Patent Description:
A position of a conveyance apparatus within a conveyance systems, such as, for example, elevator systems, escalator systems, and moving walkways is often difficult to determine. <CIT> discloses a method for checking elevator operation through a WeChat platform. A wireless communication module is arranged at an elevator and the elevator real-time operation dynamic data detected by a sensor is uploaded to a cloud server through the wireless communication module. <CIT> discloses an elevator control device for an elevator system with a car that can be moved in a shaft. The control device is connected to sensors of the elevator system, including air pressure sensors arranged on the roof of the car, and the floor of the elevator shaft.

According to an embodiment, a method is provided according to claim <NUM>.

In some embodiments the method may include that prior to determining the method further includes: detecting local weather conditions; and adjusting the detected first atmospheric air pressure and the detected second atmospheric air pressure in response to the local weather conditions.

In some embodiments the method may include that confirming that the conveyance apparatus is in motion in response to the acceleration.

In some embodiments the method may include that the acceleration of the conveyance apparatus is detected in a direction about parallel to a direction of travel of the conveyance apparatus.

In some embodiments the method may include that the acceleration is detected in a direction about perpendicular to a direction of travel of the conveyance apparatus.

In some embodiments the method may include that the conveyance system is an elevator system and the conveyance apparatus is an elevator car.

According to an embodiment a sensing apparatus is provided according to claim <NUM>.

In some embodiments prior to determining the operations further includes: detecting local weather conditions; and adjusting the detected first atmospheric air pressure and the detected second atmospheric air pressure in response to the local weather conditions.

In some embodiments the operations further include: confirming that the conveyance apparatus is in motion in response to the acceleration.

In some embodiments the acceleration of the conveyance apparatus is detected in a direction about parallel to a direction of travel of the conveyance apparatus.

In some embodiments the acceleration is detected in a direction about perpendicular to a direction of travel of the conveyance apparatus.

In some embodiments the conveyance system is an elevator system and the conveyance apparatus is an elevator car.

According to another embodiment, a computer program product tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium is provided according to claim <NUM>.

Technical effects of embodiments of the present disclosure include determining a location and/or direction of motion of a conveyance apparatus within a conveyance system in response to the atmospheric pressure within the conveyance system.

The following description and drawings are intended to be illustrative and explanatory in nature and non-limiting.

Conveyance systems, such as, for example, elevator systems, escalator systems, and moving walkways may require periodic monitoring to perform diagnostics using a variety of sensors. The sensors may be one way sensing apparatus that only communicate data rather than receiving data, thus saving power. Such sensing apparatus may require a location/position of the conveyance system to supplement detected data and must detect the location of the conveyance system by itself and embodiments disclosed herein seek to address this issue.

Referring now to <FIG>, with continued referenced to <FIG>, a view of a sensor system <NUM> including a sensing apparatus <NUM> is illustrated, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The sensing apparatus <NUM> is configured to detect sensor data <NUM> of the elevator car <NUM> and transmit the sensor data <NUM> to a remote device <NUM>. Sensor data <NUM> may include but is not limited to pressure data <NUM>, vibratory signatures (i.e., vibrations over a period of time) or accelerations <NUM> and derivatives or integrals of accelerations <NUM> of the elevator car <NUM>, such as, for example, distance, velocity, jerk, jounce, snap. etc. Sensor data <NUM> may also include light, sound, humidity, and temperature, or any other desired data parameter. The pressure data <NUM> may include atmospheric air pressure within the elevator shaft <NUM>. It should be appreciated that, although particular systems are separately defined in the schematic block diagrams, each or any of the systems may be otherwise combined or separated via hardware and/or software. For example, the sensing apparatus <NUM> may be a single sensor or may be multiple separate sensors that are interconnected.

In an embodiment, the sensing apparatus <NUM> is configured to transmit sensor data <NUM> that is raw and unprocessed to the controller <NUM> of the elevator system <NUM> for processing. In another embodiment, the sensing apparatus <NUM> is configured to process the sensor data <NUM> prior to transmitting the sensor data <NUM> to the controller <NUM>. In another embodiment, the sensing apparatus <NUM> is configured to transmit sensor data <NUM> that is raw and unprocessed to a remote system <NUM> for processing. In yet another embodiment, the sensing apparatus <NUM> is configured to process the sensor data <NUM> prior to transmitting the sensor data <NUM> to the remote device <NUM>.

The processing of the sensor data <NUM> may reveal data, such as, for example, a number of elevator door openings/closings, elevator door time, vibrations, vibratory signatures, a number of elevator rides, elevator ride performance, elevator flight time, probable car position (e.g. elevation, floor number), releveling events, rollbacks, elevator car <NUM> x, y acceleration at a position: (i.e., rail topology), elevator car <NUM> x, y vibration signatures at a position: (i.e., rail topology), door performance at a landing number, nudging event, vandalism events, emergency stops, etc..

The remote device <NUM> may be a computing device, such as, for example, a desktop or cloud computer. The remote device <NUM> may also be a mobile computing device that is typically carried by a person, such as, for example a smartphone, PDA, smartwatch, tablet, laptop, etc. The remote device <NUM> may also be two separate devices that are synced together, such as, for example, a cellular phone and a desktop computer synced over an internet connection. The remote device <NUM> may also be a cloud computing network.

The sensing apparatus <NUM> is configured to transmit the sensor data <NUM> to the controller <NUM> or the remote device <NUM> via short-range wireless protocols <NUM> and/or long-range wireless protocols <NUM>. Short-range wireless protocols <NUM> may include but are not limited to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HaLow (<NUM>. 11ah), zWave, Zigbee, or Wireless M-Bus. Using short-range wireless protocols <NUM>, the sensing apparatus <NUM> is configured to transmit the sensor data <NUM> to directly to the controller <NUM> or to a local gateway device <NUM> and the local gateway device <NUM> is configured to transmit the sensor data <NUM> to the remote device <NUM> through a network <NUM> or to the controller <NUM>. The network <NUM> may be a computing network, such as, for example, a cloud computing network, cellular network, or any other computing network known to one of skill in the art. Using long-range wireless protocols <NUM>, the sensing apparatus <NUM> is configured to transmit the sensor data <NUM> to the remote device <NUM> through a network <NUM>. Long-range wireless protocols <NUM> may include but are not limited to cellular, satellite, LTE (NB-IoT, CAT M1), LoRa, Satellite, Ingenu, or SigFox.

The sensing apparatus <NUM> may be configured to detect sensor data <NUM> including acceleration in any number of directions. In an embodiment, the sensing apparatus may detect sensor data <NUM> including accelerations <NUM> along three axis, an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis, as show in in <FIG>. The X axis may be perpendicular to the doors <NUM> of the elevator car <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. The Y axis may be parallel to the doors <NUM> of the elevator car <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. The Z axis may be aligned vertically parallel with the elevator shaft <NUM> and pull of gravity, as shown in <FIG>. Vibratory signatures may be generated along the X-axis and the Y-axis as the elevator car <NUM> moves along the Z-axis.

<FIG> shows a possible installation location of the sensing apparatus <NUM> within the elevator system <NUM>. The sensing apparatus <NUM> may include a magnet (not show) to removably attach to the elevator car <NUM>. In the illustrated embodiment shown in <FIG>, the sensing apparatus <NUM> may be installed on the door hanger 104a and/or the door <NUM> of the elevator system <NUM>. It is understood that the sensing apparatus <NUM> may also be installed in other locations other than the door hanger 104a and the door <NUM> of the elevator system <NUM>. It is also understood that multiple sensing apparatus <NUM> are illustrated in <FIG> to show various locations of the sensing apparatus <NUM> and the embodiments disclosed herein may include one or more sensing apparatus <NUM>. In another embodiment, the sensing apparatus <NUM> may be attached to a door header 104e of a door <NUM> of the elevator car <NUM>. In another embodiment, the sensing apparatus <NUM> may be located on a door header 104e proximate a top portion 104f of the elevator car <NUM>. In another embodiment, the sensing apparatus <NUM> is installed elsewhere on the elevator car <NUM>, such as, for example, directly on the door <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the sensing apparatus <NUM> may be located on the elevator car <NUM> in the selected areas <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>. The doors <NUM> are operably connected to the door header 104e through a door hanger 104a located proximate a top portion 104b of the door <NUM>. The door hanger 104a includes guide wheels 104c that allow the door <NUM> to slide open and close along a guide rail 104d on the door header 104e. Advantageously, the door hanger 104a is an easy to access area to attach the sensing apparatus <NUM> because the door hanger 104a is accessible when the elevator car <NUM> is at landing <NUM> and the elevator door <NUM> is open. Thus, installation of the sensing apparatus <NUM> is possible without taking special measures to take control over the elevator car <NUM>. For example, the additional safety of an emergency door stop to hold the elevator door <NUM> open is not necessary as door <NUM> opening at landing <NUM> is a normal operation mode. The door hanger 104a also provides ample clearance for the sensing apparatus <NUM> during operation of the elevator car <NUM>, such as, for example, door <NUM> opening and closing. Due to the mounting location of the sensing apparatus <NUM> on the door hanger 104a, the sensing apparatus <NUM> may detect open and close motions (i.e., acceleration) of the door <NUM> of the elevator car <NUM> and a door at the landing <NUM>. Additionally mounting the sensing apparatus <NUM> on the hanger 104a allows for recording of a ride quality of the elevator car <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of the sensing apparatus <NUM> of the sensing system of <FIG>. It should be appreciated that, although particular systems are separately defined in the schematic block diagram of <FIG>, each or any of the systems may be otherwise combined or separated via hardware and/or software. As shown in <FIG>, the sensing apparatus <NUM> may include a controller <NUM>, a plurality of sensors <NUM> in communication with the controller <NUM>, a communication module <NUM> in communication with the controller <NUM>, and a power source <NUM> electrically connected to the controller <NUM>.

The plurality of sensors <NUM> includes an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor <NUM> configured to detect sensor data <NUM> including accelerations <NUM> of the sensing apparatus <NUM> and the elevator car <NUM> when the sensing apparatus <NUM> is attached to the elevator car <NUM>. The IMU sensor <NUM> may be a sensor, such as, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, or a similar sensor known to one of skill in the art. The accelerations <NUM> detected by the IMU sensor <NUM> may include accelerations <NUM> as well as derivatives or integrals of accelerations, such as, for example, velocity, jerk, jounce, snap. etc. The IMU sensor <NUM> is in communication with the controller <NUM> of the sensing apparatus <NUM>.

The plurality of sensors <NUM> includes a pressure sensor <NUM> is configured to detect sensor data <NUM> including pressure data <NUM>, such as, for example, atmospheric air pressure within the elevator shaft <NUM>. The pressure sensor <NUM> may be a pressure altimeter or barometric altimeter in two non-limiting examples. The pressure sensor <NUM> is in communication with the controller <NUM>.

The plurality of sensors <NUM> may also include additional sensors including but not limited to a light sensor <NUM>, a microphone <NUM>, a humidity sensor <NUM>, and a temperature sensor <NUM>. The light sensor <NUM> is configured to detect sensor data <NUM> including light exposure. The light sensor <NUM> is in communication with the controller <NUM>. The microphone <NUM> is configured to detect sensor data <NUM> including audible sound and sound levels. The microphone <NUM> is in communication with the controller <NUM>. The humidity sensor <NUM> is configured to detect sensor data <NUM> including humidity levels. The humidity sensor <NUM> is in communication with the controller <NUM>. The temperature sensor <NUM> is configured to detect sensor data <NUM> including temperature levels. The temperature sensor <NUM> is in communication with the controller <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> of the sensing apparatus <NUM> includes a processor <NUM> and an associated memory <NUM> comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor <NUM>, cause the processor <NUM> to perform various operations, such as, for example, processing the sensor data <NUM> collected by the IMU sensor <NUM>, the light sensor <NUM>, the pressure sensor <NUM>, the microphone <NUM>, the humidity sensor <NUM>, and the temperature sensor <NUM>. In an embodiment, the controller <NUM> may process the accelerations <NUM> and/or the pressure data <NUM> in order to determine a probable location of the elevator car <NUM>, discussed further below. The processor <NUM> may be but is not limited to a single-processor or multi-processor system of any of a wide array of possible architectures, including field programmable gate array (FPGA), central processing unit (CPU), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP) or graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware arranged homogenously or heterogeneously. The memory <NUM> may be a storage device, such as, for example, a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or other electronic, optical, magnetic or any other computer readable medium.

The power source <NUM> of the sensing apparatus <NUM> is configured to store and supply electrical power to the sensing apparatus <NUM>. The power source <NUM> may include an energy storage system, such as, for example, a battery system, capacitor, or other energy storage system known to one of skill in the art. The power source <NUM> may also generate electrical power for the sensing apparatus <NUM>. The power source <NUM> may also include an energy generation or electricity harvesting system, such as, for example synchronous generator, induction generator, or other type of electrical generator known to one of skill in the art.

The sensing apparatus <NUM> includes a communication module <NUM> configured to allow the controller <NUM> of the sensing apparatus <NUM> to communicate with the remote device <NUM> or controller <NUM> through at least one of short-range wireless protocols <NUM> and long-range wireless protocols <NUM>. The communication module <NUM> may be configured to communicate with the remote device <NUM> using short-range wireless protocols <NUM>, such as, for example, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HaLow (<NUM>. 11ah), Wireless M-Bus, zWave, Zigbee, or other short-range wireless protocol known to one of skill in the art. Using short-range wireless protocols <NUM>, the communication module <NUM> is configured to transmit the sensor data <NUM> to a local gateway device <NUM> and the local gateway device <NUM> is configured to transmit the sensor data to a remote device <NUM> through a network <NUM>, as described above. The communication module <NUM> may be configured to communicate with the remote device <NUM> using long-range wireless protocols <NUM>, such as for example, cellular, LTE (NB-IoT, CAT M1), LoRa, Ingenu, SigFox, Satellite, or other long-range wireless protocol known to one of skill in the art. Using long-range wireless protocols <NUM>, the communication module <NUM> is configured to transmit the sensor data <NUM> to a remote device <NUM> through a network <NUM>. In an embodiment, the short-range wireless protocol <NUM> is sub GHz Wireless M-Bus. In another embodiment, the long-range wireless protocol is Sigfox. In another embodiment, the long-range wireless protocol is LTE NB-IoT or CAT M1 with <NUM> fallback.

The sensing apparatus <NUM> includes a location determination module <NUM> configured to determine a location (i.e., position) of the elevator car <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM>. The location of the elevator car <NUM> may be fixed locations along the elevator shaft <NUM>, such as for example, the landings <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM>. The locations may be equidistantly spaced apart along the elevator shaft <NUM> or intermittently spaced apart along the elevator shaft <NUM>.

The location determination module <NUM> may utilize various approaches to determine a location of the elevator car <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM>. The location determination module <NUM> may be configured to determine a location of the elevator car <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM> using at least one of a pressure location determination module <NUM> and an acceleration location determination module <NUM>.

The acceleration location determination module <NUM> is configured to determine a distance traveled of the elevator car <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM> in response to the acceleration of the elevator car <NUM> detected along the Y axis. The sensing apparatus <NUM> may detect an acceleration along the Y axis shown at <NUM> and may integrate the acceleration to get a velocity of the elevator car <NUM> at <NUM>. At <NUM>, the sensing apparatus <NUM> may also integrate the velocity of the elevator car <NUM> to determine a distance traveled by the elevator car <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM> during the acceleration <NUM> detected at <NUM>. The direction of travel of the elevator car <NUM> may also be determined in response to the acceleration <NUM> detected. The location determination module <NUM> may then determine the location of the elevator car <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM> in response to a probable starting location and a distance traveled away from that probable starting location. The probable starting location may be based upon tracking the past operation and/or movement of the elevator car <NUM>.

The pressure location determination module <NUM> is configured to detect an atmospheric air pressure within the elevator shaft <NUM> when the elevator car <NUM> is in motion and/or stationary using the pressure sensor <NUM>. The pressure detected by the pressure sensor <NUM> may be associated with a location (e.g., height, elevation) within the elevator shaft <NUM> through either a look up table or a calculation of altitude using the barometric pressure change in two non-limiting embodiments. The direction of travel of the elevator car <NUM> may also be determined in response to the change in pressure detected via the pressure data <NUM>. The pressure sensor <NUM> may need to periodically detect a baseline pressure to account for changes in atmospheric pressure due to local weather conditions. For example, this baseline pressure may need to be detected daily, hourly, or weekly in non-limiting embodiments. The acceleration is elevator car <NUM> may also need to be detected to know when the elevator car <NUM> is stationary and when the elevator car <NUM> is stationary the sensing apparatus <NUM> may need to be offset to compensate the sensor drift and environment drift.

In one embodiment, the pressure location determination module <NUM> may be used to verify and/or modify a location of the elevator car <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM> determined by the acceleration location determination module <NUM>. In another embodiment, the acceleration location determination module <NUM> may be used to verify and/or modify a location of the elevator car <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM> determined by the pressure location determination module <NUM>. In another embodiment, the pressure location determination module <NUM> may be prompted to determine a location of the elevator car <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM> in response to an acceleration detected by the IMU sensor <NUM>.

Referring now to <FIG>, while referencing components of <FIG>. <FIG> shows a flow chart of a method <NUM> of monitoring a location of a conveyance apparatus within a conveyance system, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In an embodiment, the conveyance system is an elevator system <NUM> and the conveyance apparatus is an elevator car <NUM>.

At block <NUM>, a first atmospheric air pressure is detected within the conveyance system proximate the conveyance apparatus. At block <NUM>, a second atmospheric air pressure is detected within the conveyance system proximate the conveyance apparatus. As discussed above, the atmospheric air pressure (e.g., the first atmospheric air pressure and the second atmospheric air pressure) may be detected by the pressure sensor <NUM> may be associated with a location (e.g., height) within the elevator shaft <NUM> through either a look up table or a calculation of altitude using the barometric pressure change in two non-limiting embodiments. In another embodiment, the pressure sensor <NUM> may need to periodically detect a baseline pressure to account for changes in atmospheric pressure due to local weather conditions or sensor drift. For example, this baseline pressure may need to be detected daily, hourly, or weekly in non-limiting embodiments.

At block <NUM>, a change in atmospheric air pressure proximate the conveyance apparatus is determined in response to the first atmospheric air pressure and the second atmospheric air pressure within the conveyance system.

At block <NUM>, at least one of a location of the conveyance apparatus and a direction of motion of the conveyance apparatus within the conveyance system is determined in response to at least the first atmospheric air pressure and the second atmospheric air pressure.

The method <NUM> includes that an acceleration is detected in response to the change in atmospheric air pressure proximate the conveyance apparatus. The detected acceleration may be used to determine that the elevator car <NUM> is in motion. According to the invention, the atmospheric air pressure (e.g., the first atmospheric air pressure and the second atmospheric air pressure) is detected prior to detecting the acceleration of the conveyance apparatus and then the acceleration of the conveyance apparatus is detected in response to the change in atmospheric pressure.

The acceleration of the conveyance apparatus may be movement of the conveyance apparatus in a direction about parallel to a direction of travel of the conveyance apparatus. For example, the acceleration of the conveyance apparatus may be that the elevator car <NUM> is moving through the elevator shaft <NUM>. The acceleration is detected in a direction about perpendicular to a direction of travel of the conveyance apparatus. In another embodiment, the acceleration detected may be an acceleration of the conveyance apparatus away from a stationary position. For example, the acceleration of the conveyance apparatus may be that the elevator car <NUM> is accelerating from a velocity of zero to a velocity greater than zero. In another embodiment, the acceleration detected is a deceleration of the conveyance apparatus to a stationary position. For example, the acceleration of the conveyance apparatus may be that the elevator car <NUM> is decelerating from a velocity greater than zero to a velocity of zero. In another embodiment, the acceleration detected is a movement of a door <NUM> of the elevator car <NUM>. Advantageously, by only detecting the atmospheric air pressure when an acceleration is detected then the atmospheric air pressure is not being detected continuously, which conserves electrical energy of the sensing apparatus <NUM>.

The method <NUM> may further include that prior to determining the method further comprises: detecting local weather conditions; and adjusting the first atmospheric air pressure and the second atmospheric air pressure in response to the local weather conditions.

Claim 1:
A method of monitoring a conveyance apparatus (<NUM>) within a conveyance system (<NUM>), the method comprising:
detecting a first atmospheric air pressure within the conveyance system (<NUM>) proximate the conveyance apparatus (<NUM>);
detecting a second atmospheric air pressure within the conveyance system (<NUM>) proximate the conveyance apparatus (<NUM>);
determining a change in atmospheric air pressure proximate the conveyance apparatus (<NUM>) in response to the first atmospheric air pressure and the second atmospheric air pressure within the conveyance system (<NUM>); and
determining at least one of a location of the conveyance apparatus (<NUM>) and a direction of motion of the conveyance apparatus (<NUM>) within the conveyance system (<NUM>) in response to at least the first atmospheric air pressure and the second atmospheric air pressure, characterized by
detecting an acceleration in response to the change in atmospheric air pressure proximate the conveyance apparatus (<NUM>).