JP2009523683A - Elevator display system - Google Patents

Abstract

  The elevator destination floor registration unit that displays the estimated time until the assigned elevator car arrives reduces the user's anxiety. Various destination floor registration units that allow the user to register the destination floor are installed on each floor of the building. The destination floor registration unit is connected to the elevator control device via an interface. The elevator controller (a) assigns an optimal elevator car according to the destination floor of the user registered in the destination floor registration unit, and (b) expects to wait for the elevator assigned to arrive at the registered floor. The waiting time is calculated and (c) sent to the destination registration unit to display some of the information regarding elevator assignment and expected waiting time.

Description

  The present invention relates to an elevator indicator that displays a time required until an elevator arrives.

  In recent years, the number of elevators has increased, and a destination floor registration unit is installed near the elevator platform that guides the elevators that should depart for a given destination floor (destination floor). It is like that. Such a system is often referred to as a “destination registration” system. In such an elevator system, an elevator car call is automatically registered, and when a user gets on the elevator car guided by the registration unit, the elevator car moves to the destination floor without requiring various operations. It is configured as follows. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-348170 describes a method that can lead to an assigned elevator car without confusing the user.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-348170 describes that a destination floor registration unit can be installed in a building as shown in FIG. 8 (8A). FIG. 8 (8A) is a plan view of a certain floor in the building, and shows that elevators A to F are provided near the elevator landing. The destination floor registration unit 10 is installed between the elevators B and C and between the elevators E and F at the elevator platform. Further, the destination floor registration unit 10 is also arranged on each of the guide lines 20a and 20b drawn on the floor in order to guide a user who is at a predetermined distance to the elevator platform.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 (8B) and (8C), each of the destination floor registration units 10 includes a registration operation unit 11 for registering the destination floor using a numeric keypad, and a display unit 12 for displaying elevator information. Have. For example, when the user registers (inputs) 25th floor as “25” as the destination floor using the numeric keypad as shown in FIG. 8 (8B), as shown in FIG. 8 (8C), the 25th floor “25F” is displayed on the display unit 12. In addition, the display unit 12 indicates to the user the elevator car that he / she should ride (for example, “No. A”), and the direction in which he / she walks to the specified elevator car. (For example, “to the left”).

  When the user registers the destination floor with the registration unit 10 provided at some distance from the elevator car, the user moves to the front of the elevator car (for example, elevator A) displayed on the display unit 12. In the meantime, you may worry or feel impatient, "The elevator car may have already arrived and left." If the assigned elevator car has already departed before the user actually arrives at the elevator car, the user must register the destination floor using another destination floor registration unit 10.

  Therefore, it is preferable that the user who uses the registration unit 10 provided at a position far from the elevator car specified by the registration unit does not have such an uneasy feeling.

  Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above-described problems that plague conventional elevators.

  One embodiment of the present invention addresses an elevator display system that includes a destination floor registration unit and an elevator controller along with other possible elements. The destination floor registration unit includes, along with other possible elements, a registration operation unit configured to receive a destination floor entered by a user and a display unit that displays information about the optimal elevator car assigned. . The elevator control device assigns an optimal elevator car corresponding to the floor where the user has registered the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit, and (b) the floor where the user has registered the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit. Calculate the estimated arrival time at which the assigned optimal elevator car arrives and (c) send the information including the assigned optimal elevator car and the estimated arrival time to the destination registration unit for display on the display unit It is configured as follows.

  In another embodiment of this elevator display system, if the optimal elevator car assigned to the floor where the user registered the destination floor in the destination floor registration unit arrives before the estimated arrival time has passed, the estimated arrival time Until the time elapses, the elevator controller is configured to keep the optimum elevator car assigned to the floor where the user has registered the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit.

  In still another embodiment of the elevator display system, the display unit of the destination floor registration unit is configured to change the display mode in accordance with the margin to the estimated arrival time.

  Another embodiment of the invention relates to a method for managing passenger movement via an elevator system in a building. In this method, the user registers the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit, the user assigns the optimal elevator car corresponding to the floor with the destination floor registered with the destination floor registration unit, and the user A step of calculating an estimated arrival time of arrival of the optimum elevator car assigned to the floor where the destination floor has been registered by the floor registration unit, and information including the assigned optimum elevator car and the estimated arrival time to the destination floor registration unit. Transmitting, and displaying the assigned optimal elevator car and estimated arrival time at the registration unit, along with other possible steps.

  In yet another embodiment of the method, the step of calculating the estimated arrival time is such that the user registers the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit during the time required to pass per floor of the assigned optimal elevator car. The base time is determined by multiplying the number of floors to which the optimal elevator car assigned to reach the given floor has to travel, and the optimal elevator car assigned by the user is the destination floor registration unit. If there is a necessary stop while moving to the registered floor, the base time is added to a predetermined time required for each stop.

  Both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention.

  Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals indicate like components. Various embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the figures. However, the present invention is not limited to the examples discussed below.

  FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration showing an embodiment of the present invention, and shows the situation of each floor in a building in a sectional view.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a destination floor registration unit 30 is installed at the elevator landing position on each floor and / or near the landing. The destination floor registration unit 30 is connected to the elevator control device 41 via the interface 40. The elevator control device 41 is used to manage all elevators in the building. When the destination floor is registered using one of the destination floor registration units 30, the control device 41 (a) selects the optimum elevator car (for example, the destination floor in the shortest time based on the registered destination floor registration information). Elevator car that can carry up to) (b) The waiting time is calculated considering the current situation of the assigned elevator car and the anticipated future events, and (c) the user registers the destination floor The waiting time calculated via the destination floor registration unit 30 used to do this is shown.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the elevator control device 41 includes, for example, a group management unit 42 and control panels 44 a, 44 b, 44 c connected to the respective elevator cars via a bus 43. 1 and 2, the solid line arrows indicate the flow of the destination floor information, and the broken line arrows indicate the predicted waiting time and the flow of the allocation information.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (3A) and FIG. 3 (3B), each of the destination floor registration units 30 includes a registration operation unit 31 for registering the destination floor using a numeric keypad, and a display unit 32. The display unit 32 displays information regarding the destination floor, the specific elevator car assigned by the elevator control unit 41, and the waiting time calculated by the elevator control unit 41. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 (3A), when the user registers the 25th floor as the destination floor using the numeric keypad, information related to the registered destination floor is transmitted to the elevator control device 41 via the interface 40. . The elevator control device 41 (a) assigns (calculates) an optimal elevator to the user, and (b) considers the current situation of the assigned elevator and the expected future events, and the floor where the user is located. Calculates the waiting time until the elevator assigned to arrives, and (c) sends it to the destination registration unit 30 to display information regarding this expected waiting time and assignment.

  In response, as shown in FIG. 3 (3B), “25F” (ie, the destination floor is the 25th floor), “Elevator A” (ie, the assigned elevator car), and “about 20 seconds later “Arrive.” (That is, waiting time) is displayed on the display section 32 of the destination floor registration unit 30. The user can know that the elevator car assigned to him / her has about 20 seconds to arrive by the displayed waiting time, so there is no anxiety and the elevator car entrance Can move up to. Furthermore, when the destination floor registration unit 30 is installed on the guide line 20a located at some distance from the elevator platform (that is, the mode shown in FIG. 8), and the user performs registration using the destination floor registration unit 30. Also, he / she can move to the front of the assigned elevator car without hesitation within the displayed waiting time.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a waiting time calculation method executed by the elevator control device 41 in the embodiment of the present invention. In the example shown, when two users 50, 51 who want to move to the lower floor are on the 4th and 6th floors and the elevator is running from the 8th floor down, The case where the person 52 arrives at the lobby floor is shown. If the average time it takes for an elevator car to pass per floor is 2 seconds, it will be 14 before the elevator car reaches the lobby floor unless it stops to carry passengers on the 4th and 6th floors. Requires a base time of seconds (ie, 7 floors multiplied by 2 seconds of travel time per floor). In addition, if it takes 5 seconds to get passengers on one floor, it takes 10 seconds in total to put users 50 and 51 on both the 4th and 6th floors. Therefore, the total estimated time until the elevator car arrives at the lobby level is 24 seconds. The total estimated time of 24 seconds is displayed to the new user 52 in the lobby via the display unit 32 of the registration unit 30 where the new user has registered his / her destination floor.

  In order to facilitate visual understanding of each type of information displayed on the display unit 32 of the destination floor registration unit 30, the expected waiting time is represented by an image and / or a color instead of (or in addition to) a numerical value. be able to. For example, the estimated waiting time can be indicated numerically on the display 32 as shown in FIG. 5 (5A) (which is similar to FIG. 3 (3A)), but as shown in FIG. 5 (5B). Can be displayed with a time block meter and / or a clock image as shown in FIG. 5 (5C).

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 6 (6A) to (6C), the color used for the display unit 32 can be changed according to the length of the waiting time until the assigned elevator car arrives. That is, instead of displaying the estimated waiting time, the display is displayed in green as shown in FIG. 6 (6A), for example, when there is sufficient time, and when the user needs to hurry, the display is shown in FIG. 6 (6B). ) Or red / orange as shown in FIG. 6 (6C) when the user needs to move a little faster than usual. When this type of display is employed, the user can intuitively know how much time is left before the elevator car assigned by the display color arrives. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 (7A) to (7C), the display of the arrival time in FIGS. 5 (5A) to (5C) and the display based on the color of the arrival time in FIGS. 6 (6A) to (6C). Can be combined.

  If the elevator car arrives before the expected waiting time displayed by the destination floor registration unit 32 has elapsed, the elevator control device 41 remains open or closed until the estimated waiting time elapses. Try to keep the elevator on that floor.

  When control is performed in the manner described above, the user can be confident that the elevator car can be boarded unless the expected waiting time elapses, and therefore it is necessary to re-register the destination floor that was previously required. Disappear. Further, the user can move to the boarding gate without worrying about whether the elevator car has already departed. Furthermore, since the time required until the assigned elevator arrives can be known at the time of registration of the destination floor, the user's anxiety and / or impatience can be eliminated (or at least reduced). In addition, the color and / or display image allows the user to intuitively know how much time he / she can afford before the elevator arrives, thereby enabling anxiety and / or impatience Can reduce or dispel feelings.

  This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-010564 filed in Japan on January 19, 2006, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

  The foregoing description is intended to be illustrative of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims to the specific examples or groups of examples. Thus, although the invention has been described in specific detail with reference to specific embodiments, several modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. I want you to understand.

1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. The specific block diagram which shows one Example of this invention. The front view of the destination floor registration unit in one Example of this invention. The figure which shows an example of calculation of the estimated waiting time in one Example of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a display of the estimated time in one Example of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a display of the estimated waiting time in the other Example of this invention. The figure which shows the example of a display of the estimated waiting time in the other Example of this invention. The figure which shows an example of the conventional elevator indicator ((8A) The sketch which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the destination floor registration unit in a building, (8B) (8C) The front view of a destination floor registration unit).

Claims (12)

A destination floor registration unit including a registration operation unit configured to receive a destination floor input by a user, and a display unit for displaying information on an allocated optimal elevator car;
(A) Allocating an optimal elevator car corresponding to the floor where the user has registered the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit; (b) The floor where the user has registered the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit; Calculating an estimated arrival time at which the assigned optimal elevator car arrives, and (c) transmitting the information including the assigned optimum elevator car and the estimated arrival time to a destination registration unit for display on a display unit An elevator control device configured to:
Elevator display system.   If the allocated elevator car arrives before the estimated arrival time has passed on the floor where the user has registered the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit, the elevator control device 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user is configured to keep the assigned optimum elevator car on the floor where the user registers the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit until time elapses. Elevator display system.   The elevator display system according to claim 1, wherein the display unit of the destination floor registration unit is configured to change a display mode according to a margin to the estimated arrival time.   The elevator display system according to claim 3, wherein the aspect includes a color.   The elevator display system according to claim 3, wherein the aspect includes an image.   The elevator display system according to claim 3, wherein the aspect includes a color and an image.   The elevator display system according to claim 2, wherein the display unit of the destination floor registration unit is configured to change a display mode in accordance with a margin to the estimated arrival time.   The elevator display system according to claim 7, wherein the aspect includes a color.   The elevator display system according to claim 7, wherein the aspect includes an image.   The elevator display system according to claim 7, wherein the aspect includes a color and an image. A method for managing passenger movement through an elevator system in a building,
The user registers the destination floor in the destination floor registration unit;
Assigning an optimal elevator car corresponding to the floor where the user has registered the destination floor in the destination floor registration unit;
Calculating an estimated arrival time at which the assigned elevator car arrives at the floor where the user has registered the destination floor in the destination floor registration unit;
Transmitting the information including the allocated optimal elevator car and the estimated arrival time to the destination registration unit;
Displaying the assigned optimal elevator car and the estimated arrival time on the registration unit;
Including methods. Calculating the estimated arrival time comprises:
In the time required for the assigned optimum elevator car to pass per floor, the assigned optimum elevator car for the user to reach the floor where the destination floor is registered by the destination floor registration unit. Determine the base time by multiplying the number of floors that must travel,
If there is a necessary stop while the allocated optimum elevator car moves to the floor where the user has registered the destination floor with the destination floor registration unit, a predetermined time required for each stop is set as the base. Adding to time,
The method of claim 11 comprising:

Images