METHOD FOR FORMING AND SMOOTHING A HOLLOW-PROFILE GUIDE RAIL OF AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM

Abstract

A method for forming and smoothing a hollow-profile guide rail of an elevator system uses a smoothing apparatus to smooth mutually opposing surfaces on a hollow-profile guide rail. The smoothing apparatus includes a guide device, a removal device and a pressing device. The guide device has rollers for moving in a low-friction manner in a longitudinal direction along a first of the opposing surfaces and to thus guide the smoothing apparatus along the first surface. The pressing device has spring elements to press the removal device away from the guide device and toward a second of the opposing surfaces. The removal device has a rasp element to remove material from the second surface during a movement in the longitudinal direction along the second surface.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A method for forming a hollow-profile guide rail of an elevator system, the method comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of individual portions of the hollow-profile guide rail, each of the portions having mutually opposing surfaces; arranging adjacent ones of the portions in a longitudinal direction one above the other and mutually aligned; smoothing the opposing surfaces of the portions by inserting a smoothing apparatus between the opposing surfaces such that a guide device of the smoothing apparatus rests against a first of the opposing surfaces and a removal device of the smoothing apparatus rests against a second of the opposing surfaces; wherein the smoothing apparatus includes a pressing device; wherein the guide device is movable in the longitudinal direction along the first opposing surface thus guiding the smoothing apparatus along the first opposing surface; wherein the pressing device presses the removal device away from the guide device and toward the second opposing surface; displacing the smoothing apparatus in the longitudinal direction along the first opposing surface; and wherein the removal device removes material from the second opposing surface during the displacement of the smoothing apparatus in the longitudinal direction along the first opposing surface.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the guide device has two bearing devices arranged such that when the smoothing apparatus is placed with a bearing surface of each of the bearing devices onto the first opposing surface the smoothing device can be moved along the first surface to guide the smoothing apparatus along the first opposing surface.

15. The method according to claim 14 wherein the at least two bearing devices are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction.

16. The method according to claim 13 wherein the guide device has a roller arranged such that when the smoothing apparatus is placed with a circumferential surface of the roller onto the first opposing surface the smoothing apparatus can be rolled along the first opposing surface to guide the smoothing apparatus along the first opposing surface.

17. The method according to claim 13 wherein the guide device has two rollers arranged such that when the smoothing apparatus is placed with a circumferential surface of each of the rollers onto the first opposing surface the smoothing apparatus can be rolled along the first opposing surface to guide the smoothing apparatus along the first opposing surface.

18. The method according to claim 13 wherein the removal device is adapted to contact the second opposing surface along a plane at a plurality of points spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction and to contact the second opposing surface with at least one sharp-edged removal component adapted to remove material from the second opposing surface during the displacement of the smoothing apparatus in the longitudinal direction along the second opposing surface.

19. The method according to claim 13 wherein the removal device has a plurality of sharp-edged removal components adapted to contact the second opposing surface along a plane at a plurality of contact points spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction to remove material from the second opposing surface during the displacement in the longitudinal direction along the second opposing surface.

20. The method according to claim 19 wherein the removal component has, in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction, a width that corresponds to a width of the second opposing surface.

21. The method according to claim 13 wherein the removal device is a passive, rigid component.

22. The method according to claim 13 wherein the removal device is stationary relative to the guide device in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction, and wherein the removal device is held displaceably relative to the guide device in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction.

23. The method according to claim 13 wherein the pressing device has at elastic spring element mounted on the guide device and on the removal device.

24. The method according to claim 13 wherein the pressing device has at least two elastic spring elements each mounted on the guide device and on the removal device, the at least two elastic spring elements being arranged spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction.

25. A method for forming a hollow-profile guide rail of an elevator system, the method comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of individual portions of the hollow-profile guide rail, each of the portions having opposing first and second surfaces; arranging adjacent ones of the portions in a longitudinal direction one above the other and mutually aligned; providing a smoothing apparatus having a guide device, a removal device and a pressing device; inserting the smoothing apparatus between the first and second surfaces such that the guide device rests against the first surface and the removal device rests against the second surface, and wherein the pressing device presses the removal device away from the guide device and toward the second surface; displacing the smoothing apparatus in the longitudinal direction along the first surface wherein the removal device removes material from the second surface during the displacement of the smoothing apparatus; removing the smoothing apparatus from between the first and second surfaces, then inserting the smoothing apparatus between the first and second surfaces such that the guide device rests against the second surface and the removal device rests against the first surface, and wherein the pressing device presses the removal device away from the guide device and toward the first surface; and displacing the smoothing apparatus in the longitudinal direction along the second surface wherein the removal device removes material from the first surface during the displacement of the smoothing apparatus.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a hollow-profile guide rail.

[0074] FIG. 2 shows a side view of a smoothing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention between surfaces to be smoothed of a hollow-profile guide rail.

[0075] FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a removal device of a smoothing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0076] The figures are merely schematic and not true to scale. The same reference signs indicate the same or equivalent features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] FIG. 1 shows a cross section through a hollow-profile guide rail 101 of an elevator system. In contrast to conventional guide rails, which are usually constructed with solid T-shaped steel profiles that are more than one millimeter thick, such a guide rail 101 is formed from a relatively thin metal sheet. The metal sheet can be provided as a rolled profile or strip material. The hollow profile forming the guide rail 101 can have a relatively complex geometry in which a plurality of different surfaces are formed on an outer face of the hollow profile and are intended to serve different functions in the use of the guide rail 101.

[0078] For example, the guide rail 101 shown in FIG. 1 has a first region which forms guide surfaces 103 for guiding an elevator car. These guide surfaces 103 comprise a first surface 109, a second surface 111 and a third surface 113. The first surface 109 and the second surface 111 are mutually opposing and are connected by the third surface 113 arranged transversely to these two surfaces 109, 111. Preferably, the first surface 109 and the second surface 111 extend in parallel with one another. Overall, the three surfaces 109, 111, 113 form the guide surfaces 103 with a concave U-shaped cross section. Guide elements, such as a guide shoe or guide rollers mounted on the elevator car, can be moved along these guide surfaces 103 and can be supported on the three surfaces 109, 111, 113 so that the elevator car can be guided in three spatial directions.

[0079] In another region, the guide rail 101 forms guide surfaces 105 for guiding a counterweight. In the example shown, these guide surfaces 105 are formed by two convex portions of the hollow profile which are curved by 180° and aligned in opposite directions. Guide shoes on the counterweight can each be supported on opposite surfaces on these two portions so that the counterweight can be guided overall in four spatial directions.

[0080] Furthermore, the guide rail 101 can have a brake surface 107, on which, for example, the elevator car and/or the counterweight can be braked by engaging a brake shoe. In the example shown, the brake surface 107 is formed by a convexly curved or folded part of the hollow profile.

[0081] An entire guide rail 101, which is optionally many dozens or hundreds of meters long, is typically composed of portions 101a, 101b. In particular adjacent to a transition joint 115 (see FIG. 2) between adjacent portions 101a, 101b, lateral unevenness can occur, for example due to burrs which were formed in partial strands when a strand formed initially as a continuous hollow profile is separated, or due to local deformations on the portions 101a, 101b. Unevenness due to locally varying sheet metal thicknesses of the metal sheets used for the guide rail 101 can also occur.

[0082] At convex regions, such as occur, for example, on the guide surfaces 105 for guiding the counterweight or on the brake surface 107, local unevenness can be smoothed relatively easily with suitable tools. However, smoothing lateral unevenness can be difficult on concave regions, such as the region, extending in the interior of the hollow profile in a U-shape, for forming the guide surfaces 103 for guiding the elevator car. In particular, it was observed that in the attempt to smooth lateral unevenness in such concave regions with conventional tools, irreversible damage, such as local indentations, can very easily be generated in the guide rail 101. In addition, a corrosion protection layer, for example a zinc layer, provided on the surfaces of the hollow profile, can be damaged or locally removed in the attempt to smooth such surfaces in a conventional manner, which can lead to later corrosion phenomena on the guide rail 101.

[0083] A special tool in the form of a smoothing apparatus 1 is therefore described. An exemplary embodiment of such a smoothing apparatus 1 is shown in FIG. 2.

[0084] The smoothing apparatus 1 has a guide device 3, a removal device 5 and a pressing device 7. If the smoothing apparatus 1 is inserted into a concave region of a guide rail 101 with a first surface 109 and an opposing second surface 111, the guide device 3 can be moved in a low-friction manner along the first surface 109, whereas the removal device 5 is pressed against the second surface 111 by means of the pressing device 7 supported on the guide device 3. Preferably, a predetermined contact pressure dependent on the pressing device 7 acts between the removal device 5 and the second surface 111. In this case, the removal device 5 is configured to remove laterally protruding material from the second surface 111 of the guide rail 101 and to thus smooth the surface during a movement of the smoothing apparatus 1 in a longitudinal direction 9 along the guide rail 101.

[0085] In the example shown, the smoothing apparatus 1 has two bearing devices 11 in the form of rollers 15. With their circumferential surface 17 that acts as a bearing surface 13, these rollers 15 can each rest against the first surface 109 and roll along the first surface in a low-friction manner when the smoothing apparatus 1 is moved in the longitudinal direction 9. The two rollers 15 are arranged spaced apart from one another in relation to the longitudinal direction 9, so that the guide device 1 can be supported on the first surface 109 of the guide rail 101 via the rollers 15 at positions spaced apart in the longitudinal direction 9. In the example shown, the two rollers 15 are rigidly connected to one another via one or more longitudinal struts 23.

[0086] The pressing device 7 is provided between the guide device 3 and the removal device 5 in order to elastically spread the aforementioned two components in a direction away from one another, i.e., transversely to the longitudinal direction 9. For this purpose, the pressing device 7 in the example shown has two spring elements 21, one end of which is mounted on the guide device 3, i.e., for example, on the longitudinal strut 23, and the other end of which interacts with the removal device 5. With regard to their dimensions and spring tensions, the spring elements 21 are dimensioned such that a desired mechanical pretension is brought about on the removal device 5 toward the second surface 111 to be smoothed, when the smoothing apparatus 1 has been inserted between the two surfaces 109, 111.

[0087] The removal device 5 can be designed as a passive, inherently rigid component. For example, the removal device 5 can be designed as a kind of solid plate which has one or more sharp-edged removal components 19 on its surface directed toward the surface 111 to be smoothed. The removal components 19 are preferably configured and arranged such that they contact the surface 111 of the guide rail 101 to be smoothed at a plurality of contact points 29 spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction 9, when the smoothing apparatus 1 is arranged between the two surfaces 109, 111 which extend in parallel with one another. The different contact points 29 preferably all lie in a common plane which corresponds to the plane of the surface 111 to be smoothed.

[0088] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the removal device 5 can be designed in the form of a rasp element 25. On a rigid, cuboid main body 31, outward-projecting rasp structures 33 can be provided in this case, which are sharp-edged at their edges directed away from the main body 31 and projecting toward the surface 111 to be smoothed. The rasp element 25 of the removal device 5 can have a width B (see FIG. 3), which substantially corresponds to a width b (see FIG. 1) of the surface 111 to be smoothed.

[0089] For smoothing the second surface 111, the smoothing apparatus 1 can thus be inserted manually between the two surfaces 109, 111 by a technician. Subsequently, the technician can move the smoothing apparatus 1, for example by means of handles 27 provided thereon, in the longitudinal direction 9 along the guide rail 101. In this case, the smoothing apparatus 1 can be moved in a relatively low-friction manner along the first surface 109 via the guide device 3 of the apparatus and guided by the device. At the same time, the removal device 5 is pressed by the pressing device 7 uniformly and in parallel with the first surface 109 against the second surface 111, and, with its sharp-edged removal components 19, removes any laterally protruding material from the second surface 111 in the region of the contact points 29. Due to the precise guidance of the smoothing apparatus 1 and due to the uniform contact pressure by the removal device 5 thereof against the second surface 111, the risk of excessively removing material from the second surface 111 and thus forming indentations is extremely low. Furthermore, due to the fact that the removal device 5 is pressed against the second surface 111 only with a limited pressure predefined by the pressing device 7, a corrosion protection layer present on the surface 111 to be smoothed is generally prevented from being locally removed or damaged.

[0090] Finally, it should be noted that terms such as “comprising,” “having,” etc. do not preclude other elements or steps and terms such as “a” or “an” do not preclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be noted that features or steps which have been described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps of other exemplary embodiments described above.

[0091] 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.