US 4,379,499 A · Emergency power elevator recovery and service system

Abstract

A multi-elevator system operable in response to a group controller (FIG. 1) operates in a first phase (FIG. 9) in which each car is selected in a sequence to be run in a first phase (FIG. 4) in which each car is commanded to run to a designated landing (FIGS. 5 and 6). When an attempt has been made to recover all cars (30, FIG. 9; 22, FIG. 8), a second attempt is made, if necessary (28, FIG. 9; 11, 13, 15, FIG. 8). Then, in a second phase, cars are selected on a priority basis in which the highest level are cars with firemen in them or cars not at a designated landing (8, FIG. 10). A second priority level includes cars designated as preferred by the customer (22, FIG. 10) and a third level includes any available car (29, FIG. 10). Any car not recovered is caused to become available (10, FIG. 3) for selection (8, FIG. 10) on a periodic basis, the priority level section automatically deselecting one of the service cars for operation so as to permit selecting the unrecovered car for operation.

An elevator system including a group controller means and a plurality of elevators operable either in response to normal electrical power provided by a feeder or in response to emergency electrical power in the absence of normal power at said feeder;

each elevator including a car movable between landings of a shaftway in a building, motion means for providing and arresting motion of the related car in its shaftway, and car controller means, for registering requests for service to said landings, for providing car control signals indicative of said requests for service and of conditions of said car, and for controlling said motion means and providing access between said car and said landings in response to said car control signals, for monitoring said feeder and for providing in response to loss of power at said feeder and to a signal indicative of said group controller selecting said elevator to run, signals to said motion means to cause said car to approach and provide access to said designated landing and either a first signal indicative of providing access to said designated landing or a second signal indicative of failure to provide access to said designated landing after a determined time period;
said group controller means comprising means for exchanging signals with each of said car controller means, for monitoring said feeder and providing, to said car controller means, in response to loss of normal power at said feeder, select signals indicative of successive ones of said elevators selected to run on emergency power to recover said elevators to a designated landing, the select signal for each elevator ending in response to receipt of either said first signal or said second signal from the related car controller means, for providing a phase two signal in response to receipt from each of said car controller means of either said first signal or said second signal, and for providing to at least one of said car controller means said select signal indicative of the related elevator being designated to run in response to said phase two signal;
characterized by:
each of said car controller means comprising means for providing a third signal indicative of the related car not being at said designated landing, responsive to the absence of said select signal for rendering the related elevator inoperative, responsive to concurrence of said second signal and said phase two signal for a given time interval to cease providing said second signal, and responsive to the absence of said first signal concurrently with the presence of said select signal to cause said car to approach and provide access to said designated landing;
and
said group controller means comprising means responsive to the absence of said second signal concurrently with the presence of said third signal from the same one of said car controller means and said phase two signal for providing a select signal to said one car controller means, whereby any car not recovered prior to provision of the phase two signal may be periodically selected to run in an attempt to recover the car to the designated landing after provision of the phase two signal.

3 more elements

Emergency power elevator recovery and service system

Life of this patent

Emergency power elevator recovery and service system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims10