US2918144A - Closure operator control mechanism - Google Patents

Description

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.STEPHEN NTHONYHONI/A/ INVENTOR tates @Los oPERAroR CONTROL MECHANISM Application July 24, 1956, Serial No. 599,808

3 Claims. (Cl. 187-48) This invention relates to closure operator control mechanism of the type applied to elevator doors, and is an improvement on the invention of U.S. Patent No. 2,634,828, granted April 14, 1953, to William H. Bruns and Samuel Davis.

In present day elevator installations, it is common practice to open and close elevator doors automatically by power actuated mechanism, and to provide mechanism for protecting passengers and objects in the path of the closing doors. The invention of the above mentioned patent has increased the efficiency of elevator operation by rendering the protective mechanism ineffective and closing the doors forcibly at a reduced speed after their failure to close within a predetermined time interval. Closing the doors at a reduced speed permits a person in the door closing path to be nudged out of the way by the door without real injury.

The invention is directed to improving the control of the protective and nudging operations and thus the efficiency of the operation of the elevator.

One feature of the invention is to reduce the extent of the predetermined time interval during which the protective mechanism is effective and thus render the nudging operation effective sooner when the car, upon making a stop at a landing, takes on enough passengers substan tially to fill the car.

Another feature of the invention is to prevent reduction of the door closing speed and to maintain the protective mechanism effective during a door closing operation if the predetermined time interval expires while the door closing operation is taking place.

The invention will be described as applied to the circuits of the aforementioned Bruns and Davis patent. In carrying out the invention according to the arrangements which will be described, should the car take on substantially full load, load responsive mechanism alters the timing of the circuits which provide the predetermined time interval, to reduce the extent of this interval. This brings on the nudging operation sooner and thus reduces the time that a car may be held up at a fioor when there is no room in the car for further passengers. As a result, the overall operating time of the elevator car is reduced. The circuits for providing the predetermined time interval are further controlled so that should the doors be closing at the time that the predetermined time interval (or reduced by load interval) would expire, the time interval is extended, or the door closing circuits are maintained, to enable the doors to reach closed position at full closing speed. This obviates slowing up the doors by the nudging operation, again decreasing the overall operating time of the elevator car. The protective mechanism remains effective during this time and should it cause reopening of the doors, nudging becomes effective for the next closing operation.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

2,918,144 Patented Dec. 22, 1959 In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a simplified schematic wiring diagram of a portion of the circuits of Figure 4 of said Bruns and Davis patent, modified to embody the invention;

Figure 2 is a simplified schematic wiring diagram of a modification of Figure l; and

Figures ls and 2s are key sheets for Figures 1 and 2 respectively, showing the electromagnetic switches in spindle form.

The circuits are shown in across-the-line form and the relationship of the coils and contacts can be seen from Figures 1s and 2s where the corresponding coils and contacts are arranged on spindles in horizontal align-y ment with the corresponding coils and contacts in the wiring diagrams.

The electromagnetic switches employed in the circuits are designated as follows:

DC-door close switch DP-door protective relay DFX-auxiliary door protective relay DT-door time switch DTX-auxiliary door time relay H-field and brake switch LR-load relay LTD-passenger transfer time relay Throughout the description which follows, these letters will be applied to the coils which are illustrated of the above designated switches and, with reference numerals appended thereto, to contacts of these switches. Circuits not reproduced will be understood from the Bruns and Davis patent. The protective contacts which control the coil of protective relay DP are designated herein as Y and may be any type of protective device contact, such as one of the tubes DPT of Figure 4, contacts SSC of Figure 5, or contacts Bl of Figure 6 or 7 of the patent. Resistors are designated generally as R and condensers as Q.

Referring to Figure l, as the car arrives at the floor at which a stop is being made, switch H operates to cause the opening of the doors and thereafter the automatic reclosing of them, as set forth in the aforesaid Bruns and Davis patent. While the car is running, contacts H2 and H2 are closed, causing door time switch DT to be operated and condenser QDT to be in a charged state. When the car makes a stop at a floor, these contacts separate to disconnect the coil of switch DT from the supply lines. Switch DT does not drop out at this time, being delayed by the discharge of condenser QDT. Also, as the car comes to a stop, contacts H1 engage, preparing the circuit for the coil of relay DP, contacts DTI being in engagement. Thus, upon the doors having been opened as the stop is made and a door closing operation initiated, the engagement of contacts Y of the protective mechanism, as the result of someone being in the path of the closing door, completes the circuit for the coil of relay DP. Relay DP operates to engage contacts DPI, completing a circuit for the coil of relay DPX and causing this relay to operate. Switch DP and relay DPX act as set forth in the aforementioned Bruns and Davis patent to cause the reopening of the doors.

`If the doors are in open position at the time of expiration of the predetermined time interval provided by switch DT, the separation of contacts DTI, as a result of the dropping out of switch DT, breaks the circuit for the coils of relays DP and DPX, rendering the door protective mechanism ineffective. Also, switch DT in dropping out engages contacts DT3 to short-circuit a portion of resistance RDMZ in parallel with the door operating motor armature DMA. This causes, upon subsequent completion of the door closing circuit by 3 contacts DCZ and DC4, closing of the doors to take place at slow speed.

Should a car, when stopped at a floor, take on enough passengers so that it becomes say 80% loaded, load switch LS closes Ato complete a circuit for the .coil'of load relay LR. Load'switch LS may be a micro-motion switch Aarranged for operation by the platform of the elevator car. Relay LR, when operated, engages Vcontacts LR1 to connect resistor RLR across condenser QDT, providing a low resistance discharge path for the condenser. This causes the earlier dropping out of relay DT and thus reduces the extent of the time interval provided by this switch. As a result, the door protective mechanism is rendered ineffective and nudging is rendered effective sooner, thus reducing the time that a car can be held up at the floor. This reduction in time interval may be adjusted so that, if the doors are not in the process of closing, switch DT drops out as soon as contacts LRl engage. The coil of relay LR is also subject to contacts LTD1. When the car is in operation, contacts H4 connect the coil of passenger transfer time relay LTD across the supply lines. When a stop is made, contacts H4 separate to break this circuit. Relay LTD does not drop out immediately but maintains contacts LTD1 separated for a short interval, due to the discharge of condenser QTD. This prevents operation of relay LR when the stop ,is made, until after time is provided for passenger discharge to be effected, thus obviating unwanted operation by load already in the car at the time the stop is made.

Each time that the doors start to reclose, contacts DCS engage to short-circuit resistance RDC in circuit with the coil of door time switch DT. This decreases the resistance of the discharge path of condenser QDT through the coil of switch DT so that, should the time interval provided by this switch expire while the doors are in the process of closing, the increased voltage applied to the coil of switch DT due to short-circuiting of resistance RDC maintains switch DT operated for a sufficient time to enable the doors to reach fully closed position. Thus contacts DT1 remain in engagement and contacts DT3 remain separated so that the protective mechanism remains effective and the nudging operation is prevented during this time, preventing theV slowing down of the doors. However, should the door protective mechanism act to cause the reopening of the doors, the separation of contacts DCS permits the immediate dropping out of switch DT so that the door protective mechanism becomes' ineffective and nudging becomes effective for the next door closing operation.

Referring now to Figure 2, contacts H2 and H2' control the coil of relay DTX. As in the case of switch DT of Figure 1, the coil of relay DTX is subject to the discharge of a condenser, here designated QDTX. Also a low resistance discharge path is provided for condenser QDTX subject to contacts LR1, as in Figure 1. Relay DTX controls the coil of switch DT by contacts DTXI. Thus, when the car is running, relay DTX and switch DT are both operated and when the car is stopped they remain operated so long as the charge on condenser QDTX is above a certain value. When the doors start to close, contacts DCS establish a holding circuit through contacts DT4 for the .coil of switch DT. Should the time interval provided by relay DTX expire during a door closing operation, the holding circuit maintains switch DT operated to enable the doors to reach closed position. Switch DT holds contacts DT1 closed to maintain the protective mechanism effective and contacts DTS separated to prevent reduction of the door closing speed during this time. Thus nudging cannot become operative under such conditions unless the doors are returned to open condition as a result of operation of the protective mechanism.

,Since many changes could be made in the above invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above descrip- 4 tion or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. An elevator installation in which a door provides access to the elevator car at a oor, in which power operating mechanism is provided and is controlled to cause the automatic closing of the door after opening thereof when the car makes a stop at said floor, in which protective mechanism is provided which, when an object is in the path of movement of said door, is actuated to prevent the closing of said door by said power operating mechanism, and in which means including an electromagnetic switch and a condenser connected across the coil of said switch provide a predetermined time interval initiated at a certain point in door operation and are operable upon the expiration of said predetermined time interval for rendering the protective mechanism ineffective and for causing operation of said power operating mechanism to exert force to close said door at a speed slower than normal closing speed; characterized in that resistance is connected in the circuit connecting the coil of said switch to said condenser and that means subject to the closing of the door are provided for short circuiting said resistance to increase the amount of current supplied to said coil by said condenser during the door closing operation and thus increase the extent of said interval a certain amount, thus acting under conditions where said predetermined time interval would have expired during a door closing operation to maintain the effectiveness of said protective mechanism for that closing operation and to cause the closing of the door to continue at normal speed unless interrupted by said protective mechanism.

2. An elevator installation in which a door provides access to the elevator car at any one of a plurality of lloors, in which power operating mechanism is provided and is controlled to cause the automatic closing of the door at any one of said oors after opening thereof when the car makes a stop at that oor, in which protective mechanism is provided which, when a person is in the path of movement of said door, is actutaed to prevent the closing of said door by said power operating mechanism, and in which means including an electromagnetic switch and a condenser connected across the coil of said switch provide a predetermined timeinterval initiated at a cerain point in door operation and are operable upon the expiration of said predetermined time interval for rendering the protective mechanism ineffective and for causing operation of said power operating mechanism to exert force to close said door at a speed slower than normal closing speed; characterized in that there are provided means responsive to a certain load in the car at the oor at which the stop is made which are effective after expiration of a time interval sufficient for passenger discharge to be effected for causing operation of said means operable to render the protective mechanism ineffective and to cause operation of said power operating mechanism to exert force to close said door at a speed slower than normal closing speed to take place before the expiration of Said predetermined time interval, that resistance is connected in the.circuit connecting the coil of said switch to said condenser and that means subject to the closing of the door are provided for short circuiting said resistance to increase the amount of current supplied to said coil by said condenser during the door closing operation and thus increase the extent of said interval, thus acting under conditions where said door is closing at the time said load responsive means becomes effective to maintain the effectiveness of said protective mechanism for that closing operation and to cause the closing of the door to continue at normal speed unless interrupted by said protective mechanism. Y

3. An elevator installation in which a door provides access to the elevator car at any one of a plurality of oors, in which power operating mechanism is provided and is controlled to cause the automatic closing of the door at any one of said floors after opening thereof when the car makes a stop at that floor, in which protective mechanism is provided which, when a person is in the path of movement of said door, is actuated to prevent the closing of said door by said power operating mechamism, and in which means including an electromagnetic switch and a condenser connected across the coil of said switch provide a predetermined time interval initiated at a certain point in door operation and are operable upon the expiration of said predetermined time interval for rendering the protective mechanism ineffective and for causing operation of said power operating mechanism to exert force to close said door at a speed slower than normal closing speed; characterized in that there are provided means responsive to a certain load in the car at the oor at which the stop is made after expiration of a time interval sufficient for passenger discharge to be elected for reducing the extent of said predetermined interval,

that resistance is connected in the circuit connecting with the coil of said switch to said condenser and that means subject to the closing of the door are provided for short circuiting said resistance to increase the amount of current supplied to said coil by said condenser during the door closing operation, thus acting under conditions where said predetermined time interval or said reduced time in terval would have expired during a door closing operation to maintain the effectiveness of said protective mechanism for that closing operation and to cause the closing of the door to continue at normal speed unless interrupted by said protective mechanism.

Bruns et al Apr. 14, 1953 Nikazy Aug. 14, 1956

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