JP7328866B2 - multi car elevator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to multi-car elevators.

Multi-car elevators, in which a plurality of cars share the same hoistway, are being considered as elevators that increase the number of people transported per unit area and per unit time. There are various types of multi-car elevators, but one type is a connection in which two cars are connected by a set of main ropes and the main ropes are driven by a single hoist. There is a multi-car elevator.
Furthermore, in this articulated multi-car elevator, the number of hoisting machines and main ropes is increased to two or three sets, and two cars are connected to each main rope, resulting in a total of four or six elevators. , or even a configuration in which more cars are arranged in the same hoistway.

In such a multi-car elevator, since a plurality of cars move up and down in the same hoistway, the distance between each car is kept at a certain distance or more to ensure safety. This safe distance between cars is called a safety distance.
Therefore, in a multi-car elevator, a control device installed in a machine room or the like controls the drive state of each main rope so that the distance between each car is equal to or greater than the safe distance.

In Patent Document 1, when a plurality of cars capable of self-propelled in the same hoistway are installed, a distance detector between cars is installed in each car, and the distance between cars is detected by the detector. A technique for controlling the running of each car based on the inter-car distance is disclosed.

JP-A-5-286655

As described above, in the multi-car elevator, the control device controls the drive state of each main rope so that the distance between each car is equal to or greater than the safe distance. Specifically, when an abnormality occurs that makes it impossible to maintain a safe distance, the brakes of the hoisting machines that drive the main ropes are actuated to apply emergency braking to stop each car and ensure safety. I am trying to keep it.

However, even when the brake of the hoisting machine is operated in this way, the distance between the cars may change depending on the situation. For example, the car may not be able to brake when the main rope slips in a braking situation. In such a case, in order to prevent collision between the cars, the control device will operate the safety devices installed in the cars.

The emergency stop device is a mechanism that forcibly stops the car even in the event that the main rope breaks and the car falls. By installing this safety device in the car, safety can be maintained even when the main rope slips during emergency braking by the brakes.
However, the car emergency stop device forcibly stops the car in the hoistway, and once it is activated, it takes a lot of time and effort to release it. Therefore, it is preferable to avoid using it as much as possible except in the worst case, such as when the main rope breaks.

In addition, in the case of a typical elevator with one car in the hoistway, the safety device is activated when the speed governor detects an abnormal speed of the car. A relatively simple control configuration that can be controlled only by the speed of the car is sufficient.
On the other hand, in a multi-car elevator having a plurality of cars, it is difficult to install a speed governor having a conventionally known configuration because the cars interfere with each other. In addition, there is the problem of maintaining the above-mentioned safe distance between other cars, and in order to operate the safety device, a control different from the interlocking with the conventional speed governor is required.
In order to detect a safe distance in a multi-car elevator, it is conceivable to install an inter-car distance detector in each car, as described in Patent Document 1, for example. The inter-car distance detector can be constructed using radar equipment.

However, considering the environment in which elevators are currently used, small radar devices that can be installed in cars may not have sufficient detection accuracy required for safety devices and may cause erroneous detection. If a distance shorter than the safe distance is detected due to erroneous detection, the safety device will be erroneously operated. As described above, it is absolutely necessary to avoid erroneously operating the safety device except in an emergency. Therefore, it is desired to perform safety control of a multi-car elevator without using an inter-car distance detector (radar device).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to ensure safety control of each car without malfunction in a multi-car elevator in which a plurality of cars are arranged in a hoistway.

In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configurations described in the claims are adopted.
The present application includes a plurality of means for solving the above problems. To give an example, a plurality of cars are arranged in a hoistway, and a main rope connected to the cars is hoisted. In a multi-car elevator driven by a machine, the ground side safety control unit comprehensively controls the drive of multiple cars and emergency brakes the hoisting machine that drives the main rope when an abnormality is detected. A car-side safety control unit that is installed in each car of the carriage and operates the safety stop of its own car when an abnormality is detected based on the distance from other cars in the hoistway, respectively ; and a sensor installed in the car for detecting the traveling position of the own car . Here, the ground-side safety control unit and the car-side safety control unit perform wireless communication. When it is detected that the distance between the cars is shorter than the safety distance predetermined according to the speed of the car, the hoisting machine is emergency braked and the car is descending. When an abnormality was detected based on the output of the sensor, the emergency stop was activated, and a situation occurred in which the car safety control unit could not acquire information from the car safety control unit via wireless communication. Then, the car-side safety control unit estimates the current distance to other cars based on the traveling position and traveling speed of each car in the last acquired information and the period during which wireless communication is interrupted, Detect anomalies based on the estimated distance.

According to the present invention, the ground-side safety control unit controls the emergency braking of the hoisting machine, the car-side safety control unit controls the emergency stop device of the car, and each of the car-side safety control units controls the situation of a plurality of cars. In accordance with the abnormal event determined from the above, it is possible to quickly perform an appropriate protective operation.
Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

1 is a front view showing a configuration example of a multi-car elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a safety system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of data transmission between a ground-side safety control section and a car-side safety control section according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram showing an example hardware configuration of a drive control system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a processing example of a ground-side safety control section according to an embodiment of the present invention; It is a flow chart which shows an example of processing of a car side safety control part by an example of an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the operation|movement at the time of emergency by one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing in chronological order the states of the car and the ground side safety control unit during the operation shown in FIG. 7 ;

An embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this example") will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Configuration of multi-car elevator]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a multi-car elevator to be used in this example. Shown in FIG. 1 is a circular multi-car elevator.
In the hoistway 10, six cars 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 1B2, 1C1 and 1C2 are arranged. These six cars 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 1B2, 1C1, and 1C2 are connected two by two to one set (two) of main ropes, and circulate in the hoistway 10. As shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 1, six cars 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 1B2, 1C1 and 1C2 run clockwise. However, one of the cars may temporarily travel in the opposite direction.

Cars 1A1 and 1A2 are connected to the two main ropes 41A and 42A of the A loop, cars 1B1 and 1B2 are connected to the two main ropes 41B and 42B of the B loop, and two main ropes of the C loop are connected. A car 1C1 and a car 1C2 are connected to the main ropes 41C and 42C. The positions where the two cars are connected to the two main ropes 41A, 42A, 41B, 42B, 41C, 42C of each loop are symmetrical positions on the circulation route.

The main ropes 41A, 42A, 41B, 42B, 41C, 42C of each loop are composed of sheaves 31A, 31B, 31C, 32A, 32B, 32C located at the top and pulleys 33A, 33B, 33C located at the bottom. , 34A, 34B, and 34C are wound around the hoistway 10 .

More specifically, the two main ropes 41A, 42A of the A loop are wound around sheaves 31A, 32A and pulleys 33A, 34A, and are driven by the hoisting machines incorporated in the sheaves 31A, 32A. be done. That is, the two cars 1A1 and 1A2 of the A loop run by driving the sheaves 31A and 32A. The main ropes 41A, 42A of the A loop are driven by the sheaves 31A, 32A under the control of the first control device 3A.

The two main ropes 41B, 42B of the B loop are wound around sheaves 31B, 32B and pulleys 33B, 34B, and driven by a hoist incorporated in the sheaves 31B, 32B. That is, the two cars 1B1 and 1B2 of the B loop travel by driving the sheaves 31B and 32B. The drive of the main ropes 41B and 42B of the B loop by the hoist is executed under the control of the second control device 3B.

Further, the two main ropes 41C, 42C of the C loop are wound around sheaves 31C, 32C and pulleys 33C, 34C, and driven by the hoisting machine incorporated in the sheaves 31C, 32C. That is, the two cars 1C1 and 1C2 of the C loop run by driving the sheaves 31C and 32C. The drive of the main ropes 41C and 42C of the C loop by the hoist is executed under the control of the third control device 3C.
The hoist of each loop is composed of a motor and is integrated inside each sheave 31A, 31B, 31C, 32A, 32B, 31C, for example. A brake is arranged in each hoist, and the brake can be operated (braked) under the control of the control devices 3A, 3B, and 3C.
Thus, each loop has an independent drive arrangement, and each loop runs a separate car.

As shown in FIG. 1, since the cars 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 1B2, 1C1, and 1C2 circulate in the hoistway 10, each floor has an up-bound landing 51a, 52a, 53a, . . . 5Na (N is (top floor) and down landings 51b, 52b, 53b, . . . 5Nb.

Although FIG. 1 shows an example of a circulating multi-car elevator in which three sets of loops are arranged, the number of sets of loops to be installed is arbitrary depending on the height of the building where the elevator is installed and the stroke of the elevator. can be set.

When multiple loops of cars are arranged in this way, the overall operation controller (not shown) decides which car to assign to elevator calls within a hall or car, and Commands are given to loop controllers 3A, 3B and 3C. At this time, car allocation is performed in consideration of the intervals between cars in other loops. The control device derives the distance to the corresponding floor from the height between floors determined by the specifications of the building as information on which car to go to which floor as a command for vehicle allocation here. speed command is created. In response to the speed command, feedback control is performed using the speed detection value on the hoisting machine side, and a torque command is issued to the hoisting machine (motor).

In response to a signal from the ground side safety control section 200 (FIG. 2), the controllers 3A, 3B, and 3C of each loop cut off emergency braking, i.e., cut off the power supply and turn on the hoist when it is determined that safety is unsafe. activate the brakes. As a result, the cars 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 1B2, 1C1 and 1C2 are brought to an emergency stop in the event of an abnormality in the control system.

[Safety system configuration]
FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a safety system provided in the multi-car elevator of this example.
In this example, the six cars 1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 1B2, 1C1, and 1C2 of each loop are individually controlled by car-side safety control units 20-A1, 20-A2, 20-B1, and 20-B2. , 20-C1 and 20-C2. In FIG. 2, illustration of each block in the car-side safety control units 20-B1, 20-B2, and 20-C1 provided in the cars 1B1, 1B2, and 1C1 is omitted.

A ground side safety control unit 200 is installed on the ground side. The ground-side safety control unit 200 is installed, for example, in a machine room (not shown) such as an upper portion of the hoistway 10 .
The ground-side safety control unit 200 controls driving of the hoist by the control devices 3A, 3B, and 3C of each loop. Further, when the ground-side safety control unit 200 detects an abnormal state, emergency braking is performed by braking the hoist. However, the emergency braking includes the emergency braking of any one or two of the hoisting machines of the loops and the emergency braking of the hoisting machines of all the loops.

The ground side safety control unit 200 communicates with the car side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2 arranged in the six cars 1A1 to 1C2 of each loop, and determines the running positions of the respective cars 1A1 to 1C2. and get information on running speed. Wireless communication is performed between the ground side safety control section 200 and each car side safety control section 20-A1 to 20-C2.

Based on the acquired traveling positions and traveling speeds of the cars 1A1 to 1C2, the ground side safety control unit 200 determines that the adjacent distances of the six cars 1A1 to 1C2 are separated by a predetermined safety distance or more. determine whether there is In this judgment, if the safety distance is not exceeded, the safety control section 200 on the ground side sends an emergency braking command to the loop control devices 3A, 3B, and 3C of the relevant car.

In addition, the safety circuit 201 in the tower is connected to the safety control unit 200 on the ground side.
The in-tower safety circuit 201 includes a stop switch that is operated when a worker enters the hoistway for maintenance and inspection, and a landing door abnormal door opening sensor that detects abnormal opening of the landing door.
The landing door abnormal door open sensor detects that the door is abnormally opened when the landing door is opened even though the car is not on the floor. When an abnormality is detected in the in-tower safety circuit 201, it is necessary to stop all the cars 1A1 to 1C2 from traveling. Send a braking command.

Next, the safety configuration of each of the cars 1A1 to 1C2 will be explained.
The safety configurations of the six cars 1A1 to 1C2 are all the same, and one car 1A1 will be explained here.
A car side safety control unit 20-A1 is installed in the car 1A1.
The car-side safety control unit 20-A1 is supplied with a detection signal of a position/speed sensor 21 for detecting the traveling position of the car 1A1 in the hoistway 10 and detecting the traveling speed of the car 1A1.
The position/speed sensor 21 may be a sensor used in a general elevator. For example, there is a structure in which barcodes are hung in the hoistway at regular intervals and the reader is mounted on the car. Further, since the velocity can be derived as a differential of the position, the position/velocity sensor 21 may obtain only the position detection signal, and the velocity detection signal may be obtained by calculation using the detection signal.

Based on the output of the position/speed sensor 21, the car-side safety control unit 20-A1 performs an overspeed determination based on the car speed information. An A-loop emergency braking command 24 A is issued to the control unit 200 . Upon receiving the emergency braking command 24A, the ground side safety control unit 200 cuts off the power supply of the A loop and operates the brake of the hoist.
Further, when the car speed is higher than the first speed threshold and exceeds the second speed threshold, the car 1A1 operates the emergency stop 23 in the car 1A1 as trip detection. Here, when the operation is controlled so as to secure the inter-car safety distance in consideration of the occurrence of an abnormality in the preceding car, it is not necessary to apply emergency braking to other loops. In that case, in FIG. 2, the signal from the car side safety control section 20-A1 to the ground side safety control section 200 may be only 24A. On the other hand, in order to improve the transportation efficiency as much as possible, if it is assumed that the safety distance between cars will be braked in case of an abnormality in the preceding loop, emergency braking will be applied to the other loops when a car trip is detected. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, emergency braking commands 24B and 24C for other loops are also issued to the ground side safety control unit 200. FIG.

The safety stop 23 is configured to brake the car by gripping a fixed object such as a guide rail installed in the hoistway along the running track of the car. When the safety stop 23 is configured in this way, the operation of the safety stop 23 often generates a relatively loud noise, which may disturb passengers traveling to other cars. It is preferable to apply emergency braking to other cars that are not allowed to operate.

The car safety circuit 22 is composed of a switch that is opened when the car door is opened, and a stop switch for stopping the operation on or in the car mainly during maintenance and inspection. Since the stop switch is often used during maintenance and inspection, the fact that another car is traveling in the same hoistway while one car is being inspected can affect the maintenance and inspection work. In such a case, the car safety control unit 20-A1 generates stop commands (emergency braking commands) 24A, 24B, and 24C to stop the other cars, including the other cars, to stop the other cars from running. can be made The emergency braking commands 24A, 24B, 24C are sent to the ground side safety control section 200. FIG.

In addition, the ground side safety control unit 200 operates the safety locks 23 of the respective cars 1A1 to 1C2 to the car side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2 arranged in the respective cars 1A1 to 1C2. An emergency command 24D can also be sent.
In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the emergency braking commands 24A, 24B, and 24C are individual commands for each loop. The information may be sent from A1 to 20-C2 to the safety control section 200 on the ground side.

[Example where communication is performed between the safety control unit on the ground side and the safety control unit on the car side]
FIG. 3 shows an example of communication between the ground side safety control section 200 and the car side safety control sections 20-A1 to 20-C2. FIG. 3 shows an example in which communication is performed between the car side safety control section 20-A2 of the car 1A2 and the ground side safety control section 200, but the other car side safety control sections 20-A1, 20-B1 and 20-C2 and the ground side safety control unit 200 have the same configuration.

The car-side safety control unit 20-A2 acquires the position X _A2 and speed V _X2 of its own car 1A2, and operates the safety gear 23 of its own car based on the acquired position X _A2 and speed V _X2 . The car-side safety control unit 20-A2 also sends the obtained position X _A2 and velocity V _X2 of its own car 1A2 to the ground-side safety control unit 200 via the wireless transmission line.
The ground side safety control section 200 transmits the acquired position X _A2 and velocity V _X2 of the car 1A2 to the other car side safety control sections 20-A1, 20-B1 to 20-C2.

In addition, when the car-side safety control unit 20-A2 detects an abnormality in the car based on the position X _A2 or the speed V _X2 , it generates an emergency braking command [STOP] and transmits the It is sent to the safety control unit 200 on the ground side. Upon receiving this emergency braking command [STOP], the ground side safety control unit 200 sends an emergency braking command for the hoisting machine to each of the controllers 3A, 3B, and 3C.

In addition, from the ground side safety control unit 200, the car side safety control unit 20-A2 receives the position X C1 of the car 1C1, which is the preceding car, with respect to the car 1A2, which is the own car, and the position X _C1 of the car 1C1, which is the following car. The position _XB2 of the car 1B2 is transmitted via the radio transmission line. The positions of other cars may also be transmitted.

The car-side safety control unit 20-A2 determines whether the safety distance is maintained based on the transmitted positions of the preceding car and the following car and its own position. Then, the car side safety control section 20-A2 can send an emergency braking command (for example, a [STOP] command) to the ground side safety control section 200 based on the determination.
In addition, even if an emergency braking command [STOP] is sent, when the distance to other cars cannot be maintained or when the speed is abnormal, the car side safety control unit 20-A2 Activate the emergency stop 23 (Fig. 2).
The control example shown in FIG. 3 is an example, and details of the control performed by the ground side safety control unit 200 and the control performed by the car side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2 are shown in FIGS. 6 flowchart.

[Hardware configuration example]
FIG. 4 shows a hardware configuration example when the control devices 3A to 3C shown in FIG. 1 are configured by a computer device.
The control device (computer device) shown in FIG. 4 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 211, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 212, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 213, which are respectively connected to a bus. Further, the control device (computing device) comprises non-volatile storage 214 , network interface 215 , input device 216 and display device 217 .

The CPU 211 is an arithmetic processing unit that reads out from the ROM 212 and executes a program code of software that realizes safety control of each loop.
The RAM 213 temporarily writes variables, parameters, and the like generated during arithmetic processing.

A keyboard, a mouse, or the like is used as the input device 16, for example.
The display device 17 is, for example, a liquid crystal display monitor, and the result of calculation processing executed by the computer is displayed by the display device 17 .

For the nonvolatile storage 214, for example, a large-capacity information storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) is used. The non-volatile storage 214 stores programs that perform processing functions performed by the controller.

For the network interface 215, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like is used. A network interface 215 transmits and receives various information to and from the outside via a LAN (Local Area Network), a dedicated line, or the like.

Note that the car side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2 and the ground side safety control unit 200 shown in FIG. configured using a microcomputer. However, it is configured to ensure safety by providing a function such as monitoring the microcomputer calculation by duplication.

[Control processing of ground side safety control unit]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of control processing in the ground side safety control section 200. As shown in FIG.
First, the ground side safety control section 200 determines whether or not an emergency braking signal has been received from each of the car side safety control sections 20-A1 to 20-C2 and the in-tower safety circuit 201 (step S11).
If an emergency braking signal is received in step S11 (YES in step S11), the ground side safety control unit 200 sends a command to the control device (any of 3A, 3B, or 3C) of the corresponding loop, Emergency braking is applied to the corresponding loop (step S14). This emergency braking command activates the brake of the hoist of the relevant loop.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that an emergency braking signal has not been received (NO in step S11), information on the positions and speeds of all cars 1A1 to 1C2 is acquired (step S12). The ground-side safety control unit 200 may acquire only the positions of the cars 1A1 to 1C2 here, and may calculate the speed from changes in the positions from the previous time.

Based on the positions and velocities of the cars 1A1 to 1C2 acquired in step S12, the ground-side safety control unit 200 determines the distance between the cars 1A1 to 1C2 and the cars immediately preceding them, and A judgment is made as to whether or not the inter-car distance of the car that follows immediately after is maintained by the safe distance (step S13).
When it is determined in step S13 that the safe distance is maintained (YES in step S13), the ground side safety control section 200 returns to the determination in step S11.
On the other hand, when it is determined in step S13 that the safe distance is not maintained (NO in step S13), the ground side safety control unit 200 proceeds to step S14, and the control devices (3A, 3B, 3C) of the approaching loops (3A, 3B, 3C) ) to send a command to emergency braking.

In this manner, emergency braking control processing is performed by the ground-side safety control section 200 using the brake on the hoist side of each loop.

[Control processing of car-side safety control unit]
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of control processing in each of the car-side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2. In the following example, one car-side safety control unit 20-A1 will be described, but the same control is simultaneously executed in the other car-side safety control units 20-A2 to 20-C2.

First, the car-side safety control unit 20-A1 receives the positions of the preceding car and the preceding opposing car from the ground-side safety control unit 200 by wireless communication (step S21). However, it is assumed that wireless communication cannot be received normally due to the radio wave environment. If it is determined that the information has been received normally (YES in step S211), the positions of the preceding car and the preceding opposing car are updated based on the information (step S212). On the other hand, if the wireless communication is not normal (NO in step S211), the following estimation is made from the preceding car position and the preceding opposing car position at the time of the previous reception as processing for communication failure (step S213). Note that even when wireless communication with the ground side safety control unit 200 is possible, the communication failure here includes the case where the received signal cannot be correctly decoded by checking the received signal.

That is, as the estimation of the position of the car when the communication is disabled in step S213, for example, estimation by the calculation shown in the following equation is possible. Here, it is assumed that the position X _B1(n−1) of the car 1B1 acquired during the previous communication (time n−1) is X B1(n)′, and the current estimated position (time n) is X _B1(n) ′.

At this time, the current estimated position X _B1(n) ' is
X _B1(n) ′=X _B1(n−1) ±ΔX ₁
is indicated by Here, ΔX ₁ is obtained by multiplying the communication cycle ts by the maximum speed v _MAX obtained by multiplying the rated speed v by a predetermined value (for example, 1.3 times) (ts × v _MAX ), and adding a margin value α. It is a thing.
With this calculation, when communication is not possible for one communication cycle, the position in the next communication cycle can be estimated. One communication cycle ts is assumed to be 5 ms to 10 ms, for example.

Next, the position and speed of the car are acquired from the position/speed sensor 21 (step S22). Based on this information, it is determined whether or not the car is descending (step S23). If it is not in the downward direction, the braking effect cannot be obtained even if the emergency stop is operated.

If the car is descending (YES in step S23), the forward distance of the car is calculated from the position of the car and the position of the preceding car obtained in step S21 (step S24). It is determined whether or not the vehicle is safe by comparing the forward distance and the speed of the car with the approach detection threshold determined by the stopping distance due to the emergency stop (step S25). Here, if it is determined that the forward distance is insufficient (NO in step S25), the emergency stop 23 is operated (step S29).

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a safe distance in front of the own car (YES in step S25), in order to determine whether or not the front of the opposite car is safe, a loop of the main rope determined in advance from the specifications of the elevator is performed. The position of the opposing car is estimated from the length (step S26).

Here, the method of estimating the position of the opposing car from the position of the own car is used, but a method of receiving it by wireless communication may also be used. However, the radio communication between the car and the ground side involves not only the position information of the car, but also a large amount of data to be communicated, such as door opening/closing commands and commands to the display device inside the car. Therefore, by adopting an estimation method, it is possible to reduce the amount of communication data between the car and the ground side.

From the position of the opposing car estimated in step S26 and the position of the preceding opposing car obtained in step S21, the distance between the opposing car and the preceding opposing car is calculated (step S27). Here, using the fact that the own car and the opposing car have the same speed (opposite directions) in a situation where the main rope is not broken, the speed of the opposite car calculated in step S27 is is safe (step S28). If the distance is safe (YES in step S28), there is no need to operate the emergency stop, so the process returns to the first step S21. On the other hand, if the distance is insufficient (NO in step S28), the safety stop 23 of the own car 1A1 is operated (step S29), and the safety control process ends.

[Concrete example in which the safety control unit on the ground side and the safety control unit on the car side cooperate to perform control]
FIGS. 7 and 8 are chronological examples of a specific example in which the emergency stop is activated (step S29 in FIG. 6) due to insufficient forward distance of the opposing car (NO in step S28 in FIG. 6) according to the flow chart in FIG. is. FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) show the state of each car, and FIG. 8 shows the state of each car and the safety section on the ground side in the state shown in FIG. 7 in chronological order for each event. is.
In FIG. 7, to simplify the explanation, the multi-car elevators are two cars 1A1 and 1A2 on the A loop and two cars 1B1 and 1B2 on the B loop, a total of four cars. shall be provided. That is, it is assumed that there is no C loop shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7(a), in the first situation, one car 1A1 of the preceding loop A is moving up in the hoistway, and the opposite car 1A2 is moving down the hoistway. In addition, in the B loop at the rear, the car 1B1 is raised and the opposing car 1B2 is lowered. This state is event T100 in FIG. 8, which is a normal state.

Here, it is assumed that the main ropes (41A, 42A) of the preceding A loop break (event T101 in FIG. 8). Due to the breakage of the main rope, the car 1A2 that was descending first falls, and the car-side safety control unit 20-A2 detects overspeed (trip) and operates the emergency stop 23 of the car 1A2 (Fig. 8 event T102). On the other hand, the car 1A1 that was rising loses its driving force in the upward direction due to the breakage of the main rope, so it decelerates upward and moves to fall.

The car side safety control unit 20-A1 of the car 1A1 also detects the overspeed (trip) due to the fall, and operates the emergency stop 23 of the car 1A1 (event T103 in FIG. 8). The cars 1A1 and 1A2 of the A loop are stopped by the emergency stop operation.
At this time, loop B is not in an abnormal state, and the inter-car distance is not insufficient, so it is judged to be safe.

However, when the distance between the cars becomes insufficient as shown in FIG. 7(b), the safety control section 200 on the ground side detects that the distance between the cars 1A1 and 1B1 is insufficient, and the loop B is called into emergency. Brake (event T104 in FIG. 8). By this emergency braking, the B loop was originally protected by decelerating and stopping by the brake, but the main ropes 41B and 42B of the B loop slipped against the sheaves 31B and 32B with brakes, respectively. Assume a case (event T105 in FIG. 8).

In such a case, the car-side safety control units 20-B1 and 20-B2 can carry out the protection operation by the processing explained in the flow chart of FIG. Since the car 1B1 side is in the ascending direction, the emergency stop operation is not performed (NO in step S23 in FIG. 6). On the other hand, since the car 1B2 is on the descending side, it is first determined whether the distance between the own car and the preceding car (1A2) is safe (step S25 in FIG. 6). Here, as shown in FIG. 7(b), it is determined that the distance d2 between the cars 1A2 and 1B2 is large and safe (YES in step S25 of FIG. 6).
However, the distance d1 between the opposing car 1B1 and the preceding opposing car 1A1 is small, and it is determined that the front distance is insufficient (NO in step S28 in FIG. 6), so the emergency stop is activated (event T106 in FIG. 8). As a result, the car 1B1 connected by the main rope can decelerate and stop, and the protection is completed (event T107 in FIG. 8).

As described above, according to the multi-car elevator of this example, each car is individually provided with car-side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2, and each car-side safety control unit 20-A1 to 20- Appropriate control as a whole can be performed by C2 detecting its own position and speed.
That is, when the ground-side safety control unit 200 detects an abnormality from the positions and speeds detected by the car-side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2 installed in each car, an emergency is triggered by the hoist brake. Braking is performed and operation is performed while maintaining a safe distance. In this case, each car 1A1 to 1C2 does not need to be equipped with a distance sensor such as a radar, and highly reliable control becomes possible.
Then, each car-side safety control unit 20-A1 to 20-C2 judges whether or not the distance between its own car and the preceding car and the preceding opposing car can maintain a safe distance. Also, when the descending speed of the robot itself is abnormal, the emergency stop 23 can be reliably operated.

Furthermore, radio communication is performed between the car side and the ground side, but even if a situation occurs in which radio communication cannot be performed temporarily, each car side safety control section 20-A1 to 20- In C2, appropriate control that ensures safety can be continuously performed.
That is, each of the car-side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2 estimates the current distance for each own car from the last acquired position and speed of the adjacent car. can be properly blocked. The conditions for activating the emergency stop 23 by the car-side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2 are limited to when the traveling direction is downward, and excludes when the traveling direction is upward, so the emergency stop 23 is operated. It is possible to reduce the number of cars to be restored to a minimum and shorten the recovery work time.

The safety distance determined by ground side safety control section 200 and the safety distance determined by car side safety control sections 20-A1 to 20-C2 may be set separately. For example, the safety distances determined by the car-side safety control units 20-A1 to 20-C2 may be shorter than the safety distances determined by the ground-side safety control unit 200. FIG.

[Modification]
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiment has been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations.
For example, the configuration of FIG. 1 is applied to an articulated multi-car elevator having three sets of loops in which two cars are connected by one set of main ropes. On the other hand, the present invention can also be applied to a multi-car elevator in which three or more cars are connected to one set of main ropes. Also, the present invention may be applied to articulated multi-car elevators having a number of loops other than three.

In addition, in the block diagram shown in FIG. 2, only control lines and information lines that are considered necessary for explanation are shown, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily shown on the product. In practice, it may be considered that almost all configurations are interconnected. In addition, in the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of processes may be executed simultaneously or the order of processes may be changed as long as the processing results are not affected.

1A1, 1A2, 1B1, 1B2, 1C1, 1C2... car, 3A, 3B, 3C... control device, 20-A1, 20-A2, 20-B1, 20-B2, 20-C1, 20-C2... car side Safety control unit 21 Position/speed sensor 22 Car safety circuit 23 Emergency stop 24A, 24B, 24C Emergency braking signal 24D Emergency stop signal 31A, 31B, 31C, 32A, 32B, 32C Sheaves 33A, 33B, 33C, 34A, 34B, 34C... pulleys 41A, 42A, 41B, 42B, 41C, 42C... main ropes 51a, 51b, 52a, 52b, 53a, 53b,..., 5Na, 5Nb... Platform 200... Ground-side safety control section 201... Safety circuit in tower 211... CPU (central control unit) 212... ROM 213... RAM 214... Non-volatile storage 215... Network interface 216... Input device, 217 ... display device

Claims (2)

A multi-car elevator in which a plurality of cars are arranged in a hoistway and a main rope connected to the cars is driven by a hoist,
a ground-side safety control unit that comprehensively controls the driving of the plurality of cars and performs emergency braking of the hoist that drives the main rope when an abnormality is detected;
A car-side safety control unit installed in each of the plurality of cars and actuating the safety stop of the car when an abnormality is detected based on the distance from other cars in the hoistway. and,
a sensor installed in each of the cars for detecting the traveling position of the car,
The ground-side safety control unit and the car-side safety control unit perform wireless communication,
The ground-side safety control unit acquires the outputs of the sensors of all the cars, and the distance between each car in the hoistway is a safety distance predetermined according to the speed of the cars. When it is detected that it becomes shorter than the above, the hoist is emergency braked, and when an abnormality is detected based on the output of the sensor while the car is descending, the emergency stop is released. let it work,
When a situation occurs in which the car-side safety control unit cannot acquire information from the car-side safety control unit through the wireless communication, the running position and running speed of each car based on the last acquired information and the Based on the period during which wireless communication is interrupted, the car-side safety control unit estimates the current distance to other cars, and detects an abnormality based on the estimated distance.
Multi-car elevator. A plurality of sets of main ropes are arranged in the hoistway, a plurality of cars are connected to each set of main ropes, and each set of main ropes is driven by an individual hoist. Item 1. A multi-car elevator according to item 1 .

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