Elevator Car Floor Hatch Assembly for Safe Hoistway Pit Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Elevator systems pose safety risks when maintenance or inspection requires access to spaces below the elevator car, particularly in low pits, as there is a danger of the person being hit or squeezed by the elevator car during movement.
Innovation Solution
An elevator car with a floor hatch assembly that can be opened to create a safety volume, allowing access to the hoistway below, ensuring the opening meets safety code requirements and includes features like a fixing mechanism to prevent accidental closure and a locking mechanism to ensure safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a person enters the hoistway below the elevator car for inspection or maintenance, then access to the space is achieved, but the safety of the person is compromised due to risk of being hit or squeezed by the moving elevator car
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary structure (safety enclosure or protective barrier) between the person and the elevator car to eliminate direct exposure to the harmful effect. This intermediary creates a protected zone that allows maintenance personnel to work below the car without being in the direct path of potential car movement or dropping objects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by implementing safety interlocks and control mechanisms that prevent the elevator car from moving into a position that would endanger personnel in the hoistway below. The control system detects the presence of persons and preemptively prevents dangerous car movement.
2Ease of operation
If the floor hatch assembly is opened to provide access below the elevator car, then the opening area is sufficient for safety volume (at least 0.35 m2), but the structural integrity and safety of the floor is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The floor hatch assembly is segmented into movable panels or sections that can be opened independently. This segmentation allows the floor to maintain its structural integrity in the closed position while providing sufficient opening area when needed for access, resolving the contradiction between floor strength and accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor hatch assembly employs dynamic elements such as hinged panels or telescopic sections that can transition between closed and open states. When open, the structure provides adequate safety volume (≥0.35 m2) while maintaining load-bearing capacity through its dynamic design that distributes stresses appropriately.
3Ease of operation
If manual unlocking mechanisms are installed at landing doors for accessing the hoistway, then access is possible, but the device complexity and potential safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by enabling maintenance personnel to access the hoistway below the elevator car through the car's own floor hatch assembly, eliminating the need for external manual unlocking mechanisms at landing doors. The car itself provides the access route, simplifying the overall system.
Data Source
AI summary
An elevator car (6) configured for moving in a hoistway (4) between a plurality of landings (8a-8d). The elevator car includes a floor (6a) provided at a bottom of the elevator car and at least one floor hatch assembly (22) formed in the floor. The at least one floor hatch assembly (22) is movable between a closed configuration and an open configuration. When arranged in the open configuration, the at least one floor hatch assembly (22) provides an opening (60) in the floor (6a) of the elevator car (6) that allows a person (20) to access a space (24) in the hoistway (4) below the elevator car (6) from inside the elevator car (6). When the floor hatch assembly (22) is in the open configuration, the area of the opening (60) provided in the floor (6a) of the elevator car (6) covers an area of at least 0.35 m2.