Abstract:
A method is provided for testing an elevator emergency phone, which emergency phone is either VoIP compliant and connected to a WAN or is connected with a mobile connection module for operation in a mobile network. In the method, the phone is periodically initiated to be registered in the corresponding communication network. The registration attempt is monitored by a reporting device. The status data of the registration attempt is communicated by the reporting device to a monitoring center, which itself is connected to the communication network, which monitoring center takes necessary action when either a registration attempt is not being executed within a set time period or if the result of at least one registration attempt has been communicated as failed.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/EP2010/069660 filed on Dec. 14, 2010, the entirety of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the present application. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The current invention refers to elevator emergency phones which are provided most commonly in the elevator car of an elevator to allow persons trapped in the elevator car communicating with an emergency call centre  10  which takes the necessary steps to free the persons in the car. Currently, regular emergency phones are connected to a telephone communication network using circuit switched PSTN. 
     Particularly, for cost reasons it is to be expected that a large portion of these 15 emergency phones will be modernized to VoIP based phones or mobile phones. The costs for providing an emergency phone based on VoIP or via network is essentially lower than all the costs which are imposed with the installation and maintenance of a regular telephone network connection, particularly if elevator groups with several elevators are considered. 
     On the other hand elevator standards as EM81-1 require periodical testing of emergency phones. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention therefore aims for providing a method for testing elevator VoIP based or mobile emergency phones and an elevator emergency communication system which allows these emergency phones being tested with only a little effort and on the other hand ensures a reliable connectivity of the emergency phones. 
     This object is solved by the invention with a method according to claim  1  and with an elevator emergency communication system according to claim  6 . Advantageous embodiments of the invention are subject matter of the corresponding sub-claims. 
     The present invention enables a reliable connectivity of a VoIP based or mobile phone in that the phone is periodically being registered in a corresponding communication network within a predetermined time period. A preferred time period is given in EN 81-1 which requires the testing of the functionality of the emergency phone at least every three days. Of course, this period may be shorter for example every day or may be altered to comply with particular requirements in a special case, e.g. weekly or monthly. 
     The corresponding communication network is regularly a WAN in case of a VoIP based emergency phone or a mobile communication network in case of a mobile phone. 
     A testing device is provided which initiates a registration process of the emergency phone in the corresponding network. This testing device can easily provided in connection with a building, e.g. in the LAN of a building or it can even be located in the emergency phone. In a very simple case the testing device may be realized by a software installed in one of the components of the emergency call system which initiates the registration of the emergency phone in the corresponding communication network. 
     After the initiation of a registration process by the testing device the registration attempt of the phone is monitored by a reporting device. The reporting device communicates status data of the registration attempt to the monitoring centre connected to the communication network, regularly in a service station of the elevator builder. The monitoring centre takes necessary action, e.g. immediate maintenance, when either registration attempt is not being executed within the predetermined time period or if the result of at least one registration attempt has been communicated as failed. By this means it is ensured that on one hand the registration tests are performed regularly, i.e. within the predetermined time intervals and on the other hand it is ensured that the registration attempts of the emergency phones within this testing period are successful, i.e. connectivity of the phones is ensured. 
     Basically, information communicated by the reporting device to the monitoring centre could comprise the status data of the registration attempt, as e.g. the date and time of the registration attempt and log information of the registration attempt and/or only the result of the registration attempt. In a preferred case it is sufficient that the reporting device only communicates the time of the registration attempt which signalizes to the monitoring centre that the registration attempt has been performed within the predetermined time interval and further it is sufficient that only unsuccessful registration attempts are communicated to the monitoring device as only the unsuccessful registration attempts necessitate any maintenance action to ensure the connectivity of the emergency phone. In this case preferably also the first successful registration process after a failed registration process is communicated to the monitoring centre, so that it is ensured that the connectivity is restored after maintenance action. 
     Often a building has several elevators and accordingly several emergency phones. In this case preferably also the ID of the corresponding emergency phone is communicated to the monitoring centre together with the status or log data of the registration attempt of that phone. 
     With these measures the invention ensures the connectivity of the emergency phone to the corresponding communication network. 
     The reporting device may also be located somewhere in connection with the building LAN or in the emergency phone. Also the reporting device may be implemented as a software program running in a any device connected with the building LAN or with modules located in the in the mobile emergency phone. 
     The reporting and testing device may also be located in one and the same program. Each device can be located at one definite point as a unit or can be distributed over several locations. E.g. a part of the testing device can be located in the monitoring center which only gives a triggering signal for the other parts of testing device located in connection with the emergency phones to initiate the registration process in the emergency phone upon receipt of the trigger signal. Thus the testing of emergency phones can be controlled by the monitoring center to be distributed over the time to avoid communication peaks upon simultaneous sending/receiving data regarding registration attempts. 
     Sometimes, it is further desired to ensure that the emergency phone is not only able to register in the communication network but is further able to get connected to the emergency call centre. On this behalf a test call function could be initiated by the testing device or the monitoring centre e.g. if no emergency calls have been issued from the phone over a predetermined time period. In this case an adapted time period would for example a period between a few days and a year. Anyway, according to specific requirements also other periods may be chosen. The testing device in this case not only initiates a registration into the communication network but also a test call which is registered by the reporting device as successful if connectivity to the emergency center is achieved, e.g. by receiving the call-connected signal. For safety purposes this call-connected signal obtained by the reporting device can be confirmed by a call signal of the emergency call center, which preferably gets the caller ID of the emergency phone. This confirmation can be handled later on by the monitoring center which compares the caller IDs of the emergency center with the data of the reporting device regarding a test call. 
     Preferably, the test call is interrupted by the testing device after receipt of the first call-connected signal. By this means it can be ensured that the emergency center is not loaded by test calls of the emergency phones. 
     The object of the invention is further solved by an elevator emergency communication system which comprises at least one elevator having an elevator car whereby in the car an emergency phone is located which may be used by passengers for connecting with an emergency call centre in case of accidents. The emergency phone is either a VoIP compliant phone or a mobile phone connectible to a mobile phone broadcast network. 
     The elevator emergency communication system further comprises a testing device to initiate the registration of the emergency phone in the corresponding communication network, which is regularly a WAN, e.g. Internet, in case of a VoIP based emergency phone or a mobile network, i.e. a home network or visiting network of a mobile communication network, in case of a mobile phone. The registration of the emergency phone is initiated by the testing device at predetermined time intervals, e.g. three days as required by EN 81-1. The testing device is simply a device for initiating the registration process which may be, as already mentioned above, in either location where it can initiate a registration process of the emergency phone. In a very simple embodiment the testing device can be realized by an arrangement in the emergency phone which starts a registration process upon receipt of a trigger signal, e.g. received from the monitoring centre or from any other device located in the communication network or in a local area network, e.g. from the reporting device. 
     The same holds true for the reporting device which can be located either in the emergency phone or in the local area network of the building where the elevator is located or in any connecting device to the communication network. The reporting device monitors the registration attempt of the emergency phone and sends status data of the registration attempt to the monitoring centre which is connected with the communication network. Regarding the status data of the registration attempt the same holds true as already discussed in connection with the inventive method. 
     If the emergency phone is a mobile phone preferably only a part of the complete registration process is monitored, i.e. the location update procedure wherein any VLR or HLR entity acknowledges the location of the mobile phone. 
     In case several elevators are located in an elevator bank only one the testing device and the reporting device is necessary for all emergency phones of the elevator group or for the complete building having several elevator groups. In this case the reporting device communicates desired the status or log data of the registration attempt and preferably also the ID of the emergency phone which has performed the registration attempt. With this measure the monitoring centre is immediately able to locate the exact position of the emergency phone in a group of elevators or in a larger building. 
     Of course, the elevator emergency communication system preferably comprises an emergency call centre which takes up emergency calls given from the emergency phone to initiate any rescue actions for trapped passengers. 
     If several emergency phones are located in a building and the emergency phones are VoIP based preferably these emergency phones are connected to a LAN of the building and the reporting device and preferably also the testing device is provided once for the plurality of emergency phones. Via this measure the effort for auxiliary devices of the emergency communication systems can be reduced to a minimum. 
     If the testing device and the reporting device of the elevator emergency communication systems are integrated particularly if used for a number of emergency phones in a building, the devices for the emergency communication system can be centralized and are therefore easy to maintain and to update or modernized. 
     Of course, VoIP based emergency phones as well as mobile emergency phones or PSTN compliant phones may be used in one and the same building or elevator group. 
     The invention is now being explained on behalf of two embodiments in connection with the corresponding drawings. Therein 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows an elevator emergency communication system with VoIP based emergency phones, and 
         FIG. 2  shows a schematic drawing of an elevator emergency communication system with mobile phone emergency phones. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1  reference numeral designates an elevator group with elevators  12 ,  14 ,  16  having an elevator shaft in which an elevator car  18  is moving up and down. In each car  18  an emergency phone is located as follows: In a first elevator  12  a PSTN based emergency phone  20  is located, whereas in the other elevators  14 ,  16  a VoIP based emergency phone  22  is located for enabling passengers to make emergency calls if entrapped in the elevator car in case of accidents. The PSTN based emergency phone  20  is connected via an adapter  24  to a building LAN network  26  to which the other VoIP based phones  22  are directly connected. The building LAN  26  is connected via a connecting device  28  to a wide area IP network (WAN)  30 . Connected with the WAN is on one hand an emergency call centre  32  and a monitoring centre  34 . The monitoring center  34  comprises a first part  35  of a testing device. The second part  25  of the testing device is connected with the building LAN  26 , together with a reporting device  27 . The reporting device  27  and the second part  25  of the testing device are here integrated but may be provided as separate units. The integrated unit of these devices  25 ,  27  is preferably located in the control panel of the elevator group control (not shown). The reporting device and/or the second part of the testing device may also be locate at other places, e.g. in the connection device  28 . Particularly, the second parts of the testing devices may also be decentralized provided in each emergency phone  20 ,  22 . 
     The second part  25  of the testing device for the VoIP based phones  22  in this emergency phone system works as follows: 
     In the monitoring centre  34 , the first part  35  of the testing device sends a trigger signal into the WAN  30  which is received via the connection device  28  in the building LAN  26  and further in the second part  25  of the testing device. Upon the receipt of this trigger signal the second part  25  of the testing device initiates a registration process with each emergency phone  20 , 22  in the building. The second part of the testing device may provide a certain succession of the initiation of the registration processes for all phones to avoid loading of the LAN  26  and to separate the registration processes for each phone. In case of the PSTN based phone  20  the registration process may also be performed by the adapter  24 . 
     This registration process performed by each emergency phone  20 ,  22  is monitored by the reporting device  27  for each phone  20 ,  22  and after the registration process is terminated the reporting device  27  informs the monitoring device  32  via the WAN  30  either about the time of the registration attempt and/or a result of the registration attempt. If, as in the present case several phones  20 ,  22  are connected to a building LAN  26  preferably also the identity of the emergency phone is sent by the reporting device to the monitoring center  34  in connection with the date and/or log data or result of the registration process. 
     Basically, it is sufficient that the reporting device only transmits the date of a successful registration attempt to the monitoring centre  34 . Further it is obligatory for the reporting device  27  to send any failed registration attempt to the monitoring center  34  so that maintenance action on the emergency phone can be initiated by the monitoring centre immediately after a failed attempt. By this means it is possible for the monitoring centre to ensure the operate ability of the emergency phones. The date of a registration attempt may also be added by the monitoring center  34  in case the reporting device  27  sends the log data or the results of a registration attempt to the monitoring center  34  immediately or shortly after completion of the registration attempt. Of course, also positive results could be reported to the monitoring centre although this is basically not necessary. 
     In case of the PSTN based phone  20  either the phone  20  itself or the adapter  24  which connects the conventional PSTN based cable telephone  20  to the building LAN  26  must be able to start a registration process initiated by the second part  25  of the testing device and to report log data to the reporting device. 
     Furthermore, the system may have a capability to perform test calls to ensure not only the connectivity of the VoIP based phones to the WAN but also the connection to the emergency call centre  32 . These test calls could also be initiated by any part  25 ,  35  of the testing device or by the emergency call center  32  or by the monitoring centre  34 . The registration process is then continued until a call-connection signal is received by the phone  20 ,  22 . After the receipt of this signal the connection process is cancelled to avoid a loading of the emergency call center  32 . 
     In a second embodiment of the invention an elevator group  40  comprises elevators  42  having an elevator car  44  in which emergency phones  46 ,  48 ,  50  are located. One of the phones  46  is a PSTN based phone which is connected to a mobile network via a mobile gateway  52 . The gateway  52  as well as the mobile emergency phones  48  and  50  comprise antennas  54  for the connection with the mobile network as well as integrated testing and reporting devices  55 . 
     A mobile telephone broadcast network regularly comprises visiting networks  60  and a home network  62 . 
     Each visiting network  60  comprises antennas  64  connected to a base station controller BSC  66  which is again connected to a mobile services switching centre MSC  68 . 
     The MSC  68  of the visiting network is connected to a home location register HLR  70  as well as to a visitor location register VLR  72 . 
     Further, the MSC  68  of the visiting network  60  is connected to the MSC  74  of a home network  62 . The home network  62  itself comprises mobile communication section antennas  76  which are connected to a radio network controller RNC  78 , which again is connected to the MSC  74  of the home network  62 . Furthermore, the MSC  74  of the home network is connected to a HLR  80  and VLR  82  of the home network  62 . 
     Furthermore, the MSC  74  of the home network  62  is connected via a serving GPRS support node (SGSN)  84  and a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN)  86  to a monitoring centre  88 . 
     Further, the MSC  74  of the home network  62  is connected via a gateway MSC (GMSC)  90  to an emergency call centre  92 . The GMSC is provided for the connection of the home mobile network  62  with a cable telephone network. 
     The testing procedure in this mobile telephone network based emergency phone system is as follows: 
     Generally, when a mobile phone is turned on it tries to register into a home network or, if not available, into a visiting network. The registration process includes several procedures from resource allocation to authentication. Anyway, the present invention only uses the location update procedure of the registration process which tells to the network and to the phone in which network and in which cell the mobile phone is connected to. 
     After a successful location update procedure the HLR entity knows in which network and in which location the mobile phone has entered and when it has updated its location. During the location update procedure the network gives a time for the mobile phone when it needs to renew its location by activating periodic location update procedures. The mobile phone will update its location after the required time even in case it remains in the same place. 
     In each of the mobile emergency phones  48 ,  50  as well as in the mobile gateway  52  a reporting device  55  is located which monitors the registration attempt, e.g. the location update procedure of the mobile phone to the monitoring centre  88 . The reporting device can also be provided in the mobile network, particularly in the home network  62 . The reporting device  55  can be implemented as software implemented reporting function. 
     With regard to the data to be transferred from the reporting device to the monitoring center  88  it is referred to the statements regarding the invention and the first embodiment. 
     In case of the PSTN based emergency phone  46  which is connected to the mobile gateway  52  the registration update procedure of the mobile gateway  52  is monitored. Here the reporting device can be located in the PSTN based phone  46 , in the mobile gateway  52 , in the monitoring centre  88  or in the home network  62 . 
     A test call function can be provided by the monitoring center, e.g. if no alarm calls have reached the monitoring or emergency call center  92 ,  88  over a certain time period. The test call from the monitoring center can evaluate the call connectivity test being successful if the call-connected signal is obtained when calling a mobile emergency phone. 
     In both embodiments of the invention the emergency call center and the monitoring center may be integrated.