Elevator system

Abstract

The present invention discloses an elevator system, including a hoistway, a car, a counterweight, and a driving main machine. The car and the counterweight move up and down in the hoistway under the drive of the driving main machine. The counterweight has at least one carrying compartment for transporting an autonomous mobile body. The present invention can not only use one elevator to transport both personnel and autonomous mobile bodies at the same time, but also separate the personnel and the autonomous mobile bodies spatially.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of elevators, and particularly to an elevator system for transporting autonomous mobile bodies using a counterweight. Background Art

[0002] Autonomous mobile bodies such as robots and self-propelled trolleys are increasingly providing services for people in buildings. In order to enable autonomous mobile bodies to provide cross-floor services, the elevator system treats autonomous mobile bodies as a type of passenger and provides vertical transportation services for them. In the prior art, autonomous mobile bodies such as robots achieve cross-floor movement by riding in the car originally used to transport people. This not only occupies the transportation resources of the car but also causes many problems associated with sharing the car with people.

[0003] Chinese Patent Document CN115734932A solves the above problems by providing an elevator in the hoistway for independently transporting autonomous mobile bodies. However, the independently provided elevator is equivalent to having two lifting devices in the same hoistway. In addition to the high equipment cost, it also causes many problems arising from sharing a hoistway by two lifting devices, such as safety and the complication of coordinated control of the two lifting devices. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to provide an elevator system that separates the space for transporting people from the space for transporting autonomous mobile bodies.

[0005] To solve the above technical problem, the present invention provides an elevator system, including a hoistway, a car, a counterweight, and a driving machine. The car and the counterweight move up and down in the hoistway under the drive of the driving machine;

[0006] The counterweight has at least one carrying compartment for transporting autonomous mobile bodies.

[0007] Preferably, the hoistway has a plurality of first floor doors for people to enter and exit the car, and a plurality of second floor doors for autonomous mobile bodies to enter and exit the carrying compartment; the first floor doors are arranged on the front side of the hoistway opposite to the car door, and the second floor doors are arranged on the other side of the hoistway opposite to the carrying compartment of the counterweight.

[0008] Preferably, the position of the carrying compartment in the counterweight is adjustable.

[0009] Preferably, the elevator system also has a car weighing device and a counterweight weighing device.

[0010] Preferably, the carrying compartment is provided with at least two docking positions arranged horizontally.

[0011] Preferably, the carrying compartment is provided with at least two docking positions arranged vertically.

[0012] Preferably, the second - layer door has a driving device and a door panel that can be folded vertically; the driving device drives the door panel to fold and turn and then abut against the loading bin to form a passage for entering and exiting the loading bin.

[0013] Preferably, a flip - up channel plate is provided at the entrance and exit of the loading bin, and the channel plate flips up and abuts against the ground at the second - layer door to form a passage for entering and exiting the loading bin.

[0014] Preferably, the elevator system has a power supply unit for supplying power to the counterweight side, and the power supply unit is arranged on the hoistway wall near the second - layer door.

[0015] Preferably, when the loading bin is in the leveling area of the second - layer door, the power supply unit moves into the hoistway and contacts the power receiving unit arranged on the counterweight to realize power supply to the counterweight side.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention uses the loading bin arranged on the counterweight to transport the autonomous mobile body. It can not only realize transporting people and the autonomous mobile body by one elevator at the same time, but also separate people and the autonomous mobile body in space. Moreover, for the existing ordinary elevator, by making relatively easy modifications such as opening a second - layer door in the building and replacing the counterweight of the original elevator, the ordinary elevator can be transformed into the elevator system of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the elevator system in Embodiment 1;

[0018] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a counterweight in Embodiment 1;

[0019] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a way to set multiple docking positions for the loading bin in Embodiment 2;

[0020] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of another way to set multiple docking positions for the loading bin in Embodiment 2;

[0021] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the second - layer door, which is a foldable and flip - up door, from closed to open in Embodiment 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0022] The following describes the embodiments of the present invention through specific specific examples. Those skilled in the art can fully understand other advantages and technical effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through different specific embodiments. The details in this specification can also be applied based on different viewpoints, and various modifications or changes can be made without departing from the general design concept of the invention. It should be noted that, without conflict, the following embodiments and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. The following exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited only to the specific embodiments described herein. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided to make the disclosure of the present invention thorough and complete, and to fully convey the technical solutions of these exemplary specific embodiments to those skilled in the art.

[0023] Embodiment 1: As Figure 1 shown, this embodiment provides an elevator system, including a hoistway 1, a car 2, a counterweight 3, and a driving machine 4. The car 2 and the counterweight 3 move up and down in the hoistway 1 under the drive of the driving machine 4;

[0024] The counterweight 3 has at least one carrying compartment 31 for transporting autonomous moving bodies.

[0025] The hoistway 1 has a plurality of first - layer doors 6 for personnel to enter and exit the car, and a plurality of second - layer doors 5 for autonomous moving bodies to enter and exit the carrying compartment. The first - layer doors 6 are arranged on the front side of the hoistway opposite to the car door. The second - layer doors 5 are arranged on the other side of the hoistway opposite to the carrying compartment 31 of the counterweight 3. It can be the rear side of the hoistway, or the left and right sides.

[0026] The elevator system provided in this embodiment transports autonomous moving bodies such as robots through the carrying compartment provided on the counterweight, avoiding a series of problems caused by sharing the car with personnel. The car and the counterweight of the elevator system move simultaneously, only in opposite directions. Therefore, while transporting human passengers, autonomous moving bodies can be transported at the same time. For example, when transporting personnel with an upward demand, autonomous moving bodies with a downward demand can be transported simultaneously, and vice versa, improving the transportation efficiency and reducing energy consumption.

[0027] For most buildings, the floor - to - floor spacing of each floor is the same, or the floor - to - floor spacing of most floors is the same. Therefore, the position of the carrying compartment in the counterweight is fixed, which can meet the transportation requirements of autonomous moving bodies in most buildings or most floors of a building. That is, when the car is in the leveling area of the first - layer door, the carrying compartment is also in the leveling area of the second - layer door.

[0028] To meet the requirements of buildings with different floor spacings in some parts, preferably, the position of the loading bin in the counterweight is adjustable, so that when the car is in the leveling area of the first floor door, the relative position of the loading bin in the counterweight can be moved to make the loading bin also in the leveling area of the second floor door. As Figure 2 shown, the loading bin 31 is arranged on the side of the counterweight frame 33 and can move up and down along the counterweight frame 33 to adjust the relative position of the loading bin 31 in the counterweight 3. There are various implementation forms of the driving mechanism 32 for realizing the adjustment, such as using driving methods such as chains and ropes. The structure of the loading bin 31 is open, and only the bottom plate for supporting the autonomous moving body and a simple load-bearing structure need to be set, which is also an important difference between the loading bin and the car structure, that is, the loading bin does not need to be provided with a surrounding wall, a door and a vibration damping structure.

[0029] In the prior art, the weight of the counterweight is fixed, so the existing elevator system only sets a car weighing device on the car side to know the actual load in the car. When this embodiment uses the counterweight to transport the autonomous moving body, the total weight of the counterweight will change. Therefore, preferably, a counterweight weighing device is set on the counterweight side to know the total weight of the counterweight, and combined with the total weight on the car side to calculate whether the driving capacity of the driving host is exceeded.

[0030] Embodiment 2: On the basis of Embodiment 1, as Figure 3 shown, the loading bin 31 is arranged in the middle of the counterweight frame 33, and a plurality of docking positions 311 for autonomous moving bodies can be set in the loading bin.

[0031] Since the volumes and sizes of different autonomous moving bodies are not the same, and some autonomous moving bodies are smaller in volume, a plurality of small autonomous moving bodies can be loaded in the horizontal space of the loading bin.

[0032] Since the counterweight 3 itself is designed to be slender, with a smaller width than the car and a higher height than the car, and the height of the autonomous moving body is usually relatively short, so as Figure 4 shown, the loading bin 31 can be provided with a plurality of liftable docking positions 311 in the vertical direction.

[0033] Embodiment 3: This embodiment further describes the second layer door for the autonomous mobile body to enter and exit the loading cabin, and how the autonomous mobile body enters and exits the loading cabin through the second layer door. For the car side, the car door device provided on the car drives the opening and closing of the car door and the first layer door, and the sill provided under the car door and the first layer door forms a passage for people to enter and exit. In order to ensure the safety of people entering and exiting the car, the gap between the car door sill and the landing door sill is set small, usually about 30 mm. However, for the second layer door and the passage for entering and exiting the loading cabin, there is no need for the second layer door to be as close to the car door as the landing door. The distance between the loading cabin and the second layer door can be more than 500 mm, or even larger, which reduces the requirements for the counterweight layout in the hoistway. Moreover, the loading cabin does not need to be equipped with a power-driven door like the car.

[0034] As Figure 5 shown, the second layer door 5 can be a foldable and flip-up door, and the second layer door 5 has a driving device (not shown in the figure) for driving the folding and flipping of the door panel. When the loading cabin 31 stops at the leveling area of the second layer door 5, the driving device opens the second layer door 5, and after the door panel folds and flips, it abuts against the loading cabin 31 to form a passage for entering and exiting the loading cabin. The above second layer door structure is applicable to the situation where the distance between the loading cabin and the second layer door is relatively far.

[0035] If the distance between the loading cabin and the second layer door is small, for example, about 200 mm or 300 mm, a flip-up channel plate can be provided separately at the second layer door, and the channel plate can also be provided on the loading cabin. In this way, the second layer door can be a landing door that opens horizontally or vertically. The horizontal movement mode is suitable for a second layer door with a relatively high configuration, and the vertical movement mode is suitable for a second layer door with a relatively low configuration.

[0036] Since the autonomous mobile body does not have the physiological reactions of natural risk avoidance of humans, such as fear of heights, claustrophobia, darkness, and requirements for riding comfort. Therefore, a simple loading cabin, access passage, and counterweight without vibration reduction and lighting measures can meet the transportation function requirements of the autonomous mobile body.

[0037] Embodiment 4: Based on the above embodiments, in order to realize the movement of the loading cabin, the flipping of the channel plate requires a power driving device, and the operation of the counterweight weighing device also requires power supply. One way is to set a large-capacity battery on the counterweight to supply power to the above devices. When the elevator is idle, move the counterweight to the charging area to charge the battery; another way is to set a trailing cable at the counterweight to supply power to the above devices.

[0038] The power supply method provided in this embodiment is a contact power supply method at the landing. Since all kinds of devices that need to be powered mentioned in the above embodiments actually work when the carrying bin is in the leveling area of the second floor door, and at this time the counterweight is in a stationary state. Therefore, a movable power supply unit is provided at the second floor door in this embodiment. When the carrying bin is in the leveling area of the second floor door, the power supply unit moves into the hoistway and contacts the power receiving unit provided on the counterweight to realize power supply to the counterweight side. In addition, a battery with a smaller capacity can also be provided on the counterweight side to continuously supply power to low-power consumption components such as the counterweight weighing device.

[0039] The present invention has been described in detail above through specific implementation manners and embodiments, but these do not constitute limitations on the present invention. Without departing from the principle of the present invention, those skilled in the art can also make many modifications and improvements, which should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An elevator system includes a hoistway, a car, a counterweight, and a driving host. The car and the counterweight move up and down in the hoistway under the drive of the driving host; characterized in that, the counterweight has at least one carrying bin, and the carrying bin is used for transporting autonomous moving bodies; the hoistway has a plurality of first-layer doors for personnel to enter and exit the car, and a plurality of second-layer doors for autonomous moving bodies to enter and exit the carrying bin; the first-layer doors are arranged on the front side of the hoistway opposite to the car door, and the second-layer doors are arranged on the other side of the hoistway opposite to the carrying bin of the counterweight.

2. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein The position of the carrying bin in the counterweight is adjustable.

3. The elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The elevator system also has a car weighing device and a counterweight weighing device.

4. The elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The carrying bin is provided with at least two docking positions arranged in the horizontal direction.

5. The elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The carrying bin is provided with at least two docking positions arranged in the vertical direction.

6. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein The second-layer door has a driving device and a door panel that can be folded along the vertical direction; the driving device drives the door panel to fold and turn and then abut against the carrying bin to form a passage for entering and exiting the carrying bin.

7. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein A flip-up channel plate is arranged at the entrance and exit of the carrying bin, and the channel plate flips up and abuts against the ground at the second-layer door to form a passage for entering and exiting the carrying bin.

8. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein The elevator system has a power supply unit for supplying power to the counterweight side, and the power supply unit is arranged on the hoistway wall near the second-layer door.

9. The elevator system according to claim 8, characterized in that, When the carrying bin is in the leveling area of the second-layer door, the power supply unit moves into the hoistway and contacts the power receiving unit arranged on the counterweight to realize the power supply to the counterweight side.

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