US 12,330,911 B2
Modular elevator systems and methods
Mark Joseph Bellissimo, Wellington, FL (US); Robert Francis Kelsch, Hendersonville, NC (US); Stanley Clark Beard, Jr., Hendersonville, NC (US); and Jason Daryl Hunsinger, Forest City, NC (US)
Assigned to Buildz, LLC, Forest City, NC (US)
Appl. No. 18/251,799
Filed by Buildz, LLC, Forest City, NC (US)
PCT Filed Nov. 10, 2021, PCT No. PCT/US2021/058724
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 4, 2023,
PCT Pub. No. WO2022/103795, PCT Pub. Date May 19, 2022.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/111,989, filed on Nov. 10, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2024/0017965 A1, Jan. 18, 2024
Int. Cl. B66B 11/00 (2006.01); B66B 9/04 (2006.01); B66B 19/00 (2006.01)
CPC B66B 11/0005 (2013.01) [B66B 9/04 (2013.01); B66B 11/002 (2013.01); B66B 11/0045 (2013.01); B66B 19/00 (2013.01); B66B 2201/30 (2013.01)] 35 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A modular elevator system comprising:
a pit module including at least one of a self-aligning connector or a retention feature on a top surface of the pit module;
one or more shaft modules configured for attachment to the pit module and/or to an adjacent one of the one or more shaft modules, the one or more shaft modules including a self-aligning connector on one of a top surface or a bottom surface of the one or more shaft modules and a retention feature on the other of the top surface or the bottom surface of the one or more shaft modules; and
a cap module configured for attachment to an uppermost shaft module of the one or more shaft modules, the cap module including at least one of a self-aligning connector or a retention feature on a bottom surface of the cap module,
wherein each of the pit module, the one or more shaft modules, and the cap module are pre- fabricated and configured for transport to, and assembly at, a site at which a building is under construction,
wherein the modular elevator system is configured for installation within the building either independently or as a component within a volumetric box,
wherein, prior to assembly of the modular elevator system, an elevator cab and an elevator cab carrying frame are secured in one of the one or more shaft modules during transport, the elevator cab carrying frame supporting the elevator cab thereon during the transport,
wherein a first of the one or more shaft modules is attached to the pit module by stacking the first of the one or more shaft modules onto the pit module and progressively engaging the self-aligning connector or the retention feature on the bottom surface of the first of the one or more shaft modules with the at least one of the self-aligning connector or the retention feature of the pit module for progressive alignment of the self-aligning connector or the retention feature of the first of the one or more shaft modules and the at least one of the self-aligning connector or the retention feature of the pit module as the first of the one or more shaft modules is stacked onto the pit module, and
wherein the cap module is attached to the one or more shaft modules by stacking the cap module onto the one or more shaft modules and progressively engaging the at least one of the self-aligning connector or the retention feature of the cap module with the self-aligning connector or the retention feature on the top surface of the one or more shaft modules as the cap module is stacked onto the one or more shaft modules.