Elevator Pit Ladder Safety Net Using LiDAR Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a cost-effective and reliable detection system in the elevator industry to identify service technicians or mechanics safely standing in the elevator pit or on the pit ladder, with minimal false positives and negatives, and easy installation and maintenance, ensuring safety in hazardous locations.
Innovation Solution
A safety net system utilizing a LiDAR sensor or other sensors to detect objects on a 2D plane behind the pit ladder or in the elevator pit, generating point cloud data and using machine-learning algorithms to accurately identify personnel presence, preventing elevator car movement when necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional detection systems are used to identify personnel in the elevator pit, then the system can detect presence, but the system produces false positives and negatives and requires complex installation and maintenance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical or complex electronic detection systems with a LiDAR-based optical sensing system. The LiDAR sensor uses laser ranging technology to detect personnel presence by measuring the time of flight of light pulses, substituting complex mechanical sensors with a more reliable optical field-based detection method that reduces false positives and negatives while simplifying the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital 3D point cloud copy of the physical space in the elevator pit. The LiDAR sensor continuously scans and generates a digital representation of the environment, allowing the system to detect personnel by comparing changes in this digital copy rather than relying on complex physical sensors, thereby improving detection reliability while maintaining simple hardware installation.
2Measurement precision
If advanced detection algorithms are implemented to reduce false positives, then detection precision improves, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detection space into multiple 2D planes at different depths within the elevator pit. Instead of processing the entire 3D space as one complex volume, the LiDAR data is divided into sequential 2D cross-sections that can be processed independently and more efficiently. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high detection precision by analyzing each plane separately while reducing overall computational time through parallel processing of smaller data sets.
3Area of stationary object
If multiple sensors are deployed to cover the entire elevator pit area, then detection coverage improves, but system cost and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a single LiDAR sensor to achieve comprehensive 3D coverage by rapidly scanning through multiple angular positions and depths. Instead of deploying multiple sensors across the elevator pit area, the system exploits the temporal dimension by sequentially scanning different spatial locations, creating a complete 3D point cloud from a single sensor's multi-angle measurements. This approach maintains full detection coverage while dramatically simplifying installation and reducing system cost.
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
The system effectively reduces false positives and negatives, ensuring safe operation by reliably detecting personnel presence with minimal maintenance, using a simple and robust algorithm that can be integrated into the elevator system for enhanced safety.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor is a LiDAR sensor
Data Source
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AI summary
A safety net system is provided for an elevator system that includes an elevator pit and a ladder adjacent to an elevator pit wall for accessing the elevator pit. The safety net system includes a sensor and a processor. The sensor is arranged in a plane between the ladder and the elevator pit wall and is configured to perform sensing to sense an object disposed along the plane and to generate data corresponding to results of the sensing. The processor is operably coupled to the sensor and is configured to analyze the data and to determine whether the data is indicative of a person standing on the ladder based on analysis results.