COUNTERWEIGHT FOR AN ELEVATOR WITH A TRACTION PLANE OFFSET RELATIVE TO THE VERTICAL MID-PLANE AND WITH A BALANCED GUIDING SYSTEM, AND ELEVATOR EQUIPPED THEREWITH. This invention relates to a counterweight for an elevator with a traction plane offset relative to the vertical mid-plane and with a balanced guiding system, and to an elevator equipped therewith.
The development of modern elevators without machine rooms is known to reduce the size of the shaft, and the arrangement of the components of the elevator is reduced to the smallest possible volume within this shaft, so that the traction axis of the counterweight may be offset relative to its vertical mid-plane, where its gravity center is located. The counterweight is conventionally made of a rectangular frame, with fillers extending across its width, and with a median plan of symmetry. The offset between the vertical traction axis of the counterweight suspension cables and the vertical mid-plane of the counterweight including its gravity center produces an overhang that makes it more difficult to guide and therefore causes a faster wear of the counterweight guiding elements on its guiding rails. This invention aims at correcting this disadvantage and proposes a counterweight for an elevator in which the vertical traction axis of the suspension cables is offset relative to its vertical mid-plane, wherein the counterweight is of the type comprising a rectangular peripheral frame with ballast elements and including side guide elements adapted to slide on counterweight guide rails, characterized in that said frame includes at least two separate compartments extending over its height, said compartments being adapted to accommodate each materials or ballast elements, up to defined respective total masses, wherein such respective total masses are arranged relative to each other and relative to the suspension axis so that the overall gravity center of the counterweight lies on the counterweight suspension axis.
Said compartments can have a common vertical partition, which is advantageously located in the vertical mid-plane of the counterweight frame. Said compartments can be closed on their front and rear walls to contain a bulk ballast material up to a determined height, such as
sand, steel balls, concrete, etc., but they are advantageously open on their front and rear walls to contain piled-up ballast elements or fillers.
Said partition between the compartments can be made of a stiff middle profile post attached to the peripheral counterweight frame, so as to form two compartments having the same size and adapted to accommodate fillers of the same width and to stiffen the counterweight frame structure, with a corresponding possibility to design lighter frame posts.
In addition, aligning the bearing axis and the gravity center of the counterweight ensures a perfectly free guiding of the counterweight on its guides, without any side friction to maintain the counterweight off axis and therefore without uncomfortable vibration as the elevator car moves. In addition, the number of counterweight guiding elements can be reduced, as well as their cross-section and that of the corresponding guides, and the counterweight frame is no longer submitted to a parallelogram deformation.
The invention logically relates also to an elevator equipped with a counterweight as described above.
The invention is illustrated hereafter by an exemplary embodiment, with reference to the appended drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic elevation view of a counterweight according to the embodiment of the invention, and
Figure 2 is a schematic elevation view of a counterweight according to the exemplary embodiment with an optimized filler load. Referring to Figure 1, the exemplary counterweight has a classic stiff peripheral frame 1 made of two metallic side posts 3 with a U- shaped internal cross-section and of an upper 5 and a lower 7 cross- members connecting said side posts. The upper cross-member 5 bears the sheave unit 9 for the counterweight hanging cables 11 in its mid- longitudinal plane, and the suspension axis is indicated by the upper vertical chain dotted line.
The lower cross-element 7 bears a classic bottom shock-absorbing pad 13.
A metallic post with an H-shaped cross-section 15 connects the lower cross-member 7 to the upper cross-member 5 in the mid-plane P of the peripheral frame. This post 15 divides the peripheral frame 1 into left 17 and right 19 vertical longitudinal compartments. These
compartments contain identical fillers 21 piled up on each other and held at their ends shaped as rectangular noses in the U-shaped recess of the lateral post 13 and the H of the middle post 15 respectively, within some clearance. Four guiding slides 23 are attached by pairs to the opposite upper and lower side ends of the peripheral frame, respectively. The slides 23 move on counterweight guide rails 25.
As can be seen on the drawing, the counterweight suspension axis is offset by a distance a from the mid-plane P and, in order to avoid any off-axis suspension stress by the counterweight on its guides 25 through the slides 23, the overall gravity center of the counterweight must be aligned with the cable suspension axis.
The detail of the filling method to align the counterweight axis containing its gravity center, referred to hereinafter as "Cwt axis", with the traction axis is illustrated above.
The principle is to put more weight in the right filling row to compensate for said offset a.
The following part details, for information, the method to calculate these specific masses ml and m2 of the rows. The present data are given with reference to Figure 1.
Gl = Gravity center of the fillers in the left row
G2 = Gravity center of the fillers in the right row
G3 = Gravity center of the Cwt frame (sheave not included) ml = Fillers in the left row total mass m2 = Fillers in the right row total mass m3 = Cwt frame weight (without sheave) m sheave = sheave mass a = offset
To have the traction axis aligned with the gravity center of the complete counterweight, it is necessary to have the following, with reference to the coordinates axis XY as represented:
HI1XGI + m2XG2 + m3XG3 - (mi + πi2 + rri3) a
(by definition of the gravity center) Since:
XGI = -b XG2 = +b XG3 = 0 it comes:
In1X Gi + 1H2XG2 = (mi + πi2 + πi3). a or b (πi2 - In1) = (mi + πi2 +πi3). a or Hi1 (a + b) + rri2 (a - b) + m3. a = 0
And we know that ITl1 + ITI2 + πi3 + msheave = πiCwt
So the equation system is : 0 = HlCwt
The unknowns in system are mi and m2 After resolution, it comes:
mcwt(a + b) - mSheave(a + b) - m3.b m. =
2b mi - mCwt - msheave - m3 - rri2
Thus, if in the left filling row the total mass of the fillers is mi as calculated above and if in the right filling row, the total mass of the fillers is ni2 as calculated above, then the traction axis will be aligned with the gravity center of the complete counterweight.
Once the weight in each filling row is defined (mi and m^, it is possible to define a combination of concrete and steel fillers to fill the counterweight up to the top of each row as the density of concrete fillers can be 2 or 4 and the density of steel fillers is 7.85.
This can be easily done via a classic filling program. This kind of program defines the number of concrete and steel fillers which have to be installed to achieve a given weight at a given height.
Figure 2 shows such a filling optimization of the counterweight, the gravity center of same being in line with the traction axis (in the sheave middle).
The steel fillers are represented at the lower level and the concrete fillers (dotted) at the upper level.
The theoretic calculation of the number of steel and concrete fillers for the counterweight shall now be described for the right-side compartment.
Considering that: l\ = density of steel
£2 = density of concrete
S = area of a filler (there are two rows of fillers across the width of the counterweight) f = stacking factor (twisting of steel fillers according to their thickness) hi = height of the steel fillers including stacking factor h2 = height of the concrete fillers
H = maximum possible filling height
Ptot fillers = total weight of the steel and concrete fillers = Ptheory CWt - Psteel frame CWt m = number of steel fillers n
2 = number of concrete fillers ei = nominal thickness of a steel filler (no stacking factor) e
2 = nominal thickness of a concrete filler The starting assumption is that filling is optimized so that:
We have: hi = m*(ei.f) or ^e
1 =— and h
2 = n2.e
2 ; hence H = ni.ei.f+n
2.e
2
It should be noted that ni and n2 do not have to be integers to meet this condition; they will be rounded later.
Now the total weight of steel fillers is:
Ptot steel fillers = 2Smerfi = 2S^-
The total weight of concrete fillers is: Ptot concrete fillers = 2Sh2.£> The total weight of the fillers is: Ptot fillers = 2s( ^- + h2i 2 j
Now h2 = H - hi, therefore Ptot fillers = 2 S [ ^± + {H - hλ)i2 ]
, , , and hence h
λ
_ P
10, fillers - 2SHi
7
Now 1I1 = ni.ei.f, therefore ' 2Se1(^1 -£2f)
(to be rounded up)
H - hi = h2 = ri2.e2, therefore ri2 = -
Hence ri2
Note: the condition m.ei + τi2.e2 ≤ H should be verified (with m and n2, the numbers of steel and concrete fillers, being respectively rounded).
The calculation is the same as before for the filling of the left- side compartment.
Of course, implementation variants can be introduced within the scope of the appended claims.
For example, each of the counterweights may have front and rear walls, optionally removable, as above, to contain a bulk ballast material such as sand, steel balls or concrete, which may be arranged at a determined height according to the offset between the cable suspension axis and the mid-plane of the counterweight.