Remote Virtual Service Tool System for Elevators based on Physical Signal Emulation

Abstract

The present invention relates to a remote virtual service tool system that provides a location-independent elevator inspection environment. Through an integrated gateway device equipped with a wireless communication module and a multi-port interface, the present invention provides an environment in which an operator can remotely emulate and control the input operations of a manufacturer's proprietary service tool from inside an elevator car or outside a building using only a smartphone, without having to go to the machine room. In particular, through signal emulation technology that inversely generates and injects the electrical signals of a physical service tool, a universal control environment is provided without the constraints of the manufacturer's proprietary specifications or physical input methods that vary by manufacturer.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for elevator maintenance, and in particular, to a system that emulates the function of a physical tool in software by directly applying an electrical signal to a control panel through a remote terminal without the need for a dedicated physical service tool used in the field. Background Technology

[0002] For elevator maintenance and fault diagnosis, it is necessary to physically connect manufacturer-specific service tools to the control panel to check error codes or set parameters. However, as service port specifications (DB9, 16-pin, 20-pin, etc.) and communication methods vary by manufacturer, inspectors face a physical burden of having to carry various heavy and expensive service tools during site visits. Furthermore, since workers must travel to the location where the control panel is situated—such as the machine room or the top of the car—to connect the tools, the work route becomes longer and the risk of safety accidents remains constant. Accordingly, there is a need for technology that allows for the safe remote operation of the control panel using smartphone apps without the need for physical tools; however, existing technologies are limited to simple data monitoring, and there is currently a lack of technology capable of securing control by precisely replicating the manufacturer's proprietary physical button input signals. The problem to be solved

[0003] 1. Complete replacement of physical tools (Hard-to-Soft) Reduce costs and maximize portability by replacing expensive dedicated hardware equipment with mobile app-based software tools.

[0004] 2. Implementation of Remote Control Environment Parameter setting and reset are performed in a safe location, such as inside the elevator car or the first-floor lobby, without the operator having to enter a dangerous machine room.

[0005] 3. Universal Emulation: Compatibility is ensured by electrically simulating different input methods from various manufacturers, such as simple contact methods (GPIO), parallel bit patterns, synchronous bus driving, and serial communication methods (UART), in a single integrated module. means of solving the problem

[0007] The present invention for achieving the above objective includes an integrated gateway device (200) electrically connected to a service port (120) of an elevator control panel (110) and a terminal (400) wirelessly connected thereto.

[0009] The above integrated gateway device (200) is connected to a physical port through a multi-interface unit (210) and generates a 'physical electrical signal waveform' suitable for the elevator model based on a user command received from a terminal (400) and injects it into a service port.

[0011] Specifically, the present invention features input emulation technology, which includes the following methods: (1) Contact method: Reproduces the voltage drop (pull-down) or rise (pull-up) phenomenon that occurs when a physical button is pressed using a semiconductor switching element. (2) Parallel / synchronous method: Drives a data bus by generating a combination of multiple signal lines or synchronizing with a scan signal of a control panel. (3) Communication method: Generates a control command data packet transmitted by a physical tool and sends it directly to a receiving line (RX). Effects of the invention

[0013] 1. Equipment simplification: Multiple dedicated tools costing millions of won can be replaced with a single inexpensive gateway module and a smartphone app.

[0015] 2. Operational Safety and Efficiency: Reduces travel time to the machine room and enables precise control in a safe location.

[0017] 3. High compatibility: Since it is a signal simulation method at the physical layer rather than an API integration method, it is not affected by the manufacturer's software updates or security policies and can be widely applied from old to new models. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0019] Figure 1: Overall configuration diagram of a remote virtual service tool system according to the present invention Figure 2: Block diagram of an integrated gateway device including multiple interfaces and a hybrid communication module Figure 3: Flowchart of Virtual Service Tool Operation and Signal Emulation Process Figure 4: Example of heterogeneous elevator virtual service tool UI emulation implemented on a terminal Specific details for implementing the invention

[0020] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0022] 1. System Overview The present invention is structured such that an integrated gateway device (200) acts as an agent for a physical service tool (HHT), and a terminal (400) provides the operation screen (UI).

[0024] 2. The hardware configuration integrated gateway device (200) is equipped with a multi-interface unit (210) and is directly connected to various connectors such as DB9, 16-pin, and 20-pin. The communication unit is equipped with a hybrid module (260) that supports both LTE (wide range) and Wi-Fi / Bluetooth (short range), thereby flexibly addressing communication dead zone issues in the machine room. The operation of the entire device is managed by a control unit (230), and a signal emulation unit (240) is provided to generate and apply physical electrical waveforms according to the control of the control unit (230).

[0026] 3. Core Technology: Physical Signal Emulation. The present invention is a technology that mimics the electrical characteristics of a physical button exactly, rather than simply transmitting data.

[0028] (1) First embodiment: Individual contact control method (Active Low / High Switching) When a physical button (SW_UP, SW_ENT, etc.) has a pull-down (Active Low) structure that short-circuits the signal line to ground (GND), the integrated gateway device simulates the button input by switching the corresponding pin from a 'High-Z (floating)' state to an 'Output Low (0V)' state. Conversely, when it has a pull-up (Active High) structure that is recognized as an input only when voltage (VCC) is applied to the signal line, the gateway performs a sourcing operation by applying a voltage of 5V or 3.3V to the corresponding pin.

[0030] (2) Second Embodiment: Parallel Bit Pattern Generation. When a service port is composed of multiple input bits (Port Input bits 0 to 6), the integrated gateway device generates a 'bit combination' rather than simple single pin control. For example, if the 'rise' command is a condition where 'bit 0' and 'bit 2' must be activated simultaneously, the gateway synchronizes pins 5 and 9 (example) to drive them to an active level simultaneously, and keeps the remaining pins in an inactive state, thereby emulating parallel data input.

[0032] (3) Third Embodiment: Scan-Synchronized Bus Driving. This is a case where the data lines (LD0~LD7) are configured as a bidirectional bus and a separate key scan signal (SCAN-KEY#) exists. In this case, the integrated gateway device normally maintains the data lines in 'Input Mode' to monitor display data. Then, when a scan trigger signal (SCAN-KEY#, Active Low) is detected from the control panel, the data lines are immediately switched to 'Output Mode', data (Key Code) corresponding to the virtual button input value is sent on the bus, and then the device returns to input mode. This is a synchronous emulation that injects data in accordance with the timing of the control panel. At this time, the switching between the input mode and output mode can be performed in software or hardware depending on the electrical characteristics of the control panel.

[0034] (4) Fourth Embodiment: Serial Communication Packet Injection (UART Packet Injection) In the case of a new model using UART communication (e.g., Otis, Thyssen, etc.), the control unit (230) generates a pre-analyzed command packet (e.g., 0x02 0x43...) and transmits it by applying an electrical signal to the RX line. This corresponds to the receiving (RX) line in terms of the service port and the output signal line in terms of the integrated gateway device. This emulates the process of a physical tool sending a command via serial communication. The serial communication packet injection may include at least one of a status inquiry (Read) command and a control setting (Write) command.

[0036] 4. Remote virtual service tool control and safety logic (1) UI emulation: The terminal (400) outputs a virtual UI of the identified model. (2) Control signal emulation: User input is converted into a physical waveform and applied. (3) Bidirectional synchronization: Feedback of the control panel's response to the terminal. (4) Safety blocking in case of communication failure (Failsafe Watchdog): To prevent accidents caused by wireless communication disconnection during elevator operation, the terminal (400) transmits a periodic 'Heartbeat' signal while the button input is maintained. If this Heartbeat signal is not received for more than a preset threshold time (e.g., 300ms), the integrated gateway device (200) performs a safety blocking logic (Watchdog Timer) that immediately blocks all control signals applied to the service port to prevent additional control input from occurring.

[0038] 5. Data Optimization Transmission (Delta Transmission) The integrated gateway device performs an event-driven transmission logic that packetizes data and transmits it to a server only when a change (Delta) occurs in the elevator status value in order to reduce wireless data costs. The terminal and the integrated gateway device may communicate via a remote server or communicate directly without going through a server. Explanation of the symbols

[0040] 100: Remote Virtual Service Tool System 110: Elevator control panel 120: Service port 200: Integrated Gateway Device 210: Multi-interface section 230: Control Unit (MCU) 240: Signal Emulation Section 260: Hybrid communication module 400: User terminal

Claims

Claim 1 A remote virtual service tool providing system comprising: an integrated gateway device electrically connected to a service port of an elevator control panel; and a terminal connected to the integrated gateway device via wireless communication; wherein the integrated gateway device, based on a user input command received from the terminal, directly drives the potential of a signal line to correspond to the voltage level and signal timing formed by a physical service tool of a connected elevator model on the signal line of the service port to generate an electrical signal waveform, applies the electrical signal waveform to the service port to emulate an input operation so that the elevator control panel recognizes it as an operation by the physical service tool, and the terminal transmits a periodic survival signal to the integrated gateway device while the button input is maintained, and the integrated gateway device blocks all control signals applied to the service port if the survival signal is not received for more than a preset threshold time. Claim 2 A remote virtual service tool providing system according to claim 1, wherein the integrated gateway device generates a model-specific control command data packet transmitted by a physical service tool of the corresponding model for an elevator model using UART communication, applies an electrical signal corresponding to the control command data packet to a signal line corresponding to a data receiving line from the perspective of the service port, wherein the control command data packet includes at least one of a status inquiry command and a control setting command, and the integrated gateway device feeds back the response of the elevator control panel to the terminal. Claim 3 A remote virtual service tool providing system according to claim 1, wherein, when the data line of the service port is configured as a bidirectional bus and a key scan signal is present, the integrated gateway device normally maintains the data line in an input mode, and when a scan trigger signal is detected from the elevator control panel, switches the data line to an output mode to apply a key code corresponding to the user input command to the data line, and then returns the data line to an input mode. Claim 4 A remote virtual service tool providing system according to claim 1, wherein, when the service port is composed of a plurality of input signal lines, the integrated gateway device forms a predefined logical bit pattern on two or more of the plurality of input signal lines to correspond to the user input command and applies it simultaneously, while keeping the remaining input signal lines in an inactive state, thereby emulating parallel input of a physical service tool. Claim 5 A remote virtual service tool providing system according to claim 1, characterized in that when the elevator control panel detects a button input by a change in the voltage level of a signal line, the integrated gateway device emulates the contact input of a physical button switch by transitioning the corresponding signal line from a high impedance state to an output low state for the Active Low method, or by applying a preset active voltage to the corresponding signal line for the Active High method. Claim 6 delete

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