ELEVATOR INSTALLATION AND IDENTIFICATION METHOD

Abstract

An elevator system includes a data network and is operated according to a method for identifying a component of the elevator system. The data network has at least one network node including a component of the elevator system. The component of the network node can be identified such that a control unit of the elevator system controls a light source in order to generate a light signal to indicate the network node. The component can be assigned to a light sensor when the light sensor detects the light signal, and the control unit is notified of the assignment of the component.

Claims

1.-14. (canceled)

15. An elevator system including a data network having a network node, wherein the network node includes a component of the elevator system, the elevator system comprising: a control unit controlling a light source to generate a light signal indicating the network node; a light sensor that detects the light signal; wherein the component of the network node is assigned to the light sensor when the light sensor detects the light signal; and wherein the network node notifies the control unit of the assignment of the component.

16. The elevator system according to claim 15 wherein the network node informs the control unit of a network address of the network node and/or a network address of another network node of the data network.

17. The elevator system according to claim 15 wherein the network node corresponds to a stopping station of a car of the elevator system and the component is a shaft door at the stopping station, or the network node corresponds to a car of the elevator system and the component is a car door of the car.

18. The elevator system according to claim 17 wherein the stopping station is determined from a network address of the network node.

19. The elevator system according to claim 15 wherein the network node includes at least another component of the elevator system.

20. The elevator system according to claim 19 including another light sensor and wherein the light sensors are identified differently to the control unit according to positions of the light sensors relative to one another.

21. The elevator system according to claim 15 wherein the light source illuminates an elevator shaft of the elevator system and/or a stopping station of the elevator system.

22. An identification method for an elevator system, the system including a data network having a network node, wherein the network node includes a component of the elevator system, the method comprising the steps of: operating a control unit of the elevator system to control a light source to generate a light signal indicating the network node; assigning the component to a light sensor when the light sensor detects the light signal; and communicating from the network node to the control unit the assignment of the component.

23. The identification method according to claim 22 including informing the control unit by the network node of a network address of the network node and/or a network address of another network node of the data network.

24. The identification method according to claim 23 wherein the network node corresponds to a stopping station of a car of the elevator system and the component is a shaft door at the stopping station, or the network node corresponds to car of the elevator system and the component is a car door of the car.

25. The identification method according to claim 24 wherein the stopping station is determined from a network address of the network node.

26. The identification method according to claim 22 wherein the network node includes at least another component of the elevator system.

27. The identification method according to claim 26 wherein the elevator system includes another light sensor, and including identifying the light sensors differently to the control unit according to positions of the light sensors relative to one another.

28. The identification method according to claim 22 including illuminating an elevator shaft of the elevator system and/or a stopping station of the elevator system by the light source.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In the drawings:

[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an elevator system according to the invention, and

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an identification method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] FIG. 1 shows an elevator system 1. In an elevator shaft 13 of the elevator system 1 comprising several floors or stopping stations 14, an elevator car 8 is carried by a support means 15, a shaft door 7a and/or 7b being provided in each stopping station 14. The elevator car 8 moves vertically in the elevator shaft 13 under the control of a control unit 11 of the elevator system 1 in order to transport passengers between different floors 14. The elevator car 8 has a left-hand car door 9a and a right-hand car door 9b, which are opposite one another but are completely identical in structure and function. When the car 8 arrives at a stopping station 14, the car doors 9a, 9b are then coupled to the shaft doors 7a, 7b, which are located in the stopping station, so that the car doors 9a or 9b and the shaft door 7a, 7b in the stopping station are always closed and opened together and at the same time.

[0021] Within the elevator system 1, there is a local data network or network 2 which is connected to other networks, for example the Internet, via a router or a gateway 12. If the data network 2 is a wireless network, the gateway or the router 12 is likewise a wireless device. Through the data network 2, all network nodes can be interconnected for communication. In this embodiment, each stopping station 14 forms a first network node 3a, while the elevator car 8 forms a second network node 3b of the data network 2. The network nodes 3a, 3b are each assigned a different network address, for example an IP address, from the router/gateway 12. The first network node 3a and the second network node 3b can exchange information on their own network address. The shaft door 7a or 7b belongs to the first network node 3a, and the car 8 to the second network node 3b. Since the network node 3b comprises two identical car doors 9a and 9b but only occupies a single IP address, it is initially unknown to the control unit 11 during the installation of the elevator system 1 which of the two doors is the left-hand car door 9a and which is the right-hand car door 9b.

[0022] To illuminate the elevator shaft 13, a light source 4 (for example an LED lamp) is arranged in the shaft 13 in any position that is available for a shaft door 7a, 7b or entrance/exit to the car 8. Since the control unit 11 is informed by the first network node 3a of the assignment of an IP address or the IP address, for example, the control unit 11 recognizes that this network node 3a is available or active. In addition, the control unit 11 also knows which floor the network node 3a is on. The control unit 11 then controls the light source 4 such that only the light sources 4 that are at the available network nodes 3a or at the available shaft doors 7a, 7b emit a light signal 10. The light sources 4 are controlled, for example, by digital signals that are generated by the control unit 11, a digital signal 1 corresponding to an available network node, and the digital signal otherwise being 0. An example is given by a table below. An available shaft door is represented by a digital signal 1, while a digital signal 0 represents an unavailable shaft door. The door numbers represent the specific individual shaft doors. Instead of such a door number, the respective product identity number of such doors can also be used. The door numbers are known to the control unit 11.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE Floor Door number Left-hand shaft door Right-hand shaft door 0 #1 1 0 1 #2, #3 1 1 2 #4 0 1 3 0 0

[0023] It can be seen from the table that there are a total of four floors for this elevator system 1. The third floor is not shown in FIG. 1 because no shaft door or no entrance/exit to the car 8 is provided on this floor. The control unit 11 therefore sends two 0 signals so that the two light sources 4 on this floor remain unlit.

[0024] Two light sensors 5a, 5b are arranged on the left and right respectively on the roof of the elevator car 8. If the car 8 travels along the shaft 13, the light sensors 5a, 5b can detect all of the lit-up light sources 4. If, for example, the left-hand light sensor 5a has detected a light signal 10 on the ground floor, the car 8 will assign this shaft door #1 7a to the light sensor 5a. The car 8 then informs the control unit 11 of this assignment of the shaft door #1 7a (as being on the left) and the IP address of this first network node 3a. The control unit 11 can then recognize the shaft door #1 as a left-hand shaft door on the first floor. In the same way, the shaft doors #2, #3 on the first floor can also be identified, shaft door #2 being noted for the left-hand side 7a and shaft door #3 for the right-hand side 7b. It can also be identified that, of the car doors 9a, 9b, the car door 9a is the left-hand car door and the car door 9b is the right-hand car door because they are connected to the left-hand shaft doors 7a and the right-hand shaft doors 7b. For this, the car 8 only needs to inform the control unit 11 of the door number of the car door 9a or 9b.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an identification method according to the invention. If, during installation of an elevator system 1, which is shown in FIG. 1, two shaft doors 7a, 7b in a stopping station 14 or two car doors 9a, 9b in a car 8 are to be distinguished from one another, the following method steps can be carried out, each method step being marked with S. [0026] S1: a router 12 assigns an IP address to the network node 3a, for example, this network node 3a comprising two shaft doors 7a, 7b; [0027] S2: the network node 3a informs the control unit 11 of its IP address; [0028] S3: the control unit 11 activates a light source 4 on the basis of this information so that a light signal is generated; [0029] S4: a light sensor 5a, for example, provided as a left-hand sensor, detects the light signal; [0030] S5: the car 8, which is considered to be another network node 3b, has also received the IP address of the network node 3a. The car 8 assigns the shaft door 7a to the left-hand sensor 5a. The car 8 can also assign its car door 9a to the left-hand sensor 5a because this car door 9a is coupled to the shaft door 7a; and [0031] S6: the car 8 notifies the control unit 11 that the shaft door 7a and the car door 9a are assigned to the left-hand sensor 5a. The notification also includes the door number of the shaft door 7a and the car door 9a and the IP address of the network nodes 3a and 3b.

[0032] In view of the communicated data, the control unit 11 can in this case clearly identify the two shaft doors 7a, 7b or the two car doors 9a, 9b as a left-hand or a right-hand shaft door or as a left-hand or a right-hand car door, respectively.

[0033] Finally, it should be noted that terms such as comprising, having, etc. do not preclude other elements or steps and terms such as a or an do not preclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be noted that features or steps which have been described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps of other exemplary embodiments described above.

[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.