Abstract: In an example implementation, a method is described. The implementation accesses first and second media clips. The implementation also matches a first fingerprint of the first media clip with a second fingerprint of the second media clip and determines an overlap of the first media clip with the second media clip. The implementation also, based on the overlap, merges the first and second media clips into a group of overlapping media clips, transmits, to a client device, data identifying the group of overlapping media clips and specifying a synchronization of the first media clip with the second media clip, and generates for display on a display device of the client computing device, a graphical user interface that identifies the group of overlapping media clips, specifies the synchronization of the first media clip with the second media clip, and allows access to, and manipulation of, the first and second media clips.

Abstract: A system and a method are provided for damping vertical oscillations of an elevator car hovering at an elevator landing. The system includes a sensor, a controller and an elevator machine connected to a traction sheave. The sensor is adapted to provide a sensor signal indicative of rotation of the traction sheave, wherein the rotation of the traction sheave corresponds to the vertical oscillations of the hovering elevator car. The controller is adapted to provide a control signal based on the sensor signal. The elevator machine is adapted to reduce the vertical oscillations of the hovering elevator car by controlling the rotation of the traction sheave based on the control signal.

Abstract: A system and a method are provided for damping vertical oscillations of an elevator car hovering at an elevator landing. The system includes a sensor, a controller and an elevator machine connected to a traction sheave. The sensor is adapted to provide a sensor signal indicative of rotation of the traction sheave, wherein the rotation of the traction sheave corresponds to the vertical oscillations of the hovering elevator car. The controller is adapted to provide a control signal based on the sensor signal. The elevator machine is adapted to reduce the vertical oscillations of the hovering elevator car by controlling the rotation of the traction sheave based on the control signal.

Abstract: A pair of elevator cars (10, 11) traveling in the same hoistway have their positions sensed (20-23, 29-32) to provide for each a position signal (35, 37) from which velocity signals (64, 65) are derived; lookup tables (66, 61) of safe stopping distance (B, S) for braking and safeties are formed as a function of all possible combinations of velocity (V(U), V(L)) of said cars. Comparison of safe stopping distances for contemporaneous velocities of said cars with actual distance between said cars provides signals (85, 98, 99) to drop the brakes (49, 50) of one or more of the cars, and provides signals (82) to engage the safeties (18, 18a, 19, 19a) of all cars if the cars become closer or if acceleration detectors (117, 118) determine a car to be in freefall.

Abstract: A damper assembly (22) is useful for controlling elevator ride quality. The damper assembly (22) includes a resilient member that deflects responsive to a load. An effective stiffness of the resilient member is less than an associated rate of deflection of the resilient member. The resilient member includes a first portion (30, 40) that deflects prior to a second portion (32, 42) responsive to an initial loading on the damper assembly (22).

Abstract: A pair of elevator cars (10, 11) traveling in the same hoistway have their positions sensed (20-23, 29-32) to provide for each a position signal (35, 37) from which velocity signals (64, 65) are derived; lookup tables (66, 61) of safe stopping distance (B, S) for braking and safeties are formed as a function of all possible combinations of velocity (V(U), V(L)) of said cars. Comparison of safe stopping distances for contemporaneous velocities of said cars with actual distance between said cars provides signals (85, 98, 99) to drop the brakes (49, 50) of one or more of the cars, and provides signals (82) to engage the safeties (18, 18a, 19, 19a) of all cars if the cars become closer or if acceleration detectors (117, 118) determine a car to be in freefall.

Abstract: A system is provided for the semi-active damping of oscillations during vertical motion of an elevator car relative to a desired trajectory along a relatively lengthy elevator travel path. The elevator car is connected to a motor-controlled support rope in a manner allowing limited relative vertical motion therebetween. A soft spring and a controllable damping means are connected in parallel between the rope and the elevator car. The damping means may be a hydraulic piston and cylinder arrangement controlled via a variable orifice valve. The spring may be a gas-pressurized accumulator connected to the hydraulics of the damping means. A control system provides a motion command signal to control the motor for motion control and the variable orifice valve for damping oscillations.

Abstract: In an elevator active guidance system, in order to avoid the action of one actuator (23) from interfering with the action of another, a controller (21) is provided that uses a force law based on a model of the elevator (40), and uses information from all of the sensors (22) in combination to determine, according to the force law, the force each actuator (23) should provide. The model of the elevator (40) is used to determine how the elevator (40) will respond to the forces exerted by the actuators (23). In the preferred embodiment, the elevator (40) is assumed to respond to the actuator forces as a rigid body. The full model is built up from this basic assumption, finally including all of the geometric and inertial attributes of the elevator necessary to describe its rigid body motion in response to forces from actuators (23).

Abstract: The invention provides an elevator system for controlling movement of an elevator car with respect to guide rails in an elevator hoistway, having a force-estimation or position-scheduled current command controller and a magnet driver circuit without the need for a flux sensor. The force-estimation or position-scheduled current command controller responds to a force command signal, and further responds to a sensed gap signal, for providing a force-estimation or position-scheduled current command controller signal as a current command to the magnet driver circuit. The magnet driver circuit responds to the force-estimation or position-scheduled current command controller signal, for providing a magnet driver circuit signal to control said horizontal movement of the elevator car with respect to the guide rail in the elevator hoistway, whereby the horizontal movement of the elevator car is controlled without sensing magnetic flux.

Abstract: An elevator motion control system compares a dictated flight path signal (101), indicative of a desired elevator flight path along a nominal flight trajectory, with a measured flight path signal (108), indicative of actual elevator motion, and provides a motion command signal (115) to both a high pass filter (117) and a low pass filter (116) such that the frequency of the motion command signal is split into high and low frequency components (141,118). An active elevator hitch (36) is used to implement the high frequency/low stroke portion of the motion command signal while the elevator motor (28) is used to implement the low frequency/high stroke portion of the motion command signal.

Abstract: The invention features an elevator system including an elevator car (12) having a frame that operates on guide rails of an elevator shaft of a building. The elevator car (12) has a rigid body motion in a global coordination system (X, Y, Z) kinematically defined by five degrees of freedom including side-to-side translation along the X axis, front-to-back translation along the Y axis, a pitch rotation about the X axis, a roll rotation about the Y axis, and a yaw rotation about the Z axis. The elevator system includes local parameter sensing means (14), responsive to local parameter sensed in each of the five degrees of freedom in the global coordination system (X, Y, Z), for providing local parameter signals (G.sub.m, A.sub.m); coordinated control means (16), responsive to the local parameter signals (G.sub.m, A.sub.m), for providing coordinated control signals (CC.sub.x1, CC.sub.x2, CC.sub.y1, CC.sub.y2, CC.sub.

Abstract: Elevator horizontal vibrations are actively controlled by retrieving data stored in memory indicative of the out-of-straightness of the elevator car's guide rails. The stored data is compiled during a learning run by summing the car's relative displacement with respect to the rail with a doubly integrated acceleration signal indicative of the car's deviation from true vertical.

Abstract: An elevator hoistway rail profile is made by summing a doubly integrated car horizontal acceleration signal with a relative rail-car displacement signal and storing the summed signal according to the vertical position of the car in the hoistway.

Abstract: Rail learning is combined with feedback in a control for improving ride quality in an elevator. For example, a pre-stored signal indicative of a horizontal deviation of the rail's surface from a vertical reference is retrieved and used along with a sensed signal indicative of a horizontal position (or other parameter indicative of a disturbance of the elevator) relative to the rail's surface (or a reference) for controlling an actuable horizontal suspension for reducing horizontal disturbances of the elevator while guiding an elevator vertically in a hoistway along a rail. As another example, a sensed force signal is averaged over a plurality of trips under differing load conditions and the average is pre-stored for retrieval at various vertical points in the hoistway and may be used, in combination with a feedback loop, to predict horizontal forces about to act on the car.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for actively counteracting a disturbing force acting on a suspended elevator cab moving vertically in a hoistway is disclosed. A manifestation of the disturbing force such as acceleration is sensed and counteracted, for example, by effectively exerting counterforces against the cab. The magnitude and phase of the counterforce is selected according to the magnitude and phase of the system response to a disturbing force. The invention may be carried out using an electromagnet actuator for actuating the suspended cab in response to a control signal from a control means which is in turn responsive to the sensed signal. The control means may be analog or digital or a combination of both. A preferred analog-digital approach is disclosed in which the digital part is responsive to accelerometer signals, the analog part is responsive to a force command signal from the digital part and provides a force feedback signal for comparison to the force command signal.