JPWO2006106575A1 - Elevator equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

In the elevator apparatus, the elevator control unit controls the operation of the car. The electronic safety controller detects an abnormality of the elevator and outputs a command signal for shifting the elevator to a safe state. The elevator control unit can communicate with the electronic safety controller, and can check the communication state with the electronic safety controller at a predetermined timing.

Description

  The present invention relates to an elevator apparatus using an electronic safety controller that detects an abnormality of an elevator based on a detection signal from a sensor.

  In a conventional elevator apparatus, an independent CPU is provided for each of the elevator control apparatus and the electronic safety controller. Moreover, in order to improve the reliability of communication between an elevator control apparatus and an electronic safety controller, the communication system has a double redundant configuration. And if a communication error is detected by the electronic safety controller, the operation of the elevator is prohibited (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Special table 2002-538061

  However, in the conventional elevator apparatus, only the electronic safety controller checks for communication errors. For example, when the board of the electronic safety controller is removed for maintenance, the electronic safety controller functions at all. When there is no electronic safety controller, such as when there is no electronic safety controller that does not meet the specifications, or when the electronic safety controller is not connected, the car may be operated without safety monitoring by the electronic safety controller .

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an elevator apparatus that can detect a state in which the electronic safety controller is substantially eliminated and can improve reliability. For the purpose.

  An elevator apparatus according to the present invention detects an abnormality in an elevator based on a detection signal from an elevator control unit that controls the operation of the car and a sensor for detecting the state of the elevator, and shifts the elevator to a safe state. An electronic safety controller that outputs a command signal is provided, and the elevator control unit can communicate with the electronic safety controller and can check the communication state with the electronic safety controller at a predetermined timing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram which shows the elevator apparatus by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a graph which shows the pattern of the overspeed set in the ETS apparatus of the governor and electronic safety controller of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the execution method of the arithmetic processing by the 2nd and 3rd CPU of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the execution method of the arithmetic processing by 1st CPU of FIG.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a block diagram showing an elevator apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the figure, a pair of car guide rails (not shown) and a pair of counterweight guide rails (not shown) are installed in the hoistway 1. The car 3 is raised and lowered in the hoistway 1 while being guided by the car guide rail. The counterweight 4 is moved up and down in the hoistway 1 while being guided by the counterweight guide rail.

  At the lower part of the car 3, an emergency stop device 5 that is engaged with the car guide rail and stops the car 3 in an emergency is mounted. The emergency stop device 5 has a pair of braking pieces that are pressed against the car guide rail by a braking operation by a mechanical operation.

  In the lower part of the hoistway 1, a driving device (hoisting machine) 7 for raising and lowering the car 3 and the counterweight 4 via the main rope 6 is installed. The drive device 7 includes a drive sheave 8, a motor unit 9 that rotates the drive sheave 8, a brake unit 10 that brakes the rotation of the drive sheave 8, and a motor encoder 11 that generates a detection signal according to the rotation of the drive sheave 8. is doing.

  For example, an electromagnetic brake device is used as the brake unit 10. In the electromagnetic brake device, the brake shoe is pressed against the braking surface by the spring force of the braking spring to brake the rotation of the drive sheave 8, and the brake shoe is released from the braking surface by exciting the electromagnetic magnet. Is released.

  For example, an elevator control unit (control panel) 12 is disposed in the lower part of the hoistway 1 or the like. The elevator control unit 12 is provided with an operation control unit that controls the operation of the drive device 7. A detection signal from the motor encoder 11 is input to the operation control unit. The operation control unit obtains the position and speed of the car 3 based on the detection signal from the motor encoder 11 and controls the driving device 7. Further, the elevator control unit 12 has a function of detecting the abnormal speed of the car 3 by comparing the obtained car speed with the operation command value.

  A safety circuit (relay circuit) 30 for suddenly stopping the car 3 when the elevator is abnormal is connected to the elevator control unit 12. When the safety circuit 13 is in the open circuit state, the energization to the motor unit 9 of the drive device 7 is interrupted, the energization to the electromagnetic magnet of the brake unit 10 is interrupted, and the drive sheave 8 is braked.

  A speed governor (mechanical speed governor) 14 is installed above the hoistway 1. The governor 14 is provided with a governor sheave, an overspeed detection switch, a rope catch, and a governor encoder 15 as a sensor. A governor rope 16 is wound around the governor sheave. Both ends of the governor rope 16 are connected to the operation mechanism of the safety device 5. A lower end portion of the governor rope 16 is wound around a tension wheel 17 disposed at a lower portion of the hoistway 1.

  When the car 3 is raised and lowered, the speed governor rope 16 is circulated, and the speed governor sheave is rotated at a rotational speed corresponding to the traveling speed of the car 3. The governor 14 mechanically detects that the traveling speed of the car 3 has reached an overspeed. As the overspeed to be detected, a first overspeed (OS speed) higher than the rated speed and a second overspeed (Trip speed) higher than the first overspeed are set.

  When the traveling speed of the car 3 reaches the first overspeed, the overspeed detection switch of the governor 14 is operated. When the overspeed detection switch is operated, the safety circuit 13 is opened. When the traveling speed of the car 3 reaches the second overspeed, the governor rope 16 is gripped by the rope catch of the governor 14 and the circulation of the governor rope 16 is stopped. When the circulation of the governor rope 16 is stopped, the emergency stop device 5 performs a braking operation.

  The governor encoder 15 generates a detection signal corresponding to the rotation of the governor sheave. Further, as the governor encoder 15, a dual sense type encoder that simultaneously outputs two detection signals, that is, first and second detection signals, is used.

  The first and second detection signals from the governor encoder 15 are input to the electronic safety controller (safety control board) 21. The electronic safety controller 21 detects an abnormality of the elevator based on a signal from a sensor such as the governor encoder 15 and outputs a command signal for shifting the elevator to a safe state. Specifically, the electronic safety controller 21 has a function as, for example, a terminal floor forced reduction device (ETS device). The ETS device obtains the traveling speed and position of the car 3 independently of the elevator control unit 12 based on the signal from the governor encoder 15, and the traveling speed of the car 3 near the terminal floor becomes the ETS monitoring overspeed. Monitor whether it has been reached.

  Further, the ETS device converts the signal from the governor encoder 15 into a digital signal and performs digital arithmetic processing to determine whether or not the traveling speed of the car 3 has reached the ETS monitoring overspeed. When it is determined by the ETS device that the traveling speed of the car 3 has reached the ETS monitoring overspeed, the safety circuit 13 is opened.

  The electronic safety controller 21 can detect an abnormality in the electronic safety controller 21 itself and an abnormality in the governor encoder 15. When an abnormality of the electronic safety controller 21 itself or the governor encoder 15 is detected, the nearest floor stop command signal as a command signal for shifting the elevator to a safe state is operated from the electronic safety controller 21 to the elevator controller 12. Output to the control unit. Furthermore, bidirectional communication is possible between the electronic safety controller 21 and the operation control unit.

  First and second reference position sensors 23 and 24 for detecting that the car 3 is located at a reference position in the hoistway 1 are provided at predetermined positions in the hoistway 1. As the reference position sensors 23 and 24, upper and lower terminal floor switches can be used. Detection signals from the reference position sensors 23 and 24 are input to the electronic safety controller 21. The electronic safety controller 21 corrects the information on the position of the car 3 obtained in the ETS device based on the detection signals from the reference position sensors 23 and 24.

  A car shock absorber 27 and a counterweight shock absorber 28 are installed in the lower part of the hoistway 1. The car buffer 27 and the counterweight buffer 28 alleviate the impact when the car 3 and the counterweight 4 collide with the bottom of the hoistway 1. As these shock absorbers 27 and 28, for example, oil-filled or spring-type buffers are used.

  A pair of car suspension wheels 41 a and 41 b are provided at the lower part of the car 3. On the upper part of the counterweight 4, a counterweight suspension wheel 42 is provided. In the upper part of the hoistway 1, car-side return wheels 43 a and 43 b and a counterweight-side return wheel 44 are arranged. The main rope 6 has first and second end portions 6a and 6b connected to the upper portion of the hoistway 1 via a rope stop portion.

  In addition, the main rope 6 is, in order from the first end portion 6a side, car suspension vehicles 41a and 41b, car side return wheels 43a and 43b, drive sheave 8, a counterweight side return wheel 44, and a counterweight suspension vehicle 42. It is wrapped around That is, in this example, the car 3 and the counterweight 4 are suspended in the hoistway 1 by a 2: 1 roping method.

  FIG. 2 is a graph showing an overspeed pattern set in the ETS device of the governor 14 and the electronic safety controller 21 of FIG. In the figure, when the car 3 travels at a normal speed (rated speed) from the lower terminal floor to the upper terminal floor, the speed pattern of the car 3 is a normal speed pattern V0. First and second overspeed patterns V1 and V2 are set in the governor 14 by mechanical position adjustment. An ETS monitoring overspeed pattern VE is set in the ETS device.

  The ETS monitoring overspeed pattern VE is set higher than the normal speed pattern V0. Further, the ETS monitoring overspeed pattern VE is set so as to be substantially equidistant from the normal speed pattern V0 in the entire ascending / descending stroke. That is, the ETS monitoring overspeed pattern VE changes according to the car position. More specifically, the ETS monitoring overspeed pattern VE is set to be constant in the vicinity of the intermediate floor, but continuously and smoothly near the terminal floor (upper and lower ends) of the hoistway 1 near the terminal floor. Is set to be low. As described above, the ETS device 22 monitors the traveling speed of the car 3 not only near the terminal floor but also near the intermediate floor (a constant speed traveling section in the normal speed pattern V0). However, the vicinity of the intermediate floor is not necessarily monitored. You don't have to.

  The first overspeed pattern V1 is set higher than the ETS monitoring overspeed pattern VE. Further, the second overspeed pattern V2 is set to be higher than the first overspeed pattern V1. The first and second overspeed patterns V1, V2 are constant at all heights in the hoistway 1.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the main part of FIG. The elevator control unit 12 includes a first computer having a first CPU (arithmetic processing unit) 31, a storage unit (ROM, RAM, hard disk, etc.) and a signal input / output unit. The function of the elevator control unit 12 is realized by the first computer. That is, a control program for realizing the function of the elevator control unit 12 is stored in the storage unit of the first computer. The first CPU 31 executes arithmetic processing related to the function of the elevator control unit 12 based on the control program.

  Further, the elevator control unit 12 is provided with a motor driving unit 32 (an inverter or the like) for driving the motor unit 9. Furthermore, the elevator control unit 12 is provided with a first safety relay 33 for opening the safety circuit 13. When an emergency stop command is output from the first CPU 31 to the first safety relay 33, the safety circuit 13 is opened. When the safety circuit 13 is opened, the motor contactor 34 is opened, the power supply to the motor unit 9 is cut off, the brake contactor 35 is opened, and the power supply to the electromagnetic magnet of the brake unit 10 is cut off. .

  The electronic safety controller 21 includes a second computer having second and third CPUs (arithmetic processing units) 36 and 37, a storage unit (ROM, RAM, hard disk, etc.) and a signal input / output unit. The function of the electronic safety controller 21 is realized by the second computer. In other words, a safety program for realizing the function of the electronic safety controller 21 is stored in the storage unit of the second computer. The second and third CPUs 36 and 37 execute arithmetic processing related to the function of the electronic safety controller 21 based on the safety program.

  The electronic safety controller 21 is provided with second and third safety relays 38 and 39 for opening the safety circuit 13. The second and third CPUs 36 and 37 correspond to the second and third safety relays 38 and 39 in a 1: 1 ratio. When an emergency stop command (forced deceleration command) is output from the second and third CPUs 36 and 37 to the third safety relays 38 and 39, the safety circuit 13 is opened.

  The safety program includes first and second safety programs having the same contents. The second CPU 36 performs arithmetic processing based on the first safety program. The third CPU 37 performs arithmetic processing based on the second safety program.

  The second and third CPUs 36 and 37 can communicate with each other via an interprocessor bus and a two-port RAM. Further, the second and third CPUs 36 and 37 can confirm the soundness of the second and third CPUs 36 and 37 themselves by comparing the results of the arithmetic processing. That is, the soundness of the CPUs 36 and 37 is confirmed by causing the second and third CPUs 36 and 37 to execute the same processing and comparing the processing results.

  Further, the electronic safety controller 21 can detect abnormality of the electronic safety controller 21 other than abnormality of the CPUs 36 and 37 itself by calculation processing.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of executing arithmetic processing by the second and third CPUs 36 and 37 of FIG. The second and third CPUs 36 and 37 repeatedly execute arithmetic processing according to a program stored in the ROM at a predetermined arithmetic cycle (for example, 50 msec) based on a signal from a fixed-cycle timer in the second computer.

  The programs executed in one cycle include a safety program for detecting an abnormality of the elevator and a failure / abnormality check program for detecting a failure / abnormality of the electronic safety controller 21 or various sensors. The failure / abnormality check program may be executed only when a preset condition is satisfied.

  In the failure / abnormality check program, for example, clock abnormality detection, RAM stack area abnormality detection, arithmetic processing sequence abnormality detection, relay contact abnormality detection, power supply voltage abnormality detection, and the like are sequentially executed.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of executing the arithmetic processing by the first CPU 31 of FIG. The first CPU 31 repeatedly executes arithmetic processing according to a program stored in the ROM at a predetermined arithmetic cycle based on a signal from a fixed-cycle timer in the first computer.

  The programs executed within one cycle include a control program for controlling the operation of the elevator and a communication check program for confirming the communication state with the electronic safety controller 21. The communication check program can be executed only when a preset condition is satisfied.

  Thus, the elevator control unit 12 performs communication for communication state check with respect to the electronic safety controller 21 at a predetermined cycle. If the response from the electronic safety controller 21 does not return to normal (when a communication error is detected), the elevator control unit 12 safely stops the car 3 if the car 3 is running (the nearest floor stop command). If the car 3 is stopped, normal automatic operation is disabled. When normal automatic operation is disabled, at least one of manual operation and low-speed automatic operation may be permitted.

  When a communication error is detected, the elevator control unit 12 outputs an abnormality detection signal to the elevator management room or the like. That is, when a communication error is detected, the elevator control unit 12 generates a signal for reporting an abnormality to the elevator manager.

In such an elevator apparatus, the elevator control unit 12 can communicate with the electronic safety controller 21 and the communication state with the electronic safety controller 21 can be confirmed at a predetermined timing. Can be detected, and the reliability can be improved.
Further, when an abnormality is detected in the communication state with the electronic safety controller 21, the elevator control unit 12 disables the normal automatic operation of the car 3, so that the car 3 is in a state where the electronic safety controller 21 is substantially absent. Driving with passengers can be prevented.
Furthermore, even when normal automatic operation is disabled, at least one of manual operation and low-speed automatic operation is permitted, so that the car 3 does not become completely unmovable when replacing a substrate for maintenance.

  The communication status confirmation signal from the elevator control unit 12 is repeatedly output. However, if the response from the electronic safety controller 21 does not return to normal even once, it may be determined as a communication error. In order to prevent erroneous detection of a communication error, a communication error may be determined when a response from the electronic safety controller 21 does not return to normal continuously for a preset number of times.

  Further, information such as the car speed obtained by the elevator control unit 12 may be included in the communication state confirmation signal. In this case, the electronic safety controller 21 obtains the information obtained by the electronic safety controller 21 and the elevator control unit 12. The information may be compared, and if no match is found, no response may be made (normal operation is not permitted). This prevents the car 3 from being operated in a state where the wrong electronic safety controller 21 is installed.

Furthermore, at least one of the elevator control unit 12 and the electronic safety controller 21 may monitor the movement of the car 3 from the sensor information after the brake operation every time the car is stopped. In other words, a function of confirming whether the car 3 is properly held stationary after the brake operation may be provided. Thereby, it can be confirmed whether the required deceleration torque is ensured by the brake part 10. FIG.
The timing of the deceleration torque checking operation is not limited for each car stop. For example, when the car 3 stops on a floor designated in advance, when the car 3 stops a predetermined number of times, the car is first set within a preset period (for example, 1 day, 1 hour or 10 minutes). It may be executed when 3 stops.

Furthermore, a detection switch that is mechanically operated by removing the board of the electronic safety controller 21 is provided, and the elevator control unit 12 periodically checks the open / close state of the detection switch so that the electronic safety controller 21 is substantially You may make it confirm whether it is lost.
The communication between the elevator control unit 12 and the electronic safety controller 21 may be performed by wired communication via a communication cable or by wireless communication such as a wireless LAN.

Claims (8)

An elevator controller that controls the operation of the car, and an electronic device that detects an abnormality of the elevator based on a detection signal from a sensor for detecting the state of the elevator and outputs a command signal for shifting the elevator to a safe state Equipped with a safety controller,
The elevator apparatus, wherein the elevator control unit can communicate with the electronic safety controller, and can check a communication state with the electronic safety controller at a predetermined timing.   The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elevator control unit disables normal automatic operation of the car when an abnormality is detected in a communication state with the electronic safety controller.   The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elevator control unit permits manual operation of the car while disabling normal automatic operation of the car when an abnormality is detected in a communication state with the electronic safety controller.   2. The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when an abnormality is detected in a communication state with the electronic safety controller, the elevator control unit permits normal automatic operation of the car and permits low-speed automatic operation of the car.   The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elevator control unit stops the car when an abnormality is detected in a communication state with the electronic safety controller while the car is running.   The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when an abnormality is detected in a communication state with the electronic safety controller, the elevator control unit generates a signal for notifying an elevator administrator of the abnormality.   The elevator control unit outputs a signal for confirming the communication state to the electronic safety controller at a predetermined cycle, and determines whether the communication state is abnormal depending on whether the response from the electronic safety controller returns to normal. The elevator apparatus according to claim 1 for judging. The elevator apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the elevator control unit determines that the communication state is abnormal when the response from the electronic safety controller is abnormal continuously for a preset number of times.

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