Otis Elevator Company

Frederick H Nowak

Joseph Bittar

Isabel B Hovey

John C Luce

At a single floor of a building, such as at the lobby, destination calls are entered via a destination call entry device touch pad such as a (12) so that overall system response can be optimized during up-peak service intervals. A maximum number of calls are assigned to each car in order of its priority, or advantageous situation with respect to loading the lobby passengers, and the dispatch interval for each car is individually adjusted. The calls may be assigned to a car prior to its arrival at the lobby, and call assignments are audibly and/or visually displayed by an indicator device (16).

Adaptive assignment of elevator car calls

In an elevator having a group of double-deck cars, a hall call is assigned to one of the decks according to a priority scheme that takes into account the service capability of each car and its decks in a way that favors assignment of the call to the lagging deck of the car most capable of answering the call.

Multicompartment elevator call assigning

A multi-elevator system operable in response to a group controller (FIG. 1) operates in a first phase (FIG. 9) in which each car is selected in a sequence to be run in a first phase (FIG. 4) in which each car is commanded to run to a designated landing (FIGS. 5 and 6). When an attempt has been made to recover all cars (30, FIG. 9; 22, FIG. 8), a second attempt is made, if necessary (28, FIG. 9; 11, 13, 15, FIG. 8). Then, in a second phase, cars are selected on a priority basis in which the highest level are cars with firemen in them or cars not at a designated landing (8, FIG. 10). A second priority level includes cars designated as preferred by the customer (22, FIG. 10) and a third level includes any available car (29, FIG. 10). Any car not recovered is caused to become available (10, FIG. 3) for selection (8, FIG. 10) on a periodic basis, the priority level section automatically deselecting one of the service cars for operation so as to permit selecting the unrecovered car for operation.

Emergency power elevator recovery and service system

Requests for elevator express priority service are assigned to a car committable to the floor of the request if possible, or otherwise to a car which can reach the floor of the request sooner than other available cars. Whenever there are requests for express priority service and no cars available to respond thereto, polling of floor landings in subsequent cycles to determine if there are requests which can be assigned is commenced at a floor landing next in sequence to the one for which an outstanding request was unassignable for lack of available cars, and the unassignable request is reset so as to provide an indication thereof to the requestor. Express priority service requests are reassigned whenever the assignment is outstanding for an impermissible time.

Elevator express priority service

A microprocessor cab controller for an elevator car processes signals to control car calls by means of routines which prevent car calls from being registered behind the advancing direction of the car unless the car is headed for the lobby without further demand or the car has no advance direction, which respond to directives from a car controller mounted in the building to reset all car calls, reset selected car calls, reset the car call at a floor landing where the car is stopping, or force selected car calls; to inhibit car calls in a selected one of two zones of continuous floors for implementing dual up peak operation, and for selectively inhibiting registration of car calls at floors which are designated as cut off from service by the car. The invention allows the group controller to block or restore response of selected elevators to car calls for specific floors or to restore response of selected elevators to car calls for all floors.

Elevator floor cutoff

A microprocessor cab controller for an elevator car processes signals to control car calls by means of routines which prevent car calls from being registered behind the advancing direction of the car unless the car is headed for the lobby without further demand or the car has no advance direction, which responds to directives from a car controller mounted in the building to reset all car calls, reset selected car calls, reset the car call at a floor landing where the car is stopping, or force selected car calls; to inhibit car calls in a selected one of two zones of continuous floors for implementing dual up peak operation, and for selectively inhibiting registration of car calls at floors which are designated as cut off from service by the car. The invention allows use of the car call function for commanding special service and for inhibiting calls inconsistent therewith.

Operational control of elevator car calls

A plurality of elevators operating under the control of a group controller may provide a start request to the group controller in response to service demand when their MG sets have not been commanded to run, and in the absence of a responsive MG start command from the group controller, can start their own MG sets if there has been a communication failure with the group, instantaneously if commanded to start on emergency power or after a time interval if not commanded to start on emergency power, the time interval for each elevator differing from that of the other elevators so as to avoid simultaneous start-up. The group controller can shut off all MG sets when there has been no service demand in any of the elevators for some period of time, but each elevator can also shut off its own MG set when it has had no service demand for a period of time which is longer than the period of time for which the group shutdown must wait. And, if the car is on service independent of the group, it can shut off its own MG set in less time than it would if it is on group service.

Growing community of inventors

Southington, CT, United States of America

Frederick H Nowak