Patent Description:
Elevators are transportation equipment used for the transportation between different heights, in which various roller systems are usually employed, including but not limited to guide wheel systems, traction wheel systems and so on. These roller systems implement various functions by roller assemblies. For example, the guide wheel assemblies in the guide wheel system and the traction wheel assemblies in the traction wheel system can be used for guiding and traction of the car, respectively.

<FIG> is a schematic perspective view of an elevator system. <FIG> is a schematic perspective view of a guide wheel system of an elevator system.

During operation, a traction machine <NUM> pulls a car <NUM> up and down by a traction rope or traction belt (such as steel rope/belt or carbon fiber rope/belt or other similar structures that can be used for car traction) <NUM> so as to transport passengers or goods. The elevator <NUM> has a guide system, including a guide rail <NUM> and the guide wheel system in <FIG>. The guide wheel system includes a guide wheel assembly <NUM>, the guide wheel assembly <NUM> is mounted on an elevator car frame <NUM> via its mounting base <NUM>, in which each of the rollers <NUM> is adapted to engage and roll along each side of the guide rail <NUM> to achieve the guiding function to the car <NUM>.

When the elevator stops at the landing <NUM>, due to the deformation of the traction rope or traction belt <NUM>, when passengers or goods enter into or exit the elevator, it will cause the obvious bounce of the traction rope or traction belt and the vibration of car <NUM> In order to alleviate or eliminate this kind of bounce and vibration, the guide wheel system in the prior art provides a roller brake device to inhibit the rotation of the guide wheel <NUM> after the elevator stops at the landing <NUM>, thereby preventing the car <NUM> from moving along the guide rail <NUM>, so that the foregoing bounce and vibration will not occur when the car <NUM> is loaded or unloaded.

<CIT> describes a vibration suppression device for an elevator roller guide, which smooths the motion of the elevator cage during transit, and especially when the elevator car is accelerating or decelerating.

An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide an improved roller system.

An object of further aspect of the present invention is to provide an elevator system including the foregoing roller system.

In order to achieve the foregoing objects, one aspect of the present invention provides a roller system in accordance with claim <NUM>.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, the roller brake device further includes:
a first biasing device, the first biasing device is disposed between the body and the brake, and biases the brake in a direction away from the roller.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, the first biasing device is a coil spring connected between the body and the brake, or the first biasing device is a torsion spring placed on a pivot shaft between the brake and the body.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, the brake has opposite first and second side surfaces, and the actuation device acts on the first side surface, the brake acts on the roller via the second side surface.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, a part on the first side surface interacted with the actuation device is an inclined surface.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, at the brake position, the axis of an actuation lever and the inclined surface are perpendicular to each other.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, the one end of the actuation lever is provided with a rolling wheel, and the actuation lever actuates the brake via the rolling wheel.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, a second biasing device is provided between the actuation lever and the body, and the second biasing device biases the actuation lever in a direction that causes the one end of the actuation lever away from the brake.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, the second biasing device is a coil spring connected between the actuation lever and the body, or the second biasing device is a torsion spring placed on a pivot shaft between the actuation lever and the body.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, the actuation lever connects a cable transmission mechanism driven by a motor or an electromagnetic solenoid.

Optionally, in the roller system as described above, the actuation lever connects a gear transmission mechanism driven by a motor.

In order to achieve the foregoing objects, further aspect of the present invention provides an elevator system, which includes the roller system according to any one of the foregoing aspects, wherein:.

With reference to the drawings, the disclosure of the present invention will be more apparent. It should be understood that these drawings are only for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. In the drawings:.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding technical features. It should be understood that the specific embodiments and the drawings are only exemplary descriptions of the technical solutions of the present invention, and should not be regarded as the entire of the present invention or as a restriction or limitation to the technical solutions of the present invention.

The orientation terms mentioned or possibly mentioned in the specification are defined relative to the structures shown in the drawings, they are relative concepts, so they may vary according to their different positions and state of use accordingly. Therefore, these or other orientation terms should not be interpreted as restrictive terms. In addition, the terms "first", "second" or similar expressions are only used for illustration and distinguishing purposes, and should not be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance of the corresponding components.

<FIG> schematically shows a partial side view of a roller system according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the roller is a guide wheel.

The roller system may include a roller assembly and a roller brake device. In <FIG>, only the guide wheel is used as an example to schematically show the roller in the roller assembly. According to different embodiments, the roller assembly may be a guide wheel assembly in an elevator guide wheel system, a traction wheel assembly in a traction wheel system and so on, and the roller may be a guide wheel or a traction wheel. The roller assembly may also be other types of assemblies with rollers. The roller brake device provides a brake function for the roller in the corresponding roller assembly.

The roller assembly can be appropriately mounted to the car frame. For example, in the example of the guide wheel assembly, the guide wheel assembly can be mounted onto an elevator car frame by its mounting base. The guide wheel brake device can be mounted to the guide wheel assembly. For details, reference can be made to the following detailed description of the roller brake device.

As shown in <FIG>. , in this embodiment, a roller brake device <NUM> may include a body <NUM>, a brake <NUM>, a first coil spring <NUM>, an actuation lever <NUM>, a second coil spring <NUM>, a cable <NUM> and so on. The <FIG> also shows a roller <NUM> of the roller assembly in the roller system.

In an optional embodiment, the body <NUM> may be the frame itself or an independent component fixed to the frame, the roller brake device is mounted to the roller assembly via the body, and the body is used for providing the positioning basis to the other components of the roller brake device. In order to facilitate the positioning of each component, additional support may also be provided on the body or an independent component fixed to the body, for example, the support <NUM> provided for the second coil spring <NUM> in the illustrated example. In the illustrated example, the brake <NUM> and the actuation lever <NUM> is mounted to the body <NUM> via a pivot shaft <NUM> and a pivot shaft <NUM>, respectively.

<FIG> also shows a roller <NUM> in the form of a guide wheel, which can be the guide wheel <NUM> in the elevator guide system. In other optional embodiments, the roller <NUM> may also be a traction wheel in an elevator traction system. It can be understood that the roller assembly can be mounted on the elevator car frame, and the roller brake device <NUM> can be mounted to the roller assembly via the body <NUM>. Accordingly, the body <NUM> can be positioned relative to the roller <NUM>.

In addition, it can also be seen from the <FIG> that the parts of the actuation lever <NUM> and the roller <NUM> acted on the brake <NUM> are both located on the same side of the pivot shaft <NUM> between the brake <NUM> and the body <NUM>, that is, the brake <NUM> can be formed as a swing arm, which can be actuated and swung to engage and disengage the roller <NUM>, so that the braking effect is more effective and more reliable. In order to make braking to be more effective, the brake <NUM> may have a circular arc shape matching with the roller <NUM> at the position where it interacts with the roller <NUM>.

In the roller brake device <NUM>, the brake <NUM> has a brake position and a rest position. At the brake position, the brake <NUM> engages and brakes the roller <NUM>; at the rest position, the brake <NUM> is disengaged from the roller <NUM>. The actuation lever <NUM> can move the brake <NUM> from the rest position to the brake position, and a reset device such as the first coil spring <NUM> is used to return the brake <NUM> from the brake position to the rest position.

By the roller brake device illustrated, when braking is carrying out, the cable <NUM> pulls the actuation lever <NUM> to pivot, so that one end of the actuation lever <NUM> slidingly frictionizes and pushes the brake <NUM> to cause the brake <NUM> engages and brakes the roller <NUM> to slow down or prevent the rotation of the roller <NUM>. When the cable <NUM> is released, the actuation lever returns to the initial position where the brake <NUM> is not pushed, and the brake <NUM> returns to the position where it is disengaged from the roller <NUM>.

According to this embodiment, at the brake position, the actuation lever <NUM>, the brake <NUM> and the roller <NUM> provide a acting force between each other, and this acting force provides an extraordinary static pressure between the brake <NUM> and the roller <NUM>, forming static friction.

In the prior art, the friction between the brake and the roller is insufficient, and this embodiment overcomes this problem. The braking force in the roller brake device <NUM> may not completely depend on the pulling force of the cable <NUM>, but is not directly related to the pulling force of the cable <NUM> and the pulling force provided by the actuation lever <NUM> to the brake <NUM>. When the actuation lever <NUM> makes the brake <NUM> enter the brake position, the dependence on the actuation device is relatively small, and it is easy to be adjusted and maintained at site, the product quality and the action are more reliable, and it will not produce relative sliding caused by reasons such as brakes loosing. In the illustrated embodiment, after entering the brake position, the internal force formed between the various components can be magnified many times compared with the braking force generated by the actuating mechanism directly or generated by the actuating mechanism by means of a lever.

The reset of the brake <NUM> is realized by the first coil spring <NUM>. According to this embodiment, one end of the brake <NUM> is connected to the body <NUM> in a pivotable manner, and the other end of the brake <NUM> is connected to the body <NUM> by means of the first coil spring <NUM>. Therefore, as mentioned above, when the brake <NUM> is driven by the actuation lever <NUM>, it can pivot about the pivot shaft <NUM> toward the roller <NUM>; when the actuation lever <NUM> is released, the brake <NUM> can pivot in the opposite direction under the pulling of the first coil spring <NUM>, so that the brake <NUM> returns to the position where it is disengaged from the roller <NUM>.

In different embodiments, the brake <NUM> can be in any suitable shape and made of any suitable material. For example but not limitation, it can be in the form of brake plates, brake pads or brake strips and so on. In an optional embodiment, the shape of the brake at the acting part may be the same as the radius of the roller such as the guide wheel, which can increase the friction force area with the surface of the roller.

In addition, although the brake <NUM> is connected to the body <NUM> at one end of the brake <NUM> in the illustrated example, in other alternative embodiments, as appropriate, the brake may also be connected to the body <NUM> at other parts such as middle part, as long as the acting part of the brake is formed as form of a pivotable swing arm.

It can also be seen from the <FIG> that the brake <NUM> may have opposite first and second side surfaces, and the actuation lever <NUM> acts on the first side surface, and the brake <NUM> acts on the roller <NUM> by means of the second side surface. In the illustrated embodiment, a part of the first side surface is exemplarily formed as an inclined surface, and the actuation lever can act on the inclined surface with sliding friction. Specifically, when the actuation lever <NUM> is driven to pivot, its end close to the inclined surface pushes on the inclined surface while swinging to the left, so that the brake <NUM> engages and brakes the roller <NUM>. Under such circumference, the pushing force of the end of the actuation lever <NUM> acting perpendicularly on the brake <NUM> is directly provided by the pivot shaft, and the pushing force is much greater than the sliding friction force of the actuation lever <NUM> acting on the brake <NUM> in its swing direction, and stably acts on the brake <NUM>.

In this case, at the brake position, the axis of the actuation lever <NUM> and the inclined surface on the brake <NUM> may be perpendicular to each other. Under such circumference, the actuation lever <NUM> and the brake <NUM> reach a relatively stable state, making the braking very reliable.

In an optional embodiment, a first torsion spring may be used to replace the first coil spring <NUM>. In this case, the first torsion spring may be arranged at the pivot shaft <NUM> to bias the brake <NUM> in a direction away from the roller <NUM>. In other embodiments, according to specific needs, other conventional biasing devices can also be used between the body and the brake to realize the function of resetting the brake <NUM>, and the brake <NUM> is biased in the direction away from the roller <NUM>. In the drawings, this direction is the clockwise direction of the brake <NUM> around the pivot shaft <NUM> between the body <NUM> and the brake <NUM>. In the rest state of the roller brake device <NUM>, the brake <NUM> is biased away from the roller <NUM> by the biasing device, so that the braking effect is not triggered.

A actuation lever <NUM> is connected to the body <NUM> in a pivotable manner. When the cable <NUM> is pulled, the actuation lever <NUM> rotates around its pivot shaft <NUM>, so that the actuation lever <NUM> reaches a position where its end pushes the brake <NUM>. When the cable <NUM> is released, the second coil spring <NUM> pulls the actuation lever <NUM> to return to the position where the brake <NUM> is not pushed. Likewise, in an optional embodiment, a second torsion spring may be used to replace the second coil spring <NUM>. In this case, the second torsion spring may be disposed at the pivot shaft <NUM> to bias the actuation lever <NUM> toward the direction in which the brake <NUM> is released. In other embodiments, according to specific needs, other conventional biasing devices can also be used to realize the function of resetting the actuation lever <NUM>.

According to the illustrated embodiment, the actuation lever <NUM>, the second coil spring <NUM>, the cable <NUM> and so on constitute an actuation device, which is mounted on the body <NUM> as a whole, and is adapted to overcome the biasing force of the first coil spring <NUM>, pushing and actuating brake <NUM> to pivot. The actuation device can move the brake from the rest position to the brake position, wherein the brake engages and brakes the roller <NUM> in the brake position, and the brake is disengaged from the roller <NUM> in the rest position.

It should be pointed out that in other embodiments, one or both of the second coil spring <NUM> and the cable <NUM> can be replaced, and other devices are used to provide power to the actuation lever <NUM> to realize the actuation and release of the actuation lever <NUM>.

For example, in different embodiments, an electromagnetic solenoid (not shown) can be used to actuate the cable <NUM>, or a motor (such as a stepper motor or a rotating motor) can be used to actuate the cable <NUM>, and then the cable <NUM> pulls the actuation lever <NUM> to rotate and push the brake <NUM> to act, for example, and stop before the actuation lever <NUM> reaches its end position. The state of the end position may be a state where the axis of the actuation lever <NUM> and the contacted inclined surface of the brake <NUM> are perpendicular to each other. Furthermore, the actuation lever <NUM> can be actuated by other transmission mechanisms such as a gear transmission mechanism driven by a motor; under such circumference, the resetting of the actuation lever <NUM> can also be realized by the driving mechanism, without the need for providing additional coil springs and so on.

<FIG> schematically shows a partial side view of a roller system according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the roller is a guide wheel. Regarding the description of the roller brake device <NUM>, the body <NUM>, the brake <NUM>, the first coil spring <NUM>, the actuation lever <NUM>, the second coil spring <NUM>, the cable <NUM>, the pivot shaft <NUM>, the pivot shaft <NUM>, the support <NUM> and the roller <NUM> in <FIG>, reference can be made to the description of the roller brake device <NUM>, the body <NUM>, the brake <NUM>, the first coil spring <NUM>, the actuation lever <NUM>, the second coil spring <NUM>, the cable <NUM>, the pivot shaft <NUM>, the pivot shaft <NUM>, the support <NUM> and the roller <NUM> in <FIG>, and we will not repeat it here.

Compared with the embodiment in <FIG>, the main difference of the embodiment in <FIG> is that a rolling wheel <NUM> is provided at the end of the actuation lever <NUM> near the brake <NUM>, so that the end of the actuation lever <NUM> forms the rolling friction with the brake <NUM> be means of the rolling wheel <NUM>. With this arrangement, under the condition that the same braking force can be generated, the driving force required to pivot the actuation lever <NUM> is smaller, and it is allowable to use for example lower cost electromagnetic actuators, motors, and gear transmission mechanisms.

Based on the examples in <FIG> and the above description, it can be understood that the brakes <NUM>, <NUM> may have a brake position and a rest position. At the brake position (as shown), the biasing force of the first coil springs <NUM> and <NUM> is overcome by the actuating force of the actuation levers <NUM> and <NUM>, and the brakes <NUM> and <NUM> engage and brake the rollers <NUM> and <NUM>. At the rest position (not shown), the biasing force of the first coil springs <NUM> and <NUM> is not overcome, and the brakes <NUM> and <NUM> are disengaged from the rollers <NUM> and <NUM>.

Another aspect of the present invention also provides an improved elevator system.

In one case, the elevator system may include the roller system of any of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the roller system may be a guide wheel system in an elevator system, and the rollers <NUM> and <NUM> may be guide wheels <NUM> in a guide wheel system. In the case that the roller system is a guide wheel system of an elevator system, the bodies <NUM>, <NUM> of the roller brake devices <NUM>, <NUM> can be fixed to the frame <NUM> of the elevator car <NUM> or the mounting base <NUM> of the guide wheel assembly <NUM> so as to provide an mountation foundation for other parts of the roller brake devices <NUM> and <NUM>, so that the roller brake devices <NUM> and <NUM> have a relatively fixed position relative to the elevator car <NUM> and the guide wheel assembly <NUM> in the guide system as a whole. The specific arrangement of the roller brake device can be shown in <FIG>, and for details, reference can be made to the detailed description above in conjunction with the roller system, which may specifically include the roller and the roller brake device.

And/or, in another case, the elevator system may include a roller system of any of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the roller system may be a traction wheel system in an elevator system and the rollers <NUM>, <NUM> may be a traction wheel (not shown) in the traction wheel system. In this case, a large braking static friction and friction at a very low cost can be achieved at very low cost by locking the traction motor when it stops and releasing the traction motor when it operates.

Claim 1:
A roller system, wherein the roller system comprises a roller assembly (<NUM>) and a roller brake device (<NUM>; <NUM>), and the roller brake device (<NUM>; <NUM>) includes:
a body (<NUM>; <NUM>), by which the roller brake device (<NUM>; <NUM>) is mounted to the roller assembly;
an actuation device mounted to the body (<NUM>; <NUM>); and
a brake (<NUM>; <NUM>) connected to the body (<NUM>; <NUM>) in a pivotable manner, and the actuation device can move the brake (<NUM>; <NUM>) from a rest position to a brake position, wherein the brake (<NUM>; <NUM>) engages and brakes a roller (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) in the roller assembly at the brake position, and the brake (<NUM>; <NUM>) is disengaged from the roller (<NUM>; <NUM>) at the rest position,
and wherein, a part of the brake (<NUM>; <NUM>) acted by the actuation device and a part of the brake (<NUM>; <NUM>) engaging the roller (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) are both located on the same side of a pivot shaft (<NUM>; <NUM>) between the body (<NUM>; <NUM>) and the brake (<NUM>; <NUM>);
characterized in that:
the actuation device includes an actuation lever (<NUM>; <NUM>) connected to the body (<NUM>; <NUM>) in a pivotable manner, and one end of the actuation lever (<NUM>; <NUM>) is used to actuate the brake (<NUM>; <NUM>).