A hydraulic elevator and translator and an elevation-translation procedure

Abstract

 A hydraulic elevator-translator, and a procedure for elevation and translation. A cabin (2) for transporting personnel and/or goods is freely slidable along fixed vertical guides for movement in a straight direction. Two cable blocks (6, 7), of which one cable block (6) is fixed and one (7) is mobile slidingly along fixed guides (9) for movement in a straight direction, are each provided with at least one pulley pair (10). Two cables (8), wound about the pulley pairs (10), each have one end anchored to the fixed cable block (6), and another end anchored to the cabin (2). Pistons (3) of two fixed hydraulic cylinders (4) have stems which are fixed by upper ends to the mobile cable block (7).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a hydraulic elevator and translator and an elevation-translation procedure. Specifically, though not exclusively, such devices are applied in the field of vertical transport of people or goods, in the form of personnel or goods elevators. They can also be used as translators, however, for inclined or horizontal transport.

[0002] Winch elevators are already well known, having an upper chamber for housing the winch and a further inspection chamber below the bottom endrun, situated below the passenger cabin.

[0003] Such elevators are considerably expensive and require two extra chambers at the two ends of the run.

[0004] Hydraulic chambers are also known, also for transport of people or objects, which are operated by a hydraulic machine constituted by one or more pistons, slidable inside fixed cylinders located below or lateral to the cabin.

[0005] In such known solutions the piston run for lifting the cabin is generally equal to the run of the cabin itself. This represent a great limit to the useful lift run length. The length of the piston, in consequence of the fact that it works by compression, is greatly limited by mechanical stress resistance problems. Further, in order to limit the longitudinal mass of the hydraulic machine, somewhat complex constructional solutions are adopted, such as, for example, telescopic pistons.

[0006] A main aim of the present invention is to overcome the abovementioned limits and drawbacks, by providing a hydraulic elevator-translator which is constructively simple and economical, and which is reliable and safe over relatively long elevator runs.

[0007] A further aim is to provide an elevation-translation procedure which allows considerable economical savings.

[0008] One advantage of the present invention is that the hydraulic piston is not subject to compression stress during cabin movement.

[0009] A further advantage is that the invention provides a hydraulic elevator-translator having several important characteristics of the winch-type elevator, as it can perform long runs, but which does not need a large space for location and maintenance of the winch mechanism, nor are pulleys needed above the cabin, nor, finally, must there be a bottom endrun chamber.

[0010] The above aims and advantages and more besides are all attained by the elevator-translator of the invention, as it is characterized in the accompanying claims, in which the load transport cabin is connected to at least one hydraulic piston by a hoist, thanks to which hoist the run of the cabin can be multiplied with respect to the run of the piston.

[0011] A further object of the present invention is an elevation-translation procedure, in which the hydraulic elevation-translation means operate in traction during the active phase.

[0012] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will better emerge from the detailed description that follows, of an embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the form of a non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 is a schematic vertical elevation of the essential components of the invention;

figure 2 is a schematic partially cutaway vertical elevation of the invention, showing more details than figure 1, and with the two cutaway parts in slightly different scales;

figure 3 is a schematic section according to line III-III of figure 2, in enlarged scale.

[0013] With reference to the figures, 1 denotes in its entirety a hydraulic elevator-translator comprising a cabin 2 suitable for transporting personnel and/or goods, and hydraulic drive means constituted by a pair of pistons 3 slidable inside fixed hydraulic cylinders 4. The cabin 2 is slidable along fixed vertical guides for movement in a straight direction. The cabin 2 and the pistons 3 are reciprocally connected by means of a hoist comprising a fixed cable block 6, a mobile cable block 7 and two cables 8. Each of the two cable blocks 6 and 7 is provided with two pulley pairs 10, aligned one to another and having a horizontal axis. The fixed cable block 6 is superiorly and laterally arranged with respect to the cabin 2. The mobile cable block 7 is slidable along fixed vertical guides 9 for movement in a straight direction. The mobile cable block 7 moves parallel to the cabin 2 and is laterally distanced with respect to it. Each cable 8 winds on two corresponding pulley pairs 10 situated on the fixed cable block 6 and the mobile cable block 7. Both cables 8 have one end anchored to the fixed cable block 6 and another end anchored to the cabin 2. The stems of the pistons 3 are fixed with an upper end to the mobile cable block 7. The whole structure is symmetric with respect to a vertical median plane normal to the plane of figure 1.

[0014] Figure 3 shows the coupling between the mobile cable block 7 and the guides 9.

[0015] The cabin 2 is lifted by means of activating a hydraulic motor (not illustrated) which causes the pistons 3 to descend: in doing this, the pistons 3 draw the mobile cable block 7 and by means of the hoist cause the cabin 2 to rise.

[0016] The pistons 3 are subject to traction stress during their work of lifting the cabin 2.

[0017] The entity of the cabin 2 displacement is a multiple of the displacements of the mobile cable block 7 and thus the pistons 3. Furthermore, though the cabin 2 moves at the same speed as those of the prior art, the piston 3 translation speed is reduced by the same factor.

[0018] The multiplication factor of the cabin 2 run can be changed by using blocks with a different number of hoists from those of the present embodiment. The cabin descent, exploiting the force of gravity, is commanded by the same hydraulic motor commanding the cabin ascent.

[0019] The invention can also be usefully employed for the construction of transport systems where the vehicle moves in non-vertical opposite directions, commanded by hydraulic pistons working in traction and with a multiplied vehicle run with respect to piston run.

[0020] In the above case two slidable opposed cable blocks and two hydraulic motors to command them can be provided. The cable blocks can be immobilized by non-permanent blocking means, so that they can function both as fixed blocks and as mobile blocks, according to the displacement direction of the transport vehicle.

[0021] According to a further embodiment, not illustrated, an end of the cables 8 can be fixed to the mobile cable block 7 instead of to the fixed cable block 6.

Claims

1. A hydraulic elevator-translator comprising:

- a cabin (2) for transporting personnel and/or goods, freely slidable along fixed guides for movement in a straight direction;

- hydraulic drive means for displacing the cabin (2);

characterised in that it comprises:

- two cable blocks (6, 7), each provided with at least one pulley pair (10), of which one cable block (6) is fixed and one (7) is mobile slidingly along fixed guides (9) for movement in a straight direction;

- at least one cable (8), wound about the pulley pair (10), having one end anchored to one of the two cable blocks (6, 7), and another end anchored to the cabin (2);

- at least one fixed hydraulic cylinder (4) in which a piston (3) runs, a stem of said piston (3) being fixed by an upper end to the mobile cable block (7).

2. An elevator-translator as in claim 1, characterised in that each cable block (6, 7) comprises two aligned pulley pairs (10) about which two cables (8) wind, each of the cables (8) having one end anchored to the fixed cable block (6).

3. An elevator-translator as in claim 1, characterised in that the hydraulic cylinder (4) and the mobile cable block (7), together with the guides (9), are laterally arranged with respect to the cabin (2).

4. An elevator-translator as in claim 1, wherein the pistons (3) are fixed to the mobile cable block (7) such as to operate in traction during a lifting of the cabin (2).

5. A procedure of elevation-translation for elevating and translating a cabin (2) or vehicle suitable for transport of personnel and/or goods, freely slidable along fixed guides for movement in a straight direction, characterised in that an active phase of elevation or translation is performed by hydraulic means operating in traction.

6. A procedure as in claim 5, wherein the vehicle is commanded to move by hydraulic pistons working in traction and with a multiplied vehicle run with respect to a run of the pistons, according to directions which are not necessarily vertical and which comprise movements in two opposite directions.

Drawing