Inventio Ag

Frank Olivier Roussel

Astrid Sonnenmoser

Martin Hess

Ivo Lustenberger

Eric Birrer

David Michel

Kurt Heinz

Oliver Simmonds

Thomas Hartmann

Lukas Barmet

Stefano Carriero

Markus Walker

Catherine Drouet

Inspection control system switches elevator system between normal and inspection modes and includes: operating device and at least one emergency stop switch in elevator shaft for deactivating normal and/or inspection mode, for preventing and/or interrupting movement of car. In inspection mode, car is manually controlled by operating device via electric motor, wherein elevator system is switched to normal mode or inspection mode by switch of operating device. Inspection control system also includes: detection device for detecting open and/or closed shaft door, alarm generator, operating switch for activating and/or blocking electric motor, control unit that monitors switching state and actuation sequence of switch and emergency stop switch and compares both with reference switching state and reference sequence with regard to detected state of shaft door. Alarm generator generates alarm signal and operating switch blocks electric motor if switching state deviates from reference switching state or actuation sequence deviates from reference sequence.

Inspection control system for an elevator system and method for switching an elevator system between a normal mode and an inspection mode

A position-determining system and a method for ascertaining a car position of an elevator car use a code tape mounted next to the elevator car in parallel with a movement direction and that includes a code-mark pattern of individual code marks, a detection apparatus mounted on the elevator car that detects the code marks, and an evaluation unit that determines the car position on the basis of the detected code marks. Here, n successive code marks of the code-mark pattern form a position mark, the position marks are unambiguously arranged in an n-digit pseudorandom sequence of various position marks, the position marks form a single-track code-mark pattern, and a discrete car position is assigned to each position mark. A detection region of the detection apparatus has a detection length in the movement direction that is shorter than a position-mark length of a position mark in the movement direction.

Position-determining system and method for ascertaining a car position of an elevator car

A safety monitoring device of an elevator system having a shaft extending over at least two floors has a safety circuit with door contact switches being closed or opened accordingly when a respective shaft door is closed or opened. The door switches form an electrical series circuit that is electrically broken to block the elevator car from moving when any of the door switches is opened. The monitoring apparatus has at least one bypass switch that actuates a first door switch for a first shaft door on a first floor such that, when the elevator car reaches the first floor, the bypass switch bypasses the first door switch to switch the safety circuit independently of the first door switch. A monitoring means of the monitoring apparatus monitors the switching state of the safety circuit and/or of a second door switch for a second shaft door on a second floor.

Safety monitoring device, and method for monitoring the safety of an elevator system

An elevator car load measurement system for determining a load of an elevator car includes a plurality of at least two force sensors that are daisy-chained and connected to a controller for determining the load. Each force sensor measures a force exerted by the elevator car on the respective force sensor and generates a frequency signal with a square-wave form, wherein the frequency signal is proportional to the respective measured force. At least one of the force sensors adds a first frequency signal received from the previous force sensor along the daisy chain a second frequency signal generated by the at least one force sensor to generate a frequency sum signal, the last of the force sensors in the daisy chain forwards the frequency sum signal to the controller.

Elevator car load measurement system and method for determining a load of an elevator car

An elevator system has a central control unit for generating control signals and/or processing sensor signals and controlling functions of the system, a plurality of field devices distributed inside a structure accommodating the system, preferably along an elevator shaft, and a field bus system for interchanging the signals between the control unit and the field devices. Each field device outputs sensor signals generated by a sensor and/or receives control signals to be implemented by an actuator. Data packets including the signals are interchanged in a serial manner between the control unit and all field devices in a summation frame method using a closed ring topology. Each field device has a driver to insert the sensor signals into the data packet or to remove the control signals from the data packet. Data and signal transmission is thereby carried out quickly and safely in a safety circuit of the elevator system.

Elevator system having a central control unit and a plurality of field devices which communicate via a summation frame method

An elevator car has at least one balustrade attached to a roof of the elevator car, which balustrade can be pivoted about a rotation axis between a folded-down position, in which the balustrade is arranged essentially horizontally, and a raised position, in which the balustrade is arranged essentially vertically. The balustrade is mechanically coupled to a 3-state switch, which switch can adopt three different switching states. The balustrade and the 3-state switch thus cooperate such that the 3-state switch adopts a first switching state when the balustrade is in the folded-down position, the 3-state switch adopts a second switching state when the balustrade is in the raised position, and the 3-state switch adopts a third switching state when the balustrade is in neither the folded-down position nor the raised position.

Elevator car with a foldable balustrade and control device for an elevator installation having such an elevator car

A method and a device configures a floor allocation of at least two operating panels of an elevator system having an elevator car and an elevator control unit in a building having at least two floors, wherein a respective one of the operating panels and an elevator door are located on each floor of the building, wherein a door contact unit is arranged on the elevator door, wherein the door contact unit is opened with the elevator door open, and wherein the elevator car moves vertically between the at least two floors. According to the method and device, the door contact unit is connected with the operating panel on each floor. The elevator car is moved to each floor and the elevator door is opened. The operating panel detects the open door contact unit and allocates the approached floor to the operating panel depending on the position of the elevator car.

Configuration of operating panels of an elevator system

A method for operating an elevator control system for controlling and monitoring the movements of at least one elevator car when the elevator car approaches individual floors in a building, and in the process stops at a respective floor in a prescribed stopping position, the method including, in conjunction with a floor stop, determining an overall error in the form of a deviation between an actual position of the elevator car and a position of the elevator car assumed as the current position. The elevator control system generates service signals based on a statistical acquisition of several values for the overall error, and/or wherein the overall error is used to ascertain a derivative value, which is taken into account along with the current or stopping position during a comparison between the current position and stopping position performed by the elevator control system for approaching the respective stopping position.

Method for operating an elevator control system

An emergency light unit (arranged in an elevator cage) of an elevator installation can be activated. A light sensor unit and a lighting unit are arranged in the elevator cage. The emergency light unit is activated by an elevator control unit in dependence on at least one light intensity value detected by the light sensor unit when the elevator cage door is closed and transmitted to the control unit.

Activation of an emergency light unit

The present invention relates to a monitoring device for a elevator system, including an optical sensor unit, which receives light emitted by a external light source existing in the vicinity of the elevator system and which transforms the light into contrast information and an evaluation unit, which evaluates the contrast information in order to monitor the elevator system. The present invention relates further to a method for monitoring a elevator system, including the steps of receiving light emitted by a external light source existing in the vicinity of the elevator system, transforming the light into contrast information, evaluation of the contrast information in order to monitor the elevator system, recognizing a situation of the elevator system and triggering of a reaction adapted to the situation.

Growing community of inventors

Lucerne, Switzerland

Frank Olivier Roussel