HK1016955B - Traction sheave elevator - Google Patents

Description

Traction sheave elevator and drive device therefor

The application is a divisional application of the invention with the application date of 940628 and the application number of 94106597.9 and named as a traction sheave elevator.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a traction sheave elevator and a drive apparatus for an elevator.

Background

One of the goals in elevator development work is to utilize building space efficiently and economically. In conventional elevators driven by traction ropes, the elevator machine room or the elevator space reserved for the drive machine takes up a considerable part of the building space required by the elevator. The problem is not only the amount of building space required for the drive machine, but also its location in the building. The machine room is provided with a number of solutions, but in general these solutions considerably limit the building design at least in terms of space utilization or appearance. For example, the installation of a machine room space on the top of a building causes a visual defect of the building. As a dedicated space, the machine room often increases the construction cost.

Hydraulic elevators of the prior art are good in terms of space utilization, and they tend to allow the entire drive machinery to be located in the elevator shaft. However, hydraulic elevators are limited to applications where the hoisting height is one or at most a few floors. Hydraulic elevators are not used in practice for great heights.

Japanese utility model discloses this 4-50297 discloses a no computer lab "knapsack formula" elevator, and its drive arrangement establishes in guide rail end department, and the guide rail end is located the height of elevator car under its peak, and when the car was in the highest position, this drive arrangement was between the car wall and the lift wall of a well. The rotation plane of the traction rope wheel of the driving device is vertical to the adjacent lifting well wall and the adjacent car wall. This means that the distance between them should be at least the traction sheave diameter plus a safety clearance, thereby significantly increasing the cross-section of the elevator shaft.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the invention is to provide an elevator which is reliable in operation, which facilitates economy and space utilization, and which requires space in the building, irrespective of the fact that the hoisting height is substantially limited to the space required by the car and the counterweight on their path, including the space required by the safety distance and the hoisting ropes; but also the disadvantages mentioned above can be avoided.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an elevator drive apparatus adapted to be disposed in an elevator shaft.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention proposes a novel traction sheave elevator. The traction sheave elevator according to the invention comprises a car moving along elevator guide rails, a counterweight moving along counterweight guide rails, a set of hoisting ropes suspending the car and the counterweight, and a drive unit, which comprises a traction sheave driven by the drive unit and engaging the hoisting ropes, the elevator drive unit being situated at the top of the elevator shaft in the space between the shaft space required for the extension of the car and/or its top and a wall of the elevator shaft. And the driving device has a flat structure.

The invention also proposes an elevator drive suited to be placed in an elevator shaft, comprising an electric motor having a disc-shaped stator or rotor and a traction sheave engaging the hoisting ropes, the diameter of the traction sheave being smaller than the diameter of the stator or rotor.

Other embodiments of the invention are characterized as follows.

The advantages that can be obtained by applying the invention are as follows:

the traction sheave elevator of the invention allows a significant saving of building space by eliminating the need for a separate machine room.

-making full use of the cross-sectional area of the elevator shaft.

Ease of manufacture and installation due to the fact that the system has fewer parts than conventional traction sheave elevators.

In the elevator formed by applying the invention the direction of the ropes going to the traction sheave and to the diverting pulley coincides with the direction of the rope grooves on the diverting pulley, so that rope wear is reduced.

In the elevator made by applying the invention, the central suspension of the car and counterweight can be reached without difficulty, thus reducing the supporting forces acting on the guide rails considerably, so that not only lighter elevator and counterweight guides but also lighter guide rails can be used.

The design of the elevator allows the elevator to be suspended without a "rucksack" type suspension, so that the range of elevator applications can be easily extended to high-load, high-speed applications.

The car and the safety gear frame can be designed without the problems that are present when the solutions are used in conventional elevators with machine room, they are both light and simple compared to those used in "rucksack" elevators.

In the elevator of the invention, the supporting forces acting on the guide rails are moderate.

Drawings

The invention is explained in detail below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 presents a diagrammatic illustration of a traction sheave elevator according to the invention; and

fig. 2 is a top view showing the elevator of the invention placed in an elevator shaft;

fig. 3 presents a diagrammatic illustration of another traction sheave elevator according to the invention;

fig. 4a is a side view showing the elevator of the invention placed in a shaft;

fig. 4b presents a top view of the elevator of fig. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section of a lifting device used in the present invention;

fig. 6 is a cross-section of another lifting device for use in the present invention.

Detailed Description

A schematic view of the traction sheave elevator of the invention is presented in fig. 1. The car 1 and the counterweight 2 are suspended on elevator hoisting ropes 3. The hoisting ropes 3 preferably support the car 1 substantially centrally or symmetrically to a vertical line through the centre of gravity of the elevator car 1. Likewise, the suspension of the counterweight 2 is preferably also substantially centered or symmetrical to a vertical line through the center of gravity of the counterweight. In fig. 1, the car 1 is supported by the hoisting ropes 3 via grooved diverting pulleys 4, 5, and the counterweight 2 is supported by a grooved diverting pulley 9. The diverting pulleys 4, 5 preferably revolve in substantially the same plane. The hoisting ropes 3 usually consist of several ropes arranged side by side, generally at least 3. An elevator drive 6 with a traction sheave 7 engaging the hoisting ropes 3 is placed on top of the elevator shaft.

The car 1 and the counterweight 2 move in the elevator shaft along guide rails 10, 11 guiding the elevator and the counterweight. The guide elements of the elevator and counterweight are not shown in the figure.

The hoisting ropes 3 in fig. 1 act as follows: the hoisting ropes 3 are fixed at one end to a fixing point 13 above the path of the counterweight 2 at the top of the shaft. The hoisting ropes go downwards from the fixed point 13 to a diverting pulley 9 rotatably mounted on the counterweight 2. The hoisting ropes 3 pass around the pulley 9 and then up to the traction sheave 7 of the drive unit 6 and pass around the pulley 7 along the rope grooves. The hoisting ropes go from the traction sheave 7 downwards to the car 1, through the diverting pulleys 4, 5 supporting the car 1 on the ropes from below the car and onwards to the fixing point 14 at the top of the elevator shaft, where the other end of the hoisting ropes is fixed. The respective positions of the fixing point 13 at the top of the elevator shaft, the traction sheave 7 and the diverting pulley 9 supporting the counterweight on the rope are preferably mutually aligned so that the part of the hoisting rope between the counterweight 2 and the traction sheave 7 and the part of the hoisting rope between the fixing point 13 and the counterweight 2 move substantially in the direction of the path of the counterweight 2. Another advantageous solution is that the positions of the fixing point 14 at the top of the elevator shaft, the traction sheave 7 and the diverting pulleys 4, 5 supporting the car are adjusted to each other so that the cable section between the fixing point 14 and the car 1 and the cable section between the car 1 and the traction sheave 7 are displaced in a direction substantially parallel to the path of the car 1. In this case no additional diverting pulleys are needed to guide the direction of passage of the hoisting ropes in the elevator shaft. The suspension effect of the car 1 on the hoisting ropes is substantially centred if the hoisting rope pulleys 4 are placed substantially symmetrically to a vertical line through the centre of gravity of the car 1.

The drive 6 located above the path of the counterweight 2 is of a flat construction compared to the width of the counterweight, and the drive 6 comprises possibly required means for supplying the motor with power for driving the traction sheave 7, as well as the necessary elevator control means, both said means 8 being connected to the drive 6 and possibly integrated therewith. All necessary components of the apparatus 6 and associated equipment 8 are placed between the space of the elevator shaft required for the car and/or its overhead extension and a wall of the elevator shaft.

Fig. 2 presents a diagrammatic illustration of the position of the elevator of the invention in the elevator shaft 15. The device 6, and possibly a control panel 8 containing the equipment needed for supplying power to the motor and for controlling the elevator, is fixed to the wall or ceiling of the elevator shaft. The device 6 and control panel 8 may be factory assembled as a unitary structure and then installed in the hoistway. The elevator shaft 15 is provided with landing doors 17 on each floor, and the elevator doors 18 are opened on the side of the car facing the landing doors 17. Since the hoisting ropes are passed under the car 1, the device 6 can be placed at a position below the level of the top of the elevator car 1 when it reaches the apex of its path. For an elevator made according to the solution provided, it is possible to complete the normal maintenance work of the device 6 and the control panel 8 standing on top of the car 1. Fig. 2 is a top view showing how the arrangement of the device 6, the traction sheave 7, the car 1, the counterweight 2 and the guide rails 10, 11 for the car and the counterweight are in cross-section in the elevator shaft. The figure also shows diverting pulleys 4, 5, 9 for suspending the car 1 and the counterweight 2 on the hoisting ropes. The hoisting ropes 3 are represented by their cross-sections in the rope grooves of the pulleys 4, 5, 9 and the traction sheave 7.

A preferred drive is a gearless unit with an electric motor, the rotor and stator of which are mounted in such a way that one is immobile relative to the traction sheave 7 and the other is immobile relative to the frame of the drive.

A schematic view of another traction sheave elevator according to the invention is presented in fig. 3. The car 1 and the counterweight 2 are suspended on elevator hoisting ropes 3. The hoisting ropes 3 preferably support the car 1 substantially centrally or symmetrically to a vertical line through the centre of gravity of the car 1. Also, the suspension of the counterweight 2 is substantially symmetrical to a vertical line through the center of gravity of the counterweight. In fig. 3 the car 1 is supported by hoisting ropes 3 via diverting pulleys 4, 5 with rope grooves, and the counterweight is supported by a grooved diverting pulley 9. The diverting pulleys 4, 5 revolve substantially in the same plane. The hoisting ropes 3 are usually composed of several ropes side by side, typically at least 3. The drive machine 6 of the elevator is placed on top of the elevator shaft and is provided with a traction sheave 7 acting on the hoisting ropes 3.

The car 1 and the counterweight 2 move in the elevator shaft along elevator and counterweight guide rails 10, 11, which guide them and are located on the same side of the shaft relative to the car, by the guide rails 10, 11. The elevator car is suspended on the guide rails in a manner called "rucksack" suspension, which means that the elevator car 1 and its supporting structure are almost entirely located on the same side of the plane between the guide rails 10 of the elevator. The elevator guide rails 10 and the counterweight guide rails 11 can be made as an integrated guide rail assembly 12, 12 with guide surfaces for guiding the elevator car 1 and the counterweight 2. Such a rail assembly is quicker to install than separate rails. The guide elements of the elevator and counterweight are not shown in the figure.

The action of the hoisting ropes 3 in fig. 3 is as follows: the hoisting ropes are fixed at one end to a fixing point 13 above the path of the counterweight at the top of the shaft. The hoisting ropes go downwards from the fixing point 13 to a diverting pulley 9 which is pivotally fixed to the counterweight 2. After passing around diverting pulley 9 the hoisting ropes 3 go further upwards to the traction sheave 7 of the drive unit 6, passing around this sheave along the rope grooves. The hoisting ropes go from the traction sheave 7 downwards to the car 1, passing below the elevator car via diverting pulleys 4, 5 supporting the car 1 on the ropes, and continuing upwards to a fixing point 14 at the top of the elevator shaft, to which fixing point 14 the other end of the hoisting ropes is fixed. The respective positions of the hoisting rope fixing point 13, the traction sheave 7 and the diverting pulley 9 supporting the counterweight on the rope are preferably mutually adjusted so that the hoisting rope portion between the counterweight 2 and the traction sheave 7 and the hoisting rope portion between the fixing point 13 and the counterweight 2 move substantially in the direction of the path of the counterweight 2. Another advantageous solution is that the fixing point 14 at the top of the elevator shaft, the traction sheave 7 and the diverting pulleys 4, 5 supporting the car are arranged relative to each other such that the rope portion from the fixing point 14 to the car 1 and the rope portion from the car 1 to the traction sheave 7 both move substantially in a direction parallel to the path of the car 1. When in use, no additional pulley is needed to guide the passing direction of the lifting rope in the lifting shaft. The suspension effect of the car 1 will be substantially centred if the pulleys 4, 5 are placed symmetrically to the vertical centre line of the car 1. The suspension of the hoisting ropes diagonally around the bottom of the car is advantageous for elevator lay-out, because the vertical sections of the hoisting ropes are close to the car corners and thus do not represent an obstacle, as the elevator door can be placed on either side of the car.

The drive means 6 arranged above the path of the counterweight 2 have a flat structure compared to the width of the counterweight, the thickness of which, including the possibly required equipment for supplying power to the motor driving the traction sheave 7 and the necessary elevator control equipment, is preferably at most equal to the thickness of the counterweight, both said equipment 8 being connected to the drive means 6, possibly integrally with the means 6. All essential parts of the drive 6 with the associated equipment 8 are located in the shaft space above the shaft space required for the counterweight 2 and the safety distance. It is possible that only some of the non-essential parts of the invention, such as lugs (not shown) for fixing the drive to the ceiling of the elevator shaft or other structures on the top of the shaft, or brake handles, go out of this range. Elevator codes typically require a safety distance of 25mm from the moving parts, but larger safety distances may be used due to certain country-specific elevator codes or other reasons.

Fig. 4a presents a side view of the position of the elevator of the invention in the elevator shaft 15. The car 1 and counterweight 2 are suspended from guide rail assemblies 12 and hoisting ropes 3 (here shown in dashed lines) in the manner shown in fig. 3. Near the top of the elevator shaft 15 is a fixed beam 16 to which is fixed a control panel 8 containing equipment needed for the supply of power to the motor and for controlling the elevator. The drive 6 and the control panel 8 can be fixed to the fixed beam 16 at the factory or the fixed beam can be made part of the drive frame structure and thus be a "ledge" for fixing the drive 6 to the wall or ceiling of the shaft 15. The fixed beam 16 also has a fixing point 13 for fixing at least one end of the hoisting ropes 3. The other end of the hoist rope is often secured to a fixed point 14 somewhere beyond the fixed beam 16. The shaft 15 is provided with an access door 17 on each floor and the car 1 is provided with an elevator door 18 on the side facing the access door 17. At the highest level there is a service manhole 19, which leads through the shaft space, and which is located so that service personnel can access the control panel 8 and the device 6 through the manhole from the floor or at least from a working platform at a certain height above the floor. The service manhole 19 is positioned and sized so that emergency operations prescribed by elevator codes can be easily performed through the manhole by service personnel. Standing on top of the car 1 can complete normal maintenance work on the device 6 and the control panel 8. Fig. 4b is a top view of the elevator of fig. 3, showing the position of the guide rail assembly 12, the counterweight 2 and the car 1 on the cross-section of the elevator shaft 15. The figure also shows diverting pulleys 4, 5, 9 for suspending the car 1 and the counterweight 2 on the hoisting ropes. In fig. 4b the guide rail lines 10, 11 of the car and the counterweight are located essentially in the same plane between the car and the counterweight, and the rail ridge is arranged in the direction of this plane.

A preferred drive is a gearless drive, in which the rotor and stator of the motor are mounted in such a way that one is immobile relative to the traction sheave 7 and the other is immobile relative to the frame of the drive 6. The main components of the motor are usually better inside the traction sheave rim. The function of the brake of the elevator is applied to the traction sheave. At this time, the brake and the motor are of an integral structure. In practical application, the solution of the invention for the drive device is that the maximum thickness is 20cm for small elevators and 30-40 cm or more for large elevators with large hoisting capacity. The lifting device 6 used in the invention, together with the motor, can have a very flat structure. For example, in an elevator with a load of 800kg, the rotor of the motor according to the invention has a diameter of 800mm and the minimum thickness of the entire hoisting device is only about 160 mm. Therefore, the lifting device of the present invention can be easily accommodated in a space corresponding to the range of the path of the counterweight. The large diameter of the motor involves the advantage that no gear system is necessary.

Fig. 5 shows a cross section of the hoisting device 6, showing a top view of the elevator motor 126. The motor 126 consists of a part commonly called an end shield and a part 111 supporting the stator and at the same time acting as a side plate of the lifting device. This configuration of the motor 126 is suitable for the driving device 6. Thus, the side plates 111 form a frame portion, transferring the motor load and at the same time the drive unit load. The drive unit has two support members or side plates 111 and 112 which are connected by a spindle 113. The stator is connected to side plates 111, on which stator windings 115 are provided. Alternatively, the side plates 111 and the stator may be formed as an integral single structure. The rotor 117 is mounted to the spindle 113 by a bearing 116. Five rope grooves 119 are provided in the traction sheave 7 on the outer surface of the rotor 117. Each of the five hoisting ropes 102 passes around the traction sheave 7 approximately once. The traction sheave 7 can be a separate cylinder fitted over the rotor 117 or the rope grooves of the traction sheave 7 can also be made directly on the outer surface of the rotor, as shown in fig. 5. Rotor windings 120 are located on the inner surface of the rotor. Between the stator 114 and the rotor 117 are arranged brakes 121, 121 consisting of brake plates 122, 123 connected to the stator and a brake disc 124 rotating with the rotor. The spindle 113 is fixedly connected to the stator, but the spindle 113 may alternatively be fixedly connected to the rotor, in which case bearings should be installed between the rotor 117 and the side plate 111, or both side plates 111, 112. The side plates 112 provide additional reinforcement and added stiffness to the motor/lift assembly. The horizontal spindle 113 is fixed at both ends to the two side plates 111 and 112. The two side plates together with the connecting member 125 form a box-shaped structure.

Fig. 6 shows a cross-section of another lifting device 6 according to the invention. The device 6 and motor 326 are shown in side view. The device 6 and motor 326 are of unitary construction. The motor 326 is located substantially inside the device 6. The motor stator 314 and the spindle 313 are connected to the apparatus side plates 311 and 312. Therefore, the apparatus side plates 311 and 312 also serve as end covers of the motors and transmit the motor and the apparatus load as frame members.

The support 325 is fixed between the side plates 311 and 312 and also serves as an additional reinforcing plate of the driving device.

The rotor 317 is rotatably mounted on the spindle 313 by a bearing 316. The rotor 317 is disk-shaped and is located substantially midway along the spindle 313 in the axial direction. On both sides of the rotor between the rotor windings and the spindle, two annular halves 318a and 318b are provided with a traction sheave 318, which have the same diameter. With the same number of hoisting ropes 302 on each half of the traction sheave.

The traction sheave diameter is smaller than the diameter of the stator or rotor. Since the traction sheave is connected to the rotor, there can be traction sheaves of different diameters for the same rotor diameter. This variant has the same advantages as the use of a gear system, which is another advantage achieved by the invention using such a motor. The traction sheave is fixed to the rotor disc in a well-known manner, such as by screws. Of course, the two halves of the traction sheave 318 can alternatively be combined with the rotor to form a single whole.

Each of the four hoisting ropes 102 passes around the traction sheave along a respective rope groove. For the sake of clarity the hoisting ropes are only shown in their section over the traction sheave.

The stator 314 forms together with the stator winding 315 a U-sector or segment sector, like a clamping arm on the outer edge of the rotor, with the open side facing the lifting cables. The maximum sector width possible in the construction depends on the relation between the inner diameter of the stator 314 and the diameter of the traction sheave 318. In a practical solution, a good relationship between these diameter values is to have a diameter angle of the circumference of the sector body not exceeding 240 °. However, if the hoisting ropes 302 are close to a vertical line through the apparatus spindle 313, because the apparatus is equipped with diverting pulleys, the radius angle of the circumference of the sector can be conveniently used to 240-300 deg., depending on the position of the diverting pulley under the motor. At the same time, the contact angle of the hoisting rope on the traction sheave is increased, improving the frictional engagement of the traction sheave. Two air gaps are provided between the stator 314 and the rotor 317, which are substantially perpendicular to the motor spindle 313.

The hoisting device can also be provided with brakes if necessary, for example in the position inside the traction sheave between the side plates 311,312 and the rotor 317.

It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that different embodiments of the invention are not limited to the examples described above, but that they may be varied within the scope of the claims presented below. For example, the number of times the hoisting ropes pass between the top of the elevator shaft and the counterweight or car is not decisive for the underlying advantages of the invention, although multiple hoisting ropes may have other advantages. A general application design should be such that the number of times the hoisting ropes go to the car is at most equal to the number of times they go to the counterweight. Also, it is obvious that the hoisting ropes do not necessarily have to be passed under the car.

In a suspension system in which the counterweight path is shorter than the car path, the drive unit is located above the counterweight so that the required shaft length is slightly shorter than in a suspension system in which the counterweight path and the car path are equal in length. Also, it is obvious that the hoisting ropes do not necessarily have to be passed under the car.

Again, it is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the larger device sizes required for designing elevators with larger loads can be achieved by increasing the motor diameter without substantially increasing the thickness of the device.

It is also obvious that the car, the counterweight and the drive can be arranged in the elevator shaft section in a different way than in the above example. Another possible arrangement is that the device and counterweight are behind the car, seen from the shaft door, and the hoisting ropes are passed under the car in a diagonal direction with respect to the bottom of the car. Depending on the shape of the car floor, passing the hoisting ropes under the car in a relatively angular or 45 ° direction is an advantageous solution, but it can also be used in other types of suspension arrangements to ensure that the car is suspended on the hoisting ropes symmetrically with respect to the centre of gravity of the elevator.

It is further obvious to the person skilled in the art that the equipment needed for supplying the motor with power and the equipment needed for controlling the elevator can be located elsewhere than in connection with the drive, e.g. in a separate control panel. It is also obvious that the elevator of the invention can be installed in a different way than in the example described above. For example, instead of using automatic doors, rotary doors may be used.

Claims (11)

1. Traction sheave elevator, comprising a car (1) moving along elevator guide rails (10), a counterweight (2) moving along counterweight guide rails (11), a set of hoisting ropes (3) suspending the elevator car and the counterweight, and a drive unit (6), which unit (6) comprises a traction sheave driven by the drive unit and engaging the hoisting ropes (3), wherein the elevator drive unit is located at the top of the elevator shaft, in the space between the shaft space required for the path of the car and its overhead extension and a wall of the elevator shaft (15),

the method is characterized in that: the diameter of the traction sheave (318) is smaller than the diameter of the stator or rotor (317) of the motor in the drive.

2. Traction sheave elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in that: the elevator motor has at least one air gap extending between the stator and the rotor and perpendicular to the motor axis (313).

3. Traction sheave elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in that: the rotor (117, 317) of the elevator motor is designed in a disc shape.

4. Traction sheave elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in that: the drive means (6) has a flat configuration with respect to its width.

5. Traction sheave elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in that: the drive (6) is gearless and its thickness does not exceed the thickness of the counterweight (2).

6. Traction sheave elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in that: the plane of rotation of the traction sheave (7) included in the drive unit (6) is parallel to the plane between the counterweight guide rails (11).

7. Traction sheave elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in that: the axis of rotation of a traction sheave (7) included in the drive unit (6) extends between the shaft wall and the path of movement of the car.

8. Traction sheave elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in that: when the cage (1) is at the top of its path, the top of the cage reaches at least the height of the bottom side of the drive unit (6).

9. Traction sheave elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in that: the drive (6) is located completely within the shaft space extension on its path required by the counterweight (2) including the safety distance.

10. Traction sheave elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in that: the hoisting ropes (3) pass under the floor of the car (1) passing over two diverting pulleys (4, 5) via a point directly below the centre of gravity of the car.

11. An elevator drive, suitable for being disposed in an elevator shaft, comprising a motor and a traction sheave to which the hoisting ropes (3) are coupled, characterized in that the motor has a disc-shaped stator or rotor (317), and the diameter of the traction sheave (318) is smaller than the diameter of the stator or rotor (317).