Elevator system and elevator control method

Abstract

To provide an elevator system capable of preventing a maintenance engineer from being left behind in a tail cordless system elevator when the battery is depleted.SOLUTION: An elevator system comprises a car 3, a power receiving unit 11, a battery 10 provided in the car, a power transmission unit 12 installed on at least one floor of stopping floors, and a control device 1 to control the running of the car. The control device 1 comprises a normal operation mode and a maintenance operation mode to perform a low speed operation for maintenance by a maintenance engineer as car operation modes. The control device limits a possible range where the low speed operation for maintenance by the maintenance engineer is possible, from the present position to near the door zone on the nearest stopping floor when the remaining amount of the battery 10 drops below a first threshold during the maintenance operation mode.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0005] ,

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator system and an elevator control method.

Background Art

[0002] A tail cord is connected to an elevator car to supply power to devices such as lighting fixtures installed in the car. Also, communication between devices such as an operation panel in the car and a control device on the machine room side is performed by transmission using the tail cord. Since the tail cord moves in the hoistway in accordance with the vertical movement of the car, it is necessary to take measures so that the tail cord does not collide with the wall surface of the hoistway. Further, since the tail cord is connected to the car, there is a problem that the weight applied to the car increases. In order to solve this problem, an elevator of a tail cordless system has been proposed in which a battery is mounted on the car and communication between devices in the car and the control device is performed wirelessly.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a technique for charging a battery installed in a car when the car stops at a specific floor of the hoistway, in relation to an example of an elevator of a tail cordless system.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] <00000T8>As described in Patent Document 1, in the case of a tail cordless elevator, the elevator car is equipped with a battery, and the equipment inside the car is powered by electricity from the battery. When the battery charge level drops during normal operation and charging is required, the passenger transport service is temporarily suspended, the elevator moves to a floor where a charger is installed, and the service is resumed after charging is complete, or, if charging is only required once a day, the elevator is charged overnight.

[0006] By the way, during elevator maintenance, maintenance personnel inside or on top of the car operate the elevator car to move it at a low speed, moving it to the floor to be inspected while performing necessary inspections and repairs.

[0007] When considering work inside or on top of a tail cordless elevator, if the battery runs out during maintenance, communication between the elevator car and the control unit will be impossible, rendering the car immobile and potentially trapping maintenance personnel inside or on top of the car.

[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system and elevator control method that can appropriately prevent maintenance personnel from being left behind when the battery is depleted in a tail cordless elevator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims may be adopted. This invention includes several means for solving the above-mentioned problems, but to give one example, it is applied to an elevator system comprising a car, a power receiving unit provided in the car, a battery provided in the car that is charged by the power obtained from the power receiving unit and supplies power to a sensor mounted in the car, a power transmission unit that transmits power to the power receiving unit installed at the stopping floor where the car stops, and a control device that controls the movement of the car. The sensor is a sensor that detects the stopping position target of the car, which is provided in the hoistway. Here, the control device provides two operating modes for the elevator car: a normal operating mode and a maintenance operation mode in which maintenance operations are performed by a maintenance worker. When the battery charge level drops below a first threshold in the maintenance operation mode, the control device restricts the range in which maintenance operations can be performed by a maintenance worker to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor, starting from the current position. The first threshold is the remaining charge amount that is greater than or equal to the amount of power that can be supplied to the sensors installed in the elevator car during the time it takes for the elevator car to reach any of the multiple stopping floors where it stops during maintenance operation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, in a tail cordless elevator, when the battery level drops in maintenance operation mode, operation is restricted to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor to the area where maintenance work is currently being performed, allowing maintenance personnel to evacuate before the battery is depleted. Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent accidents in which maintenance personnel are trapped on top of or inside the elevator car due to battery depletion. Other issues, configurations, and effects not mentioned above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the configuration of an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an elevator control device in an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of maintenance work performed by a maintenance worker on an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4]This flowchart shows an example of control processing during elevator car maintenance by an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows an example of control processing during in-car maintenance by an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the procedure for maintenance personnel to evacuate during maintenance on the elevator car using an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Hereinafter, an elevator system and elevator control method according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this example") will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

[0013] [Overall system configuration] The configuration of the elevator system in this example will be explained using Figure 1. The elevator system in this example is a tail cordless elevator. The elevator system in this example comprises a control device 1, a hoisting machine 2, an elevator car 3, a counterweight 4, a main rope 5, a hoistway 6, and a landing 7. The control device 1 is installed in a machine room or the like and controls the drive of the main rope 5 by the hoisting machine 2 to move (raise and lower) the elevator car 3, which is connected to one end of the main rope 5, within the elevator shaft 6. A counterweight 4 is attached to the other end of the main rope 5. The control device 1 can detect the travel position of the elevator car 3 from the output of a rotary encoder (not shown) connected to the hoisting machine 2. However, when the elevator car 3 stops at each floor, the control device 1 acquires not only the output of the rotary encoder but also the detection signal of the door zone, which will be described later, to control the elevator car 3 so that it can land accurately at each floor.

[0014] The landing 7 is installed at the floor (stopping floor) where the car 3 stops, and landing doors (not shown) are arranged at the landing 7. The landing doors open and close in linkage with the doors (car doors) installed on the car 3 when the car 3 stops. However, during maintenance work, it is also possible to manually open and close the landing doors by the maintenance staff when the car 3 is not stopped. In addition, a sensor 14 is attached to the car 3. The sensor 14 is a sensor that detects the target stop position of the car provided in the hoistway. For example, it irradiates light (such as infrared rays or lasers) on the target stop position and detects that the light is blocked at the target stop position to detect that it is the stop position. While this sensor 14 detects the target stop positions (not shown) installed for each stopping floor of the hoistway 6, the car 3 is considered to be at the correct stop position, and the car doors and landing doors can be opened and closed. The section where the sensor 14 detects the target stop position is called the door zone.

[0015] The content described above is the general configuration and functions of an elevator not limited to the tail cordless system. In the elevator system of this example, as a configuration peculiar to the tail cordless elevator, a battery 10 is mounted on the upper part of the car 3. A power receiving part 11 is connected to this battery 10, and the battery 10 is configured to be charged with the power obtained by the power receiving part 11. All the devices in the car 3 operate with the power charged in this battery 10. For example, the lighting device in the car 3 and the operation panel that registers the stopping floor and gives instructions to open and close the doors in the car are supplied with power from the battery 10.

[0016] Here, when the car 3 stops at a specific stopping floor (here, the first floor), a power transmission part 12 is attached to a location in the hoistway 6 close to the power receiving part 11 of the car 3. The power transmission part 12 is supplied with power from a power supply circuit 13, and the stopping floor where this power transmission part 12 is attached becomes a charging spot for charging the battery 10. In addition, in FIG. 1, the power transmission unit 12 is shown as an example provided on one stop floor, but the power transmission unit 12 may be provided on a plurality of stop floors.

[0017] When the control device 1 determines that the battery 10 needs to be charged while the car 3 is stopped at the first floor, the power supplied from the power supply circuit 13 to the power transmission unit 12 is received by the power reception unit 11, and the battery 10 is charged. The power transmission unit 12 and the power reception unit 11 may perform power transmission by direct contact, or may perform power transmission in a non-contact manner.

[0018] As the timing for charging the battery 10, for example, there are cases where the control device 1 determines that the elevator has not been used for a certain period of time, and cases where the control device 1 detects a decrease in the remaining charge amount of the battery 10. The control device 1 detects a decrease in the remaining charge amount of the battery 10 based on a notification from the car 3 side. When the control device 1 detects a decrease in the remaining charge amount of the battery 10, the control device 1 interrupts the passenger transportation service to charge, or charges after the service ends, such as at night. The frequency of this charging depends on the capacity of the battery mounted on the car, but it is preferable to charge once to several times a day, for example.

[0019] The selection of whether to interrupt the service to charge or to charge after the service ends is made based on the remaining charge amount of the battery 10. However, the process of automatically charging by running to the floor of the charging spot described above is performed in the normal operation mode. When there is a decrease in the remaining charge amount of the battery 10 in the maintenance operation mode described later, the control device 1 makes the elevator run to the floor of the charging spot to charge after following a predetermined procedure.

[0020] Furthermore, a car-side communication device 8 is installed on the top of the elevator car 3, and a hoistway-side communication device 9 is installed inside the hoistway 6. Information is transmitted and received between the control panel inside the elevator car 3 and the control device 1 via wireless communication between the car-side communication device 8 and the hoistway-side communication device 9. Through this transmission and reception, the control device 1 can acquire information necessary for control, such as the remaining charge of the battery 10 and the stopping position of the elevator car 3.

[0021] Although not shown in the diagram, the elevator car 3 is equipped with a display for guiding passengers and an audio outputter that emits announcements, chimes, and warning sounds. Based on instructions from the control device 1, these displays and audio outputters can provide information such as stopping floors and issue warnings in the event of an earthquake. The audio outputter also emits warning sounds for evacuation during maintenance work, which will be described later. This audio outputter is designed so that warning sounds can also be heard by maintenance personnel riding on the upper (outside) part of elevator car 3. Furthermore, since the elevator system in this example is a tail cordless type, no tail cord is installed in the hoistway 6.

[0022] [Control device configuration] Figure 2 shows the configuration of the control device 1. The control device 1 is comprised of, for example, a computer, which is an information processing device. In other words, the computer, which is the control device 1, comprises a processor, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a storage unit 120, an input / output unit 130, and a transmission / reception unit 140.

[0023] The memory unit 120 can be a memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory), or a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive). The memory unit 120 stores information such as a program for operating the control device 1, the location of the landing, and the elevator's operating status and history. The CPU 110 then reads and executes the program stored in the memory unit 120, thereby configuring the processing units 121 to 125 shown in Figure 2 within the memory unit 120. In other words, the memory unit 120 is configured with the following components through the execution of a program by the CPU 110: the elevator status monitoring unit 121, the battery status diagnostic unit 122, the maintenance mode processing unit 123, the warning processing unit 124, and the car operation command unit 125. The processing performed by these processing units 121 to 125 will be described later.

[0024] The input / output unit 130 handles inputs and outputs such as the output of control signals for the hoisting machine 2 and inputs from various sensors. The transmitting / receiving unit 140 transmits and receives information via the elevator shaft-side communication device 9. The transmitting / receiving unit 140 also transmits and receives information with a monitoring center or the like via a predetermined network.

[0025] [Example of maintenance work performed by maintenance personnel] Figure 3 shows an example of a maintenance worker performing work on top of elevator car 3 in the elevator system of this example. When performing maintenance work on the elevator, maintenance workers may board the elevator car 3 or the top of the elevator car to inspect or repair equipment installed in the elevator car 3, the landing doors, or equipment installed in the elevator shaft. Figure 3 shows an example where two maintenance workers, A and B, are performing maintenance work on the equipment installed in elevator car 3 and equipment located in the hoistway 6 at the top of elevator car 3. When performing elevator maintenance work, maintenance worker A or B first switches from normal operation mode to maintenance operation mode by operating a switch on the control panel inside elevator car 3. When a maintenance worker switches to maintenance operation mode, elevator car 3 is only capable of low-speed operation, which is slower than the normal operation mode operated manually by the maintenance worker. Note that if a maintenance worker sets maintenance operation mode by operating a switch on the control panel inside elevator car 3, it will operate in car maintenance mode.

[0026] Furthermore, a maintenance operation changeover switch (not shown) is located at the top of elevator car 3. When a maintenance worker at the top of elevator car 3 operates this switch, the system switches from in-car maintenance operation to overhead maintenance operation. Switching to overhead maintenance operation makes it possible to perform maintenance operations from the top of elevator car 3.

[0027] [Control processing during maintenance operation on top of the cage] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the control process when the maintenance operation mode is set and the operation becomes cage-top maintenance operation. The maintenance operation mode on the elevator car is set by the maintenance mode processing unit 123 of the control device 1. First, the battery status diagnosis unit 122 of the control device 1 determines whether the remaining charge of the battery 10 has reached the sum of the amount of power that can supply power to the equipment mounted on the elevator car 3 until the elevator car 3 is driven to the floor designated as a charging spot during maintenance operation, and the amount of power that can supply power to the equipment mounted on the elevator car 3 during the time it takes to complete the maintenance work (hereinafter referred to as "threshold TH2") (step S11).

[0028] The amount of power that can be supplied until the elevator car 3 reaches the charging spot during maintenance operation is calculated from the maximum time required for elevator car 3 to reach the charging spot during maintenance operation. For example, if elevator car 3, which has stopped on the floor furthest from the charging spot, takes 5 minutes to reach the charging spot during maintenance operation, this would be the amount of power that needs to be supplied during those 5 minutes. Furthermore, the time required to complete the maintenance work can be set to a fixed value, such as 10 minutes. Alternatively, the time required to complete the maintenance work can be set to a variable value depending on the nature of the work. Furthermore, it is preferable that the threshold TH2, including the threshold TH1 described later, be higher than the minimum required power amount, and that each threshold be set with a certain degree of margin.

[0029] In step S11, if the control device 1 determines that the remaining charge of the battery 10 has not fallen to the set threshold TH2, that is, that it is higher than the threshold TH2 (NO in step S11), the control device 1 repeats the determination in step S11. Then, in step S11, if the control device 1 determines that the remaining charge of the battery 10 has decreased and fallen below the set threshold TH2 (YES in step S11), the warning processing unit 124 of the control device 1 sounds a warning sound (buzzer sound) from the voice output device installed in the elevator car 3 for a certain period of time (step S12).

[0030] Subsequently, the battery status diagnosis unit 122 of the control device 1 calculates the minimum amount of power that the battery 10 has remaining charge to supply to the equipment installed in the elevator car 3 during the time it takes to reach the nearest stopping floor during maintenance operation. Furthermore, it determines whether the remaining charge of the battery 10 has fallen below the minimum amount of power that can supply to the equipment installed in the elevator car 3 during the time it takes for maintenance personnel to evacuate from inside the elevator car 3 (hereinafter referred to as the threshold "TH1") (step S13). The threshold TH1 is sufficient if the remaining charge of the battery 10 is equal to or greater than the minimum amount of power that can supply to the equipment installed in the elevator car 3 during the time it takes to reach the nearest stopping floor during maintenance operation. In other words, the threshold TH1 is set to a value that assumes the minimum amount of power that maintenance personnel can just barely evacuate with, and in some cases, it is assumed that charging may be abandoned. The equipment installed in elevator car 3 here includes a sensor 14 used to determine the stopping position at each stop floor while elevator car 3 is in motion. The power supply to sensor 14 is sufficient to provide enough power for the time it takes to reach the stop floor, which enables elevator car 3 to stop correctly at the nearest stop floor. If the battery level is depleted and power cannot be supplied to sensor 14, it becomes impossible to determine the correct stopping position, and therefore it becomes impossible to operate elevator car 3 according to instructions from control device 1.

[0031] In step S13, if it is determined that the remaining charge of the battery 10 has not fallen below the set threshold TH1, i.e., it is high (NO in step S13), the control device 1 repeats the determination in step S13. Then, in step S13, if it is determined that the remaining charge of the battery 10 has decreased and fallen below the set threshold TH1 (YES in step S13), the warning processing unit 124 of the control device 1 sounds a warning sound (buzzer sound) from the voice output device installed in the elevator car 3 for a certain period of time (step S14).

[0032] In step S14, the warning processing unit 124 of the control device 1 sounds a warning, and at the same time, the car operation command unit 125 of the control device 1 restricts the range in which the elevator car 3 can travel under the operation of a maintenance worker in the current maintenance operation mode to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor (step S15). Then, the elevator state monitoring unit 121 of the control device 1 determines whether or not the sensor 14 of the elevator car 3 has detected a door zone (step S16). If no door zone is detected in step S16 (NO in step S16), the control device 1 waits until a door zone is detected.

[0033] If a door zone is detected in step S16 (YES in step S16), the car operation command unit 125 of the control device 1 restricts the range of travel of the elevator car 3 operated by the maintenance worker to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor (step S17). The restriction on the distance to the vicinity of the door zone in step S17 differs depending on whether the train is traveling downhill or uphill. During downhill travel, the train is permitted to travel to the door zone and then to a distance equivalent to the height of elevator car 3. On the other hand, during uphill operation, travel is permitted until reaching the door zone. Note that the height of elevator car 3 here refers to the height from the floor of elevator car 3 to the ceiling where maintenance personnel board.

[0034] In this way, when the battery level of the car 10 falls below the threshold TH1 during car maintenance operation, the control device 1 restricts the range of travel of the elevator car 3 operated by the maintenance worker to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor, and instructs the maintenance worker on the car to evacuate. A specific example of the maintenance worker evacuating from the car will be described later in Figure 6. Then, the control device 1 confirms, by operating a switch or other means, that the maintenance personnel have evacuated from the top of the elevator car, and drives the elevator car 3 in normal operation mode to the stopping floor of the charging spot to charge the battery 10.

[0035] Furthermore, when charging battery 10 when its remaining charge falls below threshold TH1, if there is enough charge remaining to supply power to the equipment inside the car before reaching the charging floor, the car will proceed to the charging floor at a faster speed than maintenance mode (for example, normal operating speed). On the other hand, if the elevator car does not have enough power remaining to move to the charging floor under its own power, the system will supply power from an external source.

[0036] [Control processing during maintenance operation inside the car] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the control process when the maintenance operation mode is set and in-car maintenance operation is performed. In this case as well, the in-car maintenance operation mode is set by the maintenance mode processing unit 123 of the control device 1. First, the battery status diagnostic unit 122 of the control device 1 determines whether the remaining charge of the battery 10 has fallen below the threshold TH2 (step S21). The threshold TH2 is the same as the threshold TH2 explained in step S11 of the flowchart in Figure 4.

[0037] In step S21, if the control device 1 determines that the remaining charge of battery 10 is higher than the set threshold TH2 (NO in step S21), the control device 1 repeats the determination in step S21. Then, in step S21, if the control device 1 determines that the remaining charge of battery 10 has fallen below the set threshold TH2 (YES in step S21), the warning processing unit 124 of the control device 1 sounds a warning sound (buzzer sound) from the audio output device installed in the elevator car 3 for a certain period of time (step S22).

[0038] Subsequently, the battery status diagnosis unit 122 of the control device 1 determines whether the remaining charge of the battery 10 has fallen below a threshold TH1, which corresponds to the minimum amount of power that can be supplied to the equipment mounted on the elevator car 3 until it reaches the floor that has become a charging spot during maintenance operation (step S23). This threshold TH1 is the same as the threshold TH1 explained in the flowchart of Figure 4, and it is sufficient if the remaining charge of the battery 10 is equal to or greater than the minimum amount of power that can be supplied to the equipment mounted on the elevator car 3 during the time it takes to reach the nearest stopping floor during maintenance operation.

[0039] In step S23, if the control device 1 determines that the remaining charge of battery 10 is higher than the set threshold TH1 (NO in step S23), it repeats the determination in step S23. Then, in step S23, if the control device 1 determines that the remaining charge of battery 10 has fallen below the set threshold TH1 (YES in step S23), the warning processing unit 124 of the control device 1 sounds a warning sound (buzzer sound) from the audio output device installed in the elevator car 3 for a certain period of time (step S24).

[0040] In step S24, the warning processing unit 124 of the control device 1 sounds a warning, and at the same time, the car operation command unit 125 of the control device 1 restricts the range in which the elevator car 3 can travel under the operation of a maintenance worker in the current maintenance operation mode to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor (step S25). Then, the elevator state monitoring unit 121 of the control device 1 determines whether or not the sensor 14 of the elevator car 3 has detected a door zone (step S26). If no door zone is detected in step S26 (NO in step S26), the control device 1 waits until a door zone is detected.

[0041] If a door zone is detected in step S26 (YES in step S26), the car operation command unit 125 of the control device 1 restricts the range of travel of the elevator car 3 operated by the maintenance worker to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor (step S27). The restriction at step S27 to the vicinity of the door zone allows for an additional 500 mm of travel after the elevator car 3 has reached the door zone. In other words, during downhill operation, an additional 500 mm of travel is permitted in the - direction (downward), and during uphill operation, an additional 500 mm of travel is permitted in the + direction (upward).

[0042] In this way, when the battery level of the battery 10 falls below the threshold TH1 during in-car maintenance operation, the control device 1 restricts the range of travel of the elevator car 3 operated by the maintenance worker to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor, and instructs the maintenance worker inside the car to evacuate. The reason for allowing travel an additional 500 mm beyond the door zone is that a travel (height) of 500 mm allows the maintenance worker to evacuate from inside the elevator car 1 to the landing 7 at the stopping floor.

[0043] Furthermore, in step S23, if it is determined that the remaining charge of battery 10 has fallen below the set threshold TH1 (YES in step S23), and after the maintenance personnel have evacuated, the system will either operate to charge battery 10 (if it is possible to reach the charging floor) or supply power to battery 10 from an external source, either through operation by the maintenance personnel or through automatic operation by the control device 1.

[0044] [Example of evacuation during maintenance on the elevator car] Figure 6 shows a specific example of two maintenance workers, A and B, performing maintenance work on top of the elevator car, and needing to evacuate due to a decrease in the battery level of the battery 10. First, as shown in the upper left of Figure 6, let's assume that two maintenance workers, A and B, are riding on the upper part 3b of the elevator car 3 and performing maintenance work. At this time, there are no maintenance workers inside the elevator car 3a. In the initial state shown in the upper left of Figure 6, the upper part 3b of the elevator car 3 is not in contact with the landing 7, and maintenance workers A and B cannot move out in their current position.

[0045] At this point, maintenance personnel A and B, having determined that evacuation is necessary based on the warning sounds in steps S12 and S14, manually operate the elevator car 3 at a low speed from the upper part 3b of the elevator car 3 to the nearest floor. The operation here is in the downward direction, and the elevator car 3 is driven to a position lower than its original stopping position (the position where the door zone is detected by sensor 14) by the height of the elevator car 3.

[0046] The middle left section of Figure 6 shows the elevator car 3 stopped at a position lower than its original stopping position by the height of the car. By opening the landing door at this position, maintenance personnel A and B can evacuate to landing 7. However, in this state, only maintenance personnel A evacuates, while maintenance personnel B remains on the upper part 3b of the elevator car 3.

[0047] Maintenance worker B, remaining on the upper part 3b of elevator car 3, manually operates the elevator car to move it upwards until the floor of the interior 3a of elevator car 3 aligns with the floor of the landing 7, as shown in the lower left section of Figure 6. In this state, maintenance worker A, who is at landing 7, boards the interior 3a of elevator car 3. Maintenance worker A, who has boarded the interior 3a of elevator car 3, operates the control panel inside elevator car 3 to move it to a position lower than its original stopping position by the height of elevator car 3, as shown in the upper right of Figure 6. In this state, maintenance worker B, who is on top of the car, takes refuge at landing 7.

[0048] Subsequently, maintenance worker A inside elevator car 3a operates the control panel inside elevator car 3, as shown in the lower right of Figure 6, to move elevator car 3 at a low speed to its original stopping position at landing 7. This allows maintenance worker A to retreat to landing 7. When maintenance worker A retreats to landing 7, they perform an operation to indicate the completion of the retreat, such as operating the control panel inside elevator car 3, or switch from maintenance mode to normal operation mode. As a result, the control device 1 determines that the retreat is complete and can move elevator car 3 to the charging spot to charge the battery 10. Furthermore, during maintenance inside the elevator car, as shown in the lower right of Figure 6, the elevator car 3 can be driven at a low speed to the door zone of landing 7 by operating the control panel inside the elevator car 3, thereby allowing maintenance personnel A and B to evacuate.

[0049] As explained above, in this example, when the battery level of a tail cordless elevator drops in maintenance operation mode, operation is restricted to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor to the area where maintenance work is currently being performed, thereby ensuring that maintenance personnel can be evacuated before the battery is depleted. Therefore, accidents in which maintenance personnel are trapped on top of or inside the elevator car due to battery depletion can be reliably prevented. To explain this in more detail, when the battery level drops in normal operation mode, the control device 1 can instruct the elevator to temporarily discontinue passenger transport service and automatically recharge the battery. On the other hand, during maintenance work, the elevator car is operated solely by the maintenance personnel, so automatic movement to such a charging location is difficult, and the battery level may drop if the maintenance work is prolonged. In this example, however, maintenance personnel can be reliably evacuated before the battery is depleted, thus reliably preventing accidents in which maintenance personnel are trapped on top of or inside the elevator car.

[0050] In this case, a warning is issued when the battery charge level of the battery 10 drops to a value equal to the amount of charge required to travel to the charging spot at a low maintenance speed plus the amount of charge required for the time until the maintenance work is completed. Furthermore, issuing a warning when the battery charge level of the battery 10 drops to the amount required to travel to the charging spot ensures that a warning is issued more reliably and that maintenance personnel can be safely evacuated.

[0051] Furthermore, by changing the range within which the elevator car 3's movement is restricted depending on whether the work is performed on top of the car or inside the car, maintenance personnel can be appropriately evacuated during either type of work. Specifically, during work performed on top of the car, the movement is restricted to a range that includes the height of the elevator car, allowing for appropriate evacuation from the top of the car when the elevator car 3 is traveling at a height equivalent to one car, as explained in Figure 6. On the other hand, during work performed inside the car, maintenance personnel inside the car can be appropriately evacuated when the elevator car is traveling almost to the vicinity of the door zone. Additionally, by changing the range of restricted movement depending on the direction of travel of the elevator car, it is possible to achieve the optimal restriction for evacuation in each direction of travel.

[0052] However, during work inside the elevator car, the train may be driven in a way that slightly adjusts the stopping position of elevator car 3 to make adjustments to the doors, etc. By adding a value that allows maintenance personnel to evacuate from the door zone (500 mm in step S27 of the flowchart in Figure 5), the adjustment work can be carried out properly. Furthermore, in this example, by setting a threshold according to the remaining charge of battery 10, it becomes unnecessary to maintain an excessive margin of battery charge. As a result, the charging frequency can be reduced, and maintenance and inspection can be performed more efficiently.

[0053] [Differentiation] The embodiments described above are explained in detail for the purpose of clearly illustrating the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Furthermore, the configurations and processes described in the above embodiments can be modified or altered in various ways.

[0054] For example, in the embodiment described above, steps S11 and S21 first determine that the battery level has dropped to a certain extent, and a warning is issued in steps S12 and S22. Then, steps S13 and S23 further determine that the battery level has dropped, and issue a warning and restrict the operating range. Alternatively, the processes in steps S11 and S12 in Figure 4, and steps S21 and S22 in Figure 5, may be omitted, and the process may start from steps S13 and S23. Furthermore, when issuing warnings in two stages, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, the type and volume of the sound may be changed between the first and second warnings.

[0055] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a buzzer sound is output as a warning sound from the voice outputter mounted on the elevator car 3 as a warning process for low battery level. Alternatively, a display warning to evacuate may be shown simultaneously with the output of the warning sound from the voice outputter. Or, instead of outputting a warning sound from the voice outputter, a warning may be given by the display. Furthermore, maintenance personnel may have communication devices such as smartphones that they carry with them during maintenance work emit warning sounds or other alerts.

[0056] Furthermore, the use of a computer to configure the control device 1 as shown in Figure 2 is just one example; the control device 1 may be partially or entirely implemented using dedicated hardware such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0057] Furthermore, in the configuration diagram shown in Figure 2, only control lines and information lines deemed necessary for explanation are shown, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily shown in the actual product. In reality, it can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected. Also, in the flowcharts shown in Figures 4 and 5, the processing order may be changed or multiple processes may be executed simultaneously, as long as the processing result is the same. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0058] 1...Control device, 2...Hoisting machine, 3...Elevator car, 3a...Inside of elevator car, 3b...Top of elevator car, 4...Counterweight, 5...Main rope, 6...Hoistway, 7...Landing, 8...Car-side communication device, 9...Hoistway-side communication device, 10...Battery, 11...Power receiving unit, 12...Power transmitting unit, 13...Power supply circuit, 14...Sensor, 110...CPU, 120...Memory unit, 121...Elevator status monitoring unit, 122...Battery status diagnosis unit, 123...Maintenance mode processing unit, 124...Warning processing unit, 125...Operation command unit, 130...Input / output unit, 140...Transmit / receive unit

Claims

1. Carriage, The electric receiving unit provided in the aforementioned elevator car, A battery provided in the aforementioned elevator car, charged by the power obtained from the power receiving unit, and supplying power to a sensor provided in the aforementioned elevator car, A power transmission unit that supplies power to the power receiving unit installed at the stopping floor where the elevator car stops, The vehicle includes a control device for controlling the movement of the elevator car, The aforementioned sensor is a sensor installed in the hoistway that detects the target stopping position of the elevator car. The control device is As for the driving modes of the aforementioned elevator, Normal operation mode and It includes a maintenance operation mode in which maintenance operations are performed by maintenance personnel, In the aforementioned maintenance operation mode, when the battery charge level falls below a first threshold, the range in which maintenance operation can be performed by the maintenance worker is limited to the vicinity of the nearest stopping floor, from the current position. The first threshold is the remaining charge amount that is equal to or greater than the amount of power that can supply power to the sensors installed in the elevator car during the time it takes for the elevator car to reach any of the multiple stopping floors where it stops during the maintenance operation. Elevator system.

2. When the battery's charge level falls below the first threshold, the control device issues a warning to the maintenance worker. The elevator system according to claim 1.

3. The first threshold is the remaining charge amount that is greater than or equal to the amount of power that can be supplied to the sensors installed in the elevator car during the time it takes for the elevator car to reach the nearest stopping floor during the maintenance operation. The elevator system according to claim 1.

4. In the maintenance operation mode, when the battery charge level drops to a second threshold that is higher than the first threshold, the control device issues an initial warning to the maintenance worker, and then issues another warning when the battery level drops to the first threshold. The elevator system according to claim 1.

5. The second threshold is a remaining charge amount equal to or greater than the sum of the amount of power that can be supplied to the sensors installed in the elevator car during the time it takes to reach the stopping floor where the power transmission unit is installed during the maintenance operation, and the amount of power that can be supplied to the sensors installed in the elevator car during the time it takes to complete the maintenance work. The elevator system according to claim 4.

6. The restriction from the current location to the vicinity of the nearest stopping floor is: Determined by the operating position of the maintenance operation and the direction of travel of the elevator car. The elevator system according to claim 1.

7. The restriction from the current location to the vicinity of the nearest stopping floor is: If the operating position for the maintenance operation is at the top of the elevator car, and the elevator car is traveling in a downward direction, the operating restriction is limited to a range that includes the distance to the door zone of the nearest stopping floor plus the height of the elevator car. The elevator system according to claim 6.

8. The operation for the maintenance operation is limited to the distance to the door zone of the nearest stopping floor, provided that the operating position for the maintenance operation is at the top of the elevator car and the direction of travel of the elevator car is upward. If the operating position for the maintenance operation is inside the elevator car, the operating position shall be limited to a distance from the door zone plus a predetermined distance, which allows maintenance personnel to evacuate from inside the elevator car. The elevator system according to claim 7.

9. Carriage, The electric receiving unit provided in the aforementioned elevator car, A battery provided in the aforementioned elevator car, charged by the power received by the power receiving unit, and supplying power to the equipment mounted in the elevator car, An elevator control method for controlling an elevator comprising: a power transmission unit that transmits power to the power receiving unit installed on the stopping floor where the elevator car stops; The elevator car is equipped with two operating modes: a normal operating mode and a maintenance operating mode in which maintenance operations are performed by maintenance personnel. During the maintenance operation mode, when the battery charge level drops below a first threshold, the operation restriction process is performed to limit the range in which maintenance operation can be performed by the maintenance worker to the vicinity of the door zone of the nearest stopping floor, from the current position. The first threshold is the remaining charge amount that is equal to or greater than the amount of power that can supply power to the sensors installed in the elevator car during the time it takes for the elevator car to reach any of the multiple stopping floors where it stops during the maintenance operation. Elevator control method.

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