ELEVATOR

Abstract

A method enables emergency unlocking of a car door of an elevator having a car movable within a shaft to a floor. The car door has an electrically activatable lock and the floor has a shaft door with an electrically activatable door lock. The car door lock has a first latch for locking a first car door leaf and an emergency unlocking mechanism. The shaft door lock can be accessed from the floor. An actuator is attached to the shaft door. The method includes the steps: the shaft door is unlocked from the floor by the shaft door lock being manually actuated; actuation of the shaft door lock moves the actuator from a first position to a second position; in the second position, the actuator actuates the emergency unlocking mechanism; and actuation of the emergency unlocking mechanism unlocks the car door lock to unlock the first car door leaf.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. An elevator including an elevator car movable in an elevator shaft to a floor, the car having a car door with at least a first car door leaf, the elevator shaft having a shaft door with at least a first shaft door leaf at the floor, the car door having an electrically activatable car door lock and the shaft door having an electrically activatable shaft door lock, the car door lock having a first latch locking the first car door leaf, the shaft door having a lock locking the shaft door, the shaft door lock being accessible from the floor and manually actuable for unlocking the shaft door lock from the floor, the elevator comprising: the car door lock having an emergency unlocking mechanism operatively connected to the first latch of the car door lock; an actuator attached to the shaft door and being movable from a first position to a second position by moving a key in the shaft door lock, the actuator actuating the emergency unlocking mechanism in the second position to bring the first latch into an unlocked position thereby unlocking the car door lock and the first car door leaf; wherein the shaft door and the car door are spaced apart a predetermined distance from one another in a region of a door coupling, the door coupling having a shaft door coupling that engages with a car door coupling such that the first car door leaf and the first shaft door leaf move collectively; wherein the first shaft door leaf is locked by a hook of the first shaft door leaf engaging a first shaft door latch; wherein the car door lock is driven by an electric car door lock drive to unlock the first car door leaf; wherein the shaft door lock is driven by an electric shaft door lock drive to unlock the first shaft door leaf; wherein the car door lock is attached to a car door striker and the shaft door lock is attached to a shaft door striker; and the shaft door lock and the actuator are arranged in the shaft door striker such that the actuator in the first position is spaced at least the predetermined distance from a clearance profile of the car.

17. The elevator according to claim 16 wherein the emergency unlocking mechanism includes an emergency unlocking lever moved by the actuator.

18. The elevator according to claim 16 wherein the actuator bridges the predetermined distance between the shaft door and the car door in the second position of the actuator.

19. The elevator according to claim 16 wherein the car door has a second car door leaf locked by a second latch and the emergency unlocking mechanism in the second position brings the second latch into an unlocked position.

20. The elevator according to claim 19 wherein the shaft door has a second shaft door leaf.

21. The elevator according to claim 16 wherein the actuator includes a lever that is rotated in a horizontal plane by turning the key in the shaft door lock.

22. The elevator according to claim 16 wherein the movement of the actuator applies a pressure force to the emergency unlocking mechanism.

23. The elevator according to claim 16 wherein the car door lock has a rotor that rotates about an axis, the first latch and the emergency unlocking mechanism being attached to the rotor.

24. The elevator according to claim 23 wherein the first latch and the emergency unlocking mechanism are rigidly connected to the rotor.

25. The elevator according to claim 23 including a pretensioner connected to the rotor that pretensions the first latch toward a locked position.

26. A method for emergency unlocking the car door of the elevator according to claim 16, the method comprising steps of: unlocking the shaft door from the floor by manually actuating the shaft door lock; moving the actuator from a first position to the second position by the actuation of the shaft door lock; the actuator actuating the emergency unlocking mechanism upon the actuator reaching the second position; and the actuation of the emergency unlocking mechanism unlocking the car door lock that unlocks the first car door leaf.

27. The method according to claim 26 further comprising steps of: inserting a key into the shaft door lock; turning the key in the shaft door lock; and unlocking the car door by the actuator actuating the emergency unlocking mechanism by turning the key.

28. The method according to claim 27 including turning the key in the shaft door lock by at least 20.

29. The method according to claim 27 wherein the turning of the key directly causes a rotation of the actuator.

30. The method according to claim 26 including unlocking a second car door leaf of the care door by actuating the emergency unlocking mechanism.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] In the figures:

[0053] FIG. 1 is a front view of an upper part of a car door;

[0054] FIG. 2 shows the same embodiment as FIG. 1 with the car door lock unlocked;

[0055] FIG. 3 is a side view of the same embodiment as in FIG. 1;

[0056] FIG. 4 is a side view of the same embodiment as in FIG. 1 in combination with a shaft door when actuating the shaft door lock;

[0057] FIGS. 5a to 5c show further variants of the design of the emergency unlocking mechanism; and

[0058] FIG. 6 shows an elevator comprising the car door and a plurality of shaft doors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] FIG. 1 shows the car door 200 with a first door leaf 202, 202a displaceably fastened thereto and a second door leaf 202, 202b displaceably fastened thereto in the closed state. The rollers 230 serve to mount the door leaves 202 such that they can be displaced on the door striker 221 with low friction. The first door leaf 202a has a first door hook 211, into which a first latch 205 can engage in order to lock the first door leaf in the closed position. The second door leaf 202b similarly has a second door hook 212, into which a second latch 207 can engage in order to lock the second door leaf in the closed position.

[0060] In order to unlock the two door leaves 202, the first latch 205 and the second latch 207 can be rotated collectively at a rotor 206 as one body in a clockwise direction, so that the first latch 205 releases the first car door hook 211 of the first car door leaf 202a and the second latch 207 releases the second car door hook 212 of the second car door leaf 202b. As a result, both door leaves 202 can be moved and thus opened by a door drive or manually by a service technician. The movement of the car door leaves 202 is transmitted by the car door couplings 20, 220 to the shaft door couplings 120 (see FIG. 4). Normally, unlocking is carried out by an electric car door lock drive 201 (see FIG. 3 or FIG. 4).

[0061] In the event of a power failure, the door drive will not work. In this case, the car door lock 203 can be unlocked by an emergency unlocking mechanism 209 of the car door 200. The emergency unlocking mechanism 209 is designed as an emergency unlocking lever 210. By applying pressure, i.e. the actuator force 500 (see FIG. 5a) from left to right to the emergency unlocking lever 210, the lever is rotated. As a result, the latches of the door lock 203 rotate, as shown by the arrow R in FIG. 2, and the car door leaves 202 are unlocked or released for movement.

[0062] FIG. 3 is a side view of a situation in which the car 600 stops at a floor 601 and therefore the car door 200 and shaft door 100 are opposite one another at the same height. The rollers are not shown in FIG. 3. The shaft door 100 and the car door 200 substantially are at a predetermined distance 17 from one another. The distance 17 is only not maintained in the region of the door coupling 20, where a shaft door coupling 120 engages with a car door coupling 220. The shaft door coupling 120 and the car door coupling 220 engage with one another, such that the first car door leaf 202a and the first shaft door leaf 102a collectively move. In addition, vertical movement of the car 600 is made possible by the shape of the shaft door coupling 120 and the car door coupling 220. The door coupling 20 causes the first shaft door leaf 102a on the floor 601 to be moved together with the first car door leaf 202a. The car door leaf 202a is locked as described and shown in FIG. 1. The first shaft door leaf 102a is also locked by means of a hook 111 of the first shaft door leaf 102a and a first shaft door latch 105. The car door lock 203 is driven by the electric car door lock drive 201 and can thus unlock the first car door leaf 202a. The shaft door lock 103 is driven by the electric shaft door lock drive 101 and can thus unlock the first car door leaf 102a. The car door lock 203 is attached to the car door striker 221. The shaft lock 103 is attached to the shaft door striker 121. A lock 11 and the actuator 15 are arranged in the shaft door striker 121 in such a way that the actuator 15 is at a distance from the clearance profile of the car in the first position. The actuator 15 is also protected from dirt or falling objects in the shaft door striker 121.

[0063] FIG. 4 shows the same embodiment as FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 but in a situation in which the actuator 15 is just touching the emergency unlocking lever 210, i.e. immediately before the lock is opened. The first car door lock latch 205 remains locked. FIG. 4 shows the situation in which a service technician 19 opens the shaft door 100 and a car door 200 therebehind in order to free passengers from the car 600. For this purpose, the service technician 19 inserts the key 13 into the lock 11. The key 13 can be turned in the lock 11. The turning motion of the key 13 is transmitted to the actuator 15, which can now bridge the distance 17 to the car door striker 221 due to a long lever arm. In the car door striker 221, the actuator 15 presses the emergency unlocking lever 210. The actuator 15 and the key 13 in the lock 11 have a common axis of rotation. Therefore, there is no need to transmit the movement to a transmission or linkage. In FIG. 2, the movement of the car door lock 203 caused by the actuator 15 is shown by the rotation arrow R.

[0064] The shaft door lock 103 is also unlocked when the key 13 is turned. This can be achieved in the traditional manner (not shown) via a lasting mechanical connection between the lock 11 and the shaft door lock 103. This connection can, for example, occur as a connecting rod that directly or indirectly connects the lock 11 to the shaft door lock 103. Alternatively, however, the shaft door lock 103 can also have a separate emergency unlocking mechanism, such as a separate emergency unlocking lever. As a result, in an emergency, the car door 200 and the shaft door 100 are unlocked in the same way.

[0065] FIG. 5a through FIG. 5c show further alternative variants for the design of the emergency unlocking mechanism 209 and, independently thereof, various design variants for a pretensioner 540. The car door lock 203, the first car door latch 205, the second car door latch 207, the first car door hook 211 and the second car door hook 212 in each case have the same design. Likewise, an actuator force 500 is always applied. This is the pressure that the actuator 15 (see FIG. 4) applies to the emergency unlocking mechanism 209.

[0066] FIG. 5a shows the use of a Bowden cable 501. The actuator force 500 presses on a Bowden cable lever 512. On the side opposite the bearing 513 of the Bowden cable lever 512, the Bowden cable lever 512 pulls on a pull cable 511 when actuated. The pull cable is guided in a hose or tube 510 to the car door lock 203. The pull cable 511 is connected to the car door lock 203 in such a way that a pulling movement on the pull cable 511 unlocks the car door lock 203. The pretensioner 540 tensions the pull cable 511, so that the emergency unlocking mechanism 209 is moved back to its original position when the actuator force 500 is not applied.

[0067] The pretensioner 540 is shown in FIG. 5a as a tension spring 541. Alternatively, a pressure spring could also be installed. This would then have to be installed on the other side, so that its force has the same effect.

[0068] FIG. 5b shows an emergency unlocking linkage 502. The actuator force 500 presses on a push-piece 520, which in turn presses on a first linkage lever 521. The movement is transmitted to the car door lock 203 via the linkage connecting rod 522, a linkage bracket 523 and a pull wire 524.

[0069] The use of the push-piece 520 is optional. It is also possible to apply the actuator force 500 directly to the first linkage lever 521, thus omitting the push-piece 520.

[0070] The pretensioner 540 is designed as a torsion spring 542 in FIG. 5b.

[0071] FIG. 5c shows an emergency unlocking link system 503. The actuator force 500 of the actuator 15 acts on a link surface. In this case, a link lever 531 is made to rotate about a link pivot point 532. This rotation sets the car door lock 203 in motion via a pull wire 533 and unlocks the car door leaves 202.

[0072] The pretensioner 540 is designed as a tension weight 543 in FIG. 5c.

[0073] FIG. 6 shows a car 600 having a car door 200. This car can move in a shaft 603 in a travel direction 602. The travel direction 602 is aligned vertically. The car 600 travels to a plurality of floors 601. The floors 601 are separated from the shaft 603 by shaft doors 100.

[0074] Finally, it should be noted that terms such as having, comprising, etc., do not preclude other elements or steps, and terms such as a or one 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.

[0075] 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.