Elevator Safety Stop Demonstration Through Controller Override
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing elevator safety systems face challenges in reliably demonstrating the functioning of their safety stops, making it difficult to verify if the safety stops are operational and not bypassed or tampered with, which poses a risk to passenger safety.
Innovation Solution
A safety stop demonstration test is implemented, allowing the elevator controller to deactivate normal stops and simulate safety-related issues, enabling the safety system to override the elevator controller and activate safety brakes or interrupt motor power, ensuring a reliable demonstration of safety stop functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the elevator controller executes normal stops during operation, then the elevator can stop at destination floors for passenger boarding and alighting, but the safety stop functionality cannot be reliably demonstrated or verified
Solution Approach 1:
The elevator controller dynamically switches between normal operation mode and safety stop demonstration mode. In demonstration mode, the controller deactivates normal stop functionality and enables safety stop demonstration, allowing the safety system to override and activate safety brakes or interrupt motor power to demonstrate safety stop operation reliably
2Reliability
If the safety system is designed to override the elevator controller in safety situations, then passenger safety is ensured, but it becomes difficult to verify whether the safety system is functioning correctly or has been bypassed
Solution Approach 1:
The elevator controller provides feedback by generating a safety stop demonstration indication when safety stop operation is demonstrated. This indication confirms that the safety system successfully overrode the controller and activated safety brakes or interrupted motor power, allowing verification that the safety system is functioning correctly and has not been bypassed
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
An elevator (100), comprising: an elevator car (10) adapted to transfer passengers and/or cargo between landing floors (30) in an elevator shaft (1); an elevator hoisting machinery (5) adapted to move the elevator car; an elevator controller (110) configured to control elevator operation in normal operation mode; and a safety system (120) configured to: receive safety information from a plurality of safety sensors (20), detect a safety-related problem based on safety information received from at least one of the safety sensors; wherein the elevator controller (110) is configured to execute a normal stop to make elevator car (10) to stop or to hold the car standstill in the elevator shaft (1); and wherein, in case a safety-related problem was detected, the safety system (120) is configured to execute a safety stop to bring the elevator to a safety state, which safety stop is configured to override operation of the elevator controller (110); wherein the elevator controller (110) is configured to: determine that one or more predetermined operational conditions for a safety stop demonstration test are fulfilled, and in response to the determination, deactivate said normal stop, to demonstrate operation of the safety stop. A method for demonstrating operation of an elevator safety system (120).