EP4660121A2

EP4660121A2 - Elevator system

Info

Publication number: EP4660121A2
Application number: EP24807626.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gyeong Su BANG
Original assignee: Hyundai Elevator Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hyundai Elevator Co Ltd
Priority date: 2023-05-18
Filing date: 2024-04-03
Publication date: 2025-12-10
Also published as: KR20240166752A; CN120936562A; JP2026508938A; KR102914714B1; WO2024237756A3; WO2024237756A2

Abstract

Disclosed is an elevator system capable of informing a prospective elevator passenger of an elevator state. The elevator system includes an object detection sensor configured to detect an object in a detection region of a platform, and a passenger determination unit configured to determine whether the detected object is a prospective elevator passenger based on object detection information of the object detection sensor.

Description

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to an elevator system for informing a prospective elevator passenger of an elevator state.

[Background Art]

In general, elevators or escalators are installed in various buildings built for residential or business purposes to move people or objects in a vertical direction. In particular, the elevator is a representative vertical transportation means that has an advantage of quickly moving people or objects in an elevator car to a destination floor in a high-rise building.
Such an elevator system generally includes an elevator car that transports passengers while moving up and down along a hoistway formed in a building in a vertical direction, a mechanical part provided with a motor for producing a predetermined power and a winding machine to move the elevator car to a destination floor in response to a button operation of a passenger, and an elevator controller that controls the mechanical part in response to the button operation of the passenger such that the elevator car can be smoothly and stably operated.
A typical elevator system closes an elevator door when a predetermined waiting time elapses after the elevator door is opened or when a door closing button is operated. In other words, even when all passengers waiting to board an elevator car have completed boarding, the elevator car cannot depart until the elevator door is closed after a waiting time for the elevator door to be closed elapses, or operation of the door closing button by a passenger is required to reduce the waiting time for the elevator door to be closed.
However, such additional operation with respect to the door closing button can cause virus transmission between passengers through contact with the door closing button, and aging and damage of the door closing button due to frequent manipulation of the door closing button.
In the elevator system, each platform may be provided with a display unit to display a current floor and a moving direction of an elevator car. The display unit may display not only the current floor and the moving direction of the elevator car, but also various state information of the elevator car, such as maximum capacity, maintenance, failure, abnormality, and the like.
However, since the display unit usually indicates an elevator state through text, the typical elevator system has a limitation in that elevator users can check the elevator state only after approaching the platform and a user who does not see the display unit even after approaching the platform can wait for a long time even though the elevator is unavailable due to maintenance, failure, and the like.
In order to overcome this limitation, recent elevator systems have been developed to inform elevator users at a more distant location about an elevator state through output of voice guidance when the elevator is unavailable due to maintenance, failure, and the like. However, since such voice guidance continues until an unavailable elevator state due to maintenance, failure, and the like is resolved, there is a problem of noise occurrence.
Moreover, the typical elevator system has a problem in that, since the typical elevator system simply informs elevator users of the elevator state through output of state information, such as maintenance or failure, even when a platform door not connected to the elevator car is open due to maintenance or failure of the elevator, a user unaware of such an elevator state can suffer from an accident, such as falling and the like.

[Disclosure]

[Technical Problem]

The present invention has been conceived to solve the aforementioned problems of the related art and it is one aspect of the present invention to provide an elevator system capable of ensuring convenience in use of an elevator by detecting a boarding state of all prospective elevator passengers through an object detection sensor to automatically close an elevator door when all prospective elevator passengers board an elevator car.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide an elevator system that indicates an elevator state, such as maintenance, failure, abnormality, maximum capacity, and the like, through output of voice guidance while allowing output of the voice guidance only when there is an object determined to be a prospective elevator passenger at a platform.

[Technical Solution]

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, an elevator system includes: an object detection sensor configured to detect an object in a detection region of a platform, and a passenger determination unit configured to determine whether the detected object is a prospective elevator passenger based on object detection information of the object detection sensor.
The elevator system may further include a door controller configured to control opening or closing of an elevator door based on a determination of the prospective elevator passenger.
In addition, the door controller may control the elevator door in an open state to be closed without door closing input manipulation upon determining that the prospective elevator passenger has completed boarding the elevator.
Further, the door controller may control the elevator door in an open state to be closed when the number of prospective elevator passengers becomes zero, the number of prospective elevator passengers having been at least one while the elevator door was open.
The passenger determination unit may include: a zone partition unit dividing the detection region into at least two zones including a waiting zone around a platform door and a perimeter zone surrounding at least a portion of the waiting zone; an object tracking unit configured to track an object detected by the object detection sensor; a zone determination unit configured to determine a zone in which the tracked object is located; a speed determination unit configured to determine a moving speed of the tracked object; and a prospective elevator passenger determination unit configured to determine that the tracked object is the prospective elevator passenger when the moving speed of the tracked object decreases by a predetermined value or more after the tracked object enters the waiting zone from the perimeter zone.
The passenger determination unit may further include a non-elevator passenger determination unit configured to determine the tracked object to be a non-elevator passenger passing by the platform when the moving speed of the tracked object does not decrease by the predetermined value or more and the platform door is in a closed state after the tracked object enters the waiting zone from the perimeter zone.
The elevator system according to another embodiment may further include a door controller configured to control an elevator door to be closed based on the number of remaining passengers inside an elevator car.
The passenger determination unit may further include: a zone partition unit dividing the detection region into at least three zones including a waiting zone around a platform door, a perimeter zone surrounding at least a portion of a perimeter of the waiting zone, and a boarding/alighting zone connecting the interior of the elevator car to the waiting zone; an object tracking unit configured to track an object detected by the object detection sensor; a zone determination unit configured to determine a zone in which the tracked object is located; a boarding passenger determination unit configured to determine the tracked object to be a boarding passenger when the tracked object enters the alighting zone from the waiting zone; an alighting passenger determination unit configured to determine the tracked object to be an alighting passenger when the tracked object enters the waiting zone from the alighting zone; and a remaining passenger determination unit configured to determine the number of remaining passengers based on the number of boarding passengers and the number of alighting passengers.
The elevator system may further include: a state information creation unit configured to create state information by determining an elevator state; a state information output unit having a voice output unit configured to output the state information through voice guidance; and an output controller configured to determine to output the voice guidance of the voice output unit based on a determination of the prospective elevator passenger.
Further, the output controller may control the voice output unit to output the voice guidance when at least one of objects detected by the object detection sensor is determined to be the prospective elevator passenger.
Further, the state information may include at least one of maintenance, failure, abnormality, and maximum capacity.

[Advantageous Effects]

According to the present invention, the elevator system can prevent an accident by controlling an elevator door to be closed when a prospective elevator passenger completes elevator boarding after the prospective elevator passenger is detected, while controlling the elevator door to be opened when the prospective elevator passenger is detected during closing of the elevator door.
Furthermore, the elevator system according to the present invention can improve user convenience by informing an elevator state, such as maintenance, failure, abnormality, maximum capacity, and the like, through output of voice guidance while allowing output of the voice guidance only when there is an object determined to be a prospective elevator passenger at a platform.

[Description of Drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a platform to which the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of outputting elevator state information through voice guidance in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a detailed configuration of a passenger determination unit of the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a detection region of the platform in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a prospective elevator passenger and a non-elevator passenger in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating additional configurations for door control in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating additional configurations of a passenger determination unit configured to determine remaining passengers in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a boarding passenger in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an alighting passenger in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Best Mode]

It should be noted that the technical terms used herein are used merely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, unless specifically defined otherwise, technical terms used herein should be interpreted as having meanings generally understood by a person having ordinary knowledge in the art and should be interpreted neither in an overly broad sense nor in an overly narrow sense. Furthermore, when a technical term used herein is an incorrect technical term that does not accurately express the idea of the invention, it should be substituted with a technical term properly understood by those skilled in the art.
In addition, the singular forms, "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and/or "including," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof, but should not be construed as necessarily including all of these, and some of them may not be included, and do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
It should also be noted that the attached drawings are intended only to facilitate understanding of the idea of the invention and should not be construed as limiting the invention.
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a platform with the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Hereinafter, an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be schematically described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.
The elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to inform an elevator state, such as maintenance, failure, abnormality, maximum capacity, and the like, through voice guidance while allowing output of the voice guidance only when an object determined to be a prospective elevator passenger planning to board an elevator is present at a platform.
To this end, referring to FIG. 1, the elevator system according to this embodiment may include a state information creation unit 100 configured to create state information of the elevator, a state information output unit 200 configured to output the state information of the elevator, an object detection sensor 300 configured to detect an object at the platform, a passenger determination unit 400 configured to determine whether the object is a passenger, and an output controller 500 configured to control output of the state information output unit 200.
The state information creation unit 100 may determine the elevator state to create the state information. Here, the state information created by the state information creation unit 100 may include maintenance, failure, abnormality, and maximum capacity.
Specifically, the state information creation unit 100 may determine the elevator state as a maintenance state when an elevator operation mode is switched to a maintenance mode through mode manipulation by an administrator, and may determine the elevator state as an abnormal state when the elevator operation mode is switched to an abnormal mode through mode manipulation by the manager. In addition, the state information creation unit 100 may determine the elevator state as a failure state when a failure is detected in the elevator or when the elevator operation mode is switched to a failure mode. Further, the state information generator 100 may determine the elevator state as a maximum capacity state when a measured total weight of passengers in an elevator car is greater than or equal to a reference weight (for example, 90% of an allowable boarding weight).
The state information output unit 200 may output the state information created by the state information generation unit 100 in various forms such that a prospective elevator passenger can check the elevator state.
Referring to FIG. 2, the state information output unit 200 may include a text output unit 210 configured to output the state information through text guidance. The text output unit 210 is individually arranged on each floor of the platform and may output not only the state information, but also current floor information and moving direction information of the elevator car.
Further, the state information output unit 200 may include a voice output unit 230 configured to output the state information through voice guidance. The voice output unit 230 may also be individually arranged on each floor of the platform together with the text output unit 210. As such, the elevator system according to this embodiment can inform the elevator state, such as maintenance, failure, abnormality, maximum capacity, and the like through voice guidance, such that a prospective elevator passenger at a distant location can be informed of the elevator state.
The object detection sensor 300 may be disposed at the platform to detect an object in a detection region a at the platform. Here, the object detection sensor 300 may be individually disposed on each floor of the platform, preferably on a jamb of the platform.
The object detection sensor 300 may be realized by a radar sensor, without being limited thereto. It should be understood that the object detection sensor 300 may be realized by a variety of sensors capable of detecting an object in a predetermined range. Preferably, the object detection sensor 300 is realized by a millimeter wave (mmWave) radar sensor for improvement in precision of object detection.
Here, some objects detected by the object detection sensor 300 may be prospective elevator passengers who plan to board the elevator, and others may be non-elevator passengers who pass by the detection region a of the platform without planning to board the elevator. When an object is detected by the object detection sensor 300, the passenger determination unit 400 may determine whether the object is a prospective elevator passenger or a non-elevator passenger based on detection information from the object detection sensor 300. Here, the passenger determination unit 400 is provided to a central control panel and can individually determine prospective elevator passengers on each floor of the platform. Details of the passenger determination unit 400 configured to determine whether the object is a prospective elevator passenger or a non-elevator passenger will be described below with reference to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6. Furthermore, the passenger determination unit 400 may determine the number of remaining passengers in the elevator car based on the detection information of the object detection sensor 300, as will be described below in detail with reference to FIG. 8 to FIG. 10.
The output controller 500 may determine and control whether the state information output unit 200 outputs the state information. Here, the output controller 500 may be provided to the central control panel and may individually control the state information output unit 200 on each floor of the platform.
Specifically, the output controller 500 may control the text output unit 210 to output state information created by the state information creation unit 100 whenever the state information is created by the state information creation unit 100. Here, output of the state information through the text output unit 210 may continue until the corresponding state is terminated. Conversely, the voice output unit 210 may not always output the state information created by the state information generation unit 100. Specifically, the output controller 500 may determine whether to output the state information through the voice output unit 210 based on a determination result of the passenger determination unit 400 when the state information is created by the state information generation unit 100. Preferably, the output controller 500 controls the voice output unit 230 to output voice guidance only at a platform on a floor where it is determined by the passenger determination unit 400 that at least one prospective elevator passenger is present.
As such, the elevator system according to this embodiment can prevent noise due to meaningless voice guidance by outputting voice guidance only when an object determined to be a prospective elevator passenger is present at the platform.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of outputting elevator state information through voice guidance in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 3, the process of outputting elevator state information through voice guidance in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
When the state information creation unit 100 creates state information, such as maintenance, failure, abnormality, maximum capacity, and the like (S100), the output controller 500 may control the text output unit 210 on each floor to output the state information in text form (S200).
Then, the output controller 500 may determine whether an object is detected by the object detection sensor 300 on each floor (S300). When an object is detected (S300-Y), the output controller 500 may determine based on a determination result of the passenger determination unit 400 whether there is a floor where at least one prospective elevator passenger among the detected objects is present (S400).
Upon determining that there is a floor where at least one prospective elevator passenger among the detected objects is present (S400-Y), the output controller 500 may control the voice output unit 230 to output voice guidance at the platform on the corresponding floor (S500).
Conversely, if no objects are detected (S300-N) or if there is no prospective elevator passenger among the detected objects (S400-N), the output controller 500 may control the voice output unit 230 not to output voice guidance at the platform on the corresponding floor and may continue to perform object detection and to determine whether a prospective elevator passenger is present on the corresponding floor until the generated elevator state is terminated.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a detailed configuration of a passenger determination unit of the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a detection region of the platform in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a prospective elevator passenger and a non-elevator passenger in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Next, referring to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, the passenger determination unit 400 of the elevator system according to the embodiment will be described in more detail.
As described above, the passenger determination unit 400 may determine whether an object detected by the object detection sensor 300 is a prospective elevator passenger or a non-elevator passenger. To this end, referring to FIG. 4, the passenger determination unit 400 may include a zone partition unit 410 that divides the detection region; an object tracking unit 420 configured to track the detected object; a zone determination unit 430 configured to determine a zone in which the tracked object is located; a speed determination unit 440 configured to determine a moving speed of the tracked object; a prospective elevator passenger determination unit 450 configured to determine whether the tracked object is a prospective elevator passenger; and a non-elevator passenger determination unit 460 configured to determine whether the tracked object is a non-elevator passenger.
The zone partition unit 410 may divide the detection region into zones including a waiting zone, in which a prospective elevator passenger planning to board the elevator generally waits, and a perimeter zone surrounding at least a portion of a perimeter of the waiting zone.
More specifically, referring to FIG. 5, the zone partition unit 410 may divide the detection region a into a predetermined region around an elevator door d as a waiting zone a1 and a predetermined region surrounding the remaining perimeter of the waiting zone a1, excluding an elevator door d or a wall on the elevator door d side, as a perimeter zone a2. Preferably, the size of the waiting zone a1 may be set proportional to an interior area of the elevator car to be proportional to an accommodation capacity of the elevator car. Although FIG. 5 shows that the detection region a and each of the divided zones have a rectangular shape, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the detection region a and each of the divided zones may have a circular shape.
Based on the object detection information detected by the object detection sensor 300, the object tracking unit 420 may separately track the detected objects. That is, the object tracking unit 420 may identify the objects detected by the object detection sensor 300 and may track the same object to track a movement path of the corresponding object.
The zone determination unit 430 may determine a zone in which the tracked object tracked by the object tracking unit 420 is located based on zone partition information of the zone partition unit 410. In addition, the speed determination unit 440 may determine a moving speed of the tracked object based on the movement path of the tracked object over time.
The prospective elevator passenger determination unit 450 may receive a zone location of the tracked object from the zone determination unit 430 to determine movement of the tracked object between the zones, may receive the moving speed of the tracked object over time from the speed determination unit 440 to determine a change in speed in each zone, and may determine that the tracked object is a prospective elevator passenger when the moving speed of the tracked object decreases by a predetermined value or move after the tracked object enters the waiting zone a1 from the perimeter zone a2.
By way of example, referring to FIG. 6, in the case where, although both a first object u1 and a second object u2 detected by the object detection sensor 300 enter the waiting zone a1 from the perimeter zone a2, the first object u1 has decreased its moving speed by a predetermined value or more and stopped after entering the waiting zone a1, whereas the second object u2 has not decreased its moving speed by a predetermined value or more even after entering the waiting zone a1, the prospective elevator passenger determination unit 450 may determine that the first object u1 is a prospective elevator passenger and the second object u2 is not the prospective elevator passenger.
The non-elevator passenger determination unit 460 may receive the zone location of the tracked object from the zone determination unit 430 to determine movement of the tracked object between the zones, may receive the moving speed of the tracked object over time from the speed determination unit 440 to determine a change in speed in each zone, and may determine that the tracked object is a non-elevator passenger when the moving speed has not decreased by a predetermined value or more after the tracked object enters the waiting zone from the perimeter zone.
By way of example, referring to FIG. 6, in the case where, although both the first object u1 and the second object u2 detected by the object detection sensor 300 enter the waiting zone a1 from the perimeter zone a2, the first object u1 has decreased its moving speed by a predetermined value or more and stopped after entering the waiting zone a1, whereas the second object u2 has not decrease its moving speed by a predetermined value or more even after entering the waiting zone a1, the non-elevator passenger determination unit 460 determines that the second object u2 is a non-elevator passenger and the first object u1 is not a non-elevator passenger.
In addition, when an object having entered the perimeter zone a2 has stopped without entering the waiting zone a1 or has moved out of the detection region a, the non-elevator passenger determination unit 460 may determine that the corresponding object is a non-elevator passenger.
Here, when the elevator door is open, a prospective elevator passenger can board the elevator without slowing down in the waiting zone a1. Therefore, determination as to the prospective elevator passenger by the prospective elevator passenger determination unit 450 or determination as to the non-elevator passenger by the non-elevator passenger determination unit 460 based on the moving speed of the object may be performed under the condition that the elevator door is closed.
Preferably, the prospective elevator passenger determination unit 450 may determine that an object having entered the perimeter zone a2 with the elevator door open is a prospective elevator passenger when the corresponding object enters the waiting zone a1 from the perimeter zone a2, even if the corresponding object does not slow down after entering the waiting zone a1. Conversely, the non-elevator passenger determination unit 460 may not determine that the object having entered the perimeter zone a2 with the elevator door open is a non-elevator passenger, even if the object does not slow down after entering the waiting zone a1.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating additional configurations for door control in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating additional configurations of a passenger determination unit configured to determine remaining passengers in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a boarding passenger in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In addition, FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an alighting passenger in the elevator system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Hereinafter, a configuration for controlling an elevator door based on a determination result of the passenger determination unit 400 in the elevator system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 10.
According to this embodiment, the elevator system may automatically close the elevator door when it is determined that all prospective elevator passengers have boarded the elevator car after the door of the elevator arriving at the platform is opened, and may automatically close the elevator door when it is determined that all passengers inside the elevator car have alighted therefrom and there are no remaining passengers inside the elevator car after the door of the elevator arriving at the platform is opened.
To this end, the elevator system according to this embodiment includes a door controller 600 that controls opening or closing of the elevator door. The door controller 600 may control the elevator door to be closed based on detection information from the object detection sensor 300 or a determination result of the passenger determination unit 400.
The door controller 600 may control the elevator door to be closed when the object detection sensor 300 on a floor where the elevator has stopped does not detect an object in the detection region a. Specifically, when the elevator door is opened, the door controller 600 may wait for a preset period of time from a point of time that the elevator door is fully opened and then may control the elevator door to be closed when the object detection sensor 300 does not detect an object. Here, the preset period of time may be shorter than a period of time before the elevator door automatically closes, and may be sufficient for the first passenger among passengers alighting from the elevator car to alight therefrom. For example, the preset period of time may be 3 seconds.
Preferably, even if the object detection sensor 300 on the floor where the elevator has stopped detects objects, the door controller 600 controls the elevator door to be closed when none of the detected objects are determined to be prospective elevator passengers. Specifically, the door controller 600 may control the elevator door to be closed when the number of prospective elevator passengers, which was one or more while the elevator door was open, becomes zero.
As such, the elevator system according to this embodiment may automatically close the elevator door when it is determined that all prospective elevator passengers have boarded the elevator car after the door of the elevator arriving at the platform is opened, whereby the elevator passengers do not need to separately press a closing button, thereby preventing virus transmission by touching the closing button. Here, the elevator system according to this embodiment may be provided with a voice recognition system for calling an elevator or inputting a destination floor by voice at the platform. In this elevator system, elevator passengers do not need to touch the buttons during the entire process of using the elevator, thereby completely preventing virus transmission through contact with the buttons during use of the elevator.
On the other hand, the door controller 600 may control the elevator door to be closed based on the number of remaining passengers inside the elevator car. Specifically, the door controller 600 may control the elevator door to be closed when there are no remaining passengers inside the elevator car.
To this end, as shown in FIG. 8, the passenger determination unit 400 may include a boarding passenger determination unit 470 configured to determine a boarding passenger who boards the elevator car, an alighting passenger determination unit 480 configured to determine an alighting passenger who alights from the elevator car, and a remaining passenger determination unit 490 configured to determine a remaining passenger inside the elevator car. Here, the zone determination unit 430 of the passenger determination unit 400 may divide the detection region a A into zones including not only a waiting zone a1 and a perimeter zone a2, but also an alighting zone a3. Here, the alighting zone a3 may be a region connecting the waiting zone a1 to the interior of the elevator car c, as in the examples shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10.
The boarding passenger determination unit 470 may determine that an object tracked by the object tracking unit 420 is a boarding passenger when the tracked object u3 enters the alighting zone a3 from the waiting zone a1 with the elevator door open, as in the example shown in FIG. 9. In addition, the alighting passenger determination unit 480 may determine that the tracked object is an alighting passenger when the tracked object u4 enters the waiting zone a1 from the disembarking area a3 with the elevator door open, as in the example shown in FIG. 10.
The remaining passenger determination unit 490 may determine the number of remaining passengers in the elevator car by comparing the number of boarding passengers with the number of alighting passengers, which are determined at the platform on each floor. Specifically, the remaining passenger determination unit 490 may determine that a value obtained by subtracting the total number of alighting passengers from the total number of boarding passengers on all floors is the number of remaining passengers.
As such, the elevator system according to the present invention can maximize efficiency of elevator operation by automatically closing the elevator door upon determining that there are no remaining passengers inside the elevator car when all passengers inside the elevator car alight from the elevator car after the elevator arrives at the platform.
On the other hand, the door controller 600 may control opening or closing of the elevator door based at a platform call input, a door closing button input, a door opening button input, a destination floor input, arrival of the elevator car at the platform, a door opening time, and the like when the operation mode is a normal mode, and may control the elevator door according to input manipulation of an administrator using a separate administrator manipulation module when the operation mode is switched to a maintenance mode or a failure mode. For example, when the operation mode is a normal mode, the door controller 600 may automatically control the elevator door in an open state to be closed after a preset period of time elapses, and when the operation mode is a maintenance mode, the door controller 600 may not control the elevator door to be closed if no closing input manipulation through the administrator manipulation module occurs even after a preset period of time elapses.
In this embodiment, even when the operating mode is a maintenance mode or a failure mode and no closing input manipulation through the administrator manipulation module occurs, the door controller 600 may control the elevator door in an open state at the platform to be closed immediately upon detection of a prospective elevator passenger. Here, the elevator door includes a platform door and a car door. If the elevator car is not located at the corresponding platform, the door controller 600 may control the platform door of the corresponding platform to be closed independent of the car door.
Accordingly, when a platform door not connected to the elevator car is open due to elevator maintenance or failure, the elevator system according to the present invention can prevent safety accidents, such as falls and the like, from occurring to users unaware of elevator maintenance or failure.
Although some exemplary embodiments have been described herein, it should be understood that these embodiments are given by way of illustration only and that various modifications, variations, and alterations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are intended to illustrate and not to limit the technical ideas of the invention, and the scope of the technical ideas of the invention is not limited by the embodiments. The scope of protection of the invention shall be construed in accordance with the following claims and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents thereto shall be construed to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims

An elevator system comprising:
an object detection sensor configured to detect an object in a detection region of a platform; and

a passenger determination unit configured to determine whether the detected object is a prospective elevator passenger based on object detection information of the object detection sensor.
The elevator system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a door controller configured to control opening or closing of an elevator door based on a determination of the prospective elevator passenger.
The elevator system according to claim 2, wherein the door controller controls the elevator door in an open state to be closed without door closing input manipulation upon determining that the prospective elevator passenger has completed boarding the elevator.
The elevator system according to claim 3, wherein the door controller controls the elevator door in an open state to be closed when the number of prospective elevator passengers becomes zero, the number of prospective elevator passengers having been at least one while the elevator door was open.
The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the passenger determination unit comprises:
a zone partition unit dividing the detection region into at least two zones including a waiting zone around a platform door and a perimeter zone surrounding at least a portion of the waiting zone;

an object tracking unit configured to track an object detected by the object detection sensor;

a zone determination unit configured to determine a zone in which the tracked object is located;

a speed determination unit configured to determine a moving speed of the tracked object; and

a prospective elevator passenger determination unit configured to determine that the tracked object is the prospective elevator passenger when the moving speed of the tracked object decreases by a predetermined value or more after the tracked object enters the waiting zone from the perimeter zone.
The elevator system according to claim 5, wherein the passenger determination unit further comprises a non-elevator passenger determination unit configured to determine the tracked object to be a non-elevator passenger passing by the platform when the moving speed of the tracked object does not decrease by the predetermined value or more and the platform door is in a closed state after the tracked object enters the waiting zone from the perimeter zone.
The elevator system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a door controller configured to control an elevator door to be closed based on the number of remaining passengers inside an elevator car.
The elevator system according to claim 7, wherein the passenger determination unit comprises:
a zone partition unit dividing the detection region into at least three zones including a waiting zone around a platform door, a perimeter zone surrounding at least a portion of a perimeter of the waiting zone, and a boarding/alighting zone connecting the interior of the elevator car to the waiting zone;

an object tracking unit configured to track an object detected by the object detection sensor;

a zone determination unit configured to determine a zone in which the tracked object is located;

a boarding passenger determination unit configured to determine the tracked object to be a boarding passenger when the tracked object enters the alighting zone from the waiting zone;

an alighting passenger determination unit configured to determine the tracked object to be an alighting passenger when the tracked object enters the waiting zone from the alighting zone; and

a remaining passenger determination unit configured to determine the number of remaining passengers based on the number of boarding passengers and the number of alighting passengers.
The elevator system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a state information creation unit configured to create state information by determining an elevator state;

a state information output unit having a voice output unit configured to output the state information through voice guidance; and

an output controller configured to determine to output the voice guidance of the voice output unit based on a determination of the prospective elevator passenger.
The elevator system according to claim 9, wherein the output controller controls the voice output unit to output the voice guidance when at least one of objects detected by the object detection sensor is determined to be the prospective elevator passenger.
The elevator system according to claim 10, wherein the state information comprises at least one of maintenance, failure, abnormality, and maximum capacity.