# US 11,440,768 B2 · Acquisition of position of elevator car > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,440,768 B2 - Document ID: US11440768B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/714,133 - Filed: 2019-12-13 - Published: 2020-12-10 - Granted: 2022-09-13 - Earliest claimed: 2019-06-04 - Assignees: Otis High Rise Elevator (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Otis Elevator Company - Inventors: Lieping Wei; Wenbo Huang; XiaoBin Tang - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11440768B2 ## CPC - B66B 1/3492: {Position or motion detectors or driving means for the detector (B66B1/40, B66B1/50 take precedence; length measuring G01B; speed measuring G01P)} - B66B 3/023: {characterised by their mounting position} - G01S 1/0423: {Mounting or deployment thereof} - G01S 5/02695: {Constraining the position to lie on a curve or surface} - H04W 4/023: {using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds} - H04W 4/33: for indoor environments, e.g. buildings - H04W 4/80: Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication - B66B 1/3453: {Procedure or protocol for the data transmission or communication} - G01S 1/0428: {Signal details} - G01S 5/0295: {Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals} - G01S 2205/01: specially adapted for specific applications - H04W 84/18: Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks - B66B: ELEVATORS; ESCALATORS OR MOVING WALKWAYS ({apparatus for raising or lowering persons on theatrical stages or the like A63J5/12} ; funicular railbound systems with rigid ground-supported tracks and cable traction, e.g. cliff railways, B61B9/00; arrangements of ammunition handlers in vessels B63G3/00; hoists, lifts, or conveyors for loading or unloading in general B65G; braking or detent devices controlling normal movements of winding drums or barrels B66D; ship-lifting devices E02C; garages for many vehicles with mechanical means for lifting vehicles E04H6/12; hoists for feeding ammunition or projectiles to launching apparatus or to loading mechanisms F41A9/00) - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract Acquisition of position information of an elevator car. The system for acquiring the position information of an elevator car of the invention comprises: a first Bluetooth module travelling in an up-down direction of an elevator hoistway following the elevator car, and a second Bluetooth module disposed in the elevator hoistway; wherein the second Bluetooth module broadcasts a Bluetooth signal containing an identifier of the second Bluetooth module to the elevator hoistway, and the first Bluetooth module senses signal strength information of the Bluetooth signal it receives and determines the identifier corresponding to the second Bluetooth module broadcasting the received Bluetooth signal; the system is configured to determine the position information of the elevator car according to received signal strength information of the Bluetooth signal and a corresponding identifier. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system for acquiring position information of an elevator car, comprising: a first Bluetooth module travelling in an up-down direction of an elevator hoistway following the elevator car, and a plurality of second Bluetooth module disposed in the elevator hoistway in a substantially up-down direction of the elevator hoistway; wherein each second Bluetooth module broadcasts a Bluetooth signal containing an identifier of the second Bluetooth module to the elevator hoistway, and the first Bluetooth module senses signal strength information of the Bluetooth signals it receives and determines the identifiers corresponding to the each second Bluetooth module broadcasting the received Bluetooth signal; the system is configured to determine the position information of the elevator car according to received signal strength information of the Bluetooth signals and a corresponding identifier. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the first Bluetooth module and the plurality of second Bluetooth modules are networked to form a Bluetooth MESH network. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The system of claim 2, wherein the first Bluetooth module in the system is configured to broadcast the signal strength information of the Bluetooth signal it receives and the identifier corresponding to the second Bluetooth module broadcasting the Bluetooth signal to the Bluetooth MESH network, and one of the plurality of second Bluetooth modules in the system is configured to determine the position information of the elevator car based on the received signal strength information and the corresponding identifier and to broadcast the position information to the Bluetooth MESH network. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the first Bluetooth module in the system is configured to determine the position information of the elevator car according to the received signal strength information of the Bluetooth signal and the corresponding identifier. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The system of claim 4, wherein the first Bluetooth module in the system is further configured to broadcast the position information to the Bluetooth MESH network. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The system of claim 5, wherein the system is further utilized to transmit the position information to a third Bluetooth module, wherein the third Bluetooth module, the first Bluetooth module, and the second Bluetooth module(s) are networked to form the Bluetooth MESH network. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein a multi-hop wireless link is established between the first Bluetooth module, one or more of the second Bluetooth modules, and the third Bluetooth module when transmitting the position information from the first Bluetooth module to the third Bluetooth module. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the first Bluetooth module, the second Bluetooth module, and the third Bluetooth module are Bluetooth Low Power modules. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein a length of the elevator hoistway is greater than or equal to 50 meters. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the first Bluetooth module, the second Bluetooth module, and the third Bluetooth module are assigned a unique identifier, respectively. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein information reflecting the association of the position information of the elevator car and the signal strength information and the corresponding identifier and used for determining the position information of the elevator car is configured in the first Bluetooth module and/or the second Bluetooth module of the system. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the information of the association is presented by a table or a signal strength-position calculation; wherein based on the received signal strength information of the Bluetooth signal and the corresponding identifier, corresponding position information is found out from the table; or based on the received signal strength information of the Bluetooth signal, the corresponding position information is calculated using the signal strength-position calculation. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the association is obtained by learning in advance in the following manner: the elevator car with known position information travelling in the up-down direction of the elevator hoistway, recording the signal strength information of one or more of the Bluetooth signals received by the first Bluetooth module corresponding to each position and the corresponding identifier, and generating the association based on the known position information and the correspondingly recorded signal strength information and the corresponding identifier. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein a spacing between adjacent ones of the second Bluetooth modules is smaller than a Bluetooth signal transmission distance of the second Bluetooth module. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) An elevator system comprising an elevator car and an elevator control device for controlling the elevator car to travel in an elevator hoistway, wherein the system further comprises a system for acquiring position information of the elevator car as claimed in claim 1. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The elevator system of claim 15, wherein the position information is transmitted via one or more of the second Bluetooth modules from the first Bluetooth module to a third Bluetooth module disposed corresponding to the elevator control device, wherein the third Bluetooth module, the first Bluetooth module, and the second Bluetooth modules are networked to form a Bluetooth MESH network. ### Claim 17 A method for acquiring position information of an elevator car, comprising: sensing signal strength information of a Bluetooth signal in an elevator hoistway by a first Bluetooth module travelling in an up-down direction of the elevator hoistway following the elevator car, wherein the Bluetooth signal comprises the Bluetooth signal containing an identifier of a plurality of second Bluetooth modules broadcast to the elevator hoistway by the second Bluetooth modules disposed in the elevator hoistway in a substantially up-down direction of the elevator hoistway; determining the identifier corresponding to the plurality of second Bluetooth modules broadcasting the received Bluetooth signals; and determining the position information of the elevator car according to the received signal strength information of the Bluetooth signal and the corresponding identifier. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, further comprising: broadcasting the position information to a Bluetooth MESH network; and receiving the position information from the Bluetooth MESH network by a third Bluetooth module; wherein the first Bluetooth module, the second Bluetooth modules and the third Bluetooth module are networked to form the Bluetooth MESH network. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, wherein a multi-hop wireless link is established between the first Bluetooth module, the second Bluetooth modules, and the third Bluetooth module when transmitting the position information from the first Bluetooth module to the third Bluetooth module. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein information reflecting the association of the position information of the elevator car and the signal strength information and the corresponding identifier and used for determining the position information of the elevator car is configured in the first Bluetooth module and/or the second Bluetooth modules. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The method of claim 20, wherein the information of the association is presented by a table or a signal strength-position calculation; wherein in determining the position information of the elevator car: based on the received signal strength information of the Bluetooth signal and the corresponding identifier, corresponding position information is found out from the table; or based on the received signal strength information of the Bluetooth signal, the corresponding position information is calculated using the signal strength-position calculation. ### Claim 22 (depends on 20) The method of claim 20, wherein the association is obtained by learning in advance in the following manner: the elevator car with known position information travelling in the up-down direction of the elevator hoistway, recording the signal strength information of one or more of the Bluetooth signals received by the first Bluetooth module corresponding to each position and the corresponding identifier, and generating the association based on the known position information and the correspondingly recorded signal strength information and the corresponding identifier.