Elevator apparatus

Abstract

The present invention discloses an elevator apparatus comprising an emergency stop apparatus that is operated by an electric operation device in which the number of electric contacts can be reduced while failure detection of electric contacts is possible. In the elevator apparatus, when a controller (103) turns off electric contacts (104, 105) and electromagnets (35a, 35b) are demagnetized, an electric operation device (10) operates. The controller provides an off command (S1, S2) to the electric contacts and determines whether the electric contacts have been turned off, thereby diagnosing the presence or absence of a failure in the electrical contacts. When the controller diagnoses the presence or absence of a failure and the electric contacts are off, magnetic energy accumulated in the coil of the electromagnets causes a current to flow through the coil.

Description

elevator equipment

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator system equipped with an electrically operated safety device.

[0002] BACKGROUND ART An electrically operated emergency stop device without a governor rope has been proposed as an elevator emergency stop device. A technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known as an example of such an emergency stop device.

[0003] This prior art includes a drive mechanism that drives the safety device and an electric actuator that operates the drive mechanism. The electric actuator includes a mover that is mechanically connected to the drive mechanism and first and second electromagnets that attract the mover. When the first and second electromagnets are demagnetized in an emergency, the drive mechanism is activated. This activates the safety device and brings the car to an emergency stop.

[0004] Each of the first and second electromagnets is connected to a DC power supply via two electrical contacts connected in series, and the on / off states of these four electrical contacts are controlled by a safety controller.

[0005] The safety controller keeps the four electrical contacts in the ON state during normal elevator operation. This excites the first and second electromagnets, attracting the moving member. When the safety controller detects an overspeed state of the elevator car, it turns the four electrical contacts OFF. This demagnetizes the first and second electromagnets, activating the emergency stop device.

[0006] By using two electrical contacts connected in series, even if one of the electrical contacts has an ON failure due to welding or the like, the other electrical contact will be turned OFF, ensuring reliable operation of the emergency stop device.

[0007] The safety controller detects an ON fault in the electrical contacts when the elevator car is stopped during normal elevator operation. At this time, the safety controller turns off the four electrical contacts one by one to detect whether an ON fault has occurred. If an ON fault has not occurred in the electrical contacts, one of the first and second electromagnets electrically connected to this electrical contact is demagnetized, but the other electromagnet is excited, so the emergency stop device will not operate.

[0008] International Publication No. 2023 / 058198

[0009] In the above-described prior art, a large number of electrical contacts are required to ensure the reliability of the operation of the safety device while enabling detection of faults in the electrical contacts.

[0010] Therefore, the present invention provides an elevator system equipped with an emergency stop device that is operated by an electric operator and that can reduce the number of electrical contacts while still allowing detection of electrical contact failures.

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, the elevator system according to the present invention comprises a car, an emergency stop device provided in the car, an electric operating device for operating the emergency stop device, and a controller for operating the electric operating device to operate the emergency stop device when the car reaches an overspeed state, and further comprises the following means:

[0012] The electric actuator includes an electromagnet and an excitation circuit including a DC power supply connected to the coil of the electromagnet via an electrical contact. When the controller turns off the electrical contact and the electromagnet is demagnetized, the electric actuator operates.

[0013] The controller issues an OFF command to the electrical contact and determines whether the electrical contact has been turned OFF, thereby diagnosing whether the electrical contact has failed.

[0014] When the controller is diagnosing a fault and the electrical contacts are open, the magnetic energy stored in the coil causes a current to flow through the coil.

[0015] According to the present invention, it is not necessary to excite the electromagnet via an electrical contact separate from the electrical contact for detecting a fault, and therefore the number of electrical contacts can be reduced.

[0016] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an elevator system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a mechanism of an electric operating device according to an embodiment; １ , S ２ ), and the answerback signal (S ０ 10 is a time chart showing an example of a change over time in the temperature of the electric contacts. 11 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of a safety controller in a fault diagnosis of an electric contact according to an embodiment.

[0018] An elevator system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below by way of example with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same components or components having similar functions.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an elevator system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator system includes a car 1, speed sensors (5, 6), an electric operating device 10, a drive mechanism (12 to 20), a lifting rod 21, and a safety device 2.

[0021] The car 1 is suspended by a main rope (not shown) in a hoistway provided in a building, and is slidably engaged with a guide rail 4 via a guide device (not shown). When the main rope is frictionally driven by a drive device (hoisting machine: not shown), the car 1 moves up and down in the hoistway.

[0022] The speed sensor in this embodiment is provided on the car 1, and includes a rotation detector 6 and a roller 5 connected to the rotation shaft of the rotation detector 6. In this embodiment, the roller 5 is connected to the rotation shaft of the rotation detector 6 so that the rotation shaft of the roller 5 and the rotation shaft of the rotation detector 6 are coaxial. A rotary encoder, for example, can be used as the rotation detector 6.

[0023] The rollers 5 are in contact with the guide rails 4. Therefore, when the car 1 moves up and down, the rollers 5 rotate, which in turn rotates the rotation detector 6. A safety controller, which will be described later, monitors the running speed of the car 1 based on the rotation position signal output by the rotation detector 6 in accordance with the rotation.

[0024] An image sensor may be used as the speed sensor. In this case, the position and speed of the elevator car 1 are detected based on image information of the surface condition of the guide rail 4 acquired by the image sensor. For example, the speed is calculated from the moving distance of the image feature over a predetermined time period.

[0025] In this embodiment, the electric operator 10 is an electromagnetic operator and is disposed on the top of the car 1. The electromagnetic operator includes a movable piece or movable rod operated by, for example, a solenoid or an electromagnet. The electric operator 10 is actuated when a predetermined overspeed state of the car 1 is detected by the speed sensors (5, 6). At this time, the lifting rod 21 is pulled up by the drive mechanisms (12 to 20) mechanically connected to the operating lever 11. This causes the safety device 2 to enter a braking state.

[0026] The drive mechanisms (12 to 20) will be described later.

[0027] The safety devices 2 are arranged one on each side of the car 1. A pair of wedge-shaped brake shoes (not shown) provided on each safety device 2 are movable between a braking position and a non-braking position, and in the braking position they clamp the guide rail 4. Furthermore, when the brake shoes rise relative to the car 1 as the car 1 descends, a braking force is generated by the frictional force acting between the brake shoes and the guide rail 4. As a result, the safety devices 2 are activated when the car 1 enters an overspeed state, bringing the car 1 to an emergency stop.

[0028] The elevator system of this embodiment is equipped with a so-called ropeless governor system that does not use a governor rope, and when the ascent / descent speed of the car 1 exceeds the rated speed and reaches a first overspeed (for example, a speed not exceeding 1.3 times the rated speed), the power supply to the drive device (hoisting machine) and the power supply to the elevator controller that controls this drive device are cut off. Also, when the descent speed of the car 1 reaches a second overspeed (for example, a speed not exceeding 1.4 times the rated speed), the electric operating device 10 provided on the car 1 is electrically operated to activate the emergency stop device 2, thereby bringing the car 1 to an emergency stop.

[0029] In this embodiment, the ropeless governor system is composed of the above-mentioned speed sensors (5, 6) and a safety controller that determines whether the car 1 is overspeeding based on the output signal of the speed sensor. This safety controller measures the speed of the car 1 based on the output signal of the speed sensor, and when it determines that the measured speed has reached a first overspeed, it outputs a command signal to cut off the power supply to the drive device (hoisting machine) and the power supply to the elevator controller that controls this drive device. Furthermore, when it determines that the measured speed has reached a second overspeed, the safety controller outputs a command signal to operate the electric actuator 10.

[0030] In this embodiment, although not shown in FIG. 1, the safety controller is disposed on the top of the car 1 together with the electric operating device 10.

[0031] The drive mechanism (12 to 20) that drives the lifting rod 21 will be described below.

[0032] The operating lever 11 and first operating piece 16 of the electric actuator 10 are connected to form a substantially T-shaped first link member. The operating lever 11 and first operating piece 16 form the head and foot of the T, respectively. The substantially T-shaped first link member is rotatably supported on the crosshead 50 via a first operating shaft 19 at the connection between the operating lever 11 and the first operating piece 16. One end (left side in the figure) of a pair of lifting rods 21 is connected to the end of the first operating piece 16, which forms the foot of the T, on the opposite side from the connection between the operating lever 11 and the first operating piece 16.

[0033] The connecting piece 17 and the second operating piece 18 are connected to form a substantially T-shaped second link member. The connecting piece 17 and the second operating piece 18 form the head and foot of the T, respectively. The substantially T-shaped second link member is rotatably supported on the crosshead 50 via the second operating shaft 20 at the connection portion between the connecting piece 17 and the second operating piece 18. The other end (left side in the figure) of the pair of lifting rods 21 is connected to the end of the second operating piece 18, which forms the foot of the T, on the opposite side from the connection portion between the connecting piece 17 and the second operating piece 18.

[0034] An end of the operating lever 11 extending from the inside to the outside of the housing 30 and one of both ends of the connecting piece 17, which is closer to the top of the car 1 than the second operating shaft 20, are connected to one end (left side in the figure) and the other end (right side in the figure) of a drive shaft 12 lying on the car 1. The drive shaft 12 slidably passes through a fixed part 14 fixed to the crosshead 50. The drive shaft 12 also passes through a pressing member 15, which is fixed to the drive shaft 12. The pressing member 15 is located on the second link member (connecting piece 17, second operating piece 18) side of the fixed part 14. A drive spring 13, which is an elastic body, is located between the fixed part 14 and the pressing member 15, and the drive shaft 12 is inserted through the drive spring 13.

[0035] When the electric operator 10 is operated, that is, when the electromagnet is de-energized in this embodiment, the electromagnetic force that constrains the movement of the operating lever 11 against the biasing force of the drive spring 13 disappears, and the biasing force of the drive spring 13 applied to the pressing member 15 drives the drive shaft 12 along the longitudinal direction. As a result, the first link member (operating lever 11, first operating piece 16) rotates about the first operating shaft 19, and the second link member (connecting piece 17, second operating piece 18) rotates about the second operating shaft 20. As a result, one of the lifting rods 21 connected to the first operating piece 16 of the first link member is driven and pulled up, and the other lifting rod 21 connected to the second operating piece 18 of the second link member is driven and pulled up.

[0036] Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the mechanical section of the electric actuator 10 in this embodiment in the installed state shown in Fig. 1. The mechanical section of the electric actuator 10 shown in Fig. 2 is housed in the housing 30 in Fig. 1.

[0037] FIG. 2 also shows the circuit configuration for driving and controlling the electric actuator 10.

[0038] In Fig. 2 (excluding the two-dot chain line), the safety device 2 (Fig. 1) is in a non-braking state, and the electric operating device 10 is in a standby state. In other words, the elevator system is in a normal operating state.

[0039] 2, in the standby state, the movers (34a, 34b, 34c), which are movable members connected to the operating lever 11, are attracted by electromagnetic force to the electromagnets 35a, 35b, whose coils are energized and excited. This restricts the movement of the movers against the biasing force F of the drive spring 13 acting on the movers via the drive shaft 12 (FIG. 1) and the operating lever 11. Therefore, the electric operating device 10 restricts the movement of the drive mechanism (12-20: FIG. 1) against the biasing force of the drive spring 13.

[0040] The mover has an attraction portion 34a that is attracted to the magnetic pole faces of the electromagnets 35a and 35b, and a support portion 34b that is fixed to the attraction portion 34a and to which the operating lever 11 is connected. The operating lever 11 is rotatably connected to the support portion 34b of the mover via a connection bracket 38. In the electric actuator 10, a mover detection switch 109 is provided at a position where the attraction portion 34a of the mover is located during standby.

[0041] The mover further has a cam portion 34c fixed to the suction portion 34a. When the mover is located at the standby position, a mover detection switch 109 is operated by the cam portion 34c. When the mover detection switch 109 is operated by the cam portion 34c, the mover detection switch 109 transitions from an ON state to an OFF state, or from an OFF state to an ON state. Therefore, it is possible to detect whether the mover is located at the standby position according to the state of the mover detection switch 109. In this embodiment, the safety controller 103 determines whether the mover is located at the standby position based on the state of the mover detection switch 109.

[0042] In this embodiment, the mover detection switch 109 is in an ON state when it is operated by the cam portion 34c.

[0043] In this embodiment, at least the attracting portion 34a of the movers (34a, 34b, 34c) is made of a magnetic material, preferably a soft magnetic material such as low carbon steel or permalloy (iron-nickel alloy).

[0044] The other mechanisms (36, 37, 39, 41) in FIG. 2 will be described later.

[0045] The electromagnets 35a and 35b are excited by a DC power supply 300. The excitation circuit for the electromagnets 35a and 35b has the following configuration.

[0046] One end of the coil of electromagnet 35a is connected via fuse 107a to one end (electrical contact 105 side in FIG. 2 ) of the series connection of electrical contacts 104 and 105. One end of the coil of electromagnet 35b is connected via fuse 107b to one end (electrical contact 105 side in FIG. 2 ) of the series connection of electrical contacts 104 and 105. The other end (electrical contact 104 side in FIG. 2 ) of the series connection of electrical contacts 104 and 105 is connected to the high potential (positive terminal) of DC power supply 300.

[0047] The other ends of the coils of the electromagnets 35 a and 35 b are connected to each other and to the low potential (negative terminal) of the DC power supply 300 .

[0048] 2, the coils of the electromagnets 35a and 35b are connected in parallel via fuses 107a and 107b. One end of the parallel connection is connected to the high potential (positive terminal) of the DC power supply 300 via the series connection of electrical contacts 104 and 105. The other end of the parallel connection is connected to the low potential (negative terminal) of the DC power supply 300.

[0049] A diode is connected as a protection circuit for suppressing surge voltage between the series connection point of electromagnet 35a and fuse 107a and the series connection point of electromagnet 35b and fuse 107b, i.e., between one end of the coil of electromagnet 35a and one end of the coil of electromagnet 35b. The forward direction of the diode is set in the direction in which, when the current flowing through electromagnets 35a and 35b is interrupted by electrical contacts 104 and 105, a return current flows through each coil of electromagnets 35a and 35b due to the magnetic energy stored in each coil.

[0050] A diode may be connected to each coil. Alternatively, a diode may be connected between one end of the series connection of the electrical contacts 104 and 105 (the side of the electrical contact 105 in FIG. 2 ) and one end of the parallel connection of the coils of the electromagnets 35 a and 35 b (the interconnection point of the fuses 107 a and 107 b in FIG. 2 ). is connected to the high potential (positive terminal) of the DC power supply 300 via the series connection of the electrical contacts 104 and 105. The other end of the parallel connection is connected to the low potential (negative terminal) of the DC power supply 300.

[0051] In addition, in the fault diagnosis of the electrical contacts 104 and 105 described below, if a circulating current can be passed through the fuses 107a and 107b to suppress surge voltage and maintain the electromagnetic force of the electromagnets 35a and 35b for a short period of time immediately after the electrical contacts 104 and 105 are turned off, then there is no need to apply a protection circuit such as a diode.

[0052] The protection circuit is not limited to a diode, and a snubber circuit or the like may also be used.

[0053] In this embodiment, DC power supply 300 is composed of a rectifier and a power converter that converts AC power from commercial single-phase AC power supply 200 into DC power. Commercial single-phase AC power supply 200 may be one phase of a commercial three-phase AC power supply that supplies power to hoisting machine 400 and elevator controller 7 that drives and controls hoisting machine 400.

[0054] The DC power supply 300 supplies power to operate the electromagnets 35a and 35b, the safety controller 103, the rotation detector 6, and the electrical contacts 104 and 105, as well as an answerback signal (S０ ) as a power source for generating

[0055] A battery 111 is connected to the output of the DC power supply 300 in order to compensate for the power supply to the load for a short time when a power outage or voltage drop occurs. This allows the supply of DC power to be maintained in the event of an instantaneous power outage or instantaneous voltage drop in the commercial single-phase AC power supply 200.

[0056] Fuses 107a and 107b are provided in the excitation circuits to protect the electromagnets 35a and 35b from overcurrent, respectively.

[0057] The electrical contacts 104 and 105 are controlled to be turned on and off by the safety controller 103. When the electric operator 10 is in a standby state, the safety controller 103 controls each of the electrical contacts 104 and 105 to be in an on state. As a result, the coils of the electromagnets 35a and 35b are energized, causing the electromagnets 35a and 35b to generate electromagnetic forces.

[0058] Each of the electrical contacts 104, 105 is composed of a normally open contact provided in, for example, an electromagnetic relay, an electromagnetic contactor, or an electromagnetic switch. In the excitation circuit of the electromagnets 35a, 35b, multiple electrical contacts (two in FIG. 2) are connected in series. This means that even if an ON fault occurs in one contact when multiple electrical contacts are controlled to the OFF state to activate the safety device 2, as will be described later, the electromagnets are de-energized. This improves the operational reliability of the electric actuator 10. An ON fault may occur, for example, due to contact welding.

[0059] The other electrical equipment sections (37, 112) will be described later.

[0060] An answerback signal S from the excitation circuit is input to the safety controller 103 via the signal line shown in FIG. ０ indicates the potential of one end of the parallel connection of the coils of the electromagnets 35a and 35b, which is connected to the high potential (positive terminal) of the DC power supply 300 via the series connection of the electrical contacts 104 and 105.

[0061] Therefore, the answerback signal S ０indicates a high potential of the DC power supply 300 if the electromagnets 35a and 35b are energized, and indicates a low potential of the DC power supply 300 if the electromagnets 35a and 35b are not energized. ０ Based on the potential indicated by these terminals, safety controller 103 detects the energized state of electromagnets 35 a and 35 b and detects failure of electrical contacts 104 and 105 .

[0062] Next, the operation of the electric operating device 10 when the safety device 2 is activated will be described.

[0063] When the safety controller 103 detects a predetermined overspeed state (the second overspeed described above) of the car 1 based on the rotation position signal S from the rotation detector 6, it outputs an OFF command to each of the electrical contacts 104 and 105. The OFF command causes the electrical contacts 104 and 105 to transition from the ON state ( FIG. 2 ) to the OFF state. This stops the excitation of the electromagnets 35 a and 35 b, and the electromagnetic force acting on the movers (34 a, 34 b, 34 c) disappears. This releases the constraint on the mover caused by the attraction of the attraction portion 34 a of the mover to the electromagnets 35 a and 35 b. The mover then moves from its standby state position ( FIG. 2 ) to position P in the direction of the biasing force of the drive spring 13 (to the right in the figure) due to the biasing force of the drive spring 13 (F in FIG. 2 ).

[0064] In FIG. 2, the mover after movement is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

[0065] As the restraint on the mover is released, the drive shaft 12 is driven by the biasing force of the drive spring 13 (FIG. 1) acting on the pressing member 15 (FIG. 1) of the drive shaft 12 in the direction from the fixed portion 14 (FIG. 1) toward the pressing member (FIG. 1). When the drive shaft 12 is driven, the first link member (operating lever 11 and first operating piece 16: FIG. 1) connected to the drive shaft 12 rotates around the first operating shaft 19 (FIG. 1). This causes the lifting rod 21 (FIG. 1) connected to the first operating piece 16 to be pulled up. When the drive shaft 12 is driven, the second link member (connecting piece 17 and second operating piece 18: FIG. 1) connected to the drive shaft 12 rotates around the second operating shaft 20 (FIG. 1). This causes the lifting rod 21 (FIG. 1) connected to the second operating piece 18 to be pulled up.

[0066] Next, the return operation of the electric actuator 10 will be described.

[0067] In order to return the electric actuator 10 from an operating state in which the mover moves to position P by demagnetizing the electromagnets 35a and 35b to a standby state in which the mover is attracted to the electromagnets 35a and 35b as shown in FIG. 2, the mover (34a, 34b, 34c) is returned from the moving position (position P in FIG. 2) to the standby position (FIG. 2) by the mechanical parts (36, 37, 39, 41) and the electrical equipment part (37, 112), the description of which will be omitted, as will be described next.

[0068] The electric actuator 10 has a feed screw 36 for driving the mover. The feed screw 36 is coaxially connected to the rotation shaft of a motor 37 and rotatably supported by a support member 41. The electromagnets 35a and 35b are fixed to an electromagnet support plate 39 that includes a feed nut portion (not shown). The feed nut portion of the electromagnet support plate 39 is threadedly engaged with the feed screw 36. The feed screw 36 is rotated by the motor 37. The motor 37 is driven by a motor controller 112.

[0069] The motor controller 112 includes a drive circuit for the motor 37, and controls the rotation of the motor 37 in response to a control command from the elevator controller 7. The motor 37 may be either a DC motor or an AC motor.

[0070] The elevator controller 7 controls the operation of the car 1 and has information on the operating state of the elevator system. In this embodiment, as described above, the elevator controller 7 further has a function of controlling the motor 37 provided in the electric operating device 10.

[0071] In this embodiment, the elevator controller 7 includes a power conversion device such as an inverter device that drives the electric motor included in the hoisting machine 400, a control unit that controls the electric motor by controlling the power conversion device, a DC power supply for a brake device included in the hoisting machine 400, and a control unit that controls the opening and closing of the brake device. AC power is supplied to the elevator controller 7 from a commercial three-phase AC power supply via normally open contacts included in an electromagnetic contactor, electromagnetic switch, etc. Normally, the normally open contacts are closed.

[0072] When the safety controller 103 determines that the speed of the car 1 has reached the first overspeed, it outputs a command signal Sc, which in turn commands an electromagnetic contactor, an electromagnetic switchgear, or the like to open the normally open contact. This cuts off the power supply from the commercial three-phase AC power source to the elevator controller 7, stopping the drive control of the electric motor 201 and putting the brake device 202 into a braking state. This brings the car 1 to an emergency stop.

[0073] Next, the return operation of the electric actuator 10 will be described.

[0074] The recovery operation of the electric operating device 10 is executed when the elevator device is restored after the car 1 has come to an emergency stop due to the operation of the safety device 2 or the occurrence of a power outage.

[0075] When returning the electric operator 10 to the standby state, the elevator controller 7 sends a rotation command for the motor 37 to the motor controller 112. Upon receiving the rotation command, the motor controller 112 drives the motor 37 to rotate the feed screw 36. The rotating feed screw 36 and a feed nut portion provided on the electromagnet support plate 39 convert the rotation of the motor 37 into linear movement of the electromagnets 35a, 35b along the axial direction of the feed screw 36. As a result, the electromagnets 35a, 35b approach the movement position P of the mover (34a, 34b, 34c) and come into contact with the mover.

[0076] The motor controller 112 monitors the motor current to control the motor 37. When the electromagnets 35a and 35b come into contact with the mover as described above, the load on the motor 37 increases, and the motor current therefore increases. When the motor current increases and exceeds a predetermined value, the motor controller 112 determines that the electromagnets 35a and 35b have come into contact with the mover. The motor controller 112 sends this determination result to the safety controller 103 and the elevator controller 7.

[0077] When safety controller 103 receives the determination result from motor controller 112, it outputs a control command signal S to each of electrical contacts 104 and 105. １ , S ２ The ON command signal is output as an ON command signal. The ON command signal causes the electrical contacts 104 and 105 to transition from an OFF state to an ON state. This causes the electromagnets 35a and 35b to be excited. The electromagnets 35a and 35b exert an electromagnetic force on the attracting portion 34a of the mover, causing it to be attracted to the electromagnets 35a and 35b.

[0078] When elevator controller 7 receives the above-mentioned determination result from motor controller 112, it sends a reverse rotation command for motor 37 to motor controller 112. Upon receiving the reverse rotation command, motor controller 112 reverses the rotation direction of motor 37, thereby rotating feed screw 36 in the reverse direction. As a result, the mover attracted to electromagnets 35a and 35b moves toward the standby position (FIG. 2) together with electromagnets 35a and 35b while receiving the biasing force of drive spring 13.

[0079] The cam portion 34c of the mover (34a, 34b, 34c) is separated from the mover detection switch 109 from when the electric operator 10 is actuated and the mover (34a, 34b, 34c) moves to position P until immediately before the electric operator 10 completes its return operation. Therefore, at this time, the mover detection switch 109 is in the OFF state.

[0080] When the movers (34a, 34b, 34c) attracted to the electromagnets 35a, 35b reach the standby position from position P, the mover detection switch 109 is operated by the cam portion 34c provided on the mover. When the mover detection switch 109 is operated, the elevator controller 7 determines that the mover is located at the standby position. Based on this determination result, the elevator controller 7 sends a stop command for the motor 37 to the motor controller 112. Upon receiving the stop command, the motor controller 112 stops the rotation of the motor 37.

[0081] As described above, the electric actuator 10 is operated by turning off the electrical contacts 104 and 105. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to ensure the reliability of the operation of the electric actuator 10, the safety controller 103 has a function of diagnosing failures in the electrical contacts 104 and 105, as will be described next.

[0082] The safety controller 103 diagnoses whether or not there is a failure in the electrical contacts 104, 105 when the elevator system is in operation and the car 1 is stopped, i.e., when the electric operating device 10 is in a standby state (Figure 2).

[0083] First, the safety controller 103 sends a control command signal S to the electrical contacts 104 and 105. １ , S ２ At this time, safety controller 103 changes one of control command signals S １ , S ２ The other is maintained at the ON command signal.

[0084] At this time, the safety controller 103 outputs an answerback signal S ０ indicates a low potential, the safety controller 103 determines that the electrical contact to which the OFF command signal is given is normal. ０ indicates a high potential, it is determined that the electrical contact that provided the OFF command signal has an ON failure.

[0085] Next, the safety controller 103 outputs a control command signal S to the electrical contacts 104 and 105. １ , S ２Among these, the safety controller 103 transitions the control command signal of the electrical contact diagnosed for a fault from an OFF command signal to an ON command signal, and transitions the control command signal of the electrical contact to be diagnosed for a fault next from an ON command signal to an OFF command signal. Note that, within the period in which the magnitude of the circulating current flowing through each coil of the electromagnets 35 a, 35 b becomes large enough for the electromagnets 35 a, 35 b to attract the moving element of the electric actuator 10, the safety controller 103 transitions the control command signal of the electrical contact to be diagnosed for a fault next from an ON command signal to an OFF command signal.

[0086] At this time, the safety controller 103 outputs an answerback signal S ０ indicates a low potential, the safety controller 103 determines that the electrical contact to which the OFF command signal is given is normal. ０ indicates a high potential, the safety controller 103 determines that the electrical contact to which the OFF command signal was sent has an ON fault. After the fault diagnosis, the safety controller 103 transitions the control command signal to the electrical contact diagnosed as having a fault from an OFF command signal to an ON command signal within a period in which the value of the circulating current flowing through each coil of the electromagnets 35 a, 35 b reaches a value that enables the electromagnets 35 a, 35 b to attract the moving element of the electric actuator 10.

[0087] As described above, the electric operator 10 diagnoses whether or not there is a failure in each electrical contact while maintaining its standby state.

[0088] FIG. 3 shows the control command signal (S １ , S ２ ), and the answerback signal (S ０ ) flowing through the coil of the electromagnet. Ｃ ) is also shown in the waveform diagram.

[0089] Safety controller 103 first diagnoses whether electrical contact 104 has a fault, and then diagnoses whether electrical contact 105 has a fault, out of electrical contacts 104 and 105 (FIG. 2).

[0090] The safety controller 103 １ The control command signal S １The signal transitions from an ON command signal (ON) to an OFF command signal (OFF).

[0091] At this time, if the electrical contact 104 is normal, the answerback signal S ０ As shown by the solid line in the figure, the answerback signal S ０ is held at a high level H (high potential) as indicated by the two-dot chain line in the figure.

[0092] Time t １ A predetermined time after the time t ２ Then, the safety controller 103 is １ transitions from OFF to ON. １ From t ２ During the period up to S ０ Based on this, the presence or absence of a fault in the electrical contact 104 is diagnosed.

[0093] t １ From t ２ The predetermined time until the current i flows through the coils of the electromagnets 35a and 35b is set to a period during which the magnitude of the circulating current flowing through each of the coils of the electromagnets 35a and 35b is large enough to attract the moving element of the electric actuator 10. Ｃ When the electrical contact 104 is normal, t １ From t ２ During the period up to ｍ However, the attracted state between the electromagnets 35a and 35b and the movable element of the electric actuator 10 is maintained.

[0094] The safety controller 103 ２ And S １ At time t after a predetermined time has elapsed since the transition from OFF to ON ３ Then, the control command signal S to the electrical contact 105 ２ The signal t transitions from an ON command signal (ON) to an OFF command signal (OFF). ２ From t ３ The predetermined time until i Ｃ Ga I ｍ It is set to the time required for the２ From t ３ During the period up to ０ becomes high level H.

[0095] t ３ If the electrical contact 105 is normal, ０ As shown by the solid line in the figure, S transitions from a high level H to a low level L. When an ON fault occurs in the electrical contact 105, S ０ is held at a high level H as indicated by the two-dot chain line in the figure.

[0096] Time t ３ A predetermined time after the time t ４ Then, the safety controller 103 is ２ transitions from OFF to ON. ３ From t ４ During the period up to S ０ Based on this, the presence or absence of a fault in the electrical contact 105 is diagnosed.

[0097] t ３ From t ４ The predetermined time until the current i flows through the coils of the electromagnets 35a and 35b is set to a period during which the magnitude of the circulating current flowing through each of the coils of the electromagnets 35a and 35b is large enough to attract the moving element of the electric actuator 10. Ｃ When the electrical contact 105 is normal, t ３ From t ４ During the period up to ｍ However, the attracted state between the electromagnets 35a and 35b and the movable element of the electric actuator 10 is maintained.

[0098] The safety controller 103 ４ And S ２ This completes one fault diagnosis.

[0099] 4 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the safety controller in the fault diagnosis of the electrical contacts in this embodiment. The explanation will be made with reference to FIG. 2 as needed.

[0100] Safety controller 103 in this embodiment includes a computer system such as a microcomputer, etc. This computer system executes a predetermined program, causing safety controller 103 to perform a fault diagnosis of the electrical contacts.

[0101] When the safety controller 103 starts processing, first, in step S301, it determines whether the car door has been closed for a predetermined time (e.g., three minutes). That is, the safety controller 103 determines whether the car is stopped without responding to a call. The safety controller 103 acquires information about the operating status of the elevator device from, for example, the elevator controller 7, and determines whether the door has been closed for a predetermined time (e.g., three minutes) based on the acquired information.

[0102] If safety controller 103 determines that the door open state has not continued for the predetermined time (NO in step S301), it executes step S301 again.If safety controller 103 determines that the door open state has continued for the predetermined time (YES in step S301), it next executes step S302.

[0103] In step S302, safety controller 103 outputs control command signal S to electrical contact 104 in order to turn electrical contact 104 off. １ After executing step S302, safety controller 103 then executes step S303.

[0104] In step S303, safety controller 103 outputs answerback signal S ０ The safety controller 103 determines whether S ０ If it is determined that S is at a low level (YES in step S303), then step S06 is executed. ０ If it is determined that the level is high and not low (NO in step S303), step S304 is then executed.

[0105] In step S304, safety controller 103 transmits control command signal S to electrical contact 104 in order to turn electrical contact 104 off. １ The predetermined time in step S304 is determined by the control command signal S １ The time is set according to the delay time of the response of the electrical contact 104 to the input.

[0106] If safety controller 103 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in step S304), it executes step S303 again.If safety controller 103 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in step S301), it next executes step S305.

[0107] In step S305, safety controller 103 determines that electrical contact 104 has an ON failure, and outputs control command signal S ２ , an OFF command signal is sent to turn OFF the electrical contact 105. This causes the electric operating device 10 to operate, the car 1 is maintained in a stopped state, and the elevator apparatus enters a state of waiting for maintenance work.

[0108] After executing step S305, safety controller 103 ends the series of processes.

[0109] As described above, safety controller 103 outputs answerback signal S ０ is determined to be low (YES in step S303), that is, if it is determined that the electrical contact 104 is normal, then step S306 is executed.

[0110] In step S306, safety controller 103 outputs control command signal S to electrical contact 104 in order to turn electrical contact 104 on. １ After executing step S306, safety controller 103 then executes step S307.

[0111] In step S307, safety controller 103 outputs control command signal S to electrical contact 105 in order to turn electrical contact 105 off. ２After executing step S307, safety controller 103 then executes step S308.

[0112] In step S308, safety controller 103 outputs answerback signal S ０ The safety controller 103 determines whether S ０ If it is determined that S is at a low level (YES in step S308), then step S311 is executed. ０ If it is determined that the level is high and not low (NO in step S308), then step S309 is executed.

[0113] In step S309, safety controller 103 outputs control command signal S to electrical contact 105 in order to turn electrical contact 105 off. ２ The predetermined time in step S309 is determined by the control command signal S ２ The time is set according to the delay time of the response of the electrical contact 105 to the input.

[0114] If safety controller 103 determines that the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in step S309), it executes step S308 again.If safety controller 103 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in step S309), it next executes step S310.

[0115] In step S310, safety controller 103 determines that electrical contact 105 has an ON failure and outputs control command signal S １ , an OFF command signal is sent to turn OFF the electrical contact 104. This causes the electric operating device 10 to operate, the car 1 is maintained in a stopped state, and the elevator apparatus enters a state of waiting for maintenance work.

[0116] After executing step S310, safety controller 103 ends the series of processes.

[0117] As described above, safety controller 103 outputs answerback signal S in step S308. ０If it is determined that the voltage Vcc is low (YES in step S308), that is, if it is determined that the electrical contact 105 is normal, then step S311 is executed.

[0118] In step S311, safety controller 103 transmits control command signal S to electrical contact 105 in order to turn electrical contact 105 on. ２ After executing step S311, safety controller 103 then executes step S312.

[0119] In step S312, the safety controller 103 determines whether the mover detection switch 109 is off. That is, the safety controller 103 determines whether the electric actuator 10 is actuated. For example, the control command signal S ２ Due to variations in the delay time of the response of the electrical contact 105 to the ON command signal, the electric actuator 10 will operate even if the ON command signal is given to the electrical contact 105.

[0120] If safety controller 103 determines that mover detection switch 109 is off (YES in step S312), it then executes step 313. If safety controller 103 determines that mover detection switch 109 is not off (NO in step S312), that is, if it determines that electric operator 10 is not operating, it ends the series of processes.

[0121] In step S313, the safety controller 103 returns the electric operator 10 to the standby state as described above.

[0122] After executing step S313, safety controller 103 ends the series of processes.

[0123] According to the above embodiment, in order to diagnose a fault in an electrical contact, the safety controller issues an OFF command signal to the electrical contact to be diagnosed, and when the electrical contact is normally turned OFF, a current flows in the coil due to the magnetic energy stored in the coil of the electromagnet.

[0124] This means that in order to keep the electric actuator in a standby state during fault diagnosis, it is not necessary to excite the electromagnet via an electrical contact separate from the electrical contact that detects the fault, thereby reducing the number of electrical contacts.

[0125] In addition, since electrical contact failures can be diagnosed without operating the electric operator, it is possible to diagnose whether or not there is a fault in the electrical contacts while the elevator is in normal operation. Furthermore, automatic diagnosis by the safety controller is possible, without relying on maintenance and inspection work by engineers.

[0126] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of the embodiments with other configurations.

[0127] For example, if reliability can be ensured, only one electrical contact may be required.

[0128] Alternatively, the answerback signal from the excitation circuit may be an excitation current from a DC power supply. In this case, the excitation current is detected by a current sensor, and if the excitation current is detected, the safety controller determines that the electrical contact has an ON failure. If the detected current value is zero, the safety controller determines that the electrical contact is normal.

[0129] Moreover, instead of the mover detection switch 109, other position detection sensors, such as a photoelectric position sensor, a magnetic position sensor, or a proximity sensor (capacitive or inductive), may be used.

[0130] In addition, the electric operating device 10 may be provided not only at the upper part of the elevator car 1 but also at the lower part or side part.

[0131] The elevator system may have a machine room, or may be a so-called machine room-less elevator that does not have a machine room.

[0132] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1...car, 2...emergency stop device, 4...guide rail, 5...roller, 6...rotation detector, 7...elevator controller, 10...electric operator, 11...operation lever, 12...drive shaft, 13...drive spring, 14...fixing portion, 15...pressure member, 16...first operating piece, 17...connecting piece, 18...second operating piece, 19...first operating shaft, 20...second operating shaft, 21...lifting rod, 30...casing, 34a...suction portion, 34b...support portion, 34c...cam portion, 35a, 35b...electromagnet, 36...feed screw, 37...motor, 38...connection bracket, 39...electromagnet support plate, 41...support member, 50...crosshead, 103...safety controller, 104, 105...electrical contacts, 107a, 107b...fuses, 109...mover detection switch, 111...battery, 112...motor controller, 300...DC power supply, 200...commercial single-phase AC power supply, 400...hoisting machine

Claims

1. Carriage, An emergency stop device provided in the aforementioned elevator car, An electric control unit for activating the emergency stop device, A controller that activates the electric control unit to activate the emergency stop device when the elevator car becomes excessively fast, In an elevator system equipped with, The aforementioned electric actuator is Electromagnets and, An excitation circuit including a DC power supply connected to the coil of the electromagnet via electrical contacts, Equipped with, When the controller turns on the electrical contacts and the electromagnet is energized by the DC power supply, the motorized actuator enters a standby state. When the controller turns off the electrical contacts and the electromagnet is demagnetized, the electric actuator is activated. The controller diagnoses whether or not there is a fault in the electrical contact by issuing an off command to the electrical contact and determining whether the electrical contact has turned off. An elevator device characterized in that, when the controller is diagnosing whether or not the fault exists and the electrical contact is off, current flows through the coil due to the magnetic energy stored in the coil, and the electric operator maintains the standby state.

2. In the elevator device according to claim 1, A protection circuit for suppressing surge voltage is connected to the aforementioned coil. An elevator device characterized in that the current flowing through the coil is a circulating current flowing through the coil and the protection circuit.

3. In the elevator device according to claim 2, An elevator device characterized in that the protection circuit consists of a diode.

4. In the elevator device according to claim 1, An elevator system characterized in that, when in a normal operating state, the controller diagnoses whether or not the aforementioned malfunction is present.

5. In the elevator device according to claim 1, The electric actuator has a movable element that is attracted to the electromagnet in the standby state, An elevator device characterized in that the attraction of the movable element to the electromagnet is maintained by the current.

6. In the elevator device according to claim 1, The aforementioned electrical contact has a first electrical contact and a second electrical contact connected in series. The elevator device is characterized in that the controller diagnoses whether or not the other electrical contact is faulty by issuing an ON command and an OFF command to one and the other of the first electrical contact and the other, respectively, and determining whether the other has turned OFF.

7. In the elevator device according to claim 1, The elevator device is characterized in that the controller diagnoses the presence or absence of the fault based on the answer-back signal from the excitation circuit in response to the off command.