HK1252240B - Impact detection in an elevator door - Google Patents

Description

Impact detection in elevator doors

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a method for detecting an impact on an elevator door, an elevator safety mode, and an apparatus for detecting an impact on an elevator door. The present disclosure also relates to an elevator door safety system and an elevator.

Background Art

Elevator doors are frequently subject to various types of impacts (both intentional and unintentional). They can be accidentally struck by carts, heavy equipment like forklifts, and others. In some locations, they can even be damaged by kicks and thrown objects. Due to various impacts, door panels can bend or, in the worst case, completely knock the door sill off.

Currently, there is no reliable way to monitor impacts or damage to elevator door components caused by impacts. This can pose a safety hazard because the elevator car continues to operate normally without an alarm system. If the elevator door is damaged to the point where it no longer functions properly, further damage to the door components may occur when the elevator door operator attempts to operate the elevator door as usual. Even worse, if the door separates from the threshold, the dislocated components may impact other components as the elevator car moves. In the case of elevator car door panels, loose car door panels may strike shaft components. The elevator car, moving at full speed, may strike a loose landing door panel, potentially causing serious damage to elevator components or passengers. Furthermore, damaged landing doors can create a risk of people falling into the elevator shaft.

Currently, the primary impact detection method relies on interrupting the elevator's safety circuit, which completely halts the elevator's movement. Elevator users also report faults. A drawback of current systems is that some faults that do not cause the safety circuit to stop may remain undetected. Therefore, the inventors recognized the need for improved methods for detecting impacts on elevator door panels to further enhance the reliability of elevator operation and user safety.

Summary of the Invention

The object of the present disclosure is to alleviate the problems associated with the prior art. The object of the present disclosure is in particular to provide a method, a device and an elevator which allow detecting impacts of different intensities on an elevator door panel.

The method and device according to the present disclosure are particularly, but not exclusively, useful in elevators, in particular passenger or freight elevators for buildings.

The method according to the present disclosure is characterized by what is stated in claim 1 .

The elevator safety mode according to the present disclosure is characterized by what is stated in claim 9.

The device according to the present disclosure is characterized by what is stated in claim 10 .

The elevator door safety system according to the present disclosure is characterized by what is stated in claim 11 .

The elevator according to the present disclosure is characterized by what is stated in claims 12 and 13 .

The inventors have surprisingly found that an impact on the door panel can be detected by a temporary interruption of the elevator safety circuit. The interruption usually remains below the threshold of the safety circuit set to stop the movement of the elevator car.

The method, elevator safety mode, device, elevator door safety system, and elevator according to the present disclosure may provide at least one of the following advantages over the prior art.

Impacts that do not permanently interrupt the elevator's safety circuits can be detected and interpreted as signs of impact on the door panel. This can allow for immediate identification of potential door damage and timely adjustments to elevator operation. This, in turn, can reduce impact-induced damage to door components because elevator operation can be adjusted to account for potential damage, for example by initiating a safety mode and/or door operation self-tests and/or reducing operating speed.

This, in turn, can reduce the need for service visits and the costs involved in repairing damaged door components.

Another advantage may be increased safety of the elevator for users of the elevator and/or the building in which the elevator is located.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and constitute a part of this specification. The illustrated embodiments together with the description help to explain the principles of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. As shown in the figure:

FIG1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure.

FIG2 is a block diagram according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG3 is a block diagram of another exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Elevators typically include safety circuits. The purpose of these safety circuits is to prevent elevator operation from malfunctions or defects that could potentially lead to safety hazards. Different safety circuits monitor different aspects of elevator operation. For example, both the elevator car door and the landing door are equipped with safety circuits configured to monitor whether the doors are closed while the elevator car is moving. One or more safety circuits may monitor a given functional aspect of the elevator in parallel.

The safety circuit includes at least one safety switch. If two or more safety switches are included in the safety circuit, the switches may be connected in series. Therefore, if one safety switch opens or commands the door lock to the open position, the safety circuit is interrupted, and movement of the elevator car is prevented and/or other safety measures are taken. In practice, safety regulations require that the safety switch be opened or commanded to the open position before the door lock is physically opened. Therefore, in this disclosure, "the door lock is in the open position" refers to a door lock-related event that results in both safety switches opening, or even if the door lock is not physically opened, the door lock is commanded to the open position by the safety switch.

The safety switches can be implemented using various technologies known in the art. For example, in a serial bus-type safety circuit, the safety switches can be connected in parallel. Typically, the safety circuit utilizes electrical signals, or a combination of electrical and wireless signals. The safety circuit can be relay-based. The safety circuit can be monitored by a controller that integrates and/or filters information provided by the safety circuit. The controller can control elevator car movement based on this information. The controller can be configured as a safety controller, or any other type of device that integrates and/or filters information provided by the safety circuit.

Elevator door safety circuits typically monitor that the door panels are in the closed position and that the door latches are closed.

Current methods use an interruption in the elevator door safety circuit to detect impacts to one or more door panels. When a sufficiently large impact is directed toward a door panel, the panel jumps slightly, temporarily tripping the door safety switch or causing the safety switch to command the door lock to the open position. This results in an interruption in the elevator door safety circuit. If the impact is severe enough, the panel may jump twice, causing two interruptions in the safety circuit within a short period of time. The door panel can be a landing door panel or an elevator car door panel.

In one aspect, a method for detecting an impact on an elevator door is disclosed. The method is characterized by comprising:

-Detect interruptions in the elevator door safety circuit;

- comparing the characteristics of the interruption to a set of parameters; and

- Execute an action when the characteristics of the interrupt meet the conditions determined by this parameter set.

In the method, an interruption in a door safety circuit is first detected. In one embodiment, the elevator door safety circuit is an elevator car door safety circuit or an elevator landing door safety circuit. In many elevators, both landing doors and elevator car doors are monitored by safety circuits. The present method can be implemented for both elevator car doors and landing doors. Alternatively, the present method can be implemented for only landing doors or only elevator car doors.

Interruptions in one or more safety circuits can be detected. In one embodiment, detecting an interruption includes recording the floor level at which the interruption occurred. If the safety circuit monitors landing doors, the landing door safety switches need to be arranged in a manner that allows independent detection of interruptions on each floor. Such an arrangement may be advantageous because the precise location of a potential impact simplifies subsequent analysis of possible impact situations, and it is easier to configure the elevator car to avoid such floors. Furthermore, door functionality checks can be performed only on floors where an impact was detected. Additionally, if impacts are often concentrated on one or more floors, this may be useful information for building management, as such a concentration may indicate a disturbance or other problem on the affected floor.

Elevator car doors are typically monitored by a safety circuit separate from the landing doors. Therefore, an impact to the elevator car door can be distinguished from an impact to the landing door.

Next, the interrupt's characteristics are compared with the parameter set to evaluate whether an action needs to be performed. If the interrupt's characteristics meet the conditions determined by the parameter set, the action is performed.

The characteristics of an interruption are herein various aspects of an interruption that can be used to determine whether an interruption in a safety circuit is caused by an impact on a door or by another factor. In one embodiment, the characteristics of an interruption include the duration of the interruption, and/or the time interval from a previous interruption, and/or the position and speed of movement of the elevator car at the time the interruption occurs.

The parameter set (i.e., the parameter set with which the interruption characteristics are compared) represents one or more threshold values for each interruption characteristic (related to the interruption caused by an impact on the door). Typically, the parameters include an upper threshold and a lower threshold. However, depending on the characteristic, only the upper threshold or only the lower threshold may be included. One or more characteristics may be used in the parameter set. Each characteristic can act by either promoting or suppressing the interpretation of the interruption as caused by an impact on the door. Different values for each characteristic can lead to opposite interpretations.

For example, if the duration of an interruption exceeds a threshold, it is not considered to be caused by an impact on the door. Such a threshold may be 500ms, for example. Similarly, if an interruption occurs within a given time from a previous interruption, it can be interpreted as being caused by a strong impact on the door, causing the door panel to jump twice.

Furthermore, if the position and movement information of the elevator car is combined with the interruption location information in the safety circuit, it is possible to exclude the possibility that the door panel jump was caused by the elevator car passing the floor where the safety circuit interruption was detected. In one embodiment, the position and/or movement speed of the elevator car is recorded, and if the elevator car passes the floor height where the interruption occurred within a predetermined time of the interruption and/or at a predetermined speed, the interruption is ignored.

As the elevator car moves through the elevator shaft, air is pushed by the car, forced forward and squeezed between the car and the shaft wall, causing the so-called piston effect. Air currents also form behind the car. Because the air pressure in the shaft fluctuates rapidly, this can sometimes cause landing doors to sway. This can result in a jump in the door panels, similar to an impact from the floor side. Information about the movement and/or speed of the elevator car can be used to distinguish between the two phenomena. The pressure changes and timing of the elevator car passing through a given floor depend on the specifics of the elevator installation. Therefore, the timing and/or speed parameters need to be determined independently for each elevator or elevator configuration.

If the interruption in the door safety circuit is believed to be caused by factors other than an impact on the door, the interruption can be used to determine the presence of other door safety related problems.

Next, if the interrupt meets the conditions determined by the parameter set, an action is performed. In one embodiment, the action includes initiating an elevator safety mode, and/or the action includes testing at least one door-related parameter to assess elevator door functionality. Thus, the elevator safety mode can be initiated. Alternatively or additionally, at least one door-related parameter can be tested. The door-related parameter can be, for example, the current drawn by the door motor as the door panel moves, the speed of door panel movement at a given door motor current, or other measurable door characteristics that may indicate door status. If a door is specified where an impact was detected, only that door can be tested. For example, if the safety circuit cannot identify doors on each floor, it may be necessary to test at least one door-related parameter for all doors on each floor.

Alternatively, the action may be, for example, reducing the moving speed of the elevator car, stopping the movement of the elevator car, sending a warning signal to an elevator control center and/or triggering an alarm, potentially at the floor where the impact was detected.

The method may include further steps. In one embodiment, the method includes sending a maintenance request in the event that an action is performed. Sending a maintenance request may be advantageous if a comparison of the characteristics of the interruption with the parameter set according to the present disclosure results in an impact being determined (which again results in the execution of an action). Sending the maintenance request may be conditional on the discovery of an anomaly in door functionality during a subsequent diagnostic procedure, such as testing at least one door-related parameter. Information regarding the characteristics of the detected interruption in the elevator safety circuit may be provided along with the maintenance request.

Additionally or alternatively, the characteristics of the interruption in the elevator safety circuit can be sent to a remote location, such as an elevator control center. The information provided by one or more elevators can be used centrally to analyze the occurrence of the interruption and/or further develop the parameters used in the current method.

Further, if the door related parameters are found to be unacceptable, the method may comprise stopping the elevator car at the floor at which such door related parameters were detected.The option of sending the maintenance request may be conditional on the elevator car stopping at the floor.

According to the present disclosure, a method can be developed independently for each elevator installation. If the executed operation includes a diagnostic procedure that tests door functionality after detecting an impact, the characteristics that led to the interruption of the execution of the operation can be compared with the findings of such a diagnostic procedure. If a door malfunction is detected, it can be concluded that the presence of the impact was correctly interpreted. However, according to the present disclosure, if certain characteristic values repeatedly trigger the execution of an operation but fail to detect any door malfunction, such characteristic values can be excluded from the parameter set of the currently used method, for example.

In one embodiment, the method further includes storing characteristics of interruptions detected in the elevator door safety circuit; analyzing the necessity of performing an action; and adjusting the parameter set. By performing such an analysis, the reliability of shock detection can be improved for events that are likely to damage the elevator door. The intensity of the shock and the effect on door panel jump may vary depending on the characteristics of the elevator. Therefore, the initial parameter set for shock detection may benefit from further adjustment.

In one aspect, an elevator safety mode is disclosed. The elevator safety mode is characterized by being activated by detecting an impact according to the method of the present disclosure. The elevator safety mode may include, for example, reducing the speed of the elevator car to reduce the impact of the elevator car colliding with loose or deformed door components. If an impact is detected in the elevator car door, reducing the speed of movement may help protect elevator shaft components if the elevator car door is affected.

Alternatively or additionally, the elevator safety mode may include driving the elevator car to the floor closest to the elevator car upon detecting an impact to allow passengers to exit the elevator car. This may be accompanied by a notification to the passengers that they must exit the elevator car. Further, the elevator safety mode may include the elevator car testing that the elevator car is empty before further movement.

The elevator safety mode according to the present disclosure may also include testing predetermined door-related parameters at one or more floors to evaluate door functionality. If the door-related parameters are found to be unacceptable, the elevator car may be stopped at the floor where such door-related parameters were detected.

The following embodiments of the elevator safety mode according to the present disclosure may be described as examples.

When no landing door is designated for a safety circuit interruption, the elevator safety mode may include the following features. When an impact is detected, the elevator car's travel speed is reduced, and the elevator car is then driven to the floor closest to the elevator car at the time of the impact detection to allow passengers to exit the elevator car. The safety mode may further include testing predetermined door-related parameters at the floor to assess door functionality. If the predetermined door-related parameters are within a range deemed acceptable, the elevator car is driven to the next floor at a reduced speed. If the door-related parameters are deemed unacceptable, the elevator car remains at the floor where the unacceptable door-related parameters were observed.

For all floors, the door-related parameters are repeatedly tested and the elevator car is driven to the next floor, or until the predetermined door-related parameters are deemed unacceptable. If all predetermined door-related parameters are within the range deemed acceptable, the elevator can resume normal operation. If the door-related parameters are deemed unacceptable, a maintenance request can be sent.

When the floor door where the safety circuit interruption is detected is designated, the elevator safety mode may include the following features. When an impact is detected, the moving speed of the elevator car is reduced. The elevator car is then driven to the floor closest to the elevator car when the impact is detected to allow passengers to leave the elevator car. Since the floor where the impact was detected is known, the elevator car can be driven to a floor different from the floor where the impact was detected. The elevator car can then be driven at a reduced speed to the floor where the impact was detected, and predetermined door-related parameters can be tested to ascertain door functionality. If the predetermined door-related parameters are within a range deemed acceptable, normal operation of the elevator can be resumed. Optionally, if at least one predetermined parameter is deemed unacceptable, the elevator car can remain at the floor where the impact was detected. Optionally, a maintenance request can be sent.

On the other hand, a device for detecting an impact on an elevator door is disclosed. The device is characterized in that it is configured to perform a method according to the present disclosure. Therefore, the method according to the present disclosure can be implemented as a computer program. When the computer program is executed in a computing device, it is configured to perform the method. The device can be located in the elevator facility, or can be remotely located, for example in an elevator service center. The elevator service center can be dedicated to a given elevator facility, a given building, or for multiple elevator facilities and/or buildings. Therefore, the elevator service center can be located outside the elevator and connected to the elevator via a communication link or network. The device according to the present disclosure can include a safety controller. Optionally, the device can be included in the safety controller.

In another aspect, an elevator door safety system is disclosed. The elevator door safety system is characterized by being configured to perform the method according to the present disclosure. The elevator door safety system includes the necessary hardware and software for implementing safety procedures related to elevator doors. It includes safety circuitry and associated controllers, as well as connections to devices regulating elevator car movement. Furthermore, the elevator door safety system may include elevator door locks and suitable monitoring equipment for detecting whether the door is closed.

In another aspect, an elevator is disclosed. The elevator is characterized in that it is configured to perform the method according to the present disclosure. Alternatively or additionally, the elevator may include the elevator safety system and/or device according to the present disclosure.

In another aspect of the elevator according to the present disclosure, the elevator is characterized in that it is configured to operate in an elevator safety mode according to the present disclosure.

The elevator according to the present disclosure comprises an elevator car including an elevator car door and at least two floor levels for passengers and/or cargo to enter and exit. The floors include landing doors.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS. The following figures are to be understood as exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Further, other embodiments of the present disclosure are foreseeable. It should be understood that any feature described with respect to any one embodiment may be used alone or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other embodiment, or in any combination of any other embodiment. In addition, equivalents and modifications not described below may also be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

All components in the drawings are shown schematically only and their sizes are not drawn to scale. Further, all additional elevator components are omitted from the drawings, although some of them may be present.

Figure 1 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method according to the present disclosure. In the embodiment of Figure 1 , an interruption is detected in the elevator safety circuit. The characteristics of the interruption are then compared to a parameter set. If the characteristics of the interruption meet the conditions determined by the parameter set, an action is performed. The action may, for example, be the activation of the elevator safety mode. Optionally, if the action is performed, a maintenance request may be sent. Therefore, performing the action triggers the sending of a maintenance request. In this case, if one of multiple actions is selected based on the characteristics of the interruption, information about the action may be sent along with the maintenance request. The option to send a maintenance request is indicated by the dashed outline in Figure 1 .

Optionally, if the characteristics of the interruption meet the conditions determined by the parameter set, an operation of sending a maintenance request can be performed. Thus, if the characteristics of the interruption meet the conditions determined by the parameter set, one or more operations can be performed. As an example, the first operation can be to initiate an elevator safety mode, and the second operation can be to send a maintenance request.

If the characteristics of the interruption do not meet the conditions determined by the parameter set, the elevator continues to operate normally. However, the characteristics of the interruption can optionally be stored, as they may be valuable for further development of the method according to the present disclosure or as an indicator of other problems with the elevator. The option of storing the characteristics of the interruption is indicated by the dashed outline in Figure 1.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure. In the embodiment of Figure 2 , there are two safety circuits: an elevator car door safety circuit 201 and a landing door safety circuit 202. Both safety circuits 201 and 202 are connected to a common controller 203. Optionally, each safety circuit can have its own controller 203, and both can be connected to another control device. This control device can be any elevator control and monitoring unit.

The elevator car can only move when both the elevator car safety circuit 201 and the landing door safety circuit 202 are in the closed state. If an interruption in the safety circuit is detected, the method according to the present disclosure is implemented, and if the characteristics of the interruption meet the conditions of the parameter set, the operation according to the present disclosure is performed.

The elevator car door safety circuit 201 includes a safety switch 204 that monitors the open and closed positions of the elevator car door lock 205. When the elevator car door lock 205 is in the open position, the safety switch 204 turns off, or commands the door lock 205 to the open position, thereby generating an interrupt in the safety circuit 201. When the elevator car door lock 205 is closed, the safety switch 204 turns off, or commands the door lock 205 to the closed position, which again causes the safety circuit 201 to be in the closed state.

Similarly, the landing door safety circuit 202 includes a landing door safety switch 207 for each landing door lock 206. In the embodiment of FIG2 , there are three landing doors, one on each floor (indicated in FIG2 by the vertical positioning of the landing door locks 206). When any landing door lock 206 is in the open position, the corresponding safety switch 207 is disconnected, or the landing door lock 206 is commanded to the open position, thereby generating an interrupt in the safety circuit 202. When all landing door locks 206 are closed, all safety switches 207 are closed, or commanded to the closed position, resulting in the safety circuit 202 being in a closed state.

Each floor all may have more than one door, for example two doors relative to each other.In this case, can have a public floor door safety circuit 202 that is used for all floor doors, perhaps can monitor the floor door on every side of elevator by two floor door safety circuits 202 that separate.

2 , it is possible to distinguish whether the interruption occurs in the elevator car safety circuit 201 or in the landing door safety circuit 202. It is not possible to distinguish between interruptions occurring in the individual landing door safety switches 207.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of another exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure. In the embodiment of Figure 3, there are two safety circuits, an elevator car door safety circuit 301 and a landing door safety circuit 302. In the embodiment of Figure 3, each safety circuit 301, 302 is arranged as a serial bus.

In the embodiment of FIG3 , there can be more than one controller 303. If there are two or more controllers 303, they can be connected to another control device. This control device can be any elevator control and monitoring unit. The elevator car can only move when both safety circuits 301 and 302 are in the closed state.

The operation of the elevator car door safety circuit 301 is similar to the embodiment of FIG2 . The elevator car door safety circuit 301 includes a safety switch 304 that monitors the open and closed positions of the elevator car door lock 305. When the elevator car door lock 305 is in the open position, the safety switch 304 is commanded to the open position, and the state of the safety circuit is open, thereby generating an interrupt in the safety circuit 301. When the elevator car door lock 305 is closed, the safety switch 304 is commanded to the closed position, and the state of the safety state circuit 301 is closed.

The landing door safety circuit 302 includes a landing door safety switch 307 for each landing door lock 306. In the embodiment of FIG3 , there are three landing doors, one at each landing (indicated in FIG3 by the vertical positioning of the landing door lock 306). When the landing door lock 306 is in the open position, the corresponding safety switch 307 commands the door lock 306 to the open position, and an interruption of the safety circuit 302 is generated by the disconnection state of the safety circuit 302. Each landing door lock 306 and the corresponding safety switch 307 are independently monitored, and if the characteristics of the interruption meet the conditions of the parameter set, the controller 303 ascertains that the safety switch 307 is commanded to the open position and causes the landing door safety circuit 302 to be interrupted, stopping the elevator car movement, or causing the execution of operations according to the present disclosure.

Also in the embodiment of FIG3 , each floor may have more than one door. In this case, the floor door safety circuit 302 is adjusted accordingly. A given elevator door may also have more than one door lock 306. In this case, the door locks 306 can belong to the same safety circuit 302. Alternatively, a dedicated safety circuit can be constructed for each door.

3 , an interruption of the safety circuits 301 , 302 can be assigned to a specific door lock, so that the floor level at which the interruption occurred can be recorded.

A typical hardware configuration of a safety circuit is shown in Figure 3. However, there are various known ways to implement a bus-based safety circuit, and any of them may be used to implement the method, the elevator safety mode, the apparatus, the elevator safety system, and the elevator.

In particular, the embodiment shown in FIG3 , or other similar bus-based arrangements, can be retrofitted to existing elevator installations that previously had electromechanical safety circuits. A serial bus-based safety circuit can be used in place of the existing safety circuit, or both safety circuits can operate in parallel. This can be used to create redundancy for door safety arrangements.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2 or FIG. 3 , the method of the present disclosure is implemented, and the controller 203 or 303 may include a parameter set for comparison with the characteristics of the interruption detected in the safety circuit. Optionally, the parameter set may be stored in at least one other device. The controller 203 or 303 may filter information from the safety circuit 201, 301, 202, 302 and transmit it to one or more other devices for performing the comparison, or the controller 203 or 303 may obtain or receive a parameter set from another device for performing the comparison. Furthermore, the execution of the operation may be performed by the controller 203 or 303 or another device, or by the controller 203 or 303 in collaboration with at least one other device.

The controller 203, 303 or another device may also analyze the necessity of the operations performed and may adjust the parameter set according to the present disclosure.

Claims (13)

1. A method for detecting impacts on elevator doors, characterized in that the method comprises: The interruption in the elevator door safety circuit is detected by an action that causes a sufficiently large impact toward the door panel to cause the door panel to jump slightly, thereby temporarily disconnecting the door safety switch or causing the safety switch to send a signal that the door lock is in the open position. The characteristics of the interruption are compared with a set of parameters related to the interruption caused by the impact on the door to assess whether an action needs to be taken; and An operation is performed when the characteristics of the interruption satisfy the conditions determined by the parameter set. The parameter set includes the duration of the interruption and/or the time interval with the previous interruption, and/or the position and speed of the elevator car when the interruption occurs. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: The characteristics of the interrupt detected in the elevator door safety circuit are stored; and Adjust the parameter set. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation includes activating the elevator safety mode, and/or wherein the operation includes testing at least one door-related parameter to evaluate the functionality of the elevator door. 4. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein detecting the interruption includes recording the floor height at which the interruption occurred. 5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the parameter set includes one or more thresholds of the interruption feature. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the position and/or speed of the elevator car are recorded, and the interruption is ignored if the elevator car passes through the floor height at which the interruption occurs within a predetermined time and/or at a predetermined speed during the interruption. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 6, wherein the elevator door safety circuit is an elevator car door safety circuit or an elevator landing door safety circuit. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 6, wherein the method includes sending a maintenance request if the operation is performed. 9. An elevator safety mode, characterized in that the elevator safety mode is activated by detecting an impact using the method according to any one of claims 1-8. 10. An apparatus for detecting impacts on an elevator door, characterized in that the apparatus is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-8. 11. An elevator door safety system, characterized in that the elevator door safety system is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-8. 12. An elevator, characterized in that the elevator is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-8. 13. An elevator, characterized in that the elevator is configured to operate in the safety mode according to claim 9.