US1936102A - Freight elevator door and transmission device - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 21, 1933. J. BELLER 1,936,102

FREIGHT ELEVATOR DOOR AND TRANSMISSION DEVICE Filed March 1'7, 1932 22 7/ 20 H 50 S 56 O .19 21 '-2.9 F.

. v 49 I .51 1 J I 1 I I 46 INVENTOR Jasep/r Ee/k/f BY HlS ATTORNEY awwj w Patented Nev. 2 1, 1933 Farmer ELEVATOR noon AND mama'ssion nnvros This invention relates to a mechanical transmission device, especially adapted for counterweighted bodies or bodies to be moved in opposite directions as for elevators or lifts, dun1b- -waiters, windows and forfthe freight'doors of elevators." 7

The device consists essentially of a plurality of balls-such as'are used in ballbearings, arranged in a substantially U-shaped ball runway.

-An-arm is arranged to engage the top of the 1 As column of balls in one branch of the runway. the balls in" said branch are caused to rise, the

armis =1noved up. When theballs descend the arm is causedby gravity to follow the balls down. In the application of the device'to freight e1eva tor doors, another arm is used to engage the top of the column of balls in the other branch. As the arm engaging the balls in one branch descends,'the balls rise in the other branch, lifting the arm in contact with the balls in the latter branch. One arm is fastened to the upper leaf ofthe doors, while the otherarm is fastenedto the lower leaf.- 'The effect of thisconstruction is that when-the upper :leaf descends for closing the door, thelower leaf iscaused torise. Ordinarily leaf elevator doors are operated by chains and sprockets. The defects of this con- 'struction are well known. The ball drive is not soreadily subject to breakage as a: chain, nor is it so subject to dislocationand the wear is less. =A-nimportant advantage] of the ball drive for elevators-is that breakage of the device as a so that the elevator is always supported, as was the case in the old type hydraulic plunger elevator. :It has the advantageover-Lthe plunger type inthat it does not require a deep well in the" ground for the plunger. v V

Other-objects and advantages will-become apparent upon a. further study of. thedescription and drawing, in which:.- L f Fig. 1 is a partial elevation, vwith part of the "rear sheathing of the upperdoor broken'away, of the-'freight elevator doors with my transmis- --sion device looking from within the elevator shaft, the lower pair of door leaves being in closed-position, while the leaf of the door above is in lowered or open position.

Figx 2 is a partial section to anenlarged scale, taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partialsection to an enlarged scale along theline 3-3 ofFig. 1..

Fig. 4 is a partial'elevation, to an enlarged scale, showing, the detail of the door handle and switch, the cover :plate 'beingremoved. I

.Fig. l.

shaft 1'? (Figs. land 3-).

ed at 31.-

I issaioz FFECE Fig. 5 is awiring diagram showing the electric control for operating the doors.

Fig; 6 .is apartial section, s1milar to Fig.3

with certain parts omitted, form of wheel at My transmission.

showing a modified the bottom of the runway.

device will now be --described as used in connection with freight elevator doors:-Lower leaf 7 and upper leaf 8 of the door are provided with guide fingers 9 which ride in a vertical guide 10 (Figs. 1 and 2) A similar set-:of guide fingers and another guideflis provided, in opposite hand position, for the right hand side of the doors, which, for convenience, have not been shown in the drawing.

Vertical guides 10 extend for'the height of the elevator shaft, only two floors Just to one side of guide, 10 is located ball runway 11. The right 52 being shown in.

hand branch of ru nway 11 extends substantially to the top of leaf 8 when in closed position, which is the position shown. in the drawing. of runway 11. extends only Located in runway 11,

such as are used in ball-bearings.

stantially channel-shaped The left hand branch to the topof leaf 7.

are a plurality of balls 12,

Each branch wheel 13, is sub- 1 of the flanges ofthe channel being; provided with an inwardly extending lip 14. The use of lip 14 permits arms 15 and 16 to extend into the runway 11 and at the same time retains balls '8 12 in the runway.

Sprocket wheel 13 is fixedly mounted on short tatably mounted at one en the other runway 11, is located moto end in casing 19 (Fig, 3).

'Short shaft 1'7, isrod in strap 18 andat Fixed to which meshes with Just below r 23. The armature shaft 2 of said motor, carries one part 25 of a friction clutch feathered thereon. In alignment with shaft 24,-is a shaft 26, upon which is fixed the other part 2'7 0 f the friction clutch.

Shafts 22, 26 .and 28 are mounted in casing 29 and carry a train of reducing gears which are within casing ,(not shown) Said train .of reducing gears, a construction well known to the V art, are sprocket. wheel 13, forobta interposed between motor 23 and ining. a practical operating speed for said sprocket wheel.

One end of .bell crank 30 engages a collar on clutch part 25, said crank being pivotall-y mount- Spring 32 normallyholds clutch part 25 against its mateZ'Z, thereby causing shaft 26 to be rotated when any reason it 'be desired to motor 23 is running. If'for disconnect the motor 0 drive, bell crank 30 is rotated counter-clockwise, and detent 33 is turned so that the hook at its end engages and holds bell crank 30 against returning under the action of springs 32. 5 When it is desired to open the door, the operator pushes up on handle 34 of hook 35 (Figs. 1 and 4) and, as will be explained later, a current is sent through motor 23, causing sprocket wheel 13 to be rotated in an anti-clockwise direction. Hook 35 is pivotally mounted on pin 33 fixed to leaf 8. This causes the balls 12 in the right hand branch of runway 11 to rise, pushing up arm 16 and leaf 8. As the balls rise in the right hand branch, they descend in the left branch allowing arm 15 and leaf 7 to descend. The upward travel of leaf 8 is limited by a stop 36 fixed to guide 10 said stop engaging with arm 16. In Fig. 1, the leaf 7 shown above leaf 8 is from the floor above, and is shown in its lowermost position. To close the door, strap 37 is pulled down upon, and as will be explained later, a current is sent through motor 2 3 in a way to reverse its drive, causing sprocket wheel 13 to be rotated in a clockwise direction. This causes balls 12 in the left hand branch of runway 11 to rise, pushing up arm 15 and leaf 7, while the balls in the right hand branch descend, allowing arm 16 and leaf 8 to descend.

Hook and its handle 34, have insulatively 30 mounted upon them, the moving part of a double throw switch 47 (Fig. 4). Terminals 39 and 40 of switch 47 are each provided respectively with a pair of contact pins 41 and 42, which are adapted by the bead on their ends to remain in con- 35 tact with spring terminals 43 and 44 respectively, when handle 34 is raised as in opening the door. In a similar manner, when handle 34 is pulled down by strap 37, as in closing the door, terminals 41 and 42 are brought into contact with spring terminals 45 and 46 and held there.

Fixed to guide 10 is a dog 48. Near the side of leaf 8 are located two circuit breakers, one above the other. The upper circuit breaker comprises a spring contact 49, a fixed contact 50 both insulat- 45 ed from leaf 8, and a pivoted lever 51. The tip of lever 51 in contact with spring contact 49 is made non-conducting. In a similar manner the lower circuit breaker comprises a spring contact 53, a fixed contact 54 and a pivoted lever 55 with its 50 tip in contact with spring contact 53 made nonconducting.

The right hand arms of levers 51 and 55 are normally held in horizontal position by springs 56 and 57 respectively.

55 When it is desired to open the door, handle 34 is pushed up, causing upper pin 41 to engage with terminal 43 and upper pin 42 to engage with terminal 44. This energizes motor 23 causing balls 12 in the right hand branch of runway 11 to rise and those in left hand branch to descend, resulting in leaf 8 rising and leaf 7 going down.

Referring to Fig. 5, engaging the terminals noted in the preceding paragraph, closes a circuit as follows:The current passes through lead wire 58, through branch 59 to terminal 39, through pin'4l to terminal 43, through branch 60 to terminal 54, through spring contact 53 which engages terminal 54 when leaf 8 is in its lowermost position. From spring contact 53 the current conll tinues through branch 61 and branch 62 through the field F of motor 23, throughbranches 63 and 64 to terminal 44 to pin 42, terminal 40, branches 65 and 66, through armature A of motor 23 to lead wire 67. This causes motor 23 through the '75 train of reducing gears, including bevel gears 21 and 20, to drive sprocket wheel 13 in a counterclockwise direction pushingup balls 12 in the right hand branch of runway 11. The top ball 12 in the right hand branch, effects the raising of arm 16 and leaf 8. At the same time balls 12 in the left hand branch descend allowing leaf 7 to follow by gravity. As leaf 8 rises, pivoted lever 55 engages dog 48, causing said'lever to rotate in a clockwise direction. This separates spring contact 53 from terminal 54, in a manner similar to that shown for spring contact 49 and terminal 50, breaking the circuit thereby through motor 23. The lower end of dog 48 is so located with respect to pivoted lever 55, that the circuit is broken before leaf 8 reaches its uppermost position, as limited by the engagement of arm 16 with stop 36. Though the circuit is broken before leaf 8 reaches its uppermost position, the momentum of all the parts concerned will cause it to reach the top.

With the door in open position, it is caused to 5 close by pulling down on strap 37, which causes handle 34 to swing down, bringing lower pins 41 and 42 into engagement with terminals 45 and 45 respectively. With leaf 8 in its upper position, pivoted lever 51 is out of engagement with dog 48, allowing spring contact 49 to make contact with terminal 50.

Referring again to Fig. 5, when lower pins 41 and 42 are moved into engagement with terminals 45 and 46, a circuit is closed as follows for driving motor 23 in the opposite direction from that described in connection with the opening of the door:The current passes through lead Wire 58, through branch 59 to terminal 39 through pin 41 to terminal 45, through branches 68 and 63, through field F, branches 62, 69, 70, and 71 to terminal 50, through spring contact49, branch 82 to terminal 46. From terminal 46 to pin 42, terminal 40 through branches 65 and 66 to armature A, through said armature to lead 67.

As the door reaches its closed position, hook 35 latches. The slight rotation of handle 34, due to the latching of hook 35, is not sufiicientto throw upper pins 41 and 42 into engagement with terminals 43 and 44. I

On the left hand side ofthe elevator shaft (Fig. 1), there is a similarrunway (not shown) to runway 11 except that no motor drive is provided for the sprocket wheel similar to sprocket wheel 13. Even a sprocket wheel is not necessary 1 5 at the bottom of left hand runway, a smooth surface, as is provided in the rest of the runway, for the balls to pass in place of the wheel being sufficient.

Instead of having a motor driven door, a manually operated door can be provided by simply omitting the motor drive and the rest of the electrical apparatus. In this case, if it be desired to open the door, handle 34 is pushed up, unlatching hook 35. As is usual in elevator doors of this type, leaf 7 is heavier than leaf 8 so that the door will move to its open position by gravity when hook 35 is unlatched. To close the door, strap 37 is pulled down until hook 35 latches, The sprocket wheel is not essential, as noted above, 0 but helps reduce friction.

Instead of using a sprocket wheel from my transmission device, such as that shown at 13,

I prefer to use a sheave 85 as shown in Fig. 7 instead. There is sufficient binding action between balls 12 and sheave 85 at groove 86, to enable said sheave to drive the balls or to be driven'by them.

I claim:

1. An elevator door having upper and lower lower endsya -pluralit'y' of ballsj in said with a-column of balls located-infea'ch branch means-"provided fortheupper leaf for engaging thetop-of the column of balls inone branch and means PIOVlGGdjfGI' the lower-leaf for 'enaging the top of the column of ballsin the other branch whereby when said lower leaf "is imove'd down, the balls are moved up'ini the branchcorresponding to the upperleaf raising therebysaid upper-"leaf and whenthe upper leaf i's mov'ed down, the balls are moved'up in the branch corresponding tothe lower leaf raising-thereby the 'lower'leaf.

"2. 'An elevator door having upper and lower *lea'ves suitably meuntedfor" up and down "motion combination with a ball runway- "havingtwo branches joined at their way, said'wheel engaging the balls as they pass by "it inthe runway, means, provided for the upper leaf, for engaging the top ballof' one branch and means provided for the lower leaf for engagthe upper leaf is moved down, the'balls'are'moved ing the top ballof the other branch whereby when said lower leaf is'move'd down, the balls are moved up in the branch corresponding to the upper leaf raising thereby saidiupper leaf, and when up in'the branch corresponding totheflower leaf,

raising thereby the lower leaf;

7 3. A device as claimed in claim 2"which the rimof thewh'eel is provided 'witha circum- 'ferentialgroove for gripping the balls,

i4; A device as claimed in claim 1, in which the portion "of the runway joining the branches'at their lower ends is substantially semi-circular in form.

'5. "A device as claimed in claim 2 in which the portion of the-runway joining the branches at their lower ends is curvedand the wheel is rotatably mounted adjacent said portion of the runway. I I

6. An elevator door having upper and lower leaves suitably mounted upon guides for up and down motion, in combination with a ball runway having two branches joined at their lower ends with a curved portion, a plurality of ballsin said runway with a column of balls located in each branch, a rotatably mounted wheel adjacent said curved portion, said wheel being suitably formed to grip the balls as they pass by it in said portion, means for engaging the top of the column of balls in one branch provided for the upper leaf, means for engaging the top of the column of balls in the other branch provided for the lower leaf, and means for driving said wheel in reversible directions for raising or lowering the balls in said branches. 7

"I. An elevator door having an upper and a lower leaf suitably mounted in guides forup and down motion, the lower leaf being heavier than the upper, in combination with a ball runway having two substantially vertical branches joined at their lower ends, a plurality of balls in said runway, means provided for the upper leaf for engaging the top ball of one branch, means provided for the lower leaf for engaging the top ball of the other branch, and a lockingdevicefor holding the leaves in closed position, said lower leaf descending by gravity when the locking device is opened forcing down the balls in its corresponddown inotioninconibination with a ball runway having two-branches with a joining portion at their lower-ends, a plurality of balls in said runway, *a rotatabiy mounted wheel adjacent said 'joining'portio'n, said'whe'el being suitably formed t o' grip' the-balls asthey passby it in said portion, --ineans for-engaging the top ball of one branch providedfor jthe upper leaf, means for engaging the top ball of the other branchprovided for the lower leaf, electrically operated means for driving said wheel in reversibledirections, switching means, when suitably set, for effecting the operation of said electrically operated means to rotate said wheel to. raise the balls in the branch corresponding to the upper leaf whereby the upper leaf is raised, the balls descending simultaneously in the branch -corresponding to the lower leaf, said lower leaf following down after the balls bygravity and a circuit breaking device actuatedto stop said 'electricallyoperated means when the upper leaf has reached substan'tiallyits operated means when the upper leaf has reached -substantially itslowermost position.

man elevator door having upper and lower leaves suitably mounted upon guides for up and down motion, in'combination with a'ball runway having two branches joined at their lower ends for the passage of balls from one branch to the other, a, plurality of balls in said runway, a rotatably mounted wheel adjacent said runway said wheel being suitably formed to grip the, balls as they pass by in the runway, means for engaging the top ball of one branch provided for the upper leaf, means for engaging the top ball of the other branch, provided for the lower leaf, electrically operated means for driving said wheel in reversible directions for raising and lowering the balls inthe branches, said leaves being raised with the balls in their corresponding branches and following down said balls by gravity when said balls descend-in their corresponding branches, switching means, depending upon its setting, for effecting the operation of said electrically operated means to raise or lower the balls in a branch, and circuit breaking devices for stopping said electrically operated means both when the upper leaf has reached substantially'its uppermost and its lowermost position.

11. An elevator door having upper and lower leaves suitably mounted upon guides for up and rso ties

down motion, electrically operated means for' opening and closing thedoor by separating and bringing the leaves together, a latch for locking the leaves together when the door is in closed position, a member in operative connection with said latch extending down below the bottom edge of said upper leaf adapted when pulled upon to close the door and switch mechanism, actuated by said latch, for effecting the operation of said 111;

electrically operated means to open the door when the latch is opened and to close the door when said member is pulled down upon.

12. An elevator door having upper and lower leaves suitably mounted for up and down motion, electrically operated means for opening and closing the door by separating and bringing the leaves together, a latch for locking the leaves together when the door is in closed position, switch mechanism upon the upper leaf actuated by said latch for effecting the operation of said electrically operated means to open the door when the latch is opened, and a member attached to the switch mechanism, extending a sufficient distance down below the bottom edge of the upper leaf to enable it to be grasped by the elevator operator when the door is open, said member when moved by the operator, moving the switch mechanism to effect the operation of said electrically operated nism to eifect the operation of said electrically operated means to close the door.

14. An elevator door having upper and lower leaves suitably mounted for up and down motion, electrically operated means for opening and closing the door by separating and bringing the leaves together, a latch mounted upon the upper 7 leaf having a portion to grip the lower leaf, switch mechanism upon the upper leaf actuated by said latch for effecting the operation of said electrically operated means to open the door when the latch is opened, and a flexible strap mounted upon the upper leaf hanging down below the lower edge of the upper leaf, adapted when pulled down to close the door, said strap when pulled upon actuating the switch mechanism to effect the operation of said electrically operated means to close the door.

15. A mechanism of the character described comprising two bodies suitably mounted for. substantially up and down motion, a ball runway having two substantially vertical branches joined at their lower ends, a plurality of balls in said runway with a column of balls in each branch, means provided for one body for engaging the top of the column of balls in one branch and means provided for the other body for engaging the top of the column of balls in the other branch, whereby when the former body is moved down, the balls are moved up in said other branch thereby forcing up said other body, and when said other body is moved down, the balls are moved up in the branchcorresponding to said former body thereby forcing up said former body.

16. A mechanism of the character described comprising two bodies suitably mounted for substantially up and down motion, a ball runway having two substantialy vertical branches joined at their lower ends for the passage of the balls, a plurality of balls in said runway with a column of balls in each branch, means provided for one body for engaging the top of the column of balls in one branch, means provided for the other body for engaging the top of. the column of balls in the other branch and a rotatably mounted member entering the runway, intermediate of the ends of the runway, said balls being engaged byvsaid member and passing by'it in a direction substantially at right angles to its axis of rotation.

JOSEPH BELLER.

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