Guide-Rail Foldable Elevator Buffer for Collision-Free Safety Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing elevator buffers often collide with other components during folding due to limited space in elevator shafts, complicating their installation and reducing the available safety area for maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A foldable elevator buffer attached to the guide rail, swiveling from a rest to an active position to secure a safety area without occupying additional shaft space, allowing installation without collisions and creating a higher protective space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If foldable supports are mounted on the pit of the elevator shaft, then they can create a safety area when unfolded, but they collide with other elevator components (cover plate, rail bracket, guide rail, support buffer) during the folding out movement
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer is detached from the shaft bottom and attached to the guide rail at a height above the shaft bottom. It swings in an arcuate path rather than moving linearly from the shaft bottom, changing the dimension of movement to avoid collisions with components in the shaft pit area.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of mounting the buffer on the shaft bottom and having it swing outward, the buffer is mounted on the guide rail and swings inward toward the shaft center, inverting the traditional mounting approach to avoid collision with shaft bottom components.
2Length of stationary object
If the length of the supports is increased to create a larger safety area, then the height of the life space increases, but a large area must be kept free for the swivel movement of the support
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer attached to the guide rail swings in an arcuate path centered on the guide rail attachment point, utilizing vertical and radial space rather than requiring a large horizontal clearance area from the shaft bottom, thus allowing longer buffer length without proportionally increasing the required free area.
3Ease of operation
If folding buffers are used to allow complete access by the elevator car during normal operation, then the car can reach the bottom of the shaft, but the buffers occupy space in the shaft pit that limits component installation flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of mounting buffers on the shaft bottom that swing outward into the shaft space, the buffers are mounted on the guide rail and swing inward, inverting the movement direction to preserve shaft pit space for other component installations while still allowing complete car access.
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 enables collision-free installation and significantly increases the safety area for maintenance, ensuring the elevator car and counterweight cannot intrude into the protective space, enhancing safety and operational flexibility.
Implementation Method 1
a stopping device (2) which is hinged to the base body (3), by means of a swivel axis (6), so that the stopping device (2) can be swivelled from a rest position (see Fig. 6) to an active position (see Fig. 10)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to an elevator buffer (1), which can be folded in and out, for mechanically securing a safety area, also called life space, for maintenance work above or below an elevator car, characterised in that the buffer (1) has a base body (3) for fastening to an elevator guide rail (23) and a stopping device (2), which is pivotably articulated thereat and which can be pivoted from a rest position, in which it does not hinder the passage of an elevator car or of a counterweight, into an active position, in which it makes the passage of the said car or the said counterweight impossible.