Elevator – industrial lift truck – or stationary lift for vehicle – Having specific load support drive-means or its control – Includes linking support cable in drive-means
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-04
2004-08-17
Salata, Jonathan (Department: 2837)
Elevator, industrial lift truck, or stationary lift for vehicle
Having specific load support drive-means or its control
Includes linking support cable in drive-means
C187S288000, C187S255000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06776263
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to an elevator system for the vertical transport of loads in an aircraft, particularly for the transport of trolleys between the different decks of an airplane.
Elevator systems in aircraft are subject to special requirements with respect to stability, reliability of operation and load retention because of special dynamic stresses during flight (different force effects at take-off and landing or during turbulence). For this reason, certain known elevator principles, e.g., drive sheave with hoist rope and load counterweights, and rope drum wind-up, are ruled out from the outset.
As regards gravitational force and acceleration forces, independent drives are known in different constructions. Among these latter are, for example, hydraulic drives in which the elevator cabin is moved vertically above a hydraulic cylinder comprising multiple members. The heavy weight and substantial space requirement below the elevator cabin are disadvantageous and unacceptable for aircraft.
Further, rack-and-pinion drives have been used as elevator drives. In this type of drive, it is disadvantageous that the drive motor travels along with the cabin as an additional load and that an upward movement and downward movement which is free from play requires extensive adjustment and maintenance.
Spindle drives have been most successful in aircraft because the elevator drive which is free from play can be constructed in a substantially improved manner. In this drive, a vertically arranged spindle is driven in a column, this spindle providing for the upward movement and downward movement and vertical fixing of the cabin by means of a spindle nut communicating with the elevator cabin. The column itself has suitable open strand sections at which the cabin is guided. However, there remain the disadvantages of high maintenance due to lubrication, a relatively substantial noise level and relatively heavy weight of the load-carrying spindle and its bearing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention teaches a novel possibility for the arrangement of an elevator system for the vertical transport of loads in an aircraft which permits low-noise, reliably operating conveying between different levels of the aircraft and reliable stopping in the loading and unloading positions and which is characterized by low maintenance and low weight. Elevator system for the vertical transport of loads in an aircraft containing an elevator cabin (
2
), and a mast (
1
) for carrying and guiding the elevator cabin (
2
) between different horizontal levels, wherein the elevator cabin is moved and locked in a defined manner by a drive system arranged at the mast, characterized in that the mast (
1
) has a load-bearing, slender construction of hollow sections (
11
) and guide rails (
13
) and a lower mast fastening and upper mast fastening such that the lower mast fastening (
15
) is mounted so as to move in pendulum fashion around a vertical axis of the aircraft (
5
) for deliberately transferring all weight forces of the mast (
1
) to a supporting structure (
51
) of the aircraft (
5
), and for receiving all horizontal forces the upper mast fastening (
16
) connects the mast (
1
) in longitudinal and transverse axis of the aircraft (
5
) to a supporting structure (
52
) of the aircraft (
5
) located higher such that the mast (
1
) does not offer any resistance to the movements of the higher supporting structure (
52
) relative to the lower mast fastening (
15
), in that a drive system (
4
) with a drive motor (
41
) having a high torque and good controllability has at least one closed belt (
46
) for transferring the torque from the drive motor to the elevator cabin and for transferring load from the elevator cabin (
2
) to the mast (
1
), wherein the belt (
46
) is guided and pretensioned in a defined manner at the lower end and upper end of the mast (
1
) via a drive roll and a deflection roll (
44
;
45
) and has a toothing adapted to the drive roll and deflection roll (
44
,
45
) and, between the drive roll and deflection roll (
44
;
45
), at least one freely accessible belt portion oriented parallel to the mast (
1
) for fastening the elevator cabin (
2
) and its movement along the mast (
1
).
In an elevator system for the vertical transport of loads in an aircraft containing an elevator cabin and a mast for load carrying and for guiding the elevator cabin between different horizontal levels, the above-stated object is met, according to the invention, in that the mast (
1
) has a load-bearing, slender construction of hollow sections (
11
) and guide rails (
13
) and has a lower mast fastening and upper mast fastening such that the lower mast fastening (
15
) is mounted so as to move in pendulum fashion around a vertical axis of the aircraft (
5
) for deliberately transferring all weight forces of the mast (
1
) to a carrying base structure (
51
) of the aircraft (
5
), and for receiving all horizontal forces the upper mast fastening (
16
) connects the mast (
1
) in longitudinal and transverse axis of the aircraft (
5
) to a supporting structure (
52
) of the aircraft (
5
) located higher such that the mast (
1
) does not offer any resistance to the movements of the higher supporting structure (
52
) relative to the lower mast fastening (
15
), and in that the drive system has a drive motor (
41
) having a high torque and good controllability and at least one closed belt for transferring the torque to the elevator cabin and for transferring load from the elevator cabin to the mast, wherein the belt is guided and pretensioned in a defined manner at the lower end and upper end of the mast via a drive roll and a deflection roll (
44
;
45
), a toothing adapted to the drive roll and deflection roll (
44
,
45
) and, between the drive roll and deflection roll, at least one freely accessible belt portion oriented parallel to the mast for fastening the elevator cabin and its movement along the mast.
The toothing of the belt and drive roll and deflection roll advantageously has an additional lateral guide in order to prevent the belt from wandering out of the running surface of the driving and deflection rolls. The belt and the driving and deflection rolls preferably have a spiral toothing or spur toothing with a circulating splined guide.
The belt is advisably formed of a base material of ductile plastic and longitudinally oriented strand inlays. The base material of the belt preferably comprises polyurethane in which steel wires or carbon fibers (carbon strands) are inserted.
The toothing of the belt advantageously has a more wear-resistant layer, preferably polyamide, over the base material at the tooth flanks in order to reduce belt wear.
In order to increase reliability and safety, it has proven advantageous when a plurality of belts are provided as load carrying means for the elevator cabin, wherein the deflection rolls of the belts which are guided next to one another are arranged on a separate shaft at the upper end of the mast and the drive rolls are arranged on a common drive shaft at the lower end of the mast.
A belt monitoring device for monitoring belt tension and detecting belt damage is advisably provided at the upper end of the mast, wherein tearing or a loss in width during load transport causes the drive motor to be shut off and the belt pretensioning can be checked and adjusted during idling.
Vertical oscillations of the elevator cabin are extensively suppressed in that a tensioning device is advantageously provided for the belts and is arranged in an area of the freely accessible belt portion that is concealed by the elevator cabin, so that the belt can be readjusted by applying defined pretensioning.
To simplify the control of the elevator cabin and motor, the drive motor advisably has a measuring device for detecting rotor positions, so that the position of the elevator cabin can be correlated to the rotor position of the drive motor by means of this measuring device via the toothing of the belts. The position of the elevator cabin relative to the floor of a respec
Gottlieb Stephan
Schmidt Joachim
Schreger Adolf
ESW-Extel Systems Wedel Gesellschaft fuer Austruestung mbH
Reed Smith LLP
Salata Jonathan
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