Method for Determining Malfunction of Elevator Entrapment Detection System and Elevator Control System

Abstract

The present invention relates to an elevator control system (20) and a method for detecting a malfunction in an elevator entrapment detection system (30) in the elevator control system (20). The method determines the presence of a person in the elevator car (10) by detection means such as at least one sensor and / or by control means of the elevator system, and / or based on information obtained from at least one detection means and / or control means in the elevator system, receives occupancy state information from the entrapment detection system (30) in the elevator control system (20), compares the received occupancy state information of the entrapment detection system (30) with the presence of the person determined by the elevator control system (20), and determines a malfunction in the entrapment detection system (30) based on the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car (10) by the elevator control system (20) being different from the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car by the entrapment detection system (30).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for determining a malfunction in an elevator entrapment detection system and an elevator control system. Background

[0002] Elevators are provided with various safety systems to operate the elevator safely in various operating situations. In elevator failure cases, passengers being trapped in the elevator car can bring unfortunate experiences to the passengers and, in some cases, may put the passengers at risk, so it is one of the important issues. Therefore, it is necessary to reliably monitor passenger entrapment. Furthermore, monitoring passenger entrapment in the elevator car is one of the matters that customers and even the administration have great expectations for in some fields related to the elevator remote monitoring system.

[0003] As existing entrapment monitoring methods, cameras are installed or infrared-based detection sensors are used to detect entrapment. In some prior art methods, LiDAR-based sensors, radar-based sensors, time-of-flight (ToF) cameras, microphones, accelerometers, or combinations of different types of sensors may be used. In some cases, a positioning sensor may be further required to detect the position of the elevator car and confirm whether the passengers are trapped in the car or the passenger transportation state of the elevator is normal. Such sensors of the entrapment monitoring system cannot determine the abnormal state of the entrapment monitoring system or the abnormal state of the elevator.

[0004] In some countries, there may be local administrative requirements that require reporting passenger entrapment to the government forum and the need to resolve the entrapment state in a short time. In this case, the problem of reliably and quickly determining and resolving the entrapment state arises.

[0005] For these reasons, a reliable and safe method for detecting passenger entrapment and determining the malfunction of an elevator entrapment detection system is required. Overview

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a reliable and safe method for detecting passenger entrapment and determining the malfunction of an elevator entrapment detection system.

[0007] The object of the present invention is achieved by the matters defined by each independent patent claim of the present application.

[0008] According to a first aspect, the present invention relates to a method for detecting a malfunction of an elevator entrapment detection system in an elevator control system. The method determines the presence of a person in the elevator car by detection means such as at least one sensor and / or by control means of the elevator system, and / or based on information obtained from at least one detection means and / or control means in the elevator system, receives occupancy state information from an entrapment detection system related to the presence of a person in the elevator car in the elevator control system, compares the received occupancy state information of the entrapment detection system with the presence of the person determined by the elevator control system, and determines a malfunction of the entrapment detection system based on the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car by the elevator control system being different from the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car by the entrapment detection system.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the elevator control system and / or the elevator controller of the elevator control system has an input unit for receiving occupancy state information from the entrapment detection system.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the presence of a person in the elevator car is determined, at least in part, by the state of the elevator and / or an event that can only occur when there is a person in the elevator car. For example, it is determined by the elevator door being closed and an elevator call being issued inside the car, or the elevator being in motion, or a call being registered for the elevator and not being cancelled due to a malfunction or power outage of the elevator.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the presence of a person in the elevator car is determined, at least in part, by the load value of the elevator car, for example, a load value of the elevator car that does not indicate that the elevator car is empty, and / or an event in which the door opens, light shielding indicating passage occurs, the load increases, and the door closes in a state where the load has increased.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the detection means is disposed in the elevator car and includes an elevator door safety device that indicates passage at the elevator door, such as light shielding indicating that a person has entered the car.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the elevator entrapment detection system is a system independent of the elevator control system.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes sending an alarm and / or a notification and / or transitioning to an abnormal state of the elevator based on a malfunction detected by the elevator entrapment detection system.

[0015] According to a second aspect, the present invention relates to an elevator control system. The elevator control system determines the presence of a person in the elevator car by means of detection means such as at least one sensor and / or by means of control means of the elevator system, and / or based on information obtained from at least one detection means and / or control means present in the elevator system, and the elevator control system receives occupancy state information from a confinement detection system related to the presence of a person in the elevator car, compares the received occupancy state information of the confinement detection system with the presence of a person determined by the elevator system, and based on the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car determined by the elevator control system being different from the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car determined by the confinement detection system, is configured to determine a malfunction of the confinement detection system.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, the elevator control system and / or the elevator controller of the elevator control system has an input unit for receiving occupancy state information from the confinement detection system.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present invention, the elevator control system determines the presence of a person in the elevator car, at least in part, by the state of the elevator, and / or by an event that can only occur if there is a person in the elevator car, for example, the door is closed and an elevator call is issued inside the car, or the elevator is running, or a call is registered in the elevator and the call has not been cancelled due to a malfunction of the elevator or a power failure.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, the elevator control system determines the presence of a person inside the elevator car, at least in part, based on the elevator car load value, for example, a load value of the elevator car that does not indicate that the elevator car is empty, and / or an event where the door opens, causing occlusion of the light indicating passage, the load increases, and the door closes in a state where the load has increased.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, the detection means includes an elevator door safety device disposed in the elevator car and configured to indicate passage at the elevator door, such as occlusion of light indicating that a person has entered the car.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, the elevator entrapment detection system is a system independent of the elevator control system.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, the elevator control system is configured to send an alarm and / or notification and / or transition to an abnormal state of the elevator based on a detected malfunction of the elevator entrapment detection system.

[0022] According to a third aspect, the present invention relates to an elevator system including at least one elevator car, a motor configured to move the elevator car, and an elevator control system configured to control the elevator and / or the motor. This elevator control system is an elevator control system according to any embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] By using the method according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably detect a malfunction of the elevator entrapment detection system and, for example, report it to the backend system as an abnormal message.

[0024] Implementing the method of the present invention is also cost - effective. This is because the method uses elevator system - related data related to the state of the elevator, such as the position of the elevator car, the elevator mode, the performance of moving the elevator car, and the presence of passengers in the car, to evaluate the operation of the elevator confinement system. Therefore, the method of the present invention does not require adding additional sensors, devices, or self - checking functions to the confinement detection system for detecting malfunctions in the operation of the confinement detection system.

[0025] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand various other advantages based on the following detailed description.

[0026] In this application, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used to distinguish one element from another, and unless otherwise explicitly stated, they do not particularly prioritize or determine an order.

[0027] The exemplary embodiments of the present invention shown in this application should not be construed as limiting the applicability of the appended claims. The verb "comprising" is used in this application as an open limitation that does not exclude the existence of configurations not described. The configurations described in the dependent claims can be freely combined with each other unless otherwise explicitly stated.

[0028] The novel configurations recognized as the characteristic parts of the present invention are particularly shown in the appended claims. However, the present invention itself can be best understood from the following description of the embodiments of the determination when read in relation to the accompanying drawings, together with its additional objectives and advantages, with respect to both its configuration and operation method.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029] Some embodiments of the present invention are shown as examples in the accompanying drawings, but are not limited to these examples.

Figure 1

Figure 2

[0030] FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of an elevator, and a measure for detecting a confinement malfunction according to the present invention can be used for this. The elevator 100 according to the exemplary embodiment is assumed to include an elevator car 10 disposed to move within an elevator shaft 12. The movement of the elevator car 10 is assumed to be realized by a hoisting rope or belt connected to a traction sheave 14 or the like. Further, the elevator 100 includes an elevator motor, and when the elevator motor is not substantially directly coupled to the hoisting rope 13, the elevator motor is disposed to cause an operation such as rotation by a rotor of the motor on the traction sheave 14 that moves the elevator car 10. The traction sheave 14 may be directly or indirectly connected to the motor shaft via a gear by a mechanical connection. The elevator 100 may have a machine room, or the motor may be disposed within the elevator shaft 12 without having a machine room.

[0031] The elevator 100 preferably may include at least one, or at least two, mechanical hoisting brakes 16, and the brakes 16 are configured to suppress, preferably prevent, the movement of the motor, i.e., the rotor of the motor, directly or via the traction sheave 14 or components of or between those brakes. Further, the elevator 100 may include a brake control unit 25 configured to operate at least one of the one or more mechanical hoisting brakes 16. The brake control unit 25 may further be connected to other components of the elevator 100, such as an elevator controller and / or a safety system 1000. The brake control unit 25 may include an actuator (not shown) for operating the brake 16, or may be connected to at least such an operating device.

[0032] Although it is known to those skilled in the elevator art, in at least some embodiments, a counterweight 18 connected to the elevator car 10 may be further provided. And the elevator 100 may further include one or more guide rails 17 disposed in the elevator shaft 12 to guide the movement of the elevator car 10.

[0033] The elevator 100 shown in FIG. 1 may further include a converter. The converter may include or substantially be an inverter or a frequency converter connected to the motor to control the operation of the motor. Also, the elevator 100 may further include a control unit connected to the converter, and the control unit is configured to operate the converter to supply power (signal) having variable voltage and variable frequency to the windings of the motor, for example. The control unit may be, for example, an independent control device separate from the converter, or may be included in the converter.

[0034] Furthermore, the converter may be arranged to be supplied by a power source for the elevator 100 or the like. For example, it may be supplied from an external power grid or a power source taken from the main line, or another power source such as a battery system. In addition, the power source may take in power from the converter.

[0035] One or more devices may be disposed between the power source and the converter, which are, for example, an input filter, a circuit breaker and / or a contactor or a relay, and / or a device for charging the energy storage element of the converter.

[0036] The elevator 100 preferably includes a landing 19 or a landing floor 19, and, for example, a landing floor door and / or an opening, and the elevator car 10 is disposed therebetween and moves during the normal operation of the elevator 100, such as moving people and / or goods between the floors 19.

[0037] The elevator may include a controller 20 that controls the operation of the elevator and / or the elevator safety system. The controller 20 may be an independent device separate from other components of the elevator, or may be included in other components, for example, included in or part of the electric drive unit. Also, the controller may be implemented in a distributed manner. For example, while a part of the conveyor controller is included in the electric drive unit, another part may be included in the elevator car. The controller may be distributed and disposed at two or more locations or in two or more devices. In one embodiment of the present invention, the controller is configured to control a power device that supplies power to the conveyor system. The elevator controller may be configured to collect status information and fault information of the elevator car when the elevator fails.

[0038] The controller or control unit of the system may include one or more processors, computer program code, and one or more volatile or non-volatile storage devices that store a portion of any data values, and, as much as possible, one or more user interface devices. These elements may be communicatively coupled to each other, for example, by an internal bus.

[0039] This elevator includes at least one detection means for determining the presence of a person inside the elevator. The detection means may include a detector, a sensor, etc., and / or may utilize information obtained from the elevator control system to determine the presence of a person inside the elevator car and / or a person boarding the elevator car.

[0040] In one embodiment of the present invention, the presence of a person in the elevator car can be determined at least partially based on the state of the elevator. In one embodiment of the present invention, the state information of the elevator may include information regarding the floor level at which the elevator car stops, information regarding the state of the door area of the floor level at which the elevator car stops, information regarding the speed of the elevator car, and information regarding the opening and closing of the elevator car door. The state information may also include information regarding the current response mode containing the fire protection mode and the maintenance mode in which no alarm is issued. In one embodiment of the present invention, the state information of the elevator may include the state of the elevator during operation, or the state of the elevator in which a call has been registered but the call has not been cancelled due to a malfunction or power failure of the elevator. In one embodiment of the present invention, the presence of a person in the elevator car can be determined at least partially based on the load value of the elevator car, such as the load value of the elevator car indicating that the elevator car is not empty.

[0041] The detection means can also be a detector, a sensor, or other detection means arranged in the elevator car. These detection means can include an elevator door safety device capable of indicating the amount of people coming and going to the elevator door, such as the shielding of light that can indicate that a person has entered the car, and / or a camera or sensor configured to detect the presence of a person in the elevator car.

[0042] The elevator also includes means or a system for detecting that a person has been trapped inside the elevator car. The elevator entrapment detection system 30 may be an independent system separate from the elevator control system. When the entrapment detection system 30 determines that a passenger is trapped in the elevator car when the elevator malfunctions, the entrapment system sends an alarm to a remote server to notify the maintenance manager. In one embodiment of the present invention, when passenger entrapment is detected, it is also possible to issue a message using a speaker inside the elevator car to reassure the passengers. In one embodiment of the present invention, when passenger entrapment is detected, the elevator system may transition to a fault state of the elevator and / or be set to transition.

[0043] The entrapment detection system includes, for example, means mainly for input and / or output, and the state of the system can be reported to the elevator system using this means. Such a state may be, for example, whether it is valid, whether there is a passenger in the elevator car, and / or whether entrapment has been detected. The elevator control system and / or the elevator controller of the elevator control system may also include an input section for receiving occupancy state information from the entrapment detection system. The input section can receive wireless and / or wired signals. For example, the input section may be configured to receive a physical electrical signal via a wired bus and / or receive a wireless data communication signal. The input / output section of the entrapment detection system may be connected to the elevator control section via, for example, an input / output panel.

[0044] The elevator controller can receive information regarding the state of the entrapment detection system, and this information is, for example, the occupancy state information of the entrapment detection system such as whether there are people trapped in the elevator car or there are no people trapped in the elevator car. In one embodiment of the present invention, it is also possible to control the elevator to shift to a failure state. For example, the elevator can be stopped at the landing with the door open to let people get off. It is possible to either complete the response to the calls in the elevator call waiting queue or control the elevator to move to a nearby landing or a predetermined landing. The predetermined landing is, for example, in one embodiment, the lobby floor or the landing on the first floor.

[0045] By using the information of the passenger detection means of the elevator system, it is possible to determine the operation of the confinement system, for example, a malfunction of the confinement system. The malfunction of the confinement detection system may be based on a comparison between the passenger occupancy information of the elevator control system and the elevator confinement detection system. When the passenger occupancy states of both systems are different, a malfunction of the confinement system can be detected. In one embodiment of the present invention, the malfunction of the confinement detection system may be based on the information that there is someone in the elevator car detected by the detection means of the elevator system and the information that the confinement detection system still cannot detect that person. Therefore, the elevator system compares the received occupancy state information of the confinement detection system with the presence of the person determined by the elevator control system. In this example, when the determination of the presence of a person by the elevator control system indicates that a person is present while the occupancy state of the confinement detection system indicates that there is no one in the elevator car, or in one embodiment of the present invention, when the determination of the presence of a person by the elevator control system indicates that there is no one in the elevator car while the occupancy state of the confinement detection system indicates that at least one person is in the elevator car, it is determined that the confinement detection system is malfunctioning. The elevator system of the present invention may further be configured to send an alarm and / or a notification based on the detection of a malfunction of the elevator confinement detection system. In one embodiment of the present invention, the elevator system may shift to a malfunction state of the elevator and / or may be set to shift.

[0046] In an example of an embodiment, while the elevator sensor indicates that someone is in the car in the above-described method, if the confinement system, for example, notifies through the system's sensor camera that no one is in the car, it can be recognized that a failure has occurred in the confinement detection system. In one embodiment, while the elevator sensor indicates that no one is in the car in the above-described method, if the confinement system, for example, notifies through the system's sensor camera that someone is in the car, it can be recognized that a failure has occurred in the confinement detection system.

[0047] Figure 2 shows an example of a method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In this example method, the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car is made by at least one detection means such as a sensor and / or the control means of the elevator system, and / or based on information obtained from at least one detection means and / or the control means in the elevator system. As a result, in this example method, the occupancy state information regarding the presence of a person in the elevator car is transmitted from the confinement detection system and received by the elevator control system. In this example method, the elevator control system compares the occupancy state information received from the confinement detection system with the presence of the person detected by the elevator control system. In this example method, based on the fact that the detection of the presence of a person in the elevator car by the elevator control system is different from the detection of the presence of a person in the elevator car by the confinement detection system, it is determined that the confinement detection system is malfunctioning.

[0048] In one embodiment of the present invention, each device or each unit is provided with wireless data communication means that utilizes wireless communication technologies such as 3G, 4G, and 5G used by the system for information transmission. Examples of the information to be transmitted are state information related to the system, information regarding the presence of passengers, and information related to confinement collected by the elevator system and / or the confinement detection system. In one embodiment of the present invention, the information may be collected and sent to a remote cloud system for analysis there.

[0049] The processor of the controller or control unit is configured to implement at least some of the functions of the present invention. The implementation of the solution according to the present invention may be realized by arranging the processor to execute at least a part of the computer program code stored in the storage unit, whereby the elevator controller executes the above-described one or more method steps. Thus, the processor is arranged to access the storage unit to obtain or store any information. From the perspective of clarity, the processor in the present application particularly refers to any device suitable for processing information to control the operation of the elevator controller. Also, each operation may be executed by a microcomputer-based method using embedded software. Similarly, the storage unit is not limited to a storage device of a predetermined type, and any storage method suitable for storing the various information described above may be applied in relation to the present invention.

[0050] The embodiments according to the present invention and the summary of the present invention described in relation to the presented drawings may be used in any combination with each other. At least two embodiments may be combined together to create another embodiment of the present invention.

[0051] The specific examples presented in the above description should not be construed as limiting the applicability and / or the scope of interpretation of the appended claims. The list and groups of examples presented in the above description are not exhaustive unless otherwise explicitly stated.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a malfunction in an elevator entrapment detection system in an elevator control system, the method comprising: - Determining the presence of a person in the elevator car (10) by means of at least one detection means such as a sensor and / or by the control means of the elevator system, and / or based on information obtained from at least one detection means and / or control means in the elevator system; - In the elevator control system (20), receiving occupancy status information from an entrapment detection system (30) related to the presence of a person in the elevator car (10); - Comparing the received occupancy status information of the entrapment detection system (30) with the presence of a person determined by the elevator control system (20); - Determining a malfunction in the entrapment detection system (30) based on the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car (10) by the elevator control system (20) being different from the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car by the entrapment detection system (30).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the elevator control system (20) and / or the elevator controller of the elevator control system has an input section for receiving occupancy status information from the entrapment detection system (30).

3. The method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the presence of a person in the elevator car (10) is determined at least in part by the state of the elevator and / or an event that can only occur if there is a person in the elevator car, such as the doors being closed and an elevator call being issued inside the car, or the elevator being in motion, or a call being registered for the elevator and not being cancelled due to a malfunction or power failure of the elevator.

4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the presence of a person in the elevator car (10) is determined at least in part by the load value of the elevator car, for example, a load value of the elevator car that does not indicate that the elevator car is empty.

5. In the method according to any of the preceding claims, the detection means is disposed in the elevator car (10), and includes an elevator door safety device that indicates the passage of the elevator door, such as the shielding of light indicating that a person has entered the elevator car.

6. In the method according to any of the preceding claims, the elevator entrapment detection system (30) is a system independent of the elevator control system (20).

7. In the method according to any of the preceding claims, the method further includes sending an alarm and / or a notification, and / or transitioning to a failure state of the elevator based on a malfunction detected by the elevator entrapment detection system (30).

8. The elevator control system (20) is - determining the presence of a person in the elevator car (10) by means of detection means such as at least one sensor and / or control means of the elevator system, and / or based on information obtained from at least one detection means and / or control means in the elevator system, - receiving, by the elevator control system (20), occupancy state information from an entrapment detection system (30) related to the presence of a person in the elevator car (10), - comparing the received occupancy state information of the entrapment detection system (30) with the presence of a person determined by the elevator control system (20), - configured to determine a malfunction of the entrapment detection system (30) based on the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car (10) by the elevator control system (20) being different from the determination of the presence of a person in the elevator car by the entrapment detection system (30).

9. In the elevator control system according to Claim 8, the elevator control system (20) and / or the elevator controller of the elevator control system (20) has an input unit for receiving occupancy state information from the entrapment detection system (30).

10. In the elevator control system according to claim 8 or claim 9, the elevator control system (20) determines the presence of a person in the elevator car at least partially based on the state of the elevator, and / or an event that can only occur when there is a person in the elevator car, for example, the door is closed and an elevator call is issued in the car, or the elevator is running, or a call is registered in the elevator and the call has not been cancelled due to a malfunction or power failure of the elevator. An elevator control system configured to determine by this.

11. In the elevator control system according to any one of claims 8 to 10, the elevator control system (20) determines the presence of a person in the elevator car (10) at least partially based on the load value of the elevator car, for example, a load value of the elevator car that does not indicate that the elevator car is empty. An elevator control system configured to do so.

12. In the elevator control system according to any one of claims 8 to 11, the detection means is disposed in the elevator car (10), and includes an elevator door safety device configured to indicate the passage of the elevator door, such as the shielding of light indicating that a person has entered the elevator car (10). An elevator control system.

13. In the elevator control system according to any one of claims 8 to 12, the elevator entrapment detection system (30) is an elevator control system that is a system independent of the elevator control system (20).

14. In the elevator control system according to any one of claims 8 to 13, the elevator control system (20) is configured to send an alarm and / or a notification, and / or to shift to a failure state of the elevator based on a detected malfunction of the elevator entrapment detection system (30). An elevator control system.

15. At least one elevator car (10), A motor configured to move the elevator car, An elevator system comprising an elevator (100) and / or an elevator control system (20) configured to control said motor. The elevator system (100) wherein the elevator control system is the elevator control system (20) according to any one of claims 8 to 14.

16. A computer program comprising a plurality of instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

17. A computer-readable medium comprising the computer program according to claim 16.

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