Apparatus for damping oscillations in elevator cars

In an elevator system, comprising:

• an elevator car sling adapted to be suspended in an elevator shaft;
• an elevator car body supported by said car sling;
• at least two spherical shock absorbers attached to said car sling and abutting a bottom side of said car body;
• a spherical tensioning means attached to said car sling;
• a lower centering element attached to the bottom side of said car body for generating springy and damped return movement of said car body into a center position in said car sling and including an outer casing surrounding an elastic filler element and a guide sleeve attached to and extending through said filler element for retaining one end of a guide pin having its other end retained by said spherical tensioning means;
• and
• centering and dampening elements attached between a top side of said car body and said car sling.

An elevator car comprising:

• an elevator car sling adapted to be suspended in and travel up and down in an elevator shaft;
• an elevator car body located in said car sling;
• a plurality of spherical shock absorbers mounted on supporting angles attached to said car sling, said shock absorbers abutting a bottom side of said car body;
• a pair of centering and damping elements attached between a top side of said car body and said car sling for preventing horizontal movement and permitting limited vertical movement of an upper portion of said car body with respect to said car sling;
• a lower centering element attached to the bottom side of said car body for generating springy and damped return movement of said car body into a center position in said car sling;
• a ball shaped body;
• a guide pin extending from said lower centering element and into said ball shaped body;
• and
• a spherical tensioning means attached to said car sling and coupled to said lower centering element, and wherein said spherical tensioning means includes a fixed clamping jaw attached to said car sling, a moveable clamping jaw hingedly attached to said fixed clamping jaw, spring means for moving said moveable clamping jaw toward said fixed clamping jaw to clamp said ball shaped body therebetween, and electromagnetic means which when actuated moves said moveable clamping jaw away from said fixed clamping jaw to release said ball shaped body.

An apparatus for damping vibrations generated in an elevator car body supported in an elevator car sling, comprising:

• at least two spherical shock absorbers adapted to be attached to an elevator car sling for abutting a bottom side of an elevator car body supported by the car sling;
• a spherical tensioning means adapted to be attached to the car sling and including a ball shaped body and a protruding guide pin attached to said ball shaped body;
• a lower centering element adapted to be attached to the bottom side of the car body for generating springy and damped return movement of the car body into a center position in the car sling and including a guide sleeve slidably engaging said guide pine for coupling to said spherical tensioning means;
• and
• centering and damping elements adapted to be attached between a top side of the car body and the car sling.