Method of operating an elevator for inspection

Abstract

A method for operating an elevator (1) for inspection and an elevator for implementing the method are proposed. The elevator comprises a car (3), a drive engine (11), a plurality of hoistway doors (23), a plurality of signal receivers (33), an engine controller (13) and a door controller (29). Each of the hoistway doors has an associated active door drive (25) for reciprocatingly opening and closing the hoistway door. At least one of the signal receivers is arranged at each of the plurality of floors (21). The method comprises: receiving a request signal at one of the signal receivers (33) located at one of the floors (21); as a reaction to the reception of the request signal: if one of the floors (21) is not the lowest floor (21'), commanding the engine controller (13) to control the drive engine (11) to shift the car (3) to a first position so that the top (41) of the car (3) is adjacent to a shaft door (23) at one of the floors (21); if one of the floors (21) is the lowest floor (21'), commanding the engine controller (13) to control the drive engine (11) to shift the car (3) to a second position above the lowest floor (21'); then, commanding the door controller (29) to control the door drive (25) of the shaft door (23) at one of the floors (21) to actively open, and switching the engine controller (13) to an inspection mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method of operating an elevator for inspection. Furthermore, the invention relates to an elevator, a computer program product and a computer readable medium configured for performing such a method. Background Art

[0002] The elevator includes at least one car, which can be displaced along the elevator shaft between multiple floors in a building using a drive engine. Typically, the car includes at least one car door, which can be opened and closed to provide and block access to the car, respectively. For this purpose, one or more car door leaves of the car door are generally connected to an active car door drive, which includes, for example, a motor for displacing the car door leaf. In addition, at least one hoistway door is provided at each floor in the floor, and the hoistway door can be opened and closed for selectively providing or blocking access to the elevator shaft. Hoistway doors are sometimes referred to as landing doors. Conventionally, hoistway doors do not have active door drives. Instead, when the car stops at a floor in the floor, the car door can be mechanically connected to the hoistway door at the floor so that the hoistway door can be opened and closed together with the car door. In other words, the car door drive also indirectly opens and closes the hoistway door in front of which the elevator car is currently parked. Additionally, the hoistway doors are typically locked in their closed state as long as the car doors are not coupled to the hoistway doors.

[0003] During the inspection of the elevator, the technician needs to enter the elevator shaft in order to be able to check the integrity of the components of the elevator included in the elevator shaft, for example. For this purpose, in conventional elevators, the technician must call the car to come near one of the floors, and set the elevator to an inspection mode, in which the call from the landing operating panel or the car operating panel is ignored. Then, the technician must unlock the shaft door. For this unlocking, the technician must use, for example, a specific tool (such as a triangular key) to cooperate with a specific mechanism in the shaft door to unlock the shaft door. Then, the technician must manually open the shaft door and, for example, climb the top of the waiting car. A control unit is usually provided at this top. Using this control unit, the technician can control the drive engine when in the inspection mode for displacing the car to the desired position in the elevator shaft. Substantial safety measures must be taken to ensure that the technician will not be harmed during this displacement action. For example, it must be ensured that during the inspection, the car is not driven to a position that puts the technician on top of it or another technician (for example, in the pit of the elevator shaft) in danger. Finally, when the inspection has been completed, the technician must exit the elevator hoistway and manually relock the associated hoistway door.

[0004] For example, methods for opening a latch of a landing door of an elevator are proposed in WO 2017 / 212105 A1 and WO 2017 / 212106 A1.

[0005] An alternative method for operating an elevator for inspection may be desired. In particular, a method of operating an elevator for inspection may be desired, wherein a technician may enter the elevator shaft with minimal effort and / or wherein the level of safety for the technician may be increased. Additionally, an elevator, a computer program product and / or a computer-readable medium configured for implementing such a method may be desired. Summary of the invention

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method for operating an elevator for inspection is provided. The elevator comprises a car displaceable along an elevator shaft, a drive engine for displacing the car, a plurality of shaft doors, a plurality of signal receivers, an engine controller for controlling the operation of the drive engine, and a door controller for controlling the operation of an active door drive of the shaft door. At least one of the shaft doors is arranged at each of a plurality of floors including a lowest floor and at least one upper floor. Each of the shaft doors has an associated active door drive for reciprocatingly opening and closing the shaft door. At least one of the signal receivers is arranged at each of a plurality of floors. The method comprises at least the following steps:

[0007] - receiving a request signal at one of the signal receivers located at one of the floors;

[0008] - In response to receiving a request signal:

[0009] - if the one of the floors is not the lowest floor, commanding the engine controller to control the drive engine to shift the car to a position (referred to herein as the "first position") such that the top of the car is adjacent to the hoistway door at the one of the floors,

[0010] - if said one of the floors is the lowest floor, commanding the engine controller to control the drive engine to shift the car to a position above the lowest floor (referred to herein as the "second position");

[0011] - then, commanding the door controller to control the door drive of the hoistway door at one of the floors to actively open, and

[0012] - Switch the engine controller to check mode.

[0013] The method steps can preferably be performed in the order indicated. For safety reasons, at least in the case where the car is to be displaced, the opening of the hoistway door must not be commanded before the car reaches its destination position and stops. However, other method steps can be performed in a different order. For example, the check mode can be activated directly upon receipt of the request signal, i.e. before displacing the car and / or opening the hoistway door.

[0014] According to a second aspect of the invention, an elevator is proposed, the elevator comprising the features specified above for the first aspect of the invention and being configured to perform or control a method according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the invention.

[0015] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product comprises computer-readable instructions, and when the computer-readable instructions are executed by a processor in an elevator according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the computer-readable instructions instruct the elevator to execute or control the method according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention. Alternatively, the computer program product comprises computer-readable instructions, and when the computer-readable instructions are executed by a processor in a mobile data communication device, the computer-readable instructions instruct the mobile data communication device to send a request signal or a termination signal for triggering the elevator according to an embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, so as to execute or control the method according to an embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention.

[0016] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a computer readable device is provided. The computer readable device has stored thereon a computer program product according to an embodiment of the third aspect of the present invention.

[0017] The concept behind the embodiments of the present invention can be explained as being based on the following observations and perceptions, among others.

[0018] In short, embodiments of the method proposed herein benefit from technical features included in modern elevators for implementing alternative methods for operating the elevator during an inspection process. While conventional elevators generally have passive hoistway doors, some modern elevators will have active hoistway doors, in which active door drives are provided independently of other components of the elevator for opening and closing the hoistway door leaves, in particular independently of the car and its car door. It is suggested that this functionality be used to implement alternative methods of starting the inspection process and operating the elevator during the inspection process.

[0019] Firstly, some characteristics of the components of the elevator proposed herein and their functions will be described in more detail.

[0020] The elevator proposed herein may be similar to a conventional elevator with respect to the basic functionality of its car, its elevator shaft, its drive engine and its engine controller, wherein the engine controller may control the drive engine for displacing the car during normal operation, for example in response to a call received by one of a plurality of landing operating panels provided at each of the floors in the building and / or a call received by a car operating panel provided in the elevator car.

[0021] However, compared with most conventional elevators, the elevator proposed herein is different in terms of its hoistway doors and the way in which these hoistway doors can be opened and closed. In particular, in this elevator, each of the hoistway doors at each layer in a plurality of floors will have its own associated active door drive. This door drive generally includes an actuator. This actuator can be implemented using, for example, an electric motor, a hydraulic device, a pneumatic device or the like. The actuator can cooperate with one or more hoistway door leafs, such as displacing one or more hoistway door leafs between an open state (wherein the hoistway door enables entry into the elevator hoistway from the floor) and a closed state (wherein this entry is blocked).

[0022] The active door drive and its actuator can be controlled by a door controller. Each hoistway door can have its own door controller for controlling its door drive. Alternatively, a central door controller can control the door drives of multiple hoistway doors.

[0023] Typically, during normal operation of the elevator, the door controller(s) will control the operation of the active door drives of the hoistway doors in response to signals received from the engine controller and / or other components of the elevator indicating that the car is currently stopped at one of the floors, so that the door controller can then control the opening of the hoistway doors by actuating its associated door drive at one of the floors.

[0024] During normal operation, the hoistway door will only be opened when the elevator car stops adjacent to the hoistway door. In this case, the car door and the corresponding hoistway door are directly opposite each other.

[0025] Yet, in order to realize the inspection of elevator, the exception relative to this general rule may have to be implemented.In particular, the technician will be able to open the hoistway door when the car is not directly adjacent to the hoistway door to enter the elevator hoistway.

[0026] For safety reasons, it must be ensured that unauthorized persons cannot open the hoistway door when the car is not parked at the hoistway door. In addition, when a technician opens the hoistway door and the car is not at the hoistway door, measures should be taken to avoid any risk to the technician.

[0027] In order to meet such requirements, it is suggested to provide a signal receiver at each of the multiple floors. Such a signal receiver may be a device that can receive a signal sent from another device or a device that can receive a signal input by a technician. For example, the signal receiver may be a sensor, a switch, a button or the like.

[0028] In particular, the signal receiver may be configured to receive a so-called request signal. The request signal will indicate that the elevator will be prepared for inspection. The request signal may be and / or may be sent such that only an authorized technician may provide such a request signal to the signal receiver. For example, the request signal may include a security code or encryption. In addition, the request signal may be generated by a device that is generally only accessible to authorized technicians. Additionally or alternatively, the request signal may be generated using a code or computer program that is generally only accessible to authorized technicians.

[0029] In addition, in order to meet the above requirements, technical measures are implemented, which allow the technician to open the hoistway door only when the car has been driven to a position that can prevent the technician from falling into the elevator hoistway.

[0030] Accordingly, in the method proposed herein, the provision of the request signal may be initiated by the technician. As further described below, such a request signal may be provided in various ways. The request signal may then be received by a signal receiver located at the floor where the technician is currently located.

[0031] When a request signal is received, it is first determined whether the floor where the signal receiver receiving the request signal is located is located at the lowest floor served by the elevator or one of the upper floors above the lowest floor.

[0032] In the case where the request signal is received by the signal receiver at the lowest floor, this means that the technician wants to enter the elevator shaft at the shaft door of the lowest floor. In this case, it can be assumed that the technician wants to enter the pit of the elevator shaft. In order to enable such entry into the pit, the car is first controlled to be driven to a position above the lowest floor, i.e., for example, to a position near one of the first or higher upper floors. When the elevator shaft is then emptied of the car, the door controller of the shaft door at the lowest floor can then control the door drive of the shaft door to actively open. Therefore, the technician can enter the elevator shaft through the shaft door to provide inspection services at the pit of the elevator shaft.

[0033] In the case where the request signal is received by one of the signal receivers of a layer not located at the lowest floor but located in the upper floor, the engine controller is first commanded to control the drive engine to shift the car to such a position that the top of the car is adjacent to the hoistway door at the floor where the request signal is received. In other words, the car is driven to a position where its car door is not directly opposite to the hoistway door but its top is near the hoistway door. For example, the car can be displaced and stopped so that its top is near the lower end of the hoistway door. Only after the car has been displaced and stopped in this way, the door controller is commanded to control the door driver of the corresponding hoistway door to actively open the hoistway door. Therefore, when the technician enters the elevator hoistway through the hoistway door, the technician can step on the top of the parked car. In particular, by making the car parked so that its top is adjacent to the open hoistway door, the technician can be prevented from falling into the elevator hoistway.

[0034] In addition, as a reaction to receiving a request signal at one of the signal receivers, the engine controller of the elevator can be switched to an inspection mode. This switching to the inspection mode can occur directly when the request signal is received, i.e., directly before the car is displaced. Alternatively, switching to the inspection mode can be implemented to occur when the car is displaced to its destination position above the lowest floor or thereafter, or in the case of a hoistway door at the floor where the technician who initiated the request is waiting near the top of the car. The difference between this inspection mode and the previous normal operating mode is at least that the call input by the passenger at the landing operating panel and / or the car operating panel is ignored. Therefore, during the inspection mode, the elevator can no longer provide any transportation service to the passenger. Therefore, during the inspection mode, there is no risk of displacing the car as a reaction to the passenger's call.

[0035] With the method proposed herein and an elevator configured to implement the method, the inspection of the elevator can become simpler and safer for the technician. In particular, by simply providing a request signal to one of the signal receivers of the elevator, the technician can start a process in which the car is automatically driven to a position where the technician can safely enter the elevator shaft, either at the height of the pit of the elevator shaft, or at the height of one of the floors above. In addition, the shaft door (at which the technician is waiting and has provided a request signal to the local signal receiver) can be automatically opened to provide access to the elevator shaft.

[0036] According to an embodiment, in the check mode, the engine controller prevents the drive engine from displacing the car after the car has reached one of the first position and the second position, respectively.

[0037] In other words, as the first action when executing the method proposed herein, the car is driven to the expected destination position, that is, the car is driven to a first position so that its top is adjacent to the hoistway door at the floor where the request signal is provided, or, in the case where the request signal is provided at the lowest floor, the car is driven to a second position above the lowest floor. After arriving at such a destination position, the engine controller is switched to a mode in which the car cannot be further displaced. Accordingly, during subsequent inspections, the position of the car is fixed. Therefore, at least as long as the corresponding hoistway door is opened and the technician can enter the elevator hoistway to enter the pit or step on the top of the car, the car is no longer allowed to shift. Therefore, in this inspection situation, there is no risk of the technician being injured by the displaced car. Therefore, in this inspection mode, the safety for the technician is increased.

[0038] Additionally, because displacement of the car is generally not permitted as long as one of the hoistway doors is open and the technician has access to the elevator hoistway, it is no longer necessary to provide the technician with specific controls to control displacement of the car during the inspection process.

[0039] Explained in a different way, while in conventional methods, specific controls are provided at the top of the car and / or at the pit of the elevator shaft to allow a technician to displace the car during an inspection, the method described herein can intentionally eliminate the option of enabling a technician to displace the elevator while the technician is located in the elevator shaft. Thus, not only can the safety of the technician be increased, but also hardware such as specific controls that would otherwise have to be provided to the technician in order to control any displacement from the pit or top of the car during an inspection is no longer necessary, and the cost of such hardware can be avoided.

[0040] According to an embodiment, if during the proposed method one of the floors is not the lowest floor, the engine controller controls the drive engine to shift the car to a position where the top of the car is flush with the bottom at one of the floors.

[0041] In other words, the first position can be set so that the level of the upper side of the car top can substantially correspond to the level of the bottom at the floor where the request signal is provided to the local signal receiver. Thus, for example, no dangerous step is created between the bottom of the floor and the car top, and the technician can easily and safely step onto the car top as long as the hoistway door is already open.

[0042] In this context, the term "flush" can be interpreted as, for example, that the height of the bottom of the floor and the height of the upper side of the car roof correspond to each other within an acceptable tolerance. This tolerance can be, for example, less than 50 cm, preferably less than 20 cm or less than 5 cm or even less than 2 cm.

[0043] According to an embodiment, in order to enable reception of a request signal during the proposed method, the technician initiating the sending of the reception signal must have access at one of the floors to one of the signal receivers arranged at that floor and outside the elevator shaft.

[0044] In other words, the signal receiver is configured so that the request signal is provided to the signal receiver in such a way that it is implemented so that the technician who initiates the sending of the reception signal cannot be located somewhere far from the elevator, or in particular, cannot be located in the elevator shaft. Instead, it must be ensured that the technician is located at a position close to the signal receiver at the floor from which the technician wants to enter the elevator shaft, wherein the signal receiver must be arranged outside the elevator shaft. In particular, as long as the technician is close enough to the signal receiver, the technician should be able to provide the request signal to the signal receiver.

[0045] In this case, "close" may mean that the distance between the technician and the signal receiver should be less than the shortest distance between the signal receiver and the hoistway door at the corresponding floor. For example, "close" may mean that the distance between the technician and the signal receiver should be less than 10m, preferably less than 3m or even less than 1m.

[0046] Thus, it can be ensured that the technician can only provide the request signal as long as he is located in the respective floor and he is not in the elevator shaft. Thus, it can be prevented that the technician starts the proposed method by providing the request signal when he himself is not at the respective floor. Thus, it can be prevented that during the method, the floor door at the respective floor is opened without the technician being nearby. In addition, it can be prevented that the technician can start the proposed method by providing the request signal when, for example, he is in the elevator shaft, i.e., for example, in the elevator car. Thus, the entire inspection process can become safer for the technician as well as for other persons.

[0047] According to an embodiment, the signal receiver may receive the request signal from the data communication device via short-range wireless data communication.

[0048] This means that the technician can use a data communication device to generate a request signal and provide the request signal to the signal receiver. Among them, the signal receiver and the data communication device should use a short-range wireless data communication technology to exchange the request signal. This short-range wireless data communication technology can be, for example, Bluetooth communication or any other type of near field communication (NFC). The short-range wireless data communication technology can have such a characteristic that the sending of the request signal can only be achieved as long as the data communication device is close to the signal receiver. "Close" can be interpreted as defined above.

[0049] For example, the request signal may be sent by a mobile data communication device carried by the technician.

[0050] Such a mobile data communication device may be a portable device having a processor for data processing, some memory for data storage, and a data communication interface for exchanging data with other devices. For example, such a mobile data communication device may be a technician's smart mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop, etc. Such a mobile data communication device may be programmed using, for example, a specific application ("app") to generate and send a request signal, for example, when actuated by a technician.

[0051] Alternatively, the request signal may be sent using a passive mobile data communication device, in which data may be stored, but the data may not be processed and / or may not be actively transmitted. For example, such a passive mobile data communication device may be an RFID (radio frequency identifier) ​​device, which may transmit a radio frequency code upon request. The radio frequency code may represent or encrypt the request signal and may be received by a signal receiver.

[0052] According to an alternative embodiment, the signal receiver may receive the request signal by a technician manually actuating the signal receiver.

[0053] In such an embodiment, the technician may not need any portable technical equipment to generate and provide the request signal. Instead, the technician can provide the request device by directly manually cooperating with the signal receiver. For example, the signal receiver may have one or more buttons, switches or similar sensors to be actuated.

[0054] Preferably, the signal receiver is configured so that and / or the request signal is generated by manually actuating the signal receiver so that only an authorized technician can provide a reception signal. For example, the signal receiver can be protected by a protective device to prevent the signal receiver from being actuated, and the protective device can only be removed by a technician, for example, by using a key or similar device. Alternatively, the signal receiver can be actuated by everyone, but it must be actuated in a specific way for generating a request signal, and the specific way is only known by an authorized technician. For example, the signal receiver may have to be actuated using a manually actuated patterned sequence, which thereby forms a code representing the request signal. Specifically, the signal receiver can be a landing operating panel or part thereof provided at each floor in the vicinity of a local hoistway door, and the reception signal can be input by actuating a button, a switch or a sensor of such a landing operating panel with a predefined patterned actuation sequence.

[0055] According to an embodiment, the method proposed in this article also includes the following steps:

[0056] - receiving a termination signal at a signal receiver;

[0057] - In response to receiving a termination signal:

[0058] - commanding the door controller to control the door drive of the hoistway door at one of the floors to actively close, and

[0059] - Switch the engine controller back to normal operating mode.

[0060] In other words, the method proposed herein may include not only receiving a request signal (corresponding to "registering") for entering a process during which the car is driven to a specific first or second position and the engine controller is switched to an inspection mode, but may additionally include receiving a termination signal. Receiving such a termination signal may indicate that the inspection procedure has been completed (corresponding to "logging out"). In response to receiving the termination signal, the hoistway door that had previously been opened in response to receiving the request signal may be closed again, and the engine controller may be switched back to normal operation.

[0061] Thus, by generating and sending the termination signal, the technician can indicate that he has completed the inspection process. Wherein, similar to what is explained above with respect to receiving the request signal, the way in which the signal receiver is positioned and / or the way in which the termination signal is sent to the signal receiver can be adapted to ensure that the termination signal can only be sent when the technician has left the elevator shaft and has returned to the vicinity of the signal receiver at the floor and has passed the shaft door through which he previously entered the elevator shaft.

[0062] According to an embodiment, upon receiving the request signal, the identity of the technician who initiated the sending of the request signal may be detected.

[0063] This means that when one of the signal receivers receives a request signal, not only is the receipt of the request signal registered for triggering a subsequent reaction (such as displacement of the car and switching to inspection mode), but also it is detected which person has sent the request signal.

[0064] Among them, the identity of the technician who initiated the sending of the request signal can be detected using various technical means. For example, the data communication device used to send the request signal can include identification data in the data packet representing the request signal. Such identification data can, for example, identify the owner or user of the data communication device. Alternatively, the technician who initiated the sending of the request signal can be identified using image analysis of a picture taken by a camera, analysis of a fingerprint taken by a fingerprint sensor, or various other means.

[0065] When the identity of the technician has been detected, it can be checked, for example, whether the technician is authorized to enable the method proposed herein and then enter the elevator shaft. Additionally or alternatively, the identity of the technician can be stored so that, for example, at a later point in time, it can be tracked who has checked the elevator.

[0066] In addition, according to a specific embodiment, when a termination signal is received, the identity of the technician who initiated the sending of the termination signal is detected, and the engine controller is switched back to normal operation mode only when the identity of the technician who initiated the sending of the request signal is the same as the identity of the technician who initiated the sending of the termination signal.

[0067] In other words, the identity of the technician can be detected both at the beginning of the method proposed herein (i.e., when the request signal is received and therefore before the check is enabled) and at the completion of the method proposed herein (i.e., when the termination signal is received and therefore when the check is completed). In this case, the engine controller is switched back to normal operation only if the same technician initially sent the request signal and later sent the termination signal.

[0068] Thereby, it can be ensured, for example, that no one other than the technician who initially started the inspection can switch the engine controller back to normal operation. In particular, in the case where a first technician starts the inspection by sending a request signal and entering the elevator shaft, it can be prevented that, for example, a second technician who did not start the inspection and is unaware that the first technician is in the elevator shaft can switch the elevator back to normal inspection, thereby putting the first technician in danger.

[0069] In an elevator configured to perform or control an embodiment of the method proposed herein, at least each of the plurality of door controllers may be configured to meet SIL3 requirements. In a preferred elevator configured to perform or control an embodiment of the method proposed herein, each of the plurality of signal receivers, the engine controller, the door controller, and the communication established for exchanging signals between the plurality of signal receivers, the engine controller, and the door controller may be configured to meet SIL3 requirements.

[0070] This means that, in an elevator, all components involved in monitoring and / or controlling any car movement and opening action of the hoistway door may have to meet high safety requirements as defined in the SIL3 (Safety Integrity Level 3) standard. Thus, it can be guaranteed that a failure in one of the components will not lead to the creation of a potentially dangerous situation, such as displacing the car when a technician is in the elevator hoistway, or opening the hoistway door when no car is driven to a first position close to the car door.

[0071] The engine controller and / or (one or more) door controller included in the elevator proposed herein may be programmable. They may have, for example, a processor for executing computer-readable instructions and / or processing data and a memory for storing instructions and / or data. The computer program product including computer-readable instructions may be in any computer-readable language. When executing the computer-readable instructions, the engine controller and / or (one or more) door controller run or control the steps of the method proposed herein. Optionally, the engine controller and (one or more) door controller may be implemented in a single controller device.

[0072] In addition, a computer program product in the form of an application program ("app") can be used to command a mobile data communication device such as a smartphone to send a request signal or a termination signal for triggering an elevator so that the elevator performs or controls the method proposed herein.

[0073] Finally, the computer-readable medium including the above-mentioned computer program product stored thereon may be any portable computer-readable medium, such as a CD, CVD, flash memory, etc., for transient or non-transient data storage. Alternatively, the computer-readable medium may be part of a computer or a computer network (such as the cloud or the Internet), such that the computer program product may be downloaded therefrom.

[0074] It should be noted that possible features and advantages of embodiments of the present invention are described herein partly in relation to a method of operating an elevator for inspection and partly in relation to an elevator configured to implement such a method. To obtain further embodiments of the present invention, a person skilled in the art will recognize that features may be appropriately transferred from one embodiment to another, and features may be modified, adapted, combined and / or replaced, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0075] In the following, advantageous embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, neither the drawings nor the description are to be interpreted as limiting the invention.

[0076] Figure 1 An elevator configured to perform a method of operating an elevator for inspection according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0077] The figures are merely schematic and not to scale. Like reference numerals refer to like or similar features. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0078] Figure 1 An elevator 1 is shown. The elevator 1 is shown in a side view. In addition, a portion of the elevator 1 is shown in a front view, as is visible in the partial view inside the dashed frame line.

[0079] The elevator 1 comprises a car 3 which is displaceable along an elevator shaft 5. The elevator car 3 is held and displaced by a suspension traction device 7 such as a rope or a belt. The suspension traction device 7 is coupled to a counterweight 9 at its opposite ends. The suspension traction device 7 is driven by a drive engine 11. The drive engine 11 is controlled by an engine controller 13. It should be noted that in Figure 1 The arrangement of the suspended traction device 7 and the drive engine 11 shown in FIG. 1 is represented in a very schematic manner.

[0080] The elevator car 3 comprises a car door 15 for opening and closing the entrance to the elevator car 3. The car door 15 can be actively opened and closed by a car door drive 17. The car door drive 17 is controlled by a car door controller 19.

[0081] At least one hoistway door 23 is provided at each of the plurality of floors 21. The hoistway door 23 can be opened and closed for granting or blocking access to the elevator hoistway 5. The elevator 1 presented herein includes an active door drive 25 at each of the hoistway doors 23 for actively opening and closing the corresponding hoistway door 23 by laterally displacing the hoistway door leaf 27. Each of the door drives 25 is controlled by a door controller 29. In the example presented herein, the door controller 29 is integrated into the engine controller 13. It should be noted that, for reasons of simpler presentation, the terms "door drive 25" and "door controller 29" will only be directed to the hoistway door 23 in this article, rather than to the car door 15 (the car door has a "car door drive 17" and a "car door controller 19").

[0082] In addition, at each of the plurality of floors 21, a landing operating panel 31 is provided in the vicinity of the hoistway door 23. For example, such a landing operating panel 31 may include one or more buttons 32, which may be actuated by passengers to call a car 3 to their floor 21.

[0083] Alternatively, in the example shown, a separate signal receiver 33 is arranged near the landing operating panel 31. The signal receiver 33 is configured to receive signals such as a request signal and a finalising signal.

[0084] During normal operation of the elevator 1, the engine controller 13 controls the drive engine 11 to shift the car 3 to one of the floors 21 in response to a passenger's call (the call is provided by actuating one of the landing operating panels 31). Therein, the drive engine 11 is controlled so that the car 3 is stopped at the landing position so that its car bottom 35 is substantially flush with the bottom 37 at the floor 21 where the car 3 will collect or transport passengers.

[0085] For inspection purposes, the normal operation of the elevator 1 must be temporarily interrupted. For this purpose, according to the method proposed herein, a technician can approach the elevator 1 at one of the floors 21, such as, for example, the lowest floor 21' or one of the multiple floors 21", 21"'. When the technician 39 approaches the hoistway door 23 at the floor 21, the technician 39 can initiate the transmission of a request signal. Then, this request signal is received by the signal receiver 33 at the corresponding floor 21. This reception of the request signal can be communicated from the signal receiver 33 towards, for example, the engine controller 13 and / or the door controller 29. In response to receiving such a request signal, it is then checked whether the received signal is received from the signal receiver 33 arranged at the lowest floor 21' or from one of the signal receivers 33 arranged at one of the upper floors 21", 21"'.

[0086] When a reception signal is received at one of the signal receivers 33 in one of the upper floors 21", 21"', the engine controller 13 will control the drive engine 11 to shift the car 3 to a position where the top 41 of the car 3 is adjacent to the hoistway door 23 at the floor 21"' where the request signal has been received. Preferably, the car 3 is stopped at a height where the upper surface of its top 41 is substantially flush with the bottom 37 at the corresponding floor 21"'. Subsequently, the door controller 29 controls the door drive 25 at the corresponding floor 21″′ to actively open the associated hoistway door 23. Thus, the technician 39 can enter the elevator hoistway 5 by stepping on the top 41 of the car 3 in the waiting state. At such a position, the technician 39 can check, modify, repair or replace various components of the elevator 1, such as, for example, the car guide block, the car brake, the front bracket fixture, the suspension traction device 7 and the end connectors on the counterweight side and on the car side, the counterweight guide block, the hoistway information, the load measuring device, the deflection pulley in the head space and / or other components (for the sake of simplicity and clarity of the figure, the components are not shown).

[0087] The car 3 adjacent the hoistway door 23 may not need to be in a position where its top 41 is flush with the bottom 37 at the corresponding floor 21"'. It is desirable to shift the car 3 to a position where the top 41 is significantly above the bottom 37 at the floor 21"'. This car position may be useful, for example, when a technician 39 must inspect, repair or replace the drive engine 11, such as in Figure 1 , this drive engine is arranged in the zone of the hoistway head of the elevator hoistway. In this case, technician 39 can climb on the car top 41 of about 50cm or more above the bottom of the uppermost floor.

[0088] When receiving the receiving signal at the signal receiver 33 at the lowest floor 21', the engine controller 13 will control the driving engine 11 to shift the car 3 to a position above the lowest floor 21', that is, so that the car bottom 35 is sufficiently above the pit 43 of the elevator shaft 5 to allow the technician 39 to enter this pit 43. Subsequently, the door controller 29 controls the door drive 25 at the lowest floor 21' to actively open the associated shaft door 23. Therefore, the technician 39 can enter the pit 43 of the elevator shaft 5. In the pit 33, the technician can check, modify, repair or replace various components of the elevator 1, such as, for example, the traction sheave pulley on the machine, the slack belt (tension on the traction device), the electric drive and motor of the ventilator and / or other components (for the simplicity and clarity of the figure, the components are not shown). In addition, the technician 39 can clean the pit 43.

[0089] In addition, when the request signal has been received, the engine controller 13 is switched to a check mode. In this check mode, calls input by passengers, for example at one of the landing operating panels 31 or at the car operating panel, are ignored. In addition, as long as the hoistway door 23 is opened at one of the floors 21 as a reaction to receiving the request signal, any displacement of the car 3 is prevented.

[0090] In an exemplary embodiment, the technician 39 can use a data communication device 45, such as his smartphone, for generating and sending data forming the request signal. For this purpose, a specific application can be programmed and uploaded to the data communication device 45. When the application is activated, the data communication device 45 can send data forming the request signal, such as electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic waves can be received by a suitable sensor included in the signal receiver 33. Preferably, the data communication is established as a short-range wireless data communication, so that the signal receiver 33 can receive the request signal only when the data communication device 45 is close enough to the signal receiver 33.

[0091] In an alternative embodiment, the signal receiver 33 may not be implemented as a separate device, but may be part of an existing device that is usually used for other purposes. For example, the signal receiver 33 may be integrated into the landing operation panel 31 at each of the floors 21. In such an embodiment, the technician 39 may provide the request signal, for example, by actuating the landing operation panel 31 in a specific manner. For example, the button 32 of the landing operation panel 31 may be actuated according to a specific actuation sequence, which is known only to authorized technicians.

[0092] When the inspection work has been completed, the technician 39 can leave the elevator shaft 5 through the open shaft door 23. The technician 39 can then send a termination signal that can be received by the signal receiver 33. Upon receiving the termination signal, the door controller 29 can be commanded to control the door drive 25 of the open shaft door 23 to close the shaft door 23. Subsequently, the engine controller 13 can be switched back to its normal operating mode.

[0093] With the method and elevator 1 proposed herein, the inspection of the elevator 1 can be substantially simplified and can be carried out more safely. In particular, at the start of sending a request signal, the hoistway door 21 near the technician 39 can be actively and automatically opened. In addition, the car 3 has been driven to a suitable position in advance, in which its top 41 is substantially flush with the floor bottom 37, so that the technician 39 can easily and safely step on the car top 41. Alternatively, the technician 39 can easily enter the pit 43 after the car 3 has been automatically removed from the pit 43. Because during the inspection mode, further displacement of the car 3 is not allowed, the risk of injury to the technician 39 is minimized. In addition, no control unit is required on the car top 41 or in the pit 43. Generally, no toe guard on the car top 41 and / or apron on the car sill are required. Therefore, the cost of such hardware can be saved.

[0094] Finally, it should be noted that the term "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. Elements described in connection with different embodiments may also be combined. It should also be noted that the reference signs in the claims should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of operating an elevator (1) for inspection, The elevator (1) comprises - a car (3) which can be displaced along the elevator shaft (5), - a drive engine (11) for displacing the car (3), - a plurality of hoistway doors (23), at least one of the hoistway doors (23) being arranged at each of a plurality of floors (21), the plurality of floors including the lowest floor (21') and at least one upper floor (21", 21"'), each of the hoistway doors (23) having an associated active door drive (25) for reciprocatingly opening and closing the hoistway door (23), - a plurality of signal receivers (33), at least one of the signal receivers (33) being arranged at each of the plurality of floors (21), - an engine controller (13) for controlling the operation of the drive engine (11), - a door controller (29) for controlling the operation of the active door drive (25) of the hoistway door (23), The method comprises: - receiving a request signal at one of the signal receivers (33) located at one of the floors (21); - in response to receiving the request signal: - if the first floor of the floors (21) is not the lowest floor (21'), instructing the engine controller (13) to control the drive engine (11) to move the car (3) The elevator car (3) is displaced to a first position so that the top (41) of the elevator car (3) is on the floor (21). The first layer is adjacent to the hoistway door (23); - if the first floor among the floors (21) is the lowest floor (21'), commanding the engine controller (13) to control the drive engine (11) to move the car (3) shifting to a second position above the lowest floor (21'); - then, instructing the door controller (29) to control the door drive (25) of the hoistway door (23) at the first floor of the floors (21) to actively open, and - Switching the engine controller (13) to inspection mode.

2. The method according to claim 1, in, In the check mode, the engine controller (13) prevents the drive engine (11) from displacing the car (3) after the car (3) has reached one of the first position and the second position, respectively.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, If the one of the floors (21) is not the lowest floor (21'), the engine controller (13) controls the drive engine (11) to shift the car (3) to a position where the top (41) of the car (3) is flush with the bottom (37) at the one of the floors (21).

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, In order to be able to receive the request signal, the technician (39) who initiates the sending of the reception signal must approach one of the signal receivers (33) arranged at the floor (21) and outside the elevator shaft (5) at the first floor of the floor (21).

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, in, The signal receiver (33) receives the request signal from a data communication device (45) via short-range wireless data communication.

6. The method according to claim 5, in, The request signal is sent by a mobile data communication device (45) carried by the technician.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The signal receiver (33) is manually actuated by a technician (39) and receives the request signal.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: - receiving a termination signal at said one signal receiver (33); - in response to receiving said termination signal: - commanding the door controller (29) to control the door drive (25) of the hoistway door (23) at the first floor of the floors (21) to actively close, and - Switching the engine controller (13) back to normal operating mode.

9. The method according to claim 8, in, Upon receipt of the request signal, the identity of the technician (39) who initiated the sending of the request signal is detected.

10. The method according to claim 9, in, When the termination signal is received, the identity of the technician (39) who initiated the sending of the termination signal is detected, and the engine controller (13) is switched back to the normal operation mode only when the identity of the technician (39) who initiated the sending of the request signal is the same as the identity of the technician (39) who initiated the sending of the termination signal.

11. An elevator (1), comprising: - a car (3) which is displaceable along the elevator shaft (5), - a drive engine (11) for displacing the car (3), - a plurality of hoistway doors (23), at least one hoistway door (23) being arranged at each of a plurality of floors (21), the plurality of floors including a lowest floor (21') and at least one upper floor (21", 21"'), each of the hoistway doors (23) having an associated active door drive (25) for reciprocatingly opening and closing the hoistway door (23), - a plurality of signal receivers (33), at least one signal receiver (33) being arranged at each of the plurality of floors (21), - an engine controller (13) for controlling the operation of the drive engine (11), - a door controller (29) for controlling the operation of the active door drive (25) of the hoistway door (23), Therein, the elevator (1) is configured to perform or control the method according to one of claims 1 to 10.

12. Elevator (1) according to claim 11, in, Each of the signal receivers (33) is arranged at one of the floors (21) and outside the elevator shaft (5).

13. The elevator according to claim 11 or 12, in, Each of the plurality of signal receivers (33), the engine controller (13), the door controller (29), and communications established for exchanging signals between the plurality of signal receivers (33), the engine controller (13), and the door controller (29) are configured to meet SIL3 requirements.

14. A computer program product comprising: - computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a processor in an elevator (1) according to one of claims 11 to 13, instruct the elevator (1) to perform or control the method according to one of claims 1 to 10, and - Computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a processor in the mobile data communication device (45), instruct the mobile data communication device (45) to send a request signal or a termination signal for triggering an elevator (1) according to one of claims 11 to 13, so as to execute or control the method according to one of claims 1 to 10.

15. A computer readable medium comprising a computer program product according to claim 14 stored thereon.

Images