Residential Elevator Sliding Gate with Orthogonal Wheel Carriage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Residential elevator door systems face challenges in compact design, reliability, noise, wear, and safety hazards, particularly for young children, due to limited space and inefficient operation.
Innovation Solution
A sliding door assembly with a track and wheel carriage system that includes wheels rotating parallel to the track's surface, reducing off-axis deflection and eliminating the need for a pocket within the elevator car, allowing for safer and more efficient operation with reduced space consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a compact door system is used to fit limited space in residential elevators, then space consumption is reduced, but reliability decreases and wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs curved tracks instead of straight linear tracks, allowing the door system to wrap around corners smoothly. This curvature enables compact routing of the door through limited space while maintaining proper geometric relationships between components, thereby achieving both space efficiency and operational reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces vertical stacking of track levels (upper and lower tracks at different heights) to route the door through three-dimensional space rather than only horizontal space. This dimensional approach allows the door to navigate tight spaces while maintaining adequate clearance and proper mechanical operation, resolving the contradiction between compactness and reliability.
2Volume of moving object
If a compact door system is used to fit limited space, then space consumption is reduced, but noise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The curved track design allows for smoother motion of the door along its path, reducing abrupt changes in direction that generate noise. The continuous curvature enables more gradual acceleration and deceleration patterns, thereby minimizing noise while maintaining compact space utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces roller elements that interact with the curved tracks to reduce friction and noise. These rollers act as intermediaries between the door and the track structure, converting sliding friction into rolling contact, which significantly reduces noise generation while enabling compact routing.
3Reliability
If conventional door systems are used in residential elevators, then operational safety can be maintained, but space requirements are excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes vertical space by stacking tracks at different heights and routing the door through multiple levels. This three-dimensional arrangement allows the door to achieve adequate clearance for safe operation while consuming minimal horizontal space, thereby maintaining safety without requiring excessive space.
Solution Approach 2:
The door system is designed to nest within the elevator car structure more efficiently by routing the door through corners and utilizing vertical clearance. The compact curved path allows the door to be contained within a smaller envelope space while maintaining operational safety through proper clearance and control mechanisms.
4Volume of moving object
If compact door systems are used, then space consumption is reduced, but wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The curved track geometry allows for more uniform distribution of contact stresses along the door's path, preventing concentration of wear at specific points. The continuous curvature ensures consistent rolling contact throughout the door's stroke, thereby reducing localized wear and extending component life while maintaining compact routing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs roller elements as intermediaries between the door and track, converting sliding contact into rolling contact. This significantly reduces friction and wear on both the door and track components, allowing the system to operate reliably in compact spaces without excessive wear.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides a safer, quieter, and more reliable operation by minimizing the risk of child entrapment and increasing usable space within the elevator car, while reducing wear and noise through a seamless rolling surface and aligned wheel orientation with the gravity vector.
Implementation Method 1
each wheel rotating about a rolling axis that is substantially parallel to the flat upper surface of the track
Data Source
AI summary
A sliding gate assembly for an elevator comprises a track having a flat upper surface. A connecting block is secured to a portion of the flat upper surface. A wheel carriage is operable to ride on the track, the wheel carriage including two arms oriented orthogonally to the flat upper surface of the track and extending upwardly around an outside portion of the track and beyond the flat upper surface. A set of wheels is also provided, each wheel being rotatably coupled to one of the two arms of the wheel carriage above the upper surface of the track, each wheel rotating about a rolling axis that is substantially parallel to the flat upper surface of the track.