Elevator car

Abstract

An elevator car (2) has a pivotally designed balustrade (10) which is arranged on the roof (9) of the elevator car. A box-type module (6) is arranged on the roof (2) in order to operate a braking and / or catching device (5) which interacts with the guide rails. The balustrade (10) has a recess (12) such that the balustrade (10) surrounds the module (6) via the recess () in the folded-down position.

Description

[0001] Elevator cabin

[0002] The invention relates to an elevator car according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0003] Elevator systems contain elevator cars that are moved up and down in an elevator shaft by means of suspension elements, such as suspension ropes or belts, using a drive unit. For certain situations, such as maintenance work or inspections, it is necessary for people to be on the car roof. If the gap between the car and the adjacent shaft wall is too wide, balustrades must be installed on the car roof to provide fall protection.

[0004] Balustrades on the roof of elevator cars have been known and used for a long time. The balustrades consist of vertical posts and horizontal stringers connecting the posts. The stringers can have at least one handrail forming the top stringer. For example, the ASME A17.1-2000 standard for the USA and the European standard EN81-20:2014 contain instructions with detailed specifications for the design and dimensioning of the car roof and the necessary balustrade. In elevator systems, it may be desirable to keep the elevator shaft as short as possible. The required minimum height of the balustrade can conflict with the desire for low shaft headroom. In machine room-less elevators, where the drive is located in the shaft, it may happen that the drive overlaps the elevator car in plan view, which is why conventional balustrades may be unsuitable in these cases.For these applications, pivoting balustrades have been proposed that can be pivoted around a pivot axis between a folded-down position and an upright position. Such pivoting balustrades, also known in the art as "folding balustrades," are known, for example, from EP 1 925 581 A1.

[0005] It is an object of the present invention to avoid the disadvantages of the known art and, in particular, to create an improved elevator car. This object is achieved according to the invention with the elevator car having the features of claim 1. The elevator car can be moved vertically up and down along guide rails arranged in an elevator shaft. The elevator car has a roof with a balustrade arranged thereon as a fall protection device. Thanks to the balustrade, a person can remain safely on the roof for maintenance work, for example. In elevator systems, it is often desirable to keep the elevator shaft as short as possible.To avoid having to provide additional elevator shaft length simply for a balustrade projecting upwards above the elevator car, pivoting balustrades have been proposed that can be pivoted about a rotation axis between a folded-down position, in which the balustrade is arranged essentially horizontally, and an erected position, in which the balustrade is arranged essentially vertically. Such balustrades are described, for example, in GB 2 158 038 A; US 6,543,584; EP 2 033 927 A1 and EP 2 295 363 A1.

[0006] A braking and / or safety catch device is arranged on the roof. The balustrade has a recess so that the braking and / or safety catch device is accommodated in the recess when the balustrade is in the folded-down position. The fact that the balustrade has a recess so that the braking and / or safety catch device is accommodated via the recess in the balustrade in the folded-down position results in several advantages. Thanks to the at least one recess mentioned, it can be ensured that the balustrade can easily be arranged horizontally in the folded-down position. This makes it possible to use innovative safety concepts for elevator systems with reduced shaft heads with braking and / or safety catch devices arranged on the roof that interact with guide rails.In the folded-down position, the cabin roof has a low overall height, which is usually determined by the height of the aforementioned braking and / or safety devices. The recess can, for example, be U-shaped. The recess can advantageously be dimensioned such that the required fall protection function is still present when the balustrade is in the raised position.

[0007] A box-like module, for example, for operating the braking and / or arresting device can also be arranged on the roof. For safety reasons, it may be advantageous if the recess has a horizontal clear width of less than 50 cm, preferably less than 40 cm, and particularly preferably less than 30 cm. The balustrade can still provide a sufficiently effective fall protection function in the area of ​​the recess.

[0008] The depth of the recess, i.e., the vertical dimension of the recess when the balustrade is in the erected position, can correspond to the distance between the handrail (top rail) and a middle or second-highest rail. This distance, or the depth of the recess, can be at least 10 cm, but preferably no more than 50 cm. A recess with such a shallow depth can still adequately protect people from falling, even in this limited area.

[0009] The recess can be arranged in a lateral balustrade section of the balustrade, which, when the balustrade is in the erected position, can be placed against a guide rail for guiding the elevator car and / or a counterweight. The recess is at least partially covered or can be covered by the guide rail—with respect to a horizontal viewing direction perpendicular to the plane of the erected lateral balustrade section, in which plane the balustrade section extends. The guide rail provides an additional means of protecting a person in the area of ​​the recess from falling.

[0010] The elevator car may have a second balustrade part on a side opposite the lateral balustrade part. This second balustrade part may also have a recess, which, when the balustrade is in the erected position, can be placed against a second guide rail, wherein the recess is at least partially covered or can be covered by this guide rail.

[0011] The balustrade and in particular the previously described lateral balustrade part(s) can each be equipped with a guide rail connector in the area of ​​the recess, which guide rail connector, when the balustrade is in the erected position, connects the respective balustrade part to the associated guide rail.

[0012] Thanks to the guide rail connector, each installed balustrade section can be supported inwardly on one of the guide rails. In other words, the balustrade can be engaged with at least one of the guide rails in the secured position via or with the aid of the guide rail connectors, such that the balustrade is supported inwardly or toward the inner area in the secured position. The balustrade can thus be constructed from comparatively light and thin structures. For certain elevator configurations, it is also conceivable for the balustrade to include guide rail connectors, via which the balustrade can be supported inwardly on the counterweight guide rail(s).

[0013] The module can be positioned centrally on the roof to operate the braking and / or arresting device. This module can comprise a housing with a rectangular outer contour, at least in a plan view.

[0014] The balustrade can be designed in such a way that it surrounds the module in the folded-down position.

[0015] The balustrade may have two beams, preferably in the form of a middle and a lower beam, which are designed such that the module is accommodated between the two beams when the balustrade is in the folded-down position.

[0016] The balustrade of the elevator car can further have a rear balustrade part which is pivotally connected to the side balustrade part, so that after the side balustrade part has been erected, the rear balustrade part can be pivoted from an initial position in which the rear balustrade part rests against the side balustrade part, into an end position in which the rear balustrade part faces the rear of the elevator car and provides fall protection for the rear.

[0017] It is advantageous if the rear balustrade part has an indentation which, when the rear balustrade part rests against the side balustrade part, is designed to be substantially congruent with the indentation of the side balustrade part.

[0018] The invention may further be directed to an elevator having an elevator shaft and a car movable in the elevator shaft, which is the car described above.

[0019] The elevator system may further comprise at least one counterweight that can be moved up and down in the opposite direction to the elevator car. This at least one counterweight is also preferably guided on guide rails (counterweight guide rails). It is also conceivable for the guide rail to be provided for guiding both the elevator car and the counterweight.

[0020] The balustrade preferably comprises guide rail engagement means, via which the balustrade can be engaged with the guide rail in the secured position such that the balustrade is supported both inwardly and outwardly in the secured position. Thanks to the outward support, it can be ensured that, in the event of horizontal forces acting from the inside outward, for example, if a person leans over the balustrade or falls into the balustrade from the roof, unwanted outward yielding can be easily prevented. Complex, time-consuming, and costly structural measures for the stable design and attachment of the balustrade to the cabin roof can be eliminated.

[0021] The balustrade can be installed on or adjacent to a roof edge. This roof edge usually runs in a horizontal direction, which for simplicity's sake will be referred to as the lateral longitudinal direction.

[0022] The guide rail can have a profile section forming a tongue, having a free end and extending in the direction of the longitudinal side direction and preferably parallel to the longitudinal side direction. In other words, said profile section can run parallel to the adjacent shaft wall. Such a guide rail with a profile section forming a tongue for a tongue-and-groove connection is known, for example, from WO 2020 / 127303 A1. The balustrade comprising guide rail connectors can be engaged with this profile section.

[0023] For example, if the pivoting balustrade has the previously described guide rail connector, the locking connection can be created automatically when the balustrade is moved into the upright position, which corresponds to the locking position of the balustrade.

[0024] Further advantages and individual features are evident from the following description of exemplary embodiments and the drawings. They show:

[0025] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an elevator system with an elevator car on whose car roof a balustrade is arranged, and

[0026] Fig. 2 the elevator car from Fig. 1 after the balustrade has been folded down.

[0027] Fig. 1 shows a section of an elevator system for a multi-story building. The elevator system contains an elevator car 1 that can be moved vertically up and down in an elevator shaft for transporting people or goods to individual floors. The elevator car 1 can be connected via support means (not shown here) to a counterweight that can be moved up and down in the opposite direction to the elevator car 1. In the present exemplary embodiment, the elevator car 1 of this elevator system is connected to two counterweights (not shown) via support means. Two drives (likewise not shown) (for example traction sheave drives) drive the respective support means (e.g. belts, steel cables) and thus move the elevator car 1 and the two counterweights in opposite directions. Each drive is assigned to one of the counterweights. Two guide rails 3, 4 are provided on either side of the elevator car to guide the elevator car 1 and the counterweights.

[0028] The guide rails 3, 4 according to the present embodiment serve as linear guides for both the elevator car 1 and the respective counterweights. The guide rails 3, 4 are manufactured as one-piece rolling profiles. The elevator system 1 is

[0029] REVISED SHEET (RULE 91) ISA / EP designed as a so-called “front bag lift”. Further details on the front bag lift and the guidance of the car and the counterweights with common

[0030] Guide rails can be found in WO 2020 / 127303 Al and WO 2020 / 127787 Al.

[0031] The elevator car comprises a pivotable balustrade 10 arranged on a roof 2 of the elevator car 1. The balustrade 10 can be pivoted between a folded-down position and an upright position. In Fig. 1, the balustrade 10 is in the upright position. A braking and / or arresting device 5 interacting with the guide rails 3, 4 is arranged on the roof 2. A box-like module 6 for operating the braking and / or arresting device 5 is also arranged on the roof 2.

[0032] In this example, the balustrade 10 consists of three balustrade parts, which are designated 10', 10” and 10'” for the sake of simplicity.

[0033] In the area of ​​a front side where the elevator car 1 is equipped with a car door 7, no railing is necessary due to the small gap between car 1 and the shaft wall. The rear balustrade section 10"' is arranged on a side opposite the side with the car door. The two balustrade sections 10' and 10" are also referred to below as side balustrade sections. The balustrade 10 has indentations 12, 13, 14, which are explained in detail below. Depending on the location and elevator layout, the balustrade 10 could of course be constructed from just one balustrade section 10' or from two balustrade sections 10', 10".

[0034] The recess 12 of the balustrade part 10' is designed such that, in the folded-down position, the balustrade part 10' surrounds the braking and / or safety device 5, more precisely, the part of the braking and / or safety device 5 on the right side, via the recess (see Fig. 2). When the balustrade 10 is in the erected position, the balustrade part 10' can obviously be placed against the guide rail 3, with the recess 12 at least partially covered by the guide rail 3. The same also applies to the second balustrade part 10" on the opposite side, which has the recess 13. In the folded-down position, the balustrade part 10" surrounds the braking and / or safety device 5 (Fig. 2).The rear balustrade part 10"' is pivotally connected to the side balustrade part 10' about the axis S, so that after the side balustrade part 10' has been erected, the rear balustrade part 10'" can be pivoted from an initial position, in which the rear balustrade part 10'" rests against the side balustrade part 10', into an end position (Fig. 1), in which the rear balustrade part 10'" faces the rear of the elevator car 1 and provides fall protection for the rear. In the fully folded state according to Fig. 2, in which all balustrade parts rest on the roof 2, the rear balustrade part 10' rests against the side balustrade part 10'. After pivoting the balustrade part 10' into the erected position, the balustrade part 10'' must be pivoted outward from the balustrade part 10' around the pivot axis S toward the rear.The rear balustrade part 10'" has an indentation 14 which, when the rear balustrade part 10'" rests against the side balustrade part 10', is designed to be substantially congruent with the indentation 14 of the side balustrade part 10'.

[0035] Because the balustrade 10 has balustrade parts 10', 10", 10'" with indentations 12, 13, 14, so that the balustrade 10 in the folded-down position surrounds the braking and / or safety device 5 or at least a part of the braking and / or safety device 5 via the indentations, an advantageous elevator car 1 can be created which is optimally suited for elevator systems with low shaft head heights.

[0036] The guide rail 3 (the same applies to the guide rail 4) has a profile section designated 27, which forms a tongue for a tongue-and-groove connection. This profile section 27 forms an active surface on which a cabin brake and / or safety catch 5 acts in an emergency or braking situation. The profile section 27 obviously runs parallel to the longitudinal direction of the side. This longitudinal direction of the side is the direction in which the adjacent roof edge runs. The profile section 27 can be used not only to brake the cabin, but also to support the balustrade 10. For this purpose, the balustrade 10 has engagement means that engage with the guide rail 5 in such a way that the balustrade 10 is supported both inwardly and outwardly. The balustrade 10 is thus blocked by the guide rail 5 in the secured position when the balustrade is erected.These engagement means are referred to as guide rail connectors 23.

[0037] When the balustrade 10 is erected, the guide rail connectors 23 act on the guide rails 3 and 4. In this position, maintenance work can be carried out on the car roof 2, preferably with the elevator car stationary. The balustrade 10 is temporarily connected to the guide rails 3, 4 via the guide rail connectors 23 in such a way that the balustrade is supported inwards and outwards. When horizontal forces act from the inside outwards, for example when a person on the roof presses against the balustrade, the support prevents the balustrade 10 from giving way any further and secures the person. Thanks to the inward support, it is ensured that when horizontal forces act from the outside inwards, for example when a person pulls on the balustrade, unwanted giving way can be easily prevented.

[0038] When moving, or more precisely, folding, the balustrade 10 from the folded-down position to the upright position, a locking connection is automatically created. For this purpose, the balustrade 10 is advantageously positioned almost flush with the edge of the roof 2.

[0039] For example, the balustrade 10 comprises a total of four vertical posts, with two posts each connected by three horizontal rails. The top rail is a handrail 17. The second-highest rail is designated 18. The third rail is designated 19. However, the balustrade 10 could also have only one handrail 17 per side and a central rail 18 at mid-height.

[0040] The structural design of the balustrade 10 is explained below using the example of the lateral balustrade section 10' of the balustrade 10. The balustrade section 10' has two posts 15, 16. The posts 15, 16 are connected to one another by three horizontal rails 17, 18, 19. The handrail, i.e. the uppermost rail 17, is interrupted to create the recess 12. The middle rail 18 forms a lower horizontal boundary of the recess 12. The recess 12 is delimited to the sides by vertical end pieces 20. The recess 12 has a clear width w in the horizontal direction of particularly preferably less than 30 cm. The depth of the recess 12 can be at least 10 cm. In the present case, the depth of the recess 12 is approximately 20 cm. The module 6 must be dimensioned accordingly so that it fits between the rails 18, 19 when the balustrade 10 is in the folded down position.

Claims

1. Elevator car (1) with a pivotable balustrade (10) arranged on a roof (2) of the elevator car (1), which can be pivoted between a folded-down position and an erected position, characterized in that a braking and / or arresting device (5) is arranged on the roof (2) and that the balustrade (10) has an indentation (12) so that the braking and / or arresting device (5) is received in the indentation (12) when the balustrade (10) is in the folded-down position.

2. Elevator car (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the indentation (12) has a clear width (w) in the horizontal direction of less than 50 cm, preferably less than 40 cm and particularly preferably less than 30 cm.

3. Elevator car (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the indentation (12) is arranged in a lateral balustrade part (10') of the balustrade (10), which balustrade part (10'), when the balustrade (10) is in the erected position, can be placed against a guide rail (3), wherein the indentation (12) is or can be covered at least partially by the guide rail (3).

4. Elevator car (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the balustrade (10) has a second balustrade part (10”) on a side opposite the lateral balustrade part (10'), which balustrade part (10”) also has an indentation (13).

5. Elevator car (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the lateral balustrade part or parts (10', 10") in the region of the indentation (12, 13) are each equipped with a guide rail connector (23) which, when the balustrade (10) is in the erected position, connects the respective balustrade part (10', 10") to the associated guide rail (3, 4).

6. Elevator car (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a module (5) for operating the braking and / or arresting device is positioned centrally on the roof (2) and that the module (6) comprises a housing (26) with an outer contour that is rectangular at least in a plan view.

7. Elevator car (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that the balustrade (10) is designed such that it surrounds the module (6) in the folded-down position.

8. Elevator car (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the balustrade (10) has two beams (18, 19) which are designed such that the module (6) is accommodated between the two beams (18, 19) when the balustrade (10) is in the folded-down position.

9. Elevator car (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the balustrade (10) has a rear balustrade part (10”) which is pivotally connected to the side balustrade part (10’).

10. Elevator car (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the rear balustrade part (10'”) has an indentation (14).

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