Bridging device and method for elevator

Abstract

The invention relates to a bridging device (1) and a bridging method for an elevator (2), as well as an elevator (2) having the bridging device (1) or monitored by the method. The bridging device (1) comprises a jumper (3) for bridging an electrical component (4) of the elevator (2) when the elevator (2) is operating in its first operating mode, a monitoring mechanism (5) for monitoring the jumper (3), and an alarm unit (6) capable of generating an alarm signal (18) when the elevator (2) is operating in a second operating mode if the monitoring mechanism (5) determines that the component (4) has been bridged by the jumper (4) for more than a predetermined period of time.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] An elevator consists of an elevator car that moves vertically in the elevator shaft (hoistway) and can stop at different floors or levels of a multi-story building. An elevator control system coordinates all aspects of elevator service and functionality. Typically, an elevator includes multiple safety-related components and protective devices, such as door contacts, emergency switches, and overspeed devices. These components are connected in series to prevent the elevator from starting if any of these components malfunction. This series of numerous protective devices is often referred to as a safety chain, which is regulated by several standards and regulations (e.g., EN81-1). If any one or more of these devices fails or disconnects, the safety chain is disconnected, preventing the elevator from continuing. Further elevator operation is only permitted when the contacts of all protective devices within the safety chain are closed. Elevators have numerous sensors that monitor safety-related functions such as car speed, position, and door lock status. These sensors transmit detected data or signals to the elevator's controller or a controller for the elevator. For example, if a sensor notifies the controller that the shaft door lock is not engaged, the controller will prevent the elevator car from moving until the problem is resolved.

[0003] After an elevator is installed, it must undergo regular maintenance, routine testing, and inspection, either inevitably or in accordance with regulations. During these procedures, a bypass unit (also known as a bridging unit or jumper) can be used to bypass, short-circuit, or disconnect certain elevator components or switches. In particular, during installation or inspection work, it is sometimes necessary to temporarily bypass one or more safety chains or protective devices. A technician can then use a wire bridge or jumper to bridge the protective device or its contacts for troubleshooting and testing. For example, to test a shaft door switch, a technician can use an electrical jumper to bridge the door switch, allowing the elevator car to operate when the shaft door is unlocked. In this case, the elevator's safety chain is bypassed at the unlocked shaft door via the jumper. This electrical jumper typically includes a conduit configured to bypass an open electrical switch, allowing current to flow through the jumper along the bypass path, bypassing the switch. Once the test is complete, the technician must remove the jumper from the bridged door switch to restore normal operation. However, it often happens that jumpers may be inadvertently left in place after servicing an elevator. This can lead to serious safety hazards as the bridged shaft door contacts are removed from the safety chain. Therefore, the aim is to minimise the risk of accidental bypassing of safety-related parts of the safety chain by jumpers that have been mistakenly left in the workplace.

[0004] WO 2011090665 A1 describes an elevator safety tool for short-circuiting an elevator switch. The tool includes a control module and a relay, wherein the relay has a switch with a closed position and an open position. The control module receives status data and determines whether the operating status is "normal" or "maintenance." The switch is closed when the elevator is undergoing maintenance and open when the elevator is in normal operation. While such a safety tool can reduce the risk of accidentally leaving a bridging unit in place, it requires a maintenance technician to connect the safety tool not only to the switch to be short-circuited but also to the elevator control device to receive status data.

[0005] Therefore, there is a need for a simple possibility which can further reduce the potential risks associated with the use of bridging devices during elevator installation or maintenance. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The object of the invention of this patent application may be to disclose a bypass possibility which can be safely implemented in elevators in order to meet this need, avoiding the above-mentioned disadvantages of using traditional jumpers.

[0007] This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Further exemplary embodiments are apparent from the dependent claims and the following description.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a bridging device for an elevator comprises a jumper wire for bridging electrical components of the elevator when the elevator is operating in its first operating mode. The bridging device further comprises a monitoring mechanism for monitoring the jumper wire and an alarm unit. When the elevator is operating in a second operating mode, if the monitoring mechanism determines that a component has been bridged via the jumper wire for more than a predetermined time period, the alarm unit is capable of generating an alarm signal. The bridging time count can be started when the elevator switches back to its first operating mode. The alarm signal can be an electrical signal, a light signal, an acoustic signal, or a vibration signal. The predetermined time period can also be dynamically set and modified by the supplier or user of the bridging device.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for bridging an electrical component of an elevator may include the steps of bridging the electrical component via a jumper when the elevator is operating in a first operating mode, monitoring the jumper, and generating an alarm signal if the component has been bridged via the jumper for more than a predetermined period of time when the elevator is operating in a second operating mode.

[0010] A third aspect of the invention relates to an elevator comprising one or more bridging devices as described above or being monitored by means of the method as described above.

[0011] As a refinement of the present invention, the first operating mode of the elevator is an operating mode for maintenance or inspection of the elevator, while the second operating mode is the elevator's normal operating mode. This means that the jumper wires need only be monitored when the elevator is operating in the normal operating mode. This prevents the elevator's safety chain from being fully or partially bridged by the bridging device during normal operation.

[0012] As a further refinement of the present invention, the monitoring mechanism includes a wired and / or wireless interface for transmitting the generated alarm signal to the elevator controller, a remote center, and / or a mobile device, such as a smartphone or mobile control terminal. Communication between the bridge device and the signal receiver is based on, for example, Bluetooth or ZigBee technology, which is commonly used in low-power, low-data-rate, and ad hoc networks. Receiving the alarm signal offers several potential solutions to this problem. For example, the elevator could be automatically shut down immediately, the remote center could remotely control the elevator, or a technician with a mobile device could be instructed to remove the bridge device as soon as possible.

[0013] As another further improvement of the present invention, the monitoring mechanism includes a current sensor for measuring the current through the jumper. Measuring current is more reliable than measuring voltage or resistance to detect whether the switch contacts are closed or open.

[0014] As another further development of the invention, the bridging device comprises a power supply unit which may share the same power supply of the elevator or may be arranged as its own power supply for the bridging device, eg an electrical energy storage unit like a battery.

[0015] At least one of the above-described implementation examples provides one or more solutions to the problems and shortcomings of the known prior art. Other technical advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and claims. The numerous examples of implementing the present invention only achieve a portion of the advantages presented. These advantages are not critical to the examples of implementation. Any desired embodiment can be technically combined with any other desired embodiment. These examples represent only a few advantageous embodiments and do not limit the concept of the present invention, which can even be implemented in other ways within the framework of the claims further presented below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the present invention and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. In the drawings:

[0017] Figure 1A schematic diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method of bridging electrical components of an elevator;

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a bridging device according to the above invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Figure 1 An example of a bridging device 1 disclosed herein for an elevator 2 is schematically shown. The elevator 2 includes an elevator car 13 that can move up and down in a vertically extending shaft (not shown) of a building. The safety chain 14 of the elevator 2 consists of a plurality of safety-related devices or electrical components 4 (such as shaft door contacts) connected in a series circuit. The safety chain 14 is illustrated in a simplified schematic diagram next to the elevator 2 shown.

[0020] Elevator 2 has been serviced by technician 15, causing elevator 2 to switch to its maintenance operating mode. During this maintenance work, technician 15 needs to temporarily bypass one of elements 4 using bridging device 1 to begin a testing procedure. He then bridges element 4 using jumper wire 3 of bridging device 1. When the testing procedure and maintenance work are complete, technician 15 should switch elevator 2 back to its normal operating mode. It is then necessary to monitor whether element 4 remains bridged by bridging device 1. If technician 15 leaves to return home but forgets to take jumper wire 3, leaving element 4 bridged, bridging device 1 will generate an alarm signal 18 if a predetermined time period has been extended. This predetermined time period can be set, for example, to 10 seconds after elevator 2 switches back to its normal operating mode, but technician 15 can also reset this time period to any desired length of time.

[0021] Alarm signal 18 can be a light and / or sound signal. When technician 15 hears or sees alarm signal 18, they are immediately aware of the potential safety risk before leaving the elevator 2. Even after technician 15 has left, alarm signal 18 can be transmitted via wireless communication network 16 to remote center 9 of elevator 2 or technician 15's mobile device 10, such as a smartphone, laptop, tablet, or PDA. Upon receiving alarm signal 18 or receiving instructions from remote center 9, technician 15 can return to elevator 2 and remove bridge device 1 from element 4. Alternatively, alarm signal 18 can be transmitted to elevator 2's main controller 8, enabling automatic shutdown of elevator 2 after a specified period of time if technician 15 fails to acknowledge alarm signal 18 or return to remove bridge device 1. This prevents the dangerous situation of accidental and unsafe bypass of the safety chain 14 of a normally operating elevator 2.

[0022] like Figure 2 As shown, the bridging device 1 according to the invention comprises a jumper 3 for bridging electrical components 4 of the elevator 2 when the elevator 2 is operated in a maintenance operating mode. The bridging device 2 is further provided with a monitoring mechanism 5 for monitoring the jumper 3 and an alarm unit 6 for generating an alarm signal 18.

[0023] The monitoring mechanism 5 includes a current sensor 11. When the current I flows through the bypass formed by the jumper 3 when the element 4 is bridged, the current I is measured by the current sensor 11. Therefore, at the output 17 of the sensor 11, a voltage U can be detected accordingly. Based on this detected voltage signal, it can be monitored whether the element 4 is currently bridged. When the elevator 2 is operated again in its normal operating mode, if the monitoring mechanism 5 determines that the element 4 has been bridged via the jumper 3 for more than a predetermined period of time.

[0024] The monitoring mechanism 5 includes a wireless interface 7, such as a transceiver, which is capable of transmitting the generated alarm signal 18 to an external controller of the elevator 2 or an external controller for the elevator 2 in a suitable form of digital data, voice, and / or text (e.g., SMS: Short Message Service). This interface 7 can communicate via wireless technology (e.g., Bluetooth or ZigBee). Such an interface supports mobile connectivity standards such as 4G / LTE, 5G, and VoIP capabilities. In addition, this interface 7 can operate with a wired network. In addition, the bridge device 1 includes a power supply unit 12, such as an electrical energy storage unit including one or more batteries. The power supply unit 12 can supply energy to the bridge device 1.

[0025] It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the basic idea of ​​the invention can be implemented in various ways. Therefore, the invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above, but rather they can vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A bridging device (1) for an elevator (2), comprising: a jumper (3) for bridging electrical components (4) of the elevator operating in a first operating mode of the elevator (2), a monitoring mechanism (5), the monitoring mechanism being used to monitor the jumper (3), and Alarm unit (6), It is characterized by: When the elevator (2) is operating in the second operating mode, the alarm unit (6) is capable of generating an alarm signal (18) if the monitoring mechanism (5) determines that the element (4) has been bridged by the jumper (3) for more than a predetermined period of time, The monitoring mechanism (5) includes a current sensor (11) for measuring the current passing through the jumper (3).

2. The bridging device (1) according to claim 1, wherein: The first operating mode is an operating mode for maintaining or inspecting the elevator (2), and the second operating mode is a normal operating mode of the elevator (2).

3. The bridging device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The monitoring mechanism (5) comprises a wired and / or wireless interface (7) for sending the generated alarm signal (18) to a controller (8) of the elevator (2), a remote center (9) and / or a mobile device (10).

4. The bridging device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The bridging device (1) comprises a power supply unit (12).

5. The bridging device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The alarm signal (18) is an electrical signal, a light signal, an acoustic signal or a vibration signal.

6. A method for bridging an electrical component (4) of an elevator (2), comprising: When the elevator (2) operates in a first operating mode, the electrical component (4) is bridged by a jumper (3), and monitoring said jumper (3), Characterized in that the method further comprises: generating an alarm signal (18) if the element (4) has been bridged by the jumper (3) for more than a predetermined period of time when the elevator (2) is operating in the second operating mode, The current passing through the jumper (3) is measured to monitor the switching state of the jumper (3).

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The first operating mode is an operating mode for maintaining or inspecting the elevator (2), and the second operating mode is a normal operating mode of the elevator (2).

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, comprising: The generated alarm signal (18) is sent to the controller (8) of the elevator (2), the remote center (9) and / or the mobile device (10) by wire and / or wirelessly.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein The alarm signal (18) is generated as an electrical signal, a light signal, an acoustic signal or a vibration signal.

10. An elevator (2) comprising a bridging device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 or being monitored by a method according to any one of claims 6 to 9.

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