Removable Elevator Battery Pocket for Hoistway-Free Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Maintenance of elevator system batteries is time-consuming and costly, requiring technicians to enter the hoistway, which necessitates safety measures and increased space, conflicting with customer demands for smaller elevator systems.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a battery pocket within the elevator car panel that allows for removable batteries, enabling inspection, maintenance, and repair without entering the hoistway, with options for multiple batteries and a handle for easy removal and installation at the landing floor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If batteries are located in the hoistway and connected via electrical leads, then maintenance and replacement require technician entry into the hoistway with safety measures, but this increases safety volume and clearance space requirements, resulting in larger overall elevator system volume
Solution Approach 1:
The battery is extracted from the hoistway location and repositioned within the elevator car itself. This allows maintenance personnel to access and service the battery by simply opening the elevator car door at the landing floor, eliminating the need to enter the hoistway and thereby reducing the required safety volume and clearance space in the hoistway area.
Solution Approach 2:
The electrical lead acts as an intermediary component, allowing the battery to be positioned within the elevator car while still providing electrical power to the hoistway components. This mediator enables spatial separation between the power source and the components it serves, resolving the conflict between accessibility and space requirements.
2Reliability
If technician entry into hoistway is required for battery maintenance, then safety systems and clearance space must be provided, but this increases installation complexity and time consumption
Solution Approach 1:
By extracting the battery maintenance function from the hoistway environment and relocating it to the elevator car interior, the patent eliminates the need for complex hoistway entry safety systems. The battery can be serviced through the car door opening, which is a controlled and safe access point that does not require additional safety infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery is designed with a removable configuration that allows maintenance personnel to easily remove and replace it without requiring specialized tools or complex procedures. The battery can be serviced independently through the car door, making the maintenance process self-contained and reducing overall system complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If multiple safety measures are implemented for hoistway entry, then technician safety is improved, but this increases the time and cost of maintenance operations
Solution Approach 1:
The battery is relocated from the hoistway to the elevator car, extracting it from the hazardous environment that would require multiple safety measures. This relocation allows maintenance to be performed through the car door in a controlled setting, eliminating the need for time-consuming safety procedures such as hoistway entry permits, safety system activations, and clearance verifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery is pre-positioned within the elevator car in a readily accessible location near the car door. This preliminary positioning ensures that when maintenance is needed, the battery can be quickly accessed and removed without requiring technicians to navigate through complex safety procedures or search for the component, thereby reducing maintenance time while maintaining safety.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 1C
AI summary
An elevator system includes a hoistway and an elevator car suspended in the hoistway via a suspension member and drivable along the hoistway. The elevator car includes an elevator car panel and a battery pocket positioned in the elevator car panel. A battery is removably positioned in the battery pocket. The battery and the battery pocket are configured such that inspection, maintenance and/or repair of the battery is performed without entry into the hoistway of the elevator system. A method of servicing an elevator system includes driving an elevator car along a hoistway and stopping the elevator car near a selected elevator landing floor. A battery is at least partially removed from a battery pocket at the elevator car via a technician located at the selected elevator landing floor for inspection, maintenance, replacement and/or repair.