GB2166711A

GB2166711A - Apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator

Info

Publication number: GB2166711A
Application number: GB08525257A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kazushi Kunii
Original assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Current assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date: 1984-10-15
Filing date: 1985-10-14
Publication date: 1986-05-14
Also published as: CN1010399B; GB8525257D0; CN85107638A; GB2166711B; KR860003159A; HK38889A; KR900004973Y1

Abstract

An apparatus for detecting the position of an elevator car in an elevator hoistway comprises a first member 30 disposed in a first device 3, e.g. a hanger case, supporting a door 4 for a hoistway entrance, and a second member 38 which is disposed in a second device 12, e.g. a beam, supporting a door 13 for a car entrance facing the hoistway entrance. The second member 38 faces the first member 30 when the car is at the floor, and the first and second members cooperate with each other to output a signal from one of them when the first and second members face each other. The members 30, 38 form a non-contact detector e.g. an induction detector or optical detector, mounted well clear of the hoist rope. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator Background of the invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator in which first and second detectors are respectively disposed on the sides of a car and a hoistway.

It is indispensable to detect the position of a car in the control of an elevator. In an apparatus for detecting the position of a car such as the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 42-15159, the position of a car is detected by the relative motion of a stationary plate disposed in a hoistway and a magnetic induction-relay disposed on the car.

In a conventional apparatus as shown in Figures 1 and 2, a hoistway entrance 2 is disposed in a wall of a hoistway 1, and a hoistway door 4 is disposed opposite the hoistway entrance 2 and is hung from the upper end thereof by a hanger case 3 secured to the wall of the hoistway 1. The hoistway door 4 is opened or closed together with the car door 13 by the engagement between a grooved member 6 secured to the hoistway door 4 and a projection 15 secured to the car door 13. The car 9 is vertically moved along two guide rails 7 secured to the walls of the hoistway 1. A rectangular car frame 8 for supporting the car 9 comprises two car stiles 8a, and car top and bottom beams 8b and 8c joining the car stiles 8a with each other at the upper and lower ends thereof, respectively. Guides shoes 16 are secured to the top and bottom beams 8b and 8c and can engage with the rails 7.A supporting plate 17 is secured to the top beam 8b, and a detecting element 18 comprising a magnetic induction-relay having a U-shaped groove formed therein is secured to the supporting plate 17. An operating member 20 supported by a supporting arm 19 secured to one of the guide rails 7 extends into the U-shaped groove of the detecting element 18. A counterweight 22 moves along two guide rails 21 and is connected to the car 9 through an unillustrated main rope.

The car frame 8 is vertically guided by the guide rails 7, and the detecting element 18 produces an output signal when the detecting element 18 is operated by the operating member 20, thereby detecting the position of the car 9.

In the conventional apparatus described above, since the supporting arm 19 projects from the guide rail 7, a main rope connecting the car 9 to the counterweight 22, a travelling cable, a governor rope, etc. disposed near the supporting arm 19 may be caught on the supporting arm 19, especially at the time of an earthquake. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide members for attaching the detecting element 18 and the operating member 20 to the top beam 8b and the guide rail 7, respectively, which increases the number and cost of parts. Furthermore, it is difficult to instali the detecting element 18 and the operating member 20 since they are disposed near the central portion of the side wall of the hoistway 1, and thus far from the hoistway entrance 2.

Summary of the invention It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above problems and to provide an apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator which does not have any protruding members on which a main rope connecting a car to a counterweight, a travelling cable, a governor rope, etc. can become caught on at the time of an earthquake, which does not require special members for attaching first and second members detecting the position of the car to the car and the hoistway, thereby reducing the cost of parts, and which has detecting members which can be easily disposed within the hoistway.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for detecting the position of a car in which the amount by which the first member extends into the second member is sufficiently large.

With the above objects in view, the present invention resides in an apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator comprising a first member disposed in a first device supporting a door for a hoistway entrance, a second member which is disposed in a second device supporting a door for a car entrance opposing the hoistway entrance so as to oppose the first member, said first and second members cooperating with each other to output a signal from one of them when the first and second members oppose each other.

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of an elevator equipped with a conventional apparatus for detecting the position of a car; Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along Line ll-ll of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of an elevator showing one embodiment of an apparatus for detecting the position of a car according to the present invention; Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along Line IV IV of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view of an elevator employing another embodiment of an apparatus for detecting the position of a car according to the present invention; and Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along Line VI-VI of Figure 5.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments A first embodiment of an apparatus for detecting the position of a car will now be described while referring to Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying drawings. In Figures 3 and 4, a hoistway entrance 2 is disposed in the front wall of a hoistway 1, and a hoistway door 4 is disposed opposite the hoistway entrance 2 and is hung from the upper end thereof with a hanger case 3 secured to the front wall of the hoistway 1. A car 9 is vertically moved along two guide rails 7 secured to the side walls of the hoistway 1. A landing sill 5 which is disposed on each landing of the hoistway guides the lower end of the hoistway door 4. A car sill 14 which is disposed in the floor of the car 9 opposes the landing sill 5 and guides the lower end of the car doors 13, which are of the two-door type.A grooved member 6 is secured to the hoistway door 4, and a projection 15 is secured to one of the car doors 13 on the side of the front wall of the hoistway 1. The projection 15 extends into the groove in the grooved member 6 so that the hoistway door 4 will open and close together with the car doors 13. A rectangular car frame 8 which supports the car 9 comprises two cars stiles 8a, and car top and bottom beams 8b and 8c which connect the car stiles 8a with each other at the upper and lower ends thereof, respectively. Guides shoes 16 which engage with the rails 7 are secured to the top and bottom beams 8b and 8c. A supporting arm 11 is secured to each car stile 8a and projects toward the front wall of the hoistway 1. An L-shaped beam 12 is secured to the supporting arms 11, and the car doors 13 are hung from the upper end of the beam 12.A governor rope and a travelling cable for driving the car 9 may be disposed near one of the guide rails 7.

An apparatus for detecting the position of a car according to the present invention comprises an operating member 30 secured to the hanger case 3, and a detecting element 38 made of a magnetic induction-relay secured to the beam 12. The relative position of the hanger case 3 with respect to the beam 12 must be very exact since the hoistway door 4 is opened or closed together with the car doors 13 by the engagement between the grooved member 6 and the projection 15. Therefore, the operating member 30 and the detecting element 38 can be secured to the hanger case 3 and the beam 12 in a factory, and it is unnecessary to adjust their position relative to one another within the hoistway 1 when they are installed.

A longitudinally-extending cutout 3a is formed in a portion of the hanger case 3 corresponding to the locations of the operating member 30 and the detecting element 38. A longitudinally-extending cutout 5a corresponding to the cutout 3a is formed in one end of the landing sill 5. A longitudinallyextending cutout 14a is formed in one end of the car sill. This cutout 14a opposes the cutout 5a in the landing sill 5.

The distance between the landing sill 5 and the car sill 14 must be about 30mm. The amount by which the operating member 30 extends into the recessed portion of the detecting element 38 must be a predetermined length so that even when the car 9 vibrates or when there are differences between floors in the amount by which the operating member 30 protrudes into the hoistway 1, the operating member 30 will still extend into the detecting element 38. The cutouts 5a and 14a in the landing sill 5 and the car sill 14, respectively, are sized so that the operating member 30 will extend into the detecting element by a suitable amount. At least one of the cutouts 5a and 14a allows the detecting element 38 to move vertically and allows the amount by which the operating member 30 extends into the detecting element 38 to be sufficiently long.A cutout may be formed in either the landing sill 5 or the car sill 14 corresponding to the amount by which the operating member 30 extends into the recessed portion of the detecting element 38. The hanger case 3 and the beam 12 are in proximity to each other, and it is unnecessary to dispose extension members projecting from the top beam 8b, etc. to attach the operating member 30 and the detecting element 38 to the hoistway 1 and the car 9, respectively. In addition to this advantage, the operating member 30 and the detecting element 38 are removed from a main rope, a governor rope near the car frame 8, and cables for driving the car 9 so that such ropes and cables cannot become caught in the operating member 30 and the detecting element 38 at the time of an earthquake.The wiring of the detecting element 38 can be performed together with the wiring for driving the car doors 13 since the wiring for driving the car doors 13 is supported by the beam 12.

In a second embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, a hoistway door 4' and a car door 13' both of the one-door type on the sides of a hoistway 1 and a car 9, respectively, correspond to the doors 4 and 13 of the two-door type in Figures 3 and 4. A supporting member 44 is secured to a portion of a hanger case 3 which the hoistway door 4' approaches when it is closed. An L-shaped operating member 45 is secured to the supporting member 44. A supporting member 46 is secured to the end of the beam 12 confronting the operating member 45. A detecting element 48 having a recess formed therein comprises a magnetic induction-relay and is secured to the supporting member 46. One leg 45a of the operating member 45 extends into the recessed portion of the detecting element 48 facing the side wall of the hoistway 1.The structure is otherwise similar to that of the first embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 5 and 6, when the hoistway door 4' is opened by the car door 13' through the engagement between the projection 15 and the recessed member 6, the two doors are received in the respective door receiving members, the ends of which are in proximity to the side wall of the hoistway 1 at the upper end of Figure 5, since the widths of the hoistway entrance 2 and the car entrance 10 are designed to be as wide as possible with respect to a given width of the hoistway 1. However, the necessary clearance between the opposite side wall of the hoistway 1 at the lower end of Figure 5 and a conventional device for opening or closing the doors which comprises an electric motor, a reduction gear, etc. is about 150 to 200 mm to enable the installation of the guide rail 7. Therefore when this clearance is used, it is easy to secure the operating member 45 to the hanger case 3 through the supporting member 44 and to secure the detecting element 48 to the beam 12 through the supporting member 46.

As mentioned above, the operating member 45 and the detecting element 48 are preferably disposed on the side wall which the doors approach when the doors are closed, but similar effects can be obtained when they are disposed in the clear ance between the door receiving members and the other side wall of the hoistway 1.

In the first and second embodiments mentioned above, the detecting element comprises a magnetic induction-relay, but it may be a member such as a photoelectric cell which detects the associated operating member. Furthermore, the operating member is disposed on the side of the hoistway 1, and the detecting element is disposed on the side of the car 9, but the operating member and the detecting element may be disposed on the sides of the car 9 and the hoistway 1, respectively.

As mentioned above, according to the present invention, a travelling cable, a main rope, a governor rope, etc. are not caught on the members for detecting the position of the car at the time of an earthquake. Also, since the operating member and the detecting element can be secured to the respective supporting members in a factory prior to field installation, it is unnecessary to perform the centering thereof within the hoistway when they are installed. Furthermore, it is unnecessary to provide special extension members for attaching the operating member and the detecting element to the respective supporting members, thereby reducing the number of parts and the cost thereof. Furthermore, when a cutout is formed in at least one of the opposing portions on the sides of the hoistway and the car to allow the detecting element to move vertically, the amount by which the operating member extends into the detecting element can be made sufficiently large.

Claims

1. An apparatus for detecting the position of an elevator car in an elevator hoistway comprising: a first member disposed in a first device supporting a door for a hoistway entrance; a second member which is disposed in a second device supporting a door for a car entrance opposing the hoistway entrance and can oppose the first member; said first and second members cooperating with eath other to output a signal from one of them when the first and second members oppose each other.

2. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first device comprises a hanger case disposed above the hoistway door, and the second device comprises a beam disposed above the car door.

3. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first and second members are respectively attached to the hanger case and the beam before the hanger case and the beam are respectively disposed above the hoistway door and the car door.

4. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 2, wherein said first and second members are respectively disposed on the upper surfaces of predetermined one end edges of the hanger case and the beam.

5. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 4, wherein each of the hoistway door and the car door is of one door type and said one end edges of the hanger case and the beam are located on the side opposite the side on which door receiving members are disposed to receive the hoistway and car doors.

6. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 4, wherein one of said first and second members has a recessed portion which opposes a wall of the hoistway and which receives a portion of the other of the first and second members which extends in the direction of sliding of the hoistway and car doors.

7. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 4, wherein clearances are provided between said one end edges of the hanger case and the beam and the wall surface of the hoistway.

8. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 1, wherein a notch for allowing the second member to move vertically is formed in at least one of said support members for respectively constituting the hoistway entrance and the car entrance.

9. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 8, wherein said support members comprise a landing sill for the hoistway entrance and a car sill for the car entrance.

10. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 8, wherein said first and second members project in the direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of sliding of the doors, and both of the projections oppose each other, and said notch allows the projection of the second member to move vertically.

11. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first member is one of an operating member and a detecting element which can output a signal when the operating member and the detecting element oppose each other, and said second member is the other of the operating member and the detecting element.

12. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 11, wherein said first member is the operating member secured to a hanger case disposed above the hoistway door, and said second member is the detecting element secured to an upper beam which is disposed above the car door and having a recessed portion for receiving the operating member, and a notch is disposed in a landing sill and a car sill to allow the detecting element to move vertically, the operating member and the detecting element extending in the direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of sliding of the doors, the operating member and the detecting element being respectively disposed on one side of the hoistway and on one ends of the hanger case and the upper beam in the direction of sliding of the doors.

13. An apparatus for detecting the position of a car in an elevator as claimed in claim 11, wherein said first member is the operating member secured to a hanger case disposed above the hoistway door, and said second member is the detecting element which is secured to an upper beam disposed above the car door and which has a recessed portion for receiving the operating member, said recessed portion of the detecting element opposing a side wall of the'hoistway, the operating member and the detecting element being respectively disposed on the side of the side wall of the hoistway and at one ends of the hanger case and the upper beam in the direction of sliding of the doors.

14. Apparatus for detecting the position of an elevator car, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 3 and 4 or Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.