WO2011036686A1

WO2011036686A1 - Load-bearing framework for an elevator cabin

Info

Publication number: WO2011036686A1
Application number: PCT/IT2009/000474
Authority: WO
Inventors: Giuseppe Volpe
Original assignee: Igv Group S.P.A.
Priority date: 2009-09-24
Filing date: 2009-10-22
Publication date: 2011-03-31
Also published as: IT1395921B1; ITMI20091627A1

Abstract

A load-bearing framework for polygonal-shaped elevator cabins includes a configuration of corner uprights that, from their base on the bottom, support the roof and the walls of the inner cabin. The uprights are joined to the roof and to the bottom by horizontal crosspieces to provide rigidity. The structure of each corner upright consists of a single longitudinal wall bent in various ways to form sections, one perpendicular to another, at the two ends of the longest sides, joined by a curved section that, together with the preceding sections, delimits a concavity open at a longitudinal cleft. The structure so obtained is symmetrical in relation to a dihedral angle α subtended by the upright at the apex concerned. The above perpendicular sections form two L-shaped seats for moveable coupling to another two L-shaped seats, between which is the angle α, also present in a longitudinal element called an angle-profiled element. This coupling provides two U-shaped seats to receive and lock the longitudinal edges of the cabin walls. The two L-shaped seats in the angle-profiled element penetrate into the cavity in the corner upright in contact with the respective L-shaped seats. The angle-profiled elements can be drawn out through angular apertures present in the roof, so freeing the walls of the cabin.

Description

LOAD-BEARING FRAMEWORK FOR AN ELEVATOR CABIN

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to elevators and, in particular, to a load-bearing framework for the elevator cabin.

Review of the known art

From Figures 1 and 1A it will be seen that present-day elevator cabins like that in Figure 1 are generally of a parallelepiped form derived from a structure consisting of a box-shaped rectangular metal bottom 2 joined on three sides to the foot of three walls - two lateral walls 3 and 4, and one front wall 5 (Figure 1A) that stand on the bottom 2 and are surmounted by a roof 6. These elements together delimit an inner cabin access to which is made through two doors 7, 8 that slide horizontally to open and close, either automatically or manually by pressing buttons. A floor panel 9 (Figure 1 A) of a standard thickness of a few millimetres, or depending on the type of finish, is laid over the metal bottom 2. Each wall usually consists of a light metal framework 10 consisting of a single panel or of several panels 11 (or staves) joined together. The walls are completed by two transversal elements 12, 13, respectively for connection to the bottom 2 and to the roof 6. Corner uprights 14 stand on the bottom 2 of the cabin for fixing the roof 6 and the panels 11 forming the walls. Lighting for the inner cabin is mounted on the inside of the roof 6 and, on the outside, the mechanism (not shown) for operating the doors on the outside. Figure 2 shows in detail how the lateral wall 3 is fixed to the bottom 2. Also shown are the lateral and frontal walls resting on the bottom 2 to which they are fixed by screws 15 penetrating from below through holes 16. The corner uprights 14 present holes 17 and 18 at their edges through which they are bolted 19 to the framework 10 (Figure 1A).

Manufacture and assembly of the cabin walls accounts for a fairly high percentage of the costs for making the whole cabin and it would be useful to have a simplified structure. The cabin walls consisting of panels, shown in the preceding figure, are complex requiring a supporting structure that extends over the whole surface between adjacent corner uprights, the frame must be bolted to the corner uprights and the panels must be bolted to the bottom and to the roof. The above framework creates problems during the working life of the elevators if, for example, it becomes necessary to replace the old panels with new ones. As the panels are fixed to the framework it would in fact be necessary to remove the walls completely from the corner uprights, from the bottom and from the roof, and then disconnect the single panels.

The technical problems and drawbacks explained for rectangular cabins would exist all the same for those of a polygonal form with more than four sides (in use, though fewer of them are installed). Similar difficulties also occur with the large elevators used to carry mixed loads of passengers and goods.

Purpose of the present invention is therefore to overcome the above drawbacks caused by the complexity of elevator cabin walls formed of panels.

Summary of the invention

To achieve this purpose, subject of the present invention is a load-carrying framework for a polygon-shaped elevator cabin, the framework including: a bottom and a roof,

- upright elements of an angle a subtended by each apex of the bottom to support the roof and the walls of the cabin,

wherein, according to the invention, - each corner upright is formed of a varyingly curved longitudinal wall terminating in first L-shaped structures, on the longer sides, the first reshaped structures rotating one with another at angle a to couple with two further respective second L-shaped longitudinal structures rotating one with another at angle a and forming part of an element extending lengthwise, hereinafter called an angle-profiled element, the first and second L-shaped structures when coupled together forming two U-shaped seats to receive and lock the longitudinal edges of the cabin walls converging at that angle;

- the roof contains angular apertures through which to slide the angle- profiled elements, releasing them from their respective corner uprights, thus making it possible to remove the walls of the cabin, as described in claim 1.

According to one aspect of the invention, the longitudinal wall of each corner upright delimits a concavity open above and below and at a longitudinal cleft, said cleft being closed by the inside of the concavity when coupled with the respective angle-profiled element, enabling the angle-profiled element to remain coupled to the corner upright even in the absence of the walls of the cabin. Coupling is made by introducing one end of the angle-profiled element into the above concavity and sliding it along for its whole length. Decoupling is done by reversing the order of operations.

Further characteristics of the present invention considered innovative are described in the dependent claims.

According to one aspect of the invention, the wall of each corner upright also includes two longitudinal flat sections perpendicularly contiguous to an arm of the respective L-shaped structures for connecting the upper and lower ends of the corner upright to the sides of transversal elements, also called crosspieces, that join the corner uprights to the roof and to the bottom of the framework.

Expressed more precisely, the upper part of the corner uprights that delimit cabin walls is joined to the sides of respective upper crosspieces, these in turn being joined to contiguous sides of the roof. The lower part of the same corner uprights is joined to the sides of respective lower crosspieces that can be fixed to the bottom in two alternative ways.

In one of these ways, the bottom extends horizontally so as to allow the lower bases of the corner uprights to rest on the upper surface of the bottom, the bases of the lower crosspieces being joined to the upper surface of the bottom.

Alternatively, the lower crosspieces are joined to the sides of the bottom by vertical slots cut in said sides; by means of said slots the height of connection can be varied to compensate for a thickness of the floor panel other than standard, maintaining unaltered the distance between the surface of said panel and the internal surface of the roof; (in other words, the internal height of the inner cabin remains unaltered).

A further object of the invention is a corner upright formed of contiguous longitudinal walls that can be made by extruded metal, bent plate or section bar, including:

- a first rectangular wall of a width less than or, at the most, equal to the thickness of a wall of the cabin;

- a second rectangular wall joined to the first wall at a rotation of 90° in a direction arbitrarily stated as equal to clockwise, the first and the second wall completing a first L-shaped half-seat for the longitudinal edge of a wall of the cabin;

- a third rectangular wall of predefined width joined to the second wall by an anti-clockwise rotation of 90° to anchor transversal joining elements;

- a fourth wall to give an external finish, curved anti-clockwise joining the third to a fifth rectangular wall of equal width, the fifth wall being disposed symmetrically to the third wall in relation to a longitudinal plane bisecting the dihedral angle a subtended by the corner upright;

- a sixth rectangular wall joined to the fifth wall by an anti-clockwise rotation at 90°;

- a seventh rectangular wall joined to the sixth wall by a clockwise rotation of 90°, the width of the seventh wall being equal to that of the first wall and, with the sixth wall, completing a second L-shaped half-seat for the longitudinal edge of another wall of the cabin, also described in claim 5. The corner upright here described can be so shaped that the above walls, except the first and the last, are placed between contiguous walls.

A corner upright, made in an alternative form obtainable by extrusion, differs from that previously described because: the first three walls are joined together along a common apex; the last three walls are joined together along a common apex, and the central wall is joined at its two sides to both common apices.

Another object of the invention is an angle-profiled element of bent plate suitable for coupling with any one of the preceding corner uprights, including ^•in the sequence:

a first rectangular wall extended lengthwise and of a width approximately equal to the thickness of a first wall of the cabin;

a second rectangular wall rotated at 90° in a direction arbitrarily designated as anti-clockwise, at a first bend in the plate, the first and second wall completing a first L-shaped half-seat to receive the longitudinal edge of a wall of the cabin;

- a third wall rotated clockwise at 180° at a second bend so as to match with the second wall;

- a fourth wall rotated anti-clockwise at a third bend at an angle equal to the dihedral angle a subtended by the corner upright;

- a fifth wall rotated clockwise at 180° at a fourth bend so as to match with the fourth wall;

- a sixth wall rotated anti-clockwise at 90° at a fifth bend, the fifth and the sixth wall completing a second L-shaped semi-seat to receive the longitudinal edge of another wall of the cabin.;

the reciprocal width of the matching walls being such as to keep the first wall and the sixth wall of the angle-profiled element respectively adherent to the first and to the seventh wall of the corner upright on the side at which said walls face the fourth wall of the corner upright, as described in claim 8. A further object of the invention is an angle-profiled element obtainable by extrusion, suitable for coupling to any one of the corner uprights previously described, including:

- a first rectangular wall extending lengthwise and of a width approximately equal to the thickness of a first wall of the cabin;

- a second rectangular wall joined to the first wall by a rotation of 90° in a direction arbitrarily designated as anti-clockwise, the first and the second wall completing a first L-shaped semi-seat to receive the longitudinal edge of a wall of the cabin;

- a third rectangular wall joining the second to a fourth rectangular wall disposed symmetrically to the second wall in relation to a longitudinal plane bisecting the dihedral angle a subtended by the corner upright;

- a fifth rectangular wall joined to the fourth wall by an anti-clockwise rotation of 90° , the fourth and the fifth wall completing a second L-shaped semi-seat to receive the longitudinal edge of another wall of the cabin, as described in claim 9.

The structure of the corner uprights and of the angle-profiled elements according to the different aspects of the invention for realization in bent plate or by extrusion, can generally be adapted to polygon-shaped frameworks having a number of sides other than four. As previously stated, the U-seats, to take the longitudinal edges of the walls, together form an angle a like that between the sides of the corresponding polygon.

With a framework of such a form, the walls of the cabin can be assembled, disassembled and, if required, replaced simply by sliding the angle-profiled elements out of their respective seats in the corner uprights and releasing the upper crosspieces. There is thus no need to disassemble the framework of the cabin, the automatic mechanisms for opening the doors, and the joints to the elevator framework. These operations can be carried out standing first on the roof of the framework to slide out the angle-profiled elements, and then inside the cabin to remove or substitute the wall panels, no extra space being needed for access to the cabin from the outside. A characteristic of the framework is the possibility of using different .materials for the walls of the cabin without involving any extra work. For example, panels may be of glass, plating, steel, plastic, wood or other materials. The components used are so shaped that joins are not visible, thus ensuring an aesthetic finish both inside and outside the cabin avoiding any need for further material.

Short description of the figures

Further purposes and advantages of the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description of an example of its realization and from the attached drawings, provided for purely explanatory reasons and in no way limitative, in which:

Figure 1 is a simplified view in perspective of an elevator cabin according to the known art;

- Figure 1A shows a cross section of the cabin in Figure 1;

- Figure 2 is a view in perspective of a detail of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a simplified view in perspective of a framework of an elevator cabin according to a first realization of the present invention;

- Figure 4 is a simplified view in perspective of a framework of an elevator cabin according a second realization of the present invention;

- Figure 5 is a partial view in perspective of the upper part of the structure in Figure 4, a corner upright having been removed to show the join to the upper crosspiece;

- Figure 6 is a lateral explosion of the view in Figure 4, with a detail of how the lower crosspiece is joined to the bottom and to the corner upright;

- Figure 7 is a simplified view in perspective of an elevator cabin with the framework in Figure 4, when the angle-profiled elements are drawn out to allow replacement of wall panels;

- Figure 8 is a view in perspective of a corner upright of the framework in Figure 4.

- Figure 9 is a view in perspective of an angle-profiled element of the framework in Figure 4. \ - Figure 10 is a view in perspective from above of the moveable coupling between the corner upright in Figure 8 and the angle-profiled element in Figure 9;

- Figure 11 is a view in perspective of a corner upright with an angle- profiled element in Figure 10, in the complete configuration of panels and crosspieces;

- Figure 12 is a view from above of the elements seen together in Figure 11;

- Figures 13 to 17 show views from above of possibly realizable variants of the group in Figure 12.

Detailed description of some preferred ways of realizing the invention

In the description now to be given identical elements that appear in different figures will be identified by the same symbols. In describing a figure reference can be made to elements not indicated in that particular figure but in preceding ones. The scale and proportions of the various elements shown do not correspond to actual size.

Figure 3 shows the load-bearing framework 20 of an elevator cabin. The framework is based on a box-shaped bottom 21 of bent plate. Four corner uprights 22, 23, 24, 25 stand on the upper surface of the bottom 21, one at each corner, rising up to a box-shaped roof 26 of bent plate. The corner uprights are fixed to the bottom 21 by means of three lower horizontal crosspieces 27, 28, 29, and to the roof 26 by three upper horizontal crosspieces 30, 31, 32. Said crosspieces are placed between respective pairs of adjacent corner uprights. The side of the bottom 21 and of the roof 26 without its respective crosspiece is the side for the sliding doors that open and close for access to the inner cabin. The lower crosspieces 27, 28, 29 are fixed to the bottom 21 by screws 33 (shown by dotted lines) perpendicularly inserted at the lower surface of the bottom and at the base of the lower crosspieces resting on the upper surface of the bottom 21. The screws 33 are engaged in threaded inserts (not shown in the figure) included in the wall of the base on which the lower crosspieces rest. The upper crosspieces 30, 31, 32 are fixed to the sides of the box-shaped roof 26 by screws 34 inserted perpendicularly to the walls of the crosspieces matching with the sides of the bottom. The screws 34 engage in threaded inserts present in said walls. Each corner upright 22, 23, 24, 25 has two walls at 90° in contact with a respective side of the two crosspieces that converge at that corner. The uprights are fixed to the sides of the crosspieces by screws 35 screwed into threaded inserts present in the walls of the uprights at their upper and lower ends.

The corner uprights are made of bent plate or section bar or, alternatively, of extruded aluminium; they provide an aesthetic finish to the corners on the outside of the cabin. The four corner uprights are moveably fixed to respective angle-profiled elements, similar to that identified by 36, and these too are of bent plate or section bar or else of extruded aluminium. Length of the angle-profiled elements 36 is the same or slightly less than that of the corner uprights, and they too rest on the bottom 21. The shape of these angle-profiled elements 36 provides an aesthetic finish to the internal corners of the cabin as well. Each pair, consisting of a corner upright and an angle- profiled element, forms two U-shaped seats, perpendicular one to another, to receive and lock two panels forming contiguous walls of the cabin. Present in the above seats are transversal elements PZ on which the wall panels rest. A floor panel 21a is laid on the metal bottom 21 and held in place by the crosspieces and by the corner uprights. If the floor panel is a sheet of a material such as linoleum, it can be glued to the metal bottom 21. A special feature of the invention is that the angle-profiled elements 36 are moveably fixed to their respective corner uprights; this means that they can be pulled out through corner apertures in the roof 26 so freeing the panels forming the walls of the cabin. The corner apertures are then closed by plugs 37.

The thickness of the bottom 21 is fixed irrespective of the size of the load to be carried, limited by the project. As seen in the figure, horizontal extension of the roof 26 is less than that of the bottom 21 as, contrary to this latter, it is comprised within the corner uprights.

To conclude: the lower horizontal crosspieces, fixed to the bottom of the cabin and to the lower part of the corner uprights on each side closed by a wall, form the joining elements between the bottom of the cabin and the uprights whose function is to provide rigidity to the structure, support the panels forming the walls, lock the lower side of the walls and contain the apertures for ventilating the cabin. In the same way the upper horizontal crosspieces, fixed to the roof of the cabin and to the upper part of the corner uprights on each side closed by a wall, constitute the joining elements between the roof of the cabin and the uprights whose function is to provide rigidity to the structure, lock the upper part of the panels forming the walls, and contain the apertures for ventilating the cabin.

Figure 4 shows a load-bearing framework 40 of an elevator cabin that differs from the framework 20 in the preceding figure in that the horizontal extension of the box-shaped bottom 41 of bent plate is equal to that of the roof 26 and, like it, comprised within the corner uprights 22, 23, 24, 25. Said uprights are fixed in pairs to the sides of lower crosspieces 27a, 28a, 29a, higher than the corresponding crosspieces 27, 28, 29 in the preceding figure by the difference between the height of the bottoms 41 and 21. Uprights and crosspieces are fixed together by screws 35 (diagrammatically indicated by dotted lines). The lower crosspieces 27a, 28a, 29a are screwed to the side of the bottom 41 by screws 34 (diagrammatically indicated by dotted lines). A floor panel 42 is laid on the upper surface of the bottom 41. Figure 4 shows that the corner uprights 22, 23, 24, 25 do not rest on the bottom, as in the previous configuration, but include the corners within the concavity created by curvature of the longitudinal wall. The corner uprights are matched to angle-profiled elements 36a that rest on the floor panel 42, their length being therefore less than that of the corner uprights for a section corresponding at least to the height of the bottom 41. In practice allowance must also be made for the thickness of the floor panel 42.

Before being fixed to the lower crosspiece, the bottom 41 can be vertically translated inside the remaining framework to compensate for the thicknesses of the floor panel 42 that differ from standard, maintaining unaltered the distance between the surface of said panel and that of the internal base of the roof, corresponding to the internal height of the inner cabin. Figure 5 shows how the upper crosspieces 30, 31, 32 are joined to the respective sides of the roof 26 by screws 34 through vertical slots 38 cut in the lateral walls of the roof 26. The figure shows that the screws 34 depart from inside the roof 26, pass through their respective slots 38 and engage with threaded inserts 34a in the walls matching with the upper crosspieces. The corner upright 25 has been removed to show two holes, 43 and 44, in the side of upper crosspiece 32. From the inside of the box-shaped structure of crosspiece 32, the screws 35 pass through holes 43 and 44, and engage two threaded inserts (not shown) in a wall of upright 25. In the same way the other uprights are fixed to the sides of their respective upper crosspieces; each upright is therefore shaped to provide two walls, one perpendicular to the other.

Figure 6 shows the lower crosspiece 29a detached from the rigid bottom 41 and from the corner upright 25, to show a slot 45 in the side of the metal bottom 41 and two holes, 46 and 47 in the side of the lower crosspiece 29a. The slot 45 is non-circular, lengthened in a direction parallel to the shorter side of the bottom 41 (vertical) to allow the screw 34 to be positioned, so that it can translate before being tightened. It will be seen from the figure that, departing from the inside of the bottom 41, the screws 34 pass through the respective slots 45 and engage with threaded inserts 34a in the walls matching with the lower crosspieces. Departing from inside the box-shaped structure of the lower crosspiece 29a, the screws 35 pass through holes 46 and 47 and engage in two threaded inserts (not shown) in one wall of upright 25. The other uprights are fixed to the sides of their respective lower crosspieces in the same way.

Figure 7 shows the form assumed by the framework in Figure 4 (or that in Figure 3), while the angle-profiled element 36a is being pulled out from the roof 26 for replacement of the cabin walls. It will be seen that, for this purpose, the roof 26 has corner openings 48 made accessible by removal of plugs 37. The adjacent angle-profiled elements 36a, almost completely pulled out together with their respective uprights 22 and 23 had, prior to this operation, realized the seats that received and held the longitudinal (vertical) edges of a panel 49 constituting a lateral wall of the cabin. Lacking the support of the two angle-profiled elements 36 and having loosened the screws 34 in the crosspiece 30, that allowed the roof 26 to press against the upper edge of panel 49, said panel can be turned towards the inside of the cabin rotating around the edge of the transversal element PZ by its own weight.

Figure 8 shows a perspective view of a corner upright, such as that numbered 24, from which it will be seen that the transversal geometrical profile is maintained unaltered throughout its length. This is a characteristic of a structure obtained by extrusion through a mould or by bending a metal sheet of the desired thickness. On this basis the three-dimensional form of the upright 24 can also be described with reference to the form of the transversal profile, more clearly illustrated in the next figures. The perspective view emphasises the fact that upright 24 is a hollow longitudinal structure, tubelike were it not for the presence of a cleft 50 that extends along its full length and will be turned towards the inside of the framework. The wall constituting the upright 24 is symmetrical in relation to a longitudinal plane passing through the centre of the cleft 50 and through the apex of the dihedral angle at 90°, ideally formed by extension of two flat sections, 51 and 53, joined to the two ends of a central curve 52 of about a quarter of a circumference. The flat section 51 proceeds forming a further three flat sections 54, 55, 56 perpendicular one to another, terminating in an L-shape at one side of the cleft 50. The flat section 53 proceeds forming a further three flat sections, 57, 58, 59 perpendicular one to another, terminating in an L- shape on the other side of the cleft 50. Taken as a whole, the upright 24 delimits a concavity 60 open above and below and at the position of the cleft 50.

Figure 9 shows an angle-profiled element 36 where it may be seen that the form of the transversal geometrical profile remains unaltered throughout its whole length. This characteristic is that of a structure obtainable by extrusion through a mould, or by bending a metal sheet of the desired thickness. It follows that the three-dimensional form of element 36 can also be described making reference to the form of the transversal profile more clearly illustrated in the next figure. The view in perspective emphasises the fact that the angle-profiled element 36 is formed of two pairs of L-shaped longitudinal wings, respectively 61,62 and 63,64 joined at the angles in such a way that ideal extension of corresponding wings in the two pairs would form a dihedral angle of 90°.

Figure 10 shows the combination of elements already seen in Figures 8 and 9 where the angle-profiled element 36 is coupled in such a way that it can translate longitudinally in relation to the corner upright 24. This is because its wings, 61 and 64, perpendicular one to another, respectively match with walls 56 and 57 of corner upright 24, also perpendicular to each other, inside cavity 60. In this way walls 56 and 57 hinder translation of the angle- profiled element 36 in two directions, one perpendicular to the other, while keeping it still joined to corner upright 24. The figure shows the upper crosspieces 31 and 32 one side of which matches with the walls, respectively 54 and 59, of corner upright 24, perpendicular one to another.

Figure 11 shows completion of the preceding structure with two panels 49a and 49b belonging to two contiguous walls of the cabin, perpendicular one to another. The longitudinal edges of panels 49a and 49b are held inside two respective seats, perpendicular one to another, created by coupling the corner upright 24 with the angle-profiled element 36. A first approximately U- shaped seat is formed by the two L-shaped walls 55 and 56 of upright 24, and by two also L-shaped walls 62 and 61 of angle-profiled element 36. The two opposing walls 55 and 62 correspond to the two arms of the U-shaped seat of which the two matching walls 56 and 61 form the base. The width of wall 56 is less than the thickness of panel 49b, making the contact between the longitudinal edge of the panel and the two walls 55 and 62 sufficiently close to prevent its crosswise translation. The width of walls 55 and 62 is comparable to the thickness of panel 49b as, for the locking function, no further crosswise extension is necessary. A second approximately U-shaped seat is formed by the two L-shaped walls 57 and 58 of upright 24 and by the two L-shaped walls 63 and 64 in angle-profiled element 36. The two opposing walls 58 and 63 provide the two arms of the U, while the two matching walls 57 and 64 form its base. The width of walls 58 and 63 is comparable to the thickness of panel 49a as, for the locking function, no further crosswise extension is needed. Since panels 49a and 49b are also held by the other side (not shown), they must be inserted from above into their respective U-shaped seats. It will be noted that the crosspieces 31 and 32 are parallel and almost matching with the respective wall panels 49b and 49a. Figure 12 shows a plan view of the elements of the previous figure fitted together and completes indication of the parts forming the angle-profiled element 36. To ensure uniformity with the following figures, upright 24 and the angle-profiled element 36 have been re-designated as Ml and PI. The structure of angle-profiled element PI is that of one made of bent plate. The same applies to the structure of corner upright Ml. The upright Ml and angle-profiled element PI, may be described as a continuous structure formed by contiguous sections of wall delimited by bends, departing from a first bend at 90°, whether in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction is of no importance since the succession of bends, and symmetry itself, clearly indicate an upright utilizable in any one of the corners of the structure. To simplify the description the contiguous sections of wall will be called 'walls'. Departing from an initial corner upright and initial angle-profiled element, these can be made to rotate at 180° around the one transversal axis or the other to obtain the configurations for all four corners of the framework. For Ml, taking a blank sheet of metal, a first bend at 90° (arbitrarily assumed as clockwise to suit the figure) forms the two walls 56 and 55. A second bend, anti-clockwise, at 90° forms the third wall 54. A third anti-clockwise bend at 90° forms the fourth wall 51. A continuous curve over a quarter of a circle forms the fifth wall 52. The sixth wall 53 is an extension of wall 52 towards the tangent. A fourth anti-clockwise bend at 90° forms the seventh wall 59. A fifth anti-clockwise bend at 90° forms the eighth wall 58. A sixth clockwise bend at 90° forms the ninth wall 57. The structure is symmetrical in relation to a longitudinal plane that bisects the dihedral angle a of 90° subtended by the upright Ml. This means that the first and the last wall listed, the second and the penultimate, and so on, are perpendicular one to another and of the same width, while the central wall 52 is ideally divided into two parts of equal width.

As far as concerns the angle-profiled element PI, taking a blank sheet of metal, a first bend at 90° (arbitrarily assumed as anti-clockwise to suit the figure) forms the two walls 61 and 62. A second clockwise bend at 180° forms a third wall 62a matching with wall 62. A third anti-clockwise bend at 90° forms a fourth wall 63a. A fourth clockwise bend at 180° forms the fifth wall 63 matching with wall 63a. A fifth anti-clockwise bend at 90° forms the sixth wall 64. The structure of angle-profiled element PI respects the same rules of symmetry as the corner upright Ml.

Figure 13 shows how a corner upright M2 is joined to an angle-profiled element P2 in an hexagonal framework; in this case the dihedral angle a, subtended by the corner upright M2 and by the angle-profiled element P2, is of 120°. The structure of corner upright M2 comprises:

- a first group of walls, in the order of 76, 75, 74, 71 that differs from the corresponding group of walls 56, 55, 54, 51 of corner upright Ml by a rigid anti-clockwise rotation of 15°;

- a second group of walls, in the order 77, 78, 79, 73 that differs from the corresponding group of walls 57, 58, 59, 53 of corner upright Ml by a rigid clockwise rotation of 15°.

The structure of angle-profiled element PI comprises:

- a first group of walls, in the order 81, 82, 82a that differs from the corresponding group of walls 61, 62, 62a of angle-profiled element PI by a rigid anti-clockwise rotation of 15°, and

- a second group of walls, in the order 84, 83, 83a that differs from the corresponding group of walls 64, 63, 63a of angle-profiled element PI by a rigid clockwise rotation of 15°. The angle between walls 82a and 83a is a dihedral angle a of 120°.

Figure 14 shows how a type Ml corner upright is joined to an angle-profiled element P3 in a rectangular framework. The difference compared with the configuration in Figure 12 lies in the different geometry of angle-profiled element P3 made by extrusion of aluminium through a matrix that reproduces the shape. Corner upright Ml can also be made by extrusion and in that case the geometrical form is the same as that if it were made of bent plate. Angle- profiled element P3 is a structure extended lengthwise that comprises: a first rectangular wall 85 of a width comparable to the thickness of the wall of the cabin, a second rectangular wall 86 rotated clockwise at 90° in relation to wall 85 (as already stated the direction of rotation is arbitrary); a third rectangular wall 87 that departs from the join between walls 85 and 86 and is rotated clockwise at an angle of 135° in relation to wall 86; a fourth rectangular wall 88 rotated anti-clockwise at the same angle of 135°; a fifth rectangular wall 89 that departs from the join between walls 87 and 88 is rotated clockwise at 90° in relation to wall 88. At the two ends of wall 87, walls 86 and 88 are perpendicular one to another, as are also walls 85 and 89. Figure 15 shows the join between a corner upright type M2 and an extruded angle-profiled element P4 in a hexagonal framework. The structure of the angle-profiled element P4 comprises two walls, 90 and 91, perpendicular one to another, joined to one end of a third wall 92, in turn joined at the other end to two further walls, 93 and 94, perpendicular one to the other. Both groups of walls, 90, 91 and 93, 94, differ from the corresponding groups of walls 85, 86 and 89, 88 of angle-profiled element P3 by a rigid rotation at 30°, made by each group of walls in opposite directions tending to converge towards the longitudinal plane of symmetry. There is a dihedral angle a of 150° between walls 91 and 92 as well as between walls 92 and 93.

Figure 16 shows the join between an extruded type of corner upright M3 and the angle-profiled element P3, also extruded, in a rectangular framework. The angle-profiled element P3 can be replaced by angle-profiled element PI. Corner upright M3 is a structure extended lengthwise comprising: a first rectangular wall 96 of a width comparable to the thickness of the wall of the cabin; a second rectangular wall 97 rotated anti-clockwise at 90° in relation to wall 96 (as already stated, the initial direction of rotation is arbitrary); a third rectangular wall 98 that originates at the join between walls 96 and 97 and is rotated anti-clockwise at 90° in relation to wall 97; a fourth wall 99 that originates at the join between walls 96, 97, 98, rotated anti-clockwise at 90° in relation to wall 98; a fifth wall 100 that connects anti-clockwise in a .quarter of a circle wall 99 to a sixth wall 101; a seventh wall 102, rotated clockwise at 90° in relation to wall 101; an eighth wall 103 that originates at the join between walls 101 and 102 and is rotated anti-clockwise at 90° in relation to wall 102; a ninth wall 104 that originates at the join between walls 101, 102, 103 and is rotated anti-clockwise at 90° in relation to wall 103. The corner upright M3 simplifies the joins between crosspieces where, instead of threaded inserts, these are bolted using nuts.

Figure 17 shows the join between an extruded type of corner upright M4 and an angle-profiled element P4 in a hexagonal framework. Angle-profiled element P4 can be replaced by angle-profiled element P2. Corner upright M4 comprises:

- a first group of walls 106, 107, 108, 109 that differs from the corresponding group of walls 96, 97, 98, 99 of comer upright M3 by a rigid anti-clockwise rotation at 30°, and

- a second group of walls, 113, 112, 111, 110 that differs from the corresponding group of walls 104, 103, 102, 101 of corner upright M3 by a rigid clockwise rotation at 30°.

The structures of corner uprights and of angle-profiled elements here described are suitable for use in rectangular or hexagonal-shaped elevator cabins. The symmetry shown in the structure of individual corner uprights and their angle-profiled elements in relation to a longitudinal plane that bisects the dihedral angle a, is applicable to other regular or irregular polygons with three or more sides. For the corner uprights it is sufficient that such symmetry be observed in the disposition of the three contiguous walls, one perpendicular to another, at the two ends.

In accordance with this description of an example of a preferred realization, it is clear that changes can be made to it by an expert in the field without thereby departing from the sphere of the invention as will appear from the following claims.

Claims

C L A I M S

1. Load-bearing framework (40) for a polygon-shaped elevator cabin, said framework including:

- a bottom (41 ) and a roof (26);

- upright elements (22, 23, 24, 25) of an angle a in each apex of the bottom to support the roof and the walls of the cabin,

characterized in that:

- each corner upright consists of a varyingly curved longitudinal wall terminating to form first L-shaped structures (55,56; 57,58) on the longer sides, the first L-shaped structures rotating one with another at angle a to couple with two further respective second L-shaped longitudinal structures (61,62; 63,64) rotating one with another at angle a and forming part of an element extending lengthwise, hereinafter called an angle-profiled element (36a), the first and second L-shaped structures when coupled together forming two U-shaped seats for receiving and locking the longitudinal edges of the cabin walls converging at that angle;

- the roof (26) contains angular apertures (48) through which to slide the angle-profiled elements (36a), releasing each one from its respective corner upright (24), thus making it possible to remove the walls of the cabin.

2. Framework as in claim 1, characterized in that the wall of each corner upright (24) delimits a concavity (60) open above and below and at a longitudinal cleft (50), said cleft being closed by the inside of the concavity when coupled with the respective angle-profiled element (36a), allowing the angled-profiled element to remain coupled to the corner upright (24) even without the presence of the cabin walls.

3. Framework as in claim 1, characterized in that the wall of each corner upright (24) includes two longitudinal flat sections (54, 59) orthogonally contiguous to an arm (55, 58) of its respective L-shaped structures (55,56; 57,58) for connecting the upper and lower ends of the corner upright (26) to the sides of respective upper and lower transversal elements, also called crosspieces (30,31,32; 27a, 28a, 29a) that join the corner uprights (24) to the roof (26) and bottom (41) of framework (40).

4. Framework as in claim 3, characterized in that in the sides of the bottom (41) there are vertical slots (45) to receive fixing means (34) to the lower crosspieces (27a, 28a, 29a) at a connecting height varying according to the difference between the thickness of the floor panel (42) and a standard thickness, internal height of the cabin remaining unaltered.

5. Corner upright (Ml, M2, M3) formed of longitudinal contiguous walls made of extruded metal, bent plating or section bar, characterized in that (Ml) includes:

- a first rectangular wall (56) of a width less or, at the most, equal to the thickness of a wall of the cabin;

- a second rectangular wall (55) joined to the first wall (56) by a 90° rotation in a direction arbitrarily designated as clockwise, the first and second walls forming a first L-shaped half-seat for the longitudinal edge of one wall of the cabin;

- a third rectangular wall (54) of predefined width joined to the second wall (55) by an anti-clockwise rotation of 90°, to anchor transversal joining elements (30, 31, 32; 27a, 28a, 29a);

- a fourth wall (51,52, 53) to provide an external finish, curved in an anticlockwise direction joining the third (54) to a fifth rectangular wall (59) of equal width, the fifth wall being symmetrically disposed to the third wall (54) in relation to a longitudinal plane bisecting the dihedral angle a subtended by the corner upright;

- a sixth rectangular wall (58) joined to the fifth wall (59) by an anticlockwise rotation at 90°;

- a seventh rectangular wall (57) joined to the sixth wall (58) by a clockwise rotation of 90°, the width of the seventh wall being equal to that of the first wall and, with the sixth wall, completing a second l-shaped half-seat for the longitudinal edge of another wall of the cabin.

6. Comer upright (Ml, M2) as in claim 5, characterized in that the above walls, with the exception of the first (56) and the seventh (57) are placed between contiguous walls.

7. Corner upright (M3) as in claim 5, in a form obtainable by extrusion, characterized in that:

said first (96), second (97) and third (98) wall are joined along a common apex;

said fifth (102), sixth (103) and seventh (104) wall are joined together along a common apex; and

said fourth wall (100) is joined on two sides to the above two common apices.

8. Angle-profiled element (PI, P2) obtainable from bent plating or section bar to be coupled to the corner upright (Ml, M2, M3) as in claim 5, the following being sequentially included in (PI):

- a first rectangular wall (61) extended lengthwise and of a width approximately that of the thickness of a first cabin wall;

a second rectangular wall (62) rotated at 90° in a direction arbitrarily designated as equal to the anti-clockwise direction, at a first bend in the plating, the first and the second wall (61, 62) completing a first L-shaped half-seat to receive the longitudinal edge of a wall of the cabin;

- a third wall (62a) rotated clockwise at 180° at a second bend to match with the second wall (62);

a fourth wall (63 a) rotated anti-clockwise at a third bend made at an angle equal to the dihedral angle a subtended by the corner upright (Ml);

- a fifth wall (63) rotated clockwise at 180° at fourth bend to match with the fourth wall (63 a);

- a sixth wall (64) rotated anti-clockwise at 90° at a fifth bend, the fifth (63) and the sixth (64) wall completing a second L-shaped half-seat to receive the longitudinal edge of another wall of the cabin;

the reciprocal width of the matching walls (62, 62a; 63, 63 a) being such as to keep the first wall and the sixth wall of the angle-profiled element respectively adherent to the first (56) and the seventh (57) wall of the corner upright (Ml) on the side of said walls facing the fourth wall (52) of the corner upright.

9. Angle-profiled element (P3, P4) obtainable by extrusion for coupling to the corner upright (Ml, M2, M3) as in claim 5, (P3) including:

- a first rectangular wall (85) extending lengthwise, of a width approximately equal to the thickness of a first wall of the cabin;

- a second rectangular wall (86) joined to the first wall (85) by a rotation of 90° in a direction arbitrarily designated as being the anti-clockwise direction, the first (85) and the second (86) wall completing a first L- shaped half-seat to receive the longitudinal edge of a wall of the cabin;

- a third rectangular wall (87) joining the second (86) to a fourth rectangular wall (88) disposed symmetrically to the second wall (87) in relation to a longitudinal plane bisecting the dihedral angle a subtended by the corner upright (Ml);

- a fifth rectangular wall (89) joined to the fourth wall (88) by a clockwise rotation of 90°, the fourth (88) and the fifth (89) wall completing a second L-shaped half-seat to receive the longitudinal edge of another wall of the cabin.