Elevator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9856114-B2
Application number	US-201514665858-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 23, 2015
Priority date	Apr 16, 2014
Publication date	Jan 2, 2018
Grant date	Jan 2, 2018

Abstract

An elevator comprising
a hoistway; an elevator car vertically movable in the hoistway; a counterweight vertically movable in the hoistway; at least one tightening wheel located in the lower end of the hoistway; at least one rope wheel located in or at least in proximity of the upper end of the hoistway; a first roping interconnecting the car and counterweight and passing around the at least one rope wheel located in or at least in proximity of the upper end of the hoistway; a second roping interconnecting the car and counterweight and passing around the at least one tightening wheel, the tightening wheel being mounted movably back and forth in a first direction towards the second roping, and in a second direction away from the second roping; and means for exerting force on the tightening wheel to move it in the first direction so as to tighten the second roping.

The elevator further comprises means for limiting the movement speed of the tightening wheel towards the first direction and the second direction.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An elevator comprising:
an elevator car configured to move vertically in a hoistway;
a counterweight configured to move vertically in the hoistway;
at least one rope wheel located at least in proximity of an upper end of the hoistway;
a first roping interconnecting the elevator car and the counterweight and passing around the at least one rope wheel located at least in proximity of the upper end of the hoistway;
at least one tightening wheel located in a lower end of the hoistway;
a second roping interconnecting the elevator car and the counterweight and passing around the at least one tightening wheel, the at least one tightening wheel being mounted movably back and forth in a first direction towards the second roping and in a second direction away from the second roping;
an urging device configured to exert a force on the at least one tightening wheel to move the at least one tightening wheel in the first direction so as to tighten the second roping; and
a variable speed limiting device configured to variably limit a movement speed of the at least one tightening wheel towards the first direction and the second direction, the variable speed limiting device including,
a hydraulic cylinder containing hydraulic fluid, the hydraulic cylinder being mounted between a frame and the at least one tightening wheel, the hydraulic cylinder including a piston part and a cylinder part delineating a hydraulic chamber in the hydraulic cylinder, the piston part being configured to move relative to the cylinder part in a first stroke direction in response to the at least one tightening wheel moving in the first direction, and to move relative to the cylinder part in a second stroke direction in response to the at least one tightening wheel moving in the second direction, such that a volume of the hydraulic chamber changes during strokes of the hydraulic cylinder, and
a stroke speed limiter configured to variably limit a speed of the strokes of the hydraulic cylinder in both of the first and second stroke direction, the stroke speed limiter including a conduit system connected with the hydraulic chamber, the conduit system being configured to allow passage of the hydraulic fluid into and out from the hydraulic chamber through a same opening formed in the hydraulic chamber, the conduit system including one or more adjustable flow control valves configured to variably limit a rate at which an amount of the hydraulic fluid equal to an amount of change of the volume of the hydraulic chamber flows into the hydraulic chamber during a stroke in one of the first and second stroke direction, and flows out from the hydraulic chamber during a stroke in the other of the first and second stroke direction, through the same opening and at least one of the one or more adjustable flow control valves.

2. The elevator according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more adjustable flow control valves include a plurality of adjustable flow control valves, the plurality of adjustable flow control valves including,
a first adjustable flow control valve configured to variably limit the rate at which the amount of the hydraulic fluid equal to the amount of change of the volume of the hydraulic chamber flows into the hydraulic chamber through the same opening and the first adjustable flow control valve when the volume of the hydraulic chamber increases during a stroke of the hydraulic cylinder in said first stroke direction, and
a second adjustable flow control valve configured to variably limit the rate at which the amount of the hydraulic fluid equal to the amount of change of the volume of the hydraulic chamber flows out from the hydraulic chamber through the same opening and the second adjustable flow control valve when the volume of the hydraulic chamber decreases during a stroke of the hydraulic cylinder in said second stroke direction.

3. The elevator according to claim 1 , wherein the conduit system includes,
a first conduit connected with the same opening, the first conduit being configured to allow the hydraulic fluid to enter the hydraulic chamber during a stroke of the hydraulic cylinder in one of the first and second stroke direction, the first conduit including,
a first one-way valve configured to allow flow of the hydraulic fluid through the first conduit into the hydraulic chamber and to block flow of the hydraulic fluid in an opposite direction, and
a first adjustable flow control valve configured to variably limit the rate at which the hydraulic fluid flows into the hydraulic chamber during the stroke in said one of the first and second stroke direction, and

a second conduit connected with the same opening, the second conduit being configured to allow the hydraulic fluid to exit the hydraulic chamber during a stroke of the hydraulic cylinder in the other of the first and second stroke direction, the second conduit including,
a second one-way valve configured to allow flow of the hydraulic fluid through the second conduit out from the hydraulic chamber and to block flow of the hydraulic fluid in an opposite direction, and
a second adjustable flow control valve configured to variably limit the rate at which the hydraulic fluid flows out from the hydraulic chamber during the stroke in the other of the first and second stroke direction.

4. The elevator according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more adjustable control valves is a single adjustable flow control valve.

5. The elevator according to claim 1 , wherein the conduit system includes a conduit, connected with the same opening formed in the hydraulic chamber, configured to allow the hydraulic fluid to enter the hydraulic chamber through the same opening during a stroke of the hydraulic cylinder in the first stroke direction and to allow the hydraulic fluid to exit the hydraulic chamber through the same opening during a stroke of the hydraulic cylinder in the second stroke direction, and
wherein the one or more adjustable flow control valves is a single adjustable flow control valve included in the conduit.

6. The elevator according to claim 1 , wherein the urging device is configured to continuously exert said force on the at least one tightening wheel.

7. The elevator according to claim 1 , wherein the urging device includes a weight configured to urge the at least one lightening wheel towards the first direction by a weight force.

8. The elevator according to claim 1 , wherein the urging device includes a spring configured to continuously urge the at least one tightening wheel towards the first direction by a spring force.

9. The elevator according to claim 8 , wherein said spring is a compression spring configured to push the at least one tightening wheel towards the first direction by the spring force.

10. An elevator control device configured to control movement of a tightening wheel in a first direction and a second direction, the tightening wheel being located at a lower end of a hoistway, the lightening wheel being configured to move a roping interconnecting an elevator car and a counterweight, the elevator control device comprising:
an urging device configured to exert a force on the tightening wheel to move the tightening wheel in the first direction so as to tighten the roping; and
a variable speed limiting device configured to variably limit a movement speed of the tightening wheel in both of the first direction and the second direction, the variable speed limiting device including,
a hydraulic cylinder containing hydraulic fluid, the hydraulic cylinder being mounted between a frame and the tightening wheel, the hydraulic cylinder including a piston part and a cylinder part delineating a hydraulic chamber in the hydraulic cylinder, the pisto

Assignees

• Lampinen Riku
• Kone Corp

Inventors

• Lampinen Riku

Classifications

• B66B7/068 Primary

  Cable weight compensating devices · CPC title