CN116395515A - Elevator system and call registration method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an elevator system and a call registration method, which perform call registration by using a user's mobile terminal. Even in a house where a maintenance contract is not signed, call registration is performed by a user's portable terminal. An elevator system according to one embodiment is characterized in that call registration of an elevator is performed using a mobile terminal equipped with call registration application software. The elevator system includes a server for managing house data of an elevator, wherein the house data includes information related to presence or absence of a maintenance contract, and when the portable terminal acquires the house data from the server, the portable terminal displays advertisement information while limiting a function related to the call registration according to presence or absence of the maintenance contract.

Description

Elevator system and call registration method

The present application takes Japanese patent application 2022-000105 (application day: 2022, 1, 4 days) as a base application and enjoys priority of the base application. The present application incorporates the entire content of this basic application by reference thereto.

Technical Field

The embodiment of the invention relates to an elevator system for performing call registration by using a portable terminal of a user and a call registration method.

Background

In general, a hall call button for registering hall calls is provided in a hall of each floor of a building. When the elevator user operates the hall call button, the car responds to the registered floor of the hall call. When a user gets into the car and operates a destination floor button of a car operating panel, a destination floor is registered, and the car moves toward the destination floor.

In recent years, an elevator system has been considered in which a call is registered by using a portable terminal held by a user. In this elevator system, application software for call registration is installed in advance in a mobile terminal, and when a user arrives at a hall of an arbitrary floor, the application software is activated by using radio waves transmitted from a wireless signal device called a "beacon" to call a car, and the destination floor of the user is registered in the car.

The call registration function is realized by installing application software for call registration provided by an elevator manufacturer to a user's portable terminal. In this case, since it is necessary to continuously manage house data (data related to the floors of a building, etc.), a maintenance contract with a manufacturer who manages the house data is a precondition, and this function cannot be utilized in a house in which a maintenance contract is not made with the manufacturer.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides an elevator system and a call registration method, which can use a portable terminal of a user to register a call even if a house without maintenance contract.

An elevator system according to one embodiment performs call registration of an elevator using a mobile terminal equipped with call registration application software. The elevator system is characterized by comprising a server for managing house data of an elevator, wherein the house data includes information related to the presence or absence of a maintenance contract, and when the portable terminal obtains the house data from the server, the function related to the call registration is limited according to the presence or absence of the maintenance contract, and advertisement information is displayed on the portable terminal.

According to the elevator system having the above configuration, even in a house without a maintenance contract, call registration can be performed by using the user's mobile terminal.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an elevator system according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an elevator control device provided in the elevator system.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless signal device included in the elevator system.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an external configuration of a portable terminal used in the elevator system.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the mobile terminal.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a house riding watch provided in the mobile terminal.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a cloud server used in the elevator system.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the communication equipment required for the elevator system.

Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining the downloading of the call registration application.

Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining a house data management method.

Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method of acquiring the house data.

Fig. 12 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the call registration application.

Fig. 13 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the call registration application.

Fig. 14 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the call registration application.

Fig. 15 is a diagram for explaining a home display unit of the application screen.

Fig. 16 is a diagram for explaining a call setting display unit of the application screen.

Fig. 17 is a diagram for explaining a next inspection display unit of the application screen.

Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining an advertisement display unit of the application screen.

Fig. 19 is a diagram for explaining an advertisement display unit of the application screen.

Fig. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration of an application screen when a home is used, and shows a state in which a wireless signal is not received.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing a configuration of an application screen when the home is used, and shows a state in which a radio signal is being received.

Fig. 22 is a diagram showing a configuration of an application screen when a house is not being used, and shows a state in which a wireless signal is not received.

Fig. 23 is a diagram showing a configuration of an application screen when the house is not used by the host, and shows a state in which a radio signal is being received.

Fig. 24 is a diagram showing a relationship between each function related to the call registration application and the presence or absence of a maintenance contract.

Fig. 25 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of the cloud server of the elevator system.

Fig. 26 is a flowchart showing a processing operation of the mobile terminal of the elevator system.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

The disclosure is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Variations that would be readily desirable to one skilled in the art are of course included within the scope of the disclosure. In order to make the description more clear, the dimensions, shapes, etc. of the respective parts may be schematically shown in the drawings by changing them with respect to the actual embodiments. In the drawings, corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof may be omitted.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an elevator system according to an embodiment.

For example, an elevator 11 is installed in a building such as an office building. The elevator 11 includes a car 12 and an elevator control device 13. The car 12 is supported to be vertically movable by a pair of guide rails erected in a hoistway, and moves at each floor in response to hall calls or car calls.

The "hall call" refers to a signal of a call registered in a hall of each floor, and includes information of a registered floor and a destination direction. The "car call" refers to a call signal registered in the car room, and includes information of the destination floor. As described later, in the present system, hall calls and car calls can be registered by the user's mobile terminal 25, and no button operations (operations of the hall button 23 and the destination floor button 17) in the hall and the car are required. In addition, "registration of a car call" is also referred to as "registration of a destination floor".

A car door 14 is attached to the entrance of the car 12 so as to be openable and closable, and a car operating panel 15 is provided in the vicinity of the car door 14. In addition to a display 16 for displaying the current position, the running direction, and the like of the car 12, various operation buttons including a destination floor button 17, a door opening button 18a, a door closing button 18b, and the like corresponding to each floor of the building are disposed on the car operation panel 15.

The elevator control device 13 is also called a "control panel" and is provided in an uppermost part of a building, not shown, in a machine room or an upper part in a hoistway, and controls the entire elevator including the operation control of the car 12.

On the other hand, in the hall 20 of each floor, a hall door 21 is attached to the entrance of the car 12 so as to be openable and closable, and a hall operating panel 22 is provided in the vicinity of the hall door 21. When the car 12 arrives, the hoistway doors 21 are opened and closed together with the car doors 14. The drive source (door motor) is located on the car door 14 side, and the hoistway door 21 engages with the car door 14 to perform opening and closing operations. Hall operation panel 22 is provided with hall button 23 for causing car 12 to respond to hall 20. The hall button 23 is composed of an upper button and a lower button for specifying the destination direction of the user (the lowermost layer is composed of only the upper button, and the uppermost layer is composed of only the lower button).

In the present embodiment, a wireless signal device 27 formed of Bluetooth (registered trademark) or the like is provided at an arbitrary portion of the hall 20. The wireless signal device 27 is used as a "hall beacon" and transmits a wireless signal of a predetermined frequency band. The installation site of the wireless signal device 27 is, for example, a wall or the like near the hall door 21, but is not particularly limited, and any site may be used as long as the wireless signal can reach the portable terminal 25 held by the user (passenger) who arrives at the hall 20.

The wireless signal device 27 is provided in the hall 20 of each floor including the reference floor. The wireless signal device 27 is connected to the elevator control device 13 and the hall operating panel 22 by wires or wirelessly, is always turned on during operation of the elevator 11 (car 12), and has a function of transmitting information related to registration of hall calls by radio waves of a predetermined frequency band. The information related to the registration of the hall call includes "house ID", "current floor", and the like.

A wireless signal device 28 is provided in the car 12. The wireless signal device 28 is used as a "beacon" and has a function of transmitting information necessary for car call registration by radio waves of a predetermined frequency band. The installation site of the wireless signal device 28 is, for example, a wall in the vicinity of the car door 14, but is not particularly limited, and any site may be used as long as the wireless signal can reach the portable terminal 25 held by the user (passenger) who arrives at the hall 20. The wireless signal device 28 is connected to the elevator control device 13 and the car operating panel 15 by wires or wirelessly, is always turned on during the operation of the elevator 11 (car 12), and has a function of transmitting information necessary for registration of a car call by radio waves of a predetermined frequency band. The information required for registration of the car call includes "house ID", "current floor", "destination direction", and the like.

The mobile terminal 25 held by the user is a general mobile phone, a smart phone, or the like. The mobile terminal 25 is provided with application software 26 for call registration (hereinafter, referred to as a call registration application or simply an application). The call registration application 26 is developed by an associated enterprise of the elevator 11 and can be freely downloaded from a Web site depending on OS (Operating System) of the portable terminal 25.

Using this call registration application 26, boarding information of the user can be set for each of the plurality of houses. The term "house" as used herein refers to a building provided with an elevator as a monitoring target. As described later, the boarding information of the user includes information of a group name, a boarding floor, and a destination floor for each house (see fig. 6).

In the present embodiment, the cloud server 29 is connected to the elevator control device 13. The cloud server 29 is provided on the internet, and performs various processes related to call registration of an elevator in cooperation with the elevator control apparatus 13. The call registration application 26 is connected to the cloud server 29 via the internet, and has a function of causing the control unit 43 (see fig. 5) provided in the mobile terminal 25 to execute registration processing of hall calls and car calls. In this case, the mobile terminal 25 is connected to the elevator control device 13 via the cloud server 29, and performs call registration (hall call and car call).

When the wireless signal devices 27 and 28 have a signal receiving function, the portable terminal 25 can be connected to the elevator control device 13 via the wireless signal device 27 to perform hall call, and then the portable terminal 25 can be connected to the elevator control device 13 via the wireless signal device 28 to perform car call.

Further, the cloud server 29 is used as a management server that manages house data of the elevator. When a call registration is performed using the call registration application 26, the cloud server 29 is accessed from the portable terminal 25, and data of the call registration and the house to be targeted is acquired.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the elevator control apparatus 13.

The elevator control device 13 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a communication unit 33. The control unit 31 is a part that executes various processes necessary for the operation of the elevator 11 by a start program, and includes an operation control unit 31a, a car position detection unit 31b, and a door opening/closing control unit 31c.

The operation control unit 31a performs operation control of the car 12. Specifically, the operation control unit 31a makes the car 12 respond to the boarding floor of the user based on the hall call registered in the hall 20, and then moves the car 12 toward the destination floor of the user. The car position detecting unit 31b detects the current position of the car 12. As a detection method, there is a method of calculating the current position of the car 12 from a value obtained by counting pulse signals of a pulse encoder output in synchronization with the rotation of the hoisting machine, for example.

The door opening/closing control unit 31c controls the opening/closing operation of the car door 14 when the car 12 reaches the hall 20. Specifically, when the car 12 is detected to be parked in the hall 20 by a parking detection device, not shown, the door opening/closing control unit 31c moves the car door 14 in the door opening direction to be fully opened. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the door opening/closing control unit 31c moves the car door 14 in the door closing direction to fully close the car door. In addition, the hall doors 21 move in the same direction as the car doors 14 move.

The storage unit 32 stores information of hall calls and car calls transmitted from the user's mobile terminal 25. The control unit 31 controls the operation of the car 12 based on the information stored in the storage unit 32. The communication unit 33 performs communication processing with the mobile terminal 25 and the elevator control device 13.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the wireless signal devices 27 and 28.

The radio signal device 27 has substantially the same configuration as the radio signal devices 27 and 28, and includes a control unit 34 and a communication unit 35. The control unit 34 performs processing of a radio signal related to call registration. The communication unit 35 performs transmission/reception processing of radio signals in a predetermined frequency band.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the external configuration of the mobile terminal 25.

The mobile terminal 25 is, for example, a mobile phone, a smart phone, or the like, and is constituted by a small-sized terminal device having a communication function. The above-described call registration application 26 is installed in the portable terminal 25. 26a in the figure is an icon indicating that the call registration application 26 is installed. As described above, when the portable terminal 25 receives a radio signal of a predetermined frequency band from the radio signal device (hall beacon) 27 provided in the hall 20, the call registration application 26 is started.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the mobile terminal 25.

The portable terminal 25 held by the user includes an input unit 41, a display unit 42, a control unit 43, an audio input/output unit 44, storage units 45 and GPS (Global Positioning System), a module 46, a communication unit 47, and the like.

The input unit 41 is configured by various keys, buttons, and the like, and performs data input and instruction. The display unit 42 is configured by, for example, an LCD, and displays data. The input unit 41 may be configured to input and instruct data on the screen of the display unit 42 using a transparent touch panel, for example.

The control unit 43 is configured by a CPU, and executes various functions by starting a predetermined program. The control unit 43 has a function of acquiring house data from the cloud server 29 serving as a management server for house data, a function of setting a departure floor and a destination floor of a user using the house data, and the like, and performing call registration for the elevator 11.

The sound input/output unit 44 is constituted by a microphone for inputting sound and a speaker for outputting sound. The storage unit 45 is configured by a storage device such as a ROM or a RAM, and stores various programs including the call registration application 26. The storage unit 45 is provided with a house data storage unit 45a and a house boarding table T1. The house data storage unit 45a stores house data acquired from the cloud server 29 for each house.

As shown in fig. 6, the house boarding table T1 stores boarding information of users arbitrarily set for each house in advance using the call registration application 26. The boarding information includes information of the boarding layer and the destination layer of the user. The houses a, b, and c in the figure are houses provided with elevators used by users on a daily basis, such as apartment houses, main building, and branch building. Further, the boarding information may include a group name such as a group, for example. For example, in a high-rise building, a plurality of cars are sometimes separated into a low-rise group and a high-rise group to run. The user gets on the lower group of cars or the higher group of cars according to his own destination floor. Groups a and B in the figure are, for example, a lower layer group and an upper layer group. House data relating to houses a, b, and c is managed by house in the cloud server 29, and downloaded to the portable terminal 25 as necessary.

As described later, in the maintenance contract house, by setting the boarding information (boarding floor and destination floor) of the user in advance in the call registration application 26, when the user arrives at the hall of the house, the call registration can be automatically performed based on the boarding information in a state (hands-free state) in which the mobile terminal 25 is placed in a bag or the like. On the other hand, in a house (hereinafter, referred to as a non-maintenance contract house) which does not contract for maintenance with an elevator manufacturer, it is necessary to start the call registration application 26 every time to register boarding information (boarding floor and destination floor) of a user by a manual operation.

The GPS module 46 is used to detect the current location. The communication unit 47 is a general-purpose interface for performing wireless communication with the outside, and can perform long-distance wireless communication using a public line network, and short-distance wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and Wi-Fi.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the cloud server 29.

The cloud server 29 includes a control unit 51, a storage unit 52, a communication unit 53, a management unit 54, and the like as a general computer configuration. The control unit 51 cooperates with the elevator control device 13 to perform various processes related to call registration by the user's mobile terminal 25. The storage unit 52 stores various information including programs necessary for the operation of the control unit 51. The storage unit 52 also associates the boarding information and the like transmitted from the user's portable terminal 25 with the user ID and holds the boarding information and the like as a history. The communication unit 53 performs communication processing with the mobile terminal 25 and the elevator control device 13.

The management unit 54 manages house data of elevators related to each house. The house data includes information about the presence or absence of a maintenance contract for the elevator, in addition to information about the building related to the operation of the elevator, such as the number of floors of the building and the operation stop floor.

Here, the function of the call registration application 26 requires house data, and thus, a case where a maintenance contract is made with an elevator manufacturer can be utilized as a premise. The reason for this is that the call registration application 26 is an application provided by the elevator manufacturer who obtains the management fee of the house data by maintenance contract. However, depending on the house, a manager of the building may request maintenance and inspection of an elevator installed in the house to a maintenance company other than the elevator manufacturer. Therefore, in the present embodiment, since the call registration application 26 is widely spread, even if the house is not a maintenance contract house, the call registration function can be restricted for use, and further, by displaying an advertisement when the function is used, an advertisement fee is obtained from an advertising company instead of the management fee of the house data.

Hereinafter, the following description will be given in detail with respect to (a) preconditions, (b) application configuration, and (c) screen configuration.

(a) Preconditions of preconditions

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining a communication device required for the present system.

The call registration function in the present system requires wireless signal devices 27 and 28 called beacons as communication devices. The wireless signal devices 27, 28 are handled by a paid additional method in the case of new installation, and by a reconstruction in the case of existing installation.

Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining the downloading of the call registration application.

The call registration application 26 can be downloaded to the user's portable terminal 25 at no charge from the application store 60 existing on the network NT. However, when the call registration application 26 is downloaded, house data is not registered. In addition, advertisement display may be performed on the mobile terminal 25 at the time of downloading.

Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining a house data management method.

Data (house data) related to houses provided with the above-described communication devices is managed by the cloud server 29. The cloud server 29 is a management server prepared by an elevator manufacturer and exists on the network NT.

Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining a method of acquiring house data.

Note that although the following description focuses on the call registration application 26, in reality, the mobile terminal 25 to which the call registration application 26 is attached performs data transmission and reception, data storage, screen display, and the like under the call registration application 26.

When the call registration application 26 receives the house ID transmitted from the communication device (wireless signal device 27) provided in the hall 20, if house data corresponding to the house ID is not stored in the call registration application 26, the cloud server 29 is accessed to acquire the house data. As another method, the user's portable terminal 25 reads a QR code (registered trademark) 61 distributed by a management company of a building, and accesses the cloud server 29 to acquire house data. This method is used, for example, when a user obtains house data of a target building in advance at home or the like, or when a customer who intends to visit registers house data, or the like.

The house data includes information indicating the presence or absence of a maintenance contract. That is, not only for maintenance contract houses but also for non-maintenance contract houses, house data (floor number and the like) can be managed on the elevator manufacturer side and provided to users who have completed application registration. However, for non-maintenance contract premises, the functionality of the call registration application 26 is limited. In addition, even if the contract house is not maintained, the contract house can be handled as a maintenance contract house during free maintenance (for example, 3 months) from the time of downloading the application.

(b) Application constitution

Fig. 12 to 14 are diagrams for explaining the constitution of the call registration application 26.

The call registration application 26 has a function of displaying registered houses. "registered house" refers to a house in which house data is registered in the call registration application 26.

By a predetermined operation, a house list screen G11 as shown in fig. 12 is displayed on the mobile terminal 25. The house list screen G11 includes a house name display unit G11-1 for displaying house names, and a house selection unit G11-2 for selecting a house to be used for a host. The star mark indicates that the maintenance contract house is. In the example of fig. 12, house a and house B are maintenance contract houses, and house C is a non-maintenance contract house. In the case where there are multiple maintenance contract houses, the star flag is clicked to select the main utility house. When the main use house is selected, the display form of the star mark is changed (for example, changed in a manner of white star to black star). As in the example of fig. 13, when 1 house is under maintenance contract, the house becomes the main-use house.

Since the house data is changed according to the house side situation (for example, setting a non-stop floor due to construction, etc.), the call registration application 26 periodically (for example, in months) accesses the cloud server 29 to confirm the update status of the house data. At this time, the status of the maintenance contract is also confirmed. In the case of a house having the free maintenance period (for example, 3 months), the house is treated as a non-maintenance contract house when the free maintenance period passes without a maintenance contract being entered.

For the maintenance contract house, a password input screen G12 as shown in fig. 14 is displayed, and when the password input to the password input unit G12-1 is authenticated, updated house data is newly registered. In addition, in order to prevent improper use of house data, it is preferable that the maintenance contract house can change the password and always manage the latest password on the cloud server 29 side.

Fig. 15 is a diagram for explaining the main-use house display unit E1 of the application screen G10.

The application screen G10 displayed as a basic screen at the time of application start is composed of a main use house display unit E1, a call setting display unit E2, a next inspection display unit E3, and an advertisement display unit E4. As shown in fig. 15, the main-use house display unit E1 displays the maintenance contract house names mainly used by the user. In the case where the contract house is not maintained, the main utility house name is displayed as a "house list".

When the home utilization house screen E1 of the application screen G10 is clicked, the screen transitions to the house list screen G11 described in fig. 12. When an arbitrary house name is clicked on the house name display unit G11-1 of the house list screen G11, a call setting screen G14 is displayed. The setting screen G14 is provided with a use layer setting unit 14-1 for setting a departure layer and a destination layer of the house user, and a registration setting unit 14-2 for setting automatic call registration and manual call registration. Further, only the maintenance contract house can set automatic call registration (call registration without hands), and the non-maintenance contract house can perform only manual call registration.

Fig. 16 is a diagram for explaining the call setting display unit E2 of the application screen G10.

The call setting display unit E2 displays the contents (the departure layer and the destination layer of the user, automatic/manual) set on the call setting screen G14 of fig. 15 with a maximum of 2 conditions. The call setting display unit E2 does not respond even when clicked. The maintenance contract house is the object, and the content of the call setting is not displayed in the case that the maintenance contract house is not.

Fig. 17 is a diagram for explaining the next inspection display section E3 of the application screen G10.

The next maintenance display unit E3 displays the maintenance date of the main utility house. When the next inspection display unit E3 is clicked, the operation shifts to an inspection date list screen G15 of the maintenance contract house. When any house name is clicked on the house name display unit G15-1 of the maintenance date list screen G15, a maintenance date confirmation screen G16 is displayed. In the inspection date confirmation screen G16, an inspection schedule and inspection contents can be confirmed, and an inspection completion notification can be set. The maintenance date is targeted to the maintenance contract house and is not displayed in the non-maintenance contract house.

Fig. 18 and 19 are diagrams for explaining the advertisement display unit E4 of the application screen G10.

When the advertisement display unit E4 of the application screen G10 is clicked, the screen transitions to an advertisement screen not shown. The operation when clicking on the advertisement display part E4 is changed according to the presence or absence of the maintenance contract.

In the case of maintenance contract houses, as shown in fig. 18, information about the periphery of the main-use house is displayed. The information of the surrounding of the main-use house is, for example, traffic conditions, information of events, and the like. The user can arbitrarily select the type, and information of the type selected by the user is periodically downloaded and distributed on the cloud server 29 side.

In the case of a non-maintenance contract house, a browser is started to connect with the advertising website. As shown in FIG. 19, the advertisement selected by the advertisement dispenser is displayed.

The scope of advertisement display changes according to the presence or absence of the maintenance contract.

In the case of maintenance of a contract house, the scope of advertisement display is small.

In the case of a non-maintenance contract house, the advertisement display range is large.

The amount of information that is displayed by the advertisement changes depending on the presence or absence of the maintenance contract.

When the contract house is maintained, information about the periphery of the main-use house is displayed for about 1 to 2 items.

In the case of a non-maintenance contract house, updated at application start-up and unilaterally displaying various advertisements selected by the advertiser.

(c) Picture construction

Fig. 20 and 21 are diagrams showing the configuration of the application screen G10 when a main-use house (a house with a maintenance contract) is present. Fig. 20 shows a state in which the radio signal transmitted from the radio signal device 27 is not received, and fig. 21 shows a state in which the radio signal transmitted from the radio signal device 27 is being received.

As shown in fig. 20, when the wireless signal is not received, the main use house display unit E1, the next inspection display unit E3, and the advertisement display unit E4 of the application screen G10 are clicked, and the screen is shifted to the detailed screen corresponding to each of them.

As shown in fig. 21, when a radio signal is being received, the use layer can be set by the click-to-call setting display unit E2. Further, by clicking on the advertisement display part E4, the screen is shifted to the advertisement screen G17 as a detailed screen. In the maintenance contract house, surrounding information of the house is displayed on the advertisement screen G17. In addition, in the maintenance contract house, the advertisement information may be arbitrarily switched to display/non-display by the operation of the user.

Fig. 22 and 23 are diagrams showing the configuration of the application screen G10 when the home is not utilized by the host (the home is not under maintenance contract). Fig. 22 shows a state in which the radio signal transmitted from the radio signal device 27 is not received, and fig. 23 shows a state in which the radio signal transmitted from the radio signal device 27 is being received.

As shown in fig. 22, when the wireless signal is not received, the house list is displayed on the main-use house display unit E1 of the application screen G10, and the house list screen G11 is displayed as a detailed screen of the house list by clicking on the house list. The area of the advertisement display part E4 occupies half or more of the application screen G10. Clicking on the advertisement display unit E4 shifts to the advertisement screen G17, which is the detailed screen of the advertisement. In the non-maintenance contract house, various advertisement information selected by the advertisement dispenser is displayed in the advertisement screen G17.

As shown in fig. 23, when a radio signal is being received, the use layer can be set by the click-to-call setting display unit E2. Further, clicking on the advertisement display unit E4 shifts to the advertisement screen G17, which is a detailed screen of the advertisement. In the non-maintenance contract house, if the advertisement screen G17 is not displayed for a certain period of time, the use layer may not be set.

Fig. 24 is a diagram showing a relationship between each function related to the call registration application 26 and the presence or absence of a maintenance contract. In this example, house A is a maintenance contract house and house B is a non-maintenance contract house.

For the house a which is a maintenance contract house, all of "password setting/changing", "service layer separation", "automatic call registration", and "manual call registration" can be performed. The "service layer separation" refers to a case where an operation service layer is switched to a non-stop layer in setting on the manager side of a building. Such service layer separation is not manageable if the contract house is not maintained. Further, the advertisement display for house a is small (can be set to no advertisement display), and the information amount is also small.

On the other hand, in the house B which is a non-maintenance contract house, "password setting/changing", "service layer separation", "automatic call registration" cannot be performed, and only "manual call registration" can be performed. Further, the advertisement display for house B is large, and various advertisement information is unilaterally displayed.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

Fig. 25 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the cloud server 29 of the present system. As described above, the cloud server 29 manages house data including information on the building related to the operation of the elevator, such as the number of floors of the building and the operation stop floor, for each house. The house data includes information on the presence or absence of a maintenance contract. Further, a call registration application 26 is installed in advance in the user's portable terminal 25.

When a request for house data is issued from the mobile terminal 25, the cloud server 29 determines whether or not the house is a maintenance contract house based on the information on the maintenance contract included in the house data (step S11). In the case of the maintenance contract house (yes in step S11), the cloud server 29 requests the password (step S12), and transmits the house data to the portable terminal 25 only when the correct password is transmitted from the portable terminal 25 (step S13). At this time, the cloud server 29 does not set restrictions on the call registration function of the call registration application 26, and is in a state that can be used as usual (step S14). The cloud server 29 displays information on the periphery of the house as advertisement information on the mobile terminal 25 (step S15). In the case of maintenance of a contract house, the advertisement information can also be set to non-display by the call registration application 26.

On the other hand, in the case of a non-maintenance contract house (no in step S11), the cloud server 29 transmits the house data to the portable terminal 25 without requesting the password (step S16). At this time, the cloud server 29 sets restrictions on the call registration function of the call registration application 26, and becomes a state in which only manual call registration is available (step S17). Further, the cloud server 29 displays various advertisement information selected by the advertisement dispenser on the portable terminal 25 (step S18). In the case of a non-maintenance contract house, the advertising information is always in a display state.

Fig. 26 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the mobile terminal 25 of the present system. Now, as in the example of fig. 1, the user holds the portable terminal 25 to get to the hall 20 of a certain house. House data acquired from the cloud server 29 is registered in the mobile terminal 25.

In the initial state, the "hall call registration mode" is set (step S21). In the "hall call registration mode", the mobile terminal 25 scans a signal of the wireless signal device 27 (hereinafter referred to as a hall beacon signal) (step S22). When receiving the hall beacon signal (yes in step S23), the portable terminal 25 performs the registration process of the hall call by the wireless signal device 27 (step S24).

Here, if the maintenance contract house is one, the user can perform call registration without using hands. That is, the mobile terminal 25 transmits boarding information (information of the departure floor and the destination floor) set for the house from the house boarding table T1 of fig. 6 to the elevator control device 13 via the wireless signal device 27 or the cloud server 29 based on the house ID transmitted from the wireless signal device 27. Thus, the destination direction (upper or lower) of the user is registered as hall call in the hall operating panel 22 by the elevator control device 13. On the other hand, if it is a non-maintenance contract house, the call registration application 26 needs to be started each time to set the boarding floor and the destination floor by manual operation.

When the registration of the hall call is completed, the mode is switched from the "hall call registration mode" to the "car call registration mode" (step S25). In the "car call registration mode", the mobile terminal 25 scans for a signal (hereinafter referred to as an in-car beacon signal) transmitted from the wireless signal device 28 (step S26).

When the in-car beacon signal is received (yes in step S27), the portable terminal 25 performs a registration process of the car call by the wireless signal device 28 (step S28). Specifically, the wireless signal device 28 transmits travel information including the current floor, the destination direction, and the like of the car 12. The portable terminal 25 compares the elevator riding information of the user with the traveling information of the car 12 transmitted from the wireless signal device 28. If the information of the two matches, the mobile terminal 25 transmits the destination floor of the user to the elevator control device 13 via the wireless signal device 28 or the cloud server 29. Thus, the destination floor of the user is registered as a car call in the car operating panel 15 of the car 12.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, even in a non-maintenance contract house, call registration can be performed by restricting the function of the call registration application 26. Thus, the call registration application 26 can be widely used, and the user can perform call registration at each house by using the mobile terminal 25, regardless of the presence or absence of a maintenance contract.

In addition, in the case of using the call registration application 26 in a non-maintenance contract house, the following effects can be obtained by performing advertisement display.

1. Revenue is obtained through "in-app advertising".

2. The running fee of the management server (cloud server 29) can be paid by the revenue of the "in-application advertisement". Therefore, even if the construction of house data is managed by the management server, the non-maintenance contract house is commercially established.

3. In the case where a manager of a building delegates a maintenance contract of an elevator to a maintenance company other than an elevator manufacturer, an application function is limited, and an application needs to be started each time to perform call registration. That is, since the function of automatic call registration, which is call registration without hands, cannot be used, there is a possibility that the maintenance contract is returned to the application provider, i.e., the elevator manufacturer.

4. Since the advertisement display section is present in the call registration screen, the business of obtaining income is established regardless of the presence or absence of the maintenance contract. In addition, as a derivative, by transferring to the call registration screen after the advertisement is displayed for a certain time, the income of advertisement display can be increased.

5. Since the advertisement information is increased for the non-maintenance contract house, by setting the advertisement price higher, it is possible to realize a business model in which a large amount of advertisement revenue can be obtained for a house in which the cost of the maintenance contract cannot be obtained, as seen from the elevator manufacturer side.

According to at least one embodiment described above, an elevator system and a call registration method can be provided, and call registration can be performed by a user's mobile terminal even in a non-maintenance contract house.

In addition, although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other modes, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

Claims (10)

1. An elevator system for performing call registration of an elevator by using a portable terminal equipped with application software for call registration, characterized in that,

provided with a server for managing house data of an elevator,

the house data includes information on the presence or absence of a maintenance contract,

when the portable terminal acquires the house data from the server, the portable terminal restricts a function related to the call registration according to the presence or absence of a maintenance contract and displays advertisement information.

2. An elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that,

as functions related to the call registration described above, there are: an automatic call registration function for registering a departure floor and a destination floor of a user preset in the application software to the elevator; and a manual call registration function for starting the application software and registering the departure layer and destination layer of the user to the elevator by manual operation,

when the portable terminal performs call registration in a non-maintenance contract house, the automatic call registration function is restricted, and call registration is performed by the manual call registration function.

3. An elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that,

when the mobile terminal performs call registration in a non-maintenance contract house, the display range of the advertisement information is enlarged and the information amount is increased as compared with a maintenance contract house.

4. An elevator system according to claim 3, characterized in that,

in the non-maintenance contract house, information provided unilaterally from the advertisement dispenser is displayed as the advertisement information.

5. An elevator system according to claim 3, characterized in that,

in the maintenance contract house, peripheral information of the maintenance contract house is displayed as the advertisement information.

6. An elevator system according to claim 3, characterized in that,

in the maintenance contract house, the display/non-display of the advertisement information is switched.

7. An elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that,

when the portable terminal acquires house data related to a maintenance contract house from the server, a password is requested.

8. A call registration method for performing call registration of an elevator using a portable terminal installed with application software for call registration, characterized in that,

house data of the elevator is managed by a server on the cloud,

the house data includes information on the presence or absence of a maintenance contract,

when the portable terminal acquires the house data from the server, the portable terminal restricts a function related to the call registration according to the presence or absence of a maintenance contract and displays advertisement information.

9. The call registration method according to claim 8, wherein,

as functions related to the call registration described above, there are: an automatic call registration function for registering a departure floor and a destination floor, which are preset in the application software, to the elevator; and a manual call registration function for starting the application software and registering the departure floor and the destination floor to the elevator by manual operation,

when the portable terminal performs call registration in a non-maintenance contract house, the automatic call registration function is restricted, and call registration is performed by the manual call registration function.

10. The call registration method according to claim 8, wherein,

when the mobile terminal performs call registration in a non-maintenance contract house, the display range of the advertisement information is enlarged and the information amount is increased as compared with a maintenance contract house.

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