Automatic Fault Clearing for Elevators and Escalators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Elevators and similar equipment often require manual intervention by a technician to clear faults, leading to increased costs and time, potentially trapping passengers and causing inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method and device for automatic fault clearing in elevators, escalators, and automatic doors, which detects faults and determines if automatic clearing is possible, allowing for remote or local activation of rescue drive functions to resolve issues without human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual intervention by a technician is used to clear faults, then the fault can be reliably cleared, but the time and cost for fault resolution increases and passengers may be trapped
Solution Approach 1:
The control device automatically detects faults and executes clearing operations without requiring technician intervention. The system performs self-diagnosis and self-recovery by automatically implementing power-down sequences, rescue drive functions, or other fault clearing operations based on the detected fault type, thereby eliminating the need for manual service calls and reducing passenger entrapment time.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device stores multiple fault clearing operations in advance (power-down sequence, rescue drive function, reset operations) and automatically selects and executes the appropriate pre-programmed sequence based on the detected fault type. This preliminary preparation of clearing operations enables immediate automated response without waiting for technician arrival.
2Loss of time
If automatic fault clearing is implemented, then fault resolution time is reduced and technician call-outs decrease, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device integrates multiple fault clearing operations (power-down sequence, rescue drive function, reset operations) into a single automated system. Rather than requiring separate manual procedures for each fault type, the universal control device can handle various fault conditions using different pre-programmed clearing sequences, managing complexity through consolidation rather than multiplication of components.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device automatically adjusts operational parameters based on the detected fault type. By changing control parameters (such as activating different clearing sequences, modifying power states, or adjusting drive functions) rather than adding physical components, the system achieves automated fault clearing while managing complexity through software-based parameter management.
3Reliability
If the elevator stops immediately upon detecting a fault, then safety is improved, but passengers may become trapped and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device continuously monitors the fault condition and the results of automatic clearing operations. After executing a fault clearing operation, the system checks whether the fault has been successfully cleared and whether the elevator can resume normal operation. This feedback mechanism allows the elevator to stop for safety when faults occur but automatically resume service when the fault is cleared, maintaining high availability while ensuring safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The elevator system transitions dynamically between different operational states (normal operation, fault state, clearing operation, recovered state) based on real-time conditions. Rather than remaining permanently stopped after a fault, the system adapts its state based on the fault clearance outcome, enabling it to resume productivity automatically when safe to do so while maintaining safety during fault conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A device and a method for controlling an apparatus being an elevator, an escalator or automatic doors are provided, by which it is detected whether a fault is present in the apparatus, it is determined, when the fault is present, whether an automatic fault clearing may be carried out, and if it is determined that the automatic fault clearing may be carried out, the automatic fault clearing is performed by automatically clearing one or more faults.