EP1422183A1

EP1422183A1 - Elevator

Info

Publication number: EP1422183A1
Application number: EP01963396A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hideaki Kodera
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Current assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date: 2001-08-29
Filing date: 2001-08-29
Publication date: 2004-05-26
Also published as: EP1422183A4; KR20030051900A; JPWO2003020628A1; KR100560555B1; WO2003020628A1

Abstract

In an elevator apparatus, when a hoistway is viewed along a vertical direction, a driving sheave of a drive unit arranged above a balance weight is disposed between a center line of a pair of balance weight guide rails and a side surface of a car, the driving sheave being also arranged above a first car hanger wheel among first and second car hanger wheels.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an elevator apparatus with a drive unit arranged at an upper portion inside a hoistway.

BACKGROUND ART

In the past, in Japanese patent application laid-open No. 7-10434 and Japanese patent laid-open No. 2000-44147 for instance, there has been disclosed an elevator apparatus such as a so-called machine-room-less elevator, which is not provided with any machine room but instead has a drive unit arranged at an upper portion inside a vertical shaft or hoistway.
In the elevator apparatus shown in Japanese patent application laid-open No. 7-10434, a drive unit for driving a car and a balance weight to move in a vertical direction is arranged astride a car guide rail, and hence there has been the following problem. That is, in case where the drive unit is fixedly mounted to the single car guide rail, the rigidity of the mounting portion of the drive unit is reduced. In addition, in case where the drive unit is fixedly mounted to the guide rail through a mounting beam, the mounting structure of the drive unit becomes complicated.
Moreover, in an elevator apparatus shown in Japanese patent laid-open No. 2000-44147, a driving sheave is arranged at a location above a deflection wheel inside a hoistway, and a drive unit main body for driving the driving sheave is arranged on a car side, as a result of which there arises a problem of requiring a deflection wheel.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention is intended to obviate the problems as referred to above, and has for its object to obtain an elevator apparatus in which a drive unit can be strongly fixed with a simple mounting structure without requiring any deflection wheel.
An elevator apparatus according to the present invention includes: a hoistway; a pair of car guide rails and a pair of balance weight guide rails installed inside the hoistway; a car that is guided along the car guide rails for vertical movement inside the hoistway; a balance weight that is guided along the balance weight guide rails for vertical movement inside the hoistway; a drive unit that includes a drive unit main body fixedly mounted to the pair of balance weight guide rails through a mounting member at an upper portion inside the hoistway, and a driving sheave adapted to be rotated by the drive unit main body, for driving the car and the balance weight in a vertical direction; a main rope that is wrapped around the driving sheave so as to hang the car and the balance weight inside the hoistway; a first car hanger wheel and a second car hanger wheel which are arranged in pair at a lower portion of the car, and around which the main rope is wrapped; and a balance weight hanger wheel which is arranged at an upper portion of the balance weight, and around which the main rope is wrapped. When the hoistway is viewed along the vertical direction, the driving sheave of the drive unit arranged above the balance weight is disposed between a center line of the pair of balance weight guide rails and a side surface of the car, the driving sheave being also arranged above the first car hanger wheel among the first and second car hanger wheels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an elevator apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a schematic cross sectional plan view of the elevator apparatus of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of essential portions of the elevator apparatus of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the elevator apparatus of Fig. 3 taken along line IV-IV thereof.
Fig. 5 is a schematic cross sectional plan view of an elevator apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 6 is a schematic cross sectional plan view of an elevator apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a schematic cross sectional plan view of an elevator apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a schematic cross sectional plan view of an elevator apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a schematic cross sectional plan view of an elevator apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a schematic cross sectional plan view of an elevator apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 11 is a schematic cross sectional plan view of an elevator apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a floor operation panel used in the seventh embodiment and the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail while referring to the accompanying drawings. The same or equivalent members and parts are identified by the same symbols throughout the respective preferred embodiments.

Embodiment 1.

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an elevator apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross sectional plan view of the elevator apparatus of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of essential portions of the elevator apparatus of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of the elevator apparatus of Fig. 3 taken along line IV-IV thereof.
This elevator apparatus includes a hoistway 1, a pair of car guide rails 2 and a pair of balance weight guide rails 3 installed inside this hoistway 1, a car 4 that is guided along the car guide rails 2 for vertical movement inside the hoistway 1, a the balance weight 5 that is guided along the balance weight guide rails 3 for vertical movement inside the hoistway 1, a drive unit main body 6 in the form of a motor arranged at an upper portion inside the hoistway 1, a drive unit 8 having a driving sheave 7 adapted to be rotated by the drive unit main body 6 for driving the car 4 and the balance weight 5 to move in the vertical direction, a main rope 9 that is wrapped around the driving sheave 7 so as to hang the car 4 and the balance weight 5 in the hoistway 1, a first car hanger wheel 10 and a second car hanger wheel 11 which are arranged in pair at a lower portion of the car 4 and around which the main rope 9 is wrapped, and a balance weight hanger wheel 12 which is mounted on an upper portion of the balance weight 5 and around which the main rope 9 is wrapped.
The driving sheave 7 of the drive unit 8 arranged above the balance weight 5 is arranged between a side surface of the car 4 and a center line A of the pair of balance weight guide rails 3, when the hoistway 1 is viewed along the vertical direction, and arranged above the first car hanger wheel 10. In addition, a central axis B of the driving sheave 7 is arranged in such a manner that it orthogonally intersects the central point of the center line A of the balance weight guide rails 3.
A support base 13 is fixedly secured to the pair of balance weight guide rails 3. A main rope end fixing beam 15 to which an end portion of the main rope 9 is fixedly attached is fixedly secured to the support base 13. A mounting frame 14, which extends in the vertical direction in parallel to the balance weight guide rails 3, is fixedly secured to the main rope end fixing beam 15. A pair of support portions 14a extending toward the drive unit 8 side are formed at an upper end portion of the mounting frame 14, and the drive unit 8 is fixedly attached to tip ends of the support portions 14a. Furthermore, in Fig. 3, guide members 16, which serve to prevent the drive unit 8 from being thrown down toward the car 4 side due to the own weight of the drive unit 8 and the pushing force of the main rope 9, are fixedly mounted on upper portions and lower portions, respectively, of the mounting frame 14. Here, note that the support base 13, the main rope end fixing beam 15 and the mounting frame 14 together constitute a mounting member for fixedly attaching the drive unit 8 to the pair of balance weight guide rails 3.
In the above-mentioned elevator apparatus, the main rope 9 fixedly attached at its one end to the car side main rope stop member 17 runs in the downward direction until it meets the second car hanger wheel 11, and then makes almost a quarter turn around the second car hanger wheel 11. Thereafter, the main rope 9 runs obliquely astride the bottom of the car 4, and then makes almost a quarter turn around the first car hanger wheel 10. The main rope 9 continuously runs almost in the vertical direction until it meets the driving sheave 7, and then makes almost a half turn around the driving sheave 7, after which it runs in the downward direction until it meets again the balance weight hanger wheel 12. The main rope 9 makes almost a half turn around the balance weight hanger wheel 12, and again runs in the upward direction. Finally, the other end of the main rope 9 is fixedly attached to the main rope end fixing beam 15.
With the elevator apparatus of the above-mentioned construction, when the hoistway 1 is viewed along the vertical direction, the driving sheave 7 of the drive unit 8 arranged above the balance weight 5 is disposed between the center line A of the pair of balance weight guide rails 3 and a side surface of the car 4, and it is also disposed above the first car hanger wheel 10. Therefore, there is no need to arrange a deflection wheel between the driving sheave 7 and the first car hanger wheel 10.
In addition, the driving sheave 7 is arranged in such a manner that the central axis B thereof orthogonally intersects the center line A of the balance weight guide rails 3 at the central point thereof. As a result, an offset load applied to the drive unit 8 through the main rope 9 can be alleviated.
Moreover, the drive unit 8 is fixedly mounted to the pair of balance weight guide rails 3 through the mounting member (comprising the support base 13, the mounting frame 14 and the main rope end fixing beam 15). Thus, the drive unit 8 is strongly fixed to the balance weight guide rails 3 through the simple construction.
Furthermore, since the drive unit main body 6 is arranged on the car 4 side, the drive unit main body 6 can be easily accessed from the car 4 upon maintenance and inspection of the drive unit main body 6.

Embodiment 2.

Fig. 5 is a schematic cross sectional plan view that shows an elevator apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, when the hoistway 1 is viewed along the vertical direction, a balance weight hanger wheel 22 is arranged inclined with respect to the driving sheave 7 so that the hanging axis of the balance weight hanger wheel 22 becomes close to the vertically extending center line of the balance weight 5.
The construction of the second embodiment other than the above is similar to that of the first embodiment.
In this example, since the hanging axis of the balance weight hanger wheel 22 is arranged close to the vertically extending center line of the balance weight 5, when the balance weight 5 is moved upward through the balance weight hanger wheel 12, the balance weight 5 will not be easily inclined, thus facilitating smooth upward movement thereof.
In addition, although an end of the main rope 9 is fixedly attached to the main rope end fixing beam 15 which is bridged between the pair of balance weight guide rails 3, a force acting from the main rope 9 on the main rope end fixing beam 15 becomes more vertical as compared with the first embodiment, as a result of which a twisting force acting on the main rope end fixing beam 15 is accordingly reduced.

Embodiment 3.

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross sectional plan view that shows an elevator apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
This embodiment differs from the above-mentioned second embodiment in the following. That is, a notch portion 25a is formed in a balance weight 25 on its side opposed to the main rope 9 that extends from the first car hanger wheel 10 to the driving sheave 7, and the balance weight guide rails 3 is arranged closer to the car 4 side so that the width size of the hoistway 1 becomes smaller. The construction of this embodiment other than the above is similar to that of the second embodiment.
In this embodiment, since the notch portion 25a is formed in the balance weight 25, the main rope 9 can be prevented from coming in contact with the balance weight 25, and at the same time the balance weight 25 can be brought close to the car 4 side. In other words, the balance weight guide rails 3 can be arranged closer to the car 4 side, thereby making it possible to reduce the width size of the hoistway 1.

Embodiment 4.

Fig. 7 is a schematic cross sectional plan view that shows an elevator apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, in order to easily accommodate a change in the size of the width and/or depth of the car 4, the line connecting between the first car hanger wheel 10 and the second car hanger wheel 11 and the line connecting between the pair of car guide rails 2 are arranged in parallel with respect to each other. The construction of this embodiment other than the above is similar to that of the third embodiment.

Embodiment 5.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross sectional plan view that shows an elevator apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, a control console 50 for controlling the operation of the car 4 is arranged inside the hoistway 1 in opposition to the drive unit 8 with the car 4 interposed therebetween. The construction of this embodiment other than the above is similar to that of the fourth embodiment.
Although in conventional elevator apparatuses a control console is arranged on the floor or landing stage of the top floor, the control console 50 in this embodiment is arranged inside the hoistway 1, and hence limitations on the floor design can be reduced, thereby making it possible to improve designability.
In addition, since the control console 50 is arranged in opposition to the drive unit 8, an area on the top surface of the car 4 indicated by a broken line can be made a common work area for the control console 50 and the drive unit 8. Accordingly, the top surface of the car 4 can be effectively used as the work area.

Embodiment 6.

Fig. 9 is a schematic cross sectional plan view that shows an elevator apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, in order to ensure that the car 4 can be easily moved from a floor without accessing the control console 50 inside the hoistway 1 even upon maintenance and inspection or upon occurrence of a power failure or other failures, an inspection panel 52 having switches or the like necessary for maintenance and inspection operation and emergency rescue operation is incorporated into a floor operation panel 51 on the top floor. The construction of this embodiment other than the above is similar to that of the fifth embodiment.

Embodiment 7.

Fig. 10 is a schematic cross sectional plan view that shows an elevator apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.
In this embodiment, a governor 53 is arranged between the car guide rails 2 and the inspection panel 54 inside the hoistway 1, and the inspection panel 54 is provided with an inspection window 56 through which an operator can visually inspect a rope 55 of the governor 53, as shown in Fig. 12. In addition, a mark is applied to the rope 55 so that it can be visually confirmed from the inspection window 56 whether the car 4 is in a door open zone.
The construction of this embodiment other than this is similar to that of the sixth embodiment.
In this embodiment, in the case of emergency rescue operation or the like, the operator is able to operate the car 4 while confirming the speed of the car 4 and the position of the car 4 by moving the car 4 while looking at the rope 55 from the inspection window 56.
Moreover, since the rope 55 is arranged at a position near the inspection panel 54, it is possible to find the mark applied to the rope 55 in an easy and accurate manner.

Embodiment 8.

Fig. 11 is a cross sectional plan view of an elevator apparatus with double cars 4 arranged in a hoistway 1.
This embodiment is an example in which the inventive elevator apparatus according to the seventh embodiment is applied to the elevator apparatus having the double cars 4. Similar to the seventh embodiment, at the time of emergency rescue operation or the like, an operator is able to operate the cars 4 while confirming the speeds of the cars 4 and the positions of the cars 4 by moving the cars 4 while looking at ropes 55 from an inspection window 56. In addition, the marks applied to the ropes 55 can be found easily and accurately.

Claims

An elevator apparatus comprising:

a hoistway (1);

a pair of car guide rails (2) and a pair of balance weight guide rails (3) installed inside said hoistway (1);

a car (4) that is guided along said car guide rails (2) for vertical movement inside said hoistway (1);

a balance weight (5, 25) that is guided along said balance weight guide rails (3) for vertical movement inside said hoistway (1);

a drive unit (8) that includes a drive unit main body (6) fixedly mounted to said pair of balance weight guide rails (3) through a mounting member at an upper portion inside said hoistway (1), and a driving sheave (7) adapted to be rotated by said drive unit main body (6), for driving said car (4) and said balance weight (5, 25) in a vertical direction;

a main rope (9) that is wrapped around said driving sheave (7) so as to hang said car (4) and said balance weight (5, 25) inside said hoistway (1);

a first car hanger wheel (10) and a second car hanger wheel (11) which are arranged in pair at a lower portion of said car (4), and around which said main rope (9) is wrapped; and

a balance weight hanger wheel (12) which is arranged at an upper portion of said balance weight (5, 25), and around which said main rope (9) is wrapped:

wherein when said hoistway (1) is viewed along the vertical direction, said driving sheave (7) of said drive unit (8) arranged above said balance weight (5, 25) is disposed between a center line (A) of said pair of balance weight guide rails (3) and a side surface of said car (4), said driving sheave (7) being also arranged above said first car hanger wheel (10) among said first and second car hanger wheels (10, 11).
The elevator apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said drive unit main body (6) is arranged on a car side of said driving sheave (7).
The elevator apparatus as set forth in claim 1 or 2, wherein a central axis (B) of said driving sheave (7) is arranged in such a manner that it orthogonally intersects a central point of the center line (A) of said balance weight guide rails (3).
The elevator apparatus as set forth in any one of claims 1 through 3, wherein when the hoistway (1) is viewed along the vertical direction, the balance weight hanger wheel (12) is arranged inclined with respect to said driving sheave (7) so that a hanging axis of said balance weight hanger wheel (12) is arranged close to a vertically extending center line of said balance weight (5, 25).
The elevator apparatus as set forth in any one of claims 1 through 4, wherein said balance weight (25) is formed, at its side opposed to said main rope (9) extending from said first car hanger wheel (10) to said driving sheave (7), with a notch portion (25a) for preventing said main rope (9) from coming in contact with said balance weight (25).
The elevator apparatus as set forth in any one of claims 1 through 5, wherein a line connecting between said first car hanger wheel (10) and said second car hanger wheel (11) and a line connecting between said pair of car guide rails (2) are parallel with respect to each other.
The elevator apparatus as set forth in any one of claims 1 through 6, wherein a control console (50) for controlling the operation of said car (4) is arranged inside said hoistway (1) in opposition to said drive unit (8) with said car (4) interposed therebetween.
The elevator apparatus as set forth in any one of claims 1 through 7, wherein an inspection panel (52, 54) provided with switches necessary for maintenance and inspection operation and emergency rescue operation is incorporated in a floor operation panel (51) on a top floor.
The elevator apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein a governor (53) is arranged inside said hoistway (1) between said car guide rails (2) and said inspection panel (52, 54), and said inspection panel (52, 54) is provided with an inspection window through which one can visually inspect a rope (55) of said governor (53).