EP0771923B2 - Movement monitor for a single or multiple panel door or gate - Google Patents

Abstract

The monitoring method involves interrupting the door (3) movement if an obstruction is encountered. A physical operating parameter is measured during door movement depending on the movement distance or time. A movement interruption signal is generated if the measured value for the actual movement deviates from the desired value by greater than a defined amount, the desired value having been measured and stored during unobstructed operation. The derivative of the movement parameter is formed against distance or time for each measurement value. An interruption signal is generated if the current value for the movement characteristic differs to a defined extent from the corresp. value of a desired movement characteristic.

Description

The invention relates to a method for monitoring the movement of a drivable, single or multi-part door or door leaf.

Such a procedure is over EP-B1-0 083 947 known. The monitoring device disclosed therein is based on the basic idea that the actual course of the required force for driving the door leaf over the transfer path is continuously compared with a desired course. If the difference between the actual course and the desired course exceeds a predetermined amount, an interrupt signal is generated which shuts off the drive of the door leaf or reverses its direction of movement. The desired course is recorded and stored at least once before the gate is put into operation for obstacle-free normal operation along the transfer route.

Such a monitoring system already has over other known monitoring devices, such as. under resilient beads arranged electrical contacts, an improved hazard protection. Nevertheless, even in such a monitoring device, there may still be cases in which the criterion for generating the interruption signal is not sufficiently sensitive. If the door leaf edge abuts e.g. against soft obstacles, so the movement force to move the door leaf against a hard obstacle slower increases, so that lapses until the triggering of the interruption signal, a longer period. If the edge of the door leaf hits, e.g. in the lateral groin area of a person who inadvertently gets into the path of movement of the door leaf during its movement, the interruption signal of the monitoring device is sometimes not triggered sufficiently early.

US 5,051,672 controls an automatic window / door system with a pressure sensor and a defector key to estimate the pressure change.

The object of the invention is therefore to monitor the transfer movement between the open position and the closed position of gates or doors of the type in question to a deviation from the normal operation as sensitively as possible.

Starting from a method of the generic type, this object is achieved by the features of claim 1. The solution according to the invention is that in addition to the known method at each sampled point a derivative of the actual course of the motor current of the gate movement is formed by the time and that an interrupt signal is generated even if a criterion according to the particular derivative is not met , The desired course of the respective physical operating variable is recorded and stored at least once before the gate is put into operation for obstacle-free normal operation along the transfer route.

The advantages achieved by the invention are in particular that the monitoring device reacts equally sensitive to the impact of the door on hard objects and / or soft objects. Compared to a monitoring device of the generic type, this improvement can be achieved with a relatively low cost.

Preferably, the first derivative is formed after the time to form the actual change history and / or the desired change history, but higher derivatives may also be used.

The difference value to be specified, by which the actual change course must deviate from the desired change course, in order to signal the obstacle case, on the one hand depends on external influences such as wind influences, slight icing and the like, on the other hand it takes into account small changes in the drain resistance. According to a preferred embodiment, a fixed difference value is predetermined over the entire movement sequence, but in principle the difference value can also be dimensioned differently over the transfer path, in particular for compensation of the different wind damage depending on the distance traveled.

According to a preferred embodiment, the desired course is recorded and stored only after installation of the gate at the site and then determines the desired change history and also stored. As a result, the operating conditions actually occurring under normal conditions can be taken into account in a realistic manner with the actual environmental influences. Since the operating conditions change as a result of wear or the like over time, the desired course can be newly recorded and stored after certain operating intervals of the door, and from this a new desired change course can be determined. Of course, it is also possible to predetermine and store the desired course already during manufacture, depending on the type of gate. The desired change history may also be determined and stored once, but it is also possible that the target target change course is redetermined during operation every time the door leaf moves on the basis of the target profile.

Its basic structure according to a device for carrying out the method of a door drive, a measuring element for measuring the transfer path, a measuring element for measuring a physical operating variable of the door movement, a control unit with memories for the measured variables and a differentiating.

In this case, the control unit consists of a microcontroller, on which the corresponding memory and AD converter are already integrated. Preferably, the differentiator is also implemented on the microcontroller in the form of software logic. But it is also conceivable that the differentiator consists of an analog differentiator whose signal is also fed to an AD converter. In any case, the differentiator must be designed so that the instantaneous derivative of the relevant input signal is reliably determined independently of short-term noise interference.

The door drive consists of an electric motor. The supplied power of the electric motor can be taken directly as a measure of a physical operating size of the door movement. When the voltage is applied constantly, the current supplied to the electric motor can also serve as the basis for a physical operating variable, the current measured thereby being approximately a measure of the instantaneous torque of the electric motor.

It is provided that the interrupt signal generated by the control unit has a shutdown of the electric motor result. But it is also possible that the drive direction of the door drive reverses due to an interrupt signal, which can be done with a suitable electric motor by reversing the supply voltage or by a suitable gear.

Fig. 1

eine schematische Darstellung eines über Kopf bewegbaren Garagentors mit einem Blockschaltbild des Überwachungssystems und

Fig. 2

eine schematische Darstellung eines Impulsgebers auf einer elastischen Kupplung.

Further details and advantages of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to a gate drive shown in the drawing, which is not an embodiment of the invention. In this shows:

Fig. 1

a schematic representation of an overhead moving garage door with a block diagram of the monitoring system and

Fig. 2

a schematic representation of a pulse generator on an elastic coupling.

The garage door off Fig. 1 has two vertical struts 1, at the upper end of two rails connect 2, in which the door leaf 3 is guided. The door leaf 3 is further articulated with a linkage, not shown, to the struts 1, so that leaves open the door leaf with an overhead movement and close. In addition, compensating springs are provided which largely compensate for the dead weight of the door leaf during movement and which keep the door leaf defined in its end positions. The designated 4 drive system consists of a total of a drag chain drive with a drag chain 5, to which the door leaf 3 is hinged and which is guided over the deflection roller 6 and a drive roller, not shown. The drive roller is located in the drive unit 7 and is driven by a gear by the electric motor 9. Also driven by the electric motor 9 is a pulse generator 8, which is mounted on an elastic coupling and which emits one pulse after a certain angle of rotation.

The entire system is controlled by the control unit 10, which consists of a microcontroller with integrated memory and AD converters. The output signal of the control unit 10 leads to an amplifier 11 which supplies the necessary power to the electric motor 9 via a current measuring element 12. The input variables of the control unit include the measured variables 8a and 12a, the switching signals 13a and 14a, and unspecified input signals 15, to which signals of a control unit as well as a power supply can count.

The signal 8a of the pulse generator is evaluated by the control unit in conjunction with signals of the switching elements 13 and 14.

The switching elements are thereby actuated by the door leaf 3 in its end positions, ie in each case in the vertical and in the horizontal position. The signals 13a and 14a thus each serve as start-stop signals in order to ensure a reliable integration of the signal 8a.

FIG. 2 shows a possible embodiment of the pulse generator 8. In an axial cross section and in a radial section, a coupling is shown, which is provided between the drive wheel of the drag chain 5 and the output of the drive motor 9. The driven coupling half 20 is designed as a torsionally elastic coupling member with a radial intermediate layer between the toothing and the hub, for example in the form of a rubber ring 21. The aborted coupling half 22 has at its radial circumference teeth 23, which are scanned by the inductive sensor 24. Upon rotation of the clutch while the inductive sensor 24 is due to the periodic change in the inductance corresponding pulses.

With such an elastic coupling, it is also possible to determine the output torque of the electric motor 9 by measuring the angle of rotation between the driven coupling half 20 and the aborted coupling half 22. In the present embodiment, however, this is done by the current measuring element 12, which measures the current supplied to the electric motor. The evaluation of the measuring signals 8a and 12a is described below:

Before the start-up of the door drive, the desired course of the motor current for an obstacle-free normal operation is recorded as a function of the transfer route. For this purpose, the signals 8a and 12a are read in via AD converters at the same sampling instants into the microcontroller and stored in such a way that it is possible to assign values of the same points in time. Together with the control program of the drive control, the thus recorded desired course is stored in the EPROM, so that the values can be loaded into the main memory with each reset of the microcontroller.

During an opening or closing movement of the door leaf, an actual curve of the motor current is recorded as a function of the transfer path in accordance with the desired course. For each recorded actual value, a calculation procedure is run through before the next actual value is recorded, that is to say within one sampling period, which checks whether there are any impermissible deviations from the desired profile and, accordingly, whether an interruption signal must be generated.

For this purpose, first of all each actual value recorded is compared with the corresponding nominal value for the same values of the transfer distance. If the actual value deviates from the desired value by a predetermined amount, then an interrupt signal is generated by the microcontroller, which results in a reversal of the drive direction of the door leaf.

On the other hand, if the actual course lies within a permissible range, then in a next step the derivative is formed as a function of the transfer distance for the currently recorded actual value. For this purpose, various methods are conceivable, the simplest consists in a difference between the currently recorded actual value and the previously recorded actual value. If the actual values are particularly noisy, a smoothing of the preceding values may be necessary before subtraction. For this purpose, a specific number of previously recorded actual values are interpolated with a predetermined function, before the derivative is then formed by this interpolated function. The currently determined derivation is included in an actual change history, which is compared with a desired change history. This desired course of change was also determined and stored prior to startup based on the already recorded desired course according to the method just described. If the actual change value deviates from the desired change value by a predetermined amount, an interrupt signal is generated, which in turn results in a reversal of the drive direction of the door leaf.

According to the method described above, therefore, the already known criterion between desired course and actual course is supplemented by an additional criterion between desired change course and actual change course, which allows a more accurate assessment for generating an interrupt signal. Of course, in addition to the derivation criterion even more criteria are conceivable, in particular, the desired course can be compared by forming more derivatives more accurate with the actual course. The limit here forms the aforementioned noise behavior of both signals, whereby a minimum tolerance width between the actual course and the desired course is required, so that the interrupt signal is not triggered undesirable.

Instead of the described method of recording the desired and the actual course as a function of the transfer route, it is inventively provided to record actual and desired course as a function of time. The prerequisite for this is that the transfer course of the door leaf does not change over time. For this purpose, it should be ensured that the effects of friction as well as other disturbances are negligible. This can be accounted for by the fact that the desired course is taken up again after regular maintenance intervals. If the disturbing influences are therefore negligible, the current sensor 12 can sometimes be dispensed with by determining the speed profile of the door leaf over time from the signal of the pulse generator 8.

Claims (5)

1. Process for monitoring the movement of a single-piece or multi-piece door panel (3) of an overhead door that can be driven by an electric motor, along the track covered between the open position and the closed position, and for interrupting this movement, in particular by switching the drive (7) off and over, in the event of an obstacle in the path of movement which the door panel (3) encounters, with the following steps:

   - an actual profile of a physical operating variable of the movement of the door panel, namely of a motor current supplied to the door panel drive, actually occurring as a function of time, is recorded,

   - an interruption signal for the interruption of the movement of the monitored door panel (3) is generated if the currently recorded value of the actual profile deviates from the corresponding value of a desired profile to a previously fixed degree, the desired profile being recorded on the basis of the said motor current at least once before the door is put into operation for normal operation without any obstacle over time, and stored,

   - an actual variation profile, actually occurring as a function of time, is determined in that the derivative with respect to time is formed for each recorded value of the actual profile,

   - an interruption signal for the interruption of the movement of the monitored door panel (3) is generated if the currently determined value of the actual variation profile deviates from the corresponding value of a desired variation profile to a previously fixed degree,
   the desired variation profile being fixed at least once before the door is put into operation, on the basis of the desired profile, and stored, and
   the permissible deviation of the actual variation profile from the desired variation profile over time being fixed as a function of further influencing variables.
2. Process according to Claim 1, characterized in that the first derivative with respect to time is formed as the derivative.
3. Process according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the permissible deviation of the actual variation profile from the desired variation profile over time is fixed as a function of wind influences.
4. Process according to one of Claims 1-3, characterized in that the desired profile for normal operation without any obstacle is recorded after the installation of the door at the place of use and stored and in that the desired variation profile is determined from the desired profile and stored.
5. Process according to one of Claims 1-4, characterized in that the desired profile is newly recorded each time after specific operating intervals of the door and stored and in that a new desired variation profile is determined from this and stored.

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