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
2001-03-26
2002-12-10
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3652)
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
C187S256000, C187S411000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06491136
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a traction type of elevator apparatus having a driving mechanism disposed in an elevator path (or hoistway) of the apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, especially in urban areas, it has been required to make the effective use of buildings per se. For example, for even an elevator's machine room standing on the housetop etc., the right to sunlight, the appearance of beauty, or the like have been taken into consideration.
Under such a situation, hitherto, there have been developed a variety of attempts to accommodate a control unit in the elevator path without establishing the elevator's machine room in order to provide a compact elevator apparatus. For example, Japanese Patent No. 2593288 discloses a traction sheave elevator, as shown in FIG.
1
. In the figure, a flattened driving mechanism
2
having a traction sheave
1
is disposed between a side wall
3
a
in an elevator path
3
and a space defined by projected planes of an elevator car
4
in the upward and downward directions. A hoisting (suspension) rope
7
is wound about a sheave
5
a
beneath the car
4
and a sheave
5
b
above a balance weight
6
, while both ends of the hoisting rope
7
are fixed on a top wall
3
b
defining the elevator path
3
. Note, according to the arrangement shown in
FIG. 1
, a pit
3
c
in the elevator path
3
is positioned under a level
3
d
of the first floor (
1
F).
The elevator of
FIG. 1
does adopt a structure where the car
4
is driven like a movable pulley while winding the suspension rope
7
about the sheave
5
a
under the car
4
. Owing to this arrangement, it is possible to reduce the capacity of a motor of the driving mechanism relatively and minimize a space occupied by the driving mechanism, together with the effective use of the space above the car
4
.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (kokai) No. 9-156855 discloses another elevator apparatus shown in FIG.
2
. In the apparatus, the flattened driving mechanism
2
is arranged in the upper space of the balance weight
6
and adapted so as to suspend the car
4
through turning sheaves
8
a
,
8
b
and
8
c.
In this way, since the driving mechanism
2
having the traction sheave
1
is disposed between a side wall
3
a
in an elevator path
3
and a space defined by projected planes of an elevator car
4
in the upward and downward directions, the arrangement allows to minimize a space that the whole apparatus does occupy without providing the machine room on the roof, so that the elevator apparatus can be provided while exhibiting high efficiency in utilizing the space.
In the former elevator apparatus, however, since the velocity of the moving rope is twice as much as that of the elevator car due to the adoption of “moving-pulley” driving system in accordance with the roping ratio of 2:1, various problems would be raised in case of the requirement for a high-speed elevator. In addition, as the driving mechanism is accommodated in the space between the projected planes of the elevator car and the inner wall of the elevator path, a problem still remains in terms of the requirements for the mechanism having a large capacity.
While, in the latter elevator apparatus, the velocity of the suspending rope is equal to that of the elevator car owing to the provision of the turning sheaves. Nevertheless, there is remained a problem in terms of effective use of space in the elevator path because the apparatus requires a space for accommodating the turning sheaves on the upper side of the elevator path.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an elevator apparatus which is equipped with no machine room, so that it is possible to restrict the height of an elevator path from increasing and also drive an elevator car at high speed.
The object of the present invention described above can be accomplished by an elevator apparatus comprising:
a pair of elevator guide rails disposed in an elevator path;
an elevator car for rising and falling along the elevator guide rails in the elevator path;
weight guide rails disposed in an elevator path;
at least one balance weight for rising and falling along the weight guide rails in the elevator path;
at least one suspension rope having one end fixed to the elevator car and another end fixed to the balance weight; and
at least one driving unit for driving a traction sheave about which the suspension rope is wound;
wherein the driving unit is positioned between an inner wall of the elevator path and a space occupied by the elevator car rising and falling in the elevator path and the driving unit is constructed so as to become thin; and
wherein the end of the suspension rope is fixed to the elevator car in a position below a ceiling of the elevator car.
According to the elevator apparatus constructed above, the drive of the elevator car at the same speed as the suspension rope can be realized owing to the achievement of roping ratio of 1:1. In addition, with the arrangement where the elevator car is connected with the suspension rope in a position below the ceiling of the elevator car and there is provided no turning sheave etc. in a space above the elevator car, the upper area of the elevator path can be effectively utilized thereby to provide a high-speed and compact elevator apparatus.
In the present invention, preferably, the driving unit comprises a plurality of driving mechanisms each having a traction sheave and the suspension rope is wound about each traction sheave of the driving mechanisms and finally fixed to the elevator car and the balance weight.
In the present invention, more preferably, the driving mechanisms are arranged up and down in the elevator path, while the suspension rope is wound round the traction sheave associated with the upper driving mechanism with a plurality of turns.
Alternatively, it is also preferable that the driving mechanisms are arranged left and right in the elevator path, so that respective planes of the traction sheaves associated with the left and upper driving mechanism coincide with each other substantially.
In common with the above-mentioned preferable arrangements, since the driving unit is constituted by the plural driving mechanisms, it is possible to realize to provide the elevator apparatus with high-speed operation and large transportation capacity.
In the present invention, it is preferable that one of the elevator guide rails, which is disposed on the side of the driving unit, has a H-shaped cross section and is arranged so that parallel side portions constituting the H-shaped cross section are opposite to a side wall of the elevator and that the elevator car is provided with two pairs of rollers for guiding the elevator car, each pair of rollers interposing one of the parallel side portions between the rollers on left and right sides of the parallel side portion.
In this case, owing to the configuration of the specified elevator guide rail, the elevator apparatus is provided with great rigidity, so that it can travel more stably.
In the above-mentioned arrangement, it is more preferable that the elevator apparatus further comprises a L-shaped frame for mounting and carrying the elevator car thereon, the frame consisting of a vertical beam and a horizontal beam and that the horizontal beam is provided, at a tip thereof, with other rollers between which the other elevator guide rail disposed on the opposite side of the driving unit is interposed to guide the elevator car.
In this case, owing to the provision of the L-shaped flame, the elevator apparatus can rise and fall more stably and the elevator car can be carried with such a simple structure, strongly.
In the present invention, it is preferable that the suspension rope is divided into two routes of ropes whose ends are respectively fixed to different positions on opposite outer faces of the elevator car, while the different positions are symmetrical to each other in plan view of the elevator car. In this
Kamimura Kosei
Kobayashi Kiyoshi
Munakata Tadashi
Wagatsuma Yasuyuki
Yajima Koji
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Tran Thuy V.
Walsh Donald P.
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