1. Field of the Invention
[0001]
The present invention relates to an elevator
apparatus and a remote monitoring system for elevator
10 apparatuses and, more particularly, to an elevator
apparatus and a remote monitoring system for elevator
apparatuses having a signal transmitter-receiver that
captures and transmits a signal indicating a state of an
elevator car to a control panel through a serial
15 transmission path.
2. Description of the Related Art
[0002]
In place of a conventional manner in which signal
20 groups related to the control of an elevator apparatus are
transmitted separately via different signal lines, it is
desired that the states of the signals are transmitted over
communications. In this case, many signals are bundled
together and transmitted via a small number of transmission
25 paths (over communication lines or space). Accordingly,
3
performing diagnosis to check the reliability of the
transmission paths is desirable. In particular, signals
related to safe conditions during operation of the elevator
apparatus are used in the event of, for example, an
5 emergency stop of the elevator apparatus. Therefore, for
communications of such signals, diagnosis of transmission
paths is absolutely essential to prevent a transmission
failure from occurring and wrong contents from being
transmitted.
10 One of methods for diagnosing the transmission paths
is known from, for example, Japanese Patent Application
Laid-Open No. 2002-64520 in which, for implementing an
elevator control transmission system with enhanced
transmission efficiency in the entire system against
15 transmission anomaly, a system is configured to operate a
control device of the elevator to serve as a master station,
and a landing operating panel on each floor or a car
operating panel to serve as a slave station so that control
information is transmitted from the master station to the
20 slave station in a cyclic serial manner in order to
exchange the control information between the master station
and the slave station. In Japanese Patent Application
Laid-Open No. 2002-64520, further, the master station
transmits a test address predetermined for each slave
25 station in between transmissions of control information,
4
and the slave station transmits test response data to the
master station when receiving the test address. The system
in which the master station making an assessment as to
anomaly in the slave station based on the test response
5 data received from the slave station is disclosed.
[0004]
However, in the configuration disclosed by Japanese
Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-64520, during an
interval between reception and transmission of control
10 information between the master station and the slave
station interconnected through a serial transmission path,
the serial transmission path is occupied for transmitting
the test address and returning the test response data for
diagnosis of the serial transmission path. Because of this,
15 the reception and transmission of control information (e.g.,
safe-state determination signal) used to control the
elevator apparatus to make an emergency stop in the event
of abnormal conditions are interrupted due to the diagnosis
of the serial transmission path. This is undesirable in
20 view of an emergency stop of the elevator apparatus in the
event of abnormal conditions, because the reception and
transmission of the control information (e.g., safe-state
determination signal) must be continuously performed
essentially.
25 Accordingly, the present invention provides an
5
elevator apparatus and a remote monitoring system for
elevator apparatuses which can secure reliability of a
transmission path while maintaining the responsiveness for
signals being transmitted in the elevator apparatus.
5
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005]
To address this problem, an aspect of the present
invention provides an elevator apparatus which includes: an
10 elevator car; a serial transmission path; a control panel;
and an elevator-car side signal transmitter-receiver that
captures a signal indicating at least a state of the
elevator car and transmits the signal to the control panel
through the serial transmission path. In the elevator
15 apparatus, the elevator-car signal transmitter-receiver
includes: first input ports provided to correspond to a
plurality of sensors installed on the inside and/or outside
of the elevator car to capture signals from the plurality
of sensors; a second input port selectively capturing
20 signals from the plurality of sensors; and a diagnostic
controller that allows a diagnostic signal for diagnosing
the serial transmission path, to enter at least a
designated first input port of the first input ports, and
allows a signal from one of the sensors corresponding to
25 the designated first input port, to enter the second input
6
port. The elevator-car signal transmitter-receiver
generates a communication frame based on the signals input
to the first input ports and the second input port, and
transmits the communication frame to the control panel
5 through the serial transmission path, and performs
diagnosis on the serial transmission path on the basis of a
communication frame sent back from the control panel.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a
remote monitoring system for elevator apparatuses which
10 includes a plurality of elevator apparatuses installed
either in a single building or in a plurality of buildings,
and remote monitoring equipment connected to the plurality
of elevator apparatuses through a network. The remote
monitoring equipment includes electronic terminal equipment.
15 Each of the plurality of elevator apparatuses has an
elevator-car side signal transmitter-receiver that captures
as least a signal indicating a state of an elevator car and
transmits the signal to a control panel through a serial
transmission path. The elevator-car side signal
20 transmitter-receiver includes: first input ports provided
to correspond to a plurality of sensors installed on the
inside and/or outside the elevator car to capture signals
from the plurality of sensors; a second input port
selectively capturing the signals from the plurality of
25 sensors; and a diagnostic controller that allows a
7
diagnostic signal for diagnosing the serial transmission
path to enter at least a designated first input port of the
first input ports and allows a signal coming from one of
the sensors corresponding to the designated first input
5 port to enter the second input port. The elevator-car side
signal transmitter-receiver generates a communication frame
based on the signals input to the first input ports and the
second input port, and transmits the communication frame to
the control panel through the serial transmission path, and
10 performs diagnosis on the serial transmission path on the
basis of a communication frame sent back from the control
panel.
[0006]
According to one aspect of the present invention, it
15 is possible to provide an elevator apparatus and a remote
monitoring system for elevator apparatuses which can secure
reliability of a transmission path while maintaining the
responsiveness for signals being transmitted in the
elevator apparatus.
20 The above and other problems, configurations and
advantages will become apparent from the following
description of embodiments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
25 Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the
8
present embodiments are described with reference to the
following figures, wherein like reference signs refer to
like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise
specified.
5 [0007]
Fig. 1 is an overall schematic block diagram
illustrating an elevator apparatus of a first embodiment in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of
10 modification of the elevator apparatus shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an
elevator-car side transmitter - receiver shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 illustrates an address assignment table for a
first input port shown in Fig. 3, showing the relationship
15 with input signals entering the respective first input
ports;
Fig. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a
control panel shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a frame format of a
20 communication frame generated by a communication frame
generator shown in Fig. 3;
Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of
definitions of diagnostic rules provided by a diagnostic
rule definition unit shown in Fig. 3;
25 Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow in
9
an operational state acquisition unit shown in Fig. 5;
Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow in
a diagnostic instruction generator shown in Fig. 3;
Fig. 10 illustrates a diagnostic progression status
5 table contained in the diagnostic instruction generator
shown in Fig. 3;
Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating a communication
frame generated by a communication frame generator during
the operation of an alternative input selector shown in Fig.
10 3:
Fig. 12 is an overall schematic block diagram
illustrating a remote monitoring system for elevator
apparatuses of a second embodiment in accordance with
another embodiment of the present invention; and
15 Fig. 13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an
elevator-car side transmitter-receiver shown in Fig. 12.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0008]
20 As used herein, “sensors” installed on the inside
and/or outside of an elevator car include, for example, a
sensor detecting an opening/closing state of a car door of
the elevator car, a sensor detecting a position of the
elevator car within a hoistway, and the like, as well as
25 various switches such as a switch installed on the car door
10
of the elevator car to detect an opening/closing operation
of the car door of the elevator car, an emergency stop
switch used when maintenance is performed, and the like.
The term “serial transmission path” as used herein
5 refers to a transmission path allowing serial
communications irrespective of wired or wireless
communications. Further, the term “tail cord” as used
herein is also referred to as a traveling cable or moving
cable, which is an electric cable for communications/power
10 supply between a control panel and a transmitter-receiver
mounted to the elevator car of the elevator apparatus, the
electric cable being hung in the hoistway to move up/down
as the car moves up/down.
Embodiments in accordance with the present invention
15 will now be described with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
First Embodiment
[0009]
20
Fig. 1 is an overall schematic block diagram
illustrating an elevator apparatus of a first embodiment in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
As illustrated in Fig. 1, an elevator apparatus 1
25 includes: a control panel 3 having a control-panel side
11
transmitter-receiver 20; an elevator car 2 moving up/down
within a hoistway 5; an operating panel 12 installed in the
elevator car 2; various sensors 11 installed on the inside
and/or outside of the elevator car 2; an elevator-car side
5 transmitter-receiver 10 mounted to the elevator car 2; and
a tail cord 4 incorporating a serial transmission path 30
that establishes a two-way communicative connection between
the control-panel side transmitter-receiver 20 and the
elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10. The various
10 sensors 11 installed on the inside and/or outside of the
elevator car 2 include, for example, an emergency stop
switch that is installed on the top board of the elevator
car 2 and used when maintenance is performed, a sensor that
is installed on the bottom board of the elevator car 2 to
15 detect a position of the elevator car 2 in the hoistway 5,
and the like. In addition, the sensors 11 include, for
example, a sensor that detects an opening/closing state of
the car door of the elevator car 2, a switch that is
installed on the car door of the elevator car 2 to detect
20 the opening/closing operation of the car door of the
elevator car 2, or the like, as described above.
[0010]
Although not shown, the elevator apparatus 1 further
includes a hoist and a sheave over which a plurality of
25 main ropes pass to be suspended. The main ropes extending
12
from the sheave have one ends coupled to the upper end of a
counterweight through a deflector pulley, and have the
other ends coupled to the upper end of the elevator car 2.
In the elevator apparatus 1, when the hoist is bought into
5 operation, the sheave rotates, thereby producing friction
between the main ropes and the sheave. The friction causes
the main ropes passing over the sheave to move along the
rotation direction of the sheave. As the main ropes move,
the counterweight and the elevator car 2 move up and down
10 in mutually opposite directions. This results in an
ascent/descent operation of the elevator car 2 in the
hoistway 5. For smooth up/down movement of the elevator
car 2, the elevator apparatus 1 includes guide members,
called guide rails (not shown), structured to guide the
15 sides of the elevator car 2 and the counterweight.
[0011]
As illustrated in Fig. 1, the various sensors 11
installed on the inside and/or outside of the elevator car
2 are connected via the respective signal lines to the
20 elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10. Similarly to
the sensors 11, devices mounted in the elevator car 2, such
as the operating panel 12 and/or the like, are also
connected via respective signal lines (not shown) to the
elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10. Measurements
25 (signals) measured by the various sensors 11 and operated
13
signals on the operating panel 12 are transmitted to the
control-panel side transmitter-receiver 20 of the control
panel 3 via the serial transmission path 30 incorporated in
the tail cord 4. For the serial transmission path 30,
5 suitable transmission techniques or standards may be
selected as appropriate to suit the specifications of the
elevator apparatus 1 or an environment in which the
elevator apparatus 1 is installed. For example, IEEE 802.3
standard widely used for information networks and the like
10 is selected for an elevator apparatus with a travel
distance of 100 meters or less, and an optical fiber is
selected for an elevator apparatus with a longer travel
distance or an elevator apparatus installed in a high-noise
environment.
15 [0012]
Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of
modification of the elevator apparatus 1 illustrated in Fig.
1. As illustrated in Fig. 2, a difference of the elevator
apparatus 1 from that shown in Fig. 1 is that the elevator20
car side transmitter-receiver 10 has an elevator- car side
radio transceiver 31 and the control-panel side
transmitter-receiver 20 has a control-panel side radio
transmitter-receiver 32. In Fig. 2, measurements (signals)
measured by the various sensors 11 and operated signals on
25 the operating panel 12 are wirelessly sent from the
14
elevator-car side radio transmitter-receiver 31 by serial
communications, and then received by the control-panel side
transmitter-receiver 32. In this case, a serial
transmission path 30 is formed by wireless serial
5 communications. It is noted that the elevator-car side
radio transmitter-receiver 31 and the control-panel side
radio transmitter-receiver 32 used for wireless
communications conform to IEEE 802.11 family of standards
by way of example.
10 Although Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 of the above show the case
where the control panel 3 forming part of the elevator
apparatus 1 is installed in a machine room (not shown)
provided in a top portion of the hoistway 5, by way example,
the present invention is not limited to this. For example,
15 the control panel 3 forming part of the elevator apparatus
1 may be installed on a side wall of the hoistway 5. In
this case, a machine-roomless elevator apparatus can be
realized.
[0013]
20 The configuration of the elevator-car side
transmitter-receiver 10 will now be described.
Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the elevatorcar
side transmitter-receiver 10 shown in Fig. 1. As
illustrated in Fig. 3, the elevator-car side transmitter25
receiver 10 includes a plurality of input terminals 100
15
capturing measurements (signals) form the respective
sensors 11 as input signals 101. The elevator-car side
transmitter-receiver 10 further includes a diagnostic
execution unit 110, a plurality of first input ports 120
5 provided to correspond to the plurality of the input
terminals 100, a communication frame generator 130, a
diagnostic controller 160, a transmitting controller 140
and a receiving controller 150. In turn, the diagnostic
execution unit 110 has a plurality of input selectors 111,
10 a single alternative input selector 112, a single
alternative input port (second input port) 113, a decoder
114, and a diagnostic input generator 115.
[0014]
The plurality of input terminals 100 of the elevator15
car side transmitter-receiver 10 receive measurements
(signals) as input signals 101 from the individually
corresponding sensors 11. Each of the input signals 101
individually captured into the corresponding input
terminals 100 is divided in the diagnostic execution unit
20 110 into two, respectively entering the corresponding input
selector 111 and the alternative input selector 112. The
input selector 111 selects one of two, the input signal 101
and a diagnostic signal 115a, on the basis of an input
selection signal 116 output from the decoder 114, and then
25 outputs the selection to the input port 120. The
16
alternative input selector 112 selects either any one of
the plurality of input signals 101 or a state of no
connection to anywhere, on the basis of an alternative
target selection signal 117 output from the decoder 114,
5 and then outputs the selection to the alternative input
port (second input port) 113.
[0015]
The first input ports 120 and the alternative input
port 113 (second input port) each include, for example, an
10 A/D converter and/or a digital circuit such as a smoothing
circuit and/or the like. Each of the first input ports 120
converts the incoming input signal 101 to a state value
120a (e.g., binary value, “zero” or “one”) for output to
the communication frame generator 130. When the
15 alternative input selector 112 selects a state of a
connection to any one of the plurality of the input signals
101, similarly, the alternative input port (second input
port) 113 converts the selected input signal 101 to a state
value 113a (e.g., binary value, “zero” or “one”) for output
20 to the communication frame generator 130.
To perform selective reading of a value of the sensor
11 connected to a specified first input port 120, a unique
address is assigned to each first input port 120 for
individual identification of the first input port 120. Fig.
25 4 illustrates an address assignment table for the first
17
input ports 120 shown in Fig. 3, which shows the
relationship with the input signals input to the respective
first input ports 120. As shown in Fig. 4, each “address
of the input port 120” and each “input signal” (a type of
5 the input signal) are linked and stored in the address
assignment table. For example, in the first input port 120
at address “0x1000”, a type of the input signal is the
“stop switch (within the car)”. In the first input port
120 at address “0x1001”, a type of the input signal is the
10 “stop switch (on the top of the car)”. As other examples,
in the first input port 120 at address “0x1010”, a type of
the input signal is the “car-door opening detection switch”.
In the first input port 120 at address “0x1020”, a type of
the input signal is the “floor detection sensor”. In the
15 first input port 120 at address “0x1021”, a type of the
input signal is the “door zone detection sensor”. In many
of microprocessors, an input port for connection of an
external input signal is mapped in a memory space. The
embodiment may employ, for example, a method by which any
20 program is used to designate the addresses of the input
ports so that external signals are captured. In the
following, an address defined for (assigned to) a first
input port 120 to which a certain signal is input is
referred to simply as an “address of the signal/the signal
25 address”.
18
[0016]
Referring back to Fig. 3, the communication frame
generator 130 generates a communication frame 130a by
loading or storing the incoming state value 120a and the
5 state value 113a in predetermined regions in accordance
with a predetermined frame format, and then outputs the
communication frame 130a to the transmitting controller 140.
The transmitting controller 140 converts the incoming
communication frame 130a into a serial signal, and then
10 transmits the serial signal to the serial transmission path
30. In contrast, upon reception of a serial signal from
the serial transmission path 30, the receiving controller
150 converts the serial signal into a communication frame
for output to the diagnostic controller 160.
15 [0017]
As illustrated in Fig. 3, the diagnostic controller
160 has a diagnostic rule definition unit 161, a timing
generator 162, a diagnostic instruction generator 163, and
a diagnosis determination unit 164. The diagnostic
20 controller 160 uses the diagnostic rule definition unit 161,
the timing generator 162, and the diagnostic instruction
generator 163 to generate a control signal required for the
operation of the diagnostic execution unit 110 in order to
perform diagnosis on the serial transmission path 30. Also,
25 the diagnostic controller 160 receives a communication
19
frame of a transmission state of a diagnostic signal (which
will be described later in detail) through the receiving
controller 150. Then, at the diagnosis determination unit
164, the execution result of the diagnosis is determined.
5 [0018]
The configuration of the control-panel side
transmitter-receiver 20 will now be described.
Fig. 5 is a schematic block diagram of the control
panel 3 shown in Fig. 1. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the
10 control panel 3 includes the control-panel side
transmitter-receiver 20 and an operation controller 21.
The control-panel side transmitter-receiver 20 includes a
receiving controller 210, an operational state acquisition
unit 220 and a transmitting controller 230. The receiving
15 controller 210 receives a serial signal from the serial
transmission path 30, and then converts it into a
communication frame. The receiving controller 210 then
outputs the converted communication frame to the
transmitting controller 230 and the operation controller 21
20 that controls operational states, such as of the operation
and stop of the elevator apparatus 1 and the
opening/closing of the door (car door) of the elevator car
2, in the control panel 3.
[0019]
25 The operational state acquisition unit 220 acquires
20
an operational state of the elevator apparatus 1 from the
operation controller 21. If any change in operational
state occurs, the new operational state 21a is converted
into a communication frame 220a in accordance with a
5 predetermined frame format for output to the transmitting
controller 230. The reason that the operational state
acquisition unit 220 is provided is because a range of a
signal to be diagnosed is changed in response to an
operational state of the elevator apparatus 1. Since the
10 oversized elevator apparatus 1 requires a large number of
input signals 101, much time is required until diagnosis
have been performed on all the signal paths, which is
undesired from the viewpoint of securing the reliability of
the signal paths. To address this, rather than the entire
15 input signals 101, a diagnostic range is set to only a
signal read for each operational state, such as, for
example, where the elevator car 2 is moving or the door
(car door) of the elevator car 2 is opened/closed, in order
to limit an execution cycle of diagnosis. In other words,
20 the frequency of performing diagnosis is decreased. Note
that a method of deriving a diagnostic range from the
operational state will be described later.
[0020]
Upon reception of a communication frame from the
25 receiving controller 210 or the operational state
21
acquisition unit 220, the transmitting controller 230
converts the communication frame into a serial signal for
output to the serial transmission path 30. If the
transmitting controller 230 concurrently accepts
5 communication frames from the receiving controller 210 and
the operational state acquisition unit 220, for the purpose
of minimizing the period of diagnostic execution time, the
transmitting controller 230 assigns priority to the
communication frame received from the receiving controller
10 210 for conversion into a serial signal to be transmitted
to the serial transmission path 30. Here, regarding the
reason why the communication frame from the receiving
controller 210 is given a higher priority than the
communication frame from the operational state acquisition
15 unit 220, the period of time required to switch the input
selector 111 to perform diagnosis on the serial
transmission path 30 is shortened to a minimum by giving a
higher priority to the communication frame from the
receiving controller 210 than that to the communication
20 frame from the operational state acquisition unit 220.
[0021]
The following is a description of the operation in
normal conditions and the operation during diagnostic
execution of the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10
25 and the control-panel side transmitter-receiver 20.
22
[0022]

In the normal operation in which diagnosis is not
performed on the signal transmission path (serial
5 transmission path 30), the diagnostic instruction generator
163 forming part of the diagnostic controller 160 of the
elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10 shown in Fig. 3
outputs an invalid value (e.g., “zero”) corresponding to
none of the signal addresses, as an address 163a to the
10 decoder 114 and the communication frame generator 130.
When the address 163a is the above invalid value, the
decoder 114 generates an input selection signal 116 such
that the input selectors 111 are connected to all the input
terminals 100, and the decoder 114 also generates an
15 alternative target selection signal 117 such that the
alternative input selector 112 is not connected to any of
the input signals 101. As a result, all the input signals
101 which are the measurements (signals) from the various
sensors 11 installed on the inside and outside of the
20 elevator car 2 are entered into the first input ports 120,
and then are output as the respective state values 120a to
the communication frame generator 130.
[0023]
When the address 163a is the invalid value, the
25 communication frame generator 130 loads or stores the
23
incoming state value 120a in a predetermined region in
accordance with a predetermined frame format to generate a
communication frame 130a for output to the transmitting
controller 140. Here, a frame format is described. Fig. 6
5 illustrates the frame format of the communication frame
130a generated by the communication frame generator 130
shown in Fig. 3. As illustrated in Fig. 6, safety-related
signals (safe-state determination signals) entered as the
input signals 101 from the various sensors 11 are loaded or
10 stored in a safety-related signal region in address order.
In particular, in the example illustrated in Fig. 6, a
safety-related signal (safe-state determination signal)
entered from the sensor 11 shown in the uppermost position
(the sensor 11 assigned a smallest address) is “stop SW”.
15 A safety-related signal (safe-state determination signal)
entered from the sensor 11 shown in the second position is
a “door state”. A safety-related signal (safe-state
determination signal) entered from the sensor 11 shown in
the third position is a “car position”. In addition, in
20 the safety-related signal region, the address 163a and an
input value from the alternative input port 113 are also
loaded or stored. In the normal conditions, both the
address 163a and the input value 113a from the alternative
input port 113 are invalid values (“0x000”) as described
25 above. Although not shown in detail, loaded or stored in a
24
control-related signal region is a control-related signal
indicating, for example, a state of the operating panel 12
installed in the elevator car 2, such as, for example,
information about destination floor registration. Loaded
5 or stored in an information-related signal region is an
information-related signal used for other than control over
the elevator apparatus 1 itself, such as, for example, an
image signal of a surveillance camera installed in the
elevator car 2, an audio signal in the elevator car 2,
10 and/or the like.
[0024]
The transmitting controller 140 receives the
communication frame 130a from the communication frame
generator 130, and then transmits the communication frame
15 130a as a serial signal to the control-panel side
transmitter-receiver 20 via the serial transmission path 30
by use of a predetermined protocol. Any protocol may be
selected for use of transmission of the communication frame
130a. For example, general-purpose protocol such as UDP
20 (User Datagram Protocol) and the like, a protocol designed
for industrial field such as Profinet (registered
trademark), and the like may be arbitrarily applied.
[0025]
After the receiving controller 210 forming part of
25 the control-panel side transmitter-receiver 20 shown in Fig.
25
5 receives a serial signal from the transmitting controller
140 forming part of the elevator-car side transmitterreceiver
10, the receiving controller 210 converts the
serial signal into a communication frame 210a (expected to
5 be identical with the communication frame 130a) by use of
the predetermined protocol. The receiving controller 210
outputs the converted communication frame 210a to the
operation controller 21 as described earlier. The
operation controller 21 extracts a state value of a
10 necessary signal of the safety-related signals (safe-state
determination signals) loaded or stored in the abovedescribed
safety-related signal region, from the incoming
communication frame 210a in order to control each component
of the elevator apparatus 1.
15 [0026]

When diagnosis is performed on the signal
transmission path (serial transmission path 30), the
operational state acquisition unit 220 shown in Fig. 5
20 continually acquires an operational state of the elevator
apparatus 1 from the operation controller 21. Upon
detection of a change in operational state, the operational
state acquisition unit 220 generates a communication frame
220a for notification of transition to a new operation
25 state 21a. The communication frame 220a generated at the
26
operational state acquisition unit 220 is output to the
transmitting controller 230. The transmitting controller
230 converts the communication frame 220a to a serial
signal and then transmits the serial signal to the
5 elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10 via the serial
transmission path 30. The receiving controller 150 forming
part of the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10 shown
in Fig. 3 extracts a new operational state 150a from the
serial transmitted communication frame 220a, and then sets
10 the new operational state 150a to the diagnostic rule
definition unit 161. In place of the configuration in
which the operational state acquisition unit 220 detects a
change in operational state, the operation controller 21
may be configured to detect a change in operational state
15 by itself and then to notify the operational state
acquisition unit 220 of it. Here, the processing flow in
the operational acquisition unit 220 shown in Fig. 5 is
described with reference to Fig. 8. As illustrated in Fig.
8, the operational state acquisition unit 220 acquires an
20 operational state of the elevator apparatus 1 from the
operation controller 21 (step S101). At step S102, a
determination is made whether or not the acquired
operational state changes. If there is no change in the
acquired operational state, the processing goes back to
25 step S101. In contrast, if the acquired operational sate
27
changes, the processing goes to step S103. At step S103,
the operational state acquisition unit 220 generates a
communication frame 220a for notification of transition to
a new operational state 21a as described above, and then
5 converts the communication frame 220a into a serial signal
for notification to the diagnostic rule definition unit 161
forming part of the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver
10, via the serial transmission path 30. Then, the
processing goes back to step S101. In this manner, the
10 operational state acquisition unit 220 continuously
repeatedly executes the processing from step S101 to step
S103.
[0027]
Fig. 7 shows an example of definitions of diagnostic
15 rules established by the diagnostic rule definition unit
161. As illustrated in Fig. 7, in the diagnostic rule
definition unit 161, a set of addresses of signals that
need to be diagnosed in each operational state is predefined
as a “diagnostic range”. For example, when the
20 operational state of the elevator apparatus 1 is in “car in
motion” (during traveling of the elevator car 2), a “stop
signal (0x1000-0x1001)”, a “door-state signal (0x1010)” (a
detection signal of an opening/closing state of the car
door of the elevator car 2), and a “car position detection
25 signal (0x1020-0x1021)” (detection signal of the position
28
of the elevator car 2) are required as a diagnostic range.
When the operational state of the elevator apparatus 1 is
“during loading/unloading of passengers” (while the
passengers are getting in and out of the elevator car 2), a
5 “stop signal (0x1000-0x1001)” and a “door-state signal
(0x1010)” (a detection signal of an opening/closing state
of the car door of the elevator car 2) are required as a
diagnostic range.
[0028]
10 Upon the receiving controller 150 setting the new
operational state 150a, the diagnostic rule definition unit
161 outputs a diagnostic range 161a corresponding to the
new operational state 150a (the diagnostic range
corresponding to the “car in motion” in the above Fig. 7)
15 to the diagnostic instruction generator 163. Upon
reception of the new diagnostic range 161a from the
diagnostic rule definition unit 161, the diagnostic
instruction generator 163 sets the signal address contained
in the diagnostic range 161a, to a diagnostic progression
20 status table 163c which will be described later, and then
initializes the diagnostic progression status in each
signal to a “not-yet-executed” state.
The diagnostic operation for the serial transmission
path 30 (signal transmission path) is started when the
25 timing generator 162 outputs a diagnosis startup signal
29
162a to the diagnostic instruction generator 163 at
predetermined time intervals (in predetermined cycles).
[0029]
The operation of the diagnostic instruction generator
5 163 will be described below with reference to Fig. 9 which
illustrates a diagnostic processing flow in the diagnostic
instruction generator 163 shown in Fig. 3.
[0030]
At step S201, the diagnostic instruction generator
10 163 determines whether or not the diagnostic range is
initialized/updated. In particular, as described earlier,
when a diagnostic range 161a corresponding to a new
operational state 150a is received from the diagnostic rule
definition unit 161, the processing goes to step S202. In
15 contrast, the diagnostic range is not initialized or
updated, the processing goes to step S204.
[0031]
At step S202, the diagnostic instruction generator
163 reads the diagnostic range 161a corresponding to the
20 new operational state 150a supplied from the diagnostic
rule definition unit 161, and then sets the signal address
contained in the diagnostic range 161a to the diagnostic
progression status table 163c which will be described later.
Then, the diagnostic progression statuses in all the
25 signals are set to “not-yet-executed”.
30
Next, at step S204, the diagnostic instruction
generator 163 determines whether or not a diagnosis startup
signal 162a is received from the timing generator 162. If
the diagnosis startup signal 162a is received, the
5 processing goes to step S205. If the diagnosis startup
signal 162a is not received, the processing goes back to
step S204.
[0032]
At step S205, the diagnostic instruction generator
10 163 selects, as a signal to be diagnosed, a signal in which
the progression status is “not-yet-executed”. Then, at
step S206, the diagnostic instruction generator 163 outputs
the address 163a of the signal to be diagnosed to the
communication frame generator 130 and the decoder 114
15 forming part of the diagnostic execution unit 110. At step
S207, the diagnostic instruction generator 163 outputs a
diagnostic signal pattern 163b to the diagnosis
determination unit 164 and the diagnostic input generator
115 forming part of the diagnostic execution unit 110.
20 Here, the diagnostic progression status table 163c included
in the diagnostic instruction generator 163 is illustrated
in Fig. 10. As illustrated in Fig. 10, the “signal being
diagnosed (address)” and the “diagnostic progression
status” are linked and stored in the diagnostic progression
25 status table 163c. Each address stored in the “signal
31
being diagnosed (address)” corresponds to each of the
addresses of the first input ports 120 stored in the
address assignment table illustrated in Fig. 4 described
earlier. In the above-described step S205, the diagnostic
5 instruction generator 163 selects, as signal to be
diagnosed (address), a signal with, e.g., a smallest
address among the signals in which the diagnostic
progression status is “not-yet-executed”, from the
diagnostic progression status table 163c. In the example
10 shown in Fig. 10, the diagnostic instruction generator 163
selects “0x1010” as a signal to be diagnosed (address). In
the above-described step S206 and step S207, the diagnostic
instruction generator 163 outputs “0x1010” selected as the
signal to be diagnosed (address), as a signal address 163a,
15 to the communication frame generator 130 and the decoder
114 forming part of the diagnostic execution unit 110.
Also, the diagnostic instruction generator 163 generates a
diagnostic signal pattern 163b to be supplied to the first
input port 120 corresponding to the signal to be diagnosed
20 (address), and then outputs the diagnostic signal pattern
163b to the diagnosis determination unit 164 and the
diagnostic input generator 115 forming part of the
diagnostic execution unit 110.
[0033]
25 Referring back to Fig. 9, at step S208, the
32
diagnostic instruction generator 163 sets a diagnostic
progression status of the signal being diagnosed to “under
diagnosis”. In particular, as shown by the dotted line of
Fig. 10, the diagnostic instruction generator 163 updates
5 the diagnostic progression status of the signal
corresponding to the address 163a (“0x1010”) from “not-yetexecuted”
to “under execution” in the diagnostic
progression status table 163c.
[0034]
10 The diagnostic input generator 115 forming part of
the diagnostic execution unit 110 generates an
electric/logical specification diagnostic signal 115a
acceptable by the first input port 120 identified by the
address 163a, from the diagnostic signal pattern 163b
15 received from the diagnostic instruction generator 163.
Then, the diagnostic input generator 115 outputs the
diagnostic signal 115a to the first input port 120
identified by the address 163a. The decoder 114 forming
part of the diagnostic execution unit 110 produces an
20 output of an input selection signal 116 on the basis of the
address 163a of the signal being diagnosed to allow one of
the input selectors 111 to be switched to the diagnostic
signal position. In this way, the diagnostic signal 115a,
instead of the input signal 101, is input to the first
25 input port 120 coupled to the output stage of the selected
33
input selector 111. The first input port 120 of interest
generates a state value 120a(D) reflective of the incoming
diagnostic signal 115a and then outputs the state value
120a(D) to the communication frame generator 130.
5 [0035]
The decoder 114 also outputs an alternative target
selection signal 117 on the basis of the address 163a of
the signal being diagnosed such that the alternative input
selector 112 selects the signal being diagnosed. In this
10 way, while the diagnostic signal 115a is input into the
first input port 120 identified by the address 163a of the
signal being diagnosed, the alternative input port (second
input port) 113 captures an input signal 101 to generate a
state value 113a. The alternative input port (second input
15 port) 113 outputs the generated state value 113a to the
communication frame generator 130. As a result, the
communication frame generator 130 receives the state value
120a(D) of the diagnostic signal 115a captured from the
first input port 120 identified by the address 163a of the
20 signal being diagnosed, and the state value 113a of the
input signal 101 captured from the alternative input port
(second input port) 113, and also receives the state values
120a from the other first input ports 120.
[0036]
25 Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating a communication
34
frame 130a generated by the communication frame generator
130 when the alternative input selector 112 is operated.
Where the communication frame generator 130 has received
the address 163a of the signal being diagnosed which is
5 indicative of a valid signal, as illustrated in Fig. 11,
the communication frame generator 130 loads or stores, in
the safety-related signal region of the communication frame
130a, the address 163a of the signal being diagnosed which
is indicative of a valid signal, and the state value 113a
10 received from the alternative input port (second input
port) 113, in addition to the state value 120a(D) of the
diagnostic signal 115a captured from the first input port
120 identified by the address 163a of the signal being
diagnosed, and the state values 120a received from the
15 other first ports 120. In the example illustrated in Fig.
11, loaded or stored in the safety-related signal region of
the communication frame 130a is the “diagnostic signal”
used to diagnose the serial transmission path 30 which is
the state value 120a(D) of the diagnostic signal 115a
20 captured from the first input port 120 identified by the
address 163a of the signal being diagnosed. The state
values 120a received from the other first ports 120
correspond to a “door state” and a “car position”. During
the diagnosis, the address 163a of the signal being
25 diagnosed which is indicative of a valid signal is “0x1000”,
35
and the safety-related signal (safe-state determination
signal) which is the state value 113a received from the
alternative input port (second input port) 113 corresponds
to “stop SW”. A communication frame in which a valid value
5 is loaded or stored as an address 163a and a state value
113a will be hereinafter referred to as a “communication
frame 130a(D)”. As in the case of the communication frame
130a during normal conditions described above, serial
transmission of the communication frame 130a(D) generated
10 in this manner is performed via the serial transmission
path 30 from the sending controller 140 forming part of the
elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10 to the receiving
controller 210 forming part of the control-panel side
transmitter-receiver 20.
15 [0037]
Since the address 163a in the received communication
frame 130a’(D) (expected to be identical with the
communication frame 130a(D)) is a valid value, the
receiving controller 210 forming part of the control-panel
20 side transmitter-receiver 20 can know from this that the
signal shown by the address 163a is replaced by the state
value 120a(D) of the diagnostic signal 115a and the
original input signal 101 is loaded or stored to the state
value 113a within this communication frame 130a’(D). The
25 receiving controller 210 produces a copy of the
36
communication frame 130a’(D), and then performs serial
transmission to return the original as a serial signal to
the receiving controller 150 forming part of the elevatorcar
side transmitter-receiver 10, via the transmitting
5 controller 230 without any change. Further, the receiving
controller 210 writes the state value 113a over the state
value 120a(D) of the diagnostic signal 115a loaded or
stored in the signal position shown by the address 163a of
the signal being diagnosed, in the above-described copy of
10 the communication frame 130a’(D). Thereby, similarly to
the operation during normal conditions described above, the
receiving controller 210 reproduces the communication frame
210a in the state in which the input signal 101 from the
sensor 11 is received from the originally corresponding
15 input port 120, and then outputs the communication frame
210a to the operation controller 21.
[0038]
The receiving controller 150 forming part of the
elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10 converts the
20 serial signal received via the serial transmission path 30,
into a communication frame 130a”(D) (expected to be
identical with the communication frame 130a(D), the
communication frame 130a’(D)) by use of the predetermined
protocol previously described. Then, the receiving
25 controller 150 outputs the converted communication frame
37
130a”(D) to the diagnosis determination unit 164 forming
part of the diagnostic controller 160. The diagnosis
determination unit 164 performs a comparison between the
diagnostic signal pattern 163b received from the diagnostic
5 instruction generator 163 and the state value 120a (D) of
the diagnostic signal 115a loaded or stored in the signal
position shown by the address 163a of the signal being
diagnosed within the communication frame 130a”(D). If
these values are identical, the diagnosis determination
10 unit 164 determines that the serial transmission path 30 is
under normal conditions, but if these values are not
identical, it determines that the serial transmission path
30 is under abnormal conditions. Then, the diagnosis
determination unit 164 outputs the communication frame
15 contained the determination result 164a, to the
transmitting controller 140. The transmitting controller
140 performs serial transmission of the communication frame
containing the determination result 164a to the receiving
controller 210 forming part of the control-panel side
20 transmitter-receiver 20 via the serial communication path
30 for notification to the operation controller 21 via the
receiving controller 210. If the determination result 164a
thus notified is abnormal, the operation controller 21
performs predetermined safety securing processing including
25 a halt of the operation of the elevator apparatus 1.
38
[0039]
Referring back to Fig. 9, at step S209, the
diagnostic instruction generator 163 determines whether or
not the diagnosis determination has been completed. If not
5 completed, the processing at step S209 is repeated. In
contrast, from the output of the determination result 164a
from the diagnosis determination unit 164 as described
above, the diagnostic instruction generator 163 recognizes
the completion of a single cycle of the diagnostic
10 operation, and the processing goes to the next step S210.
At the step S210, the diagnostic instruction
generator 163 sets the diagnostic progression status of the
signal being diagnosed to “completed”. That is, as shown
by the dotted line of Fig. 10, after the diagnosis
15 determination unit 164 has output the determination result
164a, the diagnostic instruction generator 163 updates the
diagnostic progression status of the signal corresponding
to the address 163a (“0x1010”) of the signal being
diagnosed in the diagnostic progression status table 163c
20 from “under execution” to “completed”.
[0040]
At step S211, the diagnostic instruction generator
163 determines whether or not diagnosis of all signals,
that is, the input signals 101 received from all the
25 sensors 11, have been completed. If diagnosis of all the
39
input signals 101 received from all the sensors 11 is yet
to be completed, the processing goes back to step S201 to
execute another iteration of the processing from step S201
to step S210. On the other hand, if diagnosis of the input
5 signals 101 received from all the sensors 11 have been
completed, the diagnostic instruction generator 163 updates
the diagnostic progression status of all of the signals
being diagnosed (addresses) from “completed” to “not-yetexecuted”
in the diagnostic progression status table 163c
10 illustrated in Fig. 10. Then, the processing goes bake to
step S201. Thus, the elevator-car side transmitterreceiver
10 and the control-panel side transmitter-receiver
20 return to the state previously described as the
operation in normal conditions.
15 [0041]
Further, in the operation under normal conditions and
the operation under diagnosis described above, for the
serial transmission between the transmitting controller 140
forming part of the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver
20 10 and the receiving controller 210 forming part of the
control-panel side transmitter-receiver 20 and the serial
transmission between the transmitting controller 230
forming part of the control-panel side transmitter-receiver
20 and the receiving controller 150 forming part of the
25 elevator-car side transmitter-receiver 10, any transmission
40
error checking technique, including techniques well-known
to those skilled in the art, such as parity, CRC and/or the
like, is used to check data corruption during the serial
transmission. In each receiving controller, in the event
5 of an error in the received communication frame, the
occurrence of transmission error (not shown) is notified to
the diagnosis determination unit 164 of the diagnostic
controller 160 forming part of the elevator-car side
transmitter-receiver 10. Then, if the diagnosis
10 determination unit 164 determines that the transmission
error is caused by abnormal conditions of the serial
transmission path 30, the abnormal condition is notified to
the operation controller 21 forming part of the control
panel 3.
15 [0042]
As described above, according to the embodiment, it
is possible to provide the elevator apparatus and the
remote monitoring system for the elevator apparatuses
capable of securing reliability of a transmission path
20 while maintaining the responsiveness for signals being
transmitted in the elevator apparatus.
Specifically, where a signal requiring responsiveness
such as a safe-state determination signal and/or the like
has been input to an input port of the elevator-car side
25 transmitter-receiver, the diagnostic execution unit forming
41
part of the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver replaces
the input port to be diagnosed, and captures the signal
such as the safe-state determination signal and/or the like
for transmitting to the serial transmission path, and also,
5 the replaced input port can capture a diagnostic signal and
transmit it to the serial transmission path. This enables
execution of the diagnosis of the serial transmission path
without an interruption of transmission of a signal such as
safe-state determination signal and/or the like. As a
10 result, both of the securing of reliability of the serial
transmission path and the securing of responsibility for
signals are able to be achieved.
Second Embodiment
15 [0043]
Fig. 12 is an overall schematic block diagram
illustrating a remote monitoring system of an elevator
apparatus of a second embodiment in accordance with another
embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 13 is a
20 schematic block diagram of an elevator-car side
transmitter-receiver shown in Fig. 12. The second
embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a
plurality of elevator apparatuses is remotely monitored by
electronic terminal equipment connected via a network
25 and/or cables and/or the like, in particular, in that the
42
electronic terminal equipment is able to be used to set a
diagnostic range and a diagnostic cycle which are most
suitable for the diagnostic rule definition unit of the
elevator-car side transmitter-receiver included in each
5 elevator apparatus. Like reference signs are used to refer
to the same components as those in the first embodiment and
the same or a similar description as the embodiments is
omitted in the following.
[0044]
10 As illustrated in Fig. 12, a remote monitoring system
of elevator apparatuses includes a plurality of elevator
apparatuses 1a to 1n which are installed in a single roofed
and walled structure such as a building or the like or
installed in a plurality of roofed and walled structures
15 such as buildings or the like. The remote monitoring
system further includes a network 55, electronic terminal
equipment 40 and remote monitoring equipment 50. The
elevator apparatuses 1a to 1n respectively include: control
panels 3a to 3n respectively having control-panel side
20 transmitter-receivers 20a to 20n; elevator cars 2a to 2n
moving up/down within respective hoistways 5a to 5n:
operating panels 12a to 12n mounted in the respective
elevator cars 2a to 2n; various-sensor sets 11a to 11n
installed on the inside and/or outside of the corresponding
25 elevator cars 2a to 2n; elevator-car side transmitter43
receivers 10a to 10n mounted to the respective elevator
cars 2a to 2n; and tail cords 4a to 4n respectively
incorporating serial transmission paths 30a to 30n that
individually establishes mutually communicative connections
5 between the control-panel side transmitter-receivers 20a to
20n and the respective elevator-car side transmitterreceivers
10a to 10n. The elevator-car side transmitterreceivers
10a to 10n are connected to the network 55. The
electronic terminal equipment 40 is connected to the
10 network 55 and the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver
10a of the elevator apparatus 1a through the cable and/or
the like. The remote monitoring equipment 50 includes
electronic terminal equipment 52a, electronic terminal
equipment 52b, a switch 54 and a router 53. The electronic
15 terminal equipment 52a and the electronic terminal
equipment 52b are connected to the network 55 through the
switch 54 and the router 53.
[0045]
As illustrated in Fig. 13, a diagnostic rule
20 definition unit 161’ of the elevator-car side transmitterreceiver
10a forming part of the elevator apparatus 1a
(applying equally to the elevator-car side transmitterreceivers
10b to 10n) includes a nonvolatile and rewritable
storage device, for example, a flash memory, a hard disk
25 and/or the like. As in the case of the above-described
44
first embodiment, in the diagnostic rule definition unit
161’, an execution cycle of diagnosis is defined for each
operational state of the elevator apparatus 1a. Upon the
receiving controller 150 setting a new operational state
5 150a, the diagnostic rule definition unit 161’ outputs a
diagnostic range 161a corresponding to the set operational
state 150a to the diagnostic instruction generator 163.
Further, the diagnostic rule definition unit 161’ outputs a
diagnostic cycle (not shown) corresponding to the set
10 operational state 150a to the timing generator 162. The
timing generator 162 outputs a diagnosis startup signal
162a to the diagnostic instruction generator 163 in a
diagnostic cycle supplied from the diagnostic rule
definition unit 161’, so that the diagnostic execution unit
15 110 and the diagnostic controller 160 perform diagnosis on
the serial transmission path 30a of the input signal 101
contained in the diagnostic range 161a as in the case of
the first embodiment.
[0046]
20 The diagnostic rule definition unit 161’ is connected
to an external connection authentication unit 170, as well
as to the electronic terminal equipment 40 via a cable
and/or the like, and to the remote monitoring equipment 50
via the network 55. The electronic terminal equipment 40
25 and the remote monitoring equipment 50 respectively include
45
an external connection authentication unit 41 and an
external connection authentication unit 51. The external
connection authentication unit 41, 51 and the external
connection authentication unit 170 perform authentication
5 of each other by use of a password, a public key cipher
and/or the like, and, only if verification is successfully
made, the electronic terminal equipment 40 and the remote
monitoring equipment 50 are configured to have access to
the diagnostic rule definition unit 161’. Further,
10 information communicated between the diagnostic rule
definition unit 161’ and the electronic terminal equipment
40 or the remote monitoring equipment 50 is encrypted and
decrypted in the respective external connection
authentication units for the purpose of protection against
15 tampering and unauthorized acquisition by a third party.
[0047]
The electronic terminal equipment 40 or the remote
monitoring equipment 50 further includes an operating unit
to allow the human operator to make an addition to, a
20 deletion from or a change in definitions of a diagnostic
range or an execution cycle of diagnosis in the diagnostic
rule definition unit 161’, examples of the operating unit
including a display screen such as a touch panel and the
like, a key board, a mouse and the like. Further, the
25 diagnosis determination unit 164 of the diagnostic
46
controller 160 forming part of the elevator-car side
transmitter-receiver 10a of the elevator apparatus 1a
outputs the determination result of the diagnosis of the
serial transmission path 30 to the external connection
5 authentication unit 170. The external connection
authentication unit 170 sends the determination result
received from the diagnosis determination unit 164, to the
external connection authentication unit 41 of the
electronic terminal equipment 40 and the external
10 connection authentication unit 51 of the remote monitoring
equipment 50 via the network 55, the cable and/or the like.
Thus, the determination result of the diagnosis of the
serial transmission path 30a forming part of the elevator
apparatus 1a is displayed on the display screen of the
15 electronic terminal equipment 40 and the electronic
terminal equipment (52a, 52b) forming part of the remote
monitoring equipment 50. It is noted that the above
applies equally to the other elevator apparatuses 1b to 1n.
[0048]
20 Each of the human operators of the electronic
terminal equipment 40 and the remote monitoring equipment
50 sets most suitable diagnostic ranges or execution cycles
of diagnosis for the serial transmission paths 30a to 30n
in accordance with the installation environments or
25 operational states of the elevator apparatuses 1a to 1n,
47
thereby achieving maintenance of reliability and
convenience of the elevator apparatuses 1a to 1n. For
example, if any of the elevator apparatuses 1a to 1n shows
a sign of an abnormal condition or if the remaining time
5 before the next regular maintenance reaches a predetermined
number of days or less, some of signals may be to be
diagnosed for all of the operational states or the
diagnostic cycle may be shortened in order to shorten the
time period from occurrence of a failure to a detection of
10 the failure, providing enhanced availability of the
elevator apparatuses 1a to 1n.
[0049]
Although the configuration for serial transmission of
signals from the sensors 11a to 11n installed on the inside
15 and/or outside of the elevator cars 2a to 2n for the
control panels 3a to 3n has been described in the
embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, if signals from the control panels 3a to 3n
are transmitted to displays (not shown) or actuators
20 installed on the inside and/or outside of the elevator cars
2a to 2n, the present invention can be equally applied.
Further, although the configuration in which the
remote monitoring system of the elevator apparatuses has
both the electronic terminal equipment 40 and the remote
25 monitoring equipment 50 has been described in the
48
embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this,
and the remote monitoring system may be configured to have
only the remote monitoring equipment 50.
[0050]
5 As described above, according to the embodiment, in
addition to the first embodiment, further, maintaining
reliability and convenience of each of the elevator
apparatuses is made possible in accordance with the
installation environments or operational states of the
10 plurality of the elevator apparatuses.
Further, according to the embodiment, the time period
from occurrence of a failure to a detection of the failure
is shortened by, for example, shortening the cycle of
diagnosis performed on the plurality of the elevator
15 apparatuses. This can provide enhanced availability or
availability rate of a plurality of the elevator
apparatuses.
[0051]
It should be noted that, regarding the configuration
20 in the above descriptions of the first embodiment and the
second embodiment, a function/functionality and/or the like,
unless otherwise specified, may be implemented/performed by
a program or programs executed by a combination of all or
some of an electric circuit, an electron circuit, a logic
25 circuit and an integrated circuit containing them, a
49
microcomputer, a processor and a computing device of a
similar kind, ROM, RAM, flash memory, hard disk, SSD, a
memory card, an optical disc and a storage device of a
similar kind, a bus, a network and a communication device
5 of a similar kind, and peripheral devices, and in any of
the implementations the present invention can be embodied.
The present invention is not limited to the above
embodiments, and covers various modifications. For example,
the above embodiments are provided to describe the present
10 invention in detail for the sake of clarity, and the
present invention is not necessarily limited to the
configuration including all the components described in the
above embodiments. Further, a part of the configuration of
one embodiment may be substituted by the configuration of
15 another embodiment, and the configuration of one embodiment
may be added to the configuration of another embodiment.
List of Reference Signs
[0052]
20 1, 1a, 1b, 1n … Elevator apparatus
2, 2a, 2b, 2n … Elevator car
3, 3a, 3b, 3n … Control panel
4, 4a, 4b, 4n … Tail cord
5, 5a, 5b, 5n … Hoistway
25 10, 10a, 10b, 10n … Elevator-car side transmitter-receiver
50
11, 11a, 11b, 11n … Sensors
12, 12a, 12b, 12n …Operating panel
20, 20a, 20b, 20n … Control-panel side transmitter-receiver
21 … Operation controller
5 21a, 150a … New operational state
30, 30a, 30b, 30n … Serial transmission path
31 … Elevator-car side radio transmitter-receiver
32 … Control-panel side radio transmitter-receiver
40 … Electronic terminal equipment
10 50 … Remote monitoring equipment
41, 51, 170 … External connection authentication unit
52a, 52b … Electronic terminal equipment
53 … Router
54 … Switch
15 55 … Network
100 … Input terminal
101 … Input signal
110 … Diagnostic execution unit
111 … Input selector
20 112 … Alternative input selector
113 … Alternative input port (second input port)
113a, 120a … State value
114 … Decoder
115 … Diagnostic input generator
25 115a … Diagnostic signal
51
116 … Input selection signal
117 … Alternative target selection signal
120 … First input port
120a(D) … State value of diagnostic signal 115a
5 130 … Communication frame generator
130a, 130a(D), 130a’(D), 130a”a(D), 220a … Communication
frame
140, 230 … Transmitting controller
150, 210 … Receiving controller
10 160 … Diagnostic controller
161, 161’ … Diagnostic rule definition unit
161a … Diagnostic range
162 … Timing generator
162a … Diagnosis startup signal
15 163 … diagnostic instruction generator
163a … Address
163b … Diagnostic signal pattern
163c … Diagnostic progression status table
164 … Diagnosis determination unit
20 164a … Determination result
220 … Operational state acquisition unit
52
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. An elevator apparatus, comprising: an elevator car; a
serial transmission path; a control panel; and an elevator-
5 car side transmitter-receiver that captures a signal
indicating at least a state of the elevator car and
transmits the signal to the control panel through the
serial transmission path, wherein
the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver includes
10 first input ports provided to correspond to a
plurality of sensors installed on the inside and/or outside
of the elevator car to capture signals from the plurality
of sensors,
a second input port selectively capturing signals
15 from the plurality of sensors, and
a diagnostic controller that allows a diagnostic
signal for diagnosing the serial transmission path, to
enter at least a designated first input port of the first
input ports, and allows a signal from one of the sensors
20 corresponding to the designated first input port, to enter
the second input port, and
the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver generates
a communication frame based on the signals input to the
first input ports and the second input port, and transmits
25 the communication frame to the control panel through the
53
serial transmission path, and performs diagnosis on the
serial transmission path on the basis of a communication
frame sent back from the control panel.
5 2. The elevator apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
the diagnostic controller has a diagnostic rule
definition unit associating and storing operational states
of the elevator car with diagnostic ranges including at
least a position of the elevator car and a car door state
10 of the elevator car, the diagnostic ranges including
addresses pre-assigned to the plurality of the first input
ports.
3. The elevator apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
15 the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver includes a
diagnostic execution unit, the diagnostic execution unit
having
a plurality of first selectors that are placed
to be coupled to an input stage of the plurality of the
20 first input ports, the first selectors selectively
outputting the signals from the sensors or the diagnostic
signal to the first input ports, and
a second selector that captures the signals
from the plurality of the sensors and outputs a signal from
25 any one of the sensors to the second input port,
54
the diagnostic execution unit outputs the diagnostic
signal to the first input port through one of the first
selectors, based on the diagnostic ranges from the
diagnostic controller, and
5 the second selector outputs, to the second input port,
the signal input to the one of the first selectors from the
corresponding sensor.
4. The elevator apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
10 the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver includes a
communication frame generator that generates a
communication frame to be loaded with, at least, the
diagnostic signal input to the designated first input port,
the signal input from the sensor corresponding to the
15 designated first input port to the second input port, and
the signals input from the sensors to the first input ports
other than the designated first input port.
5. The elevator apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
20 the control panel includes an operation controller
that controls operation of the elevator apparatus, and a
control-panel side transmitter-receiver receiving and
processing at least the communication frame generated by
the communication frame generator through the serial
25 transmission path.
55
6. The elevator apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
the control-panel side transmitter-receiver includes
a receiving controller and a transmitting controller, and
5 the receiving controller sends back the communication
frame including the diagnostic signal received from the
elevator-car side transmitter-receiver, to the elevator-car
side transmitter-receiver through the transmitting
controller, and the receiving controller writes the signal
10 input from the sensor corresponding to the designated first
input port to the second input port, over the diagnostic
signal within the received communication frame including
the diagnostic signal for output to the operation
controller.
15
7. The elevator apparatus according to claim 6, wherein
the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver includes a
diagnostic instruction generator that outputs the addresses
pre-assigned to the plurality of the first input ports to
20 the diagnostic execution unit as addresses to be diagnosed
on the basis of the diagnostic ranges output from the
diagnostic rule definition unit.
8. A remote monitoring system for elevator apparatuses,
25 comprising a plurality of elevator apparatuses installed
56
either in a single building or in a plurality of buildings,
and remote monitoring equipment connected to the plurality
of elevator apparatuses through a network, wherein
the remote monitoring equipment includes electronic
5 terminal equipment,
each of the plurality of elevator apparatuses has an
elevator-car side transmitter-receiver that captures at
least a signal indicating a state of an elevator car and
transmits the signal to a control panel through a serial
10 transmission path,
the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver includes
first input ports provided to correspond to a
plurality of sensors installed on the inside and/or outside
the elevator car to capture signals from the plurality of
15 sensors,
a second input port selectively capturing the
signals from the plurality of sensors, and
a diagnostic controller that allows a
diagnostic signal for diagnosing the serial transmission
20 path to enter at least a designated first input port of the
first input ports and allows a signal coming from one of
the sensors corresponding to the designated first input
port to enter the second input port, and
the elevator-car side transmitter-receiver generates
25 a communication frame based on the signals input to the
57
first input ports and the second input port, and transmits
the communication frame to the control panel through the
serial transmission path, and performs diagnosis on the
serial transmission path on the basis of a communication
5 frame sent back from the control panel.
9. The remote monitoring system for elevator apparatuses
according to claim 8, wherein
the diagnostic controller has a diagnostic rule
10 definition unit associating and storing operational states
of the elevator car with diagnostic ranges including at
least a position of the elevator car and a car door state
of the elevator car, and storing a diagnostic execution
cycle, the diagnostic ranges including addresses pre15
assigned to the plurality of the first input ports, and
the remote monitoring equipment performs at least one
of an addition, a deletion and a change on the diagnostic
ranges and/or the diagnostic execution cycle stored in the
diagnostic rule definition unit through the network.
20
10. The remote monitoring system for elevator apparatuses
according to claim 9, wherein
a result of diagnosis of the serial transmission path
of each elevator apparatus is displayed on a display screen
25 of the remote monitoring equipment through the network.