Mechanism Design and Experimental Verification of Novel Automatic Balance Equipment for a Rope-Type Elevator

Multi-rope elevators are widely used in modern buildings. However, problems such as vibration, noise, uneven wear of key components and shortened life caused by the uneven distribution of rope tensions are still unsolved in the elevator industry. In order to balance the different tensions and the axial deformation of each rope, a novel automatic balance equipment for rope-type elevators (NABE-RE) is proposed in this article. Simulations based on the Simscape numerical methodology are used to verify the kinematic rationality of the proposed mechanism. The optimal structural stability of the core components is evaluated through a series of investigations based on the finite element method. Additionally, the manufactured prototypes are put through a series of comparison experiments to evaluate their tension balancing performance. The results show that the unbalance rate of the system is effectively limited to a low level, thus verifying the feasibility of the automatic tension balancing function of the proposed NABE-RE.