JP2019001614A - Elevator user guiding system - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform an exclusive operation or a priority operation of an elevator with respect to a priority user according to an instruction from a guide robot.SOLUTION: A guide robot 8 disposed at an elevator hall 5 for preferentially guiding a priority user is arranged at the elevator hall 5 so as to determine whether the priority guide for the priority user is executed by comparing video data output from a monitoring camera 7 and video data serving as identification data for identifying the priority user with the use of the monitoring camera 7 photographing the vicinity of an entrance of an elevator hall. When the priority guide is decided to be executed, the guide robot 8 arranged at the elevator hall 5 is notified of an elevator car for guiding the priority user so that the guide robot 8 guides the priority user to the entrance of the elevator car upon the reception of the notification.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an elevator user guidance system.

  In a conventional elevator apparatus, dedicated or priority elevator operation such as VIP call or wheelchair call is performed by a VIP guide or a wheelchair user or their attendant registering a predetermined dedicated or priority call. Is preferentially called. When the elevator car arrives and the door is opened, a predetermined operation such as VIP-only operation or wheelchair priority operation can be performed.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for solving a situation in which a VIP waits for a long time with the door open when the VIP has not arrived at the landing.
The technology described in Patent Document 1 prevents the door from opening immediately when the car arrives at the landing after switching to dedicated operation by VIP call registration, and waits for instructions from VIP to open the door. It is intended to open. That is, Patent Document 1 includes a transmission unit carried by the VIP and a reception unit installed near the landing for opening the door when the distance from the transmission unit becomes a predetermined value or less. An elevator device is described that opens the door in a timely manner when the VIP arrives.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 01-209288

The conventional technology as described in Patent Document 1 opens the door when the distance between the receiving means installed in the vicinity of the landing and the transmitting means carried by the VIP or wheelchair user falls below a predetermined value. However, at this time, there is a problem that the door cannot be opened unless the VIP or the wheelchair user carries the transmission means.
It is also a guide to register VIP calls or wheelchair calls that identify specific users such as VIPs or wheelchair users and allow them to perform dedicated or preferential driving of elevators according to the arrival of specific users at the landing. It is. For this reason, after making a VIP call or a wheelchair call, the guide has to wait on a full-time basis and cannot perform other tasks.

  An object of the present invention is to provide elevator user guidance that eliminates the need for receiving means installed near the landing and sending means carried by the inquirer when guiding a priority user by a guidance robot, and does not require a dedicated guide. To provide a system.

In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted.
The elevator user guidance system of the present invention includes a plurality of means for solving the above-described problems. For example, a specific elevator number among a plurality of elevator numbers installed in a building is preferentially used. A management center device that performs control for priority operation for a person, a guide robot disposed near the elevator hall, and a monitoring camera that photographs the vicinity of the elevator hall.
Furthermore, the priority user identification video processing unit for identifying the priority user by comparing the video data output from the surveillance camera with the video data stored in advance for identifying the priority user, and the priority And an elevator unit operation allocation calculation unit that calculates allocation of elevator units that perform priority operation for the priority user identified by the user identification video processing unit. And a guidance robot guides a priority user to the boarding point of an elevator machine based on the allocation result from a driving allocation calculating part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to the present invention, since the car arrival timing can be optimally adjusted in accordance with the guidance to the priority user, it is possible to suppress waiting for a long time while the door remains open in the exclusive or priority operation of the elevator. it can. In addition, since the guidance robot itself guides the priority user, there is no need to arrange a dedicated guide for the priority user call.
Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiment. In this specification, VIPs and wheelchair users are collectively referred to as “priority users”.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the elevator user guidance system in the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the guidance robot in the embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the guidance robot and management center apparatus of the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the group management table in the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the robot management table in the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the VIP schedule management table in the example of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure of VIP guidance in the embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the wheelchair guidance in the example of embodiment of this invention.

[Description of Overall System of Embodiment of the Present Invention]
Hereinafter, an example of an elevator user guidance system according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “this example”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the elevator user guidance system of this example, a plurality of buildings 1 to be managed, a management center device 11, and a schedule registration device 12 are connected by a communication line 10.

  The building 1 is provided with a plurality of elevators 2 (or elevator number 2), a plurality of elevator control panels 3, an elevator group management device 4 that manages the plurality of elevators 2 as a group, and a communication device 9. In addition, in the elevator halls 5 of some floors such as each floor or the first floor elevator hall, the surveillance camera 7 for monitoring images of persons and wheelchairs entering the elevator hall 5 and the surveillance camera 7 were used for photographing. A video recording device 6 for recording video is provided.

  The elevator hall 5 is provided with a guide robot 8 for guiding a VIP or a wheelchair user as a priority user. The guide robot 8 is connected to the elevator group management device via the communication device 9. 4 and the video recording device 6 are connected by wire or wireless. The guide robot 8 can communicate with each device in the building 1 via the communication device 9 and is connected to the management center device 11 via a communication line 10 such as the Internet. The management center device 11 is a device that centrally manages each device including the guide robot 8 disposed in each building 1.

  Moreover, the schedule registration apparatus 12 is provided in the elevator user guidance system of this example. This schedule registration device 12 is connected to the management center device 11 via the communication line 10 and registers a VIP visit schedule and the like in the VIP schedule management table 11 d of the management center device 11. The VIP schedule management table 11d will be described later with reference to FIG.

The elevator group management device 4 provided in the building 1 includes a group management control unit 4a, a group management table (TBL) 4b, an operation allocation calculation unit 4c, an arrival time calculation unit 4d, and a communication interface (IF) 4e.
The group management control unit 4a manages a plurality of elevator machines 2 as a group. The group management table 4b is a table in which various information for managing the operation status of each elevator number 2 is recorded. Details of the group management table 4b will be described later with reference to FIG.

  The operation allocation calculation unit 4c calculates and determines which elevator car 2 is allocated in response to a hall call, dedicated operation, or priority operation call. And the arrival time calculating part 4d calculates the time until the elevator machine 2 allocated by the operation allocation calculating part 4c arrives at the floor where the call was made. The communication interface 4e communicates with the elevator control panel 3 and the communication device 9.

[Configuration and function of guidance robot]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the guide robot 8. The guide robot 8 is a mobile robot having wheels or legs as moving means. As shown in FIG. 2, the guidance robot 8 includes a robot overall control unit 20, a drive mechanism 21, a camera 22, a microphone 23, a speaker 24, a video processing unit 25, an utterance control unit 26, a VIP schedule management table 27, and a wheelchair identification. An image database 28 is provided.

  The robot overall control unit 20 manages the overall control of each function provided in the guide robot 8. The drive mechanism 21 is an actuator serving as a power source for driving the wheels or legs of the guide robot 8. The video processing unit 25 performs identification processing of a person (for example, VIP) or a wheelchair based on the video from the camera 22. Further, the utterance control unit 26 listens to the conversation of the priority user (VIP or wheelchair user) based on the sound from the microphone 23 and controls the utterance to the priority user by the speaker 24 in response to the conversation.

The VIP schedule management table 27 has the same configuration as the VIP schedule management table 11d of the management center apparatus 11 described later. Since the guide robot 8 has the VIP schedule management table 27, the VIP schedule can be shared with the management center apparatus 11.
Various images relating to wheelchairs are stored in the wheelchair identification image database 28, and the guidance robot 8 collates the images from the camera 22 with the images stored in the wheelchair identification image database 28 to allow wheelchair users Identify The communication interface 29 is an interface for the guide robot 8 to communicate with the elevator group management device 4 and the management center device 11.

[Configuration and function of management center device]
Referring back to FIG. 1 again, the management center apparatus 11 includes the guidance system overall control unit 11a, the video data storage area 11b, the robot management table 11c, the VIP schedule management table 11d, the VIP identification video processing unit 11e, and the wheelchair identification video processing. Unit 11f and communication interface 11g.
The entire guidance system control unit 11a has a function of controlling the entire elevator user guidance system of this example. The video data storage area 11 b is a storage area for storing video data distributed from the monitoring camera 7 or the video recording device 6 of each building 1 through the communication line 10.

  The robot management table 11 c is a table for managing the guide robot 8 provided in the elevator hall 5 of each building 1. Details of the robot management table 11c will be described later with reference to FIG. The VIP schedule management table 11d is a table for managing the VIP information including the VIP identification image data and the VIP visit date / time schedule, and details will be described later with reference to FIG.

In addition, the VIP identification video processing unit 11e identifies a VIP image from video data distributed from the monitoring camera 7 or the video recording device 6 installed in each building 1. For identification of the VIP image, VIP identification image data stored in advance in the video data storage area 11b of the management center apparatus 11 is used.
The wheelchair identification video processing unit 11 f identifies the wheelchair image from the video data distributed from the monitoring camera 7 or the video recording device 6 of each building 1. When identifying the wheelchair image, the wheelchair image stored in advance in the video data storage area 11b is used.
Note that the VIP identification image processing unit 11e and the wheelchair identification image processing unit 11f are collectively referred to as “priority user identification image processing unit”.
The communication interface 11g is an interface for performing communication between the management center device 11, each device of each building 1, and the schedule registration device 12.

[Hardware configuration of guidance robot and management center]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the guidance robot 8 and the management center apparatus 11 used in the elevator user guidance system of this example. FIG. 3A shows the hardware configuration of the guidance robot 8, and FIG. 3B shows the hardware configuration of the management center apparatus 11.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the guidance robot 8 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33, and a nonvolatile storage 34 connected to the bus 30. In addition, a communication interface (communication IF) 35 for performing communication with the outside is provided.

The CPU 31 reads out the program code of the software that realizes the function of each part of the guide robot 8 from the ROM 32 and executes it. In the RAM 33, variables and the like generated during the arithmetic processing performed in the guidance robot 8 are temporarily written. Various functions in the guide robot 8 are realized by the CPU 31 executing the program code recorded in the ROM 32.
The communication interface 35 is the same as the communication interface 29 shown in FIG. 2, and a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like is used as the communication interface 35, for example. Through this communication interface 35, the guide robot 8 communicates with the communication device 9 in the building 1.

The non-volatile storage 34 is configured by a non-volatile memory such as an SSD (Solid State Drive), and programs and data necessary for the operation of the CPU 31 are semi-permanently stored and stored. The nonvolatile storage 34 is provided with a storage area for storing the VIP schedule management table 27 and the wheelchair identification image data 28 shown in FIG.
The guidance robot 8 includes an input unit 36 and an output unit 37. The input unit 36 corresponds to, for example, the camera 22 and the microphone 23 included in the guide robot 8 of FIG. 2, and the output unit 37 corresponds to the speaker 24 of the guide robot 8 of FIG.

FIG. 3B shows a hardware configuration of the management center apparatus 11 of FIG. Since the CPU 41, ROM 42, and RAM 43 shown in FIG. 3B are the same as the CPU 31, ROM 32, and RAM 33 shown in FIG. 3A, description thereof is omitted here.
The non-volatile storage 44 is configured by a non-volatile memory such as an SSD, and the non-volatile storage 44 has storage areas corresponding to the video data storage area 11b, the robot management table 11c, and the VIP schedule management table 11d shown in FIG. It is formed. The ROM 42 and the non-volatile storage 44 store and store programs and data necessary for the operation of the CPU 41 semipermanently.
For example, a NIC or the like is used as the communication interface (communication IF) 45, and communication with the communication device 9 and the schedule registration device 12 via the communication line 10 is performed through the communication interface 45.

[Description of various tables]
FIG. 4 shows the data structure of the group management table F1 (the group management table 4b in FIG. 1) used by the group management control unit 4a of the elevator group management device 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the group management table F1 includes an elevator car field F1a, an operation field F1b, a state field F1c, and an estimated arrival time field F1d for the next destination floor.
In addition, the group management table F1 indicates the allocation status such as the car position (□) or waiting (■) in the traveling, car call (O), up hall call (▲), or down hall call (▼). Fields F1e to F1h for storing each of the first floor to the fourth floor) are provided. The group management control unit 4a performs group management of the elevator No. 2 using the operation status stored in the fields F1a to F1h of the group management table F1.

As shown in FIG. 4, elevator No. 1 has an up hall call (▲) registered on the third floor and a car call (◯) registered on the fourth floor. The elevator No. 1 is traveling on the first floor (□) in the group management operation, indicating that the estimated arrival time until arrival at the third floor is 25 seconds later. In addition, elevator No. 2 indicates that it is on standby (■) on the fourth floor.
Elevator No. 3 has a down hall call (▼) and a car call (○) registered on the 3rd floor, is traveling on the 2nd floor in group management operation (□), and the estimated arrival time to the 3rd floor is 15 Indicates that there are seconds later. Further, the elevator No. 4 is designated for VIP operation, indicating that it is on standby (■) on the first floor.

  Here, the arrival time calculation unit 4d of the elevator group management device 4 performs an operation on the elevator machine 2 in which the operation state and the car position of each elevator machine 2 have changed. For example, the estimated arrival time 25 seconds for the elevator No. 1 is set to 10 seconds for the movement of the first floor and 5 seconds for the car to open after the arrival of the car. This calculation is based on the premise that the elevator No. 1 starts traveling from the first floor and heads to the third floor in accordance with a predicted time that is matched to the local elevator specifications in advance. That is, in FIG. 4, the calculation result of 2 floors × 10 seconds + door opening 5 seconds = 25 seconds is stored in the estimated arrival time field F1d as the estimated arrival time of the elevator # 1.

FIG. 5 shows the data structure of the robot management table F2 (the robot management table 11c in FIG. 1) of the management center apparatus 11.
As shown in FIG. 5, the robot management table F2 includes a robot number field (robot No.) F2a, a building name field F2b, a hierarchy field F2c, an operation state field F2d, and a guidance state field F2e.
Here, the robot number field F2a stores a number (or code) for specifying the guide robot 8 in each hierarchy. Here, the guide robot 8 is specified by the numbers of robots 1 to 4. The building name field F2b represents the name of the building where the guidance robot 8 is deployed, and the hierarchy field F2c represents the hierarchy where the guidance robot 8 is arranged.

  The operating state field F2d indicates whether each guide robot 8 (here, robots 1 to 4) is operating, is on standby, or is stopped. The guidance state field F2e indicates who the guidance robot 8 is guiding. Here, it can be seen that Robot No. 1 is guiding VIPs on the first floor of Building A, and Robot No. 4 is guiding wheelchair users on the first floor of Building B.

As described above, the video data of the plurality of monitoring cameras 7 arranged in each building 1 is sent to the management center device 11 via the video recording device 6 at a constant cycle. And the guidance system whole control part 11a of the management center apparatus 11 stores the video data from the monitoring camera 7 in the video data storage area 11b with the identifier which shows the video from which the monitoring camera 7. FIG.
In addition, the guide robot 8 of each building 1 transmits the operating state and the like to the management center apparatus 11 at a constant cycle. The guidance system overall control unit 11a of the management center apparatus 11 stores information such as the operating state transmitted from the guidance robot 8 in the robot management table 11c (robot management table F2 in FIG. 5).

  The management center apparatus 11 manages the guide robot 8 using data stored in the robot operation state field F2d and the guide state field F2e of the robot management table F2. In the example of FIG. 5, the robot No. 1 in the guidance robot 8 is guiding the VIP on the first floor of the A building, and the robot No. 2 is stopped on the third floor of the A building. Further, it is shown that Robot No. 3 is waiting on the 4th floor of Building A, and Robot No. 4 is on the wheelchair user's guide on the 1st floor of Building B.

FIG. 6 shows the data structure of the VIP schedule management table F3 (the VIP schedule management table 11d in FIG. 1).
As shown in FIG. 6, the VIP schedule management table F3 includes a scheduled time field F3a, a building name field F3b, a boarding field F3c, a descending field F3d, a VIP name field F3e, a discrimination image field F3f, and an incoming direction field F3g. Is provided.

  The scheduled time field F3a stores the date and time when the VIP schedule was registered, and the building name field F3b stores the name of the building for which VIP registration was performed. In addition, the floor where the VIP gets on the elevator is stored in the boarding field F3c, and the floor where the VIP gets off the elevator is stored in the downstairs field F3d. Furthermore, the VIP name field F3e stores what kind of person the VIP is (for example, the president of the Company or the president of another company (Company B)), and the face image of the VIP is stored in the discrimination image field F3f. . Also, the incoming direction field F3g stores the direction in which the VIP enters.

  The management center 11 manages the VIP schedule using the VIP schedule management table F3. For example, the No. 1 record in FIG. 6 indicates that the president (the company president) enters from the entrance on the first floor of the A building and exits on the fourth floor at 8:50 on March 21. The No.2 record indicates that the president is scheduled to leave the large meeting room on the 4th floor of building A at 12:00 on March 21st. No. The 3rd record shows that the president of company B visits from the 1st floor entrance of the A building at 12:50 on March 22, and gets off at the 4th floor, and the No.4 record is 13:50 on March 22nd. Shows that President B plans to leave the C room on the 4th floor and get off on the 1st floor.

[Explanation of schedule registration device]
A schedule registration device 12 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to a management center device 11 via a communication line 10 such as the Internet. The schedule registration device 12 can register the VIP schedule in the management center 11 using a schedule registration screen (not shown). When the schedule registration device 12 registers a VIP schedule, the guidance system overall control unit 11a of the management center device 11 stores the registered VIP schedule in the VIP schedule management table 11d.

[Explanation of VIP guidance process]
Next, with reference to FIG. 7, a processing procedure when the elevator user is VIP in the elevator user guidance system of this example will be described.
First, the schedule registration device 12 registers a VIP schedule in the VIP schedule management table F3 of the management center device 11 (step S1). When the registration of the VIP schedule is performed, the management center apparatus 11 searches the scheduled time field F3a of the VIP schedule management table F3, and determines whether there is a VIP schedule registration for the current day (step S2). If there is no VIP schedule registration for that day (NO in step S2), the system waits and waits.

  If it is determined in step S2 that there is a VIP schedule for the current day (YES in step S2), the building floor (the building name field F3b) registered in the schedule for the current day (the boarding field F3c) A record (for example, No. 1 record in FIG. 6) indicating that the VIP guidance schedule is entered is distributed to the deployed guidance robot 8 (step S3). The guide robot 8 is a robot specified by the robot management table 11c (the robot management table F2 in FIG. 5) of the management center apparatus 11.

  For example, it is assumed that the corresponding record is, for example, the No. 1 record in the VIP schedule management table F3 in FIG. The corresponding guide robot 8 in this case is the robot No. 1 deployed on the first floor of the A building shown in No. 1 of the robot management table F2 of FIG. Therefore, the management center apparatus 11 informs the robot No. 1 that the corresponding No. 1 record, that is, the president gets on the elevator on the first floor at 8:50 on March 21.

  Next, the management center apparatus 11 determines whether or not a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes before) of 8:50, which is the scheduled time registered in the scheduled time field F3a of the VIP schedule management table F3. (Step S4). If it is not before the predetermined time (NO in step S4), the robot 1 is kept waiting until the current time is 30 minutes before the scheduled time, that is, 8:20.

  If it is determined in step S4 that it is 30 minutes before the scheduled time (8:20) (YES in step S4), the VIP identification video processing unit 11e of the management center apparatus 11 determines the corresponding No. 1 record. Using the president's face image in the image field F3f, discrimination of the VIP (our president) entering the building from the entrance is started (step S5). Here, the latest video data of the entrance monitoring camera 7 registered in the incoming direction field F3g of the VIP schedule management table F3 is read, and this latest video data is stored in the video data storage area 11b of the management center apparatus 11.

  Next, the VIP identification video processing unit 11e of the management center apparatus 11 collates the latest video data from the in-direction monitoring camera 7 with the already registered VIP image, and matches a predetermined value (for example, 80% or more). It is determined whether or not the image is to be processed (step S6). In step 6, the discrimination process is repeated until an image that matches a predetermined value or more is discriminated. In step S6, for example, if an image that matches 80% or more is determined (YES in step S6), the VIP registered in the previously transmitted schedule notifies robot 1 that it has entered from the incoming direction. (Step S7).

  Upon receiving the notification of VIP arrival, Robot No. 1 expands in the direction of entry and performs a VIP search from the video data captured by the camera 22 based on the face image of the discrimination image registered in the already transmitted schedule. A discrimination process for identifying an image that matches at least a predetermined value is performed (step S8). This VIP search and discrimination process is performed by the video processing unit 25 of the robot No. 1 (guide robot 8). The video processing unit 25 repeats the search and discrimination process until an image that matches the video data (face image) captured by the camera 22 at least a predetermined amount is discriminated (step S9).

For example, if an image that matches 80% or more is determined in step S9 (YES in step S9), the robot No. 1 will guide the president, who is a VIP, to the elevator by the speech control unit 26 and the speaker 24. And VIP guidance is started (step S10).
When starting the VIP guidance, the robot No. 1 first makes an inquiry about the VIP guidance on the floor (the first floor) where the robot No. 1 is arranged to the elevator group management device 4. That is, the robot No. 1 inquires to which elevator No. 2 the VIP should be guided (step S11).

The elevator group management device 4 that has received the inquiry about the VIP operation calculates the elevator machine 2 that can make the earliest transition to the VIP operation by the operation allocation calculation unit 4c, and changes to the VIP operation. Temporary registration of VIP operation is performed while suppressing allocation to hall calls (step S12).
Then, the elevator group management device 4 recalculates the estimated time until the arrival at the floor (here, the first floor) where the robot No. 1 inquired by the elevator No. 2 is inquired by the arrival time calculation unit 4d. Then, the elevator No. 2 (the elevator No. 2) for guiding the VIP to the robot No. 1 and the estimated arrival time are notified (step S13).

Next, the elevator No. 2 that is in VIP operation and the robot No. 1 that has received the notification of the estimated arrival time calculate the distance from the position where the robot No. 1 is currently located to the elevator No. 2 in the elevator hall 5, and the robot The guide time is calculated from the travel time based on the normal travel speed of No. 1 itself (step S14).
Then, the robot No. 1 instructs the elevator group management device 4 to change the VIP operation to the elevator machine 2 from the temporary registration to the main registration and transition to the VIP operation state (step S15).

  Next, the elevator group management device 4 compares the estimated arrival time of the elevator 2 to the floor where the robot 1 is deployed and the guidance time for the robot 1 to guide the VIP to the landing of the elevator 2. Then, it is determined whether the arrival of the car is later than the guidance time of the robot 1 (step S16). If the time until the elevator No. 2 arrives at the floor where the robot No. 1 is deployed is later than the guidance time of the robot No. 1 (predicted arrival time> guide time) (YES in step S16), the time difference is next. It is determined whether or not there is (step S17).

  If the time difference between the estimated arrival time of the elevator No. 2 and the VIP guidance time of the robot No. 1 is large in step S17, that is, if it takes a considerable time until the elevator No. 2 arrives (YES in step S17), the elevator group management The apparatus 4 instructs the utterance control unit 26 of the robot 1 to make time by talking with the VIP guided by the robot 1 (step S18). Further, the robot No. 1 is instructed to move to the elevator No. 2 at a speed slower than the normal movement speed (step S19).

If the time until the elevator No. 2 arrives at the floor where the robot No. 1 is arranged is faster than the guidance time of the robot No. 1 (estimated arrival time <guide time) (NO in step S16), Robot No. 1 heads for the elevator No. 2 at a normal speed (normal movement) (step S26).
In step S17, if the time difference between the estimated arrival time of elevator No. 2 and the VIP guidance time of robot No. 1 is not so large (NO in step S17), step S18 (conversation with VIP) is omitted and step 19 is skipped. move on.

  Next, the elevator group management device 4 determines whether the robot No. 1 has reached the vicinity of the landing of the elevator No. 2 (step S20). When the robot No. 1 reaches the vicinity of the landing of the elevator No. 2 (YES in Step S20), the Robot No. 1 instructs the elevator group management device 4 to open the door of the elevator No. 2 (Step S21). The car call to the fourth floor registered in the descending field F3d of the schedule management table F3 is commanded (step S22).

Next, the robot No. 1 confirms that the VIP has entered the car of the elevator No. 2 (step S23), and issues a door close command to the elevator group management device 4 (step S24). The VIP guidance is terminated at the time when is completely closed (step S25).
In FIG. 7, the procedure in which Robot 1 performs VIP guidance according to the No. 1 record of FIG. 6 and performs the dedicated operation of the elevator machine 2 has been described. However, other guidance robots 8 can be considered similarly. Needless to say.

[Description of wheelchair guidance process]
Next, with reference to FIG. 8, a processing procedure when the priority user is a wheelchair user in the elevator user guidance system of this example will be described.
Here, the wheelchair user includes a visitor with a child who uses a stroller, for example, in addition to a disabled person who uses the wheelchair.

  First, the management center apparatus 11 determines whether each building 1 is open (step S41). If each building 1 is not open, it stands by until it is opened (NO in step S41). And the management center apparatus 11 acquires the video data of the camera 7 which monitors the wheelchair user who enters into the area of the elevator hall 5 of each floor of the building 1 opened by the wheelchair identification image processing unit 11e.

  The management center device 11 collates the video data captured by the camera 7 with the discriminating wheelchair image stored in advance in the video data storage area 11b, and determines whether or not the images match by a predetermined amount or more. I do. And it is discriminate | determined whether the video data image | photographed with the camera 7 and the wheelchair image for a discrimination | determination previously stored in the video data storage area 11b are an image 80% or more correspond (step S42). The image discrimination in step S42 is repeated until an image that matches 80% or more is found (NO in step S42).

If an image that matches 80% or more is determined in step S42 (YES in step S42), the management center 11 determines that the corresponding building 1 corresponds based on the installation position of the monitoring camera 7 and the information in the robot management table 11c. The guidance robot 8 deployed on the floor is specified, and its operating state is read (step S43).
Then, it is determined whether or not the guidance robot 8 is currently guiding a VIP or another wheelchair user (priority user) (step S44).

  If it is determined in step S44 that the guidance robot 8 is guiding the priority user (NO in step S44), the management center apparatus 11 discards the wheelchair detection result photographed by the camera 7 and proceeds to step S42. Return. On the other hand, if the guidance robot 8 deployed on the floor is not guiding, that is, if it is waiting (YES in step S44), the management center device 11 determines which entry direction the wheelchair user has with respect to the guidance robot 8. (Step S45). Here, the guidance procedure for the wheelchair user will be described by taking as an example the robot 4 that guides the wheelchair user on the first floor of the building B shown in the No. 4 record of FIG.

  Upon receipt of the wheelchair user visit notification, the robot No. 4 expands in the direction of entry and searches for a wheelchair identifying image that matches a predetermined number or more from the wheelchair identifying image database 28 stored in advance by the video processing unit 25. Then, the discrimination process is started (step S46). This determination process is repeated until an image that matches a predetermined value or more is determined (step S47).

In step S47, for example, when an image that matches 80% or more is determined (YES in step S47), the robot No. 4 notifies the wheelchair user that guidance is provided by the utterance control unit 26. The wheelchair user guidance is started (step S48).
Next, the robot No. 4 inquires of the elevator group management device 4 about wheelchair operation on the first floor of the building B where the robot No. 4 is deployed (step S49). That is, it is inquired which elevator machine 2 the wheelchair user should be guided to.

The elevator group management device 4 that has received an inquiry for wheelchair guidance from the robot No. 4 calculates the elevator No. 2 that can make the earliest transition to the wheelchair priority operation by the operation allocation calculation unit 4c, and makes the transition to the wheelchair priority operation. Allocation to the hall call for Unit 2 is suppressed, and provisional registration of wheelchair priority operation is performed (step S50).
The elevator group management device 4 recalculates the estimated time until the elevator No. 2 arrives on the first floor of the Building B where the robot No. 4 is deployed by the arrival time calculation unit 4d, and makes an inquiry The elevator No. 2 and the estimated arrival time are notified to No. 4 (step S51).

  Next, the elevator No. 2 to be wheelchair-operated and the robot No. 4 receiving the notification of the estimated arrival time calculate the distance from the position where the current robot No. 4 is located to the landing of the elevator No. 2 in the elevator hall 5, The wheelchair user's guidance time is calculated based on the movement time based on the normal movement speed of the robot No. 4 itself (step S52).

  Thereafter, the robot No. 4 instructs the elevator group management device 4 to make the wheelchair operation to the elevator machine 2 be temporarily registered from the temporary registration and transition to the wheelchair operation state (step S53). The robot No. 4 compares the estimated arrival time of the elevator No. 2 up to the first floor where the robot No. 4 is deployed with the guidance time for the robot No. 4 to guide the wheelchair user to the elevator No. 2; It is determined whether or not arrival is late, that is, whether or not arrival prediction time> guide time (step S54).

  If it is determined that the elevator machine 2 arrives at the floor where the robot 4 is deployed is later than the guidance time of the robot 4 (estimated arrival time> guide time) (YES in step S54), Next, it is determined how much the time difference is present (step S55).

  If it is determined in step S55 that the time difference between the estimated arrival time of the elevator machine 2 and the wheelchair guidance time of the robot is large, that is, if it takes a considerable time until the elevator machine 2 arrives (YES in step S55), the elevator The group management device 4 instructs the utterance control unit 26 of the robot No. 4 to earn time by talking with the wheelchair user guided to the robot No. 4 (step S56). Further, the robot 4 is instructed to move to the elevator machine 2 at a speed slower than the normal movement speed (step S57).

  If it is determined in step S54 that the elevator No. 2 arrives at the floor where the robot No. 4 is deployed faster than the guidance time of the robot No. 4 (arrival predicted time <guide time) (NO in step S54), the robot 4 The number goes to the hall of the elevator number 2 at a normal speed (step S64). In step S55, when the time difference between the estimated arrival time of the elevator No. 2 and the guidance time for the wheelchair user is not so large, that is, when the arrival time to the floor of the robot No. 4 of the elevator No. 2 is not so large (step In step S55 (NO), step S56 (conversation with a wheelchair user) is omitted, and the process proceeds to step 57.

  Next, the robot No. 4 determines whether or not the wheelchair user has been reached near the landing of the elevator No. 2 (step S58). When the robot No. 4 reaches the vicinity of the hall of the elevator No. 2 (YES in Step S58), the Robot No. 4 issues a door opening command for the elevator No. 2 to the elevator group management device 4 (Step S59). ) A car call to the destination floor that is heard from the wheelchair user through conversation is instructed (step S60).

  Next, the robot No. 4 confirms that the wheelchair user has completed the entry of the elevator No. 2 into the car (step S61), and the elevator group management device 4 is instructed to close the door, that is, start running by wheelchair operation. A command is issued (step S62), and the wheelchair guidance is terminated when the door is closed (step S63).

  As described above, in the elevator user guidance system of this example, the video data from the monitoring camera 7 that captures the vicinity of the entrance of the elevator hall 5 where the guidance robot 8 is arranged, and the priority user (VIP or wheelchair user) ) Is used for discrimination. Then, the management center device 11 and the guidance robot 8 are linked to detect that a priority user enters, and the guidance robot 8 switches the operation to the priority user in the elevator group management device 4.

  In addition, the estimated arrival time to the floor where the elevator 2 and the guidance robot 8 for switching the operation to the priority user are obtained, and the priority user is adjusted to the platform of the elevator 2 while adjusting the guide moving speed. I was going to guide you. The guidance robot 8 arriving at the elevator number 2 can issue a door opening command to the elevator group management device 4 so that the door can be opened for a long time in the case of priority user operation. The waiting can be suppressed.

  Thereby, the car arrival timing of the elevator No. 2 and the guidance time for the guidance robot 8 to guide the elevator to the landing of the elevator No. can be substantially matched, so that a special guide is dedicated to the priority user. There is no need.

  Further, in the elevator user guidance system of this example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the role sharing between the management center device 11 and the guidance robot 8 has been described by dividing the function. And the function with which the management center apparatus 11 is equipped can also exchange function sharing. That is, it is possible to incorporate some functions in the management center apparatus 11 into the guide robot 8, or conversely, incorporate the functions of the guide robot 8 into the management center apparatus 11.

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

Further, the control lines and information lines indicate what is considered necessary for the explanation, and not all the control lines and information lines on the product are necessarily shown. Actually, it may be considered that almost all the components are connected to each other.
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed in the specification or the drawings, and of course includes other applications and modifications as long as they do not depart from the contents described in the claims. It is.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Building, 2 ... Elevator (elevator number machine), 3 ... Elevator control panel, 4 ... Elevator group management apparatus, 4a ... Group management control part, 4b, F1 ... Group management table, 4c ... Operation allocation calculating part, 4d ... Arrival Time calculation unit, 4e ... communication interface, 5 ... elevator hall, 6 ... monitoring camera, 7 ... video recording device, 8 ... guide robot, 9 ... communication device, 10 ... communication line, 11 ... management center device, 11a ... guidance system General control unit, 11b ... Video data storage area, 11c, F2 ... Robot management table, 11d, F3 ... VIP schedule management table, 11e ... VIP identification video processing unit, 11f ... Wheelchair identification video processing unit, 11g ... Communication interface, 12 ... Schedule registration device, 20 ... Robot overall control program, 21 ... Drive mechanism, 22 ... Mera, 23 ... microphone, 24 ... speaker, 25 ... image processor, 26 ... conversation control unit, 27, F3 ... VIP schedule management table, 28 ... Roll recognition image data, 29 ... communication interface

Claims (5)

A management center device that controls a specific elevator number among a plurality of elevator numbers installed in a building as a priority operation for a priority user, a guidance robot arranged near the elevator hall, and an elevator hall In an elevator user guidance system comprising a surveillance camera for photographing the vicinity,
A priority user identification video processing unit for comparing the video data output from the surveillance camera with video data stored in advance to identify the priority user, and for identifying the priority user;
An elevator operation allocation calculation unit that calculates the allocation of elevator elevators that perform priority operation for the priority user identified by the priority user identification video processing unit,
The said guidance robot guides the said priority user to the landing of the said elevator number based on the allocation result from the said operation allocation calculating part, The elevator user guidance system characterized by the above-mentioned. The priority driving for the priority user is VIP exclusive driving or wheelchair priority driving.
The elevator user guidance system according to claim 1. The guidance robot is
Notifying the elevator group management device of switching between the VIP exclusive operation or wheelchair priority operation,
The elevator group management device is:
Notifying the guidance robot of the arrival time to the elevator hall of the elevator and the elevator that switches to the VIP exclusive operation or wheelchair priority operation,
The elevator user guidance system according to claim 2, wherein the guidance robot guides the priority user to the elevator machine when the elevator machine arrives at the elevator hall. The guidance robot is
When guiding the identified priority user to the elevator number, guide while adjusting the moving speed to guide the priority user to the elevator number,
As soon as the elevator number arrives at the elevator hall, the elevator group management device is instructed to open an elevator door.
The elevator user guidance system according to claim 3. A schedule registration device connected to the communication line is provided,
The schedule registration device uses the schedule registration screen to register a schedule for VIP exclusive operation in the management center device when the priority user is VIP, and the guide robot is registered in the management center device. In accordance with the VIP schedule, guide the VIP to the designated elevator platform,
The elevator user guidance system according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

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