ELEVATOR PROVIDED WITH A GUIDE SHOE ARRANGEMENT
The object of the invention is an elevator provided with a
guide shoe arrangement as defined in the preamble of claim
1 .
In solutions according to prior art, the guide rolls of an
elevator car are generally mounted via bearings directly
onto a shared guide frame. One problem is that replacement
of the guide rolls and inspection of their condition is
difficult and slow. Often the whole guide shoe pack must be
completely or partially disassembled for the purpose of
replacement or inspection. Correspondingly, the installation
and adjustment of new guide rolls is also slow and awkward,
and requires precision.
United States patent publication no. US5984053 presents a
number of prior-art roller guide solutions, which have,
among others, exactly the drawbacks presented above. In
addition, prior-art solutions are structurally large in
size, which might cause problems in relation to the layout
of an elevator.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the
above-mentioned drawbacks and achieve an elevator provided
with an inexpensive and simple guide shoe arrangement, in
which elevator each guide roll is easy to inspect, service or
replace according to individual need independently of the
other guide rolls. Another aim is to achieve an elevator
provided with a guide shoe arrangement, in which elevator
each guide roll can be quickly released from its locking and
can also be quickly locked back into its position, and in
which the locking shape-locks the support part of a guide
roll accurately and firmly into its position. Additionally,
another aim is to achieve an elevator provided with a guide
shoe arrangement, in which elevator the structure of the
roller guide shoe is light and of small size and,
particularly in the lateral direction, extremely narrow. The
elevator according to the invention is characterized by what
is disclosed in the characterization part of claim 1 . Other
embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is
disclosed in the other claims.
Some inventive embodiments are also discussed in the
descriptive section of the present application. The
inventive content of the application can also be defined
differently than in the claims presented below. The
inventive content may also consist of several separate
inventions, especially if the invention is considered in the
light of expressions or implicit sub-tasks or from the point
of view of advantages or categories of advantages achieved.
In this case, some of the attributes contained in the claims
below may be superfluous from the point of view of separate
inventive concepts. Likewise the different details presented
in connection with each embodiment of the invention can also
be applied in other embodiments. In addition it ca be
stated that at least some of the subordinate claims can in
at least some situations be deemed to be inventive in their
own right.
One advantage of the solution according to the invention is
that the guide rolls can be replaced or inspected
independently of each other, in which case the replacement or
inspection is quick and easy. A detached guide roll can be
inspected e.g. on the roof of the elevator car and if the
guide roll is worn it can easily be replaced with a new guide
roll plus support part, or the new guide roll can be placed
into the old support part. Another advantage is the snap-on
locking of the support parts of the guide rolls, which
locking is easy and quick to open and to lock and in which
the support part settles into its correct location, when
locked, precisely and firmly without extra adjustments. Yet
another advantage is the simplicity, lightness and small size
of the structure. Particularly in the lateral direction the
guide shoe construction is narrow, and does not take a lot of
space from other devices of the elevator. In addition, the
metal body part of a guide shoe structure is shaped such that
when a guide roll possibly fails the body part nevertheless
keeps the elevator car guided by the guide rail. A further
advantage is that the solution is easy and inexpensive to
implement .
In the following, the invention will be described in more
detail by the aid of an example of its embodiment with
reference to the attached drawings, wherein
presents a simplified and diagrammatic front view
of an elevator, in which the roller guide shoe
arrangement according to the invention is used,
presents a more detailed simplified side view of a
roller guide shoe arrangement of an elevator
according to the invention,
presents a more detailed simplified top view of a
roller guide shoe arrangement of an elevator
according to the invention,
presents a more detailed simplified front view of a
detached roller guide shoe, with its support parts,
of an elevator according to the invention,
presents a more detailed simplified side view of a
detached roller guide shoe, with its support parts,
of an elevator according to the invention, and
Fig. 6 presents a simplified and oblique top view of a
detached guide shoe body of a roller guide shoe of
an elevator according to the invention.
Fig. 1 presents a simplified and diagrammatic front view of
part of one elevator, in which a guide shoe arrangement
according to the invention is used. For the sake of clarity,
many parts of the elevator have been omitted from Fig. 1 ,
such as e.g. the hoisting machine and the hoisting roping
with its rope pulleys. The elevator car 1 is disposed inside
a car sling 2 and the car sling 2 is fitted to travel
essentially vertically to and fro in the elevator hoistway
guided by guide rails 3 at the sides of the elevator car 1 .
The car sling 2 comprises at least a top element 2a, a
bottom element 2b and also two side elements, i.e. vertical
elements 2c, which vertical elements 2c are disposed on
those sides of the elevator car 1 where there are guide
rails 3 . In addition, on the top part and on the bottom part
of the car sling 2 are two mountings 5 functioning as an
adaptor part, to which the guide shoe elements 4 of the
elevator car are fixed.
Figs. 2 and 3 present a simplified and more detailed roller
guide shoe arrangement of an elevator according to the
invention. Fig. 2 presents the structure as viewed from the
side, and Fig. 3 as viewed from the top. A guide shoe
element 4 comprises at least a body part 6 , via which the
guide shoe element 4 is fixed to its base 5 on the car sling
2 by the aid of fixing means 9 , such as screws and nuts. The
body part 6 is also configured to support the support parts
7 of the roller guide shoes, which support parts are locked
at their first end essentially immovably to the body part 6
by the aid of easily and quickly openable snap-on locking
means 7a, such as flexible fixing claws or corresponding
snap-on fasteners. In this case the fixing can also be
called a snap-on joint, wherein the snap-on locking means 7a
of the support part 7 and the detent surface, i.e. in the
case according to the example the bottom surface, of the
body part 6 form a detent pair. The snap-on joint thus
formed locks the support part 7 to the body part 6 and
prevents the free departure or the extraction e.g. by
accident, of the support part 7 .
There are e.g. three units of support parts 7 fixed to the
body part 6 , one on each side of the guide part of the guide
rail 3 and one in front of the butt end of the guide part. A
guide roll 8 is installed onto the second end of the support
parts 7 so as to rotate on bearings, the diameter of which
guide roll is preferably smaller than the length in the
axial direction of the guide roll 8 . The length of a guide
roll 8 can be e.g. almost as large as the whole width of the
guide surface of the guide rail 3 . The guide rolls 8 being
small i diameter and the simple snap-on locking of the
support part 7 enable a small and narrow structure of the
whole guide shoe element 4 , which structure does not take up
too great a space particularly in the lateral direction of
the guide rail.
Figs. 4 and 5 present a support part 7 , with guide rolls and
detached from the body part 6 , of a guide shoe element 4 .
Fig. 4 presents the structure as viewed from the front, and
Fig. 5 as viewed from the side. The support part 7 is e.g. a
piece cut from metal plate, said piece being essentially of
uniform thickness and symmetrical in the width direction,
and having a first end 7c that is narrower in the width
direction than the second end 7b, in which case an
essentially planar support surface 7d remains between the
side edges of the first end and the side edges of the second
end, the width of which support surface is the same as the
thickness of the support part 7 and the length of which is
one-half of the width difference of the first end 7c and the
second end 7b.
The second end 7b of the support part 7 also comprises arm
parts 7e pointing towards the center line of the support
part 7 , onto which arm parts a guide roll 8 is installed so
as to rotate on bearings. The bearings, which are e.g. slide
bearings, are not presented in more detail in the figures.
The slide bearings can be ceramic or antifriction metal.
Since the diameter of a guide roll 8 is small, it is
advantageous that the surface of the guide rolls 8 is of a
material that is very durable against wear. Correspondingly,
the core of a guide roll 8 is preferably soft and insulates
against sound well.
Correspondingly, at the first end 7c of the support part 7
is an easily openable snap-on locking means 7a, by the aid
of which the support part 7 is locked firmly to the surface
of the body part 6 such that the support surfaces 7d of the
support part 7 rest against the surface of the body part 6 .
The snap-on locking means 7a is e.g. a spring-like tongue or
claw, which is rectangular in shape and attached at one of
its sides to the support part 7 and at three of its sides is
cut away from the support part 7 . The side opposite the
attached side is compelled by spring force to protrude from
the side surface of the support part 7 , as can be seen from
Fig. 5 . The snap-on locking means 7a can be any locking
means whatsoever enabling a firm and strong locking and that
can be easily locked and opened, e.g. some snap-on fastener
according to prior art.
The structure of the support part 7 is preferably arranged
to be spring-like in such a way that when it is in position
locked to the body part 6 , the second end 7b of the support
part 7 , said end being provided with a guide roll 8 , presses
by the aid of the spring force of the support part towards
the guide surface of the guide rail 3 . The dimensioning is
made so that in this case the guide rolls 8 press the guide
surfaces of the guide rail 3 lightly. The structure is
implemented such that the support part 7 is arranged to bend
(away from its state of rest, e.g. into a curve) forced by
the guide roll 8 resting on the guide rail 3 . The support
part 7 in this case has prestressing for pressing the guide
shoe roll 8 against the guide surface of the guide rail 3
without any clearance. The support part 7 forms a spring,
which maintains contact with the guide surface of the guide
rail 3 despite wearing of the guide shoe roll 8 , and softens
the transmission of the guiding force from the guide rail to
the elevator car 1 . In this way the spring-like support part
7 simultaneously functions as a damper.
Fig. 6 presents the guide shoe body, i.e. the body part 6 of
a guide shoe element 4 , of a roller guide shoe of an
elevator according to the invention when the guide shoe body
is detached. The body part is e.g. a U-shaped piece cut
from metal plate, said piece preferably being of essentially
uniform thickness, the first end 6a of which piece comprises
fixing holes 12 for fixing the body part to the mounting 5
on the car sling 2 by the aid of fixing means 9 , such as
screws and nuts. At the center of the second end of the body
part 6 is an aperture 6c open at its second end, the width
of which aperture is configured to be suitably larger than
the thickness of the guide part of the guide rail 3 .
Correspondingly, the length of the aperture 6 is suitably
greater than the width of the guide part of the guide rail 3
in the direction of the elevator car.
Both sides of the aperture 6 have prong-like edge parts 6b
extending towards the second end of the body part, both of
which edge parts comprise an essentially rectangular locking
aperture 10 elongated in the direction of the edge part 6b.
In addition, between the first end 6a of the body part 6 and
the aperture 6 , in front of the aperture, is a locking
aperture 11 corresponding to the locking apertures 10, the
length direction of which locking aperture 11 is at a right
angle with respect to the length directions of the locking
apertures 10. The locking apertures 10 and 11 can be the
same size as each other, but if necessary the locking
aperture 11 can also be shorter than the locking apertures
10. The shape and size of the locking apertures 10, 11 are
configured to be essentially the same as the shape and size
of the cross-section of the first end 7c of the support part
7 . In this case the width and length of an aperture 10, 11
are essentially the same, or only so much greater than the
thickness and length of the first end 7c of the support part
7 that the first end 7c of the support part 7 can, by
pushing, be disposed in an aperture 10 or 11 and can be
pulled out of it, and that the support part 7 disposed in an
aperture 10 or 11 is immediately, without adjustments,
positioned in its correct location and remains firmly in its
location .
The distance between the protruding surface of the claw of
the snap-on locking means 7a and the support surfaces 7d of
the support part 7 is selected with respect to the thickness
of the body part 6 such that the aforementioned distance is
essentially the same as, or at least only a very little
larger than, the thickness of the body part. In this case an
advantageous structure of the snap-on locking means 7a is
such that, when pressing a support part 7 into its position
in an aperture 10 or 11 of the body part 6 , the locking of
the support part 7 to the body part 6 occurs automatically.
Correspondingly, opening is performed by pressing the claw
e.g. with a finger or using some small tool as a pressing
means, and by pulling the support part 7 out of its
position .
Characteristic to the solution according to the invention
is, inter alia, that the apertures 10 and 11 in the body
part 6 form a space, which owing to its shape and dimensions
shape-locks the support part 7 firmly into its position
already without the tightening effect of the snap-on locking
means 7a, which finally locks the support part 7 into its
position .
It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that
different embodiments of the invention are not only limited
to the examples described above, but that they may be varied
within the scope of the claims presented below. Thus, for
example, the structure of a guide shoe element can also be
different than what is described above and the guide shoe
elements can be fixed to the elevator car in a different
manner.
Likewise it is obvious to the person skilled in the art that
although the figures present pushing the support part of a
guide roll into its position downwards from above, the
pushing direction can be some other, e.g. upwards from below
or sidewards. In addition, the pushing direction and pulling
direction can also be inclined.
It is also obvious to the skilled person that the flexible
snap-on locking means locking the support part to the body
part can also be a protrusion-type claw or corresponding on
the body part, and the mate for it can be an aperture in the
support part, into which the claw or corresponding locks.
In addition, it is further obvious to the person skilled in
the art that the guide rolls can differ to what is described
above, e.g. be of larger diameter.
Instead of guide rolls, sliding pads that are fixed to the
support part described above or to a support part
corresponding to same, can be used.
CLAIMS
1 . Elevator provided with a guide shoe arrangement, which
elevator comprises at least an elevator car (1), which is
configured to travel in an elevator hoistway guided by guide
rails (3), and which elevator comprises at least one guide
shoe element (4), which comprises at least a body part (6)
moving along with the elevator car (1) and also a plurality
of guide rolls (8) supported on the body part (6), each of
which guide rolls is configured to travel while supported on
a guide surface of a guide rail (3) when the elevator car
(1) moves, and of which aforementioned guide rolls (8) at
least one is supported in a manner allowing rotation on a
support part (7) that is separate from the other
aforementioned guide rolls (8), characterized in that the
aforementioned support part (7) is fixed with an openable
snap-on fixing means (7a) to the aforementioned body part
(6) .
2 . Elevator according to claim 1 , characterized in that the
aforementioned plurality of guide rolls (8) supported on the
body part (6), which guide rolls (8) are on different sides
of the guide rail (3) to each other, comprises at least
guide rolls (8) on a first and a second side of the guide
rail (3), said sides being opposite to each other, and
preferably a guide roll (8) also on a third side, and in
that each of the aforementioned guide rolls (8) is supported
in a manner allowing rotation on a support part (7) that is
separate from the other aforementioned guide rolls (8),
which support part (7) is fixed with an openable snap-on
fixing means (7a) to the aforementioned body part (6).
3 . Elevator according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that
the body part (6) of the guide shoe element (4) of the
elevator comprises an aperture-like space (10, 11) for each
aforementioned support part (7) for positioning the support
part (7) in its correct position in the body part (6) .
4 . Elevator according to claim 1 , 2 or 3 , characterized in
that the snap-on fixing means (7a) locking the support part
(7) to the body part (6) are flexible fixing claws or
corresponding snap-on fasteners forming a snap-on joint
between the support part (7) and the body part (6) .
5 . Elevator according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the support part (7) and the body part
(6) form a detent pair, in which the aforementioned snap-on
joint comprises a flexible claw-like snap-on fixing means
(7a) either on the support part (7) or on the body part (6)
and a detent surface enabling locking of the support part
(7) either on the body part (6) or on the support part (7),
said detent surface being the detent mate of the snap-on
fixing means (7a) .
6 . Elevator according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the body part (6) comprises edge parts '
(6b) extending to the side of the guide surfaces of the
guide rail (3), said edge parts comprising aperture-like
spaces (10), into which the first end of a support part (7)
can be pushed and locked, and the body part preferably also
comprises an aperture-like space (11) between the first end
(6a) of the body part (6) and the aperture-like spaces (10)
that essentially corresponds to the aperture-like spaces
(10), the length direction of which aperture-like space (11)
is at a right angle with respect to the length directions of
the aperture-like spaces (10) and into which aperture-like
space (11) the first end of a support part (7) can also be
pushed and locked.
7 . Elevator according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the support part (7) comprises at
least one support surface (7d), which is configured to rest
against the surface of the body part (6) .
8 . Elevator according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the structure of the support part (7)
is arranged to be spring-like in such a way that when it is
in position locked into the body part (6), the second end
(7b) of the support part (7), said end being provided with a
guide roll (8), presses by the aid of the spring force of
the support part (7) towards the guide surface of the guide
rail (3) and the guide roll (8) compresses against the guide
surface of the guide rail (3) .
9 . Elevator according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in that when the support part (7) is in its
position locked into the aperture-like space (10, 11) of the
body part (6), the flexible claw-like snap-on fixing means
(7a) has been pushed into the extended position to the side
such that the detent surface it comprises is face to face
with the detent surface comprised in the detent mate,
preventing extraction of the support part from the
aforementioned aperture-like space (10, 11), and the
flexible claw-like snap-on fixing means (7a) must be in
particular manually brought into the retracted position out
of its position face to face with the detent surface and
extended to the side for enabling extraction of the support
part (7) from the aforementioned aperture-like space (10,
11) without the aforementioned detent surface preventing
movement of the flexible claw-like snap-on fixing means (7a)
past the detent surface.
10. Elevator according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in that when the support part (7) is in its
position locked into the aperture-like space (10, 11) of the
body part (6), the aforementioned support surface (7d) is
configured to rest against the surface of the body part (6)
and thus to prevent the support part (7) moving deeper into
the aperture-like space (10, 11).