Transportation system with capacitive energy storage and non-volatile memory for storing the operational state of the transportation system upon detection of the operational anomaly in power

• US 8,177,033 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2011
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Inventors: Kauppinen, Tuukka, Laaksonheimo, Jyrki, Hytti, Pekka
• Primary Examiner(s): SALATA, ANTHONY J
• Application Number:
  US13/175,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20110290593A1
• Time in Patent Office: 319 Days
• Field of Search: 187/247, 187/248, 187/290, 187/293, 187/296, 187/297, 187391-393
• 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 1/302 for energy saving
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/3492 Position or motion detectors or driving means for the detector B66B1/40, B66B1/50 take precedence; length measuring G01B; speed measuring G01P

Abstract

A transportation system and a method are provided for backing up the operational state of a transportation system. The transportation system includes a control apparatus for controlling the operation of the transportation system. The control apparatus further includes capacitive energy storage and a power supply backup circuit adapted to maintain power supply from the said energy storage to a storage circuit for a given length of time in connection with an operational anomaly in power supply to the control apparatus.

Claims

1. A transportation system having a control apparatus for controlling the operation of the transportation system, wherein the control apparatus comprises:

a storage circuit provided with a non-volatile memory for storing an operational state of the transportation system; and

a power supply backup circuit which comprises a capacitive energy storage, wherein the power supply backup circuit maintains power supplied from the capacitive energy storage to the storage circuit for a given length of time in connection with an operational anomaly in power supplied to the control apparatus, and upon detection of the operational anomaly in power supplied to the control apparatus, the non-volatile memory starts storing the operational state of the transportation system in the non-volatile memory until a movement of the transportation system stops.

2. The transportation system according to claim 1, wherein the operational state of the transportation system includes movement data of the transportation system and a position angle between a rotor and a stator.

3. The transportation system according to claim 1, wherein the said power supply backup circuit comprises a supercapacitor.

4. The transportation system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply backup circuit comprises at least two mutually series-connected supercapacitors, at least one of which has a voltage equalizing circuit fitted in parallel with it.

5. The transportation system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply backup circuit comprises a charging circuit and a discharging circuit for charging and discharging the supercapacitor, and the charging circuit is fitted between the power supply circuit of the control apparatus and the power supply backup circuit.

6. The transportation system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply backup circuit comprises determination of the operational state of power supply to the control apparatus and, on detecting the operational anomaly in power supply, the storage circuit stores into the non-volatile memory at least one parameter describing the operational state of the transportation system.

7. The transportation system according to claim 2, wherein the storage circuit is configured to read the movement data of the transportation system and the position angle between the rotor and the stator and to store the movement data of the transportation system and the position angle between the rotor and the stator into the non-volatile memory.

8. The transportation system according to claim 1, wherein the storage circuit reads a message generated by a control device of the transportation system and determines an operational state of the control device and to store the message into the non-volatile memory.

9. The transportation system according to claim 1, wherein after the operational anomaly in power supply to the control apparatus has disappeared, the storage circuit reads from the non-volatile memory a parameter in connection with the operational anomaly and describing the operational state of the transportation system.

10. The transportation system according to claim 1, wherein the power supplied from the power supply circuit of the control apparatus to the storage circuit is interrupted by a switch in connection with the operational anomaly in power supplied to the control apparatus.

11. The transportation system according to claim 1, wherein the non-volatile memory is an EEPROM and/or flash memory.

12. A method for backing up an operational state of a transportation system, wherein a storage circuit having a non-volatile memory is located in a control apparatus of the transportation system, a power supply backup circuit is located in the control apparatus, and a capacitive energy storage is located in the power supply backup circuit, the method comprising:

supplying power from the capacitive energy storage to the storage circuit for a given length of time in connection with the operational anomaly in power supplied to the control apparatus of the transportation system; and

upon detection of the operational anomaly in power supplied to the control apparatus, starting storing the operational state of the transportation system into the non-volatile memory until a movement of the transportation system stops.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the operational state of the transportation system includes movement data of the transportation system and a position angle between a rotor and a stator.