Elevator Door Coupling Mechanism for Compact Shaft Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing elevator door systems require oversized installations due to the need for the male device to project outside the car and support elements to project from the landing, resulting in increased space requirements and potential gaps between door movements.
Innovation Solution
A male device with a support that can be fixed to a car door actuator, featuring a male group that can lift and extend for coupling with a female device on the landing door, allowing for compact operation and simultaneous door movement without gaps, utilizing a base and support system with defined end positions and elastic means for stress management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the male device projects outside the clearance gauge of the car and support elements project from the landing towards the car, then the mechanical coupling between car door and landing door can be achieved, but the distance between car doors and landing doors increases, requiring oversized shaft space
Solution Approach 1:
The male device incorporates a movable support that can transition between a retracted position (during car transit) and an extended position (during door operation). This dynamic adjustment allows the male device to project outside the clearance gauge only when needed for coupling, while retracting during transit to minimize the distance between car and landing sills, thus resolving the contradiction between coupling reliability and space optimization
Solution Approach 2:
The support is positioned and configured in advance to enable the male device to extend to the required position before door operation begins. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the car stops at the landing, the male device is already in the correct configuration for immediate coupling with the support elements, maintaining reliable mechanical coupling without requiring excessive projection distance
2Productivity
If the male device expands and contracts to prevent interference with car trajectory, then the car can move through the shaft without stopping, but the system requires complex expansion and contraction mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The support is designed as a movable component that can dynamically adjust its position between retracted and extended states. This dynamic capability allows the male device to contract during car transit to avoid interference with the trajectory, and expand during door operation to enable coupling, thus improving productivity while managing complexity through a single degree of freedom movement
Solution Approach 2:
The male device is segmented into the main body and the movable support component. This segmentation allows the support to independently move relative to the main body, enabling the expansion and contraction function without requiring complex mechanisms throughout the entire device. The simple linear movement of the support provides the necessary dynamic adjustment with minimal complexity
Data Source
Figure 1a~1c
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 3a~4
AI summary
A male device (101) for coupling between a car door and a landing door in an elevator installation with sliding doors, with a support (5) attachable to an actuator (3) of a door that can adopt several relative positions with respect to a base (10) attachable to a leaf (2) of said door, the support being provided with a male group (4) that, when the support (5) is moved with respect to the base (10), from a retracted and standby position, said male group can be unfolded to an operative position wherein only then does the male element couple to the female device (102) of the landing door. A female device (102) especially suitable for this coupling having two support elements (25, 26) with the capacity to move closer and hold the male group (4) when the latter pushes the female device (102) during the opening operation of the doors.