Patent Description:
Prior art starting points can be seen in documents <CIT>, <CIT> or <CIT>. In such prior art solutions landing doors have been usually installed in connection with elevator installation. This has involved a lot of measuring, alignment work, boring and other manual work during the installation phase. This is very time consuming and possibly also produces a lot of concrete dust to the elevator shaft and to all elevator spaces and components due to several boring tasks. The concrete dust may cause damages and is very difficult and slow to remove from all the contaminated places. A first step to improve this process can be seen in <CIT>, which discloses the features of the preambles of the independent claims, because here a prefabricated door assembly is used with the help of a dummy, that aids as a support for the door which dummy is removed again after the door has been adjusted in its door frame.

One object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the solutions of prior art and to achieve an elevator landing door assembly, which is easy and fast to install and where the installing does not produce harmful concrete dust that contaminates surfaces and components in the installation location and its close neighborhood. Another object of the present invention is to achieve a method for installing an elevator landing door reliably, safely and fast and without causing a contaminating concrete dust. The elevator landing door assembly according to the invention is characterized by what is presented in the characterization part of claim <NUM>. Correspondingly the method for installing an elevator landing door is characterized by what is presented in the characterization part of claim <NUM>. Other embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is presented in the other claims.

Different details presented in connection with each embodiment can also be applied in other embodiments.

In order to achieve the objectives mentioned above, the present invention provides an elevator landing door assembly, which landing door assembly comprises at least a landing door unit to be assembled to a landing door base opening, which base opening has an upper edge, two side edges and a lower edge, which landing door unit comprises at least a top track and one or more door panels suspended by the top track through one or more supporting elements, and a door sill. Advantageously, the assembly comprises fixing elements in the landing door base opening equipped with receiving parts for fastening the landing door unit.

Preferably also, the present invention provides a method for installing an elevator landing door, which landing door assembly comprises at least a landing door unit to be assembled to a landing door base opening having an upper edge, two side edges and a lower edge, which landing door unit comprises at least a top track and one or more door panels suspended by the top track through one or more supporting elements, and a door sill. Advantageously, the landing door base opening is equipped with fixing elements comprising receiving parts for fastening the landing door unit, and the landing door unit is connected to the receiving parts from the side of the floor level and fastened to the receiving parts.

The solution according to the invention, comprising the elevator landing door assembly according to the invention and the method for installing the elevator landing door, has an advantage among other things that the solution saves a lot of installation work in the installation site because a prefabricated landing door unit with its possible frame is very fast and easy to install. Further one advantage is that the installation of the landing doors is easy and safe because almost all the work can be done on the landing floors. There is no need to go inside the elevator shaft, which would cause additional annoyance and danger. Yet another advantage is that the amount of concrete dust can be minimized because there is no need to make massive boring tasks. Also, the cleaning tasks after the installation are faster and easier because the amount of concrete dust is smaller.

In the following, the invention will be described in detail by the aid of embodiment examples by referring to the attached simplified and diagrammatic drawings, wherein.

<FIG> presents in a simplified and diagrammatic oblique top view an installed elevator landing door assembly according to the invention. The landing door <NUM> with its top track <NUM>, landing door unit <NUM> comprising advantageously a frame, two door panels 4a, and a door sill 4c has been installed into a base door opening <NUM> formed in a wall <NUM> of the building, which base door opening <NUM> opens to an elevator shaft. The base door opening <NUM> comprises an upper edge, two side edges and a lower edge. The type of the landing door in <FIG> is such that the door panels 4a open by separation from each other toward opposite directions and close toward each other by moving opposite directions. Thus, the landing door <NUM> opens from the middle. As well, the two-part landing door could open from one side as is presented later in <FIG>.

In <FIG> the landing door installation is not yet complete, so the top track <NUM> is seen above the door panels 4a, and also a part of the doorsill 4c is seen. The structure of the landing door <NUM> does not necessarily cover the whole base door opening <NUM>, but the final covering is implemented with covering plates or corresponding structures that are fitted to close all the gaps between edges of the base door opening <NUM> and the door panels 4a and other door components at both the sides of the base door opening <NUM> and above it.

Advantageously the base door opening <NUM> and its gaps can be covered, for example during the installation time, with a protection wall, such as a hard gypsum panel. This is done preferably to protect against safety hazards until the door or complete elevator installation is to be finalized. Preferably the hard gypsum panel can be enforced.

<FIG> presents in a simplified and diagrammatic top view an elevator landing door base opening <NUM> with the visible walls cross-sectioned just above the floor level <NUM>. Only a part of elevator shaft <NUM> and its sidewalls 6a is seen in <FIG> but the front wall <NUM> of the elevator shaft is completely seen.

A pair of lower fixing elements <NUM> for the elevator landing door unit <NUM> is fastened onto the floor <NUM> at the base door opening <NUM>. In this embodiment the lower fixing elements <NUM> extent downwards in the vertical level of the front wall <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM>.

<FIG> presents in a simplified and diagrammatic oblique top view the lower fixing element <NUM> of the landing door assembly according to the invention. The lower fixing element <NUM> comprises a frame 9a and a receiving part 9b for receiving counter parts of the lower part of the landing door unit <NUM> to be installed to the base opening <NUM>. The frame 9a is advantageously an L-shape element with a first flange <NUM> and a second flange <NUM> that are substantially perpendicular to each other. In addition, the frame 9a comprises fastening holes <NUM> through which the lower fixing element <NUM> is fastened at its place onto the edge of the floor <NUM> at the base door opening <NUM>. The fastening can be made with fastening elements such as screws either onto the floor <NUM> or onto the front wall <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM>, or onto the both.

The first flange <NUM> is advantageously a horizontal flange and is equipped with the receiving part 9b whose cross-section is like a C-profile, which has a hollow interior, and where a longitudinal slot <NUM> is upward. When the lower fixing element <NUM> is fastened to its place the longitudinal slot <NUM> is directed horizontally towards the elevator shaft <NUM>, and is perpendicular to the width of the base opening <NUM>.

<FIG> presents in a simplified and diagrammatic oblique top view an upper fixing element <NUM> of the landing door assembly according to the invention. The upper fixing element <NUM> comprises a frame 14a and a receiving part 14b for receiving counter parts of the upper edge of the landing door unit <NUM> to be installed to the base opening <NUM>. The frame 14a is advantageously an L-shape element with a first flange <NUM> and a second flange <NUM> that are substantially perpendicular to each other. In addition, the frame 14a comprises fastening holes <NUM> through which the upper fixing element <NUM> is fastened at its place onto the upper edge of the base door opening <NUM>. The fastening can be made with fastening elements such as screws onto the upper edge of the base door opening <NUM>.

The first flange <NUM> of the upper fixing element <NUM> is advantageously a vertical flange and is equipped with the receiving part 14b whose cross-section is like a C-profile which has a hollow interior, and where the longitudinal slot <NUM> is vertical. When the upper fixing element <NUM> is fastened to its place the longitudinal slot <NUM> is vertical and opens perpendicularly away from the elevator shaft <NUM> towards the lobby of the floor level.

<FIG> present in a simplified and diagrammatic view the landing door base opening <NUM> equipped with the fixing elements <NUM> and <NUM> according to the invention. In <FIG> the landing door base opening <NUM> is seen from the elevator shaft <NUM>, and in <FIG> the landing door base opening <NUM> is seen in a cross-section A-A of <FIG>.

The lower fixing elements <NUM> are fastened into their place on the edge of the floor of the floor level <NUM> so that the first flange <NUM> lies on the floor <NUM> and the second flange <NUM> is fastened with fastening elements to the vertical front wall <NUM> of the elevator shaft. Advantageously the fastening elements are fastening screws or bolts. After fastening the receiving part 9b is preferably inside the thickness of the wall <NUM> in a horizontal position and the longitudinal slot <NUM> is directed horizontally towards the elevator shaft <NUM>, and is perpendicular to the width of the door base opening <NUM>, as is described above. Advantageously the landing door assembly according to the invention comprises two similar lower fixing elements <NUM> that are situated horizontally apart from each other and each in its own vertical line with the other corresponding lower fixing elements <NUM> of the other floors of the building.

The upper fixing elements <NUM> are fastened into their place on the upper edge of the door base opening <NUM> so that the first flange <NUM> extends downwards and the second flange <NUM> is fastened with fastening elements to the horizontal upper edge of the door base opening <NUM>, preferably inside the thickness of the wall <NUM>. Advantageously the fastening elements are fastening screws or bolts. After fastening the receiving part 14b is preferably inside the thickness of the wall <NUM> in a vertical position and the longitudinal slot <NUM> is open away from the elevator shaft <NUM> towards the lobby of floor level <NUM>, as is described above. Advantageously the landing door assembly according to the invention comprises two similar upper fixing elements <NUM> that are situated horizontally apart from each other and each in its own vertical line with the other corresponding upper fixing elements <NUM> of the other floors of the building.

<FIG> present in a simplified and diagrammatic view the installation of the elevator landing door unit <NUM> into the elevator landing door base opening <NUM>. Advantageously the elevator landing door unit <NUM> also comprises a frame that is not presented in the figures.

<FIG> are shown in the cross-section A-A of <FIG>, and <FIG> is seen from the elevator shaft <NUM>. In <FIG> the fastening of the landing door unit <NUM> has been just started, and in <FIG> and <FIG> the landing door unit <NUM> has been fastened at its place inside the landing door base opening <NUM> within the thickness of the wall <NUM>. <FIG> show such an embodiment of the invention where the landing door opens to one side. In this embodiment the door panels 4a are suspended from the top track <NUM> in different sides of the top track <NUM> so that the first door panel 4a is suspended by a first supporter <NUM> in the first side of the top track <NUM> and the second door panel 4a is suspended by a second supporter <NUM> in the second side of the top track <NUM>.

The landing door unit <NUM> comprises upper counter parts <NUM> at its upper edge and lower counter parts 19a at its lower edge. The number of upper and lower counterparts <NUM>, 19a is the same as the number of upper and lower fixing elements <NUM>, <NUM> in one elevator landing door base opening <NUM>. Advantageously the landing door unit <NUM> comprises two upper counter parts <NUM> and two lower counter parts 19a. The horizontal distance between the upper counter parts <NUM> is the same as the horizontal distance between the upper fixing elements <NUM>, and the horizontal distance between the lower counter parts 19a is the same as the horizontal distance between the lower fixing elements <NUM>.

The landing door unit <NUM> that is prefabricated in a factory, is installed to the base door base opening <NUM> by guiding the upper counter parts <NUM> first from under to the vertical slots <NUM> of the upper fixing elements <NUM>. When the upper counter parts <NUM> are guided by the vertical slots <NUM> the landing door unit <NUM> is pushed upward and preferably simultaneously its lower edge is turned towards the elevator shaft <NUM>. The turning is continued until the lower counter parts 19a reach the lower fixing elements <NUM>. At this time the lower counter parts 19a are guided to the horizontal slots <NUM> of the lower fixing elements <NUM> and the turning is continued until the landing door unit <NUM> is substantially in a vertical position in its place. After that the final position of the landing door unit <NUM> is adjusted in the fixing elements <NUM> and <NUM>.

<FIG> presents in a simplified and diagrammatic view the elevator landing door base opening <NUM> according to <FIG> in the cross-section A-A, and in a situation where the landing door unit <NUM> has been fastened at its place. In this embodiment the landing door unit <NUM> is fastened totally inside the elevator shaft <NUM> and for that reason the fixing elements <NUM> and <NUM> differ in their structures from the fixing elements <NUM> and <NUM> presented in <FIG>. The only decisive difference is that the receiving part 9b of the lower fixing elements <NUM> extends inside the elevator shaft <NUM> and the receiving part 14b of the upper fixing elements <NUM> is totally inside the elevator shaft <NUM>. The landing door unit <NUM> itself can be similar to the landing door unit <NUM> presented in <FIG>.

<FIG> present an upper counter element <NUM> to be fitted into the upper fixing element <NUM> of the elevator landing door unit <NUM>. The upper counter element <NUM> comprises an L-shaped frame <NUM> with a first flange 22a and a second flange 22b which flanges are perpendicular to each other. The upper counter element <NUM> is fastened to the upper edge of the landing door unit <NUM> through the first flange 22a with fastening elements, such as screws. The second flange 22b is preferably in a vertical position and comprises a longitudinal vertical slot <NUM> for adjusting the height position of the landing door unit <NUM>. The slot <NUM> is equipped with a bolt <NUM> that is fastened with screw threads to a tightening element <NUM>, such as a tightening plate.

The width of the tightening element <NUM> is smaller than the width of interior of the C-profile of the receiving part 14b, and the diameter of the bolt <NUM> is smaller than the width of the slot <NUM> of the receiving part 14b. Therefore, when installing the landing door unit <NUM> the tightening element <NUM> can be placed inside the C-profile of the receiving part 14b in such a way that the bolt <NUM> is guided by the slot <NUM>. When the landing door unit <NUM> is adjusted to its correct height position the tightening element <NUM> is tightened by the help of the bolt <NUM> to the receiving part 14b so that the landing door unit <NUM> remains its correct height position. The structure of the lower counter parts 19a can be substantially the same as the structure of the upper counter parts <NUM> but may also be different.

The combination of lower fixing elements <NUM> with the lower counter parts 19a and the upper fixing elements <NUM> with the upper counter parts <NUM> makes it possible to adjust the position of the landing door unit <NUM> in three dimensions. This is useful when performing the final position adjustments of the landing doors.

With the installation method according to the invention the landing door assembly can be safely installed from the landing side. This means that all the installation work can be done from the side of the floor level <NUM> and there is no need to go to the elevator shaft <NUM>.

The installation method according to the invention has advantageously at least steps as follows:.

Claim 1:
Elevator landing door assembly, which landing door assembly comprises at least a landing door unit (<NUM>) to be assembled to a landing door base opening (<NUM>) having an upper edge, two side edges and a lower edge, which landing door unit (<NUM>) comprises at least a top track (<NUM>) and one or more door panels (4a) suspended by the top track (<NUM>) through one or more supporting elements (<NUM>, <NUM>), and a door sill (4c), wherein the assembly comprises fixing elements (<NUM>, <NUM>) in the landing door base opening (<NUM>) equipped with receiving parts (9b, 14b) for fastening the landing door unit (<NUM>), characterized in that the receiving part (14b) of an upper fixing element (<NUM>) comprises a hollow interior and a vertical slot (<NUM>) to receive an upper counter part (<NUM>) of the landing door unit (<NUM>)and that the receiving part (9b) of a lower fixing element (<NUM>) comprises a hollow interior and a horizontal slot (<NUM>) to receive a lower counter part (19a) of the landing door unit (<NUM>).