Method for creating a multi-floor building comprising an elevator system
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- INVENTIO AG
- Filing Date
- 2024-07-26
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-17
Smart Images
Figure EP2024071293_13022025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] Method for constructing a multi-story building with an elevator system
[0002] The invention relates to a method for constructing a multi-story building comprising an elevator system according to the preamble of claim 1.
[0003] Installing an elevator system during the construction of a building is complex and therefore associated with considerable costs. In particular, the construction of the elevator shaft for the elevator system and the subsequent installation of elevator components in the shaft are quite complex. Typically, the elevator shaft is constructed together with the floors of the building housing the elevator system. After the elevator shaft is completed, the elevator system, along with its elevator components such as the car, counterweight, drive motor, and guide rails, is installed in the elevator shaft. It has previously been proposed to construct the elevator shaft from several prefabricated shaft modules with shaft walls in which elevator components, such as guide rail sections, are at least partially pre-assembled.Prefabrication and preassembly are not carried out on the construction site of the building containing the elevator, i.e., at the site where the elevator system is manufactured, but in a factory and thus at a manufacturing site. This approach requires less time at the construction site. Furthermore, this approach has a positive impact on the quality of the installation and the occupational safety of the installation personnel.
[0004] WO 2023 / 134842 A1, EP 3 401 267 A1, and AU 625 660 B2 concern so-called jump elevators, in which the elevator shaft is extended upward as construction progresses, and the upper end of the elevator is gradually relocated upward. This allows the elevator to reach additional floors of the building after each upward relocation, i.e., after each "jump."
[0005] WO 2022 / 233803 A1 describes a method for constructing an elevator shaft from individual shaft modules that are stacked on top of one another. This also, at least implicitly, describes a method for constructing a multi-story building comprising an elevator system. In contrast, the object of the invention is, in particular, to propose a method by which a multi-story building comprising an elevator system can be constructed very efficiently, and thus quickly and cost-effectively. According to the invention, this object is achieved by a method having the features of claim 1.
[0006] The method according to the invention for constructing a multi-story building including an elevator system comprises the following process steps:
[0007] - Creating the individual floors of the building;
[0008] - Provision of shaft modules with shaft doors;
[0009] - Stacking the provided shaft modules on a floor slab of the building to form an elevator shaft of the elevator system;
[0010] - Closing the elevator shaft at the top with a top module,
[0011] - Installation of the elevator system after the elevator shaft is completed at the top;
[0012] - Commissioning of the elevator system and
[0013] - Operation of the elevator system.
[0014] Each shaft door is assigned to a floor, and each floor with an assigned shaft door is assigned to a stop of the elevator system. The elevator system has an elevator control system and a car. When the elevator system is commissioned, the elevator control system is configured so that the car can travel to any stop. According to the invention, the elevator system is commissioned before all floors of the building have been created. During operation of the elevator system, the elevator control system is configured several times via a configuration interface so that the car can only travel to a selection of the stops. The aforementioned selection of stops only includes stops on floors that have already been created, so that the selection of stops increases as the building progresses.This means that, on the one hand, the construction of the building's floors is not dependent on the installation of the elevator system, and, on the other hand, the elevator system can be used as a so-called construction elevator during the construction of the floors. A construction elevator is defined as an elevator used to transport construction materials and construction workers during the construction of a building. Construction elevators are often designed as temporary elevators on the exterior facade of a building under construction. Such external elevators are comparatively expensive, complex to install, slow, and noisy.
[0015] In the following, directional specifications such as up, down, and sideways, or vertical and horizontal, refer to the orientation of the respective component in the elevator system's operating state. The operating state of the elevator system refers to the state after installation and commissioning of the elevator system. In the elevator system's operating state, people and / or goods can be transported in the cabin between elevator stops and thus between floors of the building housing the elevator system.
[0016] The building constructed using the method according to the invention is multi-story, i.e., it has several floors, for example, three to ten. The construction of a floor within the meaning of this application always builds on an existing floor. For the lowest floor of the building, the building's floor slab forms the floor. For subsequent floors, a floor ceiling of the floor below forms the floor. The construction of a floor thus begins with the construction of floor walls, which can be constructed, for example, from cast concrete, brick, wood, or prefabricated wall sections. After the construction of the floor walls, a floor ceiling is created, for example, from cast concrete, made from prefabricated ceiling components, or formed with a wooden structure.Unless the floor constructed in this way is the top floor of the building, this ceiling forms the floor of the floor above, as explained above. As soon as the ceiling is completed, the corresponding floor is considered completed for the purposes of this application. Further work can also be carried out on a floor constructed in this way. For example, non-load-bearing walls can be constructed, plumbing and electrical installations can be installed, and interior work can be completed.
[0017] The provision of a shaft module here means that the shaft module is manufactured at the production site and transported to the assembly site. The various shaft modules can be manufactured at different production sites, and different manufacturing steps for each shaft module can be carried out at different production sites.
[0018] At least some of the shaft modules, not necessarily all, have shaft doors. In particular, a pit module and a top module may not have a shaft door. A shaft module may have one or more than one shaft door. A shaft door closes off an opening in a shaft module, a so-called shaft opening. If no car is located at a shaft door, the shaft door is closed and thus prevents access from the floor into the elevator shaft. A shaft door is usually opened and closed together with a car door of the car. If there is at least one shaft door on a floor, the car of the elevator system can stop at this shaft door and access to the car can be gained by opening the shaft door. This is referred to here as a car stop. The shaft door in question is thus assigned to a floor.
[0019] When stacking the provided shaft modules on the building's floor slab, the lowest shaft module is placed on the floor slab first. This lowest shaft module can also be referred to as the pit module. Placing the pit module on the floor slab means setting it down or placing it on the floor slab. This is done primarily using a crane. Once placed on the shaft floor, the entire pit module can be aligned, particularly by placing leveling plates underneath it, for example to compensate for unevenness in the floor slab or to ensure vertical alignment of the side walls. One or more lasers can be used to align the pit module and other shaft modules. The floor slab does not have to be perfectly flat; in particular, it can have a recess into which the pit module is inserted.
[0020] At least one, usually more than one, additional shaft module is placed on top of the pit module. These additional shaft modules, which are particularly identical, are referred to here as base modules. The elevator shaft is closed off at the top by a so-called top module, which may have a drive for the elevator system. Closing off the elevator shaft at the top means that the elevator shaft has reached its final height by adding the top module. The elevator shaft will therefore not be extended upwards in a later construction phase. This means that no additional shaft module will be placed on top of the top module at a later date. With the addition of the top module and thus with the closing off of the elevator shaft at the top, the elevator shaft reaches its final closure at the top.
[0021] Once the elevator shaft is completed at the top, the installation of the elevator system begins. This involves installing and, if necessary, aligning the elevator components required for its operation. These elevator components, such as guide rails and buffers, are pre-assembled in the provided shaft modules and are transported to the installation site in the shaft modules. This also applies, in particular, to the elevator car.
[0022] After installation, the elevator system is commissioned. Among other things, the positions of the various car stops are stored in the elevator control system. This can be done using an automated remote drive or manually via a configuration interface. Furthermore, safety checks are carried out during commissioning. During commissioning, the elevator control system is initially configured so that the car can approach and serve all stops in the elevator shaft. Since the elevator system is commissioned before all floors of the building have been created, the car will also approach stops or shaft doors during commissioning where no floor of the building has yet been created, i.e., where no floor exists.
[0023] In any case, at least one, and especially more than one, floor will be created after the elevator system has been commissioned, and thus also after the shaft modules have been provided, the shaft modules have been stacked, and the elevator system has been installed. It is also possible that one or more floors, but not all floors of the building, will be created before the elevator system has been commissioned.
[0024] Once the elevator system has been commissioned, it will be put into operation. To ensure that the elevator only approaches stops or shaft doors located on a floor that has already been created, an installer will configure the elevator control system via the configuration interface at the end of commissioning so that the car can only approach a selection of stops. The selection is made so that it only includes stops on floors that have already been created. As soon as another floor is created in the building, the selection is expanded to include the stop assigned to that floor. This means that the configuration is executed multiple times, and the selection of stops grows as the building progresses. It is also possible that a stop assigned to a created floor is not included in the selection immediately after creation.
[0025] As long as a stop is not included in the above-mentioned selection of stops, the shaft doors assigned to that stop are mechanically locked. A special locking device can be provided for this purpose, which can only be unlocked with a special key. As soon as a new floor has been created and is to be served by the car, the corresponding shaft door is unlocked by an installer, particularly from the floor level.
[0026] The aforementioned selection of stops can also include only a single stop, especially the lowest stop. In this case, the car cannot be moved in the elevator shaft. This would be the case, for example, if only the lowest floor of the building has been constructed, meaning no other floor can be reached yet.
[0027] The above selection can also include all stops in the building. This can be the case if all floors of the building have been created and all stops can and should be accessed by the elevator car.
[0028] The configuration interface mentioned can be implemented, for example, as an input terminal on the elevator control system or as an interface to a mobile configuration device, for example in the form of a smartphone with a corresponding app. Such configuration interfaces have been known for a long time. In an embodiment of the invention, the provided shaft modules are stacked on the floor slab of the building to form an elevator shaft before construction of the lowest floor of the building begins. The stacking therefore takes place when only the floor slab of the building exists. This enables particularly simple construction of the elevator shaft, since no floor components, such as floor walls, can interfere with the stacking of the shaft modules.
[0029] It's also possible that during the construction of the elevator shaft, not the entire floor slab exists yet, but only a portion of it, onto which the pit module is placed. It's also possible that the provided shaft modules are stacked on the building's floor slab to form an elevator shaft during the construction of the building's lowest floor.
[0030] In one embodiment of the invention, the installation and / or commissioning of the elevator system takes place during the construction of a floor of the building. This advantageously allows the construction of the building to continue during the installation and / or commissioning of the elevator system. This enables a particularly short construction time for the building.
[0031] In one embodiment of the invention, side walls of a shaft module adjacent to another shaft module have an outer horizontal edge, which is located below an inner horizontal edge of said side walls. This effectively prevents water from penetrating the elevator shaft from the outside. In particular, all horizontal edges of the shaft modules are designed in this way. The side walls of the shaft modules, for example, have a stepped cross-section.
[0032] In one embodiment of the invention, the shaft doors are each covered on the outside by means of a cover before the shaft modules are stacked. The cover is arranged on the shaft modules, in particular, at the manufacturing site. The cover is removed when the stop assigned to the shaft door is included in the above-mentioned selection and is therefore approached by the car during operation of the elevator system. This protects shaft doors that do not yet have a constructed floor from the effects of the weather, and the penetration of water into the elevator shaft via these shaft doors can be prevented. The cover can be designed, for example, as a tarpaulin or a panel, for example, made of wood or plastic.
[0033] In one embodiment of the invention, adjacent shaft modules are connected to each other in a tensile-resistant manner. This ensures that the resulting elevator shaft is particularly stable and sturdy. A tensile-resistant connection here means that adjacent shaft modules cannot be separated from each other vertically.
[0034] The connection mentioned is created, for example, by means of brackets, particularly galvanized steel brackets, connecting two adjacent shaft modules. The brackets can be arranged on the outside or inside of the shaft modules.
[0035] Further advantages, features, and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments and from the drawings, in which identical or functionally identical elements are provided with identical reference numerals. The drawings are merely schematic and not to scale.
[0036] Showing:
[0037] Fig. 1 a snapshot of a basic module being placed on a not yet completed elevator shaft of an elevator system,
[0038] Fig. 2 an enlarged view of side walls of two adjacent shaft modules,
[0039] Fig. 3 shows an elevator system with a cabin in an elevator shaft composed of shaft modules on a floor slab of a building,
[0040] Fig. 4 the elevator system from Fig. 3 with three floors of the building constructed,
[0041] Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a method for constructing a building containing an elevator system.
[0042] Fig. 1 shows how a second base module 16 is lowered from above onto an as yet unfinished elevator shaft 11 by means of a crane 20. To create the unfinished elevator shaft 11, a pit module 14 was first lowered onto a floor slab 13 of a building to be constructed (19 in Fig. 3) by means of the crane 20. The floor slab 13 has a recess 17 into which the pit module 14 is inserted, thus supporting a lower portion of the pit module 14. A first base module 16 was then placed onto the pit module 14 by means of the crane 20, aligned, and tensilely connected by means of tabs 15, in particular metal tabs. For this purpose, two tabs 15 are arranged on each of two opposite side walls 25 of the pit module 14 and of the first base module 16. All other attached shaft modules are also connected to each other in this way in a tensile manner.The pit module 14 and the base modules 16 each have a shaft door 21, which is covered by a cover 23 in the form of a plate when the unfinished elevator shaft 11 is constructed. During operation of an elevator system (10 in Figs. 3 and 4), each of the shaft doors 21 is assigned to a stop (39 in Figs. 3 and 4) of the elevator system. A car (22 in Figs. 3 and 4) of the elevator system can therefore stop at the shaft door and thus operate the stop. Each stop of the elevator system is assigned to a floor of a building (19 in Figs. 3 and 4) housing the elevator system.
[0043] Fig. 2 shows an enlarged view of two adjacent side walls 25 of the pit module 14 and the first base module 16. These are the right-hand side walls 25 in Fig. 1. The side walls 25 have a stepped cross-section such that an outer horizontal edge 27, i.e., the horizontal edge on an outside, is arranged below an inner horizontal edge 29, i.e., the horizontal edge on an inside. This applies in particular to all horizontal edges of all pit modules.
[0044] To complete the unfinished elevator shaft 11 from Fig. 1, another base module 16 and finally a top module (18 in Figs. 3 and 4) are placed on top using the crane 20 as described and tensile-resistantly connected to the shaft module below it. With the placement of the top module 18, the elevator shaft 12 is closed at the top and thus receives its final closure at the top. The resulting completed elevator shaft 12 is shown in Fig. 3 as part of an elevator system 10. The aforementioned shaft modules 14, 16, 18 were pre-produced in a factory and thus at a production site and provided with elevator components. They were then transported from the production site to the construction site of the building 19 housing the elevator system 10 and thus to a production site. The described stacking of the shaft modules takes place before construction of the lowest floor 41 of building 19 begins.In Fig. 3, only the floor slab 13 of building 19 exists.
[0045] In the completed elevator shaft 12, the elevator components necessary for the operation of the elevator system 10, such as guide rails, are installed and aligned. This can be referred to as the installation of the elevator system 10. Before or during the installation of the elevator system 10, construction of the lowest floor 41 of the building 19 begins. Thus, the installation of the elevator system 10 takes place during the construction of a floor of the building.
[0046] The resulting elevator system 10 of Fig. 3 has a car 22 that can be moved vertically in the elevator shaft 12 along guide rails (not shown in Fig. 3). For this purpose, the elevator system 10 has a suspension element 24, the first end 26 of which is fixed in the top module 18. It then runs around the bottom of the car 22 and is guided by a drive machine 28 arranged opposite the first end 26 of the suspension element 24 in the top module 18. From there, it runs through a suspension of a counterweight 30 to its second end 32, which is fixed in the region of the drive machine 28. The drive machine 28 can move the suspension element 24 and thus the car 22 in the elevator shaft 12. The car 22 is connected via a hanging cable 34 to an elevator control 36 arranged in the top module 18. The hanging cable 34 provides power supply and communication with the cabin 22.The elevator controller 36 has a configuration interface 37 through which it can be configured. The configuration interface 37 is designed as a known interface to a mobile configuration device (not shown), in the form of a smartphone with a corresponding app.
[0047] After the installation of the elevator system 10, its commissioning follows. This also occurs during the construction of a floor of the building. The positions of the various stops 39 of the car 22 are stored in the elevator control system 36. This is done using a known, automated learning run. Furthermore, safety checks are performed during commissioning. During commissioning, the elevator control system 36 is initially configured via the configuration interface 37 so that the car 22 can approach and thus serve all stops 39 of the elevator shaft 12.
[0048] After commissioning of the elevator system 10 is complete, the elevator system 10 is operated. To ensure that only stops 39, and thus shaft doors 21, are accessed that are located on an already created floor, the elevator control system 36 is configured by an installer via the configuration interface 37 at the end of commissioning so that the car 22 can only access a selection of the stops 39. The selection is made such that the selection only includes stops 39 from floors that have already been created. As soon as another floor of the building 39 is created, the selection is expanded to include the stop 39 assigned to this floor. This configuration is thus executed several times, and the selection of stops 39 increases as the building 39 is created.
[0049] At the aforementioned completion of commissioning, the selection of stops is limited by an installer to stop 39 on the lowest floor 41 of building 39; the selection thus comprises only a single stop 39. As soon as a floor above the lowest floor 41 is created, the selection of stops is expanded by an installer to include the stop 39 assigned to that floor. After or shortly before the aforementioned expansion of the selection of stops, the cover 23 in front of the shaft door 21 assigned to the respective stop 39 is removed. In the state of building 19 shown in Fig. 4, the three lowest floors 41, 43, 45 have already been created. The aforementioned selection of stops thus includes the stops 39 assigned to these three lowest floors 41, 43, 45. This means that the elevator system 10 can be used as a construction elevator, i.e., material and persons can be transported from the lowest floor 41 to the two floors 43 and 45 above.
[0050] When all floors of building 19 have been created, the above-mentioned selection of stops includes all stops 39 of building 19, i.e., also the floors above floor 45 not yet created in Fig. 4. The cabin 22 can thus approach and serve all stops 39 of building 19.
[0051] The process for constructing a multi-story building including an elevator system comprises the following process steps as shown in Fig. 5.
[0052] In step S1, a pit module, one or more base modules, and a top module are manufactured in a factory at a production site and equipped with elevator components. After completion of step S1, the shaft modules are transported in step S2 to the construction site of the building housing the elevator system, i.e., to the construction site. This is done, for example, by truck over the road. Steps S1 and S2 can be referred to collectively as the provision of the shaft modules.
[0053] Subsequently, in step S3, the pit module is first placed on a previously created floor slab of the building and then the other shaft modules are stacked on top of each other to form an elevator shaft.
[0054] In step S4, the elevator system is installed and at the same time the lowest floor of the building is created.
[0055] In the next step, S5, the elevator system is commissioned, and the creation of the lowest floor of the building continues. After commissioning is complete and the elevator system is in operation, the elevator control system is configured so that the car can only approach a selection of stops, specifically the stop assigned to the lowest floor.
[0056] The following step S6 always occurs when another floor of the building has been created, i.e. the stop assigned to this floor can be reached by the elevator car. In step S6, an installer uses the configuration interface to expand the selection of stops in the elevator control system to include the stop assigned to the completed floor. Step S6 is repeated until all floors of the building have been created and the selection of stops thus includes all stops in the building. The car can then reach all stops in the building. Finally, it should be noted that terms such as "comprising", "comprising", etc. do not exclude other elements or steps, and terms such as "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality.Furthermore, it should be noted that features or steps described with reference to one of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps of other embodiments described above. Reference symbols in the claims are not to be considered as limitations.
Claims
Patent claims 1. Method for constructing a multi-story building (19) comprising a lift system (10), comprising the following steps: - Construction of the individual floors (41, 43, 45) of the building (19); - Providing shaft modules (14, 16, 18) with shaft doors (21); - placing the provided shaft modules (14, 16) on a floor slab (13) of the building (19) to form a lift shaft (12) of the lift system (10); - Closing the elevator shaft (12) at the top with a top module (18), - Installation of the elevator system (10) after the elevator shaft (12) has been closed at the top; - Commissioning of the lift system (10) and - Operation of the lift system (10), whereby - each shaft door (21) is assigned to a floor (41, 43, 45); - each floor (41, 43, 45) with an associated shaft door (21) is assigned a stop (39) of the lift installation (10); - the lift installation (10) has a lift control (36) and a car (22), - when commissioning the lift installation (10), the lift control (36) of the lift installation (10) is configured so that the car (22) can approach any stop (39), characterized in that - the lift system (10) is put into operation before all floors (41, 43, 45) of the building (19) have been constructed; - the lift control (36) is configured several times during operation of the lift installation (10) via a configuration interface (37) so that the car (22) can only approach a selection of the stops (39) and - said selection of stops (39) only comprises stops (39) of floors (41, 43, 45) already created, whereby the selection of stops (39) increases in accordance with progress in the creation of the building (19).
2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the provided shaft modules (14, 16, 18) are stacked on the floor slab (13) of the building (19) to form an elevator shaft (12) before the construction of the lowest floor (41) of the building (19) begins.
3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the installation and / or commissioning of the elevator system (10) takes place during the construction of a floor (41, 43, 45) of the building (10).
4. Method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that side walls (25) of a shaft module (14, 16, 18) adjacent to a further shaft module (14, 16, 18) have an outer horizontal edge (27) which is arranged below an inner horizontal edge (29) of said side walls (25).
5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the shaft doors (21) are covered outwards by means of a cover (23) before the shaft modules (14, 16, 18) are placed on top of one another, which cover is removed when the stop (39) assigned to the shaft door (21) is approached during operation of the elevator system (10).
6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that adjacent shaft modules (14, 16, 18) are connected to one another in a tensile manner.