System for conveying passengers, method for optimizing the operation of a system for conveying passengers

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11873190-B2
Application number	US-201917250524-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 18, 2019
Priority date	Sep 18, 2018
Publication date	Jan 16, 2024
Grant date	Jan 16, 2024

Abstract

A passenger conveying system includes a passenger conveyance installation designed as an elevator, escalator or moving walkway, a main energy supply supplying the passenger conveyance installation with electrical energy, a main switch for disconnecting the passenger conveyance installation from the main energy supply, which main switch has an input side connected to the main energy supply and an output side connected to the passenger conveyance installation. The system includes a measuring device with a sensor for measuring an electrical parameter, a converter which has a direct current side and an alternating current side, an energy store electrically connected to the direct current side of the converter, a control device for controlling the converter, wherein the sensor is electrically and/or electromagnetically connected on the input side of the main switch to the main energy supply and the alternating current side of the converter is electrically connected to the main energy supply.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for conveying passengers, the system including a passenger conveyance installation being one of an elevator, an escalator and a moving walkway in a building, and the system including a first control device for controlling the passenger conveyance installation, the system comprising:
a main energy supply in the building for supplying the passenger conveyance installation with electrical energy;
a main switch for disconnecting the passenger conveyance installation from the main energy supply, wherein the main switch is arranged in the building and has an input side and an output side, wherein the input side is connected to the main energy supply and the output side is connected to the passenger conveyance installation;
a measuring device having a sensor for measuring an electrical parameter;
a converter having a direct current side and an alternating current side;
an energy store electrically connected to the direct current side of the converter;
a second control device for controlling the converter, wherein the second control device is different from the first control device; and
wherein the sensor is at least one of electrically and electromagnetically connected to the main energy supply at the input side of the main switch and the alternating current side of the converter is electrically connected to the main energy supply.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein the system includes at least two of the passenger conveyance installation, the main energy supply supplies electrical energy to the at least two passenger conveyance installations, and the at least two passenger conveyance installations are adapted to be disconnected from the main energy supply by the main switch.

3. The system according to claim 1 wherein the converter permits a bidirectional energy flow between the main energy supply and the energy store.

4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the measuring device includes at least two of the sensor, each of the at least two sensors being connected at the input side of the main switch to an associated one of a phase conductor and a neutral conductor of the main energy supply.

5. The system according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the measuring device and the second control device is supplied with electrical energy by at least one of the main energy supply and the energy store.

6. The system according to claim 1 wherein at least two of the measuring device, the converter, the energy store and the second control device are formed as a modular unit.

7. The system according to claim 1 including at least one of a communication device for communication of a charging state of the energy store and an analysis device for analyzing the charging state of the energy store.

8. A method for optimizing an energy consumption by a system for conveying passengers in a building, wherein the system includes a passenger conveyance installation being one of an elevator, an escalator and a moving walkway, the method comprising the steps of:
identification of a conductor via which the passenger conveyance installation in a standby operation is supplied with a standby current from a main energy supply of the building;
measurement of an electrical parameter of current flowing in the identified conductor at an input side of a main switch, the identified conductor being connected to the main energy supply at the input side of the main switch and being connected at an output side of the main switch to the passenger conveyance installation;
detection of a standby operation of the passenger conveyance installation using the measured electrical parameter and performing of the following steps as soon as the passenger conveyance installation is in the standby operation;
continuous measurement of a standby current in the identified conductor; and
supply from an energy store of the system a current corresponding to the measured standby current into the identified conductor at the input side of the main switch.

9. The method according to claim 8 including a step of charging the energy store with electrical energy drawn from the main energy supply at the input side of the main switch.

10. The method according to claim 8 including a step of receiving control information and controlling at least one of charging-up the energy store from the main energy supply and supplying electrical energy from the energy store based upon the control information.

11. The method according to claim 8 including steps of monitoring a charging state of the energy store and communicating the charging state to an analysis device adapted to override the system and that is set apart from the system.

12. The method according to claim 11 wherein during the step of supplying current from the energy store, the energy store supplies feed-in power that corresponds to a standby power required by the passenger conveyance installation.

13. A method for reducing energy consumption of a passenger conveyance installation in a building during a standby operation of the installation, the method comprising the steps of:
installing an energy store at an input side of a main switch arranged in the building, the main switch being connected at an input side to a main energy supply of the building and at an output side to the passenger conveyance installation; and
providing electrical energy from the energy store to the passenger conveyance installation during a standby operation of the passenger conveyance installation whereby an energy consumption of the passenger conveyance installation from the main energy supply is reduced.

14. The system according to claim 2 including a third control device coordinating operations of the second control devices of the at least two passenger conveyance installations.

Assignees

• Inventio Ag

Inventors

• Henneau Philippe
• Schaub Amos
• Heinz Kurt

Classifications

• B66B1/302 Primary

  for energy saving · CPC title

• B66B5/0037

  Performance analysers · CPC title

• B66B25/003

  Methods or algorithms therefor · CPC title

• B66B5/0006 Primary

  Monitoring devices or performance analysers (B66B5/02 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B66B1/34

  Details {, e.g. call counting devices, data transmission from car to control system, devices giving information to the control system} · CPC title