Elevator Rail Pivoting Bracket for Hoistway Installation

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Solution Overview

Problem

The assembly of an elevator at a building site is cumbersome due to the need to transport and install numerous elevator rails and brackets at significant heights, requiring extensive work in the elevator hoistway, which is slow and inefficient.

Innovation Solution

The elevator rail is equipped with an attachment bracket that includes a first fitting part attached to the rail and a pivotable joint allowing the bracket to be pre-installed in a transport position, facilitating easy handling and assembly by rotating into a mounting position at the installation site.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If brackets are attached to elevator rails at the installation site in the hoistway, then the rails can be correctly aligned and installed, but the assembly work becomes slow and cumbersome due to extensive work needed at difficult locations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecorrect alignment of elevator railVSAvoidinstallation speed
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The bracket is pre-assembled to the elevator rail in a factory setting before transportation to the installation site. This preliminary action includes attaching the bracket in a transport position that minimizes protrusion, allowing the rail to be handled and transported more efficiently. At the installation site, only a simple rotation of the intermediate part is needed to transition from transport position to mounting position, significantly reducing assembly work in the hoistway while ensuring correct alignment through the pre-assembled configuration.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If the attachment bracket protrudes significantly from the elevator rail, then the bracket can be easily attached to the rail, but the transport and handling of the rail becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of bracket attachmentVSAvoidtransport handling difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The intermediate part of the bracket is designed to be rotatable relative to the elevator rail through a joint mechanism. This dynamic design allows the bracket to assume different positions: in the transport position, the intermediate part is rotated to minimize protrusion from the rail, facilitating easy handling and transportation. At the installation site, the intermediate part can be rotated to the mounting position where it protrudes sufficiently to enable easy attachment to the hoistway structure. This dynamic repositioning resolves the contradiction between ease of attachment and transport handling.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

3Adaptability or versatility

If multiple separate components are used for the attachment bracket, then the bracket can be adjusted and adapted to different positions, but the assembly work in the hoistway increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveadjustability of bracket positionVSAvoidnumber of assembly steps
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The bracket design merges the attachment functionality with the position adjustment capability into a single integrated structure. The intermediate part with its rotatable joint combines both the adaptation function (allowing position adjustment) and the attachment function (securing to the rail) in one component. This merging reduces the number of separate assembly steps required in the hoistway, as the pre-assembled bracket arrives at the installation site ready for minimal adjustment through simple rotation, rather than requiring multiple separate components to be assembled on-site.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentEP4313835B1Elevator rail and method of handling an elevator rail
Publication Date: 2025.08.13 KONE OYJ
  • EP4313835B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4313835B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The invention relates to an elevator rail (1), comprising an attachment bracket (2) having a first end with a first fitting part (4) attaching the first end to the elevator rail (1), a second end having a second fitting part (5) for attaching the second end to an elevator hoistway (3), and an intermediate part (6, 6') connecting the first fitting part (4) to the second fitting part (5). To simplify attachment work of the rail in a hoistway, the attachment bracket (2) is provided with a joint (7) pivotably connecting the intermediate part (6) to the first fitting part (4), the joint allowing the intermediate part (6) to be rotated around the joint (7) between a transport position and mounting position, wherein the second fitting part (5) is located closer to the elevator rail (1) in the transport position than in the mounting position.