JP2012056692A - Elevator device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an elevator device that adjusts overbalance by use of natural energy.SOLUTION: The elevator device is adapted to lift an elevator car and a counterweight on the principle of a well bucket. A storage tank 21 for storing water is installed in a position higher than the highest position of the counterweight 14. An adjusting tank 16 is fixed to the counterweight and stores water from the storage tank. A first measuring instrument 15 measures the loading mass of the elevator car. A second measuring instrument 18 measures the mass of water in the adjusting tank. An adjusting part 19 is installed in an intermediate position of the lifting process of the counterweight, and feeds water stored in the storage tank to the adjusting tank and discharges water in the adjusting tank to a drain passage. A control part 25 controls the adjusting part based on output signals from the first and second measuring instruments.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to an elevator apparatus, for example, an apparatus that adjusts the overbalance of a sliding elevator.

  In general, a slewing elevator system has a car provided at one end of a wire rope via a hoisting machine and a counterweight provided at the other end, and the car using the sheave of the hoisting machine and the wire rope traction. It is used as a standard drive system for elevators that operate

  Since a general slat type elevator loads people and luggage on the car, the total weight of the car, which is the sum of the car weight and the loaded weight, is variable. However, the mass of the counterweight is often used while being fixed. For this reason, considering the required torque of the hoisting machine, the mass of the counterweight is often adjusted so that it is balanced when the capacity of the car or approximately half of the maximum load is loaded.

JP 2002-234680 A

  However, when the number of passengers per passenger is very small, such as 1-2, or conversely, when used in a capacity boarding situation, such as when working in an office building, the hoist always requires maximum torque. It becomes a state.

  Such a use state requires more electric power by the torque current compared with the balance state which is about half of the capacity. In addition, when an elevator is driven by an emergency power supply for a building, particularly during a power failure, it is not possible to supply enough power to drive all the elevators. For this reason, it is necessary to reduce the number of elevators to be operated. In such a case, it is not preferable to operate the elevator in an unbalanced state in which the balance between the weight of the entire car and the balance weight is lost because excessive power is required.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to adjust the amount of balance weight, but it is not a good idea to use much more energy for this purpose.

  Therefore, this embodiment provides an elevator apparatus capable of adjusting overbalance using natural energy.

  The elevator apparatus according to the present embodiment is an elevator apparatus that lifts and lowers a ride weight and a balance weight, which are connected by a wire rope via a hoisting machine, on the principle of a lip, and is higher than the highest position of the balance weight. A storage tank for storing water; an adjustment tank fixed to the counterweight for storing water from the storage tank; a first measuring instrument for measuring a load mass of the car; and water in the adjustment tank A second measuring device for measuring the mass of the counterweight and an intermediate position of the lifting / lowering stroke of the counterweight, the water stored in the storage tank is sent to the adjustment tank, and the water in the adjustment tank is discharged to the drainage path An adjustment unit and a control unit that controls the adjustment unit based on output signals of the first and second measuring devices are provided.

The block diagram which shows an example of the elevator apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The block diagram which shows the structure of the principal part of FIG. The block diagram shown in order to demonstrate the operation | movement of the principal part of FIG. The flowchart shown in order to demonstrate the operation | movement of FIG. The figure which shows the operation | movement of FIG. 1 and shows an example of the relationship between a passenger number and adjustment mass. The figure which shows the relationship between the passenger number and adjustment mass which concern on 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows the relationship between the passenger number and adjustment mass which concern on 3rd Embodiment. The figure which shows the relationship between the passenger number and adjustment mass which concern on 4th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an elevator apparatus that has an overbalance adjusting unit according to the embodiment and operates on the principle of a lip.

  In the elevator apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, a wire rope 12 is wound around a hoisting machine 11. A carriage 13 is provided at one end of the wire rope 12, and a counterweight 14 is provided at the other end. A loading mass sensor 15 is provided in the car 13, and the loading mass sensor 15 measures the loading mass of the personnel and cargo that have boarded the car 13. In the present embodiment, the elevator is controlled by using the unbalance amount calculated by the control unit of the output signal of the load mass sensor 15 and the output signal of the adjustment mass sensor described later as a signal of the conventional load mass sensor.

  Further, the counterweight 14 is set to a weight with which the balance can be adjusted even by a minimum number of people who have entered the car 13, for example. An adjustment tank 16 is provided on the counterweight 14. The adjustment tank 16 functions as a weight when a liquid, for example, rainwater is stored therein. For this reason, for example, one end of a flexible pipe 17 is provided at the bottom of the adjustment tank 16, and rainwater flows into the adjustment tank 16 through the pipe 17, or the rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is drained. Or drain. The total mass including the counterweight 14 changes according to the amount of rainwater in the adjustment tank 16.

  Further, for example, the adjustment tank 16 is provided with an adjustment mass sensor 18, and the mass of rainwater stored in the adjustment tank 16 is measured by the adjustment mass sensor 18.

  The other end of the pipe 17 connected to the adjustment tank 16 is connected to the adjustment unit 19. The adjusting unit 19 is installed at an intermediate position in the lifting / lowering stroke of the counterweight 14 and controls the mass of the adjusting tank 16 as described later. A storage tank 21 is connected to the adjusting unit 19 via a pipe 20 and a pipe 24 connected to a drainage path (not shown) is connected.

  The storage tank 21 is disposed at a position higher than the highest reaching point of the counterweight 14. For example, rainwater 22 that has fallen outside a building in which an elevator apparatus is installed is stored in the storage tank 21. A water level sensor 23 is provided at, for example, the lower portion of the storage tank 21. The water level sensor 23 measures the level of rainwater in the storage tank 21 and outputs a signal indicating control stop when the measured water level is equal to or lower than the installation position of the water level sensor 23, for example.

  Output signals from the water level sensor 23, the load mass sensor 15, and the adjustment mass sensor 18 are supplied to the control unit 25. The control unit 25 controls the entire elevator apparatus 10. For example, the control unit 25 controls the adjustment unit 19 based on the output signals of the water level sensor 23, the load mass sensor 15, and the adjustment mass sensor 18, and the rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is controlled. To adjust the mass of the car 13 and the mass of the counterweight 14.

  Moreover, the power supply of the control part 25 can be used combining the normal commercial power supply, the emergency power supply 29, or the solar panel 26, and the secondary battery 27. FIG. For example, normally, the control unit 25 performs a predetermined operation using a commercial power source, and the power generated by the solar panel 26 is stored in the secondary battery 27.

  The emergency power supply for the building and the secondary battery of the automatic landing device for power failure prepared by the elevator alone are independent power supplies, and the output signal of the load mass sensor described above is calculated by the control unit. By switching to the unbalanced amount, control independent of the control of the elevator becomes possible. For this reason, it is also possible to retrofit the apparatus of this embodiment to the existing elevator.

  On the other hand, at the time of a power failure of the commercial power supply, the emergency power supply 29 is used, the power generated by the solar panel 26 or the DC power stored in the secondary battery 27 is used to operate the control unit 25 and the like. It is possible to maintain. A power source generated by the solar panel 26 or a DC power source stored in the secondary battery 27 is converted into an AC power source by, for example, an inverter (INV) 28 and used for controlling a pump in the adjusting unit 19, for example.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the adjusting unit 19 shown in FIG. 1, and the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those in FIG. In the adjusting unit 19, the electromagnetic valve VA is connected between the pipe 20 and the pipe 19a, and the pump 19c is connected between the pipe 19a and the pipe 17. The pipe 19 a has a branch path 19 b, and an electromagnetic valve VB is connected between the branch path 19 b and the pipe 24. The solenoid valves VA and VB are driven by solenoids 19d and 19e, respectively. The pump 19c is driven for a time set in a timer provided in a program in the control unit 25, for example.

  In the above configuration, for example, when the rainwater in the storage tank 21 is moved to the adjustment tank 16, the electromagnetic valve VA is opened, and the rainwater in the storage tank 21 is moved to the adjustment tank 16 by its potential energy. For this reason, it is not necessary to drive the pump 19c.

  Further, when draining rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 to the drainage path, the control of the pump 19 c differs depending on the positional relationship between the adjustment tank 16 and the adjustment unit 19. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the adjustment tank 16 is located above the adjustment part 19, the electromagnetic valve VA is closed and the electromagnetic valve VB is opened. Thereby, the rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is guided to the drainage path through the pipe 17, the pump 19, the pipes 19 a and 19 b, the electromagnetic valve VB, and the pipe 24 by the potential energy. For this reason, the pump 19 does not need to be driven.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the adjustment tank 16 is positioned below the adjustment unit 19, the control is performed using the siphon principle. That is, the rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is guided into the pipe 24 through the pipe 17, the pump 19 c in the adjustment unit 19, the pipes 19 a and 19 b, and the electromagnetic valve VB, and the lower surface of the rainwater in the pipe 24 is adjusted to the adjustment tank 16. When it falls below the position of the surface of the rainwater inside, the rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is automatically discharged according to the principle of siphon. For this reason, the pump 19c is driven in a state where the electromagnetic valve VA is closed and the electromagnetic valve VB is opened. The pump 19c is stopped when the lower surface of the rainwater in the pipe 24 becomes lower than the position of the rainwater surface in the adjustment tank 16. Thereafter, rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is automatically discharged according to the principle of siphon.

  The driving time of the pump 19c is controlled by the timer as described above. In this timer, the drive time of the pump 19c is set. The driving time is desirably variable according to the positions of the counterweight 14 and the adjusting unit 19. For example, when the counterweight 14 is located at the lowermost part, the driving time is a certain time until the siphon principle works. Also good.

  FIG. 4 shows operations of the adjusting unit 19 and the control unit 25. The operations of the adjustment unit 19 and the control unit 25 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in the control unit 25, a target mass to be controlled is input (S11). This target mass is, for example, a total value of the mass of the car and the loading mass measured by the loading mass sensor 15, and is set according to, for example, the congestion time or quiet time of the elevator as will be described later. Next, the adjusted mass and the target mass are compared (S12). The adjusted mass is, for example, the sum of the mass of the counterweight 14 and the mass of the adjusted tank 16 measured by the adjusted mass sensor 18. If the adjustment mass is larger than the target mass as a result of the comparison between the adjustment mass and the target mass, it is determined that rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 needs to be drained, the electromagnetic valve VA is closed (S13), and the electromagnetic valve VB is It is opened (S14).

  In this state, the positions of the counterweight 14 and the adjustment unit 19 are compared (S15). As a result, when it is determined that the position of the counterweight 14 is higher than that of the adjusting unit 19, the rainwater in the adjusting tank 16 can be drained by the potential energy without driving the pump 19c. For this reason, the pump 19c is stopped (S16), and the rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is drained through the pipe 17, the pump 19c, the pipes 19a and 19b, the electromagnetic valve VB, and the pipe 24.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the position of the counterweight 14 is lower than that of the adjusting unit 19, the pump 19c is driven until the siphon principle is activated as described above. That is, the pump 19c is driven (S17), and the elapsed time of the timer is determined (S18). As a result, when the time set in the timer has elapsed, the pump 19c is stopped (S16).

  As described above, when drainage of rainwater from the adjustment tank 16 is started in a state where the pump 19c is stopped or the pump 19c is driven, the control is transferred to, for example, step S12, and the adjustment mass and the target mass are again set. To be compared. As a result, when the adjusted mass is equal to or less than the target mass, it is determined whether the adjusted mass is smaller than the target mass (S19). As a result, when the adjusted mass and the target mass are equal, the solenoid valves VA and VB are closed and the pump 19c is stopped (S20, S21, S22). In this way, rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is discharged, and the adjusted mass is controlled to coincide with the target mass, and the elevator operation is started.

  If it is determined in step S19 that the adjusted mass is smaller than the target mass, it is determined whether there is rainwater in the storage tank 21 based on the output signal of the water level sensor 23 (S23). As a result, when it is determined that there is rainwater in the storage tank 21, the electromagnetic valve VA is opened (S24), the electromagnetic valve VB is closed (S25), the pump 19c is stopped (S16), and the inside of the storage tank 21 Rainwater is supplied to the adjustment tank 16 through the pipe 20, the electromagnetic valve VA, the pipe 19a, the pump 19c, and the pipe 17 by the potential energy.

  Thereafter, control is transferred to step S12, and the adjusted mass and the target mass are compared again. As a result, when the adjusted mass is equal to or less than the target mass, it is determined whether the adjusted mass is smaller than the target mass (S19). As a result, when the adjusted mass and the target mass are equal, the solenoid valves VA and VB are closed and the pump 19c is stopped (S20, S21, S22). In this way, rainwater flows into the adjustment tank 16 and the adjusted mass is controlled so as to match the target mass, and the operation of the elevator is started.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S19 that the adjusted mass is smaller than the target mass, and if it is determined in step S23 that there is no rainwater in the storage tank 21, the rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is increased and the mass of the counterweight 14 is increased. It cannot be adjusted. For this reason, the solenoid valves VA and VB are closed, and the pump 19c is stopped (S20, S21, S22). Thereafter, the adjusted mass is controlled to coincide with the target mass, and the operation of the elevator is started.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the relationship between the number of passengers 13 in the car 13 and the adjustment mass for adjusting the overbalance.

  FIG. 5 shows a case where, for example, in an elevator installed in an office building, a target mass is predicted in advance when the number of passengers in the elevator increases during a busy hour and when the number of passengers decreases when the number of passengers decreases. Is shown. In the case of this example, the target mass at the time of congestion and when it is quiet is determined in advance. That is, the target mass is increased corresponding to the maximum value of the number of passengers at the time of congestion, and the target mass is decreased corresponding to the minimum value of the number of passengers at the time of quiet. For this reason, the amount of water in the adjustment tank 16 is increased to increase the adjustment mass corresponding to the time of congestion, and the amount of adjustment tank 16 is reduced by reducing the amount of water in the adjustment tank 16 when it is quiet. In this way, by adjusting the adjustment mass with respect to the target mass, the total mass of the counterweight 14 and the adjustment tank 16 can be adjusted in response to congestion and quiet time, and the overbalance can be adjusted.

  According to the first embodiment, the adjustment weight 16 is provided with the adjustment tank 16, and the amount of rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 is adjusted by the adjustment unit 19 according to the loaded mass of the car, thereby It is possible to balance the total value of the mass and the load mass and the total value of the counterweight 14 and the adjustment tank 16. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the torque of the hoisting machine, and it is possible to reduce the power consumption during the power running operation of the hoisting machine.

  In addition, it is possible to efficiently adjust the overbalance by setting the target mass according to the time of congestion or when it is quiet and matching the adjustment mass with the target mass.

  Further, when the amount of water in the adjustment tank 16 is increased, the potential energy of rainwater stored in the storage tank 21 is used, and when the amount of water in the adjustment tank 16 is decreased, the potential energy of rainwater in the adjustment tank 16 and siphon It is adjusted using the principle. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the use of electrical energy as much as possible and adjust the overbalance using natural energy.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 shows the second embodiment, and shows another example of how to determine the target mass for adjusting the overbalance.

  In the first embodiment, the target mass is predicted and set according to the time of congestion and the time of quiet. In contrast, in the second embodiment, control is performed by inputting the output of the load mass sensor 15 indicating the number of passengers in the car 13 as the target mass.

  As described above, the masses of the counterweight 14 and the adjustment tank 16 are controlled to be equal to the mass of the entire car 13. For this reason, the target mass is calculated so that the entire car and the entire counterweight coincide with each other, and by controlling the mass of the adjustment tank 16 using the output of the load mass sensor 15 indicating the number of passengers of the car 13 as the target mass, Overbalance can be adjusted.

  That is, the number of passengers in the car 13 is measured by the load mass sensor 15. An output signal of the load mass sensor 15 is supplied as a target mass to the control unit 25, and the amount of water in the adjustment tank 16 is controlled with respect to the target mass.

  In the case of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, since the mass of a person or a baggage changes instantaneously, the follow-up is delayed. That amount is the lack of overbalance. However, the torque output of the hoisting machine can be reduced by the amount that is followed, and the power consumption can be reduced.

  In addition, the number of passengers in the car 13 can be measured in real time by the load mass sensor 15, and the target mass is changed according to the measurement result. For this reason, it is possible to reduce an error between the target mass and the adjustment mass, compared to the case where the target mass is set in advance as in the first embodiment. For this reason, when applied to an elevator for a purpose that cannot clearly distinguish between a busy time and a quiet time as in the first embodiment, it is possible to perform an efficient overbalance adjustment.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7 shows the third embodiment and shows another example of how to determine the target mass for adjusting the overbalance.

  The third embodiment is applied to an elevator apparatus having a destination floor call registration function, for example.

  For example, an elevator apparatus having a destination floor call registration function capable of registering a destination floor and the number of passengers in advance has been developed. In the case of an elevator apparatus having this destination floor call registration function, the destination floor and the number of passengers can be grasped in advance. Therefore, by setting the target mass as the car mass + (scheduled number of passengers × standard weight), as shown in FIG. 7, the amount of water in the adjustment tank 16 is controlled in advance to adjust the adjusted mass to the target mass. be able to. Therefore, since the target mass and the adjustment mass can be matched, the overbalance can be adjusted optimally, and the power operation can be performed efficiently while reducing the power consumption.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 8 shows the fourth embodiment and shows another example of how to determine the target mass for adjusting the overbalance.

  The fourth embodiment assumes a case where the elevator is driven by the emergency power supply 29 at the time of a power failure, for example. In the case of the first to third embodiments, in order to improve the service of the elevator, the power running operation is performed even when the overbalance is not sufficiently adjusted, and the waiting time is minimized.

  On the other hand, when the elevator is driven by the emergency power supply 29, the elevator is operated after the overbalance is sufficiently adjusted. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, based on an output signal of the load mass sensor 15, the sum of the mass of the car 13 and the load mass is set as the target mass, and the amount of water in the adjustment tank 16 is adjusted to adjust the adjustment mass to the target mass The service will not start until it matches the mass.

  In the case of the fourth embodiment, the waiting time until the start of operation becomes longer, but the elevator is operated in a state where the adjusted mass and the target mass are matched and the overbalance is sufficiently adjusted. Torque can be minimized. Therefore, the operation of the elevator can be continued while reducing the power consumption of the emergency power supply 29 as much as possible.

  In each of the above embodiments, the mass of the adjustment tank 16 is adjusted using rainwater stored in the storage tank 21. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, tap water can be stored in the storage tank 21 and used instead of rainwater.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Elevator apparatus, 11 ... Hoisting machine, 12 ... Wire rope, 13 ... Ride car, 14 ... Counterweight, 15 ... Loading mass sensor, 16 ... Adjustment tank, 17, 20, 24 ... Pipe, 18 ... Adjustment mass sensor , 19 ... adjustment unit, 21 ... storage tank, 22 ... rainwater, 25 ... control unit, 26 ... solar panel, 27 ... secondary battery, 29 ... emergency power source.

Claims (6)

An elevator device that lifts and lowers a ride weight and a balance weight connected by a wire rope via a hoisting machine according to the principle of a suspender,
A storage tank that is installed at a position higher than the highest level of the counterweight and stores water;
An adjustment tank fixed to the counterweight and collecting water from the storage tank;
A first measuring device for measuring a loading mass of the car;
A second measuring device for measuring the mass of water in the adjustment tank;
An adjustment unit that is installed at an intermediate position of the lifting and lowering stroke of the counterweight, sends water stored in the storage tank to the adjustment tank, and discharges water from the adjustment tank to a drainage path;
An elevator apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the adjustment unit based on output signals of the first and second measuring devices.   The control unit is configured such that the sum of the weight of the car and the load mass measured by the first measuring device, and the sum of the weight of the counterweight and the adjusted mass measured by the second measuring device are equal. The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit is controlled to adjust the amount of water in the adjustment tank.   When the control unit has a destination floor call registration function capable of registering the number of passengers in the car in advance, a sum of the mass based on the registered number of passengers in the car and the weight of the car, and the balance 2. The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit is controlled to adjust the amount of water in the adjustment tank so that a total value of a mass of a weight and an adjustment mass measured by the second measuring device is equal.   The control unit, when power is interrupted due to a power failure and power is supplied from an emergency power source, a combined value of the loading mass of the car and the mass of the car measured by the first measuring device, and After the adjustment unit is controlled to adjust the amount of water in the adjustment tank so that the total value of the mass of the counterweight and the adjustment mass measured by the second measuring device becomes equal, the operation of the car is started. The elevator apparatus according to claim 1.   The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is driven by electric power generated by a solar power generation apparatus and a secondary battery that stores the electric power.   The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage tank stores rainwater.

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