ELEVATOR BACKUP POWER SUPPLY

• US 20150136531A1
• Filed: 05/15/2012
• Published: 05/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Otis Elevator Company (Otis Worldwide Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Otis Elevator Company (Otis Worldwide Corp.)
• Inventors: Rogers, Kyle W., Marvin, Daryl J., Bogli, Craig Drew, Watterson, Leslie C.
• Granted Patent: US 9,935,494 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 187/290
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/30 effective on driving gear , e.g. acting on power electronics, on inverter or rectifier controlled motor
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 5/00 Applications of checking, fault-correcting, or safety devices in elevators
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 5/027 to permit passengers to leave an elevator car in case of failure, e.g. moving the car to a reference floor or unlocking the door
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/06 with automatic change-over , e.g. UPS systems
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 9/062 for AC powered loads

Abstract

A power architecture for an elevator system is described. The power architecture may comprise a panel receiving power from a power grid through a breaker, a power supply coupled to the breaker to receive power from the grid, a battery coupled to the power supply through a switch, an elevator motor controller coupled to the power supply, the power supply providing power from at least one of the grid and the battery to the controller, and a charger coupled to the breaker and the battery and configured to receive power from the power grid and provide power to the battery to charge the battery.

Claims

1. A power architecture for an elevator system, the power architecture comprising:

a panel receiving power from a power grid through a breaker;

a power supply coupled to the breaker to receive power from the grid;

a battery coupled to the power supply through a switch;

an elevator motor controller coupled to the power supply;

the power supply providing power from at least one of the grid and the battery to the controller; and

a charger coupled to the breaker and the battery and configured to receive power from the power grid and provide power to the battery to charge the battery.

2. The power architecture of claim 1, wherein the battery is configured to be charged by the power grid when the power from the power grid is available.

3. The power architecture of claim 1, further comprising:

a diode coupled to the battery and the charger and configured to ensure that the charging of the battery occurs through the charger and not the power supply and to provide power from the battery to the power supply when the power from the power grid is unavailable.

4. The power architecture of claim 1, wherein the power supply is included in the panel.

5. The power architecture of claim 1, wherein the switch is configured to open when the breaker opens.

6. The power architecture of claim 1, wherein the switch is configured to close when the power from the power grid is unavailable.

7. The power architecture of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to generate currents based on the power provided by the power supply and provide the generated currents to an elevator motor.

8. The power architecture of claim 1, wherein the power supply is configured to provide power that is simultaneously sourced from the grid and the battery to the controller.

9. An apparatus comprising:

an elevator motor controller configured to be powered by a grid when power provided by the grid is available;

a battery coupled to the grid and configured to be charged by power received from the grid when the power from the grid is available and to supply power to the controller when the power from the grid is unavailable;

a switch configured to selectively isolate power stored in the battery from the controller based on a position of the switch that is selected from a breaker included in a panel of a doorframe; and

the switch opens when the breaker opens and the switch closes when the power provided by the grid is unavailable.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

an isolation mechanism configured to isolate the battery from the grid when the power from the grid is unavailable.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the isolation mechanism comprises a diode.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

a second switch included in the breaker and configured to selectively isolate the battery from the grid based on a position of the second switch.

13. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to provide power to a brake and drive logic of an elevator associated with the controller.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising:

a charger coupled to the grid and the battery and configured to receive power from the grid and provide power to the battery to continuously charge the battery when the power from the grid is available.

15. A method comprising:

charging a battery from power supplied by a source;

powering an elevator motor controller from the source when power from the source is available;

sensing at least one parameter associated with the source; and

switching the power to the controller from the source to power provided by the battery when the sensed at least one parameter exceeds a threshold.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the source comprises a grid, and wherein the sensed at least one parameter comprises at least one of power, energy, voltage, and current associated with the grid.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

coupling the battery to the controller without using a converter.