Method and apparatus for operating an elevator drive in different performance modes

• US 6,199,667 B1
• Filed: 12/21/1998
• Issued: 03/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Motion Control Engineering Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Inventio AG (Schindler Holding AG)
• Inventors: Cruz, Jorge, Fischgold, Carmen R.
• Primary Examiner(s): SALATA, ANTHONY J
• Application Number:
  US09/217,478
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• Field of Search: 187/289, 187/290, 187/293, 187/295, 187/296, 187/297, 318/61, 318/62, 318/105, 318/139
• US Class Current: 187/295
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/285 with the use of a speed pattern generator
• 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 19/007 method for modernisation of elevators
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 50/00 Energy efficient technologies in elevators, escalators and moving walkways, e.g. energy saving or recuperation technologies

Abstract

An elevator system for controlling movement of an elevator car coupled to a drive to serve floors in a building in response to hall calls generated from a plurality of hall call devices located at floors served by the elevator car, includes a control for generating a velocity pattern signal from stored parameter values representing desired jerk, acceleration and constant speed relative to time. The drive responds to the velocity pattern signal to move the elevator car to the floor associated with each hall call. The control selectively generates a high performance velocity pattern signal and an energy conservation velocity pattern signal in response to parameter values that can be changed by user input. Sensing a predetermined condition such as the application emergency power to the drive and/or a high wind speed automatically modifies the velocity pattern signal.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an elevator system having an elevator car for serving hall calls at floors of a building comprising the steps of:

a. selectively operating an elevator drive means coupled to an elevator car in a high performance mode to move the elevator car to serve hall calls at floors in a building;

b. selectively operating the elevator drive means in an energy conservation performance mode to move the elevator car to serve the hall calls; and

c. sensing an actual value of at least one predetermined condition and, in response to said actual value of each said predetermined condition, selectively operating the elevator drive means in said energy conservation performance mode during an associated one portion of a movement of the elevator car from one floor to another floor and in said high performance mode during another portion of the same movement of the elevator, wherein said one predetermined condition is wind speed and said associated one portion is during a constant velocity travel of the elevator car.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein another said predetermined condition is an application of emergency power to the elevator drive means and said associated one portion is during a start up of the elevator car.

3. The method according to claim 1 including a step d. of repetitively performing an operating cycle by checking for a presence of a requested change in a value of a car parameter, changing the value of the car parameter in response to a requested change and controlling the elevator drive means in accordance with a current value of the car parameter.

4. The method according to claim 3 where said step c. interrupts said step d.

5. A method of controlling an elevator system having an elevator car for serving hall calls at floors of a building comprising the steps of:

a. selectively operating an elevator drive means coupled to an elevator car in a high performance mode to move the elevator car to serve hall calls at floors in a building;

b. selectively operating the elevator drive means in an energy conservation performance mode to move the elevator car to serve the hall calls;

c. selectively operating the elevator control system in a time and day performance mode including operating according to said step b. during selected time periods on selected days of the week and operating according to said step a. during all other times;

d. sensing application of emergency power to the elevator drive means and selectively operating the elevator drive means in said energy conservation performance mode during a start up of the elevator car; and

e. when operation according to all of said steps a., b., c. and d. is not selected, operating the elevator control system in a dynamic mode including operating according to said step a. in response to a generation of at least a predetermined number of the hall calls over a predetermined time period and operating the elevator control system according to said step b. in response to a generation of less than the predetermined number of hall calls over the predetermined time period.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein tie high performance mode includes moving the elevator car at rated values of jerk, acceleration and constant speed and the energy conservation performance mode includes moving the elevator car at less than the rated values of jerk and acceleration.

7. The method according to claim 5 wherein said step e. includes delaying switching from the high performance mode to the energy conservation mode until the elevator control system has been operated in the high performance mode for a minimum predetermined time period.

8. The method according to claim 5 wherein said step e. includes switching from the energy conservation mode to the high performance mode when a hall call has been waiting to be served for a maximum predetermined time period.

9. An apparatus for controlling an elevator system having an elevator car mounted for movement in an elevator shaft of a building, a drive coupled to the elevator car for moving the elevator car to serve floors in the building and a plurality of hall call devices located at floors served by the elevator car for generating hall call signals in response to actuation by persons at the floors to be served by the elevator car, the apparatus comprising:

a control means for generating a velocity pattern signal, said control means storing parameter values representing desired jerk, acceleration and constant speed relative to time for said velocity pattern signal, whereby when said control means is connected to an elevator drive means coupled to an elevator car and to a plurality of hall call devices, said control means generates said velocity pattern signal in response to each hall call signal generated by the hall call devices and the drive means responds to said velocity pattern signal to move the elevator car to the floor associated with each hall call signal, said control means generating a high performance velocity pattern signal from a first set of said parameter values in response to a first predetermined number of the hall call signals in a predetermined time period and generating an energy conservation velocity pattern signal from a second set of said parameter values in response to a second predetermined number of the hall call signals in said predetermined time period;

an input device connected to said control means for generating input signals representing values of said parameters whereby a user can generate said input signals to change at least one of said stored parameter values in each of said first and second sets of said parameter values thereby altering said high performance velocity pattern signal and said energy conservation velocity pattern signal; and

sensor means connected to said control means for sensing a predetermined condition, said control means responding to said predetermined condition for generating a modified velocity pattern signal to the drive means.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said predetermined condition is an application of emergency power to the drive means and said modified velocity pattern signal includes a start up portion of said energy conservation velocity pattern signal and a remaining portion of said high performance velocity pattern signal.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said predetermined condition is a high wind speed condition and said modified velocity pattern signal includes a constant velocity portion having a value less than a maximum constant velocity portion of said high performance velocity pattern signal.

12. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said control means delays switching from generating said high performance velocity pattern signal to generating said energy conservation performance velocity pattern signal until said high performance velocity pattern signal has been generated for a minimum predetermined time period.