JPH04327474A - Elevator hall annunciator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the elevator service by dividing several indicator lamps for informing of a number of an elevator cage on arrival, into a plurality of blocks which can be individually turned on and off under control, and by increasing and decreasing the number of turned-on blocks in accordance with an estimated time length until arrival. CONSTITUTION:Indicator lamps 21, 22 through 29, 2a in each elevator floor hall are divided into a plurality blocks (a through d) (both upward and downward directions). When either one hall call buttons 11, 12 through 1a is depressed, a signal therefrom is inputted to an input control section 1b which computes an estimated arrival time with reference to a data storage section 1c in which elevator call position data, cage call condition data and hall call data are stored, in accordance with a registered hall call so as to determine the number of a suitable elevator cage. The number of the blocks (for example 24) of indicator lamps in an elevator floor hall from which the signal is issued, are controlled in accordance with the estimated waiting time length for the allocated elevator cage so as to inform the user of the waiting time length. Accordingly, the user's irritation can be eliminated.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Purpose of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an elevator platform notification device.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an elevator landing notification device that uses an indicator light (hall lantern) to notify the landing call allocation car number forecast and the car arrival forecast is as follows.
When controlling multiple elevators in a group, the system displays a forecast for the number of the car to be assigned to the platform, and regardless of the elevator control method, displays the arrival of a car when it arrives, and notifies customers waiting at the platform. ing. The shape of a conventional hall lantern used in such an elevator platform notification device is (1) composed of an upper lantern 1U and a lower lantern 1D, as shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b). (2) As shown in (a) and (b) of Figure 6, each of the above lanterns is divided into multiple blocks, 2U and 2D.

0003
In (1) above, the lights are turned on and off at the timing shown in Figure 7, and in (2) above, the lights are turned on and turned off at the timing shown in Figure 8. It is meant to be done.

For example, in (1) above, when the upper lantern 1U lights up to display the allocation forecast,
It starts lighting at timing A, starts blinking at timing E when the assigned car arrives at the landing call floor, and generally, at timing F, when the door is opened after landing and the door is closed after the passenger gets on and off. It turns off the light.

In addition, in (2) above, when block a of the upper lantern 2U lights up to display a forecast, it starts lighting up at timing A, and the assigned car arrives at the hall call floor. . For example, block b lights up at timing B 15 seconds ago, and block b lights up at timing C 10 seconds ago.
Block c lights up at timing D, and block d lights up at timing D five seconds ago. Then, all the blocks start blinking at arrival and landing timing E, and as in (1) above, the lights go out at timing F when the door is opened and the door is closed after the passenger gets on and off, and this is shown in ( a
) to (e).

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such a conventional elevator landing notification device,

0007
(1) Although it is possible to know which car will respond to a hall call, it is not possible to tell from the display how long it will take for the elevator of that car to arrive.

(2) Especially when the waiting time becomes long, such as when the demand for elevators increases, it takes a long time after the forecast is displayed until the next waiting time display block lights up.

For example, if the arrival waiting time is one minute or more, in the conventional system described above, A of FIG.
~The problem is that the section B takes longer than 45 seconds, and from the perspective of the passengers waiting at the landing, it appears as if the elevator has stopped somewhere, which makes the waiting passengers at the landing irritable in both cases. There was a point.

The present invention has been made in view of these conventional problems, and it notifies passengers waiting at the hall of changes in predicted waiting time by increasing or decreasing the area of the lit part of the hall lantern, thereby alleviating the irritation of waiting passengers. An object of the present invention is to provide an elevator hall notification device that can alleviate the problem. [Structure of the invention]

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention notifies users waiting at the hall of the elevator number that will respond to a hall call, and also installs an indicator light on each floor to notify the arrival of the elevator that has responded to the hall call. In an elevator hall notification device installed in a hall, the indicator light is divided into a plurality of blocks that can be individually controlled to turn on and off, and in response to a hall call, the assigned elevator is assigned to the floor where the hall call occurs. In addition to the lighting control means for increasing or decreasing the number of blocks to be lit by the indicator light according to the length of the predicted arrival time required for the arrival, a plurality of lighting control means are provided for controlling the number of blocks to be lit according to the length of the predicted arrival time. A means for switching according to a pattern is provided.

0012

[Operation] In the elevator landing notification device of the present invention, the entire indicator light of each floor landing is divided into a plurality of blocks, and each divided section is configured to be turned on and off independently, and each block is controlled to turn on and off. This is done by selecting the lighting control means based on the length of the predicted waiting time based on the calculation result of the waiting time for the relevant hall call, and increasing or decreasing the number of blocks to be lit. Not only does it notify the length of the elevator car, but it also alerts you to the approach of the elevator car.

[0013]

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, in which a plurality of elevators whose operation is controlled by group management control ascend and descend ten floors of a building.

Therefore, each elevator is generally controlled by the group management control device, and it is determined from the result of the arrival prediction calculation of each elevator which car should respond to a hall call that occurs on a given floor. The most suitable car is assigned to the hall call, and each car is equipped with a single control device that responds to its own car call and controls acceleration, deceleration, landing, etc. when arriving at the destination floor. Various types of group management control have been proposed in the past, and it is possible to use any of them.

[0016] A feature of the embodiment of the present invention is that when an actual boarding occurs, if any car is assigned to the hall call, the assigned car arrives at the hall call registration floor. Depending on how long or short the predicted arrival time is expected to be, the lighting control of the indicator lamps will be determined.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a hall notification device used to control the lighting of such indicator lights, and shows hall call buttons 11, 12, . Each car is provided with indicator lights (hall lanterns) 21, 22, . . . , 2a installed near the car.

[0018] Also, each hall call button 11, 12,...,
An input control unit 1b that inputs the hall call signal when any of the buttons 1a is pressed;
It is equipped with a data storage unit 1c that stores, as a table, position information of each car, car call status information, and hall call status information that may occur on other floors.

Furthermore, based on the data in the data storage section 1c, the predicted arrival time of each elevator is calculated to determine which elevator is best to be assigned to the hall call signal from the input control section 1b. A waiting time calculation unit 1d that determines the assigned car by judging the size and also outputs the predicted waiting time, and this waiting time calculation unit 1d.
Based on the predicted waiting time calculated by First indicator light control section 1f and second indicator light control section 1g
It is equipped with As shown in FIG. 6, each of the indicator lights 21, 22, ... 2a is divided into a plurality of blocks in both the up-side display section 2U and the down-side display section 2D, and in this embodiment, each is divided into four stages. The blocks a, b, c, and d in each stage are individually turned on and off by the first indicator light control section 1f or the second indicator light control section 1g. Next, the operation of the elevator platform notification device having the above configuration will be explained.

As shown in the timing chart of FIG. 8 and the flowchart of FIG. 2, when a hall call occurs on a certain floor, it is determined whether the own car is the elevator that responds to the hall call, and the own car is assigned as the responding car. If so (step S1), then the predicted arrival time for that hall call (for the users of the hall call floor, this is the predicted waiting time) is calculated (step S2). This waiting time calculation method is a generally well-known method.
Calculations are performed based on data stored in the data storage unit 1c, such as predicted car calls. Next, step S3
In step S2, the process is distributed to the next process depending on the predicted waiting time obtained in step S2. In this example, the indicator lights are divided into four blocks, so the predicted waiting time T is: (1) T>15 seconds (2) 15 seconds≧T>10 seconds (3) 10 seconds≧T>5 seconds ( 4) Control is divided into four cases where 5 seconds≧T. Of course, if the block is divided into four or more blocks, this control is performed in stages according to the number of divisions.

[0021] If T exceeds 15 seconds, step S4
At , part a is turned on, and parts b and c are turned off. That is, in FIG. 8, only part a is turned on, as in the period from hall call generation point A to point B. If T is 15 seconds or less and up to 10 seconds (2), that is, during the period from point B to point C in FIG. 8, portions a and b are turned on and portion c is turned off in step S5. Furthermore, when T is 10 seconds or less, that is, during the period from point C to point D in FIG.
In the case (4) of less than a second, that is, during the period from point D to point E in FIG. 8, all portions a, b, c, and d are lit. In this way, in response to a hall call, the waiting time can be reduced by increasing or decreasing the number of lighting blocks of blocks a, b, c, and d, which are divided into a plurality of indicator lights, according to the predicted waiting time required to respond to the hall call. Let customers know.

Next, in step S8, it is determined whether or not the car has landed on that floor, and if it has landed, the process proceeds to step S8.
In steps 9 and 10, after landing on the bed, the door is opened, and then the indicator light is blinked until the user finishes getting on and off and the door is closed (in the period from point E to point F in FIG. 8). After landing on the floor, when the passenger finishes getting on and off the vehicle and the door is closed, the lighting of the indicator light is reset as in step S11. In addition,
If the own car is not assigned to the hall call, in step S12, the indicator light of the own car is turned off and a flashing reset is commanded. The above is the first example shown in Figure 1.
This operation is handled by the indicator light control unit 1f, and is based on conventional technology.

On the other hand, the second indicator light control 1g in FIG.
As shown in the timing chart of FIG. 8 and the flowchart of FIG. 3, when a hall call occurs on a certain floor,
It is determined whether the own car is the elevator that responds to the hall call, and if the own car is assigned as the responding car (step S1), then the predicted arrival time for the hall call (for the users of the hall call floor) is determined. is the predicted waiting time) (step S2). This waiting time calculation method is a generally well-known method that uses data stored in the data storage unit 1c, such as the landing call floor to be answered, the car position, direction, speed, and predicted car call of the own car. Calculated based on.

Next, in step S30, step S
Using the initial value of the predicted waiting time obtained in step 2 and the number of divided blocks of indicator lights, the lighting timing of each indicator light block is determined using the following formula. Here, x in equation (1) is an example where the time during which the final block d lights up is fixed between points D and E in FIG. 8, and when it is not fixed, it is calculated as follows.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the indicator light is divided into four parts.
Since it is a block, by substituting it into equation (1), the block switching interval is (initial value of predicted waiting time - 5 seconds)
/(4-1), and for example, if the predicted waiting time is 1 minute, the value is 18 seconds, and step S4
In step S5, part a lights up immediately after allocation occurs. In step S5, part a lights up 18 seconds later. In step S6, part c lights up because part b lights up. 1
Eight seconds later, in step S7, portion d is turned on 18 seconds after portion c is turned on. In other words, points A to B, points B to C, and points C to D in FIG. 8 are all divided by equal time.

[0026] Next, in step S8, it is determined whether the car has landed on the floor, and if it has landed on the floor, the door is opened after landing in steps S9 to 10, and then the user finishes getting on and off. , the indicator light blinks until the door is completely closed (in the period from point E to point F in FIG. 8). After landing on the floor, when the passenger finishes getting on and off the vehicle and the door is closed, the lighting of the indicator light is reset as in step S11. If the own car is not assigned to the hall call, in step S12, the indicator light of the own car is turned off and a flashing reset is commanded. Here, comparing two cases of predicted waiting time of 1 minute and 30 seconds, (1) Case of predicted waiting time of 1 minute (1-1) First indicator light control unit 1f in FIG. 45 seconds from point A to point B, 5 seconds from point B to point C,
It takes 5 seconds from point C to point D, and 5 seconds from point D to point E. (1-2) Second indicator light control unit 1g (a) In the case of formula (1), points A to B in FIG. 8 are 18 seconds, points B to C are 18 seconds, and points C to D are 18 seconds, and 5 seconds from point D to point E. (b), in the case of formula (2), it takes 15 seconds for points A to B in Figure 8, 15 seconds for points B to C, 15 seconds for points C to D, and 15 seconds for points D to E in Figure 8. . (2) When the predicted waiting time is 30 seconds (2-1) First indicator light control unit 1f In FIG. 8, points A to B are 15 seconds, points B to C are 5 seconds,
It takes 5 seconds from point C to point D, and 5 seconds from point D to point E. (2-2) Second indicator light control unit 1g (a) In the case of formula (1), points A to B in FIG. 8 are 8 seconds, points B to C are 8 seconds, and C
It takes 8 seconds from point D to point D, and 5 seconds from point D to E. (b), in the case of equation (2), points A to B in FIG. 8 are 7.5 seconds, and points B to C are 7.5 seconds.
5 seconds, 7.5 seconds from point C to point D, and 7.5 seconds from point D to E.

Therefore, as described above, these two indicator light control sections have their own merits and disadvantages, and the former first indicator light control section 1f is effective when the predicted waiting time is short. However, when the waiting time is long, it takes time from when the a block lights up until the next b block lights up, and the latter second indicator light control section 1g is not effective when the predicted waiting time is long. However, when the time is short, the display interval time for each block is different each time, making it difficult for waiting customers to predict arrival times.

For this reason, the display switching section 1e shown in FIG. 1 receives the predicted waiting time from the waiting time calculation section 1d, switches the indicator light control section depending on the degree of the length, and calculates only the merits of each indicator light control section. bring out.

For example, if the predicted waiting time is one minute or more, the second indicator light control unit 1g controls the arrival notification lights 21 to 2a, and if it is less than one minute, the first indicator light control unit controls the arrival notification lights 21 to 2a. 1f
The arrival notification lights 21 to 2a are controlled by the controller.

[0030] In this way, when an elevator of a certain number is assigned in response to a hall call and runs to the floor registered for the hall call, the indicator light blocks are set according to the expected length of time required for arrival. By increasing or decreasing the number of waiting times, it is possible to notify customers of the waiting time and reduce customer irritation. In addition, when responding to a car call,
As before, the indicator light will flash when the aircraft lands on the floor.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the indicator lights 21, 2
2,..., 2a are triangular, but the shape of this indicator light is not particularly limited, and as shown in FIG. ,c,
It may be possible to display the image by dividing it by d.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, in order to inform passengers waiting at the landing that the waiting time changes depending on the increase or decrease in demand for the elevator, the lighting mode of the indicator light for notifying the arrival of the elevator at the landing is changed. Since the waiting time is changed according to the predicted waiting time, it is less irritating to the passengers waiting at the boarding point than if they were made to wait for a long time without informing them. Since the lighting mode can be selected based on the lighting conditions, it is possible to provide reliable and accurate notifications, making it possible to provide elevators that better meet user needs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an elevator platform notification device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the landing notification device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the landing notification device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing lighting states of indicator lights in the landing notification device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an indicator light in a conventional landing notification device.

6 is a perspective view of an indicator light in the landing notification device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a time chart diagram showing the lighting operation of a conventional indicator lamp.

FIG. 8 is a time chart diagram showing the lighting operation of the indicator light shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1a...Passport call button 1b...Input control section 1c...Data storage section 1d...Waiting time calculation section 1e...Display switching section 1f...first indicator light control section 1g...Second indicator light control section 2a...Arrival notification light

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: An elevator hall notification system that provides a forecast to users of the hall of the elevator number that will respond to a hall call, and is equipped with an indicator light at each floor landing that notifies the arrival of the elevator number that has responded to the hall call. In the device, the indicator light is divided into a plurality of blocks that can be individually controlled to turn on and off, and has a plurality of display patterns, and the elevator number assigned in response to a hall call arrives at the floor where the hall call occurs. a plurality of lighting control means for increasing or decreasing the number of blocks to be lit by the indicator light according to the length of the predicted arrival time required for the arrival time; and switching the plurality of display patterns according to the degree of length of the predicted diameter arrival time. An elevator landing notification device having means.