Position detection device and position detection method for elevator

Abstract

Disclosed is an elevator position detection device capable of determining a detection error between movement detectors due to a transient factor. The position detection device is provided with: a first movement detector (9a) and a second movement detector (9b) provided on a car; and a control device (8) provided with a first car position calculation unit (81a) and a second car position calculation unit (81b) which calculate the position of the car on the basis of the amounts of movement of the car detected by the first movement detector and the second movement detector, and output the calculated positions as a first car position (da) and a second car position (db), respectively. The control device comprises: an abnormality detection unit (85) that estimates the presence or absence of an abnormality in the first movement detector and the second movement detector on the basis of the difference between the first car position and the second car position; and a failure detection unit (89) that, when the abnormality detection unit estimates that there is an abnormality, determines the presence or absence of a failure in the first movement detector or the second movement detector on the basis of the presence or absence of an increase in the difference during low-speed traveling of the car.

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 the position of an elevator car within a hoistway.

[0002] In electronic elevator safety systems, the speed and position of the elevator car are measured by a rotary encoder attached to the governor pulley. The safety system measures the position and speed of the elevator car based on the signals output by the rotary encoder in response to the movement of the elevator car. If the safety system determines that there is an abnormality in the operation of the elevator car based on the measured speed and position, it will bring the elevator car to an emergency stop.

[0003] A technique is known in which, instead of a governor, speed and position are detected using motion detectors installed on the elevator car.

[0004] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, a speed detection device, comprising an optical sensor and a calculation unit, is provided on both the left and right sides of the elevator car as a movement detector. Each optical sensor acquires a surface image of the opposing guide rail. Each calculation unit calculates the movement speed of the elevator car based on the image data from the optical sensors. Each speed detection device outputs the calculated movement speed to the control unit. The control unit calculates the distance traveled by the elevator car based on the calculated movement speed from each speed detection device. The control unit corrects the detection error of each speed detection device caused by lateral vibration or uneven load of the elevator car. Furthermore, if the difference in the calculated movement speed from each speed detection device exceeds a predetermined threshold, the control unit estimates that the speed detection device is malfunctioning.

[0005] In the technology described in Patent Document 2, image sensors are provided on both the left and right sides of the elevator car as motion detectors, similar to the technology described in Patent Document 1. Each image sensor acquires a surface image of the opposing guide rail. A safety control device connected to each image sensor measures the position of the elevator car based on the surface images of the guide rails acquired by each image sensor. The safety control device determines that one of the image sensors is malfunctioning based on the magnitude of the difference between the measured values ​​of the elevator car's position.

[0006] International Publication No. 2020 / 008696, International Publication No. 2022 / 259417

[0007] The conventional technology described above does not take into account detection errors between moving detectors caused by transient factors such as earthquakes. Therefore, even such detection errors may lead to a false determination that a moving detector is malfunctioning.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention provides an elevator position detection device and a position detection method that can determine the detection error between moving detectors due to transient factors.

[0009] To solve the above problems, the elevator position detection device according to the present invention detects the position of the elevator car in the hoistway and includes a control device comprising: a first movement detector and a second movement detector provided on the elevator car for detecting the amount of movement of the elevator car; a first car position calculation unit that calculates the position of the elevator car based on the amount of movement of the elevator car detected by the first movement detector and outputs it as the first car position; and a second car position calculation unit that calculates the position of the elevator car based on the amount of movement of the elevator car detected by the second movement detector and outputs it as the second car position. The control device also includes an abnormality detection unit that estimates whether there is an abnormality in the first movement detector and the second movement detector based on the difference between the first car position and the second car position; and a fault detection unit that, if the abnormality detection unit estimates that there is an abnormality, determines whether there is a malfunction in the first movement detector or the second movement detector based on whether the difference is expanding during low-speed travel of the elevator car.

[0010] To solve the above problems, the elevator position detection method according to the present invention is a method for detecting the position of an elevator car in a hoistway, wherein the amount of movement of the elevator car is detected by a first movement detector and a second movement detector provided on the elevator car, the position of the elevator car is calculated as the first car position based on the amount of movement of the elevator car detected by the first movement detector, and the position of the elevator car is calculated as the second car position based on the amount of movement of the elevator car detected by the second movement detector. Furthermore, based on the difference between the first car position and the second car position, the presence or absence of abnormalities in the first movement detector and the second movement detector is estimated, and if an abnormality is estimated to exist, the presence or absence of a malfunction in the first movement detector or the second movement detector is determined based on whether or not the difference is expanding during low-speed travel of the elevator car.

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether the detection error between moving detectors is due to a transient factor.

[0012] Other issues, configurations, and effects not mentioned above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

[0013] This is a configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator according to the embodiment. This is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the position detection device in the embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the operation of the safety control device 8 in the embodiment. This is a time chart showing an example of the operating state of the safety control device 8 (detection error occurs due to a failure of the movement detector 9b). This is a time chart showing an example of the operating state of the safety control device 8 (detection error occurs due to a transient factor).

[0014] Hereinafter, an elevator according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each figure, elements with the same reference number represent the same or similar functional elements.

[0015] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator, which is one embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, in this embodiment, the elevator car 1 and the counterweight 2 are mechanically connected to one end and the other end of the main rope 3, respectively. The main rope 3 is wound around a sheave of the hoisting machine 4. As a result, the elevator car 1 and the counterweight 2 are suspended within the hoistway installed in the building. In other words, this embodiment is a so-called bucket-type elevator. In this embodiment, the hoisting machine 4 is installed in a machine room located in the hoistway.

[0017] When the motor of the hoisting machine 4 rotates and the sheave is driven to rotate, the main rope 3 is driven linearly by the frictional force between the sheave and the main rope 3. As a result, the elevator car 1 and the counterweight 2 move in opposite directions within the hoistway. The elevator control device 6 controls the operation of the elevator car 1 by controlling the rotation of the motor.

[0018] The elevator control device 6 includes a power converter (for example, an inverter device) that supplies power to the hoisting machine 4, and a control unit that controls the power converter (see Figure 2, which will be described later).

[0019] The elevator car 1 is movably engaged with the guide rails 5a and 5b via a guide device 20 (for example, a guide shoe). As a result, the elevator car 1 moves between any floor levels while being guided by the guide rails 5a and 5b. In this embodiment, general T-shaped guide rails are used as the guide rails 5a and 5b. The counterweight 2 moves while being guided by a guide rail for the counterweight (not shown).

[0020] A safety control device 8 is installed on top of the elevator car 1. The safety control device 8 is electrically connected to motion detectors 9a and 9b, which are installed on top of the elevator car 1. Motion detectors 9a and 9b have data detection units composed of image sensors. The data detection units of motion detectors 9a and 9b acquire surface images of stationary guide rails 5a and 5b, respectively, within the elevator shaft.

[0021] In this embodiment, the surface images of the tips of the T-shaped legs are acquired as surface images of the guide rails 5a and 5b. The safety control device 8 measures the position and speed of the elevator car 1 based on the surface images of the guide rails 5a and 5b acquired by the movement detectors 9a and 9b.

[0022] The safety control device 8 determines whether there is an abnormality in the operating state of the elevator car 1 based on the measured position and speed of the elevator car 1. If the safety control device 8 determines that there is an abnormality, it outputs a command signal to move the elevator car 1 to a safe state, such as by making an emergency stop. CCD or CMOS sensors are used as image sensors. The safety control device 8 operates independently of the elevator control device 6. In addition, the safety control device, movement detectors 9a and 9b and the position detector 10 (described later), which are installed in the elevator car 1, and the elevator control device 6 exchange power and control signals via the tail code 7.

[0023] The safety control device 8 determines the position of the elevator car 1 within the elevator shaft (hereinafter referred to as "car position (d") based on the image acquired by the movement detector 9a) ａ The safety control device 8 measures the position of the elevator car 1 within the elevator shaft (hereinafter referred to as "car position (d)") based on the image acquired by the movement detector 9b. ｂ ) (to be written as, basket position (d ａ ) is measured independently. In other words, the safety control device 8 has two measurement systems.

[0024] In this embodiment, the car position is defined as the height from the reference position, i.e., the landing floor surface of the lowest floor, to the floor surface of the elevator car 1.

[0025] A position detector 10 is provided at the bottom of the elevator car 1 to acquire position information of the elevator car 1 within the hoistway. Detectable objects 11 to 13 are provided within the hoistway to be detected by the position detector 10. In this embodiment, detectable objects 11, 12, and 13 are fixed to the landing sills on floors FL1, FL2, and FL3, respectively. Therefore, the position detector 10 detects that the elevator car 1 is located on floors FL1, FL2, and FL3, respectively, by detecting the detectable objects 11, 12, and 13. In this embodiment, when the position detector 10 detects the detectable objects 11, 12, and 13, the floor surface of the elevator car 1 and the landing floor surface are at the same height.

[0026] The safety control device 8 has in advance stored position information of the elevator car 1 when the detected objects 11 to 13 are detected by the position detector 10. For example, when the elevator is installed, the elevator car 1 is operated and the position of the car, calculated based on the images acquired by the movement detectors 9a and 9b at the time the detected objects 11 to 13 are detected by the position detector 10, is stored as position information.

[0027] In this embodiment, the position detector 10 is equipped with a non-contact type detector. Examples of non-contact type detectors include photoelectric sensors (reflective type, transmissive type), magnetic sensors, and proximity sensors (inductive type, capacitive type). The objects to be detected 11 to 13 have materials and shapes suitable for the sensor to be applied.

[0028] When the safety control device 8 detects the objects to be detected 11 to 13, it corrects the cage position, which is calculated based on the images acquired by the moving detectors 9a and 9b, to the position information corresponding to the detected object from the pre-stored position information.

[0029] The safety control device 8 has a function to determine a malfunction of the movement detectors 9a and 9b, as will be described later. The safety control device 8 calculates the car position (d) based on the image acquired by the movement detector 9a while the car 1 is in motion. ａ ) and the cage position (d) calculated based on the image acquired by the motion detector 9b ｂIf the difference from ( ) becomes excessive, it estimates a failure of the movement detectors 9a and 9b and causes the car 1 to make an emergency stop. Then, the safety control device 8 resumes the operation of the car 1 at a low speed and, while stopping it at the nearest floor, during the period until it stops, the car position (d ａ ), and the car position (d ｂ ), determines whether the difference from the difference just before the emergency stop fluctuates significantly.

[0030] When the safety control device 8 determines that the difference between the car position (d ａ ), and the car position (d ｂ ), has fluctuated significantly, it confirms a failure of at least one of the movement detectors 9a and 9b and halts the operation of the car 1. Also, when the safety control device 8 determines that the difference between the car position (d ａ ), and the car position (d ｂ ), has not fluctuated significantly, it assumes that the excessive difference before the emergency stop was caused by a transient factor such as an earthquake and not by a failure of the movement detectors 9a and 9b, and returns the operating state of the car 1 to the normal operating state.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the position detection device in the embodiment.

[0032] The position detection device is composed of movement detectors 9a and 9b, a position detector 10, and a safety control device 8.

[0033] The movement detector 9a has a data detection unit 91a and a movement amount calculation unit 92a.

[0034] The data detection unit 91a consists of an image sensor as movement data indicating the movement of the car 1, and acquires surface image data of the guide rail 5a (FIG. 1) as movement data indicating the movement of the car 1.

[0035] The movement amount calculation unit 92a calculates the movement amount of the car 1 at predetermined time intervals by image processing based on the image data from the data detection unit 91a. The movement amount calculation unit 92a calculates the deviation between the current image and the previous image by means such as the image correlation method, and outputs the calculated deviation as the movement amount of the car 1.

[0036] The movement detector 9b includes a data detection unit 91b and a movement amount calculation unit 92b.

[0037] The data detection unit 91b consists of an image sensor and acquires surface image data of the guide rail 5b (Figure 1) as movement data indicating the movement of the elevator car 1.

[0038] The movement amount calculation unit 92b calculates the image displacement based on the image data from the data detection unit 91b, similar to the movement amount calculation unit 92a, and outputs the calculated displacement as the movement amount of the elevator car 1.

[0039] The position detector 10 has a detection unit 101 that detects the aforementioned detection targets 11 to 13 (Figure 1) provided on each floor. In this embodiment, the detection unit 101 is composed of the aforementioned non-contact type detector. When the position detector 10 detects each detection target non-contact using the detection unit 101, it outputs a detection signal to the safety control device 8.

[0040] The safety control device 8 performs the process of detecting the position of the elevator car 1, and determines the car position (d ａ ) Calculation unit 81a and cage position (d ｂ The safety control device 8 includes a calculation unit 81b, a floor detection unit 82, a car position correction unit 83, and a floor position data storage unit 84. Furthermore, the safety control device 8 includes an abnormality detection unit 85, a hoisting machine power cut-off unit 86, an abnormality data storage unit 87, a low-speed travel command generation unit 88, and a fault detection unit 89 in order to perform processing to detect failures of the movement detectors 9a and 9b.

[0041] The safety control device 8 is equipped with a computer system such as a microcomputer, and the computer system executes the aforementioned processes by running a predetermined program. Although not shown in the figures, the safety control device 8 has safety functions that perform end-floor deceleration control and door-open travel protection based on the position of the elevator car 1 obtained by executing a process to detect the position of the elevator car 1.

[0042] Basket position (d ａ The calculation unit 81a integrates the amount of movement of the elevator car 1 output by the movement detector 9a to determine the position of the elevator car 1 in the height direction of the hoistway (car position (d ａCalculate )).

[0043] Basket position (d ｂ The calculation unit 81b integrates the amount of movement of the elevator car 1 output by the movement detector 9b to determine the position of the elevator car 1 in the height direction of the hoistway (car position (d ｂ Calculate )).

[0044] The amount of movement of the elevator car 1 output by the movement detectors 9a and 9b takes positive and negative values, respectively, while the elevator car 1 is rising and while it is descending. Therefore, if the value of the reference position is 0, the elevator car position (d ａ ) Calculation unit 81a and cage position (d ｂ Each cumulative value calculated by the calculation unit 81b represents the height of the elevator car 1 from the reference position, i.e., the position of the elevator car 1.

[0045] When the floor detection unit 82 receives a detection signal from the position detector 10, it detects that the elevator car 1 is located on one of the floors FL1 to FL3.

[0046] When the floor detection unit 82 detects that the elevator car 1 is located on any floor, the elevator car position correction unit 83 extracts the floor position data of the floor where the elevator car 1 is located from the floor position data storage unit 84. In this embodiment, the floor position is represented by the height of the landing floor surface from the aforementioned reference position. The floor position data storage unit 84 stores the position data for each floor.

[0047] In this embodiment, the car position correction unit 83 corrects the car position (d) from the position data stored in the floor position data storage unit 84. ａ ) Calculation unit 81a and cage position (d ｂ The position data closest to each accumulated value calculated by the calculation unit 81b is extracted as the position data of the floor where the elevator car 1 is located.

[0048] The car position correction unit 83 corrects the car position (d ａ ) Calculation unit 81a and cage position (d ｂ The calculation unit 81b corrects each accumulated value to the floor position data extracted from the floor position data storage unit 84. Car position (d ａ ) Calculation unit 81a and cage position (d ｂThe calculation unit 81b calculates the corrected cumulative values, respectively, for the cage position (d ａ ) and cage position (d ｂ Output as ).

[0049] The abnormality detection unit 85 determines the cage position (d ａ The basket position (d) output by the calculation unit 81a ａ ) and the basket position (d ｂ The basket position (d) is output by the calculation unit 81b. b The system calculates the difference between the two values ​​and estimates whether there is an abnormality in the movement detectors 9a and 9b based on the calculated difference. In this embodiment, the abnormality detection unit 85 determines whether the magnitude of the difference is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and if it determines that the difference is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, i.e., that the difference is an abnormal value, it estimates that at least one of the movement detectors 9a and 9b is abnormal.

[0050] If the abnormality detection unit 85 estimates that at least one of the movement detectors 9a and 9b is abnormal, it commands the hoisting machine power cut-off unit 86 to send a power cut-off signal to cut off the power supply (for example, commercial AC power) to the power converter 61 in the elevator control device 6. As a result, the elevator car 1 is brought to an emergency stop.

[0051] When the abnormality detection unit 85 commands the hoisting machine power cut-off unit 86 to send a power cut-off signal, it stores the calculated value of the abnormal difference Δd in the abnormality data storage unit 87. Furthermore, when the abnormality detection unit 85 stores Δd in the abnormality data storage unit 87, it commands the hoisting machine power cut-off unit 86 to send a power-on signal to resume power supply from the power source to the power converter 61, and also commands the low-speed travel command generation unit 88 to send a low-speed travel command signal to the control unit 62 of the elevator control device 6 to travel the elevator car 1 at a low speed to the nearest floor. As a result, the elevator car 1 travels at a low speed to the nearest floor and stops. Note that low-speed travel is a speed lower than the rated speed in normal operation.

[0052] The fault detection unit 89 detects when the elevator car 1 is traveling at a low speed to the nearest floor, and the car position (d ａ The basket position (d) output by the calculation unit 81a ａ ) and the basket position (d ｂ The basket position (d) is output by the calculation unit 81b. bThe fault detection unit 89 determines whether the difference with the car position (d ａ ) and basket position (d ｂ The difference between the above and the above is calculated, and the calculated difference Δd is compared with the difference stored value Δd' in the abnormal data storage unit 87, i.e., the difference abnormal value calculated by the abnormality detection unit 85, to determine whether or not the difference has increased during low-speed driving.

[0053] If the fault detection unit 89 determines that the difference is increasing, after the elevator car 1 has reached the nearest floor and stopped, it commands the hoisting machine power cut-off unit 86 to send a power cut-off signal. As a result, the elevator system enters a shutdown state.

[0054] If the fault detection unit 89 determines that there is no increase in the difference, the control unit 62 returns the elevator car 1 to normal operation after it has landed and stopped at the nearest floor. In this case, the safety control device 8, when the position detector 10 detects the object to be detected located on the nearest floor, determines the car position (d ａ ) Calculation unit 81a and cage position (d ｂ The cumulative values ​​calculated by the calculation unit 81b are corrected to the location data of the nearest floor.

[0055] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the safety control device 8 (Figures 1 and 2) in the embodiment (the process of detecting a malfunction in the motion detectors 9a and 9b). The following explanation will refer to Figure 2 as appropriate.

[0056] In step S301, after the start of operation, the safety control device 8 uses the abnormality detection unit 85 to determine the car position (d ａ The basket position (d) output by the calculation unit 81a ａ ) and the basket position (d ｂ The basket position (d) is output by the calculation unit 81b. b The magnitude of the difference Δd from ) is a predetermined value Δd ｔｈ It determines whether the car position (d ａ ) and the basket position (d ｂ ) Compared with the basket position (d ａ ) and basket position (d ｂThe safety control device 8 determines whether the difference with ) is excessively large, exceeding a predetermined amount. Based on this, the safety control device 8 estimates whether or not there is an abnormality in the movement detector 9a or 9b.

[0057] The safety control device 8 has Δd ｔｈ If it is determined that the above is true (YES in step S301), that is, if it is estimated that there is an abnormality in the motion detector 9a or 9b, then step S302 is executed. The safety control device 8 determines that Δd is Δd ｔｈ If it is determined to be smaller (NO in step S301), that is, if it is estimated that there is no abnormality in the moving detectors 9a and 9b, step S301 is executed again.

[0058] In step S302, the safety control device 8 uses the hoisting machine power cut-off unit 86 to cut off the power supply from the power source for the hoisting machine 4, thereby bringing the elevator car 1 to an emergency stop. After executing step S302, the safety control device 8 then executes step S303.

[0059] In step S303, the safety control device 8 uses the abnormal data storage unit 87 to store the Δd calculated in step S301 as the difference storage value Δd'. After executing step S303, the safety control device 8 then executes step S304.

[0060] In step S304, the safety control device 8 uses the hoisting machine power cut-off unit 86 to turn on the power to the hoisting machine 4, and uses the low-speed travel command generation unit 88 to command the elevator control device 6 to travel the elevator car 1 at a low speed to the nearest floor. After executing step S304, the safety control device 8 then executes step S305.

[0061] In step S305, the safety control device 8 uses the floor detection unit 82 to determine whether the nearest floor has been detected by the position detector 10. If the safety control device 8 determines that the nearest floor has been detected (YES in step S305), it then executes step S306. If the safety control device 8 determines that the nearest floor has not been detected (NO in step S305), it then executes step S307.

[0062] In step S306, the safety control device 8 uses the car position correction unit 83 to adjust the car position (d ａ ) Calculation unit 81a and cage position (d ｂ The calculation unit 81b corrects each accumulated value to the position data of the nearest floor (FL1, FL4, or FL3) stored in the floor position data storage unit 84. After the elevator car 1 lands and stops at the nearest floor, it returns to normal operation.

[0063] In step S307, the safety control device 8 uses the fault detection unit 89 to determine the car position (d ａ The basket position (d) output by the calculation unit 81a ａ ) and the basket position (d ｂ The basket position (d) is output by the calculation unit 81b. b The magnitude of the difference Δd between the above and the difference stored value Δd' stored in the abnormal data storage unit 87 is a predetermined value Δ ｔｈ It is determined whether the above is true. In other words, the safety control device 8 compares Δd and Δd' to determine the car position (d ａ ) and basket position (d ｂ The safety control device 8 determines whether the difference with ) has expanded beyond a predetermined amount. Based on this, the safety control device 8 determines whether there is a malfunction in the movement detector 9a or 9b.

[0064] The safety control device 8 determines that the magnitude of the difference between Δd and Δd' is Δ ｔｈ If it is determined that the above is true (YES in step S307), that is, the cage position (d ａ ) and basket position (d ｂ If the difference between Δd and Δd' is widening and it is determined that the motion detector 9a or 9b is malfunctioning, then step S308 is executed. ｔｈ If it is determined to be smaller than (YES in step S307), that is, the cage position (d ａ ) and basket position (d ｂ If the difference with ) has not increased and it is determined that the motion detector 9a or 9b is not malfunctioning, step S305 is executed again.

[0065] In step S308, the safety control device 8 uses the floor detection unit 82 to determine whether the nearest floor has been detected by the position detector 10. If the safety control device 8 determines that the nearest floor has been detected (YES in step S308), it then executes step S309. If the safety control device 8 determines that the nearest floor has not been detected (NO in step S308), it executes step S308 again.

[0066] In step S308, the safety control device 8 uses the hoisting machine power cut-off unit 86 to cut off the power supply from the power source for the hoisting machine 4 after the elevator car 1 has reached the nearest floor and stopped, thereby maintaining the stopped state of the elevator car 1. In other words, the safety control device 8 puts the elevator system into a shutdown state.

[0067] Figure 4 is a time chart showing an example of the operating state of the safety control device 8.

[0068] In the figure, from top to bottom, the ON state (object detected) and OFF state (object not detected) of the position detector 10, and the cage position (d ａ d ｂ The calculation unit (81a, 81b) outputs the cage position (d ａ d ｂ ) Time change, d ａ and d ｂ This shows the time variation of the difference between the difference Δd and the difference memory value Δd' (Δd - Δd'), the abnormality and fault detection status (on: detected, off: not detected), and the on (connected) and off (shut-off) states of the power supply for the hoisting machine. Figure 5, which will be described later, is similar.

[0069] In Figure 4, a detection error occurs between motion detectors 9a and 9b due to a malfunction in motion detector 9b.

[0070] time t １ At this point, elevator car 1 begins to travel upward from the stopping floor. At the stopping floor, car position d ａ d ｂ Since it has been corrected to the location information of the stopping floor, time t ２ Up to that point, basket position d ａ d ｂThey are equal. Therefore, since Δd is zero and Δd' is reset (Δd' = 0), Δd - Δd' is zero.

[0071] At time t ２ the movement detector 9b malfunctions. As a result, the car position d ｂ no longer changes. Therefore, after time t ２ Δd increases. As Δd increases, Δd - Δd' also increases.

[0072] At time t ３ since Δd becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value (Δd ｔｈ ), it is estimated that there is an abnormality, and the hoist power supply is cut off. At time t ３ the braking of the car 1 is started.

[0073] At time t ４ the car 1 is brought to an emergency stop. In this case, Δd is stored in the abnormal data storage unit 87 as the differential stored value Δd'. Therefore, Δd - Δd' is reset at time t ４ and becomes zero from time t ４ to time t ５ (start of the nearest floor operation).

[0074] At time t ５ the hoist power supply is turned on, and the car 1 starts running from the emergency stop position toward the nearest floor. As a result, Δd increases again. Therefore, since Δd becomes larger than Δd', Δd - Δd' increases.

[0075] At time t ６ since Δd - Δd' becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value Δ ｔｈ it is determined that the movement detector 9a or the movement detector 9b has malfunctioned.

[0076] At time t ７ since the position detector 10 detects the detected object provided at the nearest floor, the car 1 has arrived at the nearest floor. Therefore, the car 1 lands on the nearest floor and stops.

[0077] At time t ８That is, after the car 1 lands on the nearest floor and stops, the power supply for the hoist is cut off. As a result, the car 1 enters the operation suspension state.

[0078] FIG. 5 is a time chart showing an example of the operating state of the safety control device 8.

[0079] In FIG. 5, a detection error has occurred between the movement detectors 9a and 9b due to transient factors. There is no failure in the movement detectors 9a and 9b.

[0080] At time t １ the car 1 starts running upward from the stop floor. At the stop floor, the car position d ａ , d ｂ is corrected to the position information of the stop floor. Therefore, until time t ２ the car positions d ａ , d ｂ are equal. For this reason, Δd is zero, and since Δd' is reset (Δd' = 0), Δd - Δd' is zero.

[0081] At time t ２ transient factors occur. For this reason, the car positions d ａ , d ｂ both increase as they were originally, but the rates of change are different. Therefore, after time t ２ Δd increases. As Δd increases, Δd - Δd' also increases. ２

[0082] At time t ３ since Δd becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value (Δd ｔｈ ), it is presumed to be abnormal, and the power supply for the hoist is cut off. At time t ３ the braking of the car 1 is started.

[0083] At time t ４ the car 1 is brought to an emergency stop. In this case, Δd is stored in the abnormal data storage unit 87 as the differential storage value Δd'. For this reason, Δd - Δd' is reset at time t ４ and becomes zero from time t ４ to time t ５ (start of the nearest floor operation).

[0084] ​time t ５ At this point, the power supply for the hoisting machine is turned on, and elevator car 1 begins to move from the emergency stop position toward the nearest floor. In this case, the transient factor has already been resolved, so the car position d ａ d ｂ Since both increase at a similar rate of change, the change in Δd is small. Therefore, the change in Δd - Δd' is also small, and at time t ６ Until arriving at the nearest floor, Δd - Δd' is a predetermined value Δ ｔｈ It becomes smaller than that. Therefore, it will not be determined that the moving detector 9a or the moving detector 9b is malfunctioning.

[0085] time t ６ In this case, the position detector 10 detects the object to be detected located on the nearest floor, so the elevator car 1 has arrived at the nearest floor. Therefore, the elevator car 1 comes to a stop upon landing at the nearest floor.

[0086] time t ６ Even after this point, that is, after elevator car 1 has reached the nearest floor and stopped, the power supply for the hoisting machine is maintained, and elevator car 1 returns to its normal operating state. In this case, car position d ａ d ｂ Since the position information is corrected to match the stopping floor, the safety control device 8 can accurately detect the position of the elevator car 1 even after the elevator car 1 returns to a normal operating state.

[0087] According to the above embodiment, the safety control device 8 controls the car position d ａ Tokago position d ｂ Based on the difference, the presence or absence of abnormalities in the movement detectors 9a and 9b is estimated. If an abnormality is estimated, during the low-speed travel of the elevator car 1, a fault in either the movement detector 9a or the movement detector 9b is determined based on whether the difference is expanding. This prevents a false determination that either the movement detector 9a or the movement detector 9b is faulty when a detection error between the movement detectors 9a and 9b occurs due to a transient factor. Therefore, the reliability of fault detection for the movement detectors 9a and 9b is improved.

[0088] Instead of the image sensors in the above embodiment, the data detection units 91a and 91b of the movement detectors 9a and 9b may be rotation detectors (for example, rotary encoders) that are attached to a rotating roller pressed against a guide rail and rotate together with the rotating roller. In this case, the amount of movement of the elevator car 1 is detected by counting the number of pulses output by the rotation detector in response to the movement of the elevator car 1.

[0089] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are included. For example, the embodiments described above are described in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to add, delete, or replace some of the configurations of the embodiments with other configurations.

[0090] For example, the elevator could be a so-called machine-room-less elevator, where the hoisting machine and elevator control device are installed within the hoistway.

[0091] 1...Elevator car, 2...Counterweight, 3...Main rope, 4...Hoisting machine, 5a, 5b...Guide rails, 6...Elevator control device, 7...Tail cord, 8...Safety control device, 9a, 9b...Movement detector, 10...Position detector, 11, 12, 13...Detected object, 20...Guiding device, 61...Power converter, 62...Control unit, 81a...Car position (d ａ ) Calculation unit, 81b...cage position (d ｂ ) Calculation unit, 82... Floor detection unit, 83... Car position correction unit, 84... Floor position data storage unit, 85... Anomaly detection unit, 86... Hoisting machine power cut-off unit, 87... Anomaly data storage unit, 88... Low-speed travel command generation unit, 89... Fault detection unit, 91a, 91b... Data detection unit, 92a, 92b... Movement amount detection unit

Claims

1. An elevator position detection device for detecting the position of an elevator car in a hoistway, comprising: a control device comprising: a first movement detector and a second movement detector provided on the elevator car for detecting the amount of movement of the elevator car; a first car position calculation unit for calculating the position of the elevator car based on the amount of movement of the elevator car detected by the first movement detector and outputting it as the first car position; and a second car position calculation unit for calculating the position of the elevator car based on the amount of movement of the elevator car detected by the second movement detector and outputting it as the second car position, wherein the control device comprises: an abnormality detection unit for estimating the presence or absence of abnormalities in the first movement detector and the second movement detector based on the difference between the first car position and the second car position; and a fault detection unit for determining whether there is a malfunction in the first movement detector or the second movement detector based on whether the difference is expanding during low-speed travel of the elevator car, if the abnormality detection unit estimates that there is an abnormality.

2. An elevator position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the control device includes an abnormality data storage unit that stores the value of the difference when the abnormality detection unit estimates that there is an abnormality, and the fault detection unit determines whether or not the difference between the first car position and the second car position has increased, based on the difference between the difference between the first car position output by the first car position calculation unit and the second car position output by the second car position calculation unit and the value of the difference stored in the abnormality data storage unit, while the elevator car is traveling at low speed.

3. An elevator position detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that when the fault detection unit determines that there is no expansion of the difference and that there is no fault in the first movement detector or the second movement detector, the elevator car returns to a normal operating state.

4. An elevator position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the control device, when the abnormality detection unit estimates that there is an abnormality, causes the elevator car to travel at a low speed to the nearest floor after the elevator car has made an emergency stop.

5. An elevator position detection device according to claim 1, further comprising: a detectable object provided on each floor within the hoistway; and a position detector provided on the elevator car for detecting the detectable object, wherein the control device comprises a car position correction unit that, when the position detector detects the detectable object, corrects the calculated value of the position of the elevator car by the first car position calculation unit and the second car position calculation unit to position information corresponding to the floor on which the detectable object detected by the position detector is provided.

6. An elevator position detection device according to claim 5, wherein the control device, when the abnormality detection unit estimates that there is an abnormality, causes the elevator car to travel at a low speed to the nearest floor after the elevator car has made an emergency stop; when the fault detection unit determines that there is no expansion of the difference and that there is no fault in the first movement detector or the second movement detector, the elevator car returns to a normal operating state; and when the elevator car returns to a normal operating state, the calculated value of the elevator car's position is corrected by the car position correction unit to the position information corresponding to the nearest floor.

7. An elevator position detection device according to claim 1, wherein the first movement detector comprises a first data detection unit for acquiring movement data of the elevator car, and a first movement amount calculation unit for calculating the amount of movement of the elevator car based on the movement data, and the second movement detector comprises a second data detection unit for acquiring movement data of the elevator car, and a second movement amount calculation unit for calculating the amount of movement of the elevator car based on the movement data.

8. An elevator position detection device according to claim 7, characterized in that each of the first data detection unit and the second data detection unit is composed of an image sensor.

9. An elevator position detection method for detecting the position of an elevator car within a hoistway, characterized in that: the amount of movement of the elevator car is detected by a first movement detector and a second movement detector provided on the elevator car; the position of the elevator car is calculated as the first car position based on the amount of movement of the elevator car detected by the first movement detector; the position of the elevator car is calculated as the second car position based on the amount of movement of the elevator car detected by the second movement detector; the presence or absence of abnormalities in the first movement detector and the second movement detector is estimated based on the difference between the first car position and the second car position; and if an abnormality is estimated to exist, the presence or absence of a malfunction in the first movement detector or the second movement detector is determined based on whether or not the difference is expanding during low-speed travel of the elevator car.

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