Safety monitoring device and method for safety monitoring of elevator equipment

Abstract

The invention relates to a safety monitoring device (1) for an elevator installation (2), the elevator installation (2) having a shaft (3) spanning two floors or more floors (4), and to a method for safety monitoring of the elevator installation (2). The safety monitoring device (1) has a safety circuit (7), which comprises a door contact switch (8) for each shaft door (6), the door contact switch (8) being able to be closed or opened respectively when the corresponding shaft door (6) is closed or opened, and the door contact switches (8) being able to form an electrical series circuit with each other, so that: when one of the door contact switches (8) is opened, the safety circuit (7) is de-energized to prevent the elevator car (5) from moving. The safety monitoring device (1) has at least one jumper switch (9) which can operate a first door contact switch (8a) for a first shaft door (6a) on a first floor (4a) in the following manner, so that: when the elevator car (5) reaches the first floor (4a), the jumper switch (9) jumps the first door contact switch (8a) so that the safety circuit (7) can be switched independently of the first door contact switch (8a), and the safety monitoring device (1) has a monitoring device (10) which can monitor the switching state of the safety circuit (7) and / or the switching state of a second door contact switch (8b) for a second shaft door (6b) on a second floor (4b).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a safety monitoring device for an elevator device and a method for safety monitoring of an elevator device. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an elevator device having such a safety monitoring device or monitored by the method. Background Art

[0002] Elevator devices are used to transport people within a building by vertically moving an elevator car between different floors (corridors) of the building. In order to ensure the safety of passengers or service personnel, it is necessary to monitor a plurality of safety-critical components within the elevator device so that, for example, the elevator device can be operated or controlled in a proper and safe manner. In elevator devices, a so-called safety chain (safety circuit) is typically used, which has a large number of sensors or switches, by means of which signals or information about the current state of safety-critical components can be determined. Such sensors and switches are connected to each other in the form of a series circuit. If one link in the safety chain is interrupted, for example, a component fails, the entire safety chain is electrically interrupted, causing the elevator device to immediately stop operating, especially preventing the elevator car from moving. Thus, the immediate safety of the elevator device can be ensured. Examples of safety devices for elevator devices and their operation are mainly given in patent specifications CN 102190216, WO 2000051929 and WO 2017008849.

[0003] Typically, door contact switches (KTS) are usually provided on each hoistway door and car door of an elevator device. As long as the car door and the hoistway door are closed, the door contact switch is closed, and as long as the two doors are open, the switch remains open. A plurality of door contact switches are connected in series within the safety chain, and only when all door contact switches are closed will the formed safety chain be closed as a whole. In this case, the elevator car can move because the elevator device assumes that all car doors and hoistway doors are currently closed. If one door contact switch is open or not properly closed, the entire safety chain is interrupted, and thus the elevator car is not allowed to move. The door contact switch on a floor only opens when the elevator car arrives at that floor. This means that passengers waiting in front of the automatically opened floor door can always find an elevator car to enter.

[0004] The safety chain can also include other switches. For example, a so-called "contact unlocking hoistway door switch" (KNET-switch) can be provided outside the elevator shaft. The KNET-switch has a triangular contact. The KNET-switch is used for maintenance / inspection work of the elevator equipment so that the hoistway door of the elevator equipment can be manually opened. If the KNET-switch is unlocked, the elevator car is displaced beyond the permitted travel distance, for example in the direction of the top or bottom of the elevator shaft. Then, the elevator equipment can be set to its inspection operation mode. Contrary to the above-mentioned KTS switch, the hoistway door can be manually opened by unlocking the KNET-switch regardless of the position of the elevator car. If the hoistway door is opened, the elevator car stops immediately due to the breakage of the safety chain.

[0005] One disadvantage of using the KNET-switch is that usually there is no elevator car waiting behind the open hoistway door. Such a dangerous situation should always be avoided. Another disadvantage is that it is not possible to determine at any time whether the hoistway door is always closed. For example, if a maintenance technician operates the KNET-switch and opens the hoistway door on a floor, during the breakage of the safety chain, the maintenance technician cannot know whether another person on another floor has opened the hoistway door on another floor and entered the shaft, or whether all hoistway doors are currently properly closed. There may be a troublesome situation where the maintenance technician cannot restart the elevator equipment unless all hoistway doors are closed. In that case, the maintenance technician is likely to suspect that there is a problem with the elevator now. Then, you may waste a lot of time on unnecessary diagnosis or repair. In addition, if the maintenance technician uses the elevator car to travel without noticing someone in the shaft, the person in the elevator shaft is in a dangerous situation. Furthermore, distributing the KNET-switch on each floor results in additional costs or expenses for installing or maintaining the elevator equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0006] Mainly, it is necessary to avoid such dangerous or troublesome situations. On the other hand, it is necessary to be able to easily monitor all hoistway doors of the elevator equipment at any time, especially during installation and maintenance work.

[0007] This need can be met by the technical solution of one of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims and the following description.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a safety monitoring device for an elevator installation is proposed, the elevator installation having a shaft spanning two or more floors, an elevator car being movable in the shaft and the shaft having at least one shaft door on each corresponding floor. The safety monitoring device includes a safety circuit having door contact switches for each shaft door. When the corresponding shaft door is closed or opened, the door contact switches can be closed or opened accordingly. The door contact switches can form an electrical series circuit with each other such that when one of the door contact switches is opened, the safety circuit is electrically opened to prevent the elevator car from moving. However, the safety circuit should not be understood as a limitation here, because multiple other safety functions can also be provided and multiple safety switches corresponding to these safety functions can be provided accordingly, and these safety switches can be connected to the safety circuit to form a safety chain of the elevator installation. The safety monitoring device has at least one bridging switch that can operate a first door contact switch used for a first shaft door on a first floor such that when the elevator car reaches the first floor, the bridging switch bridges the first door contact switch, so that the safety circuit is switched independently of the first door contact switch. The safety monitoring device also has a monitoring mechanism that can monitor the switching state of the safety circuit and / or the switching state of a second door contact switch used for a second shaft door on a second floor. The monitoring mechanism can be, for example, electronic hardware or computer-programmable software. The monitoring mechanism can also be an electronic signal or an electrical signal representing the current switching state of the door contact switch, and the electronic signal or the electrical signal can be processed and evaluated by the safety monitoring device or an external data processing unit capable of communicating with the safety monitoring device. Then, when the bridging switch bridges the first door contact switch, the safety circuit can be opened or closed accordingly by opening or closing the second door contact switch based on the opening or closing of the second floor door on the second floor.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for safety monitoring of an elevator installation having a shaft spanning two or more floors is specified, an elevator car being movable in the shaft and the shaft having at least one shaft door on each corresponding floor. In this method, a door contact switch is assigned to each floor door, whereby the floor door and the door contact switch are opened and closed together. To form a safety circuit, the door contact switches are electrically connected in series with each other, whereby when the door contact switch is opened, the safety circuit is electrically interrupted to prevent the elevator car from moving. When the elevator car reaches the first floor, the first door contact switch used for the first shaft door on the first floor is bridged by a bridging switch, whereby the safety circuit is connected independently of the first door contact switch, and the switching state of the safety circuit and / or the switching state of the second door contact switch used for the second shaft door on the second floor is monitored by a monitoring mechanism.

[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, an elevator device is provided, which has at least one safety monitoring device according to the first aspect of the present invention or is monitored by means of the method according to the second aspect of the present invention.

[0011] Feasible features and advantages of embodiments of various aspects of the present invention can be considered as being based on the concepts and cognitions introduced below, without limiting the present invention.

[0012] According to an advantageous design of the foregoing invention, the bridging switch can be fixed to the elevator car. If the elevator car passes a shaft door in the shaft, the bridging switch can bridge the door contact switch of the shaft door, disconnecting the shaft door from the door contact switch, that is, opening or closing the shaft door will no longer affect the switching state of the door contact switch.

[0013] According to another advantageous design of the foregoing invention, the safety monitoring device has a bridging switch for each door contact switch. The bridging switch can be assembled on or near the door contact switch in such a way that when the elevator car reaches the floor with the shaft door corresponding to the door contact switch, the bridging switch can bridge the door contact switch.

[0014] According to another advantageous design of the foregoing invention, when the elevator car arrives at a floor or enters the unlocking area of a floor, the elevator car reaches one of the floors. The unlocking area in the shaft is, for example, located above and / or below the floor stop position of the elevator car on the floor. In this case, the unlocking area can be named as the entrance area and the exit area of the floor respectively, and the elevator car must reach this area before docking at this floor or after leaving this floor. The elevator car is identified as being in the unlocking area by means of, for example, a sensor device.

[0015] If there is no elevator car behind the shaft door, the shaft door is usually locked mechanically. The unlocking area is an area which is, for example, defined as being approximately 20 cm to 35 cm above and below the determined stop position of the elevator car in the shaft. If the elevator car moves within this area, the door contact switch is mechanically unlocked by the shaft door, so that although the shaft door is open, the safety circuit remains closed. That is to say, the elevator car can let passengers get off at the target floor earlier and leave from the starting floor earlier, thus shortening or optimizing the travel time or waiting time of the passengers.

[0016] According to another advantageous design of the foregoing invention, when the safety circuit is interrupted, the monitoring mechanism can generate an alarm signal. Such an alarm signal is, for example, an electronic, audible, optical and / or vibration signal. The alarm signal can indicate the interruption of the safety circuit and / or the specifically opened shaft door.

[0017] According to another advantageous design of the foregoing invention, the monitoring mechanism can communicate with the control device of the elevator equipment, an external control device, and / or a mobile device either wired or wirelessly. Therefore, the safety monitoring device is applied, for example, in the remote monitoring or diagnosis of the elevator equipment or is remotely controlled thereby. Alarm signals generated by the safety monitoring device can be forwarded, for example, to another or an external control device or a mobile terminal.

[0018] According to another advantageous design of the foregoing invention, the safety monitoring device can have a storage unit. The identification of the opened second door contact, the time point and / or the duration of the interruption of the safety circuit can be stored as a record on the storage unit.

[0019] According to another advantageous design of the foregoing invention, the safety monitoring device can be interconnected with at least one other safety monitoring device when needed, and the safety monitoring devices have the same or different numbers of door contact switches and / or bridging switches. Such a need may exist, for example, when there are multiple elevator cars in a shaft or when the shaft is very tall and includes many floors.

[0020] It should be noted that some possible features and advantages of the present invention are introduced herein with reference, on the one hand, to different embodiments of the safety monitoring device and, on the other hand, to the method for monitoring its proper functioning. Those skilled in the art will recognize that these features can be combined, adjusted, or exchanged in a suitable manner to achieve other embodiments of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, where neither the drawings nor the description constitutes a limitation to the present invention.

[0022] Figure 1 Fig. 1 shows a conventional elevator equipment with a safety chain.

[0023] Fig. 2 shows an elevator equipment with a safety monitoring device according to the present invention.

[0024] These figures are merely schematic and not to scale. The same reference numerals in each figure represent the same or equivalent features. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Figure 1A conventional elevator installation 1 is shown, which has an elevator car 5 in a shaft 3 with a plurality of floors or landings 4, and a shaft door 6 is provided on each floor 4. The elevator car 5 has a car door 5a, which is normally always opened and closed simultaneously with the shaft door 6. Door contact switches 8 are respectively provided on each of the shaft door 6 and the car door 5a. By means of the door contact switches, it can be monitored whether the corresponding shaft door or car door is currently properly closed or opened. When the shaft door 6 is closed or opened, the door contact switch 8 is also correspondingly closed or opened. All the door contact switches 8 are electrically connected in series, thereby forming a safety chain 7 of the elevator installation 1.

[0026] Here, the safety chain 7 is shown beside the elevator installation 1 in a simplified illustration. The safety chain 7 is used to monitor the switching states of the individual door contact switches 8. If one of the door contact switches 8 is opened, the entire safety chain 7 is interrupted, whereby the elevator car 5 is immediately blocked, regardless of whether the elevator car is moving or ready to move at that moment.

[0027] KNET - switches 8a are provided on each floor 4 outside the shaft 3. Such KNET - switches 8a can be switched with a special key in order to unlock or lock the door contact switch 8 from the shaft door 6, so that the shaft door 6 can be manually opened or closed.

[0028] However, for such an elevator installation 1, when the elevator car 5 is stopped at a floor 4, it is not possible to monitor whether another shaft door 6 on another floor is opened simultaneously or has ever been opened. This can especially lead to dangerous situations during maintenance work, when the elevator car 5 is waiting for the first maintenance technician with the shaft door 6 and the car door 5a on the floor 4 opened, but the second maintenance technician has opened another shaft door 6 on another floor 6 with the KNET - switch 8a and entered the shaft 3, for example, entered the shaft pit, and then closed the shaft door 6 again. In this case, the movement of the elevator car 5 endangers the second maintenance technician in the shaft 3.

[0029] Figure 2 consists of Figures 2.1 to 2.3 which respectively show a safety monitoring device 1 according to the invention for the above - mentioned elevator installation 2. This elevator installation 2 no longer requires a KNET - switch. The safety monitoring device 1 includes a safety circuit 7, which corresponds to Figure 1The safety chain 7 therein. In this embodiment, the safety monitoring device 1 has a bridging switch 9, which is, for example, fixed on the elevator car 5. As an alternative to this, in addition to each door contact switch 8, the bridging switch 9 can be assembled in the shaft 3. The bridging switch 9 and the door contact switch 8 can cooperate in such a way that: when the elevator car 5 arrives at the floor 4 and passes by the bridging switch 9, the elevator car 5 can activate the bridging switch 9 to bridge the door contact switch 8, whereby the corresponding shaft door 6 and the door contact switch 8 are disconnected. In this case, even if the shaft door 6 is opened, the entire safety circuit 7 remains electrically closed. The monitoring mechanism 10 of the safety monitoring device 1 monitors the switching state of the safety circuit 7 and / or the door contact switch 8. The monitoring mechanism 10 can be an electronic control unit. There is also a feasible solution that when considering the measurement point in the safety circuit 7 and measuring the parameter or signal at this measurement point, the monitoring mechanism 10 is a physical parameter or an electrical signal representing the switching state of the door contact switch 8. The monitoring mechanism 10 can communicate with the control device 14 and the mobile device 15 inside or outside the elevator to further transmit the monitoring results. This communication can be achieved through a wired or wireless connection.

[0030] Figure 2.1 Shows: When the elevator car 1 moves between the floors 4, for example, in the normal operation mode, the safety monitoring device 1 according to the invention with the safety circuit 7 closed. In this case, a certain door contact switch 8 of the shaft door 6 is bridged by the bridging switch 9.

[0031] Figure 2.2 Shows: When the shaft door 6 is opened, the safety monitoring device 1 keeps the safety circuit 7 closed. When the elevator car 5 arrives at the target floor or an intermediate target floor, the first shaft door 6a on this floor 4 is opened to simultaneously disconnect the first door contact switch 8a. Since the disconnected door contact switch 8a is bridged by the bridging switch 9, there is a continuous current path (not shown) along the safety circuit 7 through the bridging switch 9. Since the car door 5a and the corresponding shaft door 6 are always closed or opened together, when the corresponding shaft door 6 is bridged, the car door 5a is also bridged.

[0032] If the second shaft door 6b on the second floor 4b is opened by someone, the safety circuit 7 is disconnected because the second door contact switch 8b is disconnected. In this case, the monitoring mechanism 10 generates an alarm signal 12 to warn the maintenance technician (not shown) that the safety circuit 7 is interrupted. The alarm signal 12 can be sent as an electronic, acoustic, optical, and / or vibration signal to the mobile device (such as a smartphone) 15 of the maintenance technician in front of or inside the elevator car 5. Here, it can also be determined which door contact switch 8 or which shaft door 6 has been opened.

[0033] The storage unit 13 of the safety monitoring device 1 is provided, whereby the number or identification of the opened second door contact switch 8b, the time point and duration of the interruption of the second door contact switch 8b or the safety circuit 7 can be stored as a record. Then, it can be inferred that a technical error has occurred or there has been unauthorized entry into the shaft 3.

[0034] Figure 2.3 It is shown that there is an unlocking zone 11 in the shaft 3, which is close to the floor stop position of the elevator car 5 in relation to the corresponding floor 4 and is typically approximately 20 to 35 cm above and below the floor stop position. Depending on whether the elevator car 5 arrives at or leaves the floor 4, the unlocking zone 11 can also be designated as an entrance zone or an exit zone. With the aid of a sensor device or a position determination mechanism, it is determined whether the elevator car 5 is in the unlocking zone. For example, with the aid of a magnetic tape extending vertically along the shaft 3 and a magnetic tape reading device mounted on the elevator car 5, information about the current position of the elevator car 5 in the shaft 3 can be determined.

[0035] When the elevator car 5 drives into the unlocking zone 11 and the elevator car 5 is thus very close (e.g., < 30 cm) to the floor stop position, the corresponding door contact switch 8a unlocks the shaft door 6, such that the shaft door 6 can already be opened before the elevator car 5 actually reaches its floor stop position. Thus, when the shaft door 6 is open or semi-closed, the elevator car 5 can already start to move. In this case, the opened door contact switch 8a is bridged by the bridging switch 9, and the safety circuit 7 remains closed. Thus, the travel of the elevator installation 2 can be optimized, for example, the elevator installation 2 can be provided with leveling upon arrival in order to accelerate the door opening process and reduce the dwell time on the floor in this way.

[0036] Finally, it should be noted that terms such as "comprising" or "including" do not exclude other elements or steps, and terms such as "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be pointed out that features or steps described with reference to one of the above embodiments can also be used in combination with other features or steps of the above other embodiments. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting.

Claims

1. A safety monitoring device (1) for an elevator installation (2), the elevator installation having a shaft (3) spanning two or more floors (4), wherein: The elevator car (5) can be moved in a shaft (3), and the shaft (3) has at least one shaft door (6) on the respective floor (4). The safety monitoring device (1) comprises a safety circuit (7), which has a door contact switch (8) for each shaft door (6), and the door contact switch (8) can be closed or opened respectively when the corresponding shaft door (6) is closed or opened, and The door contact switches (8) are capable of forming an electrical series circuit with each other so that: when one of the door contact switches (8) is disconnected, the safety circuit (7) is de-energized to prevent the elevator car (5) from moving, The invention is characterized in that the safety monitoring device (1) does not include a contact unlocking shaft door switch, the safety monitoring device (1) has at least one jumper switch (9), which can operate the first door contact switch (8a) used for the first shaft door (6a) of the first floor (4a) in the following manner: when the elevator car (5) reaches the first floor (4a), the jumper switch (9) only jumpers the first door contact switch (8a) so that the safety circuit (7) can be switched independently of the first door contact switch (8a), and the safety monitoring device (1) has a monitoring mechanism (10), which can monitor the switching state of the safety circuit (7) and / or the switching state of the second door contact switch (8b) used for the second shaft door (6b) on the second floor (4b).

2. The safety monitoring device (1) according to claim 1, wherein: While the jumper switch (9) jumpers the first door contact switch (8a), the safety circuit (7) can be opened or closed accordingly by causing the second door contact switch (8b) to be opened or closed due to the opening or closing of the second shaft door (6b) on the second floor (4b).

3. The safety monitoring device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The jumper switch (9) can be fastened to the elevator car (5).

4. The safety monitoring device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The safety monitoring device (1) has a jumper switch (9) for each door contact switch (8), wherein the jumper switch (9) can be mounted relative to the door contact switch (8) in such a way that when the elevator car (5) reaches a floor (4) having a shaft door (6) corresponding to the door contact switch (8), the jumper switch (9) can jumper the door contact switch (8).

5. The safety monitoring device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: When the elevator car (5) arrives at a floor (4) or reaches an unlocking zone (11) of the floor (4), the elevator car (5) completes reaching the floor (4), the unlocking zone being located in the shaft (3) above and / or below the floor parking position of the elevator car (5) on the floor (4), and In the unlocking zone (11), the jumper switch (9) jumpers the door contact switch (8).

6. The safety monitoring device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The monitoring device (10) can generate an alarm signal (12) when the safety circuit (7) is interrupted.

7. The safety monitoring device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The safety monitoring device (1) has a storage unit (13) in which the identification of the opened second door contact (7b), the time point and / or the duration of the interruption of the safety circuit (7) can be stored as a record.

8. The safety monitoring device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The monitoring device (10) is capable of communicating with a control device (14) inside the elevator and / or outside the elevator, an external control device and / or a mobile device (15) of the elevator system (2).

9. The safety monitoring device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The safety monitoring device (1) can be connected to one another with at least one further safety monitoring device (1), which has the same or a different number of door contact switches (8) and / or jumper switches (9).

10. A method for the safety monitoring of an elevator installation (2) having a shaft (3) spanning two or more floors (4), wherein: An elevator car (5) is movable in a shaft (3), and the shaft (3) has at least one shaft door (6) on a corresponding floor (4), and the elevator system (2) does not require a contact to unlock the shaft door switch. In the method, A door contact switch (8) is assigned to each shaft door (6), whereby the shaft door (6) is opened and closed together with the door contact switch (8). In order to form a safety circuit (7), door contact switches (8) are electrically connected in series with each other, whereby when the door contact switches (8) are opened, the safety circuit (7) is de-energized to prevent the elevator car (5) from moving. When the elevator car (5) reaches the first floor (4a), the first door contact switch (8a) used for the first shaft door (6a) on the first floor (4a) is only bridged by the bridge switch (9), whereby the safety circuit (7) is connected independently of the first door contact switch (8a), and the switching state of the safety circuit (7) and / or the switching state of the second door contact switch (8b) used for the second shaft door (6b) on the second floor (4b) is monitored by the monitoring device (10).

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: During the bridging of the first door contact switch (8a), the safety circuit (7) is opened or closed accordingly by causing the second door contact switch (8b) to be opened or closed due to the opening or closing of the second shaft door (6b) on the second floor (4b).

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein: An elevator car (5) reaches a floor (4) by the elevator car (5) arriving at the floor (4) or arriving at an unlocking zone (11) of the floor (4), wherein the unlocking zone (11) is arranged in the shaft (3) above and / or below the floor parking position of the elevator car (5) on the floor (4), and in the unlocking zone (11), the jumper switch (9) jumpers the door contact switch (8).

13. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein: When the safety circuit (7) is interrupted, an alarm signal (12) is generated.

14. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein: The identifier of the opened second door contact switch (8b), the time point and / or duration of the interruption of the safety circuit (7) are stored as records.

15. An elevator installation (2) comprising at least one safety monitoring device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and / or being monitored by a method according to any one of claims 11 to 14.

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