Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
  • B66B—ELEVATORS; ESCALATORS OR MOVING WALKWAYS
  • B66B7/00—Other common features of elevators
  • B66B7/02—Guideways; Guides
  • B66B7/023—Mounting means therefor
  • B66B7/026—Interconnections
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
  • B66B—ELEVATORS; ESCALATORS OR MOVING WALKWAYS
  • B66B19/00—Mining-hoist operation
  • B66B19/002—Mining-hoist operation installing or exchanging guide rails
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B66—HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING
  • B66B—ELEVATORS; ESCALATORS OR MOVING WALKWAYS
  • B66B5/00—Applications of checking, fault-correcting, or safety devices in elevators
  • B66B5/0087—Devices facilitating maintenance, repair or inspection tasks

Definitions

• the present disclosure relates to a device and a method for correcting guide rail alignment er ⁇ rors .
• Guide rails are used to guide the vertical movement of an elevator in an elevator shaft.
• Guide rails are constructed from multiple guide rail sections that are connected to each other from their vertical ends to form a continuous guiding structure for the elevator.
• the connection between two adjacent guide rail sections is secured through a con ⁇ necting element, for example a fishplate, that is at- tached to both guide rail sections through bolts or similar.
• the guide rails are attached to the walls of the elevator shaft through brackets.
• the accurate alignment of the adjacent guide rail sections is necessary to prevent disturbances in the elevator path when it moves over a junction of two guide rail sections and to ascertain that the guide shoes or guide rollers touch the guide rails appropri ⁇ ately throughout the entire length of the elevator movement.
• the correction of alignment er- rors called shimming, is achieved through adding washers or shims between the guide rail section and the fishplate. When done appropriately, this both flattens out bends in the guide rail sections and moves the ends of the two guide rail sections to accu- rately face each other.
• Guide rails are typically installed in the elevator shaft in a bottom-up manner.
• each guide rail should run is first es ⁇ tablished with the aid of a plumb line or a laser beam.
• the two bottom-most guide rail sections, one on each opposite wall of the elevator shaft, are then at ⁇ tached to the walls through the brackets.
• the straightness of the guide rail sections is checked and adjusted through the brackets if necessary.
• the next pair of guide rail sections is mounted on top of the first pair and attached to the wall as the previ ⁇ ous guide rail sections.
• the straightness of the guide rail sections is checked in relation to the guide rail section below and adjusted through the brackets if necessary.
• the fishplate is then added at the formed junction and the ends are aligned. The process is re ⁇ peated until both guide rails are complete.
• the final adjustment of the guide rail sections is carried out by shimming, i.e. by adding shims or washers between the guide rail section and the fishplate to force a slight curvature in the guide rail section in order to change the position of the end of a guide rail sec ⁇ tion.
• This corrects alignment errors in different di ⁇ rections that can result from tensions within the com- pleted guide rail.
• a fish ⁇ plate comprising an intermediate portion to which the ends of the guide rail sections to be joined are af ⁇ fixed, and integral extensions which are spaced from the back surfaces of the adjacent guide rail sections is disclosed.
• the integral extensions include jacking bolts which are adjusted to provide forces on the guide rail sections correcting the misalignment of the guide rail sections and restraining the guide rail sections to hold the accurate position. Since the in ⁇ termediate portion of the fishplate is thicker than the integral extensions, the jacking bolts can be ad ⁇ justed to force the guide rail section to an appropri ⁇ ate position.
• the bolts are screwed to the guide rail section from dif ⁇ ferent directions depending on the direction of the misalignment of the guide rail sections (i.e. whether the bend is towards the inside of the elevator shaft or towards its wall) .
• the jacking bolts there is no corresponding hole in the guide rail section (the jacking bolt needs to push the guide rail section relative to the fishplate) , whereas in the other orientation a hole is needed for the adjust ⁇ ment (the jacking bolt needs to pull the guide rail section relative to the fishplate) .
• An object of the present invention is to pro ⁇ vide an improved guide rail alignment system and a method for correcting guide rail alignment errors.
• the guide rail alignment system and the meth ⁇ od for correcting guide rail alignment errors are in particular, but not only, intended for elevators, es ⁇ pecially for passenger or cargo elevators of build- ings .
• the guide rail alignment system and the method for correcting guide rail alignment errors may be used with other guide rails as well.
• a guide rail herein is meant a continuous rail that guides the substantially vertical movement of an elevator in an elevator shaft.
• a guide rail section is meant a section of a guide rail that is at ⁇ tached from its one end to an adjacent guide rail sec- tion or from its both ends to two adjacent guide rail sections .
• shimming By correcting guide rail alignment errors herein is meant a procedure in which the curvature of a guide rail section or the relative po- sitions of two adjacent guide rail sections is adjust ⁇ ed with the aid of a connecting element, typically a fishplate, and components attached thereto in order to correct guide rail alignment errors.
• a guide rail alignment system By a guide rail alignment system is herein meant the connecting element, such as a fishplate, at ⁇ tached to two adjacent guide rail sections, intermedi ⁇ ate elements, such as washers, shims, cup springs, leaf springs or elastic spacers located between the guide rail section and the connecting element, the portions of both guide rail sections that are in con ⁇ tact with the connecting element, possibly through the said intermediate elements, and compression elements, such as bolts, screws, adjustable pins, clamps or tighteners, that attach the connecting element to the guide rail sections.
• the intermediate elements can be either separate or integrated into other elements of the guide rail alignment system.
• a spring is herein meant a body that is elastic and more compliant than the surrounding load- bearing structures.
• the guide rail alignment system presented here is characterized by comprising at least one con ⁇ necting element, two guide rail sections, each section having two ends, joined to each other from one of their ends by the at least one connecting element, compression elements attaching the at least one connecting element to the guide rail sections, and inter ⁇ mediate elements between the at least one connecting element and at least one of the guide rail sections, and further characterized in that at least one of the intermediate elements is a spring that is compressible in response to tightening one or more of the compres ⁇ sion elements.
• a guide rail of an elevator characterized in that it compris ⁇ es at least one pair of guide rail sections connected through a guide rail alignment system according to the present disclosure.
• an ele- vator comprising an elevator shaft, at least one guide rail, an elevator car arranged to move within the ele ⁇ vator shaft along the at least one guide rail, charac ⁇ terized in that the elevator comprises at least one guide rail with at least one pair of guide rail sec- tions connected through a guide rail alignment system according to the present disclosure.
• a method for correcting guide rail alignment errors comprising joining two guide rail sections, each section having two ends, to each other from one of their ends by at least one connecting element, attaching the at least one connecting element to the guide rail sections by compression elements, characterized in that the method comprises using spring force between the connecting element and at least one of the guide rail sections to correct guide rail section alignment errors, and ad ⁇ justing the spring force by altering the tightness of at least one compression element.
• the connecting element does not need to be released for correcting guide rail alignment errors. This speeds up the alignment correction process and avoids the loss of alignment in other dimensions of the guide rail than the one being corrected.
• the at least one connect ⁇ ing element and the two guide rail sections comprise holes that are arranged so, that the holes in the guide rail sections can be aligned with the holes in the connecting element and that the compression ele- ments attach the at least one connecting element to the guide rail sections through the holes.
• the at least one spring is configured to exert pressure on the guide rail section to create a bending tension in it in the direction of the spring force in response to loosening one or more of the compression elements.
• the guide rail is con ⁇ figured to be attached to a solid support, wherein the bending tension in the guide rail section caused by the pressure from the partially released at least one spring is configured to alter curvature in the guide rail section and/or to adjust the relative positions of two adjacent guide rail sections.
• curvature of the guide rail section and/or the relative positions of two ad- jacent guide rail sections is configured to be altered by tightening one or more of the compression elements to a predetermined torque during installation and by thereafter loosening or further tightening one or more of the compression elements by a predetermined amount.
• the at least one spring is a cup spring, elastic spacer, leaf spring, helical spring, wave spring, or an integrated spring achieved through local elasticity of the connecting element or of the guide rail section.
• the at least one spring is sunken into the connecting element so, that when the compression elements are completely tight ⁇ ened, the connecting element is in contact with the guide rail sections with its whole guide-rail facing surface.
• the at least one spring is incorporated to the connecting element prior to the assembly of the guide rail alignment system.
• the guide rail alignment system contains one connecting element in which there are at least eight holes arranged in two rows of four in the direction of the guide rail.
• the method for cor ⁇ recting guide rail alignment errors is characterized in that the spring force is produced by at least one spring, and that the method comprises the steps of a) during installation or service of the guide rail sections, creating a preload on the con ⁇ necting element and guide rail junctions by tightening at least one of the compression elements to a prede- termined torque; and
• the method for correcting guide rail alignment errors is characterized in that the spring force is produced by at least one spring, and that the method comprises the steps of
• Fig. 1 presents a schematic overview of one embodiment of the guide rail alignment system accord- ing to the present disclosure.
• Fig. 2 presents a schematic overview of the embodiment in Fig. 1 viewed from the side.
• Fig. 3A presents a schematic overview of the embodiment in Fig. 1 as a cross-sectional view along the plane A-A' in preload position before correcting guide rail alignment errors.
• Fig. 3B presents a schematic overview of the embodiment in Fig. 1 as a cross-sectional view along the plane B-B' after correcting guide rail alignment errors .
• Fig. 4A presents a pair of guide rail sec- tions joined by a guide rail alignment system accord ⁇ ing to the present disclosure in preload position be ⁇ fore correcting guide rail alignment errors.
• Fig. 4B presents a pair of guide rail sec ⁇ tions joined by a guide rail alignment system accord- ing to the present disclosure after correcting guide rail alignment errors.
• Fig. 5 presents a schematic overview of an elevator in which a guide rail alignment system ac ⁇ cording to the present disclosure is used.
• Fig. 1 presents a guide rail alignment system
• the guide rail sections 2, 3 have a T-shaped cross- sectional profile (shown more closely in Fig. 3) and the guide rollers or guide shoes of the elevator car
• the fishplate 4 is located on the side of the guide rail sections 2, 3 that faces the eleva- tor shaft 10 wall.
• the guide rail sections 2, 3 are typically about 5 m long, although the length can vary. They also vary in their width in different elevator constructions, but can have a width of, for ex ⁇ ample, 127 mm.
• the fishplate 4 is approximately as wide as the guide rail sections 2, 3, and in the above-mentioned case 130 mm. Also the length of the fishplate 4 varies and can be, for example, 305 mm for the above guide rail sections 2, 3.
• the thinnest fish ⁇ plates 4 can be only 5 mm thick, but a thickness of, for example, 17 mm can be considered typical.
• the fishplates 4 can also have additional rigidifying structures, such as ridges in them, which are omitted from the figure.
• the fishplate 4 is at ⁇ tached to each guide rail section 2, 3 through four compression elements 6, which in this case are bolts and their respective holes 5' , 5 in the fishplate 4 and in the guide rail sections 2, 3.
• the holes are ar ⁇ ranged in two rows of four holes 5, 5' in the direc ⁇ tion of the guide rail 12, but this does not need to be the only arrangement.
• a smaller or larger number of holes 5, 5' and their respective bolts 6 is possible, depending on the heaviness of the structure and the forces necessary to correct the alignment errors in the guide rail sections 2, 3.
• the number of the bolts 6 and their respective holes 5, 5' do not need to be the same for both guide rail sections 2, 3 in a given guide rail alignment system 1.
• the bolts 6 can alter ⁇ natively be screws, adjustable pins, clamps or tight ⁇ eners, or other compression elements depending on the specific embodiment in question and also the spacing of the holes 5, 5' with compression elements 6 can vary .
• the guide rail section 2, 3 and the connect ⁇ ing element 4 do not need to be attached to each other through compression elements 6 that need holes 5, 5' .
• the compression elements 6 can be adjustable clamps, presses or other tighteners.
• the holes 5, 5' do not need to be circular. Further, they can have an opening to the side of the guide rail section 2, 3 or connecting element 4 or both, forming a slot rather than a hole with a closed circumference . It is possible to have more than one connect ⁇ ing element 4 per guide rail alignment system 1: for example a configuration of two narrow connecting elements 4 with a single row of holes 5' and compression elements 6 in each can be envisaged.
• FIG. 1 There are intermediate elements 7 between the guide rail sections 2, 3 and the fishplate 4 that in the embodiment of Fig. 1 are cup springs 7 through which the bolts 6 are fitted.
• the guide rail alignment system 1 is depicted in the preload po ⁇ sition, i.e. with the cup springs 7 fully compressed by the bolts 6.
• the fishplate 4 does not touch the guide rail sections 2, 3 directly, but only through the springs 7.
• the cup springs or other intermediate elements 7 could be sunken into the connecting element 4 so, that in the preload posi ⁇ tion the connecting element 4 and the guide rail sec ⁇ tions 2, 3 would contact each other directly.
• springs 7 in all positions of the bolts 6 and holes 5, 5' , this is not necessary, if sufficient adjustment can be achieved with a smaller number of springs 7.
• springs 7 in conjunction only with the bolts 6 on one side of the guide rail junction 8 or only in certain positions on both sides of the guide rail junction 8.
• the intermediate elements 7 are fully compressed, it is possible to compress them only to a predetermined torque, for example 120 Nm by using, for example, a torque wrench. This allows the correction of guide rail 12 alignment errors by either increasing the bending moment or by decreasing it through tightening the compression element 6 further or loosening it, respectively.
• the springs 7 have to be compressible enough to allow them to be released, for example, 0.5 mm from the preload position, and to still retain enough me- chanical energy to exert a sufficiently large force on the guide rail section 2, 3.
• the magnitude of the force and movement parameters vary broadly in differ ⁇ ent constructions and have to be adjusted for differ- ent guide rail section 2, 3 configurations.
• the material for the construction of all parts is usually steel, but also other materials might be suitable.
• the guide rail alignment system 1 of the pre- sent disclosure can be used in a guide rail 12 togeth ⁇ er with guide rail alignment systems 1 known in prior art.
• Fig. 2 presents the guide rail alignment sys ⁇ tem 1 of Fig. 1 viewed from one side.
• the guide rail sections 2, 3 are accurately aligned and the cup springs 7 fully compressed between the fishplate 4 and the guide rail sections 2, 3 by the bolts 6. This is the ideal initial preload position after the installa ⁇ tion of the guide rail sections 2, 3. If the springs 6 were sunken into holes, the fishplate 4 and the guide rail 12 could be pressed against each other throughout the length of the fishplate 4.
• Fig. 3A presents the guide rail alignment system 1 of Fig. 1 as a cross-sectional view along the plane A-A' in preload position before correcting guide rail 12 alignment errors.
• the guide rail section 3 has a T-shaped cross-sectional profile with a ridge 3' .
• Fig. 3B presents the guide rail alignment system 1 of Fig. 1 as a cross-sectional view along the plane B-B' after correcting guide rail 12 alignment errors.
• the bolts 6 have been loosened and, compared to Fig. 3A, the guide rail section 3 and the fishplate
• Fig. 4A presents a pair of guide rail sec ⁇ tions 2, 3 joined by a guide rail alignment system 1 in preload position before correcting guide rail 12 alignment errors.
• the guide rail sections 2, 3 are mounted on the elevator shaft 10 wall by brackets 14 (not shown) .
• a detail view of the guide rail alignment system 1 is also shown.
• the intermedi ⁇ ate elements 7, which in this embodiment are cup springs, are sunken in the connecting element 4, which in this embodiment is a fishplate, allowing the fish ⁇ plate 4 and the guide rail sections 2, 3 to contact each other directly throughout the length of the fish ⁇ plate 4.
• All the compression elements, which in this embodiment are bolts 6, are tightened completely, i.e. the complete length of their compression range is used. In cases where the alignment errors would be of different magnitude, direction or position, it is pos ⁇ sible that not all the bolts 6 are fully tightened even in the preload position.
• the guide rail sections 2, 3 are twisted so, that they do not form a straight guide rail 12 structure (indicated by the dashed line) .
• Fig. 4B presents the pair of guide rail sec ⁇ tions 2, 3 joined by a guide rail alignment system 1 of Fig. 4A after correcting guide rail 12 alignment errors.
• a detail view of the guide rail alignment sys ⁇ tem 1 is also shown.
• the bolts 6 attached to the guide rail section 3 of the guide rail alignment system 1 have been loosened.
• the partially released bolts 6 al ⁇ low the cup springs 7 to press against the guide rail section 3 creating a bending tension and force between the guide rail sections 2 and 3.
• Both the guide rail sections 2 and 3 have straightened relative to the straight line as was aimed for by the procedure (indi ⁇ cated by the dashed line) .
• Fig. 5 presents an elevator 9 comprising an elevator shaft 10, an elevator car 11 arranged to move within the elevator shaft 10 (indicated by the double-headed arrow) , a guide rail 12 and guide shoes or rollers 13 that move along the guide rail 12.
• the guide rail 12 comprises guide rail sections 2, 3 and guide rail alignment systems 1, and is attached to the elevator shaft 10 wall through brackets 14.
• Guide rail alignment systems 1 according to the present disclosure can be used in all guide rail junctions 8 of the elevator 9 or one or more guide rail alignment systems 1 can be according to prior art and used in combination with the guide rail alignment systems 1 disclosed herein.

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• Lift-Guide Devices, And Elevator Ropes And Cables (AREA)

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• 2013
  • 2013-07-03 EP EP13174819.6A patent/EP2821358B1/en not_active Not-in-force
• 2014
  • 2014-06-27 WO PCT/FI2014/050537 patent/WO2015001183A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2014-06-27 CN CN201480036346.5A patent/CN105358463B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2014-06-27 JP JP2016522685A patent/JP6316416B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2014-06-27 SG SG11201509843XA patent/SG11201509843XA/en unknown
  • 2014-06-27 AU AU2014286041A patent/AU2014286041A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2015
  • 2015-12-01 US US14/956,009 patent/US20160083222A1/en not_active Abandoned
• 2016
  • 2016-01-01 SA SA516370343A patent/SA516370343B1/ar unknown

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