An elevator installation and a method for accessing a roof of an elevator car

Abstract

A method (200) for accessing a roof (102-1) of an elevator car (102) is disclosed in the present invention. The method (200) includes receiving a first instruction to move the elevator car (102). The first instruction is received through a COP (302). Further, the method (200) includes operating the elevator car (102) to move from the floor (101-3), upon the receipt of the first instruction. The method (200) includes receiving a second instruction for stopping the elevator car (102). A landing door (107) at the floor (101-3) is partially opened to access a switch (404) positioned at an upper portion (111) of the elevator car (102). The method (200) includes receiving a third instruction to align the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102) with the floor (101-3). The third instruction is received based on actuation of the switch (404). The method (200) includes operating the elevator car (102) to move based on the third instruction, such that the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102) is aligned with the floor (101-3).

Description

[0001] AN ELEVATOR INSTALLATION AND A METHOD FOR ACCESSING A ROOF OF AN ELEVATOR CAR

[0002] The present invention relates to elevators and more particularly, to an elevator installation and a method for accessing a roof of an elevator car.

[0003] Elevators are an essential part of multi-storey buildings, such as commercial or residential buildings, for transporting persons / goods between different floors. An elevator includes an elevator shaft disposed along the multiple floors of a building. Further, the elevator includes an elevator car adapted to be displaced along the elevator shaft between the multiple floors by using a drive unit. The elevator shaft includes an elevator pit disposed below the lowermost floor of the building.

[0004] Such elevators usually require periodic maintenance and inspection to ensure optimal operation of the elevators without any breakdowns. Currently, during an inspection of the elevator, a technician initially calls an elevator car to a floor and places a request for the elevator car to move downwards from the floor. Then, the technician is required to unlock a landing door at the floor to stop the elevator car such that a roof of the elevator car aligns with the floor and the roof of the elevator car is accessible by the technician. The technician has to repeat the process of locking and unlocking the landing door until the roof is aligned with the floor.

[0005] In particular, upon unlocking the landing door, the technician partially opens the landing door to check the position of the elevator car with respect to the floor. If the elevator car is not at a desired position or aligned with the floor, then the technician needs to lock the landing door and again repeat the process of unlocking the landing door after a time duration. The technician needs to undergo extensive training in order to predict the time duration to stop the elevator car such that the roof is aligned with the floor. Also, if the roof of the elevator car is not aligned properly with respect to the floor, then it might be unsafe for the technician to climb on the roof to perform maintenance and inspection. In particular, if the roof is not aligned properly with the floor, then it might be difficult for the technician to access various control elements positioned on the roof of the elevator car to verify the safety of the elevator installation before climbing on the roof. Therefore, such a process for accessing the roof of the elevator car is cumbersome, time-consuming, and increases the cost associated with training of the technician. CN114014118A discloses an elevator car roof safe entry control method including the steps that a toggle switch signal of a switch box in an elevator car is received, a car roof mode is entered, and in the car roof mode, internal and external calling of an elevator is invalid. The elevator is controlled to run to a preset position at the overhaul speed. A worker manually opens a landing door outside the hall and enters the car roof, and an overhaul switch signal of the car roof is received, an overhaul mode is entered, and the priority of the overhaul mode is higher than that of the car roof mode. However, the disclosed method fails to provide sufficient safety checks of safety circuits, such as a door safety circuit, and emergency stop buttons before the technician climbs on the roof aligned with the floor. Additionally, the disclosed method requires the technician to slightly open the landing door to observe the position of the car roof and thereafter, to use the up-and-down button of an external call to position the elevator car. In order to perform the aforementioned method, the technician needs to undergo extensive training which is cost-intensive and timeconsuming. Therefore, the disclosed method is cumbersome and time-consuming.

[0006] Further, in the aforementioned method, the switch box is accessed to send a toggle switch signal. Usually, a lock-key may be required to access the switch box and such a switch box is positioned in the elevator car in a manner that the switch box is easily accessible by any person standing within the elevator car. Therefore, the lock-key of the switch box can be tampered with by any unauthorized person to falsely send the toggle switch signal which might lead to an unsafe operational event in the elevator system. For instance, the toggle switch signal may be sent by an unauthorized person which might change a normal mode of the elevator car to the car roof mode. Further, various stringent factors / requirements, such as positioning, space, aesthetics, and safety, need to be considered before the inclusion of the switch box within the elevator car. This increases the overall cost and time required for the implementation of the switch box within the elevator car.

[0007] Therefore, there is an immense desire to develop a method that can eliminate one or more shortcomings associated with the abovementioned elevators.

[0008] It is the object of the present invention to provide a method for accessing a roof of an elevator car. The method enables a technician to align the roof of the elevator car to a floor with minimal training and physical effort in order to safely access the roof for performing maintenance and inspection. According to the invention, this object is solved by the method having the features of claim 1 and an elevator installation having the features of claim 8-10. According to a first aspect of the invention, a method for accessing a roof of an elevator car is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by an elevator control unit, a first instruction to move the elevator car. The first instruction is received through a Cabin Operating Panel (COP) when the elevator car is at a floor. Further, the method includes operating, by the elevator control unit, the elevator car to move in a downward direction from the floor, upon the receipt of the first instruction. The method includes receiving, by the elevator control unit, a second instruction for stopping the elevator car. A landing door at the floor is thereafter partially opened to access a switch positioned at an upper portion of the elevator car. Further, the method includes receiving, by the elevator control unit, a third instruction to align the roof of the elevator car with the floor. The third instruction is received based on actuation of the switch. The method includes operating, by the elevator control unit, the elevator car to move in the downward direction based on the third instruction, such that the roof of the elevator car is aligned with the floor.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the invention, an elevator installation is disclosed. The elevator installation includes a drive machine and an elevator car coupled to the drive machine. The elevator car includes a switch positioned on an upper portion and adapted to be actuated to transmit a third instruction for aligning a roof of the elevator car with a floor. The switch is accessed when a landing door is at least partially opened at the floor. Further, the elevator car includes an elevator control unit in communication with the switch and the drive machine, and is configured to perform the method as described in the above paragraphs.

[0010] Possible features and advantages of embodiments / aspects of the invention can be considered, among other things, and without limiting the invention, to be dependent upon the concepts and findings described below.

[0011] The advantage of the proposed method is that the roof of the elevator car can be aligned with the floor, for performing hoistway access and inspection, without the requirement of repeatedly unlocking the landing door to visually check whether the alignment is completed. Initially, the technician may operate a Landing Operating Panel (LOP) located at a floor to call the elevator car to the floor. In an embodiment, the floor may be embodied as any floor that is above at least two floors from a ground floor. Once the elevator car reaches the floor, the technician may enter a cabin of the elevator car to check if the cabin is empty. This is to ensure that no passenger should be present in the cabin when further steps are performed for inspection.

[0012] Then, the technician operates the COP to provide the first instruction to the elevator control unit for moving the elevator car in the downward direction. Thereafter, the technician may exit the cabin and the elevator car may move in the downward direction from the floor after the landing door closes at the floor. Now, once the elevator car moves in the downward direction, the second instruction is provided to the elevator control unit to stop the elevator car. Thereafter, the technician can partially open the landing door at the floor. One of the advantages of providing the second instruction and partially opening the landing door is that the functioning of a door safety circuit of the elevator car is verified. In particular, when the second instruction is received, the elevator control unit actuates brakes of the elevator car to stop the movement of the elevator car in the downward direction. This is to ensure that the door safety circuit are functioning correctly before the roof of the elevator car is aligned with the floor to provide access to the technician thereon.

[0013] Another advantage of providing the second instruction and partially opening the landing door is that the technician can access the switch positioned at the upper portion of the elevator car. The switch is provided to automatically align the roof of the elevator car with the floor. This ensures that the technician is not required to repeatedly perform actions, such as providing the second instruction to the elevator control unit and thereafter partially opening the landing door to visually check whether the roof of the elevator car is aligned with the floor.

[0014] Upon partially opening the landing door, the switch is actuated by the technician to provide the third instruction to the elevator control unit. In particular, when the technician actuates the switch, the third instruction is received by the elevator control unit from the switch and the elevator car is operated in an inspection mode. Once the elevator control unit receives the third instruction, the elevator control unit operates the elevator car to move in the downward direction such that the roof of the elevator car is aligned with the floor. In particular, the elevator control unit moves the elevator car in the downward direction and stops the elevator car when the roof is aligned with the floor. As a result, the roof of the elevator car can be automatically aligned to the floor with minimal physical labor / effort from the technician. As explained earlier, the technician is required to perform sequential steps prior to accessing the switch for aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor. This ensures that the various safety checks are performed before the technician enters the roof of the elevator car for inspection. For instance, the functioning of the door safety circuit of the elevator car is verified by partially opening the landing door upon the receipt of the second instruction by the elevator control unit to stop the downward movement of the elevator car. Further, it is advantageous to operate the switch for aligning the roof of the elevator with the floor when the landing door is partially opened. In particular, the technician is not required to repeatedly provide the second instruction to stop the elevator car and partially open the landing door to check whether the roof of the elevator car is aligned with the floor. Therefore, the implementation of the switch for aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor eliminates the dependence on the extensive training the technician to predict the time duration to stop the elevator car such that the roof is aligned with the floor. In particular, the technician is not required to undergo extensive training to perform the method and therefore, overall training costs can be reduced. This also substantially simplifies the process of aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor. The technician only needs to stop the elevator car, for one instance, by providing the second instruction so that the switch is accessible when the landing door is partially opened. This substantially reduces the time required for aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor.

[0015] In the following, further embodiments of the present invention are described.

[0016] In one or more embodiments, the switch remains concealed in a normal operational mode of the elevator car, and the switch becomes visible in an inspection mode when the landing door is at least partially opened.

[0017] As mentioned earlier, the switch may be positioned on the upper portion of the elevator car. In one embodiment, the upper portion may be embodied as a door header portion of the elevator car. In another embodiment, the upper portion may be embodied as any portion of the elevator car that is not visible to a person standing on any of the floors in the normal operational mode of the elevator car. Owing to the positioning of the switch on the upper portion, the switch may remain concealed in the normal operational mode of the elevator car 102 and may be visible when the landing door is at least partially opened subsequent to receipt of the second instruction by the elevator control unit. The advantage of concealing the switch in the normal operational mode is to eliminate the possibility of unintentional or intentional actuation of the switch by unauthorized personnel, such as passengers. In particular, the switch remains concealed to the passengers entering or exiting the elevator car during its operation in the normal operational mode. Therefore, the passengers cannot operate the switch. This ensures the overall safety of the elevator installation and eliminates any possibility of safety concerns that may arise due to the actuation of the switch by the passenger or any un-authorized personnel.

[0018] In one or more embodiments, the second instruction is to be received within a predefined time duration, of the movement in the downward direction of the elevator car, in a manner that the switch is accessible for actuation when the landing door is at least partially opened.

[0019] The advantage of providing the second instruction within the predefined time duration is that the elevator car is stopped such that the upper portion having the switch is accessible by the technician standing on the floor. In particular, the elevator control unit is required to receive the second instruction within the predefined time duration to ensure that the elevator car is stopped at a location where the technician can easily access the door header portion after partially opening the landing door. This also eliminates the requirement of repeatedly unlocking the landing door to visually check whether the upper portion of the elevator car reaches a specific location, with respect to the floor, at which the technician can easily access the switch.

[0020] In one or more embodiments, operating the elevator car to move in the downward direction based on the third instruction further includes receiving, by the elevator control unit, an input indicative of a distance travelled by the elevator car when the third instruction is received. Further, operating the elevator car to move in the downward direction includes determining, by the elevator control unit, a distance to be travelled by the elevator car in the downward direction for aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor, based on the received input. Furthermore, operating the elevator car in the downward direction includes operating a drive machine to move the elevator car based on the determined distance to align the roof with the floor. The elevator car is operated in an inspection mode when the elevator control unit receives the third instruction. As explained earlier, the switch may be actuated to provide the third instruction to the elevator control unit for aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor. Once the third instruction is received, the elevator control unit may determine the distance to be travelled by the elevator car in order to align the roof with the floor. This ensures that the alignment of the roof with the floor is automated with minimal physical effort from the technician. In particular, the technician is only required to actuate the switch, thereafter the elevator control unit may automatically align the roof of the elevator car with the floor. Advantageously, this eliminates the dependence on the extensive training of the technician to predict the time duration to stop the elevator car such that the roof is aligned with the floor. In particular, the technician is not required to undergo extensive training to perform the method and therefore, overall training costs can be reduced. This also substantially simplifies the process of aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor. Further, this substantially reduces the time required for aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor.

[0021] In one or more embodiments, receiving the second instruction for stopping the elevator car further includes receiving the second instruction from a landing door unit of the landing door at the floor when the landing door unit is operated to an unlocked condition for stopping the elevator car. When the landing door unit is operated to the unlocked condition, the second instruction is received by the elevator control unit to activate brakes of the elevator installation to stop the downward movement of the elevator car. This helps in verifying the functioning of the door safety circuit of the elevator installation before the technician climbs on the roof of the elevator car. Further, if unlocking the landing door unit stops the downward movement of the elevator car, then this verifies that the locking door unit is functioning properly. Furthermore, the landing door unit is unlocked to at least partially open the landing door and thereafter access the upper portion of the elevator car to actuate the switch positioned thereon.

[0022] In one or more embodiments, the method includes determining whether the landing door is opened at the floor when the roof of the elevator car is aligned with the floor. The method includes receiving a request indicative of actuation of a stop switch positioned on the roof of the elevator car. Further, the method includes receiving a request indicative of actuation of an inspection switch positioned on the roof of the elevator car. Furthermore, the method includes determining, based on the received requests, whether the stop switch and the inspection switch are in actuated positions. The method includes generating a notification indicative of allowing a technician to access the roof of the elevator car, if the stop switch and the inspection switch are in the actuated position.

[0023] The elevator control unit may determine whether the stop switch and the inspection switch are in the actuated positions. Thereafter, the elevator control unit may generate the notification indicative of allowing the technician to access the roof of the elevator car. The technician is allowed to access the roof only when the stop switch and the inspection switch are in the actuated positions. This has the advantage that the technician is required to perform the proper safety checks, such as the actuation of the stop switch and the inspection switch, and the elevator control unit verifies such safety checks before allowing the technician to access the roof of the elevator car. This ensures the safety of the technician accessing the roof of the elevator car.

[0024] In one or more embodiments, the method includes determining whether the stop switch is actuated within a predefined time duration from alignment of the roof of the elevator car with the floor. Further, the method includes switching operation of the elevator car, from the inspection mode to the normal operational mode, if the stop switch remains un-actuated within the predefined time duration.

[0025] This is to ensure that once the roof of the elevator car is aligned with the floor, the operation of the elevator car remains in the inspection mode only if the stop switch is actuated within the predefined time duration. This has the advantage that if the elevator car remains unattended by the technician after the roof of the elevator car is aligned with the floor, then the passenger should not operate the elevator car in the inspection mode. Therefore, the elevator control unit may switch the operation from the inspection mode to the normal operational mode, to ensure that the passenger can safely operate the elevator car only in the normal operational mode, if the elevator car is left unattended by the technician upon alignment of the roof with the floor.

[0026] In one or more embodiments of the safety unit, the switch is embodied as a mechanical switch adapted to be pressed for sending the third instruction, to the elevator control unit, for aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor. In one embodiment, the switch may be a bell-push switch adapted to be pressed by the technician for sending the third instruction to the elevator control unit. In one or more embodiments, the switch may be embodied as a touch button or a touchless button. In one or more embodiments of the safety unit, for operating the elevator car to move in the downward direction based on the third instruction, the elevator control unit is configured to receive an input indicative of a distance travelled by the elevator car when the third instruction is received. Further, the elevator control unit is configured to determine a distance to be travelled by the elevator car in the downward direction for aligning the roof of the elevator car with the floor, based on the received input. Furthermore, the elevator control unit is configured to operate the drive machine to move the elevator car based on the determined distance to align the roof with the floor.

[0027] The term “normal operational mode” may be referred to an operational mode in which a floor of the elevator car may be aligned with one of the floors.

[0028] The term “inspection mode” may be referred to an operational mode in which the floor of the elevator car may be not aligned with one of the floors.

[0029] The term “elevator shaft” may be referred to as an enclosed space formed by a plurality of walls defining a hoistway to accommodate one or more components of the elevator installation.

[0030] The term “elevator pit” may be referred to as an enclosed space formed below a lowermost floor. The elevator pit may be formed as an integral part of the elevator shaft.

[0031] Further advantages, features and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments and from the drawings, in which identical or functionally identical elements are denoted with identical reference signs. The drawings are merely schematic and not to scaled.

[0032] Figure la illustrates a schematic view of an elevator installation depicting an elevator car positioned at a floor, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure lb illustrates an enlarged view of the elevator installation depicting the elevator car positioned at the floor, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method for accessing a roof of the elevator car, according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3a illustrates a schematic view of the elevator installation depicting the technician entering the elevator car, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3b illustrates an enlarged view of the elevator installation depicting the technician operating a Cabin Operating Panel (COP), according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 4a illustrates a schematic view of the elevator installation depicting a movement of the elevator car in the downward direction, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 4b illustrates an enlarged view of the elevator installation depicting the elevator car with the switch to align the roof of the elevator car with the floor, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figures 5a and 5b illustrate a schematic view and an enlarged view, respectively, of the elevator installation depicting alignment of the roof of the elevator car with the floor, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0039] Figures 6a and 6b illustrate a schematic view and an enlarged view, respectively, of the elevator installation depicting accessing the roof of the elevator car by the technician, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] Figure la illustrates a schematic view of an elevator installation 100 depicting an elevator car 102 positioned at a floor 101-3, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The elevator installation 100 may be adapted to be installed in a building having a plurality of floors 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4 for transporting persons / goods between different floors. The elevator system 100 may include, but is not limited to, the elevator car 102, at least one counterweight 104, an elevator control unit 105, and a drive machine 106. The elevator car 102 may be adapted to be moved within an elevator shaft 110 between the plurality of floors 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4 of the building. Further, the elevator installation 100 may include an elevator pit 114 formed below a lowermost floor, i.e., 101- 1, of the building. The elevator pit 114 may be embodied as an enclosed space defined by a plurality of walls for accommodating various sub-components including, but not limited to, buffer springs, hydraulic or electrical jacks, ladders, and electrical wirings, of the elevator installation 100.

[0042] In an embodiment, the counterweight 104 may be adapted to counterbalance a sum of a load of the elevator car 102 and a predetermined load associated with a payload capacity of the elevator car 102. The counterweight 104 may be movably coupled to the elevator car 102 via a plurality of traction members 112. In an embodiment, the plurality of traction members 112 may be embodied as one of a rope and a belt, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The elevator car 102 and the counterweight 104 may be coupled to each other via the plurality of traction members 112. Further, the drive machine 106 may be adapted to move the plurality of traction members 112 to control the movement and position of the elevator car 102 and the counterweight 104 within the elevator shaft 110.

[0043] As would be gathered from the illustrated embodiments of the present disclosure, the elevator installation 100 is shown to include the counterweight 104. However, as would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art, the present invention is equally applicable for elevator installations without the counterweight, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure cannot be limited to the elevator installations having the counterweight 104.

[0044] Figure lb illustrates an enlarged view of the elevator installation 100 depicting the elevator car 102 positioned at the floor 101-3, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Each floor 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4 may have a shaft door opening (not shown) providing a passage therethrough within the elevator shaft 110 from the respective floor 101. Each shaft door opening may be provided with a landing door 107 to movably conceal the shaft door opening.

[0045] The elevator car 100 may be adapted to be operated in one of a normal operational mode and an inspection mode. In the normal operational mode, a floor of the elevator car 102 may be aligned with one of the floors 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4. In the normal operational mode, the elevator car 102 may be moved via a Cabin Operating Panel (COP) (302) (shown in Figure 3b) located within a cabin of the elevator car 102 and a Landing Operating Panel (LOP) 116 located at each floor 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4. The LOP 116 and / or the COP 302 may be operated to move the elevator car 102 to one of the floors 101- 1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4 such that the landing door 107 of such a floor 101 aligns with a door (not shown) of the elevator car 102, and thereby allowing egress and / or ingress of passengers from the cabin of the elevator car 102. When the elevator car 102 reaches one of the floors 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4 based on the operation of the LOP 116 and / or the COP 302, the door of the elevator car 102 and the landing door 107 at the respective floor

[0046] 101 may open to allow the passengers to ingress and / or egress from the cabin.

[0047] As mentioned earlier, to ensure the proper working of the elevator installation 100, one or more maintenance operations are required to be periodically performed. In order to perform any inspection / maintenance operations in the elevator installation 100, a technician 118 may be required to access a roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102. In particular, the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 may be used as a platform to stand by the technician 118 while performing the maintenance / inspection operations. Thereby, the technician 118 may be required to operate the elevator installation 100 in the inspection mode. In the inspection mode, the movement of the elevator car 102 may not be controlled using the COP 302 and / or the LOP 116. In the inspection mode, the technician 118 may access the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 and then, may control the movement of the elevator car

[0048] 102 from a control interface 402 (shown in Figure 4b) located on the roof 102-1.

[0049] Now, in order to access the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102, the roof 102-1 may be aligned with one of the floors 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4 to provide easy access to the roof 102-1 for the technician 118. The present invention provides a method 200 having sequential steps for aligning the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 with one of the floors 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4 in a manner that the technician 118 can access the roof 102-1 for performing the maintenance / inspection operations in the elevator installation 100. Further, the elevator car 102 may be provided with a switch 404 (shown in Figure 4b) adapted to be actuated for aligning the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 with one of the floors 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4. In particular, the sequential steps of the method 200 may be performed to access the switch 404 and thereafter, to actuate the switch 404 for aligning the roof 102-1 with one of the floors 101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4. The sequential steps of the method 200 are explained in detail with respect to Figures la-6b in the subsequent paragraphs.

[0050] Referring to Figures la and lb, initially, the technician 118 may arrive at the floor 101-3 and subsequently operates the LOP 116 to provide an instruction to the elevator control unit 105. The instruction may be indicative of a call to move the elevator car 102 to the floor 101-3. In an example, the instruction to move the elevator to the floor 101-3 may be provided by pressing a downward call button on the LOP 116.

[0051] In one or more embodiments, the elevator control unit may include a processor, memory, modules, and data. The modules and the memory are coupled to the processor. The processor can be a single processing unit or a number of units, all of which could include multiple computing units. The processor may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, state machines, logic circuitries, and / or any devices that manipulate signals based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the processor is configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions and data stored in the memory.

[0052] The memory may include any non-transitory computer-readable medium known in the art including, for example, volatile memory, such as static random access memory (SRAM) and dynamic random -access memory (DRAM), and / or non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM, flash memories, hard disks, optical disks, and magnetic tapes.

[0053] The modules, amongst other things, include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., which perform particular tasks or implement data types. The modules may also be implemented as, signal processor(s), state machine(s), logic circuitries, and / or any other device or component that manipulate signals based on operational instructions.

[0054] Further, the modules can be implemented in hardware, instructions executed by a processing unit, or by a combination thereof. The processing unit can comprise a computer, a processor, such as the processor, a state machine, a logic array, or any other suitable devices capable of processing instructions. The processing unit can be a general-purpose processor which executes instructions to cause the general-purpose processor to perform the required tasks or, the processing unit can be dedicated to perform the required functions. In another aspect of the present disclosure, the modules may be machine-readable instructions (software) which, when executed by a processor / processing unit, perform any of the described functionalities. Figure 2 illustrates a flowchart depicting the method 200 for accessing the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 2, at step 202, the method 200 includes receiving, by the elevator control unit 105, a first instruction to move the elevator car 102. The first instruction may be received through the COP 302 when the elevator car 102 is at the floor 101-3. The step 202 of the method 200 is further explained with respect to the Figures 3a and 3b in the subsequent paragraphs.

[0055] Figure 3a illustrates a schematic view of the elevator installation 100 depicting the technician 118 entering the elevator car 102, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3b illustrates an enlarged view of the elevator installation 100 depicting the technician 118 operating the COP 302, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figures 2, 3a, and 3b, when the elevator car 102 reaches the floor 101-3, the door of the elevator car 102 and the landing door 107 at the floor 101-3 may open to allow access to the cabin of the elevator car 102. Thereafter, the technician 118 may enter the cabin of the elevator car 102 to check and verify whether the cabin is empty. In particular, the technician 118 may ensure that no passengers or objects occupy the cabin.

[0056] Subsequently, the elevator control unit 105 may receive the first instruction to move the elevator car 102. In particular, the technician 118 may operate the COP 302 to provide the first instruction to the elevator control unit 105. The first instruction may be indicative of at least two simultaneous floor calls received from the COP 302 of the elevator car 102. The at least two floor calls may correspond to the floors 101-1, 101-2 below the floor 101-3 at which the elevator car 102 is located. Upon providing the first instruction to the elevator control unit 105, the technician may exit the cabin of the elevator car to conclude the step 202 of the method 200.

[0057] Referring to Figure 2, at step 204, the method 200 includes operating, by the elevator control unit 105, the elevator car 102 to move in a downward direction from the floor 101-3, upon the receipt of the first instruction. The elevator control unit 105 may move the elevator car 102 only when the landing door 107 at the floor 101-3 is closed. The step 204 of the method 200 is further explained with respect to the Figures 4a and 4b in the subsequent paragraphs.

[0058] Figure 4a illustrates a schematic view of the elevator installation 100 depicting a movement of the elevator car 102 in the downward direction, according to an embodiment of the present invention. As mentioned earlier, the technician 118 exits the cabin of the elevator car 102 after providing the first instruction to the elevator control unit 105. Once the technician 118 exits the cabin, the landing door 107 is closed. The elevator control unit

[0059] 105 may be configured to verify whether the landing door 107 is closed. If the landing door 107 is closed, the elevator control unit 105 may be configured to operate the drive machine

[0060] 106 for moving the elevator car 102 in the downward direction based on the first instruction received via the COP 302.

[0061] Referring again to Figure 2, at step 206, the method 200 includes receiving, by the elevator control unit 105, a second instruction for stopping the elevator car 102. The second instruction may be received within a predefined time duration of the movement in the downward direction of the elevator car 102. The step 206 of the method 200 is further explained with respect to Figures 4a and 4b in the subsequent paragraphs.

[0062] Referring to Figures 4a and 4b, the technician 118 may operate a landing door unit (not shown) of the landing door 107 at the floor 101-3 to provide the second instruction to the elevator control unit 105. In an embodiment, within the predefined time duration of the movement in the downward direction of the elevator car 102, the technician 118 may insert a wedge tool (not shown) in an opening (not shown) formed on the landing door 107 to operate the landing door unit to an unlocked condition for stopping the elevator car 102. When the landing door unit is operated to the unlocked condition, the second instruction is received by the elevator control unit 105 to activate brakes (not shown) of the elevator installation to stop the downward movement of the elevator car 102.

[0063] As mentioned earlier, the technician 118 may operate the landing door unit to provide the second instruction, within the predefined time duration, to the elevator control unit 105 for stopping the elevator car 102. The predefined time duration may be defined to ensure that the switch 404 positioned on the elevator car 102 is accessible for actuation by the technician when the landing door 107 is at least partially opened in the subsequent step of the method 200.

[0064] Figure 4b illustrates an enlarged view of the elevator installation 100 depicting the elevator car 102 with the switch 404 to align the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 with the floor 101-3, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 4b, once the landing door unit is operated to the unlocked condition, the technician 118 may thereafter partially open the landing door 107 at the floor 101-3 to access the switch 404 positioned at an upper portion 111 of the elevator car 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper portion 111 may be embodied as a door header portion of the elevator car 102. In an embodiment, the upper portion 111 may be embodied as any portion of the elevator car 102 that is not visible to a person standing on any of the floors during the normal operational mode of the elevator car 102.

[0065] Owing to the positioning of the switch 404 on the upper portion 111, the switch 404 may remain concealed in the normal operational mode of the elevator car 102. Further, the switch 404 may become visible when the landing door 107 is at least partially opened subsequent to receipt of the second instruction by the elevator control unit 105. In particular, when the elevator car 102 is stopped during the downward movement by providing the second instruction, the switch 404 becomes visible after partially opening the landing door 107. In an example, the landing door 107 may be partially opened approximately 6 inches from a closed position.

[0066] The switch 404 may be embodied as a mechanical switch adapted to be pressed for sending a third instruction, to the elevator control unit 105, for aligning the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 with the floor 101-3. In an example, the switch 404 may be embodied as a bell-push switch, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0067] As mentioned earlier with respect to step 206, the second instruction may be received within the predefined time duration of the movement in the downward direction of the elevator car 102. Referring to Figure 4b, the predefined time duration may be defined such that the upper portion 111 having the switch 404 is positioned at a height ‘h’ when the second instruction is received. The height ‘h’ may be a height that ensures that the technician standing on the floor 101-3 can access the switch 404 positioned on the upper portion 111.

[0068] At step 208, the method 200 includes receiving, by the elevator control unit 105, the third instruction to align the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 with the floor 101-3. The third instruction may be received based on actuation of the switch 404. Referring to Figure 4b, when the landing door 107 is partially opened, the technician may actuate the switch 404 while standing on the floor 101-3.

[0069] The elevator control unit 105 may receive the third instruction indicative of the actuation of the switch 404. Thereafter, the technician 118 may close the landing door 107. The elevator control unit 105 may determine whether the landing door 107 is closed. If the landing door 107 is closed, the elevator control unit 105 may move the elevator car 102 to align the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 with the floor 101-3. The elevator car 102 may be operated in the inspection mode when the elevator control unit 105 receives the third instruction.

[0070] At step 210, the method 200 includes operating, by the elevator control unit 105, the elevator car 102 to move in the downward direction based on the third instruction, such that the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 is aligned with the floor 101-3. The step 210 of the method 200 is further explained with respect to Figures 5a and 5b in the subsequent paragraphs.

[0071] Figures 5a and 5b illustrate a schematic view and an enlarged view, respectively, of the elevator installation 100 depicting alignment of the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 with the floor 101-3, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figures 5a and 5b, the elevator control unit 105 may receive an input indicative of a distance travelled by the elevator car 102 when the third instruction is received.

[0072] In one embodiment, the elevator control unit 105 may receive the input from the drive machine 106. In such an embodiment, the input may be indicative of a number of encoder pulses travelled when the third instruction is received. The number of encoder pulses travelled may be equated to the distance travelled by the elevator car 102. In another embodiment, the elevator control unit 105 may receive the input from a sensor, such as a hall effect sensor. In such an embodiment, the input may be indicative of the distance travelled by the elevator car 102 when the third instruction is received. In yet another embodiment, the elevator control unit 105 may receive the input from an elevator floor sensing system. In such an embodiment, the input may be indictive of a distance travelled by the elevator car 102 between the subsequent floors, such as 101-4, 101-3 when the third instruction is received.

[0073] Further, the elevator control unit 105 may be configured to determine a distance to be travelled by the elevator car 102 in the downward direction for aligning the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 with the floor 101-3, based on the received input. Thereafter, the elevator control unit 105 may be configured to operate the drive machine 106 to move the elevator car 102 based on the determined distance to align the roof 102-1 with the floor 101-3. When the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 is aligned with the floor 101-3, the technician 118 may manually open the landing door 107 to access the roof 102-1.

[0074] In one embodiment, when the elevator car 102 is moved by the determined distance and the roof 102-1 is aligned with the floor 101-3, the elevator control unit 105 may provide a notification to indicate that the landing door 107 can be opened. The notification may be embodied as one of a visual notification and an audio notification, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thereafter, based on the notification, the technician 118 may manually open the landing door 107 to access the roof 102-1.

[0075] In another embodiment, when the elevator car 102 is moved by the determined distance and the roof 102-1 is aligned with the floor 101-3, the elevator control unit 105 may automatically open the landing door 107 to allow access to the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 by the technician 118.

[0076] Figures 6a and 6b illustrate a schematic view and an enlarged view, respectively, of the elevator installation 100 depicting accessing the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 by the technician 118, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figures 6a and 6b, subsequent to step 208, the landing door 107 may be partially opened to access the control interface 402 positioned on the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102. Firstly, the technician 118 may actuate a stop switch 406 of the control interface 402 and subsequently, close the landing door 107.

[0077] The elevator control unit 105 may be configured to receive a request indicative of the actuation of the stop switch 406. In particular, when the technician 118 actuates the stop switch 406, the elevator control unit 105 may receive the request indicative of the actuation of the stop switch 406. Further, the elevator control unit 105 may be configured to determine whether the stop switch 406 is actuated within a predefined time duration from alignment of the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102 with the floor 101-3. If the stop switch 406 remains un-actuated within the predefined time duration, the elevator control unit 105 may be configured to switch operation of the elevator car 102, from the inspection mode to the normal operational mode.

[0078] Now, after actuating the stop switch 406 and closing the landing door 107, the technician 118 may wait for a predefined time duration, such as approximately 10-20 seconds, and thereafter again partially open the landing door 107 to check whether the elevator car 102 is moved in the downward direction. If the elevator car 102 is not moved, then the functioning of the stop switch 406 is verified.

[0079] Afterward, the technician 118 may un-actuate the stop switch 406 and subsequently actuate an inspection switch 408 of the control interface 402. Upon actuating the inspection switch 408, the technician 118 may close the landing door 107. The elevator control unit 105 may be configured to receive a request indicative of the actuation of the inspection switch 408. In particular, when the technician 118 actuates the inspection switch 408, the elevator control unit 105 may receive the request indicative of the actuation of the inspection switch 408.

[0080] Now, after actuating the inspection switch 408 and closing the landing door 107, the technician 118 may wait for a predefined time duration, such as approximately 10-20 seconds, and thereafter again partially open the landing door 107 to check whether the elevator car 102 is moved in the downward direction. If the elevator car 102 is not moved, then the functioning of the inspection switch 408 is verified.

[0081] Upon verifying the functioning of the inspection switch 408, the technician 118 may again actuate the stop switch 406 and ensure that both the inspection switch 408 and the stop switch 406 are in actuated positions. As mentioned earlier, the elevator control unit 105 may receive requests indicative of the actuation of the stop switch 406 and the inspection switch 408. Now, the elevator control unit 105 may determine, based on the received requests, whether the stop switch 406 and the inspection switch 408 are in the actuated positions. If the stop switch 406 and the inspection switch 408 are in the actuated positions, the elevator control unit 105 may be configured to generate a notification indicative of allowing the technician 118 to access the roof 102-1 of the elevator car 102. The notification may be embodied as one of a visual notification and an audio notification, without departing from the scope of the present invention. In an embodiment, the notification may be transmitted to a Remote Monitoring System (RMS) and / or to remote devices held by the technician. The notification transmitted to the RMS may include, but is not limited to, a name of the technician, a site location, and Identification data associated with the elevator installation 100.

[0082] While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method (200) for accessing a roof (102-1) of an elevator car (102), the method (200) comprising: receiving, by an elevator control unit (105), a first instruction to move the elevator car (102), wherein the first instruction is received through a Cabin Operating Panel, COP, (302) when the elevator car (102) is at a floor (101-3); operating, by the elevator control unit (105), the elevator car (102) to move in a downward direction from the floor (101-3), upon the receipt of the first instruction; receiving, by the elevator control unit (105), a second instruction for stopping the elevator car (102), wherein a landing door (107) at the floor (101-3) is thereafter partially opened to access a switch (404) positioned at an upper portion (111) of the elevator car (102); receiving, by the elevator control unit (105), a third instruction to align the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102) with the floor (101-3), wherein the third instruction is received based on actuation of the switch (404); and operating, by the elevator control unit (105), the elevator car (102) to move in the downward direction based on the third instruction, such that the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102) is aligned with the floor (101-3).

2. The method (200) according to claim 1, wherein the switch (404) remains concealed in a normal operational mode of the elevator car (102), and the switch (404) becomes visible in an inspection mode when the landing door (107) is at least partially opened.

3. The method (200) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second instruction is to be received within a predefined time duration, of the movement in the downward direction of the elevator car (102), in a manner that the switch (404) is accessible for actuation when the landing door (107) is at least partially opened.

4. The method (200) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein operating the elevator car (102) to move in the downward direction based on the third instruction further comprises: receiving, by the elevator control unit (105), an input indicative of a distance travelled by the elevator car (102) when the third instruction is received;determining, by the elevator control unit (105), a distance to be travelled by the elevator car (102) in the downward direction for aligning the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102) with the floor (101-3), based on the received input; and operating a drive machine (106) to move the elevator car (102) based on the determined distance to align the roof (102-1) with the floor (101-3), wherein the elevator car (102) is operated in an inspection mode when the elevator control unit (105) receives the third instruction.

5. The method (200) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein receiving the second instruction for stopping the elevator car (102) further comprises: receiving the second instruction from a landing door unit of the landing door (107) at the floor (101-3) when the landing door unit is operated to an unlocked condition for stopping the elevator car (102).

6. The method (200) according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising: determining whether the landing door (107) is opened at the floor (101-3) when the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102) is aligned with the floor (101-3); receiving a request indicative of actuation of a stop switch (406) positioned on the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102); receiving a request indicative of actuation of an inspection switch (408) positioned on the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102); determining, based on the received requests, whether the stop switch (406) and the inspection switch (408) are in actuated positions; and generating a notification indicative of allowing a technician to access the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102), if the stop switch and the inspection switch are in the actuated position.

7. The method (200) according to claim 7, further comprising: determining whether the stop switch (406) is actuated within a predefined time duration from alignment of the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102) with the floor (101-3); and switching operation of the elevator car (102) from the inspection mode to the normal operational mode, if the stop switch (406) remains un-actuated within the predefined time duration.

8. An elevator installation (100) comprising:a drive machine (106); an elevator car (102) coupled to the drive machine (106), and the elevator car (102) comprising: a switch (404) positioned on an upper portion (111) and adapted to be actuated to transmit a third instruction for aligning a roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102) with a floor (101-3), wherein the switch (404) is accessed when a landing door (107) is at least partially opened at the floor (101-3); and an elevator control unit (105) in communication with the switch (404) and the drive machine (106), and configured to perform the method (200) according to any of claims 1-7.

9. The elevator installation (100) according to any of claims 8-9, wherein the switch (404) is embodied as a mechanical switch adapted to be pressed for sending the third instruction, to the elevator control unit (105), for aligning the roof (102-1) of the elevator car (102) with the floor (101-3).

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