Method for controlling drone in shaft of elevator system

Abstract

A method for controlling a drone (15) within a shaft (7) of an elevator installation (1) comprises: receiving sensor data (35) in a control device (29) of the drone (15), the sensor data (35) being generated by a sensor device (27) for detecting the surroundings of the drone (15) during flight of the drone (15) within the shaft (7); identifying a component (9, 11) of the elevator system (1) to be operated by means of an operating element (19) arranged on the main body (17) of the drone (15) by evaluating the sensor data (35); the drive device (25) is actuated to drive the rotor (23) of the drone (15) in order to position the drone (15) in the shaft (7) relative to the component (9, 11) in order to operate the component (9, 11) by the operating element (19).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for controlling a drone in a shaft of an elevator installation, and also to a control device, a computer program and a computer-readable medium for carrying out the method, as well as to a drone and an elevator installation. Background Art

[0002] For example, drones can be used to inspect safety-critical components in the shaft of an elevator installation. For example, such drones can be configured to move autonomously in the shaft and take images of the components to be inspected.

[0003] CN108657895A describes a general method for controlling a drone in the shaft of an elevator installation, in which method the drone is guided during movement by a connecting arm along a cable laid in the shaft.

[0004] JP2016107843A introduces a method for measuring an object using a drone. In this method, the drone is fixed to the structure using a gripper before measuring.

[0005] CN113306734A introduces a method for controlling a drone. The drone is provided with a gripper, by means of which the drone can be suspended on an object.

[0006] CN216734766U introduces a drone and a method for controlling the drone. The drone is configured to receive a lamp through a bracket and thereby move the lamp.

[0007] However, checking certain movable parts, such as safety switches or door lock mechanisms, usually requires a technician to be inside the shaft and then manually operate the relevant parts. This can be very time-consuming on the one hand, and on the other hand, it can bring certain risks to the technician. Summary of the invention

[0008] Therefore, there would be a need for a method that allows access to components in the shaft of an elevator installation for inspection without necessarily requiring a technician to enter the shaft.

[0009] In addition, a corresponding control device, a corresponding computer program, a corresponding computer-readable medium, a corresponding drone and a corresponding elevator device are also required.

[0010] These needs are met by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are set forth in the dependent claims, the subsequent description and the drawings.

[0011] A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for controlling a drone in a shaft of an elevator installation. The drone comprises a sensor device for detecting the drone's surroundings, a drive device for driving the rotors of the drone, a control device for controlling the drive device, and an operating element arranged on the body of the drone. The method comprises: receiving sensor data in the control device, wherein the sensor data is generated by the sensor device while the drone is flying in the shaft; identifying a component of the elevator installation to be operated by the operating element by evaluating the sensor data; and controlling the drive device to position the drone in the shaft relative to the component so that the operating element operates the component.

[0012] The method can be implemented by a computer and automatically executed by a processor, such as a control device of a drone. The method can also be automatically executed by a processor at a station outside the shaft, which a technician can visit and input via an interface. For example, a technician can confirm a certain state of the elevator installation or a component of the elevator installation to the drone, or remotely control the drone.

[0013] This method allows the components to be accessed for inspection without the need for a technician to be in the shaft. The advantage of this method is that the time required to inspect the components can be significantly reduced compared to the traditional method of inspection by a technician in the shaft. For example, while the drone flies autonomously through the shaft, the technician can perform other tasks. In addition, this method can prevent accidents.

[0014] For example, the drone can be remotely controlled by a technician located outside the shaft. Alternatively, the control device can be configured to autonomously control the drone within the shaft.

[0015] The drive device can be controlled in such a way that the drone contacts the component with its operating element (for example with its free end). Furthermore, the drive device can also be controlled in such a way that the operating element that contacts the component is pressed against the component with a defined force. The operation of the component can then include moving the component into a certain position by means of a force.

[0016] A second aspect of the invention relates to a control device having a processor configured to perform the above and below methods. The control device may include hardware and / or software modules. In addition to the processor, the control device may also include a memory and a data communication interface for wireless and / or wired data communication with peripheral devices.

[0017] It should be noted that features of the method described above and below may also be features of the control device (and vice versa).

[0018] A third aspect of the invention relates to a drone comprising a sensor device for detecting the drone's surroundings, a drive device for driving the drone's rotors, operating elements arranged on the drone's body for operating components of an elevator installation, and a control device as described above and below.

[0019] A drone may be understood as an unmanned aerial vehicle, preferably in the form of a multi-rotor aircraft having two, three, four or more rotors.

[0020] The drone may be equipped with control software for partially or fully automatically operating the drive device, for example based on sensor data from the sensor device and / or other sensors of the drone (see below). The control software may be stored in a memory of the control device and executed by a processor of the control device.

[0021] The sensor device may include, for example, a camera, a lidar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor, or a combination of at least two of these examples. In addition, the drone may include an acceleration sensor, a rotation speed sensor, an air pressure sensor for altitude measurement, a receiver for determining the geographic coordinates of the drone using a global navigation satellite system (e.g., GPS or GLONASS), or a combination of at least two of these examples.

[0022] The operating element may be in the form of a rod or an arm, for example. The operating element may be fixed in its position and / or orientation relative to the drone body, or may be adjustable (preferably by means of an actuator integrated into the drone). In other words, the operating element may be a passive element or an active element.

[0023] In the simplest case, the operating element can be elongated and extend into the periphery of the drone defined by the rotor with its free end. In this case, the drive can be easily controlled so that the operating element points to the current flight direction of the drone with its free end.

[0024] It should be noted that features of the methods presented above and below may also be features of UAVs (and vice versa).

[0025] A fourth aspect of the invention relates to an elevator installation comprising a shaft, one or more examples of drones described above and below, and one or more components to be operated by means of operating elements of the drone.

[0026] The shaft can connect a plurality of floors of a building in which the elevator installation is installed. The shaft can also contain at least one car for transporting people and / or goods between floors.

[0027] The components to be operated can be arranged at least partially in the shaft and / or the operating elements can be reached from the shaft.

[0028] It should be noted that features of the method described above and below may also be features of the elevator installation (and vice versa).

[0029] Other aspects of the invention relate to a computer program and a computer-readable medium storing the computer program.

[0030] The computer program comprises instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the methods described above and below.

[0031] The computer-readable medium may be a volatile or non-volatile data storage device. For example, the computer-readable medium may be a hard disk, a USB (universal serial bus) storage device, a RAM (random-access memory), a ROM (read-only memory), a PROM (programmable read-only memory), an EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), a flash memory, or a combination of at least two of these examples. The computer-readable medium may also be a data communication network or cloud capable of downloading program code (e.g., via the Internet).

[0032] It should be noted that features of the methods described above and below may also be features of the computer program and / or the computer-readable medium (and vice versa).

[0033] The embodiments of the present invention can be considered to be based on the ideas and discoveries described below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0034] According to one embodiment, the operating element can be arranged at least partially within the detection range of the sensor device. In this case, when a component is identified, the actual position and / or actual orientation of the operating element relative to the component can be determined by evaluating the sensor data. The drive device can then be controlled to reduce the deviation of the actual position from the target position and / or the deviation of the actual orientation from the target orientation. The operating element can be configured to operate the component when the deviation reaches a certain value (e.g., zero or a value slightly greater than zero). This enables particularly precise positioning of the drone or the operating element relative to the component.

[0035] According to one embodiment, the operating element can be adjusted between an initial position and an operating position suitable for operating the component by means of an actuator. In this case, the method can also include the following steps: in response to the identification of the component, the actuator is manipulated so as to move the operating element from the initial position to the operating position.

[0036] It is also possible that the operating element can be displaced not only along the main extension direction of the operating element but also transversely to the main extension direction when changing from the initial position to the operating position. It is also possible that the operating element can be displaced transversely to the main extension direction in its operating position. For example, two independent actuators can be provided for this purpose. In this way, an offset between the operating element and the component to be operated can be compensated.

[0037] The operating position can also be a determined operating position in a plurality of feasible operating positions. In other words, the operating element can also be adjusted to different operating positions.

[0038] Compared to the initial position, the operating element in the operating position can protrude further from the body of the drone and / or in a different position and / or in a different direction. For example, in the operating position, the operating element can protrude with its free end from the periphery of the drone defined by the rotor by at least 1 cm, at least 10 cm or at least 50 cm. On the other hand, in the initial position, the operating element can be arranged completely within the periphery and / or the body of the drone. Alternatively, the operating element can protrude from the periphery by a relatively small amount, for example at most 5 cm or at most 1 cm.

[0039] This simplifies the control of the drone in flight situations where no operating element is required. In particular, this reduces the risk of collisions of the operating element with obstacles in the shaft.

[0040] Additionally, when it is detected that the operating element is no longer currently required, the actuator can be actuated again to return the operating element to the initial position.

[0041] According to one embodiment, the operating element can be arranged at least partially within the detection range in the operating position and completely outside the detection range in the initial position. Alternatively, the operating element can extend into the detection range to a lesser extent in the initial position than in the operating position. The detection range is thus actually larger. This can increase the accuracy of identifying the surroundings of the drone in flight situations where the operating element is not currently required.

[0042] According to one embodiment, a plurality of markers can be arranged at different locations in the shaft so that the sensor device can detect the markers while the drone is flying in the shaft, wherein each marker encodes at least one control command from a plurality of possible control commands for controlling the drone. In this case, the identification of the component can include a step of detecting one of the markers by evaluating the sensor data. At least one control command for controlling the drone can be determined from the marker. The at least one control command can then be used to control the drive device in order to position the drone in the shaft relative to the component so that the operating element operates the component and / or controls the drone in the direction of another marker.

[0043] The markings can be arranged at least partially at the same height in the shaft and / or at least partially at different heights in the shaft. For example, each marking can be mounted on the shaft wall, on the component to be operated itself or on another component of the elevator system located in the shaft. For example, the markings can be designed as QR codes and / or bar codes. It is also conceivable to use markings in the form of RFID transponders.

[0044] It is possible that the marker comprises different marker types, for example an anchor marker from which the drone should start an inspection flight, a reversal marker, at which the drone should change its current flight direction, an end marker, at which the drone should end a current inspection flight, or a monitoring marker, at which the drone should operate or detect a certain component (e.g. with a camera).

[0045] Such an inspection flight can be associated with a certain height segment and / or a certain floor of the shaft. The flight path followed by the drone during the inspection flight can be specified by markings of one or more of the above-mentioned marking types. In order to be able to automatically carry out multiple inspection flights in succession at different height segments or floors, the end mark of each inspection flight can, for example, encode at least one control command, which causes the drone to fly to the anchor mark of the next height segment or floor or to land, for example, in the shaft pit.

[0046] Examples of possible control commands are: "fly up / down", "fly right / left turn", "increase / decrease distance to marker x", "maintain constant distance to shaft wall x", "land", "check function of component x", "take photo", "start video recording".

[0047] This enables the drone to fly autonomously through the shaft without requiring a corresponding control program which specifies a certain sequence of control commands to be executed and which must be stored in the control device (whereas the sequence of control commands is specified by the marking). This simplifies the configuration of the control device. In addition, this allows the use of simpler and correspondingly cheaper hardware and / or software components, in particular in comparison with certain (indoor) drones which generate digital maps from images of the surroundings for autonomous navigation (also known in English as simultaneous localization and mapping) or have expensive sensor devices (e.g. lidar and / or radar). This usually requires computationally intensive image processing algorithms.

[0048] It is also possible that the drone recognizes certain components of the elevator system, for example, based on the acquired images, and derives corresponding control commands based on the recognition of the certain components.

[0049] According to one embodiment, in addition to the drive device, at least one control command can also be used to control at least one other device of the drone. In other words, additional components of the drone can be automatically controlled with the help of these markings.

[0050] According to one embodiment, the at least one further device can be at least one of the following devices of the drone: an actuator for adjusting an operating element, a camera for recording an image of the drone's surroundings, a sensor device. This allows the actuator, camera or sensor device to be automatically controlled without having to implement a special algorithm in the control device, for example, suitable for the respective elevator installation.

[0051] According to one embodiment, the method may further include: generating a message indicating whether the component can be successfully operated; sending the message from the control device to a data communication network, which connects the control device to at least one data processing device located outside the drone for data communication, preferably wirelessly (for example via WLAN, Bluetooth, mobile radio) and / or via the Internet.

[0052] The data processing device can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a (superior) control device of the elevator system or a combination of at least two of these examples.

[0053] This allows for external verification of the inspection results, for example by a technician located outside the shaft, while the drone is flying inside the shaft.

[0054] According to one embodiment, the method may further include: receiving information about the current state of the safety circuit of the elevator device in the control device from a data communication network, which connects the control device to at least one data processing device located outside the drone for data communication; identifying based on the current state of the safety circuit: whether the component is successfully operated.

[0055] The data communication network may be the aforementioned data communication network.

[0056] In particular, this information can indicate whether the safety circuit is currently interrupted.

[0057] For example, the control device can be configured to call up information via the data communication network after the component has been operated (or after an attempt has been made to operate the component). If the information received indicates that the safety circuit has been interrupted, it can be concluded that the component has been successfully operated. Conversely, if the information received indicates that the safety circuit has been closed, it can be concluded that the component could not be successfully operated, that is, could not be interrupted by operating the component, which generally means that the component does not function.

[0058] The identification of whether a component is successfully operated can also be performed by a technician monitoring the drone. To this end, the technician can, for example, use the above-mentioned data processing device to monitor the status of the component or the safety circuit. The technician can send corresponding information to the drone.

[0059] According to one embodiment, the component can be a safety switch for interrupting the safety circuit of the elevator device or a door locking mechanism for locking the shaft door of the elevator device. The safety circuit of the elevator device with an integrated safety switch has long been known to those skilled in the art, so it will not be further introduced here.

[0060] By operating the safety switch, the safety circuit is usually interrupted, so that the elevator system enters a safe state. The safety switch can be, for example, a so-called limit switch, which opens when the car travels too far beyond the top or bottom floor. However, other types of safety switches are also possible.

[0061] By operating the door locking mechanism, the shaft door is usually unlocked. In addition, the safety circuit can be interrupted by operating the door locking mechanism, i.e. one of the safety switches is disconnected. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0062] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Neither the description nor the drawings should be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.

[0063] Figure 1 A part of an elevator installation according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0064] Figure 2 A control device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0065] Figure 3 The arrangement of markings for controlling a drone in the shaft of an elevator installation using a method according to an embodiment of the invention is shown.

[0066] The drawings are for reference only and are not drawn to scale. If the same reference numerals are used in different drawings, these reference numerals represent the same or equivalent features. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0067] Figure 1 Components of an elevator system 1 are shown for transporting people and / or goods between floors 3 of a building 5. The floors 3 are connected to one another via a shaft 7 in which cages (not shown) are arranged.

[0068] Various safety-critical components of the elevator system 1 may be located in the shaft 7 , including in this example a safety switch 9 which is actuated by the car (here by pressing) when the car travels too far beyond the uppermost floor 3 , and a plurality of door locking mechanisms 11 for locking shaft doors 13 of the shaft 7 .

[0069] The actuation of the safety switch 9 usually leads to the interruption of a safety circuit (not shown) of the elevator system 1. The situation can be the same if one of the shaft doors 13 is unlocked by a corresponding actuation of the corresponding door locking mechanism 11.

[0070] The functions of the above-mentioned components 9 and 11 can be checked using a drone 15, and dedicated operating elements 19 for operating the components 9 and 11 are arranged on the body 17 of the drone 15. The drone 15 is preferably a multi-rotor aircraft.

[0071] like Figure 1 As shown, the operating element 19 can be designed, for example, as a simple lever, which can be firmly mounted on the body 17 or, as here, can be adjusted between an initial position and an operating position suitable for operating the corresponding component 9, 11 by means of a suitable actuator 21, i.e. the lever can be retracted and extended. It is also conceivable that the operating element 19 is in the form of an articulated (gripping) arm or a hook.

[0072] Drone 15 Figure 1 The initial position is indicated by dashed lines in the lower figure shown. The operating element 19 can be completely or mostly located inside the body 17 and / or inside the periphery of the drone 15 defined by the rotors 23 of the drone 15. On the other hand, the free end of the operating element 19 can protrude far enough from the body 17 in the operating position that it protrudes from the periphery. The operating element 19 can then protrude from the body 17 laterally.

[0073] Alternatively, the operating element 19 in the operating position may protrude upward from the body 17, such as Figure 1 As shown in the figure above, or protruding downward.

[0074] Furthermore, the drone 15 comprises a drive device 25 for driving the rotor 23 (see Figure 2 ), a sensor device 27 for detecting the surroundings of the drone 15 and a control device 29 for controlling the drive device 25 (see Figure 2 ). For example, each rotor 23 can be driven by its own electric motor of the drive device 25. The sensor device 27 can be formed, for example, by a camera, a lidar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a radar sensor or a combination of at least two of these examples.

[0075] The control device 29 may comprise a processor 31 and a memory 33 storing a computer program. The processor 31 may be configured to control the drone 15 in the shaft 7 (preferably autonomously) by executing the computer program by performing the method described below.

[0076] For this purpose, sensor data 35 generated by the sensor device 27 during the flight of the drone 15 in the shaft 7 are received in the control device 29. The control device 29 evaluates the received sensor data 35, primarily to identify one of the components 9, 11. If one of the components 9, 11 is identified, the control device 29 actuates the drive device 25 (and, if necessary, one or more further active components of the drone 15) so that the drone 15 flies to the detected component 9 or 11 and actuates it with the aid of the operating element 19, for example, in that the operating element 19 exerts a defined pressure on the relevant component 9 or 11 and / or moves the relevant component 9 or 11 into a certain position, wherein the drone 15 stabilizes itself with the aid of its drive system. This has the advantage that a technician does not need to enter the shaft 7 to manually actuate the relevant component 9 or 11.

[0077] It is expedient that the operating element 19 is in the initial position as long as it is not needed and that the control device 29 moves the operating element 19 into the operating position only when it recognizes one of the components 9, 11 to be operated by appropriately controlling the actuator 21. In this way, the risk of the (extended) operating element 19 colliding with obstacles in the shaft 7 can be reduced.

[0078] It is also advantageous if the free end of the operating element 19 in the operating position is arranged in a detection area within the boundaries of which the sensor device 27 can detect the surroundings of the drone 15. This allows the exact actual position and / or orientation of the free end relative to the associated component 9 or 11 to be determined by suitable control of the drive device 25 and to bring the actual position closer to a suitable target position or the actual orientation closer to a suitable target orientation. In addition, the actuator 21 can be controlled in order to change the current operating position of the operating element 19.

[0079] For example, a target position or orientation of each component 9 , 11 of the elevator system 1 to be operated can be stored in the memory 33 .

[0080] In the initial position, the free end may be completely or mostly outside the detection range compared to the operating position.

[0081] Preferably, the control device 29 is configured to autonomously control the drone 15 through the shaft 7. In this case, the drone 15 can be controlled using a plurality of markers 37 for the drone 15 pre-placed in the shaft 7, such as Figure 3 shown.

[0082] The markings 37 can be attached to different shaft walls, different shaft doors 13 and / or different components 9 , 11 to be operated, so that the markings 37 can be detected by the sensor device 27 during the flight of the drone 15 in the shaft 7 .

[0083] The markings 37 determine which actions the drone 15 should perform. To this end, each marking 37 encodes one or more control commands for controlling the drone 15, such as "fly up / down", "fly in a right / left turn", "increase / decrease distance to marking x", "maintain constant distance to shaft wall x", "land", "check the function of component x", "take a picture", "start recording a video".

[0084] The markings 37 are detected by evaluating the sensor data 35. The corresponding control command is extracted from the corresponding markings 37, for example using a lookup table stored in the memory 33, in which possible control commands are stored.

[0085] The control device 29 then uses the control commands to control the drive device 25 and / or the sensor device 27 (eg a camera) and / or the actuator 21 accordingly.

[0086] The mark 37 may be, for example, a barcode or a QR code.

[0087] In principle, the drone 15 passes through the shaft 7 along the (pre-installed) markings 37 and performs the required maneuvers. For example, a maneuver can be determined for each height segment to be inspected with a corresponding marking 37 (e.g. for each floor 3 to be inspected), so that the drone 15 performs an inspection flight in each corresponding height segment according to the flight path specified by the markings 37 and flies from one height segment to the next until all inspection flights have been completed. Figure 3 An example of such an inspection flight is presented.

[0088] Here, the drone 15 first takes off from the bottom of the shaft and rises until it detects the anchor mark (A00), which causes the drone 15 to turn left and fly to the first monitoring mark (C13) on the shaft wall instead of the anchor mark. The first monitoring mark causes the drone 15 to take a picture of a certain section of the shaft 7 or a component of the elevator system 1 located in the shaft, and then turn left to fly to the reversal mark (I03) located on the same shaft wall as the first monitoring mark. The reversal mark causes the drone 15 to turn right to fly to the second monitoring mark (C12) on the shaft wall opposite the reversal mark. The second monitoring mark causes the drone 15 to check the safety switch 9 with the aid of the operating element 19, and then turn right to fly to the end mark (T04) located on the same shaft wall as the second monitoring mark. The end mark finally causes the drone 15 to fly back to the anchor mark A00 and from there to rise to the next higher anchor mark (A01).

[0089] After the final inspection flight, the drone 15 lands, for example, at the bottom of the shaft or in the car.

[0090] It is possible that the control device 29 generates a message 39 in response to each component check (see Figure 2 ), which indicates whether the corresponding component 9 or 11 can be successfully operated. The control device 29 can then send the message 39 to at least one data processing device 43 located outside the drone 15 via a data communication network 41, preferably wirelessly (e.g. via WLAN, mobile radio, Bluetooth) for further processing. Such a data processing device 43 can be, for example, a server, a personal computer, a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet or a (superior) control device (also called elevator controller) of the elevator system 1.

[0091] Additionally, the control device 29 can be configured to receive data from the data communication network 41, for example, the data is information 45 about the current state of the safety circuit of the elevator installation 1. The control device 29 can use this information 45 to recognize whether the operation of one of the safety switches 9 or the door locking mechanism 11 has caused a legal interruption of the safety circuit (which usually means that the component 9 or 11 is working normally).

[0092] Finally, it should be noted that the terms "having", "comprising", "including", "with" etc. do not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" etc. does not exclude a plurality. It should also be noted that features or steps described with reference to one of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with features or steps described with reference to other embodiments described above. Reference signs in the claims should not be understood as limiting the scope of the subject matter defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a drone (15) in a shaft (7) of an elevator installation (1), in, The drone (15) comprises a sensor device (27) for detecting the surroundings of the drone (15), a drive device (25) for driving the rotor (23) of the drone (15), and a control device (29) for controlling the drive device (25). Wherein, the method comprises: Sensor data (35) are received in the control device (29), wherein the sensor data (35) are generated by the sensor device (27) while the drone (15) is flying in the shaft (7), It is characterized in that The drone (15) comprises: an operating element (19) arranged on a body (17) of the drone (15); and The method further comprises: Identifying a component (9, 11) of the elevator system (1) to be operated by means of an operating element (19) by evaluating sensor data (35); The drive device (25) is actuated in order to position the drone (15) relative to the components (9, 11) in the shaft (7) in such a way that the operating element (19) actuates the components (9, 11).

2. The method according to claim 1, in, The operating element (19) is at least partially arranged within the detection range of the sensor device (27); When the component (9, 11) is detected, the actual position and / or the actual orientation of the operating element (19) relative to the component (9, 11) is determined by evaluating the sensor data (35); The drive device (25) is actuated to reduce a deviation between an actual position and a target position and / or a deviation between an actual orientation and a target orientation, wherein the operating element (19) is designed to operate the components (9, 11) when the deviation reaches a certain value.

3. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, in, The operating element (19) can be adjusted between an initial position and an operating position suitable for operating the components (9, 11) by means of an actuator (21); The method further comprises: In response to the recognition of the components (9, 11), the actuator (21) is actuated to move the operating element (19) from an initial position to an operating position.

4. The method according to claim 3 as defined in claim 2, in, The operating element (19) is arranged at least partially in the detection range of the sensor device (27) in the operating position; In the initial position, the operating element (19) is arranged completely outside the detection area or projects less into the detection area than in the operating position.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, in, A plurality of markers (37) are arranged at different locations in the shaft (7) so that the sensor device (27) can detect the markers (37) while the drone (15) is flying in the shaft (7), wherein each marker (37) encodes at least one control command from a plurality of possible control commands for controlling the drone (15); Identifying the components (9, 11) comprises: identifying one of the markings (37) by evaluating the sensor data (35), wherein at least one control command for controlling the drone (15) is determined from the marking (37); The drive device (25) is controlled using the at least one control command to position the drone (15) relative to the components (9, 11) in the shaft (7) so that the operating element (19) operates the components (9, 11) and / or to control the drone (15) in the direction of another of the markings (37).

6. The method according to claim 5, in, In addition to the drive device (25), at least one further device (21, 27) of the drone (15) is also controlled using the at least one control command.

7. The method according to claim 6, in, The at least one further device (21, 27) is at least one of the following devices of the drone (15): an actuator (21) for adjusting an operating element (19), a camera for recording an image of the surroundings of the drone (15), a sensor device (27).

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: include: receiving information (45) about the current state of the safety circuit of the elevator installation (1) in the control device (29) from a data communication network (41), the data communication network connecting the control device (29) to at least one data processing device (43) located outside the drone (15) for data communication; Based on the current state of the safety circuit, it is determined whether the components (9, 11) can operate successfully.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: include: generating a message (39) indicating whether the components (9, 11) were able to operate successfully; The message (39) is sent from the control device (29) to a data communication network (41) which connects the control device (29) to at least one data processing device (43) located outside the drone (15) for data communication.

10. A control device (29) comprising a processor (31) configured to execute the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

11. A drone (15), include: A sensor device (27) for detecting the surrounding environment of the drone (15); A driving device (25) for driving a rotor (23) of the UAV (15); an operating element (19) arranged on the body (17) of the drone (15) for operating the components (9, 11) of the elevator installation (1); A control device (29) according to claim 10.

12. An elevator device (1), include: Shaft (7); The drone (15) according to claim 11; Components (9, 11) to be operated by means of an operating element (19) of the drone (15).

13. Elevator installation (1) according to claim 12, in, The components (9, 11) are safety switches (9) for interrupting a safety circuit of an elevator system (1) or door locking mechanisms (11) for locking a shaft door (13) of the elevator system (1).

14. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor (31), cause the processor (31) to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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

Images