JPH1087232A - Rope-less elevator device and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a passenger conveying capacity in each hoistway, by preventing restriction of operation of the other car moved in a hoistway by a time required for getting on/off of passengers. SOLUTION: A car C is a ropeless self crawler type using a linear motor or the like, a plurality of the cars can be made to run in a hoistway H. For instance, in a lobby floor, an off-line getting on/off area provided with many getting on/off stations is provided, a passenger can ride all together in a plurality of the cars C. A plurality of the cars C are connected in the hoistway, to be moved by a car row, but in this case, the car is arranged in a manner wherein the car C tending to stop in an upper floor is placed in the forefront and the car C tending to stop in a lower floor is placed in the tail. In the objective lower floor, the car C in the tail is separated, but a car row total unit is continued to rise.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an elevator, and more particularly to an elevator apparatus without a rope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a self-propelled (self-propelled) elevator as an elevator apparatus without a rope. This type of device reduces the total amount of space in the building required for up and down transport in high rise buildings. When a rope type elevator is used, the ratio of the whole floor area required for vertical transportation increases with the size of the building. In a skyscraper, a large proportion of the floor area of the building is occupied in order to ensure vertical transportation, which is a major drawback of a skyscraper. One way to mitigate this drawback with a ropeless elevator system is to allow multiple cars to use a single hoistway simultaneously. With this configuration, the space of the building occupied by each hoistway can be used more efficiently. Various ropeless elevator systems are known. For example, "Linear Motor Elevato" by Okuma
U.S. Pat. No. 5,1 issued February 2, 1993 entitled "Device with a Null-Flux Position Adjustment".
83, 980 and "Self" by Kadkra
-Running Type Elevator System Using Linear Motor
U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,956, issued Feb. 22, 1994, titled "Passenger Transport Installation, Vehicle for u"
se Therein, and Method of Operating Said Installati
No. 5,090,515 issued Feb. 25, 1992, entitled "On", issued by Nii et al.
lf-Propelling, Multi-Route Transport For Movement A
long Both Horizontaland Vertical Sections of Trac
No. 5,203,265 issued Apr. 20, 1993, issued by Matsui et al.
1993 named "Linear Motor Driven Elevator"
US Patent No. 5,235,144, issued August 10,
"Linear Motor Driven Elevat made by Matsui
or WithPassing Function ”, March 1993
U.S. Patent No. 5,197,570, issued March 30, is known.

[0003]

One factor limiting the passenger carrying capacity in a ropeless elevator system is the length of time required for passengers to board each car. During this boarding period, the car on board blocks the hoistway, and passengers of other cars are kept waiting during the boarding.
Only after the ride has been completed and the car doors have been closed can the car safely leave the landing and the next car can arrive and begin riding. In such a pattern of boarding sequentially, the number of passengers per unit time for effectively using the elevator device and the hoistway in the building is limited.

[0004] In a general rope-type elevator, passengers usually get on and off while the car is stopped on the floor of the building or the lobby. During peak times of congestion (eg, on the rising side at approximately 8 am)
The capacity of each hoistway is limited by the number of passengers that can enter from the lobby. This limitation is even more pronounced in ropeless elevator systems where a single hoistway can be used by multiple cars simultaneously, and the time required to get on the car limits the time interval between car departures. Would. Thus, the overall passenger carrying capacity of each hoistway and elevator system is further limited.

[0005] The present invention seeks to reduce such limitations, the main purpose of which is to improve the overall efficiency of a ropeless elevator system.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the method and apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of ropeless (ie, self-propelled) elevator cars connected in series move into a hoistway. In particular, the car with the passenger on its way to the top floor alone is placed first in the hoistway, and the car with the passenger on its way to the bottom floor is the last to enter the hoistway. These cars are mechanically, electro-mechanically, or electro-magnetically connected in series with each other before or as they enter the hoistway.

[0007] The technique of combining a plurality of individual cars to perform the same operation as a multi-deck type car,
It is disclosed in JP-A-6-156951 filed by Takenaka and JP-A-5-39173 filed by Toshiba, and is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,956 issued on Feb. 22, 1994. Discloses a technique for connecting a plurality of ropeless elevator cars in series in a hoistway.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a car row enters a hoistway in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the car C has been separated from the car row T for use on the target floor.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which a passenger gets on and off a plurality of ropeless elevator cars C in an off-line getting-on / off area A provided outside the hoistway H (see FIG. 5).

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a plurality of cars C are connected in a row from the off-line boarding area A of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an off-line boarding area A provided, for example, on the lobby floor of a building, and is connected to a landing track for passengers to get on and off at least one car C and a main track. A secondary track, a connection track connecting the landing track and the secondary track, and a landing track, a connection track,
Secondary track and main track link each car with hoistway H
The route to guide to is configured.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a high-rise building to which the elevator apparatus without a rope according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are perspective views showing a known linear motor type self-propelled elevator apparatus.
, A secondary member S of the motor, and a primary member P of the motor disposed in the hoistway H.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of car C, which has an additional motor secondary to move car C horizontally along each of the tracks shown in FIG. A side member S is provided and an additional motor primary member including two conductors to be rails is provided. Also,
Car C is such that each car C operates according to the invention.
A local controller is provided for communicating with the group management controller.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in the present invention, a plurality of cars C are connected in line with each other so that a large number of passengers can use the hoistway at the same time. The passengers must be placed in the hoistway H (by the appropriate car C) so that the car C carrying passengers going to lower floors does not stop the car C carrying passengers going to higher floors while the passengers get off. ) Guided in a predetermined order.

As shown in FIG. 4, each passenger rides with another passenger (for example, 4 to 16 passengers) heading to the same floor or a group of adjacent floors. Such passenger arrangement can be performed, for example, by using an automated pallet-type riding device (for example, 19
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/706, filed Aug. 30, 1996.
023). Of course, it is also possible to guide the passengers going to the same destination to the predetermined car C by various other known means. As shown in FIG. 1, the cars on which the passengers are riding wait in line to form a car row into the hoistway H. Each of these individual cars is a passenger on the same lobby floor, and then enters the hoistway H one by one in a predetermined order. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a car going to one or more upper floors first enters the hoistway, and a car going to one or more lower floors next to the above-mentioned floor goes up and down next. Entering the street, the cars with the passengers going to the lowest floor enter the hoistway sequentially, so that the car enters the hoistway last.

In one embodiment, as the individual cars C enter the hoistway H for ascending and descending, the cars C are connected together to form a vertically connected car row. Instead, the cars C may be connected at an appropriate time before entering the hoistway H. For this purpose, for example, mechanical (MC) or electromagnetic (EMC) coupling mechanisms (see, for example, US Pat. No. 5,288,956) are used. When cars C are connected to each other, the entire car row will begin to accelerate toward maximum speed. When an individual car C reaches its destination floor, the car C leaves the car row. The lowest car disengages first, followed by the car closer to the bottom. Upon leaving the car row, each car C decelerates on its own and stops at the desired floor, as shown in FIG. During this time, the other cars in the car row continue to climb. Empty baskets can be included in the car rows to accommodate passengers waiting to go to higher floors in the building, or these cars can be used for cars that have already gotten down on lower floors. Passengers can be picked up and stopped again at a higher destination floor. Alternatively, a separate hoistway may be provided for partial traffic, and a car row may be provided to move from the lobby floor to the destination floor or from the destination floor to the lobby floor.

When the rearranged empty car row reaches the top floor of the hoisting hoistway, the car row begins to descend and picks up passengers on the way. The process of descending is similar to the form of ascending.
The last car reaches the car row on the top floor corresponding to the lowest floor. Then, as the rows of cars continue to descend, each car stops to carry passengers and is reorganized as a row of cars until all cars have reached the bottom landing. At the bottom landing or the desired lobby level, the car leaves again and exits the hoistway to a horizontal exit station. At this disembarkation station, disembarkation takes place from all cars, for example in parallel.

Also, as shown in FIG. 3, each car C may operate on a single floor, or
For a group of a plurality of adjacent floors (for example, five floors), it is also possible to operate such that a landing is provided at an intermediate floor of the group without providing a landing at each floor. All passengers going to each floor of the group will be disembarked at one of the above-mentioned landings and, for example, on one or two floors, by suitable means such as stairs, ramps, escalators or local elevators. By going up and down, you reach the target floor. Similarly, a passenger who wants to get on the elevator from a floor belonging to that group will take the local escalator or local elevator to the single landing where the ropeless elevator stops. In such a process, each car stops at only a single landing without stopping at a plurality of landings, so that the traveling time of each car can be shortened, and the speed of the entire car row can be increased.

One advantage of such a car that can be connected and separated in line is that the hoistway can be utilized to its fullest extent because a large number of passengers can be carried simultaneously for each hoistway. Another advantage of the connection is that the speed difference between the cars is zero and the risk of collision is reduced. A further advantage of the coupling is that each car has its own primary or secondary part of the linear motor and drives each car's linear motor in parallel to maximize the linear motor's propulsion. This means that the area of the linear motor can be maximized and the heat generated by the motor can be distributed over a wide range.

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 10, a passenger gets on and off one or more elevator cars C at a place other than the elevator hoistway H. For example,
Passengers at station 1 head to the same floor or the same group floor.

When the car is fully loaded and ready to move, the cars are guided in a proper sequence toward the hoistway H, as shown in FIGS. It is connected and then inserted into the hoistway H to start vertical movement. FIG. 5 shows a car C connected and aligned by a known electromechanical coupling mechanism (MC). Such guidance is provided by the track means (eg, FIG. 6).
), A horizontal propulsion mechanism (eg, see FIG. 10), and a suitable electrical control device (as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, the control device may be, for example, mutually capable of performing appropriate operations). (Comprising an associated car control unit and a group management control unit and comprising a suitably programmed microprocessor unit).

A configuration in which an elevator car without a rope is guided and connected to a hoistway and carried into the hoistway is described in, for example, US Pat. No. 5,288,956 (199).
Published February 22, 4). FIG. 6 shows an example of the boarding area A on the lobby floor of the building B. The car C on which the passenger has boarded at the getting on / off stations 1 to 4 is guided to the main track via the connecting track and the secondary track by an appropriate configuration described later. The car C is carried into the hoistway H, but the interval is limited only for the safety and comfort of passengers, for example, and is not limited by the time required for passengers to get on and off.

Each car is moved in the hoistway H by a linear induction motor or other appropriate self-propulsion mechanism, and travels on the getting-on / off area A or on the main track connecting the area A and the hoistway H. This point is discussed, for example, in US Pat.
No. 3,980. It is easy for those skilled in the art to modify the linear motor or other motor for moving the car vertically to move the car C sideways for entering and exiting stations 1-4 in the loading area A. It is. Alternatively, a vertical propulsion mechanism composed of, for example, a linear motor is provided for movement in the hoistway H, and a car C in the boarding area A is provided.
And a horizontal (lateral) propulsion mechanism
It may be provided separately. Of course, as will be easily understood by those skilled in the art, the elevator apparatus of the present invention is provided with an appropriate control device (for example, appropriately A microprocessor system having a programmed memory), an information transmission system for a car button, a hole button, and the like.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, the cars C can be carried into the hoistway and operated in the hoistway without being connected to each other. Also, a car that has finished transferring passengers in the ascending direction on a certain floor does not need to accelerate to the top of the hoistway, but rather exits the hoistway or continues to move in the descending direction. It can be configured to wait until all cars are connected.

[0028]

According to the present invention, the car to be stopped at the higher floor enters the hoistway so that the car to be stopped at the lower floor is at the tail of the car row, and the car to be stopped at the lower floor enters the hoistway. The speed of the car can be increased, and a large number of cars can be operated in the hoistway, so that each hoistway can be effectively used. Therefore, the passenger carrying capacity for each hoistway can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a car row enters a hoistway in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a car C has been separated from a car row T for use on a target floor.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a passenger gets on and off a plurality of ropeless elevator cars C in an off-line getting-on / off area A provided outside a hoistway H.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a plurality of cars C are connected so as to form a line from an off-line boarding area A to a hoistway H;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an off-line boarding / alighting area A provided on the lobby floor of a building as an example.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a high-rise building to which the ropeless elevator apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a known linear motor type self-propelled elevator device.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a known linear motor type self-propelled elevator device.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a car C equipped with a linear motor for moving in a horizontal direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C: Basket H: Hoistway A: Boarding area T: Basket row 1-4: Station

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Richard E. Perugy United States, Connecticut, Glastonbury, Harlebert Street 153 (72) Inventor David W. Wright. Barrett United States, Connecticut, East Heartland, Per Road 29 (72) Inventor Osamu Kobayashi 5-53-2 Chiyoda, Yotsukaido-shi, Chiba (72) Inventor Masashi Kawaharazaki 2-2-1-202, Akitsu, Narashino-shi, Chiba ) Inventor Keiichiro Nakai 61-5 Shimowada, Shichiho-cho, Otsuki City, Yamanashi Prefecture (72) Inventor Robin Mihekun Miller United States of America, Connecticut, Elinton, Burbank Road 108 (72) Inventor Richard Asarabowski United States of America, Connecticut, Vernon , Vernon Avenue 306

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A first stop where a relatively low floor is a stop destination.
A second self-propelled elevator car having a relatively high floor as a stop destination, wherein the second car precedes the first car. A method for controlling a ropeless elevator, comprising placing a row in a hoistway. 2. The control method according to claim 1, wherein the first car and the second car are connected to each other. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the connection between the first car and the second car is performed by an electromagnetic connection means. 4. A first and second building each having a building having a hoistway reaching the top floor, and a control device having an instruction to send a car to the hoistway in response to a command signal and an instruction to send a destination signal. The elevator car without the rope, the command to receive the destination signal, and the destination signal corresponding to the top floor from the first car, the first car, the second car A group management control device having a command to instruct to enter the hoistway in advance.