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METHOD FOR INSTALLING AN ELEVATOR, AND ELEVATOR
The present invention relates to a method as defined in the preamble of claim 1 and an elevator as defined in the preamble of claim 6.
In high-rise buildings, elevators are often needed during the construction stage before the building has been completed. Elevators are needed e.g. for construction-time use to allow the constructors to reach as high levels in the building as possible by-elevator. Similarly, when the lower floors of a building are completed before the upper floors, the elevators must be available for use by the people already using the completed floors. As the construction work is progressing, the elevators have to be able to serve floors as high up as possible.
A prior-art solution for this type of construction-time use is the so-called jump-lift, wherein the hoisting height of the elevator is increased in steps of one or more floor levels each time when the construction work has reached a sufficient height' relative to the previous jump. The elevator machine room is removed upwards by the above-mentioned number of floors and all the components dependent on the hoisting height, such as car cables, guide rails, overspeed governor ropes and other components mounted in the shaft, electric equipment in the shaft, shaft cables, compensation ropes etc. are extended to cover the height of the entire completed shaft.
In prior art, the machine room has been lifted by using the building's own construction hoist, among other things. The problem in this case is that the elevator installation is dependent on the use of the

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choice in elevator lay-out solutions. Space is needed
for the arrangements required for the passage of the
hoisting ropes. It is difficult to reduce the space
required by the elevator car itself on its track and
likewise the space required by the counterweight, at
least at a reasonable cost and without impairing
elevator performance and operational quality. In a
traction sheave elevator without machine room,
mounting the hoisting machine in the elevator shaft is
often difficult, especially in a solution with machine
above, because the hoisting machine is a sizeable body
of considerable weight. Especially in the case of
larger loads, speeds and/or hoisting heights, the size
and weight of the machine are a problem regarding
installation, even to the extent that the required
machine size and weight have in practice limited the
sphere of application of the concept of elevator
without machine room or at least retarded the
introduction of said concept in larger elevators. In
modernization of elevators, the space available in the
elevator shaft often limits the area of application of
the concept of elevator without machine room. One
prior-art solution is disclosed in publication
US5788018, in which the elevator car is suspended with
a suspension ratio of 1:1, and in which various
tensioning devices are used to tension the continuous
rope. The compensation sheave described in this
publication is regulated by a separate control system,
said system being controlled by means of an external
control, which system requires control implemented by
means of a complex external control. A recent traction
sheave elevator solution with no counterweight,
WO2004041704, presents a viable solution in which
movement of the elevator car in the elevator is based
on traction friction from the hoisting ropes of the
elevator by means of a traction sheave. This elevator

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fairly narrow elevator shaft if necessary. One objective is to achieve an elevator in which the hoisting rope has a good grip/contact on the traction sheave. A further aim of the invention is to achieve an elevator solution without counterweight without compromising the properties of the elevator. An additional objective is to eliminate the effects of rope elongation. Yet a further objective of the invention is to achieve an elevator by means of which it is possible to implement an elevator without counterweight in high-rise buildings and/or a fast elevator without counterweight. Another objective is to achieve an apparatus for enabling construction-time installation of an elevator. The object of the invention is especially to apply an elevator without counterweight during construction-time use and/or to enable increasing the height of an elevator without counterweight as the building progresses and/or to achieve an elevator without counterweight, which can be used during construction as the height of the building increases and can also be used as an elevator when the building is completed. The object of the invention should be achieved without compromising the possibility of varying the basic elevator lay-out.
The method of the invention for installing an elevator during construction time is characterized by what is disclosed in the characterization part of claim 1 and the elevator of the invention is characterized by what is disclosed in the characterization part of claim 6. 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

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- no extra openings and reinforcements for
elevator installation need to be made in
the concrete structures of the building
- the invention enables a transportation
capacity and logistics utilization at least
four times better than in prior-art
construction-time elevators

- allows savings in time by constructors and sub
contractors and leads to faster completion of the
building project
- elevator installation times are shortened and the
total installation costs reduced
- safer installation environment
- finished floors are ready for normal elevator
operation very soon after their completion
- less space is needed outside the building
- easy to establish as a standard installation method.
In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by the aid of a few examples of its embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, wherein
Fig. 1 presents a diagrammatic view of a traction sheave elevator without counterweight according to the invention,
Fig. 2 presents a diagrammatic view of another traction sheave elevator without counterweight according to the invention,

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Fig. 1 presents a diagrammatic illustration of a
traction sheave elevator without counterweight
according to the invention, in which the compensating
system according to the invention is situated in the
upper part of the shaft, i.e. in the case of Fig. 1 in
the machine room 17. The elevator is an elevator with
machine room, with a drive machine 4 placed in the
machine room 17. The elevator shown in the figure is a
traction sheave elevator without counterweight, in
which the elevator car 1 moves along guide rails 2. In
elevators with a large hoisting height, the elongation
of the hoisting rope involves a need to compensate the
rope elongation, which has to be done reliably within
certain permitted limit values. In that case it is
essential in respect of elevator operation and safety
that the rope portion below the elevator car should be
kept sufficiently tight. In the rope force compensating
system 16 of the invention presented in Fig. 1, a very
long movement for compensating rope elongation is
achieved. This enables compensation of also large
elongations, which is not often possible with simple
lever solutions or with spring solutions. The
compensating system 16 of the invention shown in Fig. 1
keeps the rope tensions T1 and T2 acting over the
traction sheave at a constant ratio of T1/T2. In the
case presented in Fig. 1 the T1/T2 ratio is 2/1. With
even suspension ratios above and below the elevator
car, the compensating system 16 is disposed in the
machine room or elevator shaft or other place suitable
for the purpose that is not connected to the elevator
car, and with odd suspension ratios above and below the
elevator car the compensating system 16 is connected to
the elevator car.

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the hoisting rope above the elevator car. After passing around the traction sheave 5 the ropes continue their passage along the elevator shaft to the diverting pulley 8, said diverting pulley 8 being advantageously disposed in the lower part of the elevator shaft. After passing around the diverting pulley 8 the ropes 3 continue upwards to the diverting pulley 11 mounted on the elevator car, said diverting pulley not being visible in Fig. 1. After passing around the diverting pulley 11 the hoisting ropes continue their passage, in a similar manner as the roping above the elevator car 1, acx-oss the elevator car 1 to the diverting pulley 12 positioned on the other side of the elevator car and at the same time the hoisting ropes move to the other side of the elevator shaft. After passing around the diverting pulley 12, the hoisting ropes 3 continue downwards to the diverting pulley 13 in the lower part of the elevator shaft, and having passed around this pulley continue and return to the other diverting pulley 15 of the compensating system 16 in the machine room 17 of the elevator, and having passed around said diverting pulley 15 the hoisting ropes run to the fixing point of the other end of the hoisting rope, said fixing point being located in a suitable place in the machine room 17 or in the elevator shaft. The diverting pulleys 8,11,12,13 form the suspension arrangement of the hoisting ropes below the elevator car and a part of the roping. The other rope tension T2 of the hoisting rope acts on this part of the hoisting ropes below the elevator car. The diverting pulleys of the lower part of the elevator shaft can be immovably fixed to the frame structure formed by the guide rails 2 or to a beam structure located at the bottom end of the elevator shaft or each one separately to the lower part of the elevator shaft or to any other fixing arrangement suited to the purpose. The diverting pulleys on the elevator car can be immovably fixed to

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needed for elevator control, both of which can be placed in a common instrument panel 6 or mounted separately from each other or integrated partly or wholly with the drive machine 4. A preferred solution is a gearless machine comprising a permanent magnet motor. Fig. 1 illustrates a preferred suspension solution in which the suspension ratio of the diverting pulleys above the elevator and the diverting pulleys below the elevator car is the same 2:1 suspension in both cases. To visualize this ratio in practice, it means the ratio of the distance traveled by the hoisting rope to the distance traveled by the elevator car. The suspension above the elevator car 1 is implemented by means of the diverting pulleys 14,10,9 and the traction sheave 5 and the suspension arrangement below the elevator car 1 is implemented by means of the diverting pulleys 13,12,11,8. Other suspension arrangements can also be used to implement the invention, such as e.g. larger suspension ratios, which are implemented by means of a number of diverting pulleys above and below the elevator car. The elevator of the invention can also be implemented as a solution without machine room or the machine may be mounted to be movable together with the elevator. It is advantageous to place the compensating system 16 in the upper part of the elevator, preferably in the machine room, especially in elevators with a high travel height, which elevators are usually also fast in terms of travel speed. In that case, the placement of the compensating system according to the invention results in a considerable reduction in the overall rope elongation of the hoisting ropes of the elevator, because with this placement of the compensating system the upper portion of the hoisting ropes, i.e. the portion located above the compensating system, in which there is greater rope tension, becomes shorter. The portion of the hoisting ropes below the compensating

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compensating system is prevented from feeding rope from the compensating system in the direction of the portions of rope below the elevator car when ranging outside the normal compensation area of the compensating system, thereby maintaining a certain tension in the hoisting ropes. It is also possible to implement the compensating system 16 differently than presented in the forgoing example, such as with more complex suspension arrangements in the compensating system, such as e.g. by arranging different suspension ratios between the diverting pulleys of the compensating system. It is also possible to use a lever suited to the purpose, compensating pulleys or other rope tension compensating arrangement suited to the purpose as the compensating system 16. A preferred embodiment of the elevator with a 2:1 suspension ratio presented in Fig. 1 is an elevator with a speed of approximately 6 m/s in which the mass of the car and maximum load is about 4000 kg, and in which elevator only six hoisting ropes each of about 13 mm in diameter are needed. The preferred areas of application for the elevator of the invention with a suspension ratio of 2:1 are elevators whose speed is in a range above 4 m/s.
Fig. 2 presents a diagrammatic illustration of the structure of an elevator according to the invention. The elevator presented in Fig. 2 resembles the elevator in Fig. 1 with the difference that the compensating system 216 of the elevator without counterweight, the hoisting machine 204 and the equipment required for the supply of power to the motor as well as equipment needed for elevator control 206 are advantageously disposed in the elevator shaft. The elevator shown in Fig. 2 is an elevator without machine room and the elevator presented in the figure is a traction sheave elevator with machine above and

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room, in which the drive machine 304 and the compensating system 316 are disposed in the elevator shaft. In the figure, the compensating system 316 is located in the lower part of the elevator shaft, but can just as well be situated in the upper part of the elevator shaft or in the machine room. The elevator shown in the figure is a traction sheave elevator without counterweight and with machine above, in which the elevator car 301 moves along guide rails 302. The passage of the hoisting ropes in Fig. 3 is similar to that presented in Fig. 1, but in the example presented in Fig. 3 the hoisting ropes of the elevator are advantageously arranged to pass on one side of the elevator car by means of the diverting pulleys 308,309,310,312,313,315 and the compensating system 316 and its diverting pulleys 315,314 and the traction sheave 305 of the hoisting machine 304. The elevator presented in Fig. 3 is an elevator suspended with a suspension ratio of 2:1, wherein the suspension ratio above and below the elevator car is the same 2:1 in both cases. Fig. 3 presents the compensating system 316 of the elevator of the invention, said compensating system containing a locking arrangement according to the invention. In Fig. 3, the moving diverting pulley 315 of the compensating system is preferably arranged to travel on its track along the guides 318, and the diverting pulley 315 is preferably suspended on the frame 317, by means of which it moves along the guides 318. A locking means 319, preferably gripping brake elements, is fitted to the frame 317 of the diverting pulley 315, said braking elements preferably gripping the guides 318 or other similar place for stopping and/or retarding movement of the compensating system. In situations where the elevator safety gear grips or the elevator runs onto the buffer or other similar situations, the ratio between the speed of the hoisting rope and the speed of the elevator car changes suddenly

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In Fig. 4 the passage of the hoisting ropes is as follows: One end of the hoisting ropes 403 is fixed to the diverting pulley 417 and/or any suspension arrangement for it, said diverting pulley 417 being fitted to rest on the rope portion coming downwards from the diverting pulley 418, which hoisting rope portion passes around diverting pulley 417 and runs further to the fixing point of the other end of the hoisting ropes 403 in the elevator shaft. The compensating system 416 is fitted in place in the elevator shaft. From diverting pulley 415 the hoisting ropes 403 run upwards encountering the diverting pulley 414, which is fitted in place in the upper part of the elevator shaft, and around which the rope passes via the rope grooves in the diverting pulley 414. After passing around the diverting pulley 414, the ropes continue downwards to the diverting pulley 413 mounted on the elevator car 401, and having passed around this pulley the ropes 403 run across the elevator car 401 to diverting pulley 412, which is mounted on the elevator car 401 and to the other side of the elevator shaft. The passage of the hoisting ropes 403 to the other side of the elevator shaft is arranged by means of diverting pulleys 413 and 412. After passing around diverting pulley 412 the rope returns upwards to the diverting pulley 411 fitted in place in the upper part of the elevator shaft, and after passing around this pulley-returns to the diverting pulley 410 mounted on the elevator car, after passing around which it continues across the elevator car to the diverting pulley 409 mounted on the elevator car, and at the same time to the other side of the elevator shaft. Having passed around the diverting pulley 409 the hoisting ropes run further to the hoisting machine 404 fitted in place in the upper part of the elevator shaft and to its traction sheave 405. The diverting pulleys 414,413,412,411,410,409 together with the traction

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elevator car and a part of the roping. The other rope tension T2 of the hoisting rope acts on this part of the hoisting ropes below the elevator car. The diverting pulleys of the lower part of the elevator shaft can be immovably fixed to the frame structure formed by the guide rails 402 or to a beam structure located at the lower end of the elevator shaft or each one separately to the lower part of the elevator shaft or to any other fixing arrangement suited to the purpose. The diverting pulleys on the elevator car can be immovably fixed to the frame structure of the elevator car 401, such as e.g. to the car sling, or to a beam structure or beam structures on the elevator car or each one separately to the elevator car or to any other fixing arrangement suited to the purpose. The diverting pulleys can also be modular in structure, e.g. in such a way that they are separate modular structures, such as e.g. of the cassette type, that are immovably fixed to the shaft structures of the elevator, to the structures of the elevator car and/or car sling or to another appropriate place in the elevator shaft, or in its proximity, or in connection with the elevator car and/or in the machine room of the elevator. The diverting pulleys located in the elevator shaft and the devices of the hoisting machine and/or the diverting pulleys connected to the elevator car can be disposed either all on one side of the elevator car in a space between the elevator car and the elevator shaft or otherwise they can be disposed on different sides of the elevator car in the manner desired.
In the example presented in Fig. 5 the elevator roping and diverting pulleys as well as the hoisting machine and its equipment are disposed on the sides of the elevator car symmetrically, thus there is no diverting pulley or hoisting machine directly above and/or below the path of travel of the elevator car. This allows

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useful life of the hoisting ropes. For example, the ratio of the diameter D of the diverting pulley to the diameter d of the rope used may be D/d < 40, and preferably the D/d ratio may be only D/d = 25... 30 when the ratio of the diameter of the diverting pulleys in the rope portion above the elevator car to the diameter of the hoisting ropes is D/d = 40. By using diverting pulleys of a smaller diameter, the space required below the elevator car can be reduced to a very small size, which may preferably be only 200 mm.
A preferred embodiment of the elevator of the invention is an elevator without machine room and with machine above, in which the drive machine has a coated traction sheave, and which elevator has thin hoisting ropes of a substantially round cross-section. In the elevator, the contact angle between the hoisting ropes and the traction sheave is greater than 180°. The elevator comprises a unit with a mounting base on which are fitted a drive machine, a traction sheave and a diverting pulley fitted at a correct angle relative to the traction sheave. The unit is secured to the elevator guide rails. The elevator is implemented without counterweight with a suspension ratio of 9:1 so that both the roping suspension ratio above the elevator car and the roping suspension ratio below the elevator car is 9:1, and that the roping of the elevator runs in the space between one of the walls of the elevator car and the wall of the elevator shaft. The solution for compensating the rope elongations of the hoisting rope comprises a set of compensating sheaves, which creates a constant ratio of 2:1 for the ratio T1 / T2 With the compensating sheave system used, the required compensating distance equals half the magnitude of the rope elongation.

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from reels 605 or coils to the hoisting ropes 606 that become longer as a result of the increasing travel height. Rope is fed in via the compensating system 607 or the rope fastening 608 in the compensating system. In practice this is done by opening the rope fastening 608 in the compensating system or the fastening 609 of the end of the ropes passing via the compensating system, giving to the roping the amount of extra length rope required by the increase in travel height and securing the rope fastening 608 or 609 again. The preferred method is to feed new rope to the roping via the compensating system, in which case securing the roping is independent of the movement of the compensating system.
According to the method of the invention, the main steps of the elevator installation process are as follows. After the constructor has first mounted in the shaft 1001 a movable and waterproof supporting platform 1007, which is secured to the floor slab of e.g. the fifth floor, the actual elevator installation work is started. First, a working platform 1008 and an auxiliary hoist for the hoisting of elevator components are secured to the supporting platform 1007. Furthermore, the working platform 1008 is provided with slide shoes by means of which the working platform is guided by the elevator guide rails. After this, in the actual first stage of installation, the elevator guide rails 1002 are secured to the lower part of the shaft 1001. During this stage, five guide bars are mounted one above the other, of which the bottommost and the topmost guide bars 1010 are shorter than the other three bars, which are of equal length. With normal floor height, the guide rails now extend nearly to the height of the fifth floor.

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provided with a door and the finishing of the car is completed. At this stage the elevator is also provided with a hoisting rope, which is as yet coiled on a rope drum. In connection with the fourth stage, the elevator car 1003 is also connected to the machine room 1004 e.g. by means of chains 1006 to allow a jump lift.
In a fifth stage as illustrated by Fig. 8, the combination of machine room and elevator car is hoisted upwards through one floor-to-floor distance by means of the hoist 1017 and the combination is secured to the elevator guide rails 1002 already installed. At this stage also the currently topmost tie plate of the elevator guide rails is fixed firmly in place.
In a sixth stage of installation, the waterproof supporting platform 1007 is raised five floors upwards for a future jump lift and secured to the floor slab. The installation process is now continued by mounting in the next five-floor section the required piping and electrical equipment as well as the elevator guide rails 1002 and landing doors.
In a seventh stage as illustrated by Fig. 9, the actual jump lift is carried out. The elevator machine room 1004 together with the elevator car 1003 is pulled upwards through five floor-to-floor distances, the elevator car being thus lifted from the first floor level to the sixth floor level. The lifting is performed by means of the hoist 10017, the lifting force being received by the supporting points at the upper ends of the elevator guide rails 1002. Thus, the load resulting from the lifting is evenly distributed on the elevator guide rails 1002, so the lifting does not produce any stress on the building's own structures, such as walls, intermediate floor slabs or

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In accordance with the examples described above, the skilled person may vary an embodiment of the invention e.g. by using a jump lift distance other than a five-floor distance as mentioned above. Depending on the circumstances, any distance equal to a floor height may be the most appropriate distance. Therefore, all floor-to-floor distances between 1...8 and suitably e.g. between 3...7 or between 4...6 may be mentioned.
It is also obvious to the skilled person that the order of different details of the installation method as well as the working method may vary. Likewise, the use and mode of operation of the hoist used for lifting the machine room may differ from the above description.

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5. Method according to any one of the preceding claims
characterized in that the machine room and the
elevator car are supported on the elevator guide rails
after each raising of the machine room and the
elevator car, after which the fastening structure of
the hoisting means is detached from the upper end of
the guide rails.
6. Elevator without counterweight, in which elevator
is a compensating system separating the roping portion
of the hoisting ropes above the elevator car from the
roping portion of the hoisting ropes below the
elevator car and in which the rope tension is arranged
by means of the compensating system to be greater in
the portion of roping above the elevator car than in
the portion of roping below the elevator car,
characterized in that the travel height of the
elevator is raised at least once and in that feeding
in of ropes to the hoisting ropes is arranged in the
elevator via the compensating system or via the rope
fastening in the compensating system.
Elevator without counterweight, in which elevator there is a compensating system separating the roping portion of the hoisting ropes above the elevator car from the roping portion of the hoisting ropes below the elevator car and in which the rope tension is arranged by means of the compensating system to be greater in the portion of roping above the elevator car than in the portion of roping below the elevator car, installed by raising the travel height of the elevator at least once. When raising the travel height, the extension of the hoisting ropes is fed in via the compensating system or via the rope fastening in the compensating system.