JP7675576B2 - Multi-Car Elevator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a multi-car elevator in which multiple cars move along a single path.

In recent years, a circulating multi-car elevator has been proposed in which the car not only moves linearly upward and downward, but also reverses from upward to downward, changing direction continuously. A conventional multi-car elevator of this type is described, for example, in Patent Document 1.

Patent Document 1 describes a multi-car elevator equipped with multiple cars, a distance sensor, and a determination unit. The multi-car elevator described in Patent Document 1 also includes a first drive pulley and a second drive pulley, a first lower pulley and a second lower pulley, a first main rope wound around the first drive pulley and the first lower pulley, and a second main rope wound around the second drive pulley and the second lower pulley. The direction of movement of the cars is reversed by the first lower pulley and the second lower pulley.

JP 2020-138830 A

However, the amount of elongation of the main rope changes over time. The first and second lower pulleys are suspended from the first and second drive pulleys to accommodate changes in the elongation of the main rope. Therefore, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, there was a risk that the heights of the first and second lower pulleys would be misaligned due to variations in the amount of elongation of the first and second main ropes. As a result, if the heights of the first and second lower pulleys changed, it was difficult to reverse the car between the first and second lower pulleys.

Taking the above problems into consideration, the objective of this invention is to provide a multi-car elevator that can reliably reverse the lifting body between the first lower pulley and the second lower pulley.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the objective, the multi-car elevator includes a first drive pulley, a second drive pulley, a first main rope, a second main rope, a lifting body, a first lower pulley, a second lower pulley, and a connecting mechanism.
The first drive pulley is disposed at the top of the hoistway. The second drive pulley is disposed at the top of the hoistway. The first main rope is wound around the first drive pulley. The second main rope is wound around the second drive pulley. The lifting body is connected to the first main rope and the second main rope. The first lower pulley is suspended from the first drive pulley via the first main rope. The second lower pulley is suspended from the second drive pulley via the second main rope. And the connecting mechanism connects the first lower pulley and the second lower pulley.

With the multi-car elevator configured as above, the lifting body can be reliably reversed by the first lower pulley and the second lower pulley.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a multi-car elevator according to an embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a path of travel in a multi-car elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of a multi-car elevator according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a connection mechanism of the multi-car elevator according to the embodiment. 5A shows the reversing operation of a multi-car elevator, and FIG. 5B shows the reversing operation of a multi-car elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Below, a multi-car elevator according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Note that common components in each figure are given the same reference numerals.

1. Example of the Configuration of a Multi-Car Elevator First, the configuration of a multi-car elevator according to an example of an embodiment (hereinafter, referred to as "this example") will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 4.
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the multi-car elevator of this embodiment, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the movement path of the multi-car elevator of this embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a side view of the multi-car elevator.

The multi-car elevator 1 shown in Figure 1 is an elevator in which multiple cars 10 move along a path formed within an architectural structure. The multiple cars 10 are controlled so that they can stop at boarding and alighting points provided on each floor of the architectural structure.

The multi-car elevator 1 includes multiple cars 10A, 10B for carrying people and luggage, a first drive pulley 2, a second drive pulley 3, a first lower pulley 4, a second lower pulley 5, a first main rope 8, and a second main rope 9. The multi-car elevator 1 also includes multiple guide rails 20.

The guide rails 20 are erected in the elevator along the ascending and descending direction in the elevator shaft along which the cars 10A and 10B move up and down. The guide rails 20 guide the ascending and descending movement of the cars 10A and 10B. Two of the multiple guide rails 20 (one is shown in FIG. 1) are disposed between the first driving pulley 2 and the second driving pulley 3, and between the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5. These two guide rails 20 are fixed to a vertical beam 22 (see FIG. 2). The vertical beam 22 is disposed in the center of the elevator shaft.

The first drive pulley 2 and the second drive pulley 3 are disposed at the top of the elevator shaft. As shown in FIG. 3, the first drive pulley 2 and the second drive pulley 3 are each composed of a plurality of pulleys. A first main rope 8 is wound around the first drive pulley 2, and a second main rope 9 is wound around the second drive pulley 3. The first main rope 8 and the second main rope 9 are each formed in a loop shape.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, a first lower pulley 4 is disposed below the first driving pulley 2 in the ascending and descending direction. A second lower pulley 5 is disposed below the second driving pulley 3 in the ascending and descending direction. A first main rope 8 is wound around the first lower pulley 4, and a second main rope 9 is wound around the second lower pulley 5. The first lower pulley 4 is suspended below the first driving pulley 2 in the ascending and descending direction via the first main rope 8, and the second lower pulley 5 is suspended below the second driving pulley 3 in the ascending and descending direction via the second main rope 9.

The first loop is formed by the first drive pulley 2, the first lower pulley 4, and the first main rope 8, and the second loop is formed by the second drive pulley 3, the second lower pulley 5, and the second main rope 9.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 are each composed of multiple pulleys. The multiple pulleys that make up the first lower pulley 4 are rotatably supported on a single rotating shaft 4a. Similarly, the multiple pulleys that make up the second lower pulley 5 are rotatably supported on a single rotating shaft 5a. These rotating shafts 4a and 5a are supported at both ends in the axial direction.

The cars 10A and 10B are connected to the first main rope 8 via the first connection part 11. The cars 10A and 10B are connected to the second main rope 9 via the second connection part 12.

The multiple cars 10A, 10B move up and down along the guide rail 20 as the first drive pulley 2 and the second drive pulley 3 are driven. In addition, the direction of movement of the cars 10A, 10B reverses from rising to falling, or from falling to rising, along the circumference of the first drive pulley 2 and the second drive pulley 3 at the upper part of the elevator shaft. Furthermore, the direction of movement of the cars 10A, 10B reverses from rising to falling, or from falling to rising, along the circumference of the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 at the lower part of the elevator shaft. This allows the multiple cars 10A, 10B to move in a circular motion in the elevator shaft.

Moreover, the multi-car elevator 1 has a connecting mechanism 30 that connects the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5. Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of the connecting mechanism 30.
2 and 4, the connecting mechanism 30 has a support portion 31 and two arm portions 32, 32. The support portion 31 is disposed below the guide rail 20 disposed between the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5. The support portion 31 is provided with a sliding portion 31a that slides along the vertical beam 22 in the ascending and descending direction.

The two arm portions 32, 32 extend from the support portion 31 toward the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the arm portions 32, 32 are formed in a crank shape so as to avoid the area through which the cars 10A, 10B pass. One of the two arm portions 32, 32 is fixed to the rotating shaft 4a of the first lower pulley 4. The other of the two arm portions 32, 32 is fixed to the rotating shaft 5a of the second lower pulley 5.

The connecting mechanism 30 connects the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 via two arm portions 32, 32, thereby adjusting the height positions of the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 in the ascending and descending direction. Furthermore, the connecting mechanism 30 is arranged so that it can move along the vertical beam 22 by the sliding portion 31a of the support portion 31. Therefore, when the amount of elongation of the first main rope 8 and the second main rope 9 changes, the sliding portion 31a of the support portion 31 of the connecting mechanism 30 slides in the ascending and descending direction on the vertical beam 22. As a result, the height of the connecting mechanism 30 in the ascending and descending direction changes together with the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5.

As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the support portion 31 is arranged so as to surround the periphery of the vertical beam 22. Therefore, the movement of the connecting mechanism 30 in a direction perpendicular to the lifting direction is restricted by the support portion 31. This makes it possible to prevent the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 connected by the connecting mechanism 30 from swinging in a direction perpendicular to the lifting direction.

The connecting mechanism 30 is supported by the vertical beam 22 via the support portion 31. This allows the load applied to the arm portion 32 to be distributed to the vertical beam 22. In this example, the connecting mechanism 30 is attached to the vertical beam 22, but if the vertical beam 22 does not extend to the height of the connecting mechanism 33, the two arm portions 32, 32 may be directly connected.

2. Example of Reversing Operation of Car Next, an example of the reversing operation of the car will be described with reference to Figs. 5A and 5B.
FIG. 5A shows the reversing operation of a conventional multi-car elevator, and FIG. 5B shows the reversing operation of the multi-car elevator 1 of this embodiment.

In the conventional multi-car elevator shown in FIG. 5A, the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 are not connected. Therefore, if there is variation in the elongation of the first main rope 8 and the second main rope 9, a difference x will occur in the height positions of the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 in the ascending and descending direction. Therefore, in the conventional multi-car elevator, it is difficult for the car 10A to move in a reverse direction along the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5. For this reason, it was necessary to periodically check and adjust the lengths of the first main rope 8 and the second main rope 9 so that the height positions of the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 are the same.

In contrast, in the multi-car elevator 1 of this example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 are connected by a connecting mechanism 30. Therefore, even if there is variation in the elongation of the first main rope 8 and the second main rope 9, the height positions of the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 in the ascending and descending direction can be aligned by the connecting mechanism 30. As a result, according to the multi-car elevator 1 of this example, the car 10A can be reliably reversed along the circumference of the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5. In this case, the tension of the main rope with the larger rope elongation of the two main ropes 8, 9 is reduced. Therefore, it is preferable to manage the tension of the main ropes 8, 0 by a sensor that measures the tension of the attached main ropes 8, 9, and ensure a predetermined tension.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention described in the claims.

Furthermore, although a multi-car elevator in which multiple cars 10 move in a circular manner in one direction has been described as a multi-car elevator, the present invention is not limited to this.

Furthermore, the number of cars provided in the multi-car elevator 1 is not limited to two, and the number of cars may be three or more. In the examples shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 4, the first lower pulley 4 and the second lower pulley 5 are each composed of three pulleys. This means that there are three loops to which two cars are connected.
Therefore, in the example shown in Figures 2 and 4, there are six cars.

In addition, in the multi-car elevator 1 of this embodiment, an example has been described in which a car is used as the lifting body, but this is not limited to this. For example, one of two lifting bodies arranged symmetrically via the main ropes 8 and 9 may be used as the car and the other as the lifting body.

In this specification, the words "parallel" and "orthogonal" are used, but these do not mean only "parallel" and "orthogonal" in the strict sense, but also include "parallel" and "orthogonal" and may also mean a "nearly parallel" or "nearly orthogonal" state within a range in which the functions can be exerted.

1...Multi-car elevator, 2...First driving pulley, 3...Second driving pulley, 4...First lower pulley, 4a...Rotating shaft, 5...Second lower pulley, 5a...Rotating shaft, 8...First main rope, 9...Second main rope, 10A, 10B...Car, 11...First connection part, 12...Second connection part, 20...Guide rail, 22...Vertical beam, 30...Connecting mechanism, 31...Support part, 31a...Sliding part, 32...Arm part

Claims (6)

A first drive pulley disposed at an upper portion of the hoistway;
A second drive pulley disposed at an upper portion of the hoistway;
a first main rope wound around the first drive pulley;
a second main rope wound around the second drive pulley;
A lifting body connected to the first main rope and the second main rope;
a first lower pulley suspended from the first drive pulley via the first main rope;
a second lower pulley suspended from the second drive pulley via the second main rope;
a connecting mechanism that connects the first lower pulley and the second lower pulley;
A multi-car elevator equipped with The multi-car elevator according to claim 1 , wherein the connecting mechanism has an arm portion attached to a rotation shaft of the first lower pulley and a rotation shaft of the second lower pulley. The multi-car elevator according to claim 1, wherein the connecting mechanism is supported via a support portion so as to be movable in the ascending/descending direction. The multi-car elevator according to claim 3, wherein the support portion is attached to a guide rail that supports the lifting body so as to be movable along the lifting direction, or to a vertical beam to which the guide rail is fixed. The multi-car elevator according to claim 4, wherein the support portion has a sliding portion that slides on the guide rail or the vertical beam. The first lower pulley and the second lower pulley are configured with a plurality of pulleys,
The multi-car elevator according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of pulleys are rotatably supported by a single rotating shaft.

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