LIFT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE POSITION OF A LIFT CABIN OF THE LIFT SYSTEM READY TO Move in a LIFT SHAFT

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an elevator system with the features of claim 1 and a method for determining the position of an elevator car arranged to move in an elevator shaft of an elevator system with the features of claim 7.

[0002] Elevator systems are used to transport people and / or goods between floors of buildings. For this purpose, at least one elevator car, carrying people and / or goods, travels vertically within an elevator shaft between floors. To ensure that the elevator car can stop precisely at a given floor and that its movement remains within a permitted area of ​​the shaft, the car's position within the shaft must be determined and processed by an elevator control system. Numerous systems for determining the position of an elevator car within a shaft are known, based on a wide variety of measurement principles.

[0003] For example, EP1390284B1 describes a system for determining the position of an elevator car of an elevator system which is arranged to move in an elevator shaft, in which a code tape extending over the entire elevator shaft is scanned and the position of the elevator car is determined from the information read out.

[0004] EP 3452396 B1 describes a system for determining the position of an elevator car moving within an elevator shaft. The system comprises a 3D sensor in the form of a 3D camera, an evaluation unit in the form of a computer system, and a marker element in the form of an edge between a shaft wall and the shaft floor. The 3D camera is mounted on the elevator car and has multiple sensor cells. It is positioned to detect the aforementioned edge and the area around it as an object. The computer system is configured to use measurement data received from the 3D camera to determine the distance of each sensor cell to a portion of the object detected by that sensor cell. Based on these distances, the computer system determines the position of the elevator car within the elevator shaft.

[0005] The object of the invention is, in particular, to propose an elevator system and a method for determining the position of an elevator car movably arranged in an elevator shaft, which enable, in particular, a cost-effective and low-installation, yet accurate determination of the position of an elevator car in an elevator shaft. According to the invention, this object is achieved with a system having the features of claim 1 and a method having the features of claim 7. The embodiments and exemplary embodiments of the invention described below relate equally to the system and the method. In other words, features mentioned below, for example, with reference to the system, can also be implemented as method steps, and vice versa. The system is thus designed and configured in such a way that it can perform the described methods.The described methods can be carried out by him. The elevator system according to the invention, with a system for determining the position of an elevator car movable in an elevator shaft, has a 3D sensor, an evaluation unit in communication with the 3D sensor, and a marker element. Of the two components, 3D sensor and marker element, one component is fixed in the elevator shaft and the other component is attached to the elevator car. The 3D sensor has several sensor cells, and the evaluation unit is configured to use measurement data received from the 3D sensor to determine the distance of each sensor cell to a part of an object detected by the 3D sensor that is detected by that sensor cell. The 3D sensor is arranged such that it detects the marker element and an area around the marker element as the object.The evaluation unit is configured to identify the sensor cells that detect the marker element. It is also configured to determine the position of the elevator car in the elevator shaft based on the measured distances to the detected object of these sensor cells and / or sensor cells located in an area adjacent to the aforementioned sensor cells.

[0006] This ensures that the position of the elevator car is determined based on the measured distance between the 3D sensor and a defined, known point or area. This is particularly advantageous because the elevator car can sway while moving within the elevator shaft. When using the system according to the invention, it is also defined in this case which distances measured by the 3D sensor are to be used to determine the position of the elevator car. This enables a particularly precise determination of the elevator car's position.

[0007] Besides the 3D sensor, the evaluation unit, and the marking element, the system requires no further components that need to be mounted in the elevator shaft or on the elevator car. In particular, there is no need to install a code strip extending across the entire elevator shaft. The system according to the invention therefore requires only minimal installation effort.

[0008] According to the invention, the marking element is designed to actively emit electromagnetic radiation. The sensor cells of the 3D sensor are then designed to detect the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the marking element. Furthermore, the 3D sensor is designed to transmit an intensity parameter, characterizing the amount of electromagnetic radiation emitted by each sensor cell, to the evaluation unit. The evaluation unit is configured to identify the sensor cells detecting the marking element based on these intensity parameters. This allows for particularly reliable identification of the sensor cells detecting the marking element.

[0009] In this case, the sensor cells are specifically designed as PMD sensors, which, in addition to measuring the distance of the detected object, can calculate a so-called gray value from the intensity of the detected electromagnetic radiation. This gray value is then an intensity parameter characterizing the amount of the aforementioned electromagnetic radiation, which is transmitted to the evaluation unit. Due to the emission of the aforementioned electromagnetic radiation by the marker element, the sensor cells detecting the marker element register a particularly high intensity of the detected electromagnetic radiation and can thus be easily determined by the evaluation unit.

[0010] The electromagnetic radiation emitted by the marker element has, in particular, the same or at least a similar wavelength to the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter of the TOF camera comprising the sensor cells. The electromagnetic radiation emitted by the marker element is, in any case, selected such that it can be detected by the 3D sensor.

[0011] The aforementioned task is also solved by a method for determining the position of an elevator car of an elevator system arranged to move within an elevator shaft, using a system described above for determining the position of an elevator car of an elevator system arranged to move within an elevator shaft. The evaluation unit identifies the sensor cells that detect the marker element. Furthermore, the evaluation unit determines the position of the elevator car in the elevator shaft based on the determined distances to the detected object of these sensor cells and / or sensor cells located in an area adjacent to the aforementioned sensor cells.

[0012] The 3D sensor and the evaluation unit are typically arranged in close proximity to each other, for example, in a shared housing. However, it is also possible for the 3D sensor and the evaluation unit to be spatially separated. Furthermore, the evaluation unit may consist of several interconnected parts or modules, which may be located at least partially near the 3D sensor or at a distance from it. At least one module of the evaluation unit may also function as a control device that performs other control tasks within the elevator system.

[0013] The following options are particularly possible for arranging the 3D sensor on the one hand and the marking element on the other: The 3D sensor is fixed at one end of the elevator shaft and the marking element is located on a side of the elevator car facing the 3D sensor, or the marking element is fixed at one end of the elevator shaft and the 3D sensor is located on a side of the elevator car facing the marking element.

[0014] Therefore, either the marking element or the 3D sensor moves with the elevator car in the elevator shaft, while the other part is stationary, particularly at one end of the elevator shaft. Since the elevator shaft is primarily vertically oriented, either the marking element or the 3D sensor is fixed at the lower or upper end of the shaft. The position and height of the marking element or the 3D sensor within the elevator shaft are known. The position of the corresponding other part on the elevator car is also known. Thus, starting from the aforementioned fixed position of the marking element or the 3D sensor within the elevator shaft and the distance to the marking element or to an area adjacent to the marking element, as determined by the 3D sensor, the position of the elevator car within the elevator shaft can be determined.In a vertically oriented elevator shaft, the height at which the elevator car is located is determined by its position within the shaft. The position of the elevator car can be determined at any time; it is not necessary to know its previous position.

[0015] The 3D sensor and the evaluation unit are, in particular, components of a so-called 3D camera. 3D cameras are available on the market at relatively low prices.

[0016] The 3D sensor is specifically designed as a photonic mixing device (PMD), whose operating principle is based on the time-of-flight (TOF) method. The 3D camera encompassing the 3D sensor is, in this case, a time-of-flight camera. The TOF camera, and thus the system for determining the position of an elevator car in an elevator shaft, therefore includes a transmitter for emitting electromagnetic radiation. The 3D sensor is configured to determine the time of flight of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter and reflected by the detected object for each sensor cell and to transmit this data to the evaluation unit via the aforementioned communication link.The evaluation unit is then configured to determine the distance of each sensor cell to a part of the object detected by the 3D sensor that is detected by that sensor cell, based on the aforementioned time-of-flight (TOF) values. It is also possible for the 3D sensor to transmit measurement data to the evaluation unit, which then determines the aforementioned time-of-flight values ​​and thus the aforementioned distances. These time-of-flight values ​​are determined, in particular, by measuring the phase shift between the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter and that reflected by the detected object. The 3D sensor can, for example, have several TOF distance sensors as described in EP2743724B1, with each TOF distance sensor corresponding to a sensor cell.

[0017] The 3D sensor can also determine the distances of individual sensor cells to a detected object based on a different measurement principle. For example, the 3D sensor can be part of a stereo camera or a triangulation system.

[0018] The 3D sensor has multiple sensor cells, particularly in the form of individual time-of-flight (TOF) sensors, arranged primarily in a matrix configuration. A sensor cell can also be referred to as a pixel of the 3D sensor. The 3D sensor can, for example, have 160x60 or 320x240 sensor cells.

[0019] During installation, the 3D sensor is positioned so that it detects the marker element and the area around it. Particular attention must be paid to ensuring that the marker element is detected by the 3D sensor in every possible position of the elevator car, i.e., across its entire travel range.

[0020] The evaluation unit is configured to identify the sensor cells that detect the marker element. This identification can be achieved in various ways. For example, the evaluation unit can recognize a characteristic distance pattern of the marker element. The marker element actively emits electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the sensor cells. By evaluating the intensity of the detected radiation, the evaluation unit can identify the sensor cells that are detecting the marker element.

[0021] The evaluation unit is also configured to determine the position of the elevator car in the elevator shaft based on the measured distances to the detected object by these sensor cells and / or sensor cells located in an area adjacent to the aforementioned sensor cells. It is possible that only one sensor cell detects the marker element. In this case, the evaluation unit can determine the position of the elevator car, for example, based on the measured distance of this sensor cell to the detected object. It is also possible for the evaluation unit to evaluate the measurement data of one or more sensor cells adjacent to the aforementioned sensor cell. In this case, the position of the elevator car can be determined, for example, based on an average of the measured distances of these sensor cells to the detected object. It is also possible for multiple sensor cells to detect the marker element.In this case, the evaluation unit can determine the position of the elevator car, for example, based on an average of the measured distances of these sensor cells to the detected object. Sensor cells adjacent to the aforementioned sensor cells can also be evaluated. For example, one or two rows of sensor cells adjacent to the sensor cells detecting the marker element can be evaluated in all directions. It is also possible to evaluate sensor cells that are not directly adjacent to the sensor cells detecting the marker element, but rather sensor cells located a short distance from them. These sensor cells are also arranged in an area adjacent to the sensor cells detecting the marker element. This area does not necessarily have to be directly adjacent to the sensor cells detecting the marker element.

[0022] In one embodiment of the invention, the marking element is arranged and has a spatial extent such that a characteristic distance pattern is created relative to the 3D sensor. The evaluation unit is then configured to determine the sensor cells detecting the marking element based on this distance pattern. The marking element can thus be designed to be particularly simple and cost-effective.

[0023] The marker element can, for example, be a geometric body in the form of a cylinder with a known height, the cylinder's axis of rotation being oriented, in particular, towards the 3D sensor. In this case, the characteristic distance pattern is such that a circular area is located at a distance equal to the cylinder's known height that is smaller than its immediate surroundings. Such a distance pattern can be easily recognized by the evaluation unit using known pattern recognition methods. In this case, all sensor cells located within the aforementioned circular area would be those that detect the marker element.

[0024] In one embodiment of the invention, the marking element comprises an LED, in particular an infrared LED. The marking element can also have more than one LED. Since LEDs are readily available on the market at very low cost, the marking element can be manufactured particularly cost-effectively. Transmitters of time-of-flight (TOF) cameras emit infrared light as electromagnetic radiation. For this reason, an infrared LED, i.e., an LED emitting infrared light, is particularly advantageous. However, LEDs that emit visible light can also be used.

[0025] In one embodiment of the invention, a reflector is arranged around or adjacent to the marking element to reflect the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter towards the 3D sensor. This enables a particularly precise and reliable determination of the position of an elevator car in an elevator shaft.

[0026] A reflector reflects a particularly large amount of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the TOF camera's transmitter. This allows the distance between the 3D sensor cells and the reflector to be determined very accurately and reliably. The reflector can, for example, have a square cross-section, with the marker element positioned at its center. Alternatively, the reflector can have a circular or rectangular cross-section, with the marker element positioned centrally within that cross-section. It is also possible for the marker element to be adjacent to the reflector on a known side, and for the evaluation unit to be configured to determine the position of the elevator car based on the distances measured by the sensor cells that detect the object on the reflector.

[0027] It is noted that some of the possible features and advantages of the invention are described herein with reference to different embodiments of the system according to the invention, on the one hand, and of the method according to the invention, on the other. A person skilled in the art will recognize that the features can be suitably combined, adapted, transferred, or exchanged to arrive at further embodiments of the invention.

[0028] Further advantages, features, and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments and from the drawings, in which identical or functionally equivalent elements are provided with identical reference numerals. The drawings are schematic only and not to scale. They show: Fig. 1 a schematic representation of an elevator system with a system for determining the position of an elevator car arranged to move within an elevator shaft, Fig. 2 a schematic representation of a 3D sensor with 36 sensor cells and Fig. 3 a marking element according to an alternative, unclaimed embodiment.

[0029] According to Fig. 1 An elevator system 10 has a vertically oriented elevator shaft 12. An elevator car 14 is arranged within the elevator shaft 12 and is connected to a counterweight 18 in a known manner via a suspension element 16 in the form of a flexible belt or rope. The suspension element 16 extends from the elevator car 14 over a drive pulley 20, which can be driven by a drive motor (not shown). The elevator car 14 can be moved up and down in the elevator shaft 12 by means of the drive motor and the suspension element 16.

[0030] A 3D camera in the form of a TOF camera 24 is mounted immobilely on a shaft ceiling 22 of the elevator shaft 12. The TOF camera 24 has a transmitter 25 for emitting electromagnetic radiation and a 3D sensor in the form of a PMD sensor 26. The PMD sensor 26 is in Fig. 2 The PMD sensor 26 is shown very schematically; it has a total of 36 sensor cells 28, which are arranged in 6 columns a-f and 6 rows 1-6. The PMD sensor 26 is configured to determine the travel time of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter 25 and reflected by an object detected by the PMD sensor 26 for each sensor cell 28 and to transmit this information via a communication link to an evaluation unit 30. The evaluation unit 30 is configured to determine the distance of each sensor cell 28 to a part of the object detected by the PMD sensor 26, based on the aforementioned travel times.

[0031] It is also possible that the PMD sensor transmits measurement data to the evaluation unit, which then uses this data to determine the aforementioned transit times and thus the stated distances. The evaluation unit can also be part of the TOF camera.

[0032] A reflector 34 with a square diameter is arranged on the ceiling 32 of the elevator car 14. The reflector 34 is positioned such that it reflects electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter 25 of the TOF camera 24 back to the TOF camera 24 and thus to the PMD sensor 26. A marker element in the form of an infrared LED 36 is located in the center of the reflector 34. The infrared LED 36 actively emits electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength similar to that of the transmitter 25 of the TOF camera 24.

[0033] During the installation phase, the TOF camera 24 and thus also the PMD sensor 26 are positioned and aligned such that the PMD sensor 26 detects the infrared LED 36 and at least an area around the infrared LED 36 as an object. Particular care is taken to ensure that the infrared LED 36 is detected by the PMD sensor 26 at every possible position of the elevator car 14 in the elevator shaft 12, i.e., across the entire travel range of the elevator car 14.

[0034] To determine the position of the elevator car 14 in the elevator shaft 12, i.e., to determine its height within the shaft, the TOF camera 24, and thus the PMD sensor 26, detects at least the portion of the car roof 32 on which the reflector 34 and the infrared LED 36 are located. Based on the travel time of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter 25 and reflected by the detected object, the evaluation unit 30 calculates the distance for each sensor cell 28 to the portion of the object detected by the PMD sensor 26 that is captured by that sensor cell 28.

[0035] The sensor cells 28 of the PMD sensor 26 can also determine a so-called gray value from the intensity of the detected electromagnetic radiation. The intensity is particularly high in the sensor cells detecting the infrared LED 34, so these sensor cells output a particularly high gray value. The gray value can thus be described as an intensity parameter characterizing the amount of electromagnetic radiation detected by a sensor cell.

[0036] The PMD sensor 26 transmits the specified gray value and the determined distance to the detected object for each sensor cell 28 to the evaluation unit 30. The evaluation unit 30 is configured to first determine which sensor cells 28 detect the infrared LED 36. For this purpose, the evaluation unit 30 selects the sensor cells 28 with a particularly high gray value. Fig. 2 In the example shown, these are the sensor cells c3, c4, d3, and d4 marked with a cross (the letter indicates the column and the number the row of the corresponding sensor cell in the matrix arrangement of sensor cells 28). To determine the position of the elevator car 14 in the elevator shaft 12, the evaluation unit 30 calculates the average distance of the sensor cells b2, c2, d2, e2, b3, b4, b5, c5, d5, e5, e4, e3 adjacent to the sensor cells c3, c4, d3, and d4, which detect the infrared LED 36. The sensor cells b2 and c2 are used to determine the position of the elevator car 14. d2, e2, b3, b4, b5, c5, d5, e5, e4, e3 all detect the reflector 34 arranged around the infrared LED 36, which enables a particularly accurate determination of the position.

[0037] The position of the elevator car 14 is then determined from the aforementioned average of the distances, the known position of the PMD sensor 26 in the elevator shaft 12, and the known position of the infrared LED 36 or the reflector 34 on the elevator car 14. The evaluation unit 30 transmits the position of the elevator car 14 to an elevator controller 38, which uses it, for example, to control the drive motor.

[0038] A system 40 for determining the position of the elevator car 14 of the elevator system 10, which is arranged to move in the elevator shaft 12, thus has a 3D sensor in the form of the PMD sensor 26, the evaluation unit 30 which is in communication connection with the PMD sensor 26 and a marking element in the form of the infrared LED 36.

[0039] The evaluation unit can also determine the position of the elevator car in the elevator shaft based on the sensor cells c3, c4, d3, and d4 that detect the infrared LED. It is also possible to leave a small gap, for example one sensor cell, between the sensor cells c3, c4, d3, and d4 that detect the infrared LED and the sensor cells used to determine the position of the elevator car. In this case, the evaluation unit uses the sensor cells a1-f1, f2-f5, a6-f6, and a2-a5, which are located at the very edge of the PMD sensor 26, to determine the position of the elevator car.

[0040] It is also possible that the reflector serves as a marker element. The evaluation unit can then also determine the sensor cells detecting the marker element via the gray value described above, since the reflector reflects a particularly large amount of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter back to the PMD sensor.

[0041] According to an unclaimed embodiment, the marking element can be as shown in Fig. 3 also represented as a cylinder 136 with a known height, wherein the axis of rotation 142 of the cylinder 136 points in the direction of the Fig. 3The marker element, in the form of cylinder 136, is aligned with the PMD sensor (not shown). It does not emit electromagnetic radiation. Due to its cylindrical shape, the PMD sensor detects a characteristic distance pattern for the marker element, forming a circular area. This circular area is located at a distance from the PMD sensor that is less than its immediate surroundings by the known height of cylinder 136. The evaluation unit can easily recognize this distance pattern using known pattern recognition methods. In this case, all sensor cells located within this circular area would be those detecting the marker element.

[0042] It is also possible that the TOF camera is mounted on the shaft floor and the marker element on the floor of the elevator car. Alternatively, the TOF camera may be mounted on the elevator car and the marker element may be fixed in place within the elevator shaft.

[0043] Finally, it should be noted that terms such as "comprising," "encompassing," etc., do not exclude other elements or steps, and terms such as "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be noted that features or steps described with reference to one of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps from other embodiments described above. Reference numerals in the claims are not to be considered as limitations.

Claims

1. Elevator system with an elevator shaft (12), an elevator car (14) arranged to be movable in the elevator shaft (12), and a system for determining the position of the elevator car (14), the system comprising - a 3D sensor (26), - an evaluation unit (30) which is in communication with the 3D sensor (26), and - a marking element (36, 136), wherein - of the two components 3D sensor (26) and marking element (36, 136), one component is arranged immovably in the elevator shaft (12) and the other component is arranged on the elevator cab (14), - the 3D sensor (26) has a plurality of sensor cells (28), and the evaluation unit (30) is configured to use measurement data received by the 3D sensor (26) to determine a distance of each sensor cell (28) from a part, detected by this sensor cell (28), of an object detected by the 3D sensor (26), - the 3D sensor (26) is arranged such that it detects the marking element (36, 136) and a region around the marking element (36, 136) as an object, - the evaluation unit (30) is configured to determine those sensor cells (28) which detect the marking element (36, 136), and to determine the position of the elevator cab (14) in the elevator shaft (12) based on the determined distances to the detected object of these sensor cells (28) and / or sensor cells (28) arranged in a region adjacent to the mentioned sensor cells (28), characterized in that - the marking element (36) is designed such that it actively emits electromagnetic radiation, - the sensor cells (28) of the 3D sensor (26) are designed such that they can detect the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the marking element (36), - the 3D sensor (26) is designed such that it transmits, per sensor cell (28), an intensity characteristic variable characterizing the quantity of the mentioned electromagnetic radiation to the evaluation unit (30), and - the evaluation unit (30) is configured to determine the sensor cells (28) detecting the marking element (36) on the basis of the mentioned intensity characteristic variables.

2. Elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that - the system (40) comprises a transmitter (25) for emitting electromagnetic radiation, and the 3D sensor (26) is configured to determine for each sensor cell (28) a propagation time of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter (25) and reflected from the detected object, and - the evaluation unit (30) is configured to determine the distance of each sensor cell (28) from a part, detected by this sensor cell (28), of the object detected by the 3D sensor (26), on the basis of the mentioned propagation times.

3. Elevator system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that - the marking element (136) is arranged and has a spatial extent such that a characteristic distance pattern is produced relative to the 3D sensor (26), and - the evaluation unit (30) is configured to determine the sensor cells (28) that are detecting the marking element (136) on the basis of said distance pattern of the marking element (136).

4. Elevator system according to claim 1, 2, or 3, characterized in that the marking element has an LED (36).

5. Elevator system according to claim 4, characterized in that the LED is designed as an infrared LED (36).

6. Elevator system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that a reflector (34) is arranged around the marking element (36) or adjacent to the marking element (36), for reflecting the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the transmitter (25) in the direction of the 3D sensor (26).

7. A method for determining the position of an elevator cab (14), movably arranged in an elevator shaft (12), of an elevator unit (10), according to claims 1 to 6, wherein the evaluation unit (30) - determines those sensor cells (28) which detect the marking element (36, 136), and - determines the position of the elevator cab (14) in the elevator shaft (12) based on the determined distances to the detected object of these sensor cells (28) and / or sensor cells (28) arranged in a region adjacent to the mentioned sensor cells (28).