Secure elevator installation

Abstract

The invention relates to an elevator installation comprising: a shaft (12) extending along a vertical component in a building between a lower end (15) and an upper end (17), said building having a plurality of landings (20, 22), a plurality of lockable landing doors (28, 30) adapted to respectively close openings in a closed position and to be locked in said closed position; a car (32) having a top and a movable ascent in translation within said shaft in order to be able to dock at each of said landings (20, 22) opposite the corresponding landing door; a plurality of manual unlocking devices (46, 48) for being able to manually release one or the other of said landing doors, so as to be able to enter said shaft through said released landing door.The installation also includes a cabin movement detection device (55, 57; 58, 59); and a device for stopping and holding the cabin in a fixed position (49, 45). Figure to be published with the abbreviation: Fig. 1.

Description

Title of the invention: Secure elevator installation

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator installation allowing for safe maintenance.

[0002] The usual elevator installations of multi-story buildings, which generally have a landing on each floor, include a vertical shaft inside which a cabin is adapted to be driven in translation in order to serve these floors.

[0003] Also, the shaft has openings leading to each floor, and the installation includes landing doors that close these openings. As long as the car is not aligned with the landing doors, the doors remain locked in a closed position.

[0004] However, as soon as the cabin docks at one of the floors opposite the corresponding landing door, it automatically unlocks the door. The opening can then be released to allow passengers to enter or exit between the cabin and the landing.

[0005] Furthermore, in addition to the normal operation of the elevator installation, it is necessary to intervene in the shaft in order to carry out maintenance operations.

[0006] To achieve this, on each floor, and near each landing door, a restricted-access manual release device allows a maintenance operator to unlock the landing door while the car is not stopped in front of it. For example, a key lock is installed near the landing door. A suitable key allows only the maintenance operator to unlock the landing door.

[0007] Usually, the maintenance operator unlocks the landing door of a given floor, when the car is immobilized on the floor immediately below so as to be able to work on the top of the car by going down through the opening of the floor above thus freed.

[0008] Of course, these intervention conditions require that the cabin be kept in a fixed position, or at the very least that its movements be controlled, so that the operator cannot be accidentally pulled along by the cabin and crushed at the top of the shaft.

[0009] Also, it is known to do this, by installing on the key lock device, an electrical contact enabling the unlocking of the landing door to be detected and the control of the protection and / or immobilization systems of the cabin and possibly of the counterweight.

[0010] However, it is not always easy to install such electrical contactors in existing installations, because they are relatively bulky compared to the available space.

[0011] Also, a problem which arises and which the present invention aims to solve is to provide an elevator installation which allows maintenance operators to intervene safely inside the shaft of the elevator installation.

[0012] In order to solve this problem, an elevator installation is proposed comprising: a shaft extending along a vertical component in a building between a lower end and an upper end, said building having a plurality of landings, while said shaft has a plurality of openings leading respectively onto the landings; a plurality of lockable landing doors adapted to close the openings respectively in a closed position and to be locked in said closed position; a car having a top and a movable ascent in translation inside said shaft in order to be able to dock at each of said landings opposite the corresponding landing door;and, a plurality of manual unlocking devices to allow manual release of either of said landing doors, while said cabin is moved away from the released landing door, so as to allow entry into said shaft through said released landing door.

[0013] The installation further comprises: a cabin movement detection device adapted to provide an alert signal representative of the movement of said cabin after said landing door has been released and said cabin has been moved away from the released landing door; and, a device for stopping and holding said cabin in a fixed position, to stop and hold said cabin in a fixed position when said detection device provides said alert signal.

[0014] Thus, a feature of the invention lies in the implementation of the cabin detection and movement device, which can transmit an alert signal to the stop and hold device when the cabin is set in motion after the landing door has been released, so as to stop the cabin in its course.

[0015] In this way, if an operator descends into the shaft onto the top of the cabin, the cabin's movement is stopped. Thus, the operator is not crushed at the top of the shaft.

[0016] Similarly, if an operator descends into the pit, at the lower end of the shaft, he is not at risk of being crushed by the descent of the cabin.

[0017] Also, according to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, said cabin is moved away from said landing door released to be brought into an equilibrium position, and said warning signal is representative of the movement of said cabin with respect to said equilibrium position.

[0018] According to an advantageous embodiment, said cabin is moved away from said landing door released towards said lower end of said shaft.

[0019] Thus, the cabin is, for example, moved away from the open landing door, downwards to approximately the level of the floor below, and held there in a fixed, equilibrium position. The operator then descends into the shaft, for example using a ladder, to be able to place their feet on the top of the cabin. They will then have ample opportunity to work on the cabin. However, if, for an unknown reason, and not desired by the operator, the cabin is moved upwards, for example, it moves away from its equilibrium position, and the detection device then provides an alert signal to the stopping device, which then prevents the cabin from moving. The operator is thus not crushed at the top of the shaft.

[0020] Conversely, if the cabin fell in the same way, the detection device would provide an alert signal to the stopping device which would operate the blocking of the cabin in translation.

[0021] According to one embodiment of the invention, said cabin movement detection device comprises a cabin passage detector mounted at a distance from said upper end of said shaft.

[0022] Thus, as a last resort, if the cabin rises accidentally and without control towards the upper end of the cabin, the cabin passage detector then transmits an alert signal to the stopping device in order to block it in translation.

[0023] Preferably, said cabin motion detection device comprises an electromagnetic sensor. Such a sensor type includes magnetic sensors, but also optical sensors. Thus, a permanent magnet, for example, is installed on the cabin, at its periphery, while a Hall effect sensor is installed in the shaft at the height of each of the openings. In this way, the cabin movements can be detected without contact.

[0024] According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the installation includes a drive pulley for said cabin and a drive shaft for driving said drive pulley in rotation, and said stopping and holding device in fixed position engages with said drive shaft.

[0025] For example, the stopping and holding device includes a jaw member that grips the drive shaft to brake and lock it in a fixed position.

[0026] According to another embodiment of the invention, said stopping and holding device comprises a speed limiter. This device includes a cable mounted in a loop inside the sheath from the lower end to the upper end and is also connected to the cabin. More specifically, it is integral with a safety brake device located in the cabin, the operation of which will be explained below.

[0027] The cable drives a pulley located at the upper end of the shaft, which locks itself in rotation once it reaches a certain speed. The cable is thus prevented from moving horizontally, while the cabin continues its journey. The cable then triggers the safety brake, which in turn causes the cabin to brake and stop moving horizontally within the shaft.

[0028] Furthermore, according to a particularly advantageous embodiment, said cabin is equipped with a presence detector located at the top of said cabin. In this way, the presence detector can provide an additional signal indicating the presence of an operator at the top of the cabin. This additional signal can then activate a device to prevent the cabin from moving.

[0029] Furthermore, the top of the cabin is preferably equipped with a control interface for the translation of the cabin inside the shaft. This control interface allows the operator located at the top of the cabin to deactivate all the cabin's translational locking devices in order to operate the cabin's normal vertical movement inside the shaft.

[0030] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of particular embodiments of the invention, given by way of example but not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0031] The single [Fig. 1] is a schematic side view in right section of an elevator installation according to the invention

[0032] [Fig. 1] shows an elevator installation 10 according to the invention. It comprises a shaft 12 extending vertically inside a building 14, from a lower end 15 to an upper end 17. The building 14 here has two floors, a first 16 and a second 18, served by the elevator installation 10. The number of floors is obviously not limiting.

[0033] Thus, the first floor 16 has a first landing 20 contiguous to the elevator shaft 12, while the second floor 18, located above the first floor 16, has a second landing 22.

[0034] In addition, the duct 12 has a first opening 24 leading to the first landing 20, on the first floor 18 and a second opening 26, on the second floor 18, leading to the second landing 22.

[0035] Also, the first opening 24 is closed by a first landing door 28, while the second opening 26 is closed by a second landing door 30.

[0036] The elevator installation 10 comprises a cabin 32 suspended by its top 34 from a traction cable 36. The top of the cabin 34 also has a roof 35 closing the upper part of the cabin 32.

[0037] The traction cable 36 extends in a loop in the upper end 17 of the sheath 12, passing through a traction group 38 and extending back to be suspended from a counterweight 40.

[0038] The traction group 38 comprises a drive shaft 37 on which a drive pulley 42 is mounted, and into which the traction cable 36 engages. The drive pulley 42 is driven by a geared motor 44.

[0039] Also, the traction group 38 includes a jaw brake 39 adapted to engage with the motor shaft 37.

[0040] Furthermore, the elevator installation 10 includes an electronic control board 43, located in the upper end 17 of the shaft 12, near the geared motor 44. The electronic control board 43 is electrically connected, on the one hand, to the geared motor 44, and on the other hand, to the car 32 by means of a free electrical cable 4L

[0041] In addition, the elevator installation 10 includes a parachute system 45 attached to the cabin 32 and crossed by a guide rail 47 of the cabin 32.

[0042] Also, the elevator installation 10 includes a speed limiter 49 located in the upper end 17 of the shaft 12 and a speed limiter cable 51 mounted in a loop on the speed limiter 49 and extending to the lower end 15 of the shaft 12. The speed limiter cable 51 is then attached to the car 32 by means of the safety brake 45.

[0043] Consequently, the parachute 45 is mechanically controllable via the speed limiter 49 and the speed limiter cable 51 which connects them.

[0044] And when the parachute is commanded, the cabin 32 becomes attached to the guide rail 47 and is then held in a fixed position inside the duct 12.

[0045] The elevator installation 10 includes manual locking devices comprising locking members, a first 46 and a second 48, allowing the landing doors 28, 30 to be locked respectively in the position where they close the openings 24, 26.

[0046] When the cabin 32 docks at one of the floors 16, 18, in other words when it comes to align itself with the corresponding opening 24, 30, it then automatically controls the locking devices 46, 48 to unlock the landing doors 28, 30.

[0047] Thus, as shown in [Fig.1], the cabin causes the first locking device 46 to unlock the first landing door 28 and thus release the opening 24. It is then possible to access the interior of the cabin 32 from the first landing 20.

[0048] Next, the first landing door 28 closes and again seals the first opening 24, while the first locking member 46 is commanded to automatically lock the first landing door 28 in its closed position.

[0049] In addition, the locking members 46, 48 are also controllable ma- manually using a specific key 50.

[0050] Indeed, when the elevator installation 10 is defective, it is generally necessary to enter the shaft 12, and in particular the top of the car 32. This access is available only to maintenance operators. Therefore, the specific key 50 is usually a socket wrench with a triangular cross-section, and it allows the maintenance operator to unlock the landing door 28, 30 to access the interior of the shaft 12 regardless of the position of the car 32.

[0051] A safety problem then arises since it is necessary to ensure that the cabin 32 remains stationary when a maintenance operator enters the shaft 12.

[0052] According to a first embodiment, the cabin 32 is equipped with a permanent magnet 55, and a Hall effect sensor 57 is installed in the shaft at the height of each of the openings. This provides a cabin movement detection device. The cabin's movements can then be detected without contact, as soon as the cabin 32 moves away from its equilibrium position. Indeed, the movement of the permanent magnet 55 relative to the Hall effect sensors 57 generates a signal representative of the cabin's movement. Consequently, the brake shoe 39 is activated to engage with the drive shaft 37. As a result, the movement of the cabin 32 is stopped over a stroke not exceeding, for example, 1.2 m. This stroke is predefined, in particular, by the dimensions of the permanent magnet 55.

[0053] According to one embodiment, a magnetic strip is extended inside the duct from its upper end to its lower end, and it passes through a sensor attached to the cabin. The sensor is then adapted to provide an absolute position of the cabin inside the duct. The sensor can be coupled to a clock to provide the speed of the cabin. Thus, the movements of the cabin around its equilibrium position can be detected in the same way as before.

[0054] Thus, it is ensured that, when the maintenance operator located at the top 34 of the cabin 32 is docked at the floor, the operator cannot be carried over a distance greater than 1.2 m for example, and cannot be injured.

[0055] The installation according to the invention thus makes it possible to stop the cabin whether it is being pulled towards the lower end 15 of the shaft 12 or towards the upper end 17. Therefore, thanks to the invention, the maintenance operator located at the top 34 of the cabin 32 cannot be crushed by the cabin at the top 17 of the shaft 12 when it tends to rise. Similarly, he cannot be crushed in the lower reservoir 56, or pit, when the cabin 32 tends to descend.

[0056] However, if the cabin did not remain stationary due to a malfunction of the preceding device, the elevator installation according to the invention also allows for stop the cabin when it is being pulled towards the upper end 17 of the shaft 12 to avoid crushing the maintenance operator located on the cabin.

[0057] To this end, the shaft 12 includes a passage detector, for example an optical detector 59, located at a distance from said upper end 17 of said shaft 12. In this way, if the cabin 32 is pulled in uncontrolled translation towards the upper end 17 by the traction cable 36, the optical detector 59 provides a signal representing the passage of the cabin 32. And as a result, the brake shoe 39 is commanded to engage with the drive shaft 37. Consequently, the movement of the cabin 32 is stopped in its travel so as to prevent the maintenance operator located at the top 34 of the cabin from being crushed.

[0058] According to another embodiment of the invention, the top 34 of the cabin 12 is equipped with a first presence detector 52, for example, a volumetric detector operating in the infrared. In other words, it records the variation of infrared radiation above the cabin 32. Also, the first presence detector 52 is electrically connected to the parachute 45 by a first control cable 54.

[0059] Therefore, when the maintenance operator enters the shaft 12, through the second opening 26, to descend onto the roof 35 of the cabin 12, located on the lower level 16, the infrared radiation varies such that a signal is emitted by the detector. This signal is, according to a first embodiment, transmitted by a first control cable 54 to the safety brake 45, which interacts with the guide rail 47 so as to stop the cabin 32 from moving within the shaft 12. In this way, the maintenance operator can descend onto the roof 35 of the cabin 32 without risk of being crushed by the cabin at the upper end 17 of the shaft 12.

[0060] According to a second embodiment, the signal emitted by the detector commands the jaw brake 39 to engage with the motor shaft 37. The cabin 32 is then blocked in translation in the same way.

[0061] In terms of intervention and maintenance of the elevator installation 10, it is also necessary to intervene inside the shaft 12 at its lower end 15.

[0062] The lower end 15 defines the lower reserve 56, inside which a maintenance operator can operate when the cabin 32 is docked at the level of the second landing 22, above the first landing 20. Then, the maintenance operator unlocks the first landing door 28 by manually operating the first locking device 46 using the specific key 50. Then, he enters the shaft 12 through the first opening 24 to descend into the lower reserve 56.

[0063] Also, with regard to safety, it is necessary to ensure that cabin 32 remains stationary so that it does not crush the maintenance operator.

[0064] According to the invention, the lower reservoir 56 is equipped with a second presence detector 58 which operates in a similar manner to the first presence detector 52. It is connected by a second control cable 60, to the electronic control board 43 at the upper end 17 of the sheath 12 and then to the cabin 32 via the free electrical cable 41 and then the parachute 45.

[0065] Thus, as soon as the maintenance operator enters the shaft 12 and descends into the lower compartment 56, the infrared radiation varies and the second detector 58 emits a second signal. This second signal is transmitted to the parachute 45, which stops the cabin 32 from moving within the shaft 12 at the level of the second stage 18.

[0066] In this way, the maintenance operator is assured of being able to intervene without risk of being crushed by the cabin 32.

[0067] Similarly, according to another embodiment, the second signal can control the jaw brake 39 which engages with the drive shaft 37. The cabin 32 is then blocked in translation in the same way.

[0068] Furthermore, the locking devices 46, 48 are electrically connected to the electronic control board 43 so as to be able to provide it with a specific signal when the specific key 50 comes to unlock them manually.

Claims

Demands

1. Elevator installation comprising: - a shaft (12) extending along a vertical component in a building between a lower end (15) and an upper end (17), said building having a plurality of landings (20, 22), while said shaft has a plurality of openings (24, 26) leading respectively onto the landings; - a plurality of lockable landing doors (28, 30) adapted to respectively close the openings (24, 26) in a closed position and to be locked in said closed position; - a car (32) having a top (35) and mounted movably in translation inside said shaft (12) so as to be able to dock at each of said landings (20, 22) opposite the corresponding landing door;- a plurality of manual unlocking devices (46, 48) for manually releasing either of said landing doors (28, 30), while said cabin (32) is moved away from the released landing door, so as to be able to enter said shaft (12) through said released landing door; characterized in that it further comprises: - a cabin movement detection device (55, 57; 58, 59) adapted to provide an alert signal representative of the movement of said cabin (32) after said landing door has been released and said cabin has been moved away from the released landing door; and, - a device for stopping and holding said cabin in a fixed position, for stopping and holding said cabin (32) in a fixed position when said detection device provides said alert signal.

2. A safe elevator installation according to claim 1, characterized in that said cabin (32) is moved away from said released landing door to be brought into an equilibrium position, and in that said warning signal is representative of the movement of said cabin relative to said equilibrium position.

3. Secure elevator installation according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said cabin (32) is moved away from said landing door released towards said lower end (15) of said shaft (12).

4. A secure elevator installation according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said detection device cabin movement includes a cabin passage detector (59) mounted at a distance from said upper end (17) of said shaft (12).

5. A secure elevator installation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said cabin motion detection device (57, 59) comprises an electromagnetic sensor.

6. A secure elevator installation according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises a drive pulley (42) of said cabin and a drive shaft (37) for driving said drive pulley in rotation, and in that said stop and hold device (39) in fixed position engages with said drive shaft.

7. Secure elevator installation according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said stopping and holding device includes a speed limiter (49).

8. Secure elevator installation according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said cabin (32) is equipped with a presence detector (52) located at said top (35) of said cabin.

9. A secure elevator installation according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said apex (35) of said cabin is equipped with a control interface for the translation of said cabin (32) inside said shaft (12).

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