Elevator Door Sensor Fusion Fault Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current elevator safety systems rely on light curtain sensors for door sensing, which can fail, leading to potential door strikes and require multiple sensors for redundancy, but existing systems lack effective fault detection and fusion methods to ensure passenger safety and efficient service notification.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses multiple sensors to monitor and fuse outputs, identifying deviations from expected patterns to detect faults, enabling proactive actions such as nudging mode activation or service notifications, and allowing continuous safe operation by differentiating between code-dependent and non-code-dependent sensor faults.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple sensors are used for door sensing, then passenger safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the door sensing function across multiple independent sensors (light curtain sensors and contactless sensors) positioned at different locations. Each sensor independently monitors specific zones, allowing the system to maintain high safety reliability while managing complexity through modular sensor deployment rather than a single complex sensor system.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller performs multiple functions: it processes outputs from multiple sensors, fuses sensor data, detects faults through pattern analysis, determines elevator operating modes, and generates service notifications. This multi-functionality consolidates what could be separate systems into a single controller, improving reliability without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
2Reliability
If fault detection is implemented through sensor fusion, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors sensor outputs and compares them against expected patterns, creating a feedback loop that automatically detects faults. When sensor outputs deviate from expected patterns (such as unexpected trigger sequences or timing anomalies), the system identifies the fault and determines appropriate responses. This automated feedback mechanism improves reliability without requiring complex manual monitoring systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes expected output patterns from multiple sensors before operation begins. These patterns serve as pre-defined criteria for normal operation, allowing the fault detection system to quickly compare actual sensor outputs against known good patterns. This preliminary establishment of baseline behavior enables rapid fault identification without complex real-time analysis algorithms.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are deployed, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the monitoring space into distinct zones covered by different sensors (light curtain zones and contactless sensing zones). Each sensor monitors its specific zone independently, allowing parallel processing of sensor outputs rather than sequential analysis. This segmentation enables the system to maintain high measurement precision across the entire door area while minimizing processing time through concurrent evaluation.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for elevator door sensor fusion, fault detection, and service notification is provided. The system includes a processor and a memory including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations. The operations include monitoring outputs of a plurality of sensors. It is determined whether the outputs of the plurality of sensors follow an expected pattern. Based at least in part on determining that the outputs of the plurality of sensors do not follow the expected pattern: identifying a sensor in the plurality of sensors that is not following the expected pattern, and transmitting a notification indicating that the sensor is exhibiting unexpected behaviour.