EP3793925B1 - Inspection controlling system of a lift facility and method for switching a lift assembly between normal and inspection mode - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an inspection control system for an elevator installation and a method for switching an elevator installation between normal and inspection operation. Furthermore, the invention relates to an elevator system with such an inspection control system.

An elevator system is used to transport people within buildings, with an elevator car being moved vertically between different floors in an elevator shaft. In order to be able to ensure the safety of passengers or service personnel, safety-relevant current states of a number of its components, in particular a so-called safety chain, should be monitored within an elevator installation. In the elevator shaft of the elevator installation there are many components that can be maintained and/or that require maintenance. In order to maintain such components or to carry out regular inspection and maintenance work, the elevator system is put into an inspection or maintenance mode in which operation of the elevator car is blocked or the elevator car is allowed to move at walking speed by manual control or only between certain positions can be moved within the elevator shaft.

In order to carry out an inspection and maintenance work, a service technician will enter the elevator shaft of the elevator system via a shaft door or a maintenance hatch. For example, the maintenance switch can be referred to as an emergency stop switch or emergency brake switch which, when activated, can interrupt the safety chain and stop, for example, elevator car and door movements. The maintenance hatch generally designates, for example, a maintenance access and/or a maintenance door. Typically, a door switch is provided on a car door and on each of a plurality of shaft doors, which is closed as long as the respective door is closed. Several door switches are connected in series within a so-called safety chain, so that the Safety chain as a whole is only closed when each of the door switches is closed. The safety chain is a separate circuit with a discrete number of switches designed to indicate the status of the doors and the position of the elevator car. The shaft door or the maintenance hatch are thus coupled with such a safety chain of the elevator system, so that when the shaft door or the maintenance hatch is opened or unlocked, operation of the elevator car can be blocked, for example by interrupting a power supply to a drive of the elevator car. If the safety chain is closed as a whole and it can therefore be assumed that all car and shaft doors are currently closed, an elevator controller can move the elevator car in the elevator shaft in this case.

An example of safety chains for elevator systems and their operation is given in EP 2214998 A1 specified. The safety chain is a series circuit that has switches and contacts. The safety chain operates relays that control power to the electric motor and brake. Some parts of the safety chain can be bypassed, other parts can be inserted to change the safety monitoring for special operations during inspection, maintenance and rescue operations.

For inspection and maintenance work, according to the EN81-20 standard, there must be an easily accessible control device on the roof of the elevator car and in the shaft pit, e.g. This device must be turned on by a changeover switch, usually named the inspection switch. The switch must be bistable and protected against unintentional operation. It is often set to operate this switch and an emergency stop switch in a certain order one after the other or simultaneously with both hands, so that an inspection run is not triggered by an unintentional actuation of a single changeover switch. In addition, two direction buttons (one in the up direction and one in the down direction) are generally provided on the control device. Pressing one of the two direction buttons triggers an inspection run of the elevator car in the corresponding direction immediately or after pressing an additional travel button.

After completion of a maintenance work and after leaving the elevator shaft by pressing, eg deactivating, the control device and the maintenance switch Inspection or maintenance mode are terminated and by closing or locking the shaft door and associated by closing the safety chain, the elevator system can be put into regular driving operation, in which the elevator control can move the elevator car. In regular driving operation, the elevator car can be moved, for example, despite the presence of personnel in the elevator shaft. In any case, such a dangerous scenario must be avoided.

the EP 2033927 A1 relates to a safety device of an elevator system. If an elevator car with an open car door leaves a door zone or reaches a door zone with an impermissible acceleration or speed, a control signal for braking the elevator car is generated.

the EP 1159218 A1 describes an elevator safety system in which an electronic safety control device can communicate with a plurality of bus nodes via a safety bus. The electronic safety controller processes the data received from the bus nodes and determines whether an unsafe condition exists and if so, the safety controller sends a stop signal to the drive and brake unit and also sends a status signal to the elevator controller.

the EP 2214998 A1 discloses a system for detecting the presence of a person within an elevator shaft. The system includes a passive infrared detector positioned to detect infrared radiation from within the elevator shaft and a local processor that compares an infrared profile generated by signals from the passive infrared detector with a reference infrared profile to determine if a person is present in the elevator shaft.

the US2012175193A1 discloses an inspection control system according to the preamble of claim 1 and shows an elevator having a drive system coupled to a traction system for controlling a car. The elevator has a plurality of safety switches associated with the folding handrail, the safety switches including a first safety switch that closes only when the handrail is folded to a fully stowed position and a second safety switch that closes when the Railing is unfolded to a fully deployed position. The elevator also has a safety chain, which has a normal operating branch, which includes the first safety switch to the To supply drive system with a normal operation of the elevator energy, and having an inspection operation branch, which includes the second safety switch to supply the drive system with an inspection operation of the elevator energy.

One aspect of the present invention can be seen in ensuring the occupational safety of an elevator installation, in particular in maintenance/inspection or installation work. Among other things, there may be a need for a safety measure with which it can be ensured that service personnel can enter and exit an elevator shaft safely.

Such a need above may be met by the subject-matter of any of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments are defined in the dependent claims and the following description.

According to the invention, an inspection control system of an elevator installation according to claim 1 is provided.

By monitoring the switching states and their switching sequence, the presence of personnel in the shaft can be reliably determined. It can be ensured that both a service technician remaining in the shaft and his colleagues outside the shaft are alerted to an unsafe condition. In addition, it is also checked whether a safety measure or an operating instruction that describes operation with the above-mentioned switches has been observed in practice. If not, opening the operating switch immediately disables or interrupts operation of the elevator car. The elevator installation can therefore be reliably switched to an inspection mode and a normal mode without the elevator car being able to move dangerously if personnel are present in the shaft or possibly with a potential risk.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the preceding invention, the control unit can switch off the alarm generator and activate the electric motor via the operating switch if the monitored switching state matches the reference switching state and the monitored actuation sequence matches the reference sequence or the elevator system is back to normal operation.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the preceding invention, the operating device is arranged on the roof of the elevator car or in the shaft pit of the shaft. In the case of two operator panels, they can each be integrated into the operator panel and attached to a wall of the shaft. This ensures practical handling and safety for service personnel not only on the car roof but also in the shaft pit.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a method according to the invention for switching over an elevator system according to claim 6 is provided.

According to a third aspect of the invention, an elevator system according to the invention as claimed in claim 10 is provided.

It is pointed out that some of the possible features and advantages of the invention are described herein with reference to different embodiments of the inspection control system on the one hand and a method for switching an elevator system between normal and inspection operation on the other hand. A person skilled in the art will recognize that, within the scope of the appended claims, the features can be combined, adapted or interchanged as appropriate to arrive at further embodiments of the invention.

An advantageous embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, neither the drawings nor the description being to be construed as limiting the invention. The drawings are merely schematic and not to scale.

FIG 1

Eine schematische Darstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Inspektionssteuerungssystems einer Aufzugsanlage,

FIG 2

Draufsicht auf ein Bediengerät eines erfindungsgemäßen Inspektionssteuerungssystems

FIG 3

Ein Flussdiagramm zur Darstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens zum Umschalten einer Aufzugsanlage zwischen einem Normal- und einem Inspektionsbetrieb.

Show it:

FIG 1

A schematic representation of an inspection control system according to the invention of an elevator installation,

FIG 2

Top view of an operating device of an inspection control system according to the invention

3

A flow chart for representing a method according to the invention for switching an elevator installation between normal and inspection operation.

Fig.1 12 illustrates details of an inspection control system 2 according to the invention of an elevator installation 1, with a schematic representation of a circuit for the inspection control system 2 being correspondingly shown next to it. An electric motor 12 drives an elevator car 8 to move in an elevator shaft 5 between different floors. A shaft door 11 is provided at each floor, and a car door (not shown) is provided at the elevator car 8 . The shaft door 11 can be opened or closed alone or together with the car door.

a in Fig.2 The operating device 3 shown is provided in the shaft 5 in order to control the elevator car 8 in the inspection mode. Depending on the elevator standard (eg EN 81-20) to be met, two operating devices 3 can also be arranged on the roof of the elevator car 8 and in the shaft pit 5a of the shaft 5, which are at least essentially identical. The electric motor 3 can be controlled via each operating device 3 in the inspection mode of the elevator system 1 in order to move the elevator car 8 .

The operating device 3 includes a changeover switch 4 for changing over the elevator installation 1 to normal operation or to inspection operation. So that the elevator car 8 can embark on an inspection journey, the operating mode of the elevator installation 1 must first be switched over from "normal operation" to "inspection operation" using the changeover switch 4, as a result of which the operating device 3 is switched on or activated. The switch 4 can be designed in different ways. For example, the changeover switch 4 can be a simple rotary switch. A combined rotary and pressure switch, pressure switch or toggle switch connected in series are also possible. The elevator car 8 can be controlled in the corresponding direction by actuating two direction buttons 16 each for the up and down direction or additionally by actuating a travel button 17 for an inspection run by the operating device 3 .

At least one emergency stop switch 6 is provided in the shaft 5, which is attached, for example, to a wall of the shaft 5 and close to the shaft door 11 or on the roof of the elevator car 8 in order to deactivate normal operation and/or inspection operation, the elevator car 8 for moving prevent and/or contain. In this exemplary embodiment, the emergency stop switch 6 is designed, for example, with two separate emergency stop switches 6a, 6b. That is, the operating device 3 is provided with a second emergency stop switch 6b, while a first emergency stop switch 6a is arranged on the wall of the duct 5. In addition to the same functions as the first emergency stop switch 6a, an immediate remedy can be provided by pressing the emergency stop switch 6b if the operating element 3 fails and there could be a hazard. In order to meet the high safety requirements applicable to an elevator system 1, the changeover switch 4 and the emergency stop switches 6a, 6b must be switched in a specific order.

The inspection control system 2 is designed in such a way that it can determine an open and/or closed state of the shaft door 11 in each case. Door switches 15 are provided on each of the shaft doors 11 and on the car door, with the aid of which it is possible to monitor whether the respective shaft or car door is currently correctly closed or at least partially open. In particular, the door switches 15 can be connected in series, so that the part of the safety chain thus formed is only closed as a whole when all door switches 15 are closed. If a door switch 15 is open, i.e. one of the physical switches is not closed, the movement of the elevator car is considered unsafe and is stopped by the controller. In order to determine or monitor an opening and/or closing state of the shaft door 11, a detection means 13 is provided within the inspection control system 2, whereby a safety-relevant state of the safety chain can also be detected, whether the safety chain is closed or open. The detection means 13 is an electromechanical switch, for example. As an alternative to this, the detection means 13 can be a current meter or a voltage meter, which can measure a current through the safety chain or a voltage on that door switch 15 .

A control unit 10 is provided for monitoring a switching state and an operation order of the changeover switch 4 and the emergency stop switch 6 and the emergency stop switches 6a and 6b, respectively. Regarding a condition of landing door 11 the control unit 10 compares the actuations or the switching states of the changeover switch 4 and the emergency stop switch 6a and/or 6b with a predetermined reference switching state and a predetermined reference sequence. Normally, maintenance/inspection work on the roof of an elevator car 8 requires only one emergency stop switch 6b and in a shaft pit 5a both emergency stop switches 6a and 6b. Such a reference value can be pre-stored in the control unit 10, for example. The control unit 10 also controls an alarm generator 7 and an operating switch 9 in such a way that the alarm generator 7 generates an acoustic alarm signal, for example, and the operating switch 9 is opened in order to interrupt the electrical connection to the electric motor 12 and consequently to be able to prevent the elevator car 8 from moving. if the monitored switching status or switching sequence deviates from the reference value.

In Fig.3 a method according to the invention for shifting an elevator installation between normal and inspection operation is represented by a flowchart.

• Schritt-1: Öffnen einer Schachttür 11 am Erdgeschoss, damit die Sicherheitskette der Aufzugsanlage 1 unterbrochen wird;
• Schritt-2: Je nachdem, eine Inspektionsarbeit in einer Schachtgrube 5a oder auf dem Dach einer Aufzugskabine 8 durchzuführen ist, lösen bzw. aktivieren einen Notausschalter 6 (6a oder 6b), der nah zu der Schachttür 11 an einer Wand des Schachts 5 befestigt oder an einem Bediengerät 3 auf dem Dach der Aufzugskabine 8 ist;
• Schritt-3: Eintreten in die Schachtgrube 5a und Schließen der Schachttür 11. Obwohl die Sicherheitskette geschlossen wird, wird eine mögliche Bewegung der Aufzugskabine 8 wegen der Aktivierung des Notausschalters 6 verhindert;
• Schritt-4: Schalten den Umschalter 4 des Bediengeräts 3 in eine Schaltposition um, die einem Inspektionsbetriebsmodus entspricht, und schalten gleichzeitig den Notausschalter 6 (6a und 6b) aus, um die Aufzugsanlage 1 in den Inspektionsbetrieb zu aktivieren.

It is assumed that an inspection work for an elevator system 1, which is Fig.1 shown, is to be carried out in a shaft 5, with two emergency stop switches 6a and 6b each being located on a wall next to a shaft door 11 and in the shaft pit 5a. For this, the following steps are as in Figure 3a shown:

• Step-1: opening a landing door 11 on the ground floor so that the safety chain of the elevator system 1 is broken;
• Step-2: Depending on whether an inspection work is to be performed in a shaft pit 5a or on the roof of an elevator car 8, release or activate an emergency stop switch 6 (6a or 6b) which is attached to a wall of the shaft 5 close to the shaft door 11 or on an operating device 3 on the roof of the elevator car 8;
• Step-3: enter the pit 5a and close the hoistway door 11. Although the safety chain is closed, possible movement of the elevator car 8 is prevented due to the activation of the emergency stop switch 6;
• Step-4: Switch the changeover switch 4 of the operating device 3 to a switch position corresponding to an inspection operation mode, and at the same time turn off the emergency stop switch 6 (6a and 6b) to activate the elevator system 1 in the inspection operation.

Then the elevator system 1 or the elevator car 8 can be controlled by the operating device 3 in the inspection mode.

• Schritt-a: Schalten den Notausschalter 6a oder 6b ein, um die Aufzugskabine 8 zum Bewegen zu blockieren;
• Schritt-b: Schalten den Umschalter 4 in eine andere Schaltposition, die einem Normalbetriebsmodus entspricht;
• Schritt-c: Öffnen eine Schachttür 11, um die Sicherheitskette zu unterbrechen;
• Schritt-d: Austreten aus der Schachtgrube 5a und Schalten den Notausschalter 6a und/oder 6b aus;
• Schritt-e: Schließen der Schachttür 11, um die Sicherheitskette zu schließen.

After the inspection work, if the service technician wants to get out of shaft 5, he should start with the following steps as in Fig.3b proceedings. In order to illustrate more clearly from the steps for inspection work listed above, the steps for completing inspection work are labeled here with alphabets.

• Step-a: Turn on the emergency stop switch 6a or 6b to block the elevator car 8 from moving;
• Step-b: switch the changeover switch 4 to another switch position, which corresponds to a normal operating mode;
• Step-c: open a landing door 11 to break the safety chain;
• Step-d: exit from the pit 5a and turn off the emergency stop switch 6a and/or 6b;
• Step-e: Close the landing door 11 to close the safety chain.

Finally, a way of representing the states of the switches and their switching sequence is given in tables. For a simple overview, the statuses are represented by binary values "1" and "0"", namely landing door closed with "1", landing door open with "0", normal operation with "0", inspection operation with "1" , E-stop switch-on/enabled with "1", E-stop switch-off/disabled with "0", safety chain-closed with "1" and safety chain-broken with "0".

In Table-1 are the states of switches, landing door and safety chain for preparation of inspection work in case of using two emergency stop switches. And Table-2 is for completion of an inspection work, namely, for putting the elevator facility 1 into normal operation. Table 1: States of the switches for starting an inspection work Step shaft door Emergency switch switch safety chain 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 4 1 1 1 0 5 1 0 1 1 Step shaft door Emergency switch switch safety chain a 1 1 1 0 b 1 1 0 0 c 0 1 0 0 i.e 0 0 0 0 e 1 0 0 1

It can be clearly seen that not only the respective states, but also their sequence must fulfill a certain rule if all steps 1 to 5 or a to e are carried out correctly. The control unit 10 can check such states or the order in which they are changed, e.g. using a digital data processing method with predetermined reference switching states and reference orders. Depending on which switch does not operate correctly, a fault can be determined by a service technician either for a specific defective switch or for a non-safety or non-standard operation.

In summary, embodiments of the inspection control system and method presented herein allow a safety hazard in an elevator shaft to be identified at an early stage, e.g. if a switch cannot be switched correctly, a shaft door or a safety chain is not in a correct condition, or a service technician is unable to do a job carried out according to the standard. Even a minor damage or violation of a criterion of a standard or rule that is highly relevant to safety, the inspection control system will determine this error and generate an alarm signal.

Finally, it should be noted that terms such as "comprising,""comprising," etc. do not exclude other elements or steps, and terms such as "a" or "an" do not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be noted that, within the scope of the appended claims, features or steps that have been described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments, also in combination with other features or steps of others described above Embodiments can be used. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting.

It is pointed out that possible features and advantages of embodiments of the invention are described herein partly with reference to a method according to the invention and partly with reference to a device according to the invention. A person skilled in the art will recognize that, within the scope of the appended claims, the individual features can be combined, modified or exchanged in a suitable manner and that features described in particular for the method can be transferred analogously to the device and vice versa, in order to obtain further embodiments of the invention.

reference sign list

1

elevator system

2

inspection control system

3

control panel

4

switch

5

shaft

5a

shaft pit

6

Emergency switch

6a

the first kill switch

6b

the second kill switch

7

alarm generator

8th

elevator car

9

power switch

10

control unit

11

shaft door

12

electric motor

13

detection means

14

elevator control

15

door switch

16

direction button

17

travel button

Claims (10)

1. Inspection control system (2) of an elevator system (1), which comprises an elevator car (8) and an electric motor (12), wherein the electric motor (12) can drive the elevator car (8) in a shaft (5) under an elevator controller (14) in the normal mode of the elevator system (1) for moving, and wherein the shaft (5) comprises at least one shaft door (11), comprising:

   - at least one operating device (3) in the shaft (5), which can control the electric motor (12) in an inspection mode of the elevator system (1) for driving the elevator car (8), wherein the operating device (3) comprises a switch (4) for switching the elevator system (1) between the normal mode and the inspection mode, and

   - at least one emergency stop switch (6) in the shaft (5) for deactivating the normal mode and/or inspection mode, for preventing and/or interrupting a movement of the elevator car (8),
   characterized in that
   the inspection control system (2) further comprises:

   - a detection means (13) for detecting an open and/or closed state of the shaft door (11),

   - an alarm generator (7),

   - an operating switch (9) for activating and/or blocking the electric motor (12),

   - a control unit (10) which monitors a switching state and an actuation sequence of the switch (4) and the emergency stop switch (6) and which, with regard to a state of the shaft door (11) detected by the detection means (13), compares them with a predetermined reference switching state and a predetermined reference sequence, and

   - the control unit (10) controls the alarm generator (7) and the operating switch (9) such that the alarm generator (7) generates an alarm signal and/or the operating switch (9) blocks the electric motor (12) when the monitored switching state deviates from the reference switching state or the monitored actuation sequence deviates from the reference sequence.
2. Inspection control system (2) according to claim 1, wherein
   the control unit (10) switches off the alarm generator (7) and activates the electric motor (12) via the operating switch (9) if the monitored switching state matches the reference switching state and the monitored actuation sequence corresponds to the reference sequence or the elevator system (1) returns to the normal mode.
3. Inspection control system (2) according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein
   the operating device (3) or the operating devices (3) is or are arranged on the roof of the elevator car (8) and/or in the shaft pit (5a) of the shaft (5).
4. Inspection control system (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein
   the emergency stop switch(es) (6) can be assigned to the operating device (3) and/or a wall of the shaft (5).
5. Inspection control system (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein
   the alarm signal generated by the alarm generator (7) is an acoustic and/or optical signal.
6. Method for switching an elevator system (1) between a normal mode and an inspection mode, wherein the elevator system (1) comprises an elevator car (8) and an electric motor (12), wherein the electric motor (12) under an elevator controller (14) during normal mode of the elevator system (1) drives the elevator car (8) in a shaft (5) for moving, wherein in the method:

   - the electric motor (12) is controlled by at least one operating device (3), which is located in the shaft (5), in order to drive the elevator car (8) in an inspection mode of the elevator system (1), wherein the elevator system (1) can be switched by a switch (4) of the operating device (3) between normal mode and inspection mode,

   - at least one emergency stop switch (6) is provided in the shaft (5) in order to deactivate the normal mode and/or the inspection mode and/or to prevent and/or interrupt a movement of the elevator car (8),

   - an open and/or closed state of the shaft door (11) of the shaft (5) is detected by a detection means (13),

   - a switching state and an actuation sequence of the switch (4) and the emergency stop switch (6) are monitored and are compared with a predetermined reference switching state and a predetermined reference sequence with regard to a state of the shaft door (11) detected by the detection means (13), and

   - an alarm signal is generated by an alarm generator (7) and/or the electric motor (12) is blocked if the monitored switching state deviates from the reference switching state or the monitored actuation sequence deviates from the reference sequence.
7. Method according to claim 6, wherein
   the alarm generator (7) switches off and the electric motor (12) is activated when the monitored switching state matches the reference switching state and the monitored actuation sequence corresponds to the reference sequence or the elevator system (1) is back in normal mode.
8. Method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein
   the operating device (3) or the operating devices (3) is or are arranged on the roof of the elevator car (8) and/or in the shaft pit (5a) of the shaft (5).
9. Method according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein
   the emergency stop switch(es) (6) is or are assigned to the operating device (3) and/or a wall of the shaft (5).
10. Elevator system (1) which has an inspection control system (2) according to any of claims 1 to 5 and/or is designed to carry out a method according to any of claims 6 to 9.

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