Abstract: An elevator safety system including a controller, and a hoistway safety node arranged at a pit portion of an elevator hoistway. The hoistway node is operatively connected to one of a pit safety device and a lower hoistway device arranged at the elevator pit. A first bus links the hoistway node and the controller. The first bus passes communication signals directly from the hoistway node to the controller. A car node is arranged in an elevator car. The car node is operatively connected to a car safety device arranged at the elevator car. A second bus links the car node and the controller. The second bus passes communication signals directly from the car node to the controller.

Abstract: An elevator safety system including a controller, and a hoistway safety node arranged at a pit portion of an elevator hoistway. The hoistway node is operatively connected to one of a pit safety device and a lower hoistway device arranged at the elevator pit. A first bus links the hoistway node and the controller. The first bus passes communication signals directly from the hoistway node to the controller. A car node is arranged in an elevator car. The car node is operatively connected to a car safety device arranged at the elevator car. A second bus links the car node and the controller. The second bus passes communication signals directly from the car node to the controller.

Abstract: An exemplary device for controlling an elevator car motion profile includes a controller (64) that is programmed to cause an associated elevator car (62) to move with a motion profile that includes a plurality of jerk values (78, 82, 86, 90, 96, 100). The controller (64) is programmed to cause at least one transition (84, 88, 94, 98) between two of the jerk values to be at a non-instantaneous transition rate.

Abstract: An exemplary device for controlling an elevator car motion profile includes a controller (64) that is programmed to cause an associated elevator car (62) to move with a motion profile that includes a plurality of jerk values (78, 82, 86, 90, 96, 100). The controller (64) is programmed to cause at least one transition (84, 88, 94, 98) between two of the jerk values to be at a non-instantaneous transition rate.

Abstract: A system of sensing elevator car position is presented that dynamically compensates for problems due to frictional slippage of its mechanical connection and/or building settlement. The system comprises an elevator car within an elevator hoistway. An encoder is mounted within the elevator hoistway and mechanically connected to the elevator car. The mechanical connection drives the encoder which generates data indicative of the position of the elevator car. Either one of a position sensor and a position sensor actuator is mounted to a landing of the hoistway. The other one of the position sensor and position sensor actuator is mounted to the elevator car. The position sensor generates data indicative of the elevator car floor reaching a predetermined distance from the elevator landing when actuated by the position sensor actuator. An elevator position controller receives the data generated by both the position sensor and the encoder.

Abstract: A system of sensing elevator car position is presented that dynamically compensates for problems due to frictional slippage of its mechanical connection and/or building settlement. The system comprises an elevator car within an elevator hoistway. An encoder is mounted within the elevator hoistway and mechanically connected to the elevator car. The mechanical connection drives the encoder which generates data indicative of the position of the elevator car. Either one of a position sensor and a position sensor actuator is mounted to a landing of the hoistway. The other one of the position sensor and position sensor actuator is mounted to the elevator car. The position sensor generates data indicative of the elevator car floor reaching a predetermined distance from the elevator landing when actuated by the position sensor actuator. An elevator position controller receives the data generated by both the position sensor and the encoder.

Abstract: A system of sensing elevator car position is presented that dynamically compensates for problems due to frictional slippage of its mechanical connection and/or building settlement. The system comprises an elevator car within an elevator hoistway. An encoder is mounted within the elevator hoistway and mechanically connected to the elevator car. The mechanical connection drives the encoder which generates data indicative of the position of the elevator car. Either one of a position sensor and a position sensor actuator is mounted to a landing of the hoistway. The other one of the position sensor and position sensor actuator is mounted to the elevator car. The position sensor generates data indicative of the elevator car floor reaching a predetermined distance from the elevator landing when actuated by the position sensor actuator. An elevator position controller receives the data generated by both the position sensor and the encoder.

Abstract: A normal terminal stopping device (NTSD) using terminal zone position checkpoint detection with a binary coding method to identify a checkpoint within a terminal zone, and a digital shaft encoder mounted on the shaft of the hoist motor to determine a car position relative to a target stopping point. A microprocessor-based controller is used to compare a velocity command signal to a velocity limit reference. If the velocity command exceeds the velocity limit, the NTSD functions will take over to cause the elevator car to decelerate at the NTSD rate. In particular, the velocity limit reference is computed according to lead compensation and curve shaping techniques to attain better drive tracking characteristics of the motion controller. Binary coded checkpoints are used to eliminate error introduced in a car position derived from a motor shaft digital encoder.

Abstract: An emergency terminal speed limiting device (ETSLD) uses terminal zone position checkpoint detection with a binary coding method for the sensible stationary part mounted in the terminal zone. Instead of using three separate stationary vanes of different lengths as cams for actuating three separate switches on the car as they pass by the cams, only two vanes are needed. They can be of shorter length, e.g. equal length, and overlapped in a central part of the terminal zone to create three distinct subzones to thereby create a sensible binary coded subzone indicator. The boundaries of the subzones can be used as position checkpoints. Material and manpower for installation are thereby reduced. The stationary part need not be vanes but could take other forms such as reflective tape. Likewise, the moving sensor part can be other than a cam-operated switch, such as an optical transceiver.

Abstract: An elevator car position compensator includes a compensated position signal generator which, via a closed-loop feed-back arrangement, adjusts a true position signal by using a signal related to dynamic slip and stretch of the hoist ropes.

Abstract: Elevator door chain contacts are isolated from the safety chain in a separate circuit, thus enabling the use of a separate door chain coil for independently checking the status of the door chain itself and for enabling the remainder of the safety chain. The status of the door chain itself may be checked to make sure the doors are all closed when they should be. If it is determined the door are not all shut, the car door may be cycled open and shut in an attempt to correct a possible problem at the landing. The individual hoistway door contacts in the door chain may be checked, one at a time, while the car doors are fully opened at each particular floor to make sure that the door chain is not being incorrectly shorted, i.e., to make sure the hoistway door switch contact at the particular floor is opening when it should. A checking contact may be wired into the door chain and used to selectively open circuit the door chain to ensure that the door chain coil is not directly shorted to the power supply.

Abstract: An elevator monitoring apparatus and method are disclosed in which an elevator is modeled as operating in a closed loop chain of normal operating states from which message initiating transitions to abnormal states causes the latest to occur of a selected number of monitored events are recovered from a storage buffer as an aid to an analysis of an abnormal state. Door and motion closed loop chain state machines are disclosed as effective tools for abnormal event detection, especially for a state machine approach implemented within an elevator controller.

Abstract: In an elevator that has a position indicator that indicates through separate indication signals if the car is above, at, or below floor level, the position indicator is checked prior to and during the approach to the floor for a stop, and if an incorrect indication is sensed, the error is stored. The stored error and the other indications are used during the approach to slow and stop the car and open the doors.