HK1107073B - Method for executing elevator control actions from a remote terminal and remote elevator control system - Google Patents

Description

Method for performing elevator control actions from a remote terminal and remote elevator control system

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for performing elevator control actions from a remote terminal in a remote control system. Furthermore, the invention relates to a remote elevator control system.

Background

Elevators today are reliable and safe people movers. Accidental or occasional interruptions in operation are rare and they are often caused by external disturbing factors such as power failure, unclean sensors and often also by damage caused by violent impacts on the mechanical structures of the elevator, such as doors. Although elevators in the case of operational shutdowns generally do not pose a direct risk of injury to elevator passengers or other persons within the range of the elevator, it is self-evident that passengers trapped in the elevator car must in all cases be rescued as quickly as possible. However, elevator safety regulations require that the actions required to allow the elevator to recover from a shutdown situation should be performed safely without posing a risk of injury, which is why these actions can only be performed by authorized maintenance personnel. Typical shutdown situations are events such as an elevator stopping between floors, an elevator car door or hoistway door not opening/closing, or an elevator car not starting to move.

The monitoring of the operation of elevators is usually arranged in a centralized manner in order to maintain and/or monitor the operating status of a plurality of elevators, which are usually located adjacently, from a single remote monitoring station. In their simplest form, the remote monitoring station is the monitoring station that takes care of the reception and transmission of elevator alarms, or in their more advanced form, the remote monitoring station is the monitoring station that also takes care of elevator status monitoring and elevator supervision. In the case of an operational shutdown of the elevator, an alarm is automatically transmitted to the remote monitoring station when the elevator control system activates the alarm and/or is manually transmitted to the remote monitoring station, e.g. when an elevator passenger enters an emergency call from inside the elevator car. When notified of the operation stop of the elevator, the monitoring worker calls an authorized maintenance person to the alarm place according to the alarm request. It is the responsibility of authorized maintenance personnel to safely rescue all passengers trapped in the elevator car outside the car and to restore the elevator to normal operating conditions. Typically, this is achieved by moving the elevator car to the nearest floor using one or more bypassed (parallel) elevator safety circuits.

The problem with arranging the monitoring via a remote monitoring station is: in the event of an operational shutdown, it may take unreasonably long for maintenance personnel to arrive at the alarm location, depending, for example, on the available maintenance personnel and their location relative to the alarm location, the degree of traffic clearance in the area at different times of the day, and many other external circumstances. Furthermore, regional problem situations such as widespread power failures, even earthquakes, can lead to blockages in the transmission of maintenance requests and thus to elevator passengers continuing to be trapped and waiting in the elevator car for several hours even before going out. Some passengers may experience anxiety and/or stress if they have to wait a long time to exit. It is also possible that disasters, such as fires and/or earthquakes, occur, in which the trapped passengers are in fatal danger and therefore must be rescued from the elevator car as soon as possible.

Another problem is that an interruption of the elevator operation may be caused by a very small and/or occasional fault that causes an operational shutdown situation, which only requires a very simple maintenance action on the elevator to recover, but in any case calls authorized maintenance personnel to the location to correct the fault, as prescribed by safety regulations. This results in additional maintenance visits, costs and unnecessarily long interruptions in normal elevator operation.

The prior art is described in us patent specification 6364066, in which a system is disclosed for rescuing elevator passengers from an elevator car in the event of a stoppage in the operation of the elevator. In the disclosed solution, a check is made before the control action is performed to ensure that the control action customized from the remote control system does not pose a danger to passengers in the elevator car. The disclosed solution is based in particular on the use of an on/off sensor monitoring the state of the elevator car door.

A problem in prior-art solutions is that it does not provide a comprehensive view of the situation prevailing in the entire operating area of the elevator, but merely attempts to ensure the safety of the elevator passengers in the elevator car before the remote control action is performed. Thus, for example, the prevailing conditions in the elevator hoistway are not taken into account. Furthermore, if an on/off sensor for observing the state of an operating part such as the state of a door is defective and produces incorrect information about the actual state of the operating part, the use of the on/off sensor may easily lead to fatal errors.

Disclosure of Invention

The aim of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks and to create a completely new type of solution for the remote operation of elevators and for the quick recovery from operational stoppage situations. Yet another object of the invention is to achieve at least one of the following objects:

-preventing or at least preventively reducing elevator outages caused by vandalism.

Improving the personnel safety of recovery from operational shutdown conditions.

Facilitating a more rapid recovery from a major operational shutdown situation comprising a plurality of elevators.

-a plurality of elevators can be operated remotely from the same site.

Saving human lives in case of disasters.

The possibility of storing and subsequent analysis of events occurring during the operational shutdown, for example to allow the estimation of adverse conditions that may be related to rescue operations.

-preventing a dangerous situation due to uncoordinated and simultaneous rescue operations performed from several different sites.

-eliminating or at least reducing the number of unnecessary maintenance visits to the elevator site.

Brief description of the invention

The invention provides a method for executing elevator control action from a remote terminal in a remote control system, which is characterized by comprising the following steps: -imaging the operating area of the elevator with a plurality of monitoring cameras so that all persons present in the operating area of the elevator can be perceived from the image information of the monitoring cameras; -displaying image information of the camera or cameras and elevator status data on a display device of the remote terminal; -selecting a control action to be performed on the basis of the image information and/or elevator status data; -estimating, based on the image information and/or elevator status data, whether the performance of the selected control action brings a risk of injury; and-initiating execution of the control action from the remote terminal if the estimate so made indicates that the control action does not pose a risk of injury, wherein the execution time of the one or more control actions initiated from the remote terminal is limited.

The present invention also provides a remote elevator control system, comprising at least: -a remote terminal; -a plurality of surveillance cameras; and-interface and data transmission means for transmitting the image information of the monitoring camera together with elevator status data and/or control commands between the elevator and the remote terminal, characterized in that: the monitoring cameras are positioned such that their combined image area substantially covers the operating area of the elevator; -the remote terminal has a display device for displaying image information and/or elevator status data, -the remote terminal comprises means for activating an elevator control function; and the system further comprises means for limiting the execution time of the control function initiated from the remote terminal. Inventive embodiments are also presented in the description part and drawings of the present application. The inventive content disclosed in the application can also be defined in other ways than is done in the ways described above. The inventive content may also consist of several separate inventions, especially if the invention is considered in the light of explicit or implicit sub-tasks or in conjunction with advantages or combinations of advantages achieved. In this case, some of the attributes contained in the claims below may be superfluous from the point of view of separate inventive concepts. Within the framework of the basic concept of the invention, features of different embodiments of the invention can be applied in conjunction with other embodiments.

The following is a description of the meaning of some terms used in the text:

-operating area of the elevator: this term refers to the space associated with the elevator, including the interior space of the elevator car, the elevator hoistway, the machine room if present, the space above and below the elevator car, including the door areas on the floors above and below the elevator car. The safety of the persons located in these spaces must be ensured before the elevator control actions are initiated.

-risk of injury: this term refers to the situation defined by elevator safety regulations and/or other corresponding directives, wherein certain control actions performed from a remote terminal of a remote control system may cause injury to elevator passengers and/or other persons within the operating area of the elevator.

-an operator: this term refers to a person performing an elevator control action using a remote terminal of a remote elevator control system.

-RDF operation: this term refers to the mode of operation of the elevator in which one or more safety circuits of the elevator are bypassed.

-verifying: this term refers to different methods for identifying the operator (user of the system). Commonly used identification methods are for example a user name in combination with a password, a PIN code and a smart card.

In the method of the invention, in which the elevator control actions are performed from a remote terminal of a remote control system, the operating area of the elevator is imaged with one or more monitoring cameras so that all persons present in the operating area of the elevator can be perceived from the image information. The image information provided by the camera or cameras, as well as the elevator status information, is displayed on the display device of the remote terminal. A control action to be performed is selected on the basis of the image information and/or the elevator status information. Based on the image information and/or the elevator status data, a risk of injury associated with the control action is estimated. If this estimate indicates that the control action does not pose a risk of injury, execution of the control action is initiated from the remote terminal.

The invention offers the advantage that elevator passengers can be rescued very quickly from the elevator car. The actions required to rescue elevator passengers and/or to restore the elevator from an operational shutdown condition can be initiated immediately without waiting for the arrival of maintenance personnel. The invention also makes it possible to achieve a better level than the ordinary personal safety level, since the operating area of the elevator can be monitored reliably and comprehensively by means of monitoring cameras from several points, even simultaneously if required. By applying the invention it is possible to prevent situations where elevator control and/or rescue actions are performed in an uncoordinated way and simultaneously from several locations, e.g. elevator machine rooms, floors and/or remote terminals. The surveillance camera can also be used to view the operating area of the elevator in the event of a disaster such as a subsequent situation after a fire and/or earthquake when maintenance personnel may not be able to access the operating area of the elevator. Depending on the severity of the situation prevailing in the elevator, the operator can immediately make an alarm and call e.g. a fire brigade or an ambulance to the location. Furthermore, the monitoring camera can be used for overall safety control of the operating area of the elevator, thereby reducing elevator outages due to e.g. vandalism. A further advantage of the invention is that a single operator can control several different elevators from the same remote terminal and thus accelerate recovery from a major failure situation. In case of a disaster, prompt help can save a person's life.

In a method embodiment, the control action is performed in an operational shutdown situation of the elevator.

In a method embodiment, during the execution of the control action, the execution of the control action is observed via a display device of the remote terminal by means of image information and/or elevator status data. Interrupting the execution of the control action from the remote terminal if the risk of injury is detected during the execution of the control action.

In a method embodiment, the method includes selecting a surveillance camera whose image information is simultaneously displayed on a display device of the remote terminal.

In a method embodiment at least one elevator safety circuit is bypassed from a remote terminal of the remote control system.

In a method embodiment, a control action is performed in order to rescue an elevator passenger from an elevator car.

In a method embodiment, at least one of the following control actions is performed from the remote terminal: the elevator in normal operation mode is driven to the floor, the elevator is stopped, the landing door/elevator car door is opened/closed, the brake of the elevator drive machine is opened/closed, the elevator is operated in RDF operation mode.

In a method embodiment, only activation of one or more control actions performed from a remote terminal is allowed via an authentication and secure data communication link.

In a method embodiment, an execution time of a control action initiated from a remote terminal of a remote control system is limited.

In a method embodiment the image information of one or more monitoring cameras is transmitted to a securing post (securing post) of the property comprising the elevator, in addition to the remote terminal of the remote control system.

In a method embodiment two or more elevators can be controlled from one remote terminal.

In a method embodiment the operating area of the elevator is illuminated to improve the image information.

In a method embodiment, image information of one or more surveillance cameras is stored for subsequent analysis.

The remote elevator control system of the present invention comprises: a remote terminal; one or more surveillance cameras; and an interface and data transmission means for transmitting elevator status data and/or control commands between the elevator and the remote control system. The monitoring cameras are oriented such that their combined image area substantially covers the operating area of the elevator, so that all persons present in the operating area can be detected by the monitoring camera or cameras. The remote terminal has a display device for displaying image information and/or elevator status data and comprises means for activating an elevator control function. The elevator status data comprises e.g. the position of the elevator in the elevator hoistway, "open/closed" data relating to the elevator doors, and many other items of information indicating the status of the operating components of the elevator.

In an embodiment of the remote control system, the remote control system further comprises means for bypassing at least one elevator safety circuit from the remote terminal.

In an embodiment of the remote control system, the system comprises means for limiting the execution time of the control function initiated from the remote terminal.

In an embodiment of the remote control system, the system comprises data transmission means for transmitting image information of one or more monitoring cameras to a protection desk of the property comprising an elevator.

In a remote control system embodiment, the remote control system may be connected to two or more elevators.

In a remote control system embodiment the system comprises means for illuminating the operating area of the elevator.

In an embodiment of the remote control system, the remote control system further comprises means for storing image information of one or more surveillance cameras.

Drawings

The invention will be described in detail hereinafter with reference to a few embodiment examples and the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a remote control system according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows a chain of inferences for performing control actions in the remote control system of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 presents an arrangement according to the invention, in which the elevator car 1 of the elevator moves between floors 1, 2 and 3 in the elevator hoistway 3. The hoistway door is indicated with reference numeral 9 and the door of the elevator car is indicated with reference numeral 10. Reference numeral 5 denotes an elevator machine space, which may be a separate machine room and/or some other space arrangement comprised in the elevator, e.g. a space in the elevator hoistway 3 ("elevator without machine room"). Placed in the machine space 5 are an elevator control system 14 and an elevator drive machine 13. The elevator has monitoring cameras 2 which are mounted in the machine space 5 and inside, on the top and on the bottom of the elevator car 1. The image information of the camera 2 is transmitted to the interface unit 8 via the data transmission device 11. The interface unit 8 is connected to the elevator control unit 4 via data transmission means 12 and to a remote terminal 15 via data transmission means 16. Reference numeral 1a indicates a communication device in the elevator car 1, which guides the passengers in the case of an operational shutdown. The communication means may comprise, for example, an audio and/or video terminal connected to the remote control system via a physical and/or wireless data transmission link (not shown in fig. 1). The communication means 1a can also be located elsewhere in the elevator, e.g. in the machine room, and/or in the elevator hoistway. Reference numeral 17 denotes a bypass cable for the parallel safety circuit. The conventional car and floor cables of the elevator are not shown in fig. 1.

The data transfer means 16 is preferably an internet connection allowing the use of different encryption protocols for the establishment of a secure communication connection. The data transmission means 11, 12 and/or 16 may comprise physical data transmission means or partly or completely wireless data transmission means.

The remote elevator control system of the present invention includes a remote terminal 15, an interface unit 8, a monitoring camera 2, data transmission devices 11, 12, and 16, and a bypass cable 17. In addition, lighting devices (not shown in fig. 1) can be added to the system to illuminate the operating area of the elevator. The remote terminal may preferably be a PC computer or some other corresponding programmable terminal. The remote terminal comprises a display device 15a and control means 15b for performing elevator control functions. Reference numeral 15c denotes a storage device for storing image information for subsequent use. The remote terminal can be placed at a remote monitoring station or at the same property where the elevator or elevators to be controlled are located. The remote terminal may also be a portable terminal carried by a service person. The interface unit 8 may be a separate unit, preferably e.g. a PC computer, but it may also be partly or completely integrated with the elevator control system or a group control system controlling a plurality of elevators. The interface unit 8 receives camera information from the monitoring camera 2 and transmits it to the remote terminal. The interface unit also receives and transmits elevator status data and/or control commands between the remote terminal and the elevator control system 14. Reference numeral 8a indicates a supervision unit, by which it is possible to limit the execution time of a control command input from a remote terminal, for example, when a data transmission apparatus malfunctions. The bypass signal of the bypass cable 17 is controlled by the interface unit 8 and/or by the elevator control system 14 when required by the safety circuit bypass command issued from the remote terminal. The bypassed safety circuits include, for example, drive machine holding brakes, door lock circuits, door contactor circuits, emergency stops.

In normal situations of elevator operation, the elevator car 1 is moved between floors 1, 2, 3 by drive of an elevator drive machine 13 controlled by a control system 14. The control system receives calls from call buttons on different floors and/or from floor buttons in the elevator car or from a group control system controlling an elevator group of a number of elevators (said buttons and group control system not being shown in fig. 1). When the elevator car has reached a floor 1, 2 or 3, the hoistway door 9 and the car door 10 are typically opened automatically to allow passengers to enter and/or exit the floor. In the event of an operational shutdown, the control unit 14 sends remote terminal information about the disturbance via the data transmission means 12 and 16. The interference information automatically activates the remote terminal. The operator performs control actions from the remote terminal to allow the system to recover from the operational shutdown condition. If the operator is not able to perform the required control actions from the remote terminal, he will then alert the elevator maintenance personnel, calling them to the place of alert.

Fig. 2 shows an example of the remote operation procedure according to the invention.

Step 101: the remote terminal receives alarm data from the elevator and automatically activates the control software required for the remote control action. The system informs the operator which elevator has given an alarm, gives the type of alarm and/or the elevator status data and displays the image information of the monitoring camera on the display device of the remote terminal. The remote terminal requests the operator to enter a user name and/or password (operator authentication). Depending on the rights granted to the user name, some control actions to be performed from the remote terminal may be invalidated.

Step 102: the operator makes a decision about the required control action and deduces from the image information of the monitoring cameras placed on the elevator and/or from the elevator status data whether the control action to be input from the remote terminal of the elevator would pose a risk of injury to the people located in the operating area of the elevator. If a risk of injury exists, the operator interrupts the remote operation and calls authorized maintenance personnel to the alarm site (step 102).

Steps 103 and 105: the operator observes image information of a monitoring camera placed inside the elevator car to determine whether a passenger is present in the elevator car. If a passenger is present in the elevator car, the operator notifies the passenger of the remote control action (step 5) and then starts to execute the remote control action from the remote terminal (step 108). If no passenger is present in the elevator car, the operator performs a control action according to step 104.

Step 104: the operator drives the elevator (in normal operation mode) to one of the floors. If the operation fails, the operator checks the state of the safety circuit from the remote terminal (step 106). If the operation is successful, the operator leaves the elevator in readiness for operation and terminates the remote control (step 113).

Step 106: the operator checks the status of the elevator safety circuit from the remote terminal. If the safety circuit is "closed" (normal operating state), the operator interrupts the remote operation and calls authorized maintenance personnel to the alarm site (step 109). If one of the safety circuits is "open", the operator drives the elevator in RDF operation mode by bypassing the safety circuit (step 107).

Step 107: the operator bypasses the safety circuit that blocks the RDF operation and inputs the RDF operation command. The operator observes via the remote terminal, e.g. by monitoring the image information on the cameras, whether the elevator is moving according to the RDF operating commands. If the elevator implements the RDF operation command, the operator releases the bypassed safety circuit and returns to step 104. If the elevator does not properly implement the RDF operation command, the operator interrupts the remote operation and calls authorized maintenance personnel to the alarm location (step 109).

Step 108: if the safety circuit does not prevent normal operation from the remote terminal, the operator starts the operation to drive the elevator to the first floor. If the elevator can be driven successfully, the operator terminates the remote operation (step 113). If the operation is successful, the operator performs an inference process according to step 110.

Step 110: the operator checks from the remote terminal whether the main voltage supply of the elevator has been disconnected, whether the elevator safety circuit is damaged, or whether there is a risk of injury when operating the elevator. If one of these conditions is true, the operator interrupts the remote operation and calls authorized maintenance personnel to the alarm site (step 109), otherwise the operator activates the RDF operation (steps 111 and 112).

Step 109: the operator interrupts the remote operation and calls authorized maintenance personnel to the alarm site.

Steps 111 and 112: the operator bypasses the safety circuit preventing RDF operation, drives the elevator in RDF operation mode to the nearest floor, and opens the hoistway door and/or the elevator car door at the floor in question from the remote terminal in order to let the passengers out of the elevator car. The operator temporarily disables operation of the elevator and calls authorized maintenance personnel to the alarm location (step 109).

Step 113: the operator registers the fault situation, puts the elevator in a normal operation readiness state, and terminates the remote operation.

It is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of the invention described above, which have been described by way of example, but that many variations and different embodiments of the invention are possible within the scope of the inventive concept defined in the claims presented below.

Claims (18)

1. A method of performing elevator control actions from a remote terminal in a remote control system, the method comprising the steps of:

-imaging the operating area of the elevator with a plurality of monitoring cameras so that all persons present in the operating area of the elevator can be perceived from the image information of the monitoring cameras;

-displaying image information of the camera or cameras and elevator status data on a display device of the remote terminal;

-selecting a control action to be performed on the basis of the image information and/or elevator status data;

-estimating, based on the image information and/or elevator status data, whether the performance of the selected control action brings a risk of injury; and

-initiating execution of the control action from the remote terminal if the estimate so made indicates that the control action does not pose a risk of injury,

wherein the execution time of the one or more control actions initiated from the remote terminal is limited.

2. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control action is performed in an operational shutdown situation of the elevator.

3. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the method further comprises the steps of:

-observing the execution of the control action during the execution of the control action via a display device of the remote terminal by means of image information and/or elevator status data; and

-interrupting the execution of the control action from the remote terminal if the risk of injury is detected during the execution of the control action.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of monitoring cameras whose image information is simultaneously displayed on a display device of the remote terminal are selected.

5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one elevator safety circuit is bypassed from a remote terminal of the remote control system.

6. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that a control action is performed in order to rescue an elevator passenger from the elevator car.

7. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the following control actions is performed from a remote terminal of the remote control system:

-driving the elevator in the normal operation mode to the floor;

-stopping the elevator;

-opening and/or closing a hoistway door;

-opening and/or closing an elevator car door;

-switching on and/or off the brake of the elevator drive machine;

-driving the elevator in an RDF operation mode, wherein RDF operation mode refers to an elevator operation mode in which one or more safety circuits of the elevator are bypassed.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein activation of the one or more control actions is permitted via an authentication and secure data communication link.

9. The method of, wherein the image information from the one or more surveillance cameras is also transmitted to a security station of the property, the property including an elevator.

10. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that two or more elevators are controlled from one remote terminal.

11. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the operating area of the elevator is illuminated to improve the image information.

12. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the image information of one or more surveillance cameras is stored for subsequent analysis.

13. A remote elevator control system comprising at least:

-a remote terminal;

-a plurality of surveillance cameras; and

an interface and data transmission means for transmitting image information of the monitoring camera together with elevator status data and/or control commands between the elevator and the remote terminal,

the method is characterized in that:

the monitoring cameras are positioned such that their combined image area substantially covers the operating area of the elevator;

the remote terminal has a display device for displaying image information and/or elevator status data,

-the remote terminal comprises means for activating an elevator control function; and

the system further comprises means for limiting the execution time of the control function initiated from the remote terminal.

14. The remote elevator control system according to claim 13, characterized in that the remote elevator control system further comprises means for bypassing one or more safety circuits comprised in the elevator from the remote terminal.

15. The remote elevator control system according to claim 13 further comprising a data transmission device for transmitting image information of one or more surveillance cameras to a guard bed of a property, the property including an elevator.

16. The remote elevator control system according to claim 13 wherein the remote terminal of the remote elevator control system is connectable to two or more elevators.

17. The remote elevator control system according to claim 13 further comprising means for illuminating an operating area of the elevator.

18. The remote elevator control system according to claim 13 further comprising means for storing camera information for one or more surveillance cameras.