Visit the Yaskawa Electric Europe web site

Inverter software gives lift to elevator engineers

A Yaskawa Electric Europe product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 25, 2003

Drives manufacturer Yaskawa has developed special software for its AC inverters to optimise lift control while simplifying the setting.

Setting AC inverter drives for lift applications can be tricky.

The human passengers carried in a lift are the most sensitive detectors of all, with regard to the acceleration and deceleration that dictates ride quality, which is why all lift engineers pursue the best possible smoothness of control.

Drives manufacturer Yaskawa has developed special software for its AC inverters to optimise lift control while simplifying the setting.

The benefits for the lift installer are that startup time is reduced because the lift-specific parameters are factory default.

No specific inverter expertise is required to tune the drive as the menu of parameters to be adjusted is reduced significantly.

Brake operation is safe, optimised and factory set as a default.

The software also makes the drive flexible and easy to adapt to any lift controller sequence.

The majority of existing traction lifts in Europe have single or two-speed motors with or without variable voltage systems (thyristor controls).

The ride quality of these lifts is greatly improved by installing AC inverters for lift control.

There are also energy consumption reductions of up to 50% and, thanks to the inherent ability to soft start and soft stop the lifts, wear and tear is similarly reduced.

In a typical lift sequence, the controller selects the direction and pre-set speeds (top speed, levelling speed and service speed).

The controller is also likely to activate the transistor base block to avoid the possibility of switching the motor contactor while the motor is running.

An inverter opens and closes the lift's brake via a relay output and provides a digital output to allow contactor operation and the door-opening signal.

The problem is that setting all the various parameters to tune the drive for the best ride quality often requires a drives expert.

For example, to tune even one of Yaskawa's high quality inverters for acceptable ride quality requires the adjustment of about 45 parameters.

Using Yaskawa's new software, the brake sequence is automatically optimised - in open loop mode, brake opening/closing occurs during DC injection; in closed loop mode, the brake is operated at zero speed.

Current is always checked when the brake is opened.

Parameter default values and setting ranges are changed within the software.

As a result, the menu presented to the lift engineer is simplified and the number of available parameters for setting is reduced.

There are also additional lift specific functions, such as contactor supervision, short floor operation, door open signal and startup pre-torque functions.

Find out more about this article. Request a brochure, download technical specifications and request samples here.

Not what you're looking for? Search the site.

Back to top Back to top

Contact Yaskawa Electric Europe

Other Yaskawa Electric Europe stories

Newsletter sign up

Request your free weekly copy of the Engineeringtalk email newsletter ...

Visit the Yaskawa Electric Europe web site

Browse by category

All suppliers A - Z

A Pro-talk Publication

A Pro-talk publication