Abstract
An elevator car includes a floor base, which is stiff in bending, with a metallic base structure in which a support element of plastics material is arranged. The support element is formed as an integral mold body and is produced by means of an injection-molding method.
Claims
1. A base for an elevator car comprising: a metallic floor plate forming a passenger support surface; and a support structure formed substantially of a non-metallic material, the support structure supporting an underside of the metallic floor plate, wherein the support structure has a floor section at which a plurality of projections is formed or fastened and each of the projections is formed as beaker-shaped with an opening facing the underside of the metallic floor plate, an area of the floor section being greater than an area of the openings.
2. The base according to claim 1 wherein the support structure is formed of a plastics material or a wood-based material.
3. The base according to claim 1 wherein the support structure extends substantially over an entire floor area of the metallic floor plate.
4. The base according to claim 1 wherein the support structure includes at least one prefabricated support structure formed as an integral molded body.
5. The base according to claim 1 wherein the support structure has a floor section at which six to nine projections are formed or fastened and the projections are formed as beaker-shaped.
6. The base according to claim 1 wherein the the plurality of projections has at least one conically formed lateral support wall section.
7. The base according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of sidewall sections and an underside plate.
8. The base according to claim 1 wherein the support structure includes a longitudinal girder extending in a longitudinal direction and a transverse girder extending at right angles to the longitudinal girder, the longitudinal girder and the transverse girder being connected together.
9. The base according to claim 1 including U-shaped profile rails or guide grooves in an underside plate which are complementary with projections on the support structure and in which the projections are received for positional fixing of the support structure.
10. The base according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of projections is arranged in a plurality of rows extending in a longitudinal direction of the support structure and a plurality of rows extending in a transverse direction of the support structure.
11. The base according to claim 1, wherein the support structure is configured as a stackable pallet.
12. The base according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of projections of the support structure is configured to be disposed within openings of another support structure when the support structure is stacked onto the another support structure.
13. An elevator having an elevator car, the car comprising: a base including a metallic floor plate forming a passenger support surface and supported by a support structure formed substantially of a non-metallic material, the support structure supporting an underside of the metallic floor plate, wherein the support structure has a floor section at which a plurality of projections is formed or fastened and each of the projections is formed as beaker-shaped with an opening facing the underside of the metallic floor plate, an area of the floor section being greater than an area of the openings, and an underside plate supporting the support structure.
14. The elevator according to claim 13, wherein the plurality of projections is arranged in a plurality of rows extending in a longitudinal direction of the support structure and a plurality of rows extending in a transverse direction of the support structure.
15. The base according to claim 13, wherein the support structure is configured as a stackable pallet.
16. The elevator according to claim 15, wherein the plurality of projections of the support structure is configured to be disposed within openings of another support structure when the support structure is stacked onto the another support structure.
Description
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) Further individual features and advantages of the invention are evident from the following description of exemplifying embodiments and from the drawings, in which:
(2) FIG. 1 shows a substantially simplified perspective illustration of an elevator car with a car floor base according to the invention,
(3) FIG. 2 shows the car of FIG. 1 with a floor base in partly exploded illustration,
(4) FIG. 3 shows a perspective illustration of a support element for the floor base shown in FIG. 2,
(5) FIG. 4 shows a support element, which is modified in relation to the exemplifying embodiment according to FIG. 3, in slightly reduced-scale illustration,
(6) FIG. 5 shows an alternative support element,
(7) FIG. 6 shows a further support element for a car floor base,
(8) FIG. 7 shows the support element of FIG. 6 in a side view,
(9) FIG. 8 shows a simplified perspective illustration of a support element for the floor base shown in FIG. 2,
(10) FIG. 9 shows a perspective illustration of a further support element,
(11) FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional illustration of a car floor base with the support element of FIG. 9,
(12) FIG. 11 shows an alternative support element and
(13) FIG. 12 shows a side view of a floor base with the support element of FIG. 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(14) FIG. 1 shows an elevator, which is denoted overall by 1, with a car 3 fastened to support means 4. The shaft is indicated by dashed lines 2. Such or similar elevators have been known for a long time and are conventional. Instead of the support cables 4 shown by way of example in the exemplifying embodiment according to FIG. 1 other support means such as, for example, individual or multiple support bands or belts of different materials and compositions also come into question. The elevator comprises a car floor base 5 which is particularly stiff in bending. The composition and construction of the elevator car are described in detail on the following on the basis of FIGS. 2 to 12.
(15) As evident from FIG. 2, an individual support element 6 as a support structure is arranged in the floor base 5. Also evident in FIG. 2 is an underside 8, which is formed as a plate and on which the support element 6 is supported. The base 5 is closed laterally by four side wall sections 10, 11. The support element 6 is included in a substantially blocked-shaped base structure. The underside plate 8 can consist of steel; similarly, the four side wall sections 10 and 11 can be made of a steel plate. The support surface of the passengers is formed predominately by a floor plate denoted by 7. The side wall sections 10 and 11 for the floor base 5 flushly adjoin, as is apparent, the respective side wall 12.
(16) FIG. 3 shows a perspective illustration of the support element 6 for the elevator car floor base. The support element 6 has a flat floor section 14 and nine projections 13 formed thereon. This support element is formed as an integral molded body. Such a support structure can be produced from different plastics material, but preferably thermoplastic plastics materials (for example, PU, PP, PE). In the present exemplifying embodiment according to FIG. 3 the support body 6 is a plastics material pallet of the kind such as has become known from, for example, DE 10 2009 041 436 A1 or US 2007/0056483 A1. The parts 13, here designated in general as projections, represent stand feet. The stand feet 13 are arranged in three rows extending in longitudinal and transverse direction. The stand feet 13 make it possible for a fork (not illustrated here) of, for example, a forklift or lifting truck to be insertable below the floor section 14 and the pallet to be able to be lifted. The projections or support feet 13 are of beaker-shaped construction. The projections 13 are connected with corresponding openings in the floor section 14. Plastics material pallets of that kind can thus be stacked in simple manner.
(17) Plastics material parts can be produced in simple mode and manner in, for example, an injection-molding method or by thermal reshaping. Pallets are economically available in diverse standardized sizes in commerce. For smaller elevator cars the pallets can be reduced in size by means of cutting or other processing methods. A support body 6 of that kind reduced in size is shown in FIG. 4, which is evident from the pallet of FIG. 3.
(18) In principle, other pallets or load supports could also be used as the support structure for the car floor base of an elevator car. For example, a wood pallet known under the designation ‘Europalett’ could be integrated in a car floor base (FIG. 5). The classic wood pallet has, instead of individual stand feet, three runners 15 extending in longitudinal direction. The runners 15 are formed by wooden boards which are connected by way of spacer elements with the floor section 14 similarly formed by wooden boards. However, pallets having runners can also, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, be formed as plastics material products. A plastics material pallet of that kind has become known in, for example, US 2003/0110990 A1. The base structure of a car floor base in which the plastics material pallet 6 is included is indicated in FIG. 7 by dashed lines.
(19) A further example for a floor base 5 of the elevator car 3 is illustrated in FIG. 8. A plastics material pallet 5, which has several stand feet 13, is similarly used for the support structure. The support body 6 is arranged in the base structure with girders 18 and 19 extending in longitudinal and transverse direction. For a stable and stiff floor base the respective three transverse and longitudinal girders 18, 19 are positioned in such a manner that the stand feet 13 are supported on the girders 18, 19. As especially evident from the enlarged detail view in FIG. 10, the longitudinal girders 18 can be formed as U-shaped profile rails 17.
(20) Moreover, it can be advantageous to use corresponding means or devices for the fixation of the support structure. FIGS. 9 and 10 show, by way of example, how the support elements can be fixed in terms of position in the floor base. Each respective longitudinal row of stand feet 13 is received in a respective profile rail 17. The three profile rails 17 can in turn be connected with the transverse girders by, for example, a weld connection or with use of other fastening means. The respective transverse girders 19 are indicated in FIG. 9 by dashed lines. The profile rail 17 or the transverse girder 19 as well as the longitudinal girder 18 can be made from, for example, steel.
(21) A further variant for a plastics material pallet is shown in FIG. 11. This pallet differs from the preceding exemplifying embodiment substantially merely by the fact that the floor section 14 has specially shaped interruptions which form a honeycomb structure. The floor section 14 has a plurality of interruptions which lead to a further weight reduction. Of course, other configurations are also conceivable. For example, the interruptions can be rectangular in plan view. FIG. 12 shows an example of how the plastics material pallet 16 of FIG. 11 can be incorporated in a car floor base. The base structure of the car floor base 5 comprises an underside 8 which is formed as a plate and in which guide grooves for reception of the stand feet 13 are arranged. As FIG. 12 additionally clearly shows, the stand feet have conically extending support wall sections 22. The beaker-shaped stand feet 13 are closed by a support floor section 21 extending planoparallely to the support surface. A cover plate 20 is disposed on the opposite side. The support element 6 is thus surrounded at all sides by the base structure. A base plate 7 is placed over the, preferably, metallic cover plate for an optically advantageous appearance, which base plate ultimately defines the support surface. This base plate 7 can consist of the most diverse materials such as, for example, marble, a laminate or plastics material.
(22) In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.
