KR20070097099A - Method for performing an elevator rescue run - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for performing an elevator rescue run in an emergency situation, the elevator (2) comprising an elevator car (4), a counter weight (6), a rope (8) sus-pending the car (4) and the counterweight (6), a drive motor (10), an emergency brake (18) for stopping the car (4) in an emergency situation,and a motor driveunit (26) for supplying drive power to and for controlling the drive motor (10), comprising the following rescue run sequence steps: (a) operating the motor drive unit (26) in a zero speed demand mode for hold-ing the car (4) at its present position; (b) lifting the brake (18), while holding thecar (4) in the zero speed demandmode; (c) determining the preferred movement direction of the car (4) based on the power data as obtained by the motor drive unit (26); and (d) performing the rescue run in the direction of the determined preferred movement direction.

Description

How to do elevator rescue work {METHOD FOR PERFORMING AN ELEVATOR RESCUE RUN}

The present invention relates to a method of performing an elevator rescue operation in an emergency situation, the elevator is an elevator car, counterweight, the car and the rope to tie the counterweight, drive motor, emergency brake and driving power to stop the car in an emergency situation And a motor drive unit for supplying the drive motor and the corresponding elevator to control the drive motor and the corresponding elevator.

For safety reasons, elevators are configured to stop the car immediately in the event of an emergency during movement within the elevator shaft. In practice, power to the drive motor and emergency brake is cut off, causing the drive motor to stop driving the car and the emergency brake to fall in, causing the car to stop almost immediately. Since this stop usually does not occur at landing, passengers are trapped in the elevator car. In this emergency, passengers should be able to get out of the elevator car as soon as possible. This requires the presence of a technician or responsible person in the elevator material, which may take some time before the person arrives.

In most cases, an emergency situation is caused by a power failure of the main power supply to the elevator. Emergency situations may also be caused by faults in the elevator itself with elevator controls, encoders and the like, for example interruption of the safety chain. After an electrical failure, the elevator will operate once the power is available again, but other situations require the presence of a responsible person as described above.

There are two different emergencies, that is, the car and the counterweight are in an unbalanced state, i.e. the car is starting to move by gravity once the brake is lifted. US-6,196,355 B1 discloses an electric elevator rescue system that allows passengers to exit in this kind of situation. However, there is also an unbalanced load condition, i.e. a state in which the car remains in place even after lifting the brakes. Typically, this unbalanced load condition is not common due to the fact that elevators are made to be balanced for most common operating conditions.

US-A-5,821,476 relates to a carry-along device comprising an emergency DC power supply, a switching device that selectively supplies a DC voltage to the windings of the drive motor, and an actuator to release the elevator brake. It is starting. The switching device typically has six contacts connected to the windings of the drive motor such that the windings of the elevator motor have been successfully activated in the process of rotating the switch from one contact to the next. It has a rotary switch.

Another approach to moving the elevator car to a balanced load state is described in EP 0 733 577 A2, which proposes to provide a separate rescue drive means for moving the car to a balanced load state.

The problem with any of these structures lies in the fact that each method of work requires the presence of a technician or a responsible person at the location of the elevator. In particular, when this officer arrives at the elevator, he must control the rescue execution from the service panel board. Conventional rescue operations differ for balanced and unbalanced load conditions. Initially, while monitoring the movement of the car, the technician will lift the emergency brake. In this regard, the service panel board is typically provided with a "break release button". The technician activates the brake release button and the car will start moving if it is in an unbalanced load. If the car accelerates to a certain speed, the technician will use an emergency brake to stop the car. Repeated opening and closing of the emergency brakes (“shutter brakes”) will cause the car to move to the appropriate landing where gravity will allow passengers to exit the car. If the car is in a balanced load, the car will not move once the brakes are open. In this situation, the driving force can be provided to the car by a device as described, for example, in US-A-5,821,476 or US-4,376,471.

Each of the methods of performing elevator rescue operations of the prior art is complex and requires special techniques to perform.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of performing a simple and reliable elevator rescue operation.

According to one embodiment of the invention, this object is solved by a method of performing an elevator rescue operation comprising the following rescue operation sequence steps:

(a) operating the motor drive unit in a zero speed demand mode to maintain the car in the position where it is present;

(b) lifting the brake while maintaining the car in the zero speed request mode;

(c) determining a preferred direction of movement of the car based on the power data obtained by the motor drive unit; And

(d) performing rescue operations in the determined preferred direction of travel.

According to this method, once the elevator car is stopped in the elevator shaft in the event of an emergency, the brakes do not open immediately while the motor drive unit monitors movement. In order to obtain a surely controlled state of the elevator car, the motor drive unit is operated in a zero speed request mode, ie an operating mode in which the motor drive unit controls the drive motor such that the elevator car in the elevator shaft is kept at its current position. While maintaining the car in its speed request mode of zero and after lifting the brake or based on previously obtained information, the motor drive unit can determine whether the car is in a balanced or unbalanced load state and further The preferred direction of movement can also be determined. Based on this information, rescue operations are carried out in the determined preferred direction of movement. The motor drive can actively control the acceleration of the car to the desired rescue work speed at a preset rate, regardless of whether the car starts to move on its own or needs external motive force.

The method preferably includes supplying power from the emergency power supply to the motor drive unit. This is necessary especially in case of electrical failure. Emergency power supply is usually of limited capacity, so it is particularly important to consume power economically. A substantial portion of the power is used to actively move the elevator car unless the elevator car moves on its own. If the car is in a so-called "balanced condition", that is, even if the car does not move even if an emergency brake is lifted, the car and counterweight are not in a perfectly balanced state, Note that it prevents the car from moving on its own. As a result, even in a "balanced load state" there is usually a preferred direction of movement of the car. Thus, movement in a direction opposite to the preferred direction of movement will consume more power than is actually required. Embodiments of the present invention determine the preferred direction of movement of an elevator based on power data obtained by the motor drive unit while maintaining the car in a zero speed request mode and / or based on data obtained during normal operating operation immediately before an emergency. To help. As a result, in particular the power consumption from the emergency power supply can be substantially reduced by this embodiment of the present invention.

The motor drive unit preferably controls the performance of rescue operations. In particular, after the preferred direction of movement of the car is determined by the motor drive unit, its operating mode is changed from a speed request mode of zero to a rescue request mode, so that the car moves toward the proper landing due to gravity or the car is active until the landing. Can be moved to The generator power generated by the drive motor and delivered to the motor drive unit and / or the drive power supplied from the motor drive unit is preferably used to calculate the actual position, direction of travel, speed and / or acceleration of the car. Based on this data, the speed of the car can be accelerated or reduced.

The motor drive unit is preferably operated such that the emergency brake is opened after zero speed demand operation is established. Alternatively, the emergency brake may be manually opened, for example using a switch on the service panel board. The actuation of the emergency brake by the motor drive unit reduces the steps to be performed manually and facilitates the automatic performance of rescue operations.

The motor drive unit preferably activates the performance of the rescue operation after the preferred direction of movement of the car is determined. In other words, this activation may be performed manually. The shorter the delay between the completion of the determination of the desired direction of movement and the activation of the rescue operation, the less power is consumed.

The rescue task sequence is preferably initiated automatically after an emergency is detected. This automatic initiation of a rescue task sequence has the particular advantage of allowing passengers to exit in a very short time. It may not be desirable to automatically initiate a rescue work sequence in the case of certain emergency situations, for example in the case of a failure of the motor drive unit. In this type of situation, it may be desirable to perform rescue operations only while the technician or the like is at the elevator location.

The method of performing the rescue operation preferably comprises the further step of examining the presence of the mains power supply to the elevator and automatically initiating the rescue operation sequence if a failure of the mains power supply is detected. In order to obtain well defined conditions during the rescue operation and to avoid any disturbance by the sudden discovery of the main supply, to disconnect the main power supply to the motor drive unit at least during the interval between the start of the rescue operation sequence and its completion. Additional steps may be provided.

The motor drive unit preferably supplies power to the drive motor from the emergency power supply during the stage of the rescue operation. Thus, the actual drive motor is moving the elevator car to a balanced load during rescue operations. Alternatively, the elevator comprises a separate structural drive means separate from the drive motor. The motor drive unit can actuate the rescue drive means once the preferred direction of movement of the car is determined. It is also possible to start the rescue drive means manually.

In addition, an embodiment of the present invention provides an elevator car, a counterweight, a rope for hanging the car and the counterweight, a drive motor, an emergency brake for stopping the car in an emergency situation, and supplying drive power to the drive motor and driving the drive motor. An elevator comprising a motor drive unit for controlling the motor, wherein the motor drive unit operates in a zero speed request mode to maintain the car at a specific position, and while maintaining the car in the zero speed request mode. The preferred direction of movement of the car is determined on the basis of the power data obtained by the motor drive unit, and the elevator is a surrogate function of rescue operation and sets the motor drive unit to zero speed request mode in case of emergency. Determined the preferred direction of travel And further comprising means for sequentially executing the rescue operation. The preferred direction of movement of the car is based on power data obtained by the motor drive unit while keeping the car in zero speed request mode and / or during the last operation of the car before the emergency occurs. It may be determined based on the power data obtained by the unit.

The elevator preferably includes an emergency power supply.

The elevator preferably further comprises means for detecting an emergency, and preferably also includes means for automatically initiating a rescue operation sequence after an emergency is detected. The detection means may be part of the motor drive unit. For example, the motor drive unit may comprise detection means for detecting the interruption of power supply to the motor drive unit. The motor drive unit also includes means for automatically initiating a rescue work sequence. In this regard, the motor drive means comprises any kind of buffer power storage such as an accumulator or capacitor which stores pre-emergency data and initiates a rescue mode in which power can be supplied from the emergency power supply. can do. The detecting means may be main power checking means for checking the supply of main power to the elevator, in particular to the elevator control section. The elevator may further comprise main power interrupting means coupled to the main power inspecting means.

The elevator may comprise rescue drive means separate from the drive motor. The elevator may further include an emergency drive switch that connects and disconnects power from the emergency power supply to the drive motor to move the car in an "balanced" emergency situation. The elevator rescue system may further comprise a power line connecting the emergency power supply to the motor drive unit and including an emergency drive switch.

Thus, the present invention uses a motor drive unit already present in the elevator to supply emergency power to the drive motor. Typically, the motor drive unit has an input for an AC main power supply, a rectifier, a DC intermediate circuit and a converter. The emergency power supply line can be connected to an AC input or a DC intermediate circuit, depending on the particular motor drive unit. The converter may be of a variable frequency inverter (VF) type or a variable voltage variable frequency inverter (VVVF) type. The use of an elevator's conventional motor drive unit can reduce the number of additional parts of the elevator rescue system.

The switches may be conventional switches or may include any other type of switch means, ie form part of the microprocessor control. In particular, the emergency drive switch may be integral with the motor drive unit. The switch can be designed to automatically switch to an emergency power supply in all or specific failure situations.

The emergency power supply preferably provides at least two different output voltages, the brake being connected to the lower voltage output via an emergency brake switch, and the higher voltage output being connected to the motor drive unit.

The emergency power supply preferably includes a voltage booster for increasing the output voltage of the battery and battery. The emergency power supply may further include a battery loading circuit and a supervisor connected to the main power supply. The voltage booster may be a conventional converter that converts the battery voltage to a higher voltage to be supplied to the motor drive unit. In normal operation, a conventional motor drive unit accepts an AC voltage on the order of 380 V. However, the voltage required to drive an elevator car in a balanced load situation is much smaller than the voltage required for normal operation. Thus, especially with the VVVF inverter type, the drive motor requires substantially lower voltages for practical emergency work. On the other hand, the motor drive unit circuit may require a predetermined input voltage independent of the specific output voltage. Therefore, the higher output voltage of the emergency power supply should be at least about 250V, preferably at least 300V, more preferably at least 320V, and most preferably at least about 350V. Thus, the higher voltage may be different depending on the normal voltage required by each of the drive motor and motor drive unit circuit. Lower voltages need to be sufficient to lift the brakes. However, since the brake is preferably connected to the speed control even in the emergency mode, the lower voltage is preferably high enough to be used as an input voltage for the speed control circuit. Typical voltage is approximately 24 V. The DC battery of the emergency power supply may have a nominal voltage of 12 V or 24 V. However, even in the case of a 24 V battery, it is also desirable to use a booster circuit for emitting a lower voltage from the emergency power supply to ensure a constant voltage output.

Alternatively, if the battery voltage is large enough to supply the voltage for the brake lifting, the voltage for the electric control devices and the voltage for the motor drive unit, it is also possible to use an emergency power supply without a voltage booster. There are motor drive units requiring only 48 V of voltage, so a 48 V supply of batteries is sufficient. A voltage reducing means such as a voltage divider is provided on the emergency power supply to supply a lower voltage, for example 24 V and / or 12 V, instead of 48 V to supply the required voltage to the emergency brake and / or electrical control devices. It may be desirable.

The emergency brake and the motor drive unit are preferably coupled to each other in such a way as to activate the drive motor only when the brake is activated. This coupling ensures that the brake is lifted before powering the drive motor. This can be done, for example, by mechanically or electrically coupling the respective switches. A particularly simple structure is to position the emergency brake switch relative to the emergency drive switch so that it is impossible to switch the emergency drive switch before the emergency brake switch is switched. Those skilled in the art will be able to implement this solution. Coupling of the switches is an easy mechanical solution. However, any other implementation can be used to ensure the lifting of the brake before supplying power to the drive motor.

The brake and the motor drive unit are preferably coupled to each other in a manner that enables activation of the brake only when the motor drive unit is activated. The coupling is preferably such that the brake is activated only when the motor drive unit is in the operating mode. Activating the motor drive unit prior to the brake ensures that the motor drive unit can control the movement of the car when the brake is lifted. There are motor drive units that can monitor car movements very closely. Thus, such a motor drive unit can monitor whether the car starts moving after the brake is lifted or whether the car is in a balanced load situation. This motor drive unit can also activate the brake to control the speed of the moving car and to avoid any overspeed situations. Moreover, the motor drive unit can also be used on the path of the car, such as the data of the elevator system just before the failure, ie the current and voltages supplied to the motor in relation to the load situation of the car, the distance to the next landings. It may also include a data storage medium containing data such as the location of the car. For example, this memory may be an EEPROM or the like. The motor drive unit uses the data to determine how to operate the car in an emergency, i.e. to move the car by gravity, to power the drive motor to move the car, in which direction the car is moved, and so on. It is available. In other words, such coupling can be achieved by mechanical or electrical coupling.

It is also possible to activate the brake and the motor drive unit simultaneously or at about the same time.

The elevator preferably further comprises a main power switch for shorting the main power supply and the elevator, wherein the emergency brake and / or emergency drive switches can only activate the brake and / or drive motors respectively if the main power supply is shorted. It is coupled to the main power switch in such a way that it is. In other words, the coupling of the switches can be realized in the manner mentioned above. For safety reasons it is desirable to short the mains power supply before commencing rescue operations. Thus, before main power is reconnected to the elevator, the emergency task can be stopped in a controlled manner. Without this feature, if main power is interrupted during rescue operations, unguaranteed or undefined phenomena may occur, and even if an emergency power supply supplies some of the elevator components, the main power may not be supplied to the elevator. will be.

The elevator preferably further comprises a safety chain connected to the safety chain input of the motor drive unit, wherein the emergency power supply has a safety chain voltage output for providing a safety chain voltage to the safety chain input of the motor drive unit via the emergency drive switch. Include. The safety chain typically includes a plurality of safety contacts such as door contacts arranged in series with each other. The safety chain allows the elevator drive motor to operate only when all safety contacts are closed, ie when the elevator is in a safe state. In the event of an electrical failure, the power supply to the safety chain is also cut off. Thus, no voltage is applied to the safety chain input of the motor drive unit. In order to enable the motor drive unit to drive the drive motor in rescue mode, it is necessary to provide a "faked" safety chain voltage to the safety chain input of the motor drive unit. Such voltage may also be provided by an emergency power supply. The safety chain voltage is typically between a higher voltage and a lower voltage, for example between 48 V DC and 110 V DC. Alternatively, the emergency power supply may supply its own power to the input of the safety chain. In this case, all safety chain contacts need to be closed to allow movement of the elevator car even in rescue mode.

The motor drive unit preferably further comprises a control input connected to the voltage output of the emergency power supply via an emergency drive switch, the motor drive unit being in emergency rescue mode if a predetermined voltage output is applied to its control input. Is designed to provide power to the drive motor. In normal operation, the motor drive unit receives control signals from its elevator control via its own control input. However, since the elevator control unit does not function in the rescue mode, an emergency rescue mode signal needs to be generated and supplied to the control input of the motor drive unit. The preset voltage preferably corresponds to the lower voltage output of the energy power supply. This structure makes a separate emergency elevator control unnecessary.

The elevator preferably further comprises a door zone indicating device, which is connected to an elevator rescue system which stops the car at the landing upon signaling that the car is located at the landing. The door zone indicator device is a common component in an elevator and is necessary for proper operation of the elevator. Typically, the door zone indicator device signals access to the landing and leveling in the landing. Even in the case of rescue operations, door zone marking devices are used in elevator rescue systems to ensure accurate positioning of elevator cars at landings. The door zone indicator device preferably stops the car at the next landing where the elevator door can be manually opened by an operator operating the rescue system or automatically opened by the elevator rescue system.

The elevator preferably further comprises a speed control unit for controlling the speed of the car, which speed control unit is connected to the elevator rescue system and in particular to the brake.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a schematic view of parts of an elevator according to a first embodiment of the invention;

2 is a schematic view of an elevator according to a second embodiment of the present invention with more detailed components;

3 is a timing diagram for one embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2 show similar embodiments of the present invention. Corresponding reference characters in the drawings refer to like elements throughout the drawings.

1 shows a part of an elevator 2 comprising a hoisting rope 8 driven by a drive motor 10 via a traction sheave 12. Hoisting ropes are coated steel belts. The brake disc 16 of the brake 18 is attached to the shaft 14 of the drive motor 10. In addition, an encoder wheel 20 which provides encoder or speed control information to the service panel board 41 via line 22 and to the motor drive unit 26 via the service panel board 41 is provided with a shaft 14. Is attached to. Motor drive unit 26 supplies the necessary power to drive motor 10 via line 26. The motor drive unit 26 may be of the type to be described sequentially with respect to FIG. 2.

The elevator 2 further includes an elevator control unit, a main power supply unit, and the like, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 2. The elevator 2 also includes an emergency power supply 42 and an emergency brake switch 44.

The emergency power supply 42 includes a battery 48, a voltage booster 50, and a battery loading and supervising circuit 52. The emergency power supply provides three different output voltages: the lower voltage to the voltage output 54, the higher voltage to the output 56 and the intermediate voltage to the output 58. Depending on the particular elevator, the voltage values can be variable.

However, the typical voltage values for lifting the brakes and supplying electrical control devices such as speed control, etc. are 24 V DC, the typical voltage used in elevator safety chains is 110 V, the motor drive unit 26 and eventually Typical voltage for supplying drive motor 10 is 350V. The latter voltage depends on the specific structure of the motor drive unit 26. Typically, such a motor drive unit 26 requires a minimum input voltage, although it is usually much smaller in the load emergency operation mode where the output voltage to the drive motor 10 is balanced.

The lower voltage is supplied to the service panel board 41 via line 60 and from this service panel board, via the line 61 connecting the service panel board 41 with the brake 18 or through the motor drive unit. It may be dispensed to lift the brake 18 through a line 63 connecting with the brake 18. In the latter case, the motor drive unit 26 can control the brake 18. Instead of having both lines it is also possible to have only one of the lines 61 and 63. Line 89 is supplying a low voltage from service panel board 41 to motor drive unit 26 and / or communication information between service panel board 41 and motor drive unit 26.

It should be noted that according to one embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a single encoder 20 is used in place of two encoders. In particular, according to the prior art, there is a main encoder and an additional structural encoder therefor, and the encoder information of the main encoder provided directly to the drive unit 26 is used in the case of normal operation, while to the service panel board 21. The encoder information of the structure encoder 20 provided is used only for rescue operations. Main encoders and structural encoders are of different types, namely different types of high cost, high resolution main encoders (approximately 1000-4000 pulses per revolution) and low cost, low resolution structural encoders (approximately 50-100 pulses per revolution) Therefore, it is not possible to use the structure encoder as a surrogate function or backup encoder for the main encoder. Thus, according to one embodiment of the invention, only one high resolution type encoder is used to provide its information to the motor drive unit 26 via the service panel board 41.

The motor drive unit 26 is based on the power data obtained from the motor 10 in the generator mode and / or provided to the motor 10 in the active drive mode, and thus the movement state of the elevator car, that is, the position and movement of the car. It is of a type capable of determining direction, velocity and / or acceleration. Note that example power data includes voltage, current, frequency, and the like.

This type of motor drive unit 26 can also be used as a surrogate function to provide encoder and / or speed information in the case of a main encoder failure. Thus, in the event of an encoder failure, at least the elevator car can continue to move to the next landing.

The encoder 20 can be connected to a separate speed control 27 shown in FIG. However, such a speed controller may be included in the sub panel board 41 and / or the motor drive unit 26.

The emergency power supply 42 may be connected to the main power supply during normal operation so that optimal charging conditions of the battery 48 can be maintained.

2 shows an elevator 2 comprising a car 4 and a counterweight 6. The car 4 and counterweight 6 are suspended on the hoisting rope 8. Hoisting rope 8 is driven by drive motor 10 through traction sheave 12. The brake disc 16 of the brake 18 is attached to the shaft 14 of the drive motor 10. Also attached to the shaft 14 is an encoder wheel 40 which provides speed control information to the speed control 24 via a line 22.

The motor drive unit 26 is connected to the main power supply 30 of the elevator 2 via line 28 and receives control signals from the elevator control 34 via line 32. According to the control signals of the elevator control unit 34, the motor drive unit 26 supplies the necessary power to the drive motor 10 via the line 36. In particular, motor drive unit 26 includes a rectifier for rectifying AC current received through line 28, an intermediate DC circuit, and a Variable Voltage Variable Frequency (VVVF) inverter. The VVVF inverter changes the voltage and frequency outputs to the drive motor 12 via the line 36 in accordance with the control signals of the elevator control unit 34.

The elevator 2 is formed, on the one hand, of the conventional components of the elevator system, namely the motor drive unit 26 and the speed control 24, and on the other hand a further configuration specific to the elevator rescue system 40. It further comprises an elevator rescue system 40 formed of elements. These additional components include an emergency power supply 42, an emergency brake switch 44 and an emergency drive switch 46.

The lower voltage from the emergency power supply 42 is supplied to the emergency brake switch 44 through line 60 and through the solenoid (not shown) of the brake 18. Speed control switch 62 is provided in line 60. The speed control switch 62 is controlled by the speed control unit 24. The latter receives its own information about the speed of the elevator car from the encoder wheel 20 via line 22. Speed control 24 also receives information from door zone indicator (DZI) 64 via line 66. The door zone indicator 64 is connected with the door zone sensor 68 via a line 70. The door zone sensor 68 signals the speed control 24 when the elevator car approaches and reaches the landing 72. Accordingly, the speed controller can stop the power supply to the brake 18 in the case of overspeed of the elevator car 4 or when the elevator car 4 reaches the landing 72.

The higher voltage is supplied from output 56 via line 74 to power input 76 of motor drive unit 26. Emergency drive switch 46 is disposed in line 74. The intermediate voltage is supplied from the output 58 to the safety chain input 80 of the motor drive unit 26 via line 78. Moreover, the lower voltage from the output 54 is connected via the control signal input 84 of the motor drive unit 26 via line 82.

Emergency drive switch 46 actually includes three switches in lines 82, 74, and 78. Thus, the emergency drive switch 46 jointly switches low voltage, medium voltage and higher voltages to the motor drive unit 26. However, it is not necessary to switch the voltages together with the motor drive unit 26. Thus, three separate switches may be provided instead of the common emergency drive switch 46.

The elevator 2 further comprises a main power switch 86 arranged in the main power supply line 30. Even if the main power supply can be restored during the emergency mode, it is desirable to short the main power supply from the elevator 2 before initiating the emergency drive mode of operation to ensure well defined operating conditions. The main power switch 86 is mechanically or electronically connected with the emergency drive switch 46 and / or the emergency brake switch 44. In this regard, it should be noted that only some of the connections between the main power supply line 30, the elevator control 34 and the individual elevator components are shown in the figures for illustrative purposes. For example, the drawing does not typically show a safety chain that is connected to the elevator control 34. The main focus of FIG. 1 is focused on the emergency rescue system and the elevator components embedded therein.

The switches 44, 46 and 86 are preferably arranged at convenient locations next to the elevator 2, for example integrated in a control panel (not shown). The switches may also be located away from the elevator, for example in a building control room.

Similar to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 is very schematic, in particular showing various separate controls, switches and the like, all or part of which is integrated into the motor drive unit 26. In particular, the speed control 24, the speed control switch 62 and / or the door zone indicator 64 may also be part of the motor drive unit 26. It may also be possible to employ an emergency brake switch 44 in the motor drive unit 26. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, a single manually operated switch, such as switch 46, may be sufficient to activate the motor drive unit and initiate emergency operation governed and controlled by the motor drive unit.

Operation of the elevator 2 of FIG. 2 in an emergency situation may be as follows:

Mode 1 (this method can be used as a backup method, for example, in accordance with the present invention if the motor drive unit 26 has failed):

After the elevator failure is detected, the technician or any other responsible person switches the switch 44, thus supplying a lower voltage to the brake 18 and lifting the brake. If the elevator 2 is in an unbalanced state, the elevator car and counterweights 4 and 6 will each start to move. The speed control unit 24 monitors the speed of the elevator car 4 and stops the car 4 if an overspeed condition occurs. Eventually, the sensor 68 has an elevator car 4 in the door zone, each signal being transmitted via line 70 to the door zone indicator 64, the speed control 24 and the speed control switch 62. Sense whether the power supply to the brake 18 is disturbed. Thus, the elevator car 4 is stopped at the landing 72. The responsible person can then manually open the elevator shaft door 86 and the elevator car door. If the car 4 is not moving within a fixed time, the emergency brake switch 44 can be closed. In this case, the rescue operation in mode 1 may be retried once or twice (or several times).

Mode 2:

In rescue operation in mode 2, any automatic rescue control, such as an operator or motor drive unit 26, switches the emergency drive switch 46, thus bringing the motor drive unit 26 to a lower voltage, a medium voltage and a higher voltage. Switch to voltage. The low voltage received via control input 84 signals motor drive unit 26 with rescue drive mode, ie low power, slow speed, etc., and motor drive unit 26 operates in zero speed request mode. Will start. Subsequently, a low voltage is supplied to the brake 18 via the line 88 and lifts the brake. Thus, no mechanical coupling of emergency brake switch 44 and emergency drive switch 46 is necessary. The intermediate voltage "fakes" with a positive safety chain signal at the safety chain input 80, ie the motor drive unit 26 acquires the signal as if the safety chain (not shown) is operating properly and all Signals that safety chain contacts are closed. The motor drive unit 26 also accepts a higher voltage through the input 76 and thus supplies drive voltage to the drive motor 10 via line 36 as needed to hold the car 4 in place. do. After the motor drive unit determines the load / movement state of the car 4, the motor drive unit 26 starts a rescue operation, and the sensor 68 enters the door zone indicator 64 and the elevator car 4 enters the stairs. The drive motor 10 will either move slowly or allow the movement of the elevator car 4 in the desired direction of travel until it signals that 72 has been reached. If so, the speed controller 24 will trigger the brake 18 and stop the car 4 at the landing 72. The operator can then manually open the emergency drive switch 46. Alternatively, there is an automatic system for resetting emergency drive switch 46. The worker opens the elevator door at the landing 72 to allow trapped people to exit the elevator car 4. The doors may open automatically.

The operation of the elevator 2 of FIG. 1 is similar to that of the elevator of FIG. 2. The main difference is that according to the embodiment of FIG. 1, the so-called brake release button "BRB" initiates a rescue work sequence. Similarly, the elements and functions of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2 may differ from the elements and functions described in connection with any of the drawings unless there is a specific objection to the rest of the embodiment in a particular combination. Are similarly applicable to them as well.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, a low voltage is provided to the service panel board via line 60. There may be a continuous connection such that the service panel board 41 continues to accept low voltage from the emergency power supply 42 via line 60. When an emergency is detected and the car 4 is stopped in the elevator shaft, the brake release button 45 is switched and generates a brake release button signal as shown in the top line of FIG. Subsequently, the service panel board 41 generates a high voltage enable signal to the emergency power supply 42 via the line 92, so that the motor drive unit 26 through each of the lines 74 and 78. Provide high power and / or medium power. Thus, some or all emergency power switches may be integrated with the emergency power supply 42. The motor drive unit 26 generates a drive idle signal at time T ₃ , while setting the speed of the car to " 0 ", which can be seen in the last line of FIG. Subsequently, the brake opening voltage is supplied at time T ₄ via line 61 and / or line 63 and the car is driven by drive motor 10 controlled by motor drive unit 26 to zero speed mode. The brake is opened to maintain.

The motor drive unit 26 is operated in a speed request mode of zero between time T ₄ and time T ₅ , during which time the motor drive unit 26 receives / accepts power from the drive motor 10 during this time period. The preferred direction of movement of the car 4 can be determined from the data and / or power data stored in the motor drive unit 26. Subsequently, the speed of the car is accelerated slowly and sequentially remains at a predetermined, typically relatively slow level, until the door zone indicator “DZI” indicates access to the landing at time T ₆ , and as a result The speed is gradually reduced and the brake release power is cut off, causing the car 4 to stop at the landing. At the same time, the high voltage enable signal is turned off, so that the drive idle signal to the motor drive unit 26 is terminated in sequence. Finally, the signal provided by the brake release button 45 is stopped.

According to the present invention, a method for performing a simple and reliable elevator rescue operation can be obtained.

Claims (16)

In the method of performing elevator rescue operations in an emergency situation, The elevator 2 is an elevator car 4, a counterweight 6, the car 4 and a rope 8 for hanging the counterweight 6, a drive motor 10, and the car 4 in an emergency situation. An emergency brake (18) for stopping (), and a motor drive unit (26) for providing drive power to the drive motor (10) and controlling the drive motor (10), (a) operating the motor drive unit 26 in a zero speed demand mode to keep the car 4 in its current position; (b) lifting the brake (18) while keeping the car in the zero speed request mode; (c) determining a preferred direction of movement of the car (4) based on the power data obtained by the motor drive unit (26); And and (d) a rescue operation sequence of performing rescue operations in the determined preferred direction of travel. The method of claim 1, Supplying power from the emergency power supply (42) to the motor drive unit (26). The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the motor drive unit (26) controls the performance of the rescue operation. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, And the motor drive unit (26) operates to open the emergency brake (18) after the zero speed request operation is established. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, And after the preferred direction of movement of the car (4) is determined, the motor drive unit (26) performs the performance of the rescue operation. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The rescue task sequence is automatically initiated when an emergency is detected. The method of claim 6, Checking the presence of a mains power supply to the elevator (2) and automatically initiating a rescue operation sequence if a mains electrical failure is detected. The method of claim 7, wherein Disconnecting the main power supply to the motor drive unit (26) until the rescue operation sequence is initiated and at least until the rescue operation is completed. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, And wherein the motor drive unit (26) supplies power to the drive motor (10) during the rescue operation step. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, The elevator 2 comprises rescue drive means separate from the drive motor 10, and the motor drive unit 26 is adapted to operate the rescue drive means once the preferred direction of movement of the car 4 is determined. How to feature. In the elevator (2), Elevator car 4, counterweight 6, rope 8 to suspend car 4 and counterweight 6, drive motor 10, emergency brake to stop car 4 in an emergency situation ( 18) and a motor drive unit 26 for supplying drive power to the drive motor 10 and controlling the drive motor 10, The motor drive unit 26 operates in the zero speed request mode to keep the car in a specific position, and is operated by the motor drive unit 26 while keeping the car 4 in the zero speed request mode. The preferred direction of movement of the car 4 is determined based on the power data obtained, The elevator 2 is a surrogate function of the rescue operation means for setting the motor drive unit 26 to a zero speed request mode in case of an emergency and sequentially operating the performance of the rescue operation in the determined preferred direction of movement. Elevator (2) characterized in that it further comprises The method of claim 11, Elevator (2), characterized in that it further comprises an emergency power supply (42). The method according to claim 11 or 12, Means for detecting an emergency and means for automatically initiating a rescue operation sequence if an emergency is detected. The method of claim 13, And said detecting means are main power monitoring means. The method of claim 14, Elevator (2), characterized in that it further comprises a main power interruption means (86) coupled to the main power monitoring means. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, Elevator (2), characterized in that it further comprises a structural drive means separated from the drive motor (10).

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