Elevator Car Identification for Multi-Hoistway Location Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing elevator systems struggle to efficiently track and manage multiple elevator cars within a single hoistway or between different hoistways, particularly in systems where cars can transition between hoistways, lacking effective identification and location tracking mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system with unique car and location identifiers, including optical devices and communication protocols, to enable precise tracking and identification of elevator cars within a multi-car, multi-hoistway system, using visible markings, scanners, and bi-directional communication to determine car and location positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple elevator cars are used within a hoistway or across different hoistways, then the productivity and service capacity of the elevator system is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring the location of each car increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the hoistway into multiple discrete locations, each with a unique location identifier. Each elevator car is assigned a unique car identifier. This segmentation allows the controller to track each car's position by matching car identifiers with location identifiers, resolving the difficulty of tracking multiple cars simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces location identifiers as intermediary elements positioned at specific locations within the hoistway. These intermediaries facilitate communication between the cars and the controller by providing reference points that enable precise location determination without requiring direct continuous communication between all cars and the controller.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional identification methods are used in a single-car system, then the device complexity is low, but the system cannot support multiple cars transitioning between hoistways
Solution Approach 1:
The identification system uses universal components (car identifiers, location identifiers, and communication devices) that can function across multiple cars and multiple hoistways. The same type of identifier and detection mechanism is used throughout the system, allowing it to scale from single-car to multi-car configurations without requiring fundamentally different technologies.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses visual copies (visible markings) of car identifiers that can be detected by optical devices. This allows the system to identify cars through their visual representations rather than requiring direct electronic communication in all cases, simplifying the identification mechanism while maintaining accuracy across multiple cars.
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
Enables accurate tracking and management of elevator cars within the system, allowing for efficient assignment of cars to calls and maintenance scheduling, enhancing operational efficiency and car utilization monitoring.
Implementation Method 1
each location identifier comprises an optical device that is configured to detect the visible marking of each car identifier
Data Source
AI summary
An illustrative example embodiment of an elevator system includes a plurality of elevator cars, a plurality of car identifiers, a plurality of location identifiers, and a controller. Each of the car identifiers is associated with one of the elevator cars and provides a unique identification to the associated elevator car. Each of the location identifiers is configured to be situated in a selected location of the elevator system and provides a unique identification to the selected location. The controller determines a location of each of the elevator cars based on at least one indication of the associated car identifier being at the location of a corresponding one of the location identifiers.