With Barrier For Regulating Access To Load Support Patents (Class 187/313)
  • Patent number: 11420849
    Abstract: The present application relates to the technical field of lifting equipment, and provides a traction machine and a lifting equipment. The traction machine includes traction pulleys, traction ropes driven by the traction pulleys and fixed pulleys for changing directions of the traction ropes. The fixed pulley is provided with a sensor sensing member rotating with the fixed pulley, a traction machine sensor is arranged beside the fixed pulley; the traction machine sensor is configured to detect a rotation speed of the sensor sensing member, and send the rotation speed to a controller of the traction machine; the controller controls a rotation of the traction pulley according to detected data of the traction machine sensor. Since this kind of traction machine is provided with the sensor sensing member and the traction machine sensor, it is capable of detecting whether the traction machine has an abnormal operation, and stopping the traction machine immediately in an abnormal state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2022
    Assignee: Ficont Industry (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Zizhao Liu, Qingwei Zhang, Guozhu Zhang
  • Patent number: 11184981
    Abstract: A rigid-flex PCB includes an array of rigid PCB “islands” interconnected by a flexible PCB formed into flexible connectors. The conductive and insulating layers of the flexible PCB extend into the rigid PCBs, giving the electrical connections to the rigid PCBs added resistance to breakage as the rigid-flex PCB is repeatedly stressed by bending and twisting forces. In addition, the durability of the rigid-flex PCB is enhanced by making the power and signal lines driving the rigid PCBs redundant so that a breakage of a line will not necessarily affect the operation of the rigid PCB to which it is attached. The rigid-flex PCB is particularly applicable to light pads used in phototherapy, wherein LEDs mounted on the rigid-PCBs are powered and controlled through the redundant lines in the flexible PCB.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 23, 2021
    Assignee: Adventive IP Bank
    Inventors: Richard K Williams, Keng Hung Lin
  • Patent number: 10773927
    Abstract: The present application relates to an elevator system and a method of adapting an elevator system, the system being adapted to warn elevator users of the existence of a vertical misalignment between a floor of a lift car and a landing surface adjacent to which the lift car stops. The elevator system comprises facing parallel walls that depend vertically downwards from a leading edge of the lift car floor and a leading edge of the landing surface respectively. A luminaire is mounted on at least one of said walls at a distance below the edge of said wall so as to face the opposing wall irrespective of said vertical misalignment. Light from said luminaire illuminates said opposing walls to alert elevator users to the existence of said vertical misalignment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: VIP Lift & Escalator Services Limited
    Inventor: Ian Percival
  • Patent number: 10618778
    Abstract: The present invention provides an openable extended panel, and a lift ceiling, lift car and lift system having same, wherein the openable extended panel is mounted to a support frame and is in positional correspondence to an escape exit at a car roof; the openable extended panel is rotatably connected to the support frame at a first side, and the openable extended panel is connected to the support frame via an intermediate member at a second side opposite to the first side, the support frame and the openable extended panel being respectively detachably connected to the intermediate member. The openable extended panel according to the embodiments of the present invention has a simple structure, and can be easily opened.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Xiaopeng Hu, ChunYan Yu, Jingli Zhou, YuFeng Wu
  • Patent number: 10519004
    Abstract: An elevator system includes: key switches, provided at a hall, used in an evacuation operation to select either a shuttle operation request mode requesting a car to shuttle between an evacuation floor and a rescue floor, or an evacuation completion mode indicating completion of evacuation; a first notification mechanism provided in the car; and an elevator controller switching between normal operation and the evacuation operation, determining, in a case at least one of the key switches is switched to the evacuation operation, that a floor at a hall whose key switch is in the shuttle operation mode is a rescue floor and a floor at a hall whose key switch is in the evacuation completion mode is an evacuation completion floor, and making, in a case a hall button provided at the hall of the evacuation completion floor is operated, the first notification mechanism notify of the evacuation completion floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Chiaki Nishida
  • Patent number: 10150491
    Abstract: An on-board device controls the speed of the control target train so that the control target train is set to a given speed-controlled state upon reception of an earthquake detection signal, the given speed-controlled state being a state in which the speed of the control target train is set to be equal to or lower than a reduced speed, or the control target train is stopped. A speed control part estimates an estimated position and an estimated timing at which the control target train is set to a speed-controlled state when a given brake is continuously applied, and controls the speed of the control target train based on the positional relationship between the estimated position and a recommended avoiding-train-existence section when there is a time allowance between the estimated timing and the estimated earthquake arrival timing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: RAILWAY TECHNICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE
    Inventors: Akihiro Gion, Masahiko Samizo, Kazutoshi Sato
  • Patent number: 10077167
    Abstract: The invention relates to an elevator car comprising a car spoiler at its top and/or bottom, which car spoiler comprises at least one spoiler component having at least one curved spoiler element, characterized in that the spoiler component is made of a sandwich material of an outer flat material layer connected to at least one inner structured material layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: KONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Gabriela Roivainen, Iiro Heinonen, Ville Myyrylainen, Pekka Markkanen, Jaakko Kalliomaki
  • Patent number: 9751727
    Abstract: An elevator car system and a method of operating an elevator door of an elevator car include an elevator car configured to travel between and stop on a plurality of floors, the elevator car having a door capable of opening and closing along a pathway, a first obstruction sensor disposed on or within the door configured to detect a first obstruction in the pathway, a supplemental obstruction sensor located on a floor of the plurality of floors, and located external to both the elevator car and the door, the supplemental obstruction sensor configured to detect a second obstruction, and wherein closing of the door is prevented or modified based on at least one of: the first obstruction sensor having detected the first obstruction, and the supplemental obstruction sensor having detected the second obstruction on the floor external to the elevator car and the door when the elevator car is substantially stopped and located on the floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2017
    Assignee: Precision Elevator Corp.
    Inventor: Yuri Novak
  • Publication number: 20140231182
    Abstract: Pivoting arrangement of an emergency exit hatch of an elevator, the arrangement being for a surrounding frame structure, a roof element of an elevator, and an elevator, in which arrangement the emergency exit hatch of the elevator is a planar element, and includes pivot brackets on its opposite sides, and the frame structure includes an aperture, which the hatch is arranged to cover, and which aperture includes pivot apertures in its opposite sides, for receiving the pivot brackets, and the planar hatch element and/or the frame structure is/are fabricated from plate material, and the part of the frame structure including a pivot aperture and/or the part of the hatch including a pivot bracket is/are of the plate material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2014
    Publication date: August 21, 2014
    Applicant: KONE Corporation
    Inventor: Jussi PAASISALO
  • Patent number: 8710955
    Abstract: An automated gate system (AGS) for processing vehicles entering and exiting a controlled access facility via a single common traffic flow. The AGS provides a single portal receiving both ingress and egress vehicle traffic as a common traffic flow sharing a same access road. The access road feeds a multi-lane gated sub-system having associated kiosks providing an interface for obtaining vehicle and driver related information and which have a combined inbound/outbound gate for controlling ingress and egress movement of vehicles of the common traffic flow in and out from the controlled access facility. A computer system receives signals from the portal and the kiosks representing a status of the vehicles alone or in combination with driver information for controlling gate operation of each of the gates. Thereby, both ingress and egress routes are controlled, and both ingress and egress movement of the vehicles regarding the access facility is controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2014
    Assignee: Remprex LLC
    Inventors: Fabio Teti, Chad Michael Hewitt
  • Publication number: 20140008156
    Abstract: An elevator door has a door sill, including a guide groove with two mutually spaced side walls, and a door panel which is movable along the guide groove and at the door panel termination of which facing the door sill a guide shoe entering the guide groove is arranged, wherein the guide shoe is arranged at the first end of the door panel termination facing the door opening when the elevator door is open and the side walls of the door sill are formed as guide surfaces for the guide shoe. The door panel has at the door panel termination a guide straight edge extending along the door panel termination and the door sill has a guide body, wherein the guide body forms at least one guide surface for guidance of the guide straight edge.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 3, 2012
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Inventor: Barry Umbaugh
  • Patent number: 8251185
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, there is provided an elevator rescue operation system to be used in a building in which a plurality of elevators are installed in parallel. The system includes a disaster detection unit configured to detect, when a disaster has occurred in the building, an occurrence site of the disaster, a priority response floor setting unit configured to set a priority response floor on the basis of the disaster occurrence site detected by the disaster detection unit, and a rescue operation unit configured to cause a corresponding elevator for a rescue operation among the plurality of elevators to respond to the priority response floor set by the priority response floor setting unit, thereby carrying out a through-car operation up to a refuge floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Toshiba Elevator Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Manabe
  • Patent number: 8132653
    Abstract: An elevator door assembly (20) includes a positioner (30) for controlling an orientation of an elevator door panel (22) during movement between open and closed positions. The positioner (30) biases the door in a direction generally perpendicular to the desired direction of door movement. The disclosed example includes a first positioner member (32) that remains in a fixed position. A second positioner member (34) is supported for movement with the elevator door (22). In disclosed examples, at least one of the positioner members (32, 34) provides a magnetic field that results in the biasing force. In a disclosed example, opposing polarities on permanent magnets are arranged to provide a repulsive force between the positioner members (32, 34), which provides the biasing force on the elevator door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventor: Michael P. Flynn
  • Patent number: 8115162
    Abstract: In a sliding door apparatus, a first entrance is opened and closed by a first door, and a second entrance that faces the first entrance is opened and closed by a second door. Imaging means that captures images across a space between the first entrance and the second entrance is disposed beside the space. An image processing and determining portion determines presence or absence of an obstruction inside the space based on image data from the imaging means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiro Shikai, Akihide Shiratsuki, Kazuo Takashima, Hiroyuki Kawano, Takaharu Ueda, Toshio Masuda
  • Publication number: 20110253483
    Abstract: An exemplary enclosure for housing electronics useful with an elevator system includes a first sidewall and a second sidewall adjacent the first sidewall. A third sidewall is at an oblique angle relative to the first sidewall. The third sidewall provides a support surface for supporting electronics inside the enclosure. The first and second sidewalls are moveable relative to the third sidewall to provide a single opening facing the support surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 19, 2008
    Publication date: October 20, 2011
    Inventors: Pascal Rebillard, Nicolas Fonteneau, Xavier Jean-Jacques Lejon
  • Patent number: 7963372
    Abstract: An elevator evacuation support apparatus evacuates building occupants that have been left inside a building to a refuge floor in an emergency by managing operation of an elevator in which a plurality of floors function as service floors. The elevator evacuation support apparatus has an evacuating operation implementing portion, an evacuating operation time calculating portion, and an evacuating operation determining portion. The evacuating operation implementing portion designates at least one of the service floors as a rescue floor, and implements an evacuating operation for the elevator for transporting the building occupants from the rescue floor to the refuge floor. The evacuating operation time calculating portion receives urgency level information that indicates a degree of urgency, and calculates an estimated amount of time for continuing the evacuating operation as an evacuating operation time based on the urgency level information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2011
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Shiro Hikita
  • Patent number: 7958972
    Abstract: A sealing device for an elevator door includes a doorway member, doors, a movable member, a push-down mechanism and a sealing mechanism. The doorway member is provided for a gate. The doors open or close along the doorway member. The movable member is set horizontally and provided to be movable in a vertical direction in the doorway member, and it is urged upwards by an urging unit. The push-down mechanism pushes down the movable member against the force of the urging unit just before the doors are closed. The sealing mechanism is kept non-contact with the doors while they are moving, and seals the gap between the doors and the doorway member as it is brought into contact with upper section of the doors when the movable member is pushed down by the push-down mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignee: Toshiba Elevator Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shin Murakami, Toru Kinoshita
  • Patent number: 7954603
    Abstract: A building is provided with a plurality of service zones each including a plurality of floors, and elevators each assigned to the floors included in a corresponding one of the service zones as service floors. The service zones are provided such that the floors included in each of the service zones are at least partially different from the floors included in each of the other service zones. In an event of a fire in the building, an evacuation control apparatus for the elevators controls the elevators to convey those stranded in the building to a common evacuation floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2011
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Shiro Hikita, Kiyoji Kawai
  • Patent number: 7938232
    Abstract: An evacuation control apparatus for an elevator controls, in an event of a fire in a building provided with an elevator that is assigned to a plurality of floors as service floors, an operation of the elevator. The evacuation control apparatus for the elevator has an evacuation operation performing portion, a determination portion, and an evacuation operation resuming portion. The evacuation operation performing portion sets at least one of the service floors as a rescue floor, and performs evacuation operation for the elevator to convey those stranded in the building from the rescue floor to an evacuation floor. When a predetermined termination condition is fulfilled during evacuation operation, the determination portion determines that evacuation operation should be terminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Shiro Hikita, Kiyoji Kawai
  • Patent number: 7931127
    Abstract: In an elevator apparatus, a brake device is controlled by a brake control device. The brake control device is capable of performing braking force reduction control for reducing the braking force of the brake device at a time of emergency braking of a car. The brake control device monitors a running state of the car at the time of emergency braking thereof, and makes a switchover between validity and invalidity of braking force reduction control such that the car is stopped within a preset allowable stopping distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2011
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Rikio Kondo, Hiroshi Kigawa, Takaharu Ueda
  • Patent number: 7926621
    Abstract: In a building, a service zone including a plurality of floors is set. The building is provided with an elevator that is assigned to the floors in the service zone as service floors. In an event of a fire in the building, an evacuation support apparatus for the elevator controls the operation of the elevator to convey those stranded in the building to an evacuation floor. The evacuation support apparatus has an emergency control device and an evacuation guidance device. The emergency control device has a rescue floor setting portion for setting at least a predetermined one of the service floors as a rescue floor, and an evacuation operation command portion for controlling the elevator such that evacuation operation is performed to vertically reciprocate a car between the rescue floor and the evacuation floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2011
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Kiyoji Kawai, Masahiko Konishi
  • Patent number: 7921970
    Abstract: A sealing device for an elevator door includes a doorway member, doors, a movable member, a push-down mechanism and a sealing mechanism. The doorway member is provided for a gate. The doors open or close along the doorway member. The movable member is set horizontally and provided to be movable in a vertical direction in the doorway member, and it is urged upwards by an urging unit. The push-down mechanism pushes down the movable member against the force of the urging unit just before the doors are closed. The sealing mechanism is kept non-contact with the doors while they are moving, and seals the gap between the doors and the doorway member as it is brought into contact with upper section of the doors when the movable member is pushed down by the push-down mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2011
    Assignee: Toshiba Elevator Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shin Murakami, Toru Kinoshita
  • Publication number: 20100276231
    Abstract: The invention relates to a lifting apparatus of a type which can be used to allow movement of goods to and from and between first and second goods storage areas. The apparatus is located in a space between openings into both of said storage areas and includes a platform which can be raised in the vertical plane so as to allow differences in height between floors of the respective goods storage areas to be taken into account such that for example goods can be moved onto the platform of the lifting apparatus from a first floor height on a first goods storage area to a floor of a second goods storage area at a different height. The lifting apparatus can be used to move goods to and from a floor of a goods storage area which is at the similar height to a support surface on which the other of the goods storage areas is located, with the other of the goods storage areas typically being a vehicle trailer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2010
    Publication date: November 4, 2010
    Inventor: William Mark Adams
  • Patent number: 7743889
    Abstract: An elevator control system is equipped with an evacuation operation control portion. In the event of a fire, the evacuation operation control portion determines, based on information on the fire and an elevator, whether or not the evacuation operation of the elevator can be performed. When it is determined that the evacuation operation can be performed, the evacuation operation control portion outputs a command to perform the evacuation operation to an elevator control device. Further, a condition for determining whether or not the evacuation operation can be performed is set in the evacuation operation control portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2010
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Kiyoji Kawai
  • Patent number: 7721852
    Abstract: In an elevator control apparatus, the presence/absence of an abnormality in an elevator is monitored by an abnormality monitoring portion. The abnormality monitoring portion makes a determination on the presence/absence of an abnormality in the elevator based on information from a sensor, and outputs a signal for stopping a car upon detecting an abnormality. The history of information on the result of determination by the abnormality monitoring portion is recorded in a history information recording portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 25, 2010
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takuya Ishioka, Tatsuo Matsuoka
  • Patent number: 7690483
    Abstract: Elevator comprising a car, a drive motor driving the car, a motor drive unit for controlling the drive motor and supplying power thereto, an encoder for sensing movement of the car, and an elevator rescue system for rescue operation in case of an emergency situation, wherein the elevator comprises one single encoder only for normal and rescue operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2010
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventors: Dirk Heinrich Tegtmeier, Michael Mann, Armando Servia, Ricardo Cano
  • Patent number: 7681696
    Abstract: The earthquake control operation system for an elevator includes: an earthquake information delivering device for calculating a predicted arrival hour of earthquake waves in accordance with a position of a registered building based on an emergency earthquake bulletin including at least a seismic center of an earthquake and an hour of occurrence of the earthquake; an earthquake information receiving device for receiving the predicted arrival hour through an Internet and calculating an earthquake arrival need time as a time required for the earthquake waves to reach the building based on the predicted arrival hour; and an elevator control panel for performing an operation of stopping an elevator car at a safety floor when the elevator car is traveling toward the safety floor, a car call for the safety floor is registered, and a stop time at the safety floor is shorter than the earthquake arrival need time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2010
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Koji Yamagishi
  • Patent number: 7677363
    Abstract: A rescue floor crowdedness detecting device detects crowdedness or uncrowdedness of an elevator region at a rescue floor. An evacuation guidance device installed in a building reports to those stranded in the building accessibility information representing accessibility of those stranded in the building to the elevator region at the rescue floor from a stair region when the rescue floor crowdedness detecting device detects that the elevator region of the rescue floor is uncrowded. An emergency control device has an evacuation operation performability determining portion for determining whether or not those stranded in the building can be conveyed from the rescue floor to the evacuation floor. The emergency control device also has an evacuation guidance device control portion for controlling the evacuation guidance device based on information from the evacuation operation performability determining portion and information from the rescue floor crowdedness detecting device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2010
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Kiyoji Kawai
  • Patent number: 7677362
    Abstract: An actuator has a driving first coil and a driving second coil. A capacitor is electrically connected to both the first coil and the second coil through a discharge switch using electric power accumulated in a capacitor which can be selectively supplied. An operation portion for operating the discharge switch is electrically connected to the discharge switch. For example, when an electric power supplied to the operation portion is cut due to a power failure, the second coil and the capacitor are electrically connected to each other through the discharge switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2010
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Shimohata, Toshie Takeuchi, Tae Hyun Kim, Hiroshi Kigawa, Tatsuo Matsuoka
  • Patent number: 7669695
    Abstract: A fire evacuation operation system for group-controlled elevators that enables a large number of people to evacuate a building in a short time is provided. Safe elevators are provided for evacuation of the building according to the position of the floor on which the fire breaks out. The fire evacuation operation system includes an evacuation operation propriety judging unit that judges whether an evacuation operation is improper or possible, a rescue floor setting unit that sets a rescue floor, and an evacuation operation instruction unit that assists people who are present in the building to evacuate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2010
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Shiro Hikita, Kiyoji Kawai
  • Patent number: 7641024
    Abstract: An elevator for transporting a person between two floors of a building includes at least one carriage and a lifting system. The elevator includes a control system and door sensors detecting the opening and closing of doors covering a hoist way. The control system detects a first opening and closing of a door in front of the carriage and activates the lift system to move the carriage to an opposite floor. Upon detecting a second opening and closing of a door in front of the carriage, the control system places the lift system in a standby state. Upon detecting a third opening and closing of a door in front of the carriage, the control system again activates the lift system to move the carriage to an opposite floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2010
    Inventor: Harry G. Bauge
  • Patent number: 7637354
    Abstract: An elevator system and method where an evacuation elevator control portion devises an evacuation plan making use of an elevator based on disaster information in the event of a disaster, and generates a command to perform an evacuation operation based on the evacuation plan. The evacuation elevator control portion further determines a number of people remaining inside a building and transmits the information outside of the building. An elevator operation control portion is provided for operating an elevator according to the command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2009
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kiyoji Kawai
  • Patent number: 7621378
    Abstract: A fire emergency control operation system for an elevator includes an evacuation time calculator for acquiring a positional relationship between the elevator and the fire sensor which performs the fire detecting operation based upon information from the fire sensor to calculate an evacuation operation time based upon the obtained positional relationship; a fire occurrence floor specifier for specifying a fire occurrence floor based upon the information from the fire sensor; and a remaining person count input device for inputting a number of the remaining persons in correspondence with each of the floors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2009
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventor: Kiyoji Kawai
  • Patent number: 7594564
    Abstract: The present invention discloses a method, a system and a computer program for the effective evacuation of a building in an emergency, in which at least one elevator can be used as an evacuation aid. In the method the group control of the elevators monitors the numbers of people on the different floors of the building. The floor on which it is assumed are most people is set at each moment of monitoring for a greater priority in an evacuation situation. Taking into account the limited supply power a free elevator car is directed to the floor of the greatest priority, at which the elevator is filled. The full elevator is directed without stopping to the exit floor of the building. The system monitors by means of detectors the safety of the different parts of the building and directs people if necessary to a safe evacuation location to wait for an elevator. A so-called Traffic Forecaster can be used as an aid in defining the priorities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2009
    Assignee: Kone Corporation
    Inventors: Marja-Liisa Siikonen, Janne Sorsa, Jukka-Pekka Sarjanen, Kim Bärlund
  • Patent number: 7588126
    Abstract: In the method of the present invention an evacuation mode is presented in an elevator system, which receives destination calls i.e. operates in accordance with so-called destination control. In the method the destination floor calls given on the evacuation floors of the building are changed in the event of an exceptional incident such that the destination floor becomes an exit floor of the building. In the method the elevator car is filled as flail as possible on one floor and the travel time to the exit floor is minimized by directing the elevator car to the escape floor without intermediate stops. The passengers to be evacuated are shown information relating to the evacuation on a display located on the destination call panel and/or inside the car of the evacuation elevator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2009
    Assignee: Kone Corporation
    Inventors: Marja-Liisa Siikonen, Kim Bärlund
  • Patent number: 7537091
    Abstract: An elevator door mover device (40) includes a threaded ferromagnetic shaft (42). Magnetic movers (48) associated with doors (26) generate magnetic fields that cause the doors to move responsive to rotation of the shaft (42). In one example, a controller (46) controls a speed of a motor (44) that drives the shaft (42). The controller (46) in some examples also selectively controls the strength of the magnetic fields of the movers, which provides more customizable door performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2009
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventor: Richard N. Fargo
  • Patent number: 7506726
    Abstract: A safety device for an elevator includes a cabin, a counterweight, a cabin drive motor with a rotor, and at least one power-failure electromechanical brake. The safety device has a control device arranged to receive at least one information allowing emergency power to be applied to the brake in order to release the rotor, and allow the cabin blocked between two floors to move under the effect of unbalance between the weight of the cabin and the weight of the counterweight; to receive information enabling the speed of the cabin to be known; and to manage power supplied to the brake in such a manner as to enable the cabin to move to an evacuation floor while preventing the speed of the cabin from exceeding a predefined limit. The information that enables the speed of the cabin to be known is provided by at least one electrical magnitude from the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2009
    Assignee: Moteurs Leroy-Somer
    Inventors: Jean-Marie Andrejak, Arnaud Reoblin
  • Publication number: 20090050416
    Abstract: A method of operating an elevator installation and the elevator installation include elevator doors actuated by an elevator drive according to a travel curve. At least one sensor unit detects pressure relationships and/or air flows. An evaluating unit determines a travel curve, which is optimal with respect to the detected pressure relationships and/or air flows, from a plurality of travel curves.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 6, 2006
    Publication date: February 26, 2009
    Inventor: Esben Rotboll
  • Patent number: 7469773
    Abstract: An assistant ceiling device designed to shield an escape hatch installed to a ceiling of an elevator cab is provided. The assistant ceiling device includes two elongated rail guides and a rectangular assistant ceiling plate. Each guide is installed at either side of the emergency escape hatch and has a length longer than that of the emergency escape hatch and shorter than that of the ceiling of the elevator cab. The assistant ceiling plate is laid on the rail guides to shield the emergency escape hatch. Each guide has a latching jaw so as to allow the assistant ceiling plate to be installed to the rail guides by laying both sides of the ceiling plate on the latching jaws.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Inventor: Ii Shik Yoon
  • Patent number: 7467691
    Abstract: An elevator installation for conveying persons/goods, a method for operating the elevator installation and to a method for modernizing an elevator installation. The elevator installation includes at least two cages arranged one above the other in a vertical travel direction, and a drive per cage for moving the cages. The cage and the drive are connected by way of a conveying member. A counterweight for weight compensation of each cage. At least one cage guide rail is provided for guiding the cages, and at least a pair of counterweight guide rails are provided for guiding the counterweights. The drives are arranged near different first walls in the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2008
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Romeo Deplazes, Lian-Choo Lim
  • Patent number: 7464793
    Abstract: An emergency power operation apparatus of an elevator that operate machines in a firefighter operation according to the situation in a case where a power failure occurs during firefighter operations during a fire and a switchover to an emergency power source occurs. A group-management controller causes machines not in firefighter operation to preferentially return to an evacuation floor or a rescue floor when a power failure occurs during firefighter operations during a fire and then makes machines in firefighter operation operational. In a case where there are multiple machines in firefighter operation after all machines not in firefighter operation have finished returning to an evacuation floor or a rescue floor, if there is a machine at a standstill outside a door zone among the machines in firefighter operation, the group-management controller causes that machine at a standstill outside the door zone to preferentially become operational.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2008
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masashi Komatsu
  • Patent number: 7461723
    Abstract: Provided is a fire control system of an elevator which rescues remainders in a building to a rescue floor by causing an elevator car to perform evacuating operations when a fire detector installed in the building works, characterized in that the fire control system of an elevator includes: individual identification sending means which each individual who utilizes the elevator carries and in which a resident room number, a resident floor, information on characteristics of each individual, etc. are registered; individual identification receiving means provided in each elevator hall; and a controller which calls an elevator car and performs car-call registration of a destination floor on the basis of information sent from the individual identification sending means to the individual identification receiving means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2008
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kiyoji Kawai
  • Publication number: 20080289907
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling advance opening of doors in a double-deck elevator, in which elevator a car frame (2) supporting the elevator cars (1a and 1b) is moved by means of a set of hoisting ropes (3) by a hoisting machine (46) provided with a traction sheave. When the elevator is approaching the target floor levels (51, 52), the velocity of the elevator cars (1a and 1b) in the car frame (2) in relation to the car frame (2) is measured and, based on the measurement result, the velocity of the elevator cars (1a and 1b) relative to the floor levels (51, 52) is calculated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2008
    Publication date: November 27, 2008
    Applicant: KONE CORPORATION
    Inventor: Risto Kontturi
  • Publication number: 20080271955
    Abstract: An elevator door lock assembly (30) includes a sensor device (40) for providing an indication of a properly locked door. A plurality of proximity sensor elements (42, 44) interact with activating elements (52, 54) when the door lock assembly (30) is properly locked. In disclosed examples, a specific geometric pattern of the sensor elements (42, 44) and the activating elements (52, 54) provides redundancy and tampering protection. In a disclosed example, an output from the sensor device (40) provides an indication of a condition of the door lock and a building level location of a plurality of sensor devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2004
    Publication date: November 6, 2008
    Inventors: Muhidin A. Lelic, Pei-Yuan Peng, Bryan Robert Siewert, Jacek F. Gieras, Michael Tracey, Thomas Malone
  • Patent number: 7413059
    Abstract: In a fire control system for an elevator, the time for the fire and smoke to reach the elevator hall of each floor of a building during fire is pre-calculated as the evacuation time of the floor. When the evacuation time of a floor is longer than the time for making a car respond to a rescue call from the evacuation floor, the floor is judged as a rescue floor, and when shorter, the floor is judged as a non-rescue floor. Furthermore, the order in which the rescue is carried out among the rescue floors is determined. Accordingly, it is possible to rescue remainders on a rescue floor using an elevator as an evacuation means. Moreover, since rescue operation by the elevator is performed with the order of rescue determined, rescue operation suitable for the conditions of the fire can be realized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2008
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kiyoji Kawai
  • Patent number: 7353914
    Abstract: A safety system for an elevator installation for the transport of persons/goods in a building and a method for operating an elevator installation with a safety system. Several cages are moved one above the other in a shaft. Each cage is moved by a drive. At least one drive control controls the drives by way of drive control signals. Cage position detecting sensors detect positions of each cage and transmit cage position data to at least one safety control. Access to the shaft takes place by way of opened shaft doors. A lock locks the shaft doors. Lock setting detecting sensors detect settings of the locks of the shaft doors and transmit lock setting data by way of the data bus to the safety control. The safety control ascertains, from the cage position data and the lock setting data, shaft region data with details with respect to shaft regions in which each cage is safely movable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2008
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventor: Romeo Deplazes
  • Publication number: 20080078626
    Abstract: In an elevator system that has an elevator hoistway, a plurality of hoistway doors arranged above each other each with at least one horizontally moveable hoistway door panel, and an elevator car with a car door that has at least one horizontally movable car door panel, fastened to the car door panel is a vertically extending barrier rail. In each of the areas lying in the vertical direction between the hoistway door panels of adjacent hoistway doors two locationally fixed stopping dogs that are vertically spaced from each other are arranged so that in each case one of the stopping dogs limits the opening movement of the barrier rail, and thereby of the car door panel, when the position of the elevator car deviates in the upward direction or in the downward direction by a certain minimum distance from the intended stopping position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2007
    Publication date: April 3, 2008
    Inventor: Hans Kocher
  • Patent number: 7316297
    Abstract: Provided is an elevator escape device. In response to a stop of the elevator due to power outage, a trapped person may press a switch to activate a backup generator, and either a backup electromagnetic contact is enabled if the backup generator functions normally or the person manipulates a handle to activate a slow movement assembly if the backup generator malfunctions. Thereafter, the brake is disabled by contacting a first detent a return assembly operates to return a slow movement assembly to its nonoperating position via a control assembly wherein electromagnetic contacts are short-circuited sequentially by contacting corresponding electromagnetic contacts, the car slowly arrives at a nearest correct floor, and the trapped person may to open a door to escape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2008
    Inventor: Chiu Nan Wang
  • Patent number: 7270218
    Abstract: A device moves a door seal for a displaceable door panel of an elevator car in an elevator installation with an elevator shaft having shaft doors. The movable door seal is arranged so that the door panel in a closed state is sealed off. The device includes an entrainer unit connected with the door panel and upon stopping of the elevator car at a floor executes a part movement. The device also includes a coupling mechanism mechanically connecting the entrainer unit with the door seal to bring the door seal out of a sealing position into an open position when the entrainer unit executes the part movement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2007
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Peter J. Spiess, Dario Augugliaro
  • Patent number: 7243760
    Abstract: An elevator door unit includes cage doors, a cage door lock unit, hall doors, and a lock release unit. The cage doors are provided in a cage which moves in a shaft. The cage door lock unit limits and locks the opening width of the cage doors to the width not to permit passing of passengers. The hall doors are provided in a landing hall, and opened interlocking with the cage doors, when the cage stops in a range of facing to the cage doors. The lock release unit releases the cage door lock unit within the opening width by opening the cage doors by manual operation, when the cage stops in a range that the cage doors face to the hall doors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2007
    Assignee: Toshiba Elevator Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenzo Tonoki, Yoshiaki Fujita, Shin Murakami, Norihito Togashi