Abstract:
A cable management assembly ( 40 ) and method by which cables used to hoist and secure a temporary elevator car ( 18 ) are prevented from becoming tangled as the elevator car ( 18 ) is raised and lowered within an elevator hatchway ( 10 ) during construction of a multistory building ( 12 ). The assembly ( 40 ) is adapted for installation below the car ( 18 ) within the hatchway ( 10 ), and includes a first member ( 42 ) having second and third members ( 44 ) connected at opposite longitudinal ends thereof. A mechanism ( 54,56 A, 56 B) associated with the second and third members ( 44 ) movably engages vertical elevator guide rails ( 22 ) within the hatchway ( 10 ) to enable the assembly ( 40 ) to vertically traverse the hatchway ( 10 ). Another mechanism ( 58,60,62 ) movably and reversibly routs a hoist cable ( 24 ) to and from the assembly ( 40 ).

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/941,979, filed Jun. 5, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to construction methods, equipment, and systems used during the construction of a building. More particularly, this invention relates to a cable management assembly and method by which cables used to hoist and secure a temporary elevator car are prevented from becoming entangled as the elevator car is raised and lowered within an elevator hatchway during construction of a multistory building. 
         [0003]    During the installation of components of an elevator system in a building under construction, a temporary elevator car is often installed to deliver the elevator components and support the elevator constructors within the hatchway (hoistway). One such approach is represented in  FIG. 1 , which schematically represents a hatchway  10  within a multistory building  12  under construction. A jump deck  14  is placed over the elevator hatchway  10  at an upper floor  16  of the building  12 , and a temporary elevator car  18  (or “car sling”) is suspended with a hoist cable  24  beneath the jump deck  14 . The elevator car  18  is depicted in  FIG. 1  as comprising a working deck  19 A on which the elevator constructors stand during installation of the elevator components, and a secondary deck  19 B on which supplies can be stored. The secondary deck  19 B is attached to the working deck  19 A with stiles  23 . The working deck  19 A may be supported by the crosshead (not shown) of the permanent elevator car that will later be installed in the hatchway  10 , and the secondary deck  19 B is shown supported by a safety plank  21  on which the permanent elevator car will be supported. Safeties (not shown) on the safety plank  21  are operated by a safety cable  34  routed from a governor  35  on the jump deck  14  to the safety plank  21  through a governor tension sheave  38  mounted by a bracket  36  within the pit  32  at the bottom of the hatchway  10 . The car  18  travels up and down within the hatchway  10  on a temporary hoist cable  24  (typically a wire rope) by means of a hoist motor  20  on the working deck  19 A, and is equipped with shoes (not shown) or similar components that engage the installed guide rails  22 . The hoist cable  24  is attached to the deck  19 A, passes over a sheave  28  suspended beneath the jump deck  14  to a hoist motor  20  on the working deck  19 A, and then passes down through the hatchway  10  and through or around the car  18 , from which the loose or “dead” end  30  of the hoist cable  24  hangs freely downward toward the pit  32 . As the car  18  travels upward through the hatchway  10  under the action of the hoist motor  20 , the loose end  30  of the hoist cable  24  runs downward toward and eventually into the pit  32 . When installation of the elevator system components has been completed up to the jump deck  14 , the jump deck  14  is raised (jumped) to a higher floor (not shown) of the building  12 . Because the car  18  is raised along with the jump deck  14 , the car  18  must be lowered from the deck  14  with the hoist cable  24  to resume installation of elevator components at the prior location of the deck  14  in the hatchway  10 . 
         [0004]    There are various problems and hazards associated with the building and use of temporary elevator cars of the type represented in  FIG. 1 . One problem is that, as the elevator system is installed and the temporary car  18  is raised to higher levels, the loose end  30  of the hoist cable  24  can be difficult to control. When the loose end  30  of the cable  24  feeds into the pit  32  as the elevator car  18  runs up through the hatchway  10 , the loose end  30  of the cable  24  can become tangled with equipment in the pit  32  and suspended in the hatchway  10 , such as a temporary power supply cable  26  that supplies power to the car  18  during construction. When this happens, the elevator constructors must stop work and free the tangled cable  24 . This task is not only a nuisance that delays the construction process, but can also be hazardous for the constructors. 
         [0005]    Another issue is that, when the jump deck  14  is raised within the hatchway  10 , the bracket  36  of the safety cable  34  must be physically detached from a rail  22  within the pit  32  by a constructor, the cable  34 , bracket  36 , and tension sheave  38  must be raised up through the hatchway  10 , and then the bracket  38  reattached to the guide rail  22  at a higher level within the hatchway  10 . This operation is hazardous, in that it entails raising a significant amount of weight due to the weight of the cable  34 , bracket  36 , and sheave  38 . In addition, this operation is typically performed by a constructor who must typically stand on a beam (not shown) spanning the hatchway  10 . 
         [0006]    In view of the above, it would be desirable if an improved method were available for by which the temporary cables used during construction of an elevator system could be handled and managed to avoid the above-noted issues. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a cable management assembly and method by which cables used to hoist and secure a temporary elevator car are prevented from becoming tangled as the elevator car is raised and lowered within an elevator hatchway during construction of a multistory building. 
         [0008]    According to a first aspect of the invention, the cable management assembly is adapted for installation below an elevator car within an elevator hatchway of a building. The cable management assembly includes first, second, and third members. The first member has a longitudinal extent and oppositely-disposed longitudinal ends, and the second and third members are connected to the first member at the longitudinal ends thereof. At least one of the second and third members is longitudinally extendable relative to the first member for adjusting a length of the cable management assembly defined by the first, second, and third members. The first, second, and third members define an upper side of the cable management assembly adapted to face upward when the cable management assembly is installed in the hatchway. The cable management assembly further includes a mechanism associated with each of the second and third members for movably engaging vertical elevator guide rails within the hatchway so as to enable the cable management assembly to vertically traverse the hatchway. The cable management assembly also includes a mechanism for movably and reversibly routing a hoist cable toward the upper side of the cable management assembly, along a portion of the cable management assembly, and away from the upper side of the cable management assembly. 
         [0009]    According to a second aspect of the invention, a method is provided for raising and lowering the elevator car within the hatchway with a cable management assembly, preferably in accordance with claim  1 . The cable management assembly is preferably installed below the elevator car within the hatchway. The movable engaging mechanism movably engages the guide rails within the hatchway to enable the cable management assembly to vertically traverse the hatchway, and the hoist cable is routed through the routing means so as to have first and second portions engaging the routing means at two longitudinally spaced locations of the cable management assembly. Also in the preferred embodiment, the elevator car is suspended by the hoist cable from a fixed platform, the first portion of the hoist cable is coupled to a hoist on the elevator car, the second portion of the hoist cable is coupled to the car through a spool, and the elevator car and cable management assembly can both be raised by hoisting the hoist cable with the hoist. 
         [0010]    Significant advantages of this invention include the elimination of a loose end of the hoist cable hanging into the pit of the elevator hatchway by routing the hoist cable through the cable management assembly in a manner that allows an elevator constructor to freely raise and lower the car and hoist cable in a safe manner. The cable management assembly can also be adapted to mount a tension sheave for a safety cable associated with the elevator car, so that the safety cable can also be raised and lowered with the car in a safe manner. 
         [0011]    Other objects and advantages of this invention will be better appreciated from the following detailed description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]      FIG. 1  represents a hatchway within a building under construction, in which equipment is present for installing components of an elevator system within the hatchway in accordance with the prior art. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  represents a view of a hatchway similar to  FIG. 1 , but further utilizing a cable management assembly in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 3 and 4  are side and top views, respectively, of the cable management assembly of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]      FIGS. 3 and 4  represent a cable management assembly  40  according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, and  FIG. 2  depicts the cable management assembly  40  installed for use in a hatchway  10  of a multistory building  12 . The invention finds particular use in buildings under construction, similar to the scenario described for  FIG. 1 . As such,  FIG. 2  uses consistent reference numbers to identify the same or functionally similar structures to those identified in  FIG. 1 . It should be further noted that the drawings are drawn for purposes of clarity when viewed in combination with the following description, and therefore are not to scale. 
         [0016]    The assembly  40  preferably comprises three basic components: a middle section  42  and two end sections  44  at longitudinally-opposed ends of the middle section  42 . Structural steel grades, for example, carbon steels such as ASTM A36 and ASTM A500, are suitable materials for the structural components of the assembly  40 , though the use of other materials is foreseeable. The middle and end sections  42  and  44  are shown as having square tubular cross-sections, though it is foreseeable that various structural elements with different cross-sections could be used to construct the assembly  40 . Each end section  44  is generally T-shaped, with a leg section  48  and an arm section  50  that may be constructed by welding two tubes as evident from  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The leg section  48  of each end section  44  is sized to telescope with one of the opposite ends of the middle section  42  and be secured therewith using bolts  46  or another suitable fastener. As represented in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the leg sections  48  have smaller cross-sections than the middle section  42  to provide the desired telescoping arrangement, though it is foreseeable that the middle section  42  could telescope into the end sections  44 . In the embodiment shown, suitable cross-sectional dimensions for the middle section  42  and end members  44  are about 4.0 inches (about 10 cm) and about 3.5 inches (about 9 cm), respectively, though these dimensions can vary. The end sections  44  are adapted to be extendable relative to the middle section  42  to enable the length of the cable management assembly  40  to be expanded to fit essentially any elevator rail dimension, for example, up to about eight feet (about 2.5 meters) or so, with lesser and greater expanses also being foreseeable. 
         [0017]    A guide tube  52  is welded or otherwise attached to the outer extremity of each arm section  50 , and a guide plate  54  is bolted or otherwise attached to each guide tube  52 . Each guide plate  54  is shown as carrying cam followers  56 A and  56 B for rotational engagement with one of the guide rails  22  within the hatchway  10  as represented in  FIG. 2 . Two followers  56 A are oriented for engaging opposite surfaces of a rail  22 , while a third follower  56 B is oriented to engage the surface of the rail  22  facing into the hatchway  10 . Suitable diameters for the followers  56 A and  56 B are about 1.125 and 1.5 inches (about 2.9 and 3.8 cm), respectively, with smaller and larger diameters being foreseeable. Each set of followers  56 A and  56 B at one end of an arm section  50  is spaced apart from the followers  56 A and  56 B at the opposite end of the same arm section  50  for stability and to ensure that the assembly  40  is capable of vertically traversing the hatchway  10 , preferably while oriented substantially horizontal as represented in  FIG. 2 . For this purpose, the sets of followers  56 A and  56 B may be spaced about two feet (about 0.6 meter) apart on each arm section  50 , though lesser and greater separations are foreseeable. 
         [0018]    The cable management assembly  40  is configured to enable the hoist cable  24  to be routed through the assembly  40  via entry and exit points located at longitudinally spaced locations at an upper side  43  of the assembly  40 . The embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4  is configured to achieve this capability with at least two rollers  58  disposed in a slot  60  defined in the upper side  43  of the middle section  42 . The slot  60  preferably extends entirely through the middle section  42  to the opposite lower side of the section  42 , as evident from  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The rollers  58  are rotatably mounted on pins  64  within the slot  60  so that their axes of rotation (as defined by the pins  64 ) are transverse to the longitudinal length of the middle section  42  and, when the assembly  40  is installed as shown in  FIG. 2  with the side  43  facing upward toward the car  18 , horizontal with respect to the vertical guide rails  22 . The rollers  58  are spaced within the slot  60  to define two oppositely-disposed openings  62  through which the hoist cable  24  of the temporary elevator car  18  can freely pass to the lower side of the assembly  40 , as represented in  FIG. 2 . A suitable diameter for the rollers  58  is about eight inches (about 20 cm), though the use of larger and smaller rollers  58  is foreseeable. Based on the use of eight-inch diameter rollers  58 , a suitable center-to-center spacing between the rollers  58  is about fifteen inches (about 40 cm). In practice, MSD nylon has been found to be a suitable material for the rollers  58 , though the use of other materials is foreseeable. While both rollers  58  are shown as being mounted within the same slot  60 , it is foreseeable that the rollers  58  could be mounted within separate slots in the middle section  42 . 
         [0019]    The cable management assembly  40  is shown in  FIG. 2  as being mounted between the elevator guide rails  22  within the pit  32 , though it will be apparent that the assembly  40  can and will be positioned at other locations within the hatchway  10 , depending on the stage of building construction. With the middle section  42  approximately centered between the elevator guide rails  22 , the two end sections  44  are slid out to engage the follows  56 A and  56 B with their respective rails  22 . The two end sections  44  are then locked in place with the bolts  46 . The temporary hoist cable  24 , already fed over the sheave  28  and through the hoist motor  20  on the deck  19 A (consistent with  FIG. 1 ), is then fed down past or through the car  18  and to the cable management assembly  40  in the pit  32 . The loose end  30  of the cable  24  is then passed down through one of the openings  62  of the assembly  40 , around both rollers  58 , up through the other opening  62 , and then up through the hatchway  10  to the deck  19 A. The loose end  30  of the hoist cable  24  is wrapped on a spool  66  mounted with a swivel  68  beneath the deck  19 A. The swivel  68  enables the spool  66  to freely rotate, reducing the likely hood that the cable  24  will not properly spool onto the spool  66 . The routing of the cable  24  through the rollers  58  of the cable management assembly  40  provides a two-to-one set up, similar to the two-to-one set up between the hoist motor  20  and working deck  19 A through the sheave  28  on the jump deck  14 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  further shows two options for supporting the safety cable  34 . In the first option, the safety cable  34  is routed through the pit  32  and tensioned with the governor tension sheave  38 , similar to that of  FIG. 1 . The second option is to attach the tension sheave  38  to the cable management assembly  40 , as shown in  FIG. 2  minus the safety cable  34 . 
         [0021]    With the arrangement described above, if the hoist motor  20  is operated to cause the elevator car  18  to travel upward within the hatchway  10 , the temporary hoist cable  24  travels downward through the hatchway  10  to the assembly  40 , around its two rollers  58 , and then upward to the spool  66  beneath the working deck  19 A. If the elevator car  18  travels downward, the hoist cable  24  travels around the two rollers  58  and up through the motor  20  on the working deck  19 A. The hoist cable  24  is essentially a continuous loop starting at the working deck  19 A, through the sheave  28  beneath the jump deck  14 , through the hoist motor  20  on the working deck  19 A, through the car  18  to the cable management assembly  40 , and then back up to the spool  66  beneath the working deck  19 A. Beneath the car  18 , the cable management assembly  40  is secured between the guide rails  22  and suspended by the hoist cable  24 , such that the cable  24  does not lie in the floor of the pit  32  and the assembly  40  tensions the cable  24 . 
         [0022]    When installation of the guide rails  22  and other elevator system components has been completed up to the jump deck  14 , the jump deck  14  is raised (jumped) to a higher floor (not shown) of the building  12 . Because the car  18  would be raised along with the deck  14  during the jumping operation, prior to the jump the safeties on the elevator car  18  are set and the motor  20  is operated to run a sufficient length of the hoist cable  24  upward and out onto the floor of the deck  19 A to enable the jump deck  14  to be raised the desired number of floors above the car  18 . Prior to this operation, a large amount of the temporary hoist cable  24  was under the car  18  and routed through the assembly  40 . As the hoist cable  24  is run out onto the floor of the deck  19 A with the motor  20 , the assembly  40  is raised up out of the pit  32  and through the hatchway  10  until stopped at some distance beneath the car  12 . Concurrently, the governor tension sheave  38  (if mounted to the assembly  40 ) is raised with the assembly  40 . 
         [0023]    Once the jump deck  14  has been jumped and before the elevator car  18  is taken off the safeties and again suspended beneath the jump deck  14 , the cable management assembly  40  is lowered by feeding the remaining length of cable  24  on the working deck  19 A back down through the motor  20 . If attached to the assembly  40 , the governor tension sheave  38  is also lowered to put tension on the safety cable  34 . As such, the hoist and safety cables  24  and  34  are both managed in a safe and secure manner, without placing constructors in hazardous situations over the hatchway  10  or in the pit  32 . Furthermore, the motor  20  can be operated by an elevator constructor standing on the elevator car  18  using a push-button control  72  that allows both cables  24  and  34  to run simultaneously, with the result that the constructors are also able to avoid other common injuries associated with the construction of elevators, such as falling, back injuries, and strains or muscle pulls due to the lifting and carrying of heavy weights. 
         [0024]    While the invention has been described in terms of a preferred embodiment, it is apparent that other forms could be adopted by one skilled in the art. For example, the physical configurations of the cable management assembly  40 , the hatchway  10 , and other aspects of the building construction could differ from those shown, and materials and processes other than those noted could be used. Therefore, the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.