Otis Elevator Company

Adriana Bacellar

William A Veronesi

Joseph Zacchio

Alberto Vecchiotti

Paul A Stucky

Bruce E Zepke

Christian Maria Netter

Luiz Bacellar

Deborah C Haas

Dennis Bellamy

Robin Mihekun Miller

Anthony Cooney

Richard E Peruggi

Pei-Yuan Peng

Samuel C Wan

Jae-Hyuk Oh

David Crenella

Michael P Gozzo

Bruce Zepke

Peie-Yuan Peng

Fixtures () at a doorway () of a landing () are formed integrally with a door frame (). The fixtures include electronic modules () and energy storage devices (). Power may be supplied by a generator () rotated by a pinion () in response to a rack () on a hoistway door (), or by electrical contacts () disposed on the hoistway side of the door frame which touch contacts () on an elevator car door () when the door is open, thereby receiving power over a line () from the elevator car; or power may be provided by an inductive coupler (). The fixtures () may be within the profile of the door frame (), or extend outwardly from the profile of the door frame ().

Wireless elevator hall fixtures integral with hall door frame

A brake mechanism () for an elevator () is activated in response to an electronic control signal to prevent movement of an elevator car () under predetermined conditions. The brake mechanism is preferably a safety mechanism () and does not require a governor sheave, a governor rope, or a tension sheave. The safety mechanism in one disclosed example utilizes a solenoid actuator () and an electric motor () and gear box assembly () to move safety wedges () into engagement with a guide rail () to stop the elevator car (). The safety wedges () are held in a non-deployed position during normal elevator operation. If there is a power loss or if elevator car speed exceeds a predetermined threshold, an electronic control signal activates the safety mechanism () causing the solenoid to release, which causes the safety wedges () move in a direction opposite to that of a safety housing () mounted for movement with the elevator car (). Angled surfaces of the safety housing () force the safety wedges () into engagement with the guide rail (). The safety mechanism () can be selectively reset from a remote location.

Remotely resettable ropeless emergency stopping device for an elevator

Fixtures () at a doorway of a landing are formed integrally with a frame (). Power is provided by an inductive coupler () having a core () and primary (). The core is thin ferrite and extend significantly beyond the coils in the plane the coils are wound, to provide en extremely low resistance path for the efficient transfer of AC power.

Inductively coupled power, useful for wireless elevator hall fixtures

An elevator system has on each floor hall call buttons that are inter-connected with piconet modules (), such as modules conforming to BLUETOOTH&#x2122; specifications; similar piconet modules () may be associated with hall fixtures such as lanterns and gongs; similar piconet modules () may be associated with hoistway doors, on each floor, so as to form a wireless communication system with a similar piconet module () at the controller (); and a piconet module () may be associated with the car operating panel. A module () may be interconnected with the car door lock switch; a module () may be interconnected with a safety switch; modules () and () may be interconnected with lower and upper limit switches; and a module () may be interconnected with an overspeed detector, so as to form a safety chain. A prospective passenger () may carry a portable device with a piconet module () to request elevator service and receive acknowledgment, and maintenance personnel () may use a personal ditigal assistant having a piconet module () therein to acquire current and historical information about the elevator and to issue executable commands to the elevator system.

Elevator wireless communication infrastructure using piconet modules

An elevator safety chain includes a plurality of passive radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) (--and), which are associated, respectively, with hoistway door locks, upper hoistway limits, lower hoistway limits, overspeed detection, car door lock, emergency stop switch, and inspection switch. RFlDs may be associated with car the call buttons () and/or hall call buttons (). The RFIDs may have a switch () in the frequency-determining circuitry () which defeats the RFID's ability to respond, or a switch () which alters the responding frequency. The RFIDs may sense safe or unsafe conditions, or call requests, by either the presence of absence, or vice versa, of adjacent magnetic reluctance ().

Elevator employing radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs)

Growing community of inventors

Glastonbury, CT, United States of America

Adriana Bacellar