EP2325128B2 - Lift assembly for people and/or loads with at least one lift cabin - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a particularly rope-mechanical elevator system for persons and/or loads for connecting several access levels in a building with an elevator shaft which has a shaft floor, a shaft ceiling and a shaft opening which can be closed with a shaft door and an elevator which is equipped with a drive, a control system, a basic frame and at least one elevator car, wherein the elevator car comprises car walls, a car door, a car floor and a car ceiling and is arranged on the basic frame.

Elevator systems are known for the vertical transport of people and/or loads in buildings. Elevator systems basically consist of the technical component of the elevator and the structural component of the elevator shaft. An elevator with a cable pull for the vertical transport of people and/or loads between different vertically superimposed levels of a building is known, among other things, from the publication US$1,164,115 known.

In modern elevators, the basic frame, i.e. the supporting structure, and the actual elevator cabin are independent elements of the elevator device. The basic frame is usually designed in the form of a flat frame with a cantilever-shaped holder, with the elevator cabin being attached to this holder in an upright position and the basic frame having a larger vertical extension than the elevator cabin.

To accommodate the technology required to operate the elevator system and as a shelter for service personnel, the elevator shaft extends at its ends above the bare ceiling of the top access level and below the bare floor of the lowest access level. Therefore, additional space, known as an overpass and underpass, must be provided in a building on the floors above and below the access levels and/or must be available in existing buildings. The underpass is necessary on the one hand to be able to accommodate part of the elevator, for example part of the basic structure, when approaching the lowest access level; on the other hand, the underpass serves as a shelter for service personnel who might be on the shaft floor, i.e. in the shaft beneath the elevator. There are similar requirements for the shaft ceiling, which means an overpass is common.

When retrofitting elevators in existing buildings, it is often not possible or only possible with great effort to create an underpass. DE 202005 016 050 U1 describes an elevator in which a low-level underpass can be achieved. This is possible because the elevator cabin is suspended from the supporting structure of the basic frame.

If people have to get out of the elevator car when the elevator stops unexpectedly, especially between two access levels, there is a risk that these people could fall into the shaft through the open shaft door and injure themselves. To prevent this, a fixed panel, known as a skirt, is usually provided on the underside of the elevator car, which closes the shaft opening below the elevator car. When approaching the lowest level, the skirt dips into the sufficiently dimensioned underpass.

Due to spatial constraints, an elevator system must usually be considered early in the planning of a building. This makes the subsequent installation of an elevator system in an existing building all the more difficult, especially if the elevator system is not intended to serve all floors of a building. US 6 202 797 B1 an automatic safety device for lift mechanics has become known. The purpose of this safety device is to prevent a lift mechanic who is in the lift shaft from being injured by the moving lift car. To this end, it is intended to prevent him from being crushed by the descending lift car when he is standing on the shaft floor, and equally to prevent him from being crushed by the lift car as it travels upwards between the car and the shaft ceiling when he is standing on the lift car. For this purpose, it is disclosed that the lift mechanic 9 carries a portable device 11 in his uniform 10 or in his overcoats, which interacts wirelessly with sensors 25, 26 or transmitters which are attached to the top and bottom of the lift car 17. Firstly, the lift mechanic 6 must always carry this device 11 with him and he must check its function before using it. The device 11 is battery-operated and it is conceivable that the battery capacity will run low while the lift mechanic is working in the lift shaft, thereby no longer ensuring his protection. EP 1 110 900 A1 shows a shaft safety system which aims to ensure a safe working area in the lift shaft when a person is in it. According to column 3, line 53, a control system is activated which prevents a lift car from traveling except from that position in the lift shaft which is close to the shaft door which is equipped with the control system. The control system therefore prevents a lift car from traveling below a certain height in order to maintain a safety space with a minimum height as is valid for machine rooms. As described in column 5 from the last line to column 6, line 4, the control system can be overridden from inside the shaft, i.e. by deliberate control the lift car can travel further down into the shaft space even if the lift fitter is on the floor of the light shaft! A fitter could therefore inadvertently let the lift car travel down on itself in this way and realise too late what is happening and not be able to stop the journey. He would be crushed! WO 97/23399 A shows Motor-driven actuators that are directly coupled to supports that are extended when necessary and then prevent the lift cabin from moving further downwards in a vertical position. However, the solution requires two actuators that are electrically operated and can fail. WO 2006/067542 Finally, there is a detection device in the form of an infrared curtain, which can detect the presence of a person in the danger zone, so that crossing the danger zone is prevented if the presence is detected.

The invention is therefore based on the object of designing an elevator system in such a way that it can be flexibly retrofitted in an existing building or individually planned in a new building, whereby the service personnel are particularly well protected, especially when the shaft floor has to be entered. The protective device required for this should be as simple as possible. The personnel should not have to carry any battery-operated devices with them, or even carry any devices at all to implement the protection. Rather, the protection should inevitably be absolutely safe and simple before and when entering the shaft floor.

This object is achieved according to the invention with a device according to the features of claim 1. The further embodiment of the invention can be found in the subclaims.

According to the invention, an elevator system is provided in which the clear vertical extension of the elevator system between the shaft floor and the shaft ceiling is less than and/or equal to the distance between a bare ceiling of the top access level and a bare floor of the bottom access level. This makes it possible to flexibly install the elevator system in an existing building or to start planning the elevator system in a new building at a much later point in time, in particular after the shell has been completed.

It is advantageous that the elevator cabin can be accessed from three sides through shaft openings. This makes it possible to operate the elevator system in buildings with irregular floor plans or complicated geometries.

To ensure that the elevator car does not swing in the elevator shaft or even accidentally touch the walls of the elevator shaft, the elevator car is guided by rails arranged vertically in the elevator shaft. The base frame is connected to the drive via a cable pull, with the cable pull resting on a pulley. In cable-mechanical elevators, the base frame is attached to a first end of the cable pull and a counterweight is attached to the other end of the cable pull. The pulley is an element of the drive. It is advantageous for the drive to be arranged on the rails to the side of a movement area of the elevator car. This makes it possible for the drive not to protrude into the movement area of the elevator car.

It is advantageous if the elevator car stops at the top access level and the car ceiling is positioned at the same level as or above the drive. This makes it possible for the shaft ceiling to be positioned lower or at the same level as the bare ceiling of the top access level.

It is also advantageous that the cable pull is connected to the base frame in the area around the cabin floor, with the area around the cabin floor comprising the first third of the vertical extension of the elevator cabin. This makes it possible for the drive to be positioned in the elevator shaft in such a way that when the elevator cabin stops at the top access level, the cabin ceiling is positioned above or in the area of the drive.

It is advantageous for the basic frame to have a cantilever arm in the area of the cabin ceiling, to which a tension rod is attached at a first end, with a support being provided at a second end of the tension rod. This makes it possible for the loads of the cabin floor and/or the elevator cabin to be carried by the support. Since the basic frame also has a support, the cabin floor is supported on at least two sides. This makes it possible for the cabin floor to have a low overall height.

It is usually possible to open the car door and the shaft door electrically or manually if the car floor is approximately 150 mm above or below floor level. This makes it possible to start opening the car door and shaft door while the level between the car floor and the access level is being adjusted, thus reducing the time the elevator car spends on an access level. It is advantageous that an additional door lock allows the car door and the shaft door to be opened only when the elevator car is moving upwards, i.e. when the car is moving towards the shaft ceiling. This means that the apron does not have to be positioned parallel to the shaft door at all times.

It is also advantageous that at least one apron is arranged on the cabin floor in a movable manner, in particular one that can be pivoted, folded and/or folded. This makes it possible for the apron to be released from a holding device in the event of a malfunction of the elevator device and to be moved into a position that is essentially parallel to the cabin door due to the gravity of the apron or with the help of an electric drive, for example. The movable apron means that, in contrast to a rigid apron, an underpass below the lowest access level can be largely dispensed with. This reduces the construction costs for installing or retrofitting an elevator.

An emergency rescue of trapped passengers can only be carried out by trained personnel. This ensures that before the cabin door is opened the apron is positioned parallel to the shaft door. This makes it possible to prevent the passengers being rescued from falling into the elevator shaft. As a further safety measure, the control system is switched off when the apron is triggered.

It is advantageous that the apron can be placed parallel to the cabin floor, at least indirectly. This means that no large installation space is required below the lowest access level for the apron, which is locked in a horizontal position to the cabin floor during normal operation using the holding device and thus always lies close to the cabin floor in a horizontal position.

It is advantageous if the apron is made of one or more parts. This makes it possible to cover a large vertical shaft opening during an emergency rescue, even in elevators with a small footprint.

In conjunction with the additional door lock, which only opens the cabin and shaft door when the level difference between the cabin floor and the floor is less than 25 mm, it is advantageous that a protective strip is fixed to the cabin floor. This makes it possible to prevent a person waiting for the elevator from moving their feet through the shaft door that opens during level compensation and then trapping them between the elevator cabin and the floor ceiling.

It is advantageous if the protective strip and the apron extend over the entire width of the shaft opening and are made of a solid material. This design ensures that the apron covers the entire width of the resulting opening in the shaft. The design in a solid material prevents the protective strip and/or the apron from giving way in the event of an emergency.

It is advantageous if the protective strip has an angled area that is oriented towards the side of the protective strip facing away from the shaft opening. This makes it possible to reduce the risk of feet being crushed.

It is particularly advantageous that the apron can be guided by means of a rail, which is positioned to the side of the apron. This makes it possible to design a one- or multi-part apron in such a way that it does not require any separate activation, but is always in an operational position. As the elevator approaches the shaft floor, it is possible to move the apron from a substantially vertical position to a space-saving, particularly horizontal position using the rail. When the elevator car moves back up, the apron moves back to the operational position.

It is advantageous for the protective strip to be positioned on a side facing the shaft opening between the apron and the shaft opening. This makes it possible to position the protective strip as close to the shaft opening as possible, which improves the effectiveness of the protective strip in reducing the risk of feet being crushed.

To protect passengers, it is also advantageous to provide devices to prevent danger. It is particularly advantageous if the cabin door has an additional safety device. This means that the cabin door cannot be opened from inside the cabin if the elevator cabin stops between floors. Trapped people cannot open the door themselves, which prevents the risk of falling.

In order to avoid injury to service personnel in the elevator shaft during maintenance work, it is advisable to provide support elements on the cabin ceiling and in the area of the shaft floor. This means that the elevator cabin cannot be moved to the shaft ceiling and/or shaft floor when the support elements have been put into the functional position. It is particularly advantageous that the support elements can be folded out from a wall of the elevator shaft as supports. This makes it possible to store them outside the shaft floor that closes off the elevator shaft during normal operation of the elevator, which means that the required space volume between the shaft floor and the elevator cabin can be smaller than usual.

It is advantageous that the control system enables the elevator system to be operated in regular operation, an inspection run and an emergency operation. This makes it possible to operate the elevator system in different operating states.

To protect the service personnel, it is also advantageous to provide devices to prevent hazards. According to the invention, the shaft floor can only be accessed through the lower shaft opening. According to the invention, an emergency release of the shaft door of the lower shaft opening is monitored by sensors. This makes it possible for the elevator control to be switched off for normal operation when the shaft floor is entered.

It is particularly advantageous that during a downward journey, when the elevator car moves towards the shaft floor, the downward journey is interrupted by a safety device on the elevator during the emergency release of the shaft door of the lower shaft opening. This makes it possible to completely prevent the elevator from moving downwards during maintenance work on the floor of the elevator shaft.

The elevator control can be switched off during maintenance work using an emergency stop button. It is particularly advantageous that when the shaft door of the lower shaft opening is unlocked in an emergency, the service personnel are reminded to raise and/or unfold the support elements by means of a visual and/or acoustic signal. Support elements can be used in which the control can be switched off for normal operation by raising and/or unfolding the support elements.

In order to avoid injuries to service personnel travelling on the car ceiling for maintenance work, the control of the drive can be influenced by safety devices. It is particularly advantageous that the car ceiling is only accessible through shaft openings monitored by sensors. This makes it possible to switch the control to the "inspection trip" operating state when one of the shaft doors closing the shaft openings is opened, which means that the operation of the elevator is blocked by internal and external commands.

It is advantageous that the control system for normal operation can be switched off using an emergency stop button. This makes it possible to prevent the elevator from moving unintentionally during maintenance work.

It is also advantageous that the inspection trip is possible when the attachment elements on the car ceiling are raised and/or unfolded. This means that there is always sufficient protective space for the person in the elevator car. In principle, the travel path of an inspection trip ends by means of a safety switch approximately 2000 mm before the theoretical contact of the elevator car with the shaft ceiling. If the control of the inspection trip fails, the inspection trip can be switched off using a second safety switch. Furthermore, these technical protective devices make it possible to realize the shaft ceiling at the same level as the bare ceiling of the upper access level. This is particularly advantageous for subsequent installation, for example in listed buildings, as a space above the upper access level is not required.

It is particularly advantageous that a person is reminded to raise and/or unfold the support elements when entering the cabin ceiling by means of a visual and/or acoustic signal. Whether during maintenance work on the shaft floor or during inspection trips on the cabin ceiling, it is advantageous that the control system for regular operation is switched off after all safety switches have been reset and the shaft doors have been closed. This prevents the service personnel or third parties from unintentionally resuming regular operation.

It is also advantageous that after a switch in a control cabinet of the elevator system is operated, the control system is reset to normal operation. This means that the service personnel can only restart normal operation of the elevator once all safety measures have been lifted.

Fig. 1

einen Schnitt durch ein Gebäude mit einer Aufzuganlage;

Fig. 2

eine geschnittene und vergrößerte Darstellung eines Abschnitts der in Figur 1 gezeigten Aufzuganlage in der obersten Erschließungsebene;

Fig. 3

eine geschnittene und vergrößerte Darstellung eines Abschnitts der in Figur 1 gezeigten Aufzuganlage in einer beliebigen Erschließungsebene;

Fig. 4

eine geschnittene und vergrößerte Darstellung eines Abschnitts der in Figur 1 gezeigten Aufzuganlage in der untersten Erschließungsebene;

Fig. 5

eine geschnittene und vergrößerte Darstellung eines in Figur 4 gezeigten Aufsetzelements in Ruhestellung;

Fig. 6

eine geschnittene und vergrößerte Darstellung eines in Figur 4 gezeigten Aufsetzelements in Funktionsstellung.

The invention allows for various embodiments. To further clarify its basic principle, one of them is shown in the drawing and is described below. This shows in

Fig.1

a section through a building with an elevator system;

Fig. 2

a sectional and enlarged view of a section of the Figure 1 shown elevator system on the top access level;

Fig.3

a sectional and enlarged view of a section of the Figure 1 shown elevator system at any access level;

Fig.4

a sectional and enlarged view of a section of the Figure 1 shown elevator system on the lowest access level;

Fig.5

a cut and enlarged representation of a Figure 4 shown mounting element in rest position;

Fig.6

a cut and enlarged representation of a Figure 4 shown attachment element in functional position.

Figure 1 shows a section through a building 3 with an elevator system 1. The elevator system 1 consists of an elevator shaft 4 and an elevator 9. The elements of the elevator 9 are an elevator car 13 which is attached to a base frame 12, the base frame 12 being connected to a drive 10 via a cable pull 21. To operate the elevator system 1, the elevator 9 is also equipped with a control 11, by means of which an upward travel 28 and a downward travel 27 of the elevator car 13 is possible in different operating states. The base frame 12 of the elevator 9 is guided on a travel rail 20 on which the drive is positioned. The elevator system 1 is installed in a building 3. The elevator system 1 extends over only three access levels 2 of the five floors of the building 3. The vertical extension of the elevator system 1 is limited by the shaft floor 5 and the shaft ceiling 6. This vertical extension between the shaft floor 5 and the shaft ceiling 6 is less than and/or equal to the distance between a bare ceiling 18 of the top access level and a bare floor 19 of the bottom access level 2. Such an elevator system 1 can be flexibly constructed in an existing building 3, since only the ceilings and floors between the top access level 2 and the bottom access level 2 have to be broken through. The floors above and below the access levels 2 remain unaffected by the elevator system 1. The bare ceiling 18 of the top access level 2 and the bare floor 19 of the bottom access level 2 do not have to be broken through for the installation and operation of the elevator system 1. The access levels 2 are connected to the elevator shaft 4 through shaft openings 8, which can be closed by means of shaft doors 7.

The Figures 2 , 3 and 4 show a cut and enlarged view of the Figure 1 shown elevator system 1. A cabin floor 16 of the elevator cabin 13 is at the same level as the upper edge of a floor structure 32 in the access level 2. The floor structure 32 includes all structures that are applied to the unfinished floor 19, for example underfloor heating, screed, hollow floors with piping technology and floor covering. The spatial closure of the elevator cabin 13 is achieved by means of at least one cabin wall 14, the cabin floor 16 and the cabin ceiling 17. The cabin floor is made of wood or a composite material, in particular Alucobond plate, and has a material thickness of approximately 20 mm. The elevator cabin is accessible from the access level 2 through the shaft opening 8. The elevator cabin 13 is held by at least one support 26, which is connected to a cantilever arm 24 of the basic frame 12 via a tension rod 25. The base frame 12 is connected to the drive 10 via a cable pull 21 and is guided in the elevator shaft 4 by means of a guide rail 20. The drive 10 is positioned on the guide rail 20, but below the bare ceiling 18 of the access level 2. The cable pull 21 is attached to the base frame 12 in an area around the cabin floor 16. Starting from the cabin floor 16, the area includes the first third of the vertical extension of the elevator cabin 13. If the elevator device 1 malfunctions, the elevator cabin 13 could become stuck between two access levels 2. If people trapped in the elevator cabin 13 are freed, there is a risk that they could slide through the shaft opening 8 below the elevator cabin 13 when the shaft door 7 is open and fall into the elevator shaft 4. In order to prevent such a fall, it is possible to release an apron 29, which is movably arranged on the car floor 16, from a holding device and to move it into a position which is essentially parallel to the car door 15. The car door 15 and the shaft door 7 are usually only opened when the level difference between the car floor 16 and the upper edge of the floor structure 32 of the access level 2 is less than 25 mm. In order to prevent a person waiting to travel in the elevator 9 from moving their feet through the shaft door 7 which opens during the level compensation and then trapping their foot between the elevator car 13 and the floor structure 32, a fixed protective strip 30 is arranged on the car floor 16.

Figure 2 shows a cut and enlarged view of a section of the Figure 1 shown elevator system 1 with an elevator shaft 4 and an elevator 9, wherein the elevator car 13 is positioned below the shaft ceiling 6 in the uppermost access level 2. Figure 2 further shows that the shaft opening 8 can be closed by means of the shaft door 7 which moves in a door guide 35. In the area of the shaft door 7, a car door 15 with a car door drive 36 is arranged in the elevator car 13.

Figure 3 shows a cut and enlarged view of a section of the Figure 1 shown elevator system 1, wherein the elevator car 13 is positioned in the elevator shaft 4 in the area of any access level 2. The Figure 2 shows a rope-mechanical elevator 9. In the rope-mechanical elevator 9, the cable pull 21, which carries the elevator car 13 at one end via the base frame 12 and a counterweight 33 at the other end, is guided over a drive pulley of the drive 10. The cable pull 21 is not attached to the drive pulley, but is held and moved by friction. The protective strip 30 has an angled area 31 oriented towards a side of the protective strip 30 facing away from the shaft opening 8, which makes it possible to reduce the risk of crushing the feet. Placing the base frame 12 on the Figures 1 and 4 The shaft floor 5 shown is dampened by a buffer 34.

Figure 4 shows a cut and enlarged view of a section of the Figure 1 shown elevator system 1, wherein the elevator car 13 is positioned in the elevator shaft 4 in the area of the lowest access level 2. Due to the movable apron 29, in contrast to a rigid apron, an underpass is not necessary. The unfinished floor 18 of the lowest access level 2 does not have to be penetrated and the floor below the lowest access level 2 remains unaffected. The Figure 4 The raw floor 18 shown has only one recess. In order to avoid injury to service personnel in the elevator shaft 4 during maintenance work, support elements 22 are provided in the area of the shaft floor 5. The elevator car 13 cannot be moved to the shaft floor 5 when the support elements 22 are used.

The Figures 5 and 6 show a cut and enlarged view of a Figure 4 shown support element 22. The support element 22 arranged in the area of the shaft floor 5 can be folded down as a type of support from a wall of the elevator shaft 4. During normal operation of the elevator 9, the support element 22 rests against the wall of the elevator shaft 4. If the support element 22 is brought into the functional position, the elevator car 13 cannot be moved to the shaft floor 5.

Claims (11)

1. Elevator system for persons and/or loads for connecting multiple access levels (2) in a building, comprising an elevator shaft (4) which has a shaft floor (5), a shaft ceiling (6) and a shaft opening which can be closed by a shaft door (7), and an elevator which is equipped with a drive (10), a control system (11), a base frame (12) and at least one elevator car (13), wherein the elevator car (13) comprises car walls (14), a car door (15), a car floor (16) and a car ceiling (17) and is arranged on the base frame (12), wherein the shaft floor (5) can only be accessed through the lower shaft opening, the latter being equipped with emergency unlocking which is monitored by sensors so that, during emergency unlocking of the shaft door (7) of the shaft opening (8) of the lowermost access level (2), the control system (11) of the elevator (9) is switched off for regular operation whenever the shaft floor (5) is accessed,
   characterized in that
   the clear vertical extension of the elevator system (1) between the shaft floor (5) and the shaft ceiling (6) is less than and/or equal to the distance between a bare ceiling (18) of the uppermost access level (2) and a bare floor (19) of the lowermost access level (2).
2. Elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that, in the event of downward travel (27), i.e. a movement of the elevator car towards the shaft floor (5), the downward travel (27) is interrupted by a safety gear of the elevator (9) during emergency unlocking of the shaft door (7) of the shaft opening (8) of the lowermost access level (2).
3. Elevator system according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in the event of emergency unlocking of a shaft door (7), the service personnel can be reminded to erect and/or fold out the landing element (22) by means of a visual and/or acoustic signal.
4. Elevator system according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control system (11) can be switched off for regular operation by erecting and/or unfolding the landing element (22).
5. Elevator system according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the car ceiling (17) is only accessible through sensor-monitored shaft openings (8).
6. Elevator system according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control system (11) can be switched off for regular operation by means of an emergency stop button.
7. Elevator system according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the inspection run is possible due to the erection and/or folding out of the landing element (22) on the car ceiling (17).
8. Elevator system according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, in the event of a failure of the control system (11) for the inspection run, the inspection run can be switched off by means of a second safety switch.
9. Elevator system according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a person accessing the car ceiling (17) can be reminded to erect and/or fold out the landing element (22) by means of a visual and/or acoustic signal.
10. Elevator system according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, after resetting all safety switches and closing the shaft doors (7), the control system (11) is switched off for regular operation.
11. Elevator system according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, after actuation of a switch in a control cabinet of the elevator (9), the control system (11) is reset to regular operation.

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