DOORWAY OF AN ELEVATOR

• US 20150344265A1
• Filed: 08/13/2015
• Published: 12/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Inventors: SORSA, Janne, KUUSINEN, Juha-Matti, SIIKONEN, Marja-Liisa, HAKONEN, Henri
• Granted Patent: US 9,963,322 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/3476 Load weighing or car passenger counting devices B66B5/14 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 13/26 between closing doors
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

Radio signals are communicated on spatially separate radio paths across a doorway of an elevator. Signal strengths of the radio signals are measured and used to determine traffic served by the elevator. In this way traffic boarding and leaving the elevator may be measured when more than one unit of traffic, for example people, pass through the doorway simultaneously.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving radio signals communicated on spatially separated radio paths across a doorway of an elevator;

measuring signal strength of the radio signals;

and

determining a number of traffic units served by the elevator on the basis of the amount of attenuation of the measured signal strengths.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the spatially separate radio paths are separated in the direction of the traffic through the doorway.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the spatially separate radio paths are at different angles to the direction of the traffic through the doorway.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one radio path is diverted from a perpendicular angle to a direction of the traffic through the doorway, and at least one radio path is arranged substantially perpendicular to the direction of the traffic.

5. A method according to claim 1, comprising determining a direction of the traffic on the basis of time differences between attenuations of the radio signals.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the separate radio paths comprise at least two radio paths arranged substantially perpendicular to a direction of the traffic through the doorway.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the separate radio paths comprise at least one radio path diverted from a perpendicular angle to a direction of the traffic through the doorway, and at least two radio paths arranged substantially perpendicular to a direction of the traffic through the doorway, wherein the diverted radio path is between the at least two radio paths.

8. A method according to claim 1, comprising:

measuring attenuation of a signal strength of a radio path;

determining a number of traffic units, for example people, on the radio path on the basis of the attenuation exceeding a threshold corresponding to the number of traffic units.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein a number of traffic units, for example people, on a radio path is determined on the basis of a measured attenuation value exceeding a threshold for the attenuation for a time period that exceeds a time threshold.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the radio paths are separated spatially by at least transmitters or receivers of the radio paths being installed to different parts of the doorway comprising a doorway of an elevator car and a doorway of an elevator landing zone forming the doorway of the elevator, when the elevator car is at the landing zone.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the radio signals comprise space-time block coded radio signals.

12. An arrangement for monitoring traffic of an elevator, comprising

a doorway of an elevator, where at least one radio transmitter and at least one radio receiver have been arranged to communicate across the doorway on spatially separated radio paths, said arrangement comprising means for performing a method according to claim 1.

13. An arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the arrangement comprises at least one from a group of:

an elevator car, an elevator landing zone, a combination of an elevator car and an elevator landing zone.

14. An arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the doorway of the elevator comprises a doorway of an elevator landing zone and a doorway of an elevator car, each equipped with at least one transmitter and at least one receiver.

15. An arrangement according to 12, wherein at least one receiver is configured to perform spatial decoding of received radio signals.

16. An arrangement according to claim 12, comprising an antenna array of at least two antennas separated in the direction of the traffic through the doorway for providing spatial separation of radio signals received from at least one transmitter.

17. A method of updating an elevator, said method comprising installing an arrangement according to claim 12 to the elevator.

18. A computer program product comprising executable code that when executed, cause execution of functions of a method according claim 1.