Counteracting horizontal accelerations on an elevator car

Apparatus for horizontally stabilizing an elevator in a hoistway, comprising:

• three sensors for sensing horizontal translational movements of the elevator and for providing three sensed signals indicative thereof and wherein two of said three sensors are situated to sense translational movement along lines parallel to a single selected axis and wherein a single sensor of said three sensors is situated to sense translational movement along an axis perpendicular to said single selected axis;
• control means, responsive to said three sensed signals, for computing corresponding forces required to counteract said sensed movements and for providing at least one control signal;
• and
• actuator means, responsive to said at least one control signal, for horizontally actuating the elevator in the hoistway.

Apparatus for horizontally stabilizing an elevator in a hoistway, comprising:

• sensor means, responsive to a selected parameter associated with the elevator, for providing a sensed signal indicative thereof;
• control means, responsive to said sensed signal, for providing a control signal;
• and
• actuator means, responsive to said control signal, for horizontally actuating the elevator, wherein said actuator means comprises four actuators situated to actuate the elevator along lines which intersect the elevator walls at an angle of forty-five degrees.

Apparatus for stabilizing an elevator in a hoistway, comprising:

• sensor means, responsive to a selected parameter associated with the elevator, for providing a sensed signal indicative thereof;
• control means, responsive to said sensed signal, for providing a control signal;
• and
• actuator means, responsive to said control signal, for horizontally actuating the elevator, wherein said actuator means comprises four actuators which each actuate the elevator along four separate lines intersecting walls of the elevator to form isosceles right triangles in corners of the elevator.

Apparatus for horizontally stabilizing an elevator in a hoistway, comprising:

• sensor means, responsive to a selected parameter associated with the elevator, for providing a sensed signal indicative thereof;
• control means, responsive to said sensed signal, for providing a control signal;
• and
• actuator means, responsive to said control signal, for horizontally actuating the elevator, wherein said actuator means comprises four actuators which each actuate the elevator along four separate lines intersecting one another to form a rectangle or square.

Apparatus for horizontally stabilizing an elevator in a hoistway, comprising:

• sensor means, responsive to a selected parameter associated with the suspended cab, for providing a sensed signal indicative thereof;
• control means, responsive to said sensed signal, for providing a control signal;
• and
• actuator means, responsive to said control signal, for horizontally actuating the elevator, wherein said actuator means comprises four actuators arranged in pairs, one pair at a time responsive to said control signal, each pair for actuating the elevator in opposing directions.

Apparatus for horizontally stabilizing an elevator in a hoistway, comprising:

• sensor means,, responsive to a selected parameter associated with the elevator, for providing a sensed signal indicative thereof;
• control means, responsive to said sensed signal indicative of the selected parameter, for providing a control signal;
• and
• actuator means, responsive to said control signal, for actuating the elevator for horizontally stabilizing the elevator in the hoistway, wherein said control means comprises first control means responsive to said sensed signal for providing a command signal and further comprises second control means responsive to said command signal and to at least one sensed signal indicative of the response of the elevator to said actuator means for providing a feedback signal to said first control means for providing said command signal.

A method for horizontally stabilizing an elevator suspended within a hoistway, comprising the steps of:

• sensing the magnitude and direction of a selected parameter associated with the suspended elevator and providing a sensed signal having a magnitude and sign indicative thereof;
• providing a control signal in response to said sensed signal;
• and
• horizontally actuating the suspended elevator in the hoistway in response to said control signal, wherein said step of sensing comprises the step of sensing translational movements of the elevator by providing said sensed signal as three sensed signals indicative thereof for providing said control signal as one or more control signals required to counteract movements indicated by said sensed signals, and wherein two of said three sensed signals are indicative of translational movement of the cab along lines parallel to a single selected axis and wherein a single sensed signal is indicative of translational movement along an axis perpendicular to said single selected axis.

A method for horizontally stabilizing an elevator in a hoistway, comprising the steps of:

• sensing the magnitude and direction of a selected parameter associated with the elevator and providing a sensed signal having a magnitude and sign indicative thereof;
• providing a control signal in response to said sensed signal;
• and
• horizontally actuating the elevator in response to said control signal along lines which intersect the elevator walls at angles of forty-five degrees.