FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method as defined in the preamble of claim 1. The present invention also relates to a method as defined in the preamble of claim 20. In addition, the present invention also relates to an elevator car as defined in the preamble of claim 23.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Prior-art methods used in the assembly and/or modernization of an elevator car, in which methods wall elements and/or cladding elements are mounted on the wall surfaces, ceiling surfaces or floor surfaces of the car frame, said car frame comprising a floor, a ceiling and vertical columns connecting the floor and the ceiling. A prior-art elevator car comprising a car frame that consists of a floor, a ceiling and vertical columns connecting the floor and the ceiling to each other, and at least one wall element and/or cladding element that is connected to the car frame.

Prior-art methods and structures of wall elements of an elevator car are disclosed in, for example, specifications FI 112072, WO9933743 and US 5454449. The wall elements in these are normally manufactured from stainless steel paneling bent into rigid profiles, said profiles having a U-shaped bend at both side edges where the elements are fastened side by side to each other so that the outer surface of the car is essentially even. Cladding elements can be fastened to the inside on the side flanges of the U-bends. It is obvious that this profile structure is very rigid, and for that reason the profiles cannot be very large in size. Thus the walls of an elevator car must necessarily be assembled from a large number of these type of wall elements, which makes the structure very complex and expensive. Furthermore, an elevator car implemented with conventional structures is heavy. In addition, errors in dimension tolerances accumulate

because of inaccuracy in the side bends of the wall elements. Thus the dimension of a wall consisting of wall elements joined together side by side can vary substantially, which requires adjustment, complicates the assembly process and is time consuming.

Prior-art technology uses various fixing means for fastening the cladding elements, such as pieces of hook-and-loop tape (Velcro) , screw fastening, gluing, etc. Fastening the cladding elements has been time consuming and awkward.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to overcome the above- mentioned drawbacks.

The object of the present invention is especially to disclose a method that facilitates and speeds up the assembly of an elevator car. Likewise, the object of the invention is to disclose a rapid disassembly method. In addition, the object of the invention is to disclose a light and cheap elevator car that is simple in structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The method and arrangement of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the characterization part of claims 1, 20 and 23. Other embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the other claims. Some inventive embodiments are also discussed in the descriptive section and drawings of the present application. The inventive content of the application can also be defined differently than in the claims presented below. The inventive content may also consist of several separate inventions, especially if the invention is considered in the light of expressions or implicit sub-tasks or from the point of view of advantages or categories of advantages achieved. In this case, some of the attributes contained in the claims below may be superfluous from the point of view of separate

inventive concepts. The features of the various embodiments can be applied within the framework of the basic inventive concept in conjunction with other embodiments.

The method of the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in claim 1. Further, the method of the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in claim 20. In addition, the elevator car of the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in claim 23.

In the method according to the invention a car frame is assembled, said car frame comprising a floor, a ceiling and vertical columns that connect the floor and the ceiling to each other, and wall elements and/or cladding elements are installed into the car 'frame.

According to the invention, an essentially planar, elastically flexible wall element and/or cladding element is arranged, which comprises a first surface, a second surface, which is on the opposite side in relation to the first surface, a first end and a second end, the second end being at a distance from the first end. A first detent, against which the first surface of the wall element and/or cladding element in the proximity of the first end can be supported; a second detent, against which the first end of the wall element and/or cladding element can be supported; a third detent, which extends a certain distance from the second detent in order to extend over the top of the second surface of the wall element and/or cladding element; a fourth detent, against which the first surface of the wall element and/or cladding element in the proximity of the second end can be supported; a fifth detent, against which the second end of the wall element and/or cladding element can be supported; a sixth detent, which extends a certain distance from the fifth detent in order to extend over the top of the second surface of the wall element and/or cladding element, are arranged in the car frame. The wall element and/or cladding element is gripped. The wall element and/or cladding element is

elastically bent into an arc so that the direct distance between the first end and the second end decreases. The first end of the wall element and/or cladding element is conveyed over the third detent to rest against the second detent and the second end is conveyed over the sixth detent to rest against the fifth detent. Then the wall element and/or cladding element is allowed to return to its original planar shape so that the wall element in the vicinity of the first end is supported by means of the first, second and third detents and in the vicinity of the second end is supported by means of the fourth, fifth and sixth detents.

One advantage of the invention is that the assembly, and likewise the disassembly, of an elevator car becomes easier and faster. Another advantage is that the elevator car becomes structurally simple, light and cheap.

In one embodiment of the assembly method the car frame is arranged so that an opening limited by the floor, the ceiling and two adjacent vertical columns is formed. The wall elements and/or cladding elements are taken inside the car frame via the opening. The wall elements and/or cladding elements are installed in the car frame from the inside.

In one embodiment of the assembly method the wall elements and/or cladding elements are installed in the car frame from the outside.

In one embodiment of the assembly method the wall element and/or cladding element forms an essentially rectangular shaped element .

In one embodiment of the assembly method a first detent, a second detent and a third detent in the proximity of the floor and a fourth detent, fifth detent and sixth detent in the proximity of the ceiling are formed.

In one embodiment of the assembly method the walls of the elevator car are formed with the aforementioned wall elements .

In one embodiment of the assembly method the inside surfaces of the elevator car are clad with the aforementioned cladding elements being installed on the walls, floor or ceiling.

In one embodiment of the assembly method the outside surfaces of the elevator car are clad with the aforementioned cladding elements being installed on the walls.

In one embodiment of the assembly method a wall is formed from one or more wall elements.

In one embodiment of the assembly method cladding is formed from one or more cladding elements.

In one embodiment of the assembly method a wall element and/or cladding element is formed from composite board, laminated board or some other similar flexible material .

In one embodiment of the assembly method a wall element and/or cladding element is formed from composite board, said board comprising two surface layers and a core layer between the surface layers.

In one embodiment of the assembly method a wall element and/or cladding element is formed from composite board, the surface layers of which consist of a uniform solid material, such as metal or plastic or a sandwich construction made of these and the core layer is a cellular structure, said cellular structure preferably being metal, plastic or a combination of these.

In one embodiment of the assembly method the surface of the wall element and/or cladding element is gripped at the first gripping point with one gripping device and at the second

gripping point with a second gripping device, which is a distance away from the first gripping point. The wall element and/or cladding element is bent by turning the gripping devices in relation to each other.

In one embodiment of the assembly method a ceiling and/or floor is formed from composite board, to the edge of which a support means is attached, said support means forming at least one of the aforementioned detents for supporting the wall element and/or cladding element.

In one embodiment of the assembly method a ceiling and/or floor is formed from composite board, said board comprising two planar panels and a corrugated panel between the panels.

In one embodiment of the assembly method the car frame is assembled, and the wall elements and/or cladding elements are installed in the car frame, in the elevator shaft.

In one embodiment of the assembly method the car frame is assembled, and the wall elements and/or cladding elements are installed in the car frame, outside the elevator shaft.

In one embodiment of the assembly method fixing bolts for fastening the vertical columns are arranged on the ceiling and floor to form the car frame. Vertical columns are arranged which have substantially identical fixing links, in matching positions in the vertical direction, at the upper end and lower end of each vertical column, each fixing link comprising a hole part, through which the head part of the fixing bolt can pass, a vertical first link part, which extends from the hole part in the vertical direction and the width of which is smaller than the head part of the fixing bolt and larger than the threaded part of the fixing bolt, and a horizontal second link part, which extends in the horizontal direction from the end of the first link part and the width of which is essentially of the same magnitude as the width of first link part. The ceiling is raised to a

height above the floor corresponding to the height of the vertical columns so that the distance between the fixing bolt on the floor and the fixing bolt on the ceiling is as great as the distance between the hole parts of the fixing links at the lower end and the upper end of the vertical column. The vertical column is placed so that the hole parts of the fixing links are directly facing the fixing bolts. The vertical column is moved so that the heads of the fixing bolts go through the hole parts. The vertical column is moved in the vertical direction guided by the first link parts. Then the vertical column is moved in the horizontal direction guided by the second link parts until the fixing bolt is at the end of the second link part. The fixing bolts are tightened in order to fasten the vertical column to the floor and the ceiling.

In the method for disassembling an elevator car according to the invention, the wall element and/or cladding element in the car frame is gripped and the wall element and/or cladding element is bent elastically into an arc so that the direct distance between the first end and the second end decreases. Then the first end of the bent wall element and/or cladding element is moved over the third detent away from contact with the second detent, and the second end is moved over the sixth detent away from contact with the fifth detent.

In one embodiment of the disassembly method the wall element and/or cladding element is disassembled from inside the elevator car.

In one embodiment of the disassembly method the wall element and/or cladding element is disassembled from outside the elevator car.

The elevator car of the invention comprises a car frame, which consists of a floor, a ceiling and vertical columns that connect the floor and the ceiling to each other, and at

least one wall element and/or cladding element, which is attached to the car frame.

The wall element and/or cladding element of the invention is essentially planar and elastically flexible, and a wall element and/or cladding element comprises a first surface, a second surface, which is on the opposite side in relation to the first surface, a first end and a second end, the second end being at a distance from the first end. The car frame comprises a first detent, against which the first surface of the wall element and/or cladding element in the proximity of the first end can be supported, a second detent, against which the first end of the wall element and/or cladding element can be supported, a third detent, which extends a certain distance from the second detent in order to extend over the top of the second surface of the wall element and/or cladding element, a fourth detent, against which the first surface of the wall element and/or cladding element in the proximity of the second end can be supported, a fifth detent, against which the second end of the wall element and/or cladding element can be supported, and a sixth detent, which extends a certain distance from the fifth detent in order to extend over the top of the second surface of the wall element and/or cladding element.

In one embodiment of the elevator car the wall element and/or cladding element covers a part of the whole surface area of the wall of the elevator car.

In one embodiment of the elevator car the wall element and/or cladding element covers the whole surface area of the wall of the elevator car.

In one embodiment of the elevator car the wall element and/or cladding element is essentially rectangular in shape.

In one embodiment of the elevator car the wall element and/or cladding element differs from a rectangular shape, e.g. triangular, parallelogram or round, etc, in shape.

In one embodiment of the elevator car the wall element and/or cladding element is composite board, laminated board or some other similar flexible board.

In one embodiment of the elevator car the wall element and/or cladding element is composite board, said composite board comprising two surface layers and a core layer between the surface layers .

In one embodiment of the elevator car the wall element and/or cladding element is composite board, the surface layers of which consist of a uniform solid material, such as metal or plastic or a sandwich construction made of these, and the core layer is a cellular structure, said cellular structure preferably being metal, plastic or a combination of these.

In one embodiment of the elevator car the ceiling and/or floor is composite board, on the edge of which is a support means which forms at least one of the aforementioned detents for supporting the wall element and/or cladding element.

In one embodiment of the elevator car the ceiling and/or floor is composite board comprising two planar panels, and a corrugated panel that is between the planar panels.

In one embodiment of the elevator car the ceiling and floor contain fixing bolts for fastening the vertical columns. At the upper end and lower end of each vertical column are substantially identical fixing links, in matching positions in the vertical direction, for fastening to the fixing bolts. Each fixing link consists of a hole part, through which the head part of the fixing bolt can be pushed; a vertical first link part, which extends from the hole part in the vertical direction and the width of which is smaller than the head

part of the fixing bolt and larger than the threaded part of the fixing bolt; and a horizontal second link part, which extends in the horizontal direction from the end of the first link part and the width of which is essentially of the same magnitude as the width of first link part.

LIST OF FIGURES

In the following, the invention will be described in detail by the aid of a few examples of its embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 is an axonometrically presented oblique top view of a car frame of an elevator car and some wall elements, in different attitudes, to be installed into it with one embodiment of the method according to the invention,

Fig. Ia presents a section of the floor and/or ceiling of the car frame of Fig. 1,

Figs. 2 and 3 present different stages of the method of one embodiment of the method according to the invention when installing a wall element into the car frame of Fig. 1 from the inside,

Fig. 4 presents an IV-IV section of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 presents a V-V section of Fig. 3,

Fig. 6 presents a VI-VI cross-section of the car frame of Fig. 3, after the installation of three wall elements,

Fig. 7 illustrates in perspective the manual installation of a wall element and/or cladding element into the elevator car from the inside of the elevator car,

Fig. 8 axonometrically presents a car frame, onto which wall elements and/or cladding elements according to another embodiment of the method of the invention are mounted,

Pig. 9 axonometrically presents a floor, ceiling and one vertical column, and

Figs. 10 - 13 present stages of the assembly method when installing a vertical column onto the ceiling and the floor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 shows the car frame 1 of the elevator car. The car frame 1 comprises a floor 2, ceiling 3 and vertical columns 4 that connect the ceiling and the floor to each other. In the examples shown in the figures, the floor 2 and the ceiling 3 are rectangular in shape and in their corners are four vertical columns 4 that function as corner columns, but it is obvious that the floor 2 and the ceiling 3 can be of other shapes also, such as polygonal or round, and that there can be any other suitable number of vertical columns between them.

The floor 2 and/or the ceiling 3 are preferably board of composite construction, such as in Fig. Ia, consisting, in the structure illustrated, of two planar panels 21, which are fixed to a corrugated panel 22 situated between them. A preferred material of the floor 2 and/or the ceiling 3 is e.g. approx. 4 - 30 mm thick aluminum composite panel, sold under the trade name Doluflex, manufacturer Donati Group spa,

Italy, the structure and manufacturing method of which is disclosed in publication EP 0 939 176 Bl. The floor or ceiling of an elevator car formed from this material is very light, strong and rigid. Doluflex material is also easy to machine with conventional machining methods and machine tools. It can be drilled, milled, sawn, pressed, die cut, bent, chamfered, etc. The material has not previously been

used in connection with elevators . The material of the floor 2 and the ceiling 3 can of course be any other suitable material .

Fig. 1 also shows a wall element and/or cladding element 5 intended for installation into the car frame 1. A wall element means an element that forms a wall or part of it. A cladding element means an element for installation on top of some other surface, e.g. a paneling element, which forms the inside surface of the elevator car. This example uses an element 5, which is intended for installation into the car frame 1 from the inside of it. In the example, the element 5 is rectangular in shape. In another embodiment the element 5 can also be a shape that differs from a rectangular shape, e.g. triangular, parallelogram or round, etc, in shape. The element 5 is dimensioned so that it covers the whole side wall of the elevator car such that it covers the opening bounded by the ceiling 2, the floor 3 and two vertical columns 4. To enable this kind of element 5 to be installed into the car frame 1 from the inside, the material must be a material that can be bent elastically, in other words reversibly such that the wall element 5 returns to its original shape after bending .

The wall element and/or cladding element 5 is preferably composite board, laminated board or some other similar flexible material. Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, one preferred material of the wall element and/or cladding element 5 is approx. 2 - 4 mm thick composite board sold under the trade name Dibond (manufacturer Alcan Composites) , in which a cell structure 18 formed of polyethylene is between approx. 0.3 - 0.5 mm thick aluminum layers 17. This type of material is very light, so one person can lift, move and bend a panel the size of a whole elevator car wall. Dibond is also a material that can be easily machined with conventional tools. It can be sawn, drilled, milled, cut, bent, die cut, etc. Conventional joints can also be formed in it, such as rivet joints, glued joints, screw joints, crimped joints and welded

joints. Surfacings can easily be formed on the surface of Dibond material by spray painting with conventional methods, patterns can be printed onto it using silkscreen printing methods, and coating layers can be laminated onto it. These properties make it a good material for cladding elements also. Dibond material has not previously been used in connection with elevator cars.

Fig. 1 illustrates that the wall element 5 can be inclined and/or bent in order for the wall element 5 to fit inside the car frame 1 through the opening between the vertical columns 4.

In Fig. 2 the wall element 5 has been moved inside the car frame 1 bent. The sectional drawing in Fig. 4 shows that a first detent 10 is arranged on the edge of the ceiling 3 in the car frame 1, against which detent the first surface 6 of the wall element 5 in the proximity of the first end 8 can be supported. The first end 8 of the wall element 5 can be supported against the second detent 11. The third detent 12 extends a certain distance from the second detent 11 in order to extend over the top of the second surface 7 of the wall element 5.

Likewise the first surface 6 of the wall element 5 in the proximity of the second end 9 can be supported against the fourth detent 13 at the edge of the floor 2. The second end 9 of the wall element 5 can be supported against the fifth detent 14. The sixth detent 15 extends a certain distance from the fifth detent 14 in order to extend over the top of the second surface 7 of the wall element 5.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4 the wall element 5 is moved while elastically bent around the horizontal axis so that the first end 8 of the wall element 5 passes over the third detent 12 to rest against the second detent 11 and the second end 9 passes over the sixth detent 15 to rest against the fifth detent 14.

Then, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5 the wall element 5 is allowed to return to its original planar shape so that the wall element 5 in the vicinity of the first end 8 is supported by means of the first, second and third detents 10, 11, 12 and in the vicinity of the second end 9 by means of the fourth, fifth and sixth detents 13, 14, 15.

Fig. 7 illustrates that if the installation of the element 5 is performed manually from inside the car frame 1, the surface of the element 5 can be gripped with one gripping device 19 at the first gripping point, and with a second gripping device 19 at the second gripping point, which is a certain distance lower in relation to the first gripping point. The wall element and/or cladding element 5 is bent by turning the grippers 19 in relation to each other.

Fig. 8 illustrates that the wall or its cladding can be formed from a number of elements 5 that are smaller than the surface area of the wall and installed between the vertical columns 4 by bending them around the vertical axis.

Figs. 2 - 6 show that support means 20 are fastened to the edge of the ceiling 3 and the floor 2, said support means forming two of the aforementioned detents, namely detents 10 and 11, as well as detents 13 and 14 for supporting the wall element and/or cladding element 5. The other necessary detents 12 and 15 are formed from the vertical side edges of the ceiling 3 and the floor 2.

The installation method described is just as viable in newbuilding in connection with the assembly of a new elevator car, which can be performed either in the elevator shaft or outside it, as it is in connection with the modernization of an elevator car, in which the wall elements and/or cladding elements in an old elevator car are replaced with new ones, the work being performed either inside or outside the elevator car.

Disassembly is also as easy as installation and can be performed just as well from inside or outside the elevator car. In the method for disassembly, the wall element and/or cladding element 5 in the car frame 1 is gripped and the wall element and/or cladding element is bent elastically into an arc so that the direct distance between the first end 8 and the second end 9 decreases. Then the first end 8 of the bent wall element and/or cladding element 5 is moved over the third detent 12 away from contact with the second detent 11, and the second end 9 is moved over the sixth detent 15 away from contact with the fifth detent 14.

Figs. 9 - 10 illustrate a preferred formation of the floor 2, the ceiling 3 and the vertical columns 4 of the car frame 1 using the fastening of one vertical column as an example. The advantage of the arrangement is that it is possible to assemble the car frame 1 in the elevator shaft and that the car frame 1 can be formed to be as large as possible in relation to the space in the elevator shaft. By installing the vertical columns 4 from inside the car frame working in the manner described in Figs. 10 - 13, the space between the car frame 1 and the elevator shaft can at minimum be approx. 10 mm.

Fixing bolts 23 are arranged on the ceiling 3 and the floor 2 for fastening the vertical columns 4. At the upper end and lower end of the vertical column 4 are substantially identical fixing links 24 in matching positions in the vertical direction. Both of the fixing links 24 comprise a hole part 25, through which the head part of the fixing bolt 23 can be passed, a vertical first link part 26, which extends from the hole part in the vertical direction and the width of which is smaller than the head part of the fixing bolt 23 and larger than the threaded part of the fixing bolt 23, and a horizontal second link part 27, which extends in the horizontal direction from the end of the first link part and the width of which is essentially of the same magnitude

as the width of first link part. At first the ceiling 3 is raised (with lifting equipment not presented here) above the floor 2 to a height corresponding to the height of the vertical column 4 so that the distance between the fixing bolt 23 on the floor 2 and the fixing bolt 23 on the ceiling 3 is as great as the distance between the hole parts 25 of the fixing links 24 at the lower end and the upper end of the vertical column.

According to Fig. 10, the vertical column 4 is placed so that the hole parts 25 of the fixing links 24 are directly facing the fixing bolts 23.

According to Fig. 11, the vertical column 4 is moved so that the heads of the fixing bolts 23 go through the hole parts 25.

According to Fig. 12, the vertical column 4 is moved in the vertical direction guided by the first link parts 26 until the fixing bolts 23 meet the end of the first link parts 26.

In Fig. 13 the vertical column 4 is moved in the horizontal direction guided by the second link parts 27 until the fixing bolt 23 is at the end of the second link part 27.

Finally the fixing bolts 23 are tightened in order to fasten the vertical column 4 to the floor 2 and to the ceiling 3.

It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, in which the invention is described using examples, but that many adaptations and different embodiments of the invention are possible within the frameworks of the inventive concept defined by the claims presented below.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

car frame (1) floor (2) ceiling (3) vertical column (4) wall element and/or cladding element (5) first surface (6) second surface (7) first end (8) second end (9) first detent (10) second detent (11) third detent (12) fourth detent (13) fifth detent (14) sixth detent (15) opening (16) , surface layer (17) core layer (18) gripping device (19) support means (20) planar panel (21) corrugated panel (22) fixing bolt (23) fixing link (24) hole part (25) first link part (26) second link part (27)