Retractable Elevator Car Apron for Pit Clearance Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional elevator systems require large overhead and pit dimensions for safety, which is architecturally disadvantageous, and existing retractable car aprons do not fully address the issue of reducing these dimensions while maintaining safety features, especially in systems with small pit depths.
Innovation Solution
A retractable car apron assembly that deploys automatically when a landing door is opened and the elevator car is offset, using a first triggering element attached to the landing door and a second triggering element connected to the car apron, allowing the apron to extend and block the gap between the elevator car and the landing, thus preventing falls and enabling closer elevator car positioning to the pit floor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid car apron with fixed height is used, then safety protection is provided, but large clearance beneath the elevator car is required to avoid contact damage
Solution Approach 1:
The car apron is designed to be retractable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically change its position between extended (for safety protection) and retracted (for minimizing clearance) states. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction by enabling the apron to adapt its configuration based on operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of the car apron from fixed height to variable height through the retractable mechanism. By controlling the extension and retraction of the apron, the system can adjust the clearance requirement, thus resolving the contradiction between safety protection and space requirement.
2Reliability
If traditional large pit depths and overhead spaces are used, then safety features are maintained, but architectural space is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The retractable car apron enables the elevator system to dynamically adjust its safety configuration, allowing smaller pit depths and overhead spaces while maintaining safety features. The apron can be extended when safety is needed and retracted when space optimization is required.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the configuration parameter of the car apron from fixed to variable, the system can optimize the pit depth and overhead space requirements while maintaining safety functionality, thus resolving the contradiction between safety and architectural space utilization.
3Length of stationary object
If the car apron is made retractable to reduce clearance, then space requirement is reduced, but mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retractable mechanism introduces dynamic capability to the car apron, allowing it to change configuration between extended and retracted states. This dynamic feature reduces the required clearance while accepting increased mechanism complexity as a trade-off.
4Reliability
If the first triggering element extends to the bottom of the landing door, then triggering reliability is improved, but normal door operation is interfered with
Solution Approach 1:
The first triggering element is designed with specific local dimensions (height and extension distance) that are optimized to trigger the second element reliably while avoiding interference with normal door operation. This local optimization resolves the contradiction between triggering reliability and operational ease.
Data Source
AI summary
Elevator systems are provided. The systems include an elevator car movable along an elevator shaft, the shaft having a pit floor and a shaft top, the elevator car having an elevator car door sill. A plurality of landings are arranged along the elevator shaft, wherein each landing has a landing door. A car apron assembly is provided that includes a car apron attached to the elevator car at the elevator car door sill, a first triggering element connected to at least one landing door, and a second triggering element operably connected to the car apron. The car apron is deployable from a stowed state to a deployed state when the first triggering element engages and actuates the second triggering element.