Abstract: A slope-adaptive inclined special elevator includes a bumper, an elevator car system, a slope guide rail system, a counter-weight system, a traction machine, a governing rope governor, and a traction rope guiding wheel. The two ends of the traction rope are connected to the elevator car system and the counter-weight system respectively, and the traction rope is towed and lifted under the driving action of the traction machine and the guiding action of the traction rope guiding wheel; over-speed protection is realized by means of the governing rope governor and a safety gear linkage and the bumper; to adapt to slope variations, the car body is leveled automatically by an automatic leveling assembly, the traction rope is guided forcibly via traction rope lifting devices and traction rope pressing devices, and the governing rope is guided forcibly via governing rope lifting devices and governing rope pressing devices.

Abstract: A safety stop is provided for stopping a movable member having at least one set of opposed wheels for gripping a rail. The stop has a track on each of opposite sides forming a wedge shape of a narrow end progressively widening to a wide end in a direction of travel of the movable member. With the opposed wheels of the movable member respectively at opposite sides of the wedge shape member, the tracks of the wedge shape member engage and impart a spreading strain to the opposed wheels as the movable member moves in the direction of travel. The opposed wheels of the movable member comprise a deformable material to absorb the kinetic energy of the movable member. The tracks of the stop additionally may have undulating features comprising concave and convex surfaces in the direction of motion.

Abstract: A safety stop is provided for stopping a movable member having at least one set of opposed wheels for gripping a rail. The stop has a track on each of opposite sides forming a wedge shape of a narrow end progressively widening to a wide end in a direction of travel of the movable member. With the opposed wheels of the movable member respectively at opposite sides of the wedge shape member, the tracks of the wedge shape member engage and impart a spreading strain to the opposed wheels as the movable member moves in the direction of travel. The opposed wheels of the movable member comprise a deformable material to absorb the kinetic energy of the movable member. The tracks of the stop additionally may have undulating features comprising concave and convex surfaces in the direction of motion.

Abstract: A stair-climbing system includes a guide rail laid along stairs, a chair slidably mounted on the rail, and a lifter for moving the chair along the rail. The chair is provided with a switch for activating the lifter, and a sensor for detecting that a person is sitting on the chair and keeping the switch inoperative while a person is not sitting on the chair. The system further includes at least one lamp having a sensor adapted to turn on the lamp only while a person is near the lamp. The system further includes a chair stop mechanism having a speed sensor for detecting the speed of the chair, a brake mounted on the lifter for braking the lifter, and a control unit for deactivating the lifter and activating the brake if the speed of the chair, detected by the sensor, exceeds a predetermined value.

Abstract: An inclined elevator for excavating an open cut mine in stopes has a traveling platform and counterweight coupled by cables whose upper and lower passes extend over upper and lower cable pulleys to the drum of a conveyor or drive machine. The cables can pass around a rerouting pulley which can be shifted on the foundation for the inclined elevator to compensate for increased depth of the excavation. The traveling platform which carries the car or truck for the mined material can have pins engaging in a bottom which is removable from the platform and can be locked in upper and lower positions relative to the foundation by pawls engaging in notches or recesses of the bottom.

Abstract: A raise buggy has a storage and transport cabinet for storing and transporting equipment and material along an inclined raise, over an inclined raise floor extending between a base level and a raise face, wheels for rolling the cabinet over the raise floor in contact with the raise floor, the cabinet having a forward, inclined, generally planar primary work surface extending between an upper surface of the cabinet and a lower surface of the cabinet, inclined so as to be generally horizontal when the raise buggy has been elevated along the inclined raise floor by selective winching by cable means to a position adjacent and below the raise face.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for braking a carriage which travels on rails of an inclined or vertical elevator. The elevator includes a cable driving device having cables connected to the carriage for moving the carriage along the rails. The carriage has a main frame assembly and a movable frame assembly, mounted to slide along the main frame assembly. The braking device comprises a cam disk assembly having eccentric disks rotatably mounted to the movable frame assembly and held in a first position at a predetermined distance away from a surface of each of the rails for frictionally engaging the rails when released from the first position. The cam disk assembly then causes a plurality of brake blocks of the brake device to engage frictionally the rails when the eccentric disks frictionally engage the rails. A first releasing device causes the eccentric disks to release from the first position and engage frictionally the rails when at least one of the cables breaks.

Abstract: A stairway lift is provided on the treads of a stairway along a sidewall. A guide of the lift is provided on the treads along the sidewall so that a space is formed between the sidewall and the guide. The guide has a first side that faces the sidewall, a first rail provided on the first side, a chain rack on the first side that extends along the sidewall and a second side that faces away from the sidewall. A mobile body is supported by the first rail in the space formed between the sidewall and the guide. The mobile body has a drive sprocket engageable with the chain rack and an electric motor coupled with the drive sprocket for rotatively driving the drive sprocket. A carrier is provided for carrying a person or object to be moved along the stairway. A coupling arrangement couples the mobile body and the carrier so that the carrier is removably supported by the mobile body on the second side of the guide and guided for travel by the guide.

Abstract: A LAN elevator network includes (a) a pair of redundant car buses for exchanging signals with car control system elements, (b) a pair of redundant group buses for exchanging signals with the redundant car buses by means of a car-group bridge, and (c) with a pair of redundant building buses, which exchange messages with a building controller, by means of a group-building bridge. Communication among all nodes on the car bus, group bus, and building bus occurs by means of a single protocol. Each communications element on a bus communicates with the bus by means of a communications coprocessor including a transmitter and a receiver.