Elevator Safety Control Systems | Canada

With the issuance of the new elevator safety standards, control systems need to comply with SIL. A control system designer was not sure how to comply with SIL3 when designing safety circuits with the current open-door operation protection devices (Unintentional Car Movement Protection: UCMP). IDEC proposed various products compliant with international safety standards and SIL3 to the customer and supported to build the control systems in total compliance with SIL3.

The new elevator safety standards require enhanced safety measure and control systems complying with SIL
The revised elevator safety standards, EN81-20/050, that are expected to influence on the Japan Industrial Standards (JIS) and the Chinese National Standards (GB), require safety measure enhancement. One of the requirements is Safety Integrity Level (SIL) in electrical safety devices. A elevator control system designer at an electrical manufacturer was looking for ways to comply with SIL in control panels in machine rooms.

Wider selections in building safety circuits of elevator electric safety devices
When the customer asked for advice, IDEC proposed a safety circuit design that used FS1A safety controllers, and RF1V and RF2 force-guided relays. Force guided relays are used in control systems related to machine safety to allow building control systems in compliance with the SIL, which is impossible with general purpose relays. By using 2-pole, 4-pole, 6-pole force guided relays depending on applications, compact control panels can be built. Furthermore, in safety controllers that have functions for 7 or more units of safety relay modules, safety systems can be easily built by simply selecting logics. It is even possible to reduce labor and time required for safety systems to be certified with the standards, since embedded safety circuit software is already certified with the international safety standards of SIL3 and ISO13849-1 PLe. The customer highly valued the convenience when logic patterns of safety controllers match the circuits to detect positions related to elevator stop devices and electrical safety devices.

The customer valued the expertise of IDEC on circuit design as a safety product manufacturer. They also had a trust in the experience of IDEC that has committed itself in the safety of machinery for many years. IDEC is proud of having helped the customer in building control systems, and is looking forward to working with us on safety circuit standardization in elevator control in the future.