METHOD FOR OPERATING A PASSENGER TRANSPORT SYSTEM BY RELIABLY CONFIGURING AN ELECTRONIC SAFETY DEVICE BY MEANS OF VISUAL DATA TRANSMISSION

Abstract

A controller controls passenger transport system functionalities and a safety device monitors a safety-relevant function of the system by storing a configured parameter to transfer to a “configured” state. The method includes: the controller receiving a configuration parameter; transmitting the configuration parameter to the safety device; storing a configured parameter in the safety device, based upon the received configuration parameter; transmitting configured data from the safety device to the controller, the configured data encoding an item of graphic information that is shown on a display of the controller, the graphic information uniquely reproducing the configured parameter in a visual, machine-readable manner; reading out the graphic information by an optical read-out sensor of a mobile, processor-controlled data processing device; and comparing the configured parameter reproduced by the read-out graphic information to a target configuration parameter. The controller controlling the functionalities according to whether there is sufficient agreement between the compared parameters.

Claims

1-13. (canceled)

14. A method for operating a passenger transport system, the passenger transport system having a controller controlling functionalities of the passenger transport system and a safety device for monitoring a safety-relevant function of the passenger transport system, wherein the safety device is transferred into a “configured” state by storing a configured parameter and then monitors the safety-relevant function according to predefined specifications, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a configuration parameter using the controller; transmitting the configuration parameter from the controller to the safety device; storing a configured parameter in the safety device, the configured parameter based upon the received configuration parameter, thereby transferring the safety device into the “configured” state; transmitting configured data from the safety device to the controller, wherein the configured data encodes graphic information; showing the graphic information on a display connected to the controller, wherein the graphic information uniquely reproduces the configured parameter in a visual, machine-readable manner; reading out the graphic information using an optical read-out sensor of a mobile, processor-controlled data processing device; comparing the configured parameter reproduced by the read-out graphic information with a target configuration parameter using the data processing device; transmitting a result of the comparison from the data processing device to the controller; and wherein the controller controls the functionalities of the passenger transport system when a predetermined sufficient agreement between the configured parameter and the target configuration parameter is determined by the comparison.

15. The method according to claim 14 wherein the controller actuates the functionalities of the passenger transport system being an elevator system such that an elevator car of the elevator system is only moved in an elevator shaft after the predetermined sufficient agreement between the configured parameter and the target configuration parameter has been established during the comparison.

16. The method according to claim 14 wherein the data processing device outputs the configured parameter reproduced by the read-out graphic information to a person and, upon confirmation of the configured parameter by the person, transmits a “sealed” signal to the controller, wherein, prior to receiving the “sealed” signal, the controller actuates the functionalities of the passenger transport system at most to a limited extent, and, after receiving the “sealed” signal, actuates the functionalities of the passenger transport system to a full extent.

17. The method according to claim 16 wherein the controller transmits the “sealed” signal to the safety device, the safety device, upon receiving the “sealed” signal, switches to a sealed state and transmits an “acknowledged” signal to the controller, and the controller actuates the functionalities of the passenger transport system, before a reception of the “acknowledged” signal, at most to the limited extent and, after the reception of the “acknowledged” signal, activates the functionalities of the passenger transport system to the full extent.

18. The method according to claim 14 wherein the configured data is not modified by the controller before the showing of the graphic information on the display.

19. The method according to claim 14 wherein the graphic information encoded in the configured data represents a state to be assumed for each of a plurality of pixels of the display.

20. The method according to claim 14 wherein several of the configured data are transmitted to the controller sequentially by the safety device, wherein each of the several configured data encodes a different item of the graphic information, wherein each of the graphic information items is shown on the display connected to the controller, and wherein each of the graphic information items uniquely reproduces the configured parameter in a visual, machine-readable manner.

21. The method according to claim 14 wherein several partial information items, each encoding partial information of a graphic information item, are shown sequentially on the display connected to the controller, and wherein a sum of the partial information items uniquely reproduces the configured parameter in a visual, machine-readable manner.

22. The method according to claim 14 wherein the controller receives the configuration parameter by a manual input performed by a person at a human/machine interface.

23. The method according to claim 14 wherein the controller receives the configuration parameter from the mobile, processor-controlled data processing device that is temporarily connected to the controller for data exchange.

24. The method according to claim 14 wherein the controller receives the configuration parameter by retrieving data from a remotely located database.

25. The method according to claim 24 wherein the data in the database was created in a design process and/or during a commissioning of the passenger transport system and either contain the configuration parameter or from which the configuration parameter can be derived.

26. The method according to claim 14 wherein the controller receives the configuration parameter from a data memory coupled to the controller for data exchange.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0090] FIG. 1 shows an elevator system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0091] FIG. 2 is a diagram for illustrating data transmission and data processing as part of a method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0092] The drawings are merely schematic, and not to scale. Like reference signs denote like or equivalent features in the various drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0093] FIG. 1 shows a passenger transport system 1 in the form of an elevator system. An elevator car 5 is arranged in an elevator shaft 3 and is held by cable-like traction means 9. A drive machine 7 can move the cable-like traction means 9 and thus move the elevator car 5 vertically. The drive device 7 is controlled by a controller 11. The controller 11 can have, for example, individual modules communicating with one another, wherein, for example, one module perceives safety-relevant tasks, and another module operates a human/machine interface and actuates the drive machine 7. An elevator door 13 is provided at a floor. A currently closed state of the elevator door 13 is monitored by a safety device 17 in the form of a door switch 15. Several further safety devices 17 can also be provided in the passenger transport system 1 in order to monitor, for example, closing states of further elevator doors 13, or also other functionalities.

[0094] A technician 23 can visit the passenger transport system 1 in order to configure the passenger transport system 1 and, in particular, its safety device 17 with his smartphone 19 as a mobile data processing device 21. This can take place, for example, directly after completion of the passenger transport system 1, or also during maintenance of the same.

[0095] A possible embodiment of such a process for configuring the safety device 17 is described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0096] First, the controller 11 receives a configuration parameter 41. The configuration parameter 41 specifies a desired configuration of the safety device 17 to be configured.

[0097] In the example shown, the configuration parameter 41 is transmitted from the mobile, processor-controlled data processing device 21 to the controller 11. The data processing device 21 can be the smartphone 19 of the technician 23 on which a suitable application (app) runs. The configuration parameter 41 can, for example, be input by the technician 23 via a human/machine interface 27 of the smartphone 19. The human/machine interface 27 can, for example, be a touch-sensitive screen 25 or a keyboard. Alternatively, the configuration parameter 41 can also be retrieved by means of a data communications module 29 of the smartphone 19 from an external source such as, for example, an external database 37 maintained in a data cloud 35. In the database 37, for example, configuration data can be stored which have been created during a design process or during a commissioning of the passenger transport system 1. The configuration parameter 41 can then also be transmitted, for example, by means of the data communication module 29 to the controller 11 and/or its data communications module 31. For example, the data transmission can take place wirelessly.

[0098] Alternatively, the communication parameter 41 can be provided by a data memory 39 which is coupled to the controller 11 for data exchange. This data memory 39 can, for example, be a flash memory on which configuration data for all safety devices 17 of the passenger transport system 1 are stored.

[0099] From the controller 11, the configuration parameter 41 is then transmitted further to the safety device 17 or to the data communications module 33 thereof. In the safety device 17, a configured parameter 43 is then stored based upon the received configuration parameter 41, in order to transfer the safety device 17 into its “configured” state as a result.

[0100] Subsequently, configured data 47 are generated in the safety device 17, based upon the configured parameter 43. These configured data 47 encode graphic information 49, which uniquely reproduces the configured parameter 43 in a visually displayable and machine-readable manner. For each pixel 61 of a display on which the graphic information 49 is to be displayed, the graphic information 49 indicates a state to be assumed by the pixel 61.

[0101] The configured data 47 are then transmitted from the safety device 17 back to the controller 11, and then forwarded from the latter to the data processing device 21. In this case, a different data transmission channel is used than in the preceding data transmission from the data processing device 21 via the controller 11 to the safety device 17.

[0102] For this purpose, the controller 11 has a small display 51—for example, in the form of an LCD display, and in particular in the form of a matrix display. If necessary, the display 51 can also be provided externally, and the controller 11 can be connected to this external display 51. The display 51 can be used by the controller 11 during normal operation of the elevator system 1, for example, to indicate a current functional status of the elevator system 1 or components of the elevator system 1.

[0103] In the context of the configuration method described herein, the controller 11 can use the display 51 to display the graphic information 49, received by the safety device 17, on the display 51. The graphic information 49 defines, for each of the pixels 61 of the display 51, the state to be assumed. The graphic information 49 (shown roughly schematically in FIG. 2 as a plan view of a 2-D code) shown, for example, in a manner similar to a bar code or a 2-D code can then be recognized and read out by an optical read-out sensor 53 of the mobile data processing device 21. The read-out sensor 53 can, for example, be a camera 55 of the smartphone 19 acting as a data processing device 21.

[0104] If the display 51 has only relatively few pixels 61, the complete graphic information 49 can also be divided into several partial information items 63 (as also shown in FIG. 2 as an alternative). The various visually displayed, partial information items 63 are reproduced by several configured data packets 65 which, in total, reproduce the configured parameter 43. Each of the partial information items 63 specifies the state for each of the small number of pixels 61. The configured data packets 65 can be transmitted by the safety device 17 one after the other to the controller 11 (not shown). Alternatively, the controller 11 can divide the configured parameter received by the safety device 17 into the individual, configured data packets. The several partial information items 63 are displayed in succession on the display 51. The read-out sensor 53 of the data processing device 21 can then successively read out this partial information 63 and determine the configured parameter 43 from its sum.

[0105] In a further optional embodiment, the configured parameter 43 can be reproduced by a plurality of differently configured data 47. Each of these configured data 47 encodes the configured parameter 43 with a different item of graphic information 49. The various items of graphic information 49 can then preferably be displayed in succession on the display 51 and read out by the read-out sensor 53. If defective pixels 61 exist on the display 51, they could interfere with the transmission of individual items of the graphic information 49. However, the probability of such pixel errors falsifying all successively transmitted graphic information 49 is low. Accordingly, a secure visual transmission of the configured data 47 can be achieved by analysis of the different items of graphic information 49, even in the presence of pixel errors.

[0106] The configured data 47 transmitted in this way by the controller 11 to the data processing device 21 visually, and/or the configured parameter 43 reproduced by the data, can subsequently be compared with a target configuration parameter 59.

[0107] For this purpose, the configured parameter 43 can be displayed, for example, on the screen 25 of the smartphone 19 to the technician 23 on the basis of the configured data 47. The technician 23 can know the target configuration parameter 59 and can verify whether the configured parameter 43 matches the target configuration parameter 59 within acceptable tolerances. Alternatively, for example, the target configuration parameter 59 can also be stored in the smartphone 19 or retrieved from the smartphone 19, for example, from the database 37, and also displayed on the screen 25. The technician 23 can then compare the configured parameter 43 even more easily with the target configuration parameter 59.

[0108] With sufficient agreement of both parameters 43, 59, the technician 23 can, for example, grant an authorization by actuating a control panel on the touch-sensitive screen 25 designed as a human/machine interface 27, which authorization is transmitted to the controller 11. The authorization can be regarded as a result of the comparison of the two parameters 43, 59. In response to this authorization, the data processing device 21 can send a “sealed” signal 57 to the controller 11. Only when the controller 11 receives such a “sealed” signal 57 can it reliably assume that the safety device 17 has been correctly configured, and can then actuate the complete range of functionalities of the passenger transport system 1 in a normal mode. Before receiving the “sealed” signal 57, the controller 11 can, on the other hand, be operated only in a restricted mode, in which functionalities of the passenger transport system 1 are, at most, limited.

[0109] Instead of transitioning directly to the normal mode after receiving the “sealed” signal 57 from the data processing device 21, the controller 11 can transmit the “sealed” signal 57 to the safety device 17. After the reception of the “sealed” signal 57, the safety device 17 then changes into a sealed state, and transmits an “acknowledged” signal 58 to the controller 11. The controller 11 enters the normal mode only after receiving the “acknowledged” signal 58 from the safety device 17.

[0110] In order to ensure the integrity of the data which reproduce the configuration parameters 41 and/or the configured data 47, for the transmission between the different devices, i.e., between the data processing device 21 and the controller 11, on the one hand, or between the controller 11 and the safety device 17 on the other, checksums 45 which characterize the configuration parameter 41 or associated configured data 47 can additionally be transmitted. Such checksums 45 can have been determined in advance as CRC values.

[0111] In the example described above, the configuration parameter 41 was determined by the mobile data processing device 21 and transmitted to the controller 11. For example, the data processing device 21 can recognize an input from the technician 23 on its screen 25 as a configuration parameter 41, or determine data retrieved from the database 37 as configuration parameters 41. Alternatively, the configuration parameter 41 can be read out from the data memory 39 provided directly on the controller 11. As a further alternative, it is also conceivable to allow the configuration parameter 41 to be determined directly by the controller 11 by, for example, retrieving data from a database 37 via the data communication module 31 integrated into the controller 11, and receiving it as a configuration parameter 41.

[0112] In particular, it is possible with the aid of the method proposed herein to carry out a configuration of the safety device 17 without the technician 23 having to manually enter configuration data into a human/machine interface. For example, in the data processing device 21, the configuration parameter 41, which has been read out in an automated manner from the database 37, can be automatically compared with the configured parameter 43 returned by the safety device 17. If both parameters 41, 43 match, the “sealed” signal 57 can be transmitted to the controller 11. An authorization by the authorized technician 23 may possibly be required before the transmission of the “sealed” signal 57—for example, by operating a control panel on the screen 25 of the smartphone 19.

[0113] As soon as the configured parameter 43 is stored, the safety device 17 can transition into its “configured” state, and thus at least into a partial operation in which its functionalities are available at least to a limited extent, and/or in which functionalities of the entire passenger transport system 1 are available to a limited extent. In partial operation, for example, a speed with which the elevator car 5 may be displaced can be limited, or travel of the elevator car 5 can be carried out only after prior additional confirmation. At a later point in time, the stored configured parameter 43, for example, can then be checked by a technician 23 after transmission to his smartphone 19, and, in the event it is correct, the “sealed” signal 57 can be transmitted to the controller 11, whereupon it can then transition to full operation.

[0114] Overall, with the approach described herein, greater reliability in the configuration of the passenger transport system 1, and thus increased safety for the passenger transport system 1, can be achieved. Furthermore, the configuration itself can be simplified.

[0115] Finally, it should be noted that terms such as “comprising,” “having,” etc., do not exclude other elements or steps, and terms such as “a” or “an” do not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be noted that features or steps which have been described with reference to one of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps of other embodiments described above.

[0116] In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.