METHOD FOR ELECTRICAL ATTACHMENT OF A CONNECTING ELEMENT TO A BELT FOR AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM, AND CORRESPONDING BELT ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A method for establishing an electrical connection to an elevator system load-bearing belt uses a connecting element. The connecting element has a plurality of electrically conductive contact pins arranged at a distance from one another in an arrangement direction, and at least one of the contact pins is electrically connected to an electric line extending from the connecting element. The belt has a plurality of electrically conductive cables, embedded in an electrically insulating matrix material, and arranged at a distance from one another in the arrangement direction. The steps of the method include pressing the spacer pins in between adjacent cables in the belt in order to adjust the cables to a target position, and then pressing the contact pins of the connecting element into the cables in the belt. The spacer pins can be part of the connecting element or provided on a press-in tool to be used separately.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A method for establishing an electrical connection between a connecting element and a load-bearing belt for an elevator system, wherein the connecting element has a plurality of electrically conductive contact pins arranged at a distance from one another in an arrangement direction and at least one of the contact pins is electrically connected to an electric line extending from the connecting element, wherein the belt has a plurality of electrically conductive cables embedded in an electrically insulating matrix material and arranged at a distance from one another in the arrangement direction, the method comprising the following steps: pressing spacer pins between adjacent ones of the cables in the belt to move the cables to target positions in the belt for contacting by the contact pins; and pressing the contact pins of the connecting element into the cables in the belt to electrically contact the cables.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein the spacer pins are pressed in between the cables before the contact pins are pressed into the cables.

17. The method according to claim 15 wherein each of the spacer pins has a tip at a self-supporting end, the tip having a greater radius of curvature than tips at self-supporting ends of the contact pins.

18. The method according to claim 15 wherein each of the spacer pins has a tip at a self-supporting end, the tip having a radius of curvature that is between 0.3 and 3 times greater than a width of the spacer pin.

19. The method according to claim 15 wherein each of the spacer pins has a width equal to or smaller than the distance between adjacent ones of the cables in the belt.

20. The method according to claim 15 wherein the spacer pins are formed of or coated with an electrically insulating material.

21. The method according to claim 20 wherein the electrically insulating material is a plastic or a ceramic.

22. The method according to claim 15 wherein the spacer pins are formed as part of the connecting element.

23. The method according to claim 15 wherein the spacer pins are part of a press-in tool.

24. A belt arrangement for an elevator system with a load-bearing belt and a connecting element contacting the belt comprising: the connecting element having a plurality of electrically conductive contact pins arranged at a distance from one another in an arrangement direction, and at least one of the contact pins is electrically connected to an electric line extending from the connecting element; the belt having a plurality of electrically conductive cables embedded in an electrically insulating matrix material and arranged at a distance from one another in the arrangement direction; wherein when the connecting element is pressed against a side of the belt, the contact pins are pressed into electrical contact with the cables; and wherein the side of the belt has indentations pressed into the matrix material, each of the indentations being formed between adjacent ones of the cables.

25. The belt arrangement according to claim 24 wherein each of the spacer pins is pressed into an associated one of the indentations.

26. The belt arrangement according to claim 24 wherein the matrix material in an area of the indentations is sealed with a layer of material covering the indentations.

27. A connecting element for electrically contacting cables within a belt for an elevator system comprising: a frame having a plurality of electrically conductive contact pins protruding therefrom and being arranged at a distance from one another in an arrangement direction; and a plurality of electrically insulating spacer pins protruding from the frame, each of the spacer pins being arranged in the arrangement direction between adjacent ones of the contact pins.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0056] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a belt for an elevator system as well as a connecting element for establishing an electrical connection and thus forming a belt arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0057] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of a belt contacted by contact pins of a connecting element in an ideal case.

[0058] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of a belt contacted by contact pins of a connecting element in a real case.

[0059] FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of a belt contacted by contact pins of a connecting element, in which the electrical connection has been established by means of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein spacer pins form components of the connecting element.

[0060] FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of a belt contacted by contact pins of a connecting element, in which the electrical connection has been established by means of a method according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, wherein spacer pins form components of a press-in tool.

[0061] The drawings are merely schematic and not to scale. In the different drawings, the same reference signs denote the same or similarly acting features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] FIG. 1 shows a belt arrangement 1 having a load-bearing belt 3 for an elevator system, and a connecting element 5.

[0063] The belt 3 is designed as an elongated belt. An outer geometry of the belt 3 is predetermined by a polymer-type matrix material 17. When in use, the matrix material 17 forms a profiled side 21 on a surface facing the drive disk of the elevator system and a flat side 23 on an opposite surface. On the profiled side 21, grooves 25 running in a longitudinal extension direction 10 of the belt 3 and intermediate ridges 27 are located. The grooves 25 run parallel to one another at a distance of a few millimeters, for example, 5 mm.

[0064] A plurality of cables 19 is embedded in the matrix material 17 along the longitudinal extension direction 10 and parallel to one another. In this case, the cables 19 are spaced apart from one another, for example, with lateral distances of approximately 1 to 2 mm, in an arrangement direction 11 which runs parallel to the flat side 23 and perpendicularly to the longitudinal extension direction 10. For that purpose, the cables 19 have a diameter of approximately 1 to 2 mm. The cables 19 typically run at a depth of approximately 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm below the surface of the flat side 23 of the belt 3. Two cables 19 usually run in the area of one of the ridges 27.

[0065] The connecting element 5 has a frame 13 or a housing. From this frame 13 or housing, both a plurality of contact pins 7 and a plurality of spacer pins 9 protrude toward the belt 3 from a surface which faces the belt 3. In particular, both the contact pins 7 and the spacer pins 9 run approximately perpendicularly to the surface of the frame 13 which faces the belt 3. In such case, the contact pins 7 and the spacer pins 9 are aligned parallel to one another. Furthermore, the contact pins 7 and the spacer pins 9 are positioned alternately along the arrangement direction 11. In other words, a spacer pin 9 is located between two adjacent contact pins 7, and a contact pin 7 is located between two adjacent spacer pins 9. The spacer pins 9 and the contact pins 7 can, but do not have to, be arranged along a common straight line. For example, the spacer pins 9 can be arranged along a straight line, and the contact pins 7 can be arranged along a further straight line running parallel thereto. Both lines can be parallel to the arrangement direction 11. The contact pins 7 are each spaced laterally apart from one another along the arrangement direction 11. The spacer pins 9 are also laterally spaced apart from one another along the arrangement direction 11. A lateral distance between adjacent contact pins 7 can essentially correspond to a lateral distance between adjacent cables 19 within the belt 3.

[0066] The connecting element 5 is provided to establish an electrical connection between its contact pins 7 and the cables 19 in the belt 3 in order to create, for example, a possibility for electrically connecting the cables 19 to an external measuring or monitoring device by means of the connecting element 5. In such case, the measuring or monitoring device can apply an electrical voltage to one or more electric lines 15 provided on the connecting element 5. These electric lines 15 can be in contact with one or more of the contact pins 7 via one or more connections 29 (see FIG. 4) and can transmit the applied voltage via said contact pins 7 to the cables 19 thus contacted. Other contact pins 7 can be short-circuited or connected in parallel via short-circuit connections 31 (see FIG. 4) with one another or with the connection pins 7 which are connected to the electric line 15. By monitoring the applied voltages or resulting voltages after passing through the cables 19, changes in the electrical properties of the cables 19 can subsequently be detected and conclusions about changes in the mechanical properties of the cables 19 and thus of the entire belt 3 can be drawn.

[0067] In order to better understand the characteristics of the belt arrangement 1 and the specific connecting element 5 used therein or the way, in which this connecting element 5 is used to establish an electrical connection with the belt 3, the problems that can occur when contacting belts 3 with conventional connecting elements shall be briefly explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0068] FIG. 2 shows the ideal case, in which one contact pin 7 of the connecting element 5 centrally penetrates one of the cables 19 embedded in the belt 3. In this case, the cables 19 are arranged equidistantly and exactly at the target position within the matrix material 17, and the contact pins are arranged such that each contact pin can centrally strike a cable assigned to it. In this ideal case, a very good electrical contact between a respective contact pin 7 and the associated cable 19 would be established.

[0069] However, as indicated in FIG. 3, in reality, the cables 19 are not evenly arranged within the belt 3, as assumed in the ideal case. Instead, actual positions of the cables 19 deviate from intended equidistant target positions, for example, due to manufacturing tolerances in the production of the belt 3. In real cases, positional deviations can often constitute up to half the diameter of a cable 19. Due to such positional deviations, it is possible that some of the contact pins 7 do not strike the cable 19 to be contacted centrally (contact pin 7) or, in the worst case, not at all (contact pin 7), resulting in an unreliable or no electrical contact between the connecting element 5 and the cables 19 concerned.

[0070] In order to prevent the described problem, it is therefore proposed that, in addition to the contact pins 7, spacer pins 9 are also pressed into the belt 3 when an electrical connection between a connecting element 5 and a belt 3 is established. In such case, the contact pins 7 are supposed to be pressed into the cable 19 of the belt 3, whereas each spacer pin 9 is supposed to be pressed between adjacent cables 19 in the belt 3. This is shown schematically in FIG. 4. In contrast to the contact pins 7 which consist of an electrically conductive material, the spacer pins 9 are formed from an electrically non-conductive material or are at least coated with such a material. On their self-supporting ends, the contact pins 7 further have sharp tips 41 with a small radius of curvature, whereas the spacer pins 9 have blunt tips 43 with a larger radius of curvature at their self-supporting ends. The spacer pins 9 have a width d which is smaller than or equal to a lateral distance D between adjacent cables 19.

[0071] In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, both the contact pins 7 and the spacer pins 9 are designed as components of the connecting element 5. In this case, the spacer pins 9 are slightly longer or protrude further from a main part 6 of the connecting element 5, so that, when pressing the connecting element 5 to the flat side 23 of the belt 3, the spacer pins 9 are pressed first between adjacent cables 19 in the belt 3, forcing said cables 19 to move laterally to their target positions, i.e., adjusting them positionally. Only then have the contact pins 7 penetrated far enough into the matrix material 17, so that they reach the surface of the previously adjusted cables 19 and finally penetrate them with a further pressing-in. The contact pins 7 penetrating the respective cables 19 in this case in a largely centered manner can provide a reliable electrical contacting at low contact resistances. The spacer pins 9, which form part of the connecting element 5, remain in this case in indentations 33 formed by them during the pressing-in process in the matrix material 17 of the belt, thereby sealing the indentations 33, for example, against penetrating water.

[0072] Alternatively to the aforementioned design, in which both the spacer pins 9 and the contact pins 7 are components of the connecting element 5 and both types of pins are pressed together into the belt 3, a positional adjustment of the cables 19 in the belt 3 can also be performed with the aid of a separate press-in tool 35, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

[0073] In this case, a plurality of spacer pins 9 is provided on the press-in tool 35. With respect to their dimensions and distances, the spacer pins 9 are designed such that they each can be pressed in between adjacent cables 19 in the belt 3 in a press-in direction 39, thus positionally adjusting said cables 19. A connecting element 5 with its protruding contact pins 7 can subsequently be pressed precisely positioned onto the belt 3, so that the contact pins 7 are pressed with their self-supporting tips 41 as centrally as possible into the previously aligned cables 19.

[0074] During the pressing-in, the spacer pins 9 form the indentations 33 in the matrix material 17 of the belt 3. For such purpose, the press-in tool 35 can be designed such that it remains on the belt 3 as a tool to be used once. In this case, the spacer pins 9 remain in the indentations 33 and can thus seal them. Alternatively, the press-in tool 35 can be removed again after the connecting element 5 has been correctly attached to the belt 3. In such case, the indentations 33 remain in the matrix material 17 of the belt 3. The indentations 33 can optionally be sealed with a layer 37 covering them. The covering layer 37 can be a plastic layer and applied such that it completely covers the indentations, thus sealing them in a fluid-tight manner.

[0075] Finally, it must be noted that terms such as having, comprising, etc. do not exclude any other elements or steps, and terms such as an or a do not exclude a multiplicity. It must further be noted that features or steps, which have been described with reference to one of the above embodiments, can also be used in combination with other features or steps of other embodiments described above.

[0076] 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

[0077] 1 Belt arrangement [0078] 3 Belt [0079] 5 Connecting element [0080] 6 Main part of the connecting element [0081] 7 Contact pins (7, 7) [0082] 9 Spacer pins [0083] 10 Longitudinal extension direction [0084] 11 Arrangement direction [0085] 13 Frame [0086] 15 Electrical line [0087] 17 Matrix material [0088] 19 Cables [0089] 21 Profiled side [0090] 23 Flat side [0091] 25 Grooves [0092] 27 Ridges [0093] 29 Connection to the electrical line [0094] 31 Short-circuit connection between cables [0095] 33 Indentations [0096] 35 Press-in tool [0097] 37 Sealing layer [0098] 39 Press-in direction [0099] 41 Tips of the contact pins [0100] 43 Tips of the spacer pins [0101] D Lateral distance between cables [0102] d Width of spacer pins