Patent Description:
A challenge with the assembly of an elevator at an installation site in a building is that a lot of parts need to be attached in the elevator hoistway. This is problematic, because depending on the height of the building, the elevator hoistway may have a significant height. Consequently, all parts that need to be attached to the elevator hoistway must be transported into the correct location, which may be heigh above the ground level of the building. Brackets previously used for attaching rails are disclosed in <CIT>, which discloses the preamble of claim <NUM>, <CIT> and <CIT>, for instance.

Handling of elevator rails require special attention, because the number of elevator rails needed is high, and the rails have dimensions and a weight requiring particular attention.

One previously known solution is to utilize a working platform suspended by a first hoist in the hoistway to transport personnel to the correct height in the hoistway, and a second hoist for lifting the elevator rails one by one into the correct position. Once in the correct position in the hoistway, first ends of brackets are attached to the elevator rail and holes are drilled in correct positions in the hoistway to facilitate attachment of the second ends of the brackets. Finally, the length of the brackets are adjusted in order to ensure that the elevator rail is correctly aligned with previously attached elevator rails.

A problem with the above described solution is that a lot on assembly work is needed in the elevator hoistway. This makes the installation slow and cumbersome, as the installation work is done at a difficult location in the elevator hoistway.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawback and to provide and elevator rail and a method which simplifies and speeds up the installation work. This object is achieved with the elevator rail according to independent claim <NUM> and with the method according to independent claim <NUM>.

Use of an elevator rail with an attachment bracket attached via a first fitting part to the elevator rail and with a joint pivotably connecting an intermediate part of the bracket to the first fitting makes it possible to pre-install the attachment bracket to the rail and arrange the bracket in a transport position before the rail is taken into use in the elevator hoistway. This significantly simplifies assembly work at the installation site.

In the following the present invention will be described in closer detail by way of example and with reference to the attached drawings, in which.

<FIG> illustrates a rail <NUM> with an attachment bracket <NUM> in a transport position and <FIG> illustrates the rail <NUM> with the attachment bracket <NUM> in a mounting position ready for attachment to an elevator hoistway <NUM>. The rail <NUM> may be a guide rail for an elevator car, for instance, which extends all the way along the height of a hoistway of an elevator installation.

The attachment bracket <NUM> has a first end with a first fitting part <NUM> attaching the first end to the elevator rail <NUM>. A second end of the attachment bracket <NUM> is provided with a second fitting part <NUM> for attaching the second end to the elevator hoistway <NUM>, such as to a wall of a building. An intermediate part <NUM> of the attachment bracket <NUM> connects the first fitting part <NUM> to the second fitting part <NUM>.

A joint <NUM> connects pivotably the intermediate part <NUM> to the first fitting part <NUM>. The joint <NUM> allows the intermediate part <NUM> to be rotated around the joint between the transport position illustrated in <FIG> and the mounting position illustrated in <FIG>. As can be seen in the figures, in the transport position the second fitting part <NUM> is located closer to the elevator rail <NUM> than in the mounting position. An advantage obtained with such a solution, is that the attachment bracket <NUM> may be attached to the elevator rail <NUM> already during manufacturing, for instance, via the first fitting part <NUM>. At that stage the attachment bracket <NUM> may be positioned into the transport position, such that it protrudes out from the elevator rail as little as possible. This makes it significantly more easy to pack and transport to the installation site, where it can be lifted into the elevator hoistway with the attachment bracket in the transport position. At that stage the attachment bracket may be transferred into the mounting position by rotating the intermediate part <NUM> around the joint <NUM>.

Depending on the implementation, the attachment bracket <NUM> may be implemented in such a way that the intermediate part <NUM> cannot be rotated more than to a position where it protrudes substantially perpendicular from the rail <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>. In such an implementation a locking element may not be necessary, as the weight of the rail <NUM> keeps the mounting bracket in the correct mounting position. However, in other implementations a locking element may be necessary. In the illustrated example it is assumed that the attachment bracket <NUM> is provided with a locking element which locks the joint <NUM> to prevent rotation when the intermediate part <NUM> is in the mounting position.

In <FIG> the joint comprises an axle section <NUM> provided to the intermediate part <NUM> and a loop <NUM> surrounding the axle section <NUM> provided to the first fitting part. This is however, only by way of example and in other implementations another type of joint may be utilized or the axle section can, for instance, be provided to the first fitting part while the loop is provided to the intermediate part. In the illustrated example a bolt is utilized as the locking element <NUM>. In that case one alternative is that the bolt can be used to tighten the loop <NUM> around the axle section <NUM> to lock the joint.

In <FIG> the first fitting part <NUM> is implemented with a first clamp for attachment to a flange <NUM> if the elevator rail <NUM>. The clamp has a first section <NUM> and a second section <NUM> which are located on opposite sides of the flange <NUM>. In this example, the loop <NUM> attaches the first section <NUM> and the second section <NUM> of the first clamp to each other, such that the axle section <NUM> is rotatably received in the loop <NUM>. In this way, once the locking element consisting of a bolt <NUM> is tightened, the joint <NUM> is locked simultaneously as the first clamp is tightened to the flange <NUM>. Such a solution simplifies the assembly work which needs to be done at the elevator installation site.

The bracket of <FIG> is implemented with an intermediate part <NUM> having a first elongated part <NUM> and a second elongated part <NUM> which can be attached to each other in one of a plurality of available mutual positions. This provides length adjustment to the attachment bracket <NUM>. In the figures the length adjustment has by way of example been implemented by elongated grooves <NUM> in the elongated parts <NUM> and <NUM> in combination with bolts <NUM> and nuts <NUM>. With such a solution, it becomes possible during installation to adjust the distance between the elevator rail <NUM> and the attachment point of the hoistway <NUM>. However, preferably each and every attachment bracket has been preadjusted after manufacturing before transportation to the installation site to a predetermined length. In that way length adjustment of at the installation site in the elevator hoistway should be needed only as an exception.

A typical elevator guide rail installation starts with a shaft survey in order to examine the impacts of building tolerances to planned elevator layout.

In the survey the main dimensions and the verticality of the elevator shaft and locations of landing door openings are measured. Currently there are several existing measurement methods for the shaft survey. In more traditional methods vertical references are created by either plumb lines or leveling laser beams and the needed dimensions are measured from these references by special scales, tape measure or laser distance sensor. There are also more advanced methods to measure elevator shafts. These methods include i.e. laser scanning with aid of a static robotic total station from landings or from the pit floor and mobile scanning systems, which are typically run through an elevator shaft while they are recoding their own location and generating 3D presentation of the shaft. Mobile scanning systems typically combine different sensor technologies like time of flight cameras, LIDARs, laser distance sensors and inertial measurement units.

The results of the shaft survey measurements are recorded and analyzed in order to define the best possible location of the elevator car guide rails. Typically, the best location of car guide rails is a compromise between the door line, sill gaps, shaft straightness and dimensions and adjustment possibilities of different fastening brackets. For this rather complicated analysis there are defined methods as well as software tools available. Nevertheless, after the car guide rail position is set all mechanical components in the installation can be referenced to the car rails.

In all cases a rather detailed data about the shaft dimensions exists before the guide rails installation starts. In the proposed invention the idea is to attach the brackets to the guide rails before they are lifted together into an elevator shaft. Since the shaft dimensions as well as the desirable guide rail locations are known, it is possible to pre-set the brackets to the right values outside of the shaft. Depending on the logistic arrangements on the installation site the pre-setting can be done just before the installation near to the shaft or in beforehand in a dedicated preassembly station which can be at site or somewhere outside of it.

The second fitting part <NUM> comprises, in the illustrated example, a first protrusion <NUM> and a second protrusion <NUM> protruding outwards from the intermediate part. As can be seen in the figures, the protrusions may protrude substantially perpendicularly from the intermediate part <NUM>. The first and second protrusions are arranged at a distance from each other to receive the elevator rail <NUM> in a space between them. Consequently, in the transport position illustrated in <FIG>, the rail is received in the space between the first protrusion <NUM> and the second protrusion <NUM>. In such a solution, the intermediate part <NUM> is as close to the rail as possible, and the elevator rail with the attached attachment bracket has an optimal shape requiring as little space as possible during transporting and handling.

<FIG> illustrates a second embodiment of a rail with an attachment bracket. The embodiment of <FIG> is very similar to the one explained in connection with <FIG>. Therefore, in the following the embodiment of <FIG> is mainly explained by pointing out the differences between these embodiments.

In <FIG> the elevator rail <NUM> is provided with an attachment bracket <NUM>' having an intermediate part <NUM>' which additionally comprises a third fitting part <NUM>' which is at a position between the first fitting part <NUM> and the second fitting part <NUM>. This third fitting part <NUM>' has a surface facing sideways away from the intermediate part for receiving and attaching a CWT (counterweight) rail to the intermediate part. Consequently, the same attachment bracket <NUM>' can be used both for attaching a guide rail of an elevator car and a CWT rail of an elevator counterweight. This reduces the amount of parts and installation work needed in the hoistway at the elevator installation site.

<FIG> illustrates the bracket <NUM>' from a slightly different viewing angle than <FIG>. Due to this it can be seen from <FIG> that the first fitting part <NUM> of bracket <NUM>' comprises a second clamp with a first and a second section <NUM>', <NUM>' located on opposite sides of a second flange of the rail <NUM>. Correspondingly, the joint also comprises a second loop <NUM>' attaching the first and second sections <NUM>' and <NUM>' to each other and a second axle section <NUM>' attached to the intermediate part <NUM>' and rotatably received in the loop <NUM>'. A similar solution is naturally advantageous also in the embodiment illustrated in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a flow diagram illustrating a method of handling an elevator rail.

In step A, an elevator rail with an attachment bracket is transported into an elevator hoistway. The rail has been provided with the attachment bracket having a first end with a first fitting part attached to the rail before the transportation into the hoistway. Attachment of the attachment bracket may be implemented in connection with manufacturing, or in proximity of the elevator hoistway before the rail is transported into the hoistway. In any case, after attachment, the attachment bracket is preferably rotated into the transportation position.

In step B the intermediate part of the attachment bracket is rotated around a joint to the mounting position. In this way the second fitting part is located further away from the elevator rail than in the transport position.

In step C the elevator rail is attached to the hoistway via the second fitting part. This may involve drilling of a hole in the elevator hoistway at the position of a hole in the second fitting part after which a bolt or bolts may be used to attach the rail in position.

In some implementations it may be advantageous to have an additional step before or in connection with step A where the length of the attachment bracket is adjusted to a predetermined length prior to transporting into the elevator hoistway. In this way the amount of work in the hoistway can be minimized.

In some implementations, it may be advantageous to lock the joint to prevent mutual rotation in connection with or after step B, to prevent rotation when the intermediate part has been rotated into the mounting position.

In some implementations the rail may be arranged in its final position in the hoistway in connection with step C before the attachment hole is drilled to the elevator hoistway at the location of the attachment hole in the second fitting part, before attaching with a bolt.

In some implementations it may be advantageous to initially attach an end of the elevator rail to and end of a previously attached elevator rail before or in connection with step C. In that way the rail may be suspended from a previously attached rail in such a way that the position of the rail is exactly correct before the attachment is carried out by means of the second fitting part of the second mounting bracket.

Claim 1:
An elevator rail (<NUM>), comprising:
an attachment bracket (<NUM>, <NUM>') having a first end with a first fitting part (<NUM>) attaching the first end to the elevator rail (<NUM>),
a second end having a second fitting part (<NUM>) for attaching the second end to an elevator hoistway (<NUM>), and
an intermediate part (<NUM>, <NUM>') connecting the first fitting part (<NUM>) to the second fitting part (<NUM>),
wherein the attachment bracket (<NUM>, <NUM>') is provided with a joint (<NUM>) pivotably connecting the intermediate part (<NUM>, <NUM>') to the first fitting part (<NUM>), the joint allowing the intermediate part (<NUM>, <NUM>') to be rotated around the joint (<NUM>) between a transport position and mounting position, wherein the second fitting part (<NUM>) is located closer to the elevator rail (<NUM>) in the transport position than in the mounting position characterized in that
the second fitting part (<NUM>) comprises a first and a second protrusion (<NUM>, <NUM>) protruding outwards from the intermediate part (<NUM>, <NUM>'),
the first and second protrusion (<NUM>, <NUM>) are arranged at a distance from each other to receive the elevator rail (<NUM>) in a space between the first and second protrusion (<NUM>, <NUM>) when the intermediate part (<NUM>, <NUM>') is in the transport position.