JP2007276941A - Elevator monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and certainly grasp the state of an elevator at a monitoring center side. <P>SOLUTION: The elevator monitoring system comprises: a camera 24 installed at a predetermined position of a car 2a of the elevator installed in a building 1 and capable of automatically photographing a plurality of predetermined monitoring points 10 of the car 2a; a remote monitoring terminal device 3 for transmitting images of the plurality of monitoring points 10, photographed by the camera 24, to the monitoring center 5; and the monitoring center 5 for receiving the photographed images transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal device 3. When the car 2a is positioned in the normal state, the monitoring center 5 stores the photographed images of the monitoring points 10 transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal device 3 as normal images, stores the photographed images of the monitoring points 10 transmitted at a desired time as inspection images, and compares the stored normal images with the inspection images. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an elevator monitoring system that monitors the state of elevators such as elevators and escalators.

  Elevators such as elevators installed in buildings such as buildings are configured such that a car performs control operation in the event of an earthquake, and is landed on the nearest floor to open a door. However, when the magnitude of the earthquake is large, the elevator stops urgently, and so-called confinement in which the door does not open and the door does not open may occur. In addition to the earthquake, such a situation may occur due to a failure or the like.

  When such confinement occurs, passengers in the car talk to the operator of the monitoring center that monitors the elevator by operating an emergency call button provided on the operation panel, and explain the situation. Be able to. While talking to the passenger, the operator explains the details of the details in the elevator, estimates the cause of confinement from the contents, and performs necessary processing such as arranging maintenance personnel to restore normal operation. It is normal to do.

  However, since the passengers in the elevator are not elevator specialists, it is very difficult to accurately determine the cause when trapped, and the operator has difficulty grasping the state of the elevator. Furthermore, such a situation where the door does not open may occur even when no passenger is in the car. In such a case, there is no way to know the state of the car. Absent.

  Moreover, in the escalator, although the situation of confinement does not occur, a technique for stopping the operation at the time of an earthquake or a failure and knowing the state easily and accurately at the monitoring center is desired.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide an elevator monitoring system that can easily and accurately grasp the state of an elevator on the monitoring center side.

One aspect of the elevator monitoring system of the present invention is:
A camera installed at a predetermined position of the elevator and capable of automatically photographing a plurality of predetermined locations of the elevator;
A remote monitoring terminal device that transmits a captured image of the elevator by the camera to a monitoring center;
A monitoring center for receiving a captured image transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal device;
Consists of
The monitoring center
Normal image storage means for storing a plurality of captured images of the elevator as normal images when the elevator is in a normal state;
Inspection image storage means for receiving captured images of a plurality of locations of the elevator transmitted by the transmission means and storing them as inspection images;
A comparison means for comparing the normal image stored by the normal image storage means with the inspection image stored by the inspection image storage means;
It is characterized by providing.

  According to the present invention, the state of the elevator can be easily and accurately grasped on the monitoring center side by comparing an image captured by a camera capable of automatically capturing a plurality of predetermined positions of the elevator with an image during normal operation. An elevator monitoring system can be provided.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a configuration of one embodiment of the present invention.

  In this embodiment, three elevators are installed as elevators in a building 1 such as a building or a condominium, so that the cars 2a, 2b, 2c can move up and down in cooperation with each other by group management control. ing. Operation control of these cars 2a, 2b, 2c is performed by the remote monitoring terminal device 3. The remote monitoring terminal device 3 has a function of communicating failure information and the like to the monitoring center 5 via the public line 4 when a failure or the like occurs in the cars 2a, 2b, and 2c.

  Each of the cars 2a, 2b, and 2c is provided with an operation panel 22 for the passenger to operate in the vicinity of the door 21, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation panel 22 has a display unit 221 for presenting the moving direction (up / down) of the car (in this case, the car 2a) and the current floor position to the passenger. A destination floor instruction button 222 for instructing the destination floor, a door opening / closing button 223 for instructing opening or closing of the door 21, an emergency call button 224 for instructing a call with the monitoring center 5, Etc. are arranged. In addition, lighting fixtures such as a fluorescent lamp 23 are incorporated in the ceilings of the cars 2a, 2b, and 2c.

  The above is the configuration of a normal car. In this embodiment, in addition to such a normal configuration, the camera 24 is installed on the ceiling of the cars 2a, 2b, 2c. The camera 24 can automatically scan a plurality of preset monitoring points 10 and take a plurality of images. As such a camera 24, for example, a remote monitoring camera sold under the trade name IK-WB21 by Toshiba Corporation, which has a 64-point automatic scan function, an autofocus function, and an optical 22x zoom function is used. can do.

  In the present embodiment, such a camera 24 is installed in the cars 2a, 2b, and 2c, and the position of the monitoring point 10 and the photographing magnification of each monitoring point 10 are set in advance. As the monitoring point 10, for example, a plurality of locations of the door 21, a plurality of locations of the door groove, a plurality of locations of the floor, wall, and ceiling, a plurality of locations of the fluorescent lamp 23, a plurality of locations of the operation panel 22, and the like are set. In this case, the photographing magnification, exposure, and focus are set as appropriate according to the location.

  These cameras 24 are connected to the remote monitoring terminal device 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the remote monitoring terminal device 3 includes a control unit 31, a communication unit 32, and a storage unit 33. Here, the control unit 31 is a CPU or the like that controls the entire remote monitoring terminal device 3. The communication unit 32 is for communicating with the monitoring center 5 via the public line 4. The storage unit 33 is a memory that stores the operation program of the control unit 31.

  On the other hand, a monitoring center device 51 as shown in FIG. The monitoring center device 51 includes a control unit 521, a user interface 522, a communication unit 523, and a storage unit 524. Here, the control unit 521 is a CPU or the like that controls the entire monitoring center device 51. The user interface 522 includes a display for presenting various information to the operator, a keyboard for the operator to perform various input operations, and the like. The communication unit 523 is for communicating with the remote monitoring terminal device 3 installed in the building 1 via the public line 4. And the memory | storage part 524 is a memory for memorize | storing the operation | movement program of the said control part 521, and memorize | stored the image image | photographed with the camera 24 installed in the said cage | basket | car 2a, 2b, 2c.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the storage unit 524 stores two images, that is, a normal image and an inspection image, as images of each monitoring point 10 in association with camera numbers that are IDs for specifying each camera 24. It is supposed to be. Here, the normal image is an image taken when the corresponding cars 2a, 2b, 2c are operating normally, such as when the camera 24 is installed. The inspection image is a captured image at the current time (inspection time).

  In the present embodiment, the camera 24 does not always shoot, but shoots according to an instruction from the monitoring center 5 at the time of an earthquake or failure.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in more detail.

  First, the normal image acquisition operation will be described with reference to FIG. 6 showing an operation flowchart of the control unit of the monitoring center device and the control unit of the remote monitoring terminal device. Of course, the control unit of the monitoring center device and the control unit of the remote monitoring terminal device perform normal monitoring operations and elevator control operations in addition to the operations described below. However, since such normal operation is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, the operation flowchart shows only the operation peculiar to the present invention.

  In accordance with the control program stored in the storage unit 524, the control unit 521 of the monitoring center apparatus 51 first uses the communication unit 523 via the public line 4 to provide the cars 2a, 2b, An operation instruction signal designating the target camera 24 is transmitted to the remote monitoring terminal device 3 of the building 1 in which 2c is installed (step S501). Then, it waits to receive an image from the remote monitoring terminal device 3 via the public line 4 in the communication unit 523 (step S502).

  When the communication unit 32 receives the operation instruction signal from the monitoring center 5 according to the control program stored in the storage unit 33 (step S31), the control unit 31 of the remote monitoring terminal apparatus 3 receives the designated camera 24. An imaging command is given (step S32). In response to this shooting command, the camera 24 takes a picture of a plurality of preset monitoring points 10, one for each point. The control unit 31 of the remote monitoring terminal device 3 sends the captured image to the monitoring center 5 via the public line 4 by the communication unit 32 each time an image captured from the camera 24 is sent (step S33). (Step S34). The transmission of the captured image is repeatedly performed until the camera 24 captures all the monitoring points 10 and outputs an end signal (step S35). If the end signal is obtained from the camera 24, the end signal is transmitted to the monitoring center 5 via the public line 4 by the communication unit 32 (step S36), and the operation is ended.

  When the control unit 521 of the monitoring center device 51 receives the captured image transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal device 3 via the public line 4 by the communication unit 523 (step S502), the received captured image is received by the monitoring point 10. Is stored in the corresponding camera number area of the storage unit 524 (step S503). Thereafter, the communication unit 523 determines whether an end signal is received from the remote monitoring terminal device 3 via the public line 4 (step S504). If it is not received, the process returns to step S502. Thus, when the end signal is received (step S504), the operation is ended.

  Next, the operation when an earthquake occurs or a failure occurs will be described.

  In the monitoring center 5, when an earthquake occurs or failure information is transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal device 3, the operator is notified by the user interface 522 of the monitoring center device 51. Alternatively, when the emergency call button 224 of the operation panel 22 in the cars 2a, 2b, 2c is operated, the cars 2a, 2b are connected via the user interface 522 of the monitoring center device 51 via the remote monitoring terminal device 3 and the public line 4. , 2c is connected to the voice line with the passengers. When the communication unit 523 receives the failure information from the remote monitoring terminal device 3 and the operation signal of the emergency call button 224 of the operation panel 22 as described above, the control unit 521 of the monitoring center device 51 operates as shown in FIG. Execute.

  Of course, the operator can instruct the start of the operation as shown in FIG. 7 by performing a predetermined operation of the user interface 522 in response to the notification from the user interface 522. Furthermore, it is also possible for the operator to instruct the start of movement as shown in FIG. 7 by performing the predetermined operation of the user interface 522 for reasons such as inspection.

  In accordance with the control program stored in the storage unit 524, the control unit 521 of the monitoring center apparatus 51 first uses the communication unit 523 via the public line 4 to provide the cars 2a, 2b, An operation instruction signal designating the target camera 24 is transmitted to the remote monitoring terminal device 3 of the building 1 in which 2c is installed (step S511). Then, the communication unit 523 waits to receive an image from the remote monitoring terminal device 3 through the public line 4 (step S512).

  In response to the operation instruction signal, the control unit 31 of the remote monitoring terminal device 3 performs the operation as described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  Thus, when the control unit 521 of the monitoring center device 51 receives the captured image transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal device 3 via the public line 4 by the communication unit 523 (step S512), the received captured image is received. The inspection image of the monitoring point 10 is stored in the corresponding camera number area of the storage unit 524 (step S513). This reception and storage operation is repeated until the communication unit 523 receives an end signal from the remote monitoring terminal device 3 via the public line 4 (step S514).

  If the end signal is received (step S514), the inspection image stored in the storage unit 524 and the corresponding normal image are read one by one (step S515) and compared with each other (step S516). . Here, the presence / absence of abnormality is determined from the difference between the two images (step S517). For example, when the monitoring point 10 is the door 21, the open / closed state of the door 21 and the damaged state of the door 21 can be determined by comparing the inspection image with the normal image. Further, when the monitoring point 10 is a door groove, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of foreign matter such as dust in the door groove by comparing both images. When the monitoring point 10 is a floor, a wall, or a ceiling, it is possible to determine the state of dirt or damage. When the monitoring point 10 is the fluorescent lamp 23, the lighting state or the damaged state of the fluorescent lamp 23 can be determined. When the monitoring point 10 is the operation panel 22, the current landing position, the display unit 221 is damaged, the destination floor instruction button 222 is operated or damaged, the door opening / closing button 223 is operated or damaged, The lighting state, etc. can be determined.

  A known image recognition technique can be used as a method for comparing both images. Depending on which monitoring point is to be discriminated, it is possible to arbitrarily select a comparison processing method such as a whole image comparison or a main part comparison.

  If it is determined in step S517 that there is no abnormality, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all inspection images stored in the storage unit 524 (step S518). If there is still an unprocessed inspection image, the process returns to step S515. If there is no unprocessed inspection image, the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S517 that there is an abnormality, the user interface 522 generates an abnormality alarm (step S519), and the process ends.

  Thereby, the operator can grasp | ascertain easily and exactly what kind of abnormality the monitoring point 10 has.

  Of course, the determination of abnormality in step S517 is not limited to simple image comparison. For example, when an image cannot be acquired due to obstruction by a person (for example, when focusing cannot be performed at a preset focal length), the inspection image and the normal image are clearly different, and the actual abnormality It is determined as abnormal regardless of the presence or absence. Therefore, in such a case, it is only necessary to notify the operator through the user interface 522 without performing abnormality determination on the inspection image.

  In this way, the normal image and the inspection image are acquired and compared by the camera 24 capable of automatically photographing a plurality of predetermined monitoring points 10 in the cars 2a, 2b, and 2c, so that the monitoring center 5 side Thus, it becomes possible to easily and accurately grasp the state in the cars 2a, 2b, 2c.

  The operator arranges maintenance personnel according to the state in the cars 2a, 2b, 2c grasped in this way, asks the manager of the building 1 to remove, for example, foreign matter in the door groove, Necessary measures such as transmitting an instruction signal to the device 3 to drive the door 21 in the closing direction can be taken.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on one Embodiment, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, Of course, a various deformation | transformation and application are possible within the range of the summary of this invention. is there.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, an alarm is issued to the operator immediately when there is an abnormality. However, after all the abnormality determination results are stored and the processing for all inspection images is completed, there is an abnormality. An alarm may be generated for the monitoring point 10 determined to have been detected.

  In the above-described embodiment, the normal image is described as being performed only when the camera 24 is installed, but it is more preferable to update and acquire the normal image at regular intervals in consideration of changes with time.

  Of course, the number of cars connected to one remote monitoring terminal device 3 is not limited to three.

  Furthermore, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where an elevator was an elevator as an example, of course, this invention is applicable also to other elevators, such as an escalator.

  In short, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various forms can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining a plurality of monitoring points of a camera provided in a car. FIG. 2 is a front view of the operation panel provided in the car. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the remote monitoring terminal device. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the monitoring center device. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a storage configuration of captured images of each camera in the storage unit of the monitoring center device. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an operation flowchart of the control unit of the monitoring center device and the control unit of the remote monitoring terminal device at an arbitrary time point when the car is in a normal state. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation flowchart of the control unit of the monitoring center apparatus when an earthquake occurs.

Explanation of symbols

    DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Building, 2a, 2b, 2c ... Car, 3 ... Remote monitoring terminal device, 4 ... Public line, 5 ... Monitoring center, 10 ... Monitoring point, 21 ... Door, 22 ... Control panel, 23 ... Fluorescent lamp, 24 ... Camera 31 ... Control part 32 ... Communication part 33 ... Storage part 51 ... Monitoring center device 221 ... Display part 222 ... Destination floor instruction button 223 ... Door open / close button 224 ... Emergency call button 521 ... Control unit, 522, user interface, 523, communication unit, 524, storage unit.

Claims (7)

A camera installed at a predetermined position of the elevator and capable of automatically photographing a plurality of predetermined locations of the elevator;
A remote monitoring terminal device that transmits a captured image of the elevator by the camera to a monitoring center;
A monitoring center for receiving a captured image transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal device;
Consists of
The monitoring center
Normal image storage means for storing a plurality of captured images of the elevator as normal images when the elevator is in a normal state;
Inspection image storage means for receiving captured images of a plurality of locations of the elevator transmitted by the transmission means and storing them as inspection images;
A comparison means for comparing the normal image stored by the normal image storage means with the inspection image stored by the inspection image storage means;
Elevator monitoring system comprising:   The elevator monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring center further includes warning means for issuing a warning when there is a difference between a normal image and an inspection image as a result of comparison by the comparison means. The monitoring center further includes photographing instruction means for instructing a photographing operation of the camera,
The remote monitoring terminal device starts the operation of the camera in response to receiving the instruction from the photographing instruction means;
The elevator monitoring system according to claim 1.   The elevator monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the time point when the photographed image is transmitted by the transmission means is when an earthquake occurs.   The elevator monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the time point at which the captured image is transmitted by the transmission means is when the elevator is stopped. The elevator is an elevator,
6. The elevator monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of places are monitoring points in an elevator car.   The monitoring point includes at least one position of a car door, a door groove, an operation panel display, an operation panel destination floor instruction button, an operation panel door open / close button, and a lighting device in the car. The elevator monitoring system according to claim 6, wherein

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