CN109704162B - Service switching system and service switching method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a service switching system and a service switching method, which can switch to an optimal substitute device according to the situation even if the device of an elevator system is out of operation. A service switching system (10) is provided with: an operable service calculation unit (111) that, when a failure has occurred in the elevator (11), determines whether or not operation can be performed by the current equipment of the elevator (11) for each service listed in the service list (103); a service switching calculation unit (112) that selects an optimal substitute device corresponding to the failure from the substitute devices described in the substitute device list (104) for the service determined to be inoperable by the operable service calculation unit (111); and a substitute device switching unit (120) that switches the device of the elevator (11) to the substitute device selected by the service switching calculation unit (112), thereby restoring or continuing the service that was determined to be inoperable.

Description

Service switching system and service switching method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a service switching system and a service switching method, and is suitable for use in a service switching system and a service switching method in response to an obstacle in an elevator system.

Background

Conventionally, when a failure of a device or the like occurs in an elevator system, the failure is detected by a diagnostic function provided in software or hardware. When it is determined that the failure is a minor failure, the system operation is continued as it is, and a maintenance worker repairs the failure when the failure arrives for inspection or the like. On the other hand, if it is determined that the failure is serious, the operation of the system is immediately stopped, and therefore, the service cannot be restarted until the repair is completed by the serviceman, and the availability of the elevator system is reduced. Therefore, in particular, in equipment related to safety of an elevator, improvement in usability of a system is often achieved by highly reliable and multiplexed components themselves.

For example, a failure recovery device for an elevator disclosed in patent document 1 diagnoses a cause of a failure when the elevator has failed, and executes a failure recovery process when the failure is a minor failure that can be handled, thereby enabling service of the elevator system to be recovered without waiting for repair work by a serviceman.

In addition, conventionally, when a part of services in an elevator system is stopped due to a failure of equipment or the like, if the situation is normal, the failure is notified to a control center, and the services are resumed after a serviceman repairs the failure. Here, as multiplexing for improving the usability, it is also conceivable to connect a substitute device prepared in an elevator or a building or a virtual device having a substitute function via a network in advance, and to switch to these devices in the event of a failure, thereby enabling a service to be restored in a short time.

Prior art documents

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. 6-305650

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in the case of the failure recovery apparatus of patent document 1, recoverable failures are limited to failures that can be dealt with by a failure recovery function provided in advance in the system, and therefore, sustainable services are limited.

Further, as described above, even when a substitute device or a virtual device is prepared as a multiplexing device for improving usability and is switched to such a device at the time of a failure, it is necessary to select an appropriate substitute target device in consideration of performance difference with a device which is originally operated, performance requirements required for service operation, and a situation in an elevator or a building, and its implementation is not easy. For example, in the failure recovery device of patent document 1, judgment according to such a situation is not taken into consideration, and the effect of improving the usability of the system is limited.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a service switching system and a service switching method that can switch to an optimal substitute device according to a situation even when a device of an elevator system becomes inoperable.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a service switching system capable of switching between control devices and services of elevators installed in a building, the service switching system including: a service list which records services to be run by the elevator; a substitute device list in which a substitute device that is a device capable of controlling a control device required for operation of a substitute service and that is connected to the service switching system via a network is described; an operable service calculation unit that, when a failure occurs in the elevator, determines whether or not the elevator can be operated by the current equipment for each service listed in the service list; a service switching calculation unit that selects an optimal slave device corresponding to the failure from among the slave devices described in the slave device list for the service determined by the operable service calculation unit to be inoperable; and a substitute device switching unit that switches the device of the elevator to the substitute device selected by the service switching calculation unit, thereby restoring or continuing the service determined to be inoperable.

In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a service switching method performed by a service switching system capable of switching between control devices and services of elevators installed in a building. Here, the service switching system includes: a service list which records services to be run by the elevator; and a substitute device list in which a substitute device that is capable of being used as a control device required for operation of the substitute service and is connected to the service switching system via a network is described. The service switching method is further characterized by comprising the following steps: an operable service calculation step of, when a failure occurs in the elevator, determining whether or not operation can be performed by the current equipment of the elevator for each service set in the service list; a service switching calculation step of selecting an optimal substitute device corresponding to the failure from the substitute devices described in the substitute device list for the service determined to be inoperable in the operable service calculation step; and a substitute device switching step of switching the device of the elevator to the substitute device selected in the service switching calculation step, thereby restoring or continuing the service determined as being inoperable.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, even when the equipment of the elevator system becomes inoperable, the equipment can be switched to the optimum substitute equipment according to the situation, thereby improving the usability of the elevator system.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a service switching system according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an example of the hardware configuration of the service switching system shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the service list.

Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the proxy device list.

Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of the service performance requirement table.

Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of the special case list.

Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of building structure information.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of the switching device list.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the handover control processing.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the device operation availability update processing.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the non-sustainable service determination process.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the service restoration processing.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the service restoration processing in the special case.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the service restoration processing in the normal state.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the substitute apparatus switching process.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the service information notification processing.

Fig. 17 is a diagram for explaining an example of the operation information display unit.

Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining an example of a service list used in the second embodiment.

Fig. 19 is a diagram for explaining an example of status information used in the second embodiment.

Fig. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the service restoration processing in the second embodiment.

Description of reference numerals:

1 building

2 adjacent building

3 control center

4 cloud server

5 network

10 service switching system

11 Elevator

12 groups of management devices

13 failure detection device

14 status analysis device

20 treatment device

21 CPU

22 memory

23 storage device

24-picture interface

25 network

101 device operational information

102. 202 status information

103. 203 service list

104 list of devices to be taken over by the owner

105 service performance requirement table

106 list of special conditions

107 building structure information

108 list of switching devices

110 switching control calculating part

111 operational service calculation part

112 service switching calculation section

120 equipment switching unit of riding instead of walk

130 operate the information display section.

Detailed Description

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(1) First embodiment

A service switching system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a service switching system according to a first embodiment.

As shown in fig. 1, a service switching system 10 according to the first embodiment is installed in a building 1 to which a plurality of elevators 11 are installed as application targets. In addition to the service switching system 10 and the plurality of elevators 11, a group management device 12, a failure detection device 13, and a situation analysis device 14 are also communicably connected via a network in the building 1.

The service switching system 10 is a system capable of switching between a service and a control device related to an elevator 11 when a failure occurs in the control device of the elevator 11 or when the situation in the building 1 changes. As shown in fig. 1, the service switching system 10 includes a switching control calculation unit 110 (operable service calculation unit 111 and service switching calculation unit 112), a substitute device switching unit 120, and an operation information display unit 130. The service switching system 10 includes a service list 103, a proxy device list 104, a service performance requirement table 105, a special situation list 106, building structure information 107, and a switching device list 108 as information necessary for the above-described respective units of the service switching system 10 to execute processing. Details of these pieces of information will be described later with reference to fig. 3 to 8.

Among the above-described respective components included in the service switching system 10, the operable service calculation unit 111 of the switching control calculation unit 110 calculates whether each service indicated in the service list 103 can be operated by the current device, with reference to the device operation information 101 and the substitute device list 104 notified from the failure detection device 13, in a situation where there is a possibility that the service or control related to the elevator 11 is continuously performed, such as when a failure occurs in a device (control device) of the elevator 11 or when there is a predetermined change in the situation inside the building 1.

The service switching calculation unit 112 of the switching control calculation unit 110 refers to the device operation information 101, the substitute device list 104, the service performance requirement table 105, the special situation list 106, and the situation information 102 notified from the situation analysis device 14 for the service determined to be inoperable by the operable service calculation unit 111, and performs calculation of a substitute destination of the device for continuing the service, an instruction for switching the service, and the like.

The substitute device switching unit 120 switches the process to the device of the substitute target and restores the service based on the switching device list 108 generated by the switching control calculation unit 110 (service switching calculation unit 112). The agent switching unit 120 transmits building configuration information 107 necessary for the post-switching process agent to the agent.

The operation information display unit 130 displays operation information of the final service after the switching by the proxy switching unit 120 to the user.

The details of the processing performed by each unit described above included in the service switching system 10 will be described later with reference to fig. 9 to 17.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an example of the hardware configuration of the service switching system shown in fig. 1. As shown in fig. 2, the Processing device 20 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a memory 22, a storage device 23, and a screen interface 24, and these components are connected to the outside of the service switching system 10 via a network 25. The processing device 20 is a computer such as a personal computer or a server, for example, and the service switching system 10 shown in fig. 1 is configured by one or more processing devices 20.

In the service switching system 10 (one or more processing devices 20), the CPU21 reads out and executes a program stored in the storage device 23 to the memory 22, thereby realizing processing by the switching control calculation unit 110 and the substitute device switching unit 120. For example, the processing by the switching control calculation unit 110 is executed by one or more programs in the CPU 21. The CPU21 controls display output on the screen interface 24 to display predetermined information on the operation information display unit 130. In addition, various information (a service list 103, a proxy device list 104, a service performance requirement table 105, a special situation list 106, building structure information 107, and a switching device list 108) used by the service switching system 10 is stored in the memory 22 or the storage device 23.

The elevator 11 is provided with a plurality of control devices (referred to as a device a-1 and a device B-1, … … as device names) for controlling the operation of each elevator. The installation place of the control device is not limited to the individual elevators 11, and for example, as shown in fig. 1, a group management device 12 (referred to as a device name, device C-1) or the like that controls the operation of a plurality of elevators 11 in order to improve the operation efficiency of each elevator 11 may be provided as a control device common to the elevators 11.

The failure detection device 13 is a device that diagnoses a failure of the control devices (device a-1, device B-1, … …, and device C-1) of the elevator 11, and notifies the service switching system 10 of a diagnosis result showing the current operating conditions of each control device as the equipment operating information 101.

The status analysis device 14 is configured by various sensors and processing devices, analyzes the status in the building 1, and notifies the service switching system 10 of the analysis result showing the current status as status information 102. Specifically, the situation analysis device 14 includes, for example, a monitoring camera and an image processing device, and calculates the degree of congestion of an elevator hall in the building 1 or detects the situation of a person in an elevator car.

As shown in fig. 1, each structure in the building 1 is also communicably connected to the outside of the building 1, specifically, for example, the adjacent building 2, the control center 3, and the cloud server 4 via the network 5.

In the adjacent building 2, a control device (for example, device a-2) is provided as in the building 1. The control center 3 is an external base for uniformly controlling each building (building 1 and adjacent building 2), collects operation information from each building (building 1 and adjacent building 2), and notifies a serviceman when a serious failure occurs, such as failure in service recovery.

The cloud server 4 is a server having a plurality of virtualized devices (virtual devices) corresponding to devices (for example, device a-1, device B-1, … …, and device C-1) in the building 1. When a failure occurs in a device in the building 1, the service switching system 10 selects a virtual device as a proxy device for the failed device, and the cloud server 4 starts the virtual device and switches the processing, or always operates the virtual device in advance and immediately switches the processing. In this example, the devices a-C and B-C are always operated.

Next, details of information necessary for the service switching system 10 to execute the processing will be described in detail with reference to specific examples.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the service list. The service list 103 is a list in which services operating in the building 1 are listed, and information on the priority order and operating status of these services is recorded, and fig. 3 shows a specific example of the service list 103.

The service list 103 illustrated in fig. 3 is stored in the form of a table, and one service is aggregated in units of rows. More specifically, for each service, a priority 103a indicating the priority of the operation of the service, a service type 103b indicating the type of the service, an intra-service priority 103c indicating the priority of the operation of the service within the same type of service, a continuation availability 103d indicating whether or not the operation of the service can be continued, an operation status 103e indicating the operation status of the service, and an in-use device 103f indicating a device used for the service are recorded.

In the service list 103 shown in fig. 3, the type of service is shown in service type 103b with a shorthand notation. Specifically, for example, "Sa" refers to a group management service, "Sb" refers to a rescue operation service, and "Sc" refers to a normal operation service.

Note that, in the service type 103b, the same information may be described in a plurality of lines (for example, in the case of fig. 3, all the service types 103b in the first line, the second line, and the fourth line of data are "Sa"), but even for services of the same service type 103b, the intra-service priority order 103c is different, and therefore, each service can be uniquely identified. Here, the intra-service priority order 103c may be given a different value depending on, for example, the method of implementing the group management service. Specifically, the in-service priority order 103C may be set to "1" for services operated by a dedicated group management device (e.g., device C-1), and the in-service priority order 103C may be set to "2" for services operated by communication between control devices (e.g., device a-1 and device B-1) in the elevator 11.

That is, in the service list 103, the service type 103b and the intra-service priority 103c are put together and prioritized for the services operating in the building 1, and the priority 103a is determined.

In addition, in the continuation permission 103d, the possibility of continuation of the operation is indicated by "possible" or "impossible" based on the operation information based on a failure of the device or the like. In the operation status 103e, an operation status indicating whether or not the target service (the service in the same row in fig. 3) is currently operating is indicated by "on (operating)" or "off (non-operating)". The in-use device 103f is an item recorded when the operation status 103e is "on", and records which device is actually used for the target service.

In the above service list 103, the priority 103a, the service type 103b, and the in-service priority 103c are static items provided (determined) in advance by an elevator manager or the like. On the other hand, the continuation permission 103d, the operation status 103e, and the in-use facility 103f are dynamic items edited (updated) by the operable service calculating unit 111.

Fig. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the proxy device list. The substitute device list 104 is information in which a list of devices (substitute devices) connected to the network that can be handled in place of the devices existing in the building 1 and their capabilities are recorded. In the substitute device list 104, devices in the building 1 connected to the network can be recorded as substitute devices.

The list of representative devices 104 illustrated in fig. 4 is stored in the form of a table, aggregating information about the respective representative devices. Specifically, the device type 104a indicating the type of the substitute device, the device number 104b for specifying the substitute device, the location 104c indicating the installation location of the substitute device, the availability 104d indicating the availability of the substitute device, the availability 104e indicating the availability of the substitute device, and the performance 104f indicating the performance of the substitute device are recorded for each of the substitute devices.

In the subsidiary device list 104 shown in fig. 4, since there are usually a plurality of candidates for the subsidiary devices according to the type of the device (device type 104a), by subdividing the device number 104b, it is possible to uniquely identify each of the subsidiary devices even for the same device type 104 a. Specifically, for example, in the substitute equipment on the first row of the data in fig. 4, the equipment type 104a is "device a" and the equipment number 104b is "1", and therefore, this substitute equipment is represented by "device a-1" of the elevator 11 in fig. 1. Similarly, the proxy device of the second row of data of fig. 4 is "device a-C" of the cloud server 4 in fig. 1, and the proxy device of the third row of data of fig. 4 is "device B-1" of the elevator 11 in fig. 1.

In addition, the IP address of the subject's proxy device is shown in the place 104 c. In addition, in the availability 104d, whether or not the proxy apparatus of the object is currently available is shown as "able" or "unable". The device is disabled when the substitute device cannot be used due to a failure or the like. In addition, in the use condition 104e, it is recorded whether the proxy apparatus of the subject is currently in use. Specifically, in the service list 103 illustrated in fig. 3, "on (in use)" is set when the target substitute device is recorded in the in-use device 103f, and "off (not in use)" is set when the target substitute device is not recorded in the in-use device 103 f. The performance 104f describes various performances related to the target slave, and fig. 4 shows, as an example, a delay of a network, communication quality, a start time of the slave, processing performance, and the like.

In the above-described proxy device list 104, the device type 104a, the device number 104b, the location 104c, and the performance 104f are static items provided (determined) in advance by an elevator manager or the like. On the other hand, the availability 104d and the usage status 104e are dynamic items edited (updated) by the executable service calculating unit 111.

Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of the service performance requirement table. The service performance requirement table 105 is information recorded in association with devices and performance requirements required for each service shown in the service list 103.

The service performance requirement table 105 illustrated in fig. 5 is stored in a table form, and each service listed in the service list 103 is classified by service type, and information necessary for each service is shown in association with each other. Specifically, for each service, a service type 105a indicating the type of the service, an in-service priority order 105b indicating the priority order of operation of the service within the same type of service, a device type 105c indicating the type of a device necessary for operating the service, and a performance requirement 105d required for the service (or the device) are recorded.

In the service performance requirement table 105 shown in fig. 5, information on the service type 103b and the intra-service priority 103c in the service list 103 (fig. 3) of the target service is described in the service type 105a and the intra-service priority 105 b.

The device type 105c describes the device type of a device (component device) required to execute the target service, and one or more device types are described for one service. For example, in fig. 5, in a service (in this case, referred to as a service "Sb-1") determined by the service type 105a "Sb" and the intra-service priority order 105B "1", a case where the device a and the device B are used for operation is shown. In service "Sb-2" having a lower priority than service "Sb-1", the case where only device B is used is shown.

In the performance requirement 105d, the same items as the performances 104f in the substitute equipment list 104 (fig. 4) are prepared, and the performances required for the constituent equipment to run the target service are expressed in terms of conditions in each item. All items indicated by the capability 104f of the substitute device list 104 (fig. 4) may not be described in the capability requirement 105d of the service capability requirement table 105 (fig. 5).

In the service performance requirement table 105 described above, each item (the service type 105a, the in-service priority order 105b, the device type 105c, and the performance requirement 105d) is a static item provided (determined) in advance by an elevator manager or the like.

Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of the special case list. The special situation list 106 is information describing an index or the like for evaluating the performance of the passage device with respect to a special situation (for example, "passengers are trapped" or "hall congestion" or the like) that may occur in the building 1 (particularly, the elevator system).

The special situation list 106 illustrated in fig. 6 is stored in the form of a table, and summarizes information related to the restoration of services in a special situation (special situation) that may occur in the building 1. Specifically, the special situations include a special situation 106a indicating the outline of the special situation, a service 106b indicating a service affected by the special situation, an equipment type 106c indicating the equipment type of the equipment (substitute equipment) required to operate the service, a priority value evaluation function 106d indicating a reference for evaluating the performance required by the substitute equipment, and a lowest priority value 106e indicating the lowest level of the priority values calculated by the evaluation formula described in the priority value evaluation function 106 d.

In the special situation list 106 shown in fig. 6, a service name obtained by combining the service type 103b and the in-service priority 103c (which may be the service type 105a and the in-service priority 105b of the service performance requirement table 105) in the service list 103 is described in the service 106 b. For example, if the service type is "Sa" and the intra-service priority order is "2", the service name is "Sa-2". The device type 106c describes the device type of the substitute device in the same manner as the device type 105c of the service performance requirement table 105 (may be the device type 104a of the substitute device list 104).

The priority value evaluation function 106d describes a calculation formula of a priority value evaluation function for calculating a priority value according to a special situation from performance requirements of the representative device, as a reference for evaluating the performance of the representative target device in the special situation. Specifically, for example, by giving a weight or the like to each performance requirement indicated by the performance requirement 105d of the service performance requirement table 105, such a calculation formula can be set that preferentially evaluates the performance requirement to be emphasized. The lowest priority value 106e describes a threshold value (lowest level) used when determining whether or not the delegate device whose priority value is calculated is suitable as the delegate target device.

In the above special situation list 106, each item (the special situation 106a, the service 106b, the device type 106c, the priority value evaluation function 106d, and the lowest priority value 106e) is a static item provided (determined) in advance by an elevator manager or the like.

The service switching system 10 according to the present embodiment can switch to an optimal slave device in a special situation according to the situation by using such a special situation list 106, which will be described in detail later.

For example, in one of the plurality of elevators 11, when a failure occurs in the control device (equipment), it is considered to make a judgment that the substitute equipment having the same performance is restored after one hour in the case of a normal situation. In such a case, the switching to the substitute device that satisfies the performance requirement 105d of the service performance requirement table 105 may be performed. However, in a special situation where a passenger is trapped in the elevator 11 (the passenger is trapped), it is required to perform a process of preferentially evaluating a specific performance requirement (for example, placing importance on the start time) among the performance requirements 105d of the service performance requirement table 105 and immediately returning the performance requirement.

In order to cope with such a special situation, in the service switching system 10 of the present embodiment, the switching control calculation unit 110 (particularly, the service switching calculation unit 112) performs priority evaluation (calculation of the priority value evaluation function 106d) according to the situation using the special situation list 106, compares the calculation result with the lowest priority value 106e to determine the optimum slave, and the slave switching unit 120 realizes switching to the optimum slave.

Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of building structure information. The building structure information 107 is information in which specification information such as unique information of the building 1 (e.g., the number of floors and the height) and the rated speed of the elevator 11 is recorded. The building structure information 107 is a set of information to be transferred to a substitute device when switching processing of a device in the building 1 to a substitute device installed in an adjacent building 2, the cloud server 4, or the like, and is used by a substitute device switching unit 120 described later.

The building structure information 107 illustrated in fig. 7 is stored in the form of a table, and is composed of a combination of a predetermined item (item 107a) related to the building 1 and a value (value 107b) of each item. Specifically, in the case of fig. 7, as the structural information of the building 1, a case is described in which the hoistway height is "60 m" and the number of floors is "15". Further, as the configuration information of the elevator 11, a case where a motor type indicating a type of hardware (e.g., a motor) used is "M-001", a number of elevators indicating the number of the elevator 11 is "3", and a rated speed indicating a rated speed of the elevator 11 is "120M/min" is described. The item 107a and the value 107b in the building structure information 107 are static items provided (determined) in advance by an elevator manager or the like.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of the switching device list. The switching device list 108 is information in which a proxy device for switching at the time of failure of a device is recorded. The switching device list 108 is composed of temporary data generated as a result of calculation by the switching control calculation unit 110 (the operable service calculation unit 111 and the service switching calculation unit 112), specifically, as illustrated in fig. 8, a combination of a device 108a indicating a device that needs to be activated for continuation or switching of a service and a location 108b indicating a location (for example, an IP address) of the device, which will be described in detail later. The substitute device switching unit 120 is notified of the switching device list 108, and the substitute device switching unit 120 switches the devices based on the recorded content of the switching device list 108.

Next, the process executed by the service switching system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

In the service switching system 10, switching control processing for determining and controlling switching of the service and control devices is performed when a failure occurs in the control device of the elevator 11 or when the situation in the building 1 changes. In the switching control process, the switching control calculation unit 110 (the operable service calculation unit 111 and the service switching calculation unit 112) performs a process for determining whether to switch the service and the control device (a device operation availability update process, a non-sustainable service availability determination process, and the like). Then, the substitute device switching unit 120 executes a process of switching the service and the control apparatus (substitute device switching process) based on the switching device list 108 generated in the switching control process. Further, the switching control calculation unit 110 (particularly, the service switching calculation unit 112) performs a process (service information notification process) of displaying the operation information of the final service after the end of the proxy switching process on the operation information display unit 130 during the switching control process.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the handover control processing. The processing procedure illustrated in fig. 9 shows an outline of the switching control processing, and more detailed processing procedures are illustrated in fig. 10 and thereafter.

The switching control process illustrated in fig. 9 starts the process when, for example, the failure detection device 13 detects a failure of a device in the building 1 or the situation analysis device 14 detects that a predetermined special situation has occurred in the building 1, and transmits a predetermined signal to the service switching system 10. Further, for example, the switching control process may be executed periodically.

When the switching control process is started, first, in step S101, the executable service calculation unit 111 updates the information on the availability of operation of each device (specifically, the availability of use 104d) with respect to the proxy device list 104 (device operation availability update process). The device operation availability update process will be described in detail with reference to fig. 10.

Next, in step S102, the executable service calculation unit 111 checks which service cannot be continued and records the service in the service list 103 (non-continuation service determination processing). Specifically, the service list 103 is updated as to whether it is possible to continue 103d and the operating status 103 e. The non-sustainable service determination processing will be described in detail with reference to fig. 11.

Next, from step S103, the processing of steps S104 to S106 is performed in descending order of priority (priority order 103a in fig. 3) for each service (non-sustainable service) whose sustainability/non-sustainability 103d of the service list 103 becomes "non-sustainable" after the processing of the non-sustainable service determination processing of step S102.

First, in step S104, the service switching calculation unit 112 refers to the service list 103, and checks whether or not a service having a higher priority than the processing target unsustainable service is running. That is, it is determined whether or not the operation status 103e is "on" for a service having the same service type 103b as the non-sustainable service and a higher in-service priority 103c than the non-sustainable service among the services described in the service list 103. If a positive result is obtained in the determination of step S104 (yes in step S104), this means that a service of the same service type as the non-sustainable service to be processed has already been run, and therefore, the process shifts to the process for the next non-sustainable service (non-sustainable service with the second highest priority order) without re-running the service of the same service type, and the process from step S104 is repeated.

On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained in the determination of step S104 (no in step S104), it means that a service of the same service type as the processing target unsustainable service is not yet running, and therefore the service switching calculation unit 112 performs a process (service restoration process) for restoring the service by the proxy apparatus (step S105). The service restoration process will be described in detail with reference to fig. 12 to 14, but the service is restored because the substitute device switching unit 120 performs a process such as switching of the control device (substitute device switching process) as the service restoration process is executed.

After the service resumption process at step S105 is completed, at step S106, the executable service calculating unit 111 re-executes the non-sustainable service determination process similar to step S102. As a result, the operation information (the continuation permission 103d, the operation status 103e, and the device in use 103f) of the service list 103 is updated. When the process of step S106 ends, the process shifts to a process for the next non-sustainable service (non-sustainable service with the second highest priority order), and the processes from step S104 are repeated.

When the processing in steps S104 to S106 is completed for all the unsustainable services, in step S107, the service switching calculation unit 112 performs service information notification processing for displaying the operation information of the final service after the switching (after the resumption) on the operation information display unit 130. The service information notification process will be described in detail with reference to fig. 16. After the process of step S107, the switching control process ends.

Next, detailed processing procedures related to the handover control processing will be described in order.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the device operation availability update processing. As described above, the device operation availability update process is executed by the executable service calculation unit 111.

According to fig. 10, first, the operable service calculation section 111 acquires the apparatus operation information 101 from the failure detection device 13 (step S201). Then, whether or not the currently operating device is operable is checked based on the device operation information 101, and the availability 104d of the substitute device list 104 is set to "available" for the operable device (step S202), and the availability 104d of the substitute device list 104 is changed to "unavailable" for the inoperable device (step S203).

As described above, by performing the device operation availability update processing illustrated in fig. 10, the information on the availability of the operation of the device is updated in the substitute device list 104 (use availability 104 d).

Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the non-sustainable service determination process. As described above, the device operation availability update process is executed by the executable service calculation unit 111.

According to fig. 11, in step S301, the executable service calculation unit 111 starts the following processes of steps S302 to S305 one by one from the top to the bottom in the order of priority 103a for a service whose operation status 103e is "on (in operation)" among the services listed in the service list 103.

First, in step S302, the operable service calculation unit 111 refers to the service list 103, acquires the device used for the service selected in step S301 from the in-use device 103f, and determines whether or not the acquired device is usable. More specifically, the availability 104d of the device is checked with reference to the list 104 of the substitute devices.

Then, in step S303, the operable service calculation section 111 determines whether all the devices used for the service selected in step S301 can be used (that is, whether or not the usability 104d of the proxy device list 104 is "capable") based on the result confirmed in step S302. If all of the devices can be used (yes in step S303), the operable service calculation unit 111 updates the service continuity availability 103d to "possible" in the service list 103 (step S304). On the other hand, if none of the devices used for the service selected in step S301 is usable (the usability 104d is "impossible") (no in step S303), the runnable service calculation unit 111 updates the continuity 103d of the service to "impossible" in the service list 103 and updates the service operation status 103e to "off" (step S305).

When the processing in step S304 or step S305 is completed, the operable service calculation unit 111 selects the next service in operation (that is, the service having the second highest priority after the currently selected service among the services in operation), and repeats the processing from step S302 for the service.

When the processing of steps S302 to S305 is completed for all the running services, the runnable service calculation unit 111 ends the unsustainable service determination processing.

As described above, by performing the non-sustainable service determination process illustrated in fig. 11, the information on the continuity availability of the service (the continuity availability 103d and the operation status 103e) is updated in the service list 103.

Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the service restoration processing. As described above, the service restoration process is executed by the service switching calculation section 112.

According to fig. 12, in step S401, the service switching calculation unit 112 acquires the status information 102 from the status analysis device 14, and compares the current status indicated by the status information 102 with the special status (special status 106a) indicated by the special status list 106. Although a specific example is omitted here, the situation information 102 has at least information that can be compared with the tag value of the special situation 106a for consistency, and is given a tag value such as "passenger is trapped" or "hall is crowded", for example. For example, the status information 102 may be configured in a form in which items obtained by further subdividing the status are set, as in the status information 202 shown in fig. 19 and described in the second embodiment.

Then, in step S402, the service switching calculation unit 112 determines whether or not the current situation is a special situation based on the comparison in step S401.

In the determination in step S402, when the current status matches (coincides with) one of the special statuses 106a (yes in step S402), it means that the current status is "special status", and therefore the service switching calculation unit 112 proceeds to step S403 and performs a service restoration process for the special status (service restoration process in the special status). The details of the service restoration processing in the special case will be described later with reference to fig. 13.

On the other hand, when the current situation does not match (match) any of the special situations 106a in the determination of step S402 (no in step S402), it means that the current situation is a so-called "normal situation", and therefore the service switching calculation unit 112 proceeds to step S404 to perform a service restoration process for the normal situation (a normal-situation service restoration process). Details of the service restoration process in the normal state will be described later with reference to fig. 14.

When the processing in step S403 or step S404 is completed, the service switching calculation unit 112 ends the service resumption processing.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the service restoration processing in the special case. The special case service resumption process is a process executed in the service resumption process (step S403 in fig. 12), and is executed by the service switching calculation unit 112.

Referring to fig. 13, in step S501, the service switching calculation unit 112 starts the following processing of steps S502 to S506 for the service for which recovery is attempted, in accordance with the device type of the constituent device necessary for operating the service (constituent device of the service to be recovered). The device types of the constituent devices of the service to be restored can be acquired from the device type 105c of the service performance requirement table 105.

Specifically, for example, when the special situation is "the passenger is trapped", the service to be restored is "Sa-1", "Sa-2", "Sb-1", … … according to the special situation list 106 of fig. 6. Here, the explanation is continued with the service to be restored being reduced to "Sb-1" for the sake of simplicity, and thus, the device types of the constituent devices of the service "Sb-1" are "device B" and "device a" based on the service performance requirement table 105 of fig. 5. Then, the processing of steps S502 to S506 is performed for each device type of "device B" and "device a".

First, in step S502, the service switching calculation unit 112 refers to the special situation list 106, and acquires a priority value evaluation function (priority value evaluation function 106d) associated with the service to be restored (service 106b) and a group of device types (device types 106c) of the constituent devices of the service.

In the case where the service to be restored is "Sb-1" and the process of step S502 is performed for the device type of "device a", a priority value evaluation function of "e 1 delay + f1 communication quality + … …" is acquired from the special situation list 106 of fig. 6.

Next, in step S503, the service switching calculation unit 112 calculates the priority value by applying each performance value to the priority value evaluation function described above for the representative devices grouped together in the corresponding device type, with reference to the representative device list 104.

To explain using the above-described specific example, according to the substitute equipment list 104 of fig. 4, the substitute equipment grouped in the corresponding equipment type (apparatus a) is the substitute equipment (i.e., apparatus a-1) whose equipment number 104b is "1" and the substitute equipment (i.e., apparatus a-C) whose equipment number 104b is "C". For example, regarding the substitute device "device a-1", the delay "1 ms" and the communication quality "200 m (bps)" are applied to the priority value evaluation function based on the description of the performance 104f to calculate the priority value. In addition, the priority value is calculated similarly for the substitute device "devices a-C".

Then, in step S504, the service switching calculation unit 112 selects, as the candidate of the representative device, the representative device having the highest (largest) priority value from the representative devices having the priority values calculated in step S503.

Next, in step S505, the service switching calculation unit 112 refers to the special situation list 106, and determines whether or not the priority value of the candidate device is equal to or greater than the lowest priority value. More specifically, the comparison may be made with the lowest priority value 106e in the special situation list 106 corresponding to the priority value evaluation function acquired in step S502, and for example, "Z1" is the lowest priority value to be compared in the case of the above-described specific example.

When the priority value of the candidate of the substitute device is equal to or higher than the lowest priority value as a result of the comparison in step S505 (yes in step S505), the service switching calculation unit 112 adds the substitute device selected as the candidate of the substitute device to the switching device list 108 because the criterion for evaluating the performance required of the substitute device is satisfied (step S506).

On the other hand, if the priority value of the candidate device is smaller than the lowest priority value as a result of the comparison in step S505 (no in step S505), the criterion for evaluating the performance required of the slave device is not satisfied, and therefore, the switching to the slave device is abandoned, and the service switching calculation unit 112 performs the process of step S508. In step S508, the recorded contents of the switching device list 108 are cleared, and the special-case service resumption process is ended. Therefore, although the restoration of the service is not performed, even in such a case, the possibility that the service of the same service type whose priority order 103a is set lower than the service can be restored in the service list 103 can be retained by the continued switching control process.

When the processing of step S506 is completed, the service switching calculation unit 112 selects the next device type (unprocessed device type) from the device types of the constituent devices of the service to be restored, and repeats the processing of steps S502 to S506 for the selected device type.

When the process of step S506 is completed, if the candidate device having the priority value equal to or higher than the lowest priority value is found for all the device types of the constituent devices of the service to be restored (that is, if the process of step S506 is performed for all the device types of the constituent devices of the service to be restored), the service switching calculation unit 112 performs the process of step S507.

In step S507, the service switching calculation unit 112 transmits the switching device list 108 in which the subordinate device is recorded to the subordinate device switching unit 120. Note that the transmission of the switching device list 108 in step S507 is performed in units of services to be restored. Specifically, for example, for the service "Sb-1" to be restored, information of the subordinate devices related to all the device types of the constituent devices of the service is collectively transmitted. Then, the substitute device switching unit 120 that has received the switching device list 108 in step S507 performs switching to the optimum substitute device according to the special situation based on the recorded content of the switching device list 108 (substitute device switching processing). The details of the proxy device switching process will be described with reference to fig. 15.

Finally, in step S508, the service switching calculation unit 112 clears the recorded contents of the switching device list 108, and ends the special case service resumption process. When the process of step S508 is performed through step S507, in order to reliably notify the information of the subordinate device, it is preferable that the recorded content of the switching device list 108 is cleared after the subordinate device switching unit 120 side has completely received the recorded content of the switching device list 108, or after the subordinate device switching process of the subordinate device switching unit 120 has ended.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the service restoration processing in the normal state. The normal-state service resumption process is a process executed in the service resumption process (step S404 in fig. 12), and is executed by the service switching calculation unit 112.

Referring to fig. 14, in step S601, the service switching calculation unit 112 refers to the service performance requirement table 105, and acquires the device type (device type 105c) and the performance requirement (performance requirement 105d) of the component device (component device of the service to be restored) necessary for operating the service for which restoration is attempted.

Next, in step S602, the service switching calculation unit 112 starts the following processing of steps S603 to S605 in accordance with the device type (device type of the constituent device of the service to be restored) acquired in step S601.

First, in step S603, the service switching calculation unit 112 refers to the device type 104a of the substitute device list 104, and acquires a substitute device candidate of the same device type as the device type selected in step S602. Then, in step S604, it is determined whether or not there is a device whose performance (performance 104f of the substitute device list 104) satisfies the performance requirement 105d of the service performance requirement table 105 (acquired in step S601) and which can be used (availability 104d of the substitute device list 104 is "available") with respect to the substitute device candidates acquired in step S603.

If there is a candidate of a substitute device that satisfies the condition of step S604 (yes in step S604), the substitute device selected as the candidate of the substitute device is added to the switching device list 108 (step S605).

On the other hand, if there are no substitute device candidates satisfying the condition of step S604 (no in step S604), it means that there are no substitute device candidates satisfying the performance requirement of the service to be restored among the usable substitute device candidates, and therefore, the switching to the substitute device is abandoned, and the service switching calculation unit 112 performs the process of step S607. In step S607, the recorded contents of the switching device list 108 are cleared, and the normal-state service resumption process is ended.

When the processing of step S605 is completed, the service switching calculation unit 112 selects the next device type (unprocessed device type) from the device types of the constituent devices of the service to be restored, and repeats the processing of steps S603 to S605 for the selected device type.

When the processing of step S605 is finished, if the substitute device is added to the switching device list 108 for all the device types of the constituent devices of the service to be restored (that is, if the processing of step S605 is performed for all the device types of the constituent devices of the service to be restored), the service switching calculation unit 112 performs the processing of step S606.

In step S606, the service switching calculation unit 112 transmits the switching device list 108 in which the subordinate device is recorded to the subordinate device switching unit 120. The switching device list 108 in step S606 is transmitted in units of services to be restored, similarly to the case of the service restoration processing in the special situation (step S507 in fig. 13). Then, the substitute device switching unit 120 that has received the switching device list 108 in step S606 performs switching to the optimum substitute device according to the normal situation based on the recorded content of the switching device list 108 (substitute device switching processing). The details of the proxy device switching process will be described with reference to fig. 15.

Finally, in step S607, the service switching calculation unit 112 clears the recorded contents of the switching device list 108, and ends the normal-state service resumption process. When the process of step S607 is performed via step S606, in order to reliably notify the information of the subordinate device, it is preferable that the recorded content of the switching device list 108 is cleared after the subordinate device switching unit 120 side has completely received the recorded content of the switching device list 108, or after the subordinate device switching process of the subordinate device switching unit 120 has ended.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the substitute apparatus switching process. As described above, the slave switching unit 120 executes the slave switching process, and switches the devices based on the switching device list 108 transmitted when the service restoration process (the special-state service restoration process and the normal-state service restoration process) is performed in the switching control process.

According to fig. 15, first, the slave device switching unit 120 acquires the switching device list 108 transmitted from the service switching calculation unit 112 in step S507 of the special situation service resumption process or in step S606 of the normal situation service resumption process (step S701).

Then, from step S702, the processes of steps S703 to S704 are performed for each of the subordinate devices (devices 108a) recorded in the switching device list 108 as the processes of the respective switching devices.

First, in step S703, the substitute device switching unit 120 transmits the building structure information 107 to the target substitute device (more specifically, the installation location (location 108b)) and performs switching of service processing necessary for the substitute device service. Then, after the switching is performed in step S703, in step S704, the slave switching unit 120 changes the operation status 103e of the corresponding service in the service list 103 to "on (operating)", and changes the use status 104e in the slave list 104 regarding the switched slave to "on (in use)".

When the process of step S704 is completed, the processes of steps S703 to S704 are similarly performed for the next subordinate device. When the processing of steps S703 to S704 is completed for all the subordinate devices recorded in the switching device list 108, the subordinate device switching processing ends. Further, as described above, since the switching device list 108 is transmitted from the service switching calculation unit 112 on a service-by-service basis, the substitute device switching unit 120 performs the substitute device switching process described above every time the switching device list 108 is received, and switches the devices.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of the service information notification processing. As described above, the service information notification process is controlled by the service switching calculation section 112. In the service information notification process illustrated in fig. 16, not only the information after the switching is displayed on the operation information display unit 130 disposed in the building 1, but also information on the failure of the equipment is notified to the outside of the building 1 (for example, the control center 3) connected via the network 5.

According to fig. 16, in step S801, the service switching calculation unit 112 displays the service list 103 that is finally updated (including, strictly speaking, the update of the service list 103 in the proxy switching process (step S704 in fig. 15)) after the processes in steps S101 to S106 in the switching control process in fig. 9 on the operation information display unit 130.

In step S802, the service switching calculation unit 112 notifies the control center 3 of the device operation information 101 including the failure information of the device. By being notified of the equipment operation information 101, the control center 3 can recognize the failure of the equipment, and can make the maintenance personnel cope with the repair as necessary.

Next, in step S803, the service switching calculation unit 112 checks all the services recorded in the service list 103, and checks whether or not there is a service type in which the service is not operated.

If there is a service type (service type incapable of being operated) in which none of the services is operated in step S803 (yes in step S803), the service switching calculation unit 112 notifies the regulation center 3 of the service type incapable of being operated, and also displays the service type incapable of being operated in the operation information display unit 130 (step S804), and the service information notification processing is ended. By being notified of the type of the service that cannot be operated, the regulation center 3 can recognize a situation in which all the services become inoperable in the group management level, for example. Such a situation that the elevator system cannot be operated in any service type is a situation that is so urgent that the elevator system has to be stopped, and by being able to grasp such a situation, it is possible to promptly make the maintenance personnel to cope with the repair from the control center 3.

In step S803, if at least one service of all the service types is running (no in step S803), there is no service type that cannot be run, and therefore, the service information notification process is ended without notification.

Fig. 17 is a diagram for explaining an example of the operation information display unit. Fig. 17 shows an example of a display screen of the operation information display unit 130 when the service information notification process is performed.

According to the example of fig. 17, the operation information display portion 130 has a display area of the service list display portion 131 and a display area of the operation disabled service type display portion 132. The service list display unit 131 displays the service list 103 displayed in step S801 of the service information notification process and finally updated as the switching control process is executed, that is, the service list 103 switched to the subordinate device by the subordinate device switching process. Further, the service list display unit 131 displays, in a list form, the service types (service types that cannot be operated) that are displayed in step S804 of the service information notification process and in which one service is not operated even after the switching of the control device or the service is performed by the slave switching process.

By performing the switching control process and the substitute appliance switching process described above, the service switching system 10 according to the present embodiment can switch to the optimum substitute appliance according to the situation even when the control device of the elevator (the appliance of the elevator system) becomes inoperable, and therefore, the usability of the elevator system can be improved.

Further, according to the service switching system 10 of the present embodiment, when the switching of the device by the substitute device (restoration of the service) is not possible, the operation information display unit 130 and the control center 3 are notified of information of the device and the service that cannot be operated and information of the type of the service that cannot be operated (steps S801 to S804 in fig. 16). By performing such notification, the user who observes the operation information display unit 130 or the manager of the control center 3 can recognize that the service cannot be continued.

Further, according to the service switching system 10 of the present embodiment, since the switching control processing device can be executed based on a plurality of opportunities such as the diagnosis result of the failure by the failure detection device 13 and the analysis result of the special situation by the situation analysis device 14, it is possible to flexibly perform switching of the device and restoration of the service according to a plurality of situations. Specifically, for example, not only in a situation of high urgency such as stopping the elevator 11 due to a failure of the control device, but also in a situation of low urgency such as congestion of a hall, switching of the device and restoration of service can be performed. Therefore, it can be expected to provide a more detailed service to the user.

(2) Second embodiment

In the first embodiment of the present invention described above, when a failure occurs in the device of the elevator 11 or when the situation in the building 1 changes, the device for executing the processing required for providing the service is switched to the optimum substitute device according to the situation, and the elevator 11 continues to serve.

However, in recent elevator systems, a plurality of elevators 11 are often installed in the building 1, and even if a failure occurs in one elevator, the service can be continuously provided by switching the process to another elevator. In the following, as a second embodiment of the present invention, a service switching system and a service switching method thereof will be described, which can switch to an optimal substitute device according to a situation when a failure or the like (including, for example, a change in the situation) occurs in one elevator in the case where a plurality of elevators 11 are installed in a building 1 as described above.

Since the configuration and processing of the service switching system according to the second embodiment are mostly shared with the service switching system 10 according to the first embodiment, the configuration and processing described in the first embodiment are used for the shared partial flow, and the description thereof is omitted. That is, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described in the following description.

Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining an example of a service list used in the second embodiment. In the service list 203 illustrated in fig. 18, in addition to the priority order 203a to the in-use device 203f which are the same items as those of the service list 103 illustrated in fig. 3 in the first embodiment, an available elevator 203g and an in-use elevator 203h are added as items corresponding to the service type 203 b.

Usable elevator 203g describes elevator 11 usable for each service type, and usable elevator 203h describes elevator 11 currently used for each service type. The usable elevator 203g is a static item provided (determined) in advance by an elevator manager or the like, and the usable elevator 203h is a dynamic item edited (updated) by the service switching calculation unit 112.

For example, in the case of fig. 18, the service type "Sa" and "Sb" are services that can be operated only by the elevator 11 of "machine 1", and the service type "Sc" is a service that can be operated by any of the elevators 11 of "machine 1", "machine 2", or "machine 3", depending on the usable elevator 203 g. In addition, the elevator 203h in use shows that all of the current service types "Sa", "Sb", and "Sc" are run by the elevator 11 of "machine No. 1".

Fig. 19 is a diagram for explaining an example of status information used in the second embodiment. In the first embodiment described above, the status information 102 is given a label value such as "passenger is trapped" or "hall is crowded", but in the status information 202 illustrated in fig. 19, items 202a for classifying statuses are set more finely, and information corresponding to each item 202 is described in a value 202 b.

Specifically, in the case of fig. 19, "availability of operation" indicating whether or not the elevator can be operated, "position" indicating the current position of the elevator, "number of passengers in the car" indicating the current number of passengers of the elevator, and the like are set as items 202a relating to the situation of the elevator 11. As information (value 202b) corresponding to each item, for example, in the case of the elevator 11 of "machine No. 1", it shows that the "no-run" state is present and the "floor 1" is present, and the number of passengers is "0".

Next, the processing executed in the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, switching control processing for determining and controlling switching of the service and control devices is performed when a failure occurs in the control device of the elevator 11 or when the situation in the building 1 changes. In the switching control process, the switching control calculation unit 110 (the operable service calculation unit 111 and the service switching calculation unit 112) performs a process for determining whether to switch the service and the control device (a device operation availability update process, a non-sustainable service availability determination process, and the like). Then, the substitute device switching unit 120 executes a process of switching the service and the control apparatus (substitute device switching process) based on the switching device list 108 generated in the switching control process. Further, the switching control calculation unit 110 (particularly, the service switching calculation unit 112) performs a process (service information notification process) of displaying the operation information of the final service after the end of the proxy switching process on the operation information display unit 130 during the switching control process. Therefore, basically, the same processing as that illustrated in fig. 9 to 16 in the first embodiment is also performed in the second embodiment.

However, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a process for switching the service of the elevator 11 of another elevator in the same building is added to the service restoration process (corresponding to step S105 in fig. 9) in the switching control process. In the following description, the service restoration process according to the first embodiment (fig. 12 to 14) is referred to as a first service restoration process, and the service restoration process according to the second embodiment is referred to as a second service restoration process.

Fig. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of the second service restoration processing. As described above, the second service resumption process illustrated in fig. 20 is a process that is replaced with the process of step S105 in the handover control process illustrated in fig. 9. Therefore, to be more specific, in the process of performing the processing of steps S104 to S106 in fig. 9 in the order of priority (the order of priority 103a in fig. 3) from high to low for each service (the sustainable service) for which the continuation availability 103d of the service list 203 becomes "impossible" after the processing of the sustainable service determination processing (step S102 in fig. 9), the second service restoration processing is executed in place of the processing of step S105. The second service resumption process is executed by the switching control calculation unit 110 (service switching calculation unit 112) in the same manner as the first service resumption process.

According to fig. 20, in step S901, the service switching calculation unit 112 acquires the situation information 202 from the situation analysis device 14. Then, in step S902, the service switching calculation unit 112 refers to the usable elevator 203g in the service list 203, and determines whether or not there are a plurality of elevators 11 that can cause the processing target non-sustainable service operation.

If an affirmative result is obtained in the determination of step S902 (yes in step S902), the service switching calculation unit 112 checks the value of the availability of operation of each elevator 11 described in the situation information 202, and determines whether or not there is an elevator that can take charge of (can operate) the service at the present time, in addition to the elevator that takes charge of the current service (step S903). In addition, the elevator in charge of the current service is described in the elevator 203h in use in the service list 203. In addition, elevators that can be responsible for (can be operated) the service are described in the usable elevators 203g in the service list 203, and the availability of operation of each elevator at the current time is described in the situation information 202.

If an affirmative result is obtained in the determination of step S903 (yes in step S903), that is, if an elevator other than the elevator described as the in-use elevator 203h that is determined to be operable based on the situation information 202 exists among the plurality of elevators capable of using the elevator 203g described in the service list 203 regarding the service, the service switching calculation unit 112 switches the service so that the corresponding elevator takes charge of the service, and updates the in-use elevator 203h in the service list 203 to the information after the switching (step S904). The switching to the service of the corresponding elevator in the processing of step S904 may be performed by a processing unit other than the service switching calculation unit 112 (e.g., the substitute equipment switching unit 120). By the processing of step S904, the service switching system 10 of the present embodiment can continue the service (make the continuation-disabled service resume) without waiting for the switching of the device and the activation time of the slave device. After the process of step S904 is performed, the second service resumption process ends, and the process proceeds to step S106 of fig. 9.

On the other hand, if a plurality of elevators 11 capable of performing the non-continuous service operation of the processing target are not present in the determination of step S902 (no in step S902), or if all of the elevators 11 capable of performing the non-continuous service operation of the processing target are not operable at the present time in the determination of step S903 (no in step S903), it means that there is no other elevator 11 capable of taking charge of (being operable to) the service. In this case, the service switching calculation unit 112 performs the first service restoration process to realize the restoration of the service by switching to the subordinate device, as in the first embodiment (step S905). The detailed processing procedure of the first service restoration processing is as illustrated in fig. 12 to 14, and thus the description is omitted. Then, after the process of step S905 is performed, the second service resumption process ends, and the process proceeds to step S106 of fig. 9.

As described above, in the second embodiment, when a plurality of elevators 11 are installed in the building 1, if a failure or a change in the situation occurs in one car, the other car is replaced, if possible, before the switching of the equipment is attempted, to continue (recover) the service. In this case, since it is not necessary to wait for switching of the device and activation of the auxiliary device, the service can be quickly continued (restored), and an effect of improving the usability of the elevator system can be expected.

In addition, according to the second embodiment, in the case of a special situation in which the urgency is relatively low and the elevator 11 is not forcibly stopped, such as a crowded hall, the service can be continuously provided according to the situation without interrupting the provision of the service when viewed from the entire elevator system by performing the proxy switching of the service by another car, and therefore, the effect of improving the usability and convenience can be expected.

In the second embodiment, even when the substitute switching of the service by another machine cannot be performed, the restoration of the service can be realized by switching the device by an appropriate substitute device, as in the first embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes various modifications. For example, the above embodiments are described in detail to explain the present invention easily and understandably, and are not limited to having all of the described configurations. For example, a part of the configurations of the embodiments may be added, deleted, or replaced with another configuration.

The above-described structures, functions, processing units, and the like may be implemented in hardware by designing a part or all of them with, for example, an integrated circuit. The above-described structures, functions, and the like may be realized by software by the processor interpreting and executing a program for realizing the functions. Information such as programs, tables, and files for realizing the respective functions can be stored in a recording device such as a memory, a hard disk, an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD.

In addition, the control lines and the information lines show portions which are considered necessary for the description, and not necessarily all the control lines and the information lines on the product are shown. In practice, it is contemplated that substantially all of the structures may be interconnected.

Claims (9)

1. A service switching system capable of switching a control device or a service of an elevator installed in a building,

the service switching system is provided with:

a service list that records services to be run by the elevator;

a substitute device list in which a substitute device capable of substituting for a control device required for the operation of the service is described, the substitute device being connected to the service switching system via a network;

an operable service calculation unit that, when a failure occurs in the elevator, determines whether or not operation can be performed by the current equipment of the elevator for each service described in the service list;

a service switching calculation unit that selects an optimal substitute device corresponding to the failure from the substitute devices described in the substitute device list for the service determined to be inoperable by the operable service calculation unit; and

and a substitute device switching unit that switches the device of the elevator to the substitute device selected by the service switching calculation unit, thereby restoring or continuing the service determined as being inoperable.

2. The service switching system according to claim 1,

the service switching system further includes:

equipment operation information showing the current operation conditions of the control equipment in the elevator;

status information showing current status in the elevator and the building;

a service performance requirement table in which performance requirements of services to be run by the elevator are described; and

a special situation list which records information related to special situations that may occur in the elevator and the building,

the operable service calculation section updates the list of the subordinate devices based on the device operation information,

the service switching calculation section determines whether or not the current situation is a special situation by comparing the situation information with the special situation list,

the selection of the optimal substitute device is performed based on the special situation list in the case of the special situation, and the selection of the optimal substitute device is performed based on the service performance requirement table in the case of no special situation.

3. The service switching system according to claim 2,

in the special situation list, a reference of a performance requirement in selecting a substitute device is set according to a special situation,

the service switching calculation unit changes the reference of the performance requirement in selecting the substitute device in accordance with the special situation list when the situation information is compared with the special situation list to determine that the situation is a special situation.

4. The service switching system according to claim 1,

the service switching system further includes an operation information display unit that displays a list of services that are updated following the switching to the slave device by the slave device switching unit and services that cannot be operated after the switching.

5. The service switching system according to claim 1,

the service switching calculation unit notifies the operation information of the final service and the service type of the service that becomes inoperable to the outside of the building connected to the service switching system via the network when the switching to the slave device is not performed by the slave device switching unit.

6. The service switching system according to claim 1,

the agent switching unit acquires building structure information in which information relating to specifications of the elevator and the building is described, and acquires building structure information in which information relating to specifications of the elevator and the building is described

And a step of transmitting the acquired building structure information to the substitute device when the device of the elevator is switched to the substitute device selected by the service switching calculation unit.

7. The service switching system according to claim 1,

in the case where a plurality of elevators are installed in the building and one of the plurality of elevators has the failure,

the service switching calculation unit performs a process of causing the other elevator to perform an operation in place of the service determined by the operable service calculation unit to be inoperable, in preference to a process of selecting the traveling apparatus in the one elevator.

8. A service switching method for switching between control devices and services of elevators installed in a building by a service switching system,

the service switching system is provided with:

a service list that records services to be run by the elevator; and

a substitute device list in which a substitute device capable of substituting for a control device required for the operation of the service is connected to the service switching system via a network,

the service switching method comprises the following steps:

an operable service calculation step of, when a failure occurs in the elevator, determining whether or not operation can be performed by a current device of the elevator for each service set in the service list;

a service switching calculation step of selecting an optimal slave device corresponding to the failure from among the slave devices described in the slave device list, for the service determined to be inoperable in the operable service calculation step; and

and a substitute device switching step of switching the device of the elevator to the substitute device selected in the service switching calculation step, thereby restoring or continuing the service determined as being inoperable.

9. The service switching method according to claim 8,

in the case where a plurality of elevators are installed in the building and one of the plurality of elevators has the failure,

in the service switching calculation step, for the service determined to be inoperable in the operable service calculation step, a process of causing the other elevator to perform an operation in place of the service is performed with priority over a process of selecting the traveling device in the one elevator.

Images