Patents Examined by Anthony J Salata
  • Patent number: 10450162
    Abstract: A brake system for an elevator car includes a multiple of brake segments for deceleration of the elevator car and a brake control circuit operable to control operation of each of the multiple of brake segments to passively sequence activation of each of the multiple of brake segments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventors: Amir Lotfi, YiSug Kwon, Steven M. Millett
  • Patent number: 10442659
    Abstract: A brake for an elevator car includes a multiple of sequentially operated brake segments to control a timing and a rate of brake torque for deceleration of the elevator car.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventors: Amir Lotfi, Bruce P Swaybill, James L Hubbard
  • Patent number: 10427908
    Abstract: An elevator system and/or method executed by an elevator controller for detecting a fault within the elevator system. The elevator controller utilizes the fault to disable a drive control portion of the elevator controller and activate a drive u-stop control portion of the elevator controller. The drive u-stop control portion of the elevator controller generates a signal based on at least one of a speed estimation, a velocity profile, and feedforward information. The elevator controller applies the signal to an inverter connected to the elevator controller to execute the urgent stop of an elevator car of the elevator system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Shashank Krishnamurthy, Daryl J. Marvin
  • Patent number: 10432020
    Abstract: An emergency power supply for a traction elevator system utilizes a microprocessor-based control arrangement with pulse-width modulator technology to create an efficient, cost-effective back-up power system for a traction elevator. The microprocessor-based control arrangement is used to sense a phase irregularity in the power supply. Upon sensing the phase irregularity, the microprocessor-based control arrangement disconnects the elevator system from the main power source and then generates a control signal to initiate the supply of back-up power. Once the elevator electrical system has been stabilized, the elevator control system will sense that recovery has occurred and will then provide an appropriate speed and direction command to the traction motor drive system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: Reynolds & Reynolds Electronics, Inc.
    Inventor: James C. Hall
  • Patent number: 10427909
    Abstract: A system for allocating elevator use based on an individual request includes a request module that receives a reservation request of an elevator car from a user, an allocation module that identifies a reserved elevator car based on the reservation request; and a mechanical control module that moves the reserved elevator car in response to commands provided by the user and the reservation request.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Ashley Chapman, Eric C. Peterson, Bradley Armand Scoville, Paul A. Simcik
  • Patent number: 10421639
    Abstract: In an elevator system, whether an emergency stopper thereof operates normally can be confirmed by letting a driving sheave run idle even in a case where the driving force of a hoisting machine is not large enough, the elevator system includes a main rope to suspend an elevator car and a counterweight, the emergency stopper to prevent the elevator car from dropping, the driving sheave, with the main rope wound around, to drive the main rope by a frictional force therebetween, the hoisting machine to rotate the driving sheave, and an elevator controller to drive the hoisting machine, wherein the elevator controller drives the hoisting machine, with the emergency stopper kept in operation, to let the driving sheave run idle by exciting vertical natural period vibration of the counterweight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2019
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Rikio Kondo
  • Patent number: 10414627
    Abstract: An elevator system includes at least one elevator group control with a destination control system, at least one elevator group having elevators with a different destination range, destination operating panels at each landing including an input for issuing destination calls, car operating panels located in the elevators having an input for the input of destination calls, hall lanterns for each elevator indicating the moving direction of the corresponding elevator, a signaling device for each elevator indicating the arrival of an elevator at the landing, the destination control system controls hall lanterns to indicate a moving direction of the elevators and activates the signaling device when elevators arrive at a landing. The destination control system displays, after the issue of a destination call, a range identifier indicative of the elevator's destination range, and the next arriving elevator by activation of its signaling device before its arrival at the landing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2019
    Assignee: KONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jörn Wienholz-Buß, Seppo Numminen, Janne Sorsa
  • Patent number: 10407275
    Abstract: A sensor system for a passenger conveyance system includes a multiple of 3D sensors mounted to a movable structure within a vertical shaft and/or a horizontal shaft and a processing module in communication with the multiple of 3D sensors, the processing module operable to identify an obstruction within the horizontal or vertical shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventors: Yehia F Khalil, Richard N Fargo, Randall Roberts, Randall S Dube, Gary L Nuschler, Peter DePaola, Jr., Arthur Hsu, Tadeusz Pawel Witczak, Bruce P Swaybill, Alan Matthew Finn, Richard J Ericson
  • Patent number: 10407274
    Abstract: Systems and methods for an elevator. The elevator includes an elevator car to move along a first direction. A transmitter for transmitting a signal having a waveform. A receiver for receiving the waveform. A processor having memory is configured to represent the received waveform as a hybrid sinusoidal frequency modulated (FM)-polynomial phase signal (PPS) model. The hybrid sinusoidal FM-PPS model having PPS phase parameters representing a speed of the elevator car along a first direction and a sinusoidal FM phase parameter representing a vibration of the elevator car along a second direction. The processor solves the hybrid sinusoidal FM-PPS model to produce the speed of the elevator car or the vibration of the elevator car or both. A controller controls an operation of the elevator using the speed of the elevator car or the vibration of the elevator car, or both, to assist in an operational management of the elevator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2019
    Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Pu Wang, Philip Orlik, Kota Sadamoto, Wataru Tsujita
  • Patent number: 10399818
    Abstract: A control arrangement of an elevator includes a safety gear, an over speed governor with a rope which is connected to the safety gear, a stopping device for generating an actuating force to the safety gear, and a drive unit for driving the elevator apparatus. In order to facilitate easy and efficient maintenance, the control arrangement includes a controller for controlling a triggered sequence to involve activating of the stopping device for braking with the safety gear, and controlling the drive unit to drive the elevator apparatus during braking with the safety gear until the safety gear stops the elevator apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: KONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ari Kattainen, Antti Hovi
  • Patent number: 10399815
    Abstract: A method for controlling car separation in a multi-car elevator system, the method including: initiating, by a controller, a change in a profile of a target elevator car; determining that N elevators cars are affected by the change in the profile of the target elevator car, wherein elevator car N is an elevator car farthest from the target elevator car; calculating for each of the N elevator cars an updated profile; for each of the N elevator cars, beginning with the Nth elevator car and ending with the target elevator car, performing: determining if the updated profile for the elevator car will provide separation between the elevator car and a neighboring elevator car; and when the updated profile for the elevator car will provide separation between the elevator car and the neighboring elevator car, executing an elevator car profile update process for the elevator car.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 3, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: David Ginsberg, Arthur Hsu, Jose Miguel Pasini
  • Patent number: 10392222
    Abstract: A method includes determining an altitude of a mobile device, determining a floor coinciding with the altitude, and requesting elevator service specific to the floor mapped to the mobile device location. An apparatus includes a memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause the apparatus to: determine an altitude of the apparatus within a building, determine a floor within the building coinciding with the altitude, and request an elevator car to arrive at the floor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Paul A. Simcik, Bradley Armand Scoville, Eric C. Peterson
  • Patent number: 10392223
    Abstract: A method includes receiving, by a computing device comprising a processor, a request for at least one service associated with an elevator system from a mobile device over a cellular network. The request is validated based on a determined location of the mobile device. In response to the validating indicating that the request is approved, at least one resource associated with the at least one service is scheduled. The scheduling of the at least one resource includes placement of an elevator car call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Paul A. Simcik, Luis C. Encinas Carreno, Eric C. Peterson
  • Patent number: 10392224
    Abstract: Embodiments are directed to receiving, by a computing device including a processor, an identifier associated with a mobile device based on a passive transmission of the identifier by the mobile device, and based on the receipt of the identifier, scheduling at least one service associated with an elevator system based on an anticipated demand for the at least one service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Eric C. Peterson, Paul A. Simcik, Ashley Chapman, Luis C. Encinas Carreno, Bradley Armand Scoville
  • Patent number: 10384910
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method of initiating elevator service by entering an elevator call with a call input device operating a program including a preferred landing graphical object comprising at least one floor designation graphical objects displayed on a graphic user interface, in communication with an elevator system. The method includes the steps: selecting a current floor graphical object from the preferred landing graphical object, and selecting a destination floor graphical object from the preferred landing graphical object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Paul A. Simcik, Lucien Wedzikowski, Eric C. Peterson
  • Patent number: 10370220
    Abstract: A method of passenger conveyance control includes receiving a destination request; tracking a passenger who entered the destination request while in a waiting area; and canceling the destination request in response to the passenger leaving the waiting area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventors: Paul A Simcik, Eric C Peterson, Bradley Armand Scoville, Ashley Marie Chapman
  • Patent number: 10364127
    Abstract: A safety circuit for an elevator system includes a plurality of switch contacts, at least one first switch contact, and a control unit. The at least one first switch contact can be switched electronically and can be bridged using a conductive bridging element, in particular for maintenance or testing purposes. Additionally, the control unit is directly or indirectly connected to the safety circuit. The at least one first switch contact can be switched on the basis of instructions of the control unit in order to change the state of the safety circuit. In the process, the at least one control unit detects the absence of the state change of the safety circuit, in particular when the at least one first switch contact is being bridged by the bridging element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2019
    Assignee: INVENTIO AG
    Inventors: Rudolf J. Müller, Eric Birrer
  • Patent number: 10358319
    Abstract: A method for allocation of elevators in an elevator system, including identifying at least one passenger, searching for a group or groups the at least one passenger is assigned to in an internal database, or assigning the at least one passenger to a group or to groups, where the assignment is based on information of an internal database, and calling an elevator car for the at least one passenger and assigning to the elevator car the destination of one group the at least one passenger is assigned to.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2019
    Assignee: KONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jukka Salmikuukka, Samu Salmelin
  • Patent number: 10343872
    Abstract: A system for an elevator includes at least one battery and an energy exchanger coupled to the at least one battery and configured to let a DC bus float between a first voltage and a second voltage. An energy storage device is coupled to the energy exchanger. The energy storage device is configured to recapture energy that is not recaptured by the at least one battery during a run of the elevator. The energy storage device is also configured to provide energy to the elevator when demand for energy by the elevator exceeds a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: OTIS ELEVATOR COMPANY
    Inventors: Ismail Agirman, Carlo Mezzadri
  • Patent number: 10336580
    Abstract: A method for checking the integrity of a load bearing member of an elevator including tensile elements encapsulated in a case includes the steps of launching a source pulse through tensile elements of said load bearing member and comparing the feedback of said tensile elements with a comparator; tensile elements can be bridged to avoid a blind zone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 2, 2019
    Assignee: Kone Corporation
    Inventors: Igino Cereghetti, Simone Pellascio