Patent Application
20200052929
This application claims priority to European Patent Application No. 18188553.4, filed Aug. 10, 2018, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. ยง 119, the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference.
The invention relates to a wireless data communication in a system, in particular to a communication system and method to be used in a system having a plurality of sensors and/or controllers, particularly in a passenger conveyor system and in a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.
Passenger conveyor systems such as an elevator system, an escalator system, a cable car system or a ski lift system have been widely used all over the world Those systems must be periodically checked, maintained, and repaired as necessary. In order to do such jobs in an efficient way, a plurality of sensors and/or controllers have been used to collect data representing various statuses of a passenger conveyor system. In these systems, collected data by the sensors and/or controllers need to be transferred to managers of the systems in an efficient way and on a real time basis.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a reliable communication system and method in a system having a plurality of sensors and/or controllers.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a communication system to be used in a system having a plurality of sensors and/or controllers, particularly in a passenger conveyor system and in a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprises a main gateway (GW) connected to a first controller of the system, the main GW connectable to a management center of the system via the Internet or a cloud system, and at least one satellite GW connected to at least one second controller of the system, the at least one satellite GW connected to the main GW via a wireless local area network (WLAN).
With this configuration, each controller or sensor of the system can be connected to a remotely located management center via the Internet or the cloud with reduced installation time and cost.
A number of optional features are set out in the following. These features may be realized in particular embodiments, alone or in combination with any of the other features.
An embodiment of the communication system according to the present invention may further comprise an intermediate satellite GW configured to wirelessly interconnect the main GW and any of the at least one satellite GW. Using the intermediate satellite GW, a coverage of WLAN can be extended without a necessity of increasing a capacity of each satellite GW. A plurality of intermediate satellite GWs may be interconnected serially in between the satellite GW and the main GW.
The main GW and the at least one satellite GW may perform edge computing. In other words, each of the main GW and the satellite GWs may be equipped with a processor which is configured to perform a predefined data processing and thereby, instead of transferring all obtained raw data, each of the main GW and the satellite GW performs the predefined data processing with the raw data. Thus, the processed data is transferred to the main GW. From the edge computing, real-time data processing near the source of data, i.e. a sensor, is possible and thereby the entire volume of data to be delivered through the network can be significantly decreased. This allows to set up a communication network between the main GW and the satellite GWs requesting a low bandwidth.
In particular, the WLAN may be any of a Bluetooth, a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) network or a Sub-1 GHz wireless network. The BLE is a wireless personal area network technology designed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) and implemented according to the Bluetooth technical standard. Compared to the classic Bluetooth, the BLE is intended to provide considerably reduced power consumption and cost while maintaining a similar communication range. The BLE uses the same 2.4 GHz radio frequencies as the classic Bluetooth. The Sub-1 GHz is a special type of wireless network which operates in a frequency band below Sub 1 GHz, typically in the 769-935 MHz. The Sub-1 GHz needs a lower power signal from a transmitter compared to the 2.4 GHz spectrum to get the same output power signal at a receiver and the Sub-1 GHz offers a wider range than the 2.4 GHz. The wireless technical standards like Sigfox and LoraWan may be applied to establish the WLAN like Sub-1 GHz wireless network.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the at least one second controller may include a sensor which collects data relating to a passenger conveyor system, an elevator hall call panel and/or an elevator car control panel.
In particular, the connection between the main GW and the first controller, and the connection between the satellite GW and the at least one second controller are wired connections using an RS-422 cable, an RS-232 cable, a Modbus cable, a serial discrete cable, a PROFibus cable, or a CAN bus.
In particular, each of the at least one satellite GW may comprise a processor configured to perform a predefined data processing on data received from the second controller, a first interface module configured to perform wired communications with the second controller, and a second interface module configured to perform wireless communications with the main GW. This configuration of the satellite GW may be well suited for a preexisting elevator system which has already been equipped with a plurality of sensors and/or controllers. In particular, a plurality of satellite GWs may be installed in a preexisting elevator system to be connected with the sensors and/or controllers via the CAN bus, the RS-232 cable, the Modbus cable, the serial discrete cable, the PROFibus cable, or the RS-422 cable of the elevator system like a plug and play solution, which can reduce time and cost for the installation of a new network system in the preexisting elevator system. The wireless communication network established by the main GW and the satellite GWs works independent of any existing communication systems in the system like a passenger conveyor system, particularly independent of any safety related communications like a safety chain in electronic safety control systems. Nevertheless, the wireless communication network may transmit safety relevant information provided by a sensor also connected to a safety control system.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a method of performing communication in a system having a plurality of sensors and/or controllers, particularly in a passenger conveyor system and in a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, comprises receiving, by a satellite gateway (GW), data from at least one second controller of the system, transferring, by the satellite GW, the data to a main GW connected to a first controller of the system, the satellite GW connected to the main GW via a wireless local area network (WLAN), and transferring, by the main GW, the received data to a management center of the passenger conveyor system via the Internet or a cloud system.
An embodiment of the present invention may further comprise performing, by the satellite GW, a predefined data processing on the received data and then the processed data is transferred by the satellite GW to the main GW.
An embodiment of the present invention may further comprise making a wired connection using an RS-422 cable, an RS-232 cable, a Modbus cable, a serial discrete cable, a PROFibus cable, or a CAN bus between the satellite GW and the at least one second controller which has already been preexisting in the passenger conveyor system. In particular, a plurality of satellite GWs may be connected with preexisting sensors and/or controllers of the preexisting elevator system.
Such method will provide the same characteristics and advantages as outlined with respect to the system above.
According to the embodiments of the present invention described herein, each controller or sensor of the system having a plurality of sensors and/or controllers can be connected to a remotely located management center via the Internet or the cloud with reduced installation time and cost. In addition, according to the embodiments of the present invention, real-time data processing near the source of data is possible and thereby the entire volume of data to be delivered through the network can be significantly decreased. Further, according to the embodiments of the present invention, it becomes possible for a preexisting system to be equipped with a wireless network with reduced installation time and cost. Safety control systems remain unaffected by implementation of such wireless network. In some embodiments, a simple plug and play implementation is possible by merely plugging respective satellite GWs into existing interfaces of the respective second controllers.
In the following an exemplary embodiment of the invention is described with reference to the enclosed figures.
The elevator system 1 further comprises a hoistway 4 extending in a vertical direction between a plurality of landings 8 located on different floors.
The elevator car 6 comprises a car floor 16, a car ceiling 18 and car sidewalls 17 extending between the car floor 16 and the car ceiling 18 defining an interior space of the elevator car 6. Only one car sidewall 17 is depicted in the schematic illustration of
Each landing 8 is provided with a landing door (elevator hoistway door) 9, and the elevator car 6 is provided with a corresponding elevator car door 11 allowing passengers to transfer between a landing 8 and the interior space of the elevator car 6 when the elevator car 6 is positioned at the respective landing 8.
The elevator car 6 is movably suspended within the hoistway 4 by means of a tension member 3. The tension member 3, for example a rope or belt, is connected to a drive 5, which is configured for driving the tension member 3 in order to move the elevator car 6 along the longitudinal direction/height of the hoistway 4 between the plurality of landings 8.
The elevator system 1 shown in
The elevator system 1 may further include a counterweight (not shown) attached to the tension member 3 opposite to the elevator car 6 and moving concurrently and in opposite direction with respect to the elevator car 6 along at least one counterweight guide member (not shown). The skilled person will understand that the invention may be applied to elevator systems 1 which do not comprise a counterweight as well.
The tension member 3 may be a rope, e.g. a steel core, or a belt. The tension member 3 may be uncoated or may have a coating, e.g. in the form of a polymer jacket. In a particular embodiment, the tension member 3 may be a belt comprising a plurality of polymer coated steel cords (not shown). The elevator system 1 may have a traction drive including a traction sheave for driving the tension member 3. Instead of a traction drive, a hydraulic or a linear drive may be used for driving the tension member 3. In an alternative configuration, which is not shown in the figures, the elevator system 1 may be an elevator system 1 without a tension member 3, comprising e.g. a hydraulic drive or a linear drive. The elevator system 1 may have a machine room (not shown) or may be a machine room-less elevator system.
The drive 5 is controlled by an elevator controller 10 for moving the elevator car 6 along the hoistway 4 between the different landings 8.
Input to the elevator controller 10 may be provided via elevator hall call buttons included in hall call panels 7a, which are provided on each landing 8 close to the elevator landing doors 9, and/or via elevator car control buttons provided in a car control panel 7b located inside the elevator car 6. The hall call panels 7a may have the configuration of destination call panels including buttons for input of a desired destination floor by the passenger. In this case, the elevator car control buttons 7b inside the elevator car 6 are not required to have elevator car control buttons for input of the desired destination floor.
The wireless communication described herein may also be applied in a modified way to elevator systems having traditional up/down call buttons. In this case, an elevator car request will include a hall call and the corresponding car call input by the passenger after the dispatched elevator car has arrived at the passenger's source floor.
The wireless communication described herein is particularly well suited for elevator systems in which elevator car calls can be made using mobile devices equipped with particular software for communicating with the elevator system and in which input of elevator car calls can be made via user interfaces of the mobile devices.
The elevator hall call panels 7a and the elevator car control buttons 7b may be connected to the elevator controller 10 by means of electrical lines, which are not shown in
In an upper turnaround portion 17a next to the upper landing 21a and in a lower turnaround portion 24a next to the lower landing 20a, the endless tread band 12a passes from a conveyance portion 16a extending between the upper and lower landings 21b, 21a into a return portion 18a, and vice versa.
The upper turnaround portion 17a is a driving portion and comprises a tension member drive system 25a. The tension member drive system 25a comprises a motor driving a drive shaft 42a via a transmission element 26a, particularly a toothed belt, a belt or a chain. The drive shaft 42a supports a drive wheel 32a, e.g. a toothed belt drive sheave, a traction sheave or a sprocket.
The drive shaft 42a drivingly engages an endless tread drive tension member 15a. The endless tread drive tension member 15a may be a belt, particularly a toothed belt, or a chain. The endless tread drive tension member 15a is drivingly coupled to the treads 13 and thereby drives the treads 13 to travel along the endless path of the tread band 12a. The endless tread drive tension member 15a is endless and thus extends along a closed loop. The endless tread drive tension member 15a is in engagement with, and driven by, the drive wheel 32a supported by the drive shaft 42a.
The lower turnaround portion 24a comprises a turnaround element 36a, e.g. an idler wheel or an idler sprocket attached to a turnaround shaft 30h. The turnaround element 36a engages with the endless tread drive tension member 15a to guide the endless tread drive tension member 15a from the conveyance portion 16a to the return portion 18a.
In a tension portion 34a the endless tread drive tension member 15a engages a tension shaft 35a having a tension element, e.g. an idler sprocket or an idler wheel. The tension element is configured to adjust tension of the endless tread drive tension member 15a while traveling along its endless path, such that wear of the endless tread drive tension member 15a is reduced. For example, the tension portion 34a may be positioned in the return portion 18a.
In further embodiments, the tension portion 34a may be located in the upper and/or lower turnaround portions 17a, 24a. In such case, the upper/lower turnaround shaft may also provide the function of the tension shaft.
Alternatively, the turnaround portion 24a next to the lower landing 21a may be the driving portion.
The people conveyor 1a further comprises a brake 31a which is configured for braking movement of the endless tread band 12a. The brake 31a is depicted as a separate component of the tension member drive system 25a in
Balustrades 4a supporting moving handrails 6a extend parallel to the conveyance portion 16a. The balustrades 4a are each supported by a separate truss 39a. Only one of the balustrades 4a, and the trusses 39a are visible in the side view shown in
The communication system shown in
It is to be understood that the configuration depicted in
In
Each of the satellite GWs 20b-20e receiving the data from a corresponding sensor or controller performs a predefined data processing on the received data and transfers the resulting data to the main GW 20a via the WLAN. Alternatively, it may also be possible for the satellite GWs 20b-20e to transfer the data received from the sensors or controllers to the main GW 20a without data processing.
The WLAN is any of a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), a Sub-1 GHz RF, a Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN), and a Low-Range Wide-Area-Network (LoRaWAN). The main GW 20a and the satellite GWs 20b-20e may perform edge computing. In particular, instead of transferring all obtained raw data, each of the main GW 20a and the satellite GWs 20b-20e performs the predefined data processing with the raw data and the processed data is transferred to the main GW 20a. For example, in
In
A CAN controller 60 shown in
The configuration of the satellite GW 20 as shown in
Compared to the structure of the satellite GW 20 as shown in
As another embodiment, in the case of a new building, for example, the structure of the satellite GW 20 as shown in
The embodiments described above are based on an elevator system. Yet, it is to be understood that the concept of the present invention is able to be applied to another passenger conveyor system like an escalator system, a cable car system, and a ski lift system etc. In a large scale passenger conveyor system such as an elevator system in a skyscraper or a cable car system, an intermediate satellite GW 20f may be used as depicted in
Moreover, it should also be appreciated that the embodiments of the present invention can be extended to other systems used in different technical fields, e.g. a factory monitoring system, a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, a building security system or a building management system, where a plurality of sensors and/or controllers are arranged.
According to the embodiments of the present invention, real-time data processing near sensors or controllers of a system having a plurality of sensors and/or controllers is possible and thereby the entire volume of data to be delivered throughout a network of the system can be significantly decreased. In addition, a new wireless network can be easily implemented in a system having an existing wired network consisting of sensors and/or controllers with significantly reduced installation time and cost.
While the invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adopt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention includes all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18188553.4 | Aug 2018 | EP | regional |
