Compact electromechanical starting system for elevator safety tongs

Abstract

The invention relates to a starting system comprising:-a fixed protective plate 10 in which fixed drive means based on a reset coil 1 and a holding coil 2 and release means are arranged in alignment; movable wedging means activated by the drive means, wherein the movable wedging means are arranged parallel to the drive means; -one or two wedging rollers 6, respectively according to whether said rollers are for a one-way safety gear system or for a two-way safety gear system. According to the invention, a compact system that can be applied to existing safety tongs is achieved in which the electromechanical drive is performed vertically, thereby saving additional levers, having lower sensitivity to faults, and having smaller reset and holding coils.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] As established in the title of the invention, the subject matter of the invention relates to a compact electromechanical actuation system for an elevator safety gear, which system forms a small-sized emergency stop assembly for the elevator and acts as an interface between the overspeed electronic detection system and the elements responsible for stopping the elevator car in an emergency.

[0002] The invention is characterized by a special construction and design of each component of the mechanism, so that the electromechanical fail-safe drive is arranged in a small volume, wherein the drive can be assembled in the longitudinal members of the frame without protruding therefrom.

[0003] The electromechanical starting system comprises a safety gear protection plate which combines all electromechanical drive elements for the vertical position of any type of elevator safety gear, ie progressive unidirectional, bidirectional or even instantaneous elevator safety gear.

[0004] This vertical arrangement and configuration of the elements on the protection plate itself makes the assembly compact enough to enable the safety gear assembly and its electromechanical drive to be accommodated within the longitudinal members of the elevator frame.

[0005] The present invention therefore lies in the field of elevators, and in particular in the field of safety devices for stopping elevators. Background Art

[0006] There are certified functional electromechanical safety gears on the market. Said safety gears must be used together with electronic speed governors, which in turn are absolute position sensors. These electronic speed governors replace the traditional mechanical speed governors, as well as the governor wire rope and its tension pulley.

[0007] In a conventional mechanical system, the governor wire rope starts the system safety gear. In the case of an electronic system, the electromechanical starting system is responsible for actuating the safety gear. As mentioned before, the spring is responsible for holding the safety gear in the actuated position, while the coil is responsible for holding the safety gear in the non-actuated position.

[0008] The starting assembly currently used involves the use of a return coil, a holding coil associated with a spring that is preloaded during normal operation, ready to be deployed in the event of a power failure, and a transmission for transmitting the driving force to a wedging roller.

[0009] Said transmission for transmitting the driving force of the safety gear to the wedging roller is based on the use of levers and cams, which leads to a necessary increase in the final dimensions, so that the electromechanical starting system emerges from the longitudinal member in which it is assembled. This part of the starting device takes up space in the chassis, which can be a problem in certain cases, since it can collide with another element of the equipment. This can in turn cause problems for the customer, since it forces said customer to modify the chassis.

[0010] Furthermore, existing electromechanical safety gears and drive devices are complex to design and manufacture; moreover, they require coils of larger size and higher power.

[0011] The object of the present invention therefore concerns overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art by developing a compact electromechanical actuation system for elevator safety gears, the final size of which is smaller and which, given its versatility, can be used for any type of safety gear, thereby developing a compact assembly such as the one described below. Summary of the invention

[0012] The subject of the invention relates to a fail-safe, compact electromechanical actuation system or device of reduced dimensions for an elevator safety gear, arranged on an emergency stop device of an elevator, which is based on the use of a drive device associated with a movable wedging device which converts the drive force into wedging of a roller on a guide rail.

[0013] The drive means are preferably based on a coil, ie a holding coil, which is preferably a suction cup type coil, which no longer receives current when the stopper is activated, causing the movable wedging means of one or several interlocking rollers to move so that they are positioned to cause wedging of the guide rail.

[0014] The drive device and the movable wedging device are aligned in a parallel manner and positioned parallel to the guide rails of the elevator so that once the drive device is activated, the movable wedging device moves, driving the wedging rollers in its movement.

[0015] Compact electromechanical actuation system for elevator safety gears comprising: A fixed protection plate, in which a fixed drive device based on a reset coil and a holding coil and a release device are arranged in an aligned manner.

[0016] - movable wedging devices activated by the drive device and wherein the movable wedging devices are arranged in parallel with respect to the drive device.

[0017] - One or two wedging rollers, respectively depending on whether the rollers are used for a unidirectional safety gear system or for a bidirectional safety gear system.

[0018] All of the above devices are arranged on the same vertical line of the safety gear, thereby eliminating accessories that increase the volume and complicate the installation.

[0019] The compact electromechanical starting system for elevator safety gears has the following peculiarities if used for unidirectional safety gears.

[0020] - The fixed protection plate is provided with a double bend defining an upper part and a lower part, so that the reset coil and the holding coil are fixed in the upper part, separated from each other, and the wedging spring is arranged on the holding coil so that when the holding coil is released from its power supply, the drive spring moves vertically.

[0021] The movable wedging device comprises a movable protective plate placed in parallel arrangement relative to the lower part of the fixed protective plate, wherein said movable protective plate has an upper curved portion defining a horizontal surface 19 housed between the space defined by the reset coil and the holding coil, and a vertical section with an elongated hole.

[0022] A wedging roller is arranged at the lower part of the fixed protection plate, wherein the wedging roller has a guide shaft exposed through a guide groove made in the fixed protection plate.

[0023] - It also has a guide device for the movable protective plate relative to the fixed protective plate, which is used for the vertical movement of the movable protective plate relative to the fixed protective plate.

[0024] If used for double roller bi-directional safety clamps, the compact electromechanical actuation system for elevator safety clamps significantly reduces the need for levers compared to other solutions of the prior art. The design has the following particularities: -The reset coil and holding coil include a dual solenoid coil that is responsible for retracting the roller and holding it in the unlocked position. One of the solenoids is higher power than the other and outputs the initial force to retract the system for the second, less powerful solenoid, which then holds the system indefinitely in the unlocked position.

[0025] - The movable wedging device comprises a pair of pivoting levers by means of a pulley system and a connecting rope, wherein one of the pulleys of the pulley system is lifted by the release device, which causes the pivoting of the pivoting levers and, in turn, causes the interlocking rollers to move closer to the guide rails of the elevator.

[0026] The use of a reset coil has the effect of reducing the physical requirements, namely the power and size of the holding coil or holding device required to enable the actuator to reset, and has the effect of making the spring less consuming during compression waiting for release.

[0027] As a result of the described features, a new electromechanical safety gear design was developed which improves upon existing electromechanical safety gears in the following respects: -It is a compact starting system, so it can be integrated into the customer's frame more easily. The installation of this device does not require major modifications.

[0028] - This is a system that can be applied to elevator safety gears, regardless of the type of elevator safety gear, i.e. whether it is a one-way, two-way, progressive or instantaneous elevator safety gear.

[0029] - Due to the force requirements, more powerful electromechanical components can be used, since the entire height of the longitudinal member is available and no other elevator components are involved.

[0030] - The electromechanical drive is performed vertically, which saves an additional lever compared to other configurations, so that the forces are transmitted directly without any loss of such forces due to the aforementioned lever.

[0031] - Unlike electromechanical safety gears which are operated by extensive use of levers, actuation is immediate as it is perfectly located in the vertical line of the safety gear. The movable protection plate is responsible for positioning the drive roller in different states.

[0032] - By having fewer levers, hinges, etc., it is less susceptible to failures since fewer parts are used. It has fewer parts, which also affects the assembly of the product in the workshop and its installation in the frame.

[0033] -The reset and holding coils are smaller than those of a lever-based electromechanical safety gear, because less force is required if the action is direct. Since the coils are smaller, they consume less, so this system is somehow more efficient than previous systems.

[0034] -Starting system suitable for: οInstantaneous safety gear οOne-way progressive safety gear οBidirectional progressive safety gear (double roller or brake shoe) οBidirectional progressive safety gear (roller or brake shoe) Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific elements used in this specification have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention belongs. When putting the present invention into practice, methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described in the specification can be used.

[0035] Throughout the specification and claims, the word "comprise" and its variants are not intended to exclude other technical features, accessories, components or steps. For those skilled in the art, other purposes, advantages and features of the present invention will be inferred in part from the description and in part by putting the present invention into practice. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] To supplement the ongoing description and for a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention according to a preferred practical embodiment of the invention, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description, in which the following are depicted in an illustrative and non-limiting manner: Figure 1 A front view of a prior art unidirectional electromechanical drive assembly is shown.

[0037] Figure 2 A rear view of the same assembly as above is shown according to the prior art.

[0038] Figure 3 Shown is an electromechanical activation system for a one-way safety gear, where the movable protection plate has been removed.

[0039] Figure 4 Different views of the activation system are shown in the roller interlocked position.

[0040] Figure 5 Different views of the activation system are shown in the roller non-interlocked position.

[0041] Fig. 6A and Figure 6B A front view and a rear view respectively showing an electromechanical actuation system of a bidirectional safety gear in a pre-interlock position.

[0042] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B Front and rear views respectively showing the electromechanical actuation system of a two-way safety gear in the unlocked position.

[0043] Fig. 8A and Figure 8B A front view and a rear view, respectively, showing an electromechanical actuation system of a two-way safety gear in a wedged position.

[0044] Fig. 9A and Fig. 9B A previous view and a subsequent view of an electromechanical actuation system for a two-way safety gear are shown, in which details of the movable wedging device, the pivotable lever, the pulley system and the system of connecting ropes can be seen.

[0045] Fig. 10A A compact electromechanical actuation system for an instantaneous non-reciprocating safety gear is shown.

[0046] Fig. 10B A compact electromechanical actuation system of a momentary one-way safety gear is shown in the locked state.

[0047] Fig. 10C A compact electromechanical actuation system of a momentary one-way safety gear is shown in the unlocked state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] With reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the proposed invention are described below.

[0049] Figure 1 and Figure 2 A front view and a rear view of a prior art electromechanical one-way safety clamp are shown respectively.

[0050] The safety gear comprises a reset coil 1 which compresses a wedged start spring 8 on a holding coil 2 fixed to a support 3, wherein once the spring is compressed, the holding coil 2 holds the start spring 8 waiting to be activated due to a loss of power to the holding coil 2. The movement of the start spring 8 is controlled by an inductive monitoring sensor 4.

[0051] Figure 2 The rear side is shown, on which the mechanical safety gear 9 can be observed, and it can be seen how the movement of the start spring 8 is transferred to the wedging roller 6 via a series of levers 7 associated with the limit switch 5 .

[0052] Figures 3 to 5 It corresponds to the first embodiment and shows different views and states of a compact electromechanical starting system for a non-reciprocal safety gear for elevators.

[0053] from Figure 3 It can be observed that the system includes a fixed protective plate 10, which is provided with a double bent portion defining an upper portion and a lower portion, so that the reset coil 1 and the holding coil 2 are fixed in the upper portion, aligned and separated from each other, and the starting spring 8 is arranged on the holding coil 2, so that when the holding coil 2 is released from its power supply, the driving spring moves vertically.

[0054] The wedging roller 6 ( Figure 3 and Figure 4 ), the guide shaft 17 thereof passes through the guide groove 12 made in the fixed protection plate 10 and is exposed.

[0055] Figure 4 and Figure 5 An electromechanical starting system is shown provided with a movable protective plate 13 having an upper curved portion 18 defining a horizontal surface 19 housed between the space defined by the reset coil 1 and the holding coil 2 .

[0056] The movable protective plate 13 has a guiding device for its vertical movement relative to the fixed protective plate 10; to this end, in the illustrated embodiment, three guide pins 11 are arranged on the fixed protective plate 10, while in the movable protective plate there is a first guide groove 14 for one guide pin 11 to pass through and a second guide groove 15 for two guide pins 11 to pass through, and the guide grooves 14 and 15 are vertically arranged to produce vertical movement of the movable protective plate 13.

[0057] Furthermore, the movable protection plate 13 has an elongated hole 16 having a trapezoidal cross section for guiding the movement of the wedge roller 6 along the guide groove 12 via a guide shaft 17 of the wedge roller.

[0058] Figure 4 An interlocking position is shown in which, when the holding coil 2 is deactivated, the activation spring 8 is released, causing the movable protection plate 13 to be lifted through the horizontal surface 19 and, accordingly, causing the lifting and existing movement of the wedging roller 6 .

[0059] Figure 5 The position of the starting system in the operating position waiting to be started is shown, in which position the starting spring 8 is compressed due to the first driving force of the reset coil 1 and the subsequent driving force of the holding coil 2, the movable protective plate 13 is in its lower position, and accordingly the wedging roller is also in its lower position and has no lateral protrusion.

[0060] Fig. 6A , Figure 6B , Fig. 7A , Figure 7B , Fig. 8A and Figure 8B A front view and a rear view of the electromechanical starting system in a second embodiment are shown, corresponding to the pre-interlocking position, the unlocking position and the wedging position of the bidirectional safety gear, respectively.

[0061] The figures show a fixed protection plate 10 on which a drive device is mounted, which in this embodiment is a double solenoid coil and includes a reset coil 1 and a holding coil 2. Movable wedging devices 20 activated by the drive device are also located on the fixed protection plate 10, wherein these movable wedging devices are arranged parallel to the drive device.

[0062] The drive device is connected to a release device which, in the embodiment shown, comprises a vertically movable core 26 which is connected at its lower end to a vertically movable pulley 25 of a pulley system 24, such as Fig. 9A and Fig. 9B shown.

[0063] The movable wedging device 20 comprises two pivotable levers 23, which pivot relative to the midpoint of their length and which have respective connecting arms 27 at their free ends, wherein these connecting devices are in turn attached by means of identification levers 28, at the ends of which the wedging rollers 6 are assembled. The pivotable levers 23 are also attached to one another by means of closing springs 29, which are fixed at their ends at the pivot points or points of rotation of the pivotable levers 23.

[0064] These figures show how the bidirectional safety gear 21 and the guide rails 22 of the elevator are contained in the same vertical plane of the electromechanical drive system subject of the invention.

[0065] The movable wedging device 20 is operated by a pulley system 24, which includes a vertically movable pulley 25, two first auxiliary pulleys 31, a second auxiliary pulley 32 and a rope 30 passing through the pulleys, the end of which is attached to the hinge or rotation point 33 of the pivotable lever 23, so that as soon as the holding force exerted by the holding coil 2 is released, a lifting of the movable core 26 and therefore of the vertically movable pulley 25 occurs, which is converted into a pivoting of the pivotable lever 23, and accordingly the wedging rollers 6 are moved closer together. That is, both rollers are in contact with the guide rail 22; however, if the elevator car is to move downwards, the lower roller will be wedged. If the car is to move upwards, the upper roller will be wedged.

[0066] Fig. 10A , Fig. 10B and Fig. 10C The above-mentioned elements corresponding to a compact electromechanical actuation system for an instantaneous one-way safety gear are shown, in which the protection plate ( Fig. 10A ), a locked system ( Fig. 10B ) and the system in the unlocked state (10C). Having sufficiently described the essence of the invention and the manner in which it is put into practice, it is hereby declared that, within its essential characteristics, the invention may be implemented in other embodiments that differ in details from those indicated by way of example, and that said other embodiments will also be covered under the protection sought, provided that they do not alter, change or modify the basic principle of the invention.

Claims

1. A compact electromechanical starting system for elevator safety clamps, characterized in that It includes: - a fixed protection plate (10), in which a fixed drive device based on a reset coil (1) and a holding coil (2) and a release device are arranged in an aligned manner; - movable wedging means activated by said drive means and wherein these movable wedging means are arranged parallel to said drive means; - One or two wedging rollers (6), respectively depending on whether the rollers are used for a unidirectional safety gear system or for a bidirectional safety gear system.

2. A compact electromechanical starting system for an elevator safety clamp, characterized in that: - the fixed protection plate (10) is provided with a double bend defining an upper part and a lower part, so that the reset coil (1) and the holding coil (2) are fixed in the upper part, arranged in alignment and separated from each other, and the starting spring (8) is arranged on the holding coil (2) so that when the holding coil (2) is released from its power supply, the driving spring moves vertically; - the movable wedging device comprises a movable protective plate (13) placed in parallel arrangement relative to the lower part of the fixed protective plate (10), wherein the movable protective plate (13) has an upper curved portion defining a horizontal surface (19) housed between the space defined by the reset coil and the holding coil, and a vertical section having an elongated hole (16); - the wedging roller (6) is arranged in the lower part of the fixed protection plate (10), wherein the wedging roller has a guide shaft (17) exposed through a guide groove made in the fixed protection plate; - It also has a guide device for the movable protective plate (13) relative to the fixed protective plate (10) for the vertical movement of the movable protective plate relative to the fixed protective plate.

3. The compact electromechanical starting system for an elevator safety clamp according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide device for the vertical movement of the movable protective plate (13) relative to the fixed protective plate (10) includes three guide pins (11) arranged in the fixed protective plate (10), and in the movable protective plate, there is a first guide groove (14) for one guide pin (11) to pass through and a second guide groove (15) for two guide pins (11) to pass through, and the guide grooves (14) and (15) are arranged vertically to generate vertical movement of the movable protective plate (13).

4. A compact electromechanical starting system for an elevator safety clamp according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The elongated hole (16) of the movable protection plate (13) has a configuration similar to a trapezoid.

5. The compact electromechanical starting system for elevator safety clamps according to claim 1, characterized in that: - the resetting coil (1) and the holding coil (2) comprise a double solenoid coil responsible for retracting the rollers and holding them in the unlocked position, wherein one of the solenoids is more powerful than the other solenoid and outputs an initial force for the second, less powerful solenoid to retract the system and then hold the system indefinitely in the unlocked position; - the movable wedging device comprises a pair of pivotable levers (23) by means of a pulley system (24) and a connecting rope, wherein one of the pulleys of the pulley system is lifted by the release device, which causes the pivoting of the pivotable levers and, in turn, causes the interlocking rollers to move closer to the guide rails of the elevator.

6. The compact electromechanical starting system for an elevator safety clamp according to claim 5, characterized in that: The movable wedging device is connected to a release device, which comprises a movable core (26) which is connected at its lower end to a vertically movable pulley (25) of the pulley system (24).

7. The compact electromechanical starting system for an elevator safety clamp according to claim 5, characterized in that: The movable wedging device (20) comprises two pivotable levers (23) which are pivoted relative to the midpoint of their length and have corresponding connecting arms (27) at the free ends, wherein these connecting devices are in turn attached via an identification lever (28), the wedging roller (6) being mounted at the end of the connecting arms (27), the pivotable levers (23) also being attached to each other via closing springs (29) which are fixed at their ends at the pivot or rotation point of the pivotable levers (23).

8. A compact electromechanical starting system for an elevator safety clamp according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The pulley system (24) comprises a vertically movable pulley (25), two first auxiliary pulleys (31), a second auxiliary pulley (32) and a rope (30) passing through the pulleys, the end of which is attached to the hinge or rotation point (33) of the pivotable lever (23), so that as soon as the holding force exerted by the holding coil (2) is released, lifting of the movable core (26) and therefore of the vertically movable pulley (25) occurs, which is converted into a pivoting of the pivotable lever (23), and accordingly the wedging rollers (6) move closer together.

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