HK1010864B - Flexible mounting for elevator door operator - Google Patents

Description

Movable support for elevator car door operating system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to elevator systems, and more particularly to elevator systems for elevator car doors driven by high performance linear induction motors.

Background

In conventional elevator systems, elevator car doors are selectively opened and closed by a rotary motor that drives a mechanical assembly, which typically includes a set of moving parts such as a gear box, a set of drive arms, and a lever. A major drawback of existing elevator car doors is that their sensitivity to positional deviation makes them require frequent adjustment, resulting in excessive operating costs. Also, the offset reduces the performance of the system, e.g., the opening and closing of the door cannot always be kept smooth and quiet.

The linear motor eliminates mechanical linkages and the problems associated therewith, thereby potentially providing a different option than conventional door operating systems. Linear motors generally comprise a motor primary unit and a motor secondary unit. However, although linear motors have been disclosed in U.S. patent No. 1,881,014 to Ayers and U.S. patent No. 5,127,518 to Yoshino, many problems arise that make the use of linear motors in doors of no interest. One problem encountered with linear motors on elevator cars is the difficulty in maintaining a small and constant running clearance between the motor secondary and the motor primary. Maintaining this constant gap is made more difficult by the tendency of elevator doors to shift and bend in position. Since one part of the linear motor is usually connected to the elevator car door or its hanger, while the other part of the linear motor is connected to the elevator car, the gap between the parts of the motor changes when the door bends or moves relative to the elevator car.

Us patent 1,881,016 entitled "door operating system" issued by Roser on day 4/10 in 1932 discloses a linear motor having a motor primary and a motor secondary. This patent describes an active connection between a motor secondary and the gate. Although this connection allows for two-dimensional movement such as limited pivoting of one end of the motor secondary in the vertical direction relative to the elevator car door, such pivoting still does not compensate for any door bending movement that may occur. Thus, if the Rose construction were used in an elevator car door system, any bending movement of the door would compromise proper operation of the linear motion, as the linear motor would not be able to conform to the bending movement of the door. Therefore, in order to use a linear motor for elevator car doors, a set of machinery is required to accommodate the flexibility and relative movement between the linear motor and the elevator car doors.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved performance linear motor for opening and closing elevator car doors in an elevator system.

It is an object of the present invention to compensate for positional deviation and bending of elevator car doors in an elevator system that uses a linear induction motor to open and close the elevator car doors.

According to the invention, a linear motor for opening and closing elevator car doors in an elevator system comprises a motor primary which is arranged on the door hanger and moves together with it, and a motor secondary which is connected to the roof frame of the elevator car by means of a set of articulated joints. The motor secondary extends along the length of the door travel, and a hinged joint secures each end of the motor secondary to the elevator car. The hinged joint allows multi-dimensional flexibility of the motor secondary to compensate for possible positional deviations and bending of the elevator door and the motor primary attached to the elevator car door hanger. Thus, a constant gap will be maintained between the motor secondary and the motor primary despite positional excursions and bending of the elevator car doors.

One advantage of the present invention is that the articulation joint is centrally located at the end of each motor secondary, allowing for the concentration of thrust forces applied to the motor secondary from the motor primary without creating torque on the motor secondary.

The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic, partially cut-away perspective view of an elevator car door driven by a linear induction motor;

FIG. 2 is a schematic, partially cross-sectional side view of the linear induction motor shown in FIG. 1, taken along line 2-2;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, schematic perspective view showing the motor secondary of the linear induction motor of FIG. 2 connected to the top frame by an articulated joint in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded, cut-away, schematic perspective view showing the motor sub-stage of FIG. 3 connected to the head frame by an articulated joint;

FIG. 5 is a schematic, cross-sectional side view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 3, illustrating movement of the motor secondary relative to the top frame; and

fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing two parts of the motor secondary of fig. 3 connected by an articulated joint.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1, an elevator car door operating system 10 suspended from a pair of door hangers 14 for opening and closing a pair of elevator car doors 12 includes a pair of motor primaries 16 fixedly connected to the pair of door hangers and a motor secondary 18 connected to a roof rail 24 fixed to a panel 26 (not shown) of the elevator car.

Referring to fig. 2, each motor primary 16 includes a primary coil 28 and a back iron 30 that is isolated from the primary coil 28 by a set of motor spacers 32. The primary coil 28 includes a primary core member 34 around which a coil 36 is wound with a primary surface 38 facing the back iron 30. The back iron 30 includes an iron plate 40 having a back iron surface 42 facing the primary coil 28. A magnetic air gap is defined between primary surface 38 and back iron surface 42.

A set of bolts 48 through the back iron 30 and the motor spacer 32 fixedly attach each motor primary 16 to the door hanger 14.

Since the motor primary 16 moves when the elevator car door 12 is opened and closed, the motor secondary 18 extends in the length direction of elevator car door travel and is disposed between the back iron 30 and the primary coil 28. As shown in fig. 3, the motor secondary 18 includes a substantially flat plate member having first and second surfaces 56, 58 bounded by top and bottom longitudinal edges 60, 62 extending lengthwise of the motor secondary 18 and first and second vertical ends 64, 66.

One secondary guide 72 is placed on each longitudinal edge 60, 62 of the motor secondary 18. The motor sub-assembly 18 is movably attached at both ends 64, 66 to the top frame 24 and is centered within the frame as shown in fig. 1. The motor sub 18 is mounted on the head frame by an articulated joint 76 so that the motor sub can move into and out of the plane and can rotate about the joint 76, as shown in figures 1 and 5. The articulation joint 76 also functions as a pull stud to allow the back iron 30 to travel between the top frame 24 and the motor secondary 18.

Referring to fig. 4, the articulating joint assembly 76 includes a shaft 78 having one end secured to the top frame 24. A hinge ball 80 is mounted on the shaft 78 as shown in FIG. 5. A mounting bracket 82 includes a central opening 84 with a circular flange 86 that mates with the hinge ball 80 and a set of holes 88 to secure the hinge joint 76 to the motor secondary 18 by a set of bolts 89. An opening 90 formed in the motor sub 18 is aligned with the central opening 84 in the mounting bracket 82 to allow the shaft 78 to pass therethrough. A bolt 92 passes through the center of the shaft 78 and, together with a nut 94, secures the articulation joint assembly 76 to the head frame 24 and to the motor sub 18. The articulation joint 76 shown herein is of a modular type and is readily available from various manufacturers, including from the Trianglemanufacturing Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Referring to fig. 5, the articulation joint 76 allows the motor sub 18 to move relative to the top frame 24. With the articulation ball 80 mounted on the shaft, the motor secondary 18 can move in and out of the plane defined by the motor secondary 18. The motor secondary 18 connected to the mounting bracket 24 is rotatable about the three hinge joints due to the circular flange 86 of the mounting bracket 82 cooperating with the hinge balls 80. The only restricted motion is horizontal motion in the thrust direction in the plane defined by the motor secondary.

The hinge joint 76 isolates the motor from possible positional shifts and impacts as the door 12 opens and closes. If the door is misaligned or impacted, the misalignment and impact are transmitted to the door hanger 14 and also to the motor primary 16 attached to the door hanger 14. As the motor primary 16 moves into and out of the plane or bend, the motor secondary 18 also moves about the articulation joint 76 so that the running clearance between the motor primary 16 and the motor secondary 18 remains constant.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the articulation joint 76 is disposed intermediate the top and bottom longitudinal edges 60, 62 at the ends 64, 66 of the motor secondary 18 and centers the force applied to the motor secondary from the motor primary 16 without creating a moment on the motor secondary.

Referring to fig. 6, an additional benefit of the present invention is that if the door travel is too long for a single motor secondary, a pair of motor secondaries can be employed using a central hinge joint as the connecting mechanism. The two bolts 89 of the mounting bracket 82 may be connected with a motor sub and the two bolts 89 may be connected with another motor sub.

While the invention has been shown and described with respect to a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the best mode of embodiment describes a center-opening two door system with two motor primaries, one motor secondary, and three hinge joints. A single door construction with one motor primary and only two hinge joints at the end of each motor secondary may also be used.

Claims (6)

1. An elevator car door operating system for opening and closing an elevator car door in an elevator system, comprising a door hanger for suspending the elevator car door, the door hanger being movably secured to a top frame attached to an elevator door, the elevator car door operating system comprising:

a motor primary fixedly attached to said door hanger;

a motor secondary extending in the direction of the travel length of said elevator car door, said motor secondary having a first vertical end and a second vertical end and a top and bottom longitudinal edge, said motor secondary cooperating with said motor primary to generate thrust; and

a set of hinged joints connecting each vertical end of the motor secondary to the top frame to allow the motor secondary to move over a wide range relative to the top frame to compensate for positional offset or bending of the elevator car doors.

2. An elevator car door operating system according to claim 1, wherein: the set of articulated joints is disposed substantially midway between the top and bottom longitudinal edges of the motor secondary to center the thrust applied from the motor primary and minimize torque to the motor secondary.

3. An elevator car door operating system according to claim 1, wherein: each of the hinge joints also serves as a drawstring nail separating the motor secondary from the head frame to allow the back iron to be disposed therebetween.

4. An elevator car door operating system according to claim 1, wherein: the motor primary includes a primary coil separated from a back iron by a set of spacers and defining a magnetic circuit air gap between the coil and the back iron, wherein the motor secondary is disposed between the primary coil and the back iron.

5. An elevator car door operating system according to claim 1, wherein:

said elevator car doors comprising a first elevator car door and a second elevator car door; the door hanger includes a first door hanger and a second door hanger.

6. An elevator car door operating system according to claim 5, wherein:

said motor secondary being vertically divided into a first half and a second half and forming a first divided end and a second divided end; and

a central hinge joint connects said first divided end to said second divided end and connects said first half and said second half of said motor secondary to said head frame to allow a wide range of movement of said motor secondary.