U.S. patent application number 12/980390 was filed with the patent office on 2011-05-12 for elevator load bearing member having a jacket with at least one traction-enhancing exterior surface.
Invention is credited to Ary O. Mello, Hugh J. O'Donnell, William C. Perron, John Pitts, Kathryn Rauss, Mark S. Thompson, William A. Veronesi, John P. Wesson.
Application Number | 20110108371 12/980390 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36793344 |
Filed Date | 2011-05-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110108371 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Thompson; Mark S. ; et
al. |
May 12, 2011 |
ELEVATOR LOAD BEARING MEMBER HAVING A JACKET WITH AT LEAST ONE
TRACTION-ENHANCING EXTERIOR SURFACE
Abstract
An elevator load bearing member assembly includes at least one
traction enhancing surface (46) on a jacket (44). In one example, a
mechanical removal process is used to strip away at least some of
an amide-rich layer from the surface (46) after the jacket has been
extruded onto tension members (42). In another example, a chemical
removal process is used. Another disclosed example includes
disrupting the surface.
Inventors: |
Thompson; Mark S.; (Tolland,
CT) ; Wesson; John P.; (Vernon, CT) ;
Veronesi; William A.; (Hartford, CT) ; O'Donnell;
Hugh J.; (Longmeadow, MA) ; Pitts; John;
(Avon, CT) ; Perron; William C.; (Burlington,
CT) ; Mello; Ary O.; (Farmington, CT) ; Rauss;
Kathryn; (Bristol, CT) |
Family ID: |
36793344 |
Appl. No.: |
12/980390 |
Filed: |
December 29, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11814568 |
Jul 24, 2007 |
7883634 |
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PCT/US05/04257 |
Feb 9, 2005 |
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12980390 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
187/401 ;
216/53 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D07B 2501/2007 20130101;
D07B 5/006 20150701; D07B 2205/2064 20130101; B29C 59/04 20130101;
D07B 2205/2064 20130101; B29C 2059/027 20130101; B29C 59/02
20130101; D07B 2205/2003 20130101; D07B 1/22 20130101; D07B 1/162
20130101; B66B 7/062 20130101; B29K 2995/0072 20130101; D07B
2201/2086 20130101; D07B 2205/2003 20130101; D07B 2801/22 20130101;
D07B 2801/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
187/401 ;
216/53 |
International
Class: |
B66B 11/00 20060101
B66B011/00; B44C 1/22 20060101 B44C001/22 |
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A load bearing member for use in an elevator system, made by
the process, comprising: displacing at least some material on at
least one surface of a polymer jacket that generally surrounds at
least one tension member, wherein the displacing exposes pure
polyurethane on a majority of the one surface for achieving a
desired traction characteristic of the jacket.
22. The load bearing member of claim 21, wherein the process
includes chemically removing the material from the one surface.
23. The load bearing member of claim 22, wherein the process
includes applying a chemical to the one surface wherein the
chemical comprises a mixture of 2-Butoxyethanol and water.
24. The load bearing member of claim 22, wherein the process
includes at least one of chemically etching or chemically washing
the one surface.
25. The load bearing member of claim 21, wherein the process
includes mechanically removing the material from the one
surface.
26. The load bearing member of claim 25, wherein the process
includes at least one of rubbing, grinding, abrading or buffing the
one surface.
27. The load bearing member of claim 21, wherein the process
includes disrupting the one surface.
28. The load bearing member of claim 21, wherein the jacket
comprises an inner layer having a first frictional property and a
surface layer having a second, different frictional property and
the process includes exposing at least some of the inner layer.
29. The load bearing member of claim 21, wherein the process
includes removing material from the one surface across an entire
width of the one surface.
30. The load bearing member of claim 29, wherein the process
includes removing material from the one surface along an entire
length of the one surface.
31. The load bearing member of claim 21, wherein the process
includes removing material from the one surface along an entire
length of the one surface.
32. The load bearing member of claim 21, wherein the exposed pure
polyurethane is randomly disbursed across the one surface.
33. The load bearing member of claim 21, wherein the jacket
comprises an amide-rich layer on the one surface and the process
comprises removing at least some of the amide-rich layer.
34. A load bearing member for use in an elevator system,
comprising: at least one tension member; and a jacket generally
surrounding the tension member, the jacket having at least one
surface defining at least a portion of an outermost layer of the
jacket, the one surface comprising exposed, pure polyurethane on a
majority of the one surface.
35. The load bearing member of claim 34, wherein the exposed, pure
polyurethane extends across the entire one surface.
36. The load bearing member of claim 34, wherein the one surface is
smooth.
37. The load bearing member of claim 34, wherein the one surface is
at least partially rough.
38. The load bearing member of claim 34, wherein the jacket
comprises an inner layer having a first frictional property and a
surface layer having a second, different frictional property and
the outermost layer includes at least some of the inner layer
exposed at the outermost layer.
39. The load bearing member of claim 34, wherein the exposed pure
polyurethane is randomly disbursed across the one surface.
40. The load bearing member of claim 34, wherein the jacket
comprises an amide-rich layer on the one surface and at least some
of the amide-rich layer has been removed.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser.
No. 11/814,568, filed Jul. 24, 2007, which is the national phase of
PCT Application No. PCT/US05/04257, filed Feb. 9, 2005.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention generally relates to load bearing members for
use in elevator systems. More particularly, this invention relates
to an elevator load bearing member having a specialized jacket
surface.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0003] Elevator systems typically include a cab and counterweight
that move within a hoistway to transport passengers or cargo to
different landings within a building, for example. A load bearing
member, such as roping or a belt typically moves over a set of
sheaves and supports the load of the cab and counterweight. There
are a variety of types of load bearing members used in elevator
systems.
[0004] Example load bearing members include a polymer jacket (e.g.,
polyurethane or nylon) surrounding tension members (e.g., steel
cords or aramide fibers). Such arrangements may be round or
flat.
[0005] In the case of some load bearing members, an extrusion
process for applying a jacket over the tension members requires
selecting a material having chemical properties that are beneficial
for the process of applying the jacket. The resulting jacket,
however, may present difficulties in having the desired level of
traction when installed in an elevator system. With some materials
that are beneficial from a processing standpoint, the resulting
coefficient of friction between the jacket and an elevator sheave
surface may be higher or lower than desirable for meeting the
traction requirements within the hoistway.
[0006] Typical processes result in a smooth or glossy exterior of
the jacket on the sheave contacting surfaces. In some instances,
this smoothness can introduce undesirable adhesion between the
jacket and a traction sheave. In most cases, the resulting
coefficient of friction between the smooth surface and a traction
sheave is not consistent with desired traction performance.
[0007] Some jackets comprise polyurethane. Most polyurethane
suppliers provide polyurethane stock that includes additives such
as wax, mold release agents and components that facilitate
processing the urethane. These additives typically migrate to the
surface of a jacket during a molding process. Such waxes, mold
release and processing agents migrate to the polyurethane surface
to create a surface layer that presents the traction difficulties
mentioned above.
[0008] An alternative arrangement is required to minimize or
eliminate the undesirable friction characteristics of a typical
polymer jacket. This invention addresses that need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] An example method of making a load bearing member for use in
an elevator system includes removing at least some of a layer from
at least one surface of a polymer jacket that generally surrounds
at least one tension member such that pure polyurethane is exposed.
In one example, the method includes completely exposing pure
polyurethane across the entire surface.
[0010] In one example, at least some of the surface layer is
chemically removed using a chemical wash or chemical etching
technique, for example. In another example, at least some of the
surface layer is mechanically removed using at least one of
abrading, rubbing or grinding the jacket surface. In another
example, the surface layer is disrupted with a dimpled roller to
allow the underlying polyurethane layer to present itself at the
surface.
[0011] One example load bearing member includes at least one
tension member. A jacket generally surrounds the tension member.
The jacket has at least one surface with exposed pure polyurethane
on an exterior of the jacket. In one example, the surface having
exposed pure polyurethane is smooth. In another example, the
surface is rough.
[0012] The various features and advantages of this invention will
become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following
detailed description of the currently preferred embodiments. The
drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly
described as follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a portion of an example
load being member designed according to one embodiment of this
invention.
[0014] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a portion of another
example load bearing member designed according to another
embodiment of this invention.
[0015] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional illustration taken along the
lines 3-3 in FIG. 2.
[0016] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an example method of
making a load bearing member designed according to an embodiment of
this invention.
[0017] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates one example arrangement for
performing a portion of the method of the FIG. 4 embodiment.
[0018] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates another example device used
in an embodiment as shown in FIG. 4.
[0019] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates another example device used
in an embodiment as shown in FIG. 4.
[0020] FIG. 8 schematically illustrates another example device used
in an embodiment as shown in FIG. 4.
[0021] FIG. 9 schematically illustrates an example device for
disrupting a surface of an example jacket.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a load bearing member 40
that is designed for use in an elevator system. A plurality of
cords 42 are aligned generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of
the load bearing member 40. In one example, the cords 42 are made
of strands of steel wire. A jacket 44 generally surrounds the cords
42. In another example, the load bearing member is round, rather
than rectangular and may include only a single tension member.
[0023] In one example, the jacket 44 comprises a polyurethane-based
material. A variety of such materials are commercially available
and known in the art to be useful for elevator systems. In one
example, the preferred urethane material is a thermoplastic
polyurethane (TPU). Other examples include a wide range of TPU,
including ether, ester and aliphatic based TPU and derivatives
containing fluorine or other elements, as long as the specified TPU
provides required mechanical properties. Given this description,
those skilled in the art will be able to select a proper jacket
material to suit the needs of their particular situation.
[0024] The example jacket 44 establishes an exterior length, L,
width, W, and a thickness, t, of the load bearing member 40. In one
example, the width W of the load bearing member is approximately 30
millimeters and the thickness t is about 3 millimeters. In the same
example, the cords 42 have a diameter of 1.65 millimeters. The
cords 42 preferably extend along the entire length L of the
assembly. The example jacket 44 has exterior surfaces 46 and 48. At
least one of the surfaces 46 or 48 will contact a traction sheave
and possibly other components within the elevator system as the
load bearing member 40 moves to provide the desired elevator cab
movement. At least the exterior surface 46 has some exposed pure
polyurethane. In one example, pure polyurethane is exposed across
the width W and along the length L. The example assembly includes a
plurality of spaced grooves 47 periodically interrupting the
surface 46, which result from some belt-making techniques. The
portions of the cords at the groove locations may be at least
partially exposed and not fully covered with the material of the
jacket 44 as known. The grooves 47 may not have pure polyurethane
exposed. At least the portions of the jacket extending between the
grooves has some exposed pure polyurethane.
[0025] The surface 46 results from at least partially displacing
(i.e., removing or disrupting) some of the amide-rich layer that
migrates to the surface of the jacket 44 during the molding and
curing processes used to form the jacket 44. Various techniques for
displacing at least some of the layer of the surface 46 are
described below.
[0026] In the example of FIG. 1, the surface 46 is smooth. In this
example, the smooth surface does not prohibit desired traction (as
occurred in prior belts having urethane jackets) because the
chemical properties of the removed amide-rich layer are no longer
present. A surface layer including exposed pure polyurethane
exhibits more favorable traction characteristics.
[0027] In one example, the entire amide-rich layer is removed such
that the entire surface 46 (except the grooves 47) has pure
polyurethane exposed. In another example, some of the amide-rich
layer remains on the surface 46. In the latter example, only part
of the surface 46 has exposed pure polyurethane.
[0028] FIGS. 2 and 3 show another example embodiment of a load
bearing member 40' that is configured as a flat belt but does not
include any grooves 47 on the surface 46'. The example of FIGS. 2
and 3 is made using a different manufacturing technique than that
used to make the example embodiment of FIG. 1 so that the grooves
47 are only present in the embodiment of FIG. 1. In this example, a
plurality of impressions 49' are provided on the surface 46' so
that the surface is rough. The roughness of the example surface 46'
includes a plurality of surface irregularities that make the
surface 46' rough (i.e., not smooth). In the illustrated example, a
plurality of impressions 49 are disbursed about the surface 46'. In
some examples, the pattern of the surface irregularities may be
established in a controlled manner. In other examples, the surface
irregularities are randomly disbursed across the surface 46'.
[0029] In one example, a plurality of impressions 49 are provided
on the surface 46' that are at least five microns deep. Deeper
impressions may be used, depending on the needs of a particular
embodiment.
[0030] In one example, the rough surface 46' is pure polyurethane
across the entire surface. In this example, the impressions 49 are
made in the polyurethane material during the process of removing
the entire amide-containing layer.
[0031] In another example, some of the amide-rich layer remains. In
one example, the impressions 49 result from removing corresponding
portions of the amide-rich layer in this example, the impressions
49 include exposed pure polyurethane. The rough surface provides a
significantly different coefficient of friction between the load
bearing member and a traction sheave compared to a smooth surface
with an amide-rich layer over the urethane. The rough surface 46 in
some examples significantly decreases the traction. Depending on
the urethane material selected for making the jacket 44', if the
coefficient of friction decreases with increased pressure, the
rough surface 46' effectively increases pressure and decreases
friction. On the other hand, with some urethane materials, the
coefficient of friction increases with increased pressure so that
increased roughness may have the effect of increasing friction. In
either situation, the roughness of the surface 46' decreases
adhesion even when some of the amide-containing material remains
and, therefore, apparent friction. Those skilled in the art who
have the benefit of this description will be able to select an
appropriate surface texture (i.e., roughness) to meet the needs of
their particular situation taking into account the material
selected for making the load bearing member assembly.
[0032] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a method of making one
example load bearing member. A cord supply 50 provides the cords
42. A positioning device 52 aligns the cords 42 in a desired
alignment so that the cords will extend parallel to a longitudinal
axis of the load bearing member 40. A tensioning device 54 controls
an amount of tension on the cords 42 during the jacket application
process. The jacket application station 56 preferably includes a
suitable mold or other device for applying the jacket material onto
the cords 42. A supply 58 provides the chosen material to the
jacket application station 56 in a conventional manner. The jacket
material may be pressure molded, extruded or otherwise applied to
the cords 42. The formed assembly in this example is finished at a
finishing station 60. In the illustrated example, the finishing
station includes at least one device for removing at least a
portion of at least one surface layer from the jacket 44.
[0033] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a device that is used in an
embodiment of this invention for removing at least some of the
amide-rich layer from the surface 46 of the jacket 44. In the
example of FIG. 5, an abrading pad 65 has a rough surface 66 that
is supported in machinery of the finishing station 66 so that the
surface 66 engages at least the surface 46 of the jacket 44. In one
example, moving machinery causes the abrading device 65 to move
rapidly in a circular or reciprocal motion to rub against the
jacket 44 for removing a layer from the surface 46.
[0034] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates another example where an
abrasive sheet 67 such as sandpaper is appropriately supported
within the finishing station 60 so that it contacts at least the
surface 46 for removing a desired amount of material from the
surface 46.
[0035] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates another device for removing
material from the surface 46. In this example, a buffing pad 68 is
supported in an appropriate manner to rub against at least the
surface 46 to buff the surface until it has an appropriate amount
of roughness.
[0036] FIG. 9 shows a roller 63 useful for disrupting the surface
46. This example includes protruding portions 64 that disrupt the
surface and expose pure polyurethane in corresponding locations of
the surface 46. In some examples, the roller 63 does not remove
material from the surface 46 but only moves or deforms it. The
disruption of the surface layer using a textured roller or wheel
can occur while the elastomeric jacket is hot from extrusion. An
alternative process would use a heated roller or an external heat
source to deform the surface of a cool thermoplastic jacket some
time after extrusion. The principle of this method is to disrupt
the surface layer of waxes and allow the base elastomer properties
to print through.
[0037] The particular device or devices shown for mechanically
removing material from the surface 46 may vary depending on the
particular material selected for making the jacket and the
particular surface texture desired for a given application.
Additionally, the removal process may be dry or wet to facilitate
material handling, for example. Those skilled in the art who have
the benefit of this description will realize what will work best
for their situation, which may include a combination of more than
one of the devices described here or other, similarly functional
devices.
[0038] While the examples of FIGS. 5-7 and 9 illustrate mechanical
displacing techniques, another example finishing station 60
utilizes a chemical-based removal process. An applicator 70 applies
a chemical wash such as a mixture of 2-Butoxyethanol and water for
example to at least the surface 46 in one example to partially
erode the material on the surface 46 resulting in a surface
including exposed pure polyurethane once the chemical wash is
rinsed away, by water for example. In another example, a chemical
etching technique is applied to at least the surface 46. Those
skilled in the art who have the benefit of this description will be
able to select appropriate chemicals and processing times to
achieve the desired amount of pure polyurethane exposure of at
least the surface 46 to meet the needs of their particular
situation.
[0039] In one example, the finishing station 60 also includes a
forming device, a dimensional inspection device and a curing cold
water bath where the jacket material and the cords within the
material are cooled to a suitable temperature. The finishing
station forming device preferably includes a rigid structure that
forces the jacket to have a desired exterior configuration (i.e., a
rectangular cross section). The inspection device, such as a known
laser triangulation measuring device, determines whether the
desired geometry was achieved.
[0040] The resulting load bearing member 40 preferably is then
stored at 62, for example on spools for shipment to various
locations for installation in elevator systems. The load bearing
member 40 may be precut to specific lengths or may be provided in
larger quantities where a technician at the installation selects
the appropriate amount of belt material for a particular
application.
[0041] The preceding description is exemplary rather than limiting
in nature. Variations and modifications to the disclosed examples
may become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not
necessarily depart from the essence of this invention. The scope of
legal protection given to this invention can only be determined by
studying the following claims.
* * * * *