JP2744594B2 - Method and apparatus for transmitting elevator call information - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for transmitting call information of an elevator belonging to a group of elevators. In this elevator, a landing call is input by using a landing call button, and the button is provided on the floor of the elevator. And a car call having an indicator light associated with the button, wherein the car call is performed using a car call button having the indicator light, and relates to a method by which the elevator can be switched to an operator operating mode. Furthermore, a transmission device for call information of an elevator belonging to an elevator group, wherein a landing call button for inputting a landing call is provided on the entrance / exit floor, and a car call button for inputting a car call is provided on the car. An indicator light is provided on the call button, and the device can switch the elevator to the operator operation mode.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to control the movement of an elevator car, a call button is provided at the entrance / exit floor, by means of which a passenger can make a landing call. Similarly, the elevator car is provided with a call button for inputting a car call. The landing call will call the elevator car and work for passengers waiting at the landing, and by making the car call the passenger may indicate the destination floor. The elevator control and operation system executes the call according to its programmed control criteria. Light indicators are often used to inform passengers that a call has been accepted, so that passengers know that they can get on and off soon. Movement of the elevator within the elevator shaft is indicated by a number or by an arrow symbol, but no information is displayed regarding the future operation or shutdown of the elevator.

[0003] In certain situations, it is necessary to inform the operator in the elevator car and / or the passengers waiting at the landing of a new call entry or call reset. Such situations include various situations, such as operator operation during construction, evacuation of persons with disabilities from buildings during emergencies, such as during a fire, and when operators are used to operate elevators. In addition to the call button, for example, voice communication by radio or telephone has been used for operator operation during construction. The operator receives information about the direction and load required by the elevator and makes a decision whether to accept the call based on the call information and the traffic condition of the elevator car. If the operator is not able to answer the call immediately, whether to answer the call depends on the person's memory and therefore answering the call is practically uncertain and difficult. For emergency evacuation, the elevator car is provided with a separate panel that displays all landing calls that have occurred. However, such a solution is expensive to implement. In elevators operated by operators at hotels and department stores, the elevator operator receives only information about whether the landing call originated from above or below the elevator car. In such a solution, the operator may ignore the landing call if the car is full. Moreover, this device not only requires an individual display, but also
Still, the information they can provide is often inadequate.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a new solution for transmitting necessary call information to an operator and / or a passenger.

[0005]

In order to realize this,
In the method of the present invention, a landing call has been entered and this landing call has been reset using the car call button, using the signaling device of the car panel and / or the indicator light of the car call button in a different car. This means that the display state of the indicator light of the car call button is changed, and the indicator light relating to the corresponding floor in other cars is turned off. In the apparatus of the present invention, the car is provided with a signaling device, and the input of the landing call can be indicated by using the signaling device in the car and the indicator light of the car call button. , The display state of the indicator light of the car call button is changed, and the indicator lights relating to the corresponding floor in other cars are turned off. Other preferred embodiments of the invention are set forth in the other claims.

[0006]

The signal device of the car panel in a different car and / or
Alternatively, the indicator light of the car call button is used to indicate that a landing call has been input and that the landing call has been reset using the car call button. As a result, the display state of the indicator light of the car call button is changed, and the indicator lights relating to the corresponding floor in other cars are turned off.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 1 according to one embodiment, and an elevator landing call and car call apparatus will be presented.

In FIG. 1, a display and a switch panel arranged on the elevator car 1 are indicated by reference numeral 2. The elevator car travels in the elevator shaft 3 in a manner known per se and stops at the floor 5.
One of the floors is shown as an example in the figure. An elevator group consists of one or more elevators, which move within their respective elevator shafts. A car call button 4 is provided on the panel 2 and a car call is performed using the button. The buttons 4 are surrounded by illuminable rings 6 which, when lit, indicate an active call and thus act as call button indicators. The panel is also provided with loudspeakers or bells 8, which serve as signaling devices for producing audible signals. The equipment required for signal processing and transmission is mounted below the panel, with which call information is sent via the serial bus 10 to the control unit 12 of the elevator. Similarly, data for controlling the indicator for visualizing the state of the call button is transmitted from the control unit 12 to the serial bus 10.
Sent through. The display and switch panel is preferably provided with a processor and a memory unit, which is used to perform its "intelligent" functions. Although this example shows only one car display and switch panel, there may be multiple elevator cars connected to the same control unit in a building. In this case, the elevators together form an elevator group that performs a predetermined function.

[0009] A call button unit 14 is attached to the structure on the floor of the entrance of the building, and a landing call is made to the elevator using this unit. A plurality of call button units may be provided on the boarding floor, in which case,
Some of the units may be shared by multiple elevator cars. The call button unit 14 has landing call buttons 16 for up and down calls and an illuminable ring 18 formed around the buttons. The illuminable ring indicates the status of the landing call button and thus acts as the indicator light. Further, the call button unit 14 includes a device for transmitting and receiving signals and a display control means for a ring that can be illuminated. These units 14 are connected to the elevator control unit 12 via a serial bus 20.

In the solution according to the invention, when the elevator is used under operator control, the operation of the device is as follows. When a landing call is made, the indicator light 18 of the landing call button 16 is turned on to indicate that the call has been accepted by the group controller. The group controller of the elevator control unit 12 does not automatically assign this call to an elevator, but proposes the call to all elevators under operator operation. As a result of the landing call, a sound signal is output via the loudspeaker 8 of the car panel 2 to inform the operator that a landing call has been input. The indicator light 6 of the call button 4 on the floor where the landing call was made starts blinking at the same time. These sound and light signals are output on all cars in use. When one of the operators who can respond to the landing call presses the call button on that floor in the car, as a result, the indicator light of the call button 4 is lit as after a normal car call. At the same time, the group controller of the control unit 12 sends a command and turns off the flashing indicator light for the landing call in all other cars.

When the operator makes a car call to the floor on which the landing call has been made, the indicator light 18 on that floor is blinked, for example, to notify the passenger that the passenger's call will be processed.

The use of lights of various colors in the indicator light 6 of the car call button 4 and the indicator light 18 of the landing call button 16 instead of flashing light to indicate the call that has occurred and the call to be processed. Is possible. Different colors of traffic lights may be used to indicate the ascending and descending directions, respectively, or the up and down landing calls may be conveniently indicated by illuminating the upper or lower half of the illuminable ring. .
The implementation of the call buttons 4 and 16, and their indicator lights, may vary according to techniques known to those skilled in the art.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can be switched to manual operation by entering control instructions into the elevator control unit 12. This is carried out, for example, from the operating panel of the elevator control unit or by means of key switches or the like provided on the car panel or on the floor structure. When there is no operator operation,
The elevator operates as usual. In this case, when a landing call is made, the indicator light 18 on the landing call button 16 is illuminated to notify passengers waiting for the elevator that the call has been accepted and that this call will be handled by one of the elevators. Inform. The group controller assigns the call to the optimal elevator according to the criteria used. When the selected elevator decelerates to stop at the called floor, the indicator light is turned off. Similarly, the car button indicator light 6 is turned on by the car call issued by the passenger, and the indicator light is turned off when the elevator reaches the target floor.

The invention has been described above with reference to one embodiment. However, the description is not intended to limit the invention, which may vary within the scope indicated by the claims. For example, call buttons and their indicator lights can be implemented in various ways.

[0015]

According to the solution of the present invention, the operator
Always have real-time information about the landing calls that have occurred and have not been reset. Also, the operator can immediately know when the call has been reset by someone else, for example, an operator of another car. Passengers waiting at the landing can know when the elevator controller or operator has answered the call made by that passenger. There is no need to provide a voice communication link since there is a sufficient data transmission link between the elevator car and the floor. The improved transmission of information avoids unnecessary stopping of the car on the floor when the car is already full. As a result, since there is no unnecessary stop, the carrying capacity of the elevator can be more effectively used. Passengers, on the other hand, are more informed about how their landing calls will be processed, so they can wait with confidence.

A method and apparatus for accomplishing the above is
For example, when data transmission is performed using serial communication, and when a processor for controlling an elevator is provided in a call button device, it can be easily used in an existing elevator. No additional wires are required for this solution. The same call button is used both during construction and during service, and only the programming is changed appropriately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an elevator landing call and car call apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 elevator car 2 display and switch panel 3 elevator shaft 4 car call button 5 getting on and off floor 6,18 indicator light 8 loudspeaker 10,20 serial bus 12 control unit 14 call button unit 16 landing call button

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for transmitting call information of an elevator belonging to a group of elevators, the method comprising:
The landing call is input using a landing call button, which is provided on the floor of the entrance and exit and has an indicator light associated with the button.
In a method, which is performed using a car call button having an indicator light, and wherein the elevator can be switched to an operator operating mode, the method comprises the steps of: signaling a car panel signaling device and / or an indicator light of a car call button in a different car. Indicating that a landing call has been entered and that the landing call has been reset using the car call button;
The method for transmitting call information of an elevator, characterized by changing the display state of the indicator light of the car call button and extinguishing the indicator lights relating to the corresponding floor in other cars. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when a landing call is input, the indicator light of the car call button flashes, and after the operator resets the call, the operation of the car call button is stopped. A transmission method characterized by continuously turning on an indicator light. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein when a call is entered, the indicator light on the landing call button is illuminated in a first manner, and after the operator resets the call, the landing is performed. A transmission method, wherein the indicator light of a call button is turned on by a second method. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the direction of the landing call is indicated using different indicators of the car call button. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the input of the landing call and the resetting of the landing call are indicated by different colored indicators on the car call button. 6. A transmission device for transmitting call information of an elevator belonging to an elevator group, wherein a landing call button for inputting a landing call is provided at the entrance / exit floor,
A car is provided with a car call button for inputting a car call, the call buttons are provided with an indicator light, and the device capable of switching the elevator to an operator operation mode includes the following: A device may be provided to indicate that a landing call has been entered using the signaling device in the car and the indicator light of the car call button, the landing call being reset by the car call button, An elevator call information transmitting device, wherein a display state of an indicator light of the car call button is changed and an indicator light relating to a corresponding entrance / exit floor of another car is turned off. 7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when a landing call is input, the indicator light of the car call button flashes, and the indicator light of the car call button is reset by resetting the call by an operator. A transmission device characterized by being continuously lit. 8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the indicator light of the landing call button can be turned on when a call is input, and the landing call button is reset by resetting the call by an operator. A transmission device characterized by blinking an indicator light. 9. The transmission device according to claim 6, wherein the direction of the landing call can be indicated by using different colored indicator lights of the car call button. 10. The transmission device according to claim 6, wherein the input of the landing call and the reset of the landing call can be indicated by different colored indicators on the car call button.