Otis Elevator Company

Samuel C Wan

Anthony Cooney

Paul Bennett

Frederick H Barker

Joseph Bittar

Bruce A Powell

Richard C McCarthy

John K Salmon, Deceased

Gilbert W Wierschke

LucyMary Salmon

Richard J Ericson

Richard L Hollowell

Richard W Calcasola

James Thompson Beals

Robin Mihekun Miller

Richard E Peruggi

Clement A Skalski

Pei-Yuan Peng

Vlad Zaharia

Mark Steven Thompson

Dat T Nguyen

Philip H McCluskey

Jae-Hyuk Oh

Michael C Lang

Richard R Polacek

David W McKee

Fred J Lussier

Adriana Bacellar

Guillaume Georges Bonatre

Jack Mansfield Thompson

Terry M Robar

Joseph Al LeDoux

LucyMary Salmon, Executor

Satish P Patel

Dave C Jarvis

Peie-Yuan Peng

A brake mechanism () for an elevator () is activated in response to an electronic control signal to prevent movement of an elevator car () under predetermined conditions. The brake mechanism is preferably a safety mechanism () and does not require a governor sheave, a governor rope, or a tension sheave. The safety mechanism in one disclosed example utilizes a solenoid actuator () and an electric motor () and gear box assembly () to move safety wedges () into engagement with a guide rail () to stop the elevator car (). The safety wedges () are held in a non-deployed position during normal elevator operation. If there is a power loss or if elevator car speed exceeds a predetermined threshold, an electronic control signal activates the safety mechanism () causing the solenoid to release, which causes the safety wedges () move in a direction opposite to that of a safety housing () mounted for movement with the elevator car (). Angled surfaces of the safety housing () force the safety wedges () into engagement with the guide rail (). The safety mechanism () can be selectively reset from a remote location.

Remotely resettable ropeless emergency stopping device for an elevator

A rope climbing elevator (,) includes prime movers (,) and drive sheaves (,) secured to the car (,) and engaging stationary ropes (,).

Dual sheave rope climber using flat flexible ropes

A ropeless governor system is provided for governing the speed of an elevator car (2) in the event of an overspeed condition. An actuator for a safety device (30) is positioned in close proximity to an elevator rail (14) and activated to come into contact and provide a dragging force against the rail in the event of an overspeed condition. The ropeless governor is coupled to an elevator safety braking system (26, 28) such that the dragging force activates the safety brakes. A safety controller (91) is used to determine if the speed of the elevator car has exceeded a predetermined threshold level and to produce a triggering signal (96) to operate the ropeless governor.

Ropeless governor mechanism for an elevator car

Passenger or freight cabs 9 can roll on bridge rails 24, 25; 54, 55; 64, 65, between a pair of platforms such as an elevator car frame 19, a horizontal transport bogie 41, or a stationary platform 68. The bridge rails may move from a first position to a second position where they are parallel to, coaligned with and overlapping rails on one of the platforms so as to permit transferring a cab, either by individually rotating through corresponding axes passing through each rail, or by rotating a pair of such rails together about an axis passing between them.

Bridge rails for horizontally moveable passenger or freight cab

A rope climbing elevator (10) includes prime movers (40,42) and drive sheaves (32,34) secured to the car (10) and engaging stationary ropes (12-26).

Rope climbing elevator

An elevator system provides service between a ground level and each of three upper levels through a single elevator shuttle hoistway system. Three elevator cabs 34-36, B, D, F are moved in a triple deck elevator car frame 35, or a four deck elevator car frame 75 in a low hoistway 26, 76; two cabs are moved in a double deck elevator car frame 30 or four deck car frame 76 in a mid hoistway 27, 52; and one cab is moved in a single deck car frame 31 or triple deck car frame 77 in a high hoistway 28, 53. Other embodiments have other car frame arrangements.

Integrated, multi-level elevator shuttle

To prevent elevator rope stretch effects when a horizontally transferable elevator cab (18) is rolled onto and off of an elevator car frame (10), an elevator car/floor lock (31) includes a bolt (47) which extends across the interface between the car frame and the building and engages a strike (39). Jack screw (44) and solenoid (60) embodiments are shown. To take the weight off the lock bolts so that they may be retracted to permit moving the car frame vertically in the hoistway, strain gages (64, 65) or load sensors (62, 63) provided in or adjacent the bolts sense the weight supported thereby, and a pretorque program (FIG. 6) provides armature current to the hoisting motor to raise or lower the car frame sufficiently to reduce the load on the bolts to nil.

Pretorque to unload elevator car/floor locks before retraction

Elevator cabs are transferred between elevators, which may be shuttles, in various levels of a building, such as transport floors, in response to car calls registered in the cabs and hall calls registered on the transport floors. The cabs may be transferred from carriages or bogeys onto elevator car frames in a lateral direction, which is perpendicular to the motion of the cab on a carriage or bogey, or in a longitudinal direction which is the same as the direction of motion of a cab on a carriage or bogey. The horizontal/vertical control and transfer may be effected in response to the arrival at transport floors of elevators having cabs therein, or in response to the arrival at an elevator of a bogey carrying a cab which must be transported between a transport floor on one level of a building and a transport floor on another level of a building, in order to serve the need of a car call registered therein or a hall call. The horizontal transportation may occur on transport floors within a building, or may extend between different building segments or between different buildings.

Horizontal and vertical passenger transport

A first slidable auxiliary pinion (58a) on the bottom of a horizontally moveable elevator cab A (FIGS. 2-6) disposed on a car frame (14) or a landing is moved out from under the cab toward another car frame (13) or landing by means of a motorized pinion (56) until it engages a motorized pinion (57) on the adjacent car frame (13) or landing, which then pulls the auxiliary pinion and the entire cab toward the other car frame or landing until a main rack (45) fixed to the bottom of the cab engages a motorized pinion (34) on the other car frame (13) or landing, which pinion then pulls the entire cab onto the other car frame or landing. The auxiliary racks (58a, 58b) may be mounted on a common auxiliary rack member (58), or may be separate. The auxiliary motorized pinions (55, 56, 57) may be bidirectional, or may be; and auxiliary pinions (32C, 33C, 34C) may be; mounted on the same shaft with main pinions (32b, 33b, 34b).

Fail-safe movement of elevator cabs between car frames and landings

A plurality of express shuttle elevators S1-S4 exchange elevator cabs at a transfer floor 26 with local elevators L1-L10 by means of a carriage 107, the casters of which 93 are guided by tracks 70-83. The transfer floor has linear induction motor (LIM) primary segments 60-67 disposed on the transfer floor; the carriage has a LIM secondary 128 thereon for propulsion. The carriages can be locked 91, 92 to the transfer floor for loading, and cabs can be locked 131 onto the carriages for stability when being moved. A controller (FIGS. 10-13) keeps track of the progress of the cabs from one elevator to another.

Shuttle elevators feeding local elevators

An elevator safety brake is provided comprising two cantilevers, a pivot, a spring, and a hold-off-engagement linkage. In one embodiment, the hold-off-engagement linkage is comprised of two upper struts, and two lower struts. When it is desired to slow or stop the elevator via the safety brake, the lower struts move from a first position in which the lower struts are substantially in alignment with one another and the cantilevers are in an open position, to a second position in which the lower struts are not substantially in alignment with one another and the cantilevers are in a closed position. When the cantilevers are in the closed position, the spring exerts a force via the cantilevers on the guide rail in order to decelerate the elevator.

Safety brake

A cab having a wheeled carriage fixed thereto is moved between rails on an elevator car frame and similar rails on a wheeled bogey. The ends of the rails are scarfed in a complimentary fashion so as to provide a temporary half-lap joint between the rails of the bogey and the rails of the car frame. Motion is provided by linear motors having active primaries disposed on the car frame and the bogey and passive secondaries disposed on the cab carriage. Motor control is in response to position signals provided by magnetostrictive linear displacement transducers. The cab carriage includes rollers on vertical axes which contact the insides of the rails for guidance. The cab carriage wheels and rollers are disposed in pairs separated sufficiently so that at least one roller and one wheel of each pair is in contact with a full rail as the carriage crosses the rail joints between the car frame and the bogey. Wheels coated with urethane reduce wheel noise and tapers at the ends of the rails provide smooth rail to rail transitions.

Linear motor transfer of cab horizontally between elevator and bogey

The arrival of each of four dual-hoistway shuttle elevators S1-S4 is synchronized with a selected one of ten local elevators L1-L10, or ten low rise elevators L1-L10 and ten high rise elevators H1-H10 at a transfer floor 26 by limiting 140 the speed of the shuttle, gradually 149, or rapidly 154, 155 decreasing the speed of the shuttle, delaying a local elevator by holding its doors open for extra time, or controlling the speed of a local elevator, by cancelling or avoiding hall calls. Empty local elevators may be allowed to remain at the high end of the building, or compelled to travel to the lobby if needed. Elevators approaching a transfer floor may be synchronized by adjusting the speed of one of them until the remaining distance is the same for both. Hall calls may be prevented, cancelled, or negatively biased in dependence upon the tardiness of a local elevator. Synchronization may be achieved between shuttle elevators and local elevators, between portions of multi-hoistway shuttle elevators, and amongst elevator combinations employing three or more hoistways.

Synchronizing elevator arrival at a level of a building

To prevent elevator rope stretch effects when a horizontally transferable elevator cab (18) is rolled onto and off of an elevator car frame (10), an elevator car/floor lock (31) includes a bolt (37) which extends across the interface between the car frame and the building and engages a strike (39). Jack screw (44) and solenoid (60) embodiments are shown. The bolt may extend from the car frame to the building (FIGS. 1-4) or from the building to the car frame (FIG. 5).

Growing community of inventors

Simsbury, CT, United States of America

Samuel C Wan