Elevator Car Horizontal Transfer via Integrated Guide Rail
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing elevator systems with vertical and horizontal movement capabilities require a large number of components and suffer from accuracy issues during horizontal displacement, leading to increased manufacturing and installation costs, as well as potential reliability problems.
Innovation Solution
The elevator system employs a car transfer mechanism with a horizontal displacement unit that integrates a vertical guide rail piece, allowing horizontal movement without the need for guide shoes to leave the vertical rails, reducing the number of components and eliminating accuracy issues, and includes a controllable brake mechanism for enhanced reliability and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If guide shoes leave vertical guide rails during horizontal displacement, then horizontal movement can be achieved, but accuracy problems and increased component complexity occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the vertical guidance function with the horizontal displacement function by integrating a vertical guide rail piece into the horizontal displacement unit. This allows the guide shoes to remain engaged with vertical guide rails throughout both vertical and horizontal movements, eliminating guidance accuracy problems while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The vertical guide rail piece integrated into the horizontal displacement unit serves multiple functions: it provides vertical guidance during horizontal displacement and forms a continuous section of the vertical guide rail. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate guidance mechanisms, reducing component complexity while maintaining precision.
2Ease of operation
If multiple pivotable car guide rails and supporting rollers are used for horizontal displacement, then horizontal movement is enabled, but device complexity and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the guidance function and displacement function into a single integrated structure. The horizontal displacement unit contains a vertical guide rail piece that provides guidance while the unit itself performs horizontal displacement, eliminating the need for multiple pivotable guide rails and supporting rollers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential guidance function from the complex system of pivotable guide rails and supporting rollers, retaining only the necessary vertical guide rail piece integrated into the horizontal displacement unit. This simplification reduces the number of movable components while maintaining horizontal displacement capability.
3Ease of operation
If eight end sections of car guide rails are arranged pivotably with controllable pivoting drives, then horizontal displacement is achieved, but functional reliability decreases due to more components to control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the guidance and displacement functions into the horizontal displacement unit, which contains an integrated vertical guide rail piece. This eliminates the need for multiple pivotable guide rail sections and their associated pivoting drives, reducing the number of controlled components and improving functional reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
An elevator system has an elevator car which can move vertically along a vertical track having a vertical guide rail, and can move horizontally utilizing a car transfer device. The car transfer device has a horizontal displacement unit into which a vertical guide rail piece can be integrated, the guide rail piece guiding the elevator car in the horizontal displacement unit. The horizontal displacement unit can be positioned so that the guide rail piece forms a section of the vertical guide rail. The elevator car can be fixed on the guide rail piece during the horizontal displacement by a brake device.