DEVICE FOR COLLECTING THE OIL FROM ELEVATOR GUIDES

Abstract: Device for collecting oil from elevator guide rails useful for installation on T-rails along which moves an elevator, characterised in that it comprises a rectangular prism-shaped container (3) with an open top and provided in the centre as seen from its sides with an indentation (6), means for anchoring container (3) to core (4) of a T-rail (2) of the elevator, and means for adapting container (3) to different lengths of core (4) for a given core width of different trails (2)

Description: OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The following invention, as stated in the title of the present descriptive memory, consists of a device for collecting oil from elevator guide rails, which is of use incorporated in T-rails on which move any type of elevation devices, whichever their means of traction, in order to collect the lubrication oil which mainly slides down the front of the core of said T-rail, preventing the oil from accumulating in the pit of the elevator shaft structure. Such a device is known from ES-U-1035361 which discloses the preamble of claim 1. The device for collecting oil from elevator guide rails is based on a container, generally in the shape of a rectangular prism, provided as seen from one of its sides with a central indentation for insertion into the core of the T-rail, at the time of installation, which acts as a guide, remaining anchored by the simple pressure exerted by a clip placed on the inner part of the container on its indentation, so that in this way is obtained an effective device which allows a simple and quick assembly and removal, thus favouring its installation, as well as its positioning at any height of the guide rail. The container for collecting the oil drained by the T-rail which acts as a guide shows an open upper face, and a lower face inclined from its rear to front in order to simplify emptying through a frontal threaded orifice which can be closed by the corresponding screw. Additionally, the device for collecting oil from elevator guide rails is complemented by several bodies which may be placed on the inside of the indentation of the side wall of the container, which inserts into the core of the T-rail when installed, in order to adjust the length of said indentation to the length of the core of the T-rail, since T-rails of different lengths and sizes are present and installed in the market, while only the width is standard, according to ISO Standard 7465-1983, so that complementary bodies are used as attachments to adjust the length of the indentation of the side wall of the container to that of the T-rail core, with no clearance and with the front of the T-rail core sealed with no need of a seal, and if so desired also sealing with silicone the rear perimeter of the container which is attached to the rail. FIELD OF APPLICATION The device for collecting oil from elevator guide rails is applicable for inclusion in all T-rails (standardised according to ISO 7465-1983 and those not fully standard but with a standard core width) used as guide rails for elevator machinery, whichever their means of traction, so that said device based on a container with an open top is attached to the core of the T-rail so that the lubrication oil which slides down the T-rail by gravity is collected in said container. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Elevator devices require guide rails which are duly lubricated by oil, along which travel nylon scrapers coupled to the cabin which is suited for the type of element which is to be carried, so that the elevator device may be devoted for transport of people (conventional elevator) or loads in general (freight elevator) or specific elements (plate or car elevators). Thus, the rails on which the elevator device cab travel must be perfectly lubricated, for which purpose elevator cabs are provided with an automatic guide rail greaser, which consists basically of an oil container attached to the elevator cab provided with a brush which oils the guide rails, and specifically the core of the T-rail, using the motion of the elevator. In this way, the result is that the lubrication oil for the T-rails slides mainly down the core of said T-rail to the bottom area of the guides and accumulates at the base of the elevator shaft, that is, at the pit. Thus, the oil which slides down the T-rail guides of the elevator accumulated in the pit, dirtying it and hindering and prolonging cleaning operations or maintenance of the machinery, as well as implying environmental pollution of the floor of the pit, preventing said oil from being recycled. Additionally, Patent PCT/ES97/00017 can be referred to, which describes and claims a container for collecting elevator guide rail oil which comprises a generally rectangular prism-shaped body, open on its top and with its base inclined from its rear to its front, on which it is provided with an emptying orifice which may be closed by a screw. Said container is provided at the centre of its rear side with an indentation in which is inserted the core of the T-rail upon installation, attached by a plate provided which is anchored by a pair of bolts placed on the rear side of the T-rail of the guide. Likewise, we may cite European Patent application EP-A-0398289, in which a funnel is disclosed for collecting oil from greased vertical rails, which is anchored to the bottom of the rail by a clip which is attached to the core of the rail with screws in order to collect the oil which falls from the guide rail. Said funnel is provided with a cover which corresponds to the guide rail cross section. Said cover is slightly separated from the guide rail at the top, thus forming a slit which serves as an inlet for the oil. In this way, it must be equipped with a seal, requiring machined orifices for the installation screws and each container being adaptable to only one type of rail guide. Additionally, as the oil is collected in the container its weight exerts a continuous pressure on the seal, as the latter is below the oil level, and so leaks are quite likely. Likewise, we may refer to German Utility Model DE-U-9309303 in which is presented a generally circular shaped container provided in its lateral face with three indentations at 120° to each other, which have the same length but different thickness, so that the container can be adapted to three guide rail widths, and it is placed resting on the ground, which may be inconvenient, as it can easily be tipped, as it is not provided with any anchoring, and anchoring is difficult if there is a bed frame in the pit or any other object which makes its installation difficult. In addition, a full sealing of the guide rail-container unit cannot be achieved due to its circular shape. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present memory discloses a device for collecting oil from elevator guide rails, for application in T-rails on which the elevator moves, the device consisting basically of a generally rectangular prism shaped container with an open top and provided in the centre of one of its faces with an indentation, with its top face bevelled at a 45° angle to help the oil slide, anchoring means for the container to the core of the T-rail of the elevator device and means for adapting the container to the different core lengths for a given width of the several T-rail guides available. The anchoring means for the container to the core of the T-rail on which the elevator moves consist of a U-shaped clip with arms which converge in a first segment and diverge in a second segment, diverging more than they converge in the first segment, which simplifies assembly and anchoring to the container. Once the container is placed on the T-rail core by its similar width indentation the clip will be set on the inside of the container, pressing on the inner faces of the indentation and setting it in place by a simple pressure. The collection container for the lubrication oil which slides down the core of the rail and the flaps attached to the container is placed in the bottom part, at the desired height of the corresponding elevator guide T-rail, as T-rails present in the market have rear areas which are of a different size to the standard. The container indentation may show a similar width along its length or have a slightly divergent end; in addition, once the container is installed on the T-rail its top face will be sealed together to the T-rail in order to eliminate any clearances or gaps through which may escape the oil which slides down said T-rail. The means for adapting the container to the different core lengths for a same core width of different T-rails consist of bodies of different thickness and width, similar to the corresponding T-rail core, which when installing the container on the T-rail core will be placed on the inside of the container indentation, attached to the outside of the rail core, thus adapting the length of the latter to that of the container indentation. In this manner a significant reduction is achieved in industrialisation of oil collecting containers, as well as a greater ease in their installation, as the only data to collect in the field is the width of the core, which is generally known, as each container model shall correspond to a T-rail with a similar width core, and containers will adapt to cores of similar width but different lengths by means of the aforementioned pieces as attachments, without any loss in consistency or sealing. Bodies with a width similar to that of the corresponding T-rail guide with different thickness show a top face inclined downwards slightly in order to guide the oil to the container; their structure may be either hollow or solid and they fit on the container. Thus, the correct adaptation of the container to the different core lengths of a same width of different T-rails will be embodied in accessories which, as attachments, are set so that the container is installed so that all oil sliding down the T-rails is collected. With this structure the container may be placed at the desired height, being anchored overhanging, which simplifies its installation. It is thus not necessary to rest it on the floor, nor to carry out any machining on the spot, so that if there are baseplates in the elevator pit its installation is simple and comfortable as well as completely reliable. As a complement of the description following and in order to aid a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, attached to the present descriptive memory is a set of drawings which show for purposes of illustration only and in a nonlimiting manner the more relevant details of the invention here described. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the device for collecting oil which slides down by gravity on elevator guide rails, in a position ready to be installed, where the necessary operations for its installation may be seen by the arrows, so that the oil collecting container can be placed at the desired height of the guide rail anchored by means of a U-shaped clip, also showing the attachments which allow adaptation of the device to all types of guide rail. Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the device for collecting oil which slides down by gravity on elevator guide rails with the same installed at the desired guide rail height, attached by the corresponding clip and with an attachment for adapting to the length of the T-rail core on the elevator guide rail. Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the anchoring clip for the device for collecting oil which slides down by gravity on elevator guide rails, showing the arms of the clip converging in a first segment and diverging even more in a second segment, which simplifies assembly and attachment. Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a piece provided with a slit which acts as an attachment, which is solid and provided at the top with two downwards sloping faces and small projecting tabs for setting it on the sides of the container which remain firmly attached to it, forming a compact block. Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a piece provided with a slit which acts as an attachment, which is hollow and provided at the top with two downwards sloping faces and projecting tabs for setting it on the sides of the container which remain firmly attached to it, forming a compact block or unit. DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In view of the referred figures and according to the labelling used, we may see how device (1) for collecting oil which slides down on elevator guide T-rail (2) basically consists of a container (3), which is attached to core (4) of said T-rail (2), for which the generally rectangular prism shaped container (3), with an open top, has an indentation (6) in the centre of one of its faces in which inserts core (4) of T-rail (2), being anchored and attached by a clip (10) which embraces and presses said indentation against the core of the rail. Indentation (6) on the side of container (3) can have a similar width along its entire length or have its outer area growing with increasing width outwards, while its base shows a downwards inclination from its ear to its front, so that the oil collected in the container can be emptied through a central threaded orifice (7) which can be closed by a screw (8). Container indentation (6) has a top bevelled at a 45° angle which extends along the sides for a length which is approximately similar to that ofthe rail arms. In this way, container (3) is placed at the desired height in the elevator pit by fitting core (4) of T-rail (2) to indentation (6) of the container, attaching it with clip (10) which will keep it in place, for which purpose clip (10) is U-shaped, with arms which converge in a first segment (11) and diverge in a second segment (12), which firstly simplifies assembly and secondly simplifies anchoring container (3) by pressing on its indentation (6) once the container is installed on core (4) of T-rail (2), a perfect seal being ensured by the pressure of clip (10) on the thin walls of indentation (6). In addition, when mounting container (3) on corresponding guide rail (2) the top face of container (3) in contact with guide T-rail (2) is sealed with silicone (13), which seals the container in relation to the inner face of flaps (5) and the perimeter of T-rail core (4) so that the oil which slides down these is completely directed towards container (3). Furthermore, since T-rails used as guides for elevators may have different core lengths for a given core width, respective models of container (3) for each standard T-rail core width are supplied with several accessories (14) of different thickness in order to allow coupling the container to any core length of T-rail with a given core width. Thus, industrialisation of containers is reduced as only one container model is required for each T-rail core (4) width, which may be adapted to the core length, either directly or by employing the corresponding accessory (14) as an attachment. Thus respective attachment accessories (14) can be placed on the inside of container indentation (6) when the core length of T-rail (2) is smaller than the length of indentation (6). In this case, container (3) is used with attachments (14), which as may be seen have different thickness, so that a thickness is obtained which matches that of core (4) of the corresponding T-rail (2). Thus, container (3) can be adapted to several core lengths of T-rail with a given core width, since it may be directly coupled to T-rail core (4) as it has the same length as indentation (6), or coupled to several T-rail with different core lengths according to the number of attachments (14) provided, in order to adapt the length of core (2) to that of indentation (6) of container (3) to be installed with the insertion of the corresponding attachment (14). Accessories which are placed on the inside of indentation (6) of the corresponding container (3) in order to adapt the core length to that of indentation (6) show a top with faces (15) inclined towards the container, and tabs (16) which help to attach it in order to guide the oil which slides down it towards the container. Additionally, depending on their thickness accessories (14) may be hollow or solid. Thus, figure 4 of the drawings shows accessory (14) due to its small thickness as a solid piece with top tabs (16) inclined downwards, while figure 5 of the drawings shows accessory (14) due to its greater thickness with a hollow area (17) in its structure in order to reduce costs, as well as also having tabs (16) inclined downwards to guide the oil towards the container. Therefore, the guide oil collecting device described is meant to provide a collection container which is easily adaptable and can be quickly installed, as well as reducing its industrialisation by allowing to adapt containers (3) of a given size to different core lengths of T-rail (2) for a given core (4) width, a common case as certain manufacturers do not respect lengths standardised by ISO 7465-1983 but do respect the standard width, by having accessories (14) as attachments which allow adaptation to different T-rail core lengths with a fixed core width. With the described device container (3) can be assembled in an overhanging disposition at the desired height of the elevator guide rail , thus simplifying installation in pits with a baseplate (9) as the container does not have to rest on the floor, nor is any on site machining required for said installation.

Claims: DEVICE FOR COLLECTING OIL FROM ELEVATOR GUIDE RAILS, useful for installation on T-rails along which moves an elevator, the device comprises a rectangular prism-shaped container (3) with an open top and provided in the centre as seen from its sides with an indentation (6), with bevelled top faces, characterised in that the device comprises means for anchoring container (3) to core (4) of a T-rail (2) of the elevator, and means for adapting container (3) to different lengths of core (4) for a given core width of different T-rails (2). DEVICE FOR COLLECTING OIL FROM ELEVATOR GUIDE RAILS as in claim 1, characterised in that the means for anchoring container (3) to core (4) of T-rail (2) on which the elevator moves consist of a U-shaped clip (10) with arms which converge in a first segment (11) and diverge to a greater extent in a second segment (12). DEVICE FOR COLLECTING OIL FROM ELEVATOR GUIDE RAILS as in claims 1 and 2 characterised in that once container (3) is placed with core (4) of T-rail (2) inserted in indentation (6) of a similar width, clip (10 ) s placed on the inside of the container, pressing on the inner faces of indentation (6) and anchoring the container in place by a simple pressure. DEVICE FOR COLLECTING OIL FROM ELEVATOR GUIDE RAILS as in claim 1, characterised in that the means for adapting container (3) to different lengths of core (4) in different T-rails (2) consist of parts (14) of varying thickness and of a width similar to that of core (4), which when anchoring container (3) to core (4) are placed on the inside of container indentation (6) next to the outer side of T-rail core (4), adapting its length to that of indentation (6) of container (3). DEVICE FOR COLLECTING OIL FROM ELEVATOR GUIDE RAILS as in claims 1 and 4, characterised in that parts (14) which have a width similar to that of core (4) of T-rail (2) and varying thickness have a top face inclined towards container (3), and on its free upper sides they are provided with tabs (16) inclined downwards which position them and are firmly attached to container (3) thus forming a compact unit, guiding the oil toward the container, and having a hollow or solid structure.

Inventors: ERRUZ GRIMAL JOSE, ERRUZ GRIMAL, JOSE, Erruz Grimal, José
Applicants: ELEVARAGON S L, ELEVARAGON, S.L.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: B66B7
IPC codes: B66B7, F16N31