Title of Invention

"EQUIPEMENT FOR PRODUCING SHAFT INFORMATION IN AN ELEVATOR SHAFT"

Abstract No.IN/PCT/2002/01746/CHE ABSTRACT EQUIPMENT FOR PRODUCING SHAFT INFORMATION IN AN ELEVATOR SHAFT Equipment for producing shaft information in an elevator shaft, in which a coded strip is arranged over the shaft height, wherein the code of the strip is readable by means of a sensor device arranged at an elevator car movable in the elevator shaft and is convertible into travel parameters of the elevator car and the strip is a toothed belt extending over the shaft height, characterised in that the toothing of the toothed belt (10) during movement of the elevator car (2) in the elevator shaft (1) is scan able by means of an encoder (11) which is arranged at the elevator car (2) and the information of which is convertible into travel parameters of the elevator car (2), wherein the encoder comprises a toothed wheel (12) which is drivable by means of the toothed belt (10) during movement of the elevator car (2) and wherein guide rollers (13) guide the toothed belt (10) and ensure a secure engagement of the toothed wheel (12) in the toothing of the toothed belt (10). Figure 1.
Full Text

The present invention relates to equipment for producing shaft information in an elevator shaft.
Equipment for the generation of shaft information, by means of which the absolute position of the elevator car is determined, has become known from the U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,756. An extensible aperture strip tensioned over the shaft height is scanned by means of an optical reader arranged at the elevator car. The apertured strip has two tracks, wherein one track represents the binary coded car position and the other track has openings at regular intervals over the entire strip length. The first track is scanned by an optical reader and the second track by two optical readers and the direction of the movement of the elevator car is determined therefrom.
A disadvantage of this known equipment resides in the fact that the strip has to be supported at several points over the shaft height. It is further disadvantageous that temperature fluctuations have a direct effect on the accuracy of the shaft information. Moreover, the apertured strip is contaminated with oil-laden dust due to the air circulation prevailing in the elevator shaft, as a result of which problems and inaccuracies arise in the optical scanning of the perforations.
Here the invention will provide a remedy. The invention meets the object of avoiding the disadvantages of the known equipment and of creating equipment for generating shaft information by the simplest means.
Accordingly the present invention provides an equipment for producing shaft information in an elevator shaft, in which a coded strip is arranged over the shaft height, wherein the code of the strip is readable by means of a sensor device arranged at an elevator car movable in the elevator shaft and is convertible into travel parameters of the elevator car and the strip is a toothed belt extending over the shaft height, characterised in that the tooting of the toothed belt during movement of the elevator car in the elevator shaft is scan able by means of an encoder which is arranged at the elevator car and the information of which is convertible into travel

parameters of the elevator car, wherein the encoder comprises a toothed wheel which is drivable by means of the toothed belt during movement of the elevator car and wherein guide rollers guide the toothed belt and ensure a secure engagement of the toothed wheel in the too thing of the toothed belt.
The advantages achieved by the invention are substantially to be seen in the fact that the equipment is largely maintenance-free, cannot be contaminated and is constructed from usual commercial parts. In the case of power failure the equipment according to the present invention does not lose the positional information and learning travels after the power failure are not necessary. Moreover, the equipment replaces all non-safety-relevant shaft switches for producing shaft information. The toothed belt serving as an information transmitter is disposed in fixed engagement with the encoder, so that slipping between the toothed belt and encoder cannot occur. The toothed belt, which is tensioned over the shaft height at two ends, is simple to mount. Since the toothed belt has a reinforcement with spring characteristics, no additional tensioning elements in the form of, for example, tension springs are necessary for the mounting. The ends of the toothed belt can each be formed into a respective eye and be connected with the toothed belt by means of a clip. The eye loops around a cylindrical mount arranged in the shaft. Changes in the constructional body due to temperature or aging do not have any influence on the accuracy of the equipment according to the present invention, because the toothed belt is always tensioned and the level of a specific floor is always at the same tooth of the toothed belt.
The present invention, is explained in more detail by reference to the accompanying figure, in which:
FIG. 1 shows equipment for producing elevator shaft information.
FIG. 1 shows an elevator installation without a machine room. The equipment according to the present invention can also be used for elevator installations with a machine room. Not illustrated is the elevator drive with a drive pulley, by way of

which the cables are guided which connect an elevator car 2 and a counterweight (not illustrated) for moving up and down in an elevator shaft 1. The elevator car 2 is movable along guide rails 3. An elevator control 4 arranged at a floor E3 controls the elevator drive and the course of movement of the elevator car 2 and ensures the safety of the elevator operation. The control 4 is conventionally connected to the elevator car 2 by a cable (not shown) for the exchange of various signals. The elevator car 2 serves floors El and E2. In the illustrated example, an elevator installation is illustrated with two floors, but there can also be more. A safety circuit of the elevator installation consists of a series circuit of contacts of the floor doors (not illustrated) and an upper limit switch 5 and a lower limit switch 6 in the elevator shaft 1. The upper limit switch 5 prevents movement of the elevator car 2 into a shaft head 7 and the lower limit switch 6 prevents movement of the elevator car 2 into a shaft pit 8. On movement of the elevator car 2 into one of the floors El, E2 a door zone contact 9 is actuated, which bridges over the safety contact of the floor El, E2, whereby a car door and a floor door can be opened prematurely without the safety circuit being interrupted.
The position of the elevator car 2 in the elevator shaft 1 is of importance for the elevator control 4. For that purpose, equipment for producing shaft information is necessary. In the present example the equipment consists of a toothed belt 10 tensioned over the shaft height and an encoder 11 that is disposed in connection with the toothed belt 10 and which detects the absolute position of the elevator car 2. The encoder 11, which is attached to the elevator car 2, comprises a toothed wheel 12 which, on movement of the elevator car 2 in the elevator shaft 1, is driven by the toothed belt 11. Guide rollers 13 positioned on the opposite side of the toothed belt 10 from the wheel guarantee secure engagement of the toothed wheel 12 in the teeth of the belt 10. The toothed belt 10 is, at each end, arranged at a transverse beam 14 by means of a cylindrical mount. Because the toothed belt 10 has spring characteristics, no additional tensioning elements in the form of, for example, tension springs are needed for the mounting. The ends of the toothed belt 10 can each be formed into an eye and be connected with the toothed belt by means of a clip. The cable eye loops around the cylindrical mount arranged at the transverse beam 14. The toothed belt 10

includes, for example, a steel reinforcement which imparts the spring characteristics to the toothed belt 10. Moreover, the toothed belt 10 has a color marking which enables a twist-free mounting at the outset.
A flat belt with a non-skid surface, which bears with sufficient pressure against a pulley of the encoder 11, is also possible instead of the toothed belt 10.
The toothed wheel 12 of the encoder 11 drives a shaft with a coded disc (not shown), the code of which is optoelectronic ally read and the data filed in a shift register (not shown). In the case of rotation of the coded disc beyond 360.degree., the coding repeats. In the case of long movement paths such as those of an elevator shaft, a reduction gear is connected between the first code disc and a further code disc, which slows down the further code disc in terms of rotation in a specific ratio to the first code disc. Further reduction gears and code discs can be connected downstream.
The data exchange between the encoder 11 and the elevator control 4 is carried out in such a manner that a clock signal of the elevator control 4 is applied to the shift register, wherein the clock signal controls the serial data transmission to the elevator control 4. The elevator control 4 produces, from the transmitted data, travel parameters of the elevator car 2 such as, for example, the absolute position of the elevator car 2 in the elevator shaft 1, the speed of the elevator car 2 and/or the travel direction of the elevator car 2.
In the case of power failure the positional information of the encoder 11 is maintained by the setting of the code discs. Because the equipment for producing shaft information is also used for evacuation operation, the encoder 11 is operated with battery support. If the encoder 11 produces no or no valid travel parameter, for example in the case of breakage of the toothed belt 10, the elevator car is immediately stopped.

All non-safety-relevant shaft information can be derived with the absolute positional information of the encoder 11. As apparent in the illustrated example, apart from the safety switches 5, 6, 9 in the elevator shaft 1, no switches are necessary. For example, the level of the floor is measured by means of the encoder 11 and communicated to the elevator control 4. For that purpose the elevator car 2 is moved in the elevator shaft 1 to the corresponding level and the absolute positional information of the floor is transmitted to the elevator control 4.


WE CLAIM :
1. Equipment for producing shaft information in an elevator shaft, in which a
coded strip is arranged over the shaft height, wherein the code of the strip is readable
by means of a sensor device arranged at an elevator car movable in the elevator shaft
and is convertible into travel parameters of the elevator car and the strip is a toothed
belt extending over the shaft height, characterised in that the toothing of the toothed
belt (10) during movement of the elevator car (2) in the elevator shaft (1) is scan able
by means of an encoder (11) which is arranged at the elevator car (2) and the
information of which is convertible into travel parameters of the elevator car (2),
wherein the encoder comprises a toothed wheel (12) which is drivable by means of the
toothed belt (10) during movement of the elevator car (2) and wherein guide rollers
(13) guide the toothed belt (10) and ensure a secure engagement of the toothed wheel
(12) in the toothing of the toothed belt (10).
2. Equipment as claimed in claim I, wherein the toothed belt (10) has a reinforcement with spring characteristics, which acts as a tensioning element.
3. Equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the toothed belt (10) has with respect to its length a marking which enables a twist-free mounting.
4. Equipment as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein an encoder (11) for detection of the absolute position of the elevator car (2) is provided, wherein the absolute position remains stored without energy.
5. Equipment as claimed in claim 4, wherein in substitution for shaft switches, non-
safety-relevant shaft information is derivable from the absolute positional information
of the encoder (11).

6. Equipment for producing shaft information in an elevator shaft, substantially as hereinabove described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings.


Documents:

IN-PCT-2002-1746-CHE CORRESPONDENCE OTHERS 23-02-2011.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che abstract.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che claims.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che correspondence-others.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che correspondence-po.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che description(complete).pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che form-1.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che form-18.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che form-26.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che form-3.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che form-5.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che others.pdf

in-pct-2002-1746-che petition.pdf


Patent Number 245934
Indian Patent Application Number IN/PCT/2002/1746/CHE
PG Journal Number 06/2011
Publication Date 11-Feb-2011
Grant Date 07-Feb-2011
Date of Filing 23-Oct-2002
Name of Patentee INVENTIO AG
Applicant Address SECSTRASSE 55, CH-6052 HERGISWIL,
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 LINDEGGER, URS, CASA BRUNELLA, CH-6594 CONTONE,
PCT International Classification Number B66B 1/34
PCT International Application Number PCT/CH01/00255
PCT International Filing date 2001-11-08
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 00810362.4 2000-04-27 EUROPEAN UNION