US-20260125242-A1 - SELF-PROPELLED ELEVATOR AND METHOD OF SWITCHING PATHS OF SELF-PROPELLED ELEVATOR

US20260125242A1US 20260125242 A1US20260125242 A1US 20260125242A1US-20260125242-A1

Abstract

A self-propelled elevator according to the present disclosure includes: a car; a first path which is used when the car moves in an up-down direction; a second path which is used when the car moves in a horizontal direction; a first rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the first path and along which the car slides; a second rail which is provided along the longitudinal direction of the first path and which guides movement of the car; a third rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the second path and along which the car slides; and a switching section which is provided at a position where the first and second paths intersect. The switching section includes a moving rail and a rotating section.

Inventors

Yusuke Sugahara
Yukio Takeda
Takahiro Ishii
Hiro ASAKO
Takeshi Matsumoto
Masayuki Kakio
Daisuke Nakazawa

Assignees

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE TOKYO

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20221012

Claims (12)

1 . A self-propelled elevator, comprising: a car; a first path which is used when the car moves in an up-down direction; a second path which is used when the car moves in a horizontal direction; a first rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the first path and along which the car slides; a second rail which is provided along the longitudinal direction of the first path and which guides movement of the car; a third rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the second path and along which the car slides; and a switching section which is provided at a position where the first path and the second path intersect, wherein the switching section includes a moving rail and a rotating section, the moving rail can move to a position where the moving rail connects to the first rail when the car moves to the first path and to a position where the car does not come into contact with the moving rail when the car moves to the second path, and the rotating section can rotate and move to a rotation position where the rotating section connects to the second rail when the car moves to the first path and to a rotation position where the rotating section connects to the third rail when the car moves to the second path.
2 . The self-propelled elevator according to claim 1 , further comprising: a fourth rail provided along the longitudinal direction of the second path above the third rail, wherein the rotating section includes a first portion rail and a second portion rail, the first portion rail can rotate and move to a rotation position where the first portion rail connects to the second rail when the car moves to the first path and to a rotation position where the first portion rail connects to the third rail when the car moves to the second path, and the second portion rail can rotate and move to a rotation position where the second portion rail connects to each of the second rail and the first portion rail when the car moves to the first path and to a rotation position where the second portion rail connects to the fourth rail when the car moves to the second path.
3 . The self-propelled elevator according to claim 1 , wherein the car includes: a first wheel which rolls in contact with one guide surface of the first rail when the car moves along the first rail; and a second wheel which rolls in contact with another guide surface of the first rail when the car moves along the first rail, and at least one of the first wheel and the second wheel is a drive wheel.
4 . The self-propelled elevator according to claim 3 , wherein the car includes a third wheel and a fourth wheel, when the car moves along the first path, each of the third wheel and the fourth wheel does not come into contact with either the first rail or the second rail, when the car moves along the second path, each of the third wheel and the fourth wheel rolls in contact with the third rail, and at least one of the third wheel and the fourth wheel is a drive wheel.
5 . The self-propelled elevator according to claim 4 , further comprising: a power source, wherein the drive wheel that is at least one of the first wheel and the second wheel and the drive wheel that is at least one of the third wheel and the fourth wheel are driven by the power source that is shared.
6 . The self-propelled elevator according to claim 3 , further comprising: a support section which supports the first wheel and the second wheel, wherein when the rotating section rotates when a movement path of the car is switched from the first path to the second path, due to the rotating section coming into contact with the support section, the first wheel separates from the one guide surface of the moving rail and, at the same time, the second wheel separates from the other guide surface of the moving rail.
7 . A method of switching paths of a self-propelled elevator, the self-propelled elevator including: a car; a first path which is used when the car moves in an up-down direction; a second path which is used when the car moves in a horizontal direction; a first rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the first path and along which the car slides; a second rail which is provided along the longitudinal direction of the first path and which guides movement of the car; a third rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the second path and along which the car slides; a fourth rail which is provided along the longitudinal direction of the second path above the third rail; and a switching section which is provided at a position where the first path and the second path intersect, the switching section including a moving rail, a first portion rail, and a second portion rail, the moving rail being able to move to a connection position where the moving rail connects to the first rail when the car moves to the first path and to a non-contact position where the car does not come into contact with the moving rail when the car moves to the second path, the first portion rail being able to rotate and move to a rotation position where the first portion rail connects to the second rail when the car moves to the first path and to a rotation position where the first portion rail connects to the third rail when the car moves to the second path, the second portion rail being able to rotate and move to a rotation position where the second portion rail connects to each of the second rail and the first portion rail when the car moves to the first path and to a rotation position where the second portion rail connects to the fourth rail when the car moves to the second path, wherein when switching a movement path of the car from the first path to the second path, switching is performed in an order of: rotating and moving the first portion rail from a rotation position where the first portion rail is parallel to the up-down direction to a rotation position where the first portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction; subsequently rotating and moving the second portion rail from a rotation position where the second portion rail is parallel to the up-down direction to a rotation position where the second portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction; and subsequently moving the moving rail from the connection position to the non-contact position, and when switching the movement path of the car from the second path to the first path, switching is performed in an order of: moving the moving rail from the non-contact position to the connection position; subsequently rotating and moving the second portion rail from the rotation position where the second portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction to the rotation position where the second portion rail is parallel to the up-down direction; and further subsequently rotating and moving the first portion rail from the rotation position where the first portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction to the rotation position where the first portion rail is parallel to the up-down direction.
8 . The method of switching paths of a self-propelled elevator according to claim 7 , wherein the self-propelled elevator further includes: a malfunction prevention mechanism, and when switching the movement path of the car from the first path to the second path, the malfunction prevention mechanism applies mechanical constraints so that switching can only be performed in an order of: rotating and moving the first portion rail from the rotation position where the first portion rail is parallel to the up-down direction to the rotation position where the first portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction; subsequently rotating and moving the second portion rail from the rotation position where the second portion rail is parallel to the up-down direction to the rotation position where the second portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction; and subsequently moving the moving rail from the connection position to the non-contact position, and when switching the movement path of the car from the second path to the first path, the malfunction prevention mechanism applies mechanical constraints so that switching can only be performed in an order of: moving the moving rail from the non-contact position to the connection position; subsequently rotating and moving the second portion rail from the rotation position where the second portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction to the rotation position where the second portion rail is parallel to the up-down direction; and further subsequently rotating and moving the first portion rail from the rotation position where the first portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction to the rotation position where the first portion rail is parallel to the up-down direction.
9 . The method of switching paths of a self-propelled elevator according to claim 8 , wherein the malfunction prevention mechanism includes: a member which is fixed to the first portion rail and which is provided with an arc-shaped first groove and an arc-shaped second groove; and a projection which is fixed to the second portion rail and which is relatively movable along the first groove and the second groove with respect to the first groove and the second groove, the first groove extends along an arc centered on a rotational axis of the first portion rail, and the second groove extends along an arc centered on a rotational axis of the second portion rail in a state where the first portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction.
10 . The method of switching paths of a self-propelled elevator according to claim 8 , wherein the malfunction prevention mechanism includes: a first fan-shaped member which is fixed to the first portion rail and which is provided with a columnar projection at one end; and a second fan-shaped member which is fixed to the second portion rail and which is provided with a columnar projection at one end, when the first portion rail and the second portion rail are parallel to the up-down direction, the first fan-shaped member and the second fan-shaped member are arranged so as to overlap with each other, the first portion rail is rotatable, and rotation of the second portion rail is prevented due to the projection of the second fan-shaped member coming into contact with the first fan-shaped member, and when the first portion rail and the second portion rail are parallel to the horizontal direction, the second portion rail is rotatable, and rotation of the first portion rail is prevented due to the projection of the first fan-shaped member coming into contact with the second fan-shaped member.
11 . The method of switching paths of a self-propelled elevator according to claim 8 , wherein the malfunction prevention mechanism includes: a first restricting member which is mounted to the moving rail or to a mechanism that moves the moving rail; and a second restricting member which is provided at a tip of a rod-shaped member that rotates in synchronization with a rotation of the second portion rail, when the second portion rail is parallel to the up-down direction, a movement of the moving rail from the connection position to the non-contact position is prevented due to the first restricting member coming into contact with the second restricting member, and when the second portion rail is parallel to the horizontal direction, the first restricting member does not come into contact with the second restricting member and the moving rail is movable from the connection position to the non-contact position.
12 . The method of switching paths of a self-propelled elevator according to claim 8 , wherein the self-propelled elevator includes: a pair of the first portion rails and a pair of the second portion rails, and when the pair of the first portion rails and the pair of the second portion rails are parallel to the horizontal direction, the moving rail is arranged between the pair of the first portion rails and the moving rail is arranged between the pair of the second portion rails.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a self-propelled elevator and to a method of switching paths of the self-propelled elevator. BACKGROUND ART PTL 1 discloses an elevator system. In the elevator system, a car moves in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. CITATION LIST Patent Literature [PTL 1] JP H 6-48672 A SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention In an elevator system that drives a car using a linear motor according to PTL 1, switching from up-down movement to horizontal movement is realized by rotating a rail by 90 degrees. In this system, a passenger-carrying cab need to be prevented from rotating as the rail rotates. Specifically, the system requires means for separating a drive mechanism that corotates with the rail from the cab and rotatably connecting the drive mechanism with respect to the cab, and means for fixing the cab to a hoistway so as to prevent the cab from rotating. In a self-propelled elevator, a car is desirably as light as possible because car mass is directly related to energy consumption. However, since rotatably connecting the drive mechanism and the cab requires making connections using shafts, bearings, and the like and since these components must support the car and a load weight, the components inevitably become larger and heavier. The present disclosure has been made in order to solve the problem as described above. An object of the present disclosure is to provide a self-propelled elevator capable of up-down movement and horizontal movement while reducing an increase in car mass, and a method of switching paths of the self-propelled elevator. Solution to Problem A self-propelled elevator according to the present disclosure comprises: a car; a first path which is used when the car moves in an up-down direction; a second path which is used when the car moves in a horizontal direction; a first rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the first path and along which the car slides; a second rail which is provided along the longitudinal direction of the first path and which guides movement of the car; a third rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the second path and along which the car slides; and a switching section which is provided at a position where the first path and the second path intersect, wherein the switching section includes a moving rail and a rotating section, the moving rail can move to a position where the moving rail connects to the first rail when the car moves to the first path and to a position where the car does not come into contact with the moving rail when the car moves to the second path, and the rotating section can rotate and move to a rotation position where the rotating section connects to the second rail when the car moves to the first path and to a rotation position where the rotating section connects to the third rail when the car moves to the second path. A method according to the present disclosure is switching paths of a self-propelled elevator, the self-propelled elevator including: a car; a first path which is used when the car moves in an up-down direction; a second path which is used when the car moves in a horizontal direction; a first rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the first path and along which the car slides; a second rail which is provided along the longitudinal direction of the first path and which guides movement of the car; a third rail which is provided along a longitudinal direction of the second path and along which the car slides; a fourth rail which is provided along the longitudinal direction of the second path above the third rail; and a switching section which is provided at a position where the first path and the second path intersect, the switching section including a moving rail, a first portion rail, and a second portion rail, the moving rail being able to move to a connection position where the moving rail connects to the first rail when the car moves to the first path and to a non-contact position where the car does not come into contact with the moving rail when the car moves to the second path, the first portion rail being able to rotate and move to a rotation position where the first portion rail connects to the second rail when the car moves to the first path and to a rotation position where the first portion rail connects to the third rail when the car moves to the second path, the second portion rail being able to rotate and move to a rotation position where the second portion rail connects to each of the second rail and the first portion rail when the car moves to the first path and to a rotation position where the second portion rail connects to the fourth rail when the car moves to the second path, wherein when switching a movement path of the car from the first path to the second path, switching is performed in an order of: rotating and moving the first portion rail from a rotation position where the fir