ELEVATOR SYSTEM

Abstract

An elevator system has an elevator car that can travel vertically along a vertical track including a stationary vertical guide rail, and that can travel horizontally by a car transfer device. The car transfer device has a horizontal displacement unit with a vertical guide rail piece that guides the elevator car in the horizontal displacement unit, the horizontal displacement unit being movable into a transit position in which the guide rail piece and the stationary vertical guide rail together form a section of the vertical track. The elevator system has a connecting device by which, in the transit position of the horizontal displacement unit, the vertical guide rail piece can be connected to the stationary vertical guide rail, wherein, when connected by the connecting device, the vertical guide rail piece cannot be displaced in the horizontal direction with respect to the stationary vertical guide rail.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. An elevator system having an elevator car that travels vertically along a vertical track that includes a stationary vertical guide rail and travels horizontally by a car transfer device, wherein the car transfer device has a horizontal displacement unit with a vertical guide rail piece that guides the elevator car in the horizontal displacement unit, the horizontal displacement unit being movable into a transit position in which the vertical guide rail piece forms a section of the vertical track together with the stationary vertical guide rail, the elevator system comprising: a connecting device that, when the horizontal displacement unit is in the transit position, is operable to connect the vertical guide rail piece to the stationary vertical guide rail; and wherein, when the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail by the connecting device, the vertical guide rail piece cannot be displaced in a horizontal direction relative to the stationary vertical guide rail.

14. The elevator system according to claim 13 wherein the vertical track includes a car drive system having a flexible suspension means that moves and stops along the vertical track, and the elevator car includes a controllable coupling device adapted to couple to and uncouple from the suspension means.

15. The elevator system according to claim 13 wherein the connecting device is adapted and arranged to positively connect the vertical guide rail piece to the stationary vertical guide rail.

16. The elevator system according to claim 13 wherein the connecting device has a controllable actuator arranged on the vertical guide rail piece for operating the connecting device.

17. The elevator system according to claim 13 wherein the connecting device includes a bolt arranged on the vertical guide rail piece and movable between a retracted position and an extended position, and a receptacle arranged on the stationary vertical guide rail with a recess for receiving the bolt, wherein when the horizontal displacement unit is in the transit position and the bolt is in the extended position, the bolt enters into the recess to positively connect the vertical guide rail piece to the stationary vertical guide rail, and when the bolt is in the retracted position, the bolt is distanced from the recess and the vertical guide rail piece is horizontally displaceable relative to the stationary vertical guide rail.

18. The elevator system according to claim 17 where in the bolt has an insertion bevel directed toward the recess.

19. The elevator system according to claim 17 wherein the connecting device includes a guide that guides the bolt during movements of the bolt between the retracted position and the extended position.

20. The elevator system according to claim 17 including a sensor device detecting whether the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail, wherein the sensor device includes a switch arranged on the recess, the switch being actuated by the bolt in the extended position and not being actuated by the bolt in the retracted position.

21. The elevator system according to claim 20 including a safety controller connected to the sensor device and allowing a vertical movement of the elevator car into and out of the horizontal displacement unit when the sensor device detects that the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail.

22. The elevator system according to claim 13 including a sensor device detecting whether the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail.

23. The elevator system according to claim 13 wherein the car transfer device includes a displacement drive having a drive unit and a displacement belt, wherein the horizontal displacement unit is horizontally displaceable by the displacement drive, and wherein the displacement belt provides a drive connection between the drive unit and the horizontal displacement unit.

24. The elevator system according to claim 23 wherein the displacement belt is a toothed belt.

25. The elevator system according to claim 23 wherein the car transfer device includes a position detection device that detects a horizontal position of the horizontal displacement unit within the car transfer device.

26. An elevator system comprising: a car transfer device; an elevator car that travels vertically along a vertical track that includes a stationary vertical guide rail and travels horizontally by the car transfer device; wherein the car transfer device has a horizontal displacement unit with a vertical guide rail piece that guides the elevator car in the horizontal displacement unit, the horizontal displacement unit being movable into a transit position in which the vertical guide rail piece forms a section of the vertical track together with the stationary vertical guide rail; a connecting device that, when the horizontal displacement unit is in the transit position, is operable to connect the vertical guide rail piece to the stationary vertical guide rail; and wherein, when the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail by the connecting device, the vertical guide rail piece cannot be displaced in a horizontal direction relative to the stationary vertical guide rail.

27. The elevator system according to claim 26 further comprising: wherein the vertical track includes a car drive system having a flexible suspension means that moves and stops along the vertical track, and the elevator car includes a controllable coupling device adapted to couple to and uncouple from the suspension means; wherein the connecting device has a controllable actuator arranged on the vertical guide rail piece for operating the connecting device, a bolt arranged on the vertical guide rail piece and movable by the actuator between a retracted position and an extended position, and a receptacle arranged on the stationary vertical guide rail with a recess for receiving the bolt, wherein when the horizontal displacement unit is in the transit position and the bolt is in the extended position, the bolt enters into the recess to positively connect the vertical guide rail piece to the stationary vertical guide rail, and when the bolt is in the retracted position, the bolt is distanced from the recess and the vertical guide rail piece is horizontally displaceable relative to the stationary vertical guide rail; a sensor device detecting whether the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail, wherein the sensor device includes a switch arranged on the recess, the switch being actuated by the bolt in the extended position and not being actuated by the bolt in the retracted position; a safety controller connected to the sensor device and allowing a vertical movement of the elevator car into and out of the horizontal displacement unit when the sensor device detects that the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail; wherein the car transfer device includes a displacement drive having a drive unit and a displacement belt, wherein the horizontal displacement unit is horizontally displaceable by the displacement drive, wherein the displacement belt provides a drive connection between the drive unit and the horizontal displacement unit; and wherein the car transfer device includes a position detection device that detects a horizontal position of the horizontal displacement unit within the car transfer device.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] In the drawings:

[0045] FIG. 1A is a front view of an elevator system with two vertical tracks, two elevator cars and two car transfer devices,

[0046] FIG. 1B is a side view of the elevator system according to FIG. 1A,

[0047] FIG. 2A is a horizontal displacement unit of the car transfer devices, in a side view,

[0048] FIG. 2B is a front view of the horizontal displacement device according to FIG. 2A,

[0049] FIG. 3A is a connecting device for connecting a vertical guide rail piece to a stationary vertical guide rail, in an unconnected state, and

[0050] FIG. 3B is the connecting device from FIG. 3A, in a connected state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] The elevator system according to FIGS. 1A and 1B has two vertical tracks 3 arranged in an elevator shaft 2 and two elevator cars 4 traveling along these vertical tracks 3. The vertical tracks 3 are each formed by two lines of vertical guide rails 5 fastened in the elevator shaft, and the elevator cars 4 are guided on these vertical guide rails 5 by means of guide shoes 6, with two guide shoes 6 on each side of each elevator car 4. Each vertical track 3 is equipped with three car drive systems 7 with circulating suspension means 8. Each of the elevator cars 4 can be coupled to the suspension means 8 of a car drive system 7 in order to convey the elevator car 4 along a vertical track 3, and can also be decoupled from these suspension means 8 in order to move the elevator car 4 from one vertical track 3 to another. For this purpose, each elevator car 4 is equipped with three controllable coupling devices 40, each of which is assigned to one of the three car drive systems 7. As a variant, each elevator car can also have only a single coupling device, which can be immobile or which, before coupling, is brought into a position corresponding to the currently assigned car drive system by a controlled positioning device.

[0052] The vertical tracks 3 are offset from each other parallel to car walls 11 having car doors 10 there arranged. The vertical tracks can also be arranged offset from each other at right angles to the car walls having the car doors.

[0053] In normal operation, one of the vertical tracks 3 serves as the track for upward travel and the other as the track for downward travel of the elevator cars 4, each of the elevator cars 4, after reaching a floor level in the terminal region of a vertical track 3, executing a horizontal transfer to the other vertical track 3 in which the elevator car 4 can continue its movement in the opposite direction of travel.

[0054] Three car transfer devices 13 are shown, each in the region of a floor stop 12. By means of the car transfer devices, the elevator cars 4 can be displaced between the vertical tracks 3. Each of the car transfer devices 13 comprises two horizontal guides 14, 15 fixed on a door-side wall of the elevator shaft 2, and one horizontal displacement unit 16 that can be displaced along these horizontal guides 14, 15. A horizontal displacement unit 16 of this type comprises a frame structure 17 in which two vertical guide rail pieces 18 are fixed, which form end sections or intermediate sections of the vertical guide rails 5 of the vertical tracks 3 when the horizontal displacement unit 16 is positioned in a corresponding transit position. The frame structure 17 is designed in such a way that the elevator cars 4 can travel in the vertical direction through the horizontal displacement unit 16 or stop therein, in the correct transit position, the elevator cars being guided on the guide rail pieces 18.

[0055] The car transfer devices 13 are each equipped with a displacement drive (24 in FIG. 2B), not shown here, which, controlled by an elevator controller 36, displaces the horizontal displacement units 16 between the vertical tracks 3 and positions them in defined transit positions in which the integrated vertical guide rail pieces 18 are precisely aligned with the vertical guide rails 5 of the vertical tracks 3. The horizontal displacement units 16 can be empty or loaded with an elevator car 4 during the displacement process. The displacement drive includes a toothed displacement belt (33 in FIG. 2B) via which a drive unit (32 in FIG. 2B) in the form of a speed-controllable electric motor moves the horizontal displacement units 16 and positions them in a currently required transit position.

[0056] Controllable braking devices 20 are attached on both sides of the elevator cars 4, and these interact with the vertical guide rails 5 and with the vertical guide rail pieces 18 of the horizontal displacement units 16 in such a way that the braking devices 20 brake or hold the elevator cars 4 when they are activated by the elevator controller 36, for example. With these braking devices 20, the elevator cars 4 are held on the guide rail pieces 18 integrated in the horizontal displacement units 16 while they are displaced between two vertical tracks 3. The same braking devices 20 can also be used as safety devices which act as safety brakes that are applied between the elevator cars 4 and the vertical guide rails 5 in the event that the permissible car speed or acceleration is exceeded. The same braking devices 20 can also serve as holding brakes which prevent vertical vibrations and height changes in the elevator cars 4 that result from load changes at floor stops. The braking devices 20 usually contain brake pads which are pressed against the vertical guide rails 5 by controllable actuators. Various principles can be used to implement such actuators, for example lifting spindles with torque-controllable drive motors, hydraulic cylinders with pressure control, or electromagnets that attach themselves to the guide rails in the activated state. The braking force generated is preferably regulated as a function of the deceleration of the elevator car 4 measured by a deceleration sensor.

[0057] It is easy to see that in the embodiment of the elevator system shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, in which the vertical tracks are offset from each other parallel to the car walls 11 having the car doors 10, it is also possible for a plurality of vertical tracks 3 to be arranged next to each other. In this embodiment, boarding and exiting takes place at floor stops 12, which can be located on each floor and can be assigned to each of the vertical tracks 3. The horizontal guides 14, 15 of the car transfer devices 13 advantageously extend over the entire width of all vertical tracks, such that each elevator car can use each of the vertical tracks 3. In elevator systems with a relatively large number of parallel vertical tracks, it can be useful to have more than one horizontal displacement unit 16 work on the same horizontal guides 14, 15 of a car transfer device 13 or to arrange two or more car transfer devices directly one above the other. Car transfer devices can also be present at any intermediate level of the elevator system, this intermediate level not necessarily having to be in the region of a floor stop. In combination with a correspondingly designed elevator controller, elevator cars can change their vertical track and optionally their direction of travel via such car transfer devices arranged on intermediate levels, without having to circulate via the terminal regions of the vertical track, or empty elevator cars can be called from parallel vertical tracks without them having to take long detours and waiting times.

[0058] Since the vertical guide rails 5 of the vertical tracks 3 are interrupted in the regions of the car transfer devices 13, the elevator controller 36 ensures that a horizontal displacement unit 16 with its guide rail pieces 18 bridges the interruptions before each entry of an elevator car into such a region. If no horizontal displacement unit is available in time for a necessary bridging, the elevator car 4 is stopped before the interrupted region is reached.

[0059] FIGS. 2A and 2B show a side view and a front view of a car transfer device 13 as described above, with its horizontal displacement unit 16, in an enlarged illustration. To illustrate the interaction of the horizontal displacement unit with the elevator cars 4, such an elevator car is indicated by phantom lines in a holding position in the horizontal displacement unit 16. An upper horizontal guide is designated by 14 and a lower horizontal guide by 15; on these, the horizontal displacement unit 16 can be displaced by a displacement drive 24 between the vertical tracks of the elevator system. The horizontal guides 14, 15 are attached to the door-side wall 25 of the elevator shaft. The horizontal displacement unit 16 comprises a frame structure 17 with two vertically arranged lateral frames 26, as well as an upper longitudinal beam 27 and a lower longitudinal beam 28 which connect the two lateral frames 26 to each other via an upper cross member 37 and a lower cross member 38, respectively. Four profiled upper guide rollers 29 with which the upper longitudinal beam 27 is guided in the vertical and horizontal directions on the upper horizontal guide 14 are fixed on the upper longitudinal beam 27. The lower longitudinal beam 28 has four lower guide rollers 30 which guide the lower longitudinal beam 28 in the horizontal direction on the lower horizontal guide 15. The vertically oriented guide rail pieces 18, which have already been mentioned above, are fixed to the inner sides of the two lateral frames 26. The two lateral frames 26, together with the upper and lower longitudinal beams 27, 28, form a U-shaped frame which enables elevator cars 4 to pass vertically between the two lateral frames 26, wherein the two guide rail pieces 18 form terminal sections or intermediate sections of the vertical guide rails 5 of the vertical tracks 3 of the elevator system when the horizontal displacement unit 16 is positioned in a correct transit position. As stated above, the elevator cars 4 are equipped with controllable braking devices 20 with which the elevator cars 4 can be held on the guide rail pieces 18 during a horizontal transfer between two vertical tracks 3.

[0060] The displacement drive 24 is arranged above the horizontal displacement unit 16 and comprises a belt drive, which is fastened to the upper horizontal guide 14 and extends over the entire displacement distance, the belt driving have a drive unit 32, a circulating displacement belt in the form of a toothed belt 33, and a pulley 34, wherein the lower strand of the toothed belt is connected to the upper longitudinal beam 27 of the horizontal displacement unit 16.

[0061] The drive units 32 of the horizontal displacement units 16 are preferably controlled by the elevator controller 36 (see FIG. 1A) that controls and monitors the entire elevator traffic.

[0062] The car transfer device 13 has a position detection device 35 by means of which the horizontal position of the horizontal displacement unit 16 within the car transfer device 13 can be detected. The position detection device 35 is arranged on the upper longitudinal beam 27 of the horizontal displacement unit 16 and detects markings (not shown) on the upper horizontal guide 14. The position detection device 35 can deduce the horizontal position of the horizontal displacement unit 16 from the detected markings. The horizontal position can thus be adjusted very precisely, in particular by means of a controller.

[0063] To move and position the elevator cars 4 along their vertical tracks 3, each vertical track 3 is assigned car drive systems 7 that can be controlled independently of each other. These car drive systems 7 enable an asynchronous, i.e., non-coupled movement of a plurality of elevator cars 4 on the same vertical track 3. For this purpose, the elevator cars 4 can be coupled with the aid of controllable coupling devices 40 to flexible suspension means of a car drive system, which are temporarily assigned to the elevator cars 4 by the elevator controller 36. The elevator system can also be equipped with more or fewer than three independent car drive systems.

[0064] Each of the shown car drive systems 7 comprises at least one flexible suspension means 8 which can be moved along the assigned vertical tracks 3 and which preferably wraps around a traction sheave 41 in the upper elevator region and a deflection sheave 42 or a second traction sheave in the lower region. Each traction sheave 41 is driven by a drive unit 43, which preferably comprises a speed-controllable electric motor. Each of the drive units 43 or their electric motors assigned to the car drive systems 7 can be controlled and regulated independently of the other drive units 43 belonging to the same vertical track 3. The traction sheaves 41 have a small effective diameter of less than 100 mm, preferably an effective diameter of less than 80 mm. The motor shafts of the electric motors and the associated traction sheaves can form a one-piece unit. The permissible load on a car drive system can be increased by assigning an upper and a lower drive unit, each with a drive pulley, to a car drive system. Such an embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B. The electric motors of such drive units are controlled synchronously and speed-regulated synchronously.

[0065] The traction sheaves or deflection sheaves in the lower elevator area are equipped in this case with tensioning devices symbolically represented by arrows P, which on the one hand generate the necessary tensioning of the suspension means and on the other hand compensate for deviations in the original lengths of the self-contained suspension means and operational plastic changes in length in the suspension means. The required tensioning forces can be generated, preferably, by means of tension weights, gas springs or metal springs.

[0066] The suspension means 8 shown in the elevator systems according to FIGS. 1A, 1B are in the form of belts. These are preferably designed as toothed belts or ribbed V-belts and reinforced with tensile reinforcements in the form of wire ropes, synthetic fiber ropes or synthetic fiber fabrics, such that they can transport an assigned elevator car 4 over a large number of floors without inadmissible vertical vibrations occurring.

[0067] As already mentioned above, each elevator car 4 of the illustrated elevator system is equipped with controllable coupling devices 40, which enable the coupling of an elevator car 4 to a temporarily assigned car drive system 7, and of course also enable decoupling from it. Such a coupling device 40 has at least one controllably movable coupling element which interacts positively with openings or cams present on the at least one suspension means of the assigned car drive system in order to create a temporary connection between an elevator car and the suspension means.

[0068] As shown enlarged in FIGS. 3A, 3B, the elevator system has a connecting device 70 by means of which the vertical guide rail piece 18 of the horizontal displacement unit 16 can be connected to the stationary vertical guide rail 5 in the transit position of the horizontal displacement unit 16. The connecting device 70 is arranged between the vertical guide rail piece 18 or the stationary vertical guide rail 5 and a shaft wall 71. For this purpose, it is fastened to the rail feet of the two guide rails by fastening means (not shown). The stationary vertical guide rail 5 is fixed to the shaft wall 71 by means of a bracket (not shown).

[0069] The connecting device 70 has a controllable actuator 72 in the form of an electric motor, which is arranged on an end 73 of the vertical guide rail piece 18 oriented in the direction of the stationary vertical rail 5. The actuator 72 is controlled by the elevator controller 36 (see FIG. 1A) and can extend a mainly cylindrical bolt 74 in an actuating direction 76, that runs in the vertical direction, into an extended position, and can retract it into a retracted position. In FIG. 3A, the bolt 74 is shown in the retracted position, and in FIG. 3B in the extended position.

[0070] A receptacle 77 is arranged on an end 75 of the stationary vertical guide rail 5 oriented in the direction of the vertical guide rail piece 18. The receptacle 77 has a recess 78 in the form of a cylindrical through opening oriented in the actuating direction 76, and thus vertically. An inner diameter of the recess 78 is slightly larger than an outer diameter of the bolt 74, such that the recess 78 can accommodate the bolt 74 with little play. The receptacle 77 and thus the recess 78 are arranged on the stationary vertical guide rail 5 in such a way that, in the transit position of the horizontal displacement unit 16, the bolt 74 is inserted into the recess 78 when changing from the retracted position to the extended position, and thus, as shown in FIG. 3B, enters into the recess 78 in the extended position and establishes a form-fitting connection between the vertical guide rail piece 18 and the stationary vertical guide rail 5. When the bolt 74 enters into the recess 78, the horizontal position of the vertical guide rail piece 18 with respect to the stationary vertical guide rail 5 is fixed. The connecting device 70 is arranged in such a way that in this case the vertical guide rail piece 18 is aligned with respect to the stationary vertical guide rail 5 in such a way that there is no offset or step at the transition.

[0071] In the retracted position of the bolt 74 shown in FIG. 3A, it does not enter into the recess 78—that is to say, it has at least a small distance in the actuating direction 76. In the retracted position of the bolt 74, the vertical guide rail piece 18 can thus be displaced in the horizontal direction with respect to the stationary vertical guide rail 5.

[0072] On the side of the receptacle 77 opposite the actuator 72, a sensor device 79 with a safety switch 80 is arranged on the recess 78. The safety switch 80 is actuated by the bolt 74 when it assumes the extended position in the recess 78. The sensor device 79 thus detects whether the vertical guide rail piece 18 is positively connected to the stationary vertical guide rail 5 and thus an elevator car 4 can be safely and comfortably moved out of or into the horizontal displacement unit 16. The sensor device 79 is connected to a safety controller 81 by lines not shown. The safety controller 81 can be integrated into the elevator controller 36 or designed as a separate control device and connected to the elevator controller. The safety controller 81 is designed in such a way that it only allows a vertical movement of an elevator car 4 into the horizontal displacement unit 16 and out of the horizontal displacement unit 16 if the sensor device 79 detects that the vertical guide rail piece 18 is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail 5 as described.

[0073] In order to allow the bolt 74 to be safely inserted into the recess 78, the bolt 74 has an insertion bevel 82 in the direction of the recess 78, where the outer diameter of the bolt 74 tapers slightly. In the region of the insertion bevel 82, the bolt 74 thus has a conical shape.

[0074] In addition, a guide 83 is arranged on the actuator 72, which guides the bolt 74 when it moves from the retracted position into the extended position, and vice versa. For this purpose, the guide 83 has a recess (not visible in FIGS. 3A, 3B) through which the bolt 74 protrudes. An inner contour of the mentioned recess corresponds to an outer contour of the bolt 74, as a result of which it cannot move, or only very little, transverse to the actuating direction 76.

[0075] Finally, it must be noted that terms such as “having,” “comprising,” etc. do not preclude other elements or steps and terms such as “a” or “an” do not preclude a plurality. It must further be noted that features or steps that 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.