Patent Publication Number: US-9834412-B2

Title: Elevator car arrangement and a connection element

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to an isolation of an elevator car, in particular to an arrangement for isolating elevator car from vibrations coming from guide rails for improving ride comfort of an elevator. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Usually in elevators the elevator car is generally fitted inside an elevator car sling, which the elevator car sling is suspended by hoisting roping and fitted to travel along guide rails. The guide rails are formed by connecting successive guide rail members together such that joints are formed in the assembled guide rails. These joints and possible impreciseness in guide rail alignment causes vibrations to the elevator car body via the elevator car sling connected to the elevator car body. This means that ride comfort in the elevator suffers and noise increases, which is especially the case with high speed elevators. Ride comfort for high speed elevators is very much influenced by the interface between the elevator car and the sling. 
     Means for damping oscillations in an elevator car is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,671 which shows an apparatus for isolating horizontal shocks, generated in high speed elevators by inaccurately aligned guide rails, from the elevator car body. The apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,671 includes spherical shock absorbers for supporting the bottom side of the car body in a car sling and centering elements with cooperating guide pins connected between the top side of the car body and the upper beam of the car sling. 
     Problem with the prior art is that lateral vibrations caused by guide rails are formed in the upper beam of the sling and although they may be somehow dampened the upper beam may also cause some bending moment which during time will affect to the damping especially in the high speed elevators. 
     Another problem is that in case of high rise elevators the vibrations of the top side of the elevator car become more relevant for a large range of frequency and if they are not isolated they may induce both lateral vibrations and structure borne noise in the walls of the elevator car. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement and an element so as to alleviate the above disadvantages. The objects of the invention are achieved by an arrangement and an element which are characterized by what is stated in the independent claims. The preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims. 
     The invention is based on the idea of damping vibrations in the elevator car caused by joints in guide rails by arranging a damper in a connection element connecting the elevator car body to the elevator car sling. The connection between the elevator car body and the elevator car sling is arranged between a vertical side support of the elevator car sling and the roof of the elevator car body. This is very advantageous because a connection between the upper horizontal support and the roof may cause bending moment and this is prevented in the connection between the side support and the roof. Another advantage of the damping element arranged in the connection element arranged between the vertical side support and the roof is that the stresses in the damping material are share stresses, for which the behaviour of the damping material is optimal. 
     The elevator car arrangement according to the invention comprises an elevator car body comprising a roof, a bottom and side walls, and an elevator car sling for being guided along vertically extending guide rails. The elevator car sling comprises at least a first vertical side support, a second vertical side support and an upper horizontal support, which said supports are connected to each other to form the sling. The elevator car body is connected to the elevator car sling such that the elevator car body is supported in the elevator car sling. The elevator car arrangement further comprises a connection element for connecting the elevator car body to the elevator car sling such that the connection element is arranged between the roof of the elevator car body and the vertical side support of the elevator car sling and the connection element comprises a damper for damping vibrations caused by guide rails. 
     The connection element according to the invention for connecting an elevator car body to an elevator car sling to form an elevator car arrangement comprises a first connection part for connecting the connection element to an elevator car sling and a second connection part for connecting the connection element to the elevator car body and a damper which comprises at least a first damper member arranged between the first connection part and the second connection part. 
     So the connection between the roof of the elevator car and the sling is arranged through a very soft rubber interface in the connection element. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the following the invention will be described in greater detail by means of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, in which 
         FIG. 1  shows the elevator car arrangement according to the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows the connection element according to the invention; and 
         FIG. 3  shows a cross section of the connection element shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows the elevator car arrangement  1  according to the invention. The elevator car arrangement  1  comprises an elevator car body  2  comprising a roof  2   a , a bottom  2   b  and side walls  2   c , and an elevator car sling  3  for being guided along vertically extending guide rails  4 . The elevator car sling  3  comprises at least a first vertical side support  3   a , a second vertical side support  3   b  and an upper horizontal support  3   c , which said supports  3   a ,  3   b ,  3   c  are connected to each other to form the sling  3 . The elevator car body  2  is connected to the elevator car sling  3  such that the elevator car body  2  is supported in the elevator car sling  3 . This means that the elevator car sling  3  forms an outer periphery of the elevator car arrangement  1 . The elevator car sling may also comprise a lower horizontal support  3   d  but this is not necessary in all elevator car arrangements  1 . In the case that the elevator car sling  3  comprises four supports  3   a ,  3   b ,  3   c ,  3   d  they form a closed ring inside which the elevator car body  2  is arranged. The elevator car arrangement  1  further comprises a connection element  5  for connecting the elevator car body  2  to the elevator car sling  3  such that the connection element  5  is arranged between the roof  2   a  of the elevator car body  2  and the vertical side support  3   a ,  3   b  of the elevator car sling  3 . The connection element  5  comprises a damper  6  for damping vibrations caused by guide rails  4 . The elevator car arrangement  1  moves along guide rails  4  such that the elevator car sling  3  is guided along vertically extending guide rails  4  by means of guide shoes  8  which are arranged adjacent supports  31 ,  3   b ,  3   c ,  3   d  in the sling  3  and the elevator car arrangement  1  is supported in the elevator shaft by the hoist roping  7 . 
       FIG. 2  shows that the connection element  5  comprises a first connection part  5   a  connected to the vertical side support  3   a ,  3   b , a second connection part  5   b  connected to the roof  2   a  of the elevator car body  2  and the damper  6  which is arranged in connection with the first connection part  5   a  and the second connection part  5   b . The damper  6  comprises at least a first damper member  6   a  arranged between the first connection part  5   a  and the second connection part  5   b . The first and the second connection part  5   a ,  5   b  are connected together with fastening means  11  such that the first damper member  6   a  is arranged between the first connection part  5   a  and the second connection part  5   b  and the fastening means is arranged to go through both connection parts  5   a ,  5   b  and the first damper member  6   a.    
     The first connection part  5   a  comprises a vertical attachment plate  15  connected to the vertical side support  3   a  of the elevator sling  3  and a horizontal attachment plate  16  connected to the vertical attachment plate  15  and extending from the vertical attachment plate  15  toward the opposite vertical side support  3   b  (not shown in  FIG. 2 ) of the elevator car sling  3 . 
     The second connection part  5   b  comprises an attachment part  17  for connecting the second connection part  5   b  to the roof  2   a  of the elevator car body  2  such that the attachment part  17  forms a connection with the roof  2   a . The second connection part  5   b  further comprises an attachment plate  18  and a cylinder  19  arranged to extend between the attachment part  17  and the attachment plate  18 . The cylinder  19  is preferably welded or connected through threaded connection to the attachment part  17  and to the attachment plate  18 . The attachment part  17  is preferably formed as a trapezoidal structure having a leg part  17   a  for connecting the second connection part  5   b  to the roof  2   a  and a plate part  17   b  extending from the leg part  17   a  such that the plate part  17   b  is arranged in a distance away from the roof  2   a  of the elevator car body  2 . The leg part  17   a  and the plate part  17   b  form a one-piece attachment part  17 . The trapezoidal structure of the attachment part  17  is a preferable shape but other shapes of the attachment part  17  are also possible. The form of the attachment part  17  is preferably such that the ends of the fastening means fit between the roof  2   a  and the plate part  17   b  of the attachment part  17 . 
     The first connection part  5   a  and the second connection part  5   b  are connected together with fastening means  11  arranged through both connection parts  5   a ,  5   b  and such that the first damper member  6   a  is arranged between the connection parts  5   a ,  5   b . In other words, the first damper member  6   a  is arranged between the horizontal attachment plate  16  of the first connection element  5   a  and the attachment plate  18  of the second connection part  5   b . The first damper member  6   a  extends from the horizontal attachment plate  16  of the first connection element  5   a  to the attachment plate  18  of the second connection element  5   b . This means that the fastening means  11  are arranged such that they extend through the horizontal attachment plate  16  of the first connection part  5   a , the first damper member  6  and the attachment plate  18  of the second connection part  5   b  and such that the fastening means  11  extend from the other side of the horizontal attachment plate  16  of the first connection part  5   a  than where the first damper member  6   a  is arranged and the fastening means  11  extend to the other side of the attachment plate  18  of the second connection part  5   b  than where the first damper member  6  is arranged. The fastening means  11  are also preferably extending to the attachment part  17  of the second connection part  5   b  such that the fastening means  11  extend through the plate part  17   b  of the attachment part  17 . The first damper member  6   a  may be arranged between the horizontal attachment plate  16  of the first connection part  5   a  and the attachment plate  18  of the second connection part  5   b  such that the first damper member  6   a  does not fill the whole space between the horizontal attachment plate  16  and the attachment plate  18  but there may be additional damper members or plates or other extension brackets too. The damper  6  further preferably comprises a second damper member  6   b  arranged between the horizontal attachment plate  16  and a washer  12  or nut  13  or other fixing means. The fastening means  11  are arranged to go through the second damper member  6   b  similarly as the first damper member  6   a . The damper  6  further preferably comprises a third damper member  6   c  arranged to extend from one side of the plate part  17   b  of the attachment part  17  to the other side of the plate part  17   b . The third damper member  6   c  is preferably such that it&#39;s diameter is different on one side of the plate part  17   b  than on the other side of the plate part  17   b . The part of the third damper member  6   c  that is arranged between the plate part  17   b  and a washer  12  or a nut  13  or other fixing means is preferably bigger than the part of the third damper member  6   c  that extends through the hole in the plate part  17   b  and further to the other side of the plate part  17   b  than where the end of the fastening means  11  are. 
     The material of the damper  6  comprises preferably rubber, and most preferably very soft rubber having a high damping property. The first damper member  6   a  comprises rubber and/or polyurethane with high damping property. The second and third damper member  6   b ,  6   c  comprise rubber or are fully made of rubber. All the damper members  6   a ,  6   b ,  6   c  may comprise different material composition. The material of the damper  6  is required to have a high damping coefficient 0.2 . . . 0.5% and a good creep resistance. 
     The damper  6  is arranged between the first connection part  5   a  and the second connection part  5   b  in a vertical direction. This means that the first damper member  6   a  is arranged between the horizontal attachment plate  16  of the first connection part  5   a  and the attachment plate  18  of the second connection part  5   b  or at least partly between the horizontal attachment plate  16  of the first connection part  5   a  and the attachment plate  18  of the second connection part  5   b.    
     According to the invention the elevator car body  2  is supported in the elevator car sling  3  by the connection elements  5  arranged between the upper corners of the elevator car body  2  and especially between the roof  2   a  of the elevator car body  2  and the vertical side supports  3   a ,  3   b  of the elevator car sling  3 . The connection element  5  is attached by its vertical attachment plate  15  to the vertical side support  3   a  of the sling  3  and the first damper member  6   a  is arranged between the horizontal attachment plate  16  of the first connection part  5   a  and the attachment plate  18  of the second connection part  5   b.    
       FIGS. 2 and 3  show a connection element  5  for connecting an elevator car body  2  to an elevator car sling  3  to form an elevator car arrangement  1 .  FIG. 3  shows a cross section a-a from  FIG. 2  which shows how the third damper member  6   c  extends from one side of the plate part  17   b  of the attachment part  17  to the other side of the plate part  17 . 
     The first connection part  5   a  comprises a vertical attachment plate  15  to be connected to a vertical side support  3   a ,  3   b  of the elevator car sling  3  and a horizontal attachment plate  16  connected to the vertical attachment plate  15  and extending away from the vertical attachment plate  15 . In a static position the first damper member  6   a  is not in contact with the fastening means  11  arranged to go through the first damper member  6   a  but during action (eg. when vibrating) the fastening means  11  may contact the first damper member  6   a . The fastening means  11  are for example a bolt and a nut, a peg and a pin or other suitable fastenings. 
     The second connection part  5   b  comprises an attachment part  17  to be connected to the roof  2   a  of the elevator car body  2  for connecting the second connection part  5   b  to the roof  2   a , an attachment plate  18  and a cylinder  19  arranged to extend between the attachment part  17  and the attachment plate  18 . The attachment part  17 , the cylinder  19  and the attachment plate  18  are connected together preferably by welding or by a threaded coupling or by any other suitable connection that firm. 
     The first connection part  5   a  and the second connection part  5   b  are connected together with fastening means  11  arranged through the horizontal attachment plate  16  of the first connection part  5   a  and at least through the attachment plate  18  of the second connection part  5   b  and through the first damper member  6   a  arranged to extend between the horizontal attachment plate  16  and the attachment plate  18 . The connection element  5  to be connected to the elevator car sling  3  and the elevator car body  2  may comprise before installed into the place the following separate parts: the first connection part  5   a  comprising a vertical attachment plate  15  and a horizontal attachment plate  16  which are connected together for example through welding, the second connection part  5   b  comprising an attachment part  17 , an attachment plate  18  and a cylinder  19  which are connected together for example through welding or through a threaded coupling, a damper  6  comprising at least a first damper member  6   a  and fastening means  11  comprising for example a bolt and a nut. On the other hand the connection element  5  may be preassembled such that the above mentioned part are already assembled together and the vertical attachment plate  15  will then be connected to the elevator car sling  3  and the attachment part  17  will be connected to the roof  2   a  of the elevator car body  2 . 
     As already explained previously the first damper member  6   a  comprises rubber and/or polyurethane and the second and third damper member  6   b ,  6   c  are rubber. 
     It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the claims.