Innovative attachment systems for lift building

Kübler presented a new attachment system for components on lift rails at the interlift. The aim is to reduce the number of components needed there for secure attachment of assemblies.

By Sascha Moosmann

Today, numerous components such as retaining plates for magnets, attachment elements for limit switches as well as attachment elements for safety components, such as speed governors or SIL3-certified shaft copying-/positioning systems are attached to the lift rail.

Figure 2: left: state of the art right: Kübler solution Photo: © Kübler

The problem here is that the attachment elements always have to be designed for the particular rail types and their dimensions. Clamping plates are currently the state of the art in lift building. A great number of different clamping plate or attachment element versions are needed for proper installation – depending on the dimensions of the lift rails used. Consequently, the technically right components are not always used here in practice. In the worst case, this can represent a safety risk.

However, apart from safety, it is also a matter of the number of components. This is because a high number of different components means complexity, complexity means fault susceptibility and fault susceptibility means risk.

Wide range of uses

While developing safe shaft copying-/positioning systems, Kübler addressed the question of attachment systems in the lift shaft and came up with a new attachment system. Its area of use is not confined to the absolute positioning systems of Kübler but extends far beyond this.

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At the interlift, visitors could install the new attachment system themselves at the Kübler trade fair stand using the example of a code tape attachment and test its simplicity. The goal of Kübler is to reduce the number of components needed for secure attachment of assemblies to the lift rail. The aim is to be able to dispense completely with clamping plates, which have to fit the particular rail type. Why? Every part that can be saved is one part fewer that can fall down the shaft.

Fewer parts, simpler process

Figure 3: left: state of the art right: Kübler solution Photo: © Kübler

Fewer parts simplify the entire process – from ordering to assembly. The new Kübler attachment concept is based on an eccentric screw (see Fig. 3). The example of the attachment for the code tape of the Kübler positioning system "Ants LES" shows how it is possible to clearly reduce the number of components (see Fig. 2). In future, all that will be needed is a single eccentric screw that can be easily installed with a standard tool. The rail attachment (arm) has a tab on one side, on the other side the eccentric screw is inserted in the holes predefined for the respective rail width (see Fig. 1).

Tightening the eccentric screw by hand is sufficient – it then digs itself into the rail via the "threaded rings" created by eccentric screw. This is already enough to fix the attachment element via a canting principle with an additional clamping effect on the rail. When the eccentric screw is tightened and fixed with a lock nut, the rail attachment automatically moves into a horizontal position. This saves the installation fitters working on the installation the laborious alignment of the assembly as is currently the case with clamping plates.

In summary, this innovation has the following benefits:
• Fewer components – saves time and expense.
• Fast, easy installation – prevents installation errors and saves at least 50 percent installation time vis-à-vis comparable systems.
• Increases safety and availability – less dependence on correct initial torque and defectively designed components such as clamping plates that do not correctly match the rail dimension.
• Versatile use – can not only be used for code tape attachment of positioning systems but rather for a great many different attachment systems in the lift shaft.

The author is the product manager for linear measurement technology and shaft copying systems at Kübler.

More information: kuebler.com