Elevator installation having a supporting means, around which an electrically conductive housing partially extends, in particular at a deflecting roller arrangement

Abstract

An elevator installation wherein damage to a support for an elevator car and a counterweight, in particular damage to a sheath of the support, advantageously can be detected. At the elevator installation, a housing at least partially extending around the support, for example at a deflecting roller arrangement. A surface of the housing facing the support is electrically conductive and is electrically grounded. If the support or a wire coming out of the damaged support comes in contact with the housing, an electrical ground fault results. The ground fault can be detected by a security monitoring unit by monitoring a current flowing through the wires of the support, and the damage to the support can thus be inferred.

Claims

1. An elevator installation, comprising: a supporting means; a movable elevator component supported by the supporting means; a housing attached to the movable elevator component and surrounding at least a part of the supporting means; wherein the supporting means can move relative to the housing; and wherein the housing includes a housing body formed of a non-conductive plastics material and an electrically conductive element which is electrically grounded and is arranged on a surface of the housing body facing the supporting means.

2. The elevator installation according to claim 1 including a deflecting roller fastened to the movable elevator component, wherein the supporting means supports the movable elevator component by passing around the deflecting roller at least in part, wherein the housing surrounds the deflecting roller at least in part in a region in which the supporting means passes around the deflecting roller, and the housing is spaced from the supporting means in the region.

3. The elevator installation according to claim 1 wherein the surface of the housing body facing the supporting means is opposite a rear surface of the supporting means, wherein the rear surface of the supporting means is opposite a front surface of the supporting means contacting a deflecting roller or a driving pulley.

4. The elevator installation according to claim 1 wherein the electrically conductive element is an electrically conductive layer arranged on the surface of the housing body facing the supporting means.

5. The elevator installation according to claim 4 wherein the electrically conductive layer is formed by an electrically conductive foil.

6. The elevator installation according to claim 1 wherein the electrically conductive element is an electrically conductive conductor path arranged on the surface of the housing body facing the supporting means.

7. The elevator installation according to claim 1 wherein the electrically conductive element is grounded by a cable attached to the housing.

8. The elevator installation according to claim 1 wherein the supporting means includes at least one electrically conductive wire and wherein the elevator installation includes a security monitoring unit that applies an electrical voltage to the at least one wire and is adapted to detect changes in properties of an electrical current conducted through the at least one wire.

9. The elevator installation according to claim 8 wherein the changes in properties of an electrical current conducted through the at least one wire include an electrical ground fault of the at least one wire.

10. The elevator installation according to claim 1 wherein the housing is fastened to the movable elevator component.

11. A deflecting roller arrangement for an elevator installation, comprising: a deflecting roller; a housing, wherein the deflecting roller is adapted to be mounted in the elevator installation to rotate relative to the housing, wherein the housing surrounds the deflecting roller in a region being adjacent to a surface of the deflecting roller; and wherein the housing includes a housing body formed of a non-conductive plastics material and an electrically conductive element arranged on a surface of the housing body facing the deflecting roller, where the electrically conductive element is connected to an electrical connector adapted to connect to an electrical ground potential.

12. The deflecting roller arrangement according to claim 11 wherein the surface of the housing body facing the deflecting roller is opposite a lateral surface of the deflecting roller.

13. The deflecting roller arrangement according to claim 11 wherein the electrically conductive element is an electrically conductive layer arranged on the surface of the housing body facing the deflecting roller.

14. The deflecting roller arrangement according to claim 13 wherein the electrically conductive layer is formed of an electrically conductive foil.

15. The deflecting roller arrangement according to claim 11 wherein the electrically conductive element is an electrically conductive conductor path arranged on the surface of the housing body facing the deflecting roller.

16. The deflecting roller arrangement according to claim 11 including a cable connected to the electrical connector for electrical connection to the electrical ground potential.

17. The deflecting roller arrangement according to claim 11 including a breakage detection apparatus having at least one electrically conductive conductor path extending along the housing.

18. An elevator installation, comprising: a supporting means; a movable elevator component supported by the supporting means; a housing surrounding at least a part of the supporting means, wherein the supporting means can move relative to the housing, and wherein the housing includes a housing body formed of a non-conductive plastics material and an electrically conductive element arranged on a surface of the housing body facing the supporting means; a deflecting roller, wherein the supporting means supports the movable elevator component by passing around the deflecting roller at least in part, wherein the housing surrounds the deflecting roller at least in part in a region in which the supporting means passes around the deflecting roller, and wherein the housing is spaced from the supporting means in the region; wherein the surface of the housing body facing the supporting means is opposite a rear surface of the supporting means, wherein the rear surface of the supporting means is opposite a front surface of the supporting means that contacts the deflecting roller in the region; wherein the electrically conductive element is electrically grounded by a cable attached to the element; and wherein the supporting means includes at least one sheathed, electrically conductive wire, and wherein the elevator installation includes a security monitoring unit that applies an electrical voltage to the at least one wire and detects changes in properties of an electrical current conducted through the at least one wire.

19. The elevator installation according to claim 18 wherein the properties include an electrical ground fault of the at least one wire.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows components of an elevator installation according to the invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a deflecting roller arrangement according to the invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a housing for a deflecting roller arrangement according to the invention.

(4) FIG. 4 is a first plan view of the housing from FIG. 3.

(5) FIG. 5 is a second alternative plan view of the housing from FIG. 3.

(6) The drawings are only schematic and are not true to scale. Like reference signs refer in different drawings to like or functionally like features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) FIG. 1 shows components of an elevator installation according to the invention 1. An elevator car 3 and a counterweight 5 are provided in an elevator shaft 2 as movable elevator components 4. The elevator car 3 and the counterweight 5 are supported by a supporting means 7, also known as a support. The supporting means 7 may for example comprise a plurality of cables or belts. In the example shown, the supporting means 7 is fastened to a ceiling 8 of the elevator shaft 2 by its ends and passes around each of the deflecting rollers 13, 15, which are fastened to the counterweight 5 and the elevator car 3, respectively. In this way, the supporting means 7 can support both the elevator car 3 and the counterweight 5 counter to the gravitational force acting thereon. In addition, the supporting means 7 can be moved by means of a drive motor 9 by the supporting means 7 passing around a driving pulley 11 of said drive motor 9 and the driving pulley 11 being rotatingly driven.

(8) A housing 17 is arranged at each of the deflecting rollers 13, 15 (only shown highly schematically in FIG. 1). The housing 17 surrounds both the relevant deflecting roller 13, 15 and the supporting means 7 diverted by the deflecting roller 13, 15 at least in part. In this case, the housing 17 is arranged and designed such that the supporting means 7 can also move along the relevant deflecting roller 13, 15, the relevant deflecting roller 13, 15 being mounted so as to be rotatable relative to the housing 17. In this case, the housing 17 is attached to the counterweight 5 or the elevator cab car 3 so as to be fixed in position. The housing 17 is provided inter alia to prevent the supporting means 7 from slipping off or coming off a lateral surface of the relevant deflecting roller 13, 15, in particular if tension on the supporting means 7 temporarily lessens in regions for example during emergency braking of said supporting means, resulting in a slack cable.

(9) The elevator installation 1 also has a security monitoring unit 19. This security monitoring unit 19 is designed inter alia to monitor and in particular to detect a state of the supporting means 7 when damage to the supporting means 7 occurs. For this purpose, the security monitoring unit 19 is designed to apply an electrical voltage to electrically conductive wires provided in the supporting means 7 and to characterize properties of an electrical current flowing through these wires that then ensues. On the basis of the characterized properties of the electrical current, the security monitoring unit 19 can then draw conclusions on a current state of the supporting means and in particular the wires embedded therein.

(10) In order for it to be possible to detect damage to a sheath surrounding the wires of the supporting means 7 in particular, the surface 47 of the housing 17 facing the supporting means is electrically conductive and is connected to a ground potential 23 by cables 21 (only shown once and highly schematically in FIG. 1), and is thus grounded.

(11) If, for example, a wire embedded in the supporting means 7 protrudes outwards due to local damage to a sheath of the supporting means 7 and comes into contact with the electrically conductive surface 47 of the housing 17, a ground fault results that can be detected by the security monitoring unit 19 connected to the wires.

(12) It should be noted that the housing 17 may also be designed in ways other than that shown in FIG. 1. In particular, it may be advantageous to arrange the housing 17 directly around the deflecting rollers 13, 15 as part of a deflecting roller arrangement 25; however, it is also possible to provide a corresponding housing 17 at a different point within the elevator installation 1 such that it surrounds the supporting means 7 at least in part. For example, a housing 17 could be provided on or close to the driving pulley 11 of the drive motor 9. In principle, a housing 17 could also be provided in a region in which it only locally surrounds the supporting means 7, but does not surround a deflecting roller 13, 15 or a driving pulley 11. It is also noted that a plurality of housings 17 are provided for a plurality of deflecting roller arrangements 25 in FIG. 2. It may however be sufficient to provide just one housing 17 of this type in an elevator installation 1.

(13) FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a deflecting roller arrangement 25 designed according to the invention.

(14) Here, the deflecting roller 15 is provided as a cylindrical roller of which the lateral surface 35 is profiled with grooves 37 extending in the circumferential direction. The deflecting roller 15 comprises a cut-out 33 in the center, in which it can be rotatably supported by a bearing (not shown).

(15) The supporting means or support 7 is shown as a belt 27 in the example shown. A plurality of wires 29 or wire meshes are provided in the belt 27 and bring about the actual load-bearing property of the supporting means 7. The wires 29 are embedded in a plastics covering 31. Here, a front surface 39 of the belt 27 forms a contact surface with the lateral surface 35 of the deflecting roller 15 and is accordingly profiled to be complementary thereto. A rear surface 41 of the belt that is opposite said front surface 39 is substantially smooth.

(16) The housing 17 forms a part of the deflecting roller arrangement 25 that surrounds the deflecting roller 15 at least in part. In this case, the housing 17 is substantially semicylindrical, i.e. has a substantially approximately U-shaped cross section. In this case, the housing 17 is dimensioned and arranged such that at least parts of the deflecting roller 15 are accommodated in the inner region thereof. In addition, the housing 17 is designed such that the supporting means 7 can be moved toward the deflecting roller 15 and then away from said roller again in an unimpeded manner.

(17) The housing 17 comprises at least one region that is electrically conductive on its inner surface 47 facing the supporting means 7 or the lateral surface 35 of the deflecting roller 15. A cable 21 is electrically connected to this region such that this region can be grounded by the cable 21.

(18) FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views and two different plan views of an example of a housing 17 for a deflecting roller arrangement 25.

(19) The housing 17 substantially consists of a partially cylindrical part 43 forming a lateral surface of the housing 17 and two parts 45 which are adjacent to axial flanks of this part 43 and form end faces, and in which a semicircular cut-out 49 is made in the center. The part 43 forming the lateral surface of the housing 17 and the parts 45 forming the end faces can together form a housing body 46, which may for example be made of plastics material. In the deflecting roller arrangement 25, the parts 45 forming the end faces may each be arranged so as to be adjacent to end faces of the deflecting roller 15 in the axial direction. The part 43 of the housing 17 forming the intermediate lateral surface may be arranged so as to be adjacent to the lateral surface 35 of the deflecting roller 15.

(20) A surface 47 facing the lateral surface 35 of the deflecting roller 15 on the part 43 of the housing 17 forming the lateral surface is provided with an electrically conductive layer 51 in the example shown. In the example shown, this layer 51 covers a large part of the surface 47 facing the interior of the housing 17. The electrically conductive layer 51 may for example be a metal layer or metalized plastics layer glued to the surface 47 of the part 43 facing inward.

(21) The electrically conductive layer 51 is constructed such that, upon mechanical contact with an electrically conductive object making contact from the interior of the housing 17, it also enters into electrical contact with said object. In other words, the layer 51 is intended to be electrically conductive on its surface facing inward and not to be covered with an electrically non-conductive layer, for example.

(22) Alternatively, the electrically conductive layer 51 may also be applied, i.e. vapor-deposited or printed, directly onto the surface 47 of the housing 17 facing inward.

(23) As another alternative, just a small-area and preferably elongate electrically conductive conductor path may also be provided on the surface 47 of the housing 17 facing inward, instead of an extensive layer 51.

(24) The electrically conductive layer 51 is connected to a connector 53 by a cable 21 and can thus be grounded thereby.

(25) In the example shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the housing 17 also has a breakage detection apparatus 55. This breakage detection apparatus 55 is used to detect any possible breakage in the housing 17, for example by one or more distributed conductor paths (not visible in the drawings) being provided on the housing 17 of which any mechanical breakage can be detected on the basis of an associated electrical interruption. For this purpose, the breakage detection apparatus 55 has an electrical circuit in which the conductor path(s) is/are likewise connected to conductors provided in the cable 21 by means of electrical connections 57. These conductors are however kept separate from a grounding conductor 59 connecting to the electrical ground potential 23; i.e. the conductor 59 bringing about the grounding and the conductors connected to the breakage detection apparatus 55 are received in the same cable 21, but are not electrically interconnected.

(26) In summary, a possible embodiment of the invention may be defined as follows: The invention relates to an elevator installation 1 in which damage to a supporting means 7, in particular damage to a sheath of the supporting means 7, can be advantageously detected. On the elevator installation 1, a housing 17 surrounding the supporting means 7 at least in part is provided, for example at a deflecting roller arrangement 25. A surface 47 of the housing 17 facing the supporting means 7 is electrically conductive and is electrically grounded. If the supporting means 7 or a wire coming out of a damaged supporting means comes in contact with the housing 17, an electrical ground fault results. Said ground fault can be detected by means of a security monitoring unit 19 by monitoring a current flowing through wires of the supporting means, and the damage to the supporting means 7 can thus be inferred.

(27) Finally, it should be noted that terms such as “comprising” and the like do not exclude other elements or steps, and terms such as “a”, “an” or “one” do not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be noted that features or steps that have been described with reference to one of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps of other embodiments described above.

(28) 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.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(29) 1 Elevator installation 2 Elevator shaft 3 Elevator car 4 Movable elevator component 5 Counterweight 7 Supporting means 8 Elevator shaft ceiling 9 Drive motor 11 Driving pulley 13 Deflecting roller at counterweight 15 Deflecting roller at elevator car 17 Housing 19 Security monitoring unit 21 Cable for grounding 23 Ground potential 25 Deflecting roller arrangement 27 Belt 29 Wires 31 Sheath 33 Central cut-out 35 Lateral surface 37 Grooves on the deflecting roller 39 Front surface of the supporting means 41 Rear surface of the supporting means 43 Part of housing forming lateral surface 45 Part of housing forming end faces 46 Housing body 47 Surface of the housing facing inward 49 Central cut-out in the housing 51 Electrically conductive layer 53 Connector 55 Breakage detection apparatus 57 Electrical connections 59 Grounding conductor