| Title |
A Fault-Tolerant Method for Avoiding Passenger Entrapment in Elevators with Position Sensor Failure |
| Authors |
Kyeong-Jun Kwon ; Jun-Hyeok Lee ; Chan-Hwi Kang ; Young-Doo Yoon |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.6113/TKPE.2026.31.3.248 |
| ISSN |
1229-2214(pISSN), 2288-6281(eISSN) |
| Keywords |
Elevator system; Passenger entrapment; Position sensor fault; Sensorless control; Flux observer |
| Abstract |
This paper proposes the application of a flux observer?based sensorless control technique to prevent passenger entrapment accidents in elevator systems when a position sensor failure occurs. In conventional elevator systems, position sensor faults typically lead to the shutdown of the inverter control, followed by mechanical emergency braking to ensure passenger safety. However, such emergency stops cause unexpected mechanical deceleration, resulting in significant discomfort for passengers and leaving them trapped in the cage until rescue operations are completed. The proposed method enables fault detection of the position sensor at the inverter and ensures a smooth transition to a flux observer-based sensorless control scheme. Consequently, inverter control is continuously maintained, allowing the elevator to safely move to the nearest floor without causing discomfort to the passengers, thus enabling immediate evacuation. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated under operating conditions of an elevator emulator system using actual elevator drive systems, demonstrating its stability and feasibility in preventing passenger entrapment even in the occurrence of position sensor failure. |