Position detection device and position detection method for elevator

Abstract

Disclosed is a position detection device for an elevator, said device being capable of mitigating an influence of the accuracy of attachment of a to-be-detected object on the detection accuracy of a door zone. Said position detection device, for detecting a door zone in which a car door (61) and a landing door (71) can be opened and closed, comprises: a to-be-detected object (10) which is provided in an elevator shaft (1) and sets a partial range for the door zone; a position sensor (9) which is provided on an elevator car (2) and detects the partial range for the door zone by detecting the to-be-detected object; and a movement amount sensor (11) which detects a movement amount of the elevator car, said position detection device storing position information regarding the partial range for the door zone and detecting the door zone on the basis of a position detection signal from the position sensor, a movement amount detection signal from the movement amount sensor, and the position information regarding the partial range of the door zone.

Description

Elevator position detection device and position detection method

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator position detection device and a position detection method for detecting a door zone in which a car door and a landing door can be opened and closed.

[0002] At the floor where the car stops, the range (door zone) in which the car doors and landing doors can be opened is limited to a predetermined distance from the floor landing level. When the car is located in the door zone, the car doors and landing doors engage with each other, so when the car doors are driven by a door drive device mounted on the car, the landing doors open and close in conjunction with the car doors. When the door zone is detected, door opening and closing control by the door drive device is enabled. As a result, the car doors and landing doors open and close automatically only within the door zone.

[0003] A known prior art technique for detecting a door zone is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

[0004] In this prior art, position detection shielding plates are arranged in the elevator shaft corresponding to each floor. When the shielding plates block the sensor light of an optical sensor installed in the car, the door zone is detected based on the signal output from the optical sensor.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-177618

[0006] In the above-described conventional technology, the accuracy of installation of the shielding plate, which is the object to be detected, affects the detection accuracy of the door zone, which increases the workload and time required for installing and adjusting the position of the shielding plate.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention provides an elevator position detection device and a position detection method that can mitigate the effect of the installation accuracy of the object to be detected on the detection accuracy of the door zone.

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the elevator position detection device of the present invention detects a door zone where the car doors and landing doors can be opened and closed, and includes a detectable object provided in the elevator shaft to define a partial range of the door zone, a position sensor provided in the car to detect the detectable object and thereby detect the partial range of the door zone, and a movement amount sensor to detect the amount of movement of the car, and stores position information of the partial range of the door zone. The elevator position detection device of the present invention detects the door zone based on a position detection signal from the position sensor, a movement amount detection signal from the movement amount sensor, and the position information of the partial range of the door zone.

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, the elevator position detection method of the present invention is a method for detecting a door zone where the car doors and landing doors can be opened and closed, and when a detectable object that is provided in the elevator shaft and defines a partial range of the door zone is detected, the door zone is detected based on the amount of movement of the car and the position information of the partial range of the door zone.

[0010] According to the present invention, the influence of the accuracy of attachment of the object to be detected on the detection accuracy of the door zone is reduced.

[0011] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

[0012] It is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator according to an embodiment. It is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a safety control device according to an embodiment. It is a diagram showing the relationship between a detection object and a door zone according to an embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the operation of a safety control device according to an embodiment.

[0013] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the following examples and drawings.

[0014] In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same components or components with similar functions.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a machine room-less elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed illustration of the roping is omitted in Fig. 1. In this embodiment, a known 2:1 roping is used.

[0016] In Fig. 1, the main ropes 4 are wound around a sheave provided on a hoisting machine 3 installed in the hoistway 1 and an under-car pulley 41. The main ropes 4 suspend the car 2 and a counterweight (not shown) in the hoistway 1. When the electric motor provided on the hoisting machine 3 rotates and the sheave is driven to rotate, the main ropes 4 are driven by the frictional force between the sheave and the main ropes 4. As a result, the car 2 and the counterweight (not shown) move up and down in opposite directions within the hoistway 1.

[0017] The car 2 is movably engaged with the guide rail 5 via a guide device (for example, a guide shoe) not shown. Therefore, the car 2 moves between any floors while being guided by the guide rail 5. In addition, a counterweight (not shown) moves while being guided by a counterweight guide rail not shown.

[0018] Normal operation of the car 2 is controlled by an elevator control device (not shown) that is installed in the hoistway 1 together with the hoisting machine 3. The hoisting machine 3 is equipped with an AC motor such as a synchronous motor. This AC motor is driven and controlled by an inverter device provided in the elevator control device, thereby controlling the speed and position of the car 2.

[0019] The hoist 3 is equipped with an electromagnetic brake device as a braking device. The elevator control device controls the car 2 to decelerate toward the stopping floor, and when the car 2 lands at the stopping floor, the elevator control device transitions the electromagnetic brake device from an open state to a braking state. This keeps the car 2 stopped.

[0020] A safety control device 8 is installed on the top of the car 2. The safety control device 8 has the function of controlling an emergency stop device (not shown) provided on the car 2 and an electromagnetic brake device provided on the hoisting machine 3 to bring the car 2 to an emergency stop or forcibly decelerate the car 2 near the terminal floor.

[0021] Furthermore, the safety control device 8 has a position detection function that determines whether or not the car 2 is located in the door zone. When the safety control device 8 determines by the position detection function that the car 2 is not located in the door zone, the safety control device 8 has a door-open running protection function that stops the car 2 from running if the car door 6 or the landing door 7 is open.

[0022] The safety control device 8 determines the open / closed state of the car door 6 based on a signal generated by a car door switch 61 provided on the car door 6. The safety control device 8 also determines the open / closed state of the landing door 7 based on a signal generated by a landing door switch 71 provided on the landing door 7.

[0023] The safety control device 8 is communicatively connected to a movement amount sensor 11 and a position sensor 9 installed on the top of the elevator car 2 .

[0024] The movement amount sensor 11 detects the movement amount of the car 2 in the movement direction of the car 2.

[0025] The movement amount sensor 11 in this embodiment includes a rotation detector and a roller connected to the rotation axis of the rotation detector. For example, a rotary encoder can be used as the rotation detector. The roller is in contact with the guide rail 5. Therefore, when the car 2 moves up or down, the roller rotates, causing the rotation detector to rotate. The movement amount sensor 11 calculates the movement amount of the car 2 based on the rotation position signal output by the rotation detector as it rotates, and outputs a movement amount detection signal indicating the calculated value, i.e., the movement amount of the car 2.

[0026] In this embodiment, the value of the movement amount when the car 2 ascends is a positive value, and the value of the movement amount when the car 2 descends is a negative value.

[0027] The safety control device 8 calculates the position of the car 2 in the height direction of the elevator shaft 1 based on the amount of movement of the car 2 calculated by the movement amount sensor 11 .

[0028] In this embodiment, the position of the car 2 is the position of the car floor surface of the car 2 in the height direction of the elevator shaft 1. The safety control device 8 calculates the position of the car 2 as the distance between the landing floor surface of the reference floor (hereinafter referred to as the "reference landing floor surface") and the car floor surface.

[0029] In this embodiment, when the car 2 is located above the reference floor, i.e., when the car floor surface is located above the reference hall floor surface (landing level at the reference floor), the value of the distance between the position of the car 2, i.e., the reference hall floor surface (landing level at the reference floor) and the car floor surface, is a positive value. Also, when the car 2 is located below the reference floor, i.e., when the car floor surface is located below the reference hall floor surface (landing level at the reference floor), the value of the distance between the position of the car 2, i.e., the reference hall floor surface (landing level at the reference floor) and the car floor surface, is a negative value. When the car 2 is located at the landing level at the reference floor, i.e., when the car floor surface coincides with the reference hall floor surface, the value of the distance between the position of the car 2, i.e., the reference hall floor surface (landing level at the reference floor) and the car floor surface, is zero.

[0030] The safety control device 8 updates the position of the car 2 by adding, at the next point in time, the amount of movement acquired from the movement amount sensor 11 to the position of the car 2 calculated at a certain point in time. In this way, the safety control device 8 detects the position of the car 2 using the movement amount sensor 11.

[0031] The movement amount sensor may include an image sensor. In this case, the movement amount sensor detects the movement amount of the car 2 based on image information of the surface of the guide rail 5 acquired by the image sensor. For example, the movement amount sensor calculates the amount of displacement of the image feature amount over a predetermined time period, and outputs a movement amount detection signal with the calculated amount of displacement as the movement amount of the car 2.

[0032] Furthermore, a rotary encoder (governor encoder) connected to a governor pulley may be used as the movement amount sensor.

[0033] The position sensor 9 detects a detectable object 10 provided in the elevator shaft 1 corresponding to each floor. When the position sensor 9 detects the detectable object 10, the position of the car 2 is within the door zone. In other words, when the position sensor 9 detects the detectable object 10, it outputs a position detection signal indicating that the position of the car 2 is within the door zone. In this embodiment, the position of the car 2 is the position of the floor surface of the car 2 in the height direction of the elevator shaft 1.

[0034] The position sensor 9 and the object to be detected 10 have structures according to known techniques. For example, the position sensor 9 includes an optical sensor or a magnetic sensor, and the object to be detected 10 is made of a shielding plate.

[0035] In this embodiment, the distance between the upper and lower ends of the object to be detected 10 is shorter than the distance between the upper and lower ends of the door zone in the height direction of the elevator shaft 1. Therefore, the range of the position of the car 2 when the position sensor 9 detects the object to be detected 10, i.e., the door zone detection range of the position sensor 9, is part of the door zone.

[0036] When the position sensor 9 detects the upper end of the detectable object 10, the position of the car 2 is below the upper end of the door zone. When the position sensor 9 detects the lower end of the detectable object 10, the position of the car 2 is above the lower end of the door zone. When the position of the car 2 is at the landing level of the floor on which the detectable object 10 is provided, i.e., at the center of the door zone, the position sensor 9 detects the part of the detectable object 10 between the upper and lower ends.

[0037] Therefore, the door zone detection range of the position sensor 9 is a part of the door zone that includes the center of the door zone, i.e., the floor level. The upper end of the door zone detection range of the position sensor 9 is located below the upper end of the door zone, and the lower end of the door zone detection range of the position sensor 9 is located above the lower end of the door zone.

[0038] As will be described later, the safety control device 8 determines whether the car 2 is located in the door zone based on the position detection signal output by the position sensor 9 and the movement amount detection signal output by the movement amount sensor 11, as well as based on the position information of the car 2 that is related to the door zone detection range by the position sensor 9.

[0039] The door zone detection range of the position sensor 9 is set by the length and installation position of the object to be detected 10 in the height direction of the hoistway. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the elevator is installed, position information of the car 2 related to the door zone detection range of the position sensor 9 is acquired while the car 2 is operating. The safety control device 8 stores the acquired position information in advance and uses it to determine the door zone.

[0040] As a result, as long as the door zone detection range set by the detectable object 10 is a part of the door zone including the center of the door zone and is an area extending up and down from the center of the door zone, the detectable object 10 can be installed at any position without being installed at a specific position within the elevator shaft 1. Therefore, the effect of the installation accuracy of the detectable object on the detection accuracy of whether or not the car 2 is located in the door zone is mitigated.

[0041] The door zone detection result output by the door zone detection unit 8a may be used in the door-open running protection unit 8c as in this embodiment, or may be used in the elevator control device 100. In this case, the elevator control device 100 receives a door zone detection signal S (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 ) including position information of the car 2 from the door zone detection unit 8a, and performs floor landing control of the car 2 based on the received door zone detection signal S.

[0042] Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the safety control device in the embodiment. Fig. 2 shows the door-open running protection function among the various functions of the safety control device.

[0043] The safety control device 8 includes a door zone detection unit 8a, a data storage unit 8b, and a door-open running protection unit 8c.

[0044] The safety control device 8 includes a computer system such as a microcomputer, and functions as a door zone detection unit 8a and a door-open running protection unit 8c by the computer system executing a predetermined program. The data storage unit 8b is configured by a storage device such as a semiconductor memory.

[0045] The door zone detection unit 8a detects the door zone by determining whether the car 2 is located in the door zone based on the position detection signal output by the position sensor 9 and the movement amount detection signal output by the movement amount sensor 11, as well as based on the position information of the car 2 that is related to the door zone detection range by the position sensor 9.

[0046] The data storage unit 8b stores position information of the car 2 related to the door zone detection range of the position sensor 9. The door zone detection unit 8a reads out this position information from the data storage unit 8b and uses it to determine whether or not the car 2 is located in the door zone.

[0047] In this embodiment, the data storage unit 8c stores, as position information of the elevator car 2 related to the door zone detection range of the position sensor 9, the distances between the upper and lower ends of the door zone detection range set by the detection object 10 and the center of the door zone, i.e., the landing level of the floor on which the detection object 10 is installed (the distances between the upper and lower ends of the door zone detection range set by the detection object 10 and the landing level of the floor on which the detection object 10 is installed) (the distances between the upper and lower ends of the door zone detection range set by the detection object 10 and the center of the door zone, i.e., the landing level of the floor on which the detection object 10 is installed) (the distances between the upper and lower ends of the door zone detection range set by the detection object 10 and ... center of the door zone). Ｕ , l Ｄ ) is set.

[0048] The open-door running protection unit 8c determines whether the car 2 is running outside the door zone with the car door 6 or the landing door 7 open, based on the determination result of the door zone detection unit 8a, the signal generated by the car door switch 61, and the signal generated by the landing door switch 71. When the open-door running protection unit 8c determines that the car 2 is running outside the door zone with the car door 6 or the landing door 7 open, it cuts off the power supplies of the elevator control device 100, which includes the inverter device and operation control device that drive the hoisting machine 3, and the power supplies of the multiplexed brake devices, which include the electromagnetic brake device equipped in the hoisting machine 3, to stop the car 2.

[0049] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the correspondence between the detection object and the door zone in the embodiment.

[0050] It is assumed that the car 2 is traveling in an upward direction.

[0051] In the drawing, the area in which the detection object 10 is arranged represents the door zone detection range of the position sensor 9, which is set by the detection object 10.

[0052] In this embodiment, as described above, the distances l between the upper end A and the lower end B of the door zone detection range set by the object to be detected 10 and the center C of the door zone, i.e., the landing level of the floor on which the object to be detected 10 is installed, are Ｕ , l Ｄ is measured in advance. The upper end B and the lower end A of the door zone detection range correspond to the upper end and the lower end of the detection object 10, respectively.

[0053] If the distance between the upper and lower ends of the door zone is L, the door zone is set within the elevator shaft 1 within a range of L / 2 in both the vertical and vertical directions from the landing level (C).

[0054] The value of L is, for example, about 200 to 300 mm.

[0055] The elevator car 2 is at a distance of 1 from the lower end A of the door zone detection range, i.e., the landing level (C). Ｄ When the car reaches the position where Ａ is calculated.

[0056] As described above, in this embodiment, the value of the movement amount when the car 2 ascends is a positive value, and the value of the movement amount when the car 2 descends is a negative value. Also, as described above, in this embodiment, when the car 2 is located above the landing level, the value of the distance between the position of the car 2 and the landing level is a positive value, and when the car 2 is located below the landing level, the value of the distance between the position of the car 2 and the landing level is a negative value. When the position of the car 2 coincides with the landing level, the value of the distance between the position of the car 2 and the landing level is zero.

[0057] Therefore, in FIG. Ａ >0,lＤ <0, so l Ｄ 2 Ａ By adding these values, the distance between the landing level (C) and the position of the car 2, i.e., the position d of the car based on the landing level (C), is calculated. When the car 2 travels upward and exits the door zone, d becomes greater than L / 2 (L>0).

[0058] Next, unlike FIG. 3, it is assumed that the car 2 is traveling in an upward direction.

[0059] The elevator car 2 is at the upper end B of the door zone detection range, i.e., the distance from the floor level (C) is 1. Ｕ When the car reaches a position where Ｂ (d Ａ The arrow direction is opposite to that of the

[0060] d Ｂ <0, l Ｕ >0, so l Ｕ 2 Ｂ By adding these values, the distance between the landing level (C) and the position of the car 2, that is, the position d of the car based on the landing level (C) (the arrow direction is opposite to that of d shown in FIG. 3) is calculated. When the car 2 travels downward and goes out of the door zone, d becomes smaller than -L / 2 (L>0).

[0061] As described above, it is determined whether the elevator car 2 is located in the door zone based on the distance between the landing level (C) and the position of the elevator car 2, i.e., the position d of the elevator car relative to the landing level (C), and the door zone L.

[0062] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the door zone detection operation of the safety control device in the embodiment.

[0063] The safety control device 8 periodically executes a series of processes shown in FIG. 4 using the door zone detection unit 8a.

[0064] When the safety control device 8 starts processing for one detection cycle, first, in step S301, the safety control device 8 determines whether the output of the door zone detection unit 8a, that is, the determination result of whether the car 2 is located in the door zone, is whether the car 2 is not located, i.e., whether the door zone is not detected. If the safety control device 8 determines that the car 2 is not not detected (YES in step S301), it then executes step S302, and if the safety control device 8 determines that the car 2 is not not not detected (NO in step S301), that is, if it determines that the door zone is detected, it then executes step S307.

[0065] In step S302, the safety control device 8 determines whether the position sensor 9 has detected the detection target 10. If the safety control device 8 determines that the detection target 10 has been detected (YES in step S302), it then executes step S303, and if the safety control device 8 determines that the detection target 10 has not been detected (NO in step S302), it ends the series of processes.

[0066] In step S303, the safety control device 8 determines whether the traveling direction of the car 2 is upward (UP). If the safety control device 8 determines that the traveling direction is upward (UP) (YES in step S303), it then executes step S304, and if it determines that the traveling direction is not upward (UP) (NO in step S303), that is, if it determines that the traveling direction is downward (DOWN), it then executes step S305.

[0067] In this embodiment, the safety control device 8 determines whether the running direction is up or down based on the positive or negative value of the movement amount value indicated by the movement amount detection signal from the movement amount sensor 11. The safety control device 8 may also acquire operation information from the elevator control device 100 and determine the running direction based on the acquired operation information.

[0068] In step S304, the safety control device 8 calculates the initial value (d ０ ) at the position l of the lower end A of the door zone detection range on the floor where the detection object 10 is installed. Ｄ (Figure 3) (l Ｄ <0). After executing step S304, the safety control device 8 then executes step S306.

[0069] In step S305, the safety control device 8 calculates the initial value (d ０ ) at the position l of the upper end B of the door zone detection range on the floor where the detection object 10 is installed. Ｕ (Figure 3) (l Ｕ >0). After executing step S305, the safety control device 8 then executes step S306.

[0070] The safety control device 8 is Ｄ , l Ｕ is read from the data storage unit 8b, and ０ The data storage unit 8b stores the absolute position information of the upper and lower ends of the door zone detection range or the floor landing level for a plurality of floors. Ｄ , l Ｕ Here, the absolute position information indicates the height from the position of the reference floor (landing floor surface). The safety control device 8 constantly calculates the absolute position of the car 2 based on the movement amount detection signal from the movement amount sensor 11. The safety control device 8 retrieves from the data storage unit 8b the absolute position information of the door zone detection range that matches or is closest to the calculated absolute position of the car 2. Ｄ , l Ｕ Read out and ０ Set as.

[0071] In addition, if the elevator control device 100 calculates the absolute position of the car 2, the safety control device may obtain the absolute position of the car 2 from the elevator control device 100.

[0072] In step S306, the safety control device 8 starts detecting the door zone and determining whether the position d of the car 2 is within the door zone. After executing step S306, the safety control device 8 ends the processing for one detection cycle.

[0073] In step S307, the safety control device 8 calculates the position d of the car 2 based on the movement amount detection signal from the movement amount sensor 11 after the door zone detection is started (d=d Ａ (Figure 3) +d０ After executing step S307, the safety control device 8 then executes step S308.

[0074] In step S308, the safety control device 8 determines whether d, the position of the car 2 calculated in step 307, is d>L / 2 or d<-L / 2. As shown in FIG. 3, L (>0) is the size of the door zone in the height direction of the elevator shaft 1. As described above, if d>L / 2 or d<-L / 2, d is outside the door zone. Therefore, in step S308, the safety control device 8 determines whether the car 2 is located outside the door zone.

[0075] If the safety control device 8 determines that d > L / 2 or d < -L / 2 is true (YES in step S308), that is, if it determines that the car 2 is located outside the door zone, it then executes step S309. If the safety control device 8 determines that neither d > L / 2 nor d < -L / 2 is true (NO in step S308), that is, if it determines that the car 2 is located in the door zone, it ends the processing for one detection cycle.

[0076] In step S309, the safety control device 8 cancels the detection of the door zone. That is, the safety control device 8 ends the determination of whether the position d of the car 2 is within the door zone. After executing step S309, the safety control device 8 ends the processing for one detection cycle.

[0077] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. For example, the above-described examples 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 examples with other configurations.

[0078] For example, a hoist or elevator control device may be installed in the machine room.

[0079] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...hoistway, 2...car, 3...hoisting machine, 4...main rope, 5...guide rail, 6...car door, 7...landing door, 8...safety control device, 8a...door zone detection unit, 8b...data storage unit, 8c...door open running protection unit, 9...position sensor, 10...detected object, 11...movement amount sensor, 41...car under pulley, 61...car door switch, 71...landing door switch, 100...elevator control device

Claims

1. An elevator position detection device that detects a door zone where car doors and landing doors can be opened and closed, comprising: a detectable object that is provided in a hoistway and sets a partial range of the door zone; a position sensor that is provided in a car and detects the partial range of the door zone by detecting the detectable object; and a movement amount sensor that detects the amount of movement of the car, wherein the elevator position detection device stores position information of the partial range of the door zone, and detects the door zone based on a position detection signal from the position sensor, a movement amount detection signal from the movement amount sensor, and the position information.

2. An elevator position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the position information indicates the positions of the upper and lower ends of the partial range of the door zone.

3. An elevator position detection device as described in claim 1, characterized in that when the position sensor detects the object to be detected, the position of the elevator car is calculated based on the movement amount detection signal and the position information, and the door zone is detected based on the calculated position of the elevator car.

4. An elevator position detection device as described in claim 3, characterized in that when the position sensor detects the object to be detected, it starts detecting the door zone based on the calculated position of the car, and when it determines that the calculated position of the car is outside the door zone, it cancels the detection of the door zone.

5. An elevator position detection device as described in claim 3, wherein the partial range of the door zone includes a floor landing level, and the position information and the position of the elevator car are based on the floor landing level.

6. An elevator position detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the length of the object to be detected in the height direction of the elevator shaft is shorter than the door zone.

7. An elevator position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the movement amount sensor is provided in the elevator car.

8. An elevator position detection method for detecting a door zone where car doors and landing doors can be opened and closed, characterized in that, when a detectable object that is provided in the elevator shaft and defines a partial range of the door zone is detected, the door zone is detected based on the amount of movement of the car and position information of the partial range of the door zone.

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