Flat Belt Wedge Ribs Elevator Support Means
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Elevator installations using wedge-ribbed belts face issues with high material usage, weight, and premature failure due to excessive material in the belt body, which leads to unnecessary loading and cracking when navigating small pulleys, resulting in suboptimal performance and service life.
Innovation Solution
A support means with a flat belt form featuring ribs and tensile carriers distributed to minimize material usage and stress, where at least two tensile carriers per rib are used, with a cross-sectional area sum of 25-40% of the total, and optimized rib spacing and angle to reduce bending stresses and ensure efficient force distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the belt body has large cross-section with excessive material, then the load-bearing capability is improved, but the weight and material usage increase unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The belt body is segmented into functional zones: a first region with full rib structure for high load-bearing capability, and a second region with reduced material or no ribs for weight reduction. This segmentation allows the support means to have sufficient strength where needed while minimizing weight in less critical areas.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the belt body have different cross-sectional areas and material densities. The first region has larger cross-section and full ribs for maximum strength, while the second region has smaller cross-section and reduced ribs for weight optimization. This local quality variation ensures load-bearing capability is concentrated where most needed.
2Strength
If the belt body has large cross-section with excessive material, then the load-bearing capability is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is segmented into different stages for different regions: the first region undergoes full material deposition and rib formation, while the second region receives reduced material or skipes certain manufacturing steps. This segmentation reduces overall material consumption and manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The manufacturing process applies different material deposition rates, rib formation patterns, or material types to different sections of the belt body. This local quality approach optimizes material usage and reduces manufacturing costs while maintaining required performance.
3Length of moving object
If the belt body material is strongly loaded by alternating bending stresses, then the support means can operate with small pulley diameters, but cracks and premature failure occur
Solution Approach 1:
The belt body is divided into a first region with full rib structure that provides structural support and stress distribution, and a second region with reduced material that flexes more easily. This segmentation allows the support means to navigate small pulleys while distributing bending stresses to avoid crack formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The support means uses composite construction with tensile carriers embedded in the belt body material. The tensile carriers have high fatigue resistance and are strategically positioned to bear the alternating bending stresses, while the belt body material provides flexibility and stress distribution, preventing crack propagation.
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 solution achieves a support means with minimal dimensions and weight, reducing alternating bending stresses and allowing for the use of lower-stress materials, thereby enhancing service life and reducing the risk of material failure while maintaining effective traction and guidance.
Implementation Method 1
Tensile carriers consisting of metallic or non-metallic strands are embedded in the belt body of the wedge ribbed belt and oriented in the belt longitudinal direction, which tensile carriers impart the requisite tensile strength and longitudinal stiffness to the support means
Implementation Method 2
These ribs co-operate with grooves, which are formed to be complementary thereto, in the periphery of driving or deflecting pulleys (termed belt pulleys in the following) in order on the one hand to guide the wedge ribbed belt on the drive pulleys and on the other hand to increase the traction capability between the drive pulley and the support means
Data Source
AI summary
An elevator installation is provided that includes an elevator cage, a drive pulley, at least one support means formed as a flat belt, and a drive engine which drives the at least one support means, which carries the elevator cage, by way of the drive pulley. In the elevator installation, the support means has, at least on a running surface facing the drive pulley, several ribs of wedge-shaped or trapezium-shaped cross-section which extend parallel in a longitudinal direction of the support means and further has several tensile carriers oriented in the longitudinal direction of the support means. The tensile carriers are sized so that a total cross-sectional area of all the tensile carriers amounts to 30%-40% of a cross-sectional area of the support means. The tensile carriers may be distributed in a transverse direction of the support means so that exactly two tensile carriers are associated with each of the ribs, the tensile carriers having an outer diameter equal to 35%-40% of a rib spacing (T).