EP4711315A1

EP4711315A1 - Method for generating a maintenance request in connection with the use of a platform lift

Info

Publication number: EP4711315A1
Application number: EP24200619.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Frederik Torsten Petry; Dave TROTSENBURG; Wim Heijns
Original assignee: TK Home Solutions BV
Current assignee: TK Home Solutions BV
Priority date: 2024-09-16
Filing date: 2024-09-16
Publication date: 2026-03-18

Abstract

Method for generating a maintenance request in connection with the use of a platform lift (1), in particular using a platform lift (1) for generating a maintenance request, in particular the platform lift is a stairlift (1), the lift comprising
- a rail (2),
- a drive unit (6) having a platform (8), in particular a chair (8), for driving along the rail (2),
- at least one control unit (13) arranged at the drive unit (6),
the method comprising the following steps:
collecting a plurality of usage data (UD) of the platform lift (1);
analyzing said collected usage data (UD) and detecting an abnormality in the current usage data (UD);
generating a maintenance request (MR) in case that an abnormality has been detected during analyzing.

Description

The invention refers to a Method for generating a maintenance request in connection with the use of a platform lift and an arrangement comprising a platform lift.
A platform lift, in particular a stairlift, is a product which is typically meant for people with impaired mobility, mostly elderly people, to provide support to get upstairs and downstairs without removing the staircase and thus maintaining the functionality of the stairs for persons who are (still) able to climb the stairs themselves. The platform lift is often installed in people's homes and typically comprises a drive unit with a chair or another platform, driven by a drive, which travels along a rail, mounted on or along one or more staircases.
EP 1 554 210 A1 discloses a platform lift for the use of a disabled person in a wheelchair. WO 2013/129923 A1 discloses a platform lift in the form of a stairlift. In both cases the platform is part of a drive unit which travels along at least one guide rail. A leveling mechanism is provided to always hold the platform always in a horizontal orientation, even if the inclination angle of the guide rail is changing along the path of travel. In particular the rail of such platform lifts has a curved shape, like shown in figure 3 of WO 2015/052489 A1 .
WO 2021/259841 A1 discloses a method for raising an alert in connection with the use of a platform lift, comprising the following steps: determining the way of usage of the platform lift; comparing the way of usage with an alert definition; generating an alert, if the way of usage conforms to the alert definition; providing the alert to a user. The intention is thereby to alert a caretaker of an elderly person for the case, that the elderly person is not using the platform lift in the used manner, which may be an indicator that the elderly person requires support.
Similar to the regular inspection of a car (the motor oil is to be replaced every 15.000 km or at least per year) several parts of the stairlift require maintenance tasks according to a fixed predefined rule, e.g. a predefined maintenance interval.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the quality of operation of a generic platform lift. This is solved by a method and an arrangement according to the main claims; embodiments are subject of the subclaims and the description.
The inventive method is used for generating a maintenance request in connection with the use of a platform lift, particularly a stairlift. The lift comprises a rail, a drive unit with a platform or chair for driving along the rail, and at least one control unit arranged at the drive unit. The inventive method includes the following steps: Collecting a plurality of usage data of the platform lift; Analyzing the collected usage data and detecting an abnormality in the current usage data; Generating a maintenance request if an abnormality is detected during the analysis.
A particular benefit from the above method is, that the usage data is the main driver for detecting, if and when a maintenance action has to be performed. In particular a starlit is a device which is used in very different degrees of intensity. Analyzing the usage data is accordingly an appropriate tool, to determine and afterwards implement a needs-based maintenance action.
In an embodiment the abnormality is detected by comparing actual usage data with predefined maintenance definitions, particularly stored in a maintenance definition database. Here the database has the information which kind and intensity of usage causes a certain maintenance action. The maintenance definitions may also comprise certain misuse indicator data which are known data patterns typically occurring from a misuse operation.
In an embodiment the abnormality is detected by comparing actual usage data with stored historical usage data, particularly stored in a usage database. Here no predefined maintenance definitions are required; instead, a significant change in the way of usage may be the trigger for a specific maintenance action. The advantage is, that also previously unknown circumstances can be identified, which may be the reason for increased wear or indications of faults.
In an embodiment, the method is used to detect a technical reason causing the abnormality in the current usage data. In particular, detect a mechanical and/or electrical fault in the stairlift, to determine a loose electrical contact, a bad condition of a battery, a fault in a battery loading system of the platform lift.
The inventive arrangement comprises: a platform lift; a usage data base adapted to collect a plurality of usage data obtained during operation of said platform lift; an abnormality detector, adapted to detect abnormalities in obtained usage data of said platform lift; and a maintenance request generator, adapted to generate a maintenance request based on said detected abnormalities. The advantages and embodiments of the method are also applicable to the arrangement.
In an embodiment a maintenance definition database is adapted to store a plurality of predefined maintenance definitions. Said abnormality detector is adapted to detect said abnormalities in said obtained usage data in comparison of said predefined maintenance definitions.
In an embodiment the arrangement comprises: a usage database, wherein said abnormality detector is adapted to detect said abnormalities in said obtained usage data in comparison with historical usage data stored in said usage database.
The arrangement is in particular adapted to perform the method as described above.
The invention is described in more detail by means of the figures, herein shows

figure 1: two platform lifts in side view;
figure 2: a schematic structure of an arrangement according to the invention;
figure 3: diagrams showing usage data in relation to a predefined maintenance request definition;
figure 4: diagrams showing usage data solely without any predefined maintenance request definition.

Figure 1 shows two exemplary embodiments of a generic platform lift 1, to which the invention can be applied. In figure 1a a platform lift 1 for the use with a wheelchair is shown. The platform 8 therefore comprises a lifting ramp, which can travel along a direction of travel D from a first landing area 4 (1st floor) to a second landing area 5 (second floor) and vice versa. The direction of travel D is defined by a rail 2 and is limited in main by the course of an existing stairway 3 in a house. An alternative embodiment is shown in figure 1b wherein the platform 8 comprises a seat (the remaining features of figure 1a may also be present in the embodiment of figure 1b).
The rail 2 can have a curved shape, which deviates from a straight line; thus, the direction of travel may change at least once during the course of the rail 2.
The platform 8 is part of a drive unit 6, which further comprises a carrier 7. The carrier 7 has support rollers 71 (see figure 1b), which roll along the rail 2. For driving the carrier 7 positive engagements means (only shown in detail in figure 1b) are provided on the rail 2, which cooperates with driving means, in particular a driven pinion (not shown), of the drive unit 6. A leveling mechanism 9 is provided on the drive unit 6, to keep the platform 8 always in a horizontal orientation, even if the inclination of the rail 2 varies during its course.
At the landing areas 4, 5 a call device 10 is provided. By pressing a button of the call device 10 a first user located at the respective landing area 4,5 can request that the platform 8 moves in a certain direction (e.g. up or down or in direction of one of the landing areas 4, 5; 'Call-and-Park'-function).
At the drive unit 6 a control interface 11 is provided, so that the first user moving with the platform 8 can give instructions to the drive on the intended driving direction of the drive unit 6. As an example, the control interface 11 can be a button 11 (figure 1a) or a joystick 11 (figure 1b). Several sensors 12 are provided at any positions or along the rail or at the drive unit to determine several operation conditions.
The stairlift is connected to a remote server 40 via a data connection 20; the data connection in particular uses the internet 21.
Figure 2 shows an exemplary embodiment for implementing the invention.
In the remote server a usage database 14, a maintenance definition database 17, an abnormality detector 15 and a maintenance request generator 16 is provided. It is to be understood, that the above components 14, 15, 16, 17 are not required to be part of the server 40. In an alternative embodiment, instead some of the components 14, 15, 16, 17 may be part of the stairlift or of an application running on a device 30 of a user.
During normal operation of a plurality of data is input from the call device 10, the control interface 11, from any sensors 12, and/or from the control unit 13. These data are all referred to as the usage data of the lift.
This usage data UD is registered in a usage database 14, so that during usage the usage database 14 is increasingly filled with a huge set of historical usage data UD, relating to previous usages.
During operation of the stairlift, actual usage data UD is again generated.

[first embodiment]

In a first embodiment, the usage data is compared with predefined maintenance definitions MD stored in a maintenance definition database 17.
As an example of a first embodiment of the present invention, figure 3a shows, as usage data UD, a profile of a motor temperature Tmotor during normal operation over time. The motor temperature starts from a low level and then subsequently increases to a higher level. In case that the motor temperature reaches a max temperature Tmax, immediate stop of the motor will be arranged to avoid any damages to the stairlift.
Shown in figure 3a is also a maintenance temperature profile Tmaint, which indicates a condition, where an abnormality is assumed. In case that the recorded temperature profile (usage data UD) crosses the maintenance temperature profile Tmaint (see figure 3b), a maintenance request MR is generated.
Thereby the abnormality detector 15 regularly checks the current usage data UD provided by the stairlift 1 and compares these usage data UD with predefined maintenance definitions MD stored in the maintenance definition database 17. As soon as the abnormality detector 15 detects a match with the predefined maintenance definition MD, the maintenance request generator generates a maintenance request MR and sends it to a service technician, in particular via a data connection (in particular internet 21) to the mobile phone 30 of said technician.
The maintenance temperature profile Tmaint is an example of a maintenance request definition MD.

[second embodiment]

As an example of a second embodiment of the present invention, figures 4a-c show a binary signal provided as a usage data UD by a call button of a call device 10 over time t (where the time axis is not to scale).
Figure 4a and 4b show a typical call button signal as usage data UD, as it occurs several times per day. Here said kind of signal occurs merely once within several hours. There is no significant change in the characteristics over the first 1070 days of usage. Accordingly, the signals in day #21 conform in main to the signals in day #1070 and all other previous days (not shown).
Then in day # 1071 something changes. The first occurrence is still as usual, just one signal, afterwards 7h of no further occurrence of the call button. Then seven hours later the button is pressed multiple times within one second. Then again five hours of no signal occurrence and again no action, again several button signals within a few seconds and again few hours with no signal occurrence.
Furthermore, within the following day (not shown), a similar pattern is occurring: several call button signals within a few seconds, followed by several hours of no signal.
There is no maintenance definition linking that identified pattern to a known issue. The only indication is that something is different is that the actual usage data UD significantly differs from the historical usage data stored in the usage database 14.
A possible explanation is the presence of a loose contact, that prompts the user to press the button several times, since the user does not recognize any reaction when pressing the button only once (the reader will know an analogous situation when pressing the button of a pedestrian traffic light, where sometime no feedback or a delayed feedback is provided, so that the user feels prompted to press the button several times).
Thereby, the actual usage data UD is compared with data registered in the usage database 14 by said abnormality detector 15. The abnormality detector 15 detects, that actual usage data UD differs from previously registered, historical usage data UD. As soon as the abnormality detector 15 detects said abnormality, the maintenance request generator generates a maintenance request MR and sends it to a service technician, in particular via a data connection (in particular internet 21) to the mobile phone 30 of said technician.
It is contrast to the first embodiment, the abnormality detector according to the second embodiment does not work according to any predefined maintenance abnormality definition stored in a maintenance definition database. Here the historical usage data in the usage database 14 provide the basic information to detect the abnormality.
The abnormality detector can determine the abnormalities by means of a self-learning algorithm and/or an artificial intelligence.
The method of the present invention in particular combines the first and second embodiments, so that maintenance requests MR are generated if any method according to the first and second embodiment determines an abnormality.
The present invention can be used to detect any other abnormalities, which can be solved with a maintenance measure. Here are some more examples.
In the maintenance database a definition may be provided for the maximum duration of loading the battery of the stairlift. In case that the maximum period is exceed without getting the battery fully loaded, the abnormality (here "battery out of lifetime") is detected. Alternatively, according to the second embodiment, the actual duration of loading the battery (actual usage data) is significantly longer than the duration in previous times (historical usage data). So, both embodiments can be used to detect the abnormality "battery out of lifetime".
In another application, defects on the charging contacts can be detected. For example, the charging contacts are located at a predefined charging position of the rail. So anytime, when the platform reaches said charging points, charging of the battery is performed. In case that the charging does not take place, even if the platform is located at the charging position, an abnormality can be detected. This can be determined by the method of the first and second embodiments.
In principle each of the both embodiments can be used to detect a misuse of the stairlift by the user. Thereby it is possible that it is detected by comparing the actual usage data with his historical usage data, or by comparing with the maintenance definitions. The maintenance definitions may comprise some indicator data, which typically occur when a of misuse is present.
In another application the wear of support rollers 71 can be determined by observing the angle of the platform relative to the horizontal direction. Usually, the platform is held in a horizontal orientation by the leveling mechanism 9. It may be an indication for an increased wear of the support rollers, in case that for a longer period of time the platform is not held in that orientation. This may be determined by means of a predefined maintenance definition. But also the non-horizontal orientation can be subject to analysis during the second embodiment without any predefined definition, because at a certain time the non-horizontal orientation deviates from the historical horizontal orientation.

List or reference signs

1: platform lift / stairlift
2: rail
3: stairway
4: first landing area
5: second landing area
6: drive unit
7: carrier
71: support rollers
8: platform
9: leveling mechanism
10: call device at landing area
11: control interface at drive unit
12: sensor
13: control unit
14: usage database
15: abnormality detector
16: maintenance request generator
17: maintenance definition database
20: data connection
21: internet
40: remote server
D: path of travel D
UD: usage data
MD: predefined maintenance definition
MR: maintenance request

Claims

Method for generating a maintenance request in connection with the use of a platform lift (1), in particular using a platform lift (1) for generating a maintenance request, in particular the platform lift is a stairlift (1), the lift comprising
- a rail (2),

- a drive unit (6) having a platform (8), in particular a chair (8), for driving along the rail (2),

- at least one control unit (13) arranged at the drive unit (6),
the method comprising the following steps:
collecting a plurality of usage data (UD) of the platform lift (1);

analyzing said collected usage data (UD) and detecting an abnormality in the current usage data (UD);

generating a maintenance request (MR) in case that an abnormality has been detected during analyzing.
Method according to the preceding claim,
characterized in
that detecting said abnormality is determined by a comparison of actual usage (UD) data with predefined maintenance definitions (MD), in particular stored in a maintenance definition database (17).
Method according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in
that detecting said abnormality is determined by a comparison of actual usage (UD) data with stored historical usage data (UD), in particular stored in a usage database (14).
Method according to the preceding claims,
characterized in
that detecting said abnormality based on said comparison of actual usage (UD) data with stored historical usage data (UD) is performed without using any predefined maintenance definitions (MD).
Method according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in
that the method is used to detect a technical reason causing the abnormality in the current usage data (UD).
Method according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in
that the method is used for detecting a mechanical and/or electrical fault in the stairlift.
Method according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in
that the method is used for determining a loose electrical contact.
Method according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in
that the method is used for determining a bad condition of a battery.
Method according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in
that the method is used for determining a fault in a battery loading system of the platform lift.
Method according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in
that the method is used for determining a wear of support rollers (71) of the platform lift.
Method according to any of the preceding claims,
characterized in
that the method is used to detect a misuse by a user as a reason causing the abnormality in the current usage data (UD).
Arrangement comprising,
a platform lift (1);

a usage data base (14) adapted to collect a plurality of usage data (UD) obtained during operation of said platform lift (1);

an abnormality detector (15), adapted to detect abnormalities in obtained usage data (UD) of said platform lift (1);

a maintenance request generator (16), adapted to generate a maintenance request based on said detected abnormalities.
Arrangement according to the preceding claim,
characterized by
a maintenance definition database (17) adapted to store a plurality of predefined maintenance definitions (MD);

wherein said abnormality detector (15) is adapted to detect said abnormalities in said obtained usage data (UD) in comparison of said predefined maintenance definitions (MD).
Arrangement according to claim 12 or 13,
characterized by
a usage database (14);

wherein said abnormality detector (15) is adapted to detect said abnormalities in said obtained usage data (UD) in comparison with historical usage data (UD) stored in said usage database (UD).
Arrangement according to any of claims 12 to 14, adapted to perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 11.