Elevator tension member

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11511968-B2
Application number	US-202016866904-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 5, 2020
Priority date	Sep 8, 2015
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

A belt for suspending and/or driving an elevator car includes a tension member extending along a length of the belt, the tension member including a plurality of fibers bonded in a first polymer matrix, the plurality of fibers extending parallel to and discontinuous along a length of the belt and arranged with one or more lengthwise extending gaps between lengthwise adjacent fibers. A jacket substantially retains the tension member. A method of forming a tension member for an elevator system belt includes arranging a plurality of fibers into a fiber bundle. The plurality of fibers extend parallel to a length of the belt and have one or more lengthwise extending gaps between lengthwise extending fibers. The plurality of fibers is bonded to a first polymer matrix.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of forming a tension member for an elevator system belt, comprising:
arranging a plurality of fibers into a plurality of fiber bundles, the plurality of fibers extending parallel to and discontinuous along a length of the belt and having one or more lengthwise extending gaps between lengthwise extending fibers;
bonding the plurality of fibers to a first polymer matrix;
arranging the plurality of fiber bundles along a lengthwise direction of the belt, defining one or more lengthwise bundle gaps between adjacent fiber bundles in the lengthwise direction;
stacking the plurality of fiber bundles in a thickness-wise direction defining a thickness-wise gap between thickness-wise adjacent layers of fiber bundles of the plurality of fiber bundles, relative to the belt thickness direction; and
securing adjacent fiber bundles at the thickness-wise gap and the lengthwise gap with a second polymer matrix different than the first polymer matrix;
wherein the plurality of discontinuous fibers of each fiber bundle are aligned with each other at least at one length end of the fiber bundle;
wherein a first lengthwise bundle gap at a first thickness-wise layer of fiber bundles of the plurality of fiber bundles is offset in the lengthwise direction from a second lengthwise bundle gap at a second thickness-wise layer of fiber bundles of the plurality of fiber bundles; and
wherein at least one fiber bundle of the plurality of fiber bundles includes fibers of non-uniform sizes.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising forming the one or more lengthwise extending gaps by breaking a fiber of the plurality of fibers to define two lengthwise adjacent fibers.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of fibers are formed from one or more of carbon, glass, polyester, nylon, aramid or other polyimide materials.

Assignees

• Otis Elevator Co

Inventors

• Gurvich Mark R
• Zhao Wenping
• Wesson John P

Classifications

• D07B2205/205

  Aramides · CPC title

• B66B7/00

  Other common features of elevators · CPC title

• B29K2995/0077

  Yield strength; Tensile strength · CPC title

• B66B7/062 Primary

  Belts · CPC title

• D07B7/145

  Coating or filling-up interstices · CPC title