Method and an arrangement for installing elevator guide rails

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9751728-B2
Application number	US-201615090208-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 4, 2016
Priority date	Apr 23, 2015
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

A method includes plumbing an elevator shaft, installing a lowermost first section of guide rail elements manually to walls of the shaft, arranging an upwards and downwards in the shaft with a first hoist movable lifting frame, arranging an upwards and downwards in the shaft with a second hoist movable installation platform provided with a guide apparatus, an installation apparatus and an alignment tool, drilling holes and fastening support brackets to the walls of the shaft with the installation apparatus, lifting guide rail elements with a third hoist from the lifting frame and guiding said guide rail elements into position with the guide apparatus, joining consecutive guide rail elements with the installation apparatus, and aligning opposite guide rail elements with the alignment tool and locking the support brackets with the installation apparatus.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An arrangement for installing guide rails into an elevator shaft, said arrangement comprising:
a first hoist;
a lifting frame glidingly supported on counter weight guide rails, arranged to move upwards and downwards in the elevator shaft with the first hoist, and configured to lift guide rail elements from a storage area;
a second hoist;
a third hoist, separate from the first and second hoists, and configured to lift the guide rail elements from the lifting frame, the third hoist including a gripping member; and
an installation platform glidingly supported on car guide rails, and arranged to move upwards and downwards in the elevator shaft with the second hoist, the installation platform comprising:
a robotic installation apparatus configured to drill holes and fasten support brackets to walls of the elevator shaft;
a robotic guide apparatus configured to guide the gripping member of the third hoist to grip an upper end of the guide rail element lifted by the third hoist, and guide the guide rail element gripped by the gripping member into position; and
an alignment tool,
wherein:
consecutive guide rail elements are joined and the guide rail elements are attached to the support brackets with the installation apparatus,
opposite guide rail elements are aligned with the alignment tool based on plumb lines at each support bracket along a height of the guide rail element, and
the support brackets are locked and thereby also the guide rail elements with the installation apparatus.

2. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the arrangement comprises a main control unit for controlling the first hoist, the second hoist, the third hoist, the guide apparatus, the installation apparatus and the alignment tool.

3. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the installation apparatus is an industry robot with an arm.

4. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the installation apparatus comprises a drilling unit for installing the anchor bolts into the walls of the elevator shaft.

5. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the installation apparatus comprises a bracket installation unit for installing the support brackets into the walls of the elevator shaft.

6. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the installation apparatus comprises a rail joining unit for joining two consecutive rails in the elevator shaft.

7. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the installation apparatus comprises a bracket bolting unit for locking the support brackets and thereby the guide rail element in the elevator shaft.

8. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the guide apparatus is an industry robot with a pivot arm and gripper in order to be able to grip guide rails and to lift guide rails into their position on the walls of the elevator shaft.

9. The arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein the arm of the guide apparatus is telescopic so that the guide apparatus can reach upwards along the height of the guide rail elements.

10. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein a hoisting height of the elevator shaft is over 75 meters.

11. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the storage area is arranged below the working level of the installation platform.

12. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the storage area is arranged on a first landing of the elevator shaft.

13. The arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the alignment tool is supported on the installation platform, and comprises:
a positioning unit configured to lock the alignment tool to walls of the walls of the elevator shaft; and
an alignment unit configured to adjust the opposite guide rail elements relative to each other.

14. The arrangement according to claim 1 , further comprising positioning sensors arranged on the installation platform and configured to measure positions of one or more of the guide apparatus, the installation apparatus and the alignment tool.

15. A method for installing guide rails into an elevator shaft, said method comprising the steps of:
providing the arrangement according to claim 1 ;
plumbing the shaft and arranging plumb lines in the elevator shaft in the vicinity of car guide rail lines in accordance with the result of the plumbing;
installing manually a lowermost first section of guide rail elements to respective walls of the elevator shaft starting from a bottom floor level of the elevator shaft;
lifting guide rail elements from the storage area with the lifting frame being glidingly supported on counter weight guide rails and being movable upwards and downwards in the shaft with the first hoist;
arranging the installation platform being glidingly supported on car guide rails and being movable upwards and downwards in the shaft with the second hoist;
drilling holes and fastening support brackets to the walls of the elevator shaft with the installation apparatus;
lifting guide rail elements with the third hoist from the lifting frame and guiding said guide rail elements into position with the guide apparatus;
joining consecutive guide rail elements and attaching guide rail elements to the support brackets with the installation apparatus;
aligning opposite guide rail elements with the alignment tool based on the plumb lines at each support bracket along the height of the guide rail element; and
locking the support brackets and thereby the guide rail elements with the installation apparatus.

16. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising the step of controlling the first hoist, the second hoist, the third hoist, the guide apparatus, the installation apparatus and the alignment tool with a main control unit.

17. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising the step of installing anchor bolts into the walls of the elevator shaft with a drilling unit provided on the installation apparatus.

18. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising the step of installing the support brackets into the walls of the elevator shaft with a bracket installation unit provided on the installation apparatus.

19. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising the step of joining two consecutive rails in the elevator shaft with a rail joining unit provided on the installation apparatus.

20. The method according to claim 15 , further comprising the step of locking the support brackets and thereby the guide rail element in the elevator shaft with a bracket bolting unit provided on the installation apparatus.

21. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the guide rails to be installed are car guide rails.

22. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the guide rails to be installed are counter weight guide rails.

23. The method according to claim 15 , wherein a hoisting height of the elevator shaft is over 75 meters.

24. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the storage area is arranged below the working level of the installation platform.

25. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the storage area is arranged on a first landing of the elevator shaft.

Assignees

• Kone Corp

Inventors

• Mertala Antti

Classifications

• E04G3/246

  following the inside contour of a building · CPC title

• B66B19/002 Primary

  installing or exchanging guide rails (details of rails B66B7/02) · CPC title

• E04G2003/286

  mobile vertically · CPC title

• E04G3/28

  Mobile scaffolds; Scaffolds with mobile platforms {(movable inspection or maintenance platforms for bridges E01D19/106, lifting devices for movable platforms, e.g. on vehicles B66F11/04)} · CPC title

• B66B7/027 Primary

  for mounting auxiliary devices · CPC title