INCLINED TRACK ELEVATOR FOR PREFERABLY DISABLED PERSONS

Abstract: Inclined track elevator, preferably for disabled persons, including two drive rails (1, 2) intended to be placed parallel to each other with a mutual gap therebetween, and a lift platform (5) movable along said rails by means of a drive arrangement (19), which lift platform presents two carriages each movable along a track (11) on its respective drive rail. The drive arrangement is located on one of the carriages and is arranged to rotate a drive wheel (34) on each of the carriages via a drive axle (25), which drive wheels are in driving engagement with a drive track (12) on each drive rail. The lift platform is attached to the carriages by both a member rotatable about the drive axle and a connection element (36). This is fixed at an adjustable distance between, on the one hand, the lift platform and, on the other hand, the two carriages at a distance from the drive axle. In this way the angle between the drive rails and the lift platform is variable.

Description: Title: Inclined track elevator for preferably disabled persons. Technical field: The present invention relates to an inclined track elevator, preferably for disabled persons, including two drive rails intended to be placed parallel to each other with a mutual gap therebetween, and a lift platform movable along said rails by means of a drive arrangement, which lift platform presents two carriages, each movable along a track on its respective drive rail, whereby the drive arrangement is placed on at least one of the carriages and is arranged to rotate a drive wheel via a drive axle, which drive wheel is carried by at least one of the carriages and is arranged to be in driving engagement with a drive track on at least one of the drive rails. Background Art: Inclined track elevators of this type are usually intended to be installed on staircases to permit the carriage of wheelchair-bound persons on stairs without the assistance of personnel. It is previously known to arrange such stairlifts which present a lift platform running along two. rails with a gap therebetween so that the staircase can also be used in the tradional manner. An earlier known stairlift has a drive motor arranged in each rail, whereby the drive motor drives a screw which displaces a carriage along each rail. Since each installation reguires a certain rail length, it is necessary that either a large number of rail lengths are stocked with the conseguential high costs, or that the rails are specially produced for each particular installation with the consequential long delivery times. In addition the electrical installation must, to a. large extent, be done on site, which further increases the cost and time for each delivery. Furthermore, a special arrangement is required to permit such a connection of the lift platform to the rails that an adjustment of the lift platform to the angle of the staircase is possible. The object of the present invention is to provide an inclined track elevator with which the above mentioned concerns are set aside so that a quick and simple adaptation to the individual installation requirements can be achieved, along with a simple and reliable assembly. Solution: Said object is achieved by means of an inclined track elevator according to the present invention in which the lift platform is attached to at least one of the carriages by both a member rotatable about the drive axle and a connection element which is fixed at an adjustable distance between, on the one hand, the lift platform and, on the other hand, the two carriages at a distance from the drive axle, whereby the angle between the drive rails and the lift platform is variable. Brief description of the drawings: The invention will be described in the following by way of example with reference to the attached drawings in which Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a complete inclined track elevator according to the invention and Fig. 2 shows on an enlarged scale a partially sectioned view through the carriages, drive rails and drive axle. Best mode of carrying out the invention: As is best seen from Fig. 1, the inclined track elevator essentially consists of two drive rails 1, 2, intended to be installed parallel to each other to form an inclined track along a not shown staircase, two carriages 3, 4, one for each drive rail and intended to travel along the drive rails between a higher and a lower level, and a lift platform or cage 5, which is suitably provided with handrails 6, 7 , which are advantageously fixed units on both sides of the platform and which platform on its third, outer side has, for example, and openable gate or other roll-off protection, which in Fig. 1 is in the form of a protector plate 8 which is raised when the platform is above its lower level, as shown in Fig. 1, but which at the platform's lower level is easily lowerable by means of, for example, an electrical adjustment device in order to rest against, for example, the ground or a floor which forms the lower level, whereby the plate can serve as a ramp for loading and unloading respectively. The lift platform can be built up from a support in the form of a frame 9, to which a plate 10 is attached, whereby the side hand rails form a part of the frame work. The drive rails 1, 2 lack any movable parts whatsoever and are essentially uniform along their entire length and can thus be sawn on site to the length required for the current installation, usually substantionally the same as the length of the staircase. The drive rails form guides and present therefore a track 11 as well as a drive track 12 along which the carriages 3 are driven by positive engagement as in the shown example, or by frictional contact. More accurately, the rails 1, 2 are formed as lain U-profiles, whereby both shanks 13, 14 of the profile of the one drive rail are directed towards corresponding shanks of the other drive rail. The tracks 11 are hereby formed by the inwardly facing surfaces of the profile and are in the form of slots which are accordingly open in the direction facing each other. The drive track 12 is arranged on the underside of the profile's lower shank 14 and, in the shown example,is in the form of a toothed rack which extends along substantionally the entire length of the drive rails 1, 2. The toothed rack accordingly faces downwards towards the stairs, whereby the drive rails 1, 2 are fixed to the staircase or other suitable supports by means of not shown brackets which can be arranged both on the ends of the drive rails and at equally spaced mutual distances along the drive rails, whereby these must be attached and shaped such that they do not come into contac with the carriages 3, 4 and associated components. The construction and function of the carriages 3, 4 will be described in more detail with reference to both Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Both the carriages 3, 4 present a support in the form of a support plate 15 in which two free wheels 16 for each carriage are rotatably carried, each on an axle 17 which projects sideways from the support plate 15 into each drive rail 1, 2 whereby the axles are fixed to the support plate with as large a mutual spacing as possible. To each of the carriages support plates 15 is attached an angle bracket 18, which extends in a sideways directions over each of the drive rails 1, 2. One of the carriages 3 carries a drive arrangement 19 in the form of an electric motor 19 which is fixedly secured to the bracket 18. By means of a transmission, which according to Fig. 1 is in the form of an angle drive 20, a drive gear wheel 21 is driven around an axle 22 transverse to the direction of movement of the platform 5. The drive gear wheel 22 lies in toothed engagement with a carrier gear wheel 23 which, via a not shown axle, is rotatably carried on the support plate 15. The carrier gear wheel 23 is, in turn, in toothed engagement with a further gear wheel 24 which is fixedly secured to a drive axle 25 extending between the two drive rails 1, 2 at a level therebelow and projecting with its ends 26, 27 beneath the toothed rack 12 of the rails. The drive axle 25 extends through a drive axle tube 28, which is connected to one of the carriages 4, in the shown example the carriage being that which lacks the drive arrangement. In the .shown example the drive axle tube 28 is hereby rigidly held by a clamp 29 which rigidly holds the drive axle tube to an angle bracket 30 which is welded or fixedly screwed to the support plate 15 of the carriage 4. The drive axle is carried in the drive axle tube by means of, for example, plain bearings 31 the ends of the drive axle tube. The drive axle 25 is further rotatably supported in a bearing block 32, which , via a bracket 33 intergral with the bearing block, is fixedly secured to the support plate 15 of the carriage 3 provided with the drive motor 19. On both ends 26, 27 of the drive axle are arranged rail pinions 34 which are fixedly secured and accordingly made to rotate with the drive axle 25, The rail pinions are so arranged that they are in toothed engagement with the toothed racks 12 which are affixed to the underside of the drive rails and whose teeth are directed downwards towards the rail pinions 34. The lift platform 5, or that which is often called the lift cage, is, according to the invention, attached to both the carriages 3, 4 in such a way that it is pivotably supported about the drive axle 25 and is fixed to the carriages at a distance from the axis of support by means of a tension means of adjustable length. In the shown example this is achieved so that the lift platform 5 is attached, for example by welding, by means of portions of its framework 9 to the drive axle tube 28, whereby the carriages each present lower attachment locations 35 in the form of attachment holes for the one end of its tension means in the form of a tie rod 36, whose opposite end 37 is fixedly secured to the framework of the lift platform, in the shown example to each of the hand rails 6, 7, so that the turning moment acting on the lift platform 5 about the drive axle 24 is taken up in the form of tensile forces in the tie rods 36. These are lengthwise adjustable, for example by being threaded at least at their ends where, for example, threaded links are screwed to the tie rods and fixed to the support plate and hand rails respectively. An alternative is to use an adjustment device in the form of, for example, rigging screws which are provided at a location along the tie rods. By altering the lengths of the tie rods 36 an adjustment of the platform 5 is possible so that various angles between the rails 1, 2 and the platform can be chosen, whereby adaptation to various slopes of. the drive rails 1, 2 in their installed position can be achieved. In this way, with a large range of adjustments a horizontal position can always be reached for the base plate 10 of the lift platform, which is important for the safety and feeling of security of the user. According to a further development, the adjustment can be carried out automatically by means of, for example, an electric motor drive with electronic control which is controlled by a sensor which senses the inclination of the platform and controls the electric motor such that the platform adjusts itself to the horizontal position independent of the inclination of the rails. In this way, an installation can comprise sections with various angles of slope, for example horizontal sections with stair sections. Since both of the carriages 3, 4 are arranged on the inside of the rails 1, 2 and are mutually fixed at a selected mutual distance, they will guide each other laterally. As shown in Fig. 2, however, two guide rollers 38 are positioned on the outer side of the rails. The guide rollers 38 are, for example, rotatably carried on axles fixed to the brackets 18 so that the rollers can roll against the side surface 39 of the rails. Corresponding rollers (not shown) are advantageously arranged within the rails to roll along the bottom 40 thereof. These are fixed to the support plate 15 and are suitably two in number and adapted such that the support plates do not come into contact with the edges of the rails. The rotation necessary for the angular adjustment of the platform 5 about the drive axle 25 brings about a corresponding rotation of the drive axle tube 28. This occurs during installation of the staircase lift, whereby the clamp 29 is not fully tightened before the angular adjustment is completed. Before the tightening, the drive axle tube is allowed to be rotated in the clamp to the chosen rotational position. According to the above described construction of the lift arrangement according to the present invention , a simple and quick installation of an inclined track elevator is possible despite large variances in the installations with regard to the length of staircase and the inclination thereof. A simple cutting to length on site of the drive rails 1, 2 can be done since these are uniformally constructed and the electrical installation can further be done relatively simply since all electrical components are arranged on the lift platform and its carriages. Limit switches are arranged for the automatic stopping at the end positions , which switches can be located on the outer sides of the lift platform and can be operated at the end points of the rails by means of a suitably selected mechanical part of the rails' fixing brackets or similar. The operation of the lift platform can, for example, be wireless by means of an IR transmitter whereby no call button at the ends is required. The invention is not restricted to the above described embodiments and that shown in the drawings, but can be varied within the scope of the following claims. For example it is conceivable that the tie bars be replaced by an extending plate from each of the hand rails, whereby, for example, a slot or a plurality of attachment holes are arranged therein or in the upper end of the support plate for selection of various angular positions between the lift platform and the longitudinal axes of the drive rails.

Claims: Claims: 1. Inclined track elevator, preferably for disabled persons, including two drive rails (1,2) intended to be placed parallel to each other with a mutual gap therebetween, and a lift platform (5) movable along said rails by means of a drive arrangement (19), which lift platform presents two carriages (3, 4), each movable along a track (11) on its respective drive rail, whereby the drive arrangement is located on at least one of the carriages and is arranged to rotate a drive wheel (34) via a drive axle (25), which drive wheel is carried by at least one of the carriages and is arranged to be in driving engagement with a drive track (12) on at least one of the drive rails, characterized in that the lift platform (5) is attached to at least one of the carriages by both a member (28) rotatable about the drive axle and a connection element (36) which is fixed at an adjustable distance between, on one hand, the lift platform and, on the other hand, the two carriages at a distance from the drive axle, whereby the angle between the drive rails and the lift platform is variable. 2. Inclined track elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that said rotatable member is in the form of a casing (28) to which the lift platform (5) is affixed and which is supported by the one carriage (4) so that the casing, and thereby the lift platform, is rotatable to various rotational positions relative to the carriages (3, 4) by changing said connection element's adjustable distance. • 3. Inclined track elevator according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the drive axle (25) extends between the carriages (3, 4) and carries a drive wheel (34) at each end, whereby said drive track (12) is arranged on each of the drive rails (1, 2). 4. Inclined track elevator according to claim 3, characterized in that the drive wheels (34) are in the form of gear pinions and that the drive tracks (12) are in the form of linear toothed tracks. 5. Inclined track elevator according to claims 2-3, characterized in that said casing (28) is in the form of a drive axle tube in which the drive axle ' (25) is rotatably carried, in that the drive axle tube extends between both the carriages (3, 4) and, at its one end, is attached to one of the carriages so that it is adjustable in various rotatable positions relative to the carriage and is carried at its other end in the other carriage by means of the drive axle (25) which is rotatably carried therein. 6. Inclined track elevator according to claim 4, characterized in that the drive arrangment (19) is in the form of an electric motor whose output shaft (22) is drivingly connected to a pinion wheel (24) which is fixedly secured to the drive axle (25). 7. Inclined track elevator according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said tension element (36) is in the form of a tie rod for each carriage (3, 4), one end (35) of which rod is affixed to the carriage at a point at a level above the drive axle (25) and the other end of which is affixed to the lift platform, again at a point lying at a level above the drive axle, and in that the tie rod presents adjusting means for varying the effective length of the tie rod.

Inventors: SJOEBERG JAN, SJOEBERG, JAN
Applicants: HANDIQUIP AB
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B66B9
IPC codes: B66B9