Elevator Control Apparatus Governor Rope Expansion Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Elevators require additional governor speed detectors to account for governor rope expansion and contraction, which is inefficient and not previously addressed effectively.
Innovation Solution
An elevator control apparatus that estimates errors in the governor encoder caused by rope expansion and contraction using existing sensors, such as the landing plate detector, without the need for new governor speed detectors, by calculating the expansion/contraction amount based on governor encoder counter signals and position detection signals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If two governor speed detectors are provided to account for governor rope expansion and contraction, then the car position recognition accuracy is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase due to additional sensors
Solution Approach 1:
The existing governor encoder serves dual purposes: it not only provides rotational speed information but also enables estimation of rope expansion/contraction effects through its counter signal variations. The system uses the governor encoder's existing data in conjunction with landing plate detector signals to self-diagnose and compensate for position errors without requiring additional dedicated sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The governor encoder is made multi-functional by utilizing its counter signal not only for basic speed measurement but also for detecting rope expansion/contraction effects. The landing plate detector is similarly used for multiple purposes: floor position detection and triggering the error estimation process. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated sensors for rope expansion detection.
2Manufacturing precision
If additional governor speed detectors are installed to compensate for rope expansion, then the landing accuracy is improved, but the manufacturing cost and installation complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The control system automatically performs error estimation and compensation using existing hardware resources. The governor encoder and landing plate detector work together to self-diagnose position errors caused by rope expansion, and the control unit automatically calculates and applies corrections, eliminating the need for manual installation of additional sensors and complex calibration procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where the landing plate detector signals trigger error estimation based on governor encoder data, and the estimated errors are fed back to correct the car position recognition. This continuous feedback mechanism ensures accurate landing without requiring permanent installation of additional hardware.
3Device complexity
If the governor encoder error is not compensated for rope expansion, then the device complexity is reduced, but the car position recognition accuracy deteriorates over long travel distances
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit acts as an intermediary that processes information from the governor encoder and landing plate detector to estimate rope expansion effects. By using the landing plate detector switch transitions as trigger events, the system calculates intermediate error values that mediate between the raw encoder data and the final corrected position, maintaining accuracy without adding physical sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces a mechanical approach (adding physical sensors to directly measure rope expansion) with a computational approach. The control unit uses software algorithms to estimate errors based on electrical signals from existing sensors, substituting mechanical measurement hardware with intelligent signal processing and mathematical estimation.
Data Source
AI summary
An elevator control apparatus that can estimate an error of a governor encoder caused by expansion and contraction of a governor rope without need to add new governor speed detectors. The elevator control apparatus includes: a governor rope expansion/contraction amount estimating device that estimates an error of a governor encoder caused by expansion and contraction of a governor rope on the basis of a governor encoder counter signal according to a rotation of a governor around which the governor rope connected to a car of an elevator provided in a building is wound, when a landing plate detector of the car is switched from a state in which a landing plate provided at a position corresponding to a floor of the building is detected to a state in which the landing plate is not detected.