A flatness based approach to trajectory modification of residual motion of highrise elevators

As high-rise buildings continue to grow, design and control of elevators still remains a challenging problem. An important issue is to transport passengers with minimal residual motion once the elevator has reached its destination floor. A simple and elegant solution of the residual motion control problem can be given using the theory of /spl delta/-flatness. The elevator car is modeled as a rigid body connected by two flexible ropes. Forces are applied at the ends of the ropes using motors. An approach is presented to modify the residual motion of an elevator car through selection of force trajectory applied by the motors. The approach is demonstrated by experiments.