Patent Description:
Occasionally, water may migrate into an elevator shaft and collect in a pit (i.e., bottom portion) of the elevator shaft. The collection of water within a pit of an elevator shaft may not be an immediate concern but over time extended periods of water collection and/or specific amounts of water may require the water to be removed. Conventionally, water collecting within the pit of the elevator shaft is discovered by an elevator technician typically inspecting the elevator system for other reasons unrelated to the collection of water.

<CIT> describes automatic detection equipment for automatically detecting the state in the shaftway. The automatic detection equipment comprises a monitoring device and a processing device. The monitoring device is configured to move with an elevator car. The processing device is used for processing information from the monitoring device and judges whether the state in the shaftway is normal or not by comparing the information with pre-stored information.

According to the invention, a method of detecting water within a pit of an elevator shaft is provided as claimed in claim <NUM>.

Some embodiments may include that determining whether water is present within the pit of the elevator shaft in response to the reflected electromagnetic wave further includes: comparing the reflected electromagnetic wave to the electromagnetic wave emitted from the electromagnetic wave source.

Some embodiments may include that determining whether water is present within the pit of the elevator shaft in response to the reflected electromagnetic wave further includes: comparing the reflected electromagnetic wave to stored reflected electromagnetic waves.

Some embodiments may include: transmitting a notification to a computing device in response to whether water is present within the pit of the elevator shaft.

Some embodiments may include: activating an alarm on the computing device in response to the notification.

Some embodiments may include that the electromagnetic wave is visible light.

Some embodiments may include that the electromagnetic wave is infrared light.

Some embodiments may include that the electromagnetic wave source is a light source and the electromagnetic wave detector is a camera.

According to the invention, a water detection system for detecting water within a pit of an elevator shaft is provided as claimed in claim <NUM>.

Some embodiments may include that the controller determines whether water is present within the pit of the elevator shaft by: comparing the reflected electromagnetic wave to the electromagnetic wave emitted from the electromagnetic wave source.

Some embodiments may include that the controller may determine whether water is present within the pit of the elevator shaft by: comparing the reflected electromagnetic wave to stored reflected electromagnetic waves.

Some embodiments may include that the controller is configured to transmit a notification to a computing device in response to whether water is present within the pit of the elevator shaft.

Some embodiments may include that the controller is configured to activate an alarm on the computing device in response to the notification.

Technical effects of embodiments of the present disclosure include detecting water within a pit of an elevator system utilizing image processing.

The foregoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusivity, within the scope of the appended claims. These features and elements as well as the operation thereof will become more apparent in electromagnetic wave source of the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Referring now to <FIG> with continued reference to <FIG>, a water detection system <NUM> for the elevator system <NUM> of <FIG> is illustrated, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Occasionally, water <NUM> may migrate into an elevator shaft <NUM> and collect in a pit <NUM> (i.e., bottom portion) of the elevator shaft <NUM>. The collection of water <NUM> within a pit <NUM> of an elevator shaft <NUM> may not be an immediate concern but over time extended periods of water <NUM> collection and/or specific amounts of water <NUM> may require the water <NUM> to be removed. Conventionally, water <NUM> collecting within the pit <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM> is discovered by an elevator technician typically inspecting the elevator system <NUM> for other reasons unrelated to the collection of water <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the water detection system <NUM> comprises an electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> and an electromagnetic wave source <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. In an embodiment, the electromagnetic wave source <NUM> may be a light source and electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> may be a camera. The camera may be utilized for other purposes, such as, for example, detecting the condition of the pit <NUM> through manual and/or automated detection. In an embodiment, the light source may emit visible and/or infrared light and the camera may be able to detect the visible and/or infrared light.

The electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> and the electromagnetic wave source <NUM> may be mounted on the bottom 103a of the elevator car <NUM>. In an embodiment, at least one of the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> and the electromagnetic wave source <NUM> is mounted to the bottom of the elevator car <NUM>. The electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> and the electromagnetic wave source <NUM> may be in electronic communication with each other and may also be in electronic communication with a controller <NUM>. The electronic communication between the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM>, the electromagnetic wave source <NUM>, and the controller <NUM> may be hardwired and/or wireless. The controller <NUM> may perform other tasks in addition to the detection of water <NUM> within the pit. In an embodiment, the controller <NUM> may be the controller <NUM> of the elevator system <NUM>. In an embodiment, the controller <NUM> may be any other controller located locally or in the cloud. In an embodiment the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> and the electromagnetic wave source <NUM> are hardwired to the controller <NUM> and the controller <NUM> is the controller <NUM> of the elevator system <NUM>. In another embodiment, the controller <NUM> may be located within at least one of the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> and the electromagnetic wave source <NUM>. In another embodiment, the controller <NUM>, the electromagnetic wave source <NUM>, and the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> may be combined into a single component. In another embodiment, the controller <NUM>, the electromagnetic wave source <NUM>, and the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> may each be separate components. Advantageously, if at least the electromagnetic wave source <NUM> is separate from the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> then the electromagnetic wave source <NUM> may be plugged into an existing elevator system already having an electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> and the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> may be reprogrammed in the controller <NUM> of the elevator system <NUM> to operate with an added electromagnetic wave source <NUM> to detect water <NUM> within the pit <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM>.

The controller <NUM> may be an electronic controller including a processor <NUM> and an associated memory <NUM> comprising computer-executable instructions (e.g., detection algorithm <NUM>) that, when executed by the processor <NUM>, cause the processor <NUM> to perform various operations. 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 but is not limited to a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or other electronic, optical, magnetic or any other computer readable medium.

The computer-executable instructions stored within memory <NUM> of the controller <NUM> includes a detection algorithm <NUM>. The controller <NUM> is configured to control and coordinate the operation of the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> and the electromagnetic wave source <NUM>. The electromagnetic wave source <NUM> is configured to emit an electromagnetic wave 222a and the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> is configured to detect a reflected electromagnetic wave 222b of the electromagnetic wave 222a being reflected off of surfaces within the elevator shaft <NUM> including but not limited to walls 117a of the elevator shaft <NUM>, a bottom 117b of the elevator shaft <NUM>, and water <NUM> within the elevator shaft <NUM>. In an embodiment, the electromagnetic wave 222a and the reflected electromagnetic wave 222b may be at least one of light, visible light, and infrared light.

The electromagnetic wave source <NUM> may be oriented at a specific angle of incidence α1 relative to a perpendicular line <NUM> that is perpendicular (i.e., normal) to the bottom 117b of the elevator shaft <NUM>. The electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> may be oriented at a specific angle of reflection a2 relative to a perpendicular line <NUM> that is perpendicular (i.e., normal) to the bottom 117b of the elevator shaft <NUM>. In an embodiment, the angle of incidence α1 may between about <NUM>-<NUM>° relative to a perpendicular line <NUM>. In another embodiment, the angle of incidence α1 may between about <NUM>° relative to a perpendicular line <NUM>. The detection algorithm <NUM> may be configured to analyze the reflected electromagnetic wave 222b detected by the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> to the electromagnetic wave 222a transmitted from the electromagnetic wave source <NUM>. For example, if the electromagnetic wave 222a transmitted is visible light, the detection algorithm <NUM> is configured to localize the reflection spot of the reflected electromagnetic wave 222a on the water <NUM> or bottom 117b of the elevator shaft <NUM> then extract the image features to determine whether or not water <NUM> is present in frame. The controller <NUM> may also be configured to determine whether water <NUM> is present within the pit <NUM> by: analyzing the reflected electromagnetic wave 222b and the electromagnetic wave 222a emitted from the electromagnetic wave source <NUM>. The analysis may include detecting a spot of light reflection <NUM>, looking for the circularity of the spot of light reflection <NUM> and if the circularity of the spot of light reflection <NUM> meets a defined threshold (e.g., <NUM>% circularity, the detection algorithm <NUM> may determine that water <NUM> is present in frame.

The controller <NUM> may be configured to transmit a notification <NUM> to a computing device <NUM> in response to whether water <NUM> is detected within the pit <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM>. The notification <NUM> may be transmitted to a cloud computing network from the transmission to the computing device <NUM>. The transmission between the controller <NUM> and the computing device <NUM> may be wired and/or wireless. Communication between the controller <NUM> and computing device <NUM> may be bidirectional communication. The computing device <NUM> can be used to reset the set notification, update firmware and requesting event logs, etc. The notification <NUM> may be in the form of a text message, email, application alert, alarm, etc. The computing device <NUM> a computing device such as a desktop computer. The computing device <NUM> may also be a mobile computing device that is typically carried by a person, such as, for example a phone, PDA, smart watch, tablet, laptop, etc. The computing 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 computing device <NUM> may be configured to activate an alarm <NUM> in response to the notification <NUM>. The alarm <NUM> may be audible, vibratory, and/or visual. The alarm <NUM> may alert a user of the computing device <NUM> as to whether water <NUM> is present in the pit <NUM>.

Referring now to <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>, while referencing components of <FIG>. <FIG> shows a flow chart of method <NUM> of detecting water <NUM> within a pit <NUM> of an elevator shaft <NUM>. In an embodiment, the method <NUM> may be performed by the elevator system <NUM>. The method <NUM> may be prompted by first determining when the elevator car <NUM> is at a bottom landing <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM>. The controller <NUM> of the elevator system <NUM> communicate with the controller <NUM> to determined when the elevator car <NUM> is at the bottom landing <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM>. The detection algorithm <NUM> may initiate when the elevator car <NUM> is at a bottom landing <NUM>. The bottom landing <NUM> may be a landing nearest to the bottom 117b of the elevator shaft <NUM> or a landing <NUM> at a height where the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> may perform accurately (e.g., depending upon the capability of the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> and the height of the water <NUM>, the bottom landing <NUM> may not be the physical bottom landing <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM> but rather any landing <NUM> where the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> may perform accurately. At block <NUM>, an electromagnetic wave 222a is emitted from an electromagnetic wave source <NUM> towards a bottom 117b of an elevator shaft <NUM>.

At block <NUM>, a reflected electromagnetic wave 222b of the electromagnetic wave 222a is detected using an electromagnetic wave detector <NUM>. <FIG> shows a flow chart of a method 300a of detecting a reflected electromagnetic wave 222b using an electromagnetic wave detector <NUM>. In the example of <FIG> the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> is a camera configured to detect light. In an embodiment, the method 300a may be performed by the detection algorithm <NUM>. At block 306a, a frame from the camera is obtained. At block 306b, a spot of light reflection <NUM> is searched for within the frame from the camera. At block 306c, if spot of light reflection <NUM> is not detected then the method 300a moves to block 306d to queue and return back to block 306a because water <NUM> is not present in frame. The queue may be an active list of each frames from the camera and an indication of whether water <NUM> was detected in each frame. The queue is analyzed as a whole in <FIG> and method 300b. At block 306c, if a spot of light reflection <NUM> is detected then the method 300a moves to block 306e where a circularity of the spot of light reflection <NUM> is detected. The circularity of the spot of light reflection <NUM> may indicate whether or not water <NUM> is present in the pit <NUM>. In one embodiment, the threshold value may be <NUM>% circularity. At block 306f, if the circularity of the spot of light reflection <NUM> is greater than a threshold value then the method 300a moves to block <NUM> but if the circularity of the spot of light reflection <NUM> is not greater than the threshold value the method 300a moves to block <NUM> to update queue and return back to block 306a because water <NUM> is not present in frame. At block 306f, if the circularity of the spot of light reflection <NUM> is greater than a threshold value then the method 300a moves to block <NUM> and the queue is updated because water <NUM> is present in frame.

At block <NUM>, it is determined whether water <NUM> is present within the pit <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM> in response to the reflected electromagnetic wave 222b.

<FIG> shows a flow chart of a method 300b of determining whether water <NUM> is present within the pit <NUM> in response to the reflected electromagnetic wave 222b. In the example of <FIG> the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM> is a camera configured to detect light. In an embodiment, the method 300b may be performed by detection algorithm <NUM>. The method 300b analyzes a queue of frames that were individually analyzed in <FIG> and method 300a.

At block 308a, detection results of method 300a are obtained from the detection algorithm <NUM>. At block 308b, if water <NUM> is not detected then the method 300b moves to block 308d to save results as "Not detected" in a queue. The number of frames analyzed within the queue is configurable. For example, the detection algorithm <NUM> may analyze <NUM> frames in a queue or <NUM> frames in a queue. At block 308b, if water <NUM> is detected then the method 300b moves to block 308c and the results are saved as detected in the FIFO queue. At block 308e, if the FIFO queue is not full then the method 300b moves to block 308a. At block 308e, if the FIFO queue is full then the method 300b moves to block 308f. At block 308f, is check whether the detected frames in the FIFO queue are greater than a threshold limit (e.g., <NUM>%). At block 308f, if the detected frames in the FIFO queue are not greater than a threshold limit then the method 300b moves to block <NUM> and a notification is transmitted to notify the absence of water <NUM>. At block <NUM>, if the detected frames in the FIFO queue are greater than a threshold limit then the method 300b moves to block <NUM> and a notification is transmitted to notify the presence of water <NUM>.

The method <NUM> may further comprise: transmitting a notification <NUM> to a computing device <NUM> in response to determining whether water <NUM> is present within the pit <NUM> of the elevator shaft <NUM> in response to the reflected electromagnetic wave 222b. The notification <NUM> may also be transmitted to the controller <NUM> of the elevator system <NUM> instruct the controller <NUM> to adjust operation of the elevator system <NUM>. For example, the operation adjustment may include a command instructing the controller <NUM> to stop operation of the elevator system <NUM> or adjust service landings <NUM> of the elevator system <NUM>. The method <NUM> may also comprise: activating an alarm <NUM> on the computing device <NUM> in response to the notification <NUM>. The alarm <NUM> may be resent automatically (e.g., through detection by the electromagnetic wave detector <NUM>) or manually (e.g., by a building manager or mechanic).

As described above, embodiments can be in the form of processor-implemented processes and devices for practicing those processes, such as processor. Embodiments can also be in the form of computer program code, for example, whether stored in a storage medium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted over some transmission medium, loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein, when the computer program code is loaded into an executed by a computer, the computer becomes a device for practicing the embodiments.

Claim 1:
A method of detecting water (<NUM>) within a pit (<NUM>) of an elevator shaft (<NUM>), the method comprising:
emitting an electromagnetic wave (222a) from an electromagnetic wave source (<NUM>) towards a bottom of an elevator shaft (117b), wherein the electromagnetic wave (222a, 22b) is light;
detecting a reflected electromagnetic wave (222b) of the electromagnetic wave using an electromagnetic wave detector (<NUM>); and
determining whether water (<NUM>) is present within the pit (<NUM>) of the elevator shaft in response to the reflected electromagnetic wave (222b);
characterized by:
determining a circularity of a spot of light reflection (<NUM>); and
determining whether water (<NUM>) is present within the pit (<NUM>) of the elevator shaft (<NUM>) in response to the circularity of the spot of light reflection (<NUM>).