Elevator active guidance system having a coordinated controller

An elevator system including an elevator car (12) having a frame that operates on guide rails of an elevator shaft of a building, the elevator car (12) having controlled rigid body motions in a global coordination system (X, Y, Z) kinematically defined by at least five degrees of freedom including side-to-side translation along the X axis, front-to-back translation along the Y axis, a pitch rotation about the X axis, a roll rotation about the Y axis, and a yaw rotation about the Z axis, comprising:

• local parameter sensing means (14), responsive to local parameters sensed in each of the five degrees of freedom in the global coordination system (X, Y, Z), for providing local parameter signals (G.sub.m, A.sub.m);
• coordinated control means (16), responsive to the local parameter signals (G.sub.m, A.sub.m), for providing coordinated control signals (CC.sub.x1, CC.sub.x2, CC.sub.y1, CC.sub.y2, CC.sub.y3);
• and
• local force generating means (18), responsive to the coordinated control signals (CC.sub.x1, CC.sub.x2, CC.sub.y1, CC.sub.y2, CC.sub.y3), for providing coordinated local forces (F.sub.x1, F.sub.x2, F.sub.y1, F.sub.y2, F.sub.y3) to maintain desired gaps between the frame and the guide rails to control coordinately the position of the elevator car (12) with respect to the elevator shaft of the building,
• wherein rigid body motions of the elevator car (12) in a global coordination system (X, Y, Z) are kinematically defined by at least five degrees of freedom including side-to-side translation along the X axis, front-to-back translation along the Y axis, a pitch rotation about the X axis, a roll rotation about the Y axis, and a yaw rotation about the Z axis.