KR100894957B1 - ELEVATOR EMPLOYING RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION DEVICESRFIDs - Google Patents

Abstract

The elevator safety chain comprises a plurality of passive radio frequency identification devices (RFIDs) 15 to 18, 22, 34 to 36 and 63, which are respectively hatch door locks, upper hatch limits, lower hatch limits, speed detectors, car It is associated with door locks, emergency stationary switches and inspection switches. RFID may be associated with the call button 34 of the car and / or the hole call buttons 14, 19. The RFID may have switches 43 and 44 in the frequency determining circuits 40 and 41 which disable the RFID's response capability or switches 48 which connect the response frequencies. The RFID may detect a safety or unsafe condition or a call request depending on the presence or absence of adjacent magnetoresistances 51, 62, 71.

Elevator, hatch, RFID, magnetoresistance, interrogation signal

Description

 ELEVATOR EMPLOYING RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION DEVICES (RFIDs)

The present invention relates to an elevator safety chain in which the state or condition of the elevator's monitored safety related variables is communicated by radio transmission from an interrogated passive RFID.

As is known, the safety chain of every elevator comprises a series of switches, all of which must be closed (closed) so that the entire safety chain is a closed conductive circuit, otherwise the elevator will not operate. Conventionally, elevator safety chains comprise a plurality of individualized switches, each switch connecting between pairs of circuits when a variable is in a safe condition, and one in the safety chain when the variable is no longer in a safe condition. It has a movable contact disconnected from the above circuit. Examples of switches in the safety chain are hatch door lock switches, elevator door switches, emergency stop switches, inspection switches above the cab, upper and lower hatch limit switches and overspeed switches. The various switches are connected to each other by wiring, which must comply with local government regulations regarding the size and location of the wiring and conduits. In addition, once the building is wired to provide a safety chain, it is difficult to change the structure of the building or the architectural design of the landing because of the embedded wiring. The elevator and hatch door lock switches must be mounted on the door, so they are optionally connected to either the cap or the building by flexible wiring.

In order to overcome the drawbacks of the above and the individual switch safety chains connected by wiring, a wireless safety chain for elevator systems is disclosed in US patent application Ser. No. 09 / 899,400, filed Jul. 5, 2001. Here, each variable relating to elevator safety has sensors associated with wireless communication means such as a transceiver such that when the monitored parameters become unstable, the condition of the sensor switches off the transceiver. The master transceiver associated with the elevator controller sends a signal to the first transceiver, which is then sent to the next transceiver. This will not be sent back to the master transceiver through all wireless communication means of the safety chain whenever any variable is in an unsafe condition, so the controller will be notified that there is an unstable condition. The power for the transceiver may be supplied by a building power line or by a battery system which is charged by a passive battery or by an inductive coupling with a charging circuit or the like arranged on an elevator car. The use of a power source connected by wiring obstructs the advantage of a wireless system in that the wirings supplied for power are as inconvenient as the wiring connecting the safety chain switches to each other. Operation by battery involves too much maintenance, expense and environmental issues. Inductively coupled charging systems are complex and have low reliability.

This analysis of the car and each layer is also applicable to the call button.

The object of the present invention is passive, has components that do not depend on wired power or batteries, and the detection of unsafe conditions can be integrated into the relevant transceiver, and offers improved flexibility, low cost, low maintenance, low cost and easy It includes a safety chain that provides upgrades. Another object is to include improved communication of elevator service calls, integrated wireless transmission of elevator service calls, and provision of simple passive communication of elevator service calls.

According to the invention, the transceiver associated with the various conditions and call button monitored by the elevator safety chain is passive and comprises, for example, a radio frequency identification device (RFID). In addition, according to the present invention, a switch which opens when an unsafe elevator condition is present can be directly connected or incorporated into the associated passive transceiver. Further, in accordance with the present invention, the detection of an unsafe condition may be an integral part of the passive transceiver, for example by tuning the frequency determining circuitry of the passive transceiver to communicate the safety or unsafe conditions of the corresponding elevator variable, or Or using adjacent structural parts of the elevator (such as door elements) to detune.

As is well known, RFID is energized by the supplied electromagnetic energy and can only respond to signals at its natural frequency or only to signals having a common frequency but unique RFID code of the respective RFID. Thus, the RFID will respond by sending a signal containing an address and in this case a condition of the variable associated with the safety chain or call button. If the address is inappropriate, the frequency of the RFID will identify the source of the response.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention may be apparently understood with reference to the detailed description of that exemplary embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 is a simplified front perspective view of an elevator hatch and a machine room of the present invention.

2 is a simplified front perspective view of an elevator car according to the present invention.

3-7 are simplified schematic diagrams of passive transceiver tuning circuits that may be implemented in the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a partial side perspective view of the hatch door lock showing how the passive transceiver of the present invention is tuned when adjacent to a safety related structural element.

9 is a partial side perspective view of simplified elevator limits illustrating how the passive transceiver of the present invention is de-tuned when adjacent to safety-related structural elements.

In FIG. 1, the hatch 11 of the elevator system comprises a plurality of hatch doors 12, 13 which become one set 12, 13 in each floor. Each set has a passive transmitter 15, such as RFID, associated with the corresponding hatch door lock. The condition of the door lock is part of the safety chain, and the elevator safety chain will not work unless a certain hatch door is locked. Each platform also has an up hall call button with associated transceiver 14, a down hall call button with associated transceiver 19, or both. Also, a plurality of transceivers 16 associated with the upper limit switch and a plurality of transceivers 17 and 18 associated with the lower limit switch are disposed inside the hatch. In the above example, in the machine room 20 of the elevator system, the elevator speed detector may have a corresponding passive transmitter 22. The transceiver 23 is wired to communicate with the elevator car controller 24 and in communication with other transceivers and passive transmitters within the elevator system. By way of example, the transceiver 26 transmits a signal at a unique frequency or a unique address code to continuously interrogate the state of each associated door lock, as reflected by the corresponding one passive transmitter 15, The condition of the hatch door for the third lowest floor can be interlocked. Similarly, transceiver 26 may interrogate with passive transmitters 17 and 18 associated with the lower limit switch. The transceiver 27 may interrogate the passive transmitter 15 associated with the upper three layers of hatch door locks and may interrogate with the passive transmitter 16 to provide an indication of the condition of the upper limit. . The transceiver 23 will then receive communication from the transceivers 26 and 27 indicating the response of the various passive transmitters at the hatch. In addition, the transceiver 23 may interrogate the passive transmitter 22 to determine a condition associated with the speed sensor. Depending on the number of floors in the building, additional transceivers, such as transceivers 26 and 27, may be provided to be within range of the entire transceiver 15 in the hatch.

In FIG. 2, elevator car 30 has a pair of doors 31 and 32 and an RFID 33 associated with the car door lock switch. The elevator car 30 also has a plurality of car call buttons with an associated RFID 34 and an emergency stop switch with an associated RFID 35. As is also known, there is an inspection switch on top of the cap, in which case there is an associated RFID 36. RFIDs 33 to 36 may be interrogated by any receiver 23, 26, 27. There are other conditions of the elevator monitored in the safety chain, but these are not shown for simplicity.

RFID can be deployed in a variety of ways to reflect the safety related variable conditions of the elevator. The simplest ones are shown in Figures 3 and 4, where the frequency-determined RF loop comprising capacitor 40 and inductor 41 is opened by switch 43 (Figure 3) or at switch 44 (Figure 4). Short circuited by. Any of these configurations may allow RFID to provide no response. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 5, RFID can be made to produce two different responses: indicating a safe condition and indicating an unsafe condition. Here, an additional capacitor 47 is in series with the switch 48, both of which are in parallel with the capacitor 40 and the inductor 41. When the condition is safe, capacitor 47 is in circuit, causing the RFID to respond at the first frequency. However, if the condition becomes unstable, switch 48 is open and capacitor 47 is no longer in circuit, and then the RFID will respond at different frequencies indicating an unsafe condition. Using this type of dual response allows the controller to recognize a particular RFID that senses an unsafe condition, in contrast to a prior art serial switch safety chain that does not indicate that the switch is open and thus does not indicate the nature of the failure. In the embodiment of Figures 3-5, the switch must be placed to respond to the monitored condition, the RFID must be located adjacent to it, and the switch and wiring are housed within the frequency decision loop.

Another form of response is shown in FIG. Here, the capacitor 40 and the inductor 41 may indicate one condition when the RFID is adjacent to the structure 51 having the magnetoresistance as shown in FIG. 6, but as shown in FIG. In the absence of a magnetoresistance will have different frequencies. This can be used to sense the presence of the magnetoresistance 51 as a safe condition or to detect the presence of the magnetoresistance 51 as an unsafe condition. The first of these is shown in relation to the hatch door switch, a portion of which is shown in FIG. Here, a lock edge 53 (locking lip) is fastened to the header 54 of the doorway. The locking member 55 is disposed on the hatch door 56. As shown in Fig. 8, when the lip 59 engages the edge 53, the contact [generally connecting between two terminals on the hatch door lock switch to indicate that the door lock is engaged] Section 62 will be adjacent to the associated RFID 63 to provide tuning of the frequency determination loop and provide a response indicating safety, as shown in FIG. However, if the portion 62 is not immediately adjacent to the RFID 63, it may be the situation shown in Fig. 7, and the response may not exist or may indicate an unsafe condition.

As shown in Fig. 9, the opposite situation can be obtained. Here, the lower limit switches 17, 18 are shown disposed on the frame 66 mounted to the rails 67 by the brackets 68. A known cam 71 is arranged in a stile 74 by a bracket 72, which comprises the main vertical frame of the elevator platform as known. As shown, when the elevator is close to the bottom of the hatch, the cam 71 is adjacent to the switch 17, causing the frequency determination circuit to desynchronize as shown in Figure 6, or from the RFID 17. There is no response, or depending on the protocol used, a response indicating an insecure condition is given. Obviously, when the elevator moves down within the hatch, the cam 71 will be adjacent to an additional one of the RFIDs 18, thus providing an indication of continuous unsafe conditions due to the position of the elevator car in the hatch. Thus, the change of the frequency determination circuit by the magnetoresistance can be utilized to indicate a condition in which the presence of the resistor is safe (Fig. 8) or an unsafe condition (Fig. 9).

The call button may each have a passenger operated button switch, incorporated in the RFID's frequency determination circuit (FIGS. 3-5), or may each have a member having a passenger displacement resistor (FIGS. 6 and 7). . In a system with a button light that indicates when a call has been registered, typically the light will be connected to the building power supply, and the RFID will be a solid state switch in response to the confirmation signal call sent to the RFID. The power can be connected via. The interrogation should be a repetitive frequency of 5 Hz or 10 Hz sufficient to match the operation of the button as short as 200 msec to 500 msec.

Claims (16)

In an elevator safety chain for monitoring the conditions of a plurality of safety-related variables of an elevator, including at least one of a hatch door lock, a car door lock, an upper limit, a lower limit, an emergency stop switch, an inspection switch and a speed sensor. One or more transceivers 23, 26, 27 transmit an interrogation signal, receive a response to the interrogation signal, One or more passive radio frequency identification devices (safety RFID) 22, 33, 35, 36 are associated with a corresponding one of the variables, and the frequency determining circuits 40, 41, 43, 44, 47, 48 of the safe RFID. ) Provides a transmitted response to the interrogation signal from one transceiver that indicates the safety condition when the condition of the corresponding variable is safe, and does not provide an indication of the safety condition when the condition of the corresponding variable is unsafe. A safety chain characterized by being associated with a corresponding variable to have the capability. 2. The RFID system of claim 1, wherein the RFID includes switches 44 and 48 that open and close in response to a condition of the corresponding variable, wherein the switch is frequency when the switch is in a position indicating that the condition of the corresponding variable is safe. Safety chain, characterized in that it is associated with the frequency determination circuit (40, 41) of the RFID such that the decision is a transmitted response indicating a safety condition. 3. Safety chain as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the switch (43, 48) is connected in series with a frequency determining element (40, 41, 47) of the frequency determining circuit. 3. Safety chain as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the switch (44) is connected in parallel with the frequency determining element (40, 41) of the frequency determining circuit. 3. The safety chain of claim 2, further comprising an additional frequency determining element (47), said switch (48) connecting said additional frequency determining element to said frequency determining circuit. Further comprising structures (51, 71) with magnetoresistance, The frequency determining circuits 40 and 41 may respond to a structure having a magnetoresistance adjacent to the RFID, The position of the structure indicates a condition of a corresponding variable, and the safety or insecure condition of the variable is determined by the presence or absence of the structure immediately adjacent to the RFID in a manner of changing the frequency of the frequency determining circuit. Safety chain. 7. Safety chain according to claim 6, characterized in that the presence of the adjacent structure (71) in the RFID (17) indicates a safety condition.  7. A safety chain according to claim 6, wherein a member of the structure (71) having a magnetoresistance adjacent to the RFID (18) indicates an unsafe condition. An elevator call device for monitoring one or more car call buttons and a hall call button, One or more transceivers 23, 26, 27 transmit an interrogation signal and receive a response to the interrogation signal, One or more passive radio frequency identification devices (calling RFID) 14, 19, 34 are associated with a corresponding one of the call buttons, and frequency determining circuits 40, 41, 43, 44, 47, 48 of the call RFID. Provides a response to the interrogation signal from one transceiver that indicates that the button is active when the corresponding button is activated, and does not provide an indication that the button is active when the corresponding button is not activated. Elevator call device, characterized in that associated with the corresponding call button to have the ability.  10. The method of claim 9, wherein the RFID includes switches 44, 48 actuated by corresponding buttons, wherein the switch determines when the switch is in a position indicating that the corresponding button is activated. Elevator call device, characterized in that associated with the frequency determination circuit (40, 41, 47) of the RFID so that the transmitted response is displayed. The elevator paging device according to claim 10, wherein said switch (43, 48) is connected in series with a frequency determining element (40, 41, 47) of said frequency determining circuit.  11. Elevator call device according to claim 10, characterized in that the switch (44) is connected in parallel with the frequency determining element (40, 41) of the frequency determining circuit. 11. Elevator call device according to claim 10, further comprising an additional frequency determining element (47), said switch (48) connecting the additional frequency determining element to the frequency determining circuit (40, 41).  The method of claim 9 further comprising a structure having a magnetoresistance, The frequency determining circuit is responsive to a structure having a magnetoresistance adjacent to the RFID, The position of the structure is determined by a corresponding button, and the actuation or non-operational condition of the button is indicated by the presence or absence of the structure directly adjacent to the RFID in such a way as to change the frequency of the frequency determining circuit. bleep. 7. The safety chain of claim 6, wherein the presence of the structure adjacent to the RFID indicates a call request.  A safety chain for monitoring conditions of a plurality of safety related variables of an elevator including one or more of a hatch door lock, car door lock, upper limit, lower limit, emergency stop switch, inspection switch and speed sensor, An elevator apparatus for monitoring one or more of a button and a hall call button, One or more transceivers 23, 26, 27 transmit an interrogation signal, receive a response to the interrogation signal, One or more passive radio frequency identification devices (safety RFID) 22, 33, 35, 36 are associated with a corresponding one of the variables, and the frequency determining circuits 40, 41, 43, 44, 47, 48 of the safe RFID. ) Provides a response to the interrogation signal from one transceiver that indicates the safety condition when the condition of the corresponding variable is safe, and does not provide an indication of the safety condition when the condition of the corresponding variable is unsafe. Associated with the corresponding variable to have the ability to One or more passive radio frequency identification devices (calling RFID) 14, 19, 34 are associated so as to correspond to one of the call buttons, and the call RFID is one that indicates that the button is activated when the corresponding button is activated. Elevator apparatus characterized in that it is associated with a corresponding call button to provide a transmitted response to an interrogation signal from a transceiver and when the corresponding button is not operated, it does not provide an indication that the button is activated.

Images