JP6800811B2 - Elevator user guidance system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an elevator user guidance system.

In the conventional elevator device, dedicated or priority elevator operation such as VIP call or wheelchair call is performed by the VIP guide or wheelchair user or his / her attendant performing a predetermined dedicated or priority call registration to the elevator car. Is called preferentially. Then, when the elevator car arrives and the door opens, it is possible to perform a predetermined operation such as VIP exclusive operation or wheelchair priority operation.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for eliminating a state of waiting for a VIP for a long time with the door open when the VIP has not arrived at the landing.
The technology described in Patent Document 1 prevents the door from opening immediately when the car arrives at the landing after switching to dedicated operation by VIP call registration, and waits for an instruction from VIP to open the door. It is intended to open. That is, Patent Document 1 includes a transmitting means carried by the VIP and a receiving means installed near the landing for opening the door when the distance between the transmitting means becomes a predetermined value or less. An elevator device that allows the door to open in a timely manner upon arrival at the VIP is described.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 01-209288

The conventional technique as described in Patent Document 1 opens the door when the distance between the receiving means installed near the landing and the transmitting means carried by the VIP or the wheelchair user becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value. However, at this time, there is a problem that the door cannot be opened unless the VIP or the wheelchair user carries the transmission means.
In addition, it is the guide who registers the VIP call or wheelchair call that identifies a specific user such as a VIP or wheelchair user and causes the elevator to be operated exclusively or preferentially when the specific user arrives at the landing. Is. For this reason, there is also a problem that the guide must be on standby exclusively after making a VIP call or a wheelchair call, and cannot perform other duties.

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

In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted.
The present application includes a plurality of means for solving the above problems. For example, the elevator user guidance system of the present invention is a specific elevator unit among a plurality of elevator units installed in a building. Is equipped with a management center device that controls priority operation for priority users who are VIPs or wheelchair users, a guidance robot located near the elevator hall, and a surveillance camera that photographs the vicinity of the elevator hall. The elevator.
Further, the elevator user guidance system of the present invention compares the video data output from the surveillance camera with the video data stored in advance to identify the priority user, and gives priority to identify the priority user. The user identification video processing unit and the operation allocation calculation unit of the elevator unit that calculates the allocation of the elevator unit that performs VIP dedicated operation or wheelchair priority operation to the priority user identified by the priority user identification video processing unit. , Equipped with.
Then, the guidance robot guides the priority user to the landing of the elevator unit based on the allocation result from the operation allocation calculation unit, and notifies the elevator group management device of switching between VIP dedicated operation and wheelchair priority operation.
In addition, the elevator group management device notifies the guide robot of the elevator unit that switches to VIP dedicated operation or wheelchair priority operation and the estimated arrival time of this elevator unit to the elevator hall, and the guide robot notifies the guide robot that the elevator unit arrives at the elevator hall. in conjunction with the time, to guide the priority user to lift the Unit of the hall.

According to the present invention, since the arrival timing of the car can be optimally adjusted according to the guidance to the priority user, it is possible to suppress a long waiting time in which the door is left open in the dedicated or priority operation of the elevator. it can. Further, since the guidance robot itself guides the priority user, it is not necessary to assign a dedicated guide for calling the priority user.
Issues, configurations and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiment. In this specification, VIP and wheelchair users are collectively referred to as "priority users".

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the elevator user guidance system in the Example of Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the guide robot in the Example of Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware composition of the guide robot and the management center apparatus of the Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the group management table in the Example of Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the robot management table in the Example of Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the VIP schedule management table in the Example of Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure of VIP guidance in the Example of Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing procedure of the wheelchair guidance in the Example of Embodiment of this invention.

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

The building 1 is provided with a plurality of elevators 2 (or elevator unit 2), a plurality of elevator control panels 3, an elevator group management device 4 for group management of a plurality of elevators 2, and a communication device 9. Further, in the elevator hall 5 on some floors such as each floor or the elevator hall on the first floor, a surveillance camera 7 for monitoring images of a person or a wheelchair entering the elevator hall 5 and a surveillance camera 7 were used. A video recording device 6 for recording video is provided.

Further, in the elevator hall 5, a guidance robot 8 for guiding VIPs and wheelchair users who are priority users is arranged, and the guidance robot 8 is an elevator group management device via a communication device 9. 4 and the video recording device 6 are connected by wire or wirelessly. The guidance robot 8 can communicate with each device in the building 1 via the communication device 9, and is further connected to the management center device 11 via a communication line 10 such as the Internet. The management center device 11 is a device that centrally manages each device including the guide robot 8 arranged in each building 1.

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

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

The operation allocation calculation unit 4c calculates and determines which elevator unit 2 is assigned in response to a hall call or a call for dedicated operation or priority operation. Then, the arrival time calculation unit 4d calculates the time until the elevator unit 2 assigned by the operation allocation calculation unit 4c arrives at the called floor. The communication interface 4e communicates with the elevator control panel 3 and the communication device 9.

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

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

The VIP schedule management table 27 has the same configuration as the VIP schedule management table 11d of the management center device 11 described later. By having the VIP schedule management table 27, the guidance robot 8 can share the VIP schedule with the management center device 11.
Various images related to the wheelchair are stored in the wheelchair identification image database 28, and the guidance robot 8 collates the image from the camera 22 with the image stored in the wheelchair identification image database 28 and is a wheelchair user. To identify. The communication interface 29 is an interface for the guidance robot 8 to communicate with the elevator group management device 4 and the management center device 11.

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

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

Further, the VIP identification video processing unit 11e identifies the VIP image from the video data distributed from the surveillance camera 7 or the video recording device 6 installed in each building 1. When identifying the VIP image, the VIP identification image data stored in advance in the video data storage area 11b of the management center device 11 is used.
The wheelchair identification video processing unit 11f identifies the wheelchair image from the video data distributed from the surveillance camera 7 or the video recording device 6 of each building 1. When identifying the wheelchair image, the wheelchair image stored in advance in the video data storage area 11b is used.
The VIP identification video processing unit 11e and the wheelchair identification video processing unit 11f are collectively referred to as the "priority user identification video processing unit".
The communication interface 11g is an interface for communicating between the management center device 11, each device in each building 1, and the schedule registration device 12.

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

As shown in FIG. 3A, the guidance robot 8 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33, and a non-volatile storage 34 connected to the bus 30. It also includes a communication interface (communication IF) 35 for communicating with the outside.

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

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

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

[Description of various tables]
FIG. 4 shows the data structure of the group management table F1 (group management table 4b in FIG. 1) used by the group management control unit 4a of the elevator group management device 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the group management table F1 includes an elevator unit field F1a, an operation field F1b, a state field F1c, and an estimated arrival time field F1d to the next destination floor.
In addition, the group management table F1 assigns the allocation status of the car position during running (□) or standby (■), car call (○), up hall call (▲), down hall call (▼), etc. Fields F1e to F1h for storing each floor (1st floor to 4th floor) are provided. The group management control unit 4a manages the group of the elevator unit 2 by using the operation status stored in the fields F1a to F1h of the group management table F1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the elevator No. 1 has an up hall call (▲) registered on the 3rd floor and a car call (○) registered on the 4th floor. Elevator No. 1 is traveling on the 1st floor in group management operation (□), indicating that the estimated arrival time to reach the 3rd floor is 25 seconds later. In addition, elevator No. 2 indicates that it is waiting (■) on the 4th floor.
Elevator No. 3 has a down hall call (▼) and a car call (○) registered on the 3rd floor, and is running on the 2nd floor by group management operation (□), and the estimated arrival time to the 3rd floor is 15 Indicates that it is after a second. In addition, the elevator No. 4 is designated for VIP operation, indicating that it is on standby (■) on the first floor.

Here, the arrival time calculation unit 4d of the elevator group management device 4 performs a calculation for the elevator No. 2 whose operating state and car position of each elevator No. 2 have changed. For example, the estimated arrival time of the first elevator is 25 seconds, which is 10 seconds to move by the floor of the first floor and 5 seconds to open the door after the car arrives. This calculation is based on the premise that the elevator No. 1 starts running from the 1st floor and heads for the 3rd floor according to the estimated time according to the local elevator specifications in advance. That is, in FIG. 4, the calculation result of the second floor floor portion × 10 seconds + door opening 5 seconds = 25 seconds is stored in the arrival prediction time field F1d as the arrival prediction time of the elevator No. 1.

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

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

As described above, the video data of the plurality of surveillance cameras 7 arranged in each building 1 is sent to the management center device 11 at regular intervals via the video recording device 6. Then, the guidance system overall control unit 11a of the management center device 11 stores the video data from the surveillance camera 7 in the video data storage area 11b together with an identifier indicating which surveillance camera 7 the video is from.
Further, the guidance robot 8 of each building 1 transmits the operating state and the like to the management center device 11 at regular intervals. The guidance system overall control unit 11a of the management center device 11 stores information such as an operating state transmitted from the guidance robot 8 in the robot management table 11c (robot management table F2 in FIG. 5).

The management center device 11 manages the guidance robot 8 by using the data stored in the operating state field F2d and the guidance state field F2e of the robot in the robot management table F2. In the example of FIG. 5, the robot No. 1 in the guidance robot 8 is guiding the VIP on the first floor of the A building, and the robot No. 2 is stopped on the third floor of the A building. It also indicates that Robot No. 3 is waiting on the 4th floor of Building A, and Robot No. 4 is guiding wheelchair users on the 1st floor of Building B.

FIG. 6 shows the data structure of the VIP schedule management table F3 (VIP schedule management table 11d in FIG. 1).
As shown in FIG. 6, the VIP schedule management table F3 includes a scheduled time field F3a, a building name field F3b, a factorial field F3c, a descending floor field F3d, a VIP name field F3e, a discriminating image field F3f, and an entering direction field F3g. To be equipped.

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

The management center device 11 manages the VIP schedule by using the VIP schedule management table F3. For example, the No. 1 record in Fig. 6 shows that the president (the president of the Company) enters from the entrance on the first floor of Building A at 8:50 on March 21, and gets off on the fourth floor. The No. 2 record indicates that the president is scheduled to leave the large conference room on the 4th floor of Building A at 12:00 on March 21st. In addition, No. 3 record shows that the president of Company B will visit from the entrance on the 1st floor of Building A and get off on the 4th floor at 12:50 on March 22, and No. 4 record will be on March 22. It is indicated that President B will leave Room C on the 4th floor at 13:50 and will get off on the 1st floor.

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

[Explanation of VIP guidance processing procedure]
Next, with reference to FIG. 7, in the elevator user guidance system of this example, the processing procedure when the elevator user is a VIP will be described.
First, the schedule registration device 12 registers the VIP schedule in the VIP schedule management table F3 of the management center device 11 (step S1). When the VIP schedule is registered, the management center device 11 searches the scheduled time field F3a of the VIP schedule management table F3 and determines whether or not there is a VIP schedule registration for the current day (step S2). If there is no VIP schedule registration for the day (NO in step S2), wait and wait.

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

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

Next, the management center device 11 determines whether or not the scheduled time is 8:50 (for example, 30 minutes before), which is the scheduled time registered in the scheduled time field F3a of the VIP schedule management table F3. (Step S4). Then, if it is not before the predetermined time (NO in step S4), the robot No. 1 is made to stand by until the current time is 30 minutes before the scheduled time, that is, 8:20.

When it is determined in step S4 that the scheduled time is 30 minutes before (8:20) (YES in step S4), the VIP identification video processing unit 11e of the management center device 11 is for determining the corresponding No. 1 record. Using the image of the president's face in the image field F3f, the determination of the VIP (President of the Company) entering the building from the entrance is started (step S5). Here, the latest video data of the entrance surveillance camera 7 registered in the entry direction field F3g of the VIP schedule management table F3 is read out, and the latest video data is stored in the video data storage area 11b of the management center device 11.

Next, the VIP identification video processing unit 11e of the management center device 11 collates the latest video data from the inward surveillance camera 7 with the VIP image already registered, and matches a predetermined value or more (for example, 80% or more). It is determined whether or not the image is to be used (step S6). In step 6, the discrimination process is repeated until images that match a predetermined value or more are discriminated. When, for example, 80% or more matching images are determined in step S6 (YES in step S6), the VIP registered in the previously transmitted schedule notifies the robot No. 1 that it has arrived from the incoming direction. (Step S7).

Upon receiving the notification of VIP arrival, Robot No. 1 expands in the direction of entry and performs a VIP search from the video data captured by the camera 22 based on the face image of the discrimination image registered in the already transmitted schedule. Then, a discrimination process for identifying images that match a predetermined value or more is performed (step S8). The VIP search and discrimination processing is performed by the video processing unit 25 of the robot No. 1 (guidance robot 8). The image processing unit 25 repeats the search and determination process until an image that matches the image data (face image) captured by the camera 22 by a predetermined value or more is determined (step S9).

In step S9, for example, when an image that matches 80% or more is determined (YES in step S9), the robot No. 1 guides the VIP president to the elevator by the utterance control unit 26 and the speaker 24. Is transmitted, and VIP guidance is started (step S10).
At the start of VIP guidance, Robot No. 1 first inquires about VIP guidance on the floor (1st floor) where Robot No. 1 is deployed to the elevator group management device 4. That is, the robot No. 1 inquires which elevator No. 2 the VIP should be guided to (step S11).

The elevator group management device 4 that receives the VIP operation inquiry calculates the elevator unit 2 that can transition to the VIP operation earliest by the operation allocation calculation unit 4c, and transitions to the VIP operation. Therefore, the calculated elevator unit 2 is used. Temporary registration of VIP operation is performed by suppressing the allocation to the hall call (step S12).
Then, the elevator group management device 4 recalculates the estimated time until the robot No. 1 inquired by the elevator No. 2 arrives at the floor (here, the first floor) where the robot No. 1 is inquired by the arrival time calculation unit 4d. , Notifies the elevator No. 2 (the elevator No. 2) that guides the VIP to the robot No. 1 and the estimated arrival time (step S13).

Next, the elevator No. 2 to be VIP-operated and the robot No. 1 that has been notified of the estimated arrival time calculate the distance from the position where the robot No. 1 is currently located to the elevator No. 2 in the elevator hall 5, and the robot. The guidance time is calculated from the movement time according to the normal movement speed of No. 1 itself (step S14).
Then, the robot No. 1 instructs the elevator group management device 4 to change the VIP operation to the elevator unit No. 2 from the provisional registration to the main registration and to transition to the VIP operation state (step S15).

Next, the elevator group management device 4 compares the estimated arrival time of the elevator No. 2 with the floor on which the robot No. 1 is deployed and the guidance time for the robot No. 1 to guide the VIP to the landing of the elevator No. 2. , It is determined whether the arrival of the car is later than the guidance time of the robot No. 1 (step S16). If the time until the elevator No. 2 arrives at the floor where the robot No. 1 is deployed is later than the guidance time of the robot No. 1 (estimated arrival time> guidance time) (YES in step S16), then the time difference It is determined how much there is (step S17).

In step S17, when the time difference between the estimated arrival time of the elevator No. 2 and the VIP guidance time of the robot No. 1 is large, that is, when it takes a considerable amount of time to arrive at the elevator No. 2 (YES in step S17), the elevator group management The device 4 instructs the utterance control unit 26 of the robot No. 1 to earn time by talking with the VIP guided by the robot No. 1 (step S18). Further, the robot No. 1 is instructed to move to the elevator No. 2 at a speed slower than the normal moving speed (step S19).

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

Next, the elevator group management device 4 determines whether or not the robot No. 1 has reached the vicinity of the landing of the elevator No. 2 (step S20). Then, when the robot No. 1 reaches the vicinity of the landing of the elevator No. 2 (YES in step S20), the robot No. 1 issues a door opening command for the elevator No. 2 to the elevator group management device 4 (step S21), and VIP. Command the call to the fourth floor registered in the downstairs field F3d of the schedule management table F3 (step S22).

Next, the robot No. 1 confirms that the VIP has completed boarding of the elevator No. 2 into the car (step S23), issues a door closing command to the elevator group management device 4 (step S24), and doors. VIP guidance ends when the door is completely closed (step S25).
In FIG. 7, the procedure in which the robot No. 1 provides VIP guidance according to the No. 1 record in FIG. 6 and performs the dedicated operation of the elevator No. 2 is described, but it is possible to think about other guidance robots 8 in the same manner. Needless to say.

[Explanation of wheelchair guidance processing procedure]
Next, with reference to FIG. 8, in the elevator user guidance system of this example, a processing procedure when the priority user is a wheelchair user will be described.
Here, the wheelchair users include not only persons with disabilities who use wheelchairs but also visitors with children who use strollers, for example.

First, the management center device 11 determines whether or not each building 1 is open (step S41). If each building 1 is not open, it waits until it opens (NO in step S41). The management center apparatus 11, the wheelchair identifying the image processing unit 11 f, obtaining the image data of the camera 7 for monitoring the wheelchair user entering the area of each floor of the elevator hall 5 of the building 1, which opened.

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

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

When it is determined in step S44 that the guidance robot 8 is guiding the priority user (NO in step S44), the management center device 11 discards the wheelchair detection result captured by the camera 7 and proceeds to step S42. Return. On the other hand, if the guidance robot 8 deployed on the corresponding floor is not guiding, that is, if it is on standby (YES in step S44), the management center device 11 indicates which direction the wheelchair user enters the guidance robot 8. Notify whether it came in from (step S45). Here, as the guidance robot 8, the guidance procedure for the wheelchair user will be described by taking robot No. 4, which guides the wheelchair user on the first floor of the B building shown in the No. 4 record of FIG. 5, as an example.

Upon receiving the notification of the wheelchair user's visit, Robot No. 4 expands in the inward direction and identifies an image that matches a predetermined value or more from the wheelchair identification image database 28 stored in advance by the image processing unit 25. And the discrimination process is started (step S46). This discrimination process is repeated until a predetermined or more matching image is discriminated (step S47).

Then, in step S47, for example, when an image that matches 80% or more is determined (YES in step S47), the robot No. 4 informs the wheelchair user that the utterance control unit 26 guides the user. The guidance for wheelchair users is started (step S48).
Next, the robot No. 4 makes an inquiry to the elevator group management device 4 for wheelchair driving on the first floor of the B building where the robot No. 4 is deployed (step S49). That is, it inquires which elevator No. 2 the wheelchair user should be guided to.

The elevator group management device 4 that receives an inquiry about wheelchair guidance from the robot No. 4 calculates the elevator No. 2 that can transition to the wheelchair priority operation earliest by the operation allocation calculation unit 4c, and shifts to the wheelchair priority operation. The allocation to the hall call for Unit 2 is suppressed, and the wheelchair priority operation is provisionally registered (step S50).
Then, the elevator group management device 4 recalculates the estimated time until the elevator No. 2 arrives on the first floor of the B building where the robot No. 4 is deployed by the arrival time calculation unit 4d, and inquires about the robot. Notify No. 4 of the elevator No. 2 and the estimated arrival time (step S51).

Next, the elevator No. 2 for wheelchair operation and the robot No. 4 notified of the estimated arrival time calculate the distance from the position where the robot No. 4 is currently located to the landing of the elevator No. 2 in the elevator hall 5. The guidance time for the wheelchair user is calculated based on the movement time according to the normal movement speed of the robot No. 4 itself (step S52).

After that, the robot No. 4 instructs the elevator group management device 4 to perform the wheelchair operation to the elevator unit 2 from the provisional registration to the main registration and transition to the wheelchair operation state (step S53). Then, the robot No. 4 compares the estimated arrival time of the elevator No. 2 to the first floor where the robot No. 4 is deployed with the guidance time for the robot No. 4 to guide the wheelchair user to the elevator No. 2 to the car. It is determined whether or not the arrival is late, that is, whether or not the estimated arrival time> the guidance time (step S54).

Then, when it is determined that the elevator No. 2 arrives at the floor where the robot No. 4 is deployed is later than the guidance time of the robot No. 4 (estimated arrival time> guidance time) (YES in step S54). Next, it is determined how much the time difference is (step S55).

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

In step S54, if the elevator No. 2 arrives at the floor where the robot No. 4 is deployed earlier than the guidance time of the robot No. 4 (estimated arrival time <guidance time) (NO in step S54), the robot 4 No. goes to the landing of the elevator No. 2 at a normal speed (step S64). Further, in step S55, when the time difference between the estimated arrival time of the elevator No. 2 and the guidance time of the wheelchair user is not so large, that is, when the arrival time of the elevator No. 2 to the floor of the robot No. 4 is not so large (step). NO) of S55 omits step S56 (conversation with the wheelchair user) and proceeds to step 57.

Next, the robot No. 4 guides the wheelchair user and determines whether or not the elevator has reached the vicinity of the landing of the elevator No. 2 (step S58). Then, when the robot No. 4 reaches the vicinity of the landing of the elevator No. 2 (YES in step S58), the robot No. 4 issues a door opening command for the elevator No. 2 to the elevator group management device 4 (step S59). ), Command the wheelchair user to call the car to the destination floor heard through conversation (step S60).

Next, the robot No. 4 confirms that the wheelchair user has completed boarding the elevator No. 2 into the car (step S61), and commands the elevator group management device 4 to close the door, that is, starts running by wheelchair operation. A command is given (step S62), and the wheelchair guidance ends when the door is completely closed (step S63).

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

In addition, while obtaining the estimated arrival time at the floor where the elevator No. 2 and its guidance robot 8 are arranged to switch the operation to the priority user, the priority user is sent to the landing of the elevator No. 2 while adjusting the guidance movement speed. I tried to guide you. Then, by enabling the guidance robot 8 arriving at the elevator unit 2 to issue a door open command to the elevator group management device 4, a long time in the door open state in the case of priority user operation. The waiting can be suppressed.

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

Further, in the elevator user guidance system of this example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the division of roles between the management center device 11 and the guidance robot 8 has been described by dividing the functions, but the functions provided by the guidance robot 8 have been described. It is also possible to exchange the division of functions with the functions provided by the management center device 11. That is, it is possible to incorporate some of the functions of the management center device 11 into the guide robot 8, or conversely, incorporate the functions of the guide robot 8 into the management center device 11.

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

In addition, the control lines and information lines indicate those that are considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily indicate all the control lines and information lines in the product. In practice, it can be considered that almost all configurations are interconnected.
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed in the specification or drawings, and of course includes other application examples and modifications as long as the contents described in the claims are not deviated. Is.

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

Claims (3)

A management center device that controls a specific elevator among multiple elevators installed in the building as priority operation for priority users who are VIPs or wheelchair users, and is located near the elevator hall. In an elevator user guidance system equipped with a guidance robot and a surveillance camera that photographs the vicinity of the elevator hall
A priority user identification video processing unit that identifies the priority user by comparing the video data output from the surveillance camera with the video data stored in advance to identify the priority user.
It is provided with an operation allocation calculation unit of the elevator unit that calculates the allocation of an elevator unit that performs VIP dedicated operation or wheelchair priority operation for the priority user identified by the priority user identification video processing unit.
Based on the allocation result from the operation allocation calculation unit, the guidance robot guides the priority user to the landing of the elevator unit and notifies the elevator group management device of switching between VIP dedicated operation and wheelchair priority operation. And
The elevator group management device notifies the guide robot of the elevator unit and the estimated arrival time of the elevator unit to the elevator hall to switch to the VIP dedicated operation or the wheelchair priority operation.
The guidance robot is an elevator user guidance system that guides the priority user to the landing of the elevator unit at the time when the elevator unit arrives at the elevator hall . The guidance robot
When guiding the priority user identified in the elevator Unit guides while adjusting the moving speed for guiding the priority user of the up elevator Unit,
At the same time that the elevator unit arrives at the elevator hall, a command to open the elevator door is given to the elevator group management device.
The elevator user guidance system according to claim 1 . A schedule registration device connected to the communication line is provided,
The schedule registration device uses the schedule registration screen to register a schedule for VIP dedicated operation in the management center device when the priority user is a VIP, and the guide robot is registered in the management center device. Guide the VIP to the designated elevator platform according to the VIP schedule,
The elevator user guidance system according to claim 1 or 2 .

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