Doorway safety device
First Claim
1. In an elevator system, a structure including a hoistway having one or more landings, a hoistway door for each landing, an elevator car arranged for movement in said hoistway from one to another of said landings, said car having a door movable from an open position to a closed position against a strikepost, means for opening and closing said car door, mechanical means for coupling said hoistway door to said car door so that both doors move concurrently from an open position to a closed position or vice versa, the improvement which comprises electrical means for sensing and being responsive to objects in a predetermined zone at any position of the car door, whereby upon detecting an object in said zone said opening and closing means is energized to prevent further closure of said car door, said sensing means including transmitting and receiving means for locating a leading edge of the car door relative to the strike post, and second transmitting and receiving means positioned at a predetermined angle on the leading edge of the car door in cooperation with said locating means for detecting objects at an angle with respect to an outside surface of the car door during movement of the car door.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A safety system for automatically operated sliding panel doors, specifically elevator doors, having acoustic wave transmitters and receivers arranged in a row along the moving door'"'"'s leading edge. Short bursts of acoustic energy are projected both in front of the door and to one or both sides so as to "sweep" a three-dimensional space, in and near the door'"'"'s path, representing a zone of potential danger to persons or objects therein. Reflected energy from persons or objects in the danger zone is usable if it is received, following each transmitted burst, during a prescribed time interval representing combinations of the doorway opening distance and other selected parameters, and usable reflections are converted to a control signal to stop and re-open the doors before they strike the endangered person or object.
36 Citations
13 Claims
- 1. In an elevator system, a structure including a hoistway having one or more landings, a hoistway door for each landing, an elevator car arranged for movement in said hoistway from one to another of said landings, said car having a door movable from an open position to a closed position against a strikepost, means for opening and closing said car door, mechanical means for coupling said hoistway door to said car door so that both doors move concurrently from an open position to a closed position or vice versa, the improvement which comprises electrical means for sensing and being responsive to objects in a predetermined zone at any position of the car door, whereby upon detecting an object in said zone said opening and closing means is energized to prevent further closure of said car door, said sensing means including transmitting and receiving means for locating a leading edge of the car door relative to the strike post, and second transmitting and receiving means positioned at a predetermined angle on the leading edge of the car door in cooperation with said locating means for detecting objects at an angle with respect to an outside surface of the car door during movement of the car door.
-
9. 0. In an elevator system according to claim .[.9,.]. .Iadd.7, including means for establishing as a timing signal said time gap between bursts provided to said first transmitting means;
- and .Iaddend.including means for rendering said second transmitting and receiving means effective upon detection of an object in its path in preventing closure of said car door when signal received from said preceding object occurs before expiration
- View Dependent Claims (11)
-
10. of said time gap and said timing signal. 11. In an elevator system according to claim 10, including means for varying said predetermined zone
-
12. timing signal. 13. In an elevator system according to claim 12, including means for varying said predetermined zone for operation of said third
-
13. transmitting and receiving means. 14. The method of detecting presence of an object positioned in the path of an elevator door which comprises the steps of transmitting short bursts of acoustic wave energy from a leading edge of a moving car door towards a strike post and receiving reflections of said acoustic energy from said strike post or said object in said door path, the first step of which consists in transmitting and receiving said acoustic energy in a straight path as a timing signal, that is, the time taken for passage of the energy from the car door to the strike post and then back to the car door, the second step of which consists in transmitting and receiving said acoustic energy in a straight path for detection of an object in its path, and the third step of which consists in transmitting and receiving said acoustic energy at an angle with respect to line of movement of the car door for detection of an object in its angular path, whereby should the reflected acoustic energy of either the second step or third step be received prior to the duration of the timing signal of the first step, as indicative of detection of an object, the moving car door will be stopped and returned to its fully open position in accordance with accepted elevator practice. .Iadd. 15. A safety system for preventing the full closure of an automatically operated sliding door, the door being movable from an open position to a closed position against a strike post and having a leading edge, said safety system comprising:
-
electrical means for sensing and being responsive to objects in a predetermined zone at any position of the door, whereby upon detecting an object in said zone said electrical means generates a signal for preventing further closure of the door, said electrical means comprising; locating means for locating a leading edge of the door relative to the strike post; and first transmitting and receiving means positioned at a predetermined angle on the leading edge of the door in cooperation with said locating means for detecting objects in said predetermined zone. .Iaddend..Iadd. 16. A safety system as claimed in claim 15, wherein said predetermined angle is an angle measured between the object and an outside surface of the car door during movement of the car door, said angle being substantially greater than zero. .Iaddend..Iadd. 17. A safety system as claimed in claim 16 and further including a second transmitting and receiving means in cooperation with said locating means; and
wherein said second transmitting and receiving means is for detecting objects substantially in direct line of movement of the door. .Iaddend..Iadd. 18. A safety system as claimed in claim 15, including means for providing each of said transmitting means with acoustic wave energy that is constituted by a series of short bursts of acoustic wave pulses with comparatively large time gaps between bursts, and means for each of said receiving means for receiving reflection of said transmitted acoustic energy. .Iaddend..Iadd. 19. A safety system as claimed in claim 18, wherein said wave energy of said first transmitting means travels along a diverging pattern. .Iaddend..Iadd. 20. A safety system as claimed in claim 18 and further including means for rendering said first transmitting and receiving means effective upon detection of an object in its path in preventing closure of the door only when the signal received from that object occurs before expiration of a time interval determined by said locating means such that said time interval is the time necessary for said acoustical energy to travel twice the distance between said door leading edge and said strike post. .Iaddend..Iadd. 21. A safety system as claimed in claim 20 and further including means for varying said predetermined zone for operation of said first transmitting and receiving means. .Iaddend..Iadd. 22. A safety system as claimed in claim 21 wherein said predetermined angle is an angle measured between the object and an outside surface of the car door during movement of the car door, said angle being substantially greater than zero;and further including a second transmitting and receiving means in cooperation with said locating means; and
wherein said second transmitting and receiving means is for detecting objects substantially in direct line of movement of the door, said rendering means also rendering said second transmitting and receiving means effective when the signal received thereby from a detected object occurs before expiration of said time interval. .Iaddend..Iadd. 23. A safety system as claimed in claim 15 wherein said predetermined angle is determined such that said first transmitting and receiving means detects objects substantially in direct line of movement of the door. .Iaddend..Iadd. 24. A safety system as claimed in claim 15 wherein said locating means includes a further transmitting and receiving means. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 25. In an elevator system, a structure including a hoistway having one or more landings, a hoistway door for each landing, an elevator car arranged for movement in said hoistway from one to another of said landings, said car having a door movable from an open position to a closed position against a strike post, means for opening and closing said car door, mechanical means for coupling said hoistway door to said car door so that both doors move concurrently from an open position to a closed position or vice versa, the improvement which comprises electrical means for sensing and being responsive to objects in a predetermined zone at any position of the car door, whereby upon detecting an object in said zone said opening and closing means is energized to prevent further closure of said car door, said sensing means comprising locating means for locating a leading edge of the door relative to the strike post; and
first transmitting and receiving means positioned at a predetermined angle in the leading edge of the car door in cooperation with said locating means for detecting objects in said predetermined zone. .Iaddend..Iadd. 26. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 25 wherein said locating means is for detecting objects at an angle substantially greater than zero with respect to an outside surface of the car door during movement of the car door. .Iaddend..Iadd. 27. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 26 and further including a second transmitting and receiving means in cooperation with said locating means; and
wherein said second transmitting and receiving means is for detecting objects substantially in direct line of movement of the door. .Iaddend..Iadd. 28. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 26 and further including means for providing each of said transmitting means with acoustic wave energy that is constituted by a series of short bursts of acoustic wave pulses with comparatively large time gaps between bursts, and means for each of said receiving means for receiving reflection of said transmitted acoustic energy. .Iaddend..Iadd. 29. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 28 and further including means for rendering said first transmitting and receiving means effective upon detection of an object in its path in preventing closure of the door only when the signal received from that object occurs before expiration of a time interval determined by said locating means such that said time interval is the time necessary for said acoustical energy to travel twice the distance between said door leading edge and said strike post. .Iaddend..Iadd. 30. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 29 and further including means for varying said predetermined zone for operation of said first transmitting and receiving means. .Iaddend..Iadd. 31. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 30 and further including a second transmitting and receiving means in cooperation with said locating means; and
wherein said second transmitting and receiving means is for detecting objects substantially in direct line of movement of the door, said rendering means also rendering said second transmitting and receiving means effective when the signal received thereby from a detected object occurs before expiration of said time interval. .Iaddend..Iadd. 32. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 25 wherein said predetermined angle is determined such that said first transmitting and receiving means detects objects substantially in direct line of movement of the door. .Iaddend..Iadd. 33. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 32 and further including means for providing each of said transmitting means with acoustic wave energy that is constituted by a series of short bursts of acoustic wave pulses with comparatively large time gaps between bursts, and means for each of said receiving means for receiving reflection of said transmitted acoustic energy. .Iaddend..Iadd. 34. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 33 and further including means for rendering said first transmitting and receiving means effective upon detection of an object in its path in preventing closure of the door only when the signal received from that object occurs before expiration of a time interval determined by said locating means such that said time interval is the time necessary for said acoustical energy to travel twice the distance between said door leading edge and said strike post. .Iaddend..Iadd. 35. In an elevator system as claimed in claim 34 and further including means for varying said predetermined zone for operation of said first transmitting and receiving means. .Iaddend..Iadd. 36. A safety system for preventing the full closure of an automatically operated sliding door, the door being movable from an open position to a closed position against a strike post and having a leading edge, said safety system comprising;electrical means for sensing and being responsive to objects in a predetermined zone at any position of the door, whereby upon detecting an object in said zone said electrical means generates a signal for preventing further closure of the door, said sensing means including first transmitting and receiving means for locating a leading edge of the door relative to the strike post; and second transmitting and receiving means positioned at a predetermined angle on the leading edge of the door in cooperation with said locating means for detecting objects at an angle substantially greater than zero with respect to an outside surface of the car door during movement of the car door. .Iaddend. .Iadd. 37. A safety system as claimed in claim 36 and further including means for providing each of said transmitting means with acoustic wave energy, and means for each of said receiving means for receiving reflection of said transmitted acoustic energy. .Iaddend..Iadd. 38. A safety system as claimed in claim 36 wherein said acoustic wave energy is constituted by a series of short bursts of acoustic wave pulses of a single predetermined frequency with comparatively large time gaps between bursts. .Iaddend..Iadd. 39. A safety system as claimed in claim 38 and further including means for establishing as a timing signal said time gap between bursts provided to said first transmitting means; and
including means for rendering said second transmitting and receiving means effective upon detection of an object in its path in preventing closure of said car door when signal received from said preceding object occurs before expiration of said time gap of said timing signal. .Iaddend..Iadd. 40. A safety system as claimed in claim 39 and further including means for varying said predetermined zone for operation of said second transmitting and receiving means. .Iaddend..Iadd. 41. The method of detecting presence of an intervening object positioned in the path of a moving door that has a leading edge and which moves towards a strike post, the method comprising;transmitting short bursts of acoustic wave energy from the leading edge of the door; monitoring for the reception of reflections of said acoustic energy; locating the leading edge of the door relative to the strike post by determining a time interval that is equal to the time necessary for said acoustical energy to travel twice the distance between the leading edge of the door and the strike post; and determining whether any received reflections were received during said time interval, which is indicative of detection of an intervening object. .Iaddend..Iadd. 42. The method as claimed in claim 41 wherein said acoustic wave energy is transmitted in a straight path between the leading edge of the door and the strike post for detection of an intervening object in said path. .Iaddend..Iadd. 43. The method as claimed in claim 41 wherein said acoustic wave energy is transmitted in an angular path with respect to line of movement of the door for detection of an intervening object in said path. .Iaddend..Iadd. 44. The method as claimed in claim 43 and further including transmitting further short bursts of acoustic wave energy in a straight path from the leading edge of the door toward the strike post for detection of a further intervening object in said straight path;
monitoring for the reception of reflections of said further acoustic energy; and
determining whether any received reflections of said further acoustic energy were received during said time interval which is indicative of an intervening object. .Iaddend..Iadd. 45. The method as claimed in claim 44 and further including stopping the movement of the door whenever an intervening object is determined. .Iaddend..Iadd. 46. The method as claimed in claim 41 and further including rendering said determining step effective to stop the movement of the door only when the reflected signal is received at least a predetermined amount of time before the expiration of said time interval. .Iaddend.
-
Specification