US-12617655-B2 - Elevator system

US12617655B2US 12617655 B2US12617655 B2US 12617655B2US-12617655-B2

Abstract

An elevator system has an elevator car that can travel vertically along a vertical track including a stationary vertical guide rail, and that can travel horizontally by a car transfer device. The car transfer device has a horizontal displacement unit with a vertical guide rail piece that guides the elevator car in the horizontal displacement unit, the horizontal displacement unit being movable into a transit position in which the guide rail piece and the stationary vertical guide rail together form a section of the vertical track. The elevator system has a connecting device by which, in the transit position of the horizontal displacement unit, the vertical guide rail piece can be connected to the stationary vertical guide rail, wherein, when connected by the connecting device, the vertical guide rail piece cannot be displaced in the horizontal direction with respect to the stationary vertical guide rail.

Inventors

Josef Husmann

Assignees

INVENTIO AG

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20200220
Priority Date: 20190228

Claims (13)

1 . An elevator system having an elevator car that travels vertically along a vertical track that includes a stationary vertical guide rail and travels horizontally by a car transfer device, wherein the car transfer device has a horizontal displacement unit with a vertical guide rail piece that guides the elevator car in the horizontal displacement unit, the horizontal displacement unit being movable into a transit position in which the vertical guide rail piece forms a section of the vertical track together with the stationary vertical guide rail, the elevator system comprising: a connecting device that, when the horizontal displacement unit is in the transit position, is operable to vertically connect the vertical guide rail piece to the stationary vertical guide rail when they are vertically aligned in the transit position; and wherein, when the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail by the connecting device, the vertical guide rail piece cannot be displaced in a horizontal direction relative to the stationary vertical guide rail.
2 . The elevator system according to claim 1 wherein the vertical track includes a car drive system having a flexible suspension means that moves and stops along the vertical track, and the elevator car includes a controllable coupling device adapted to couple to and uncouple from the suspension means.
3 . The elevator system according to claim 1 wherein the connecting device is adapted and arranged to connect the vertical guide rail piece to the stationary vertical guide rail through a form-fit connection.
4 . The elevator system according to claim 1 wherein the connecting device has a controllable actuator arranged on the vertical guide rail piece for operating the connecting device.
5 . The elevator system according to claim 1 wherein the connecting device includes a bolt arranged on the vertical guide rail piece and movable between a retracted position and an extended position, and a receptacle arranged on the stationary vertical guide rail with a recess for receiving the bolt, wherein when the horizontal displacement unit is in the transit position and the bolt is in the extended position, the bolt enters into the recess to positively connect the vertical guide rail piece to the stationary vertical guide rail, and when the bolt is in the retracted position, the bolt is distanced from the recess and the vertical guide rail piece is horizontally displaceable relative to the stationary vertical guide rail.
6 . The elevator system according to claim 5 where in the bolt has an insertion bevel directed toward the recess.
7 . The elevator system according to claim 5 wherein the connecting device includes a guide that guides the bolt during movements of the bolt between the retracted position and the extended position.
8 . The elevator system according to claim 5 including a sensor device detecting whether the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail, wherein the sensor device includes a switch arranged on the recess, the switch being actuated by the bolt in the extended position and not being actuated by the bolt in the retracted position.
9 . The elevator system according to claim 8 including a safety controller connected to the sensor device and allowing a vertical movement of the elevator car into and out of the horizontal displacement unit when the sensor device detects that the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail.
10 . The elevator system according to claim 1 including a sensor device detecting whether the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail.
11 . The elevator system according to claim 1 wherein the car transfer device includes a displacement drive having a drive unit and a displacement belt, wherein the horizontal displacement unit is horizontally displaceable by the displacement drive, and wherein the displacement belt provides a drive connection between the drive unit and the horizontal displacement unit.
12 . The elevator system according to claim 11 wherein the displacement belt is a toothed belt.
13 . The elevator system according to claim 11 wherein the car transfer device includes a position detection device that detects a horizontal position of the horizontal displacement unit within the car transfer device.

Description

FIELD The invention relates to an elevator system having an elevator car that can travel vertically along a stationary vertical guide rail and can travel horizontally by a car transfer device. BACKGROUND EP 2219985 B1 describes an elevator system having a plurality of elevator cars which can be displaced in the vertical direction in two vertical tracks arranged next to each other. Each vertical track has a plurality of self-contained suspension means, which are guided around a lower deflection roller and an upper deflection roller, and has a drive machine in the form of an electric motor assigned to the suspension means. Each elevator car has a controllable coupling device. The suspension means have coupling elements that can be designed, for example, as holes or cams. A coupling device of an elevator car can be coupled to and uncoupled from a coupling element, as a result of which a drive connection between the relevant elevator car and the suspension means can be established and released. An elevator car coupled to a suspension means can thus be displaced along a vertical track by means of the suspension means that can be driven by the drive machine in each case, the elevator car being guided by a stationary vertical guide rail during said displacement. These displacements can be referred to as vertical travel along the vertical track comprising a stationary vertical guide rail. The elevator cars are moved along one vertical track only upward, and only downward along the other vertical track. In order to be able to realize a circulating operation of the elevator cars, the elevator cars can be moved horizontally between the two vertical tracks by means of car transfer devices. During operation of the elevator system according to EP 2219985 B1, an elevator car is coupled to a suspension means at a lower or an upper end position via the coupling device of said elevator car and a coupling element, and is moved upward or downward via the suspension means by the associated drive machine until it has reached the upper or lower end position. At that position, the elevator car is uncoupled from the suspension means and is moved horizontally into the other vertical track by a car transfer device, in order to then be displaced in the other direction of displacement. A car transfer device according to EP 2219985 B1 has a horizontal displacement unit with vertical guide rail pieces on which the elevator cars can be temporarily fixed during horizontal travel by means of a braking device. In a so-called transit position of the horizontal displacement unit, an elevator car can be moved into and out of the car transfer device. Associated vertical guide rail pieces and stationary vertical guide rails should be aligned with each other in this case in such a manner that there is no offset and the elevator car can be safely and conveniently moved from a vertical guide rail piece to a stationary vertical guide rail or vice versa. For this purpose, the car transfer device has a centering device, by means of which a frame structure of the horizontal displacement unit can be fixed in the transit position with respect to a horizontal guide. US 2011/0132693 A1 describes a similarly constructed elevator system having a car transfer device. SUMMARY In contrast, it is an object of the invention in particular to propose an elevator system which enables a particularly safe and convenient shaft change of an elevator car. This problem is solved according to the invention by an elevator system having the features described below. The elevator system according to the invention has at least one elevator car which can travel vertically along a vertical track comprising a stationary vertical guide rail, and can travel horizontally by means of a car transfer device. The car transfer device has a horizontal displacement unit with a vertical guide rail piece that guides the elevator car in the horizontal displacement unit. The horizontal displacement unit can be brought into a transit position in which the guide rail piece of the horizontal displacement unit forms a section of the vertical track together with the stationary vertical guide rail. According to the invention, the drive system has a connecting device by means of which, in the transit position of the horizontal displacement unit, the vertical guide rail piece of the horizontal displacement unit can be connected to the stationary vertical guide rail. When the vertical guide rail piece is connected to the stationary vertical guide rail by means of the connecting device, the vertical guide rail piece cannot be displaced in the horizontal direction with respect to the stationary vertical guide rail. The elevator car is guided along the vertical guide rails during displacement and/or when moving into or along the vertical track. The guide rails in particular have a known T shaped cross section; the arms thereof are formed by the foot of the rail, and the trunk thereof is formed by the head