US 5,152,374 AGranted

Elevator system for a building

OwnerIvan Pokusinventor

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Abstract

An elevator system for a two storey building includes two carriages each of which is movable from the upper floor to the lower floor and which are mounted in a counterbalance arrangement so as to move simultaneously. The carriages are mounted upon a single central support between the two carriages and are carried thereby in cantilevered arrangement projecting outwardly from the sides of the central support. The whole of the weight of the structure is therefore transmitted to the base of the support to avoid necessity for reinforcement of the building structure. A door system includes four doors, two on each level. The doors are spring biased to an open position that can be latched closed. The latches are automatically opened so that the available carriage always has the door open. Opposed doors on the two levels are connected by lever mechanism so that as the door on the lower level is closed to close the carriage, the door on the upper level is also closed to close the carriage present at that level. This saves time since a carriage is always awaiting the potential occupant on whichever level he approaches.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A building and elevator system therein comprising a building having a first floor and a second floor arranged directly above the first floor without intervening floors, and an elevator mounted within the building so as to transport occupants from the first floor to the second floor and vice versa, the elevator comprising a first carriage and a second carriage, each carriage being dimensioned to receive at least one erect human occupant, support means mounting each of the first and second carriages for movement only between the first and the second floors, said support means being arranged such that the carriages are counterbalanced so that one carriage is positioned at the first floor while the other is positioned at the second floor and weight of said one carriage as it moves upwardly from the first floor to the second floor is counterbalanced by the weight of the other carriage as it moves downwardly from the second floor to the first floor, means defining on the first floor a third and a fourth doorway, the first and third doorways being arranged to allow entry by said occupant into the first carriage when on the first and second floors respectively and the second and fourth doorways being arranged to allow entry by said occupant into the second carriage when on the first and second floors respectively, first, second, third and fourth door means movable to close each of said doorways respectively and control means for controlling movement of said door means arranged to provide simultaneous operation of the first and fourth door means and to provide simultaneous operation of the second and third door means such that movement of one of the first and fourth door means to the open position causes simultaneous movement of the other of the first and fourth door means to the open position and such that movement of one of the second and third door means to the open position causes simultaneous movement of the other of the second and third door means to the open position.

A building and elevator system therein comprising a building having a first storey and a second storey arranged directly above the first storey without intervening storeys, each storey including a floor surface on which an occupant can stand, and an elevator mounted within the building so as to transport occupants from the first storey to the second storey and vice versa, the elevator comprising a first carriage and a second carriage, each carriage being dimensioned to receive at least one erect human occupant, support means mounting each of the first and second carriages for movement only between the first and the second storeys, said support means being arranged such that the carriages are counterbalanced so that one carriage is positioned at the first storey while the other is positioned at the second storey and weight of said one carriage as it moves upwardly from the first storey to the second storey is counterbalanced by the weight of the other carriages as it moves downwardly from the second storey to the first storey, said support means providing support for supporting both of the said carriages, said support means comprising a base mounted on the surface on the first storey, a plurality of support beams extending upwardly from the base, a horizontal drive shaft mounted at the top of the support beams between the carriages and an elongate flexible support element extending from the drive shaft downwardly to each of the carriages such that rotation of the drive shaft causes the elongate flexible support element to be driven over the drive shaft longitudinally of its length to move the carriages simultaneously, the height of the support beams being below the top of either the first or second carriage when that carriage is on the second storey and above the floor surface of the second storey, and the support beam being arranged so as to transfer substantially all the forces generated by the weight of the carriages and the occupants downwardly along the support beams to the base.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.