Brushing – scrubbing – and general cleaning – Attachments – Moving surface scraper – wiper – or brush
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-06
2002-10-29
Spisich, Mark (Department: 1744)
Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning
Attachments
Moving surface scraper, wiper, or brush
C187S414000, C184S015100, C474S092000, C198S496000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06470528
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to devices for cleaning wire cables and more particularly to a wire brush cleaning assembly with an adjustable frame.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The conventional manner in which elevators are operated is by the hoisting and lowering of the elevator car by wire cables. The wire cables are constructed of individual strands of wire that are twisted to form the cables. Typically, five to six such cables are required for each elevator car installation, depending on the load rating of the elevator and length of the elevator's run.
FIG. 1
is a simplified illustration of a single elevator installation
10
. The cables
100
extend from the elevator car
110
, over the hoist machine
130
and offset wheel
120
to the counterweight
140
. The offset wheel
120
is required to offset the elevator car
110
from the counterweight
140
such that each will not interfere with the travel of the other. The hoist machine
130
is typically installed on the top or intermediate floor
150
of the building and is supported by legs
135
.
As seen
FIG. 1
, at least one side of the cables separate from the hoist machine
130
substantially perpendicular to the floor
150
, while the other side of the cables separate from the machine
130
at an oblique angle. This angle is caused by the above described offset required between the counterweight
140
and the car
110
. From the machine
130
, the cables
100
pass through two holes
160
,
170
in the floor
150
to reach the car
110
and the weight
140
respectively.
The cables
100
require lubrication in order to operate properly. In the course of operation, the cables
100
become caked with contaminants that adhere to the lubricant and to the cables
100
themselves. The contaminants consist essentially of dirt and dust. For safety reasons, the cables
100
must be by periodically cleaned to remove the contaminants. Cables have usually been cleaned by hand using rags, lubricant and a wire brush. Often, cleaning was performed while the cables were in operation since halting use of the elevator for manual cleaning of cables could take the elevator out of service for several hours. As the cables typically travel at 1,400 feet/minute, manual cleaning is an inherently dangerous operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,882 (the '882 patent) discloses an apparatus for mechanically holding a pair of brushes on either side of the cables
100
(in
FIG. 1
hereof). As seen in
FIG. 2
, the apparatus of the '882 patent includes a U shaped holder
180
that is bolted directly to the floor in the area of the holes through which the elevator cables pass. This U shaped holder
180
suffers from two significant disadvantages. First, there is no means by which the holder
180
can compensate for the above described angled orientation of the cables
100
on one side of the machine
130
(see FIG.
1
). Accordingly, only the top row or top few rows of the bristles of the wire brush actually contact the cables to effect the cleaning. Secondly, most new configurations of machines
130
, as illustrated in
FIG. 1
, are supported by legs
135
. These legs
135
allow the machine
130
to be positioned such that the hole
160
is essentially under the machine
130
and only the front side of the cables
100
are accessible. As a result, the U shaped holder
180
of the '882 patent cannot even be installed because one or the other legs of the U shaped frame
180
interferes with the machine
130
itself.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning apparatus that can adjust both for an angled orientation of cables and for tight installation configurations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a cleaning apparatus used for cleaning and maintaining elevator cables. The actual cleaning function is performed by wire brushes. Each brush is securely mounted to its own brush frame member. The brush frame members are adjustably connected to mounting members. The mounting members include first and second transverse mounting members that are adjustably connected in a transverse manner to the brush frame members. The mounting members are in turn adjustably connected to the legs or frame of the hoist machine of the elevator and not to the floor beneath the legs or frame. The brush frame members and the transverse mounting members are configured such that the bristles of the brushes contact the cables in order to perform the cleaning operation.
In a first embodiment of the present invention, two brush frame members are attached to the transverse mounting members in an opposing manner such that the bristles of each of the brushes face the bristles of the opposing brush. In this embodiment, both sides of the elevator cables can be cleaned using the two brushes. In an alternative embodiment, only a single brush is used to clean only a single side of the cables. In this embodiment, only a single brush frame member is employed to mount the single brush on the transverse mounting members. In a second alternative embodiment, legs are adjustably attached to the ends of the transverse mounting members farthest away from the hoist machine. The attachment of the legs to the transverse mounting members can be adjusted to match the angle of the face(s) of the brush(es) to the angle of the cables. This second alternative embodiment can be used with either the single or dual brush embodiments described above.
REFERENCES:
patent: 317603 (1885-05-01), Wilson et al.
patent: 556733 (1896-03-01), Byrne
patent: 575520 (1897-01-01), Grupelli
patent: 584238 (1897-06-01), Reagan
patent: 936297 (1909-10-01), Bowen
patent: 1704750 (1929-03-01), Lunn
patent: 3434273 (1969-03-01), Lovell
patent: 5036563 (1991-08-01), Liebing
patent: 5386882 (1995-02-01), Friend
patent: 5784752 (1998-07-01), Barrett et al.
patent: 15345 (1881-10-01), None
patent: 5907 (1891-09-01), None
patent: 24334 (1897-10-01), None
patent: 435967 (1948-05-01), None
patent: 4-169493 (1992-06-01), None
Ostrolenk Faber Gerb & Soffen, LLP
Spisich Mark
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