Lift system having a plurality of cars and a decentralised safety system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10464782-B2
Application number	US-201515529999-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 10, 2015
Priority date	Nov 27, 2014
Publication date	Nov 5, 2019
Grant date	Nov 5, 2019

Abstract

The disclosure relates to an elevator system consisting of a plurality of elevator carriages, a shaft system, a drive system for separately moving the elevator carriages within the shaft system, as well as a safety system having a plurality of safety nodes designed to bring the elevator system into a safe operating mode if an operating mode of the elevator system, which deviates from the normal operation mode, is detected. The elevator carriages, the shaft system and the drive system form a functional unit. One of the safety nodes is always assigned to one of the functional units, wherein the safety nodes are each connected to at least another safety node through an interface for transmitting data. Each safety node includes at least one sensor, which detects an operating parameter of the corresponding assigned functional unit. A control unit evaluates the operating parameter detected by one of the sensors of the respective safety node and, taking into account the data transmitted by at least another safety node.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An elevator system comprising:
a plurality of elevator carriages;
a shaft system enabling a loop operation of the elevator carriages;
at least one drive unit; and
a safety system with a plurality of safety nodes, wherein the safety system brings the elevator system into a safe operating mode whenever an operating mode of the elevator system deviates from a normal operating mode,
wherein the elevator carriages, the shaft system and at least one drive unit each form at least one functional unit, and
wherein at least one drive unit can be operated section-wise in the shaft, in such a way that the elevator carriages can be moved independently of each other in defined sections of the shaft system, wherein each of the defined sections is a functional unit ( 4 ) of the drive unit;
wherein at least one of the safety nodes is assigned to each of the functional units, wherein the safety nodes are each connected to at least one of the other safety nodes through at least one interface for transferring data,
the safety nodes in each case including at least one sensor to record an operating parameter of the correspondingly assigned functional unit, and the safety nodes each include at least one control unit,
which is designed to analyze the operating parameter recorded by at least one sensor of the corresponding safety node and,
taking into consideration the transmitted data from at least another safety node, to make an assessment of a possible deviation from the normal operating mode.

2. The elevator system according to claim 1 , wherein the shaft system has at least two vertically extended transportation routes, along which the elevator carriages can be moved vertically, as well as at least two transfer units for displacing the elevator carriages, wherein each of the transfer units is a functional unit of the shaft system, which in each case is assigned to at least one of the safety nodes.

3. The elevator system according to claim 2 , wherein the transportation routes are rails, along which the elevator carriages using at least one linear drive as the drive unit are movable, and each rail with at least one rotatable segment for a vertical transportation is designed as a transfer unit, wherein these rotatable segments can be arranged relative to one another, such that an elevator carriage of the elevator system can be moved along the segments between the rails.

4. The elevator system of claim 1 wherein the functional units each contain at least one safety device, which, by triggering, can bring the corresponding functional unit into a safe operating mode and can be directly controled by the control unit of the safety node assigned to the corresponding functional unit.

5. The elevator system according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of monitoring rooms is defined for the shaft system, wherein each monitoring room is assigned a plurality of functional units, wherein the safety nodes of the functional units in a monitoring room are connected to at least one interface for transferring data.

6. The elevator system of claim 1 wherein the elevator system is designed to be partially deactivatable, in such a way, that individual units or groups of functional units can be deactivated, wherein the elevator system is further adapted to continue to be operational with non-deactivated functional units.

7. The elevator system of claim 1 wherein each section of the shaft system including at least one a shaft door is a functional unit, to which a safety node is assigned.

8. The elevator system according to claim 7 , wherein the safety node, to which the section of the shaft system as a functional unit and including at least one shaft door, contains at least one sensor, which is designed to record a deviation from the normal operating mode of this functional unit, wherein the safety system of the elevator system is designed to deactivate this functional unit if such an operation condition that deviates from the normal operation conditions is recorded, and the elevator carriages of the elevator system are only moved outside of the section of the shaft system having at least one shaft door.

9. The elevator system of claim 1 wherein the control unit of a safety node, assigned to an elevator carriage as a functional unit, is designed to continually calculate a first stop point for the first direction of travel of the elevator carriage and to continually calculate a second stop point for the other direction of travel, wherein the corresponding stop point indicates the position at which the elevator carriage can stop, if necessary, in each direction of travel.

10. The elevator system of claim 9 wherein the safety node, assigned to the elevator carriage as a functional unit, is thus designed, such that the calculated initial stop points are always at least transmitted via an interface to the safety node, which is assigned to the adjacent elevator carriage in the first direction of travel, and the calculated second stop points are always at least transmitted via an interface to the corresponding safety node, which is assigned to the adjacent elevator carriage in the second direction of travel.

11. The elevator system according to claim 10 , wherein the control unit of a safety node, assigned to the elevator carriage as a functional unit, is designed such that the distance between the first stop point of this elevator carriage and the second stop point of the adjacent elevator carriage in the first direction of travel is determined and the distance between the second stop point of this elevator carriage and the first stop point of the adjacent elevator carriage traveling in the second direction is determined, wherein, if a negative distance is calculated, the safety system of the elevator system brings the system into a safe operating mode.

Assignees

• Thyssenkrupp Elevator Ag
• Thyssenkrupp Ag

Inventors

• Steinhauer Eduard
• Glück Matthias
• Adjibadji Bankole

Classifications

• B66B11/0407

  actuated by an electrical linear motor (in the counterweight B66B17/12) · CPC title

• B66B11/02

  Cages, {i.e. cars}(doors, gates or other apparatus controlling access to, or exit from, cages B66B13/00) · CPC title

• B66B1/3415

  Control system configuration and the data transmission or communication within the control system · CPC title

• B66B5/0031 Primary

  for safety reasons · CPC title

• B66B9/003

  for lateral transfer of car or frame, e.g. between vertical hoistways or to/from a parking position · CPC title