Patent Description:
Sill located debris may be considered a leading cause of unscheduled elevator maintenance. Existing elevator designs may guide an elevator door by utilizing a combination of rollers and rails at a top level of the elevator door and a combination of a groove and groove guides (for example, protrusions) that are guided within the groove at a base of the door. The groove may be located in an elevator sill and may collect debris, which may be challenging to remove. <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT> each disclose an elevator door apparatus in which a door is guided within a groove by magnets.

According to a first aspect there is provided an elevator system as claimed in claim <NUM>.

In some embodiments, a top surface of the sill is without inset guide grooves.

In some embodiments, the door panel comprises a base and the door magnet is at or proximate the base.

In some embodiments, the sill magnet is movably supported on the track by at least one roller.

In some embodiments, the door magnet is a first set of magnets that comprises a first magnet and a second magnet spaced along the first axis by a first distance, the sill magnet is a second set of magnets that comprises a third magnet and a fourth magnet that are spaced along the first axis by the first distance, whereby as the door panel moves along the first axis, the first magnet is aligned with the third magnet and the second magnet is aligned with the fourth magnet.

In some embodiments, the third magnet and the fourth magnet are spaced by a mechanical spacer that extend along the first axis.

In some embodiments, the track includes a pair of track rails, including a first track rail and a second track rail, the pair of track rails extending along the first axis and being spaced from each other in the lateral direction; and the third magnet and the fourth magnet each comprise: a first roller of the at least one roller, the first roller traveling on the first track rail; and a second roller of the at least one roller, the second roller traveling on the second track rail.

In some embodiments, the first roller and the second roller are each a pair of rollers.

According to a further aspect there is provided a method of configuring an elevator system as claimed in claim <NUM>.

The following figures illustrate additional technical features associated with one or more disclosed embodiments. Features disclosed in the following figures having nomenclature similar to features disclosed in <FIG> may be similarly construed though being positively reintroduced with numerical identifiers that may differ from those in <FIG>.

Turning to <FIG>, disclosed is an elevator system <NUM>. The system <NUM> includes a door panel <NUM> configured for moving along a first axis <NUM> for opening and closing of the door panel <NUM> at an entryway <NUM>. The door panel <NUM> includes a door magnet <NUM>. The door panel <NUM> as identified herein may be a bottom half of an elevator door, where a top half (not illustrated) is guided by typical means such as rollers/rails.

The entryway <NUM> including a sill <NUM>. The sill <NUM> has a sill magnet <NUM>. The door magnet <NUM> and the sill magnet <NUM> may be configured for forming a first magnetic pairing. According to an embodiment the first magnetic pairing guides the door panel <NUM> to move along the first axis <NUM> and prevents the door panel <NUM> from moving in a lateral direction with respect to the first axis <NUM>. For example, the first magnetic pairing prevents the door from swinging inwardly and outwardly with respect to the entryway <NUM>, laterally with respect to the first axis <NUM>, to thereby avoid interaction with passengers. Sizing and configuring of the magnets may provide for such restrictive motion.

With the use of magnets for guiding the door panel, a top surface of the sill that faces a bottom of the door panel may be without guide-tracks. The surface is without inset guide grooves so that it may be a flat-planar surface or may contain surface indicia to enable walking traction. That is, the surface may exclude grooves associated with other door panel guide configurations.

According to an embodiment, the first magnetic pairing may be passive. This prevents providing an additional electrical burden on the elevator system. In one embodiment, platform structures <NUM> of the entryway <NUM> are non-ferrous metals to avoid biasing the magnets.

In one embodiment the door panel <NUM> may include a base <NUM>. The base <NUM> may be defined by a bottom portion of the door panel <NUM>. The door magnet <NUM> may be disposed at or proximate the base <NUM>.

The sill <NUM> includes a sill enclosure <NUM> that is sealed. The sill magnet <NUM> is disposed within the sill enclosure <NUM>. The sill enclosure <NUM> includes a track <NUM> that extends along the first axis <NUM>. The sill magnet <NUM> is movable along the track <NUM> for traveling along the first axis <NUM> with the first magnet <NUM>. The sill magnet <NUM> may be movably supported on the track <NUM> by at least one roller <NUM>.

The door magnet <NUM> may be a first set of magnets that comprises a first magnet <NUM> and a second magnet <NUM> spaced along the first axis <NUM> by a first distance. The sill magnet <NUM> may be a second set of magnets that comprises a third magnet <NUM> and a fourth magnet <NUM> that are spaced along the first axis <NUM> by the first distance. From this configuration, as the door panel <NUM> moves along the first axis <NUM>, the first magnet <NUM> may be aligned with the third magnet <NUM> and the second magnet <NUM> may be aligned with the fourth magnet <NUM>.

The third magnet <NUM> and the fourth magnet <NUM> may be spaced by a mechanical spacer <NUM>. The mechanical spacer <NUM> may extend along the first axis <NUM>. The mechanical spacer <NUM> may be a frame structure such as a bar, a cylinder or other formed or machined member.

The track <NUM> may include a pair of track rails, including a first track rail <NUM> and a second track rail <NUM>. The pair of track rails <NUM>, <NUM> may extend along the first axis and may be spaced from each other in the lateral direction. In one embodiment the third magnet <NUM> and the fourth magnet <NUM> each comprise a first roller <NUM> of the at least one roller <NUM> that that travels on the first track rail <NUM> and a second roller <NUM> of the at least one roller <NUM> that travels on the second track rail <NUM>. As illustrated the first roller <NUM> and the second roller <NUM> are each a pair of rollers.

In order to optimize a utilization of the available magnetic strength, a spacing D1 between a bottom of the panel <NUM> and the sill <NUM> may be a few millimeters, such as three millimeters. For the same reason, a thickness of the sill <NUM> may be the same as D1. The sill <NUM> may be designed to accommodate such thickness without buckling under the weight of normal use. For example, the sill <NUM> may be a reinforced and/or composite material. In addition, the thickness of the sill <NUM> may change between areas A1 where the magnets are directly below the sill <NUM> and, for example, areas A2 where the rollers are directly below the sill <NUM>. That is, areas where the rollers are directly below the sill <NUM> may be thicker than areas magnets are directly below the sill <NUM>.

The above disclosed embodiments provide a plurality of sets of paired magnets including a first set of magnets within a door panel and a second set of magnets underneath the sill. The door may be guided along a travel path without the need of a groove. Such configuration may eliminating a formation of debris that may otherwise impeding door movement. Magnet sets may be configured, for example, with magnetic strength characteristics that may prevent door movement out of a door sliding axis. In one embodiment the magnets are rare earth magnets such as neodymium. Magnetic attraction may be passive rather than requiring power to avoid affecting power requirements for the elevator system.

Alternatively electromagnets may be utilized. If electromagnets are used, such magnets may be used in either the door or sill of the assembly. Placing electromagnets in the sill may avoid providing power to the door panels. In addition, electrical cables for a sill electromagnet may be hidden behind a toe guard positioned behind the sill.

Within the sill, magnets may be placed on rollers to enable traveling of the magnets in the door sliding axis. The rollers may be placed in enclosed track, thereby being insulated from debris. The sill magnets may be provided as a plurality of sets spaced along the door sliding axis and the door magnet may be provided as a plurality of sets spaced along the door sliding axis. Spacing between the plurality of sets of sill magnets may obtained, for example, by a mechanical connection between the plurality of sets of sill magnets. Such spacing between the sets of sill magnets and sets of door magnets may the same to provide for control of the door panel.

Various benefits of the disclosed embodiments include reduced of unscheduled elevator maintenance due to removal of a groove based opportunity to collect debris. In addition, noise associated with mechanical interaction between protrusions and grooves and groove guides.

Claim 1:
An elevator system (<NUM>) comprising:
a door panel (<NUM>) configured for moving along a first axis (<NUM>) for opening and closing of the door panel (<NUM>) at an entryway (<NUM>), the door panel (<NUM>) comprising a door magnet (<NUM>),
the entryway (<NUM>) including a sill (<NUM>), the sill (<NUM>) having a sill magnet (<NUM>), wherein the door magnet (<NUM>) and the sill magnet (<NUM>) are configured for forming a first magnetic pairing, and
wherein the first magnetic pairing guides the door panel (<NUM>) to move along the first axis (<NUM>) and prevents the door panel (<NUM>) from moving in a lateral direction with respect to the first axis (<NUM>);
characterized in that the sill (<NUM>) includes a sill enclosure (<NUM>) that is sealed, and the sill magnet (<NUM>) is within the sill enclosure (<NUM>), wherein the sill enclosure (<NUM>) includes a track (<NUM>) that extends along the first axis (<NUM>) and the sill magnet (<NUM>) is movable along the track (<NUM>) for traveling in the first axis (<NUM>) with the door magnet (<NUM>) when the door is opening and closing.