Elevator power supply control device and elevator power supply control method

Abstract

To enable appropriate automatic landing operation when a power abnormality occurs in a main power circuit connected to a circuit breaker.SOLUTION: An elevator power supply control device has a first circuit breaker 111 arranged on a control panel 110 and connected to a power supply circuit to which main power is supplied, and a second circuit breaker 101 connected to the power supply circuit at a location separate from the control panel 110. The second circuit breaker 101 has an auxiliary contact 101a that turns off in conjunction with the interruption of the main contact, and an alarm contact 101b that turns on when the circuit breaker detects an abnormality in the main power supply. When an interruption in the supply of main power is detected with the alarm contact 101b turned on, power is supplied from a power failure battery 116 to an elevator main circuit 115, and the elevator performs automatic landing operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] In the case of an elevator equipped with a machine room, the main power supply operating device is generally installed in the control panel of the machine room. By manually operating this main power supply operating device, the main power supply supplied to the hoisting machine can be cut off. However, cutting off the main power supply by the main power supply operating device is basically limited to the inspection of the elevator, and it is prohibited to suddenly cut off the main power supply during normal operation. For example, it is conceivable to temporarily cut off the main power supply by the main power supply operating device during inspection work to check whether the brake operates correctly.

[0003] In addition, separately from the main power supply operating device, a main power supply cut-off device (second main power supply operating device) may be installed near the entrance of the machine room. If a main power supply cut-off device is installed near the entrance of the machine room, the maintenance staff can enter the machine room and immediately perform an operation to cut off the main power supply, enabling a quick response in an emergency.

[0004] By the way, the situation where the main power supply of the elevator is cut off also occurs during a power outage or in case of power supply abnormalities such as ground fault, short circuit, and leakage. When a power outage or power supply abnormality occurs during the operation of the elevator, the elevator car in operation can perform an automatic landing operation to the nearest floor. That is, the elevator is equipped with an emergency battery, and when a power supply abnormality such as a power outage occurs, the elevator is configured to automatically land on the nearest floor using the power supplied from the battery. Note that power supply abnormalities such as ground fault, short circuit, and leakage are detected by an overcurrent protection function and a leakage protection function.

[0005] On the other hand, the main power supply is shut off manually using the main power control device mentioned above, for example, when a worker needs to stop the train in an emergency due to some reason while performing inspection work. In such cases, it is prohibited to immediately stop the elevator car and perform automatic landing. Patent Document 1 describes an example of an elevator that performs automatic landing operation in the event of a power outage. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-167920 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] Power supply abnormalities such as power outages, ground faults, short circuits, and leakage currents can occur during normal elevator operation. In such cases, the elevator must perform automatic landing to prevent passengers from being trapped. It should be noted that power supply abnormalities such as ground faults, short circuits, and leakage currents can also be caused by malfunctions in the external circuit breaker (second main power supply control device) of the control panel. In particular, power supply abnormalities can occur even with circuit breakers installed near the entrance to the machine room. However, as explained in the background technology section, automatic landing is prohibited when the main power control device (circuit breaker) is operated manually. Therefore, if a malfunction occurs in the main power circuit connected to the main power control device, such as a ground fault, short circuit, or leakage current, automatic landing operation may not be possible.

[0008] In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide an elevator power control device and an elevator power control method that can perform appropriate automatic landing operation in the event of a power supply abnormality in the main power supply circuit connected to the circuit breaker. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted. The present invention includes multiple means for solving the above problems, but to give one example, it applies to an elevator power control device comprising: a first circuit breaker located in a control panel and connected to a power supply circuit to which the main power is supplied, having a main contact for interrupting the main power and an auxiliary contact that turns off in conjunction with the interruption of the main contact; a second circuit breaker located at a place other than the control panel and connected to the power supply circuit, having a main contact for interrupting the main power and an auxiliary contact that turns off in conjunction with the interruption of the main contact; an elevator main circuit to which the main power is supplied via the power supply circuit to which the first and second circuit breakers are connected, thereby obtaining power for driving the elevator; a detection circuit to which the respective auxiliary contacts are connected in series; and a control circuit that stops the elevator main circuit when the detection circuit detects that either auxiliary contact is off, and when the detection circuit detects that the supply of the main power to the elevator main circuit has stopped while an auxiliary contact is on, it supplies power from a power outage battery to the elevator main circuit to perform automatic elevator landing operation. Here, an alarm contact, which turns on when the second circuit breaker detects an abnormality in the main power supply, is connected in parallel to the auxiliary contact of the second circuit breaker. When the detection circuit detects that the alarm contact is ON and detects that the main power supply has been cut off, the control circuit supplies power from the power outage battery to the elevator main circuit to perform automatic elevator landing operation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, when the main power supply is interrupted by the operation of the second circuit breaker, the main power supply is immediately cut off and automatic landing operation is not performed. On the other hand, in the event of a power supply abnormality at the location of the second circuit breaker, automatic landing operation is performed by turning on the alarm contact, enabling the appropriate rescue of passengers through automatic landing operation. 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 an example of the arrangement of circuit breakers in a machine room according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a circuit diagram showing an example of an elevator power supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows an example of control processing by a control circuit according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Hereinafter, an elevator power control device and elevator power 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] [Elevator and Machine Room Configuration] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of an elevator to which the elevator power control device in this example is applied. In this example, the elevator car 11 is located within the hoistway 10. The elevator car 11 and the counterweight 12 are connected via a main rope 13, and the elevator car 11 moves up and down driven by a hoisting machine 14 around which the main rope 13 is wound. The elevator car 11 stops at the landing 21 on each floor.

[0014] A machine room 30 is installed above the hoistway 10, and a hoisting machine 14 and an elevator control panel 110 are installed in the machine room 30. The elevator control panel 110 controls the power supply to the hoisting machine 14, and the elevator control panel 110 is equipped with a circuit breaker 111 that allows workers to manually cut off the power.

[0015] In addition, the machine room 30 is provided with a first entrance / exit 31 and a second entrance / exit 32, and entrance / exit installation cut-off devices 101 and 102 are provided inside the machine room 30 (such as walls) near each entrance / exit 31, 32. Each of the entrance / exit installation cut-off devices 101 and 102 is also manually operated by the operator who enters the machine room 30 for a cut-off operation. All of these cut-off devices 111, 101, and 102 have an overcurrent protection function or a leakage protection function, and when a power abnormality is detected by the overcurrent protection function or the leakage protection function, a cut-off operation is performed by each cut-off device 111, 101, and 102.

[0016] In the following description, the cut-off device 111 of the elevator control panel 110 will be described as the first cut-off device, the entrance / exit installation cut-off device 101 near the first entrance / exit 31 will be described as the second cut-off device, and the entrance / exit installation cut-off device 102 near the second entrance / exit 32 will be described as the third cut-off device, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, a cut-off device 105 may be installed in the hoistway, such as the pit at the bottom of the hoistway 10.

[0017] [Configuration of Power Supply Circuit] FIG. 2 shows the circuit configuration of an elevator power supply device that supplies an elevator driving power supply to the hoisting machine 14. As shown in FIG. 2, the main power supply (the building power supply of a 200V three-phase AC power supply) supplied via the power supply lead-in wire 104 is supplied to the elevator control panel 110 via the second cut-off device 101 and the third cut-off device 102. The second cut-off device 101 and the third cut-off device 102 are entrance / exit installation cut-off devices installed near the first entrance / exit 31 and the second entrance / exit 32, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0018] The main power supply supplied to the elevator control panel 110 is connected to the first cut-off device 111. The first cut-off device 111 has a cut-off operation part 112 and is provided with an auxiliary contact 111a that turns on and off in conjunction with the cut-off of the main power supply in the cut-off operation part 112. That is, the auxiliary contact 111a turns on when the cut-off operation of the main power supply in the cut-off operation part 112 is not performed, and turns off when the cut-off operation of the main power supply in the cut-off operation part 112 is performed. This auxiliary contact 111a is connected in series with other auxiliary contacts 101a and 102a described later.

[0019] The main power supply that has passed through the first cutoff device 111 is supplied to the elevator main circuit 115 via the noise filter 113 and the building power supply contactor 114. The elevator main circuit 115 includes an inverter and a converter, and performs conversion of the frequency and voltage for supply to the hoist 14 (FIG. 1) under the control from the control circuit 121, and supplies the converted power supply to the hoist 14 as the power supply for elevator driving.

[0020] Also, the power supply from the emergency battery 116 is supplied to the elevator main circuit 115 via the battery power supply contactor 117. The power supply from this emergency battery 116 is executed by the control circuit 121. Then, conversion of the frequency and voltage for supply to the hoist 14 is performed in the elevator main circuit 115, and the converted power supply is supplied to the hoist 14 as the power supply for elevator driving. Note that the power supply for elevator driving supplied from the emergency battery 116 to the hoist 14 via the elevator main circuit 115 is the power supply for automatic landing operation, and is supplied only for about several seconds to stop at the landing 21 of the nearest floor.

[0021] The power supply path between the noise filter 113 and the building power supply contactor 114 is monitored by the control circuit 121, and it is detected whether the main power supply is being supplied as the building power supply. When it is detected that the main power supply is not being supplied in a situation where the cutoff operation is not being performed by each cutoff device 111, 101, 102 by the process described later, the control circuit 121 supplies the power supply for elevator driving from the emergency battery 116 to the hoist 14 via the elevator main circuit 115 to perform the automatic landing operation. The details of the determination process for performing this automatic landing operation will be described later.

[0022] The control circuit 121 consists of a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that instructs the execution of arithmetic processing based on a program, and memory that performs arithmetic processing under the control of the CPU. The control circuit 121 is also designed to operate using power from an auxiliary battery 122 when an external power source is unavailable.

[0023] Next, we will explain the configuration of the second barrier 101 and the third barrier 102, which are entrance and exit barriers. The second circuit breaker 101 and the third circuit breaker 102 are circuit breakers that perform the operation of interrupting the main power supply, and are equipped with auxiliary contacts 101a and 102a and alarm contacts 101b and 102b, respectively.

[0024] In other words, the second circuit breaker 101 has an auxiliary contact 101a that turns off in conjunction with the interruption of the main power supply, and an alarm contact 101b connected in parallel with the auxiliary contact 101a. The auxiliary contact 101a turns off in conjunction with the interruption of the main power supply in the second circuit breaker 101, and is always on when there is no interruption of the main power supply in the second circuit breaker 101. The alarm contact 101b turns on when an abnormality in the main power supply (ground fault, short circuit, leakage current, etc.) is detected in the second circuit breaker 101, and turns off when no abnormality in the main power supply is detected.

[0025] The auxiliary contact 102a and alarm contact 102b installed on the third circuit breaker 102 are controlled to be turned on and off based on the main power supply interruption operation and the detection of an abnormality in the main power supply, similar to the auxiliary contact 101a and alarm contact 101b of the second circuit breaker 101.

[0026] As shown in Figure 2, the two auxiliary contacts 101a and 102a, and the alarm contacts 101b and 102b connected in parallel to the auxiliary contacts 101a and 102a, are connected in series with the auxiliary contact 111a of the first circuit breaker 111. A predetermined DC voltage (such as 48V) is supplied to one end of the series circuit of these auxiliary contacts 101a, 102a, 111a and alarm contacts 101b and 102b, and a detection circuit 103 for that DC voltage is connected to the other end. Furthermore, the detection circuit 103 incorporates a timer that counts the time required for automatic landing operation (approximately a few seconds).

[0027] The detection status of the DC voltage in the detection circuit 103 is determined by the control circuit 121. For example, if none of the circuit breakers 101, 102, and 111 interrupt the main power supply, the auxiliary contacts 101a, 102a, and 111a turn on, and a predetermined voltage is detected in the detection circuit 103. At this time, the control circuit 121 determines that the main power supply has not been interrupted in any of the circuit breakers 101, 102, and 111. When the control circuit 121 determines that the main power supply is being provided to the elevator main circuit 115 and that each of the auxiliary contacts 101a, 102a, and 111a is ON and there is no tripping operation, it determines that there is no power outage and continues the operation of the elevator main circuit 115.

[0028] Then, if the main power is interrupted by any one of the circuit breakers (101, 102, or 111), one of the auxiliary contacts 101a, 102a, or 111a will turn off, and the detection circuit 103 will not detect the predetermined voltage. At this point, the control circuit 121, when the main power is not supplied to the elevator main circuit 115 and the detection circuit 103 does not detect the predetermined voltage, performs a main power shutdown operation by interrupting the main power using any one of the circuit breakers (101, 102, or 111). In other words, the control circuit 121 determines that the main power is shut off for reasons other than a power outage and shuts down the elevator main circuit 115 without performing automatic landing operation.

[0029] However, for the second circuit breaker 101 and the third circuit breaker 102, alarm contacts 101b and 102b are connected in parallel with the auxiliary contacts 101a and 102a. Therefore, if either of these two circuit breakers 101 or 102 trips due to overcurrent or ground fault protection, the corresponding alarm contact 101b or 102b will turn on. As a result, the detection circuit 103 will detect a predetermined voltage. When the main power supply is not supplied to the elevator main circuit 115, the control circuit 121 activates a timer built into the detection circuit 103 if a predetermined voltage is detected by the detection circuit 103, and performs automatic landing operation while the timer is running.

[0030] In other words, if a fault such as a ground fault, short circuit, or leakage current occurs in the main power circuit from the two entrances 31 and 32 to the main power circuit breaker 111 of the elevator control panel 110, the overcurrent protection function or leakage current protection function will activate in the second circuit breaker 101 or the third circuit breaker 102 near the entrances 31 and 32. This overcurrent protection function or leakage current protection function will cause the second circuit breaker 101 or the third circuit breaker 102 to trip. At this time, the auxiliary contacts 101a and 102a that are linked to the second circuit breaker 101 or the third circuit breaker 102 will be tripped in conjunction and will be turned off, making it impossible to perform automatic landing operation.

[0031] In this example, the second circuit breaker 101 and the third circuit breaker 102 have alarm contacts 101b and 102b connected in parallel with auxiliary contacts 101a and 102a. The alarm contacts 101b and 102b are designed to emit an alarm if the second circuit breaker 101 or the third circuit breaker 102 trips due to overcurrent or ground fault. For example, if a fault such as a ground fault, short circuit, or leakage current occurs in the main power circuit from the two entrances 31 and 32 to the main power circuit breaker 111 of the elevator control panel 110, at least one of the second circuit breaker 101 and the third circuit breaker 102 located near the two entrances 31 and 32 will trip due to an overcurrent protection function or a leakage current protection function.

[0032] At this time, the auxiliary contacts 101a and 102a, which are linked to the activated circuit breakers 101 and 102, are interrupted and turned off. However, because this is an interruption operation due to the protective function, the alarm contacts 101b and 102b remain in the ON state. That is, the ON state of these alarm contacts 101b and 102b is detected by the detection circuit 103 for performing automatic landing operation, and the timer in the detection circuit 103 is activated. Then, while this timer is operating, the control circuit 121 supplies power from the power outage battery 116 to the elevator main circuit 115, and performs automatic landing operation.

[0033] Furthermore, the barrier gate 111 inside the elevator control panel 110 is equipped only with an auxiliary contact 111a, and is not configured to connect an alarm contact in parallel with the auxiliary contact 111a. This is to prevent the automatic rescue operation function, which operates during power outages, from functioning correctly if the circuit breaker (main contact operating device) trips due to overcurrent or leakage within the elevator's control system. This reduces the possibility of secondary failures.

[0034] [Control operation from the perspective of the control circuit] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of control operation when the detection circuit 103 detects an overcurrent or ground fault causing an interruption. The control circuit 121 monitors the power supply path between the noise filter 113 and the building power supply contactor 114 to determine whether or not the supply of main power to the elevator main circuit 115 has stopped (step S11). If the main power supply is not stopped (NO in step S11), the control circuit 121 repeats the decision in step S11.

[0035] Then, if it is determined in step S11 that the supply of the main power has stopped (YES in step S11), the control circuit 121 determines whether or not the timer of the detection circuit 103 is operating (step S12). If it is determined in step S12 that the timer of the detection circuit 103 is operating, that is, that the alarm contacts 101b and 102b are ON (YES in step S12), the control circuit 121 supplies power from the power outage battery 116 to the elevator main circuit 115 and performs automatic landing operation (step S13).

[0036] In other words, after starting the automatic landing operation in step S13, the process returns to the decision in step S12, and the automatic landing operation is performed while the timer is running. The automatic landing operation is an operation that stops the elevator car at the nearest floor, for example, for a few seconds. Then, if the timer of the detection circuit 103 is not operating in step S12 (NO in step S12), the control circuit 121 stops supplying power to the elevator main circuit 115 (step S14), and the process for stopping the supply of main power to the elevator main circuit 115 is terminated.

[0037] As explained above, according to the elevator power control device in this example, if a shutoff operation is performed at the second circuit breaker 101 or the third circuit breaker 102 installed near the entrances 31 and 32 of the machine room 30, automatic landing operation will not be performed, and the elevator will stop immediately upon the shutoff operation. On the other hand, if the second circuit breaker 101 or the third circuit breaker 102 trips due to an overcurrent protection function or a ground fault protection function, the detection that the alarm contact 101b or 102b has turned on will initiate automatic landing operation, making it possible to properly rescue passengers.

[0038] Furthermore, the first circuit breaker 111 installed in the elevator control panel 110 is designed to prevent automatic landing operation even if it is tripped due to an overcurrent protection function or a ground fault protection function. This prevents automatic landing operation from being performed in situations where the automatic landing operation function may not work properly during a power outage.

[0039] [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 comprising all the configurations described. For example, in the configuration shown in Figure 1, the machine room 30 is provided with two entrances 31 and 32, and circuit breakers 101 and 102 are installed at each of the entrances 31 and 32. In contrast, if the machine room 30 is configured to have only one entrance, the third circuit breaker 102 may be omitted.

[0040] Furthermore, a barrier gate may be installed in a location other than near the entrance to the machine room 30. For example, as shown in Figure 1, a circuit breaker 105 may be installed in a pit at the bottom of the elevator shaft 10. In this case, the circuit breaker 105 is connected to the main power circuit in the same way as the circuit breakers 101 and 102 shown in Figure 2, and its auxiliary contacts and alarm contacts are connected in parallel, and then connected in series with other auxiliary contacts. As a result, when a worker in the pit operates the circuit breaker 105, the elevator car will stop immediately, and if the circuit breaker 105 is tripped due to its overcurrent protection function or leakage protection function, automatic landing operation will be performed during a power outage. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 10...Hoistway, 11...Elevator car, 12...Counterweight, 13...Main rope, 14...Hoisting machine, 21...Landing, 30...Machine room, 31...First entrance / exit, 32...Second entrance / exit, 101...Second barrier (entrance / exit barrier), 101a...Auxiliary contact, 101b...Alarm contact, 102...Third barrier (entrance / exit barrier), 102a...Auxiliary contact, 102b...Alarm contact, 103...Detection circuit, 104...Power supply line, 105...Block, 110...Elevator control panel, 111...First barrier, 111a...Auxiliary contact, 112...Block operation unit, 113...Noise filter, 114...Building power supply contactor, 115...Elevator main circuit, 116...Power outage battery, 117...Battery power supply contactor, 121...Control circuit, 122...Auxiliary battery

Claims

1. A first circuit breaker is located in a control panel, connected to a power supply circuit to which the main power is supplied, and has a main contact for interrupting the main power, and an auxiliary contact that turns off in conjunction with the interruption of the main contact. A second circuit breaker connected to the power supply circuit at a location separate from the control panel, having a main contact for interrupting the main power supply and an auxiliary contact that turns off in conjunction with the interruption of the main contact, The elevator main circuit, which obtains power for driving the elevator, is supplied with main power via the power supply circuit to which the first and second circuit breakers are connected, A detection circuit in which each of the aforementioned auxiliary contacts is connected in series, An elevator power control device comprising: a control circuit that stops the elevator main circuit when the detection circuit detects that any of the auxiliary contacts are off, and when the detection circuit detects that the supply of the main power to the elevator main circuit has stopped while the auxiliary contacts are on, supplies power from a power outage battery to the elevator main circuit to perform automatic elevator landing operation, An alarm contact, which turns on when the second circuit breaker detects an abnormality in the main power supply, is connected in parallel to the auxiliary contact of the second circuit breaker. When the detection circuit detects that the alarm contact is ON and detects that the main power supply has been cut off, the control circuit supplies power from the power outage battery to the elevator main circuit to perform automatic elevator landing operation. Elevator power control device.

2. The second barrier is located near the entrance to the elevator's machine room. The elevator power supply control device according to claim 1.

3. The detection circuit includes a timer that counts a certain amount of time. When the control circuit detects that the main power supply has been cut off, it performs automatic elevator landing operation while the timer, activated by the alarm contact, counts the predetermined time, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, it stops the power supply from the power outage battery. The elevator power supply control device according to claim 1.

4. Furthermore, the device includes a third circuit breaker connected to the power supply circuit and having a main contact for shutting off the main power supply, an auxiliary contact that turns off in conjunction with the shutting off of the main contact, and an alarm contact connected in parallel with the auxiliary contact. The detection circuit is configured such that each of the auxiliary contacts is connected in series. The control circuit also supplies power from the power outage battery to the elevator main circuit when the alarm contact of the third circuit breaker is turned on, thereby enabling the elevator to perform automatic landing operation. The elevator power supply control device according to claim 1.

5. A first circuit breaker is located in a control panel, connected to a power supply circuit to which the main power is supplied, and has a main contact for interrupting the main power, and an auxiliary contact that turns off in conjunction with the interruption of the main contact. A second circuit breaker connected to the power supply circuit at a location separate from the control panel, having a main contact for shutting off the main power supply, an auxiliary contact that turns off in conjunction with the shutting off of the main contact, and an alarm contact connected in parallel with the auxiliary contact that turns on in the event of a power supply abnormality. An elevator power supply control method for controlling an elevator power supply device comprising an elevator main circuit, which is supplied with main power via the power supply circuit to which the first and second circuit breakers are connected, thereby obtaining power for driving the elevator, When the alarm contact is detected as ON, and the supply of the main power to the elevator main circuit is detected to have stopped, the system performs an automatic landing operation process to supply power from the power outage battery to the elevator main circuit and perform automatic landing operation of the elevator. Elevator power control method.

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