Elevator Car Data Relay via Mobile Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing elevator system communication methods require high energy consumption and are susceptible to electromagnetic interference due to the need for large communication ranges and high antenna power, often resulting in increased traffic load and potential system malfunction.
Innovation Solution
A method where data from an elevator system is stored in a communication unit on the elevator car and transmitted to a mobile device, which then relays the data through a public mobile network to a remote monitoring unit, using a secondary wireless communication network with a limited range to reduce energy consumption and electromagnetic interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a direct wireless communication network with large communication range and high antenna power is used between the elevator car and the service center, then reliable data transmission can be achieved, but energy consumption increases and electromagnetic interference occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mobile communication end device as an intermediary component that collects data from multiple sources (elevator car, hoistway components) and transmits it to the service center. This intermediary approach allows the use of low-power, short-range communication networks within the elevator car while relying on the mobile device's higher-power transmission for the longer distance to the service center, thereby resolving the contradiction between transmission reliability and energy consumption.
2Reliability
If a direct wireless communication network with large communication range and high antenna power is used between the elevator car and the service center, then reliable data transmission can be achieved, but electromagnetic interference impairs system functioning
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile communication end device serves as an intermediary that breaks the direct high-power transmission path into two segments: a low-power segment within the elevator car and a second segment from the mobile device to the service center. This eliminates the need for high antenna power in the elevator car, thereby preventing electromagnetic interference while maintaining transmission reliability.
3Reliability
If complex network protocols are used to ensure reliable connection and error-free transmission, then data transmission reliability is improved, but traffic load and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication system into distinct functional layers: data collection within the elevator car using simple protocols, data storage in the mobile device, and transmission to the service center. This segmentation allows each layer to use appropriately complex protocols, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile communication end device acts as an intermediary that handles complex communication protocols externally, shielding the elevator car's internal system from protocol complexity. This allows the elevator car to use simple collection protocols while the mobile device manages the complexity of connection establishment and error handling.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for the exchange of data between one unit of an elevator system and a monitoring unit of a service center locationally remote from the elevator system, wherein, via a first communication network, the one unit is connected with a communication unit arranged on, or in, an elevator car that travels vertically in an elevator hoistway, and wherein the data that are transmitted by the one unit are transmitted to the communication unit and stored there. A mobile-communication end-device brought into the elevator car by an elevator passenger is connected, via a second wireless communication network, with the communication unit and the stored data are transmitted by the communication unit to the end-device, and stored in the latter. When the elevator car is exited by the elevator passenger with the end-device, the stored data are transmitted from the end-device via a public mobile-communication network to the monitoring unit.