture in a mounting plate. As the building settled, the forces transmitted to the rail clamp caused the clamp to pivot about the axis of the bolt and this pivotal action caused one edge of the clamp to embed itself in the edge of the rail flange. Thus the vertical movement of the guide rail relative to the clamp was prevented and deformation of the guide rail occurred.

In modern elevator installations in tall buildings the amount of deformation caused by building compression seriously interferes with the smooth travel of high-speed elevators and while the guide rail sections must be attached to the building structure, they.must also be maintained in alignment. Such an eifectis accomplished by this invention which permits the guide rail sections to be securely fastened to the supporting structure and maintains them in alignment by allowing for relative upward movement of .the guide rail sections as the building settles.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an improved guide rail fastener which is extremely simple in. construction, .economical to manufacture, and easy to install.

A further object of this invention is to provide a guide rail fastener for attaching an elevator guide rail to a supporting structure and permitting relative vertical movement between the fastener and the rail to prevent deformation of the rail.

It is another object of this invention to provide a slidable alignment device which permits the guide rail to be adjusted in a horizontal plane after installation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a guide rail fastener which is adjustable in both a horizontal and a vertical plane to permit the guide rail automatically to adjust itself with respect to the supporting structure thereby preventing distortion of the guide rail by external forces or by thermal stresses.

Another object of this invention resides in attaching an elevator guide rail to a supporting structure by utilizing a mounting member having a pair of inclined slots, each of which receives a bolt to attach a, rail flange clamping member to the mounting member in such a manner that an edge of the clamping member will not become embedded in the guide rail flange.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description and appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the preferred embodiment of this invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view with some of the elements shown in section; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the mounting plate taken on line 3-3 Figure 2.

As illustrated in Figure 1' the guide rail fastener is adapted to be rigidly connected to any type supporting structure and for purposes of description such supporting structure is shown as a concrete wall 1. .A mounting plate 2 is rigidly secured to the supporting structure in any suitable manner as by embedding one end of the plate in the concrete wall 1. A, guide rail 3 has a mounting web formed by a pair of oppositely disposed attaching flanges; 4, and a guiding web 5. Each flange 4 tapers from a thick dimension. at its juncture with the guiding web 5 to a thin dimension at. its edge 8. Although only a portion, of, guide rail 3 is shown, it is to be. understood that this invention is applicable to the entire length of a guide rail which, is to be installed in an elevator hoistway to. guide: the travel of the elevator. i

The mounting plate 2 has .a. pairofinclined slots 6, one of which is utilized in conjunction with the left flange of the guide railwhile the, other is for the right flange. The slots 6 are, inclined from the vertical so that the major axes ofv both slots are. convergent for a purpose to be-described hereinafter. The degree of inclination of theslots 6 may: be varied to fit a particular installation and in one instancean'angle. of 8 /2 degrees from the vertical has been foundto be satisfactory.

The guide rail 3, ismounted on thezmounting plate 2 with the rear face offlanges 4 beingretained in. surface contact with the mounting plate, by means. of .a pair of fastening plates 7, one for each flange. Each fastening plate 7 is made of spring steel' and has an attaching portion 10, a shoulder portion '11 and an offset clamping portion 12 to clamp the rail flange 4 to the mouniil 'tg plate. Anaperture 13 in the attaching portion 10 receives abolt14 having its head JlS'positioned adjacent the shoulder portion 11 which acts as a stop to prevent rotation of the bolt 14. The bolt 14extend's through the slot 6' and the attaching portion 10. A look washer I6 and nut '17 securely fasten the elements together; The length of the fasteningplate 7' is almost as great asthe width ofthe mounting plate 2 and has the desirable eflfect of'maintaining vertical alignment of the guide rail 3 between the longitudinal extremities of the fastening plate 7'. The shoulder portion 11 snugly abuts the-edge Sofrail' flange 4 but, because of the slope of the flange 4 there. is not complete surface .con-. tact between flange 4 and clamping, portion 12, but only a narrow band or line contact with an air space therebetween as is clearly illustrated in Figure 2. This narrow band of contact arrangement facilitates relative vertical movement between the clamping portion 12 and the rail flange while maintaining rail flange 4 securely against the mounting plate 2. The attaching portion is bottomed on mounting plate 2 by tightening nut 17 on the bolt 14 and because the clamping portion 12 is offset from the attaching portion 10 an amount determined by the thickness of the flange edge 8, any excessive tightening of nut 1.7 will have no effect on the clamping portion 12, with the result that relative vertical movement of the guide rail cannot be impeded by an abnormal pressure exerted on the fastening plate 7.

In mounting guide rails in an elevator hoistway, the guide rails are secured to the building structure or the structural steel framework at approximately twelve-foot intervals throughout the hoistway. This supporting structure will vary both in its vertical and horizontal dimensions as a result of the compression of the building, which is a reaction that takes place in every building. The variance is especially great in the taller buildings where an elevator is a necessity for vertical transportation. The objective of maintaining elevator guide rails in vertical alignment is accomplished by utilizing a pair of oppositely inclined slots 6 in the mounting plate 2 for receiving the bolts 14.

During the settling action of the building the mounting plate 2 moves downward therewith as does the fastening plate 7 which is attached thereto. In the event there is too much friction between the fastening plate 7 and the guide rail to prevent free movement downward of fastening plate 7, the inclined slots provided on mounting plate 2 permit fastening plate 7 to slide upward with respect to mounting plate 2, thereby increasing the clearance between fastening plate 7 and the rail to a point where the friction is reduced sufliciently to permit free movement downward of both mounting plate 2 and fastening plate 7. The friction is reduced by the upward movement of the fastening plate 7 to such a position that its shoulder portion 11 is no longer in engagement with the flange edge 8 and its clamping portion 12 engages the flange 4 along a new narrow band of contact which because of the tapering of the flange is at a location of lesser thickness. The result is the same when the building structure remains fixed but the guide rails move upward relative thereto due to thermal expansion, i. e., the guide rail imparts an upward force to each of the fastening plates 7 which in turn force the bolts 14 to move upward in the slots 6 relative to the mounting plate 2.

By having the slots 6 incline-d from the vertical in a downwardly converging manner the slidable aligning rail fastener is self-releasing. For example, when the length of the guide rail increases due to thermal expansion, the forces transmitted to the bolts 14 move the bolts upwardly 1n the slots 6 as may be required to relieve the friction between the fastening plates 7 and the guide rail with the desired effect of facilitating the upward vertical movement of the guide rail 3 relative to the fastening plates 7, the mounting plate 2, and the supporting structure 1.

In the event there is a faulty installation of the guide rail because of accumulative errors by the construction mechanics, it is not necessary to dismount the installation or even to dismount a single rail fastener, but rather such errors may be corrected by merely loosening the nuts 17 and sliding each bolt 14 and its fastening plate 7 upward or downward in their respective slots 6 to the position necessary to etfect vertical alignment of the guide rail by adjustment thereof in the horizontal plane.

As it will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different conditions without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown on the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A fastener mounting an elevator guide rail on a supporting structure comprising, a mounting member for said guide rail secured to said supporting structure, said guide rail having a pair of oppositely disposed tapered flanges the backs of which contact said mounting mem ber, a pair of clamps, one for each of said flanges, and means securing said clamps to said mounting member along the opposite edges of said flanges, each of said clamps having a spring clamp portion in slidable contact with the front surface of the contiguous tapered flange, whereby said guide rail is free to move vertically relative to said supporting structure without horizontal misalignment of said guide rail.

2. A slidable rail fastener for mounting on a supporting structure an elevator guide rail having a mounting web and a guiding web disposed in perpendicular relation thereto at the center of said mounting web, said mounting web being divided into a left flange on one side of said guiding web and into a right flange on the other side of said guiding web, each of said flanges tapering from a thick dimension at its juncture with said guiding web to a thin dimension at its edge, said fastener comprising, a mounting member for said guide rail rigidly secured to said supporting structure and in contact with the back of said mounting web, said mounting member having a pair of elongated slots, one on each side of said mounting web, said slots diverging upwardly, a pair of fastening plates, one for each of said flanges, each of said plates being of a vertical dimension slightly less than the guide rail width and having an attachment portion with an aperture therein, a shoulder portion abutting the edge of its corresponding flange and extending slightly above the edge of that flange and a spring clamp portion in contact along a narrow band with the surface of said corresponding flange clamping said guide rail to said mounting member when said plates are secured to said mounting member, and a bolt and nut for each of said plates, each of said bolts extending through the aperture in the fastening plate for which it is provided and the slot on the corresponding side of said mounting member securing said plates and thus said guide rail to said mounting member.

3. In combination with an elevator guide rail having a pair of attaching flanges, a guide rail fastener mounting said guide rail on a supporting structure, said rail fastener comprising, a mounting member secured to said supporting structure and having a pair of upwardly divergent slots formed therein, said slots being spaced apart slightly more than the width of said guide rail, a pair of fastening plates, each having formed therein a bolt receiving aperture, and a pair of bolts, one each of said bolts extending through the aperture in one of said fastening plates and one slot in said mounting member securing said fastening plates to said mounting member, said guide rail being positioned between said fastening plates with the back surface of its attaching flanges contiguous to the surface of said mounting member and the front surface of each of said flanges beneath and in clamped relation to the under surface of one of said fastening plates.

4. A slidable guide rail fastener mounting an elevator guide rail on a supporting structure comprising, a mounting member between said guide rail and said supporting structure secured to said supporting structure, said mounting member having a pair of oppositely inclined slots formed therein and a contact surface on the front surface of said mounting member between said slots in contact with the back surface of said guide rail, a pair of fastening plates contiguous said front of said mounting member, positioned one on each side of said guide rail in clamping relation to the front surface of said guide rail, and a pair of bolts one for each slot, each of said bolts extending through said slot in said mounting member for which it is provided securing said fastening plates to said mounting member for slidable movement with respect thereto so that frictional co-action between said guide rail and said fastening plates forces said bolt upward in said slot as said mounting member moves downwardly with respect to said guide rail.

5. In combination with an elevator guide rail having a pair of attaching flanges, a guide rail fastener mounting said guide rail on a supporting structure, said guide rail fastener comprising, a mounting member secured rigidly to said supporting structure between said guide rail and said supporting structure, said mounting member having a pair of slots inclined oppositely and upwardly, said slots being spaced apart slightly more than the Width of said guide rail, a pair of fastening plates positioned one on each side of said guide rail adjacent to said attaching flanges, each fastening plate having a spring clamp portion in contact along a narrow band with the front surface of its adjacent attaching flange, and a bolt for each fastening plate extending through one of said slots securing that plate in clamping position on the guide rail to said mounting member, whereby vertical movement of said guide rail relative to said mounting member is facilitated by slidable movement of said fastening plate on said mounting member along said inclined slot as said guide rail moves upward relative to said supporting structure.

6. An elevator guide rail fastener for attachment to a structure fastening said guide rail substantially stationary with respect to said structure, said fastener comprising, a mounting plate having a rail supporting portion and an attachment portion adapted for fastening to the Wall of a structure, said rail supporting portion having a pair of upwardly diverging slots therein, said slots at their closest points being spaced apart slightly more than the width of the guide rail that is to be fastened, a pair of fastening plates, each having a fastening portion, a clamping portion and a shoulder portion intermediate said other portions, each such fastening portion having defined therein a bolt receiving aperture, each such shoulder portion being of a height slightly greater than the edge thickness of the guide rail flange that is to be secured and each such clamping portion extending outwardly from the top of its associated shoulder portion in direction opposite to its associated fastening portion; and a pair of bolts, one through each fastening plate and a corresponding slot in said mounting plate, said combination when assembled defining between said conjugate shoulder portions and beneath said clamping portions a guide rail receptacle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 651,186 Hague June 5, 1900 1,058,127 Wolhaupter Apr. 8, 1913 2,134,082 Goodrich Oct. 25, 1938 2,321,106 Sanford June 8, 1943 2,700,434 Tofanelli Jan. 25, 1955