Flexible Elevator Unlocking Swords for Shaft Head Collision
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing elevator shaft door unlocking mechanisms with expanding swords are prone to jamming and damage when the elevator car exceeds its regular uppermost position, leading to potential system failure and operational disruptions due to the limited headroom in modern lift installations.
Innovation Solution
Designing the expanding swords to be flexible, allowing them to yield upon collision with the elevator shaft head and return to their original position when the elevator car moves away, thereby preventing deformation and ensuring safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the swords are made rigid to ensure structural strength, then the unlocking mechanism can reliably perform its function, but the swords may become deformed and jam if the elevator car exceeds its regular uppermost position
Solution Approach 1:
The swords are designed with articulated connecting brackets that allow them to pivot relative to each other, transforming the rigid structure into a dynamic one. This enables the swords to adapt their configuration when the elevator car exceeds its regular position, preventing deformation and jamming while maintaining unlocking reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The flexibility of the swords is achieved by changing the structural parameter from rigid to articulated, allowing the swords to bend and adjust their position. This parameter change enables the system to tolerate position deviations without damage
2Volume of moving object
If the headroom above the elevator car is reduced to meet modern installation requirements, then the elevator system becomes more compact and space-efficient, but the swords risk colliding with the shaft head
Solution Approach 1:
The articulated connecting brackets create a dynamic structure that allows the swords to pivot and adjust their position. When the elevator car is in its regular position, the swords function normally for unlocking. When the car exceeds its position and the swords approach the shaft head, the articulated structure allows them to bend and avoid collision, enabling safe operation in reduced headroom configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The articulated structure acts as a pre-designed cushioning mechanism that allows controlled deformation through pivoting. This prevents the swords from rigidly impacting the shaft head, providing a safety buffer that protects the system in compact installations
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
This solution prevents sword deformation and maintains elevator system functionality by allowing the flexible swords to adjust to the limited headroom, ensuring reliable and safe operation even when the elevator car is slightly above its regular position.
Implementation Method 1
the swords of the elevator shaft door unlocking are designed to be flexible, so that they are flexible over an adjustable distance if the head of the elevator shaft is touched, and after driving away of the elevator car from the elevator shaft head back to their original position
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The lift shaft door unlocking mechanism operates with expander skates (4) on the door drive (3) which unlock the lift shaft door when entering the region close to an access level. A particular feature is that these expander skates (4) on the lift cabin door drive are designed to be flexible with respect to the lift cabin (1) such that, in the event of any touching of the lift shaft head at the upper end of the lift shaft, they are flexible over an adjustable distance, and, after the lift cabin (1) moves away from the lift shaft head (2), they assume their original position again. For this purpose, these expander skates (4) are displaceably mounted on the expander skate construction itself along respective guides (11). Here, they are held in the uppermost displacement position by means of tension springs (9), and can be displaced downwardly against the force of these springs (9) through application of force to their upper ends from above resulting from a collision with the lift shaft head. After their upper ends have been released, they are returned to the uppermost displacement position again by means of these springs (9).