JP2024073119A - Elevator remote inspection system and elevator remote inspection method - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an elevator remote inspection system and method that can perform remote inspection as simply as possible in response to various elevators with different communication specifications and signal specifications. [Solution] A control unit 152 uses information including a DZ signal to identify the correspondence between the position of the car 10 between the first and fifth floors and the time. If the control unit 152 determines, based on the correspondence, that the car 10 has traveled back and forth between the first and fifth floors without stopping at any floor between the first and fifth floors, it determines that the state of the car call button is normal. [Selected Figure] Figure 23

Description

This disclosure relates to a remote elevator inspection system and a remote elevator inspection method for remotely inspecting elevators.

In recent years, there has been an increasing need for elevator remote inspection systems that use communication lines to remotely inspect elevators in elevator maintenance work. One example of a system that performs such remote inspections is the remote monitoring support device disclosed in JP 2022-019900 A (Patent Document 1). This remote monitoring support device determines whether the elevator is in a normal operating state based on the output state of a signal acquired from the elevator's control board.

By implementing remote inspection, the inspection work at the maintenance site is reduced, which greatly improves the efficiency of maintenance work. In addition, there are legal provisions (for example, the Common Specifications for Building Maintenance Work established by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan) that allow the implementation of remote inspection to extend the implementation cycle of statutory regular inspection work, which can further improve the efficiency of maintenance work.

In particular, in a global market where elevators from a wide variety of manufacturers are installed, maintenance companies need to provide maintenance services regardless of elevator manufacturer or model (multi-brand maintenance). On the other hand, building owners who enter into maintenance contracts have a strong need to be able to freely select a maintenance company and enter into maintenance contracts that allow remote inspections, regardless of the manufacturer of the elevators installed.

For these reasons, there is a growing need for a remote elevator inspection system that can perform remote inspections based on signals obtained from the elevator system, regardless of elevator manufacturer or model.

JP 2022-019900 A

However, in the elevator industry, communication and signal specifications for each manufacturer and model are not standardized. Furthermore, these specifications are not publicly disclosed. For this reason, it is usually not possible for different manufacturers to use a common elevator remote inspection system.

When developing a remote elevator inspection system that is compatible with various elevators with different communication and signal specifications, it is necessary to devise ways to obtain signals exchanged through parallel transmission, such as by capturing switch contact signals. In addition, because signal specifications are not standardized between manufacturers, the types of signals that can be commonly used are greatly limited.

Furthermore, even if signals are commonly available, some signals may not be suitable for use due to hardware constraints such as the installation cost or difficulty of installing an elevator remote inspection system in a building. For this reason, in order to realize such an elevator remote inspection system, careful consideration must be given to what signals to use and what methods to use to determine the inspection items for remote inspection.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an elevator remote inspection system and elevator remote inspection method that can perform remote inspection as easily as possible for various elevators with different communication specifications and signal specifications.

The elevator remote inspection system according to the present disclosure is a system for remotely inspecting elevators. The elevator remote inspection system includes an instruction unit, an acquisition unit, a control unit, and an output unit. The instruction unit performs a transmission process for transmitting a hall call signal that generates an elevator hall call to the elevator equipment group. The acquisition unit acquires, as a judgment signal, a signal that is input/output by parallel transmission between the elevator equipment group and a control panel that controls the elevator equipment group. The control unit generates a hall call signal that is transmitted by the transmission process, and performs a judgment process for judging an inspection item of the remote inspection based on the judgment signal acquired by the acquisition unit as a result of the transmission process. The output unit outputs the judgment result of the inspection item. The transmission process is a process for transmitting a first hall call signal that generates a first hall call in the upward direction on the first floor, and a second hall call signal that generates a second hall call in the downward direction on the second floor that is higher than the first floor. The determination signal includes a first signal indicating either a first state in which the car is located within a door zone that indicates a positional range of the car in which the elevator car doors can be opened and closed, or a non-first state that is not the first state. The inspection items include the state of a car call button that generates a car call. The control unit uses information including the first signal to identify the correspondence between the car's position between the first floor and the second floor and time. Based on the correspondence, the control unit determines that the state of the car call button is normal when it determines that the car has traveled back and forth between the first floor and the second floor without stopping at a floor between the first floor and the second floor.

The elevator interval inspection method according to the present disclosure is a method for remotely inspecting an elevator. The elevator interval inspection method includes a step of performing a transmission process of transmitting a hall call signal that generates an elevator hall call to an elevator equipment group, a step of acquiring a signal input/output by parallel transmission between the elevator equipment group and a control panel that controls the elevator equipment group as a judgment signal, a step of generating a hall call signal transmitted by the transmission process, and a step of performing a judgment process of judging an inspection item of the remote inspection based on the judgment signal acquired by the step of acquiring the result of the transmission process, and a step of outputting the judgment result of the inspection item. The transmission process is a process of transmitting a first hall call signal that generates a first hall call in an upward direction on the first floor, and a second hall call signal that generates a second hall call in a downward direction on a second floor above the first floor. The judgment signal includes a first signal that indicates either a first state in which the car is located within a door zone that indicates a position range of the car in which the elevator car door can be opened and closed, or a non-first state that is not the first state. The inspection items include the state of a car call button that generates a car call. The step of performing the judgment process includes a step of identifying a correspondence between the position of the car between the first floor and the second floor and time using information including the first signal, and a step of judging that the state of the car call button is normal when it is determined based on the correspondence that the car has traveled back and forth between the first floor and the second floor without stopping at a floor between the first floor and the second floor.

According to the present disclosure, by determining the state of the car call button based on a first signal suitable for use in remote inspection, remote inspection can be performed as simply as possible for various elevators with different communication specifications and signal specifications. In other words, multi-brand maintenance can be achieved in remote inspection. This allows maintenance companies to reduce the frequency of maintenance inspections at the maintenance site and increase the number of elevators that can be maintained. Building owners can freely select a maintenance company and enter into a maintenance contract that allows remote inspection.

1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an elevator system and a remote inspection system. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of connecting a conventional remote inspection system to an elevator system. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an elevator system. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of an elevator. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an elevator hall. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the inside of an elevator car. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an elevator system according to a modified example. 2 is a diagram for explaining a hardware configuration of the remote inspection system and signals used in the remote inspection system. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between car travel and signals during diagnostic operation. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block diagram of a remote inspection system. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of the remote inspection system. 13 is a flowchart of a remote inspection process and a terminal setting process. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a reference time DB. 13 is a flowchart of a reference time update process. 13 is a flowchart of a reference time acquisition process. 4 is a timing chart for explaining a running state. 4 is a timing chart for explaining a running state. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining determination of the state of a car call button. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining determination of the state of a car call button. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining determination of the state of a car call button. 4 is a flowchart of a driving diagnosis process. 13 is a flowchart of a traveling occurrence process. 13 is a flowchart of a car information measurement process. 13 is a flowchart of a determination process. 13 is a flowchart of a multi-car process.

The following describes the embodiment with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same components are given the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof will not be repeated.

[Configuration of elevator system 200 and elevator remote inspection system 1]
Hereinafter, there will be described configurations of an elevator system 200 and an elevator remote inspection system (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a "remote inspection system") 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an elevator system 200 and a remote inspection system 1.

If an elevator is installed in a building, the building owner must enter into a maintenance contract with an elevator maintenance company. Maintenance staff from the maintenance company will perform maintenance inspections and regular inspections of the elevator based on the maintenance contract. When entering into a maintenance contract, the building owner can also include remote inspection or remote monitoring as an option.

Remote monitoring refers to a maintenance company's monitoring center (information center) etc. constantly monitoring the elevator for any abnormalities or malfunctions using communication lines etc. Remote inspection refers to, in addition to remote monitoring, a maintenance company's monitoring center etc. inspecting the elevator's operating status and the operating status of each piece of equipment using communication lines etc., targeting areas required for normal elevator operation, to see if they are normal.

There are three types of remote inspections: elevator performance inspections, inspections of each piece of equipment, and inspections of usage status. In the performance inspection, the following inspection items are carried out: start-up status, accelerating running status, constant speed running status, decelerating running status, and landing status of the car. In the inspection of each piece of equipment, the following inspection items are carried out: temperature in the machine room or control panel, status of the control equipment, status of the destination floor button in the car, status of the intercom, status of the doors opening and closing, status of the landing button, status of the door switch, and whether there are any abnormalities in the electromagnetic brakes. In the usage status inspection, the following inspection items are carried out: car travel distance, running time or number of starts, and number of times the doors are opened and closed.

By implementing such remote inspections, the inspection work at the maintenance site is reduced, making maintenance work significantly more efficient. In addition, there are legal provisions that allow the implementation of remote inspections to extend the implementation cycle of statutory regular inspection work, which can further improve the efficiency of maintenance work. For example, in Japan, by implementing the remote inspections listed above, the implementation cycle of legally required regular inspections can be reduced from once a month to once every three months (as stipulated in the common specifications for building maintenance work by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism).

Furthermore, as described below, there is an increasing need for maintenance companies to promote multi-branding of maintenance in the global market, and for building owners to freely select a maintenance company and enter into a maintenance contract that allows remote inspection. The remote inspection system 1 of this embodiment is a system for remotely inspecting elevators that is configured to meet these needs. It will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the remote inspection system 1 includes a remote inspection device 100, a management server 300, and a terminal 400. An elevator system 200 and the remote inspection device 100 are installed in a building 2. The remote inspection device 100 is connected to the elevator system 200 and performs remote inspection of the elevators. The remote inspection device 100 is configured to include, for example, a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller).

The management server 300 is installed, for example, in an information center (monitoring center) of a maintenance company. The terminal 400 may be installed in the information center of the maintenance company, or in any other location. The terminal 400 and the remote inspection device 100 can be connected to the management server 300 via a communication line.

The management server 300 manages various data such as customer information for each building that has concluded an elevator maintenance contract, building information, information on the elevators installed in the building, and remote inspection results. The management server 300 is a device that manages the remote inspection device 100, and transmits a command to the remote inspection device 100 to perform a remote inspection, and obtains the inspection results of the remote inspection performed by the remote inspection device 100.

The terminal 400 is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), a smartphone, or a tablet. The terminal 400 includes a display unit 410 that displays various information, and an input unit 420 that can input operations from a user who uses the terminal 400. In this embodiment, the terminal 400 is used by a maintenance worker of a maintenance company. In other words, the "user" who uses the terminal 400 refers to a maintenance worker of the maintenance company, but is not limited to this, and may include any person who may use the terminal 400. For example, the user may be an employee other than the maintenance worker of the maintenance company, or a person who manages the building 2. The terminal 400 can perform a remote inspection of the remote inspection device 100 via the management server 300 by the maintenance worker's operation from the input unit 420. In addition, the terminal 400 can display the inspection results of the remote inspection performed by the remote inspection device 100 on the display unit 410.

The elevator system 200 comprises a control panel 210 and an elevator equipment group 220. The elevator equipment group 220 is composed of various equipment including elevators and elevator hall devices. The control panel 210 controls the various equipment of the elevator equipment group 220.

The control panel 210 inputs and outputs signals to and from the elevator equipment group 220 via multiple signal lines. The signals transmitted and received between the elevator equipment group 220 and the control panel 210 include those transmitted and received by parallel transmission (parallel communication) and those transmitted and received by serial transmission (serial communication).

The former (parallel transmission) is, for example, a signal obtained directly from various switches or various sensors of the elevator equipment group 220. In this embodiment, a switch contact signal (for example, a predetermined voltage is detected when the switch is ON) is assumed, but it may also be, for example, a pulse signal obtained from a rotary encoder.

The latter (serial transmission) is a signal sent and received by serial communication between the control panel 210 and a control board provided in a device installed on the elevator landing side or car side. For example, a situation can be envisioned in which communication is established between elevator management software (program) running on the control panel 210 and software (program) running on the car-side control board, and data (internal signals) such as the car's position and running direction are sent and received by serial communication.

In this embodiment, among the signal lines connecting the control panel 210 and the elevator equipment group 220, a portion of the signal line that transmits and receives signals by parallel transmission is branched and connected to a terminal provided on the remote inspection device 100. This makes it possible for a portion of the signals transmitted and received by parallel transmission between the control panel 210 and the elevator equipment group 220 to be input and output on the remote inspection device 100 side.

On the other hand, the control panel 210 of the elevator system 200 is configured to be connectable to various maintenance devices for the elevator. A connector 261 is provided on the control board provided in the control panel 210. By connecting the connector 262 of the cable connected to the maintenance device to the connector 261 of the control panel 210, a communication connection by serial communication (serial transmission) is possible between the maintenance device and the control panel 210.

The various types of elevator maintenance devices include, for example, a maintenance computer, a remote monitoring device, a remote inspection device, etc., that are used as dedicated devices for the elevator system 200. These maintenance devices are developed and used by the manufacturer of the elevator system 200 or a maintenance company affiliated with the manufacturer to correspond to each model of elevator. For this reason, these maintenance devices cannot be connected to elevators made by a different manufacturer. Here, a maintenance company affiliated with the manufacturer is, for example, a subsidiary or associated company of the manufacturer, and is hereinafter referred to as a "manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company."

On the other hand, the remote inspection device 100 of this embodiment is configured to be connectable to the elevator system 200 regardless of the manufacturer of the elevator system 200. However, as described below, the types of signals suitable for use with the remote inspection device 100 are quite limited (DZ signal, LB signal, GS signal, DS signal, hall call signal, etc., described below).

The maintenance device can acquire internal signals held by the elevator management software by establishing communication between the software running on the maintenance device and the elevator management software running on the control panel 210.

These internal signals include signals transmitted by parallel transmission (such as switch contact signals) between the control panel 210 and the elevator equipment group 220, signals transmitted by serial transmission (such as various commands), and signals generated from these signals.

For example, the control panel 210 calculates the car's position, speed, running direction, and state (accelerating running state, constant speed running state, decelerating running state), etc., based on a signal obtained from a rotary encoder that measures the rotational position of the hoist (motor) that drives the elevator. This allows the control panel 210 to hold this information as internal signals in the software.

In other words, the maintenance device connected to the control panel 210 via serial communication can obtain not only contact signals input and output via parallel transmission, but also internal software signals input and output via serial transmission. In addition, by communicating with the control panel 210, the maintenance device can send various commands, such as pausing the elevator or waiting at a specific floor, set various operation options, and change the settings of various parameters.

Of the maintenance devices that can be connected via serial communication, the maintenance computer is a computer (terminal device) that can be used for on-site elevator maintenance and inspection. By starting up various maintenance software that runs on the maintenance computer, it is possible to check the elevator's various internal signals, give various commands to the elevator, change settings, rewrite software, etc.

While the maintenance computer can be used on-site, the remote monitoring device and remote inspection device are used in remote locations via a network. Of the maintenance devices that can be connected via serial communication, the remote monitoring device is a device that can remotely acquire and display the above internal signals via a network. Of the maintenance devices that can be connected via serial communication, the remote inspection device is a device that can remotely acquire and display the above internal signals via a network and can issue operational commands to the elevator for remote inspection.

(Compared to conventional remote inspection systems)
Hereinafter, a difference between a remote inspection device connectable by serial communication (a conventional remote inspection device) and the remote inspection device 100 of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example in which a conventional remote inspection system is connected to an elevator system 200, 200a.

In the example of FIG. 2, elevator system 200 is installed in building A, and elevator system 200a is installed in building B. Elevator system 200 is an elevator system manufactured by company X, and the elevator model is model M. Each company has multiple elevator models depending on the purpose, era, etc. Elevator system 200a is an elevator system manufactured by company Y, and the elevator model is model N.

Only a remote inspection device 500 (conventional type) manufactured by Company X can be connected to the elevator system 200 manufactured by Company X via the connector 261. The remote inspection device 500 can be connected to a management server managed by Company X via a network. In this example, Company X is both an elevator manufacturer and an elevator maintenance company (a manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company).

For example, Company X's server is installed in Company X's information center. By connecting a terminal to Company X's management server, it becomes possible to remotely inspect the elevator system 200 by operating the terminal.

Only a remote inspection device 500a (conventional type) manufactured by Company Y can be connected to the elevator system 200a manufactured by Company Y via the connector 261. The remote inspection device 500a can be connected to a management server managed by Company Y via a network. In this example, Company Y is both an elevator manufacturer and an elevator maintenance company (a manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company).

For example, Company Y's server is installed in Company Y's information center. By connecting a terminal to Company Y's management server, it becomes possible to remotely inspect elevator system 200a by operating the terminal.

When configured in this manner, as described above, Company X's remote inspection device 500 can communicate with the control panel 210 to acquire various internal signals generated by the management software of the control panel 210 and can transmit various commands to the control panel 210 for the elevator. For example, by operating the terminal, it is possible to transmit a command to make the car travel between two floors, and as a result, it is possible to acquire information such as the travel time and speed between the two floors. The same is true for Company Y's remote inspection device 500a.

However, when configured in this way, for an elevator system 200 manufactured by Company X, it is necessary to use a remote inspection device 500 manufactured by Company X that corresponds to model M, and for an elevator system 200a manufactured by Company Y, it is necessary to use a remote inspection device 500a manufactured by Company Y that corresponds to model N. In this way, when attempting to install remote inspection devices using serial communication, not only is it necessary to prepare a remote inspection device for each elevator manufacturer, but even if the manufacturer is the same, it is necessary to prepare a remote inspection device that corresponds to the model.

Such remote inspection devices may be available for each elevator manufacturer, but they can usually only be used by the elevator manufacturer or a maintenance company affiliated with that manufacturer. Also, if the model is older, a compatible remote inspection device may not exist.

In the example of FIG. 2, manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company (manufacturer) X can use the remote inspection device 500 manufactured by X, but cannot use the remote inspection device 500a manufactured by Y. On the other hand, manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company (manufacturer) Y can use the remote inspection device 500a manufactured by Y, but cannot use the remote inspection device 500 manufactured by X.

This is because communication and signal specifications are not standardized between manufacturers and models, and these specifications are not made public. If such communication specifications, signal specifications, or address maps were disclosed, it would be possible to obtain essentially any internal signal, internal flag, or setting parameter from an external device by establishing communication with the control board 210.

In addition to elevator maintenance companies affiliated with manufacturers, there are also maintenance companies that are not affiliated with any manufacturer (called "independent maintenance companies"). Independent maintenance companies cannot use the remote inspection device 500 manufactured by Company X or the remote inspection device 500a manufactured by Company Y.

In the example of FIG. 2, if the owner of building A enters into a maintenance contract with manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company X, he or she can perform remote inspection using the remote inspection device 500. However, if the owner enters into a maintenance contract with manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company Y or an independent maintenance company, he or she cannot perform remote inspection using the remote inspection device 500.

On the other hand, if the owner of building B enters into a maintenance contract with manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company Y, he or she can perform remote inspection using the remote inspection device 500a, but if the owner enters into a maintenance contract with manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company X or an independent maintenance company, he or she cannot perform remote inspection using the remote inspection device 500a. If elevators manufactured by company X and company Y are installed in the same building, it is necessary to enter into maintenance contracts with both manufacturer-affiliated maintenance companies X and Y in order to perform remote inspection of all the elevators.

For building owners who want to enter into a maintenance contract that includes remote inspection, the range of maintenance contract options is limited if they introduce conventional remote inspection equipment. For these reasons, there has been a growing need in Japan in recent years for remote inspection equipment that can be used regardless of manufacturer or model. In particular, in the global market, where elevators from a wide variety of manufacturers are installed, maintenance companies need to provide maintenance services regardless of elevator manufacturer or model (multi-brand maintenance).

Therefore, the remote inspection device 100 in this embodiment is configured as a remote inspection device that can be used regardless of manufacturer and model. As described above, since communication specifications and signal specifications are not standardized between manufacturers and models, it is difficult to build a remote inspection device 100 that communicates via serial transmission.

For this reason, as explained using FIG. 1, the remote inspection device 100 connects to the elevator system 200 by parallel transmission (capturing switch contact signals, etc.). In addition, because signal specifications are not standardized between manufacturers, the types of signals that can be commonly used are limited. Furthermore, even if a signal is commonly usable, some signals are not suitable for use due to hardware constraints (in terms of ease of installation and installation costs). For this reason, in order to realize the remote inspection device 100, it is necessary to thoroughly consider what signals to use and what method to use to determine the inspection items for remote inspection. The signals used in this embodiment and the method of determining the inspection items will be described later using FIG. 7 and subsequent figures.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 2, the remote inspection device 100 in this embodiment can be connected to both an elevator system 200 made by company X installed in building A and an elevator system 200a made by company Y installed in building B. The remote inspection device 100 installed in building A and the remote inspection device 100 installed in building B connect to the management server 300 via a network. Using the terminal 400, it becomes possible to remotely inspect both the elevator system 200 in building A and the elevator system 200a in building B.

In addition, if an elevator system 200 manufactured by company X and an elevator system 200a manufactured by company Y are installed together in one building, the elevator systems 200 and 200a can be configured to be connected by one remote inspection device 100.

With the above configuration, building owners can freely select a maintenance company to conduct remote inspections, regardless of the type of elevator they have installed, whether it is a manufacturer-affiliated maintenance company or an independent maintenance company.

The management server 300 is not limited to being configured by one server device, but may be configured by multiple server devices. For example, a server device may be installed for each region to respond to access requests from each region. In this case, the server devices in each region may be configured to communicate with each other and share each other's information (customer information, elevator information, etc.). Alternatively, a main server device may be provided that manages the servers in each region, and the main server device may manage the information for each region.

The above-mentioned regions are not limited to regions of one country, but may include regions of multiple countries. For example, a server device may be placed in Japan and configured to share information with a server device installed outside Japan. Also, a main server device may be placed in one of the countries, and the server devices installed in each country may refer to the information stored in the main server device.

Server devices installed in each country may be configured to have a language code for each country or region they manage. For example, a server device that manages buildings in Japan is set to have the language code "Japanese." A server device that manages buildings in China is set to have the language code "Chinese." A server device that manages buildings in an English-speaking country is set to have the language code "English."

The server device has language data corresponding to each language code. For example, when accessed from a terminal in Japan, information is displayed on the terminal in Japanese. When accessed from a terminal in China, information is displayed on the terminal in Chinese. Information may also be managed by language. The management server 300 may be composed of a group of servers such as a communication server (Web server), a data server, and an application server that are connected to the remote inspection device 100 and the terminal 400.

When configured in this manner, the remote inspection system 1 can be used in countries around the world. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, elevator system 200 (control panel 210 and elevator equipment group 220) and remote inspection device 100 are installed in building A in a first country (e.g., the United States), and elevator system 200a (control panel 210a and elevator equipment group 220a) and remote inspection device 100 are installed in building B in a second country (e.g., Japan) different from the first country.

The management server 300 is installed in an information center in the second country. The management server 300 installed in the second country can be connected to the remote inspection device 100 installed in the first country and the remote inspection device 100 installed in the second country via a network. The management server 300 can send a command to execute a remote inspection to the remote inspection device 100 installed in the first country or the second country, and can receive the judgment results of each inspection item of the remote inspection from the remote inspection device 100 that has received the command to execute the remote inspection.

The terminal 400 may be installed in the first country or the second country. For example, the management server 300 installed in the second country may be accessed from the terminal 400 installed in the second country, and a remote inspection may be performed by the remote inspection device 100 installed in the first country or the second country. The management server 300 installed in the second country may be accessed from the terminal 400 installed in the first country, and a remote inspection may be performed by the remote inspection device 100 installed in the first country or the second country.

The remote inspection device 100 installed in the first country establishes a network connection using the communication line network of the first country (such as an LTE line network). The remote inspection device 100 installed in the second country establishes a network connection using the communication line network of the second country. The management server 300 installed in the second country connects to the remote inspection device 100 installed in the first country or the second country via the communication line of the second country.

By configuring as described above, the management server 300 in the second country can manage the remote inspection device 100 that performs remote inspection of the elevator system 200 operating in the first country. This allows the management server 300 to manage the remote inspection device 100 across countries, regardless of in which country the elevator system 200 and remote inspection device 100 are installed.

Note that the remote inspection device 100 is not limited to determining each inspection item of the remote inspection, and the management server 300 may determine each inspection item of the remote inspection. In this case, the remote inspection device 100 transmits signal data for determination acquired from the elevator system 200 to the management server 300. The management server 300 may determine each inspection item based on the signal data. Of course, the management server 300 may be installed in each country and configured to manage the remote inspection device 100 for each country.

(Detailed Configuration of Elevator System 200)
3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of elevator system 200. In this embodiment, it is assumed that building 2 in which elevator system 200 is installed has five floors. It is also assumed that one elevator (this elevator will be referred to as "No. 1 elevator") is installed in building 2.

The control panel 210 includes a car control unit 212. The car control unit 212 is a control board that controls the elevator equipment group 220. The elevator equipment group 220 includes hall devices 230 installed at the halls of each floor from the first floor (1F) to the fifth floor (5F), various sensors and various switches (such as a slow-up switch and a slow-down switch, which will be described later) used in the elevator system 200, and the first car hoist 250 and car device 240.

The hoist 250 is a motor that drives the elevator car to raise and lower it. The car device 240 is various devices installed in the car, including a destination floor button for registering destination floors. The hall device 230 is various devices installed at the halls of each floor, including a hall button for registering hall calls. Details of these will be explained using Figure 4 and subsequent figures.

The car control unit 212 is connected to the landing device 230 on each floor, various sensors, various switches, etc., via a control cable 21 that bundles multiple signal lines. In addition, the car control unit 212 is connected to the No. 1 hoist 250 and car device 240, etc., via a control cable 22 that bundles multiple signal lines.

Each machine control unit 212 has a processor, a memory, and a communication interface. The processor is a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memory is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). These are connected to each other via a bus so that they can communicate with each other.

The ROM stores the management software program for controlling the elevator equipment group 220. The CPU loads the program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executes it to control the elevator equipment group 220. The RAM serves as a working area when the CPU executes the program, and temporarily stores the program and data when the program is executed.

Each car control unit 212 is configured to be able to communicate with elevator equipment group 220 such as hall device 230, hoist 250, and car device 240, or various maintenance devices shown in Figures 1 and 2, via serial or parallel communication through the communication interface.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an elevator structure. The elevator car 10 is installed in a hoistway 8 provided in a building 2. The car 10 moves up and down in the hoistway 8 to move between multiple floors. In this embodiment, the car 10 can stop at each floor from the first floor (1F) to the fifth floor (5F).

A machine room 5 is provided directly above the elevator shaft 8. The machine room 5 contains a hoist 250, a control panel 210, and a remote inspection device 100. The car device 240 is provided in the car 10.

In this embodiment, the elevator is a traction elevator. A traction elevator is one type of rope elevator. This elevator is equipped with a car 10, a counterweight (balancing weight) 12, a rope 11, a hoist 250, and a deflector 13. A rope (main rope) 11 is hung between the hoist 250 and the deflector 13. The car 10 and counterweight 12 are suspended from both ends of the rope 11.

By driving the hoist 250, the elevator can make the car 10 installed in the hoistway 8 run in an upward direction (also called the "UP direction") or a downward direction (also called the "DN direction").

The car 10 has a running direction of either the UP direction, the DN direction, or no direction. When the car 10 runs in the UP direction or stops (stopped in a state where it is scheduled to run in the UP direction) to respond to a running command to a floor above the car 10, the running direction of the car 10 is the UP direction. When the car 10 runs in the DN direction or stops (stopped in a state where it is scheduled to run in the DN direction) to respond to a running command to a floor below the car 10, the running direction of the car 10 is the DN direction. When the running direction of the car 10 is neither the UP direction nor the DN direction, the car direction of the car 10 is defined as "no direction". Note that when the car 10 is stopped at the lowest floor, the car direction is the UP direction, and when the car 10 is stopped at the top floor, the car direction may be the DN direction.

The car 10 becomes capable of running when the electromagnetic brake (not shown, also simply referred to as the "brake") of the hoist 250 is released. The car 10 enters a braking state (stationary state) when the brake of the hoist 250 is activated. The brake of the hoist 250 is configured to be capable of braking by pressing the brake shoe against the brake drum with the force of a spring. Supplying power to the brake coil causes the brake shoe to move away from the brake drum, thereby releasing the brake. If the supply of power to the brake coil is cut off, the electromagnetic brake enters a braking state and the car 10 cannot run.

The elevator is designed so that the weight of the counterweight 12 is balanced with the weight of the car 10 including passengers when the car 10 is loaded with 50% of its maximum load weight. For example, when there are no passengers, the counterweight 12 is heavier than the car 10. Therefore, if the brake is simply released, the car 10 will travel in the UP direction. On the other hand, when the car 10 is full, the car 10 will be heavier than the counterweight 12. Therefore, if the brake is simply released, the car 10 will travel in the DN direction.

A shock absorber (buffer) 14 is installed in the pit 6, which is the bottom of the elevator shaft 8. The shock absorber 14 is a device that absorbs the shock of the car 10 falling if an abnormality occurs.

Each car control unit 212 is connected to the car device 240 via a control cable 22 (Figure 3). Multiple signal lines are bundled within the control cable 22 for communication between each car control unit 212 and the car device 240.

The platform control unit 212 is connected to the hall device 230, various sensors, and various switches installed on each floor via a control cable 21 (Figure 3) that runs along the wall of the elevator shaft 8. The control cable 21 is composed of multiple signal lines for communication between the platform control unit 212 and the hall device 230 or various switches. If there is no machine room 5, the hoist 250 and control panel 210 are installed inside the elevator shaft 8 (on the wall or in the pit 6, etc.).

The elevator is not limited to the traction type elevator in which the car 10 and counterweight 12 are balanced as described above. For example, it may be a drum type elevator in which the car 10 is raised and lowered by winding the rope 11 around a drum without using a counterweight 12. A drum type elevator is one form of a rope type elevator. It may also be a hydraulic elevator in which oil is sent to a hydraulic jack by an electric pump, and the car 10 is raised and lowered by the operation of the hydraulic jack.

In the case of hydraulic elevators, the position of the car 10 is controlled by controlling the amount of oil sent to the hydraulic jack. In the case of hydraulic elevators, the characteristics of the oil change depending on the season or temperature, so differences in the running characteristics of the car 10 are likely to occur. For example, compared to the high temperatures of summer, the oil becomes thicker in winter, so it takes longer to start up. Also, in the case of hydraulic elevators that control the amount of oil (hydraulic pressure), there is a greater tendency for the running time between floors to vary compared to rope elevators that control the amount of motor rotation. Furthermore, when the car 10 is stopped on a certain floor, the car gradually sinks over time, and the floor surface of the car 10 gradually drops relative to the floor surface of the landing (it may leave the door zone while stopped).

Figure 5A is a diagram showing an example of an elevator landing. Figure 5A shows a view of the elevator landing from the front.

In this embodiment, a platform call in the UP direction (upward) is also called an "UP call" or "UP platform call", a platform call in the DN direction (downward) is also called a "DN call" or "DN platform call", and a destination floor call in car 10 is also called a "car call". The buttons for registering each of these calls are called "call buttons".

The call buttons include car call buttons (also called "destination floor buttons") provided in the car 10 and platform call buttons (also called "platform buttons") provided at the platforms. Platform call buttons (platform buttons) include upward platform call buttons (also called "UP call buttons" or "UP platform call buttons") provided at the platforms and downward platform call buttons (also called "DN call buttons" or "DN platform call buttons") provided at the platforms.

As described above, each floor is equipped with a landing device 230. The landing device 230 includes a landing operating panel 70. Here, the first floor landing will be used as an example for explanation. The first floor landing is equipped with a door 61 and a landing operating panel 70.

The hall operating panel 70 is equipped with a UP hall call button 81 and a DN hall call button 82. For example, when the UP hall call button 81 is pressed, a UP hall call on the first floor is registered.

The hall operating panel 70 is equipped with an indicator 71. The indicator 71 displays the direction of travel of the car 10 and the floor on which the car 10 is located (car position). In the example shown in the figure, it is shown that the car 10 is traveling or stopped in the UP direction on the second floor.

Next, the inside of the car 10 will be described. Figure 5B is a diagram showing an example of the inside of an elevator car. Figure 5B shows a view of the inside of the car 10 looking toward the exit. The car device 240 includes a car operation panel 50. The car 10 is provided with a door 60 and the car operation panel 50. The car operation panel 50 is provided with a door open button 52 for opening the door, a door close button 53 for closing the door, and a car call button for registering destination floors (car calls) from the 1st to 5th floors.

The car call buttons include a 1st floor car call button 31 for registering a car call to the 1st floor, a 2nd floor car call button 32 for registering a car call to the 2nd floor, a 3rd floor car call button 33 for registering a car call to the 3rd floor, a 4th floor car call button 34 for registering a car call to the 4th floor, and a 5th floor car call button 35 for registering a car call to the 5th floor. The car operation panel 50 is also provided with an indicator 51 that displays the running direction and car position of the car 10.

When a hall call button is pressed, a call signal corresponding to the pressed hall call is sent to the control panel 210 (each car control unit 212). The control panel 210 registers the hall call. The control panel 210 then assigns a car 10 to the registered hall call, and causes the car 10 to respond to the registered hall call.

For example, when the UP hall call button 81 on the first floor is pressed, a signal corresponding to the UP hall call on the first floor is transmitted, and the control panel 210 registers the UP hall call on the first floor. The control panel 210 determines the allocation of the car 10 to the UP hall call on the first floor. The car 10 responds to the UP hall call on the first floor, travels to the first floor, then stops and opens the door.

When a car call button is pressed, a call signal corresponding to the pressed car call is sent to the control panel 210. The control panel 210 registers the car call. The control panel 210 causes the car 10 to respond to the registered car call.

For example, when the second floor car call button 32 is pressed, a call signal corresponding to a car call to the second floor is sent to the control panel 210. The control panel 210 registers the car call to the second floor. The car 10 responds to the car call to the second floor, travels to the second floor, then stops and opens the door.

Here, "the doors open" means that both the car 10 side door 60 and the hall side door 61 open in unison, and will also be expressed below as "the doors open." Similarly, "the doors close" means that both the car 10 side door 60 and the hall side door 61 close in unison, and will also be expressed below as "the doors close."

(Input/output signals to the control panel 210)
Here, among the signals input/output by parallel transmission between the control panel 210 that controls the elevator equipment group 220 and the elevator equipment group 220, the signals acquired by the remote inspection device 100 are referred to as "determination signals." The remote inspection device 100 uses the determination signals to determine each item of the remote inspection. The determination signals include a first signal to a fourth signal. Each determination signal has either an ON state or an OFF state. In this embodiment, a DZ signal as one aspect of the first signal, an LB signal as one aspect of the second signal, a GS signal as one aspect of the third signal, and a DS signal as one aspect of the fourth signal are exemplified.

The landing device 230 provided on each floor includes a landing door switch (also called an "interlock switch") not shown. The landing door switch is ON when the landing side door 61 is closed, and is OFF when the landing side door 61 is open. When the landing door switch is OFF (door is not closed), for safety reasons, it is controlled by the control panel 210 to prevent the car 10 from traveling.

In this embodiment, when the landing door 61 is closed and the landing door switch is in the ON state (the landing door switch is pressed and the contact is in the ON state), the DS signal is in the ON state, and when the landing door 61 is not closed and the landing door switch is in the OFF state, the DS signal is in the OFF state and is sent to the control panel 210.

The car device 240 also includes a car door switch (also called a "gate switch") not shown. The car door switch is ON when the door 60 on the car 10 side is closed, and is OFF when the door 60 on the car 10 side is open. When the car door switch is OFF (door not closed), for safety reasons, it is controlled by the control panel 210 so that the car 10 cannot run.

In this embodiment, when the car door 60 of the car 10 is closed and the car door switch is ON (the car door switch is pressed and the contact is ON), the GS signal is ON, and when the car door 60 of the car 10 is not closed and the car door switch is OFF, the GS signal is OFF and is sent to the control panel 210. The car door 60 of the car 10 opens and closes in conjunction with the hall door 61.

The car device 240 also includes a door zone detection device (also called a "landing device"), not shown. Here, the door zone refers to the position range of the car 10 where the door 60 of the elevator car 10 can be opened and closed. The door zone detection device is installed in the car 10, and when the car 10 is located within the position range where the door can be opened (within the door zone) on each floor, the door zone detection device detects the DZ signal as being in the ON state, and when the car 10 is not located within the door zone, the door zone detection device detects the DZ signal as being in the OFF state and sends it to the control panel 210.

For example, the door zone detection device installed in the car 10 includes a magnetic proximity sensor. Meanwhile, a door zone detection plate is installed at the landing position of each floor in the elevator shaft 8. For example, the DZ signal is configured to be ON when the magnetic proximity sensor of the door zone detection device detects the door zone detection plate. For example, the DZ signal is configured to be ON when the floor position of the car 10 is within 150 mm above or below the floor position of each floor landing.

When the car 10 is outside the door zone (the DZ signal is OFF), for safety reasons, the control panel 210 controls the car so that the door cannot be opened. Note that the door zone detection device may be installed on the elevator shaft 8 side, and the door zone detection plate may be installed on the car 10 side.

In addition, when the elevator brake is released by supplying power to the brake coil of the hoisting machine 250, the LB signal becomes ON. When the elevator brake is activated (the brake is not released) by stopping the supply of power to the brake coil of the hoisting machine 250, the LB signal becomes OFF.

A slow-up switch (not shown) and a slow-down switch (not shown) are also installed on the wall of the elevator shaft 8. The slow-up switch is provided to prevent the car 10 from colliding with the top of the elevator shaft 8. The slow-up switch is configured to turn ON by contacting a specified member attached to the car 10 when the car 10 traveling UP reaches a specified position between the 5th floor (the top floor) and the 4th floor.

When the slow-up switch is ON, the SUL signal is ON, and when the slow-up switch is OFF, the SUL signal is OFF. When the car 10 approaches the top floor and the slow-up switch is ON, if the car 10 is traveling at a speed greater than the specified speed, the control panel 210 controls the car 10 to decelerate for safety reasons.

The slow-down switch is a switch that is installed to prevent the car 10 from colliding with the bottom of the elevator shaft 8 (or entering the pit 6). The slow-up switch is configured to be turned ON by contacting a specified member attached to the car 10 when the car 10 traveling in DN reaches a specified position between the first floor (the lowest floor) and the second floor.

When the slowdown switch is ON, the SDL signal is ON, and when the slowdown switch is OFF, the SDL signal is OFF. When the car 10 approaches the lowest floor and the slowdown switch is ON, if the car 10 is traveling at a speed above the specified speed, the control panel 210 controls the car 10 to decelerate for safety reasons.

The slow-up switch and slow-down switch may be installed on the car 10 side, and these switches may be configured to be turned on by contact with a specific member installed on the elevator shaft 8 side.

In this embodiment, only one elevator (car 10 of elevator No. 1 in FIG. 3) is installed in building 2. Therefore, when a hall call is registered, elevator No. 1 is always assigned and responds to the hall call.

For example, if a DN call is registered at a platform on the second floor, Locomotive No. 1 will be assigned to this DN call on the second floor. Locomotive No. 1, traveling in the DN direction, will respond to this DN call on the second floor, stop at the second floor, and then open its doors.

The above configuration is a configuration in which only one elevator is controlled in building 2 (single-car configuration), but below we will also explain a configuration in which multiple elevators are controlled in building 2 (multi-car configuration). Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of elevator system 200b relating to a modified example.

In this modified example, elevator system 200b includes two elevators, "Unit 1" and "Unit 2." Elevator equipment group 220b includes hall devices 230 installed at the halls of each floor from the first floor to the fifth floor, a hoist 250 and a car device 240 provided in Unit 1, various sensors and switches, etc. of Unit 1, a hoist 250 and a car device 240 provided in Unit 2, and various sensors and switches, etc. of Unit 2.

The control panel 210b comprises a group control unit 211 and two car control units 212. The group control unit 211 is a control board that manages multiple elevators. The car control units 212 are control boards that control the operation of the corresponding elevators. The group control unit 211 and the two car control units 212 communicate with each other and exchange various data related to the elevators.

The group management control unit 211 collectively controls the hall devices 230 on each floor. The group management control unit 211 is connected to the hall devices 230 installed at the halls on each floor from the 1st to the 5th floors via a control cable 21. The individual car control unit 212 is connected to the hoisting machine 250, the car device 240, and various sensors and switches of each car via control cables 22 and 23.

In the modified example shown in FIG. 6, the hall device 230 on each floor includes a hall operating panel 70 equipped with a hall call button. However, in this modified example, the hall operating panel 70 does not include an indicator 71. In this modified example, one hall operating panel 70 is installed on each floor, and indicators 71 are installed for each elevator (two indicators).

The group management control unit 211 is connected to the hall device 230 (hall call button) installed on each floor via a control cable 21 that runs along the wall of the elevator 8. Each car control unit 212 is connected to the hoist 250 and car device 240 of the car corresponding to each car control unit 212 via a control cable 22. The car device 240 includes a car operation panel 50 equipped with a destination floor button, a car door switch, and a door zone detection device.

Each platform control unit 213 is connected to various sensors and switches of the vehicle corresponding to each platform control unit 213 via a control cable 23 that runs along the wall of the elevator shaft 8. The various sensors and switches include a slow-up switch, a slow-down switch, a landing door switch for each floor, and an indicator 71 for each floor, which are installed for each platform.

In this example, when a hall call button is pressed, the group management control unit 211 registers a hall call corresponding to the hall call button. Then, the group management control unit 211 assigns one of the multiple cars 10 (car No. 1, car No. 2) to the registered hall call. The individual car control unit 212 corresponding to the assigned car 10 (assigned car) causes the assigned car to respond to the registered hall call.

For example, when the 1st floor UP hall call button 81 is pressed, the 1st floor UP hall call signal turns ON. The group management control unit 211 receives the 1st floor UP hall call signal that is ON, and registers a 1st floor UP hall call. The group management control unit 211 assigns either car 10 No. 1 or No. 2 to the 1st floor UP hall call.

For example, suppose that the group management control unit 211 assigns car 10 of car No. 1. In this case, the group management control unit 211 sends a command to the individual car control unit 212 of car No. 1 to respond to the 1st floor UP hall call. The individual car control unit 212 of car No. 1 causes car 10 of car No. 1 to run and respond to the 1st floor UP hall call. After running to the 1st floor, car 10 stops at the 1st floor and opens the door.

The control panel 210b may not include the group management control unit 211, but may include only two individual car control units 212. In this case, the functions of the group management control unit 211 may be provided in the individual car control unit 212 of the first unit. The individual car control unit 212 of the first unit controls the hall device 230 via the control cable 21, and is directly connected to and communicates with the individual car control unit 212 of the second unit.

(Forced stop and standby operation)
Furthermore, the elevator system 200 (200a, 200b) can set forced stop floors and waiting floors. When a forced stop floor is set, if the car 10 passes a forced stop floor, the car 10 always stops at the forced stop floor and opens the doors. For example, a situation is assumed in which the hotel lobby is on the second floor, and the second floor is set as a forced stop floor. When the car 10 travels from the first floor to the fifth floor, the car 10 always stops at the second floor along the way and opens the doors.

If a waiting floor has been set, car 10 will travel to the set waiting floor after responding to all hall and car calls (this state is referred to as "available"). For example, assume that the first floor (main floor) is set as the waiting floor. When car 10 responds to the final call on the fifth floor and becomes available, it will travel from the fifth floor to the first floor and then wait on the first floor (waiting floor).

When setting a waiting floor, it is also possible to set whether or not to wait with the doors open and the number of waiting cars. For example, as in the example of Figure 6, when there are two elevators managed by the control panel 210b, one or two cars 10 can be made to wait at a waiting floor. In this case, they can be made to wait at the waiting floor with the doors open or closed. When waiting with the doors open, the car 10 closes the doors a predetermined time (for example, one minute or three minutes) after arriving at the waiting floor and opening the doors. A waiting floor for which the door-open waiting setting has been set is also referred to as a "door-open waiting floor."

The elevator system 200b may also perform a distributed standby operation. For example, if there are two elevators managed by the control panel 210b, the two cars 10 that have become available are placed on standby in a distributed manner so that they do not stop on the same floor or on a nearby floor. For example, if two cars 10 that have become available are both stopped on the first floor (main floor), one car is made to run to an upper floor (e.g., the third floor) and then placed on standby with its doors closed.

In this way, even if there is no hall call or car call, the car 10 may run or the doors may open due to the setting of a forced stop floor, a waiting floor, or distributed waiting operation.

(Detailed configuration of remote inspection system 1 and signals used)
The following description will be given on the assumption that the elevator system 200 (having one car) shown in Fig. 3 is used. Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining the hardware configuration of the remote inspection system 1 and signals used in the remote inspection system 1.

As described above, the elevator system 200 includes a control panel 210 and an elevator equipment group 220. The elevator equipment group 220 includes hall devices 230 on the first to fifth floors. The control panel 210 and the elevator equipment group 220 are connected by multiple signal lines, which allows multiple signals to be transmitted and received.

These multiple signals include the above-mentioned DZ signal, LB signal, GS signal, DS signal, SUL signal, SDL signal, UP signal, DN signal, UP hall call signal on the first floor, and DN hall call signal on the fifth floor. All of the signals exemplified here are transmitted and received by parallel transmission.

As described above, the DZ signal is a signal detected by the door zone detection device. When the car 10 is located within the range of positions where the door can be opened on each floor (within the door zone), the DZ signal is ON, and when it is outside the door zone, the DZ signal is OFF.

As described above, the LB signal is a signal that goes ON when the brake is released by supplying power to the brake coil of the hoist 250. When the supply of power to the brake coil of the hoist 250 is stopped and the brake is activated, the LB signal goes OFF.

As described above, the GS signal is a signal detected by the car door switch. When the car door 60 is closed, the GS signal is ON, and when the car door 60 is open, the GS signal is OFF.

As described above, the DS signal is a signal detected by the landing door switch. When the landing door 61 is closed, the DS signal is ON, and when the landing door 61 is open, the DS signal is OFF.

As described above, the SUL signal is a signal detected by the slow-up switch. When the slow-up switch is in the ON state, the SUL signal is in the ON state, and when the slow-up switch is in the OFF state, the SUL signal is in the OFF state.

As described above, the SDL signal is a signal detected by the slow-down switch. When the slow-down switch is ON, the SUL signal is ON, and when the slow-down switch is OFF, the SUL signal is OFF.

When the running direction of the car 10 is the UP direction, the UP signal is ON, and when the running direction of the car 10 is other than the UP direction, the UP signal is OFF. When the running direction of the car 10 is the DN direction, the DN signal is ON, and when the running direction of the car 10 is other than the DN direction, the DN signal is OFF.

The UP platform call signal on the first floor is a signal that is ON when the UP platform call button 81 of the platform device 230 on the first floor is pressed. When the UP platform call button 81 is pressed, the contact is ON, and when the UP platform call button 81 is released from the pressed state, the contact is OFF.

The DN hall call signal for the fifth floor is a signal that is turned ON when the DN hall call button 82 of the hall device 230 for the fifth floor is pressed. When the DN hall call button 82 is pressed, the contact is turned ON, and when the pressed state of the DN hall call button 82 is released, the contact is turned OFF.

Although not shown, other hall call signals output from hall call buttons and car call signals output from car call buttons are also input to the control panel 210.

The remote inspection device 100 includes a control device 110, an input IF (interface) 130, an output IF (interface) 140, and a communication IF (interface) 120.

The input IF 130 is a board for inputting some of the signals input/output by parallel transmission between the control panel 210 and the elevator equipment group 220 as judgment signals. Each of the signal lines of the DZ signal, LB signal, GS signal, DS signal, SUL signal, SDL signal, UP signal, and DN signal input to the control panel 210 is branched, and each of the branched signal lines is connected to a terminal provided on the input IF 130. Each signal input to the input IF 130 is further transmitted to the control device 110.

The output IF 140 is a board for outputting signals to the elevator equipment group 220. The control device 110 can output a 1st floor UP hall call signal and a 5th floor DN hall call signal to the output IF 140. When the output IF 140 receives a 1st floor UP hall call signal from the control device 110, it outputs the received 1st floor UP hall call signal to the elevator equipment group 220, and when the output IF 140 receives a 5th floor DN hall call signal from the control device 110, it outputs the received 5th floor DN hall call signal to the elevator equipment group 220.

The first floor hall device 230 is equipped with a first floor UP hall call button 81. A signal line is provided between the first floor hall device 230 and the control panel 210 for transmitting a first floor UP hall call signal. The fifth floor hall device 230 is equipped with a fifth floor DN hall call button 82. A signal line is provided between the fifth floor hall device 230 and the control panel 210 for transmitting a fifth floor DN hall call signal. In this embodiment, the hall call signal is transmitted from the hall device 230 to the control panel 210 by serial transmission, so it is not possible to branch off a parallel transmission line from the control panel 210 side to input and output the hall call signal to the remote inspection device 100.

When the 1st floor UP platform call button 81 is pressed, the contacts are shorted and a signal that is in the ON state is input to the 1st floor platform device 230. As a result, the 1st floor platform device 230 transmits an ON 1st floor UP platform call signal to the control panel 210 (serial transmission). A signal line that transmits the 1st floor UP platform call signal is connected to the terminal of the output IF 140, and this signal line is connected to the platform device 230. The 1st floor UP platform call button 81 is modified so that the contacts are shorted when the 1st floor UP platform call signal that is in the ON state is output from the output IF 140. As a result, the 1st floor UP platform call signal in the ON state is transmitted from the 1st floor platform device 230 to the control panel 210. In other words, by transmitting an ON 1st floor UP platform call signal from the output IF 140, it is possible to create a pseudo state in which the 1st floor UP platform call button 81 is pressed.

When the 5th floor DN hall call button 82 is pressed, the contacts are shorted and a signal that is in the ON state is input to the 5th floor hall device 230. As a result, the 5th floor hall device 230 transmits a 5th floor DN hall call signal in the ON state to the control panel 210 (serial transmission). A signal line that transmits the 5th floor DN hall call signal is connected to the terminal of the output IF 140, and this signal line is connected to the hall device 230. The contacts of the 5th floor DN hall call button 82 are modified so that when the 5th floor DN hall call signal in the ON state is output from the output IF 140, the 5th floor hall call button 82 is shorted. As a result, the 5th floor hall device 230 transmits a 5th floor DN hall call signal in the ON state to the control panel 210. In other words, by transmitting a 5th floor DN hall call signal in the ON state from the output IF 140, it is possible to create a pseudo state in which the 5th floor DN hall call button 82 is pressed.

In this embodiment, in order to perform remote inspection, the remote inspection device 100 generates a pseudo hall call, and the car 10 is made to run using this call is referred to as "diagnostic operation." In this example, the remote inspection device 100 generates a pseudo 1st floor UP hall call and a 5th floor DN hall call as described above. By combining these two hall calls, it is possible to perform diagnostic operation in which the car 10 runs between the lowest floor (1st floor) and the top floor (5th floor).

Signals are transmitted and received between the elevator equipment group 220 and the input IF 130 and output IF 140 via parallel transmission. Signals are also transmitted and received between the input IF 130, output IF 140, and control device 110 via parallel transmission. The signals input from each signal line connecting the elevator equipment group 220 and the input IF 130 vary in voltage, etc. depending on the manufacturer (for example, 24V, 48V, 100V), so the signals are standardized at the input IF 130 and input to the control device 110.

In addition, in this embodiment, a temperature sensor 15 is installed in the machine room 5. The control device 110 is configured to be able to acquire the detection results of the temperature sensor 15. This allows the control device 110 to detect the temperature of the machine room 5. The temperature sensor 15 is not limited to being installed in the machine room, but may be installed at any position in the elevator hoistway 8, around the hoistway 8, or around the elevator. In this embodiment, the control device 110 is configured to be able to acquire the voltage of the intercom 16 attached to the car 10. Using this information, it is possible to determine whether the temperature of the machine room 15, etc., or the state of the intercom is normal or not.

The control device 110 is a PLC that includes at least a processor (CPU) 111 and a memory 112. The memory is, for example, a ROM and a RAM. These are connected to each other via a bus so that they can communicate with each other. The ROM stores a program for controlling the control device 110. The CPU loads the program stored in the ROM into the RAM, executes it, and controls the control device 110. The RAM serves as a working area when the CPU executes a program, and temporarily stores programs and data for executing the programs. The control device 110 is configured to be able to communicate with the input IF 130, the output IF 140, and the communication IF 120. The communication IF 120 is a board for communicating with the management server 300 via a network.

As described above, the terminal 400 includes a display unit 410 and an input unit 420. The display unit 410 is, for example, a display. The input unit 420 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel display integrated with the display unit 410.

The management server 300 issues a remote inspection command to the control device 110 via the communication IF 120, and obtains the results of the remote inspection from the control device 110. Like the control device 110, the terminal 400 and the management server 300 also have a processor (CPU) and memory (ROM, RAM).

The control device 110 generates a pseudo 1st floor UP hall call by sending a 1st floor UP hall call signal to the hall device 230 on the 1st floor via the output IF 140. The control device 110 generates a pseudo 5th floor DN hall call by sending a 5th floor DN hall call signal to the hall device 230 on the 5th floor via the output IF 140. This allows the car 10 to run between the 1st floor and the 5th floor and perform the above-mentioned diagnostic operation.

The control device 110 acquires the DZ signal, LB signal, GS signal, DS signal, SUL signal, SDL signal, UP signal, and DN signal input/output to/from the control panel 210 via the input IF 130. The control device 110 also acquires the detection result of the temperature sensor 15 and the voltage of the intercom 16 as signals. The control device 110 judges each item of the remote inspection based on these signals, and transmits the judgment results to the management server 300 via the communication IF 120. The judgment results can be confirmed on the terminal 400.

The specifications of each signal input from elevator system 200 may differ depending on the elevator manufacturer or elevator model. For example, when acquiring signals corresponding to the DZ signal, LB signal, GS signal, and DS signal, the ON and OFF states may be reversed. For example, with regard to the LB signal, it is conceivable that the signal will be ON when the brake is applied (when the brake is not released) and that the signal will be ON when the brake is released.

In this embodiment, the memory 112 of the control device 110 stores a conversion map corresponding to each manufacturer or model. The conversion map converts each signal so that the signal specifications are standardized (for example, conversion that inverts the ON/OFF of the DZ signal, LB signal, GS signal, and DS signal). In addition, the SUL signal, SDL signal, UP signal, and DN signal are not essential signals, and it is not a problem if these signals cannot be obtained (details will be described later).

For example, the signal of the rotary encoder of the hoist 250 may be captured and the UP signal and DN signal may be generated based on this, or the UP signal and DN signal may be generated based on the DZ signal (details will be described later). In this case, the rotary encoder signal or the DZ signal may be converted into the UP signal and DN signal using the conversion map.

As described with reference to FIG. 2, the control panel 210 and the maintenance device manufactured by Company X are configured to be connected by serial communication via the connector 261 provided on the control panel 210.

(Diagnostic operation)
8 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the running of the car 10 and signals during diagnostic operation. As described above, in this embodiment, a pseudo 1st floor UP hall call and a 5th floor DN hall call are generated, and diagnostic operation can be performed in which the car 10 runs between the lowest floor (1st floor) and the top floor (5th floor). This makes it possible to measure, for example, the running time from the 1st floor to the 5th floor.

Diagnostic operation is performed when car 10 is not excluded from the cars to be assigned, that is, when car 10 is able to respond to hall calls from elevator passengers. For this reason, even if car 10 is called to the first floor by diagnostic operation and then travels to the fifth floor, there is a possibility that the car will travel to a floor other than the first floor due to a hall call from a passenger, and during diagnostic operation, the car may stop at a floor between the first and fifth floors due to a car call from a passenger. For this reason, diagnostic operation is performed, for example, once a month, late at night when there are no elevator passengers.

The judgment of the inspection items in the remote inspection includes judgment by "driving diagnosis" and judgment by "constant diagnosis". Performing diagnostic operation and diagnosing the remote inspection items based on the diagnostic operation is called "driving diagnosis". In the driving diagnosis, the judgment is made using the judgment signal acquired when the car 10 runs in response to the hall call signal transmitted by the instruction unit 155 (described later) of the remote inspection device 100.

On the other hand, diagnosis of remote inspection items every time the car 10 is operated by an elevator passenger or the like, regardless of whether or not it is a diagnostic operation, is called "continuous diagnosis." In continuous diagnosis, a judgment is made using the acquired judgment signal regardless of whether or not a hall call signal has been sent by the instruction unit 155 of the remote inspection device 100.

In this example, it is assumed that at time t0, car 10 is stopped on the first floor. At this time, car 10 is stopped on the lowest floor (first floor), so the SUL signal is OFF and the SDL signal is ON. The brake of the hoist 250 is operating, so the LB signal is OFF. The car 10 is located within the position range (within the door zone) where the door can be opened on the first floor, so the DZ signal is ON. The door 60 on the car 10 side is closed, so the GS signal is ON. The door 61 on the landing side is closed, so the DS signal is ON.

Here, the remote inspection device 100 outputs the DN hall call signal for the 5th floor to the hall device 230 on the 5th floor in the ON state in order to perform diagnostic operation. This simulates the pressed state of the DN hall call button 82 on the hall device 230 on the 5th floor.

As a result, a DN hall call for the fifth floor is registered, and at time t1, car 10 starts traveling toward the fifth floor. At this time, the brake of the hoist 250 is released, and the LB signal changes from OFF to ON. Because the position of car 10 is no longer in the first floor door zone, the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF. Furthermore, because the slow-down switch changes from ON to OFF, the SDL signal changes from ON to OFF. The car 10 is now in an accelerating traveling state and is traveling in the UP direction.

After that, car 10 enters a constant speed running state (a state in which the speed of car 10 reaches the rated speed and car 10 runs while maintaining the rated speed), and at time t2, the position of car 10 becomes the second floor. At this time, the position of car 10 enters the door zone of the second floor, and the DZ signal changes from the OFF state to the ON state. Furthermore, when the position of car 10 leaves the door zone of the second floor, the DZ signal changes from the ON state to the OFF state.

At time t3, car 10 is on the fourth floor, enters the door zone of the fourth floor, and the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. When car 10 leaves the door zone of the fourth floor, the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF. After that, at time t4, car 10 changes to a decelerating running state in order to stop on the fifth floor.

At time t5, car 10 stops on the fifth floor (the top floor). The slow-down switch changes from ON to OFF, causing the SDL signal to change from OFF to ON. As car 10 enters the door zone on the fifth floor, the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. The brake of the hoisting machine 250 operates (the release state is released), and the LB signal changes from ON to OFF.

At time t6, when the car 10 enters an open door state (the car 10 side door 60 and the hall side door 61 are open), the GS signal and the DS signal change from the ON state to the OFF state. After a predetermined time has elapsed, the car 10 enters a closed door state. As a result, the GS signal and the DS signal change from the OFF state to the ON state.

In this way, when the car 10 is stopped on the first floor and the remote inspection device 100 outputs the DN hall call signal for the fifth floor to the elevator system 200 in the ON state, the car 10 can be made to run from the first floor to the fifth floor. At that time, the remote inspection device 100 can acquire various changing elevator signals and perform remote inspection based on these signals.

To stop the car 10 at the first floor, the remote inspection device 100 simply outputs the first floor UP hall call signal to the elevator system 200 in the ON state. This causes the car 10 to travel toward the first floor.

In addition, when the car 10 is stopped on the fifth floor, if the remote inspection device 100 outputs an ON state to the elevator system 200 an UP hall call signal for the first floor, the car 10 can be made to run from the fifth floor to the first floor. At that time, the remote inspection device 100 can acquire various changing elevator signals and perform remote inspection based on these signals.

The diagnostic operation is not limited to being performed by generating a UP hall call for the lowest floor and a DN hall call for the top floor, but may be performed by a hall call for any two floors. For example, assume that the service isolation setting is configured so that the elevator does not provide service to the top floor (fifth floor) (it cannot stop at the top floor). In this case, the diagnostic operation may be performed by generating a UP hall call for the first floor and a DN hall call for the fourth floor. However, in this case, in the example shown in FIG. 7, it is necessary to modify the system so that the 4th floor DN hall call signal is output to the hall device 230 for the fourth floor, rather than to the hall device 230 for the fifth floor.

(Signals suitable for remote inspection)
In this embodiment, the signals (DZ signal, LB signal, DS signal, GS signal) used to judge the conditions for operating the elevator safety circuit are used as the judgment signals for remote inspection. Also, from the viewpoint of ease of installation (construction), hall calls, rather than car calls, are used as output signals for operation diagnosis (diagnostic operation) for remote inspection. The reason for this is explained below.

The elevator is equipped with a safety circuit that stops the operation of the elevator when the hardware or software detects a specified abnormality. For example, the safety circuit is configured to cut off the supply of power to the hoisting machine 250 and the brake coil of the electromagnetic brake of the hoisting machine 250 when any one of multiple contacts in the safety circuit is opened. This causes the driving force of the hoisting machine 250 to be lost, and the electromagnetic brake to enter a braking state, stopping the car 10.

The elevator system 200 is equipped with a speed governor (not shown), an emergency stop device (not shown), a shock absorber 14, etc. as safety devices. The speed governor is a device installed on the car 10 and physically detects the speed of the car 10. The emergency stop device is a device installed on the car 10 and physically brakes the car 10 when the speed governor detects an abnormal speed. The shock absorber 14 is installed in the pit 6 and is a device that absorbs the impact when the car 10 falls.

For example, if the hardware (governor) or software (internal signal) detects that the car 10 is traveling at an abnormal speed, the software issues a command to stop the car 10, and the hardware or software activates a safety circuit. When the safety circuit is activated, the power supplied to the elevator is cut off, and the operation of the car 10 is stopped. Furthermore, the car 10 can be physically stopped by an emergency stop device or buffer 14.

When the safety circuit is activated, the power supply to the brake coil of the electromagnetic brake of the hoisting machine 250 is cut off (LB signal is OFF), which causes the electromagnetic brake to enter a braking state and stops the car 10.

Alternatively, when a limit switch (final limit switch) installed below the slow-down switch or above the slow-up switch is turned on, a safety circuit is activated and the car 10 is stopped to prevent collision with the top or bottom of the elevator shaft.

In addition, if the car 10 were to run with the door open, there is a risk that a passenger could fall from the hall into the elevator shaft 8, or that a person could be caught between the hall entrance and the car 10. For this reason, the elevator is controlled so that the car 10 will not run when the hall door 61 is open (the hall door switch (DS signal) is OFF) or the car door 60 is open (the car door switch (GS signal) is OFF).

In addition, when the car 10 is outside the door zone (the DZ signal is OFF), the elevator is controlled so that the door does not open. For example, if the car 10 is outside the door zone (the DZ signal is OFF) and the door is open (the DS signal or the GS signal is OFF), the safety circuit is activated and the car 10 stops.

The elevator safety devices and safety circuits described above operate as described above in accordance with legal regulations such as the Building Standards Act. For this reason, elevators from each manufacturer typically output a DS signal (landing door switch ON/OFF), a GS signal (car door switch ON/OFF), a LB signal (electromagnetic brake release/braking), a DZ signal (door zone detection/non-detection), or a similar signal as a contact signal. These signals are used to determine the conditions for activating the elevator safety circuit.

For this reason, in this embodiment, the DS signal, GS signal, LB signal, DZ signal, or similar signals commonly used by all elevator companies are used to determine the inspection items for remote inspection. Other signals may or may not be acquired as parallel transmission signals, depending on the manufacturer or elevator model. When such signals are used, remote inspection items may or may not be determined depending on the elevator.

The DZ signal can be used to calculate the travel time between floors or the car position. For example, assume that car 10 is currently stopped at the lowest floor (first floor). When car 10 starts moving, the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF, and when the car position reaches the second floor, the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON.

Therefore, when the car 10 is stopped on the first floor, the time from when the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF to when it changes from OFF to ON can be calculated as the travel time of the car 10 from the first floor to the second floor. Also, the car position can be changed from the first floor to the second floor at the timing when the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. In this way, it is possible to calculate the travel time between floors and the floor position at the timing when the DZ signal changes.

In this case, if the SDL signal is ON, the cage position is set to the first floor (lowest floor), and if the SUL signal is ON, the cage position is set to the fifth floor (top floor). Also, if the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON, the cage position is increased by one floor if the UP signal is ON, and decreased by one floor if the DN signal is ON.

However, in remote inspection, the SDL signal, SUL signal, UP signal, and DN signal are not necessarily required signals. For example, suppose that a 1st floor UP call is generated by diagnostic operation late at night when there are no elevator passengers. The car 10 can respond to the 1st floor UP call and set the floor where it has stopped to "1st floor." Or, a 5th floor DN call is generated. The car 10 can respond to the 5th floor DN call and set the floor where it has stopped to "5th floor."

In addition, in late-night diagnostic operation, when a 1st floor UP call, a 5th floor DN call, and a 1st floor UP call are generated, when the first 1st floor UP call is responded to, the car position is set to 1st floor and the car direction is set to UP. Next, when the car is traveling due to a 5th floor DN call, the floor of the car position is increased by 1 each time the DZ signal changes to ON. When the car is responding to a 5th floor DN call, the car position is set to 5th floor and the car direction is set to DN. Next, when the car is traveling due to a 1st floor UP call, the floor of the car position is decreased by 1 each time the DZ signal changes to ON. When the car is responding to a 1st floor UP call, the car position is set to 1st floor and the car direction is set to UP. When configured in this way, the car position and traveling direction can be determined without inputting the SDL signal, SUL signal, UP signal, and DN signal.

It is also possible to use the detection results of the door zone detection device when the UP signal and DN signal cannot be obtained. For example, the door zone detection device is equipped with multiple sensors, and multiple door zone detection plates are installed corresponding to each of the multiple sensors. The multiple sensors have different detection timing depending on the position of the car 10. If the timing at which each sensor changes to the ON state (or the OFF state) differs when the car direction is the UP direction and when it is the DN direction, the car direction can be identified by using the timing at which each sensor changes state.

It is also possible to use pulse information from the rotary encoder of the hoist 250 when the UP and DN signals cannot be obtained. In this case, the signal line output from the rotary encoder to the control panel 210 is branched and configured to be able to input a signal to the remote inspection device 100. In this case, the car direction can be determined based on whether the A-phase or B-phase pulse is output first. For example, the car direction may be set to the UP direction when the B-phase pulse is output 1/4 cycle behind the A-phase pulse, and the car direction may be set to the DN direction when the A-phase pulse is output 1/4 cycle behind the B-phase pulse.

When the output information from the rotary encoder is used, it is also possible to calculate the cage position and cage speed of the cage 10. It is possible to calculate the distance traveled by the cage 10 (cage position) from the number of pulses detected from the rotary encoder. It is also possible to calculate the cage speed from the number of pulses detected per unit time. In this way, it is possible to know whether the cage 10 is in a stopped state, an accelerating state, a constant speed state, or a decelerating state, and it is also easy to determine whether the cage position and cage speed are appropriate.

However, the relationship between the number of pulses output from the rotary encoder and the car position varies depending on the rated speed of the elevator, the elevator model, the elevator manufacturer, the type of rotary encoder, etc. This makes it necessary to actually measure the relationship between the number of pulses and the car position for each site, which complicates the construction design and installation work of the remote inspection system 1. For this reason, in terms of ease of installation and installation costs, it is desirable to use a DZ signal to grasp the elevator position information, as described above.

In addition, in this embodiment, when performing diagnostic operation in which the car 10 runs, the remote inspection device 100 is configured to output a pseudo-top floor DN hall call and a bottom floor UP hall call. This makes it possible to run the car 10 between the bottom floor and the top floor.

When it is desired to run the car 10 between the bottom floor and the top floor in this manner, the remote inspection device 100 may be configured to output pseudo car calls to the top floor and car calls to the bottom floor, rather than hall calls. However, in this embodiment, from the standpoint of ease of installation (construction), the remote inspection device 100 is configured to output hall calls, rather than car calls.

As described above, in order to generate a pseudo-hall call, the contacts of the hall call button of the hall device 230 installed at the hall are modified so that a signal input shorts out the contacts. The signal line (signal cable) for transmitting the hall call signal can be run from the remote inspection device 100 installed in the machine room 5 along the wall of the hoistway 8 and connected to the hall call buttons of the hall devices 230 on the top and bottom floors embedded in the wall of the hoistway 8. When running the signal line along the wall of the hoistway 8 in this way, installation is relatively easy because there are no obstacles in the way.

On the other hand, to generate a pseudo car call, the system is modified so that the contacts of the car call button of the car device 240 installed in the car 10 are shorted by signal input. To do this, the signal line for transmitting the car call signal must be connected from the remote inspection device 100 installed in the machine room 5 to the car call button of the car device 240 installed inside the car 10.

In this case, since it is necessary to place a signal line inside the car 10, it is necessary to use an available line among the signal lines in the control cable 22 connecting the machine room 5 and the car 10. However, it is necessary to check which lines are available, and there is a possibility that there are no available lines. It is also necessary to check whether the signal lines of the control cable 22 on the machine room 5 side and the car 10 side match, which is not easy to install. For these reasons, in this embodiment, hall calls are generated artificially during diagnostic operation, but car calls are not generated artificially.

As described above, in this embodiment, signals transmitted by parallel transmission are used to determine the inspection items for remote inspection, rather than signals transmitted by serial transmission, the communication specifications of which vary depending on the manufacturer and model. In particular, in this embodiment, signals that are commonly used regardless of the manufacturer and model, and that are suitable for use from the standpoint of ease of installation (construction) and installation costs, are used to determine the inspection items for remote inspection.

Specifically, the hall call signal and the DS signal, GS signal, LB signal, DZ signal, or similar signals used to determine the conditions for activating the elevator safety circuit are used to determine the inspection items for remote inspection. Thus, a major issue in this embodiment is how to perform remote inspection under circumstances in which signals suitable for use with the remote inspection device 100 are greatly limited.

For example, when using a signal transmitted serially (for example, a remote inspection device 500 manufactured by Company X that communicates serially with the control panel 210 shown in FIG. 2), remote inspection can be easily performed as follows.

Elevators have their own speed patterns for each model and rated speed. The speed pattern indicates the relationship between elapsed time and cage speed when traveling from the starting floor to the destination floor. The cage 10 is in an accelerating state when it starts traveling from the starting floor, then in a constant speed state, and in a decelerating state just before arriving at the destination floor. The control panel 210 can calculate and store the actual measured value of the speed pattern from the starting floor to the destination floor based on the pulse signal acquired from the rotary encoder of the hoist 250. Therefore, by comparing the actual measured value of the speed pattern with the elevator's unique speed pattern (prepared value), it is possible to determine whether the elevator's start state, accelerating state, constant speed state, and decelerating state are normal or not. As shown in FIG. 2, if the remote inspection device 500 is connected to the control panel 210 by serial communication, it is possible to access the internal signals held by the control panel 210, so that remote inspection can be easily realized by this method.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the remote inspection device 100 uses a "DZ signal" (a signal that identifies whether or not it is within the door zone) as a signal to identify the position due to restrictions on signals suitable for use in remote inspection. From the DZ signal, it is not possible to determine whether the car 10 is in an accelerating state, a constant speed state, or a decelerating state. For this reason, in order to perform remote inspection using limited signals, it is necessary to devise a method of determination. In other words, when implementing remote inspection using a remote inspection device 500 capable of serial communication, there is no motivation to combine signals such as the DS signal, GS signal, LB signal, and DZ signal to determine the inspection items for remote inspection, and such an idea would not even occur to one.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the control panel 210 controls one elevator (cage 10) (see FIG. 3), and as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7, one remote inspection device 100 is connected to the elevator system 200. In contrast, as shown in FIG. 6, when the control panel 210b controls multiple elevators (cage 10) (multi-car configuration), a remote inspection device 100 may be installed in each of the multiple elevators (cage 10). Alternatively, one remote inspection device 100 may be installed for multiple elevators.

When installing a remote inspection device 100 in each of multiple elevators (cars 10), the following configuration may be used. For example, in the configuration shown in FIG. 6, a portion of the signal lines included in the control cables 22, 23 connecting the individual car control unit 212 that controls the first elevator and the elevator equipment group 220b (car device 240, etc.) of the first elevator may be branched so that a judgment signal such as the DZ signal of the first elevator is input to the remote inspection device 100 (input IF 130) connected to the first elevator.

Similarly, a portion of the signal lines included in the control cables 22, 23 connecting the individual car control unit 212 that controls the second elevator and the elevator equipment group 220b (such as the car device 240) of the second elevator may be branched so that a judgment signal such as the DZ signal of the second elevator is input to the remote inspection device 100 (input IF 130) connected to the second elevator. In this case, each remote inspection device 100 acquires a judgment signal of the elevator car 10 (the target car that the control unit 152 judges) connected to the remote inspection device 100, and judges the remote inspection items for the target car.

Multiple remote inspection devices 100 connected to multiple elevators may be configured to be connected to one management server 300 and one terminal 400. In the case of a multi-car system, no hall call signal is sent to the hall device 230. If a multi-car system is used and a hall call signal is sent to the hall device 230, each remote inspection device 100 (output IF 140) is connected to the hall device 230 by a signal line. The hall device 230 may be configured so that the contacts of the hall call button can be short-circuited by the signal output from any of the remote inspection devices 100.

When one remote inspection device 100 is installed for multiple elevators (cars 10), the following configuration may be used. In the configuration shown in FIG. 6, a signal line branched from a portion of the signal line included in the control cables 22, 23 connecting the individual car control unit 212 that controls the first elevator and the elevator equipment group 220b of the first elevator, and a signal line branched from a portion of the signal line included in the control cables 22, 23 that connect the individual car control unit 212 that controls the second elevator and the elevator equipment group 220b of the second elevator may both be configured to be input to one remote inspection device 100. In this case, the remote inspection device 100 may determine the remote inspection items for each elevator and transmit the determination results for each elevator to the management server 300.

(Processing Executed by Remote Inspection System 1)
The following is a specific description of the processing executed by the remote inspection system 1. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block diagram of the remote inspection system 1. The remote inspection system 1 includes an acquisition unit 151, a control unit 152, an output unit 153, a reception unit 154, and an instruction unit 155, and stores a data group 156.

The reception unit 154 receives operations by a maintenance worker (a user who operates the terminal 400) from the input unit 420 of the terminal 400. For example, the maintenance worker can set the date and time for performing a driving diagnosis, manually perform a driving diagnosis, and the like, by operating the input unit 420 on the display screen of the display unit 410 of the terminal 400 (see FIG. 10 described below).

The control unit 152 can access the data group 156. The data group 156 includes setting data 422, a reference time database (also referred to as "DB") 423, operation history 424, and judgment results 425. The control unit 152 reads or updates the setting data 422, the reference time DB 423, the operation history 424, and the judgment results 425.

The setting data 422 is data that stores various information related to remote inspection. For example, the setting data 422 records information about the building 2 and elevators related to the remote inspection. When the date and time for performing diagnostic operation is set by operating the input unit 420, the control unit 152 records the date and time in the setting data 422.

The reference time DB 423 is a database that records the reference time (for example, the reference time KA of the start-up time described below) that the control unit 152 uses to judge each inspection item of the remote inspection. Details will be described later with reference to Figures 12 and 13. The operation history 424 is historical data of the signals of the elevator system 200 acquired by the remote inspection system 1. The judgment result 425 is data that stores the judgment result of each inspection item of the remote inspection.

The control unit 152 generates a hall call signal that generates an elevator hall call in order to perform an operation diagnosis based on the date and time of the operation diagnosis recorded in the setting data 422 or an instruction to execute the operation diagnosis by a maintenance worker's operation (manual).

The instruction unit 155 transmits the hall call signal generated by the control unit 152 to the elevator equipment group 220 of the elevator system 200. By responding to this hall call, the elevator system 200 executes a diagnostic operation.

The acquisition unit 151 acquires judgment signals (DZ signal, LB signal, GS signal, DS signal, etc.) from the elevator equipment group 220 of the elevator system 200. The acquisition unit 151 always acquires signals from the elevator equipment group 220, in addition to the judgment signals during the above-mentioned operation diagnosis.

The control unit 152 judges the inspection items for the remote inspection based on the judgment signals acquired by the acquisition unit 151 (performs judgment processing) and generates a judgment result. The inspection items for the remote inspection include the start-up state, accelerating state, constant speed running state, decelerating state, landing state, destination floor button state, hall button state, door open/close state, and brake state (presence or absence of electromagnetic brake abnormality) of the car 10. The control unit 152 records the acquired judgment signals in the operation history 424, and records the judgment results of the inspection items for the remote inspection in the judgment result 425.

The output unit 153 outputs information such as the judgment results of the inspection items of the remote inspection to be displayed on the display unit 410 of the terminal 400. This allows the maintenance personnel to check the judgment results of the remote inspection on the display unit 410 of the terminal 400.

In this embodiment, the remote inspection system 1 is configured with a remote inspection device 100, a management server 300, and a terminal 400. However, this is not limited to the above, and the remote inspection system 1 may be configured without including the management server 300 and the terminal 400, or may be configured as an integrated device. For example, the remote inspection system 1 may be configured with only the remote inspection device 100, or may be configured with the remote inspection device 100 and the management server 300. In addition, the remote inspection device 100 is configured to be configured with a control device 110, an input IF 130, an output IF 140, and a communication IF 120. However, this is not limited to the above, and the functions of the input IF 130, the output IF 140, and the communication IF 120 may be integrated to realize all the functions in the control device 110.

The processing executed by each of the acquisition unit 151, the control unit 152, the output unit 153, the reception unit 154, and the instruction unit 155 may be processing executed by the processor 111 of the control device 110, or may be processing executed by any processor of the board equipped in the remote inspection device 100. For example, the acquisition unit 151 may be processing executed by the processor of the input IF 130. The instruction unit 155 may be processing executed by the processor of the output IF 140. The output unit 153 and the reception unit 154 may be processing executed by any processor of the communication IF 120, the management server 300, and the terminal 400. The remote inspection device 100 may be configured to include the acquisition unit 151, the control unit 152, the output unit 153, the reception unit 154, and the instruction unit 155, or the remote inspection device 100 may be configured to include the acquisition unit 151 and the instruction unit 155, and the management server 300 may be configured to include the control unit 152, the output unit 153, and the reception unit 154. The data group 156 may be stored in the memory 112 of the control device 110, or a portion of it may be stored in the memory of the management server 300.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen 421 of the remote inspection system 1. The display screen 421 is displayed on the display unit 410 of the terminal 400. The display screen 421 displays remote inspection setting information, the judgment results of each item of the remote inspection, setting buttons, etc.

At the top of the display screen 421, the property name of Building 2 is shown as "ABC Building." Below that, the status of the driving diagnosis-related judgment is displayed. In this example, the results of the diagnostic driving between the first and fifth floors, as shown in Figure 8, are displayed by driving direction.

The "UP direction" column shows the results when traveling from the 1st to 5th floors in the UP direction. "Travel time" is the time required to travel from the 1st to 5th floors. "Start-up time" is the time required for the car 10 to start up when starting travel from the 1st floor (until passing the door zone). In addition, when traveling from the 1st to 5th floors, the time required to travel from the 1st to 2nd floors (including accelerating travel state), the time required to travel from the 2nd to 3rd floors (constant speed travel state), the time required to travel from the 3rd to 4th floors (constant speed travel state), and the time required to travel from the 4th to 5th floors (including decelerating travel state) are shown. The same is true for the "DN direction" column.

Here, the "measured time" is the time actually measured during diagnostic operation. The "reference time" is the reference time for judging whether the measured time is normal or not. The "judgment condition" is a condition determined based on the reference time, and if the measured time is within the numerical range of the judgment condition, it is judged to be in a "normal state." On the other hand, if the measured time is outside the numerical range of the judgment condition, it is judged to be in a "modulated state."

In this embodiment, a "modulation state" refers to a state that does not correspond to a normal state. A modulation state is a state that includes a state that is not an abnormal state, but indicates a sign of a failure or abnormal state of some equipment in the elevator system 200. By determining whether or not it is a "modulation state," it is possible to capture a sign of failure (a state before a failure occurs). In the "Judgment" column, a circle is displayed if the judgment result is a "normal state," and a triangle is displayed if it is a "modulation state."

For example, in the "Start-up time" on display screen 421, it is shown that the reference time is KA, the measured time is TA, the judgment condition is KAL to KAH, and the judgment result is a normal state. This means that the condition KAL≦TA≦KAH is met, and therefore the normal state is obtained as the judgment result for the startup time.

Furthermore, below that, the results of the judgment based on the operation diagnosis are shown. In this example, the start-up state, running state, car call button state, and hall call button state are judged to be in a "normal state," and the door open/close state is judged to be in a "modulated state." Below that, the results of the judgment based on the continuous diagnosis are shown. In this example, the brake state and floor landing state are judged to be in a "normal state."

At the bottom of the display screen 421, various buttons that can be clicked using the input unit 420 are arranged. In "Driving Diagnosis Settings", it is possible to set the date and time for performing driving diagnosis. In this example, in "Driving Diagnosis Settings", 23rd, 23:59 is input using the input unit 420. When the "Set" button is clicked, a driving diagnosis will be performed at 23:59 on the 23rd of every month. This setting information is recorded in the setting data 422.

In addition to the monthly automatic driving diagnosis, you can also run a driving diagnosis immediately by clicking the "Manual Driving Diagnosis" button. When a driving diagnosis is run, the "Measurement Time" display is updated based on the results of the run, and the result is shown as "Normal State" or "Modulation State."

In principle, the "Reference Time" column is set to the reference time from the operation diagnosis performed when the remote inspection system 1 is installed in the building 2. However, when the "Save Reference Time" button is clicked, the reference time is updated to the time measured in the most recently performed operation diagnosis, and the judgment conditions are updated based on the updated reference time.

For example, in the example of Figure 10, the measurement time of the startup time in the most recent driving diagnosis is measured as "TA", and the reference time is "KU". In this state, when the "Save Reference Time" button is clicked, the reference time is updated to "TA", and the judgment conditions KAL and KAH are updated based on the updated reference time.

The processing executed by the remote inspection system 1 will be described below based on a flowchart. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the remote inspection processing and the terminal setting processing. The remote inspection system 1 executes the remote inspection processing. The remote inspection processing is a processing for determining the inspection items of the remote inspection based on the determination signal. The remote inspection processing may be started periodically (for example, every 100 msec). Hereinafter, "step" may also be simply referred to as "S".

On the other hand, when an operation button is clicked on the display screen 421 of the terminal 400, the terminal setting process is executed. When the terminal setting process starts, the terminal 400 determines in S151 whether or not the "Manual Driving Diagnosis" button has been clicked. If the "Manual Driving Diagnosis" button has been clicked (YES in S151), the terminal 400 sets a request for manual driving diagnosis (S152) and proceeds to S153. In this case, a request for manual driving diagnosis is sent to the remote inspection device 100. If the "Manual Driving Diagnosis" button has not been clicked (NO in S151), the terminal 400 proceeds to S153.

In S153, the terminal 400 determines whether the "Save Reference Time" button has been clicked. If the "Save Reference Time" button has been clicked (YES in S153), the terminal 400 sets a request to save the reference time (S154) and proceeds to S155. In this case, a request to save the reference time is sent to the remote inspection device 100. If the "Save Reference Time" button has not been clicked (NO in S153), the terminal 400 proceeds to S155.

In S155, the terminal 400 determines whether the "Set" button has been clicked. If the "Set" button has been clicked (YES in S155), the terminal 400 requests setting of the driving diagnosis setting time (S156) and ends the terminal setting process. In this case, the driving diagnosis setting time is transmitted to the remote inspection device 100. If the "Set" button has not been clicked (NO in S155), the terminal 400 ends the terminal setting process.

On the other hand, when the remote inspection process starts, the control unit 152 of the remote inspection system 1 executes a reference time acquisition process (see FIG. 14 described later) in S100. In the reference time acquisition process, the reference time to be used in determining the inspection items of the remote inspection is acquired from the reference time DB 423 and set.

In S101, the control unit 152 determines whether or not a "manual driving diagnosis" request has been made, or whether or not the current time has reached the driving diagnosis setting time. When the "manual driving diagnosis" button is clicked, a request for "manual driving diagnosis" is set (S152). The driving diagnosis setting time is the time set based on the request to set the driving diagnosis setting time (S156).

If any of the above conditions are met (YES in S101), the control unit 152 advances the process to S102. On the other hand, if the control unit 152 determines that none of the above conditions are met (NO in S101), the control unit 152 advances the process to S104.

In S102, the control unit 152 executes a driving diagnosis process. The driving diagnosis process is a process for transmitting a hall call signal when performing a driving diagnosis and for executing a judgment process based on the hall call signal. In the driving diagnosis process, a hall call signal is generated. For example, as described using FIG. 8, a 1st floor UP hall call signal and a 5th floor DN hall call signal are generated to cause the car 10 to run from the 1st floor to the 5th floor and from the 5th floor to the 1st floor.

Then, the instruction unit 155 outputs the hall call signal generated by the control unit 152 to the elevator system 200. This causes the car 10 to run in response to the hall call. Then, a judgment process is performed based on this running result. The details of the operation diagnosis process will be described later.

In S104, the acquisition unit 151 acquires a determination signal (DZ signal, LB signal, GS signal, DS signal, etc.) from the elevator system 200. The control unit 152 continues to acquire the determination signal from the elevator system 200 until the termination condition is met (YES in S105).

For example, the termination condition may be satisfied when the car 10 travels back and forth between the first and fifth floors, or the termination condition may be satisfied every time the car 10 completes a specified operation (e.g., door opening/closing, brake release/application, completion of landing), or the termination condition may be satisfied periodically (e.g., every few minutes).

When the control unit 152 determines that the termination condition is satisfied (YES in S105), it executes a judgment process (S106). In the judgment process, it judges the inspection items of the remote inspection. The inspection items include the start-up state, accelerating state, constant speed state, decelerating state, landing state, destination floor button state, hall button state, door open/close state, and brake state, and judges one or more of the following items.

In S107, the control unit 152 records the acquired determination signal in the operation history 424, and records the determination result obtained in the determination process in the determination result 425.

In S108, the output unit 153 outputs the judgment result obtained in the judgment process. For example, the output unit 153 outputs (transmits) the judgment result to the management server 300 via the network. The terminal 400 can obtain the judgment result by accessing the management server 300 via the network. This makes it possible to check the judgment result on the display unit 410 of the terminal 400, as shown in FIG. 10.

In S109, the control unit 152 executes a reference time update process and ends the remote inspection process. This process updates the reference time for mode B in the reference time DB 423, as will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 13.

(Switching the reference time)
12 is a diagram showing an example of the reference time DB 423. The "reference time" shown in FIG.

In the reference time DB 423, values such as "running time" and "start-up time" are set, as in FIG. 10. One of modes A to D can be set in advance as the mode for reading out the reference time DB 423. Although not shown, it is possible to configure the terminal 400 so that the setting can be changed to one of modes A to D by a maintenance technician's operation.

In the example of FIG. 10, mode A is set. Therefore, time KU is read as the "running time" in the UP direction in the reference time DB 423, and time KA is read as the "start-up time," and these are displayed on the display screen 421 of FIG. 10.

Here, mode A is set when a fixed value is to be used each time as the reference time. When mode A is set, the reference time set in the mode A item of the reference time DB 423 is used each time. In principle, these reference times are set to those measured when the remote inspection device 100 was installed in building 2. However, if the "Save reference time" button is clicked on the display screen 421, the reference time is replaced with the time measured during the most recent operation diagnosis (diagnostic operation).

Mode B is set when you want to use the previous value as the reference time. When Mode B is set, the reference time set in the Mode B item of the reference time DB423 is used. The reference time set in the Mode B item is updated every time a driving diagnosis (diagnostic driving) is performed.

In the example of FIG. 10, a diagnostic operation is performed once a month at 23:59 on the 23rd. For example, in the diagnostic operation at 23:59 on January 23rd, if the reference time is time KA1 and the measured time is time TX for the startup time in the UP direction, the reference time for mode B in the reference time DB423 is updated from time KA1 to time TX. As a result, in the next diagnostic operation (next month) at 23:59 on February 23rd, time TX is used as the reference time for the startup time in the UP direction.

Mode C is set when it is desired to change the reference time according to the temperature of the machine room 5. The temperature of the machine room 5 is measured by the temperature sensor 15. The reference time set in the Mode C item is a value measured by classifying the temperature of the machine room 5 into cases where it is less than K1°C (up to K1°C), where it is equal to or greater than K1°C and less than K2°C (K1°C or higher), where it is equal to or greater than K2°C and less than K3°C (K2°C or higher), and where it is equal to or greater than K3°C (K2°C or higher). For example, the reference time can be changed in increments of 5°C or 10°C.

This reference time may be set based on the results of diagnostic operation. For example, if the temperature in the machine room 5 is equal to or higher than K1°C and lower than K2°C when diagnostic operation is performed to measure the reference time, the reference time is recorded in the item for equal to or higher than K1°C and lower than K2°C (K1°C or higher) in the reference time DB 423. Diagnostic operation may be performed multiple times and the average value set as the reference time.

When mode C is set, the reference time set in the mode C item of the reference time DB423 is used according to the current temperature of the machine room 5. For example, if the temperature of the machine room 5 during diagnostic operation is less than K1°C (up to K1°C), the reference time set in the item below K1°C (for example, "KA2" for the start time in the UP direction) is used.

The temperature measured by the temperature sensor 15 is not limited to the temperature of the machine room 5. The temperature sensor 15 may be installed at any position within the elevator hoistway 8, around the hoistway 8, or around the elevator.

Mode D is set when you want to change the reference time according to the season. The reference time set in the Mode D item is a value measured for each season, classified as spring, summer, fall, or winter. For example, if the diagnostic operation to measure the reference time was performed in summer, the reference time is recorded in the summer item.

When mode D is set, the reference time set in the mode D item of the reference time DB423 is used according to the season. For example, if the season during diagnostic operation is spring, the reference time set in the spring item (for example, "KU126" for the start time in the UP direction) is used.

Modes B to D are modes prepared for hydraulic elevators. In hydraulic elevators, the oil characteristics change depending on the season and temperature, which can easily cause differences in the running characteristics of the car 10. For example, compared to the high temperatures of summer, the oil becomes thicker in winter, so it takes longer to start up and running times are more likely to vary. For this reason, the reference time is switched depending on the season or temperature, which changes the oil characteristics. Also, the reason why the value from the previous diagnosis (the value from last month) is used in mode B is because it uses a reference time where the temperature environment or equipment environment is close to that of the most recent diagnosis.

The reference time recorded in the reference time DB423 also includes the "time outside the door zone (also written as "DZ")." This is the time measured from when the car 10 stops at a certain floor (the LB signal changes from ON to OFF) to when it leaves the door zone while stopped (the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF). For example, in the item for mode A in the reference time DB423, the time KX is set as the "time outside the DZ."

In a hydraulic elevator, when the car 10 stops at a certain floor, the car gradually sinks over time (the car's floor surface gradually drops relative to the landing floor surface), which can cause the car to fall out of the door zone. This time varies depending on the season and temperature due to the characteristics of the oil, so the reference time is configured to be changeable for each.

The reference time recorded in the reference time DB423 also includes the door-opening times for the first to fifth floors. The door-opening times in the reference time DB423 are measured from when the car 10 stops at a certain floor and the GS signal and DS signal change from an ON state to an OFF state until they change from an OFF state to an ON state (door-opening time). For example, in the item for mode A in the reference time DB423, a time KY1 is set as the door-opening time for the first floor. In the item for mode A in the reference time DB423, a time KY5 is set as the door-opening time for the fifth floor.

Figure 13 is a flowchart of the reference time update process. The reference time update process is executed in S109 (after the determination process has been executed) of the remote inspection process shown in Figure 11. The reference time update process is also executed when a request to save the reference time is made (S154).

When the reference time update process starts, if the control unit 152 determines that there is a "save reference time" request (YES in S251), it updates the reference time DB 423 (S252) and proceeds to S253. If the control unit 152 determines that there is no "save reference time" request (NO in S251), it proceeds to S253.

In S252 (when the "Save Reference Time" button is clicked), the reference times for modes A to D (running time, start time, time elapsed between floors, time outside the DZ, and door open time) are updated. For example, in the UP direction running time, if the season of the operation diagnosis performed immediately before the "Save Reference Time" button was clicked was summer, the machine room temperature was K3°C or higher, and the measured time was "TUX", then "KU" in mode A, "KU1" in mode B, "KU5" in "K3°C or higher" in mode C, and "KU7" in "summer" in mode D are each changed to "TUX". This allows the measured time in the operation diagnosis to be updated as the reference time when the operation diagnosis is performed.

When the reference time update process is called in S109 after the judgment process in the remote inspection process (YES in S253), the control unit 152 updates each reference time (running time, start time, elapsed time between floors, time outside the DZ, door open time) for mode B in the reference time DB 423 (S254) and ends the reference time update process. When the reference time update process is not called in S109 (NO in S253), the control unit 152 ends the reference time update process as it is.

In S254, for example, if the measured time during driving diagnosis is "TUY" for the UP direction driving time, "KU1" in mode B is changed to "TUY". This changes the measured time to the reference time of mode B every time a driving diagnosis is performed. Therefore, when mode B is set, the measured time when the previous (last month) driving diagnosis was performed is used as the reference time.

Figure 14 is a flowchart of the reference time acquisition process. The reference time acquisition process is a process executed in S100 of the remote inspection process shown in Figure 11. If mode A is set (YES in S201), the control unit 152 acquires the reference time for mode A (S202) and proceeds to S209. For example, "KU" for mode A is acquired for the UP direction travel time.

If mode A is not set (NO in S201) and mode B is set (YES in S203), the control unit 152 acquires the reference time for mode B (S204) and proceeds to S209. For example, in the UP direction running time, "KU1" for mode B is acquired.

When mode B is not set (NO in S203) but mode C is set (YES in S205), the control unit 152 acquires the reference time for mode C that matches the current machine room temperature (S206) and proceeds to S209. For example, when the current machine room temperature is K3°C or higher, "KU5" from "K3°C~" in mode C is acquired for the UP direction running time.

When mode C is not set (NO in S205) and mode D is set (YES in S207), the control unit 152 acquires the reference time of mode C that matches the current season (S208) and proceeds to S209. For example, when the current season is summer, "KU7" for "summer" in mode C is acquired for the UP direction traveling time.

If mode D is not set (NO in S207), the control unit 152 proceeds to S209. In S209, the control unit 152 sets the acquired reference time as the reference time to be used, and ends the reference time setting process.

The configuration and effects of this embodiment regarding switching the reference time are summarized below.

(A) The control unit 152 can update the measurement times calculated (measured) during operation diagnosis as the reference times (running time, start time, elapsed time between floors, time outside the DZ, and door open time) in the reference time DB 423. For example, the control unit 152 can update the start time TA measured during operation diagnosis as the reference time KA (for the UP direction) for the start time in the reference time DB 423. In this way, the inspection items for remote inspection can be determined using values that correspond to the operating state of the elevator at the site.

(B) The reference times (running time, start-up time, elapsed time between floors, time outside the DZ, door open time) recorded in the reference time DB 423 include multiple values measured for each season (spring, summer, fall, winter values). The control unit 152 selects one of the multiple values depending on the current season to determine the inspection item. For example, the reference times for start-up times recorded in the reference time DB 423 include multiple values measured for each season (KA6 to KA9 (in the case of the UP direction) in mode D). When the current season is summer, the control unit 152 selects KA7 to determine the start-up time. In this way, highly accurate determination results can be obtained not only for rope elevators but also for hydraulic elevators, whose oil properties change depending on the season.

(C) The reference times (running time, start time, elapsed time between floors, time outside the DZ, door open time) recorded in the reference time DB 423 include multiple values for each temperature range measured by the temperature sensor 15 (values of up to K1°C, K2°C~, K3°C~, K4°C~). The control unit 152 selects one of the multiple values according to the current temperature measured by the temperature sensor 15 to determine the inspection item. For example, the reference time for the start time (reference time KA) recorded in the reference time DB 423 includes multiple values for each temperature range measured by the temperature sensor 15 (KA2 to KA5 (in the case of the UP direction) in mode C). The control unit 152 selects KA5 to determine the start time when the current temperature measured by the temperature sensor 15 is K4°C or higher. In this way, highly accurate determination results can be obtained not only for rope elevators but also for hydraulic elevators in which the oil characteristics change depending on the temperature.

(D) The instruction unit 155 periodically transmits a hall call signal. Specifically, as shown in S101 to S102, a hall call is generated and output every time the operation diagnosis set time, which is once a month, is reached. After performing the operation diagnosis, the control unit 152 changes the reference times (running time, start time, elapsed time between floors, time to be outside the DZ, and door open time) in the reference time DB 423 to the measured times calculated during the operation diagnosis (S109). For example, after performing the operation diagnosis, the control unit 152 changes the reference time KA of the start time in the reference time DB 423 to the measured time TA of the start time calculated during the operation diagnosis. In this way, a highly accurate judgment result can be obtained using a value that corresponds to the latest operating state of the elevator at the site. For example, it is possible to respond to cases where the state of the equipment changes due to aging of the equipment or adjustment of the valves in a hydraulic elevator.

(E) The reception unit 154 receives the operation of the maintenance worker (user) (clicking the "Manual Driving Diagnosis" button, clicking the "Reference Time Save" button, etc.). The control unit 152 generates a hall call signal when the "Manual Driving Diagnosis" button is clicked (S151, S101). The instruction unit 155 transmits the generated hall call signal. When the "Reference Time Save" button is clicked (S153), the control unit 152 changes the reference times (running time, start time, elapsed time between floors, time to be outside the DZ, door open time) in the reference time DB 423 to the measured times calculated during the driving diagnosis (S252). For example, when the "Reference Time Save" button is clicked, the control unit 152 changes the reference time KA of the start time in the reference time DB 423 to the measured time TA of the start time calculated during the driving diagnosis (in the case of the UP direction). In this way, highly accurate judgment results can be obtained by manually changing the values to match the latest elevator operating conditions at the site. For example, it can also be adapted to changes in equipment conditions due to aging of the equipment or adjustments to valves in hydraulic elevators.

[Judgment of remote inspection items]
Next, the judgment of the inspection items of the remote inspection executed in this embodiment will be described. The judgment of the inspection items of the remote inspection is performed in a judgment process executed in the driving diagnosis process described later. The inspection items of the remote inspection include the start state, accelerating state, constant speed running state, decelerating state, landing state, destination floor button (car call button) state, hall button (hall call button) state, door open/close state, and brake state of the car 10.

In the judgment process, a judgment is made on one or more of the above inspection items. In this embodiment, the judgment process is described as judging the state of the car call button as an inspection item for remote inspection. The judgment of the state of the car call button is described below with reference to Figures 15 to 24.

(Determining the state of the car call button)
There are a plurality of running states. The plurality of running states include an acceleration running state in which the car 10 runs while accelerating, a constant speed running state in which the car 10 runs at a constant speed, and a deceleration running state in which the car 10 runs while decelerating.

Hereinafter, the process in which the instruction unit 155 transmits a hall call signal is referred to as the "transmission process." The transmission process is a process of transmitting an UP hall call signal for the first floor that generates a hall call for the first floor in the UP direction on the first floor (the first floor in this embodiment), and a DN hall call signal for the second floor that generates a hall call for the second floor in the DN direction on the second floor (the fifth floor in this embodiment) that is higher than the first floor.

The transmission process includes a first transmission process and a second transmission process. The first transmission process is a process of transmitting a DN hall call signal for the second floor that generates a hall call for the second floor in the DN direction after the waiting time TW (30 seconds in this embodiment) has elapsed since the car 10 arrived at the first floor based on the transmission of a UP hall call signal for the first floor. The second transmission process is a process of transmitting a UP hall call signal for the first floor after the waiting time TW (30 seconds) has elapsed since the car 10 arrived at the second floor based on the transmission of a DN hall call signal for the second floor.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to generating a hall call after the waiting time TW has elapsed. The first transmission process may simply transmit a DN hall call signal for the second floor after transmitting a UP hall call signal for the first floor, and the second transmission process may transmit a UP hall call signal for the first floor after transmitting a DN hall call signal for the second floor.

In this embodiment, the first floor is the lowest floor (lowest floor at which the car 10 can stop) among the floors at which the car 10 can stop, i.e., the first floor. The second floor is the highest floor (highest floor at which the car 10 can stop) among the floors at which the car 10 can stop, i.e., the fifth floor. For example, if the first floor is not stoppable because the service is cut off or it is a floor at which the car cannot physically stop, the first floor is set to the second floor, and if the fifth floor is not stoppable, the second floor is set to the fourth floor. However, this is not limited to this, and any floor may be set to the first floor, and any floor above the first floor may be set to the second floor.

In this case, when an UP hall call signal for the first floor is sent in a simulated manner from the output IF 140 to the hall device 230 on the first floor, the contacts of the UP hall call button 81 on the first floor are modified to short-circuit (see FIG. 7). When an DN hall call signal for the second floor is sent in a simulated manner from the output IF 140 to the hall device 230 on the second floor, the contacts of the DN hall call button 82 on the second floor are modified to short-circuit.

The control unit 152 generates a hall call signal to be transmitted by a transmission process. The instruction unit 155 performs a transmission process to transmit the generated hall call signal. In this embodiment, the operation of the car 10 based on the hall call signal transmitted by this transmission process is called "diagnostic operation." In addition, the judgment process performed by the control unit 152 based on the judgment signal acquired by the acquisition unit 151 as a result of the above transmission process is called "driving diagnosis."

Figures 15 and 16 are timing charts for explaining the running state. Figure 15 explains a case where the car 10 runs from the first floor to the fifth floor in response to a fifth floor DN hall call generated by the remote inspection device 100 (a fifth floor DN hall call signal transmitted by the instruction unit 155).

At time t0, car 10 is stopped on the first floor. At this time, car 10 is located within the door zone on the first floor (the DZ signal is ON), and the speed of car 10 is 0 (car 10 is stopped).

Now, let us say that the remote inspection device 100 generates a DN hall call for the 5th floor. The car 10 starts running to respond to the DN hall call for the 5th floor. As a result, at time t1, the position of the car 10 is outside the door zone for the 1st floor, and the DZ signal changes from the ON state to the OFF state.

When the cage 10 starts to travel, the cage 10 enters an accelerating travel state. At time t2, when the speed of the cage 10 reaches the rated speed, the cage 10 changes from an accelerating travel state to a constant speed travel state. At time t3, which is a time TU12 that has passed since time t1, the cage 10 is located within the door zone of the second floor, and the DZ signal changes from the OFF state to the ON state. Furthermore, at time t4, the cage 10 is located outside the door zone of the second floor, and the DZ signal changes from the ON state to the OFF state.

At time t5, when time TU23 has elapsed since time t3, the position of car 10 is within the door zone of the third floor, and the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. At time t6, the position of car 10 is outside the door zone of the third floor, and the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF.

At time t7, when time TU34 has elapsed since time t5, the position of car 10 is within the door zone of the fourth floor, and the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. At time t8, the position of car 10 is outside the door zone of the fourth floor, and the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF.

At time t9, car 10 changes from a constant speed traveling state to a decelerated traveling state in order to stop at the fifth floor. At time t10, which is a time TU45 that has passed since time t7, car 10 is located within the door zone of the fifth floor, and the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. Car 10 stops at the fifth floor, and the car speed becomes 0 (stopped state). At time 11, the speed of car 10 is 0, and the DZ signal is ON.

Next, in Figure 16, we will explain the case where car 10 travels from the 5th floor to the 1st floor in response to a call from the 1st floor UP hall. At time t0, car 10 is stopped on the 5th floor. At this time, the position of car 10 is within the door zone of the 5th floor (DZ signal is ON), and the speed of car 10 is 0 (car 10 is stopped).

Now, let us assume that the remote inspection device 100 generates a 1st floor UP hall call (the instruction unit 155 transmits a 1st floor UP hall call). The car 10 starts running to respond to the 1st floor UP hall call. As a result, at time t1, the position of the car 10 is outside the door zone of the 5th floor, and the DZ signal changes from the ON state to the OFF state.

When the cage 10 starts to travel, the cage 10 enters an accelerating state. At time t2, when the speed of the cage 10 reaches the rated speed, the cage 10 changes from an accelerating state to a constant speed state. At time t3, which is a time TD54 after time t1, the cage 10 is located within the door zone of the fourth floor, and the DZ signal changes from the OFF state to the ON state. Furthermore, at time t4, the cage 10 is located outside the door zone of the fourth floor, and the DZ signal changes from the ON state to the OFF state.

At time t5, when time TD43 has elapsed since time t3, the position of car 10 is within the door zone of the third floor, and the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. At time t6, the position of car 10 is outside the door zone of the third floor, and the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF.

At time t7, when time TD32 has elapsed since time t5, the position of car 10 is within the door zone of the second floor, and the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. At time t8, the position of car 10 is outside the door zone of the second floor, and the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF.

At time t9, car 10 changes from a constant speed traveling state to a decelerated traveling state in order to stop at the first floor. At time t10, which is a time TD21 that has passed since time t7, car 10 is located within the door zone of the first floor, and the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. Car 10 stops at the first floor, and the car speed becomes 0 (stopped state). At time 11, the speed of car 10 is 0, and the DZ signal is ON.

Figures 17 to 19 are diagrams for explaining the determination of the state of the car call button. In Figure 17, a case where the state of the car call button can be correctly determined is described. In Figure 18, a case where the state of the car call button cannot be determined because a car call has occurred is described. In Figure 19, a case where the state of the car call button cannot be determined because of a malfunction of the car call button is described.

In the situation shown in FIG. 17, operation diagnosis is performed when the car 10 is stopped at the second floor. At time t0, the remote inspection device 100 generates a first floor UP hall call 91. As a result, the car 10 travels in the DN direction toward the first floor to respond to the first floor UP hall call 91.

The car 10 responds to the 1st floor UP hall call 91 and stops at the 1st floor. At time t1, the remote inspection device 100 generates a 5th floor DN hall call 92. As a result, the car 10 starts UP running to respond to the 5th floor DN hall call 92. At time t2, the car 10 is running in the UP direction toward the 5th floor.

The car 10 responds to the 5th floor DN hall call 92 and stops at the 5th floor. At time t3, the remote inspection device 100 generates a 1st floor UP hall call 91. As a result, the car 10 starts DN running to respond to the 1st floor UP hall call 91. At time t4, the car 10 is running in the DN direction toward the 1st floor. At time t5, the car 10 responds to the 1st floor UP hall call 91 and stops at the 1st floor.

By following the above procedure, car 10 travels back and forth between the bottom floor (1st floor) and the top floor (5th floor) at times t1 to t5. In this case, the state of the car call button can be correctly determined because the car travels back and forth between the 1st and 5th floors without stopping at any floors along the way.

Next, a case in which the state of the car call button cannot be correctly determined because a car call has been registered will be described with reference to Figure 18. At time t0, car 10 is stopped at the first floor. At time t1, car 10 is traveling in the UP direction toward the fifth floor to respond to a fifth floor DN hall call 92 generated by the remote inspection device 100. In this case, there is a passenger in car 10. A fourth floor car call 93 has been registered by a passenger heading to the fourth floor.

At time t3, car 10 responds to the 4th floor car call 93, stops at the 4th floor, and then opens the doors. It then starts traveling toward the 5th floor to respond to the 5th floor DN hall call 92. At time t3, car 10 responds to the 5th floor DN hall call 92 and stops at the 5th floor.

In this case, the car stops at an intermediate floor, and the operation diagnosis is performed again. At time t4, the remote inspection device 100 again generates a call 91 for the 1st floor UP hall, causing the car 10 to stop at the 1st floor.

Then, the remote inspection device 100 again generates a DN hall call 92 for the fifth floor, and at time t5, the car 10 travels in the UP direction toward the fifth floor. At time t6, the car 10 responds to the DN hall call 92 for the fifth floor and stops at the fifth floor. In this case, the car does not stop at an intermediate floor due to a car call.

Furthermore, similar to times t3 to t5 in FIG. 17, the remote inspection device 100 generates a 1st floor UP hall call 91, and the car 10 travels from the 5th floor to the 1st floor. This allows the state of the car call button to be correctly determined in order to travel back and forth between the 1st and 5th floors without stopping at any floors along the way.

Next, a case in which the state of the car call button cannot be correctly determined due to a malfunction of the car call button will be described with reference to FIG. 19. At time t0, car 10 is stopped at the first floor. In this example, it is assumed that a car call for the fourth floor is constantly registered due to a malfunction of the fourth floor car call button. For example, it is assumed that the button is pressed in and will not return to its original position, so that the switch of the fourth floor car call button is continuously in the ON state.

At time t1, the car 10 is traveling in the UP direction toward the 5th floor in order to respond to the 5th floor DN hall call 92 generated by the remote inspection device 100. In this case, there is no passenger in the car 10, but a 4th floor car call 94 has been registered due to a malfunction.

At time t3, car 10 responds to the 4th floor car call 93, stops at the 4th floor, and then opens the doors. It then starts traveling toward the 5th floor to respond to the 5th floor DN hall call 92. At time t3, car 10 responds to the 5th floor DN hall call 92 and stops at the 5th floor.

In this case, the UP travel time from the 1st floor to the 5th floor cannot be measured correctly, so the measurement is restarted. At time t4, the remote inspection device 100 again generates a 1st floor UP hall call 91, causing the car 10 to stop at the 1st floor. However, the 4th floor car call 94 remains registered.

The remote inspection device 100 again generates a DN hall call 92 for the 5th floor, and at time t5, the car 10 is traveling in the UP direction toward the 5th floor. However, at time t6, the car 10 responds to a car call 94 for the 4th floor and stops at the 4th floor. In this way, because the car 10 stops at the 4th floor, the travel time cannot be measured correctly no matter how many times it is tried. In this case, the state of the car call button cannot be determined correctly.

Below, a method for determining the driving state will be explained using a flowchart. Figure 20 is a flowchart of the driving diagnosis process. As shown in Figure 11, the driving diagnosis process is executed in S102 of the remote driving process. In other words, the driving diagnosis process is executed when the "Manual Driving Diagnosis" button is clicked on the display screen 421 shown in Figure 10 or when the set driving diagnosis time (for example, 11:59 p.m. on the 23rd of each month) is reached.

When the driving diagnosis process starts, the control unit 152 executes a driving generation process in S301. As described below, in the driving generation process, the control unit 152 generates a plurality of hall call signals. The instruction unit 155 executes a transmission process to sequentially transmit the generated hall call signals, thereby executing the diagnostic driving. The control unit 152 calculates the cage position, driving time, driving state, etc. of the cage 10 based on the judgment signal acquired by the acquisition unit 151 during the diagnostic driving by the transmission process.

In S302, the control unit 152 determines whether there were no stops at any intermediate floors (2nd to 4th floors) between the top floor (1st floor) and the bottom floor (5th floor), excluding the forced stop floor. If the control unit 152 determines that there were no stops at any intermediate floors, excluding the forced stop floor (YES in S302), the control unit 152 proceeds to S303. If the control unit 152 does not determine that there were no stops at any intermediate floors, excluding the forced stop floor (NO in S302), the control unit 152 proceeds to S305.

The control unit 152 uses information including the DZ signal to identify the relationship between the position of the car 10 between the first and fifth floors and the time (described later). Then, based on the relationship between the position of the car 10 between the first and fifth floors and the time, the control unit 152 determines whether the car 10 has stopped at a floor between the first and fifth floors.

In S303, the control unit 152 executes a judgment process. As described below, in the judgment process, the control unit 152 judges whether the state of the car call button is normal or not.

In S304, the control unit 152 determines whether the state of the car call button has been determined. If the control unit 152 determines that the state of the car call button has been determined (YES in S304), it ends the driving diagnosis process.

On the other hand, if the control unit 152 does not determine that the car call button is in the state (NO in S304), the process proceeds to S305. In S305, the control unit 152 executes a process to cancel the determination. In the process of canceling the determination, if a determination of the traveling state has already been made, this determination is cancelled.

In this way, when the control unit 152 determines that the cage 10 has stopped at a floor between the first and fifth floors based on the correspondence between the position of the cage 10 between the first and fifth floors and the time, it performs a cancellation process to cancel the determination of the determination process based on the transmission process.

In S306, the control unit 152 determines whether the judgment of the judgment process has been canceled 10 consecutive times by the cancellation process. If the control unit 152 determines that the judgment of the judgment process has been canceled 10 consecutive times by the cancellation process (YES in S306), the control unit 152 advances the process to S307. If the control unit 152 does not determine that the judgment of the judgment process has been canceled 10 consecutive times by the cancellation process (NO in S306), the control unit 152 advances the process to S308.

In S307, the control unit 152 determines that the state of the car call button is in a modulated state, and ends the driving diagnosis process. In other words, if the determination of the determination process is canceled 10 times consecutively by the cancellation process, the control unit 152 determines that the state of the car call button is in a modulated state. In S308, the control unit 152 executes a waiting process (3 minutes) and returns the process to S301. As a result, the running generation process and the determination process are performed again after the 3-minute waiting time has elapsed.

As described above, when the car 10 traveling between the first and fifth floors based on the transmission process stops at a floor between the first and fifth floors, the control unit 152 performs a cancellation process to cancel the judgment of the judgment process. What is canceled here is the judgment of the judgment process executed based on the transmission process of the hall call signal executed in the travel generation process.

When a cancellation process is performed, the instruction unit 155 performs the transmission process of the hall call signal again in the running generation process after a specific time (3 minutes) has elapsed since the cancellation process. The control unit 152 performs the judgment process again based on the transmission process that was performed again. Note that, if only one of the running directions, the UP direction or the DN direction, stops at an intermediate floor, the process may be repeated only for the running direction that stopped at the intermediate floor.

The reason why the cancellation process is performed in this manner is that if the car stops at an intermediate floor, it is not possible to determine whether the travel time between the first and fifth floors is appropriate in the travel status determination process. Also, when determining the state of the car call button and the state of the hall call button, it is not possible to determine whether the car 10 stopped between the first and fifth floors due to a car call button or hall call button pressed by a passenger, or due to a malfunction of the car call button or hall call button. Therefore, after the cancellation process is performed, the travel occurrence process and determination process are performed again to check again.

In addition, if car 10 responds to another hall call registered by the user, it may not be possible to determine the state of the car call button (YES in S304). In such a case, the system performs a cancellation process and then executes the trip generation process and determination process again.

However, if a floor between the first and fifth floors is set as a forced stop floor, the control unit 152 will not perform cancellation processing even if the car 10 stops at the forced stop floor. This is because the car 10 always stops at the forced stop floor, and stopping at a forced stop floor is unrelated to the determination of whether or not the car is in a modulated state. For this reason, when determining the running time from the first to fifth floors, a reference time or the like can be set in advance, including stopping at a forced stop floor (a running time is set on the assumption that the car will stop at a forced stop floor). Alternatively, the determination processing can be performed excluding the running time between the floors before and after the forced stop floor.

Diagnostic operation is performed late at night, when there are no passengers. If there happen to be passengers during this time, they may make a car or hall call, which may cause the train to stop at an intermediate floor. In this case, the travel time between the first to fifth floors cannot be measured correctly, so a cancellation process can be performed and the train judged again. In such a situation, the possibility of passengers making a car or hall call 10 times in a row and causing the train to stop at an intermediate floor is close to zero. However, if the train stops at an intermediate floor 10 times in a row, this is deemed to be a modulation state, as this may indicate some kind of malfunction.

If it is determined that a modulation state exists, the maintenance staff can confirm this on the terminal 400. In this case, for example, a malfunction may have occurred in which a hall call button or car call button for an intermediate floor has been pressed in, causing these buttons to constantly transmit ON signals. For this reason, the maintenance staff will visit the site to confirm the situation. If, as a result of the confirmation, the malfunction has been resolved, a manual operation diagnosis can be performed by clicking the "Manual Operation Diagnosis" button (see Figure 10) on the display screen 421.

Figure 21 is a flowchart of the running generation process. When the driving diagnosis process starts, the control unit 152 generates a hall call signal to be generated in S401. For example, the instruction unit 155 transmits a top floor (fifth floor) DN hall call signal. When the car 10 arrives at the top floor, the instruction unit 155 transmits a bottom floor (first floor) UP hall call signal after a waiting time TW (30 seconds) from the arrival. When the car 10 arrives at the bottom floor, the instruction unit 155 transmits a top floor DN hall call signal after a waiting time TW (30 seconds) from the arrival. As a result, the car 10 travels back and forth between the bottom floor and the top floor. Note that the hall call signal may be transmitted at any timing without waiting for the waiting time TW (30 seconds) to elapse.

In this embodiment, "arriving" at a certain floor refers to the timing when the car enters the door zone at that floor (the timing when the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON). In this embodiment, the judgment is made using the DZ signal, but if the judgment is made using the LB signal as well, "arriving" at a certain floor may refer to the timing when the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON and the LB signal changes from ON to OFF (i.e., the timing when the car 10 is braked by the brakes).

Alternatively, the following may be done. The instruction unit 155 transmits a bottom floor UP hall call signal. When the car 10 arrives at the bottom floor, the instruction unit 155 transmits a top floor DN hall call signal after a waiting time TW (30 seconds) from arrival. When the car 10 arrives at the top floor, the instruction unit 155 transmits a bottom floor UP hall call signal after a waiting time TW (30 seconds) from arrival. As a result, the car 10 travels back and forth between the bottom floor and the top floor.

In S402, the instruction unit 155 performs processing to transmit the next platform call signal. The "next platform call signal" refers to the platform call signal to be transmitted next. For example, as described above, the signals are transmitted in the order of the top floor DN platform call signal, the bottom floor UP platform call signal, and the top floor DN platform call signal. In this case, in S402, if none of the platform call signals have been transmitted, the first top floor DN platform call signal is transmitted, if the first top floor DN platform call signal has already been transmitted, the second bottom floor UP platform call signal is transmitted, and if the second bottom floor UP platform call signal has also been transmitted, the third top floor DN platform call signal is transmitted.

In S403, the control unit 152 executes the cage information measurement process described below. Through the cage information measurement process, the control unit 152 calculates the cage position, running time, running state, etc. of the cage 10 based on the judgment signal acquired by the acquisition unit 151 during diagnostic operation by the transmission process.

In S404, the control unit 152 determines whether the car 10 has arrived at the floor where the hall call is generated. If the control unit 152 determines that the car 10 has arrived at the floor where the hall call is generated (YES in S404), the process proceeds to S405. If the control unit 152 does not determine that the car 10 has arrived at the floor where the hall call is generated (NO in S404), the process returns to S404. This causes the car 10 to wait until it arrives at the floor where the hall call is generated.

In S405, the control unit 152 determines whether or not all hall call signals have been transmitted. All hall call signals refer to all signals that were scheduled to be transmitted. If the control unit 152 determines that all hall call signals have been transmitted (YES in S405), it ends the driving diagnosis processing. If the control unit 152 does not determine that all hall call signals have been transmitted (NO in S405), it returns the processing to S402. The processing of S402 to S405 is repeated until there are no hall call signals to be transmitted.

Figure 22 is a flowchart of the cage information measurement process. When the cage information measurement process starts, the control unit 152 determines in S501 whether the SDL signal is ON or not. The processes in S501 to S510 are performed when the cage 10 travels from the lowest floor (first floor) to the highest floor (fifth floor).

When the control unit 152 determines that the SDL signal is ON (YES in S501), it advances the process to S502. When the SDL signal is ON, it can be determined that the car position is on the lowest floor (first floor). As described above, it is possible to determine whether the car position is on the lowest floor or not without using the SDL signal.

If the control unit 152 does not determine that the SDL signal is ON (NO in S501), the process proceeds to S511. In S502, the control unit 152 sets the floor position i of the car 10 to the lowest floor.

In S503, the control unit 152 determines whether the DZ signal has changed from an ON state to an OFF state. If the control unit 152 determines that the DZ signal has changed from an ON state to an OFF state (YES in S503), the process proceeds to S504. In this case, the car 10 is in a traveling state.

If the control unit 152 does not determine that the DZ signal has changed from the ON state to the OFF state (NO in S503), the process returns to S503. This causes the control unit 152 to wait until the DZ signal changes from the ON state to the OFF state.

In S504, the control unit 152 starts the timer. This starts measuring the travel time from the first floor when the DZ signal changes from the ON state to the OFF state. Note that if the LB signal is also used, the measurement of the travel time from the first floor may also start when the LB signal changes from the OFF state to the ON state (the brake is released).

In S505, the control unit 152 determines whether the traveling direction is the UP direction. Whether the traveling direction is the UP direction may be determined based on the UP signal, or may be determined by another method described above without using the UP signal.

If the control unit 152 determines that the running direction is the UP direction (YES in S505), it proceeds to S506. If the control unit 152 does not determine that the running direction is the UP direction (NO in S505), it ends the car information measurement process. If the running direction is not the UP direction, there is a possibility that a response is being made to another hall call. In this case, driving diagnosis cannot be performed, so the car information measurement process is ended.

In S506, if the DZ signal continues to be ON for a predetermined time (e.g., 5 seconds) or more, the control unit 152 sets a stop flag at floor position i. This makes it possible to determine whether or not the car 10 has stopped between the first and fifth floors (an intermediate floor). In this manner, using information including the DZ signal, and based on the correspondence between the position of the car 10 between the first and fifth floors and the time, it is determined whether or not the car 10 has stopped at a floor between the first and fifth floors. Note that it may also be determined that the car 10 has stopped at an intermediate floor if the running time calculated based on the DZ signal is longer than the reference time by a predetermined time or more.

In S507, the control unit 152 determines whether the DZ signal has changed from an OFF state to an ON state. If the control unit 152 determines that the DZ signal has changed from an OFF state to an ON state (YES in S507), the process proceeds to S508. If the control unit 152 does not determine that the DZ signal has changed from an OFF state to an ON state (NO in S507), the process returns to S505. This causes the control unit 152 to wait until the DZ signal changes to the ON state.

In S508, the control unit 152 sets the running time and running state for floor positions i to i+1. For example, if the first floor is set as the floor position, this corresponds to the situation from time t1 to time t3 in FIG. 15. The running time TU12 for floor positions 1 to 2 and the corresponding running state (described later) are set from the timing when the DZ signal changes from ON to OFF (t1 in FIG. 15) to the timing when the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON (t3 in FIG. 15).

In S509, the control unit 152 increments the floor position i by one. In S510, the control unit 152 determines whether or not the floor position i is the top floor. If the control unit 152 determines that the floor position i is the top floor (YES in S510), it ends the car information measurement process. If the control unit 152 does not determine that the floor position i is the top floor (NO in S510), it returns the process to S505.

As a result, for the lowest floor (i=1) to the highest floor (i=5), the floor position is updated each time the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON, and the running time and running state are set each time.

For example, if the floor position is set to the second floor, this corresponds to the situation from time t3 to time t5 in FIG. 15. From the timing when the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON (t3 in FIG. 15) to the timing when the DZ signal next changes from OFF to ON (t5 in FIG. 15), the running time TU23 for floor position 2-3 and the corresponding running state are set. Similarly, each time the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON, the floor position is updated, and the running time TU34 for floor position 3-4 and the running time TU45 for floor position 4-5 and the corresponding running state are set.

For example, the running state may be set to constant speed running state when the vehicle is only running at a constant speed between floors. The running state may be set to accelerated running state when the vehicle is running at an accelerated speed between floors. The running state may be set to decelerated running state when the vehicle is running at a decelerated speed between floors. In the example of FIG. 15, the running state is set to accelerated running state in the running section from the first floor to the second floor. The running state is set to constant speed running state in the running section from the second floor to the third floor and the running section from the third floor to the fourth floor. The running state is set to decelerated running state in the running section from the fourth floor to the fifth floor.

The processing of S511 to S520 is performed when the car 10 travels from the top floor (fifth floor) to the bottom floor (first floor) (example in FIG. 16). In S511, the control unit 152 determines whether the SUL signal is ON or not.

When the control unit 152 determines that the SUL signal is ON (YES in S511), it advances the process to S512. When the SUL signal is ON, it can be determined that the car position is on the lowest floor (first floor). As described above, it is possible to determine whether the car position is on the lowest floor or not without using the SUL signal. When the control unit 152 does not determine that the SUL signal is ON (NO in S511), it ends the car information measurement process.

In S512, the control unit 152 sets the floor position i of the car 10 to the top floor (fifth floor). In S513, the control unit 152 determines whether the DZ signal has changed from the ON state to the OFF state. If the control unit 152 determines that the DZ signal has changed from the ON state to the OFF state (YES in S513), the process proceeds to S514. If the control unit 152 does not determine that the DZ signal has changed from the ON state to the OFF state (NO in S513), the process returns to S513. This causes the control unit to wait until the DZ signal changes from the ON state to the OFF state.

In S514, the control unit 152 starts the timer. This starts measuring the travel time from the fifth floor when the DZ signal changes from the ON state to the OFF state. Note that if the LB signal is also used, the measurement of the travel time from the fifth floor may also start when the LB signal changes from the OFF state to the ON state (the brake is released).

In S515, the control unit 152 determines whether the driving direction is the DN direction. Whether the driving direction is the DN direction may be determined based on the DN signal, or may be determined by another method described above without using the DN signal. If the control unit 152 determines that the driving direction is the DN direction (YES in S515), the process proceeds to S516.

If the control unit 152 does not determine that the running direction is the DN direction (NO in S515), it ends the car information measurement process. If the running direction is not the DN direction, it may be responding to a different hall call. In this case, the diagnostic data cannot be obtained normally, so the process ends.

In S516, if the DZ signal continues to be ON for a predetermined time or more, the control unit 152 sets a stop flag at floor position i. This makes it possible to determine whether a stop occurred between the 5th floor and the 1st floor (an intermediate floor).

In S517, the control unit 152 determines whether the DZ signal has changed from an OFF state to an ON state. If the control unit 152 determines that the DZ signal has changed from an OFF state to an ON state (YES in S517), the process proceeds to S518. If the control unit 152 does not determine that the DZ signal has changed from an OFF state to an ON state (NO in S517), the process returns to S515. This causes the process to wait until the DZ signal changes to the ON state.

In S518, the control unit 152 sets the running time and running state for floor positions i to i-1. In S519, the control unit 152 decrements floor position i by one. In S520, the control unit 152 determines whether floor position i is the lowest floor. If the control unit 152 determines that floor position i is the lowest floor (YES in S520), it ends the car information measurement process. If the control unit 152 does not determine that floor position i is the lowest floor (NO in S520), it returns the process to S515.

In this embodiment, the car position is specified by the floor position as described above. The car position (floor position) is updated every time the DZ signal changes from OFF to ON. For this reason, the timing at which the floor position is updated differs between the UP direction and the DN direction. For example, in the UP direction, the car position is defined as the second floor from the time the car enters the door zone on the second floor until just before the car enters the door zone on the third floor. On the other hand, in the DN direction, the car position is defined as the second floor from the time the car enters the door zone on the second floor until just before the car enters the door zone on the first floor. However, this is not limited to this, and the division between floors may be set arbitrarily. For example, the car position may be defined as the second floor from the midpoint between the door zone on the first floor and the door zone on the second floor to the midpoint between the door zone on the second floor and the door zone on the third floor. This midpoint may be calculated based on the travel time.

The car position may also be set based on the distance from the landing position on the lowest floor, rather than the floor position. For example, if the distance between each floor is 3 m, the car position when stopped on the first floor is 0 m, the car position when stopped on the second floor is 3 m, and the car position when stopped on the fifth floor is 12 m (3 m x 4).

As described above, the control unit 152 uses information including the DZ signal to calculate the position of the car 10 and the running time of the car 10 in the running section in which the car 10 runs in each of the multiple running states (accelerating running state, constant speed running state, decelerating running state). "Information including the DZ signal" includes, in addition to the DZ, a hall call signal, etc. Alternatively, it may also include the SUL signal, the SDL signal, the UP signal, and the DN signal, but as described above, the running state can be determined without using these signals. In this embodiment, the stop flag at floor position i is set using the DZ signal in S506 and S516, but this is not limited to this, and the stop flag at floor position i may be set when the LB signal is OFF (braking state) at floor position i other than the top floor and the bottom floor.

Figure 23 is a flowchart of the judgment process. Here, the state of the car call button is judged. When the judgment process starts, in S601, the control unit 152 judges whether the car 10 has traveled back and forth between the lowest floor (first floor) and the top floor (fifth floor) without stopping at a floor between the lowest floor and the top floor, based on the correspondence between the position of the car 10 between the lowest floor (first floor) and the top floor (fifth floor) and the time.

If the control unit 152 determines that this condition is met (YES in S601), it determines in S602 that the car call button is in a normal state and ends the determination process. If the control unit 152 does not determine that this condition is met (NO in S601), it ends the determination process.

Next, as a modified example, a method for determining the running state when there are multiple cars 10 controlled by the control panel 210 (multi-car) will be described. Figure 24 is a flowchart of the multi-car process. The multi-car process may be executed in place of steps S101 to S106 in the remote inspection process of Figure 11.

When there are multiple cars 10 controlled by the control panel 210, the instruction unit 155 does not perform the transmission process for transmitting the generated hall call signal, and the control unit 152 does not perform the judgment process based on the transmission process. In other words, when there are multiple cars, the driving diagnosis is not performed. Even if the instruction unit 155 transmits a hall call signal, it is not known which car 10 will be assigned to the hall call. For example, since a situation in which car No. 1 is always assigned to a hall call is anticipated, it is not possible to freely operate all of the cars 10 by the transmission process.

For this reason, in this modified example, if the train happens to travel from the lowest floor (first floor) to the highest floor (fifth floor) due to a hall call or car call generated by a user, the determination signal at this time is acquired to determine the running state.

In this modified example, a remote inspection device 100 is installed in each of a plurality of elevators (cars 10) (a remote inspection device 100 is installed for each elevator). Multi-car processing is performed for each remote inspection device 100 corresponding to each elevator. When multi-car processing starts, the control unit 152 determines in S701 whether a predetermined period (e.g., one month) has elapsed since the previous operation diagnosis setting time. If the control unit 152 determines that the predetermined period has elapsed (YES in S701), the process proceeds to S705. If the control unit 152 does not determine that the predetermined period has elapsed (NO in S701), the process proceeds to S702.

In S702, the acquisition unit 151 acquires a determination signal for the target car that is the object of determination by the control unit 152. The target car is the elevator car 10 connected to the remote inspection device 100. In S703, the control unit 152 determines whether or not the target car has made an UP run from the lowest floor (first floor) to the top floor (fifth floor) and a DN run from the top floor to the bottom floor (this is referred to as a "round trip run"). If the control unit 152 determines that the target car has made a round trip run (YES in S703), the process proceeds to S704.

If the control unit 152 does not determine that the target cage has traveled back and forth (NO in S703), it returns the process to S701. As a result, the determination signal continues to be acquired until the target cage travels back and forth within the specified period.

In S704, the control unit 152 executes a judgment process for the target car and ends the multi-car processing. Note that in the judgment process, if multiple sets of data from round-trip travel are acquired within a specified period, the judgment process may be performed using the data from the most recent round-trip travel. On the other hand, in S705, the control unit 152 determines that the state of the car call button for the target car is in a modulated state and ends the multi-car processing.

In this manner, in this embodiment, when there are multiple cages 10 controlled by the control panel 210, when the target cage that the control unit 152 is to judge makes a round trip run from the lowest floor to the top floor and from the top floor to the lowest floor, the control unit 152 executes a judgment process based on the judgment signal acquired from the acquisition unit 151 during the round trip run. Then, when the target cage does not make a round trip run within a specified period, the control unit 152 judges that the state of the cage call button of the target cage is in a modulated state. The management server 300 acquires the judgment results of each cage 10 from the remote inspection device 100 corresponding to the elevator.

When one remote inspection device 100 is installed for multiple elevators (cars 10), multi-car processing can be performed for each of the multiple cars 10. For example, when performing multi-car processing for the first car, a determination signal for the first car is acquired in S702, and a determination is made in S703 as to whether or not the first car has made a round trip.

The configuration and effects of this embodiment regarding determining the state of the car call button are summarized below.

(1) The control unit 152 generates a hall call signal to be transmitted by the transmission process, and performs a judgment process to judge the inspection items of the remote inspection based on the judgment signal acquired by the acquisition unit 151 as a result of the transmission process. The transmission process is a process of transmitting a 1st floor UP hall call signal that generates a 1st floor hall call in the UP direction on the 1st floor, and a 5th floor DN hall call signal that generates a 5th floor hall call in the DN direction on the 5th floor, which is higher than the 1st floor. The inspection items include the state of the car call button that generates a car call for the car 10. The control unit 152 uses information including the DZ signal to identify the correspondence between the position of the car 10 between the 1st floor and the 5th floor and the time. The control unit 152 judges that the state of the car call button is normal when it is determined that the car 10 has traveled back and forth between the 1st floor and the 5th floor without stopping at a floor between the 1st floor and the 5th floor based on the correspondence.

In this embodiment, the signals (DZ signal, LB signal, DS signal, GS signal) used to judge the conditions for activating the elevator safety circuit are used as the judgment signals for remote inspection. In addition, from the viewpoint of ease of installation (construction), hall calls are used instead of car calls as output signals for operation diagnosis (diagnostic operation) of remote inspection. By judging the state of the car call button based on the DZ signal and hall call signal suitable for remote inspection, remote inspection can be performed as simply as possible for various elevators with different communication specifications and signal specifications. In other words, multi-brand maintenance can be realized in remote inspection. This allows the maintenance company to reduce the frequency of maintenance inspections at the maintenance site and increase the number of elevators that can be maintained. The building owner can freely select a maintenance company and enter into a maintenance contract that allows remote inspection.

(2) When the control unit 152 determines based on the correspondence that the car 10 has stopped at a floor between the first and fifth floors, it performs a cancellation process to cancel the judgment of the judgment process based on the transmission process. When the cancellation process is performed, the instruction unit 155 performs the transmission process again. The control unit 152 performs the judgment process again based on the transmission process that has been performed again. When the judgment of the judgment process is canceled by the cancellation process a predetermined number of times (10 times) in succession, the control unit 152 determines that the state of the car call button is in a modulated state. In this way, it is possible to exclude a situation in which the car 10 has stopped due to a car call button or a hall call button that happens to be pressed by a passenger, and to detect a situation in which the car 10 has stopped due to a malfunction of a call button, etc.

(3) When a forced stop floor is set, the control panel 210 controls the car 10 to always stop at the forced stop floor when the car 10 passes the forced stop floor. When a floor between the first and fifth floors is set as a forced stop floor, the control unit 152 does not perform a cancellation process even if the car 10 stops at the forced stop floor. In this way, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of a malfunction due to stopping at a forced stop floor and to detect calls, etc., that occur due to a malfunction.

(4) The specified number of times is 10. By doing so, it is possible to exclude a situation in which the car 10 has stopped due to a car call button or hall call button being pressed by a passenger by chance, and to detect a situation in which the car 10 has stopped due to a malfunction of the call button, etc.

(5) When there are multiple cars 10 controlled by the control panel 210, the control unit 152 executes the determination process based on the determination signal acquired from the acquisition unit 151 during round-trip travel when the target car to be determined travels from the first floor to the fifth floor and from the fifth floor to the first floor, without performing the determination process based on the transmission process. In the case of a multi-car system, multiple cars 10 cannot be freely traveled by transmitting a hall call signal, but the state of the car call button can be determined by making the car travel round-trip using the above method.

(6) When there are multiple cages 10 controlled by the control panel 210, if the cage to be judged has not traveled back and forth within a specified period of time, the control unit 152 judges that the state of the cage call button of the cage to be judged is in a modulated state. In this way, it is possible to detect a situation in which the running state cannot be judged in the case of multiple cars.

(7) The first floor (first floor) is the lowest floor at which the car 10 can stop,
The second floor (fifth floor) is the top floor where the car 10 can stop.

(8) The management server 300 can send a command to execute remote inspection to the remote inspection device 100 and can receive a judgment result from the remote inspection device 100. The elevator system 200 (elevator equipment group 220 and control panel 210) and the remote inspection device 100 are installed in a first country (e.g., the United States), and the management server 300 is installed in a second country (e.g., Japan) different from the first country. In this way, the management server 300 in the second country can manage the remote inspection device 100 that performs remote inspection of the elevator system 200 operating in the first country. As a result, the management server 300 can manage the remote inspection device 100 across countries, regardless of in which country the elevator system 200 and the remote inspection device 100 are installed.

[Additional Notes]
The above-described embodiment is a specific example of the following additional notes.

(Appendix 1)
An elevator remote inspection system for remotely inspecting an elevator,
an instruction unit that performs a transmission process of transmitting a hall call signal to a device group of the elevator to generate a hall call for the elevator;
an acquisition unit that acquires, as a determination signal, a signal input/output by parallel transmission between the elevator equipment group and a control panel that controls the elevator equipment group;
a control unit that generates the hall call signal to be transmitted by the transmission process, and performs a determination process to determine an inspection item of the remote inspection based on the determination signal acquired by the acquisition unit as a result of the transmission process;
An output unit that outputs a determination result of the inspection item,
the transmission process is a process of transmitting a first hall call signal for generating an upward first hall call on a first floor and a second hall call signal for generating a downward second hall call on a second floor higher than the first floor,
the determination signal includes a first signal indicating either a first state in which the elevator car is located within a door zone indicating a positional range of the elevator car in which a door of the elevator car can be opened or closed, or a non-first state which is not the first state;
The inspection items include a state of a car call button that generates a car call for the car,
The control unit is
Using information including the first signal, a correspondence relationship between the position of the car between the first floor and the second floor and time is identified;
The elevator remote inspection system determines that the status of the car call button is normal when it is determined, based on the correspondence, that the car has traveled back and forth between the first floor and the second floor without stopping at any floor between the first floor and the second floor.

(Appendix 2)
When the control unit determines based on the correspondence relationship that the car has stopped at a floor between the first floor and the second floor, the control unit performs a cancellation process to cancel the determination of the determination process based on the transmission process;
When the cancellation process is performed, the instruction unit performs the transmission process again,
The control unit is
performing the determination process again based on the transmission process performed again;
An elevator remote inspection system as described in Appendix 1, wherein if the judgment of the judgment process is canceled a predetermined number of times consecutively by the cancellation process, it is judged that the state of the car call button is in a modulated state.

(Appendix 3)
The control panel controls the car to always stop at the mandatory stop floor when the car passes through the mandatory stop floor when a mandatory stop floor is set,
The control unit of the elevator remote inspection system described in Appendix 2 does not perform the cancellation process when a floor between the first floor and the second floor is set as the mandatory stop floor, even if the car stops at the mandatory stop floor.

(Appendix 4)
4. The elevator remote inspection system according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined number of times is 10 times.

(Appendix 5)
An elevator remote inspection system as described in any of Appendix 2 to Appendix 4, wherein when there are multiple cars controlled by the control panel, the control unit does not perform the judgment process based on the transmission process, but when the target car to be judged makes a round trip run from the first floor to the second floor and from the second floor to the first floor, it executes the judgment process based on the judgment signal during the round trip run acquired from the acquisition unit.

(Appendix 6)
The elevator remote inspection system described in Appendix 5, wherein, when there are multiple cars controlled by the control panel, the control unit determines that the state of the car call button of the target car is in the modulated state when the target car does not perform the round trip running within a specified period of time.

(Appendix 7)
The first floor is the lowest floor at which the car can stop,
7. The elevator remote inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the second floor is the highest floor at which the car can stop.

(Appendix 8)
A remote inspection device including the instruction unit, the acquisition unit, the control unit, and the output unit;
Further comprising a management server that can be connected to the remote inspection device via a network and manages the remote inspection device,
the management server is capable of transmitting an instruction to execute the remote inspection to the remote inspection device and receiving the determination result from the remote inspection device;
the elevator equipment group, the control panel, and the remote inspection device are installed in a first country;
8. The elevator remote inspection system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the management server is installed in a second country different from the first country.

(Appendix 9)
An elevator remote inspection method for performing remote inspection of an elevator,
performing a transmission process for transmitting a hall call signal to a device group of the elevator, the hall call signal being used to generate a hall call for the elevator;
acquiring, as a determination signal, a signal input/output by parallel transmission between the elevator equipment group and a control panel that controls the elevator equipment group;
generating the hall call signal to be transmitted by the transmission process, and performing a determination process to determine an inspection item of the remote inspection based on the determination signal acquired by the acquiring step as a result of the transmission process;
and outputting a determination result of the inspection item.
the transmission process is a process of transmitting a first hall call signal for generating an upward first hall call on a first floor and a second hall call signal for generating a downward second hall call on a second floor higher than the first floor,
the determination signal includes a first signal indicating either a first state in which the elevator car is located within a door zone indicating a positional range of the elevator car in which a door of the elevator car can be opened or closed, or a non-first state which is not the first state;
The inspection items include a state of a car call button that generates a car call for the car,
The step of performing the determination process includes:
determining a correspondence between the position of the car between the first floor and the second floor and time using information including the first signal;
and determining, based on the correspondence, that the car has shuttled between the first floor and the second floor without stopping at any floor between the first floor and the second floor, determining that the status of the car call button is normal.

The embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative and are not limited to the above. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the claims.

1 Remote inspection system, 2 Building, 5 Machine room, 6 Pit, 8 Hoistway, 10 Cage, 11 Rope, 12 Counterweight, 13 Deflector, 14 Buffer, 15 Temperature sensor, 16 Intercom, 21-23 Control cable, 31 1st floor car call button, 32 2nd floor car call button, 33 3rd floor car call button, 34 4th floor car call button, 35 5th floor car call button, 50 Cage operation panel, 51 Indicator, 52 Door open button, 53 Door close button, 60, 61 Door, 70 Platform operation panel, 71 Indicator, 81 UP platform call button, 82 DN platform call button, 91 UP platform call, 92 DN platform call, 93, 94 Cage call, 100 Remote inspection device, 110 Control device, 111 Processor, 112 Memory, 120 Communication IF, 130 Input IF, 140 Output IF, 151 Acquisition unit, 152 Control unit, 153 Output unit, 154 Reception unit, 155 Instruction unit, 156 Data group, 200, 200a, 200b Elevator system, 210, 210a, 210b Control panel, 211 Group management control unit, 212 Each car control unit, 220, 220a, 210b Elevator equipment group, 230 Landing device, 240 Cage device, 250 Hoisting machine, 261, 262 Connector, 300 Management server, 400 Terminal, 410 Display unit, 420 Input unit, 421 Display screen, 422 Setting data, 423 Reference time DB, 424 Operation history, 425 Judgment results: 500: remote inspection device manufactured by X company, 500a: remote inspection device manufactured by Y company.

Claims (9)

An elevator remote inspection system for remotely inspecting an elevator,
an instruction unit that performs a transmission process of transmitting a hall call signal to a device group of the elevator to generate a hall call for the elevator;
an acquisition unit that acquires, as a determination signal, a signal input/output by parallel transmission between the elevator equipment group and a control panel that controls the elevator equipment group;
a control unit that generates the hall call signal to be transmitted by the transmission process, and performs a determination process to determine an inspection item of the remote inspection based on the determination signal acquired by the acquisition unit as a result of the transmission process;
An output unit that outputs a determination result of the inspection item,
the transmission process is a process of transmitting a first hall call signal for generating an upward first hall call on a first floor and a second hall call signal for generating a downward second hall call on a second floor higher than the first floor,
the determination signal includes a first signal indicating either a first state in which the elevator car is located within a door zone indicating a positional range of the elevator car in which a door of the elevator car can be opened or closed, or a non-first state which is not the first state;
The inspection items include a state of a car call button that generates a car call for the car,
The control unit is
Using information including the first signal, a correspondence relationship between the position of the car between the first floor and the second floor and time is identified;
The elevator remote inspection system determines that the status of the car call button is normal when it is determined, based on the correspondence, that the car has traveled back and forth between the first floor and the second floor without stopping at any floor between the first floor and the second floor. When the control unit determines based on the correspondence relationship that the car has stopped at a floor between the first floor and the second floor, the control unit performs a cancellation process to cancel the determination of the determination process based on the transmission process;
When the cancellation process is performed, the instruction unit performs the transmission process again,
The control unit is
performing the determination process again based on the transmission process performed again;
2. The elevator remote inspection system according to claim 1, wherein when the determination of the determination process is cancelled by the cancellation process a predetermined number of times in succession, the state of the car call button is determined to be in a modulated state. The control panel controls the car to always stop at the mandatory stop floor when the car passes through the mandatory stop floor when a mandatory stop floor is set,
3. The elevator remote inspection system of claim 2, wherein the control unit does not perform the cancellation process when a floor between the first floor and the second floor is set as the mandatory stop floor, even if the car stops at the mandatory stop floor. The elevator remote inspection system of claim 2, wherein the predetermined number of times is 10 times. The elevator remote inspection system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein, when there are multiple cars controlled by the control panel, the control unit executes the determination process based on the determination signal acquired from the acquisition unit during the round-trip travel when the target car to be determined travels from the first floor to the second floor and from the second floor to the first floor without performing the determination process based on the transmission process. The elevator remote inspection system according to claim 5, wherein, when there are multiple cars controlled by the control panel, if the target car does not perform the reciprocating run within a predetermined period, the control unit determines that the state of the car call button of the target car is in the modulated state. The first floor is the lowest floor at which the car can stop,
2. The elevator remote inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the second floor is a top floor at which the car can stop. A remote inspection device including the instruction unit, the acquisition unit, the control unit, and the output unit;
Further comprising a management server that can be connected to the remote inspection device via a network and manages the remote inspection device,
the management server is capable of transmitting an instruction to execute the remote inspection to the remote inspection device and receiving the determination result from the remote inspection device;
the elevator equipment group, the control panel, and the remote inspection device are installed in a first country;
The elevator remote inspection system according to claim 1 , wherein the management server is installed in a second country different from the first country. An elevator remote inspection method for performing remote inspection of an elevator,
performing a transmission process for transmitting a hall call signal to a device group of the elevator, the hall call signal being used to generate a hall call for the elevator;
acquiring, as a determination signal, a signal input/output by parallel transmission between the elevator equipment group and a control panel that controls the elevator equipment group;
generating the hall call signal to be transmitted by the transmission process, and performing a determination process to determine an inspection item of the remote inspection based on the determination signal acquired by the acquiring step as a result of the transmission process;
and outputting a determination result of the inspection item.
the transmission process is a process of transmitting a first hall call signal for generating an upward first hall call on a first floor and a second hall call signal for generating a downward second hall call on a second floor higher than the first floor,
the determination signal includes a first signal indicating either a first state in which the elevator car is located within a door zone indicating a positional range of the elevator car in which a door of the elevator car can be opened or closed, or a non-first state which is not the first state;
The inspection items include a state of a car call button that generates a car call for the car,
The step of performing the determination process includes:
determining a correspondence between the position of the car between the first floor and the second floor and time using information including the first signal;
and determining, based on the correspondence, that the car has shuttled between the first floor and the second floor without stopping at any floor between the first floor and the second floor, determining that the status of the car call button is normal.

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