Elevator car with ladder removable from the interior

Abstract

An elevator car with special measures for evacuation has several side walls, a floor and a ceiling, which together enclose an interior of the elevator car. The elevator car has a flap arranged on one of the side walls and a ladder for evacuating persons from the interior of the elevator car. The flap is movable between a closed state, in which the flap blocks access from the interior of the elevator car to an area behind the flap, and an open state, in which access is possible from the interior of the elevator car to the area behind the flap. The flap has a height less than the height of the side walls. In the closed state of the flap, the ladder is arranged in the area behind the flap. The ladder is removable from behind the flap and can be increased in length for the evacuation.

Claims

1. An elevator car, comprising: a plurality of side walls, a floor and a ceiling together enclosing an interior of the elevator car, whereby the floor and the ceiling are distanced from each other by a height of the side walls; a ladder for evacuating persons from the interior of the elevator car; a flap arranged on one of the side walls of the elevator car; wherein the flap is movable through a rotating movement between a closed state whereby the flap blocks access from the interior of the elevator car to an area behind the flap, and an open state whereby access is possible from the interior of the elevator car to the area behind the flap; wherein the flap has a height that is less than the height of the side walls; wherein the ladder is arranged in the area behind the flap in the closed state of the flap; whereby the ladder is removable from the area behind the flap and is expandable in length for use in the evacuating persons from the interior of the elevator car; wherein the flap has a holding arrangement for detachably securing the ladder to a side of the flap that is opposite to the interior of the elevator car; and another ladder removably attached at an outside of a side of the elevator car and adapted to be removed from the side and positioned for use in getting passengers from a roof of the elevator car to an exit from an elevator shaft in which the elevator car is movable while the ladder in the interior of the elevator car remains available to evacuate persons.

2. The elevator car according to claim 1 wherein the height of the flap is less than a half of the height of the side walls.

3. The elevator car according to claim 1 whereby the flap is attached to a structure in a lower area of the elevator car by a hinge arrangement so that the flap can be opened to the open state by rotating the flap around a horizontal axis of rotation at the hinge arrangement.

4. The elevator car according to claim 1 wherein the ladder is a telescopic ladder.

5. The elevator car according to claim 1 wherein the ladder has several longitudinally connectable parts.

6. The elevator car according to claim 1 wherein the flap has a locking arrangement for releasably locking the flap in the closed state.

7. The elevator car according to claim 6 wherein the locking arrangement is adapted to be locked and unlocked with a separate tool.

8. The elevator car according to claim 1 wherein the flap in the closed state is flush with the side wall on which the flap is arranged.

9. The elevator car according to claim 1 wherein the flap is a part of a wall box accommodated in the side wall on which the flap is arranged.

10. The elevator car according to claim 1 including an exit hatch arranged in the ceiling of the elevator car.

11. The elevator car according to claim 1 wherein the ladder has a length in an extended state that is equal to or greater than the height of the side walls.

12. The elevator car according to claim 1 including a fixing device located on an outside of the elevator car and being adapted to affix the ladder to the outside of the elevator car.

13. An elevator car, comprising: a plurality of side walls, a floor and a ceiling together enclosing an interior of the elevator car, whereby the floor and the ceiling are distanced from each other by a height of the side walls; a ladder for evacuating persons from the interior of the elevator car; a flap arranged on one of the side walls of the elevator car; wherein the flap is movable through a rotating movement between a closed state whereby the flap blocks access from the interior of the elevator car to an area behind the flap, and an open state whereby access is possible from the interior of the elevator car to the area behind the flap; wherein the flap has a height that is less than the height of the side walls; wherein the ladder is arranged in the area behind the flap in the closed state of the flap and the ladder is detachably affixed to a back side of the flap that is opposite to the interior of the elevator car; and whereby the ladder is removable from the area behind the flap and is expandable in length for use in the evacuating persons from the interior of the elevator car.

14. The elevator car according to claim 13 wherein the flap has a holding arrangement for detachably securing the ladder to the back side of the flap.

15. An elevator car, comprising: a plurality of side walls, a floor and a ceiling together enclosing an interior of the elevator car, whereby the floor and the ceiling are distanced from each other by a height of the side walls; a ladder for evacuating persons from the interior of the elevator car; a flap arranged on one of the side walls of the elevator car; wherein the flap is movable through a rotating movement between a closed state whereby the flap blocks access from the interior of the elevator car to an area behind the flap, and an open state whereby access is possible from the interior of the elevator car to the area behind the flap; wherein the flap has a height that is less than the height of the side walls; wherein the ladder is arranged in the area behind the flap in the closed state of the flap whereby the ladder is removable from the area behind the flap and is expandable in length for use in the evacuating persons from the interior of the elevator car; wherein the flap has a holding arrangement for detachably securing the ladder to a side of the flap that is opposite to the interior of the elevator car; and a fixing device located on an outside of the elevator car and being adapted to attach the ladder to the outside of the elevator car for use in getting passengers from a roof of the elevator car to an exit from an elevator shaft in which the elevator car is movable.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein neither the drawings nor the description are to be interpreted as limiting the present invention.

(2) FIG. 1 shows an elevator car according to the invention with a flap in the closed state.

(3) FIG. 2 shows the elevator car illustrated in FIG. 1 in the open state.

(4) FIG. 3 shows the elevator car illustrated in FIG. 1 with a ladder removed from the flap.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a sectional view through a wall box for an elevator car according to the invention with a flap in the closed state.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a sectional view through the wall box shown in FIG. 4 with the flap in the open state.

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

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) FIG. 1 illustrates an elevator car 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The elevator car 1 is held by suspension means 2 for example in the form of suspension cables or suspension straps and can with these be vertically moved inside an elevator shaft 4 (only schematically illustrated with the help of parts of an elevator shaft 6).

(9) The elevator car 1 is box-shaped and has three side walls 3, a floor 5, and a ceiling 7. The elevator car 1 is open toward a front side or limited by an openable elevator door (not shown for clarity). The side walls 3, the floor 5, and the ceiling 7 surround an interior 8 of the elevator car which may carry passengers.

(10) A flap 9 is arranged at one of the side walls 3. The flap 9 has a height which, measured in the extending direction of the suspension means 2 holding the car 1, i.e., a longitudinally extending direction of the elevator shaft 4, is less than half the height of the side walls 3. In an upper area, the flap 9 has a handle 11 as well as an outwardly exposed connecting piece 13 of a locking arrangement.

(11) The flap 9 can be switched between a closed state and an open state. In the closed state as shown in FIG. 1, the flap 9 blocks access from the interior 8 to an area behind the flap 9. In this closed state, the flap 9 is disposed substantially flush with the adjoining side wall 3.

(12) FIG. 2 illustrates the elevator car with a flap 9 in the open state. An edge 15 of the flap 9 pointing to the floor 5 is hinged with another structure, for example the floor 5 of the elevator car 1. The flap 9 can therefore be rotated in the open state around a horizontal axis of rotation arranged in the lower area of the flap 9. In this open state, the edge 17 opposite the lower edge 15 protrudes into the interior 8 of the elevator car 1 and thus provides access to the area 19 behind the flap 9.

(13) This area 19 behind the flap 9 accommodates a ladder 21 in the closed state of the flap 9. This ladder 21 is variable in its length. The ladder 21 may, for example, be a telescopic ladder, a ladder composed of several parts, or a folding ladder. The ladder 21 is stored in the area 19 behind the flap 9 in a packed and size-reduced state. The dimensions of the flap 9 and the area 19 behind it are sufficiently dimensioned to accommodate the ladder 21 in the area 19 without any problems.

(14) In the event of an elevator failure, for example, passengers in the interior 8 of the elevator car 1 may remove the ladder 21 from the area 19 behind the flap 9. The low overall height of the flap 9 as well as the small packing size of the ladder 21 in the packed state can simplify here the handling of the ladder 21 inside the cramped interior 8 of the elevator car. Then, the ladder 21 can be increased in length. A telescopic ladder can be pushed out or a ladder consisting of several parts can be made longer by connecting the parts. This way, the ladder 21 can reach a length that enables the passengers to reach the roof of the elevator car 1 through an exit hatch 23 arranged at the ceiling 7 of the elevator car 1. FIG. 3 shows the elevator car 1 with the ladder 21 removed from the flap 9 and then extended by longitudinally connectable parts 21A, 21B and 21C.

(15) Once the passengers have reached the roof of the elevator car 1, they may, if necessary, pull the ladder 21 upward through the roof hatch 23. Then, they can attach the ladder 21 to the elevator car 1 by means of a fixing device 25 which is attached to an outside of the elevator car 1. Subsequently, the passengers can use the ladder 21 fixed in such a manner to reach an exit from the elevator shaft 4. The fixing device 25 could, for example, comprise latching means to establish a latching connection.

(16) Alternatively, another ladder 22 can be provided at the outside of the car 1 which, in the case of an evacuation of the elevator car 1, can be used by the passengers to get from the roof of the elevator car 1 to an exit from the elevator shaft 4. This additional ladder 22 may, if necessary, be configured differently, particularly bigger, than the ladder 21 made available and be rendered usable in the interior 8 of the elevator car 1.

(17) FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 both show a sectional view of a portion of an elevator car 1. In this embodiment, the flap 9 is part of a wall box 27 in which the ladder 21 can be accommodated and stored. The wall box 27 extends, viewed from the interior 8 of the elevator car 1, behind a plane formed by the side wall 3.

(18) The wall box 27 is a rectangular box in the illustrated example whose back wall 29, top and bottom walls 31, 33, as well as side walls (not shown in the sectional view) are firmly connected with the structures of the elevator car 1 such as, for example, the side wall 3 or the floor 5. The flap 9 is connected through a hinge arrangement 35 with one of these fixed structures or with one of the walls 29, 31, 33 of the wall box 27. In the example shown, the hinge arrangement 35 is arranged on or respectively close to the bottom edge 15 of the flap 9 so that the flap 9 can be swung open around a horizontal axis of rotation of this hinge arrangement 35 toward the interior 8 of the elevator car 1, as illustrated by the arrow 41 in FIG. 5.

(19) In the example shown, the ladder 21 is detachably affixed in its packed, size-reduced state to a back side of the flap 9, i.e., the side that is opposite to the interior 8 of the elevator car 1. For this reason, a holding arrangement 39 is provided on the flap 9. This holding arrangement 39 is configured such that the ladder 21 along with its rungs 37 can be kept at a slight distance to the flap 9 so that the ladder 21 cannot shake or generate rattling sounds while stored in the wall box 27. The holding arrangement 39 is configured such that it can simply release the ladder 21 so that the ladder 21 can simply be removed from the wall box 27 in the case of an evacuation when the flap 9 is opened.

(20) Both the handle 11 and the connecting piece 13 as well as the locking arrangement 43 are provided close to the upper edge 17 of the flap 9. In the illustrated example, the locking arrangement 43 is shown in the form of a rotatable latch 45, which is rotated through the connecting part 13 by means of a separate tool such as a male triangular wrench. In a closed state, the latch 45 latches behind an edge of the side wall 3 and thus locks the flap 9 in its closed position. When the latch 45 is rotated by means of the tool, the locking arrangement 43 opens so that the flap 9 can be brought to its open state.

(21) Finally, it should be noted that terms such as comprising and the like do not preclude other elements or steps, and terms such as a or one do not preclude a plurality. It should also be noted that features that have been described with reference to one of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with other features of other embodiments described above. Reference signs in the claims should not be considered limiting.

(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.