Elevator controller controlling charging of a battery power source with regenerative power

• US 6,439,348 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2001
• Issued: 08/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Korea Electric Power Corporation (Government of South Korea), Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), Tokyo Electric Power Company
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Kazuyuki, Araki, Hiroshi, Suga, Ikuro, Tajima, Shinobu
• Primary Examiner(s): SALATA, ANTHONY J
• Application Number:
  US09/778,876
• Publication Number:
  US 20010017238A1
• Time in Patent Office: 565 Days
• Field of Search: 187/391, 187/296, 187/396, 187/290, 318/375, 318/376, 318/798-815, 320/106, 320/153, 320/150
• 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

Abstract

A controller of an elevator for stably controlling regenerated power by using a cheap secondary battery of a low capacity without damaging energy saving effects obtained by charging. The controller of the elevator includes a converter for rectifying AC power and converting the AC power to DC power; an inverter for converting the DC power to AC power having a variable voltage and a variable frequency and operating the elevator; a power accumulating device for accumulating DC power from a DC bus in a regenerative operation of the elevator and supplying the DC power accumulated on the DC bus during a power operation time; a charging-discharging control circuit for controlling charging and discharging operations of the power accumulating device; a series connecting body arranged between DC buses and including a gate for regenerative current control and a regenerative resistor; a regenerative control circuit for controlling operation of the gate for regenerative current control; and a charging-discharging state measuring device for measuring charge and discharge states of the power accumulating device. The regenerative control circuit controls the operation of the gate for regenerative current control in control modes in which duty is different in accordance with a measured value of the charge and discharge states.

Claims

1. A controller of an elevator comprising:

a converter for rectifying AC power from an AC power source and converting the AC power to DC power;

an inverter for converting the DC power to AC power having a variable voltage and a variable frequency and driving an electric motor operating an elevator;

power accumulating means arranged between DC buses of said converter and said inverter, and accumulating DC power from the DC buses during a regenerative operation of the elevator and supplying the DC power accumulated to the DC buses during a power operation time;

charging-discharging control means for controlling charging and discharging operations of said power accumulating means with respect to said DC buses;

a series connecting body arranged between said DC buses and including a gate for regenerative current control and a regenerative resistor for discharging regenerated power flowing in through said gate for regenerative current control;

regenerative control means for controlling operation of said gate for regenerative current control; and

charging-discharging state measuring means for measuring charge and discharge states of said power accumulating means, said regenerative control means controlling operation of said gate for regenerative current control in plural control modes in which an electric current or power flowing through said regenerative resistor is different in accordance with a value measured by said charging-discharging state measuring means.

2. The controller of an elevator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said charging-discharging state measuring means includes bus voltage measuring means for measuring bus voltage of each of said DC buses, and the bus voltages measured are outputted as a measured value of the charging and discharging states, and said regenerative control means controls an ON pulse of said gate for regenerative current control in accordance with the bus voltages measured.

3. The controller of an elevator as claimed in claim 2, wherein said charging-discharging state measuring means further comprises charging voltage measuring means for measuring a charging voltage of said power accumulating means, and said regenerative control means controls the ON pulse of said gate for regenerative current control in accordance with the bus voltages measured and the charging voltage measured.

4. The controller of an elevator as claimed in claim 1, wherein said charging-discharging state measuring means measures at least one of charging and discharging currents, charging and discharging voltages, and a temperature of said power accumulating means, and said regenerative control means has a table setting duty in accordance with measured charging and discharging currents, charging and discharging voltages, and temperature, and an ON pulse of said gate for regenerative current control is controlled in accordance with the duty set in the table.

5. The controller of an elevator as claimed in claim 4, wherein said regenerative control means has a table setting duty in accordance with the charging current and the charging voltage.

6. The controller of an elevator as claimed in claim 5, wherein said regenerative control means has plural tables according to temperature, and selects a table according to a temperature measured by said charging-discharging state measuring means, and controls the ON pulse of said gate for regenerative current control in accordance with the duty according to the charging current and the charging voltage.

7. The controller of an elevator as claimed in claim 4, wherein said regenerative control means has a table setting duty in accordance with the charging voltage and change of the charging voltage.

8. The controller of an elevator as claimed in claim 7, wherein said regenerative control means has plural tables according to a charging degree obtained by normalizing and accumulating a product of a charging discharging current and a charging-discharging voltage in a full charging state of said power accumulating means as a reference, and selects a table according to the charging degree, and controls the ON pulse of said gate for regenerative current control in accordance with the duty according to the charging voltage and the change of the charging voltage.