阅读说明：本技术 电梯数据通信系统 (Elevator data communication system ) 是由 S.R.朱拉肯蒂 A.克什里 D.O.帕尔克 于 2019-08-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种电梯数据通信系统被配置成在多个电梯系统和远离多个电梯系统定位的数据中心之间进行通信。电梯数据通信系统包括基于软件的云通信平台和服务器。基于软件的云通信平台被配置成接收通信并将通信发送到多个电梯系统。服务器远离多个电梯系统定位,并且被配置成在数据中心与基于软件的云通信平台之间发送和接收通信。服务器包括多个基于软件的仿真调制解调器,每个基于软件的仿真调制解调器被分配给多个电梯系统中的相应一个。(An elevator data communication system is configured to communicate between a plurality of elevator systems and a data center located remotely from the plurality of elevator systems. The elevator data communication system comprises a software-based cloud communication platform and a server. The software-based cloud communication platform is configured to receive and send communications to a plurality of elevator systems. The server is located remotely from the plurality of elevator systems and is configured to send and receive communications between the data center and the software-based cloud communication platform. The server includes a plurality of software-based emulation modems, each software-based emulation modem being assigned to a respective one of the plurality of elevator systems.)

1. An elevator data communication system configured to communicate between a plurality of elevator systems and a data center located remotely from the plurality of elevator systems, the elevator data communication system comprising:

a software-based cloud communication platform configured to receive and send communications to the plurality of elevator systems; and

a server located remotely from the plurality of elevator systems and configured to send and receive the communications between the data center and the software-based cloud communication platform, the server comprising a plurality of software-based emulation modems, each software-based emulation modem being assigned to a respective one of the plurality of elevator systems.

2. The elevator data communication system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of software-based emulation modems are configured to emulate a plurality of analog modems.

3. The elevator data communication system of claim 1, wherein the software-based cloud communication platform is a voice over internet protocol provider.

4. The elevator data communication system of claim 3, wherein the voice over internet protocol provider communicates with the plurality of elevator systems via a public switched telephone network.

5. The elevator data communication system of claim 1, wherein the server is located in the data center.

6. The elevator data communication system of claim 1 wherein each software-based emulation modem is configured with a VoIP telephone number.

7. The elevator data communication system of claim 6, wherein each VoIP phone number is configured to connect with the software-based cloud communication platform and is assigned to a respective one of the at least one elevator system.

8. The elevator data communication system of claim 7, wherein the software-based cloud communication platform is a VoIP provider.

9. The elevator data communication system of claim 8, wherein the server is configured to call each elevator system of the plurality of elevator systems using a respective one of the plurality of software-based emulated modems and the associated VoIP telephone number.

10. The elevator data communication system set forth in claim 1, wherein the wireless communication includes operational data and the server includes a non-transitory storage medium for storing a database including the operational data.

11. The elevator data communication system of claim 10, wherein the server application receives the operational data from the plurality of software-based emulation modems and communicates to an application service of the database.

12. The elevator data communication system of claim 1, wherein the software-based cloud communication platform communicates with the server via the internet.

13. The elevator data communication system of claim 1, wherein the software-based cloud communication platform communicates with the server via a cellular connection.

14. A method of communicating between a plurality of elevator systems and a data center located remotely from the plurality of elevator systems, the method comprising:

communicating communications between a software-based cloud communication platform and the plurality of elevator systems via a public switched telephone network; and

communicating the communication between the software-based cloud communication platform and a plurality of software-based emulation modems executed by servers located at the data center and via the internet.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein each elevator system of the plurality of elevator systems is associated with a respective one of the software-based emulation modems via a unique telephone number.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the server comprises a database stored by a non-transitory storage medium for storing the communications.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the software-based cloud communication platform is a voice over internet protocol provider.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to elevators and, more particularly, to elevator data communication systems configured to communicate with remote elevator data centers.

Background

Conventional elevator communication systems typically use analog modems connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) lines. At the remote elevator data center, a physical modem bank is connected to the PSTN line to facilitate communication and to process data from the elevator site. Unfortunately, such hardware increases operating costs and system complexity.

Disclosure of Invention

An elevator data communication system according to one non-limiting embodiment is configured to communicate between a plurality of elevator systems and a data center located remotely from the plurality of elevator systems. An elevator data communication system comprising: a software-based cloud communication platform configured to receive and send communications to a plurality of elevator systems; and a server located remotely from the plurality of elevator systems and configured to send and receive communications between the data center and the software-based cloud communication platform, the server comprising a plurality of software-based emulation modems (multiplexed modems), each software-based emulation modem assigned to a respective one of the plurality of elevator systems.

In addition to the foregoing embodiments, the plurality of software-based emulation modems are configured to emulate a plurality of analog modems.

In the foregoing embodiment, the software-based cloud communication platform is a voice over internet protocol provider.

In the alternative or in addition thereto, in the aforementioned embodiment, a voice over internet protocol provider communicates with a plurality of elevator systems via a public switched telephone network.

In the foregoing embodiment, the server is located in the data center.

In the alternative or in addition, in the foregoing embodiments, each software-based emulated modem is configured with a VoIP telephone number.

In the foregoing embodiment, each VoIP phone number is configured to interface with the software-based cloud communication platform and is assigned to a respective one of the at least one elevator system.

In the foregoing embodiment, the software-based cloud communication platform is a VoIP provider.

In the alternative or in addition, in the foregoing embodiment, the server is configured to call each elevator system of the plurality of elevator systems using a respective one of the plurality of software-based emulated modems and the associated VoIP telephone number.

In the foregoing embodiment, the wireless communication includes operational data, and the server includes a non-transitory storage medium for storing a database including the operational data.

In the foregoing embodiment, the server application receives the operational data from the plurality of software-based emulation modems and passes the operational data to the application service of the database.

In the foregoing embodiment, the software-based cloud communication platform communicates with the server via the internet.

In the foregoing embodiment, the software-based cloud communication platform communicates with the server via a cellular connection.

A method of communicating according to another non-limiting embodiment involves communicating between a plurality of elevator systems and a data center located remotely from the plurality of elevator systems. The method includes communicating communications between a software-based cloud communication platform and a plurality of elevator systems via a public switched telephone network; and communicating communications between the software-based cloud communication platform and a plurality of software-based emulation modems executed by servers located at the data center and via the internet.

In addition to the foregoing embodiments, each elevator system of the plurality of elevator systems is associated with a respective one of the software-based emulation modems via a unique telephone number.

In the foregoing embodiment, the server comprises a database stored by the non-transitory storage medium for storing communications.

In the foregoing embodiment, the software-based cloud communication platform is a voice over internet protocol provider.

The foregoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusion, unless expressly indicated otherwise. These features and elements and their operation will become more apparent in light of the following description and accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the following description and the accompanying drawings are intended to be illustrative in nature and not restrictive.

Drawings

Various features will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the disclosed non-limiting embodiments. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows:

fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of an elevator data communication system as one non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1, an exemplary embodiment of an elevator data communication system 20 is configured to communicate between a plurality of elevator systems 22 and a data center 24. More specifically, the elevator data communication system 20 is configured to interface with the control circuit 26 of each elevator system 22. The control circuit 26 of each elevator system 22 may include: a controller 28 configured to control operation of the elevator, and a Remote Elevator Monitoring (REM) module 30 configured to communicate with the controller 28 and/or other elevator circuitry. Controller 28 may include at least one processor 28A and at least one storage medium 28B. The REM module 30 may include a processor 30A, a storage medium 30B, and a modem 30C (i.e., hardware). It is contemplated and understood that the control circuit 26 may have other configurations, for example, the REM module 30 and the controller 28 may share a processor and/or may share a storage medium.

The REM module 30 is assigned a pre-programmed telephone number 31 (e.g., VoIP telephone number) that is specific to a particular elevator system 20. Telephone number 31 may be stored in storage medium 30B and applied by modem 30C for bi-directional communication with data center 24 via elevator data communication system 20.

In one embodiment, the elevator data communication system 20 includes a cloud communication platform 32 and a server 34. The cloud communication platform 32 may be software based and the server 34 may be located remotely from the plurality of elevator systems 22, and thus the plurality of control circuits 26. In one embodiment, the server 34 is located at the data center 24 and is configured to send and receive communications (see arrow 36) between the data center 24 and the cloud communication platform via the internet 37. The analog modem 30C of the REM module 30 is configured to communicate with the cloud communication platform 32 over a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) (see arrow 38) using voice over internet protocol (VoIP). Thus, the cloud communication platform 32 may be a VoIP provider.

REM messages or communications may include elevator status such as normal up/down, idle, door status, event logs, alarms, predictive maintenance information, and the like. These communications may be delivered directly from the elevator control or calculated by a state machine in the local REM module 30.

In one embodiment, the server 34 of the elevator data communication system 20 includes a processor 34A, a non-transitory storage medium 34B, a plurality of software-based emulation modems 40 executed by the processor 34A and stored in the storage medium 34B, a database 44 stored in the storage medium 34B, and an application service 42. The software-based emulation modem 40 is not hardware, but is instead configured to emulate a plurality of analog modems. Each software-based emulation modem 40 is assigned to communicate with a respective elevator system of the plurality of elevator systems 20 via the cloud communication platform 32, and is thus associated with a respective VoIP telephone number 31 assigned to a respective modem 30C of the respective elevator system 20.

In operation, the communication system 20 is configured to wirelessly communicate communications 36 over the internet 37 and between the cloud communication platform 32 and the data center 24. More specifically, each emulated modem 40 is configured with a specific VoIP phone number 31 and connects to the cloud communication platform 32 using a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) relay (Trunking). System 20 is further configured to send communications 36 over PSTN 38 and between the respective elevator system 22 and cloud communication platform 32. It is further contemplated and understood that communication 36 may be sent between platform 32 and data center 24 via a cellular connection 2G-5G (e.g., LoRa, Sigfox, bluetooth, enOcean, etc.), a wired connection (e.g., Local Area Network (LAN), ethernet, etc.).

The communication 36 may be operational data received by the data center 24 from a particular elevator system 20. Server 34 may then apply the application service 42 to communicate (transmission control protocol) the data to database 44 for storage and subsequent analysis.

Communications 36 may flow in either direction between the designated elevator system 20 and the data center 24. It is further contemplated that the server 34 at the data center 24 can be programmed to send periodic queries to the preselected elevator system 20. In one embodiment, the data center 24 may be located at a remote dedicated entity (brick and mortar) building, and in another embodiment, the data center 24 may be located on a third party cloud platform.

Advantages and benefits of the present disclosure include a reduction or elimination of physical analog telephone lines at a data center, and a reduction or elimination of analog modems at the data center. This elimination contributes to reduced operating costs. In addition, the data communication system 20 is compatible with pre-existing analog modems or communication devices at elevator stops.

The various functions described above may be implemented or supported by a computer program that is formed from computer readable program code and that is embodied in a computer readable medium. The computer readable program code may include source code, object code, executable code, and the like. The computer-readable medium may be any type of medium capable of being accessed by a computer and may include Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, a Compact Disc (CD), a Digital Video Disc (DVD), or other forms.

As used herein, terms such as component, module, system, and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a module may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. It is to be appreciated that an application running on a server and the server can be a component. One or more components can reside within a thread and/or process of execution and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation, application, and/or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the particular examples disclosed herein, but includes all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.