Reinforced jacket for belt
A belt includes one or more tension members extending along a length of the belt, and a jacket at least partially enclosing the plurality of tension members. The jacket includes an elastomeric material and a plurality of reinforcing elements located in the elastomeric material to improve fatigue cracking performance of the belt. An elevator system includes a hoistway, an elevator car located in the hoistway, and an elevator belt operably connected to the elevator car to suspend and/or drive the elevator car along the hoistway. The elevator belt includes one or more tension members extending along a length of the belt and a jacket at least partially enclosing the plurality of tension members. The jacket includes an elastomeric material and a plurality of reinforcing elements located in the elastomeric material to improve fatigue cracking performance of the belt.
1. A belt comprising:
one or more tension members extending along a length of the belt; and
a jacket at least partially enclosing the plurality of tension members, the jacket including an elastomeric material and a plurality of reinforcing elements disposed in the elastomeric material including a crack arresting mechanism of the elastomeric material;
wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements are distributed substantially equally throughout the jacket; and
wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements includes one or more traction and/or friction modifiers;
wherein the reinforcing elements are formed from one or more of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), silicones, fluoroelastomers, spider silk, or cellulose;
wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements are plate shaped.
2. The belt of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements are aligned to extend parallel to the length of the belt.
3. The belt of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements have an aspect ratio in a length and width direction in the range of 5:1 to 10,000:1.
4. The belt of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements have an aspect ratio in the range of 10:1 to 1000:1.
5. The belt of claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing elements include a surface treatment to promote adhesion of the reinforcing elements to the elastomeric material.
6. The belt of claim 1 , wherein the traction and/or friction modifiers include wax or graphite materials.
7. The belt of claim 1 , wherein the jacket includes a jacket core having a first jacket configuration and a jacket shell surrounding the jacket core having a second jacket configuration different from the first jacket configuration.
8. The belt of claim 7 , wherein the jacket shell includes a plurality of reinforcing elements, and the jacket core is absent reinforcing elements.
9. The belt of claim 1 , wherein the jacket includes a first jacket side having a first jacket configuration, and a second jacket side having a second jacket configuration different from the first jacket configuration.
10. The belt of claim 9 , wherein the first jacket side includes a plurality of reinforcing elements and the second jacket side is absent reinforcing elements.
11. An elevator system, comprising:
a hoistway;
an elevator car disposed in the hoistway; and
an elevator belt operably connected to the elevator car to suspend and/or drive the elevator car along the hoistway, the elevator belt comprising:
one or more tension members extending along a length of the belt; and
a jacket at least partially enclosing the plurality of tension members, the jacket including an elastomeric material and a plurality of reinforcing elements disposed in the elastomeric material including a crack arresting mechanism of the elastomeric material;
wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements are distributed substantially equally throughout the jacket; and
wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements includes one or more traction and/or friction modifiers;
wherein the reinforcing elements are formed from one or more of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), silicones, fluoroelastomers, spider silk, or cellulose;
wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements are plate shaped.
12. The elevator system of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of reinforcing elements are aligned to extend parallel to the length of the belt.
13. The elevator system of claim 11 , wherein the reinforcing elements include a surface treatment to promote adhesion of the reinforcing elements to the elastomeric material.
14. The elevator system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more traction and/or friction modifiers includes one or more of wax or a graphite material to modify traction and/or friction properties of the belt.
15. The elevator system of claim 11 , wherein the jacket includes a jacket core having a first jacket configuration and a jacket shell surrounding the jacket core having a second jacket configuration different from the first jacket configuration.
16. The elevator system of claim 11 , wherein the jacket includes a first jacket side having a first jacket configuration, and a second jacket side having a second jacket configuration different from the first jacket configuration.