WO2007020326A1

WO2007020326A1 - Elevator system

Info

Publication number: WO2007020326A1
Application number: PCT/FI2006/000279
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ari Kattainen; Matti RÄSÄNEN
Original assignee: Kone Corp
Current assignee: Kone Corp
Priority date: 2005-08-18
Filing date: 2006-08-16
Publication date: 2007-02-22
Anticipated expiration: 2008-02-18
Also published as: FI20050838L; FI120732B; FI20050838A0

Abstract

The invention relates to a door operator, a method and a system for integrating the electrification of an elevator car. In the method of the invention, the electric elements of the car are integrated in connection with the door operator. According to the invention, the electric elements to be integrated include maintenance operation buttons, car positioning devices, an elevator car fan, a working lamp and/ or plug socket on the top of the elevator car. Further, in the method of the invention, the cross-connections of the cablings of the electric elements are made at the manufacturing stage of the elevator either in the door operator or in a separate box outside the door operator.

Description

ELEVATOR ARRANGEMENT

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to integration of the electrification of an elevator car.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The moving parts playing the most important role in an elevator system are at least one elevator car moving vertically in the elevator shaft and the elevator doors opening and closing in a horizontal direction. The motion of the elevator car in the elevator shaft is controlled by an elevator control system, which allocates the elevators to the right landing according to the floor data and the destination floor calls entered by the elevator user.

When the elevator arrives at a floor, the elevator doors are generally opened by a motor comprised in the door arrangement and the landing doors are opened together with the elevator doors by means of a door coupler. The opening of the doors may also be arranged by using a motor mounted on the landing door for opening the doors. The elevator car is provided with a door control unit, whose control processor controls the operation of a door operator. The door operator is a device mounted on the elevator car for moving the mechanical parts of the door. The door operator contains a control processor, the control electronics, the door actuating motor and a power transmission system.

All the electrical and mechanical parts of the elevator system are mutually connected and dependent on each other. They also should function safely and reliably. Passenger safety has to be ensured, and failure situations requiring repair work should occur as rarely as possible. However, even if no failure conditions requiring repair work appear in the elevator, the elevator needs maintenance at regular intervals. The maintenance of an elevator in active use has to be carried out on a statutory basis to guarantee safe operation of the elevator system.

To guarantee safe operation, there are statutory safety regulations. Each country usually has its own elevator safety regulations. Countries may additionally accept elevators manufactured in accordance with commonly known regulations. For example, there is an elevator directive valid in the EU countries which is meant to harmonize the elevator safety regulations of all the contracting states .

To guarantee safe operation of elevators, the elevator car is provided with a large number of components which e.g. measure the position of the elevator in the elevator shaft, stop the elevator in a failure situation or facilitate the condition testing performed in connection with elevator maintenance work. The electric components in prior-art elevator cars are connected further via a cross-connection box.

Fig. 1 presents a prior-art arrangement for disposing the electric elements of an elevator car in connection with a cross-connection box placed on the top of the elevator car. Typically, the cross-connection box contains a large number of connections, and therefore, correspondingly, a considerable amount of cabling is needed on the top of the car to connect to the electric elements. In Fig. 1, placed in connection with a cross-connection box 1 on the top of an elevator car are a fan 9 of the elevator car, which has been arranged to take care of ventilation in the car. A separate battery 12 is independent of external power supply and it has been arranged to ensure that the elevator car is sufficiently illuminated even in the event of a failure situation.

A maintenance drive unit 3 is likewise placed on the top of the car, and its buttons are cabled through the cross-connection box 1. The operation of the maintenance drive unit is associated with the statutory safety measures designed to check the condition and functionality of the elevator at regular intervals. During maintenance operation of an elevator, it is ^"subjected to functional testing, in other words, the operation of the safety and alarm equipment is tested. In the maintenance operation mode, the speed of the elevator is limited by means of a maintenance operation switch and a maintenance operation speed selector switch, and precautions are observed to ensure that a serviceman working on the top of the elevator car will have a sufficient protective space to guarantee safe working conditions. In addition to the maintenance operation switch and the maintenance operation speed selector switch, the maintenance operation buttons may comprise the following buttons: a stop switch, up and down direction switches, switches for opening and closing the door, and an alarm switch. For use in conjunction with maintenance of the elevator, there is also arranged on the car top a plug socket 13 and a car top working lamp 8, the cables to which are connected via the cross-connection box 1.

The safety gear 4 presented in Fig. 1 has been arranged to receive information about the state of the safety circuit of the elevator system through the cross-connection box 1. The operation of the safety gear is related to the standard of requirements of the safety regulations regarding the safety components of the elevator. If the safety circuit of the elevator is broken, then the wedge of the safety gear will engage the elevator guide rails and prevent uncontrolled motion of the elevator car in the elevator shaft. A safety device of a type similar to the safety gear is a locking device 5 typically used especially e.g. in Monospace elevators, whose operation is related to stopping of the elevator car in the event of a failure.

For the control system to be able to stop the elevator at the correct level at a floor, it needs know the position of the elevator in the elevator shaft as well as the exact locations of the floors. The positioning devices of the elevator include e.g. door zone sensors, which transmit to the elevator control system accurate information as to when the car is at the level of a landing. In addition, the control system utilizes data obtained from other positioning devices, such as decelerating switches at different floors, stopping switches and final limit switches 14 placed near the end of the elevator shaft. If the elevator has not stopped during normal operation before reaching the final limit switches, then the elevator's safety circuit will be broken and the brake of the elevator will stop the elevator before it reaches the end of the shaft. The final limit switches placed on the elevator car are also cabled via the connection box 1.

Mounted on an interior wall of the elevator car is a car operating panel (COP) 6, which comprises functional buttons for the entry of the destination floor or for closing the doors of the elevator. The car operating panel 6 may additionally comprise other functions, such as an alarm input button or a voice connection to a maintenance service. A destination floor call coming from the car operating panel 6 is passed via the cross-connection box 1 on the top of the car and over the car cable 10 to the elevator control system.

Fig. 1 also shows the car door operator 2. From the door operator, information is passed to the elevator control system regarding e.g. the state of the safety circuit, or information regarding obstructed closing of the doors, obtained from a photocell sensor working with infrared rays. Connected to the door operator are additionally a power cable and a signal cable. These transmission cables are indicated by the number 11 in Fig. 1.

Due to the large number of connections to the aforesaid cross-connection box, there is on the top of the car a considerable amount of cabling associated with the electric elements of the car. The large number of cables leads to high material, manufacturing and installation costs. Another consequence of the cablings may also be that their large number forms a restriction regarding the disposition of electric components due to lack of space. Moreover, if there appears a need to add electric components after the installation of the elevator, then all the cables connected to the cross-connection box have to be disconnected, which is a laborious task. In addition, the large number of cross-connections increases the risk of wiring errors during installation.

The cross-connection box placed on the top of the car and the electric components associated with it may additionally be exposed to various disturbances, such as dust or disturbances caused by wear. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to disclose a door operator, a method and a system for integrating the electrification of an elevator with the door operator of the elevator. A specific object of the invention is to enable easier installation of an elevator by integrating the electric elements to be placed on the elevator car in connection with the door operator comprised in the elevator car. In an embodiment, this integration can be implemented already at the manufacturing stage of the elevator.

The method and system of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the characterization parts of claims 1 and 6. Other embodiments of the invention are characterized by what is disclosed in the other claims. 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 claims below. 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 respect of advantages or sets 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 basic idea of the method of the invention is to integrate electric elements to be placed on the elevator car, such as the buttons for maintenance operation, the car positioning devices, the final limit switches, the car fan, the working lamp and/or the plug socket on the top of the elevator car, with the door operator.

In the method of the invention, the integration of the electric elements is implemented already at the manufacturing stage of the elevator.

In the method of the invention, the entire elevator car together with the door operator can be installed as a single assembly, in other words, a so-called common base is used.

Further in the method of the invention, the cross- connections of the cablings of the electric elements are made at the manufacturing stage of the elevator.

According to the invention, the electric elements may be placed together inside the door operator or the electric elements may be mounted in a separate box outside the door operator.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate some of the problematic aspects presented in connection with the description of prior art. By using the integration arrangement of the invention, the number of components and parts to be handled in the installation of an elevator is considerably reduced. In addition, via integration of the electric elements, increased reliability of both installation work and post-installation operation of the elevator is achieved. The new integration arrangement allows the electric components to be better protected against dust and wear while the uncertainty factors during installation are minimized as the amount of equipment to be installed is reduced. The present invention also makes it possible to carry out post-installation elevator improvement work with considerably less trouble because no changes need to be made in the cablings and the installation can be performed in one place. By using the solution of the invention, the elevator car together with the door operator can be manufactured and electrified and, if necessary, even tested as a complete assembly already at factory and then installed as a single assembly in the elevator shaft.

The advantages of the invention pertain to facilitating elevator installation as well as reducing the amount of material. Thanks to the integration method of the invention, the electric elements of the elevator are more durable in use, which naturally increases the reliability of the functionality of the electric elements and therefore the safety of the elevator system as a whole. As the electric elements are integrated in the same place, the number of cables required can also be reduced. This alleviates especially the problems of selecting the cable types consistent with the safety regulations while also reducing the costs. A further advantage is a simplification of the entire elevator system as the number of components to be installed is reduced. As the elevator car with the door operator can be installed as a single assembly, the installation work in the client's premises becomes considerably faster and easier. Yet another advantage is that the elevator car together with the door operator can be tested beforehand already at the factory as a single assembly and eventual faults can be eliminated before delivery of the elevator car to the installation site, the installation work being thus further accelerated while the installation costs are reduced. LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1 illustrates a prior-art arrangement of electric elements on the top of an elevator car, and

Fig. 2 presents an embodiment of the arrangement of the present invention for placing the electric elements of the car in the door operator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Fig. 2 presents an embodiment of the arrangement of the invention for integrating the electric elements of the car in the door operator .

Fig. 2 presents an application where the electric elements are installed according to the invention in the door operator 22 of the elevator car. According to Fig. 2, the maintenance operation buttons 23 are placed in the door operator 22. From the maintenance operation buttons 23, information regarding e.g. a transition to maintenance operation mode is transmitted via a cross-connection card 21 to the elevator control system. Integrating the maintenance operation buttons 23 in connection with the door operator eliminates the need to have a separate maintenance drive unit on the top of the elevator car as all electric components are mounted in the door operator. Moreover, if the maintenance operation buttons are fixedly connected to the circuit card, possible wiring errors will be eliminated.

In Fig. 2, the cabling for the working lamp 28 placed on the top of the car and needed especially in connection with maintenance work has been left outside the door operator, but even this cabling can be integrated in connection with the door operator. In such a case, the light can be passed to the car top by a light guide or via lenses for maintenance work. The plug socket 213 on the car top is also arranged in integration with the door operator 22.

The car operating panel 26 of the elevator is naturally not integrated in the door operator because the user has to be able to input his/her destination floor via the operating panel. Instead, information is transmitted from the operating panel to the elevator control system via the cross-connection card 21 placed in the door operator. The elevator user inputs information regarding the desired destination floor by pressing one of the functional buttons on the operating panel, whereupon this information is transmitted via the cross-connection card to the car cable 210 and further to the elevator control system.

Integrating the positioning devices 27 of the elevator in the door operator 22 simplifies the electric connections of the car and improves the durability of the positioning devices while the service life of the elevator is extended. The positioning devices communicate via the cross-connection card 21 and over the car cable 210 with the elevator control system, which, based on the position data, controls and allocates the elevators in accordance with the calls entered by the users. As state-of-the-art elevator cars are provided with several detectors and sensors for positioning purposes, the integration simplifies the cabling of the positioning devices in particular.

For example, the final limit switches 214 are integrated in the door operator 22 as shown in Fig. 2.

A battery 212 is provided in the door operator 23 of the elevator. The battery takes care of e.g. supplying the car light with electricity during a power failure.

The fan 29 of the elevator car is also arranged inside the door operator 22. Ventilation of the elevator car can be arranged by channeling the ventilating air from the fan 29 in the door operator into the elevator car. By contrast, the safety gear and the locking device needed especially in an elevator without machine room are still placed separately from the door operator.

Although the electrification of the elevator in the above example is integrated in the door operator already during manufacture, some of the electrification can also be implemented afterwards by adding electric elements to the door operator in separate additional boxes mounted on the door operator. The electrification of the elevator may also comprise other electric components or elements which can be integrated in connection with the door operator but which are not mentioned in this application.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, in which the invention has 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

1. Method for integrating the electrification of an elevator car, said method comprising the steps of: controlling the elevator door by means of a door operator (2, 22) ; placing on the elevator car electric elements needed in it; characteri zed in that the method further comprises the steps of: integrating the aforesaid electric elements in connection with the door operator (22) .

2. Method according to claim 1, characteri zed in that the aforesaid integration of electric elements is performed at the manufacturing stage of the elevator.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2 , characteri zed in that the elevator car together with the door operator (22) is installed as a single assembly.

4. Method according to any one of the preceding claims 1-3, characteri zed in that the aforesaid electric elements include maintenance operation buttons (23), car positioning devices (27, 214), an elevator car fan (29), a working lamp (28) and/or plug socket (213) on the top of the elevator car.

5. Method according to any one of the preceding claims 1-4, characteri zed in that the method further comprises the step of: making the cross-connections of the cablings of the electric elements at the manufacturing stage of the elevator.

6. Method according to any one of the preceding claims 1-5, characteri zed in that the method further comprises the step of: placing the electric elements inside the door operator.

7. Method according to any one of the preceding claims 1-5, characteri zed in that the method further comprises the step of: placing the electric elements in a separate box outside the door operator.

8. System for integrating the electrification of an elevator car, said system comprising: at least one elevator car; a door operator (2, 22) for controlling the door of the elevator car; electric elements (27, 212, 29, 23, 213, 28, 26, 24, 25) needed in the elevator car; characterized in that the system further comprises: a door operator (22) with at least some of the aforesaid electric elements integrated in connection with it.

9. System according to claim 8, characteri zed in that the aforesaid electric elements include maintenance operation buttons (23), car positioning devices (27, 214), an elevator car fan (29), a working lamp (28) and/or plug socket (213) on the top of the elevator car.

10. System according to any one of the preceding claims 8-9, characteri zed in that the system further comprises: cross-connection means (21) allowing electric cross-connections to be made at the manufacturing stage of the elevator.

11. Door operator for opening the door of an elevator car, characterized in that at least some of the electric elements (27, 212, 29, 23, 213, 28, 26, 24, 25) needed in the elevator car are integrated in the door operator.

12. Door operator according to claim 11, characteri zed in that the aforesaid electric elements include maintenance operation buttons (23) , car positioning devices (27, 214), an elevator car fan (29) , a working lamp (28) and/or plug socket (213) on the top of the elevator car.