Elevator Battery Discharge Control for Safe Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing energy density of batteries in elevator systems poses safety challenges during maintenance, as traditional supervision methods are inadequate for high-energy density batteries, risking injuries to personnel and equipment.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced to safely discharge high-energy batteries before maintenance, allowing for safer operations by initiating a discharge request through manual, wireless, or remote means, and utilizing dedicated discharging equipment or connecting the battery to operational devices to consume energy, ensuring the battery is safely replaced.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If high-energy density batteries are used in elevator systems, then energy storage capacity is improved, but safety during maintenance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary discharging of the battery before maintenance operations begin. A discharge request is sent to the elevator control, which automatically discharges the battery to a safe level (e.g., 30% state of charge) before service personnel arrive to perform maintenance, thereby eliminating the safety hazard of working with charged high-energy batteries
Solution Approach 2:
The elevator control system automatically handles the battery discharging process without requiring manual intervention from service personnel. The system self-manages the safety procedure by receiving a discharge request and autonomously controlling the discharging process through existing battery management capabilities
2Device complexity
If traditional battery supervision methods are used, then device complexity is reduced, but safety and reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The existing elevator control system, originally designed for general elevator operations, is leveraged to also perform battery discharge management for maintenance safety. The control system uses existing communication protocols and battery management capabilities to handle discharge requests, avoiding the need for a separate dedicated supervision system while achieving enhanced safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the service personnel or external system sends a discharge request to the elevator control, which then monitors and executes the discharging process. The control system provides status information about the battery charge level, enabling verification that the discharge to safe level has been completed
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method minimizes the risk of injuries and ensures safe maintenance conditions by ensuring batteries are discharged to a safe level before replacement, aligning with safety regulations for high-energy density batteries like Li-Ion.
Implementation Method 1
Known elevator systems contain one or more batteries associated with different elevator functions. One or more batteries may be included in the power supply devices as backup for breaks in the electric supply
Implementation Method 2
Previously there is also known from US 2002/053490A1 an elevator system where regenerative charging of a battery occurs while an elevator car moves downwards and discharging of the battery occurs to supply power while the elevator car moves upwards
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to an elevator system (1) comprising power supply devices (2) providing operational devices (4, 10, 17, 19) of the elevator system (1) with power, an elevator control controlling (8) the operation of the elevator system (1), and a first battery (9) which is charged by the power supply devices (2). To improve the safety in an elevator system where one or more batteries are utilized the elevator control (8) is arranged to interrupt charging of the first battery (9) and to discharge the first battery (9) in response to a discharge request.