Multi-Car Elevator Routing With Predetermined Stops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing elevator systems with multiple cars face challenges in efficient operation due to individual travel requirements, frequent operating errors, and increased complexity, leading to unpredictable conveying capacity and difficulty in planning.
Innovation Solution
Assigning predetermined travel routes to elevator cars with scheduled stops, eliminating the need for user input and optimizing car movements based on predefined sequences, while incorporating mechanisms to adapt to changing demand and events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex algorithms are used to coordinate multiple elevator cars and prevent collisions, then safety and collision prevention are improved, but operating complexity and user error increase
Solution Approach 1:
The elevator system automatically monitors car positions, calculates distances, and prevents collisions without user intervention. The control system self-regulates car movements based on real-time position data from sensors, eliminating the need for users to understand or manage the coordination complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously receives feedback from sensors monitoring car positions and speeds, processes this information through control algorithms, and adjusts car movements in real-time to maintain safe distances and prevent collisions, creating a closed-loop control system.
2Productivity
If destination call controls are used to assign elevator cars to user requests, then car assignment efficiency is improved, but conveying capacity becomes unpredictable and harder to plan
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates optimal car assignments and travel routes based on predicted traffic patterns and historical data. Elevator cars are positioned in advance at strategic locations, and travel routes are predetermined to ensure consistent conveying capacity during peak periods without requiring real-time user requests.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system dynamically adjusts car assignments and route selections based on real-time conditions while maintaining overall predictability. The system can adapt to changing demands by reassigning cars to different routes or floors, but within a framework that preserves predictable conveying capacity patterns.
3Reliability
If minimum distance constraints are enforced between consecutive cars to prevent collisions, then safety is improved, but system flexibility and response time to user requests decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The system manages car spacing by utilizing multiple dimensions of control: vertical shaft positioning, horizontal shaft change operations, and temporal scheduling. Cars can maintain safe vertical distances while being dispatched to different horizontal shafts or floors, allowing flexibility in meeting user requests without compromising collision prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The elevator system divides the building into multiple vertical and horizontal shafts, allowing cars to be segmented into different operational zones. This segmentation enables independent control of car groups, maintaining minimum distance constraints within each zone while preserving overall system flexibility through coordinated multi-zone operation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If shaft change units are installed to enable cars to switch between vertical and horizontal shafts, then system versatility is improved, but operation time increases and collision risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system minimizes shaft change time by continuously positioning cars for optimal shaft change opportunities. Cars are dispatched and routed to maintain continuous operational flow, reducing idle time during shaft transitions. The control system coordinates shaft changes with car dispatch schedules to eliminate unnecessary waiting periods.
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 1c
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for operating an elevator system (1) having a plurality of elevator cars (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26), which can be moved individually between a plurality of floors, wherein in one elevator shaft (3, 4) of the elevator system (1), a plurality of elevator cars (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) can be moved simultaneously. In doing so, a predetermined travel route is assigned to an elevator car, or to a plurality of elevator cars (20, 21, 22, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26). Said travel route is defined by a sequence of stopping points, which is predetermined in advance for the respective elevator car (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26), and at which the respective elevator car (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) is to make a scheduled stop. Those elevator cars (20, 21, 22, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26), to which a travel route is assigned, are then moved in accordance with the travel route (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36) assigned to the respective elevator car (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26). The invention further relates to an elevator controller (6), and to an elevator system (1) for carrying out such a method.