The invention relates to a lifting device with a lift cage which has a passenger compartment and a cable winch arranged on the lift cage for the vertical displacement of the lift cage along a bearing cable.

Lifting devices of this type are used for the vertical transport of persons and/or loads, in particular in cranes, masts or towers. For example, service personnel can be transported vertically in the tower of a wind power plant with the aid of these devices in order to reach the machine room of the wind power plant which is arranged at the upper end of the tower. For this purpose, the lifting device comprises a lift cage which has a passenger compartment. The service personnel can enter the passenger compartment. The lifting device is driven with the aid of a cable winch, typically a continuous winch, with which the bearing cable is guided around a drive disk which can be caused to rotate by a motor. The cable winch often has pressure members, with the aid of which the bearing cable is pressed against the drive disk in order to achieve the required friction between bearing cable and drive disk. The lift cage can be moved upwards and downwards on the bearing cable with the aid of the cable winch.

The traveling of the lift cage in a vertical direction entails a not inconsiderable consumption of energy. The object of the present invention is to reduce the energy consumption of the lifting device during travel of the lift cage. This object is accomplished in accordance with the invention, in a lifting device of the generic type, in that the cable winch is arranged beneath the passenger compartment.

In the case of the lifting device according to the invention, the cable winch is arranged beneath the passenger compartment. This has the advantage that a solid support structure for the passenger compartment can be dispensed with since the passenger compartment need no longer absorb the force of the weight of the cable winch when the lift cage is located in a parking position, in which it sits on a standing surface. Since a solid support structure for the passenger compartment can be dispensed with, the weight of the lift cage can be reduced. This means, on the other hand, that the energy consumption of the lifting device when the lift cage is traveling can be kept low.

The bearing cable can be directed to the cable winch arranged beneath the passenger compartment preferably in a vertical direction through the passenger compartment. As a result, additional deflecting rollers can be dispensed with. This makes an additional reduction in the weight of the lift cage possible. In addition, the direct guidance of the bearing cable to the cable winch without the use of any deflecting rollers which are mounted on the lift cage for rotation allows the number of movable parts of the lifting device to be reduced. This makes the lifting device less susceptible to breakdowns and increases its service life.

It is of advantage when a speed limiter is also arranged beneath the

passenger compartment and a speed limiter cable can be directed to this speed limiter in a vertical direction through the passenger compartment. The speed limiter normally forms a safety device, with the aid of which it is ensured that the lift cage will be braked abruptly when the speed of the lift cage increases inadmissibly. Speed limiters of this type are known per se to the person skilled in the art. The arrangement of the speed limiter beneath the passenger compartment makes an additional reduction in the weight of the passenger compartment possible since it does not experience any excessive mechanical load even in the case of a breakdown and can, therefore, be designed in a very weight-saving manner.

The speed limiter cable which interacts with the speed limiter in a known manner is also directed to the speed limiter in a vertical direction through the passenger compartment and so additional deflecting rollers can also be dispensed with for the speed limiter cable.

It is of advantage when a cable protection device is arranged in the passenger compartment and surrounds the bearing cable and/or the speed limiter cable. It may be ensured by means of the cable protection device that a person who enters the passenger compartment cannot come into contact with the bearing cable or the speed limiter cable even though the cable is guided through the passenger compartment in a vertical direction.

The cable protection device extends, in one advantageous embodiment of the invention, from a top wall as far as a bottom wall of the passenger

compartment.

The cable protection device preferably has at least one movable section which can be moved back and forth between a protection position surrounding the bearing cable and/or the speed limiter cable and a release position releasing the bearing cable and/or the speed limiter cable. During normal working use of the lifting device, the at least one movable section of the cable protection device is in its protection position, in which it surrounds the bearing cable and/or the speed limiter cable in circumferential direction and, as a result, ensures that a person standing in the passenger compartment cannot come into contact with the cable. If the bearing cable or the speed limiter cable are intended to be checked, however, for possible damage, the at least one movable section can be moved into its release position, in which the bearing cable or the speed limiter cable are directly accessible within the passenger compartment so that a person can observe the bearing cable or the speed limiter cable during travel of the lift cage. The person can, in this respect, remain in their position in the passenger compartment and need not, therefore, leave the passenger compartment for the purpose of inspecting the bearing cable or the speed limiter cable.

In order to be able to check the bearing cable and/or the speed limiter cable during travel of the lift cage practically over their entire length, it is favorable when a movable section of the cable protection device is arranged directly adjacent to the bottom wall of the passenger compartment. With such a configuration, the bearing cable and/or the speed limiter cable can be checked directly at the bottom wall of the passenger compartment. If the lift cage is moved vertically upwards proceeding from a position at the lower end of the bearing cable, wherein the movable section of the cable protection device which is arranged adjacent to the bottom wall of the passenger compartment is in its release position, the bearing cable and the speed limiter cable, respectively, can be checked practically over their entire length at the bottom wall of the passenger compartment, wherein the service personnel can remain in position within the passenger compartment.

The cable protection device has, in one preferred development of the invention, at least one protective tube which extends from the bottom wall as far as the top wall of the passenger compartment. The bearing cable or the speed limiter cable can be guided through the protective tube in a longitudinal direction and since the protective tube extends from the bottom wall as far as the top wall of the passenger compartment, it is possible to reliably avoid any contact being made with the bearing cable or the speed limiter cable by a person in the passenger compartment.

The at least one protective tube preferably has at least one movable tube section which can be displaced relative to a stationary tube section in longitudinal direction of the protective tube. The displaceability of the movable tube section makes it possible in a constructionally simple manner to move the movable tube section back and forth between a protection position and a release position. In the protection position, the movable tube section surrounds the bearing cable or speed limiter cable guided through the protective tube and in the release position the bearing cable or the speed limiter cable are accessible for checking.

It has proven to be favorable when a movable tube section forms the end area of the protective tube facing the bottom wall of the passenger compartment. If the movable tube section is moved into its release position, the bearing cable guided through the protective tube or the speed limiter cable guided through the protective tube is accessible at the bottom wall of the passenger compartment for checking.

A flange is advantageously secured to the movable tube section of the protective tube and this can be releasably connected, in particular screwed, to the bottom wall of the passenger compartment. As already mentioned, the cable protection device extends in one advantageous embodiment from the bottom wall as far as the top wall of the passenger compartment. With such a configuration, it is favorable when the passenger compartment has a rear wall and the cable protection device is arranged at a distance from and parallel to the rear wall, wherein several bars extend between the rear wall and the cable protection device and they form a ladder in their entirety. As a result of the bars, the cable protection device can, on the one hand, be secured on the rear wall within the passenger compartment. As a result, the cable protection device has a high mechanical load capacity, wherein it can, in particular, also safely withstand forces which act horizontally. On the other hand, the bars, which respectively extend between the rear wall of the passenger compartment and the cable protection device, enable a ladder to be formed in a constructionally simple manner and so a skylight favorably arranged in the top wall of the passenger compartment can comfortably be reached by a person. This is of advantage when, for example in wind power plants, a room above the upper end of the bearing cable is intended to be accessible. In such a case, the lift cage can take up its uppermost position and a person can climb out of the lift cage in a vertical direction via the ladder and the skylight. In this way, a work platform of the wind power plant, which is arranged above the upper end of the bearing cable, can, for example, be reached.

The ladder which is arranged in the passenger compartment in the area of the rear wall also offers the possibility of securing work utensils brought along by a person to the ladder.

The rear wall of the passenger compartment preferably has two rear wall sections, between which the bars of the ladder are secured. For the purpose of securing the bars between the two rear wall sections, a holding part can be used which extends between the two rear wall sections. The holding part gives the rear wall additional mechanical stability.

In one particularly preferred development of the lifting device according to the invention, the lift cage has a drive chamber beneath the passenger

compartment, in which the cable winch as well as a control device associated with the cable winch are arranged.

The drive chamber is favorably accessible via closable openings in the bottom wall of the passenger compartment. This allows a person entering the passenger compartment to store any tool they have brought along in the drive chamber.

The drive chamber favorably comprises a dividing wall which extends in a vertical direction between a bottom wall of the lift cage and a bottom wall of the passenger compartment and on which the cable winch is held. The provision of the dividing wall, which divides the working space into two subchambers, gives the lift cage a particularly high mechanical stability. The bottom wall of the passenger compartment, which has to bear the weight of a person to be transported, is supported by the bottom wall of the passenger compartment by means of the dividing wall . The cable winch can be secured to the dividing wall.

A speed limiter of the lifting device is also favorably positioned in the drive chamber. In this respect, it is of advantage when the speed limiter is held on the side of the dividing wall of the drive chamber which faces away from the cable winch. As already mentioned, the weight of the lift cage can be kept low as a result of the positioning of the cable winch beneath the passenger compartment since it need not have any special bearing structure. In one advantageous

embodiment, the passenger compartment is designed to be frameless and formed by panels which are connected to one another. The panels can be produced from a flat material, in particular from sheet metal.

It is favorable when at least one panel is, in sections, of a transparent configuration. For example, it may be provided for a window to be arranged in at least one panel.

The following description of one preferred embodiment of the invention serves to explain the invention in greater detail in conjunction with the drawings. These show:

Figure 1 : a perspective illustration of a lifting device according to the invention;

Figure 2 : a perspective illustration of the lifting device from Figure

1, wherein front panels of the lifting device have been removed;

Figure 3 : an enlarged illustration of a lower area of the lifting device from Figure 1, wherein a movable section of a cable protection device is in a protection position, and

Figure 4: an enlarged illustration of the lower area of the lifting

device according to Figure 3, wherein the movable section of the cable protection device is in a release position. A lifting device according to the invention, which is designated altogether with the reference numeral 10, is illustrated schematically in the drawings. It comprises a lift cage 12 which is essentially of a parallelepiped design in the embodiment illustrated and has a rear wall 14, an upper and a lower end wall 16 and 17, respectively, as well as two side walls 18, 20 located opposite one another. In addition, the lift cage 12 comprises a top wall 22 as well as a first bottom wall 24 and a second bottom wall 26. Above the first bottom wall 24, the lift cage 12 defines a passenger compartment 28 which can be entered by persons to be transported via a door opening 30 in the upper end wall 16. The door opening 30 can be closed by a door which can be moved parallel to the upper end wall 16 and is not illustrated in the drawings. The persons entering the passenger compartment 28 stand on the first bottom wall 24 which forms the floor of the passenger compartment 28.

Between the first bottom wall 24 and the second bottom wall 26 the lift cage 12 defines a drive chamber 32 which is divided into a first subchamber 36 and a second subchamber 38 by a dividing wall 34 which is aligned at right angles to the bottom walls 24, 26 and at right angles to the rear wall 14. The dividing wall 34 extends at right angles to the rear wall 14 only over a section of the drive chamber 32 and so a front area of the drive chamber 32 which is arranged adjacent to the lower end wall 17 between the two side walls 18 and 20 extends over the entire width of the lift cage 12 without being subdivided by the dividing wall 34.

The first bottom wall 24 has three floor openings 40, 42, 44 which can each be closed by a cover 46, 48 and 50, respectively. The first subchamber 36 of the drive chamber 32 is accessible from the passenger compartment 28 via the first floor opening 40. The second floor opening 42 makes access from the passenger compartment 28 to the second subchamber 38 possible and the third floor opening 34 makes access from the passenger compartment 28 to the front area of the drive chamber 32 adjacent to the lower end wall 17 possible.

A speed limiter 52 is held on the side of the dividing wall 34 facing the first subchamber 32 and a cable winch in the form of a continuous winch 54 is held on the side of the dividing wall 34 facing the second subchamber 38. As is customary, the continuous winch 54 comprises a drive motor 56 which, via a gear 58, drives a drive disk which is not illustrated in the drawings and is arranged in a drive disk housing 60. The drive disk housing 60 is arranged on the dividing wall 34.

The control of the continuous winch 54 is brought about by means of an electric control device 62 which is fixed in position on the rear wall 14 of the lift cage 12 in the area of the first subchamber 36.

A cable protection device 64 is arranged in the passenger compartment 28 and this extends from the first bottom wall 24 as far as the top wall 22. It has a first protective tube 66 and a second protective tube 68 which are arranged parallel to and at a distance from one another. The two protective tubes 66, 68 are secured to a profiled holding means 70 which is held on the rear wall 14 by means of several bars 72, 73, 74, 75. The bars 72, 73, 74, 75 are of an identical design and held between two rear wall sections 78, 80. In

combination with the two protective tubes 66, 68 and the profiled holding means 70, the bars 72, 73, 74,75 form a ladder 82 which is vertically aligned and extends from the first bottom wall 24 as far as the top wall 22 of the passenger compartment 28. A skylight 84 is arranged in the top wall 22 and is covered by a releasable transparent cover 86. A person can leave the passenger compartment 28 in a vertical direction via the ladder 82 and the skylight 84.

The first protective tube 66 has a first stationary tube section 88 and a first movable tube section 90. The first movable tube section 90 forms the end area of the first protective tube 66 which is immediately adjacent to the first bottom wall 24 and the first stationary tube section 88 extends as far as the first movable tube section 90 proceeding from the top wall 22.

The second protective tube 68 comprises a second stationary tube section 92 and a second movable tube section 94. The second movable tube section 94 forms the end area of the second protective tube 68 which is immediately adjacent to the first bottom wall 24 and the second stationary tube section 92 extends from the top wall 22 as far as the second movable tube section 94.

The first movable tube section 90 and the second movable tube section 94 are rigidly connected to one another via a common flange 96. The flange 96 is releasably connected to the first bottom wall 24. In the embodiment illustrated, the flange 96 is screwed to the first bottom wall 24.

In combination with the flange 96, the two movable tube sections 90 and 94 form a section 98 of the cable protection device 64 which can be moved in a vertical direction. It can be displaced back and forth between a protection position, which is illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 and in which the flange 96 abuts on the first bottom wall 24, and a release position which is illustrated in Figure 4 and in which the flange 96 and the movable tube sections 90, 94 are at a distance from the first bottom wall 24. During the transition from the protection position into the release position the end areas of the stationary tube sections 88 and 92 facing the first bottom wall 24 dip into the movable tube sections 90 and 94, respectively.

In alignment with the first protective tube 66 the top wall 24 has a first top wall passage 100 and in alignment with the second protective tube 68 the top wall 22 has a second top wall passage 102. The second bottom wall 26 comprises, in a corresponding manner, a first bottom wall passage 104 in alignment with the first protective tube 66 and the second bottom wall 26 comprises a second bottom wall passage 106 in alignment with the second protective tube 68.

The first bottom wall 24 has a first passage 108 between the first floor opening 40 and the second floor opening 42 which is in alignment with the first protective tube 66 and in the protection position of the movable section 98 accommodates an end area of the first movable tube section 90 and the first bottom wall 24 has a second passage 110 which is in alignment with the second protective tube 68 and in the protection position of the movable section 98 accommodates an end area of the second movable tube section 94.

A speed limiter cable 112 can be guided through the first top wall passage 100, the first protective tube 66, the first passage 108 and the first bottom wall passage 104 and this interacts with the speed limiter 52 in the known manner. In a corresponding way, a bearing cable 114 can be guided through the second top wall passage 102, the second protective tube 68, the second passage 110 and the second bottom wall passage 106 and this interacts with the continuous winch 54 in the known manner in order to move the lift cage 12 in a vertical direction. The bearing cable 114 can, therefore, be directed to the continuous winch 54 arranged beneath the passenger compartment 28 in a vertical direction through the passenger compartment 28, wherein it is protected within the passenger compartment 28 from any contact with a person in the passenger compartment 28 by means of the second protective tube 68. In a

corresponding manner, the speed limiter cable 112 can be directed to the speed limiter 52 in a vertical direction through the passenger compartment 28, wherein it is protected within the passenger compartment 28 from any contact with a person in the passenger compartment 28 by means of the first protective tube 66. The bearing cable 114 is guided to the continuous winch 54 without the use of deflecting rollers and, in a corresponding way, the speed limiter cable 112 is guided to the speed limiter 52 without the use of deflecting rollers.

The arrangement of the continuous winch 54 beneath the passenger

compartment 28 in the drive chamber 32 enables the passenger compartment 28 to be designed in a frameless manner, i .e. a reinforcing frame for the passenger compartment 28 can be dispensed with . In a corresponding way, a reinforcing frame for the drive chamber 32 can also be dispensed with. On the contrary, a frame 116 for increasing the rigidity of the lift cage 12, with several struts 118 which increase the mechanical stability of the lift cage 12, is merely arranged beneath the drive chamber 32.

The rear wall sections 78, 80 of the rear wall 14 are, in the same way as the end walls 16, 17, the side walls 18, 20, the top wall 22 and the two bottom walls 24, 26, designed as panels and manufactured from a flat material . In the embodiment illustrated, they are designed as sheet metal parts which are screwed to one another. The side walls 18, 20 each have a window 120, 122 in their end areas facing the top wall 22 and also the cover 86 of the skylight 84 is manufactured from a transparent material, for example a plastic material .

The weight of the lift cage 12 can be kept low as a result of the positioning of the continuous winch 54 beneath the passenger compartment 28. This enables the energy consumption of the lifting device 10 to be kept low. The lifting device 10 is also characterized by a long service life since it has only a relatively small number of movable parts.

As already mentioned, service personnel can be transported, for example, in the tower of a wind power plant by means of the lift cage 12. The cable protection device 64 ensures that the service personnel cannot come into contact unintentionally with the speed limiter cable 112 and/or the bearing cable 114 while the lift cage 12 is moving relative to these cables. For this purpose, the movable section 98 of the cable protection device takes up its protection position, in which the flange 96 is screwed to the first bottom wall 24. If the speed limiter cable 112 and/or the bearing cable 114 are intended to be inspected, the movable section 98 of the cable protection device 64 can, for this purpose, be moved into its release position, in which the movable tube sections 90 and 94, like the flange 96, are at a distance from the first bottom wall 24. This enables the speed limiter cable 112 and the bearing cable 114 to be checked while the lift cage 12 is traveling since they are directly accessible for inspection in the release position of the movable section 98. Since the movable section 98 directly adjoins the first bottom wall 24 within the passenger compartment 28, the speed limiter cable 112 and the bearing cable 114 can be checked practically over their entire length during travel of the lift cage 12 from its lowermost position as far as its uppermost position without a person needing to leave the passenger compartment 28 for this purpose.