Method and arrangement for preventing the unintended drifting of an elevator car

• US 8,365,873 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2012
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Inventors: Viita-Aho, Tarvo, Kaartinen, Raimo, Kantola, Jari
• Primary Examiner(s): SALATA, ANTHONY J
• Application Number:
  US13/421,494
• Publication Number:
  US 20120168258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 327 Days
• Field of Search: 187/247, 187/248, 187/313, 187/314, 187/316, 187/317, 187/391, 187/393, 702/179, 702182-185, 49/25, 49/28
• US Class Current: 187/393
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 5/0031 for safety reasons

Abstract

In a method for suppressing drifting of an elevator car away from a stopping floor, an operating condition of one or more machinery brakes of a hoisting machine of an elevator is monitored, and one or more machinery brakes are used to stop the elevator car from leaving a door zone of a stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door are open. Start of a next run of an elevator car that has left the door zone of the stopping floor is prevented when the at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door are open, and information about the preventing of the next run is recorded in a non-volatile memory of an elevator control unit.

Claims

1. A method for suppressing drifting of an elevator car away from a stopping floor, the method comprising:

monitoring an operating condition of one or more machinery brakes of a hoisting machine of an elevator;

stopping, using the one or more machinery brakes, the elevator car from leaving a door zone of a stopping floor when at least one of a door of the elevator car and a landing door are open;

preventing start of a next run of an elevator car that has left the door zone of the stopping floor when the at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door are open; and

recording information about the preventing of the next run in a non-volatile memory of an elevator control unit.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the stopping of the elevator car comprises:

exerting braking force on the hoisting machine with the one or more machinery brakes, the braking force being dimensioned to stop an essentially empty or fully loaded elevator car leaving the door zone of the stopping floor within a stopping distance, the stopping distance shorter than a length of an entrance of the elevator car in the direction of movement of the elevator car.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the location of the elevator car in the door zone is determined with door zone sensors,

at least one of a position and locking of the door of the elevator car is determined with a position sensor of the door of the elevator car, and

at least one of a position and locking of the landing door is determined with a position sensor of the landing door.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

activating the one or more machinery brakes of the hoisting machine; and

disconnecting a power supply to the hoisting machine in response to detection that the elevator car has left the door zone of the stopping floor while at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying information about the elevator car leaving the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of at least one inspection procedure and at least one servicing procedure of the one or more machinery brakes is performed in response to a detection that the elevator car has left the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring the operating condition comprises:

exerting a braking effect on the hoisting machine of the elevator in the which the direction of movement the braking effect essentially corresponding to a maximum permitted imbalance of the elevator;

controlling the one or more machinery brakes of the hoisting machine such that only one machinery brake is activated at a time, while others of the one or more machinery brakes remain;

examining a movement signal of the hoisting machine of the elevator; and

if the movement signal of the hoisting machine indicates that the hoisting machine is moving when only one machinery brake is activated, deducing that the operating condition of the activated machinery brake has deteriorated.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring the operating condition comprises:

controlling the one or more machinery brakes of the hoisting machine; and

measuring the operation of the one or more machinery brakes with a microswitch, the microswitch being configured to change its state when the one or more machinery brakes activates/opens;

wherein, if the state of the microswitch does not change as a result of a control command of the one or more machinery brakes, the operating condition of the one or more machinery brakes in question has deteriorated.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein information about drive prevention of the elevator is recorded in the non-volatile memory of elevator control unit.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the preventing of the next run is deactivated using a manual deactivation device.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein

an elevator car at the door zone of the stopping floor is brought to a movement mode by reducing the braking force of one or more machinery brakes of the hoisting machine of the elevator when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

bringing an elevator car in the door zone of the stopping floor to a movement mode when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open by opening one or more of the machinery brakes that brake the hoisting machine;

activating one or more machinery brakes of the hoisting machine in response to detection that an elevator car has left the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open;

measuring, after the movement of the elevator car has stopped, the distance that the elevator car has moved from the door zone of the stopping floor;

comparing the distance moved by the elevator car from the door zone with a determined reference value, the reference value being less than a length of the entrance of the elevator car in the direction of movement of the elevator car; and

determining the operability of the one or more activated machinery brake based on the comparison.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

fitting a plurality of machinery brakes in connection with the hoisting machine;

holding the elevator car in the door zone of the stopping floor when only a first of the plurality of machinery brakes is activated and when a second of the plurality of machinery brakes is open; and

stopping the elevator car from leaving the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open by activating the plurality of machinery brakes.

14. An arrangement for suppressing drifting of an elevator car away from a stopping floor, the arrangement comprising:

one or more machinery brakes to brake a movement of the hoisting machine of an elevator;

a first monitoring part to monitor an operating condition of the one or more machinery brakes;

a second monitoring part to monitor movement of the elevator car, the second monitoring part being further configured to stop the elevator car from leaving a door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open using the one or more machinery brakes;

a non-volatile memory in the elevator control unit;

wherein the arrangement is configured to prevent starting of a next run of an elevator car that has left the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open; and

wherein the non-volatile memory is configured to record information about the preventing of the starting of the next run of the elevator car.

15. The arrangement according to claim 14, further comprising:

a display in the elevator control unit, the display being configured to display information about the elevator car leaving the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open.

16. The arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the second monitoring part is further configured to disconnect a power supply to the hoisting machine of the elevator in response to detecting that the elevator car has left the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open.

17. The arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the first monitoring part is configured to determine the operating condition of the one or more machinery brakes based on at least one of a movement signal of the hoisting machine and the measured data of the microswitch of the one or more machinery brakes, and wherein the second monitoring part is configured to determine the leaving of an elevator car from the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open, using at least one of a position sensor of the door of the elevator car, a position sensor of the landing door and door zone sensors.

18. The arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the first monitoring part is configured to set a drive prevention mode of the elevator based on the operating condition of the one or more machinery brakes.

19. The arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the second monitoring part comprises:

a controllable switch in a safety circuit of the elevator;

a supervision circuit fitted in connection with a control pole of the controllable switch, the supervision circuit being configured to control the controllable switch in response to at least one of,

position information of the elevator car from the door zone sensors of the elevator,

information about at least one of a position and locking of the door of the elevator car from a position sensor of the door of the elevator car, and

information about at least one of a position and locking of the landing door from a position sensor of the landing door.

20. The arrangement according to claim 19, wherein a data transfer channel is between an elevator control unit and the supervision circuit of the door zone, the data transfer channel being configured to notify of the elevator control unit of the leaving of the elevator car from the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open.

21. The arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the one or more machinery brakes are configured to stop an empty or essentially fully loaded elevator car leaving the door zone of the stopping floor within a stopping distance, the stopping distance being less than a length of the entrance of the elevator car in the direction of movement of the elevator car.

22. The arrangement according to claim 14, further comprising:

a manual deactivation device to deactivate a drive prevention mode of the elevator as a result of a manual control function.

23. The arrangement according to claim 14, further comprising:

a plurality of machinery brakes;

wherein the first monitoring part is configured to hold the elevator car in its position in the door zone of the stopping floor by activating a first of the plurality of machinery brakes and by opening a second of the plurality of machinery brakes; and

wherein the second monitoring part is configured to stop the elevator car leaving the door zone of the stopping floor when at least one of the door of the elevator car and the landing door is open by activating the plurality of machinery brakes.