elevator

Abstract

To provide an elevator that can lighten the interior space using indirect light while reducing the weight of the lighting unit. [Solution] The elevator 10 has a function to illuminate the interior space of the elevator car 20 and includes a lighting unit 30 which includes a reflective sheet SH that is held in a curved state on the ceiling of the elevator car 20 and an illumination unit 40 that irradiates light onto the reflective sheet SH. The ceiling lighting unit 30 is configured to illuminate the interior space of the elevator car with indirect light by reflecting the light from the illumination unit 40 through the reflective sheet SH.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator, particularly an elevator having a function of illuminating the interior space of an elevator car.

Background Art

[0002] An elevator car is equipped with a lighting device (lighting unit) for illuminating the interior space. Such a lighting device is configured, for example, such that a light source is installed on the back side of an acrylic plate provided at the ceiling portion of the car, and the light of the light source passes through the acrylic plate to illuminate the space inside the car (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as the "interior space of the car").

[0003] Also, as lighting for the interior space of the car, there is a type that irradiates the light of a light source onto a reflector or the like and uses the light reflected by the reflector (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "indirect light") as lighting.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an elevator provided with a lighting unit configured such that a curved reflector is installed in an opening provided in an end portion side of a suspended ceiling, and the light of a light source installed on the upper surface side of the suspended ceiling is reflected by the reflector to illuminate the interior space of the car directly below.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] By the way, since metal members such as a steel plate or an aluminum material subjected to bending are used for the reflector, there is a problem in that it causes an increase in the weight of the lighting unit.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide an elevator that can illuminate the interior space using indirect light while reducing the weight of the lighting unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention relates to an elevator that has a function to illuminate the interior space of a car, and comprises a lighting unit including a flexible sheet held in a curved state on the ceiling of the car and a light source that irradiates light onto the flexible sheet, wherein the lighting unit is configured to illuminate the interior space of the car with indirect light by reflecting the light from the light source through the flexible sheet.

[0009] In the elevator of the present invention, the flexible sheet may be made of a resin component.

[0010] In the elevator of the present invention, the lighting unit comprises a plurality of slat units, and the flexible sheet may be installed between the plurality of slat units. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, the elevator can lighten the lighting unit while illuminating the interior of the elevator car using indirect light, which is light reflected by a flexible sheet. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an elevator, which is one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the elevator car ceiling shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the ceiling section shown in Figure 2, along with a magnified view of the area around the wing unit included in the same cross-sectional view. [Figure 4] Figure 4(a) shows a first modified example of the ceiling lighting unit in the same manner as in Figure 3, and Figure 4(b) shows a second modified example of the ceiling lighting unit in the same manner as in Figure 3. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The following describes an elevator 10 to which an elevator car, which is one embodiment of the present invention, is applied, with reference to the drawings. In each figure, "X" indicates the horizontal direction approximately perpendicular to the axial direction of the sheave 18A, "Y" indicates the horizontal direction Y perpendicular to the horizontal direction X, and "Z" indicates the vertical direction Z perpendicular to the horizontal directions X and Y, respectively.

[0014] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of elevator 10. As shown in Figure 1, elevator 10 is a traction-type rope elevator, comprising a car 20 suspended from one end of a main rope 12 and a counterweight 15 suspended from the other end of the main rope 12.

[0015] The main rope 12 is stretched between the sheave 18A and deflector 18B of the hoisting machine 18 installed in the machine room M directly above the elevator shaft 17, and has the function of raising and lowering the elevator car 20 and the counterweight 15 relatively by rotating the sheave 18A in the forward or reverse direction using a hoisting machine motor (not shown). The elevator car 20 has a roughly vertically elongated box shape and includes a floor panel FL which is roughly rectangular in plan view and constitutes the floor surface of the elevator car, side wall panels SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4 (hereinafter referred to as "side wall panels SP" as appropriate) (see Figure 2) which are erected to surround the floor panel FL, a ceiling panel UP which covers the top surface of the elevator car 20, and a ceiling lighting unit 30 which is attached directly below the ceiling panel UP of the elevator car 20.

[0016] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a ceiling lighting unit 30 attached to the ceiling panel UP of the elevator car 20. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the ceiling lighting unit 30 shown in Figure 2 when cut across the central part by a plane parallel to the XZ plane. In Figure 3, cross-sectional hatching has been omitted to avoid a complicated illustration.

[0017] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the ceiling lighting unit 30 includes six fin units 32A, 32B, 32C, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "fin unit 32" unless otherwise specified) which are long and plate-shaped when viewed from below and are arranged at predetermined intervals, and five reflective sheets (flexible sheets) SH1, SH2, SH3, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "reflective sheet SH" unless otherwise specified) which are held and fixed in a curved state between each fin unit 32, and a device body 34 which is a support frame connected to and fixed to the ceiling panel UP.

[0018] The ceiling lighting unit 30 is an indirect lighting device that illuminates the interior space of the elevator car 20 with indirect light generated when light emitted from each vane unit 32 is reflected by the reflective sheet SH. Here, indirect light refers to light emitted from the light source unit 39, which will be described later, and reflected after hitting an object such as the reflective sheet SH.

[0019] Since the configuration of each vane unit 32 and each reflective sheet SH is almost identical, the following explanation will use the vane unit 32C and reflective sheet SH2 as examples. As shown in Figure 3, the vane unit 32C includes a vane body 36 whose ends are connected to side plates 34A and 34B attached to both ends of the device body 34, a light source unit 39 supported by the vane body 36 via a fixing arm AR, and a support bracket 38 for fixing the reflective sheet SH2.

[0020] The paddle body 36 has a substantially U-shaped cross section and is arranged so as to appear as a long rod-shaped appearance with a rounded shape when viewed from below. Further, the light source unit 39 is constituted by, for example, a long rod-shaped LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamp or a fluorescent lamp arranged along the longitudinal direction of the paddle body 36, that is, along the horizontal direction Y. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the light source unit 39, the fixing arm AR, the pressing metal fitting 38A, the support bracket 38, and the bolt BT are concealed and arranged on the back side of the paddle unit 32C, that is, on the upper surface side and slightly closer to the center, so as not to be visible when the paddle unit 32C is viewed from below. Thereby, since the light source unit 39, the fixing arm AR, the pressing metal fitting 38A, the support bracket 38, and the bolt BT are not visible to the passengers when viewed from below, a clean impression can be given to the passengers.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the fixing arm AR is a sheet metal member having a substantially C-shaped cross section, one end side is fixed to the end portion on the back side of the paddle body 36, and the light source unit 39 is connected and fixed to the other end side. Thereby, the light source unit 39 can be installed at a position for illuminating the reflection sheet SH2 obliquely downward. In this embodiment, it is different from the other paddle units 32 in that the light source unit 39 is not provided only in the paddle unit 32A located on the left end side.

[0022] The reflection sheet SH2 is constituted by a resin sheet having flexibility, such as a polypropylene sheet, for example. In this embodiment, the reflection sheet SH is made of polypropylene, but other resin sheets, for example, vinyl chloride sheets, nylon sheets, acrylic sheets, etc. may be used.

[0023] Further, the reflection sheet SH2 is fixed via a bolt BT in a state of being sandwiched along the vertical direction Z between the pressing metal fitting 38A and the support bracket 38 together with one end portion in the horizontal direction X and the end portion of the reflection sheet SH3 adjacent to the right side. The other end portion of the reflection sheet SH2 is also held and fixed together with the end portion of the reflection sheet SH1 adjacent to the left side.

[0024] Here, the length of the reflective sheet SH in the X direction is formed to be longer than the distance L1 between the fixing positions of the reflective sheet SH on the vane unit 32. For this reason, the reflective sheet SH is installed and held in a curved state that protrudes upward by being connected and fixed at both ends in the X direction to the support brackets 38 of adjacent vane units 32. Furthermore, as described above, the reflective sheet SH, which is deformed and held in a curved state by being fixed at both ends to the support brackets 38 of each vane unit 32, has the advantage of being less prone to losing its curved shape and having excellent shape retention due to the large proportion of deformation associated with elastic deformation.

[0025] In this embodiment, the ceiling lighting unit 30 is described using an example in which six vane units 32 are arranged at predetermined intervals, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, if the X-direction dimension of the elevator car 20 is longer, seven or more vane units 32 may be arranged at predetermined intervals. This makes it possible to obtain the same effects as the elevator 10 in the above embodiment even when the length of the elevator car 20 in the X-direction is longer.

[0026] Furthermore, if the X-direction dimension of the elevator car 20 is shorter, five or fewer vane units 32 may be arranged at predetermined intervals. This makes it possible to obtain the same effects as the elevator 10 in the above embodiment even when the X-direction length of the elevator car 20 is shorter.

[0027] Furthermore, although the ceiling lighting unit 30 of this embodiment is described as having multiple vane units 32 arranged at equal intervals, it is not necessary for them to be at equal intervals, and the vane units 32 may be spaced at different distances from each other. In this case as well, the same effects as the elevator 10 in the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0028] According to the elevator 10 of this embodiment, the interior space of the elevator car can be illuminated using light reflected by the reflective sheet SH, i.e., indirect light. This makes it possible to reduce the weight of the ceiling lighting unit 30 compared to cases where metal reflective members such as sheet metal are used.

[0029] Next, a first and second modified example of the ceiling lighting unit 30 will be described using Figures 4(a) and 4(b). In Figures 4(a) and 4(b) and the following description, components identical to those of the ceiling lighting unit 30 according to the above embodiment will be indicated by the same reference numerals as appropriate, and their descriptions will be omitted. The description will mainly focus on the components that differ in configuration.

[0030] As shown in Figure 4(a), the ceiling lighting unit 40 according to the first modified example has the same configuration as the ceiling lighting unit 30 in the above embodiment, except that it is provided with restricting members 42A, 42B, 42C, ... (hereinafter referred to as "restricting members 42" as appropriate unless there is a need to distinguish them) that restrict the curvature position of the reflective sheet SH. For example, the restricting member 42 is a long cylindrical member and is installed between the side plates 34A, 34B (see Figure 2) so as to abut against the upper surface of the reflective sheet SH which is held in a curved state.

[0031] This allows for a large localized change in the curvature of the reflective sheet SH in the horizontal direction X. As a result, it becomes possible to greatly localized changes in the brightness of the reflected light produced when light emitted from the light source 39 is reflected by the reflective sheet SH. In this case as well, the same effects as those of the ceiling lighting unit 30 according to the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0032] As shown in Figure 4(b), the ceiling lighting unit 50 according to the second modified example differs from the ceiling lighting unit 30 in the above embodiment in that it has the same configuration as the reflective sheet SH in the above embodiment, but has a longer dimension in the X direction than the reflective sheet SH, and also includes three vane units 32A, 32B, and 32C. More specifically, the vane units 32A, 32B, and 32C are arranged at both ends and in the middle of the device body 34 in the X direction. The dimension of the reflective sheet SL in the X direction is formed to be slightly longer than the distance L2 between the fixed positions of the reflective sheet SL in adjacent vane units 32A and 32B.

[0033] Thus, the spacing between the fin units 32 may be made longer than that of the ceiling lighting unit 30 according to the above embodiment. In this case as well, the same effects as those of the ceiling lighting unit 30 according to the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0034] The present invention can be implemented in various forms with improvements, modifications, or alterations based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, without departing from its spirit. Furthermore, the invention may be implemented in a form in which any of its defining features is replaced with other technologies, as long as the same function or effect is achieved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10 Elevators 12 Main rope 20 Car 30, 40, 50 Ceiling lighting units (lighting units) 32, 32A, 32B, 32C wing unit 36. Wing plate body 39 Light source section SH, SH1, SH2, SH3 Reflective Sheet (Flexible Sheet) SL, SL1, SL2, SL3 Reflective Sheet (Flexible Sheet) X,Y horizontal direction Z vertical direction

Claims

1. An elevator equipped with a function to illuminate the interior space of the elevator car, The lighting unit includes a flexible sheet held in a curved state on the ceiling portion of the elevator car, and a light source that irradiates light onto the flexible sheet. The lighting unit is configured to illuminate the interior space of the cage with indirect light by reflecting light from the light source through the flexible sheet. Elevator.

2. The aforementioned flexible sheet is made of a resin component. The elevator according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned lighting unit comprises a plurality of vane units, The flexible sheet is installed between the plurality of vane units. The elevator according to claim 1.

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