Operating a cyclical transport system based on an equal cycle time

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10703603-B2
Application number	US-201515518986-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 9, 2015
Priority date	Oct 16, 2014
Publication date	Jul 7, 2020
Grant date	Jul 7, 2020

Abstract

A transport system may include at least two conveyor sections and at least three cars that are moved individually in a cyclical operation. Each car may pass through a first conveyor section starting from a first start position and subsequently pass through a second conveyor section back to the first start position. At least one stopping point may be provided at least along a conveyor section, and one or more subsequent stopping points may respectively be assigned to a block. Travel of the cars may be controlled such that the cars successively approach a respective previously-specified block, and an equal cycle time is predefined for every car to pass through the first and second conveyor sections. A method for operating a transport system in this manner is also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for controlling a transport system, the method comprising moving at least three cars individually in succession in a cyclical operation, wherein each of the at least three cars passes through a first conveyor section starting from a first start position and subsequently passes through a second conveyor section and back to the first start position, wherein blocks into which the first and second conveyor sections are divided each include a stopping point, the method further comprising controlling travel of the at least three cars such that the at least three cars approach a respective previously-specified block of the blocks, wherein each of the at least three cars passes through the first and second conveyor sections in an equal cycle time that has been predefined.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a number of the blocks=j, wherein travel of a first group of j cars of the at least three cars is controlled such that
a first car of the at least three cars approaches a first block of the blocks, which is the previously-specified block for the first car,
a following second car of the at least three cars approaches a second block of the blocks, which is the previously-specified block for the second car, and
a j-th car of the at least three cars approaches a j-th block of the blocks, which is the previously-specified block for the j-th car,

wherein the j-th block is closer to a first home position defined by the first start position than the second block, wherein the second block is closer to the first home position than the first block.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein each successive group of j cars that follows the first group approaches the blocks in a same way as the first group of j cars.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the blocks are divided into directly successive blocks.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein cars of the first group of j cars are selected as directly successive cars.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein the previously-specified block of the blocks is within the first conveyor section, wherein the at least three cars respectively also approach a previously-specified block of the blocks in the second conveyor section, wherein in both the first and second conveyor sections each of the at least three cars stops at at least one of the stopping points within the respective previously-specified blocks in the first and second conveyor sections, wherein the second conveyor section is assigned a second start position, with the second start position defining a second home position, the method further comprising controlling travel of the first group of j cars to the blocks of the second conveyor section in a same way with respect to the second home position as the travel of the first group of j cars to the blocks of the first conveyor section with respect to the first home position.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein after the second start position one of the at least three cars makes an intermediate stop at a at least one of the stopping points after leaving the previously-specified block of the one of the at least three cars.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the previously-specified block of the blocks is within the first conveyor section, wherein the at least three cars respectively also approach a previously-specified block of the blocks in the second conveyor section, wherein in both the first and second conveyor sections each of the at least three cars stops at at least one of the stopping points within the respective previously-specified blocks in the first and second conveyor sections.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the at least three cars stops at at least one predetermined stopping point per cycle.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the at least one predetermined stopping point has a longest average stopping time of the stopping points.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein one of the at least one predetermined stopping points for the at least three cars is the first start position of one of the at least three cars.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein a stopping time at the at least one predetermined stopping point for each of the at least three cars is selected so that the at least three cars comply with the equal cycle time.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the at least three cars stops at a plurality of predetermined stopping points per cycle, wherein travel times of each of the at least three cars between two successive of the plurality of predetermined stopping points are equal.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the at least three cars makes an intermediate stop after leaving its first start position and before reaching its previously-specified block.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein a stopping time at the intermediate stop is selected so that the one of the at least three cars complies with the equal cycle time.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein a maximum stopping time per stopping point is predefined as a function of the equal cycle time.

17. The method of claim 1 comprising changing as a function of demand and/or time of day at least one of:
an assignment of the stopping points of the blocks;
a number m of the at least three cars in the transport system;
the equal cycle time for the at least three cars;
a number of the at least three cars per block; or
quantity and positions of predetermined stopping points of the stopping points.

18. A transport system comprising:
a first conveyor section;
a second conveyor section;
at least three cars that are movable individually in succession in a cyclical operation, wherein during the cyclical operation each of the at least three cars passes through the first conveyor section starting from a first start position and subsequently passes through the second conveyor section and back to the first start position;
wherein blocks into which the first and second conveyor sections are divided each include a stopping point; and
a control device configured to control travel of the at least three cars such that the at least three cars respectively approach a previously-specified block of the blocks, wherein each of the at least three cars passes through the first and second conveyor sections in an equal cycle time that has been predefined.

19. The transport system of claim 18 wherein the transport system is configured as an elevator, wherein the first and second conveyor sections include at least two shafts, wherein the at least three cars are configured as elevator cars that are disposed in the at least two shafts and are individually movable, wherein the first conveyor section comprises an upward-leading shaft of the at least two shafts and the second conveyor section comprises a downward-leading shaft of the at least two shafts.

Assignees

• Thyssenkrupp Elevator Ag

Inventors

• Zheng Qinghua
• Dignath Florian
• Lampersberger Erhard
• Beck Thomas

Classifications

• B66B2201/401

  by time of the day · CPC title

• B66B1/2491 Primary

  For elevator systems with lateral transfers of cars or cabins between hoistways · CPC title

• B66B2201/243

  Distribution of elevator cars, e.g. based on expected future need · CPC title

• B66B1/2466

  For elevator systems with multiple shafts and multiple cars per shaft · CPC title