Safety exit assembly for elevator car, and elevator system

A safety exit assembly for an elevator car and an elevator system. The safety exit assembly includes: a door panel, which is configured to open and close a safety exit of the elevator car, and which has an upper surface and a lower surface; a moving assembly, which includes a guide block provided on a lower surface of the door panel, and a guide rail which guides the door panel to move downward and translate through a cooperation with the guide block; a drive assembly, which drives the door panel to reciprocate along the guide rail; and a locking assembly, which includes an unlocking element provided on an upper surface of the door panel; wherein the unlocking element is electrically connected to the drive assembly, and an unlocking action of the unlocking element triggers the drive assembly to drive the door panel to move until the safety exit is opened.

FOREIGN PRIORITY

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202011201997.9, filed Nov. 2, 2020, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the field of elevators, and more specifically, the present application relates to a safety exit assembly for an elevator car of an elevator system.

BACKGROUND

As a tool for improving the walking of passengers between floors or shortening the walking distance of passengers, passenger transportation devices are very common in daily life. As an example, the most common passenger transportation devices are escalators and elevators that are usually used between floors of commercial buildings, and moving walkways that are usually used in large airports.

For an elevator system, it has an elevator car that usually runs in a dedicated hoistway, and has a relatively closed operating space. In order to avoid problems such as system failure during operation, a safety exit is usually provided on a top of the elevator car to provide an escape passage in case of emergency. For a type of elevator system, it may have two or more elevator cars that do not interfere with each other in the same hoistway. In this case, a safety exit may be further provided at a bottom of one of the elevator cars which is positioned higher. As to this type of bottom safety exit, it is used as both a safety exit and a part of a car floor to provide foot support for passengers under daily conditions, and it is opened in case of emergency so that passengers can enter the hoistway to escape. As a tool for improving the walking of passengers between floors or shortening the walking distance of passengers, passenger transportation devices are very common in daily life. As an example, the most common passenger transportation devices are escalators and elevators that are usually used between floors of commercial buildings, and moving walkways that are usually used in large airports.

For an elevator system, it has an elevator car that usually runs in a dedicated hoistway, and has a relatively closed operating space. In order to avoid problems such as system failure during operation, a safety exit is usually provided on a top of the elevator car to provide an escape passage in case of emergency. For a type of elevator system, it may have two or more elevator cars that do not interfere with each other in the same hoistway. In this case, a safety exit may be further provided at a bottom of one of the elevator cars which is positioned higher. As to this type of bottom safety exit, it is used as both a safety exit and a part of a car floor to provide foot support for passengers under daily conditions, and it is opened in case of emergency so that passengers can enter the hoistway to escape.

SUMMARY

The present application aims to provide an improved safety exit assembly for an elevator car, and an elevator system, so as to efficiently and reliably realize opening and closing of a safety exit.

In order to achieve at least one object of the present application, according to an aspect of the present application, a safety exit assembly for an elevator car is provided, which includes: a door panel, which is configured to open and close a safety exit of the elevator car, and which has an upper surface and a lower surface; a moving assembly, which includes a guide block provided on a lower surface of the door panel, and a guide rail which guides the door panel to move downward and translate through a cooperation with the guide block; a drive assembly, which drives the door panel to reciprocate along the guide rail, in a controlled manner; and a locking assembly, which includes an unlocking element provided on an upper surface of the door panel; wherein the unlocking element is electrically connected to the drive assembly, and an unlocking action of the unlocking element triggers the drive assembly to drive the door panel to move until the safety exit is opened.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety exit assembly further includes a limit switch, which is configured to sense an end point of the movement of the door panel along the guide rail and which is electrically connected to the drive assembly, and a sensing signal of the limit switch triggers the drive assembly to stop driving the door panel.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety exit assembly further includes a reset switch, which is electrically connected to the drive assembly, and a reset action of the reset switch triggers the drive assembly to drive the door panel to move until the safety exit is closed.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the locking assembly further includes a safety switch which is provided between the lower surface of the door panel and the guide rail and which is associated with the unlocking element; wherein the unlocking action of the unlocking element drives the safety switch to be turned off, thereby triggering the elevator car to stop moving.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety switch includes a switch contact provided on the lower surface of the door panel and a switch body provided on the guide rail.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the locking assembly further includes a stop element which is provided on the lower surface of the door panel, and which is associated with the unlocking element; wherein the stop element has a stop state in which the door panel is prevented from moving, and a movable state in which the door panel is allowed to move, and the unlocking action of the unlocking element drives the stop element to convert from the stop state to the movable state.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the stop element includes: a stop insert associated with the unlocking element, and a stop notch disposed on the guide rail; wherein in the stop state, the stop insert is inserted into the stop notch, and in the movable state, the stop insert moves out of the stop notch.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the stop element and the safety switch are integrated into a single piece, and are simultaneously associated with the unlocking element.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the guide rail includes a first section and a second section; wherein the first section guides the door panel to move to a first height lower than the safety exit, and the second section guides the door panel to move in a horizontal direction while maintaining the first height.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the drive assembly includes an electric push rod, a pneumatic push rod or a hydraulic push rod.

In order to achieve at least one object of the present application, according to another aspect of the present application, an elevator system is further provided, which includes: a plurality of elevator cars, one of which positioned relatively higher has a floor provided with a safety exit; and a safety exit assembly which has: a door panel which is provided at the safety exit and is configured to open and close the safety exit, wherein the door panel has an upper surface and a lower surface, and the upper surface of the door panel is flush with the floor; a moving assembly, which includes a guide block provided on the lower surface of the door panel, and a guide rail which is provided at a bottom of the floor and which guides the door panel to move downward and translate relative to the floor through a cooperation with the guide block; a drive assembly, which is installed at the bottom of the floor and which drives the door panel to reciprocate along the guide rail in a controlled manner; and a locking assembly, which includes an unlocking element provided on the upper surface of the door panel; wherein the unlocking element is electrically connected to the drive assembly, and an unlocking action of the unlocking element triggers the drive assembly to drive the door panel to move until the safety exit is opened.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety exit assembly further includes a limit switch electrically connected to the drive assembly, and the limit switch includes a switch body installed at the bottom of the floor and a switch contact installed at the lower surface of the door panel; wherein when the door panel reaches an end point of its movement along the guide rail, the switch contact of the limit switch is engaged with the switch body, and the drive assembly is triggered to stop driving the door panel.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety exit assembly further includes a reset switch which is installed at the bottom of the floor and is electrically connected to the drive assembly, wherein a reset action of the reset switch triggers the drive assembly to drive the door panel to move until the safety exit is closed.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the locking assembly further includes a safety switch which is provided between the lower surface of the door panel and the guide rail and which is associated with the unlocking element; wherein the unlocking action of the unlocking element drives the safety switch to be turned off, thereby triggering the elevator car to stop moving.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the safety switch includes a switch contact provided on the lower surface of the door panel and a switch body provided on the guide rail.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the locking assembly further includes a stop element which is provided on the lower surface of the door panel, and which is associated with the unlocking element; wherein the stop element has a stop state in which the door panel is prevented from moving, and a movable state in which the door panel is allowed to move, and the unlocking action of the unlocking element drives the stop element to convert from the stop state to the movable state.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the stop element further includes: a stop insert associated with the unlocking element, and a stop notch disposed on the guide rail; wherein in the stop state, the stop insert is inserted into the stop notch, and in the movable state, the stop insert moves out of the stop notch.

In addition to or instead of one or more of the above features, in another embodiment, the stop element and the safety switch are integrated into a single piece, and are simultaneously associated with the unlocking element.

According to the safety exit assembly for an elevator car and the elevator system of the present application, the door panel moves downward and translates relative to the safety exit provided on the floor of the elevator car with the aid of the moving assembly, thereby enabling the door panel to kept flush with the floor of the elevator car in the closed state, which prevent passengers from being tripped; whereas in the open state, the safety exit can be fully opened to facilitate the escape of passengers; through the cooperation of the drive assembly and the locking assembly, the door panel at the safety exit can be reliably locked and driven to ensure its stability under normal conditions, thereby reducing vibration and noise; and quick opening in case of emergency can be realized.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, the present application will be described in detail with reference to exemplary embodiments in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that the present application can be implemented in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided herein to make the disclosure of the present application more complete and similar, and to fully convey the concept of the present application to those skilled in the art.

In addition, for any single technical feature described or implied in the embodiments mentioned herein, or any single technical feature shown or implied in individual drawings, the present application still allows these technical features (or equivalents thereof) to be further arbitrarily combined or added or deleted without any technical obstacle, thereby obtaining more other embodiments of the present application that may not have been directly mentioned herein.

In the present application, a safety exit assembly100that has been installed on a floor of an elevator car of an elevator system, and its arrangement associated with the elevator car will be exemplarily described with reference toFIGS.1-10. However, it should be understood that the safety exit assembly and other parts of the elevator car provided according to the present application may be designed, manufactured and sold separately, or they may be assembled together and then sold as a whole. Either the single pieces formed before the combination or the entirety formed after the combination will fall into the scope of protection of the present application.

Referring to the drawings, an elevator system200shown inFIG.1includes an elevator car group210located in a hoistway, which includes an upper elevator car210aand a lower elevator car210bboth vertically arranged in the hoistway, and more possible cars (not shown) connected in series. A safety exit211may be provided on a floor of the elevator car210alocated at a relatively higher position, and the safety exit has been closed by a safety exit assembly100. After the safety exit assembly100closes the safety exit, an upper surface of a door panel of the safety exit assembly100is flush with the floor of the car. Therefore, in a normal operating state of the elevator system, the safety exit assembly100will be basically integrated with the floor of the car, which provides passengers with sufficient support from the floor, and which will not cause the problem of stumbling when passengers enter and exit the elevator car.

Various components and functions of the safety exit assembly100will be described in detail below with reference toFIGS.2-9. The safety exit assembly100includes a door panel110for opening and closing the safety exit211. The door panel110has an upper surface and a lower surface, and has a contour that matches the safety exit211, such as a rectangular shape. As briefly mentioned above, in an assembled state, the upper surface of the door panel110is flush with the floor of the car. It can be seen fromFIG.2that, in order to avoid interference or influence on passengers in the car, most of the components of the safety exit assembly100are installed on a bottom side of the floor of the car. For example, the safety exit assembly100also includes a moving assembly, which has a guide block121provided on the lower surface of the door panel110and a guide rail122provided on the bottom of the floor. Through a cooperation with the guide block121, the guide rail122guides the door panel110fixedly connected or integrally formed with the guide block121to move downward and translate relative to the floor. It should be understood that, considering that the upper surface of the door panel110remains flush with the floor of the car, when the door panel is opened in case of emergency, an action of directly translating the door panel away will be hindered by the floor of the car. Therefore, by first moving the door panel downward relative to the floor, the two can be staggered in the horizontal direction, thereby ensuring that the subsequent translating movement of the door panel will not be hindered. As a specific example, the guide rail122may correspondingly include a first section122aand a second section122b; wherein the first section122aguides the door panel110to move to a first height lower than the safety exit, and the second section122bguides the door panel110to move in the horizontal direction while maintaining the first height.

In addition, the safety exit assembly100further includes a drive assembly130, which is installed at the bottom of the floor and can drive the door panel to reciprocate along the guide rail122in a controlled manner. As a result, the door panel110of the safety exit assembly100is automatically and smoothly driven. In addition, when the safety exit assembly100is not opened, the drive assembly130may also reliably abut the door panel against the safety exit fixed on the floor of the car, so as to realize close engagement between the two and avoid vibration and noise. As a specific example, the drive assembly130may include an electric push rod, a pneumatic push rod or a hydraulic push rod.

Furthermore, the safety exit assembly100further includes a locking assembly to perform a function of locking and unlocking the door panel110. First, the locking assembly should include an unlocking element141provided on the upper surface of the door panel110, and the unlocking element141is electrically connected to the drive assembly130so that operations of the two are related. For example, in case of emergency, a passenger performs an unlocking action by operating the unlocking element141, which can trigger the drive assembly130due to the association so as to drive the door panel110to move until the safety exit is opened. As a specific example, a common triangular lock and key structure may be adopted for the unlocking element141.

The safety exit assembly for the elevator car under this arrangement can remain flush with the floor of the elevator car in the closed state to prevent passengers from being tripped, and in the open state, the safety exit can be fully opened to facilitate the escape of passengers; moreover, reliable locking and driving of the door panel at the safety exit can be realized to ensure its stability under normal conditions, thereby reducing vibration and noise; and quick opening in case of emergency can be realized.

The following description will continue to introduce configurations of various components of the safety exit assembly. In addition, in order to further improve the reliability and comfort or in consideration of improvements in other aspects, some additional parts may be added, as will also be exemplified below

For example, as shown inFIGS.3and7, the safety exit assembly100may further include a limit switch150electrically connected to the drive assembly, and the limit switch150includes a switch body150binstalled at the bottom of the car floor and a switch contact150ainstalled at the lower surface of the door panel110; wherein when the door panel110reaches an end point of its movement along the guide rail122, the switch contact150aof the limit switch150is engaged with the switch body150b, and the drive assembly130is triggered to stop driving the door panel110. This arrangement provides the end point of movement of the door panel110and the drive assembly130, so that the entire driving control forms a closed loop.

Furthermore, referring toFIGS.9and10, the safety exit assembly100further includes a reset switch160which is installed at the bottom of the car floor and which is electrically connected to the drive assembly130. After the passengers escape from the car through the safety exit, in order to avoid the problem of someone entering the car by mistake and falling from the safety exit under other conditions, a reset function can also be performed by operating the reset switch160provided at the bottom. For example, a reset action of the reset switch160in the form of a button triggers the drive assembly130to drive the door panel110to move until the safety exit is closed.

In addition, referring toFIGS.3to5, the locking assembly described in the above embodiment may additionally include a safety switch142provided between the lower surface of the door panel110and the guide rail122. Specifically, the safety switch142includes a switch contact142aprovided on the lower surface of the door panel110and a switch body142bprovided on the guide rail122. The safety switch142can be used to terminate the movement of the elevator car and is associated with the unlocking element141. In case of emergency, as the passenger operates the unlocking element141to perform the unlocking action, the associated safety switch142is also disconnected, which in turn triggers the elevator car to stop moving to avoid danger.

Turning toFIGS.4to6, the locking assembly described in the above embodiment may additionally include a stop element143which is provided on the lower surface of the door panel110and which is associated with unlocking element141. The stop element143has a stop state in which the door panel110is prevented from moving, and a movable state in which the door panel110is allowed to move, and the unlocking action of the unlocking element141drives the stop element143to convert from the stop state to the movable state. Therefore, this provides a further mechanical guarantee for the reliability of the safety exit assembly, so that the door panel in a normal state is further locked by the stop element143to avoid accidental opening of the door panel due to phenomena such as vibration.

Specifically, the stop element143mentioned above may include a stop insert143aassociated with the unlock element141, and a stop notch143bprovided on the guide rail122. In the stop state, the stop insert143ais inserted into the stop notch143b, thereby realizing the mechanical locking of the downward movement and translational movement of the door panel; and in the movable state, the stop insert143amoves out of the stop notch143b, thereby realizing the mechanical unlocking of the downward movement and translational movement of the door panel.

More specifically, as an example, the stop element143and the safety switch142may be integrated into a single piece, and are simultaneously associated with the unlocking element141, thereby realizing associated operations and control of multiple components and making the entire operation process simpler and more convenient.

A series of escape operations in an emergency state of an elevator system in which the safety exit assembly of an embodiment of the present application is applied will be described below with reference toFIGS.1to10. First, referring toFIG.1, when a passenger is in the elevator car210and an emergency occurs, the passenger can operate the unlocking element141on the door panel110by actions such as screwing. At this point, referring toFIGS.2to6, the associated safety switch142and the stop element143both rotate accordingly, so that the switch contact142aof the safety switch142that is located on the door panel is disconnected from the switch body142bon the guide rail, causing the elevator car to stop running; at the same time, the stop insert1423aof the stop element143that is located on the door panel is disconnected from the stop notch143bon the guide rail, thereby unlocking the mechanical locking of the door panel relative to the guide rail. Subsequently, driven by the drive assembly130, the door panel110can move relative to the guide rail122through the guide block121. Specifically, the door panel110moves downward relative to the first section122aof the guide rail122, and then translates relative to the second section122bof the guide rail122. Continuing to refer toFIGS.7to8, as the door panel110moves, when it reaches the allowable end point of movement, the switch contact150aof the limit switch150that is located on the door panel110will engage with the switch body150bof the limit switch150that is located on the bottom side of the car floor, thereby sending a signal to terminate the action of the drive assembly130and further stop the movement of the door panel110. At this point, the entire opening process of the safety exit has been completed, and passengers can escape from the bottom of the car via the safety exit. Referring toFIGS.9to10, after the passengers have escaped, by operating the reset switch160at the bottom of the car, the door panel110is moved in a reverse direction to close the safety exit211again, thereby completing the closing process of the safety exit.

In the above examples, the safety exit assembly for an elevator car and the elevator system of the present application are mainly described. Although only some of the embodiments of the present application have been described, those skilled in the art should understand that the present application may be implemented in many other forms without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Therefore, the illustrated examples and embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the present application may cover various modifications and replacements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application as defined by the appended claims.