Elevator Roller Guide Assembly with Temporary Alignment Shoe

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current roller guide assemblies for elevators have complex structures, making installation and maintenance laborious and time-consuming, particularly due to the need for accurate positioning of roller wheels and the risk of tilting during these processes.

Innovation Solution

A roller guide assembly with a divided body structure, featuring a temporary sliding guide shoe for accurate alignment and an anti-tilt sliding guide shoe for stability, allowing for a simple and efficient installation and maintenance method by using a single shoe member that transitions between sliding and anti-tilt functions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a roller guide assembly uses a complex structure with multiple components to ensure stability and guidance, then the reliability of elevator guidance is improved, but the device complexity increases and installation and maintenance become laborious and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveguidance reliabilityVSAvoidstructure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The body is divided into a first body member and a second body member that can be detachably mounted. The first body member includes mounting means for the elevator device frame, while the second body member includes mounting means for roller wheels. This segmentation allows independent installation and maintenance of roller wheels without affecting the entire assembly, reducing installation and maintenance complexity while maintaining guidance reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The roller wheels are preloaded towards the guide rail to provide automatic adjustment capability. This dynamic preload mechanism ensures reliable guidance by automatically compensating for wear and dimensional variations, maintaining consistent contact between roller wheels and guide rail without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Manufacturing precision

If temporary sliding guide shoes are used during installation to ensure accurate positioning, then the manufacturing precision of roller wheel positioning is improved, but the loss of time and labor increases due to the multi-step installation process

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveroller wheel positioning precisionVSAvoidinstallation time
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The first body member is designed with integrated mounting means for both the elevator device frame and the roller wheels. This preliminary design allows the second body member with roller wheels to be directly mounted to the first body member without requiring temporary sliding guide shoes, eliminating the time-consuming temporary positioning step while maintaining positioning precision through the rigid connected structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Device complexity

If the roller guide assembly uses a unified body structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ease of repair deteriorates when roller wheels need replacement

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructure simplicityVSAvoidroller wheel replacement ease
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The body is segmented into detachably mountable first and second body members, where the second body member contains the roller wheels. This segmentation enables easy repair by allowing the second body member to be detached and roller wheels replaced independently, while the overall structure remains simple and does not require complex disassembly procedures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

4Stability of the object's composition

If the elevator device uses sliding guide shoes to delimit tilting, then the stability during unbalanced conditions is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveanti-tilt stabilityVSAvoidguide assembly complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The second body member serves multiple functions: it mounts the roller wheels for guidance, provides structural support, and includes mounting means for anti-tilt sliding guide shoes. This multi-functionality integrates several components into a single body member, maintaining anti-tilt stability while reducing overall device complexity by eliminating separate mounting structures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3502032A1A roller guide assembly, an elevator system, an installation method for installing a roller guide assembly and a maintenance method for maintaining a roller guide assembly
Publication Date: 2019.06.26 KONE OYJ
  • EP3502032A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3502032A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3502032A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A roller guide assembly (1) for an elevator device. The roller guide assembly comprises a body (2) for mounting to a frame (4) of the elevator device, at least two roller wheels (5) mounted to the body (2), and an anti-tilt sliding guide shoe (6). The body (2) comprises a first body member (8), the first body member (8) comprising a first portion (9) having said first mounting means (3) for mounting the first body member (8) detachably to the frame (4), the first portion (9) further having second mounting means (10) for detachable attachment of a temporary sliding guide shoe (11) to be used for accurate positioning of the first body member (8) relative to the guide rail (R) during installing or maintenance, the temporary sliding shoe being removed after installation or maintenance and a second portion (13) which is perpendicular to the first portion (9) and having third mounting means (14) The body (2) comprises a second body member (15) to which the roller wheels (5) are mounted, the second body member (15) being detachably mountable by the third mounting means (14) to the second portion (13) of the first body member (8), the second body member (15) having fourth mounting means (16) for detachable mounting of the anti-tilt sliding guide shoe (6) onto the second body member. Installation and maintenance methods of the roller guide assembly (1) are included.