Elevator – industrial lift truck – or stationary lift for vehicle – With barrier for regulating access to load support – Includes motor or motor driven linkage for shifting barrier
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-14
2001-12-11
Ellis, Christopher P. (Department: 3652)
Elevator, industrial lift truck, or stationary lift for vehicle
With barrier for regulating access to load support
Includes motor or motor driven linkage for shifting barrier
C187S315000, C187S330000, C049S120000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328133
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical field
The present invention relates to an elevator door with an improved clutch device, and more particularly to a clutch system of an elevator door suitable for increasing clutch speed and decreasing clutch distance of a car door and a hatch door.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As the buildings are higher, there is need to provide an elevator, which may carry passengers to a destined floor faster. Faster movement of the elevator requires increasing vertical speed of the elevator as well as shortening time to open or close an elevator door.
Among those, the present invention deals with a technique of reducing time to open or close elevator doors with ensuring stable operation of the elevator doors.
The elevator door generally includes a car door installed to an elevator car and a hatch door installed to entrance of the elevator car in each floor. The car door may open with use of a driving unit mounted on the elevator car, while the hatch door moves along with the car door with use of a clutch system. In order to move the hatch door along with the car door, the clutch system performs a series of clutch operation, which will be explained in detail below.
Opening speed of the car door until completing the clutch operation of the car door and the hatch door (hereinafter, referred to “clutch speed”) is important to door opening time. As the clutch speed is slower, time to open or close the elevator door increases, which makes it inefficient to carry passengers fast. Therefore, increase of the clutch speed of the car door and the hatch door helps to reduce the time to open or close the doors.
FIG.
1
and
FIG. 2
are horizontal section view and vertical section view respectively showing schematic configuration of a conventional elevator. As shown in the figures, the elevator car
2
carries passengers with moving vertically in hoist way
1
by a separate driving unit. The car door
10
is installed at entrance of the elevator car
2
to open and close laterally. The hatch door
20
is positioned at each floor of a building, which the elevator serves, in order to allow passengers to enter the elevator car
2
. The elevator door is a common name for designating both the car door
10
and the hatch door
20
.
Unexplained reference
3
is for a counter weight.
FIG. 3
is a front view showing the elevator door according to the prior art, viewed at a car door side. Referring to the figure, a door motor
4
is mounted on the elevator car
2
for providing power to open or close the car door
10
. At one side of the door motor
4
, first and second reduction pulleys
5
a
,
5
b
are sequentially installed to reduce rotating speed of the door motor
4
. The second reducing pulley
5
b
is combined with one end of a moving link
6
such that the moving link
6
may move in linkage with rotation of the second reduction pulley
5
b
. The other end of the moving link
6
is rotatably combined with one end of a main link
7
, which is also rotatably combined with the elevator car
2
. The other end of the main link
7
is rotatably combined with a cam link
13
, which is positioned at a left door panel
10
a
. Viewed from the figure, a pair of clutch plates
11
,
12
are installed at the left door panel
10
a
, a fixed clutch plate
11
of which the cam link
13
is rotatably combined with. A car frame
31
is mounted upon the elevator car
2
for supporting the elevator car
2
. The main link
7
is fixed to the car frame
31
with a rotating joint
7
a
at its mediate portion to possibly rotate on center of the rotating joint
7
a
. A connecting link
8
is combined with an upper mediate portion of the main link
7
. The other end of the connecting link
8
is rotatably connected to a certain position of a sub-link
9
at a right door panel
10
b
. One end of the sub-link
9
is rotatably fixed to the car frame
31
with a rotating joint
9
a
, while the other end is also rotatably combined with one end of a cam link
16
. Viewed from the figure, a pair of clutch plates
14
,
15
is installed to the right door panel
10
b
, a fixed clutch plate
14
of which the cam link
16
is rotatably combined with.
A pair of clutch plates
11
,
12
or
14
,
15
at the left or right door panel
10
a
or
10
b
includes the fixed clutch plate
11
or
14
and a movable clutch plate
12
or
15
. The fixed clutch plate
11
or
14
is fixed to each door panel
10
a
,
10
b
, and the cam link
13
or
16
is rotatably combined with the fixed clutch plate
11
,
14
as described above. The movable clutch plate
12
,
15
is combined with the fixed clutch plate
11
,
14
with a hinge
17
a
or
17
b
, which is well shown in FIG.
5
and FIG.
7
.
Referring to FIG.
4
and
FIG. 5
, a pair of clutch rollers
21
,
22
or
23
,
24
is installed to each door panel
20
a
,
20
b
of the hatch door
20
. The clutch rollers
21
,
22
or
23
,
24
include a fixed clutch roller
21
or
23
and a rotating clutch roller
22
or
24
. The pair of clutch plates
11
,
12
or
14
,
15
are installed to have certain clearance therebetween, such that the clutch rollers
21
,
22
or
23
,
24
may pass through the clearance when the elevator car is moving. However, when the elevator car
2
arrives at a destined floor, the clutch rollers
21
,
22
or
23
,
24
are interposed between and becomes contacted with the pair of clutch plates
11
,
12
or
14
,
15
for the purpose of opening or closing the hatch door
20
along with the car door
10
.
FIG.
6
and
FIG. 7
are front and horizontal section views respectively showing the clutch system of the conventional elevator door. Referring to the figures, one end of the cam link
13
or
16
is rotatably combined with the main or sub-link
7
or
9
with a rotating joint J, while a roller
13
a
or
16
a
is mounted to the other end to freely rotate. A rugged cam
12
a
or
15
a
is formed on a side of the movable clutch plate
12
or
15
such that the roller
13
a
,
16
a
of the cam link
13
,
16
may roll in contact with the rugged cam
12
a
,
15
a
. On the rugged cam
12
a
,
15
a
, a plurality of curved portions are formed in succession such that angular displacement of the movable clutch plate
12
,
15
may be determined according to the height of the curved portions.
The fixed clutch plate
11
,
14
and the movable clutch plate
12
,
15
of the car door
10
and the fixed clutch roller
21
,
23
and the rotating clutch roller
22
,
24
of the hatch door
20
are installed to the left and right door panels
10
a
,
10
b
and
20
a
,
20
b
in mirror image.
The elevator door with the conventional clutch device as constructed above operates as follows.
At first when the elevator car
2
arrives at a destined floor, a door opening command is generated. The door motor
4
then starts to rotate clockwise according to the door opening command. Rotation of the door motor
4
is reduced through the first and second reduction pulley
5
a
,
5
b
and then moves the moving link
6
. If the moving link
6
moves in linkage with the second reduction pulley
5
b
, one end of the main link
7
connected to the moving link
6
angularly moves clockwise. At this time, because the main link
7
is constructed to rotate on center of the rotating joint
7
a
at the mediate portion thereof, the other end of the main link
7
also rotates clockwise. When the other end of the main link
7
rotates clockwise, the cam link
13
of the left door panel
10
a
angularly moves counterclockwise, which makes the left door panel
10
a
opened left. On the other hand, clockwise rotation of the main link
7
is linked with the connecting link
8
, one end of which is combined at an upper mediate portion of the main link
7
, and then linked with the sub-link
9
combined with the other end of the connecting link
8
. However, while the main link
7
rotates clockwise, the sub-link
9
, one end of which is rotatably fixed to the car frame
31
with the rotating joint
9
a
, rotates counterclockwise. If the sub-link
9
rotates counterclockwise
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Ellis Christopher P.
LG Otis Elevator Company
Tran Thuy V.
LandOfFree
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