HK1259051B - Elevator data communication arrangement - Google Patents

Description

Elevator data communication layout

Background Art

Modern elevators involve numerous devices capable of processing information. These devices may be involved in all aspects of elevator use. For example, in all modern elevators, the control keys and information displays are computer-controlled. In addition to control-related devices, there may also be other devices for providing information or entertainment. For example, there may be information screens with changing content, such as advertisements. In addition to the aforementioned information, modern elevators also process and transmit safety-related information. Elevators typically include various safety devices for monitoring various aspects. For example, some safety devices monitor whether the elevator car doors and/or floor doors are not properly opened or closed. When such a defect is detected, an alarm or information message must be transmitted to maintenance personnel. In some cases, the elevator can be prevented from operating.

As can be understood from the above, the information sent from the elevator car can be categorized according to its importance. A distinction is typically made between safety-critical information and other information. Safety-critical information is of paramount importance and must be delivered reliably to its destination without any delay.

A traditional solution for providing reliable and fast transmission of safety-critical information is to have a separate, dedicated communication arrangement for safety-critical information. For example, well-known bus systems used for building automation, such as LON (Local Operating Network) or CAN (Controller Area Network), can be used to transmit non-safety-critical information. However, separate arrangements have been introduced for safety-critical systems.

Summary of the Invention

Elevator safety and security-related information needs to be reliably transmitted to the safety control system. Existing elevator communication devices can be used to transmit received safety and security-related information by processing it and then sending it from the elevator car or floor equipment to the control device via a communication bus. A separate communication unit can be used to receive and process safety and security-related data packets and then transmit them via a common bus used for safety and non-safety-critical submissions.

In the following description, safety-critical elevator components may include: sensors, which may be safety switches with at least one direct-break actuation contact; safety circuits, such as a safety relay arrangement or a combination of two or more non-safety switches, for example, a combination having improved fail-safe characteristics compared to a single non-safety switch; these improved fail-safe characteristics may be achieved, for example, by connecting two or more non-safety switches in series. Sensors may also be non-contact proximity sensors or other types of sensors that measure safety-critical information. Sensors may be installed to measure, for example, the status of the entrance to the elevator shaft, the status of the elevator car door, the limits of permitted movement of the elevator car in the elevator shaft, the status of the elevator car trap door, the operation of the elevator's overspeed governor, the status of the elevator shaft's end buffers, the temporary maintenance space to be formed in the elevator shaft, the status of safety devices activated by the overspeed governor, etc.

The safety-critical elevator component may further include a processor and an interface circuit for connecting the sensors to the processor. The safety-critical elevator component may further include a communication circuit coupled to or as part of the processor so that data from the sensors of the safety-critical elevator component can be transmitted to a communication bus and further transmitted via the communication bus to, for example, an elevator control unit and/or an electronic safety controller.

In the following description, a safety non-critical elevator component may be a component for controlling tasks that are not critical from the safety perspective of the elevator, such as receiving calls from elevator passengers, displaying information such as elevator car position information or call information on a screen, allocating calls to be served by an elevator car, controlling elevator movement to transfer passengers between floors, controlling lighting of the elevator car, etc. The main principle of elevator safety is that in the event of an operational abnormality or failure of a safety non-critical elevator component, it is the task of the safety-critical elevator component to stop the elevator and bring the elevator to a safe state.

It is also possible that the same elevator component has both safety-critical and safety-non-critical functions. Even in this case, the distinction between safety-critical and safety-non-critical structures is clear: if a substructure or subcircuit of an elevator component performs one or more safety-critical functions, this substructure or subcircuit is considered a safety-critical elevator component.

In one embodiment, an apparatus is disclosed that includes: a communication bus controlled by corresponding communication microcontrollers; at least one connection configured to connect a safety non-critical elevator component; and at least one microcontroller configured to communicate with at least one safety critical elevator component, wherein at least one of the microcontrollers of the at least one microcontroller is coupled to the communication microcontroller.

In another embodiment, the apparatus further comprises at least two microcontrollers configured to communicate with the safety-critical component, and one of the at least two microcontrollers is configured to receive and further transmit safety-critical information from another microcontroller configured to communicate with the safety-critical elevator component.

In another embodiment, the microcontroller configured to receive and further transmit safety-critical information is configured to: extract data from a received communication data packet; generate a new data packet including information from a plurality of received data packets; and further transmit the generated new data packet.

In another embodiment, the device further comprises a second communication microcontroller configured to communicate with a second communication bus. In another embodiment, the device is further configured to receive and process data packets received from the second communication bus and send the processed data packets to the first communication bus.

In a further embodiment, the device is further configured to receive and process data packets received from the first communication bus, and send the processed data packets to the second communication bus.

In one embodiment, the communication bus is a Local Operating Network (LON) bus or a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus.

In one embodiment, a communication method for an elevator system is disclosed, wherein the method is performed in a communication device. The method includes: controlling a communication bus by a corresponding communication microcontroller; receiving a safety-critical communication data packet from an elevator component; receiving a safety-critical communication data packet from an elevator component; and sending the data packet to the communication bus.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises: extracting data from a received communication data packet; generating a new data packet including information from a plurality of received data packets; and further transmitting the generated data packet.

In another embodiment, the communication method further comprises communicating with a second communication bus. In another embodiment, the method further comprises receiving and processing data packets received from the second communication bus and sending the processed data packets to the first communication bus. In another embodiment, the method further comprises receiving and processing data packets received from the first communication bus and sending the processed data packets to the second communication bus.

In one embodiment, the above method is implemented as a computer program and stored on a computer-readable medium.

Advantages of the elevator data communication system described above include the ability to use a common communication bus to transmit information that requires reliable and timely reception. This is advantageous for elevator systems where safety and/or security-related information does not require its own communication system. Consequently, unnecessary components can be removed from the elevator. The arrangement described above further improves the capacity of conventional elevator communication systems by processing transmissions so that the payload of existing data packets is more efficiently used and the capacity loss of transmission protocol headers is minimized. Another benefit of the arrangement disclosed above is that it can be implemented without requiring changes to other components in the elevator system. Therefore, it can be easily implemented without redesigning other components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the elevator data communication arrangement and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments and together with the description help explain the principles of the elevator data communication arrangement. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a communication card of an elevator data communication system.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of an elevator data communication system.

FIG3 is a diagram of a data packet used in an elevator data communication system,

FIG4 is a block diagram of an elevator data communication system including two segments,

FIG5 is a block diagram of a repeater card in an elevator data communication system, and

6 is a flow chart of an example method for use in an elevator data communication system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the following descriptions, the term "microcontroller" refers to a small computer or computing unit. A microcontroller typically includes at least one programmable processor, memory, and input/output peripherals. Typically, the microcontroller is implemented on a single integrated circuit. However, this is not required for the elevator data communication arrangement discussed in this article; any computing device capable of providing the same functionality can be used for the same purpose.

In FIG1 , a block diagram is disclosed that illustrates an arrangement for using an elevator with a LON (Local Operating Network). The arrangement includes a device 10, sometimes referred to as a communication card or communication device. In the following description, the term communication card is used, however, it should be understood in the context of the functionality implemented. The communication card of FIG1 is connected to a LON bus 11 using a serial bus 12 and a LON microcontroller 13. These are typically used for non-safety-critical devices such as the elevator's display 14 and control buttons 15.

The communication card 10 of FIG1 has been further modified to transmit safety-critical information. This is accomplished by providing one or more microcontrollers 16, 17 on the communication card 10. FIG1 illustrates an example configuration. Two safety-related microcontrollers are disclosed in the communication card of FIG1. The first microcontroller 16 is connected to the LON microcontroller 13 via a bidirectional communication bus; however, a unidirectional communication bus could also be used, allowing the LON microcontroller 13 to only receive communications from the first microcontroller 16. In FIG1, the second microcontroller 17 is coupled to the LON microcontroller 13 via the first microcontroller 16; however, the second microcontroller 17 could also be connected directly to the LON microcontroller 13.

FIG1 shows two safety circuits coupled to first and second microcontrollers 16 and 17, respectively. In this figure, the two safety circuits are identical and each includes a safety switch. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the safety circuits can be of different types, and that a single microcontroller can control more than one safety switch. Reed switches 18a and 18b are used in this figure. Reed switches are magnetically operated switches, such as those commonly used in elevator doors.

In the following example, assume that reed switches 18a and 18b are attached to the same elevator door that is not properly closed. Therefore, a security alarm needs to be raised. Microcontrollers 16 and 17 both receive information from their respective reed switches indicating that the door is not properly closed. Second microcontroller 17 sends a message to first microcontroller 16. First microcontroller 16 receives messages from both reed switch 18a and second microcontroller 17. First microcontroller 16 extracts the message packet received from second microcontroller 17 and generates a combined message packet that includes the information from reed switches 16 and 17 in one message packet.

FIG2 shows a three-story building. Each floor is equipped with communication cards 20-22, which can be the communication cards of FIG1 or other communication cards with the same functionality. The arrows between the communication cards indicate the direction of information flow. As described above, information transmission is achieved, for example, by using the LON bus. Ultimately, the information reaches the elevator safety module 24 and the elevator operation control 25. Safety-critical messages are received at the elevator safety module 24, and other messages such as push buttons and display information are received at the elevator operation control 25. As described above with reference to FIG1, the communication cards can include connections to various types of safety switches and other components. These components are typically selected during the building design, but new switches and components can be added later. Communications received from the communication cards can be copied or otherwise distributed to the safety module 24 and the elevator operation control 25. In the case of copying, these entities process the received communications and extract the relevant portions for further processing. After extraction, the messages are processed according to conventional methods.

FIG3 shows a data packet structure suitable for a protocol according to the arrangement disclosed above. A LON packet 30 is shown in this figure. The packet 30 consists of two security packets, as shown. The security packet is encapsulated within the LON packet 30, such that the first packet in the LON packet 30 is a normal LON header 31. The LON header then contains two security packets and a LON CRC 32. Each security packet includes an ID 33, a sequence number 34, a status message 35 (payload), and its own CRC 36. From this structure, it is possible to detect which packet is a security packet and which is not. The structure of FIG3 is, of course, an example, and any other structure that provides a means for distinguishing a security packet from other packets can be used. When security packets can be distinguished, they can be correctly assigned, such as in the arrangement shown in FIG2 .

FIG4 illustrates an arrangement in a high-rise building. As previously described, messages are distributed to elevator operation controller 40 and safety module 41. The building in the example of FIG4 has 48 floors. Each floor includes communication cards 42-48. For clarity, only some floors are shown in the figure. In the building shown in the figure, the communication cards are arranged into sections, with the first section including floors 1-24 and the second section including floors 25-48. As in the previous example, communication is arranged using the LON bus, however, each section is connected to repeater devices 48-49. In this figure, floors 1-24 are connected to the first repeater 28, and floors 25-48 are connected to the second repeater 49.

FIG5 discloses an example of a repeater card 50. Repeater card 50 is similar to the communication cards of the previous examples, however, it is configured to receive information from other communication cards in a segment. Repeater card 50 is connected to LON bus 51 via serial port 54 and LON microcontroller 53. Furthermore, repeater card 50 includes two safety microcontrollers 55 and 56 connected to LON microcontroller 53 as described above. Safety microcontrollers 55 and 56 are further coupled to a second LON microcontroller 57, which is further coupled to serial port 58 for communication via second LON bus 52. Second LON bus 52 is the segment's LON bus. Therefore, all information from the segment is received at repeater card 50 via serial port 58 and second LON microcontroller 52.

In Figure 5, two secure microcontrollers 55 and 56 are disclosed. For example, the operation of these microcontrollers can be divided, with the first responsible for outgoing messages and the second for incoming messages, so that the segments can be serviced. In this configuration, the first secure microcontroller will also process non-critical control messages arriving from the segments. These messages can be forwarded without further processing, or they can be processed in a similar manner to security-critical messages, with messages from the segments being packaged into a single packet. This processing may also involve compression.

In Figure 6, a method using an arrangement similar to the elevator data communication arrangement discussed above is disclosed. In this method, a first safety circuit is checked at step 60. The safety circuit is typically checked at regular intervals and a status signal is generated. The status signal indicates whether everything is normal or whether there is a possible problem.

Once the safety circuit has been checked and the corresponding status has been determined, a data packet containing this information is generated in step 61. This packet includes information related to identifying the safety switch indicating a possible defect. This is typically accomplished by a microcontroller controlling the safety circuit. The generated packet is then further transmitted in step 62. As mentioned above, since the status is checked at regular intervals, data packets can also be generated and transmitted at regular intervals. The frequency of generation and transmission may be determined by the authority responsible for elevator safety. Therefore, the optimal frequency may vary depending on the installation parameters and the country of installation.

In step 63, packets are received at a microcontroller or similar processing unit. The microcontroller extracts the received data packets within a time interval, so that in step 64, multiple packets extracted during the interval or time period are received. The received and extracted data is then used to generate a new data packet, which is a combined packet comprising multiple received and extracted data packets. This generation may have the same or different frequency as described above. For example, the combined data packet may be sent after a specified time period has expired. In another embodiment, the combined packet is always generated after a predetermined number of received packets have been extracted. In another embodiment, the frequency is a combination of the above, where the combined packet is always generated when a threshold number of extracted packets is exceeded or when a predetermined time interval has expired. For example, a packet may be generated every 200 milliseconds or after every 10 extracted packets. The interval and associated rules are typically determined based on regulatory requirements. After generation, the packet is further transmitted in step 66.

The method disclosed above is disclosed in an environment with only one segment. When more than one segment is used, data packets can be received from the security circuit and/or other communication cards.

The above method can be implemented as computer software executed in a computing device capable of communicating with a mobile device. When the software is executed in the computing device, it is configured to perform the above inventive method. The software is contained on a computer-readable medium so that it can be provided to the computing device, such as the communication card 10 of Figure 1.

As described above, the components of exemplary embodiments may include instructions programmed according to the teachings of the present invention and computer-readable media or memories for preserving data structures, tables, records, and/or other data described herein. Computer-readable media may include any suitable medium that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Common forms of computer-readable media may include, for example, floppy disks, floppy (magnetic) disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, any other suitable magnetic media, CD-ROMs, CD±Rs, CD±RWs, DVDs, DVD-RAMs, DVD±RWs, DVD±Rs, HD DVDs, HD DVD-Rs, HD DVD-RWs, HDDVD-RAMs, Blu-ray discs, any other suitable optical media, RAMs, PROMs, EPROMs, FLASH-EPROMs, any other suitable memory chips or cassettes, memory cards, or any other suitable media from which a computer can read.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that as technology advances, the basic idea of the elevator data communication arrangement can be implemented in various ways. The elevator data communication arrangement and its embodiments are therefore not limited to the examples described above; instead, they may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims (13)

1. An elevator data communication device, comprising: The communication bus (11) is controlled by the corresponding communication microcontroller (13); At least one connection configured to connect safety-non-critical elevator components (14, 15), said connection being connected to a communication bus via a communication microcontroller; and At least one microcontroller (16, 17) is configured to communicate with at least one safety-critical elevator component (18a, 18b), wherein at least one of the microcontrollers (16, 17) is connected to the communication microcontroller (13). 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device includes at least two microcontrollers (16, 17) configured to communicate with safety-critical components (18a, 18b), and one of the at least two microcontrollers (16) is configured to receive and further transmit safety-critical information from another microcontroller (17) configured to communicate with the safety-critical elevator component (18b). 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the microcontroller (16) configured to receive and further transmit security-critical information is configured as follows: Extract data from received communication data packets; Generate a new data packet that includes information from multiple received data packets; and The newly generated data packets are then sent. 4. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the device further comprises a second communication microcontroller (57) configured to communicate with a second communication bus. 5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the device is further configured to receive and process data packets received from the second communication bus, and send the processed data packets to the first communication bus. 6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the device is further configured to receive and process data packets received from the first communication bus, and send the processed data packets to the second communication bus. 7. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication bus is a Local Operation Network (LON) bus or a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. 8. A communication method for an elevator system, wherein the method is performed in a communication device, the method comprising: The communication bus is controlled by a corresponding communication microcontroller; The elevator receives safety-non-critical communication data packets from the elevator component via a communication microcontroller through at least one connection connected to the safety-non-critical elevator component, the connection being connected to a communication bus via the communication microcontroller; Receive safety-critical communication data packets from elevator components via at least one microcontroller; and The data packet is sent to the communication bus. 9. The communication method according to claim 8, further comprising: Extract data from received communication data packets; Generate a new data packet that includes information from multiple received data packets; and The generated data packets are then sent. 10. The communication method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the method further comprises communicating with a second communication bus. 11. The communication method according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises receiving and processing data packets received from the second communication bus, and sending the processed data packets to the first communication bus. 12. The communication method according to claim 11, wherein the method further comprises receiving and processing data packets received from the first communication bus, and sending the processed data packets to the second communication bus. 13. A computer-readable medium comprising a computer program having code adapted to implement the method according to any one of claims 8-12 when executed on a data processing system.