Magnetic guidance for an elevator rope

Abstract

An elevator system includes a magnetic guide that dampens vibration of a flat rope that move the car and counterweight up and down in the hoistway. The flat rope is guided through an opening in the magnetic guide between a pair of ferromagnetic flux concentrators having a set of teeth. The flux concentrators concentrate a centralizing magnetic flux that centers the ferromagnetic wires of the rope between each tooth. As the centralizing force acts on each ferromagnetic wire, the flat rope will be magnetically laterally centered within the opening of the magnetic guide and vibration of the flat rope is accordingly dampened. In one example implementation of this invention, the magnetic guide is slideably mounted on a slide assembly in response to rope migration. The slide assembly operates in combination with the magnetic guide at particular locations throughout the elevator drive system to restrain undesirable rope vibration and migration without contact between the guide system and rope and reduces undesirable frictional forces.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.