HK1188199A - Elevator control systems - Google Patents

Description

Elevator control system

Technical Field

The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to the field of elevator control systems and, more particularly, to control of standby operation of an elevator.

Background

Typically, the elevator control system remains active in order to detect a request for elevator activation from a device in communication with the elevator control system. For example, in conventional elevator control systems, a plurality of remote stations communicate with a central controller. Each remote station may include an elevator request button (e.g., up/down elevator access button). Upon selection or pressing of the button, the elevator control system directs the elevator to service the request. To maintain communication with each remote station, the elevator control system may remain in an active or powered state.

Disclosure of Invention

According to one aspect of the invention, an elevator control system includes a control power supply, a computing core in communication with the control power supply, a communication power supply in communication with the computing core, and a sleep monitor in communication with the control power supply, the computing core, and the communication power supply. The sleep monitor is disposed to selectively turn on/off the control power supply and the computing core, and the sleep monitor is disposed to selectively change an operating state of the communication power supply to a low voltage state.

Other aspects, features, and techniques of the invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Referring now to the drawings in which like elements are numbered alike in the several figures:

fig. 1 shows an elevator control system according to an example embodiment;

fig. 2 shows an elevator control system according to an example embodiment;

fig. 3 shows an elevator control system according to an example embodiment;

fig. 4 shows an elevator control system according to an example embodiment; and

fig. 5 shows a control method for an elevator control system according to an example embodiment.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of an elevator control system include a control system deployed and configured to power down a power-hungry portion of an elevator system while maintaining communication with a plurality of remote stations. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below.

Turning to fig. 1, an elevator control system 100 is shown. System 100 may include power supplies 101 and 102. The power supply 102 may be a control power supply configured to provide power to the system 100. The power supply 101 may be a door switch power supply configured to provide power to a plurality of door switches 109. The door switch 109 may communicate with the communication power supply 101. The system 100 also includes a door switch monitor (DSR) 110 in communication with a door switch 109. DSR 110 may monitor the status of door switch 109 and provide an output signal indicative of the status of the monitored door switch. For example, DRS 110 may provide a door switch off state if the door switch is in an inactive state (e.g., turned off). DRS 110 may provide a door switch open state if the door switch is in an active state (e.g., open). Each door switch 109 may be arranged to detect a mechanical/physical state of a door (e.g., a hoistway entrance door, an elevator door, etc.). Further, each door switch 109 may be a limit switch or other suitable switch configured to maintain physical contact with the door to detect the physical state of the door.

Returning to FIG. 1, the system 100 also includes a computing core 140 in communication with the power supply 102. The computing core 104 may be a computer processor, an electronic state machine, a microcontroller, or any other suitable controller that is deployed and configured to perform a set of instructions that monitor the state of portions of the system 100 and provide elevator control operations. The computing core 104 may communicate with an I/O bus 105, which also communicates with a plurality of remote devices 108. For example, the remote device 108 may be a switch configured to detect a state of the system, a remote station, or any other portion of the elevator system. For example, as shown, the remote device 108 is a secure device powered by the control power supply 102 via the bus 107.

The system 100 also includes a sleep monitor 103 configured and disposed to monitor the switch 109. The sleep monitor 103 may be a computer processor, an electronic state machine, a microcontroller, or any other suitable controller that is deployed and configured to execute a set of instructions that monitor the state of a portion of the system 100 while consuming very little power.

The sleep monitor is configured to establish a low power mode, a minimum power mode, or a "sleep" mode that substantially reduces the power consumed by the elevator system.

The sleep monitor may communicate with the computing core 104 via the SPI bus 106, or may be implemented in combination with the computing core 104 (e.g., a dual-core or dual-purpose core with low-power and regular-power modes). In the event that the switch 109 is inactive for a desired or predetermined amount of time, the computing core may enter a low power sleep mode and transmit a signal indicative of this sleep mode to the sleep monitor 103. In response to the signal, sleep monitor 103 may direct control power supply 102 and DSR 110 to also enter a low power sleep mode. For example, sleep monitor 103 may turn off power supply 102 and cut power to DSR 110.

In the low power sleep mode, the sleep monitor may be configured to detect the state of the switch 109. Upon a change in the state of any of the switches 109, the sleep monitor 103 may direct the compute core 104 to be activated by the CPU 140 and may power on the control power supply 102.

As described above, the low power sleep mode includes powering down control power supply 102, DSR 110, and computing core 104. It is apparent that by powering down these portions of the system 100, power usage of the system 100 may be reduced while still maintaining communication with remote portions of the system 100 (i.e., the switch 109) through the sleep monitor 103. A more detailed description of the low power sleep mode is described below with reference to fig. 2-3.

Turning to fig. 2, an elevator control system 200 is shown. System 200 may include sleep monitor 103, power supply 102, and computing core 104. The system 200 may further include a communication power supply 201 in communication with the sleep monitor 103. The system 200 may further include a remote station 204 in communication with the power supply 201 via the power bus 202. The remote station 204 also communicates with the computing core 104 and the sleep monitor 103 over a communication bus 205.

The computing core 104 includes a communication section 141 to allow serial communication over a communication bus 205. The remote station 204 includes a communication portion 207 configured to communicate with the communication portion 141 of the computing core 104. For example, the communication section 141 may be configured as a master, while the communication section 207 is configured as a slave. Further, sleep monitor 103 may include a communication portion (not shown) configured to be a master in sleep mode and a slave if system 200 is active.

The remote station 204 also includes a plurality of remote devices 260 and 270 in communication with the communication section 207. For example, remote device 260 may be a low power device that may remain active in a sleep mode. The remote device 260 may include an elevator request device (i.e., calling an elevator to a floor), a low power indicator light (e.g., signaling that the elevator is in low power standby), or other suitable device. Further, the device 270 may be a non-essential device that may be powered off in a sleep mode. For example, the non-base device may include a lighting device.

As described above, after a predetermined or desired amount of time in which the elevator system 200 is inactive (i.e., no floor request, door state change, etc.), the computing core 104 may direct the sleep monitor to enter a low-power sleep mode. In response, the sleep monitor 103 may direct the control power supply 102 to turn off the power supply. In addition, the sleep monitor 103 may direct the power supply 201 to enter a low voltage state. In this way, the power supply 201 provides less power to the system 200. To maintain communication in the low voltage state of power supply 201, power supply 201 directs/requests communication device 207 to shut down power to non-essential devices 270 in response to entering the low voltage state. In response to this request, the communication device 207 may utilize the low voltage keep alive to monitor the device 260. For example, the communication device 207 may only consume enough power to maintain communication with the device 260 and the sleep monitor 103.

As described above, in the low power sleep mode, the system 200 shuts down all non-essential parts of the system 200, switching the communication power supply to a low voltage state. When the non-essential portion of the system is off and the communication consumes lower voltage, the system 200 may still monitor the status of the remote device through the sleep monitor 103 while consuming less power. Further, similar to as described above with respect to system 100, if a state change of the device is monitored by sleep monitor 103 for occurrence, the sleep monitor may activate computing core 104, turn on control power supply 102, and enable higher voltage operation of communication power supply 201. Thereafter, the system 200 operates in a fully active state.

Further to the above description, the control portion of the elevator car itself may be lowered in the low power sleep mode.

Turning to fig. 3, an elevator control system 300 is shown. The elevator control system 300 may include a communication power supply 201, a control power supply 102, a sleep monitor 103, a computing core 104, and a communication driver 141. Further, the system 300 may include an elevator car control portion 301.

The elevator car control section 301 may include an alerting device 302, a door operating device 303, and a communication controller 306 in communication with the computing core 104 and the sleep monitor 103. The elevator car control portion 301 may further include devices 360 and 370 that communicate with the control portion 304. For example, the device 370 may be a non-base device. The device 360 may be a basic device such as a door switch, a door open request button (i.e., to detect whether a passenger is in the vehicle cabin), a fire-key override switch, or any other suitable device.

As described above, after a predetermined or desired amount of time that the elevator system 300 is inactive (i.e., no floor request, door state change, etc.), the computing core 104 may direct the sleep monitor to enter a low-power sleep mode. In response, the sleep monitor 103 may direct the control power supply 102 to turn off the power supply. In addition, the sleep monitor 103 may direct the power supply 201 to enter a low voltage state. In this way, the power supply 201 provides less power to the system 300. To maintain communication in the low voltage state of the power supply 201, the power supply 201 directs/requests the elevator car control portion 301 to turn off power to the non-essential device 370 in response to entering the low voltage state. In response to this request, the control portion 301 directs the communication device 307 to utilize the low voltage, but remains active to monitor the device 360. For example, the communication device 307 may only consume enough power to maintain communication with the device 360 and the sleep monitor 103. Further, in response to entering the low power sleep mode, the control section 301 may close the door operation control 303. Depending on any desired implementation, the alert device 302 may remain active or may be turned off in a low power sleep mode. For example, the alert device may communicate with the non-base device 370. Non-essential devices may include alarm system components that will be activated and ready for use once the elevator car wakes up from sleep mode. Thus, the alarm device 302 may be turned off in the sleep mode. Further, although not shown, it should be understood that other non-essential devices may communicate with the controller 301. These other devices may include elevator car lighting, display screens, video monitors, audio speakers/music systems, and other non-essential devices.

As described above, in the low power sleep mode, the system 300 shuts down all non-essential parts of the system 300, switching the communication power supply to a low voltage state. When the non-essential parts of the system are off and the communication consumes lower voltage, the system 300 may still monitor the status of the remote device through the sleep monitor 103 while consuming less power. Further, similar to as described above with respect to systems 100 and 200, if a change in state of a device monitored by sleep monitor 103 occurs, the sleep monitor may activate computing core 104, turn on control power supply 102, and enable higher voltage operation of communication power supply 201. Thereafter, the system 300 operates in a fully active state.

In addition to the low power mode of elevator control utilizing the system 100-300 described above, the exemplary embodiment can provide a very low power mode that can include a regenerative power system to allow for relatively minimal power consumption from grid power in standby/sleep operation of the elevator system.

Turning to fig. 4, an elevator control system 400 is shown. As shown, the system 400 includes an over-current breaker (OCB) 401 in communication with a control portion 420 and a drive 404. The drive 404 may be an elevator drive configured to mechanically move an elevator car, which may include car electronics 301, for example.

The drive 404 may communicate with a motor 405, a brake 406, a charging circuit 407, and a control portion 420. The motor 405 may be in mechanical communication with or otherwise attached to the elevator car. In response to the control power provided by the drive 404, the motor can move the elevator car generally in two directions (i.e., up and down). The brake 406 is configured to slow or stop the elevator car in response to a control signal received from the drive 404.

The charge control circuit 407 may be a circuit configured to redirect regenerative power generated at the motor 405 through the charging medium 410 to the battery 409. For example, if the elevator car is moving in a direction (e.g., downward) in which gravity contributes to the force required to move the car, the motor 405 may not supply power, and thus may generate electrical power. Accordingly, the charge control circuitry 407 may redirect this power to charge the battery 409. The redirected energy may be direct current or alternating current. If direct current, the battery 409 may be charged relatively directly. If alternating current, the energy may be rectified to charge the battery 409. Additionally, battery 409, circuit 497, and/or charging medium 410 may include surge suppression circuitry, rectification circuitry, voltage regulation circuitry, or any other suitable circuitry to allow for efficient and safe charging of battery 409. In addition, a battery 409 may communicate with the sleep monitor 103, the battery 409 also communicating with the control portion 420.

The control section 420 includes a Switched Mode Power Supply (SMPS) 402 and a rescue control section 408. The SMPS 402 may be a power supply that includes a switching system to increase overall efficiency compared to a linear power supply. Any suitable SMPS may be used to implement the SMPS 402. The SMPS 402 may include electrical filters to limit or suppress noise, or may ignore such filters if the electrical noise is not significant. The help control portion 408 may be a processor or device configured to communicate with the computing core 104 to establish a request for manual or automatic rescue operations. In response to this request, the computing core 104 can switch the elevator control system 400 from a "sleep" or low power state to a fully operational rescue state. The low power state may be facilitated by sleep monitor 103, which is in detachable communication with rescue portion 408 via actuator 411. Battery 409 is also in detachable communication with rescue portion 408 through actuator 411. Thus, the rescue portion 408 may share power from the battery 409, thereby reducing redundant battery usage otherwise used for sleep mode and rescue power.

With respect to the low power state, it should be appreciated that when the sleep monitor 103 is directly powered by the battery 409 while in the sleep mode or the low power mode, there is little or no power consumed from the power grid. When battery 409 is charged with regenerative power, battery 409 is charged with extremely small power consumed from the grid. For example, because conventional elevators typically make multiple trips between floors per day, a relatively significant amount of regenerative power is generated per day. Thus, otherwise wasted regenerative energy may be redirected for use by sleep monitor 103, while battery 409 facilitates such use.

Furthermore, depending on the daily usage of the elevator, the battery 409 may store enough renewable energy to maintain power to the sleep monitor 103 without any power usage of the grid. This self-standing sleep mode operation may be further facilitated by the use of a highly efficient battery, such as a lithium polymer or lithium phosphate battery. A suitable battery may be formed from lithium iron phosphate, which has a longer life, a high number of duty cycles, a high percentage of capacity usage, limited or no hazardous materials, and is less expensive than other lithium technologies. It should be noted, however, that any battery having sufficient capacity may be equally suitable depending on any desired application.

It is noted that while the system 100-400 has been described separately, any combination of portions or the entirety of any of these systems may be employed in implementations of the invention. For example, the low power mode, battery powered sleep mode, monitoring sleep systems, and/or other features may be implemented together or separately, including any of the components detailed above.

Thus, as described above and according to an example embodiment, an elevator control system is provided that conserves power while maintaining communication with a plurality of elevator remote stations, the elevator control system provided also providing significantly increased efficiency compared to conventional systems. The example embodiments reduce the total number of powered elevator control system portions during the low power mode while maintaining critical components to ensure the safety of the elevator system. For example, the critical section/control may include sensors/switches that detect elevator requests (i.e., floor requests), alarm sections, unauthorized access detection, and/or other critical systems to maintain system and passenger safety. Technical effects and benefits of example embodiments include reduced power usage of an elevator control system.

In addition to the system 100-400 described above, methods for control of these elevator control systems are also provided below.

Turning to fig. 5, a control method for an elevator control system is shown. The method 500 shows synchronization between normal elevator operation and sleep mode, how the elevator control system enters sleep mode, and how it transitions from sleep mode to normal elevator control.

Method 500 includes an elevator control method 501 and a sleep monitor control method 502, both operating synchronously as shown by the directional lines shown.

The method 501 includes starting an elevator application at block 503. Starting an elevator application may include running communications between elevator systems, as well as monitoring any external requests (i.e., floor requests, sleep requests, etc.). The method 501 further includes initiating a standby mode in response to the sleep request at block 505. The standby mode is a state of the elevator control system with extremely low or possibly lowest power consumption and in which most or all non-critical components have been switched off. The sleep request is initiated by the elevator control system itself and may be derived from a predetermined or required amount of time that the elevator system remains unused, by a remote service call, a service application, or by any other suitable process of determining whether the sleep mode is applicable to the current state of the elevator control system. Initiating the standby mode may include turning off the lights and powering down non-critical elevator systems, as well as indicating that the elevator car and elevator control system are in standby mode. In response to this indication, the method 501 includes issuing a sleep command at block 507. Issuing a sleep command may include stopping or pausing the elevator communication system and control system as described above, and communicating the sleep command to the sleep monitor. Thus, by powering down most elevator control systems, sleep mode greatly reduces power consumption.

The method 501 further includes requesting a sleep monitor state in response to the sleep monitor being ready to transfer (e.g., from the sleep monitor) at block 509. For example, in response to the sleep monitor indicating that the elevator system is active in sleep mode, the method 501 continuously monitors or waits for a "wake up" or resume signal from the sleep monitor.

Additionally, a power down request can be received at block 511, wherein in response to receipt, the method 501 can begin powering down the elevator control system and entering a sleep mode.

The method 501 may further include receiving a power-on request at block 515. Thereafter, or in response to the request, the method 501 may include initiating communication at block 517, restoring the system state at block 519, and starting an elevator application at block 503.

Block 515 may be initiated and/or performed while the system is in a sleep mode or a standby mode. More specifically, in block 509, the elevator control system requests the state of the sleep monitor. Block 515 may be performed based on the request issued from block 509 after the elevator control system receives a power off request from the sleep monitor and/or upon receipt of information from the sleep monitor. The received information may include the reason for transmitting the power-on request from block 525 to block 517; for example, an indication that a hall call button has been pressed or that a limit switch has tripped.

Further, block 515 may be performed while waiting for the elevator control system to shut down power. In some cases, the elevator control may have initiated a sleep mode transition and the elevator is placed in standby and the sleep monitor has initiated sleep mode preparation (block 525). There may be relatively short periods of time in which the compute cores are still operational (e.g., due to remaining power used to control the electronics) and the sleep monitor is operating. If during that time period the passenger calls the elevator by pressing the lobby button, or some other event triggers a power-on or wake-up request, the sleep monitor will execute the wake-up block 527 and reactivate the elevator control system without going through the power-off power-on cycle.

With respect to sleep monitor control, the method 502 establishes operations performed by the sleep monitor 103. The method 502 includes maintaining the sleep monitor idle state at block 521 until a sleep command is received. In response to the sleep command, the method 502 includes preparing a sleep mode at block 523. Preparing for the sleep mode includes powering down the elevator system and transmitting a sleep monitor ready command as described above with respect to system 100-400. Thereafter, the method 502 includes monitoring the critical elevator system components at block 525. If the critical component is activated or disturbed, the method 502 includes establishing a wake condition and waking up the system at block 527. For example, waking up the system includes powering on elevator system communications and communicating a sleep monitor wake state at block 529. Thereafter, the method 502 includes maintaining the sleep monitor idle state at block 521.

As described above, the control method of the example embodiment provides synchronization between conventional elevator control system components and a novel sleep monitor processor. The sleep monitor processor is configured to execute computer-executable instructions that mimic the control method 501, wherein the computing core of the elevator control system includes additional computer-executable instructions to facilitate the control method 501 while also providing for execution of other instructions to facilitate proper elevator operation.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Although the description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, it is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Numerous modifications, changes, variations, substitutions, or equivalent arrangements not described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (17)

1. An elevator control system comprising:

controlling a power supply;

a computing core in communication with the control power supply;

a communication power supply in communication with the computing core; and

a sleep monitor in communication with the control power supply, the computing core, and the communication power supply;

wherein the sleep monitor is disposed to selectively turn on/off the control power supply and the computing core, and the sleep monitor is disposed to selectively change an operating state of the communication power supply to a low voltage state.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of remote devices in communication with the computing core and the sleep monitor.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the computing core is deployed to request the sleep monitor to monitor a status of each of the plurality of devices after a predetermined amount of time.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the sleep monitor is configured to turn off the computing core and turn off the control power supply in response to a request.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising an elevator car control portion.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the elevator car control portion includes a communication device in communication with the computing core, the sleep monitor, and the communication power source.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the elevator car control portion further comprises a primary remote device and a non-primary remote device.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the substantially remote device is a door switch.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the non-essential device is an alarm monitoring device.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the computing core is deployed to request the sleep monitor to monitor a state of the base device after a predetermined amount of time.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the sleep monitor is configured to turn off the computing core and turn off the control power supply in response to the request.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a remote station, wherein the remote station comprises an elevator request device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the computing core is deployed to request the sleep monitor to monitor a state of the elevator requesting device if a predetermined amount of time has elapsed after the elevator requesting device is inactive.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the sleep monitor is configured to turn on the computing core and turn on the control power supply in response to the request.

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of base devices in communication with the computing core and the sleep monitor, wherein the base devices include a door switch device and a door request device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the computing core is deployed to request the sleep monitor to monitor a status of each device of the plurality of elemental devices after a predetermined amount of time.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the sleep monitor is configured to turn off the computing core, turn off the control power supply, and switch the communication power supply to a low voltage state in response to the request.