阅读说明：本技术 线性电动机 (Linear motor ) 是由 T.科尔霍宁 于 2018-09-25 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及一种线性电动机(14),包括至少一个线性定子(50),所述定子(50)具有定子齿(52),所述定子(50)设计为与环境成固定关系并在运动路径上延伸,所述线性电动机(14)还包括与所述定子(50)共同作用并沿着所述定子(50)移动的至少一个动子(24、26；126)。根据本发明,至少定子齿(52)的面对动子(24、26)的顶部(92)相对于定子梁的法线倾斜。(The invention relates to a linear motor (14) comprising at least one linear stator (50), said stator (50) having stator teeth (52), said stator (50) being designed to be in a fixed relationship with the environment and to extend over a movement path, said linear motor (14) further comprising at least one mover (24, 26; 126) co-acting with said stator (50) and moving along said stator (50). According to the invention, at least the tops (92) of the stator teeth (52) facing the mover (24, 26) are inclined with respect to the normal of the stator beam.)

1. Linear motor (14) comprising at least one linear stator (50) with stator teeth (52), which stator (50) is designed to be in a fixed relationship with the environment and to extend over a movement path, which linear motor (14) further comprises at least one mover (24, 26; 126) co-acting with the stator (50) and moving along the stator (50), characterized in that at least the top (92) of the stator teeth (52) facing the mover (24, 26) is inclined with respect to the normal of the stator beam.

2. Linear motor (14) according to claim 1, wherein the stator teeth (52) are inclined at most only half of their total length.

3. A linear motor (14) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the centre line of the stator teeth (52) is curved.

4. Linear motor (14) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the base (90) of the stator teeth (52) is wider (w2) than the top (92) facing the mover (24, 26).

5. Linear motor (14) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the stator teeth (52) are inclined at an upper part of their length, preferably at their entire length.

6. A linear motor (14) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the direction of inclination is downwards.

7. Linear motor (14) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the base (90) of the stator teeth (52) is wider (w2) than the top (92) facing the mover (24, 26).

8. Linear motor (14) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least or only the top portions (92) of the stator teeth (52) facing the mover (24, 26) are slanted.

9. Elevator (10, 100) comprising at least one elevator car (16) running in an elevator hoistway, which elevator has no counterweight and in which elevator car (16) is suspended and driven by a linear electric motor (14) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the stator (50) of the linear electric motor (14) is designed to be in a fixed relationship with the environment and to extend on the vertical motion path of the elevator car (16) in the hoistway, and wherein at least one mover (24, 26; 126) of the linear electric motor (14) is configured to be connected to the at least one elevator car (16).

10. Elevator (10, 100) according to claim 9, wherein the mover (24, 26) has an electromagnetic mover part of the linear motor (10, 100), which electromagnetic mover part co-acts with the linear stator (50), preferably with the stator iron, and which electromagnetic mover part is controlled to drive the elevator car along a motion path in the hoistway.

11. Elevator (10, 100) according to claim 10, wherein the electromagnetic mover components are controlled simultaneously to adjust the air gap between the mover (24, 26) and the stator (50).

12. Elevator (10, 100) according to any of the preceding claims 9-11, wherein at least two stators (50) are fixed to a stator beam (18; 114) comprising a support structure (40) for the at least two stators (50) and at least one fastening element (20) for fixing the support structure (40) to the environment, e.g. the elevator hoistway.

13. Elevator (10, 100) according to any of the preceding claims 9-12, wherein the at least one mover (24, 26) is located at one side of the elevator car (16) for a rucksack suspension.

14. Elevator (10, 100) according to any of the preceding claims 9-13, wherein the mover (126) is releasable from the stator beam (114) in a direction perpendicular to the stator beam.

15. Elevator (10, 100) according to any of the preceding claims 9-14, wherein one or more wireless charging stations are located along the length of the stator beam and the elevator car has a battery and a wireless battery charger adapted to interact with the wireless charging stations, the battery being further configured to energize the electromagnetic mover components.

16. Elevator (10, 100) according to any of the preceding claims 9-15, configured as a high-rise elevator installed with a vertical length of more than 50m, preferably more than 100 m.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a linear electric motor, preferably for driving an elevator comprising at least one elevator car operating in an environment, such as an elevator hoistway, which elevator has no counterweight and in which elevator the elevator car is preferably suspended and driven by the linear electric motor. The linear motor of the invention comprises at least one linear stator with stator teeth formed by teeth arranged on the sides of a ferromagnetic stator (bar), the teeth being spaced apart by tooth gaps. Such ferromagnetic stator bars are, for example, bars made of iron or iron alloys, on the sides of which tooth structures have been milled, which subsequently form the sides of the stator beam. Such a stator bar is easy to manufacture and can be easily supported in the stator beam of the present invention, eventually forming a stator beam.

The stator is designed to be in a fixed relation to the environment (the wall or guide rails of the elevator hoistway) and to extend over the vertical path of movement of the elevator car in the hoistway. The linear motor further comprises at least one mover connected to at least one elevator car, which mover co-acts with and moves along the stator. In this type of elevator, the entire weight of the car is borne by the linear motor.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a linear motor which is better able to meet the force requirements in the upward direction, especially for the elevator car suspension in an elevator.

This object is solved by a linear motor according to claim 1 and an elevator according to claim 9. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the respective dependent claims. Embodiments of the invention are also shown in the description and drawings. The features of different embodiments of the invention can be applied, within the scope of the basic inventive concept, in conjunction with other embodiments.

According to the invention, the linear motor comprises at least one linear stator with stator teeth, which stator is e.g. designed in a fixed relationship with the environment, e.g. an elevator hoistway or a building wall, and extends in the hoistway or on a preferably vertical path of movement of the elevator car (16) along the wall. The linear motor further comprises at least one mover, which is preferably configured to be connected to the at least one elevator car and to co-act with and move along the stator. According to the invention, at least the tops of the stator teeth facing the mover are inclined with respect to the normal of the stator beam, the inclination preferably being oriented below ground.

The invention describes a special stator structure of a linear motor, which is particularly suitable for use in counterweightless elevators, in particular for linear motors of multi-car elevators, wherein the high force/high torque direction is always downwards, which better resists the force of gravity. The magnetic circuit of the drive motor is thus optimized by turning the stator teeth and/or at least the top part thereof a little downwards from the horizontal. Thus, an upwardly directed force is generated by the magnetic field passing from the rotor through the air gap to the stator. This field geometry means that when the stator teeth face the relevant mover part, the reluctance of the magnetic circuit is small in the above-mentioned direction, while the reluctance of the magnetic circuit is high in the other direction, so that the magnetic field from the mover to the stator has an upward component and the return field has a downward component. This ensures that there is a sufficient upward force on the at least one mover of the elevator car with reduced current demand.

In general, an advantage of a linear motor is that the linear stator only requires ferromagnetic poles, which may be stator teeth formed, for example, in the sides of a stator bar made of ferromagnetic material (e.g., made of iron or an iron-containing alloy). In this way, the stator or the stator beam supporting the linear stator can be made lighter and can thus be used e.g. for high-rise elevators, in particular for elevators having a height of more than 50m, preferably more than 100 m. The linear motor concept is therefore suitable for any high-rise application, since the solution does not require any elevator ropes, which are an obstacle to the design of high-rise elevators due to the associated weight. Preferably, the stator beam comprises a support structure for at least two stators and at least one fastening element for fixing the support structure to the elevator hoistway. The advantage of this configuration is that the force of the motor can be doubled, since the stator beam now comprises two stators and the correspondingly large force generating surfaces of the linear motor.

Preferably, the stator teeth extend downwardly over an upper portion of their length, preferably over their entire length. Thus, the stator teeth are easy to manufacture.

In an alternative embodiment, the stator teeth extend only half of their total length downwards at the most. By this measure, the shape of the teeth can be better machined to correspond to the lines of magnetic flux. Therefore, the stator teeth may preferably have a curved form. This geometry is less lossy and more efficient.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the centre line of the stator teeth is curved. This corresponds better to the magnetic field geometry and improves the efficiency of the linear motor.

The efficiency of the motor is further improved if the base of the stator teeth is wider than the free end facing the mover.

Preferably, the stator or stators do not have any permanent magnets and also no windings. Thus, the stator is easy to manufacture and easy to control only via the mover member.

Preferably, the stator with stator teeth consists of one-piece stator parts of length 1m to 5m, preferably 2m to 3m, which are connected end to end. With such components, even high-rise buildings, it is possible to easily construct a larger length stator from smaller components that can be easily manipulated and connected to form a long stator.

Preferably, the stator, for example mounted on a vertical stator beam in the environment (e.g. an elevator hoistway), and the mover of the element (e.g. an elevator car) form a guide means for the car to travel. Typically, the elevator car is guided by guide rollers along guide rails extending vertically in the elevator hoistway. This general technique can advantageously be omitted if the stator beam of the linear motor itself forms together with the mover a guiding means for the elements with respect to the stator beam. This can be done, for example, in an alternative by providing a guide surface on the stator beam, which guide surface interacts with a corresponding guide means (for example a roller) at the mover or at the element to be moved connected to the mover. Preferably, the guiding means is provided by the electromagnetic components and the stator poles of the linear motor. This provides a flux guide similar to that of the magnetic monorail known from high speed trains.

In this case, the mover preferably has independent magnetic bearing coils/magnets, which are controlled independently of the electromagnetic mover components of the linear motor, which are controlled to adjust the air gap between the mover and the stator, the independent electromagnetic bearing coils co-acting with the linear stator, preferably with the stator iron. By this measure, the air gap between the stator and the mover can be controlled by separate windings, so that the operation of the motor can be decoupled from the generation of the air gap for individual optimization without mutual influence. The purpose of the separate magnetic bearing coils is to be able to adjust the air gap of the linear motor very precisely. The magnetic bearing coils of the mover co-act with the linear stator (preferably with the stator iron) to correct any deviation in air gap length/thickness. Preferably, they are arranged as extensions of the mover above and below the electromagnetic mover members (i.e. linear motor coils/magnets).

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least two stators are fixed to a stator beam comprising a support structure for the at least two stators and at least one fastening element for fixing the support structure to an environment, such as an elevator hoistway. Thus, the entire stator arrangement for the elevator car can be mounted to the stator beam, where installation and maintenance can be better performed. Furthermore, the stator beam preferably allows the two stators to be fixed to each other, for example in synchronism or with a desired offset.

Preferably, the two stators are located at opposite sides of the stator beam to eliminate or at least substantially reduce horizontal forces between the stator beam and the mover.

Preferably, the linear motor is a flux switching permanent magnet motor (FSPM) which is efficient and can be easily controlled according to the needs of the elevator system.

Preferably, one or more wireless charging stations are located along the length of the stator beam, and the elevator car has a battery further configured to energize the electromagnetic mover member and a wireless battery charger adapted to interact with the wireless charging stations. By this measure, the car can supply power to the electromagnetic mover components in the event of a power failure.

In a most preferred embodiment of the invention the mover is concentrated around the respective stator by means of the above-mentioned magnetic bearings, which may for example be formed by the stator of the linear motor and the electromagnetic parts of the mover. By means of the electromagnetic bearings, a constant air gap is maintained between the stator and the mover opposing faces.

Preferably, the linear motor is a flux switching permanent magnet motor (FSPM), which is shown for example in US2013/0249324a 1. Such a motor is cost effective, provides high thrust, and operates properly even under fault conditions.

The invention also relates to an elevator comprising at least one elevator car traveling in an environment, such as a vertical building wall or an elevator hoistway, which elevator has no counterweight and in which elevator the elevator car is suspended and driven by a linear motor of any of the specifications mentioned in the present description.

Preferably, the at least one mover is configured as a knapsack suspension for the elevator car, wherein the guide rails and the stator beams are located on the hoistway side of the environment. This solution allows the mover to be released horizontally from the stator beam and the guide rail by means of a corresponding mechanism. Preferably, the mover has a mounting for the element (e.g. an elevator car) on one side and a guide roller on its opposite side facing the stator beam. The guiding of the car can thus be achieved by means of an electromagnetic guiding field established between the stator and the mover and/or by means of conventional guiding means, such as guiding rollers or guiding shoes extending along the stator or the stator beam.

In one embodiment of the invention, the stator beam may be formed by the stator itself, for example by a stator rod. In one embodiment of the invention, the stator beam may be formed, for example, by a square metal bar having teeth on two opposite sides.

Preferably, the mover is releasable from the stator in a direction perpendicular to the stator, when passing the car, along a rectangular movement similar to a patriotte elevator. By this measure several elevator cars can circulate around the two vertical hoistways and the horizontal upper and lower connections, thus achieving a high traffic turnover.

Preferably, a conductor rail or bus bar is provided along the length of the path of movement of the elevator car. In this case, the mover has at least one contactor, preferably a contact roller, to which a conductor rail or a bus bar is connected. Conventionally, the elevator car is connected to the elevator control via a car cable, which is suspended between the elevator car and a fixed part connected to the elevator hoistway. Since the elevator car may now have been released from the stator, it may not be possible to maintain the connection of the mover to the stator beam. On the one hand, the connection is therefore preferably made by means of bus bars or conductor rails positioned along the movement path, independently of the length of the vertical and horizontal sections of the closed rectangular movement path.

Furthermore, the activation and release of the electrical connection between the bus bar and the contactor of the elevator car is easily achieved based on the movement of the element away from the stator beam. Therefore, the bus bar is preferably located on the well side opposite to the side where the mover is removed from the stator beam. In this case, the connectors of the mover are pressed against bus bars or conductor rails connected to the environment or the stator beam. Preferably, the contactor is supported on the mover or the elevator car by a support element comprising spring means to bias the contactor onto the conductive rails or bars, which ensures proper electrical contact during travel of the element along the stator beam.

Preferably the elevator is configured to be installed in a high-rise elevator with a vertical straight length of more than 50m, preferably more than 100m, because it does not require ropes that normally restrict the maximum vertical movement path of the elevator.

As described above, preferably, the stator does not have any permanent magnet and also does not have a winding, and thus can be easily manufactured. In this case, preferably, the stator is made of or contains iron.

The stator may be made of one part in the vertical direction. In any case, since the height of the elevator hoistway may be very high, it may be advantageous for installation and maintenance purposes if the stator with stator teeth is formed by vertically aligned stator parts mounted end to end, each part having a length of between 1 and 5m, preferably between 2 and 3m, whereby each stator part is preferably made of one piece.

In an embodiment of the invention, the/each stator/stator beam may further comprise a guide surface for a guide roller located on the mover.

Preferably the stator beams have at least two sides, the stator poles of which have the same pitch, and wherein the pitch of the stator poles of the two sides are preferably offset from each other in the length direction of the stator by half a pitch, preferably all 4 stators are offset from each other by 1/4 pitches. With this embodiment, the cogging torque of the three-phase linear motor is reduced, so that the efficiency of the motor is better and the motion is smoother.

Preferably, the mover further has a power supply, such as a battery or an accumulator, which is preferably also configured as a backup power supply for the mover. The backup power supply is preferably designed for electromagnetic power elements of the motor, such as windings or permanent magnets, which are connected with the mover. Thus, with this power supply all electrical loads of the mover may be provided. These loads are also in the case of elevator cars lighting, ventilation, door drives and any IO equipment of the elevator car, such as car display screen panels, loudspeakers, displays etc. Further, the power supply may provide power for wireless data connection to any type of conveyor control device.

In this case, it is preferred that the operation of the mover is always performed by a power supply, whereby the power supply is loaded by the conductive rail as long as the contactor of the mover is in contact with the conductive rail or the bus bar. In this way it can be ensured that the mover remains in operation in case of a power failure. In the case of e.g. an elevator or the like, the capacity of the power supply is preferably sufficient to drive the mover to a predetermined position in the travel path, e.g. to the next landing in the elevator hoistway.

In an alternative preferred embodiment the power supply from the hoistway to the mover is implemented by the coupled coil principle, where the primary coil is mounted to the environment or the stator beam and the secondary coil moves with the car. When the mover reaches a certain position, the primary and the secondary are coupled, and power is fed from the secondary to a battery mounted to the mover. A primary coil may be located at each stop floor.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the power supply may be located in a direct current intermediate circuit of a frequency converter of an electric drive forming the mover.

Preferably at least two parallel stator/stator beams are located in the (each) elevator shaft and at least two movers are located parallel to each other and at a horizontal distance, whereby each of these movers co-acts with one of the stator beams. By this arrangement the driving force is doubled, since now two movers are provided in parallel for the movement of the element, e.g. the elevator car. Furthermore, the suspension of the element can be better balanced between several stator beams.

Furthermore, preferably, at least two movers are positioned consecutively in the vertical direction, which doubles the moving force associated with only one stator.

The stator poles may be stator teeth embodied as stator bars or rods. In this case, the stator beam preferably comprises a support structure for at least two stator bars and fastening elements for fixing the support structure. The tooth spaces between the stator teeth may preferably be filled with a polymer material to provide smooth sides of the stator beam together with the teeth, thereby avoiding dust accumulation.

The elevator comprising the linear motor preferably has an emergency unit configured to control the mover to a predetermined position. This may be advantageous in an elevator to release trapped passengers.

The following expressions are used as synonyms: environment-elevator shaft; stator pole-stator teeth; winding-coil-electromagnetic component.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the components mentioned in accordance with the invention can be arranged in one or more folds as desired. For example, one stator or stator beam may co-act with three movers located above each other at the element to be moved. Furthermore, two stators or stator beams may be located at the wall of the environment, or for example more than two stator beams, for example three or four stator beams.

Drawings

The present invention is now described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the attached drawings

Fig. 1 presents a side view of an elevator shaft with a linear elevator motor according to the invention, comprising two parallel stator beams,

figure 2 shows a horizontal cross-section of the part of the elevator motor and guide rails in the area between the elevator car and the hoistway wall of figure 1,

figure 3 shows a cross section through the stator beam and the mover of figure 4,

fig. 4 shows a functional schematic of a switched permanent magnet motor (FSPM) for use as an elevator motor, wherein the stator has stator teeth directed downwards,

fig. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of a stator with rounded teeth, the ends of the stator pointing downwards,

fig. 6 shows a vertical cut through the stator and the mover and the corresponding magnetic flux lines, wherein the stator teeth have an enlarged base, and

fig. 7 presents a side view of an elevator with two elevator hoistways, the upper and lower ends of which are connected by a horizontal passage.

Detailed Description

It is emphasized that throughout the figures, identical components or components having identical functions are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Fig. 1 shows an elevator 10 comprising an elevator shaft 12, in which an elevator car 16 moves up and down as an element to be moved. Elevator 10 has a linear elevator motor 14. The linear elevator motor 14 includes a stator 50 (see fig. 3) located in a side of the stator beam 18, the stator beam 18 being mounted to the shaft wall 22 of the elevator hoistway 12 by the fastening element 20. In this example, the elevator 10 has two parallel stator beams 18, which can be seen in fig. 2.

The elevator car 16 comprises two movers 24, 26 located one above the other. The lower mover 24 is located in the lower half of the elevator car and the upper mover 26 is located in the upper half of the elevator car. The two movers 24, 26 comprise electromagnetic components, such as iron, windings and permanent magnets 70, 71, 72, 74, 76 (fig. 4), which co-act with the stator poles 52 located in the side of the stator beam 18 formed by the stator teeth. Correspondingly, the elevator car travels upwards and downwards by means of a corresponding control of the two movers 24, 26 co-acting with the stator beam 18.

Of course, for each vertical stator beam 18 the elevator car has a corresponding set of two movers 24, 26, so that the elevator car 16 has a total of four movers, two lower movers 24 and two upper movers 26 to co-act with the two stator beams 18.

Of course, each stator beam 18 may have one or more stators 50, as shown in fig. 2 and 3.

Although it is preferred that the stator beam 18 and the movers 24, 26 of the elevator 10 of fig. 1 also form electromagnetic guides for the elevator car 16, so that any guide rollers and guide rails can be omitted, fig. 2 shows that in one embodiment the optional car guides 32, 34 of the elevator car 16 co-act with the optional guide rails 28 extending vertically along the hoistway wall 22 of fig. 1. The hoistway wall 22 includes two parallel guide rails 28, 30 that cooperate with respective car guides 32, 34. Each car guide 32, 34 has a set of guide rollers which co-act with the car guide rails 28, 30. Since the car guides 32, 34 associated with the car guide rails 28, 30 are configured for a rucksack suspension, since the two car guide rails 28, 30 are the only guide rails of the elevator car 16 in the hoistway 12, the respective guide systems 28, 30, 32, 34 are configured to hold the car 16 horizontally in connection with the hoistway wall. The vertical stator beam 18 and the movers 24, 26 of the elevator car 16 are shown in more detail in fig. 3. Usually, it is possible to use guide rails with a circular cross section, which are surrounded by rollers of the car guide, so that the car is fixed horizontally in connection with the car guide rails.

According to fig. 3, the vertical stator beam 18 comprises a metal support structure 40 having a square cross-section. The support structure 40 carries a metal stator bar 50 on each side, the metal stator bar 50 comprising stator teeth 52 forming the four sides 42, 44, 46, 48 of the stator beam 18. Each of these stator bars 50 with stator teeth 52 forms a stator of the linear motor 14, such that the stator beam 18 shown in fig. 3 comprises four stators. The stator teeth 52 co-act with windings 74, 76 (fig. 4), moving irons 70,72 and permanent magnets 71 located along the opposed faces 54 in the four arms 56, 58, 60, 62 of the C-shaped profile of the forcers 24, 26. This C-shaped profile of the movers surrounds the stator beam 18 as the movers 24, 26 travel along the hoistway 12, but leaves an opening 64 for mating with the fastening element 20.

The stator bars 50 on all four sides 42, 44, 46, 48 have the same pitch d. In any event, the first and third sides 42, 46 of the stator beam also have the same tooth position in the vertical direction, while the second and fourth sides 44, 48 have the same pitch, but the tooth position is vertically offset 1/4 pitch relative to the stator teeth 52 on the first and third sides 42, 46.

By this arrangement it is ensured that on the one hand the horizontal forces between the stators 50 on opposite sides cancel each other out, while the vertical offset of the pitch of the sides oriented in a rectangle results in a better efficiency and a smoother operation of the elevator motor since the movement pitch of such a motor 14 is half a pitch. By the fact that four stators 50 are located within the stator beams 18, the forces generated between the movers 24, 26 and the stator beams 18 are multiplied by four, thereby achieving less horizontal fluctuation and smoother movement of the movers 24, 26 relative to the vertical stator beams 18.

Fig. 4 shows the working principle of a flux switching permanent magnet motor formed by the movers 24, 26 and the stator 50a in the stator beam 18. The stator 50a includes a stator bar 51, which preferably as a whole includes stator teeth 52a separated by tooth spaces 53. The pitch d of the stator teeth 52 is the same over the entire length of the stator bar 50. The stator teeth 52a are directed downward at an acute angle α with respect to the horizontal plane. The angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the stator bar 51a is 90 deg. -alpha. By this measure, the magnetic field generated between the stator and the mover generates an upward pulling force on the mover, which is advantageous for carrying the car weight against gravity.

The stator 50a in the stator beam 18 in the longer vertical hoistway 12 may be comprised of a single stator bar 50 of a corresponding length or may be comprised of a plurality of stator bar portions connected end to end depending on the desired hoistway length. In the end-to-end connection region of the stator bar sections, the pitch d must be maintained.

The forcers 24, 26 comprise on each opposing face 54 two consecutive moving irons 70,72, between which two moving irons 70,72 a thin magnet 71 is positioned. The combination of the moving iron 70,72 and the magnet 71 is followed by two windings 74, 76 which are controlled to produce magnetic fields having opposite directions. This series 70, 71, 72, 74, 76 of moving iron, permanent magnets and windings is repeated according to the length of the mover. The movement of the movers 24, 26 relative to the stator bars is achieved by controlling the two windings 74, 76 to switch the flux direction to opposite directions, so that with each switch the movers 24, 26 move half the pitch d of the stator teeth 52. Thus, the movers 24, 26 can be controlled to move in an upward or downward direction relative to the stator rod 50 according to the arrows.

Fig. 5 shows a second embodiment of a stator 50b, wherein a stator rod 51b carries circular stator teeth 52b extending to the mover at a pitch d, separated by tooth gaps 53. Of course, the ratio of pitch d to backlash 53 can vary from the figures, in particular greater than that shown. The circular stator teeth 52b better match the flux lines of the generated magnetic field and result in a more economical motor design. The tips 55 of the teeth 52b are directed downwards at an angle alpha in order to provide a better pulling force on the mover against the force of gravity.

Fig. 6 shows a third embodiment of a stator 50c, wherein a stator rod 51 carries stator teeth 52c, the stator teeth 52c being connected to the rod 51, the rod 51 preferably being integrated by an extended base 90 having a wider width w2 and then a top 95 of downwardly oriented teeth 52c having a smaller width w 1. Stator tooth gaps 53 are preferably filled with a polymer material to reduce the accumulation of dust in gaps 53.

The movers 24, 26 have mover teeth 80 on the other side, and the mover teeth 80 are formed by two armature irons 82, 84 embedded in an iron core magnet 86. The gaps 87 between the rotor teeth 80 are at least partially filled with armature windings. The figure shows the magnetic flux lines of the motor arrangement. By the form and orientation of the downwardly oriented stator teeth 52c, the generated magnetic field exerts a pulling force on the mover in an upward direction, causing it to overcome the car weight, so that the arrangement is optimized to carry the car weight with less armature material on the stator and on the mover side.

Fig. 7 shows an elevator 100 having two elevator hoistways 102, 104, the two hoistways 102, 104 being connected by an upper horizontal channel 106 at the top ends of the two elevator hoistways 102, 104 and a lower horizontal channel 108 at the bottom ends of the two elevator hoistways 102, 104. Thus, the two elevator hoistways 102, 104 and the upper and lower horizontal channels 106, 108 form a closed loop, allowing movement of the elevator cars 16a-16d in only one direction according to the arrows shown in the figure. This measure ensures that the car travels in each shaft in only one direction, which results in a higher transport capacity and easier control of the cars in the shaft.

In both elevator hoistways 102, 104, e.g. according to one of the previous embodiments or according to fig. 7, the vertical stator beams 18, 114 are positioned to co-act with the movers 24, 26 located at the elevator cars 16a-16 d. Each hoistway 102, 104 may preferably include two, three or four parallel stator beams 18, 114. The figure shows landing doors 110 located in the first elevator hoistway 102 and the second elevator hoistway 104. The cars 16a-16d are moved horizontally in the horizontal lanes 106, 108 by a horizontal movement mechanism in an unspecified manner.

The elevator concept of the invention is preferably designed for high-rise elevators with 20 floors or more. Thus, the two hoistways 102, 104 can accommodate a greater number of elevator cars than the four cars 16a-16d shown in the figures. Each car 16a-16d is able to move within both hoistways 102, 104 largely independently of the other cars, except for the fact that collisions between cars must be avoided. By the fact that in the first elevator shaft 102 the elevator cars 16a-16d are driven only downwards and in the second elevator shaft 104 only upwards, the possibility of mutual influence is reduced. Furthermore, by this circular movement scheme, on the one hand, the transport capacity of both hoistways is greatly improved, since now both elevator hoistways can comprise a much larger number of elevator cars than in conventional systems, and on the other hand, since in each elevator hoistway, all elevator cars can only be moved in the same direction, a reverse movement of the cars is avoided, thereby reducing the economic hoistway usage and the extensive collision avoidance control needed.

Not shown in the figures, but obvious to a person skilled in the art, the elevator car has a gripping device that grips the guide surface of the guide rail or of the vertical stator beam 114 when the power of the power supply is interrupted (and eventually in case the main power supply is de-energized), so as to ensure that the car does not fall downwards when the mover is no longer energized.

Thus, also in this new multi-shaft multi-car arrangement of the invention, the safety of the elevator cars 16a-16d is always ensured independently of whether the cars are currently supported by the mover 126 and the vertical stator beam 114 or by any optional support rollers of the elevator cars on horizontal guide rails located in the horizontal channels 106, 108.

The invention can be practiced within the scope of the appended patent claims. Therefore, the above-described embodiments should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

List of reference numerals

10 Elevator

12 elevator shaft

14 elevator motor

16 elevator car

18 stator beam

20 fastening element

22 hoistway wall/hoistway side

24 lower mover

26 upper mover

28 first guide rail

30 second guide rail

32 first car guide

34 second car guide

40 support structure

42 first side of

44 second side face

46 third side

48 fourth side

50 stator

51 stator bar

52 stator teeth

53 backlash

54 mover opposed surfaces

First arm of 56C-shaped profile mover

Second arm of 58C-shaped profile mover

Third arm of 60C-shaped profile mover

Fourth arm of 62C type profile mover

70 first moving iron

71 permanent magnet

72 second moving iron

74 first winding

76 second winding

80 mover tooth

82 upper armature iron

84 lower armature iron

Iron core magnet of 86 rotor teeth

87 mover teeth gap with armature winding

88 stator rod-vertically extending stator segment

90 base tooth portion

92 top tooth portion

100 Elevator (second embodiment)

102 first elevator shaft

104 second elevator shaft

106 upper horizontal channel

108 lower horizontal channel

110 layer station door

114 stator beam (second embodiment)

W1 Width 1 of downwardly oriented roof

W2 Width 2 when base meets stator bar

Angle of inclination of alpha stator teeth or of their tips downwards