Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, any person may givenotice to the European Patent Office of opposition to the European patent granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed ina written reasoned statement. It shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art.99(1) European Patent Convention).

Printed by Jouve, 75001 PARIS (FR)

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(12) EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION

(45) Date of publication and mention of the grant of the patent: 26.09.2007 Bulletin 2007/39

(21) Application number: 01129449.3

(22) Date of filing: 10.12.2001

(51) Int Cl.:B66B 7/06 (2006.01)

(54) Elevator hoist rope with thin high-strength wires

Aufzugseil aus dünnen hochstarken Drähten

Câble pour ascenseur constitué par des fils fins à haute résistance

(84) Designated Contracting States: AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE TRDesignated Extension States: AL LT LV MK RO SI

(30) Priority: 08.12.2000 FI 2000270108.12.2000 FI 2000270021.06.2001 FI 20011339

(43) Date of publication of application: 12.06.2002 Bulletin 2002/24

(73) Proprietor: Kone Corporation00330 Helsinki (FI)

(72) Inventors: • Aulanko, Esko

04230 Kerava (FI)

• Rantanen, Pekka05800 Hyvinkää (FI)

• Mustalahti, Jorma05620 Hyvinkää (FI)

• Mäkimattila, Simo02730 Espoo (FI)

(74) Representative: Zipse Habersack KritzenbergerPatentanwälte Wotanstrasse 6480639 München (DE)

(56) References cited: WO-A-99/43589

• PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 1997, no. 05, 30 May 1997 (1997-05-30) -& JP 09 021084 A (YAMAMORI GIKEN KOGYO KK), 21 January 1997 (1997-01-21)

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Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator asdefined in the preamble of claim 1.[0002] One of the objectives in elevator developmentwork is to achieve an efficient and economical utilizationof building space. In recent years, this development workhas produced various elevator solutions without machineroom, among other things. Good examples of elevatorswithout machine room are disclosed in specifications EP0 631 967 (A1) and EP 0 631 968. The elevators de-scribed in these specifications are fairly efficient in re-spect of space utilization as they have made it possibleto eliminate the space required by the elevator machineroom in the building without a need to enlarge the elevatorshaft. In the elevators disclosed in these specifications,the machine is compact at least in one direction, but inother directions it may have much larger dimensions thana conventional elevator machine.[0003] In these basically good elevator solutions, thespace required by the hoisting machine limits the free-dom of choice in elevator lay-out solutions. In a tractionsheave elevator without machine room, mounting thehoisting machine in the elevator shaft is difficult, espe-cially in a solution with machine above, because the hoist-ing machine is a sizeable body of considerable weight.Particularly difficulties arise in installation work. Especial-ly in the case of larger loads, speeds and/or hoistingheights, the size and weight of the machine are a problemregarding installation, even so much so that the requiredmachine size and weight have in practice limited thesphere of application of the concept of elevator withoutmachine room or at least retarded the introduction of saidconcept in larger elevators.[0004] Specification WO 99/43589 discloses an eleva-tor suspended using flat belts in which relatively smalldiversion diameters on the traction sheave and divertingpulleys are achieved. However, the problem with this so-lution is the limitations regarding lay-out solutions, thedisposition of components in the elevator shaft and thealignment of diverting pulleys. Also, the alignment of poly-urethane-coated belts having a load-bearing steel com-ponent inside is problematic e.g. in a situation where thecar is tilted. To avoid undesirable vibrations, an elevatorso implemented needs to be rather robustly constructedat least as regards the machine and/or the structuressupporting it. The massive construction of other parts ofthe elevator needed to maintain alignment between thetraction sheave and diverting pulleys also increases theweight and cost of the elevator. In addition, installing andadjusting such a system is a difficult task requiring greatprecision.[0005] On the other hand, to achieve a small rope di-version diameter, rope structures have been used inwhich the load-bearing part is made of artificial fiber. Sucha solution is exotic and the ropes thus achieved are lighterthan steel wire ropes, but at least in the case of elevatorsdesigned for the commonest hoisting heights, artificial-

fiber ropes do not provide any substantial advantage,particularly because they are remarkably expensive ascompared with steel wire ropes.[0006] The object of the invention is to achieve at leastone of the following aims. On the one hand, it is an aimthe invention to develop the elevator without machineroom further so as to allow more effective space utiliza-tion in the building and elevator shaft than before. Thismeans that the elevator must be so constructed that itcan be installed in a fairly narrow elevator shaft if neces-sary. On the other hand, it is an aim of the invention toreduce the size and/or weight of the elevator or at leastof the elevator machine.[0007] The object of the invention should be achievedwithout impairing the possibility of varying the basic ele-vator layout.[0008] The elevator of the invention is characterizedby what is presented in the characterization part of claim1. Other embodiments of the invention are characterizedby what is presented in the other claims.[0009] By applying the invention, one or more of thefollowing advantages, among others, can be achieved:

• A small traction sheave makes it possible to achievea compact elevator and elevator machine.

• By using a small coated traction sheave, the weightof the machine can easily be reduced even to abouthalf the weight of the machines now generally usedin elevators without machine room. For example, inthe case of elevators designed for a nominal loadbelow 1000 kg, this means machines weighing100-150 kg or even less. Via appropriate motor so-lutions and choices of materials, it is even possibleto achieve machines weighing less than 100 kg.

• A good traction sheave grip and light-weight compo-nents allow the weight of the elevator car to be con-siderably reduced, and correspondingly the counter-weight can also be made lighter than in current ele-vator solutions.

• A compact machine size and thin, substantiallyround ropes permit the elevator machine to be rela-tively freely placed in the shaft. Thus, the elevatorsolution can be implemented in a fairly wide varietyof ways in the case of both elevators with machineabove and elevators with machine below.

• The elevator machine can be advantageouslyplaced between the car and a shaft wall.

• All or at least part of the weight of the elevator carand counterweight can be carried by the elevatorguide rails.

• In elevators applying the invention, an arrangementof centric suspension of the elevator car and coun-terweight can readily be achieved, thereby reducingthe lateral supporting forces applied to the guiderails.

• Applying the invention allows effective utilization ofthe cross-sectional area of the shaft.

• The invention reduces the installation time and total

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installation costs of the elevator.• The elevator is economical to manufacture and in-

stall because many of its components are smallerand lighter than those used before.

• The speed governor rope and the hoisting rope areusually different in respect of their properties andthey can be easily distinguished from each other dur-ing installation if the speed governor rope is thickerthan the hoisting ropes; on the other hand, the speedgovernor rope and the hoisting ropes may also beof identical structure, which will reduce ambiguitiesregarding these matters in elevator delivery logisticsand installation.

• The light, thin ropes are easy to handle, allowingconsiderably faster installation.

• E.g. in elevators for a nominal load below 1000 kgand a speed below 2 m/s, the thin and strong steelwire ropes of the invention have a diameter of theorder of only 3-5 mm.

• With rope diameters of about 6 mm or 8 mm, fairlylarge and fast elevators according to the inventioncan be achieved.

• The traction sheave and the rope pulleys are smalland light as compared with those used in conven-tional elevators.

• The small traction sheave allows the use of smalleroperating brakes.

• The small traction sheave reduces the torque re-quirement, thus allowing the use of a smaller motorwith smaller operating brakes.

• Because of the smaller traction sheave, a higher ro-tational speed is needed to achieve a given carspeed, which means that the same motor outputpower can be reached by a smaller motor.

• Either coated or uncoated ropes can be used.• It is possible to implement the traction sheave and

the rope pulleys in such a way that, after the coatingon the pulley has been worn out, the rope will bitefirmly on the pulley and thus a sufficient grip betweenrope and pulley in this emergency is maintained.

• The use of a small traction sheave makes it possibleto use a smaller elevator drive motor, which meansreduced drive motor acquisition/manufacturingcosts.

• The invention can be applied in gearless and gearedelevator motor solutions.

• Although the invention is primarily intended for usein elevators without machine room, it can also beapplied in elevators with machine room.

[0010] The primary area of application of the inventionis elevators designed for transporting people and/orfreight, particularly those with automatic landing/cabindoors. The invention is primarily intended for use in ele-vators whose speed range, in the case of passenger el-evators, is normally about or above 1.0 m/s but may alsobe e.g. only about 0.5 m/s. In the case of freight elevators,too, the speed is preferably about 0.5 m/s, though slower

speeds can also be used with large loads.[0011] In both passenger and freight elevators, manyof the advantages achieved through the invention arepronouncedly brought out even in elevators for only 3-4people, and distinctly already in elevators for 6-8 people(500 - 630 kg).[0012] The elevator of the invention can be providedwith elevator hoisting ropes twisted e.g. from round andstrong wires. From round wires, the rope can be twistedin many ways using wires of different or equal thickness.In ropes applicable with the invention, the wire thicknessis below 0.4 mm on an average. Well applicable ropesmade from strong wires are those in which the averagewire thickness is below 0.3 mm or even below 0.2 mm.For instance, thin-wired and strong 4 mm ropes can betwisted relatively economically from wires such that themean wire thickness in the finished rope is in the rangeof 0.15 ... 0.23 mm, in which case the thinnest wires mayhave a thickness as small as only about 0.1 mm. Thinrope wires can easily be made very strong. The inventionemploys rope wires having a strength of about 2000N/mm2 or more. A suitable range of rope wire strengthis 2300-2700 N/mm2. In principle, it is possible to userope wires as strong as about 3000 N/mm2 or even more.[0013] In the following, the invention will be describedin detail by the aid of a few examples of its embodimentswith reference to the attached drawings, wherein

Fig. 1 presents a diagram representing a tractionsheave elevator according to the invention,

Fig. 2 presents a diagram representing another trac-tion sheave elevator according to the inven-tion,

Fig. 3 presents a traction sheave applying the inven-tion,

Fig. 4 presents a coating solution according to theinvention,

Fig. 5a presents a steel wire rope used in the inven-tion,

Fig. 5b presents another steel wire rope used in theinvention,

Fig. 5c presents a third steel wire rope used in theinvention, and

Fig. 6 presents a diagram illustrating a rope pulleylay-out according to the invention.

[0014] Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of thestructure of an elevator. The elevator is preferably anelevator without machine room, in which the drive ma-chine 6 is placed in the elevator shaft. The elevator shownin the figure is a traction sheave elevator with machineabove. The passage of the hoisting ropes 3 of the elevatoris as follows: One end of the ropes is immovably fixed toan anchorage 13 located in the upper part of the shaftabove the path of a counterweight 2 moving along coun-terweight guide rails 11. From the anchorage, the ropesrun downward and are passed around diverting pulleys9 suspending the counterweight, which diverting pulleys

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9 are rotatably mounted on the counterweight 2 and fromwhich the ropes 3 run further upward to the tractionsheave 7 of the drive machine 6, passing around thetraction sheave along rope grooves on the sheave. Fromthe traction sheave 7, the ropes 3 run further downwardto the elevator car 1 moving along car guide rails 10,passing under the car via diverting pulleys 4 used to sus-pend the elevator car on the ropes, and going then up-ward again from the elevator car to an anchorage 14 inthe upper part of the elevator shaft, to which anchoragethe second end of the ropes 3 is fixed. Anchorage 13 inthe upper part of the shaft, the traction sheave 7 and thediverting pulley 9 suspending the counterweight on theropes are preferably so disposed in relation to each otherthat both the rope portion going from the anchorage 13to the counterweight 2 and the rope portion going fromthe counterweight 2 to the traction sheave 7 are substan-tially parallel to the path of the counterweight 2. Similarly,a solution is preferred in which anchorage 14 in the upperpart of the shaft, the traction sheave 7 and the divertingpulleys 4 suspending the elevator car on the ropes areso disposed in relation to each other that the rope portiongoing from the anchorage 14 to the elevator car 1 andthe rope portion going from the elevator car 1 to the trac-tion sheave 7 are substantially parallel to the path of theelevator car 1. With this arrangement, no additional di-verting pulleys are needed to define the passage of theropes in the shaft. The rope suspension acts in a sub-stantially centric manner on the elevator car 1, providedthat the rope pulleys 4 supporting the elevator car aremounted substantially symmetrically relative to the ver-tical center line passing via the center of gravity of theelevator car 1.[0015] The drive machine 6 placed in the elevator shaftis preferably of a flat construction, in other words, thedepth of the machine is smaller than its width and/orheight, or at least the machine is slim enough to be ac-commodated between the elevator car and a wall of theelevator shaft. The machine may also be placed differ-ently, e.g. by disposing the slim or otherwise compactmachine partly or completely between an assumed ex-tension of the elevator car and a shaft wall. The elevatorshaft can be provided with equipment required for thesupply of power to the motor driving the traction sheave7 as well as equipment for elevator control, both of whichcan be placed in a common instrument panel 8 or mount-ed separately from each other or integrated partly orwholly with the drive machine 6. The drive machine maybe of a geared or gearless type. A preferable solution isa gearless machine comprising a permanent magnet mo-tor. The drive machine may be fixed to a wall of the ele-vator shaft, to the ceiling, to a guide rail or guide rails orto some other structure, such as a beam or frame. In thecase of an elevator with machine below, a further possi-bility is to mount the machine on the bottom of the elevatorshaft. As a lay-out alternative, in addition to the very ad-vantageous alternative of placing the machine in com-plete within the elevator shaft, the machine may also be

installed at least partly outside the elevator shaft interior,for example into the elevator shaft wall structure. Fig. 1illustrates the economical 2:1 suspension, but the inven-tion can also be implemented in an elevator using a 1:1suspension ratio, in other words, in an elevator in whichthe hoisting ropes are connected directly to the counter-weight and elevator car without diverting pulleys. Othersuspension arrangements are also possible in an imple-mentation of the invention. The elevator presented in thefigure has automatic telescoping doors, but other typesof automatic doors or turning doors can also be used inthe elevator of the invention.[0016] Fig. 2 presents a diagram representing anothertraction sheave elevator according to the invention. Inthis elevator, the ropes go upward from the machine.[0017] This type of elevator is generally a tractionsheave elevator with machine below. The elevator car101 and the counterweight 102 are suspended on thehoisting ropes 103 of the elevator. The elevator drivemachine 106 is mounted in the elevator shaft, preferablyin the lower part of the shaft, and the hoisting ropes arepassed via diverting pulleys 104,105 provided in the up-per part of the elevator shaft to the car 101 and to thecounterweight 102. The diverting pulleys 104,105 areplaced in the upper part of the shaft and preferably sep-arately mounted with bearings on the same axle so thatthey can rotate independently of each other. The hoistingropes 103 consist of at least three parallel ropes.[0018] The elevator car 101 and the counterweight 102move in the elevator shaft along elevator and counter-weight guide rails 110,111 guiding them.[0019] In Fig. 2, the hoisting ropes run as follows: Oneend of the ropes is fixed to an anchorage 112 in the upperpart of the shaft, from where it goes downward to thecounterweight 102. The counterweight is suspended onthe ropes 103 via a diverting pulley 109. From the coun-terweight, the ropes go further upward to a first divertingpulley 105 mounted on an elevator guide rail 110, andfrom the diverting pulley 105 further to the traction sheave107 driven by the drive machine 106. From the tractionsheave, the ropes go again upward to a second divertingpulley 104, passing around it, after which they pass viadiverting pulleys 108 mounted on top of the elevator carand then go further to an anchorage 113 in the upperpart of the elevator shaft, where the other end of the hoist-ing ropes is fixed. The elevator car is suspended on thehoisting ropes 103 by means of diverting pulleys 108. Inthe hoisting ropes 103, one or more of the rope portionsbetween the diverting pulleys or between the divertingpulleys and the traction sheave may deviate from an ex-act vertical direction, a circumstance that makes it easyto provide a sufficient distance between different ropeportions or a sufficient distance between the hoistingropes and other elevator components. The tractionsheave 107 and the hoisting machine 106 are preferablydisposed somewhat aside from the path of the elevatorcar 101 as well as that of the counterweight 102, so theycan easily be placed almost at any height in the elevator

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shaft below the diverting pulleys 104 and 105. If the ma-chine is not placed directly above or below the counter-weight or elevator car, this will allow a saving in shaftheight. In this case, the minimum height of the elevatorshaft is exclusively determined on the basis of the lengthof the paths of the counterweight and elevator car andthe safety clearances needed above and below these.In addition, a smaller space at the top or bottom of theshaft will be sufficient due to the reduced rope pulleydiameters as compared with earlier solutions, dependingon how the rope pulleys are mounted on the elevator carand/or on the frame of the elevator car.[0020] Fig. 3 presents a partially sectioned view of arope pulley 200 applying the invention. The rope grooves201 on the rim 206 of the rope pulley are covered by acoating 202. Provided in the hub of the rope pulley is aspace 203 for a bearing used to mount the rope pulley.The rope pulley is also provided with holes 205 for bolts,allowing the rope pulley to be fastened by its side to ananchorage in the hoisting machine 6, e.g. to a rotatingflange, to form a traction sheave 7, in which case nobearing separate from the hoisting machine is needed.The coating material used on the traction sheave and therope pulleys may consist of rubber, polyurethane or acorresponding elastic material increasing friction. Thematerial of the traction sheave and/or rope pulleys mayalso be so chosen that, together with the hoisting ropeused, it forms a material pair such that the hoisting ropewill bite firmly on the pulley after the coating on the pulleyhas been worn out. This ensures a sufficient grip betweenthe rope pulley 200 and the hoisting rope 3 in an emer-gency where the coating 202 has been worn out from therope pulley 200. This feature allows the elevator to main-tain its functionality and operational reliability in the situ-ation referred to. The traction sheave and/or the ropepulleys can also be manufactured in such manner thatonly the rim 206 of the rope pulley 200 is made of a ma-terial forming a grip increasing material pair with the hoist-ing rope 3. The use of strong hoisting ropes that are con-siderably thinner than normally allows the traction sheaveand the rope pulleys to be designed to considerablysmaller dimensions and sizes than when normal-sizedropes are used. This also makes it possible to use a motorof a smaller size with a lower torque as the drive motorof the elevator, which leads to a reduction of the acqui-sition cost of the motor. For example, in an elevator ac-cording to the invention designed for a nominal load be-low 1000 kg, the traction sheave diameter is preferably120-200 mm, but it may even be less than this. The trac-tion sheave diameter depends on the thickness of thehoisting ropes used. In the elevator of the invention, theuse of a small traction sheave, e.g. in the case of eleva-tors for a nominal load below 1000 kg, makes it possibleto achieve a machine weight even as low as about onehalf of the weight of currently used machines, whichmeans producing elevator machines weighing 100-150kg or even less. In the invention, the machine is under-stood as comprising at least the traction sheave, the mo-

tor, the machine housing structures and the brakes.[0021] The weight of the elevator machine and its sup-porting elements used to hold the machine in place inthe elevator shaft is at most about 1/5 of the nominalload. If the machine is exclusively or almost exclusivelysupported by one or more elevator and/or counterweightguide rails, then the total weight of the machine and itssupporting elements may be less than about 1/6 or evenless than 1/8 of the nominal load. Nominal load of anelevator means a load defined for elevators of a givensize. The supporting elements of the elevator machinemay include e.g. a beam, carriage or suspension bracketused to support or suspend the machine on/from a wallstructure or ceiling of the elevator shaft or on the elevatoror counterweight guide rails, or clamps used to hold themachine fastened to the sides of the elevator guide rails.It will be easy to achieve an elevator in which the machinedeadweight without supporting elements is below 1/7 ofthe nominal load or even about 1/10 of the nominal loador still less. Basically, the ratio of machine weight to nom-inal load is given for a conventional elevator in which thecounterweight has a weight substantially equal to theweight of an empty car plus half the nominal load. As anexample of machine weight in an elevator of a given nom-inal weight when the fairly common 2:1 suspension ratiois used with a nominal load of 630 kg, the combinedweight of the machine and its supporting elements maybe only 75 kg when the traction sheave diameter is 160mm and hoisting ropes having a diameter of 4 mm areused, in other words, the total weight of the machine andits supporting elements is about 1/8 of the nominal loadof the elevator. As another example, using the same 2:1 suspension ratio, the same 160 mm traction sheavediameter and the same 4 mm hoisting rope diameter, inan elevator for a nominal load of about 1000 kg, the totalweight of the machine and its supporting elements isabout 150 kg, so in this case the machine and its sup-porting elements have a total weight equaling about 1/6of the nominal load. As a third example, let us consideran elevator designed for a nominal load of 1600 kg. Inthis case, when the suspension ratio is 2:1, the tractionsheave diameter 240 mm and the hoisting rope diameter6 mm, the total weight of the machine and its supportingelements will be about 300 kg, i.e. about 1/7 of the nom-inal load. By varying the hoisting rope suspension ar-rangements, it is possible to reach a still lower total weightof the machine and its supporting elements. For example,when a 4:1 suspension ratio, a 160 mm traction sheavediameter and a 4 mm hoisting rope diameter are used inan elevator designed for a nominal load of 500 kg, a totalweight of machine and its supporting elements of about50 kg will be achieved. In this case, the total weight ofthe machine and its supporting elements is as small asonly about 1/10 of the nominal load.[0022] Fig. 4 presents a solution in which the ropegroove 301 is in a coating 302 which is thinner at thesides of the rope groove than at the bottom. In such asolution, the coating is placed in a basic groove 320 pro-

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vided in the rope pulley 300 so that deformations pro-duced in the coating by the pressure imposed on it bythe rope will be small and mainly limited to the rope sur-face texture sinking into the coating. Such a solution oftenmeans in practice that the rope pulley coating consistsof rope groove-specific sub-coatings separate from eachother, but considering manufacturing or other aspects itmay be appropriate to design the rope pulley coating sothat it extends continuously over a number of grooves.[0023] By making the coating thinner at the sides ofthe groove than at its bottom, the strain imposed by therope on the bottom of the rope groove while sinking intothe groove is avoided or at least reduced. As the pressurecannot be discharged laterally but is directed by the com-bined effect of the shape of the basic groove 320 and thethickness variation of the coating 302 to support the ropein the rope groove 301, lower maximum surface pres-sures acting on the rope and the coating are alsoachieved. One method of making a grooved coating 302like this is to fill the round-bottomed basic groove 320with coating material and then form a half-round ropegroove 301 in this coating material in the basic groove.The shape of the rope grooves is well supported and theload-bearing surface layer under the rope provides a bet-ter resistance against lateral propagation of the compres-sion stress produced by the ropes. The lateral spreadingor rather adjustment of the coating caused by the pres-sure is promoted by thickness and elasticity of the coatingand reduced by hardness and eventual reinforcementsof the coating. The coating thickness on the bottom ofthe rope groove can be made large, even as large as halfthe rope thickness, in which case a hard and inelasticcoating is needed. On the other hand, if a coating thick-ness corresponding to only about one tenth of the ropethickness is used, then the coating material may be clear-ly softer. An elevator for eight persons could be imple-mented using a coating thickness at the bottom of thegroove equal to about one fifth of the rope thickness ifthe ropes and the rope load are chosen appropriately.The coating thickness should equal at least 2-3 times thedepth of the rope surface texture formed by the surfacewires of the rope. Such a very thin coating, having a thick-ness even less than the thickness of the surface wire ofthe rope, will not necessarily endure the strain imposedon it. In practice, the coating must have a thickness largerthan this minimum thickness because the coating will al-so have to receive rope surface variations rougher thanthe surface texture. Such a rougher area is formed e.g.where the level differences between rope strands arelarger than those between wires. In practice, a suitableminimum coating thickness is about 1-3 times the surfacewire thickness. In the case of the ropes normally used inelevators, which have been designed for a contact witha metallic rope groove and which have a thickness of8-10 mm, this thickness definition leads to a coating atleast about 1 mm thick. Since a coating on the tractionsheave, which causes more rope wear than the otherrope pulleys of the elevator, will reduce rope wear and

therefore also the need to provide the rope with thicksurface wires, the rope can be made smoother. Ropesmoothness can naturally be improved by coating therope with a material suited for this purpose, such as e.g.polyurethane or equivalent. The use of thin wires allowsthe rope itself to be made thinner, because thin steelwires can be manufactured from a stronger material thanthicker wires. For instance, using 0.2 mm wires, a 4 mmthick elevator hoisting rope of a fairly good constructioncan be produced. Depending on the thickness of thehoisting rope used and/or on other reasons, the wires inthe steel wire rope may preferably have a thickness be-tween 0.15 mm and 0.5 mm, in which range there arereadily available steel wires with good strength propertiesin which even an individual wire has a sufficient wearresistance and a sufficiently low susceptibility to damage.In the above, ropes made of round steel wires have beendiscussed. Applying the same principles, the ropes canbe wholly or partly twisted from non-round profiled wires.In this case, the cross-sectional areas of the wires arepreferably substantially the same as for round wires, i.e.in the range of 0.015 mm2 - 0.2 mm2. Using wires in thisthickness range, it will be easy to produce steel wire ropeshaving a wire strength above about 2000 N/mm2 and awire cross-section of 0.015 mm2 - 0.2 mm2 and compris-ing a large cross-sectional area of steel material in rela-tion to the cross-sectional area of the rope, as is achievede.g. by using the Warrington construction. For the imple-mentation of the invention, particularly well suited areropes having a wire strength in the range of 2300 N/m2

- 2700 N/mm2, because such ropes have a very largebearing capacity in relation to rope thickness while thehigh hardness of the strong wires involves no substantialdifficulties in the use of the rope in elevators. A tractionsheave coating well suited for such a rope is alreadyclearly below 1 mm thick. However, the coating shouldbe thick enough to ensure that it will not be very easilyscratched away or pierced e.g. by an occasional sandgrain or similar particle having got between the ropegroove and the hoisting rope. Thus, a desirable minimumcoating thickness, even when thin-wire hoisting ropesare used, would be about 0.5...1 mm. For hoisting ropeshaving small surface wires and an otherwise relativelysmooth surface, a coating having a thickness of the formA+B·cos(a) a is well suited. However, such a coating isalso applicable to ropes whose surface strands meet therope groove at a distance from each other, because ifthe coating material is sufficiently hard, each strandmeeting the rope groove is in a way separately supportedand the supporting force is the same and/or as desired.In the formula A+B·cos(a) a, A and B are constants sothat A+B is the coating thickness at the bottom of therope groove 301 and the angle a is the angular distancefrom the bottom of the rope groove as measured fromthe center of curvature of the rope groove cross-section.Constant A is larger than or equal to zero, and constantB is always larger than zero. The thickness of the coatinggrowing thinner towards the edges can also be defined

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in other ways besides using the formula A+B·cos(a) a sothat the elasticity decreases towards the edges of therope groove. The elasticity in the central part of the ropegroove can also be increased by making an undercutrope groove and/or by adding to the coating on the bottomof the rope groove a portion of different material of specialelasticity, where the elasticity has been increased, in ad-dition to increasing the material thickness, by the use ofa material that is softer than the rest of the coating.[0024] Fig. 5a, 5b and 5c present cross-sections ofsteel wire ropes used in the invention. The ropes in thesefigures contain thin steel wires 403, a coating 402 on thesteel wires and/or partly between the steel wires and inFig. 5a a coating 401 over the steel wires. The rope pre-sented in Fig. 5b is an uncoated steel wire rope with arubber-like filler added to its interior structure, and Fig.5a presents a steel wire rope provided with a coating inaddition to a filler added to the internal structure. Therope presented in Fig. 5c has a non-metallic core 404,which may be a solid or fibrous structure made of plastic,natural fiber or some other material suited for the pur-pose. A fibrous structure will be good if the rope is lubri-cated, in which case lubricant will accumulate in the fi-brous core. The core thus acts as a kind of lubricant stor-age. The steel wire ropes of substantially round cross-section used in the invention may be coated, uncoatedand/or provided with a rubber-like filler, such as e.g. poly-urethane or some other suitable filler, added to the interiorstructure of the rope and acting as a kind of lubricantlubricating the rope and also balancing the pressure be-tween wires and strands. The use of a filler makes it pos-sible to achieve a rope that needs no lubrication, so itssurface can be dry.[0025] The coating used in the steel wire ropes maybe made of the same or nearly the same material as thefiller or of a material that is better suited for use as acoating and has properties, such as friction and wearresistance properties, that are better suited to the pur-pose than a filler. The coating of the steel wire rope mayalso be so implemented that the coating material pene-trates partially into the rope or through the entire thick-ness of the rope, giving the rope the same properties asthe filler mentioned above. The use of thin and strongsteel wire ropes according to the invention is possiblebecause the steel wires used are wires of specialstrength, allowing the ropes to be made substantially thinas compared with steel wire ropes used before. Theropes presented in Fig. 5a and 5b are steel wire ropeshaving a diameter of about 4 mm. For example, when a2:1 suspension ratio is used, the thin and strong steelwire ropes of the invention preferably have a diameter ofabout 2.5 - 5 mm in elevators for a nominal load below1000 kg, and preferably about 5 - 8 mm in elevators fora nominal load above 1000 kg. In principle, it is possibleto use ropes thinner than this, but in this case a largenumber of ropes will be needed. Still, by increasing thesuspension ratio, ropes thinner than those mentionedabove can be used for corresponding loads, and at the

same time a smaller and lighter elevator machine can beachieved.[0026] Fig. 6 illustrates the manner in which a ropepulley 502 connected to a horizontal beam 504 com-prised in the structure supporting the elevator car 501 isplaced in relation to the beam 504, said rope pulley beingused to support the elevator car and associated struc-tures. The rope pulley 502 presented in the figure mayhave a diameter equal to or less than the height of thebeam 504 comprised in the structure. The beam 504 sup-porting the elevator car 501 may be located either belowor above the elevator car. The rope pulley 502 may beplaced completely or partially inside the beam 504, asshown in the figure. The hoisting ropes 503 of the elevatorin the figure run as follows: The hoisting ropes 503 cometo the coated rope pulley 502 connected to the beam 504comprised in the structure supporting the elevator car501, from which pulley the hoisting rope runs further, pro-tected by the beam, e.g. in the hollow 506 inside thebeam, under the elevator car and goes then further viaa second rope pulley placed on the other side of the el-evator car. The elevator car 501 rests on the beam 504comprised in the structure, on vibration absorbers 505placed between them. The beam 504 also acts as a ropeguard for the hoisting rope 503. The beam 504 may bea C-, U-, I-, Z-section beam or a hollow beam or equiv-alent.[0027] It is obvious to the person skilled in the art thatdifferent embodiments of the invention are not limited tothe examples described above, but that they may be var-ied within the scope of the following claims. For instance,the number of times the hoisting ropes are passed be-tween the upper part of the elevator shaft and the coun-terweight or elevator car is not a very decisive questionas regards the basic advantages of the invention, al-though it is possible to achieve some additional advan-tages by using multiple roping with other roping ratiosthan mentioned above. In general, embodiments shouldbe so implemented that the ropes go to the elevator carat most as many times as to the counterweight. It is alsoobvious that the hoisting ropes need not necessarily bepassed under the car. In accordance with the examplesdescribed above, a skilled person can vary the embodi-ment of the invention as the traction sheaves and ropepulleys, instead of being coated metal pulleys, may alsobe uncoated metal pulleys or uncoated pulleys made ofsome other material suited to the purpose, e.g. reinforcedcomposites from plastics, metals and ceramics and anycombinations thereof wherein the reinforcement is par-ticularly implemented as fibers or fillers.[0028] It is further obvious to the person skilled in theart that the metallic traction sheaves and rope pulleysused in the invention, which are coated with a non-me-tallic material at least in the area of their grooves, maybe implemented using a coating material consisting ofe.g. rubber, polyurethane or some other material suitedto the purpose.[0029] It is also obvious to the person skilled in the art

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that the elevator car, the counterweight and the machineunit may be laid out in the cross-section of the elevatorshaft in a manner differing from the lay-out described inthe examples. Such a different lay-out might be e.g. onein which the machine and the counterweight are locatedbehind the car as seen from the shaft door and the ropesare passed under the car diagonally relative to the bottomof the car. Passing the ropes under the car in a diagonalor otherwise oblique direction relative to the form of thebottom provides an advantage when the suspension ofthe car on the ropes is to be made symmetrical relativeto the center of mass of the elevator in other types ofsuspension lay-out as well.[0030] It is further obvious to the person skilled in theart that the equipment required for the supply of powerto the motor and the equipment needed for elevator con-trol can be placed elsewhere than in connection with themachine unit, e.g. in a separate instrument panel. It islikewise obvious to the skilled person that an elevatorapplying the invention may be equipped differently fromthe examples described above.[0031] It is also obvious to the skilled person that, in-stead of using ropes with a filler as illustrated in Fig. 5aand 5b, the invention may be implemented using ropeswithout filler, which are either lubricated or unlubricated.In addition, it is also obvious to the person skilled in theart that the ropes may be twisted in many different ways.[0032] As average of the wire thicknesses a statisticalaverage or mean value - e.g. the geometrical or arith-metical mean value - of the thicknesses of all wires of ahoisting rope is understood. For statistical average ormean value the standard deviation, Gauss distribution,medium error square or deviation square method etc.could be used. Often wires of the same thickness areused in a rope in which case the average thickness de-scribes the thickness of each wire of the rope. If wires ofdifferent thicknesses should be used for some reasonthe maximum wire thickness in the rope should preferablynot exceed the factor 4, better 3 or better 2 of the averagewire thickness.

Claims

1. Elevator, preferably an elevator without machineroom, in which elevator a hoisting machine engagesa set of hoisting ropes (5) via a traction sheave (7)said set of hoisting ropes comprising several singlehoisting ropes of substantially circular cross-section,said ropes having a load-bearing part twisted fromsteel wires of circular and/or non-circular cross sec-tion, wherein

- the hoisting ropes support a counterweight (2)and an elevator car (1) moving on their tracks,

characterized in that

- the rope diameter of the steel wire ropes isbetween 2,5 and 5mm for elevators having anominal load up to about 1000 kg, and 5 to 8mm for elevators with a nominal load above1000 kg,- the average wire thickness of the steel wiresin the hoisting ropes is less than 0.5 mm, and- the steel wires of the hoisting ropes have astrength exceeding about 2000 N /mm 2.

2. Elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in thatthe average of the wire thicknesses of the steel wiresof the hoisting ropes (3) is greater than about 0.1mm and less than about 0.4 mm.

3. Elevator as defined in claim 1, characterized in thatthe average of the wire thicknesses of the steel wiresof the hoisting ropes (3) is greater than about 0.15mm and less than about 0.3 mm.

4. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the strength of thesteel wires of the hoisting ropes (3) is greater thanabout 2300 N/mm2 and less than about 2700 N/mm2.

5. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the outer diameter ofthe traction sheave (7) driven by the hoisting ma-chine of the elevator is at most about 250 mm.

6. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the weight of the hoist-ing machine (6) of the elevator is at most about 100kg.

7. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the diameter of thespeed governor rope is equal or thicker than that ofthe hoisting ropes (3).

8. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the weight of the hoist-ing machine (6) of the elevator is at most about 1/5of the nominal load, advantageously at most about1/8 of the nominal load, most advantageously lessthan about 1/10 of the nominal load.

9. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the total weight of theelevator machine and its supporting elements is atmost 1/5 of the nominal load, preferably at mostabout 1/8 of the nominal load.

10. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the diameter of thepulleys (502) supporting the car is equal to or lessthan the height dimension of a horizontal beam (504)comprised in the structure supporting the car.

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11. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the pulleys (502) areplaced at least partially inside the beam (504).

12. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the track of the ele-vator car is in an elevator shaft.

13. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that at least part of thespaces between strands and/or wires in the hoistingropes (3) is filled with rubber, urethane or some othermedium of a substantially non-fluid nature.

14. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the hoisting ropeshave a surface component made of rubber, urethaneor some other non-metallic material.

15. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the traction sheave(7) is coated at least in its rope grooves with a non-metallic material.

16. Elevator as defined in any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the traction sheave(7) rim part comprising the rope grooves is made ofa non-metallic material.

Patentansprüche

1. Aufzug, vorzugsweise ein Aufzug ohne Maschinen-raum, bei welchem Aufzug eine Hebemaschine ei-nen Satz an Hebeseilen (5) mittels einer Treibschei-be (7) greift, welcher Satz an Hebeseilen mehrereeinzelne Hebeseile von im Wesentlichen kreisrun-dem Querschnitt umfasst, welche Seile einen Lastaufnehmenden Teil aufweisen, der aus Stahldrähtenmit rundem und/oder nicht rundem Querschnitt ge-drillt oder geflochten ist, wobei

- die Hebeseile ein Gegengewicht (2) und eineAufzugkabine (1) tragen, die auf ihren Wegenlaufen, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass- der Seildurchmesser der Stahldrahtseile zwi-schen 2,5 und 5 mm beträgt für Aufzüge, dieeine Nominallast bis 1.000 kg haben und 5 - 8mm für Aufzüge mit einer Nominallast über1.000 kg,- die durchschnittliche Drahtstärke der Stahl-drähte in den Hebeseilen weniger als 0,5 mmbeträgt und- die Stahldrähte der Hebeseile eine Stärke vonmehr als ungefähr 2.000 N/mm2 aufweisen.

2. Aufzug nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeich-net, dass der Durchschnitt der Drahtstärken der

Stahldrähte der Hebeseile (3) größer als ungefähr0,1 mm und weniger als ungefähr 0,4 mm beträgt.

3. Aufzug nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeich-net, dass der Durchschnitt der Drahtdicken derStahldrähte der Hebeseile (3) größer als ungefähr0,15 mm und weniger als ungefähr 0,3 mm beträgt.

4. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Festigkeit derStahldrähte der Hebeseile (3) größer als ungefähr2.300 N/mm2 und weniger als ungefähr 2.700N/mm2 beträgt.

5. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der äußere Durch-messer der Treibscheibe (7), die durch die Hebema-schine des Aufzugs angetrieben wird, höchstens250 mm beträgt.

6. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das Gewicht derHebemaschine (6) des Aufzugs höchstens 100 kgbeträgt.

7. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der Durchmesserdes Geschwindigkeitsbegrenzerseils gleich oderdicker als der der Hebeseile (3) ist.

8. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das Gewicht derHebemaschine (6) des Aufzugs höchstens ungefähr1/5 der Nominallast, vorzugsweise höchstens 1/8der Nominallast, besonders vorzugsweise wenigerals ungefähr 1/10 der Nominallast beträgt.

9. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das Gesamtge-wicht der Aufzugmaschine und seiner Tragelementehöchstens 1/5 der Nominallast, vorzugsweise höch-stens 1/8 der Nominallast beträgt.

10. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der Durchmesserder Rollen (502), die die Kabine tragen, kleiner odergleich der Höhenabmessung einer in der Tragstruk-tur der Kabine enthaltenen horizontalen Strebe (504)ist.

11. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Rollen (502)zumindest teilweise innerhalb der Strebe (504) an-geordnet sind.

12. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der Weg der Auf-zugkabine in einem Aufzugschacht angeordnet ist.

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13. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass wenigstens einTeil der Zwischenräume zwischen den Bündeln, Zü-gen und/oder Drähten in den Hebeseilen (3) mitGummi, Urethan oder einem anderen Medium einerim Wesentlichen nicht flüssigen Natur gefüllt ist.

14. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Hebeseile eineOberflächenkomponente aus Gummi, Urethan odereinem anderen nicht metallischen Material enthal-ten.

15. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Treibscheibe(7) zumindest in ihren Seilnuten mit einem nicht me-tallischen Material beschichtet ist.

16. Aufzug nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass der Umfangsbe-reich der Treibscheibe (7), der die Seilnuten enthält,aus einem nicht metallischen Material besteht.

Revendications

1. Ascenseur, préférentiellement un ascenseur sanslocal des machines, dans lequel ascenseur un mé-canisme de levage engage un jeu de câbles de le-vage (3) à travers une poulie d’entraînement (7), leditjeu de câbles de levage comportant plusieurs câblesde levage individuels de section transversale subs-tantiellement circulaire, lesdits câbles ayant un élé-ment porteur torsadé en fils d’acier de section trans-versale circulaire et/ou non circulaire, dans lequelles câbles de levage supportent un contrepoids (2)et une cabine d’ascenseur (1) se déplaçant sur leurstrajectoires.caractérisé par le fait quele diamètre de câble des câbles en fils d’acier sesitue entre 2,5 et 5 mm pour les ascenseurs ayantune charge nominale allant jusqu’à environ 1000 kg,et entre 5 et 8 mm pour les ascenseurs ayant unecharge nominale supérieure à 1000 kg,

- la moyenne d’épaisseur de fil des fils d’acierdans les câbles de levage est inférieure à 0,5mm, et- les fils d’acier des câbles de levage ont unerésistance dépassant environ 2000 N/mm2.

2. Ascenseur selon la revendication 1,caractérisé par le fait que la moyenne des épais-seurs de fil des fils d’acier des câbles de levage (3)est supérieure à environ 0,1 mm et inférieure à en-viron 0,4 mm.

3. Ascenseur selon la revendication 1,

caractérisé par le fait que la moyenne des épais-seurs de fil des fils d’acier des câbles de levage (3)est supérieure à environ 0,15 mm et inférieure à en-viron 0,3 mm.

4. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que la résistance des filsd’acier des câbles de levage (3) est supérieure àenviron 2300 N/mm2 et inférieure à environ 2700N/mm2.

5. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que e diamètre externe dela poulie d’entraînement entraînée (7) par le méca-nisme de levage de l’ascenseur est au plus d’environ250 mm.

6. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que le poids du mécanismede levage (6) de l’ascenseur est au plus d’environ100 kg.

7. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que le diamètre du câble dulimiteur de vitesse est égal ou supérieur à celui descâbles de levage (3).

8. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que le poids du mécanismede levage (6) de l’ascenseur est au plus d’environ1/5ème de la charge nominale, avantageusementau plus d’environ 1/8ème de la charge nominale,plus avantageusement moins d’environ 1/10ème dela charge nominale.

9. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que le poids total du méca-nisme d’ascenseur et ses éléments de support estau plus 1/5ème de la charge nominale, préférentiel-lement au plus environ 1/8ème de la charge nomi-nale.

10. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que le diamètre des poulies(502) supportant la cabine est égal ou inférieur à lahauteur d’un support horizontal (504) compris dansla structure supportant la cabine.

11. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que les poulies (502) sont

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placées au moins partiellement à l’intérieur du sup-port (504).

12. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que la trajectoire de la cabined’ascenseur est à l’intérieur d’une cage d’ascenseur.

13. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait qu’a moins une partie desespaces entre les brins et/ou fils dans les câbles delevage (3) est remplie de caoutchouc, d’uréthane ouun quelconque autre moyen de nature essentielle-ment non fluide.

14. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que les câbles de levage ontune surface faite de caoutchouc, d’uréthane ou d’unquelconque matériau non métallique.

15. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que la poulie d’entraînement(7) est enrobée au moins dans ses gorges de câbleavec un matériau non métallique.

16. Ascenseur selon l’une quelconque des revendica-tions précédentes,caractérisé par le fait que la couronne dentée dela poulie d’entraînement (7) comportant les gorgesde câble est faite d’un matériau non métallique

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REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader’s convenience only. It does not form part of the Europeanpatent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot beexcluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.

Patent documents cited in the description

• EP 0631967 A1 [0002]• EP 0631968 A [0002]

• WO 9943589 A [0004]