WO2017072391A1

WO2017072391A1 - Maintenance arrangement and method

Info

Publication number: WO2017072391A1
Application number: PCT/FI2015/050736
Authority: WO
Inventors: Karel Miro KRATOCHVIL; Vijay Kumar KAURA
Original assignee: Kone Corporation
Priority date: 2015-10-27
Filing date: 2015-10-27
Publication date: 2017-05-04
Also published as: CN108349698A; CN108349698B

Abstract

The invention concerns a maintenance arrangement and a method for lubricating elevator ropes (5). The arrangement has a lubricant distributor (1) comprising a lubricant pan (3) with side walls (31) and a bottom (32), and rollers (2A-C) for applying lubricant (100) onto the elevator ropes (5). The rollers include a pick-up roller (2A) and two transfer rollers (2B, 2C).In the method, the lubricant (100) is applied to the elevator ropes (5) by one or both of the transfer rollers (2B, 2C).

Description

MAINTENANCE ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a maintenance arrangement and a maintenance method. Particularly, the arrangement and the method relate to lubrication of elevator ropes in elevator systems with or without machine rooms.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In elevator systems lubrication is needed to prevent the abrasion of the elevator ropes and the configuration through which the ropes travel during movement of the elevator cars and counterweights in the elevator systems during use. Further, lubrication is performed to prevent internal fretting corrosion as well as internal and external abrasive wear of the outer wires of the elevator ropes. This is done to ensure the safe, smooth and economic operation of the elevator systems.

To ensure that the above-mentioned maintenance goals are properly met, the lubricant has to be thin enough to penetrate into the rope, and it has to have high enough film strength to protect the outer wires properly. The former requires from the lubricant low viscosity and the latter high viscosity. This contradiction in quality is typically resolved by using a carrier solvent that evaporates after the lubricant has been applied and cured, to leave a thick, tough film on the surface of the elevator ropes, i.e. by using solvent diluted lubricants. In commonly used permanent wick feed type lubricators, solvent diluted lubricant cannot be used: shortly after initial filling of the reservoir, the solvent will evaporate and the remaining thickened lubricant will not flow through the wick, leaving the ropes dry or under-lubricated.

Conventional continuous lubrication systems deliver lubricant to the parts needing lubrication in form of streams or films. Due to technical and constructional limits of prior art solutions, this may be performed in such an inefficient way that a significant part of the components to be lubricated are, in fact, not lubricated properly. In addition, considerable amounts of lubricants may end up being wasted, contaminating the operation environment, for example the machine room or the elevator shaft, of the elevator systems, which requires additional cleaning-up after the actual maintenance operation. Further, the lubricants used are commonly environmentally hazardous substances, the difficulties of handling harmful substances compounding to the clean-up costs and efforts .

To counteract the aforementioned problems, elevator ropes are treated with solvent diluted lubricants manually by applying the lubricant to the ropes with a paint roller or a brush, adding more lubricant by dipping the tools into a pan of lubricant before treating a section of the rope. This kind of manual labor is naturally highly time-consuming and therefore expensive. Typically, manual lubrication rate is about three meters per minute. This means that the elevator system under maintenance is out of use for a long period of time, which may cause inconvenience to the users of the elevator systems.

In general, the specific requirements for rope lubrication depend on the operating conditions; size, number and length of the ropes; and the amount of original lubricant on the rope.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved maintenance arrangement configured to lubricate ropes, and an improved maintenance method for lubricating ropes. The invention is in particular, but not only, intended for lubrication of elevator ropes in elevator systems, especially for passenger or freight elevators of buildings. However, the maintenance arrangement and method may be used in connection with other passenger or goods conveyors, such as moving walkways or stairways, escalators or other conveyors .

By elevator rope herein is meant any suitable rope, cable, wire or line, or an array of ropes, cables, wires or lines, intended for moving an elevator car in an elevator system, or a passenger or freight conveyor unit in a conveyor system.

The maintenance arrangement for lubricating at least on elevator rope presented here is characterized by comprising a lubricant distributor comprising a lubricant pan with side walls and a bottom, rollers arranged onto the lubricant pan rotatably via their axes and configured to apply lubricant onto the at least one elevator rope; and further characterized in that the rollers comprise a pick-up roller arranged to pick up lubricant from the lubricant pan, a first transfer roller arranged into driving contact with the pick-up roller and configured to receive lubricant from the pick-up roller, and a second transfer roller arranged into driving contact with the first transfer roller .

In one embodiment of the invention, the rollers are arranged to span between mounts secured to the opposite sides of the lubricant pan.

In one embodiment of the invention, the second transfer roller is arranged into contact with the at least one elevator rope.

In another embodiment, the at least one elevator rope is configured to drive the second transfer roller through traction causing it to rotate when the elevator ropes is in motion.

In yet another embodiment, the rotational movement of the second transfer roller is configured to drive the first transfer roller and, via the first transfer roller, the pick-up roller, causing it to pick up lubricant from the reservoir within the lubricant pan .

In one embodiment, lubricant is applied to the at least one rope by the second transfer roller configured to receive lubricant from the first transfer roller .

In one embodiment of the invention, the pick^¬ up roller and the first transfer roller are arranged to span between first mounts secured to the opposite sides of the lubricant pan, and that the second transfer roller is arranged to span between second mounts secured on the first mounts. In another embodiment, connectors are arranged between the respective axes of the first transfer roller and the second transfer roller.

In yet another embodiment, the connectors enable the nip pressure between the first transfer roller and the second transfer roller to be adjusted.

In another embodiment, the connector is a spring .

In another embodiment, the first transfer roller and the second transfer roller are arranged into contact with the at least one elevator rope so that the elevator rope is arranged to travel between the first transfer roller and the second transfer roller.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one elevator rope is configured to drive the first transfer roller and the second transfer roller causing them to rotate when the at least one elevator rope is in motion .

In yet another embodiment, the rotational movement of the first transfer roller is configured to drive the pick-up roller causing it to pick up lubricant from the reservoir within the lubricant pan.

In one embodiment of the invention, lubricant is applied to the at least one rope by the first transfer roller.

In another embodiment, the second transfer roller is arranged to receive lubricant from the first transfer roller, and lubricant is applied to the at least one elevator rope also by the second transfer roller.

In another aspect of the invention there is disclose a maintenance method for lubricating at least one elevator rope with a lubricant distributor comprising a lubricant pan with side walls and a bottom, and rollers arranged onto the lubricant pan rotatably via their axes and configured to apply lubricant onto the at least one elevator rope; characterized in that the lubricant is picked up from a reservoir within the lubricant pan by a pick-up roller, transferred to a first transfer roller arranged into driving contact with the pick-up roller and to a second transfer roller arranged to driving contact with the first transfer roller, and applied to the at least one elevator rope by at least one of the transfer rollers; and further characterized in that, during the lubricating process, at least one transfer roller is being driven by the at least one elevator rope through traction .

In one embodiment, the lubricant is applied to the at least one elevator rope by the second transfer roller arranged into contact with the at least one elevator rope.

In another embodiment, the lubricant is applied to the at least one elevator rope by both the first transfer roller and the second transfer roller, both arranged into contact with the at least one elevator rope.

In yet another embodiment, the at least one elevator rope is arranged to travel between the first transfer roller and the second transfer roller during the lubricating process.

In another embodiment, the nip pressure between the first transfer roller and the second transfer roller is adjustable. In one embodiment, the method is carried out at elevator service speed.

The invention according to the present disclosure offers specific advantages over prior art.

With the disclosed lubrication arrangement and method, and the disclosed lubricant distributor, the manual application process of solvent-based lubricants can be replaced by a partially automated, cost- efficient and simple manner.

The disclosed arrangement and method allows the lubrication of elevator ropes to be performed while operating the elevator system at a reduced service drive speed of 12 meters per minute, a significant improvement to the about 3 m/min rate of manual lubricant application, hence reducing labor costs significantly. Also, one person may perform the maintenance operation alone, since there is no need for constant manual activity. The lubrication arrangement and method is also safer to the service personnel, as there is no need to manually lubricate the moving ropes inside a cramped machine room, or extensively handle the hazardous lubricants unnecessary, as practically no contact with the lubricant is needed. Only minimal clean-up after the maintenance operations is necessary. Further, the elevator system is out of operation for significantly shorter time, thus reducing the inconvenience to users .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and which constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention. Together with the description the drawings are meant to help to explain the principles of the invention. The invention is not limited to the specific embodiments illustrated in the drawings .

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 presents a simplified schematic overview of a lubricant distributor in one embodiment of the lubrication arrangement according to the present disclosure .

Fig. 2a presents a schematic overview of an embodiment of the lubrication arrangement according to the present disclosure, intended for an elevator without a machine room.

Fig. 2b presents a schematic overview of an embodiment of the lubrication arrangement according to the present disclosure, intended for an elevator with a machine room.

Fig. 3a presents a schematic overview of one step of the lubrication method according to the present disclosure .

Fig. 3b presents a schematic overview of another step of the lubrication method according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 presents a schematic detail of the lubrication arrangement and method according to the present disclosure.

The following reference symbols have been used to annotate different parts and relative dimensions of the invention throughout the figures: 1 lubricant distributor

10 reservoir

100 lubricant

2A-C rollers

2A pick-up roller

2B first transfer roller

2C second transfer roller

21A-C roller axes

3 lubricant pan

31A,B side walls of the lubricant pan

32 bottom of the lubricant pan

4 mount

41 first mount

42 second mount

43 connector

5 elevator rope

6 securing element

7 attachment device

71 attachment element channel

72 attachment element

8 elevator machine room

81 elevator motor bedplate DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The maintenance arrangement according to the present disclosure comprises a lubricant distributor 1 presented in Fig. 1. The lubricant distributor 1 comprises lubricant pan 3 intended for receiving lubricant 10. The pan has a rectangular bottom 32 and four straight side walls 31A, 31B projecting, perpendicular to the bottom 32, from the edges of the bottom 32. The side walls 31A, 31B and the bottom 32 form a lubricant reservoir 10 with a certain volume for receiving lubricant 100.

The volume of the reservoir 10 depends on the type of elevator system the maintenance arrangement is intended to: in elevator systems with a machine room, the volume may be 300-500 cm³, while in elevator systems with no machine room, the volume may be larger, 500 - 7000 cm³ due to the fact that in that configuration, the reservoir 10 cannot be refilled or topped-up during the maintenance operation.

The lubricant pan 3 can be made of stainless steel or other material suitable for receiving and holding commonly utilized solvent diluted lubricants such as those sold under the trade names Gustav Wolf T86 or BP Castrol Tribol WR4600.

The lubricant distributor 1 further comprises rollers 2A, 2B, 2C with which the lubricant 100 is arranged to be applied onto the elevator rope or ropes (not shown in Fig. 1) . The rollers 2A-C have a body and a suitably resilient surface mantel or cover made of suitably absorbent material capable of receiving and dispensing lubricant 100. The rollers 2A-C may, for example, be or resemble commonly used paint rollers regarding the properties of the absorbent material surface.

The rollers 2A-C comprise a pick-up roller 2A located at least partially inside the lubricant pan 3. The pick-up roller 2A picks up lubricant 100 from the reservoir 10 as it rotates by receiving lubricant into its absorbent surface mantel or cover. For that end, the pick-up roll 2A is arranged so that it is at least partially submerged into the lubricant 100 in the reservoir 10. The pick-up roller 2A is arranged in contact with a first transfer roller 2B in such a way that lubricant is further dispensed or distributed onto the absorbent surface of the first transfer roller 2B. The rollers 2A-C further comprise a second transfer roller 2C arranged in contact with the first transfer roller 2B in such a way that lubricant is in turn absorbed by the surface of the second transfer roller 2C. In one embodiment of the maintenance arrangement according to the present disclosure, the second transfer roller 2C may act as a sole roller applying lubricant 100 to the elevator rope or ropes. In another embodiment, the second transfer roller 2C may act as a backing-up roller intended to receive any lubricant 100 dripping from or released by the first transfer roller 2B, therefore 1) ensuring that the elevator rope or ropes 5 become sufficiently lubricated also from their undersides, and 2) inhibiting the contamination by the lubricant 100 of the elevator system under maintenance.

The rollers 2A-C are arranged to rotate about their respective axes 21A, 21B, 21C. The rollers 2A-C are driven by the motion of the elevator rope or ropes, the motion being transferred from the roller or rollers in contact with the rope or ropes to the other roller or rollers, i.e. the rollers 2A-C are arranged in driving contact with each adjacent roller.

In one embodiment of the maintenance arrangement (see Fig. 2a), the second transfer roller 2C is arranged into contact with the elevator rope or ropes 5. The motion of the elevator rope or ropes 5 rotatably drives the second transfer roller 2C through traction between the rope or ropes 5 and the second transfer roller 2C, which is in contact with the first transfer roller 2B in such a manner that the first transfer roller 2B is rotatably driven by the second transfer roller 2C. The first transfer roller 2B is further in contact with the pick-up roller 2A in such a manner that the pick-up roller 2A is rotatably driven by the first transfer roller 2B.

In another embodiment of the maintenance arrangement (see Fig. 2b), both the first transfer roller 2B and the second transfer roller 2C are arranged into contact with the elevator rope or ropes 5. The motion of the elevator rope or ropes 5 rotatably drives the two transfer rollers through traction between the rope or ropes 5 and the transfer rollers 2B-C. The first transfer roller 2B is further arranged in contact with the pick-up roller 2A that the pick-up roller 2A is rotatably driven by the first transfer roller 2B.

The axes 21A-C are arranged to span between mounts 4, 41, 42 so that the length of the rollers 2A-C is at most equal to the width of the lubricant pan 3 or the length of the side walls 31B. The width of the rollers 2A-C is chosen to accommodate the number of elevator ropes 5, and therefore the width of the elevator rope array (i.e. the group of ropes 5 arranged in a row) , to be lubricated.

The width or the rollers 2A, 2B, 2C may be for example 300 mm, and the width may vary between 150-500 mm. In elevators with a machine room, the width of the rollers 2A-C may typically be 300-460 mm, while in elevators without a machine room, a typical width for the rollers 2A-C may be 153 mm. Independent of the rope array width, the width of the rollers 2A-C is at least 20 mm larger than the width of the rope array. Preferably, the length of the rollers 2A, 2B, 2C is slightly smaller than the width of the lubricant pan 3 to allow securing of the mounts 4, 41 onto the lubricant pan 3 with securing elements (not shown) , which can be any suitable securing elements such as internal plate structures welded onto the bottom 32 of the lubricant pan 3 close to the side walls 31A inside the lubricant pan 3. The mounts 4, 41 can be secured to this plate structure with any suitable means such as screws, nuts, bolts or rivets. The mounts 4, 41, 42 and the internal plate structures may be made of the same material as the lubricant pan 3, such as stainless steel or any other suitable material.

The mounts 4, 41, 42 can have holes through which the axes 21A, 21B, 21C are arranged and that allow rotation of the rollers 2A, 2B, 2C via their respective axes 21A, 21B, 21C. The hole intended for the pick-up roller 2A may be elongated in longitudinal direction of the mount 4, 41, to allow adjustment of the depth of the pick-up roller 2A inside the lubricant pan, i.e. the level of immersion of the pick-up roller 2A into the lubricant reservoir 10 or lubricant 100, which may depend on the elevator system to be subjected to the maintenance operation.

In one embodiment, all the rollers 2A-C are arranged on the same mount 4 (Fig. 2a) . In another embodiment, the pick-up roller 2A and the first transfer roller 2B are arranged on a first mount 41, and the second transfer roller is arranged on a second mount 42, which is releasably secured onto the first mount 41 with a securing element 6, which can be any suitable securing element such as a screw, nut, bolt or rivet (Fig. 2b) . Alternatively, the second transfer roller 2C may be secured onto the second mount 42 in a releasable manner by releasing and refitting axis 21c into the holes arranged into the second mount 42, which remains attached onto the first mount 41 either in a releasable or permanent manner.

In the configuration, where the second transfer roller 2C is detachable from the first mount 41 either in itself or with the second mount 42, the elevator rope or ropes 5 are arranged to travel between the first transfer roller 2B and the second transfer roller 2C. The respective axes 21B, 21C of the two transfer rollers 2B, 2C are connected by connectors 43 from both ends of the axes 21B, 21C, to allow the adjustment of pressure between the two transfer rollers 2B, 2C, to ensure that the motion of the elevator rope or ropes 5 is properly transferred to all the rotating rollers 2A-C through traction. The connectors 43 may be any suitable loading elements, such as springs.

The lubricant distributor further comprises attachment devices 7 (shown in Fig. 2a and 2b) arranged into the bottom 32 of the lubricant pan 3. The attachment devices 7 comprise attachment element channels 71, arranged to span over the width of the lubricant pan 3 and configured to receive a suitable number of attachment elements 72 such as magnets, in various adjustable positions, to accommodate different installation locations within the elevator system. The attachment element channels 71 may be for example metal channels with attaining edges or similar structures into which the attachment elements 72 may be secured according to the discretion of the person performing the maintenance operation.

With the attachment devices 7, the lubricant distributor 1 may be quickly and simply releasably attached to the elevator motor bedplate 81 or any other suitable location inside the elevator machine room 8 or elevator shaft for the duration of the maintenance operation. In case there is no suitable fixed or integral location within the elevator system, a removable steel plate or other such planar element may be first installed for attaching the lubricant distributor 1 in a desired location within the elevator machine room 8 or elevator shaft.

The maintenance arrangement may also include an automatic lubricant feeder to top up the lubricant 100 into the reservoir 10 of the lubricant pan 3. This way, the operator does not need to manually top up the lubricant as it is used during the lubrication process. The automatic lubricant feeder comprises a lubricant container, which can be any suitable container capable of retaining an amount of lubricant sufficient to lubricate the total length of the elevator ropes 5 to be treated during a maintenance operation without the need of topping up with additional lubricant 100.

The automatic lubricant feeder further comprises a suitable length of tube for transferring the lubricant 100 from the container to the lubricant reservoir 10 within the lubricant pan 3, and a suitable valve for regulating and closing the lubricant flow based on the level of lubricant 100 in the reservoir 10. The valve may for example be a ball valve. The maintenance method according to the present disclosure may be used to lubricate elevator ropes in elevator systems with elevator machine rooms or with elevator systems without a machine room.

First, an embodiment of the method, intended to be used with elevators with no machine rooms, is presented in connection with figures 2a and 4:

In this embodiment, the maintenance arrangement is mounted for the duration of the maintenance operation onto the elevator machinery when it is located in the uppermost part of the elevator shaft. The operator may access the location only from the top of the elevator car, and after the mounting, the location cannot be accessed during the maintenance operation. The amount of lubricant needed to perform the maintenance operation in its entirety must be added into the reservoir 10 within the lubricant pan 3 at the beginning of the lubrication cycle. Therefore, in this embodiment, a maintenance arrangement employing a deeper reservoir 10 in the lubricant distributor 1 is needed .

The maintenance arrangement is mounted with the attachment devices 7 so that the second transfer roller 2C is in contact with the elevator rope or ropes 5 in such a manner that the traction between the elevator rope or ropes 5 drive the transfer roller 2C. This is ensured by aligning the elevator ropes 5 evenly against the second transfer roller 2C in its horizontal direction, i.e. in its longitudinal direction, as is shown in Fig. 4.

The second transfer roller 2C is arranged in driving contact with the first transfer roller 2B, which in turn is in driving contact with the pick-up roller 2A. The pick-up roller 2A picks up lubricant 100 from the reservoir 10. As the pick-up roller 2A turns about its axis 21A, lubricant 100 is transferred first to the first transfer roller 2B and from it, to the second transfer roller 2C. From the second transfer roller 2C, lubricant is applied onto the surface of the elevator rope or ropes 5 as the elevator car travels at service speed of 12 m/min from the top of the elevator shaft to the bottom of the elevator shaft and back to the top. This allows sufficient amount of lubricant 100 to be applied to the elevator rope or ropes 5.

Another embodiment of the maintenance method, intended for elevator systems with a machine room 8, is presented in connection with figures 2b, 3a-b and 4:

The maintenance arrangement is first mounted onto a suitable place in the counterweight side of the elevator motor bedplate 81 within the elevator machine room 8 with the attachment devices 7, as shown in figure 3a. The lubricant distributor 1 is placed so that the first transfer roller 2B is in contact with the elevator rope or ropes 5. To this end, the second transfer roller 2C is momentarily removed from the second mount 42, and the connectors 43 are detached from the axis 21C. Alternatively, the second mount 42 can be removed from the first mount 41, while the second transfer roller 2C remains in place in the second mount 42.

The maintenance arrangement is adjusted in place so that it is place to the center of the elevator ropes 5, i.e. so that equal lengths of roller surface remains on both sides of the rope array. The elevator ropes 5 are aligned evenly in horizontal direction of the first transfer roller 2B so that the traction between the elevator rope or ropes 5 drive the first transfer roller 2B, as shown in Fig. 4.

Next, the second transfer roller 2C is arranged onto the second mount 42 so that the second roller 2C becomes located behind the elevator rope or ropes 5. Alternatively, the second mount 42 onto which the second transfer roller 2C is already attached, is secured to the first mount 41.

Next, the connectors 43 are attached to both ends of the axis 21C of the second transfer roller 2C, to ensure sufficient nip pressure between the first transfer roller 2B and the second transfer roller 2C, as shown in Fig. 3b.

The first transfer roller 2B is arranged in driving contact with the pick-up roller 2A. The pick-up roller 2A picks up lubricant 100 from the reservoir 10. As the pick-up roller 2A turns about its axis 21A, lubricant 100 is transferred first to the first transfer roller 2B and from it, to the surface of the elevator rope or ropes 5 as the elevator car travels at service speed of 12 m/min.

The second transfer roller 2C is configured to catch any dripping lubricant 100 from the first transfer roller 2B, and to ensure that the backside of the elevator rope or ropes 5 is also sufficiently lubricated. The elevator car is driven at service speed of 12 m/min to complete the maintenance operation.

Since the person performing the maintenance operation has access to the elevator machine room 8 and to the maintenance arrangement at all times during the maintenance operation, more lubricant may be added as needed. The required amount of lubricant depends on the elevator system configuration. Some examples are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Average amount of lubricant for

different types of elevator rope.

Average amount of

Elevator rope lubricant

diameter (mm) (1/100 m of

elevator rope)

10 0,3

13 0,5

16 0,75

18 0, 9

19 1,0

22 1,4

At first, lubricant 100 is added to the reservoir 10 so that the fluid level is about 25 mm from the bottom 32 of the lubricant pan 3. This is to ensure that sufficient amount of lubricant becomes picked up, transferred and applied to the elevator rope or ropes 5, at the same time as an excess of lubricant pick-up is avoided.

At the end of the operation, in each embodiment, the maintenance arrangement is removed. The elevator system is stopped for a period of time to allow the lubrication to cure, for example for 15 minutes.

The above embodiments are to be understood as illustrative examples of the invention. Further embodiments of the inventions can be conceived. It is to be understood that any feature described herein in relation to any one embodiment may be used alone, or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other of the embodiments, or any combination of any other of the embodiments. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without departing from the scope of the invention, which is defined in the accompanying claims.

Claims

1. A maintenance arrangement configured to lubricate at least one elevator rope (5) , the arrangement comprising a lubricant distributor (1) comprising a lubricant pan (3) with side walls (31) and a bottom (32); and rollers (2A-C) arranged onto the lubricant pan (3) rotatably via their axes (21A-21C) and configured to apply lubricant (100) onto the at least one elevator rope (5) , characterized in that the rollers comprise a pick-up roller (2A) arranged to pick up lubricant (100) from the lubricant pan (3), a first transfer roller (2B) arranged into driving contact with the pick-up roller (2A) and configured to receive lubricant (100) from the pick-up roller (2A) , and a second transfer roller (2C) arranged into driving contact with the first transfer roller (2B) .

2. The maintenance arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the rollers (2A-C) are arranged to span between mounts (4) secured to the opposite sides (31A) of the lubricant pan (3) .

3. The maintenance arrangement according to claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the second transfer roller (2C) is arranged into contact with the at least one elevator rope (5) .

4. The maintenance arrangement according to claim 3, characterized in that the at least one elevator rope (5) is configured to drive the second transfer roller (2C) through traction causing it to rotate when the elevator ropes (5) is in motion.

5. The maintenance arrangement according to claim 4, characterized in that the rotational movement of the second transfer roller (2C) is configured to drive the first transfer roller (2B) and, via the first transfer roller (2B) , the pick-up roller (2A) , causing it to pick up lubricant (100) from the reservoir (10) within the lubricant pan (3) .

6. The maintenance arrangement according to any of the claims 1-5, characterized in that that lubricant (100) is applied to the at least one rope (5) by the second transfer roller (2C) configured to receive lubricant (100) from the first transfer roller (2B) .

7. The maintenance arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the pick-up roller (2A) and the first transfer roller (2B) are arranged to span between first mounts (41) secured to the opposite sides (31A) of the lubricant pan (3) , and that the second transfer roller (2C) is arranged to span between second mounts (42) secured on the first mounts (41) .

8. The maintenance arrangement according to claim 7, characterized in that connectors (43) are arranged between the respective axes (21B, 21C) of the first transfer roller (2B) and the second transfer roller (2C) .

9. The maintenance arrangement according to claim 8, characterized in that the connectors (43) enable the nip pressure between the first transfer roller (2B) and the second transfer roller (2C) to be adj usted .

10. The maintenance arrangement according to claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the connector (43) is a spring.

11. The maintenance arrangement according to any of the claims 7-10, characterized in that the first transfer roller (2B) and the second transfer roller (2C) are arranged into contact with the at least one elevator rope (5) so that the elevator rope (5) is arranged to travel between the first transfer roller (2B) and the second transfer roller (2C) .

12. The maintenance arrangement according to claim 11, characterized in that the at least one elevator rope (5) is configured to drive the first transfer roller (2B) and the second transfer roller (2C) causing them to rotate when the at least one elevator rope (5) is in motion.

13. The maintenance arrangement according to claim 12, characterized in that the rotational movement of the first transfer roller (2B) is configured to drive the pick-up roller (2A) causing it to pick up lubricant (100) from the reservoir (10) within the lubricant pan (3) .

14. The maintenance arrangement according to any of the claims 7-13, characterized in that lubricant (100) is applied to the at least one rope (5) by the first transfer roller (2B) .

15. The maintenance arrangement according to any of the claims 14, characterized in that the second transfer roller (2C) is arranged to receive lubricant (100) from the first transfer roller (2B) , and that lubricant (100) is applied to the at least one elevator rope (5) also by the second transfer roller (2C) .

16. A maintenance method for lubricating at least one elevator rope (5) with a lubricant distributor (1) comprising a lubricant pan (3) with side walls (31) and a bottom (32); and rollers (2A-C) arranged onto the lubricant pan (3) rotatably via their axes (21A-21C) and configured to apply lubricant (100) onto the at least one elevator rope (5) , characterized in that lubricant (100) is picked up from a reservoir (10) within the lubricant pan (3) by a pick-up roller (2A) , transferred to a first transfer roller (2B) arranged into driving contact with the pick-up roller (2A) and to a second transfer roller (2C) arranged to driving contact with the first transfer roller (2B) , and applied to the at least one elevator rope (5) by at least one of the transfer rollers (2B, 2C) ; and in that, during the lubricating process, at least one transfer roller (2B, 2C) is being driven by the at least one elevator rope (5) through traction.

17. The maintenance method according to claim 16, characterized in that the lubricant (100) is applied to the at least one elevator rope (5) by the second transfer roller (2C) arranged into contact with the at least one elevator rope (5) .

18. The maintenance method according to claims 16 or 17, characterized in that the lubricant (100) is applied to the at least one elevator rope (5) by both the first transfer roller (2B) and the second transfer roller (2C) , both arranged into contact with the at least one elevator rope (5) .

19. The maintenance method according to claim 18, characterized in that the at least one elevator rope (5) is arranged to travel between the first transfer roller (2B) and the second transfer roller (2C) during the lubricating process.

20. The maintenance method according to claims 18 or 19, characterized in that the nip pressure between the first transfer roller (2B) and the second transfer roller (2C) is adjustable.

21. The maintenance method according to any of the claims 16 - 20, characterized in that it is carried out at elevator service speed.