Patent Application
20190100407
The present invention relates generally to an emergency operation control for elevators connected together in a network.
Many earthquake emergency operation control systems have been proposed in which a plurality of seismic sensors installed in their respective elevator systems in various areas are connected via communication network to a remote monitoring center, and the monitoring center provides earthquake emergency operation control to the elevator systems in the network based on the obtained earthquake information. By connecting elevator systems in various areas through communication network, the obtained earthquake detection data can be utilized for providing early warning to remote locations in advance of the arrival of an earthquake. However, since enormous amounts of data traffic have to be handled by a central management server in the remote monitoring center, such arrangements would add high cost and complexity for maintenance and management of facility.
It is also known that some earthquake emergency operation control systems for an elevator utilize real-time seismic information provided by government agencies for providing earthquake emergency operation controls to elevator systems in a network. However, these systems also require large costs for long-term contracts with the government agencies as well as maintenance and management of facility.
Therefore, there exists in the art a need for providing an earthquake emergency operation control system for an elevator which can utilize seismic propagation prediction data obtained in advance of the arrival of an earthquake without incurring large costs and requiring complexities. There also exists in the art a need for providing an earthquake emergency operation control system applicable to any elevator system connected in a network, regardless of whether the elevator system has its own seismic sensor.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an emergency operation controller for an elevator is disclosed. The controller is connected to other emergency operation controllers of their respective elevators through network, and each controller constitutes a node in the network. The controller generates and transmits an emergency condition detection message to other controllers in the network which constitute adjacent nodes to the controller when the controller detects an emergency condition, and receives an emergency condition detection message from other controllers which constitute adjacent nodes to the controller in the network when other controllers detect an emergency condition. The emergency condition detection message includes a propagation count. The propagation count is configured to be decremented by one, each time one controller transmits the emergency condition detection message to other controllers which constitute next adjacent nodes. The emergency condition detection message is continuously transmitted until the propagation count reaches to zero. Each emergency operation controller is configured to perform an emergency operation based on a received emergency condition detection message, if the controller receives the emergency condition detection message prior to the detection of the emergency condition.
In some embodiments, the emergency condition is an earthquake and the emergency condition detection message is an earthquake detection message.
In some embodiments, each emergency operation controller performs an earthquake emergency operation based on its own detection of an earthquake if the controller does not receive any earthquake detection message at the time of detection of the earthquake.
In some embodiments, at least one controller in the network includes a seismic sensor installed in a hoistway.
In some embodiments, the earthquake detection message includes types of detected earthquake including P-waves and S-waves, the controller stops an elevator car at the nearest floor and resumes operation after a lapse of a predetermined time if the earthquake detection message indicates P-waves, and the controller completely stops elevator operations until it is reset manually if the earthquake detection message indicates S-waves.
In some embodiments, the controller generating the earthquake detection message sets the propagation count depending on the types of detected earthquake, and the propagation count for S-waves is set to a value less than that for P-waves.
In some embodiments, the propagation count for P-waves is set to a value between 3 and 5, and the propagation count for S-waves is set to 1 or 2.
In some embodiments, the controller includes a signal processing section for receiving seismic signals from a seismic sensor, a main control section for generating an earthquake detection message based on the received seismic signals from the signal processing section or performing an earthquake emergency operation based on any earthquake detection message received from other controllers, and a network control section for transmitting/receiving the earthquake detection message to/from other controllers which constitute adjacent nodes in the network.
In some embodiments, the controller is configured to periodically generate a distribution list for elevators which constitute adjacent nodes in the network in advance of a detection of an emergency condition.
In some embodiments, the emergency condition is a flood.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of controlling emergency operations of a plurality of elevators connected in a network is disclosed. Each elevator constitutes a node in the network. The method includes: detecting an emergency condition by at least one elevator in the network; generating an emergency condition detection message by the at least one elevator, the emergency condition detection message including a propagation count; transmitting the emergency condition detection message to other elevators in the network which constitute next adjacent nodes to the at least one elevator and decrementing the propagation count by one; and performing an emergency operation based on the emergency condition detection message. Transmitting the emergency condition detection message is performed until the propagation count reaches to zero.
In some embodiments, the emergency condition is an earthquake and the emergency condition detection message is an earthquake detection message.
In some embodiments, the method further includes performing an earthquake emergency operation based on its own detection of an earthquake if an elevator does not receive any earthquake detection message at the time of detection of the earthquake.
In some embodiments, the earthquake detection message further includes types of detected earthquake including P-waves and S-waves. The method further includes: stopping an elevator car at the nearest floor and resumes operation after a lapse of a predetermined time if the earthquake detection message indicates P-waves; and stopping operation of the elevator until it is reset manually if the earthquake detection message indicates S-waves.
In some embodiments, the method further includes: setting the propagation count to a value between 3 and 5 for P-waves; and setting the propagation count to 1 or 2 for S-waves.
In some embodiments, the method further includes periodically generating a distribution list for elevators which constitute adjacent nodes in the network. Generating a distribution list is performed by each of the elevators in the network in advance of a detection of an emergency condition. Transmitting the emergency condition detection message is performed based on the distribution list.
In some embodiments, the emergency condition is a flood.
These and other aspects of this disclosure will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, which can be briefly described as follows.
As shown in
The main controller 7 for controlling operations of the entire elevator system 1 includes an earthquake emergency operation controller 9 in accordance with the present invention. The earthquake emergency operation controller 9 includes a signal processing section 10 for receiving seismic signals from the seismic sensor 6, a main control section 11 for performing algorithms as described later, and a network control section 12 for transmitting/receiving messages to/from other elevator systems 1 connected via communication network 13.
As shown in
When the seismic sensor 6 installed within the hoistway 3 detects seismic waves, the detected signals are transmitted through the signal processing section 10 to the main control section 11. The main control section 11 then generates a detection message and sends out the detection message through the network control section 12 to other elevator systems 1 in the network 13 based on the distribution list stored in the controller 9 of the sender elevator system 1. As will be described later, the detection message data includes a predetermined “Propagation Count” provided to be decremented by one, each time one elevator system 1 receives the detection message from another elevator system 1. This process is carried out until the propagation count reaches to zero. This process is called earthquake detection algorithm. By utilizing this algorithm, the elevators controlled in response to earthquake emergency operation control signals will be limited in a predetermined area.
Next, the algorithm for consolidating data of elevator systems 1 in various areas to generate distribution list will be described with reference to
Note that “Node” refers to one access point in a network. Thus, each elevator system 1 within the network 13 constitutes a node, and the next nodes refer to the next adjacent elevator systems 1 in the network 13 that are directly connected to the sender elevator system 1 in the network 13. The data, the Ack Query message in this case, can be transmitted to the next adjacent nodes, i.e. the next adjacent elevator systems 1.
Then, flow proceeds to step 104 where the Ack Query message is transmitted to all adjacent nodes, i.e. all elevator systems 1 directly connected to the sender elevator system 1 within the propagation range. At step 105, the controller waits for “Ack Response” message from the receiver elevator systems 1 for a certain period. At step 106, if no Ack Response message is sent back, then the controller increments “Propagation Range”, e.g. by increasing the range from 1 km to 2 km, at step 107 and then sends the message again (step 104) and waits for a predetermined amount of time (step 105). This process may be repeated until the sender controller 9 collects specific amount of nodes (i.e. nearby elevator systems 1) and generates distribution list of the nearby elevator systems 1. Once the sender elevator 1 collects specific amount of nodes, then flow proceeds to step 108 to generate the distribution list of the nearby elevator systems 1 within the determined propagation range. At step 108, if there is any elevator system 1 that was listed in the previous distribution list but has no response at the present time, the controller 9 may delete its node ID from the distribution list. Once the step 108 is performed, the algorithm returns to step 101 to repeat process.
Note that “Propagation Count” refers to the number of times that “Ack Query” message as shown in
Next, a process for generating distribution list of elevator systems 1 in nearby areas will be described with reference to
Assuming that there are ten elevators in a city that are connected together in a network 13 and one elevator with ID number 0 (hereinafter referred to as “elevator #0”) is performing the distribution list generating algorithm as shown in
Next, the earthquake emergency operation control method in accordance with the present invention will be described with reference to
If the controller 9 receives any “Earthquake Detected” message from nearby nodes (i.e. nearby elevator systems 1), flow proceeds to step 402 where the controller 9 checks to see if there is any other “Earthquake Detected” message (as shown for example in
On the other hand, if the controller 9 detects that there is any other “Earthquake Detected” message having the same “Detected Node ID” within one minute, flow proceeds to step 404 where the “Previous Node ID” in the currently received “Earthquake Detected” message is added to the existing “Already Received List” for the same detected Node ID.
For example, assuming that the elevator #0 has initially detected an earthquake and then its “Earthquake Detected” message is firstly sent to three elevators #3, 4 and 5, and then each of the elevators #3, 4 and 5 sends out that “Earthquake Detected” message to the nearby elevator #7 within one minute. In this case, the elevator #7 receives three analogous messages having the same “Detected Node ID” listed as 0 but having three different “Previous Node ID” listed as 3, 4 and 5. Thus, the controller 9 in the elevator #7 carries out step 404 to add the “Previous Node ID”: 3, 4 and 5 to the “Already Received List” for the “Detected Node ID”=elevator #0.
In addition, “Already Received List” may be deleted if 1 miniute has passed after the list is generated in order to save available memory in the controller 9.
Following the execution of steps 403 and 404, flow proceeds to step 405 to decrement “Propagation count” by one.
Note that “Propagation Count” refers to the number of times that “Earthquake Detected” message as shown in
Subsequently, flow proceeds to step 406 where the controller 9 initiates an earthquake emergency operation based on “Seismic Signal Type” in the received “Earthquake Detected” message as shown in
It is known that there are mainly two types of seismic waves, i.e. primary seismic waves (P-waves) and secondary seismic waves (S-waves). P-waves have lower amplitude and are involved in preliminary tremors. In contrast, S-waves have significantly larger amplitude than P-waves and are involved in main destructive waves. P-waves travel much faster than S-waves, while S-waves travel at a relatively slow rate. Thus, there is usually a time lag between arrival of P-waves and S-waves, and it takes a longer time for S-waves to arrive at a detection point as the point gets farther away from the epicenter of an earthquake. Accordingly, by controlling the elevator system 1 to stop at the nearest floor upon receiving P-waves detection, passenger safety can be assured. Moreover, since transmission speed of the detection message is much faster than S-waves velocity, it is ensured that serious damage to the elevator systems 1 caused by S-waves can be prevented while assuring passenger safety.
If the received “Seismic Signal Type” is “P” waves, then the controller 9 triggers P-waves operation to stop the elevator car 2 at the nearest floor in order to allow passengers to evacuate. The operation of the elevator system 1 may be automatically resumed after a lapse of a predetermined time. If the received “Seismic Signal Type” is “S” waves, the controller 9 triggers S-waves operation to immediately transmits a signal to a main controller 7 to completely stop elevator operation. S-waves operation may generally be reset manually by elevator maintenance personnel to resume operation.
At step 407, the controller 9 checks to see if “Propagation Count” is not zero. If “Propagation Count” reaches to zero, the algorithm returns to step 401 to repeat process. If “Propagation Count” does not reach to zero, the algorithm proceeds to step 408 where the controller 9 updates the received “Earthquake Detected” message by updating “Previous Node ID” and “Previous Node Location” with the received node's (i.e. the receiver elevator system's) own Node ID and its own Node location.
Then, at step 409, the controller 9 sends out the updated “Earthquake Detected” messages to the elevator systems 1 listed in the “Distribution List”, except for the elevator systems 1 listed in “Already Received List”. Following the execution of step 409, this algorithm completes and returns to step 401 to repeat process.
It should be noted that each controller 9 is configured to perform an earthquake emergency operation based on its own detection of an earthquake if the controller 9 does not receive any earthquake detection message at the time of detection of the earthquake. In this regard the controller 9 may initiates the operation as shown in
Next, a propagation process of the earthquake emergency operation control in a network in accordance with the present invention will be described with reference to
In accordance with the present invention, by appropriately selecting “Propagation Count” depending on an area to be covered, the total number of the elevators connected in the network 13, types of seismic waves, magnitude of an earthquake, etc., the elevators controlled in response to earthquake emergency operation control signals will be limited in a predetermined area. For example, “Propagation Count” for P-waves may be set to a value between 3 and 5, and for S-waves may be set to 1 or 2, in order to prevent earthquake detection messages from endlessly transmitting in the network 13. It should be understood that any “Propagation Count” for detected seismic signals may be selected, provided that the propagation count for S-waves is set to a value less than that for P-waves.
Similarly, as each of the elevator systems #1, 2 and 3 detects the earthquake following the detection of the earthquake by the elevator system #0, each of the elevator systems #1, 2 and 3 also generates “Earthquake Detected” message as an original sender.
In accordance with the present invention, the earthquake emergency operation control is controlled in a so-called peer-to-peer manner, with each elevator system 1 in the network 13 performing its own earthquake emergency operation controls, and their earthquake detection data is shared by all elevator systems 1 in the network 13. In other words, there is no central management server in a network. Accordingly, by utilizing the earthquake emergency operation control in accordance with the present invention, the cost and complexity required for maintenance and management of facility can be significantly reduced, comparing to conventional earthquake emergency operation control systems utilizing a central management server in a remote monitoring center.
Furthermore, the earthquake emergency operation control in accordance with the present invention may be applicable to any elevator system connected in a network, regardless of whether the elevator system has its own seismic sensor.
In addition, the emergency operation control system in accordance with the present invention may also be applicable to other emergency conditions. For example, the emergency operation controller 9 may include a flood sensor installed in the hoistway 3 for detecting a flood condition due to localized torrential rain, etc. In this case, the controller 9 may transmit an emergency condition detection message indicative of the flood condition to other controllers 9 in the network 13 for providing an emergency operation control to various elevator systems 1 located in a heavy precipitation area, in order to assure passenger safety.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the exemplary embodiments as illustrated in the drawings, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
