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Title:
METHOD FOR MODERNIZING A HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2008/071831
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
A method for modernizing a hydraulic elevator, said hydraulic elevator having a pair of car guide rails (1, 2) on the same wall (4) of a shaft (3) and a hydraulic cylinder (5) placed between said car guide rails (1, 2). In the method, the hydraulic cylinder (5) is removed from the shaft (3). The hydraulic elevator is modernized into a traction sheave elevator provided with a rope- traction machine (6) by a technique whereby the old car guide rails (1, 2) are retained, the new rope-traction machine (6) is installed between the car guide rails in the space between the wall (3) and the path of the car, and the car (8) is suspended on the rope/ropes (7) of the rope- traction machine (6).

Inventors:
HAENNINEN ARI (FI)
RANTAMAEKI SEPPO (FI)
Application Number:
PCT/FI2007/000282
Publication Date:
June 19, 2008
Filing Date:
November 30, 2007
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
KONE CORP (FI)
HAENNINEN ARI (FI)
RANTAMAEKI SEPPO (FI)
International Classes:
B66B9/00; B66B9/04; B66B11/04
Foreign References:
GB2411887A2005-09-14
US20050217944A12005-10-06
JP2002037563A2002-02-06
DE20312911U12003-12-04
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
KONE CORPORATION/PATENT DEPARTMENT (Hyvinkää, FI)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1. Method for modernizing a hydraulic elevator, said hydraulic elevator having a pair of car guide rails (1, 2) on the same wall (4) of a shaft (3) and a hydraulic cylinder (5) placed between said car guide rails (1, 2), and in which method the hydraulic cylinder (5) is removed from the shaft (3), charac teri z ed in that the hydraulic elevator is modernized into a traction sheave elevator provided with a rope-traction machine (6) by a technique whereby the old car guide rails (1, 2) are retained, the new rope-traction machine (6) is installed between the car guide rails in the space between the wall (4) and the path of the car, and the car (8) is suspended on the rope/ropes (7) of the rope-traction machine (6).

2. Method according to claim 1, charac teri z ed in that: the rope-traction machine (6) is installed in the space vacated by removing the hydraulic cylinder (5) .

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, charac teri z ed in that the old car (8) and/or sling (9) and/or car doors (10) and/or landing doors (11) of the hydraulic elevator are retained.

4. Method according to claim 1 or 2, charac teri z ed in that the old car (8) and/or sling (9) and/or car doors (10) and/or landing doors (11) of the hydraulic elevator are replaced with new ones.

5. Method according to any one of claims 1 - 4, charac ter i z ed in that

- at the first end (I) of the shaft (3) a first machine module (12) is secured to the car guide rails (1, 2) and/or to the wall (4) of the shaft (3), which module contains mounted on a first module frame (13) at least one traction sheave (14) and at least one first diverting pulley (15), the rope/ropes (7) being passed around said

sheave and pulley, and a motor (16) for rotating the traction sheave,

- at the second end (II) of the car guide rails, a second machine module (17) is secured to the car guide rails (1, 2) and/or to the shaft wall (4), which module contains mounted on a second module frame (18) at least one second diverting pulley (19), around which the rope/ropes (7) is/are passed, and

- to the sling (9) of the existing old car (7) is secured a third machine module (20), which contains mounted on a third module frame (21) at least one third diverting pulley (22) and at least one fourth diverting pulley (23), which are fitted beside the car between the car guide rails (1, 2), and via which third diverting pulley (22) the rope or ropes (7) are passed and directed towards the at least one first diverting pulley (15) at the first end (I) of the shaft, and via which fourth diverting pulley (23) the rope or ropes (7) are passed and directed towards the at least one second diverting pulley (19) at the second end (II) of the shaft.

6. Elevator according to claim 5, charac t eri z ed in that the first end (I) of the shaft is the upper end, in which case the first machine module (12) is arranged near the upper end of the shaft; and that the second end (II) of the shaft is the lower end, in which case the second machine module (17) is arranged near the lower end of the shaft.

7. Elevator according to claim 5, charac teri z ed in that the first end (I) of the shaft is the lower end, in which case the first machine module (12) is arranged near the lower end of the shaft; and that the second end (II) of the shaft is the upper end, in which case the second machine module (17) is arranged near the upper end.

8. Method according to any one of claims 1 - 7, char ac teri z ed in that the suspension ratio of the rope- traction machine (6) is chosen such that a friction sufficient to allow operation without counterweight is pro- duced between the traction sheave (14) and the rope/ropes (7) .

9. Method according to claim 8, charac teri z ed in that the suspension ratio of the roping of the rope- traction machine is chosen as X:l, where X is selected from the following: 6, 8, 10, 12, 14.

10. Method according to any one of claims 1- 9, characteri zed in that the elevator is provided with a counterweight.

11. Method according to any one of claims 1 - 10, charac teri z ed in that a permanent-magnet synchronous motor of flat design is used as the motor (16) of the rope-traction machine (6) .

12. Method according to any one of claims 1 - 9 or 11, charac teri z ed in that the ropes are arranged in such a way that the elevator has no counterweight.

Description:

METHOD FOR MODERNIZING A HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method as defined in the preamble of claim 1.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In prior art, hydraulic elevators as illustrated in Figs. 1 - 8 are known. A hydraulic elevator is installed in an elevator shaft 3 in a building. The hydraulic elevator comprises vertical car guide rails 1, 2, along which a car 7 is caused to move in the shaft in a substantially vertical direction. A hydraulic cylinder 5 is placed in a space between a shaft wall 4 and the car 7.

The elevator may be a so-called rucksack-type elevator as illustrated in Figs. 1 - 5 and 7, in which the lifting power is applied from behind and the car guide rails 1, 2 are on the same side with the hydraulic cylinder 5 behind the rear wall of the car 7, or it may be an elevator with lifting power applied from one side as illustrated in Figs. 6 or 8 , in which the car guide rails 1, 2 and the hydraulic cylinder 5 are placed on one side of the car beside a side wall, in which case it is possible to achieve a so-called walk-through car with car doors in opposite walls of the car. Rear wall of the car here refers to the wall opposite to the car door, and side wall refers to an elevator car wall situated laterally rela- tive to the car door.

The hydraulic cylinder 5 comprises a cylinder part mounted in a substantially vertical orientation on a fixed structure in the elevator shaft and a piston rod which is movable relative to the cylinder part and arranged to be in functional connection with the car to

move the car either directly, being attached to the car sling 9 as in Figs. 1, 2, 5 and 6, or by indirect operation by means of a rope as in Figs. 3, 4, 7 and 8. In the indirectly operated hydraulic elevator in Figs. 3, 4, 6 and 8, the piston rod has at its end a rope pulley 24 with a rope 25 passed over it, one end of the rope being secured to a fixed elevator shaft structure at the lower end of the elevator shaft while the other end is fastened to the sling 9. To produce a hydraulic pressure for actu- ating the hydraulic cylinder, the hydraulic elevator further comprises a hydraulic unit 26, which is usually placed in a machine room 27, which is a room separate from the elevator shaft beside or near the lower end of the elevator shaft.

Hydraulic elevators are very commonly used. Usually they have been modernized by replacing components, e.g. the hydraulic unit, with corresponding new components and keeping the elevator hydraulically operated. Hydraulic elevators have also been modernized by completely replacing the elevator with a new roped traction sheave elevator with counterweight.

Prior-art methods of modernizing a hydraulic elevator, such as converting a hydraulic elevator into a conventional roped elevator, involve the problems of high costs and slow installation. When a hydraulic elevator is maintained as a hydraulically operated elevator, a further drawback are the general problems of a hydraulic eleva- tor, viz. noise, high energy consumption, smell problems and the need of regularly changing the hydraulic oils. Discarded oil is hazardous waste that is expensive to dispose of. In addition, a machine room space is still needed for the hydraulic unit.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

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

A specific object of the invention is to disclose a method that will enable a hydraulic elevator to be converted into a traction sheave elevator provided with a rope-traction machine in a manner allowing the existing structures of the hydraulic elevator to be saved and utilized as far as possible.

A further object of the invention is to disclose a mod- ernizing method that will make it possible to get rid of the problems associated with a hydraulic elevator.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The method of the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the characterizing part of claim 1. Other embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the other claims. Inventive embodiments are also presented in the description part and drawings of the present application. Inventive embodiments are also presented in the description part and drawings of the present application. The inventive content disclosed in the application can also be defined in other ways than is done in the claims below. The inventive content may also consist of several separate inventions, especially if the invention is considered in the light of explicit or implicit sub-tasks or with respect to advantages or sets 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. Within the scope of the basic inventive concept, the features of different embodiments of the invention can be applied in connection with other embodiments.

According to the invention, a hydraulic elevator is modernized into a traction sheave elevator provided with a rope-traction machine by a technique whereby the old car guide rails are retained, a new rope-traction machine is

installed between the car guide rails in the space left vacant between the wall and the path of the car after removal of the hydraulic cylinder, and the car is suspended on the rope/ropes of the rope-traction machine.

The invention has the advantage that the structures of the hydraulic elevator, such as the elevator car and car guide rails, can be utilized to achieve an elevator that is simple in construction, light, safe and more energy- economical than before. It is possible to implement the elevator in a very compact form such that, when installed in the elevator shaft, it only requires a small shaft space in the lateral direction and can be accommodated in the space between the guide rails that remains vacant when the hydraulic cylinder is removed.

Due to the simple construction, the elevator of the invention provides the further advantages of a small need for maintenance, a short installation time, few risks of installation error, and installability by a single person.

In an embodiment of the method, the old car and/or sling and/or car doors and/or landing doors of the hydraulic elevator are retained.

In an embodiment of the method, the old car and/or sling and/or car doors and/or landing doors of the hydraulic elevator are replaced with new ones.

In an embodiment of the method, at the first end of the shaft a first machine module is secured to the car guide rails and/or to a shaft wall, which module contains mounted on a first module frame at least one traction sheave and at least one first diverting pulley, the rope/ropes being passed around said sheave and pulley, and a motor for rotating the traction sheave. At the second end of the shaft, a second machine module is secured

to the car guide rails and/or to a shaft wall, which module contains mounted on a second module frame at least one second diverting pulley, around which the rope/ropes is/are passed. In addition, to the sling of the existing old car is secured a third machine module, which contains at least one third diverting pulley and at least one fourth diverting pulley, said pulleys being mounted on a third module frame and fitted beside the car between the car guide rails. Via the third diverting pulley, the rope/ropes are passed and directed towards the at least one first diverting pulley at the first end of the shaft. Via the fourth diverting pulley, the rope/ropes are passed and directed towards the at least one second diverting pulley at the second end of the shaft.

In an embodiment of the method, the first end of the shaft is the upper end, in which case the first machine module is arranged near the upper end of the shaft. The second end is the lower end, in which case the second ma- chine module is arranged near the lower end. Alternatively, the first end of the shaft is the lower end, in which case the first machine module is arranged near the lower end of the shaft. The second end of the shaft is the upper end, in which case the second machine module is arranged near the upper end.

In an embodiment of the method, the suspension ratio of the rope-traction machine is chosen ' such that a friction sufficient to allow operation without counterweight is produced between the traction sheave and the rope/ropes.

In an embodiment of the method, the suspension ratio of the roping of the rope-traction machine is chosen as X:l, where X is selected from the following: 6, 8, 10, 12, 14.

In an embodiment of the method, the elevator is provided with a counterweight.

In an embodiment of the method, a permanent-magnet synchronous motor of flat design is used as the motor of the rope-traction machine.

In an embodiment of the method, the roping is arranged in such a way that the elevator has no counterweight. This is preferably done by utilizing a compensating device which comprises a carriage and which receives rope elongations by means of a diverting pulley moving together with the carriage and distributes the rope forces so as to enable the tension of the hoisting rope portion pulling the elevator car downwards to be kept by means of the compensating device at a constant lower value than the tension of the hoisting rope portion pulling the elevator car upwards. Consequently the rope portion on that side of the traction sheave where the ropes exert a downward pull on the elevator car is under a rope tension that increases the frictional force between the traction sheave and the ropes. One of the advantages of a solution with- out counterweight is that an elevator can be modernized without having to reserve space for a counterweight and/or its guide rails in the elevator shaft, so the cross-sectional area of the elevator shaft can be effectively utilized.

LIST OF FIGURES

In the following, the invention will be described in de- tail by referring to a few embodiment examples and the attached drawing, wherein

Fig. 1 presents a diagrammatic side view of a first prior-art hydraulic elevator,

Fig. 2 presents a section through Fig. 1 on the plane II- II,

Fig. 3 presents a diagrammatic side view of a second prior-art hydraulic elevator,

Fig. 4 presents a section through Fig. 3 on the plane IV- IV,

Fig. 5 presents a diagrammatic cross-section V-V of the prior-art hydraulic elevator in Fig. 1,

Fig. 6, corresponding to Fig. 5, presents a diagrammatic cross-section of a third hydraulic elevator,

Fig. 7 presents a diagrammatic cross-section of the prior-art hydraulic elevator in Fig. 3,

Fig. 8, corresponding to Figs. 5 - 8, presents a diagrammatic cross-section of a fourth hydraulic elevator,

Fig. 9 visualizes the different modules of the rope- traction machine used for the modernization of a hydraulic elevator,

Fig. 10 represents the elevator in Fig. 9 after moderni- zation,

Fig. 11 represents the elevator in Fig. 5 or 7 after modernization,

Fig. 12 represents the elevator in Fig. 6 or 8 after modernization, and

Fig. 13 presents a diagrammatic and axonometric view of a preferred roping arrangement of the rope-traction ma- chine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A hydraulic elevator as illustrated in Figs. 1-8 can be modernized into a traction sheave elevator as illustrated in Figs. 9-13 by the method of the invention by removing the hydraulic cylinder. The old car guide rails 1, 2 are retained. A new rope-traction machine 6 is then installed between the car guide rails 1, 2, in the space between the wall 4 and the path of the car that was vacated by removing the hydraulic cylinder 5. The car is suspended on the rope/ropes 7 of the new rope-traction machine 6. In connection with the modernization, the old car 8 and/or sling 9 and/or car doors 10 and/or landing doors 11 can be retained. Alternatively, any one of these components may be replaced with new ones as necessary. The hydraulic unit 26 and other equipment associated with the elevator can be removed from the machine room 27, which can then be used for other purposes, e.g. as a storage room etc .

The rope-traction machine 6 preferably consists of three modules 12, 17 and 20 as visualized in Figs. 9 and 10. At the first end A of the shaft, which in this example is the upper end, a first machine module 12 is secured to the car guide rails 1, 2 and/or to a wall 4 of the shaft 3. Mounted on a first module frame 13 in the first machine module 12 are at least one traction sheave 14 and at least one first diverting pulley 15, around which sheave and pulley the rope/ropes 7 are passed. In addition, a motor 16 is arranged to rotate the traction sheave. The motor 16 is preferably a permanent-magnet synchronous motor of flat design, which can be accommodated between the car guide rails 1, 2.

At the second end B of the shaft, which in this example is the lower end, a second machine module 17 is secured to the car guide rails 1, 2 and/or to a shaft wall 4.

Mounted on a second module frame 18 in the second machine

module 17 is at least one second diverting pulley 19, around which the rope/ropes 7 is/are passed.

In addition, a third machine module 20 containing a third module frame 21 on which are mounted at least one third diverting pulley 22 and at least one fourth diverting pulley 23, which are fitted beside the car between the car guide rails 1, 2, is secured to the sling 9 of the existing old car 7. Via the third diverting pulley 22, the rope/ropes 7 are passed and directed towards the at least one first diverting pulley 15 placed at the first end, i.e. at the upper end A of the shaft. Via the fourth diverting pulley 23, the rope/ropes 7 are passed and directed towards the at least one second diverting pulley 19 placed at the second end, i.e. at the lower end B of the shaft.

In another embodiment (not described) , it is also possible to install the first machine module 12 at the lower end of the shaft and the second machine module at the upper end of the shaft.

The suspension ratio of the rope-traction machine 6 is chosen such that a friction sufficient to allow operation without counterweight is produced between the traction sheave 14 and the rope/ropes 7. To this end, the suspension ratio of the roping may be e.g. 6:1, as exemplified in Fig. 13, or in some other embodiments it may be 8:1 or 10:1 or 12:1 or 14:1. However, the rope-traction machine 6 can also be simplified and a sufficient friction can be accomplished by providing the elevator with a counterweight (not shown) .

Fig. 13 shows a diagrammatic representation of a rope- traction machine 6 in which the suspension ratio of the roping is 6:1. To provide a clear illustration of how the ropes are threaded, the mutual positions and dimensions of the rope pulleys are not in correct relationship in

Fig. 13. The diverting pulleys are gathered ,in sets of diverting pulleys, each set containing one to three parallel diverting pulleys. At the upper end of the shaft, the first machine module 12 comprises two diverting pul- ley sets A and B placed adjacently to each other. Diverting pulley set A contains parallel diverting pulleys 15 1 and 15 2 . Diverting pulley set B contains one diverting pulley 15 3 . The second machine module 17 comprises a diverting pulley set C containing three parallel diverting pulleys 19 1 , 19 2 , 19 3 . The third machine module 20, which is attached to the car sling 9, contains diverting pulley sets D and E. The lower diverting pulley set D contains three parallel diverting pulleys 23 1 , 23 2 , 23 3 . The upper diverting pulley set E likewise contains three parallel diverting pulleys 22 1 , 22 2 , 22 3 .

In the following, for the sake of clarity the singular form 'rope' will be used, although it may refer to one or more parallel ropes 7. The first end 28 of the rope 7 is secured to the second module frame 18, from which point of anchorage the rope 7 is passed horizontally to a diverting element 29 which diverts the rope upwards to a compensating device, more precisely speaking to a diverting pulley 31 mounted on its carriage 30 arranged to be vertically movable, over which pulley the rope passes and is diverted back down and under a diverting pulley 32 on the second module frame 17 and further upwards over diverting pulley 23 1 in the third machine module 20, from where it goes further downwards under diverting pulley 19 1 in the second machine module 17 and again upwards over diverting pulley 23 2 in third machine module 20, from where the rope goes further downwards under diverting pulley 19 2 in the second machine module 17 and again upwards over diverting pulley 23 3 in the third machine mod- ule 20, from where it goes further downwards under diverting pulley 19 3 in the second machine module 17 and upwards to a diverting pulley 16 in the first machine module 12, over which pulley the rope 7 passes a couple of

times via a diverting pulley 33 arranged below it and goes then further downwards under diverting pulley 22 1 in the third machine module 20 and further upwards over diverting pulley 15 2 in the first machine module 12 and downwards under diverting pulley 22 2 in the third machine module 20 and upwards over diverting pulley 15 2 in first machine module 12 and further downwards under diverting pulley 22 3 in the third machine module 20 and upwards to diverting pulley 15 3 in the first machine module 12, over which it goes further downwards to a point of anchorage of the second end 34 of the rope 7 on the movable carriage 30 of the compensating device.

Figs. 11 and 12 further present cross-sectional illustra- tions visualizing the fact that in the modernized elevator the entire rope-traction machine 6 can be accommodated in the same narrow space between the car 8 and the shaft wall 4 where the hydraulic cylinder was placed. Fig. 11 shows a ruck-sack type elevator with hoisting power applied from behind the car, and Fig. 12 shows an elevator with hoisting power applied from one side, in which the advantageous walk-through capability that the hydraulic elevator had prior to modernization can be retained.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, in which the invention has been described by way of example, but that many variations and different em- bodiments of the invention are possible within the scope of the inventive concept defined in the claims presented below.