ELEVATOR CONTROL CABINET WITH A VOICE COMMUNICATIONS APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MONITORING A CABINET DOOR

Abstract

An elevator control cabinet used in an elevator system includes a voice communication apparatus having a microphone, an electronic control arrangement, an evaluation unit, and a cabinet housing having at least one cabinet door. The voice communication apparatus is used to execute a service or emergency call or establish a communication between the elevator and a public communication network. The microphone detects a surrounding noise in the control cabinet. The evaluation unit converts the detected noise into a noise pattern and then compares this noise pattern with a reference sound pattern that is predetermined for a surrounding noise in the cabinet housing with the open or closed cabinet door. This reference sound pattern is saved in a storage unit of the control arrangement. In dependence on a result of the comparison, the evaluation unit will recognize whether the cabinet door is open or closed.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A control cabinet for an elevator, the control cabinet comprising: a cabinet housing having a cabinet door, the cabinet door being movable between an open position providing access to an inside of the cabinet housing and a closed position preventing access to the inside of the cabinet housing; a voice communication apparatus having a microphone; an electronic control arrangement to control the elevator; an evaluation unit; wherein the voice communication apparatus, the electronic control arrangement and the evaluation unit are positioned inside the cabinet housing; wherein the microphone detects a surrounding noise inside the cabinet housing; wherein the evaluation unit converts the detected surrounding noise into a noise pattern and compares the noise pattern with a predetermined reference sound pattern, the reference sound pattern being determined from a surrounding noise in the cabinet housing associated with a door status of the cabinet door, the reference sound pattern being saved in a storage unit of the electronic control arrangement; and wherein the evaluation unit recognizes the door status of the cabinet door as being open or closed in response to the comparison of the noise pattern with the predetermined reference sound pattern.

17. The control cabinet according to claim 16 wherein the control arrangement includes a control unit and the evaluation unit reports the recognized door status of the cabinet door to the control unit.

18. The control cabinet according to claim 17 wherein the voice communication apparatus includes a loudspeaker and the control unit activates the loudspeaker to generate an alarm signal.

19. The control cabinet according to claim 18 wherein the control unit activates the loudspeaker in relation to an operation mode of the elevator such that the loudspeaker generates the alarm signal when at least one the elevator is set in a normal operation mode and the cabinet door is open and when the elevator is set in a service mode and the cabinet door is closed.

20. The control cabinet according to claim 18 wherein the control unit activates the loudspeaker to generate the alarm signal a predetermined time period after the cabinet door has been closed or opened and an operation mode of the elevator changes.

21. The control cabinet according to claim 18 wherein the electronic control arrangement includes an electronic power unit connectable with an electromotor, wherein the electronic power unit can disconnect the electromotor from a power supply when the alarm signal is generated.

22. The control cabinet according to claim 16 including a noise producing element for generating a predefined surrounding noise.

23. The control cabinet according to claim 22 wherein the loudspeaker is the noise producing element that generates the predefined surrounding noise.

24. The control cabinet according to claim 16 wherein the voice communication apparatus is an elevator intercom system.

25. The control cabinet according to claim 16 wherein the control cabinet is disposed in one of a machine room, in a hoist way and outside a hoistway of the elevator.

26. A method for monitoring a status of the cabinet door of the control cabinet according to claim 16 wherein the voice communication apparatus includes a loudspeaker, the method comprising the steps of: detecting a surrounding noise in the control cabinet with the microphone; converting the detected surrounding noise into a noise pattern and comparing the noise pattern with a predetermined reference sound pattern using the evaluation unit, wherein the reference sound pattern is determined from a surrounding noise in the cabinet housing associated with a door status of the cabinet door; and determining the door status of the cabinet door as being open or closed based upon the comparing.

27. The method according to claim 26 further comprising the steps of: activating the loudspeaker of the voice communication apparatus in relation to an operation mode of an elevator associated with the control cabinet; and generating an alarm signal at least one of when the elevator is set in a normal operation mode and the cabinet door is open and when the elevator is set in a service mode and the cabinet door is closed.

28. The method according to claim 27 further comprising the step of activating the loudspeaker to generate the alarm signal a predetermined time period after the cabinet door has been closed or opened and the operation mode of the elevator changes.

29. The method according to claim 26 further comprising the step of generating a predefined surrounding noise with a noise producing element in the cabinet housing or with the loudspeaker.

30. An elevator system comprising: the control cabinet according to claim 16; and an elevator connected to the electronic control arrangement in the control cabinet.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The above, as well as other advantages of the present invention, will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when considered in the light of the accompanying drawing in which:

[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a control cabinet for an elevator according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] FIG. 1 illustrates a control cabinet 1 constructed in accordance with the present disclosure. This control cabinet 1 can be installed for an elevator (not illustrated) in a machine room, at an elevator car, in and/or outside of a hoistway, for example, in a hoistway door frame or in a wall on the floor. In one elevator there could be one or more control cabinets available. In a cabinet housing 10 of this control cabinet 1 there is a voice communication apparatus 2, e.g. intercom system. The elevator Intercom system is applied to such as elevator emergency or service application. This voice communication apparatus 2 comprises a microphone 3 and a loudspeaker 8 which can provide audible sounds as well as a buzzing sound. The microphone 3 is for instance a piezoelectric microphone. Besides the voice communication apparatus 2 there are an electronic control arrangement 6 and on demand also other devices or components inside of the cabinet housing 10, wherein the control arrangement 6 comprises further a control unit 7, an evaluation device 5 and an electronic power unit 9. The electronic power unit 9 is connectable with an electromotor (not illustrated) which is as a drive motor for the elevator.

[0028] These electric and electronic devices and components in the cabinet 1 make various noises because of their operations like switching, venting or vibrations resulted by electromagnetic fields and so on. The microphone 3 as a sound sensor captures these surrounding noises and transfers them into electrical signals, wherein the noises can be characterized e.g. by frequency spectrum, amplitude distribution and the physical mechanism that generates it. Therefore, it is possible to analyze and evaluate a noise pattern based on these detected noises.

[0029] The cabinet housing 10 can be closed and locked with a cabinet door 4. As the cabinet's acoustic properties are related to the housing's size, shape, material, surface absorption and ambient or background noise etc., so that the noises detected by the microphone 3 are different when the cabinet door 4 is closed or opened. The evaluation unit 5 can convert the detected noise into a noise pattern and then compare this noise pattern with at least one reference sound pattern. The reference sound patterns are predetermined based on a surrounding noise detected in the cabinet housing 10 with the open and/or closed cabinet door 4 respectively and saved in a storage unit 11 of the control arrangement 6. According to a result of the comparison, the evaluation unit 5 will recognize a door status of the cabinet door 4 whether it is open or closed.

[0030] The evaluation unit 5 reports then the detected door status to the control unit 7. The control unit 7 may be responsible for the elevator or only for this control cabinet 1. The control unit 7 will actuate the loudspeaker 8 to generate an alarm signal when e.g. the cabinet door 4 still stays open for a certain time after an inspection working is already finished or an operation mode switch has been switched from a service mode to a normal operation mode. This means that the control unit 7 won't actuate the loudspeaker 8 and may ignore the case if the door 4 has been opened and shortly subsequently “closed” again. On the contrary, the alarm signal is generated when the elevator has been set in the service mode and the cabinet door 4 is closed. The electronic power unit 9 of the control arrangement 6 can disconnect the electromotor from its power supply when the alarm signal is generated. Then the elevator car of the elevator can no more move.

[0031] Sometimes it would happen that the evaluation unit 5 can not identify whether the door 4 is open or closed, when the detected environmental noise level is very low or the background noise is too high. For this case, the loudspeaker 8 can act as a noise producing element 8a to simulate and generate a predefined surrounding noise which can be saved in the storage unit 11 too. The microphone 3 will detect this simulated surrounding noise, with the same procedure as described above, and it can be detected whether the door status currently is open or closed.

[0032] Such a measure intends to alert a technician to an unsafe condition if she/he has been forgetting to close the cabinet door 4 after an inspection work. Although when the cabinet door 4 is closed, but the elevator is still in a service mode, it may generate an alarm signal, this will prevent that a device or an element perhaps has been forgotten to switch back to its original state. It is also helpful for reminding the technician to check the control cabinet 1 again.

[0033] It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that with the advancement of technology, the basic idea of the invention may be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are thus not limited to the examples described above; instead they may vary within the scope of the claims. Finally, it should be noted that terms such as “comprising” do not exclude other elements or steps and that terms such as “a” or “an” do not exclude a plurality. Also, elements described in association with different embodiments may be combined.

[0034] 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.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

[0035] 1 Control cabinet [0036] 2 Voice communication apparatus [0037] 3 microphone [0038] 4 cabinet door [0039] 5 evaluation unit [0040] 6 control arrangement [0041] 7 control unit [0042] 8 loudspeaker [0043] 8a noise producing element [0044] 9 power unit [0045] 10 cabinet housing [0046] 11 storage unit