Patent GB-343182-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to electrical signalling systems for elevators and the like
IPC: B66B1/18
Filed: 1929-11-20
Abstract: 343,182. Lifts. LE TALL, F. W., 2, Norfolk Street, Strand, London.-( Westing- house Electric & Manufacturing Co. ; East Pittsburg, U.S.A.) Nov. 20, 1929, No. 35479. [Class 78 (ii).] Electric plant.-In a signalling system for a bank of lifts having calling devices at the floors and in the cages, signal-giving devices such as lamps in the cages, and indicating devices such as lamps at the floors for indicating the approach of cages thereto, the stopping switch of each cage controls the circuits of the floor indicating devices or lamps and the floor calling devices in such a manner as to actuate the appropriate indicating device at a floor whereat a cage is signalled to stop and to restore to normal condition the actuated calling devices in respect of which such stop is determined upon operation of the cage-stopping switch of that cage to make the stop and before the said cage has reached the said floor. The system is described as applied to an installation comprising two cages A, B, but may be applied to any number of cages operating between any number of floors. The system may be used with lift control systems of various types, but is shown applied to an automatic landing control system of the type wherein, when the cage is started and the cage switch thereafter centred, the cage continues to run until a floor stop device, either a floor selector or inductor relays, &c., is successively actuated to retard the cage as it approaches the floor at which a stop is to be made. The motor for the cage A is controlled by an " up " direction switch 7, a "down" direction switch 9, intermediatespeed relay 11, highspeed relay 13 and express-speed relay 15. " Up " and " down " direction switches 8, 10, respectively, intermediate-speed relay 12, high-speed relay 14, and express-speed relay 16 control the motor of the cage B. Each cage switch CSA, CSB has the usual brush a and contact fingers &c., and additional arms b, c and co-operating contact members therefor disposed to operate in a plane different from that of the brush and contact fingers. Each cage has two signal - giving devices, preferably electric lamps, of which the red lamps HLA, HLB indicate that a stop is to be made at a floor more than one floor away, and the green lamps SLA, SLB indicate while the cages are standing at a floor, that a stop is to be made at the next floor. Each lamp has two filaments a, b in order that it may be connected readily in the signal circuits of the system in such manner that signals operated by one cage will not disturb the signals for another cage. The filaments a, b are arranged to light up when floor push-buttons and cage push-buttons are actuated, respectively. The circuit of the green " standing " lamp SLA is connected to the normallyclosed contact members c on switches 7, 9 in such a manner that the lamp may be lit only when the cage is standing at a floor. Similarly the lamp SLB is in circuit with the contact members c on the switches 8, 10. "Up" and "down" pushbuttons 2U, 2D .. 5U, 5D at each landing are associated with relays 2UR, 2DR .. 5UR, 5DR for holding them until the signals are completed or the buttons reset. Reset relays 2US, 2DS .. 5US, 5DS are provided. Push-buttons A2 .. A5, B2 .. B5 on the cages are actuated by the attendant in the cage when he desires to set the signal-giving device to indicate stops to permit passengers to alight at corresponding floors. These push-buttons are associated with relays AR2 .. AR5, BR2 .. BR5, and reset relays AS2 .. AS5, BS2 .. BS5. Each of the top and bottom floors has a lamp L6, L6<1>, L1, L1<1> for each cage, and each intermediate floor has a pair of lamps for each cage L2D, L2U, &c. The cages A, B have floor selectors FSA, FSB, the movable arms MA, MB of which are operated by a screw S driven by some part of the actuating mechanism of the cage. The selectors FSA, FSB have sets of "up" contact segments and " down " contact segments that are arranged to be engaged by co-operating brushes 20 .. 38, 40 .. 58, respectively, mounted on the arms MA, MB. The arms bear on " up " contact segments when the cages travel upwards, and on " down " contact segments when the cages travel downwards, and are tilted from one side to the other as soon as they reach their limits of travel by a mechanical throw-over. A plurality of brushes is provided for each group of contact segments, and the arrangement is such that when the cage is standing at a floor, each brush is in engagement with a different segment. Each group comprises a " slow brush which engages the segment corresponding to the next floor in advance of the floor at which the cage is positioned in the direction in which the cage is prepared to travel, and an "advance " brush which engages a segment two floors in advance. The group of brushes, 24,25 ; 32, 33 for the segments connected to the floor lamps are provided with trailing brushes 26, 34, respectively, for engaging the segment corresponding to the floor at which the cage is positioned while it is not running. The group of contact segments under the brushes 20, 21 controls the lighting of the lamps in the cages by floor push-buttons, and includes segments for each floor from the second to the fifth. The group under the brushes 22, 23 controls the relays for resetting the floor push-button relays. The group under the brushes 24, 25, 26 controls the lighting of the floor lamps through the centring of the cage switch CSA. The group under the brushes 27, 28 controls the lighting of the signal lamps by the cage pushbuttons. The group under the brush 29 controls the relavs for resetting the cage push-button relays. This brush engages its co-operating contact segments during both up and down travel of the arm. Each of the cage push-button relays AR2.. AR5 has a pair of normally closed contact members b connected in series in the circuit of the coil of the express-speed relay 15 in such manner that the relay cannot be operated until the completion of the stop for which the cage pushbutton has registered a call. The relays BR2 .. BR5 for the cage B are connected in like manner with the express-speed relay 16. The relays 15, 16 have additional normally-closed contact members b, c connected in circuits between the floor push-buttons and the signal lamps in the cages for the purpose of preventing the cages while running at express speed from receiving any stop signals registered by the floor push-buttons.