JP7513148B1 - Elevator Control System - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To create an environment in an elevator where each user can board the car assigned to him/her through call registration without missing it. [Solution] When selected as a registration section, a first call registration processing section performs call registration for a first target user in a first elevator. On the other hand, when selected as a registration section, a second call registration processing section records the first face information acquired for the first target user by a first face information acquisition section in information management data in a state in which the first face information is associated with the destination floor of the first target user. Thereafter, when the second face information acquisition section acquires second face information of each user who has passed through a passing point, the second call registration processing section regards as target face information a face that matches the second face information among the first face information already recorded in the information management data, and performs call registration for the user identified by the target face information in the second elevator. [Selected Figure] Figure 1A

Description

The present invention relates to a control technology for registering calls for each user in an elevator.

As an elevator control technology, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which, when each user passes through a security gate, a call registration for that user is performed using a destination floor that is pre-associated with that user. With this technology, when passing through a security gate, information about the car assigned to each user in the call registration is displayed on the display unit of the security gate. Therefore, by checking the information displayed on the display unit, each user can recognize which car they should board and then head to the platform.

JP 2013-67489 A

In Patent Document 1, a security gate is installed near the platform. This allows passengers to reach the platform in a short time after passing through the security gate. As a result, most passengers can board the car assigned to them without missing it.

On the other hand, in buildings with large floor areas, security gates may be installed far away from the boarding area. Also, the boarding area may be located in a place that is not visible from the security gate. In such buildings, it takes time for users to reach the boarding area after passing through the security gate. For this reason, it is easy for users to miss their assigned car by not making it in time for its departure.

The object of the present invention is to create an environment in which each user can board the elevator car assigned to them through call registration without missing it, even if the entrance point where a security gate or the like is installed is far from the elevator hall and it takes time for users to move there.

The control system according to the present invention is applicable to the following elevator configuration. The elevator configuration includes a first elevator and a second elevator, and a first entrance point through which users pass to reach these elevator halls is provided at a specific floor, and the hall for the first elevator is provided midway along the path from the first entrance point to the hall for the second elevator.

The control system includes a first call registration processing unit, a second call registration processing unit, a first face information acquisition unit, a destination floor acquisition unit, a second face information acquisition unit, and a selection processing unit. The first call registration processing unit performs call registration for the first elevator, and the second call registration processing unit performs call registration for the second elevator. The first face information acquisition unit acquires face information of each user who has passed through the first entry point as first face information. The destination floor acquisition unit acquires the destination floor of each user who has passed through the first entry point. The second face information acquisition unit acquires face information of each user who has passed through a passing point on the route from the landing of the first elevator to the landing of the second elevator as second face information. The selection processing unit regards each user who has passed through the first entry point as a first target user, and selects either the first call registration processing unit or the second call registration processing unit as a registration unit in charge of executing call registration for the first target user based on the destination floor of the first target user acquired by the destination floor acquisition unit.

When the first call registration processing unit is selected as the registration unit for the first target user, the first call registration processing unit performs call registration for the first target user in the first elevator using the destination floor of the first target user. On the other hand, when the second call registration processing unit is selected as the registration unit for the first target user, the first face information acquired for the first target user by the first face information acquisition unit is recorded in the information management data in a state in which it is associated with the destination floor of the first target user. After that, when the second face information acquisition unit acquires the second face information of each user who has passed through the passing point, the second call registration processing unit uses the first face information recorded in the information management data that matches the second face information as target face information, and performs call registration in the second elevator for the user identified by the target face information, using the destination floor associated with the target face information in the information management data.

According to the above control system, when each user passes through the first entry point, information on the destination floor of the user (first target user) is obtained, so that it becomes possible to perform call registration for the first target user. However, call registration is not performed uniformly at that time. For the first target user who uses the first elevator close to the first entry point, call registration is performed immediately, while for the first target user who uses the second elevator far from the first entry point, call registration is not performed immediately, but is performed after waiting for the first target user to pass through the passing point. In other words, for the first target user who uses the second elevator far from the first entry point, call registration can be performed after approaching the second elevator platform. Therefore, even if the first entry point is far from the second elevator platform and the first target user takes time to move, each first target user who uses the second elevator can board the car assigned to him/her in the call registration without missing it.

In the above control system, when the second call registration processing unit performs call registration for the second elevator for a user identified by the target face information, it may obtain an actual measurement value of the walking time of the user from the first entry point to the passing point, estimate a predicted value of the walking time of the user from the passing point to the landing of the second elevator based on the actual measurement value, and then perform call registration taking into account the predicted value.

Specifically, when acquiring face information for each of the first target users who uses the second elevator at the first entry point and each of the passing points, the time at which the user passed through each point may also be acquired. Then, by using the times at the first entry point and the passing point acquired for each user, the walking time required to travel from the first entry point to the passing point may be calculated, and this walking time may be acquired as the actual walking time of the user from the first entry point to the passing point.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to estimate a predicted walking time for each of the first target users who uses the second elevator from the passing point to the landing of the second elevator. Furthermore, when estimating a predicted value for each user, the actual walking time measured most recently for that user is used, so that it is possible to accurately obtain an appropriate predicted value that reflects the state of that user at that time. As a result, it is possible to assign the optimal car to each of the first target users who uses the second elevator.

In the above control system, when performing call registration for the second elevator for a user identified by the target face information, the second call registration processing unit may obtain an actual measurement value of the walking time of the user from the first entry point to the passing point, estimate a predicted value of the walking time of the user from the passing point to the landing of the second elevator based on the actual measurement value, and wait for the predicted time to elapse before performing call registration.

With the above configuration, call registration for each user who uses the second elevator among the first target users is likely to be performed when the user approaches the second elevator hall as close as possible. This makes it possible to more efficiently prevent users from missing their trains.

The above control system may be applied to the following elevator configuration. The elevator configuration is such that, on a specific floor, a second entry point through which users pass to go to the landing of a first elevator and the landing of a second elevator is provided separately from the first entry point, and the landing of the second elevator is provided midway along the path from the second entry point to the landing of the first elevator.

In the above control system, the selection processing unit may select, for each user who has passed through the second entrance point, either the first call registration processing unit or the second call registration processing unit as a registration unit responsible for executing call registration for the second target user, based on the destination floor of the second target user acquired by the destination floor acquisition unit, with the user as the second target user. Then, when the first call registration processing unit is selected as the registration unit for the second target user, the first call registration processing unit may record the first face information acquired by the first face information acquisition unit for the second target user in information management data other than the information management data in a state in which the first face information is associated with the destination floor of the second target user. After that, when the second face information acquisition unit acquires the second face information of each user who has passed through the passing point, the first call registration processing unit may use the first face information that matches the second face information recorded in the other information management data as target face information, and perform call registration in the first elevator for the user identified by the target face information, using the destination floor associated with the target face information in the other information management data. On the other hand, when the second call registration processing unit is selected as the registration unit for the second target user, the second call registration processing unit may perform call registration for the second target user in the second elevator using the destination floor of the second target user.

According to the above configuration, when the distance relationship between the landing of the first elevator and the landing of the second elevator from the second entry point is the opposite to the distance relationship between the landing of the first elevator and the landing of the second elevator from the first entry point, for each user (second target user) who has passed through the second entry point, the second target user who uses the second elevator close to the second entry point can instantly register a call, while for the second target user who uses the first elevator far from the second entry point, the call registration is not performed immediately, but is performed after the second target user passes through the passing point. In other words, for the second target user who uses the first elevator far from the second entry point, it is possible to register a call after approaching the landing of the first elevator. Therefore, even if the second entry point is far from the landing of the first elevator and the second target user needs time to move, each second target user who uses the first elevator can board the car assigned to him/her in the call registration without missing it.

In the above control system, when the first call registration processing unit performs call registration for the first elevator for a user identified by the target face information, it may obtain an actual measurement value of the walking time of the user from the second entry point to the passing point, estimate a predicted value of the walking time of the user from the passing point to the landing of the first elevator based on the actual measurement value, and then perform call registration taking into account the predicted value.

Specifically, when acquiring face information for each user among the second target users who uses the first elevator at the second entry point and each of the pass points, the time at which the user passed through each point may also be acquired. Then, by using the times at the second entry point and the pass point acquired for each user, the walking time required to travel from the second entry point to the pass point may be calculated, and this walking time may be acquired as the actual walking time of the user from the second entry point to the pass point.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to estimate a predicted walking time for each of the second target users who uses the first elevator from the passing point to the landing of the first elevator. Furthermore, when estimating a predicted value for each user, the actual walking time measured most recently for that user is used, so that it is possible to accurately obtain an appropriate predicted value that reflects the state of that user at that time. As a result, it is possible to assign the optimal car to each of the second target users who uses the first elevator.

In the above control system, when the first call registration processing unit performs call registration for the first elevator for a user identified by the target face information, it may obtain an actual measurement value of the walking time of the user from the second entry point to the passing point, estimate a predicted value of the walking time of the user from the passing point to the landing of the first elevator based on the actual measurement value, and wait for the predicted time to elapse before performing the call registration.

According to the above configuration, call registration for each user who uses the first elevator among the second target users is likely to be performed when the user approaches the first elevator hall as close as possible. This makes it possible to more efficiently prevent users from missing their trains.

According to the present invention, even if the entry point is far from the boarding area and it takes time for users to travel, each user can board the car assigned to him/her through call registration without missing it.

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an elevator to which a control system according to an embodiment is applied. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a security management device. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an elevator configuration on a specific floor in an embodiment. 1A is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of first correspondence management data, (B) second correspondence management data, (C) third correspondence management data, and (D) first device management data used in an embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a control process executed by the security management device in an embodiment. 3A and 3B are conceptual diagrams illustrating information management data and second device management data used in the embodiment. 11 is a flowchart showing a real-time registration process executed in the embodiment. 11 is a flowchart showing a non-realtime registration process executed in an embodiment. 5A and 5B are conceptual diagrams illustrating a display method on a first display unit and a display method on a second display unit, respectively, used in the embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a control process executed by a group management control device in a first modified example. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating information management data used in a second modified example. 13 is a flowchart showing a non-immediate registration process executed in a second modified example. 13A and 13B are conceptual diagrams illustrating an example of information management data and a display method on a second display unit used in a third modified example. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an elevator configuration on a specific floor in the fourth modified example. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of an elevator configuration at a specific floor in the fourth modified example. 13A is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of second device management data, (B) a third correspondence management data, and (C) a first device management data used in a fourth modified example. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an elevator to which a control system according to a fourth modified example is applied. 13 is a flowchart showing a control process executed by the security management device in a fourth modified example. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an elevator to which a control system according to a sixth modified example is applied. FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram illustrating first device management data used in a sixth modified example. FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram illustrating information management data used in a seventh modified example. 13 is a flowchart showing non-immediate registration processing executed in an eighth modified example. FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram illustrating information management data used in an eighth modified example. FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an elevator to which a control system according to a ninth modified example is applied. 13A and 13B are conceptual diagrams illustrating first correspondence management data and third device management data used in a ninth modified example. 13 is a flowchart showing a control process executed by the security management device 4 to enable registration by the first registration method in the ninth modified example. 13 is a flowchart showing a control process executed by the security management device 4 to enable registration by the second registration method in the ninth modified example. 13 is a flowchart showing a control process executed by the security management device 4 to enable registration by the third registration method in the ninth modified example.

[1] Embodiment Fig. 1A is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an elevator to which a control system according to an embodiment is applied. As shown in this figure, in this embodiment, a regulating device 1 (such as a security gate), an information acquisition device 2, a display device 3, a security management device 4, a first elevator EvA, and a second elevator EvB are included in the configuration of the elevator. Each of the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB includes a plurality of elevator cars (see Fig. 2) and a group management control device 5 that centrally manages them. Note that the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB are sometimes called "banks" in the technical field of elevators.

Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of elevators on a specific floor (such as a lobby floor) of a building. As shown in this figure, an entrance point Xs is provided on the specific floor through which users must pass to reach the landings of the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB. In this embodiment, only one such entrance point Xs is provided on the specific floor, and the landing of the first elevator EvA is provided midway on the path from the entrance point Xs to the landing of the second elevator EvB. In other words, the landing of the first elevator EvA is close to the entrance point Xs, and the landing of the second elevator EvB is far from the entrance point Xs. Hereinafter, the entrance point Xs in such a positional relationship with the landing is referred to as the "first entrance point Xs1."

Then, a restriction device 1 is installed at the first entry point Xs1, thereby restricting passage through the first entry point Xs1. In the example of FIG. 2, three restriction devices 1 are installed at the first entry point Xs1. Note that the number of restriction devices 1 installed at the first entry point Xs1 is not limited to three, and may be multiple devices, or may be one device. Also, multiple entry points Xs may be provided on a particular floor, and details of this case will be explained in the "Fourth Modification" described below.

In buildings with large floor areas, the first entry point Xs1 may be located away from the platform, and the regulating device 1 may be installed there. The platform may also be located in a place that is not visible from the regulating device 1. In such buildings, it will take time for users to reach the platform after passing through the regulating device 1. For this reason, if a call registration is made for each user when they pass through the regulating device 1 at the first entry point Xs1 (in other words, if conventional technology is used as is), it is likely that any user will miss the departure of their assigned car.

Therefore, in such an elevator configuration, in order to create an environment in which each user can board the car assigned to them through call registration without missing it, even if the first entry point Xs1 is far from the landing and it takes time for the user to move there, a control system to make this possible is constructed using some or all of the configuration described in detail below.

In this embodiment, we consider a case in which it takes time to move from the first entry point Xs1 to the second elevator EvB, which is farther from the first entry point Xs1, out of the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB.

In the following, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB are set to different stop floors other than the specific floors that they guide to. In other words, it is assumed that the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB are set to have no overlapping stop floors other than the specific floors. As a specific example, it is conceivable that the first elevator EvA is set to higher floors (e.g., floors 11 to 20) as stop floors other than the specific floors, and the second elevator EvB is set to lower floors (e.g., floors 2 to 10) as stop floors other than the specific floors.

[1-1] Restriction device The restriction device 1 comprises a reading unit 11 that reads information from a recording medium Q (such as an IC card or a magnetic card) held by a user, and an opening/closing control unit 12 that controls the opening and closing of the gate (see FIG. 1A). The reading unit 11 is composed of a reading device such as a card reader, and the opening/closing control unit 12 is composed of a processing device such as a CPU or an MPU. Furthermore, the reading unit 11 and the opening/closing control unit 12 are set with reader information Pxg and gate information Pwg for identifying them from other devices, respectively.

Identification information Pi (such as a user ID) is recorded on the recording medium Q to distinguish the user who possesses it from other users, and the reading unit 11 reads the identification information Pi from the recording medium Q when the recording medium Q is held over the reading unit 11. The opening/closing control unit 12 controls the opening and closing of the gate in response to commands from the security management device 4.

The method of reading the recording medium Q by the reading unit 11 may be a contact type or a non-contact type that reads information through short-range communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication), and is not particularly limited. The recording medium Q is not limited to being card-shaped, and may be stick-shaped or chip-shaped. Furthermore, a terminal device such as a smartphone capable of short-range communication (NFC, etc.) with the reading unit 11 may be used as the recording medium Q.

The identification information Pi read by the reading unit 11 is used in the control processes (such as authentication processes and acquisition processes) performed by the security management device 4, which will be described later. Therefore, when the reading unit 11 reads the identification information Pi, it transmits the identification information Pi to the security management device 4 (see FIG. 1A). At this time, the reading unit 11 transmits its own reader information Pxg to the security management device 4 together with the identification information Pi, so that the security management device 4 can recognize which device has transmitted the identification information Pi.

[1-2] Information Acquisition Device The information acquisition device 2 is a device that acquires face information (such as facial features) from each elevator user. In this embodiment, the information acquisition device 2 includes a first face information acquisition unit 21 and a second face information acquisition unit 22 (see FIG. 1A). These acquisition units are configured with an imaging device such as a camera, and the first face information acquisition unit 21 and the second face information acquisition unit 22 are set with camera information Py1 and Py2 for identifying them from other devices, respectively.

<First face information acquisition unit>
The first face information acquisition unit 21 acquires face information of each user who has passed through the first entrance point Xs1 (see FIG. 2) as the first face information Pf1. Specifically, the first face information acquisition unit 21 acquires an image of the face of each user who has passed through the regulating device 1 by photographing the face of the user. Then, the first face information acquisition unit 21 extracts face information (such as facial features) of the user as the first face information Pf1 by performing image processing on the acquired image (face image) of each user. In this embodiment, the first face information acquisition unit 21 is provided in correspondence with each of the three regulating devices 1 installed at the first entrance point Xs1 (see FIG. 2), and each first face information acquisition unit 21 acquires face information of each user who has passed through the corresponding regulating device 1 as the first face information Pf1. In FIG. 1A, the fact that the first face information acquisition unit 21 has a one-to-one correspondence with the regulating device 1 is indicated by a dashed line frame surrounding them.

In the following, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the image acquired by the first face information acquisition unit 21 always includes the face of each user who passes through the first entry point Xs1, and that the first face information Pf1 of that user is always extracted from that image.

The first face information Pf1 extracted by the first face information acquisition unit 21 from the image (face image) of each user is used in the information recording process and non-realtime registration process performed by the group management control device 5 described later. In this embodiment, the first face information Pf1 acquired by the first face information acquisition unit 21 is once sent to the security management device 4, and only the first face information Pf1 of the user who uses the second elevator EvB is selected by the security management device 4 and sent to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB. Therefore, when the first face information acquisition unit 21 acquires the first face information Pf1 of each user, it transmits the first face information Pf1 to the security management device 4 (see FIG. 1A). At this time, the first face information acquisition unit 21 transmits its own camera information Py1 to the security management device 4 together with the first face information Pf1 so that the security management device 4 recognizes which device is the sender of the first face information Pf1.

The extraction of the first face information Pf1 from the image may be performed by the security management device 4 or by the group management control device 5. In this case, each time the first face information acquisition unit 21 acquires an image (face image) by photographing at the first entry point Xs1, it will transmit the image together with its own camera information Py1 to the security management device 4.

<Second face information acquisition unit>
The second face information acquisition unit 22 acquires, as the second face information Pf2, face information of each user who has passed through a passing point Xt (see FIG. 2) on the route from the landing of the first elevator EvA to the landing of the second elevator EvB. Specifically, the second face information acquisition unit 22 photographs the passing point Xt to acquire an image showing the face of the user passing through the passing point Xt. Then, the second face information acquisition unit 22 performs image processing on the acquired image to extract face information (such as facial features) of each user shown in the image as the second face information Pf2.

In the following, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the image acquired by the second face information acquisition unit 22 necessarily includes the face of each user who has passed through the passing point Xt from the first entry point Xs1 side, and that the second face information Pf2 of that user is necessarily extracted from that image.

Here, the passing point Xt is a point that a user going to the landing of the second elevator EvB must pass through after passing the landing of the first elevator EvA. Specifically, the passing point Xt is a point that is set so that the distance Le to the landing of the second elevator EvB is the following distance. This distance is a distance that is unlikely to cause a user to miss the train due to the walking time actually taken by the user deviating significantly from the predicted value Te when registering a call for the second elevator EvB, taking into account the predicted value Te of the walking time required to travel from the passing point Xt to the landing of the second elevator EvB. In this embodiment, a single fixed value common to all users, such as the average walking time, is used as such a predicted value Te.

The second face information Pf2 of each user extracted from the image by the second face information acquisition unit 22 is used in the non-realtime registration process performed by the group management control device 5 together with the above-mentioned first face information Pf1. In this embodiment, the second face information Pf2 is sent directly to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB without going through the security management device 4. Therefore, when the second face information acquisition unit 22 acquires the second face information Pf2 of each user, it transmits the second face information Pf2 to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB (see FIG. 1A). At this time, the second face information acquisition unit 22 transmits its own camera information Py2 together with the second face information Pf2 to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB so that the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB recognizes which device is the sender of the second face information Pf2.

The extraction of the second face information Pf2 from the image may be performed by the group management control device 5. In that case, each time an image is acquired by photographing at the passing point Xt, the second face information acquisition unit 22 will transmit the image together with its own camera information Py2 to the group management control device 5.

[1-3] Display Device The display device 3 is a device that provides information to a user. In this embodiment, the display device 3 includes a first display unit 31 and a second display unit 32 (see FIG. 1A). These display units are configured with display devices such as liquid crystal monitors, and the first display unit 31 and the second display unit 32 are set with monitor information Pz1 and Pz2 for distinguishing them from other devices.

<First display section>
The first display unit 31 provides information to each user at the first entrance point Xs1. In this embodiment, one is installed in each of the three regulating devices 1 installed at the first entrance point Xs1 (see FIG. 2), and each first display unit 31 displays the authentication result of each user who holds the recording medium Q over the reading unit 11 of the regulating device 1 in which it is installed, and information on the call registration performed in the instant registration process described later (such as information on the car assigned in the call registration). In FIG. 1A, the fact that the first display unit 31 and the regulating device 1 have a one-to-one correspondence is indicated by a dashed line frame surrounding them.

<Second display section>
The second display unit 32 is installed at a place where users always pass on the way from the passing point Xt to the landing of the second elevator EvB (see FIG. 2), and provides information to each user going to the landing. In this embodiment, the second display unit 32 is associated with all the regulating devices 1 installed at the first entry point Xs1 in a one-to-many relationship, and the second display unit 32 displays information on the call registration executed in the non-realtime registration process described later (such as information on the car assigned in the call registration).

[1-4] Security Management Device [1-4-1] Configuration of the Security Management Device The security management device 4 is a device that manages security within a building, and as one of its control processes, it maintains security within the building by keeping track of users who enter through entry point Xs (in this embodiment, only the first entry point Xs1), while transmitting information necessary for call registration for each user who passes through entry point Xs to the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA or second elevator EvB used by that user. At this time, the security management device 4 obtains the destination floor Ft of each user who passed through entry point Xs as one piece of information necessary for call registration.

In this embodiment, the security management device 4 authenticates the user's identification information Pi acquired by the reading unit 11 for each user who is about to pass through the restriction device 1 (authentication process), and allows the user to pass through the restriction device 1 only if the authentication is successful. In addition, for each user who has passed through the first entry point Xs1 (in this embodiment, a user who has passed through the restriction device 1 installed at the first entry point Xs1), the security management device 4 selects one of the group management control devices 5 of the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB as the registration section Jt in charge of executing the call registration for the first target user based on the destination floor Ft of the user (hereinafter referred to as the "first target user") (selection process). Then, the security management device 4 acquires necessary information for the call registration for the first target user depending on which group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB was selected as the registration section Jt in the selection process (acquisition process), and transmits the information to the registration section Jt selected in the selection process (transmission process). The control processing executed by the security management device 4 will be described in detail later.

Figure 1B is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the security management device 4. Specifically, the security management device 4 includes a memory unit 41 and a control unit 42.

The memory unit 41 is a section that stores information necessary for control processing (such as authentication processing) performed by the security management device 4. In this embodiment, the memory unit 41 is configured with a storage device such as a ROM or RAM, and the memory unit 41 stores the first correspondence management data Dp1, the second correspondence management data Dp2, the third correspondence management data Dp3, and the first device management data Dq1.

The first response management data Dp1 is data for managing the destination floor Ft of each user who can be permitted to use the elevator. The second response management data Dp2 is data for managing the stop floors to which the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB can guide users other than specific floors, and is used to select the registration unit Jt. The third response management data Dp3 is data for managing whether the registration unit Jt should perform the immediate registration process or the non-immediate registration process to register a call for a user who has passed through the entry point Xs (in this embodiment, only the first entry point Xs1). The first device management data Dq1 is data for managing, for each regulating device 1, multiple pieces of information related to that regulating device 1 by linking them to each other.

The details will be described later, but the immediate registration process is a process in which a call registration for a user who has passed through the entry point Xs is performed immediately when that user passes through the entry point Xs. On the other hand, the non-immediate registration process is a process in which a call registration for a user who has passed through the entry point Xs is not performed immediately when that user passes through the entry point Xs, but is performed after waiting for that user to pass through the transit point Xt.

Figure 3 (A) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the first correspondence management data Dp1 used in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the first correspondence management data Dp1 records the identification information Pi of each user in a state in which it is associated with the default floor Ftd of that user (the destination floor Ft that is initially set as the disembarking floor of that user).

Figure 3 (B) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the second correspondence management data Dp2 used in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the second correspondence management data Dp2 is associated with the responsible information Pm for each destination floor Ft of the user. Here, the responsible information Pm is information for identifying, for each destination floor Ft, either the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB that can guide the user to the destination floor Ft. In the example of Figure 3 (B), as the responsible information Pm, information identifying the first elevator EvA is indicated by "EvA" and information identifying the second elevator EvB is indicated by "EvB". In addition, "EvA" is associated with each destination floor Ft of the 11th to 20th floors as the responsible information Pm, and group management B is associated with each destination floor Ft of the 2nd to 10th floors as the responsible information Pm. Then, when one piece of responsible information Pm is extracted from the second correspondence management data Dp2, the elevator group management control device 5 identified by that responsible information Pm is selected as the registration responsible unit Jt.

Figure 3 (C) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the third correspondence management data Dp3 used in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, in the third correspondence management data Dp3, processing information Pn is associated with each combination (Pxg, Pm) of the reader information Pxg of the reading unit 11 installed at the entry point Xs and the responsible information Pm ("EvA", "EvB"). Here, the processing information Pn is information for specifying whether the elevator group management control device 5 specified by the responsible information Pm in the combination (in other words, the registration responsible unit Jt selected based on the responsible information Pm) should execute the immediate registration process or the non-immediate registration process for each combination (Pxg, Pm). In the example of Figure 3 (C), the information specifying that the immediate registration process should be executed is indicated as "immediate" as the processing information Pn, and the information specifying that the non-immediate registration process should be executed is indicated as "non-immediate".

Figure 3 (D) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the first device management data Dq1 used in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the first device management data Dq1 records, for each regulating device 1, the reader information Pxg of the reading unit 11 provided in that regulating device 1 in association with the installation floor Fg of the reading unit 11, the camera information Py1 of the first face information acquisition unit 21 and the monitor information Pz1 of the first display unit 31 that correspond to that regulating device 1, and the gate information Pwg of the opening/closing control unit 12 provided in that regulating device 1.

Here, the installation floor Fg is the floor where the reading unit 11 identified by the reader information Pxg is installed, in other words, the floor where the regulating device 1 equipped with the reading unit 11 is installed. In this embodiment, when a user uses the elevator from a specific floor, the user must pass through the regulating device 1. Therefore, the installation floor Fg of the reading unit 11 (i.e., the installation floor Fg of the regulating device 1) is used as the departure floor Fs (boarding floor) of the user when the user uses the elevator from a specific floor.

The control unit 42 is a part that executes the above-mentioned control processing. In this embodiment, the control unit 42 is configured with a processing device such as a CPU or MPU, and is responsible for executing the above-mentioned authentication processing, selection processing, acquisition processing, and transmission processing.

More specifically, these processes are executed by an authentication processing unit 421, a selection processing unit 422, an acquisition processing unit 423, and a transmission processing unit 424 that are constructed in the control unit 42 (see FIG. 1B). In this embodiment, these processing units are constructed as software by having the control unit 42 execute a program. Such a program may be stored in a readable state on a portable storage medium (e.g., a flash memory, etc.), read from the storage medium and installed and stored in the storage unit 41 of the security management device 4, or may be stored in a downloadable state on another server, downloaded from the server, and installed and stored in the storage unit 41. The above processing units may be constructed as hardware by constructing a circuit in the security management device 4.

[1-4-2] Control Processing Executed by the Security Management Device Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the control processing executed by the security management device 4 in this embodiment. This control processing is initiated in the following cases. That is, the control processing is initiated when the security management device 4 receives, from the reading unit 11, identification information Pi and reader information Pxg as a set of information for each user who has held up the recording medium Q over the reading unit 11. In addition, this control processing is executed each time the security management device 4 receives the set of information. Hereinafter, the set of information (identification information Pi, reader information Pxg) will be collectively referred to as "received information Pr0."

When the above control process is started, the control unit 42 first authenticates the identification information Pi in the received information Pr0 to determine whether the user (the user who is about to pass through the regulating device 1 at the entry point Xs) identified by the identification information Pi is a user who can be permitted to use the elevator (authentication process, step S100). Specifically, the control unit 42 determines whether the identification information Pi in the received information Pr0 matches any of the identification information Pi recorded in the first correspondence management data Dp1.

Then, if the control unit 42 "succeeds" in authenticating the identification information Pi in step S100, the control unit 42 transmits a gate opening command Sg1 to the regulating device 1 having the reading unit 11 that transmitted the identification information Pi to allow the user identified by the identification information Pi to pass through the regulating device 1 (step S110) to execute control to open the gate. Specifically, the control unit 42 uses the reader information Pxg in the received information Pr0 to obtain the gate information Pwg associated with the reader information Pxg from the first device management data Dq1. The control unit 42 then transmits the gate opening command Sg1 to the opening/closing control unit 12 identified by the gate information Pwg. As a result, the opening/closing control unit 12 executes control to open the gate.

After step S110, the control unit 42 executes the following process to determine whether the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB should execute the call registration for the user (first target user) identified by the successfully authenticated identification information Pi.

The control unit 42 first acquires the destination floor Ft of the first target user to determine whether the first target user is using the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB (acquisition process, step S111). Specifically, the control unit 42 acquires the default floor Ftd associated with the identification information Pi (the identification information Pi that has been successfully authenticated) in the received information Pr0 from the first correspondence management data Dp1, and sets the default floor Ftd as the destination floor Ft of the first target user (Ft = Ftd). At this time, the control unit 42 functions as a destination floor acquisition unit that acquires the destination floor Ft of each user who has passed through the entry point Xs (in this embodiment, only the first entry point Xs1).

Next, the control unit 42 selects the group management control device 5 of either the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB as the registration unit Jt in charge of executing the call registration for the first target user based on the destination floor Ft of the first target user acquired in step S111 (selection process, step S112). In other words, based on the destination floor Ft of the first target user, the control unit 42 selects whether the call registration for the first target user will be executed by the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA, which is closer to the first entry point Xs1, or by the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB, which is farther from the first entry point Xs1.

Specifically, the control unit 42 extracts the responsible information Pm ("EvA" or "EvB") associated with the destination floor Ft obtained in step S111 from the second correspondence management data Dp2, and sets the group management control device 5 of the elevator (first elevator EvA or second elevator EvB) identified by the responsible information Pm as the registration responsible unit Jt.

Then, in either case where the control unit 42 selects the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA as the registration unit Jt in step S112 (Jt1 = "group management A") or where the control unit 42 selects the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB as the registration unit Jt in step S112 (Jt1 = "group management B"), the control unit 42 selects whether the registration unit Jt selected in step S112 should execute immediate registration processing or non-immediate registration processing (selection of processing information Pn; steps S113A and S113B).

Specifically, the control unit 42 uses the reader information Pxg in the received information Pr0 and the responsible information Pm obtained in step S112 to select the registration responsible unit Jt, to obtain the processing information Pn ("immediate" or "non-immediate") associated with the combination of information (Pxg, Pm) from the third correspondence management data Dp3.

In this embodiment, since the only entry point Xs is the first entry point Xs1, in step S113A, the immediate registration process is always selected as the process to be executed by the registration unit Jt (= "group management A"; in this embodiment, the group management control device 5 that is closer to the first entry point Xs1) (Pn = "immediate"), and in step S113B, the non-immediate registration process is always selected as the process to be executed by the registration unit Jt (= "group management B"; in this embodiment, the group management control device 5 that is farther from the first entry point Xs1) (Pn = "non-immediate").

After step S113A, the control unit 42 acquires the departure floor Fs (boarding floor) of the first target user in addition to the destination floor Ft of the first target user acquired in step S111 as information required for the immediate registration process selected in step S113A (step S114A). More specifically, the control unit 42 acquires the installation floor Fg associated with the reader information Pxg from the first device management data Dq1 using the reader information Pxg in the received information Pr0, and sets the installation floor Fg as the departure floor Fs (Fs = Fg).

In step S114A, the control unit 42 further acquires the monitor information Pz1 of the first display unit 31 as necessary information. Here, in the immediate registration process, call registration is performed when the first target user passes through the restriction device 1. Therefore, in order to be able to notify the first target user of call registration information when passing through the restriction device 1, the control unit 42 acquires the monitor information Pz1 of the first display unit 31 that corresponds to the restriction device 1 in order to provide it to the group management control device 5.

Specifically, the control unit 42 uses the reader information Pxg in the received information Pr0 to obtain the monitor information Pz1 associated with the reader information Pxg from the first device management data Dq1.

Then, the control unit 42 transmits the information acquired in step S114A (start floor Fs, destination floor Ft, monitor information Pz1) in a mutually associated state to the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA, which is the registration unit Jt (transmission process; step S115A). After executing step S115A, the control unit 42 ends the control process.

After step S113B, the control unit 42 acquires the departure floor Fs (boarding floor) of the first target user, in addition to the destination floor Ft of the first target user acquired in step S111, as information required for the non-immediate registration process selected in step S113A, in the same manner as in step S114A (step S114B).

Meanwhile, in step S114B, the control unit 42 further acquires the first face information Pf1 of the first target user as necessary information. Here, in the non-realtime registration process, the group management control device 5 uses the first face information Pf1 of the first target user to recognize that the first target user has passed through the pass point Xt. Specifically, the group management control device 5 recognizes that the first target user has passed through the pass point Xt when the second face information Pf2 acquired by the second face information acquisition unit 22 matches the first face information Pf1. Therefore, in order to enable such recognition, the control unit 42 acquires the first face information Pf1 of the first target user in order to provide it to the group management control device 5.

Specifically, the control unit 42 first uses the reader information Pxg in the received information Pr0 to extract camera information Py1 associated with the reader information Pxg in the first device management data Dq1 in order to identify the first face information acquisition unit 21 that acquired the face information of the first target user, and sets the camera information Py1 as the target camera information Pyt. Next, the control unit 42 acquires, from among the first face information Pf1 received from the first face information acquisition unit 21, camera information Py1 transmitted together with the first face information Pf1 that matches the target camera information Pyt as the first face information Pf1 of the first target user.

Then, the control unit 42 transmits the information acquired in step S114B (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, and first face information Pf1) in a mutually associated state to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB, which is the registration unit Jt (transmission process; step S115B). After executing step S115B, the control unit 42 ends the control process.

On the other hand, if the control unit 42 "fails" to authenticate the identification information Pi in step S100, the control unit 42 transmits a gate close command Sg2 to the regulating device 1 having the reading unit 11 that transmitted the identification information Pi to execute control to close the gate, in order to regulate (prohibit) the passage of the regulating device 1 for the user identified by the identification information Pi (step S120). Specifically, the control unit 42 uses the reader information Pxg in the received information Pr0 to obtain the gate information Pwg associated with the reader information Pxg from the first device management data Dq1. The control unit 42 then issues a gate close command Sg2 to the opening/closing control unit 12 identified by the gate information Pwg. As a result, the opening/closing control unit 12 executes control to close the gate.

In addition, the control unit 42 transmits a failure notification command Sx to the first display unit 31 corresponding to the regulating device 1 through which the user was about to pass, via the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA, to execute a display to notify the user of the failure of authentication (authentication failure) (step S121). Specifically, the control unit 42 uses the reader information Pxg in the received information Pr0 to obtain the monitor information Pz1 corresponding to the reader information Pxg from the first device management data Dq1. Then, the control unit 42 transmits the monitor information Pz1 and the failure notification command Sx to the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA. When the group management control device 5 receives these pieces of information, the group management control device 5 transfers the failure notification command Sx to the first display unit 31 identified by the received monitor information Pz1. As a result, a display to notify the user of the authentication failure is executed on the first display unit 31. After executing step S121, the control unit 42 ends the control process. In step S121, the failure notification command Sx may be transmitted to the first display unit 31 via the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB.

[1-5] Group management control device [1-5-1] Configuration of the group management control device The group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA performs call registration for the first elevator EvA (first call registration processing), and the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB performs call registration for the second elevator EvB (second call registration processing).

In this embodiment, when the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA is selected as the registration section Jt for the first target user (when the information required for call registration for the first target user is received from the security management device 4), it executes an immediate registration process as the first call registration process. Here, the immediate registration process is a process in which call registration for the first target user is performed immediately when the information required for the call registration is received from the security management device 4.

On the other hand, when the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB is selected as the registration section Jt for the first target user (when the information necessary for call registration for the first target user is received from the security management device 4), it executes a non-immediate registration process as the second call registration process. In addition, the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB executes an information recording process as a pre-processing before executing the non-immediate registration process. Here, the non-immediate registration process is a process in which the call registration for the first target user is not performed immediately when the information necessary for the call registration is received from the security management device 4, but is performed after the first target user passes through the passing point Xt. In addition, the information recording process is a process in which, when a set of information (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, first face information Pf1) necessary for call registration for the first target user is received from the security management device 4, the information is recorded in the information management data Dr (see FIG. 5 (A)) in a mutually associated state.

The group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB performs such pre-processing (information recording processing) and then executes non-realtime registration processing. Specifically, when the second face information acquisition unit 22 acquires the second face information Pf2 of each user who passed through the passing point Xt, the group management control device 5 sets the first face information Pf1 recorded in the information management data Dr that matches the second face information Pf2 as target face information Pft, and performs call registration for the user identified by the target face information Pft using the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft associated with the target face information Pft in the information management data Dr.

The control processes (first call registration process, second call registration process, and information recording process) executed by the group management control device 5 will be described in detail later.

As a specific configuration, in each of the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB, the group management control device 5 includes a memory unit 51 and a control unit 52 (see FIG. 1A).

The memory unit 51 is a section that stores information necessary for the control processing (such as call registration processing) performed by the group management control device 5. In this embodiment, the memory unit 51 is configured with a storage device such as a ROM or RAM. The memory unit 51 provided in the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB stores information management data Dr and second device management data Dq2.

Here, the information management data Dr is data for recording information required for call registration in the non-realtime registration process for the first target user. The information management data Dr records the first face information Pf1 of the first target user as one of such pieces of information. The second device management data Dq2 is data for managing the second face information acquisition unit 22 and the second display unit 32 installed on each route from the entry point Xs to the landing by linking them to each other. In this embodiment, since there is only one route (only one route from the first entry point Xs1 to the landing of the second elevator EvB), the second device management data Dq2 links the second face information acquisition unit 22 and the second display unit 32 installed on each route to each other (see FIG. 5(B)). On the other hand, when there are multiple routes, as in the fourth modified example (see FIG. 14) described below, the second device management data Dq2 associates the second face information acquisition unit 22 and the second display unit 32 installed on the same route with each other for each route (see FIG. 15(A)).

Figure 5 (A) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the information management data Dr used in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, in the information management data Dr, the first face information Pf1 of the first target user is recorded in a state in which it is associated with the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft of the first target user. Specifically, when the group management control device 5 receives the departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, and first face information Pf1 from the security management device 4 as a set of information required for call registration for the first target user, the information is recorded in the information management data Dr in a state in which it is associated with each other.

Figure 5 (B) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the second device management data Dq2 used in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, the second device management data Dq2 records, in a mutually associated state, the camera information Py2 of the second face information acquisition unit 22 and the monitor information Pz2 of the second display unit 32 for the second face information acquisition unit 22 and the second display unit 32 installed on the same single route from the entry point Xs to the boarding area.

The control unit 52 is a part that executes the above-mentioned control processing. In this embodiment, the control unit 52 is composed of a processing device such as a CPU or MPU. The control unit 52 provided in the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA executes an immediate registration process as the first call registration process. The control unit 52 provided in the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB executes a non-immediate registration process as the second call registration process, and also executes an information recording process as a pre-processing thereof.

As a more specific configuration, these processes are executed by the first call registration processing unit 521, the second call registration processing unit 522, and the information recording processing unit 523 constructed in the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 equipped with the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB (see FIG. 1A). In this embodiment, these processing units are configured as software by having the control unit 52 execute a program. Such a program may be stored in a portable storage medium (e.g., a flash memory, etc.) in a readable state, read from the storage medium and installed and stored in the storage unit 51 of the group management control device 5, or may be stored in a downloadable state on another server, downloaded from the server, and installed and stored in the storage unit 51. The above processing units may be configured as hardware by constructing a circuit in the group management control device 5.

[1-5-2] Control process executed by the group management control device <Immediate registration process>
6 is a flowchart showing the immediate registration process executed in this embodiment. The immediate registration process is started in the following case. This case is when the group management control device 5 receives the departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, and monitor information Pz1 from the security management device 4 as a set of information required for call registration. This immediate registration process is executed every time the group management control device 5 receives the set of information. In this embodiment, the immediate registration process is executed as the first call registration process. Hereinafter, the set of information (the departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, and monitor information Pz1) is collectively referred to as "received information Pr1."

When the immediate registration process is started, the control unit 52 performs call registration for the first target user using the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft in the received information Pr1 (step S201A). Specifically, the control unit 52 assigns the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft in the received information Pr1 as one hall call to a car. At this time, the control unit 52 performs the assignment to the car taking into consideration the predicted value Te of the walking time required to move from the first entry point Xs1 to the hall (in this embodiment, the hall of the first elevator EvA). In this embodiment, a single fixed value common to all users is used as the predicted value Te. As an example, the predicted value Te is the average value of past data obtained by measuring actual walking times.

After step S201A, the control unit 52 displays the car information assigned in the call registration in step S201A (hereinafter referred to as "car information Pk") on the first display unit 31 corresponding to the regulating device 1 through which the first target user passes in order to notify the first target user (step S202A). Specifically, the control unit 52 uses the monitor information Pz1 in the received information Pr1 to display the car information Pk on the first display unit 31 specified by the monitor information Pz1. At this time, the control unit 52 also displays the destination floor Ft used in the call registration in step S201A in association with the car information Pk (see FIG. 8 (A)). This allows the user to recognize which car he or she should board by checking the car information Pk displayed on the first display unit 31. After executing step S202A, the control unit 42 ends the immediate registration process.

<Information Recording Processing>
The information recording process is executed as a pre-processing for the non-realtime registration process, and is started in the following case. This case is when the group management control device 5 receives the departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, and first face information Pf1 as a set of information required for call registration from the security management device 4. This information recording process is executed every time the group management control device 5 receives the set of information. In this embodiment, the information recording process is executed as a pre-processing for the second call registration process (non-realtime registration process).

When the information recording process is started, the control unit 52 records the set of information received from the security management device 4 (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, first face information Pf1) in the information management data Dr in a mutually associated state (see Figure 5 (A)).

<Non-immediate registration process>
7 is a flow chart showing the non-realtime registration process executed in this embodiment. The non-realtime registration process is started in the following case. That is, in this case, the group management control device 5 receives a set of information (second face information Pf2, camera information Py2) including the second face information Pf2 of each user who passed through the passing point Xt from the second face information acquisition unit 22. This non-realtime registration process is executed every time the group management control device 5 receives the set of information. In this embodiment, the non-realtime registration process is executed as the second call registration process. Hereinafter, the set of information (second face information Pf2, camera information Py2) is collectively referred to as "received information Pr2".

When the non-realtime registration process is started, the control unit 52 first searches for the first face information Pf1 recorded in the information management data Dr that matches the second face information Pf2 in the received information Pr2 (hereinafter referred to as "target face information Pft"), and obtains the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft associated with the target face information Pft from the information management data Dr (step S201B).

Then, the control unit 52 uses the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft acquired in step S201B to register a call for the user identified by the target face information Pft (step S202B). Specifically, the control unit 52 assigns the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft acquired in step S201B to a car as one hall call. At this time, the control unit 52 assigns to the car taking into consideration the predicted value Te of the walking time required to move from the passing point Xt to the hall (in this embodiment, the hall of the second elevator EvB). In this embodiment, a single fixed value common to all users is used as the predicted value Te. As an example, the predicted value Te is the average value of past data obtained by measuring the actual walking time. Note that, instead of a single fixed value common to all users, a value estimated for each user can be used as the predicted value Te. The details will be specifically explained in the "Second Modification" described later.

After step S202B, in order to notify the user identified by the target face information Pft of the car information Pk of the car assigned in the call registration in step S202B, the control unit 52 first identifies the second display unit 32 installed at a location through which the user passes on the way to the boarding area (step S203B). Specifically, the control unit 52 uses the camera information Py2 in the received information Pr2 to extract the monitor information Pz2 associated with the camera information Py2 in the second device management data Dq2, and identifies the second display unit 32 using the monitor information Pz2. In other words, the control unit 52 uses the second device management data Dq2 to identify the second display unit 32 linked to the second face information acquisition unit 22 that acquired the second face information Pf2 of the user.

Next, the control unit 52 causes the second display unit 32 identified in step S203B to display the car information Pk of the car assigned in the call registration in step S202B (step S204B). At this time, the control unit 52 also displays the destination floor Ft used in the call registration in step S202B in association with the car information Pk (see FIG. 8 (B)). This allows the user to recognize which car he or she should board by checking the car information Pk associated with his or her destination floor Ft on the second display unit 32. After executing step S204B, the control unit 52 ends the non-realtime registration process.

According to such a control system and control process, when each user passes through the first entry point Xs1, information on the destination floor Ft of the user (first target user) is obtained, so that it becomes possible to perform call registration for the first target user. However, call registration is not performed uniformly at that time. Instead, call registration is performed immediately for the first target user who uses the first elevator EvA close to the first entry point Xs1, while call registration is not performed immediately for the first target user who uses the second elevator EvB far from the first entry point Xs1, but is performed after the first target user passes through the passing point Xt. In other words, for the first target user who uses the second elevator EvB far from the first entry point Xs1, call registration can be performed after approaching the landing of the second elevator EvB. Therefore, even if the first entry point Xs1 is far from the landing of the second elevator EvB and the first target users need time to move there, each first target user who uses the second elevator EvB can board the car assigned to him/her in the call registration without missing it.

[2] Modifications [2-1] First Modification In the above embodiment, the immediate registration process (FIG. 6) is executed as the first call registration process, and the non-immediate registration process (FIG. 7) is executed as the second call registration process. For this reason, the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 equipped in the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB must execute different control processes as the first call registration process and the second call registration process. In addition, the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 equipped in the second elevator EvB must execute the information recording process executed as a pre-processing of the non-immediate registration process as a control process separate from the second call registration process. Therefore, in order to make the control process executed by the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 common to the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB, the control unit 52 may be able to determine which process among the immediate registration process, the non-immediate registration process, and the information recording process should be executed in one control process.

Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the control process executed by the group management control device 5 in the first modified example. This control process is initiated in the following cases. In these cases, the group management control device 5 receives any one of the following sets of information required for call registration: (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, monitor information Pz1), (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, first face information Pf1), or (second face information Pf2, camera information Py2). Hereinafter, when the group management control device 5 receives any one of the above three sets of information, the set of information is collectively referred to as "received information Pr3".

When the above control process is started, the control unit 52 determines which process should be executed among the immediate registration process, the non-immediate registration process, and the information recording process based on the received information Pr3.

Specifically, the control unit 52 first determines whether the first face information Pf1 is included in the received information Pr3 in order to determine whether the information recording process should be executed (step S301).

Then, if the control unit 52 determines in step S301 that "first face information Pf1 is included (Yes)," it determines that information recording processing should be performed and performs information recording processing.

On the other hand, if the control unit 52 determines in step S301 that "first face information Pf1 is not included (No)," then it can determine that information recording processing should not be executed. In this case, the control unit 52 determines whether or not second face information Pf2 is included in the received information Pr3 in order to determine whether or not non-realtime registration processing should be executed (step S302).

Then, if the control unit 52 determines in step S302 that "second face information Pf2 is included (Yes)," it determines that non-realtime registration processing should be performed and performs the non-realtime registration processing.

On the other hand, if the control unit 52 determines in step S302 that "second face information Pf2 is not included (No)," then the control unit 52 can determine that neither the information recording process nor the non-realtime registration process should be executed. In other words, the control unit 52 can determine that the remaining realtime registration process of the three processes should be executed. In this case, the control unit 52 executes the realtime registration process.

According to the first modified example, the control process executed by the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 can be made common between the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB. In other words, the configuration of the control unit 52 and the programs executed by the control unit 52 can be made common between the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB.

[2-2] Second Modification In step S202B (see FIG. 7) of the non-realtime registration process described above, the predicted walking time Te taken into account in call registration (allocation to a car) may be a value estimated for each user instead of a single fixed value common to all users.

Specifically, the control unit 52 can acquire the actual walking time Td of each user from the first entry point Xs1 to the passing point Xt, and estimate the predicted walking time Te of the user from the passing point Xt to the landing of the second elevator EvB based on the actual walking time Td. Then, when registering a call for each user, the control unit 52 can estimate the predicted walking time Te of the user, and then register the call taking into account the predicted walking time Te. More specifically, it is as follows.

When the first face information acquisition unit 21 transmits the first face information Pf1 extracted from the image (face image) of each user to the security management device 4, it transmits the image (face image)'s shooting time t1 together with its own camera information Py1 to the security management device 4 in a state in which it is associated with the first face information Pf1. When the control unit 42 of the security management device 4 acquires the first face information Pf1 in step S114B (acquisition process) of FIG. 4, it also acquires the camera information Py1 and shooting time t1 associated with the first face information Pf1. In this modified example, the shooting time t1 is used as the time when the first entry point Xs1 is passed when calculating the actual walking time Td of each user from the first entry point Xs1 to the passing point Xt. In addition, the camera information Py1 is used as information for identifying which point the first entry point Xs1 is when acquiring the distance Ld along the route from the first entry point Xs1 to the passing point Xt.

After that, when the control unit 42 transmits a set of information (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, first face information Pf1) to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB in step S115B (transmission process) of FIG. 4, it also transmits the camera information Py1 and shooting time t1 acquired in step S114B to the group management control device 5 in the set of information.

When the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB receives the above set of information (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, first face information Pf1, camera information Py1, and shooting time t1) from the security management device 4, the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 records the information in the information management data Dr in a mutually associated state (information recording process; see FIG. 10). This allows the control unit 52 to obtain the camera information Py1 and shooting time t1 as information necessary for call registration in the non-realtime registration process.

When the second face information acquisition unit 22 transmits the second face information Pf2 of each user extracted from the image to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB, it transmits the shooting time t2 of the image together with its own camera information Py2 to the group management control device 5 in a state in which the shooting time t2 is associated with the second face information Pf2. In this case, the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB receives a set of information including the shooting time t2 (second face information Pf2, camera information Py2, shooting time t2) from the second face information acquisition unit 22. In this modified example, the shooting time t2 is used as the time at which the user passed through the passing point Xt when calculating the actual walking time Td of each user from the first entry point Xs1 to the passing point Xt. Furthermore, the camera information Py2 is used as information for identifying the passing point Xt when acquiring the distance Ld along the route from the first entry point Xs1 to the passing point Xt, and when acquiring the distance Le along the route from the passing point Xt to the landing of the second elevator EvB. When the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 receives the set of information from the second face information acquisition unit 22, it starts a non-realtime registration process as a second call registration process. Hereinafter, as in the above embodiment, the set of information received from the second face information acquisition unit 22 is collectively referred to as "received information Pr2".

Figure 11 is a flowchart showing the non-realtime registration process executed in the second modified example. When the non-realtime registration process is started, the control unit 52 first searches for the first face information Pf1 recorded in the information management data Dr (see Figure 10) that matches the second face information Pf2 in the received information Pr2 (target face information Pft), and obtains the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft associated with the target face information Pft from the information management data Dr (step S211). At this time, the control unit 52 also obtains the camera information Py1 and the shooting time t1 associated with the target face information Pft.

Next, the control unit 52 uses the camera information Py1 and the shooting time t1 acquired in step S211 and the camera information Py2 and the shooting time t2 in the received information Pr2 to estimate a predicted walking time Te from the passing point Xt to the landing of the second elevator EvB (step S212).

Specifically, the control unit 52 first uses the shooting time t1 acquired in step S211 and the shooting time t2 in the received information Pr2 to calculate the elapsed time from the shooting time t1 to the shooting time t2 as the actual walking time Td (Td = t2 - t1; step S212x).

Next, the control unit 52 uses the camera information Py1 acquired in step S211 and the camera information Py2 in the received information Pr2 to acquire the distance Ld along the route from the first entry point Xs1 to the passing point Xt, and the distance Le along the route from the passing point Xt to the landing of the second elevator EvB (step S212y).

As an example, the control unit 52 uses the camera information Py1 acquired in step S211 to identify the first entry point Xs1 through which the user passed. The control unit 52 also uses the camera information Py2 in the received information Pr2 to identify the passing point Xt through which the user passed. Furthermore, the memory unit 51 stores beforehand platform information for identifying the point where the platform for the second elevator EvB is located, and the control unit 52 uses the platform information to identify the point where the platform for the second elevator EvB is located. The control unit 52 then acquires the distances Ld and Le based on the three identified points from map information or the like stored beforehand in the memory unit 51.

As another example, the memory unit 51 may store distance data in which, for each combination of camera information Py1 and Py2 and platform information, two distances Ld and Le between points identified by the information are associated with each combination. In this case, the control unit 52 can use the camera information Py1 acquired in step S211, the camera information Py2 in the received information Pr2, and the platform information stored in the memory unit 51 to acquire the distances Ld and Le associated with the combination of the information from the distance data.

After executing steps S212x and S212y, the control unit 52 uses the actual walking time Td obtained in step S212x and the distances Ld and Le obtained in step S212y to estimate a predicted walking time Te from the passing point Xt to the landing of the second elevator EvB (step S212z).

As an example, the control unit 52 uses the actual walking time Td acquired in step S212x and the distance Ld acquired in step S212y to calculate the walking speed Vd from the first entry point Xs1 to the passing point Xt by dividing the distance Ld by the actual walking time Td (Vd = Ld/Td). The control unit 52 then calculates the predicted value Te by dividing the distance Le acquired in step S212y by the walking speed Vd.

As another example, the control unit 52 may use the distances Ld and Le acquired in step S212y to calculate the ratio Rt of the distance Le to the distance Ld (Rt=Le/Ld). The control unit 52 may then calculate the predicted value Te by multiplying the actual walking time value Td acquired in step S212x by the ratio Rt. In other words, the control unit 52 can calculate the predicted value Te such that the ratio of the predicted value Te to the actual walking time value Td is the same as the ratio Rt.

After step S212, the control unit 52 performs call registration using the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft obtained in step S211, taking into account the predicted walking time Te estimated in step S212 (step S213).

According to the second modified example, for each of the first target users who uses the second elevator EvB, it is possible to estimate a predicted value Te of the walking time of that user from the passing point Xt to the landing of the second elevator EvB. Furthermore, when estimating the predicted value Te for each user, the actual walking time Td obtained immediately before for that user is used, so that it is possible to accurately obtain an appropriate value Te that reflects the state of that user at that time. As a result, it is possible to assign the optimal car to each of the first target users who uses the second elevator EvB.

[2-3] Third Modification In any of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, in the information display on the second display unit 32 in step S204B (see Figs. 7 and 11), identification information Pi of a user who should board the elevator car (which may be a user ID or a user name) may be displayed in association with the elevator car information Pk. In this case, the security management device 4 and the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB can execute the following control processing.

Specifically, in step S115B (transmission process; see FIG. 4), the control unit 42 of the security management device 4 transmits the identification information Pi received from the reading unit 11 together with the information required for call registration in the non-realtime registration process (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, first face information Pf1, etc.) to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB, which is the registration unit Jt. At this time, the control unit 42 may obtain the user ID, user name, etc. associated with the identification information Pi and transmit it to the group management control device 5.

Then, in the information recording process, the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 records the identification information Pi received from the security management device 4 in the information management data Dr together with other information (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft) (see FIG. 12(A)). Then, in step S201B (see FIG. 7) or S211 (see FIG. 11), the control unit 52 acquires the identification information Pi from the information management data Dr together with other information (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft). Then, when the control unit 52 causes the second display unit 32 to execute information display in step S204B (see FIG. 7, FIG. 11), it causes the identification information Pi to be displayed in association with the car information Pk (see FIG. 12(B)). At this time, the destination floor Ft may also be displayed in association with the car information Pk together with the identification information Pi on the second display unit 32.

According to the third modified example, the identification information Pi of each user using the second elevator EvB is displayed on the second display unit 32 in association with the car information Pk of the car assigned to that user, so that the user can easily recognize which car information Pk displayed on the second display unit 32 is his/her own information.

[2-4] Fourth Modification The control systems described in the embodiments and modifications are not limited to elevator configurations in which only one entry point Xs is provided on a specific floor as in the example of Figure 2, but can also be applied to elevator configurations in which multiple entry points Xs are provided on a specific floor.

Figure 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an elevator configuration at a specific floor in the fourth modified example. In the example of Figure 13, two first entry points Xs1 are provided at a specific floor, and two routes from these first entry points Xs1 to the landing for the second elevator EvB merge into one midway to the landing for the first elevator EvA, and continue as one from there to the landing for the second elevator EvB. The above-mentioned control system can also be applied as is to such an elevator configuration.

Figure 14 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of the configuration of elevators at a specific floor in the fourth modified example. In the example of Figure 14, two entry points Xs are provided at a specific floor, one of which is the first entry point Xs1 described above, and the other is a second entry point Xs2 provided separately from the first entry point Xs1. Here, the second entry point Xs2 is a point that has the following positional relationship with the landings of the first elevator EvA and the second elevator EvB. The positional relationship is such that the landing of the second elevator EvB is provided midway on the path from the second entry point Xs2 to the landing of the first elevator EvA. In other words, the landing of the first elevator EvA is far from the second entry point Xs2, and the landing of the second elevator EvB is close to the second entry point Xs2. In this way, the positional relationship between the second entry point Xs2 and the platform is completely opposite to the positional relationship between the first entry point Xs1 and the platform.

When such a first entry point Xs1 and second entry point Xs2 are provided on a specific floor, the route (R1) from the first entry point Xs1 to the landing of the second elevator EvB and the route (R2) from the second entry point Xs2 to the landing of the first elevator EvA will overlap with each other in the portions between the landing of the first elevator EvA and the landing of the second elevator EvB.

In this modified example, a second face information acquisition unit 22 and a second display unit 32 are provided for each route, and both are installed in the area between the landing of the first elevator EvA and the landing of the second elevator EvB (the area where the two routes overlap).

Figure 16 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an elevator to which a control system according to the fourth modified example is applied. As shown in this diagram, the second face information Pf2 acquired by the second face information acquisition unit 22 for the route (R1) is transmitted to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB, which is far from the first entry point Xs1. On the other hand, the second face information Pf2 acquired by the second face information acquisition unit 22 for the route (R2) is transmitted to the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA, which is far from the second entry point Xs2.

In this modified example, the information management data Dr and the second device management data Dq2 are also stored in the memory unit 51 of the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA. In the second device management data Dq2, the camera information Py2 of the second face information acquisition unit 22 and the monitor information Pz2 of the second display unit 32 are recorded in a mutually associated state as information for linking and managing the second face information acquisition unit 22 and the second display unit 32 installed on the same route for each route (see FIG. 15(A)).

Furthermore, in the third correspondence management data Dp3, reader information Pxg ("Rs2***01" to "Rs2***03") of the reading unit 11 installed at the second entry point Xs2 is further recorded, and processing information Pn ("immediate" or "non-immediate") is associated with each combination (Pxg, Pm) of the reader information Pxg and responsible information Pm ("EvA", "EvB") (see Figure 15 (B)). Specifically, when the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB, which is closer to the second entrance point Xs2, is to execute call registration for a user (second target user) who has passed through the second entrance point Xs2, the group management control device 5 is made to execute an immediate registration process as the second call registration process, and when the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA, which is farther from the second entrance point Xs2, is to execute call registration for a user (second target user), the group management control device 5 is made to execute a non-immediate registration process as the first call registration process (in other words, to execute the opposite process to that for call registration for a user (first target user) who has passed through the first entrance point Xs1). The processing information Pn is associated as follows:

For the reader information Pxg ("Rs1***01" to "Rs1***03") of the reading unit 11 installed at the first entry point Xs1, the combination (Pxg, Pm = "EvA") is associated with "immediate" and the combination (Pxg, Pm = "EvB") is associated with "non-immediate", while for the reader information Pxg ("Rs2***01" to "Rs2***03") of the reading unit 11 installed at the second entry point Xs2, the combination (Pxg, Pm = "EvA") is associated with "non-immediate" and the combination (Pxg, Pm = "EvB") is associated with "immediate".

Furthermore, in the first device management data Dq1, the reader information Pxg ("Rs2***01" to "Rs2***03") of the reading unit 11 installed at the second entry point Xs2 is further recorded, and various information (such as the installation floor Fg) is recorded in association with the reader information Pxg (see FIG. 5(C)).

Then, the security management device 4 executes the following control process using the third correspondence management data Dp3 and the first device management data Dq1.

Figure 17 is a flowchart showing the control process executed by the security management device 4 in the fourth modified example. In this modified example, two entry points Xs (first entry point Xs1, second entry point Xs2) are provided as entry points Xs, which are located in opposite positions relative to the boarding area. Therefore, regardless of whether "group management A" or "group management B" is selected as the registration department Jt in step S112, in steps S113A and S113B, "immediate" or "non-immediate" may be selected as the processing information Pn.

Specifically, in step S113A (responsibility information Pm = "EvA". Registration responsibility Jt = "Group management A"), the control unit 42 uses the third correspondence management data Dp3 to select "immediate" as the processing information Pn if the reader information Pxg in the received information Pr0 is the reader information Pxg of the reading unit 11 installed at the first entry point Xs1 (any of "Rs1***01" to "Rs1***03"), and on the other hand, to select "non-immediate" as the processing information Pn if the reader information Pxg is the reader information Pxg of the reading unit 11 installed at the second entry point Xs2 (any of "Rs2***01" to "Rs2***03").

If "non-immediate" is selected in step S113A, the control unit 42 executes an acquisition process similar to step S114B in FIG. 4 (step S131A). After that, the control unit 42 transmits the information acquired in step S131A (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, first face information Pf1) in a mutually associated state to the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA, which is the registration unit Jt (transmission process; step S132A). After executing step S132A, the control unit 42 ends the control process.

When the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA receives the departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, and first face information Pf1 from the security management device 4 as a set of information required for call registration, it executes information recording processing as pre-processing of the second call registration processing (non-realtime registration processing). Then, when the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA receives a set of information (second face information Pf2, camera information Py2) from the second face information acquisition unit 22 for the route (R2), it executes call registration in the non-realtime registration processing for the second target user (see FIG. 7). At this time, the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA may estimate a predicted value Te of the walking time from the passing point Xt to the landing of the first elevator EvA, and execute call registration taking into account the predicted value Te, as in the second modified example.

In step S113B (responsibility information Pm = "EvB". Registration responsibility Jt = "Group management B"), the control unit 42 uses the third correspondence management data Dp3 to select "non-immediate" as the processing information Pn if the reader information Pxg in the received information Pr0 is the reader information Pxg of the reading unit 11 installed at the first entry point Xs1 (any of "Rs1***01" to "Rs1***03"), and on the other hand, to select "immediate" as the processing information Pn if the reader information Pxg is the reader information Pxg of the reading unit 11 installed at the second entry point Xs2 (any of "Rs2***01" to "Rs2***03").

If "Immediate" is selected in step S113B, the control unit 42 executes the same acquisition process as step S114A in FIG. 4 (step S131B). After that, the control unit 42 transmits the information acquired in step S131B (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, monitor information Pz1) in a mutually associated state to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB, which is the registration unit Jt (transmission process; step S132B). After executing step S132B, the control unit 42 ends the control process.

When the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB receives the departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, and monitor information Pz1 from the security management device 4 as a set of information required for call registration, it executes an immediate registration process.

According to such a control system and control process, when the distance relationship between the landing of the first elevator EvA and the landing of the second elevator EvB from the second entry point Xs2 is the opposite to the distance relationship between the landing of the first elevator EvA and the landing of the second elevator EvB from the second entry point Xs2 from the first entry point Xs1, for each user (second target user) who has passed through the second entry point Xs2, call registration is performed immediately for the second target user who uses the second elevator EvB close to the second entry point Xs2, while call registration is not performed immediately for the second target user who uses the first elevator EvA far from the second entry point Xs2, but is performed after the second target user passes through the passing point Xt. In other words, for the second target user who uses the first elevator EvA far from the second entry point Xs2, call registration can be performed after approaching the landing of the first elevator EvA. Therefore, even if the second entry point Xs2 is far from the landing of the first elevator EvA and the second target users need time to move there, each second target user who uses the first elevator EvA can board the car assigned to him/her in the call registration without missing it.

[2-5] Fifth Modification In any of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, the overall configuration of the elevator can be appropriately modified to one that does not require authentication of the identification information Pi by the security management device 4. In such a configuration, in order to obtain the destination floor Ft (default floor Ftd) from each user, the destination floor Ft may be recorded in place of the identification information Pi on a recording medium Q carried by the user. In this case, the reading unit 11 reads the destination floor Ft from the recording medium Q in place of the identification information Pi, and transmits it to the security management device 4 together with its own reader information Pxg.

A terminal device such as a smartphone may also be used as the recording medium Q. In this case, a code (such as a QR code (registered trademark) or a two-dimensional barcode) containing information about the destination floor Ft can be displayed on the screen of the terminal device, and the code can be read by the reading unit 11.

According to the fifth modified example, the security management device 4 does not require the first correspondence management data Dp1, and can use the destination floor Ft received from the reading unit 11 as is for the selection process (step S111 in FIG. 4) and the transmission process (steps S115A and S115B in FIG. 4).

[2-6] Sixth Modification In any of the above-described embodiments and modifications, when a terminal device such as a smartphone is used as the recording medium Q, the first face information Pf1 may be acquired by the terminal device instead of the first face information acquisition unit 21. In this case, the terminal device and the reading unit 11 can execute the following process.

Specifically, an application program that allows the terminal device to acquire facial information of a user using a camera equipped in the terminal device is installed in the terminal device possessed by each user. Then, when the terminal device acquires facial information from a user, it generates a code that includes the first facial information Pf1 and other information (identification information Pi or destination floor Ft) using the facial information as first facial information Pf1. The code is then read by the reading unit 11, and the first facial information Pf1 is transmitted to the security management device 4 together with the other information. Note that since the code includes the first facial information Pf1, which is personal information, the code may be encrypted when it is generated. As an example, SQRC (registered trademark) can be used as such a code.

According to the sixth modified example, it becomes possible to acquire the first face information Pf1 without using the first face information acquisition unit 21. Furthermore, the security management device 4 can manage the first face information Pf1 and other information (identification information Pi or destination floor Ft) received from the reading unit 11 in a state in which they are directly associated with each other. Therefore, the first face information Pf1 and the destination floor Ft of each user can be associated with each other without using the camera information Py1 in the first device management data Dq1. Therefore, the first face information acquisition unit 21 becomes unnecessary (see FIG. 18. FIG. 18 shows a case in which the other information is identification information Pi), and it becomes possible to omit the camera information Py1 from the first device management data Dq1 (see FIG. 19).

When the configuration of this modified example is applied to the second modified example, instead of the camera information Py1 and the shooting time t1, the reader information Pxg of the reading unit 11 is used as information for identifying the location of the first entry point Xs1, and the reading time of the first face information Pf1 by the reading unit 11 is used as the time of passing through the first entry point Xs1, making it possible to calculate the actual measurement value Td and obtain the distance Ld.

[2-7] Seventh Modification In any of the above-described embodiments and modifications, when a terminal device such as a smartphone is used as the recording medium Q, the car information Pk may be displayed on the terminal device instead of the second display unit 32. In this case, each unit of the terminal device or the like can execute the following processing.

Specifically, the terminal device generates a code including the IP address of the terminal device (which may be an email address that can be received by the terminal device) and other information. Here, the other information includes at least one of the identification information Pi, the destination floor Ft, and the first face information Pf1. The code is then read by the reading unit 11, and the IP address is transmitted to the security management device 4 together with the other information.

When the control unit 42 of the security management device 4 receives information from the reading unit 11 and starts the control process (see FIG. 4), in step S115B (transmission process), it also transmits the IP address received from the reading unit 11 to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB as one piece of information required for call registration in the non-realtime registration process.

When the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 receives information from the security management device 4 and starts the information recording process, it records the IP address received from the security management device 4 together with other information (departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, first face information Pf1, etc.) in the information management data Dr (see FIG. 20). After that, when notifying the user of the car information Pk of the car assigned in the call registration in the non-realtime registration process (see FIG. 7 and FIG. 11), the control unit 52 uses the IP address recorded in the information management data Dr to cause the terminal device identified by the IP address to display the car information Pk, instead of displaying the information on the second display unit 32 in step S204B.

Furthermore, after the control unit 52 causes the terminal device to display the car information Pk of the car, when the car departs from a specific floor, it transmits a departure signal to the terminal device. Here, the departure signal is a signal for informing the terminal device that the car identified by the displayed car information Pk has departed. Then, when the terminal device receives the departure signal, it ends the display of the car information Pk.

According to the seventh modified example, the car information Pk of the car that each user of the second elevator EvB should board is displayed on the user's terminal device, so the user can easily recognize which car they should board. In addition, if the car information Pk displayed on the user's terminal device disappears before the user boards the car, the user can realize from the disappearance of the display that they have missed the car they were supposed to board.

[2-8] Eighth Modification In the non-realtime registration process of the first modification described above (see FIG. 11), the control unit 52 of the group management control device 5 may wait for the elapse of the predicted walking time Te, instead of performing the call registration while taking into account the predicted walking time Te estimated in step S212, before executing the call registration and displaying the call registration information on a terminal device such as a smartphone carried by the user. Here, the seventh modification can be applied to the process of displaying the call registration information on the terminal device.

Figure 21 is a flowchart showing the non-realtime registration process executed in the eighth modified example. In this modified example, the control unit 52 first searches for the first face information Pf1 recorded in the information management data Dr (see Figure 22) that matches the second face information Pf2 in the received information Pr2 (target face information Pft), and obtains the departure floor Fs and destination floor Ft associated with the target face information Pft from the information management data Dr (step S221). At this time, the control unit 52 also obtains the camera information Py1, shooting time t1, and IP address associated with the target face information Pft.

Next, the control unit 52 uses the camera information Py1 and the shooting time t1 acquired in step S221, and the camera information Py2 and the shooting time t2 in the received information Pr2 to estimate a predicted walking time Te from the passing point Xt to the boarding area in a manner similar to that of step S212 in FIG. 11 (step S222).

After step S222, the control unit 52 does not immediately execute call registration, but waits for the time of the predicted value Te estimated in step S222 to elapse before executing call registration.

Specifically, after step S222, the control unit 52 determines whether the elapsed time Tx (=tx-t2) from the shooting time t2 to the current time tx in the received information Pr2 reaches the predicted value Te (step S223). The control unit 52 then repeats step S223 until it can determine in step S223 that it has "reached (Yes)". Thereafter, if it can determine in step S223 that it has "reached (Yes)", the control unit 52 executes the call registration (step S224).

After step S224, the control unit 52 causes the terminal device identified by the IP address acquired in step S221 to display the car information Pk of the car assigned in the call registration in step S224 (step S225).

According to the eighth modified example, after each user passes through the passing point Xt, call registration is performed after the time of the predicted value Te estimated for that user has elapsed, so that call registration for each user is likely to be performed when that user is as close as possible to the boarding area. This makes it possible to more efficiently prevent users from missing their boarding.

[2-9] Ninth Modification The above-mentioned elevator configuration may include a destination floor registration device 6 installed at the landing of each floor. The security management device 4 may also execute the above-mentioned selection process when a destination floor Ft is registered in the destination floor registration device 6. Specifically, when each user registers a destination floor Ft in the destination floor registration device 6, the security management device 4 may select the group management control device 5 of either the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB as the registration section Jt in charge of executing call registration for that user based on the destination floor Ft (selection process). This will be explained in more detail below.

Figure 23 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overall configuration of an elevator to which a control system according to the ninth modified example is applied. Note that in Figure 23, the regulating device 1, information acquisition device 2, and display device 3 installed on a specific floor are omitted. As shown in this figure, the destination floor registration device 6 includes a reading unit 61 that reads information from a recording medium Q carried by a user, and a registration unit 62 used to manually register the destination floor Ft. The reading unit 61 is composed of a reading device such as a card reader, and the registration unit 62 is composed of an input device such as a touch panel. In addition, the reading unit 61 and the registration unit 62 are set with reader information Pxh and panel information Pwh to distinguish them from other devices, respectively.

When the reading unit 61 reads the identification information Pi from each user's recording medium Q, it transmits the identification information Pi to the security management device 4. At this time, the reading unit 61 transmits its own reader information Pxh together with the identification information Pi to the security management device 4 so that the security management device 4 recognizes which device has transmitted the identification information Pi.

The registration unit 62 displays selectable stop floors that can be guided to and disembarkation permission floors Fte (described later) on the screen, and when a stop floor is selected by the user, transmits that stop floor to the security management device 4 as the destination floor Ft for that user. At this time, the registration unit 62 transmits its own panel information Pwh to the security management device 4 along with the destination floor Ft so that the security management device 4 knows which device transmitted the destination floor Ft.

In the first correspondence management data Dp1 stored in the memory unit 41 of the security management device 4, the identification information Pi of each user is recorded in a state in which it is associated with the default floor Ftd of the user as well as the disembarking permission floor Fte of the user (the destination floor Ft at which the user is permitted to disembark) (see FIG. 24(A)). In addition, the memory unit 41 further stores third device management data Dq3. Here, the third device management data Dq3 is data for managing, for each destination floor registration device 6, multiple pieces of information related to the destination floor registration device 6 in association with each other.

Figure 24 (B) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the third device management data Dq3 used in the ninth modified example. As shown in this figure, the third device management data Dq3 records, for each destination floor registration device 6, the reader information Pxh of the reading unit 61 provided in that destination floor registration device 6 in association with the installation floor Fh of the reading unit 61 and the panel information Pwh of the registration unit 62 provided in that destination floor registration device 6.

Here, the installation floor Fh is the floor where the reading unit 61 identified by the reader information Pxh is installed, in other words, the floor where the destination floor registration device 6 equipped with the reading unit 61 is installed. In this embodiment, when a user inputs the destination floor Ft in the destination floor registration device 6 to use the elevator, the user boards the elevator car from the floor Fh where the destination floor registration device 6 is installed. Therefore, the installation floor Fh of the reading unit 61 (i.e., the installation floor Fh of the destination floor registration device 6) is used as the departure floor Fs (boarding floor) of the user when the user inputs the destination floor Ft in the destination floor registration device 6 to use the elevator.

In this configuration, the methods of registering the destination floor Ft in the destination floor registration device 6 can be: a method of registering the destination floor Ft by simply manually inputting it into the registration unit 62 (first registration method); a method of displaying the disembarkation permission floors Fte selectably on the registration unit 62 by holding a recording medium Q over the reading unit 61 without inputting the destination floor Ft into the registration unit 62, and then selecting and registering one of them as the destination floor Ft (second registration method); and a method of selecting the destination floor Ft in the registration unit 62 and then holding the recording medium Q over the reading unit 61 to register it (third registration method). The control processes that enable registration using these registration methods will be explained in order below.

Figure 25 is a flowchart showing the control process executed by the security management device 4 to enable registration using the first registration method in the ninth modified example. This control process is initiated in the following cases. That is, when the security management device 4 receives the destination floor Ft and panel information Pwh from the destination floor registration device 6 as a set of information for each user who has registered the destination floor Ft in the registration unit 62 only by manual input (including selection). In addition, this control process is executed each time the security management device 4 receives the set of information. Hereinafter, the set of information (destination floor Ft, panel information Pwh) is collectively referred to as "received information Pr4".

When the above control process is started, the control unit 42 selects either the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB as the registration unit Jt responsible for executing the call registration for the user based on the destination floor Ft in the received information Pr6 in order to determine whether the user is using the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB (selection process, step S401).

Specifically, the control unit 42 extracts the responsible information Pm ("EvA" or "EvB") associated with the destination floor Ft in the received information Pr4 from the second correspondence management data Dp2, and sets the group management control device 5 of the elevator (first elevator EvA or second elevator EvB) identified by the responsible information Pm as the registration responsible unit Jt.

After that, in either case where the control unit 42 selects the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA as the registration unit Jt in step S401 (Jt1 = "group management A") or where the control unit 42 selects the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB as the registration unit Jt in step S401 (Jt1 = "group management B"), the control unit 42 acquires the departure floor Fs (boarding floor) of the user in addition to the destination floor Ft and panel information Pwh in the received information Pr4 as information necessary for call registration for the user (steps S402A and S402B). More specifically, the control unit 42 uses the reader information Pxh in the received information Pr4 to acquire the installation floor Fh associated with the reader information Pxh from the third device management data Dq3, and sets the installation floor Fh as the departure floor Fs (Fs = Fh).

After step S402A, the control unit 42 transmits the information acquired in step S402A (start floor Fs, destination floor Ft, panel information Pwh) in a mutually associated state to the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA, which is the registration unit Jt (transmission process; step S403A). After executing step S403A, the control unit 42 ends the control process.

After step S402B, the control unit 42 transmits the information acquired in step S402B (start floor Fs, destination floor Ft, panel information Pwh) in a mutually associated state to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB, which is the registration unit Jt (transmission process; step S403B). After executing step S403B, the control unit 42 ends the control process.

For either the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB, when the group management control device 5 receives the departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, and panel information Pwh from the security management device 4 as the set of information required for call registration, it immediately performs call registration and displays the call registration information (car information Pk) on the registration unit 62 identified by the panel information Pwh. This allows the user to recognize which car they should board by checking the car information Pk displayed on the registration unit 62.

Figure 26 is a flowchart showing the control process executed by the security management device 4 to enable registration using the second registration method in the ninth modified example. This control process is initiated in the following case. This case is when the security management device 4 receives identification information Pi and reader information Pxh from the destination floor registration device 6 as a set of information for each user who holds the recording medium Q over the reading unit 61 without inputting the destination floor Ft in the registration unit 62. In addition, this control process is executed each time the security management device 4 receives the set of information. Hereinafter, the set of information (identification information Pi, reader information Pxh) is collectively referred to as "received information Pr5".

When the control process is started, the control unit 42 first uses the identification information Pi in the received information Pr5 to obtain the disembarkation permitted floors Fte at which the user is permitted to disembark (step S501). Specifically, the control unit 42 obtains all disembarkation permitted floors Fte associated with the identification information Pi in the received information Pr5 from the first correspondence management data Dp1.

Then, the control unit 42 transmits the disembarking permission floor Fte obtained in step S501 to the registration unit 62 of the destination floor registration device 6, which is equipped with the reading unit 61 over which the user holds the recording medium Q, via the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA, so that the user can select one of the disembarking permission floors Fte obtained in step S501 in the registration unit 62 (step S502). Specifically, the control unit 42 uses the reader information Pxh in the received information Pr5 to extract the panel information Pwh associated with the reader information Pxh in the third device management data Dq3, and identifies the registration unit 62 using the panel information Pwh. Then, the control unit 42 transmits the registration unit 62 and the disembarking permission floor Fte obtained in step S501 to the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA. When the group management control device 5 receives this information, the group management control device 5 transfers the disembarkation permitted floor Fte to the registration unit 62 specified by the received panel information Pwh. As a result, the disembarkation permitted floors Fte are displayed selectably in the registration unit 62, and the user can select one destination floor Ft that he or she wishes to go to at that time from the disembarkation permitted floors Fte. After executing step S502, the control unit 42 ends the control process. Note that in step S502, the disembarkation permitted floor Fte may be transmitted to the registration unit 62 via the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB.

After that, when the user selects one destination floor Ft from the disembarkation permission floors Fte in the registration unit 62, the destination floor Ft is transmitted from the registration unit 62 to the security management device 4, and the control process of FIG. 25 is started in the security management device 4.

Figure 27 is a flowchart showing the control process executed by the security management device 4 to enable registration using the third registration method in the ninth modified example. This control process is initiated in the following case. This case is when the security management device 4 receives the destination floor Ft, panel information Pwh, identification information Pi, and reader information Pxh from the destination floor registration device 6 as a set of information for each user who holds the recording medium Q over the reading unit 61 after selecting the destination floor Ft in the registration unit 62. In addition, this control process is executed each time the security management device 4 receives the set of information. Hereinafter, the set of information (destination floor Ft, panel information Pwh, identification information Pi, and reader information Pxh) is collectively referred to as "received information Pr6."

When the above control process is started, the control unit 42 first uses the identification information Pi in the received information Pr6 to refer to the disembarkation permission floors Fte associated with the identification information Pi in the first correspondence management data Dp1 to determine whether the destination floor Ft in the received information Pr6 (the destination floor Ft input by the user to the registration unit 62) is a destination floor Ft at which the user is permitted to disembark (step S601).

If the control unit 42 is able to find a match in step S601 (Yes), it selects the group management control device 5 of either the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB as the registration unit Jt responsible for executing the call registration for the user based on the destination floor Ft in the received information Pr6 in order to determine whether the user is using the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB (selection process, step S602).

Specifically, the control unit 42 extracts the responsible information Pm ("EvA" or "EvB") associated with the destination floor Ft in the received information Pr6 from the second correspondence management data Dp2, and sets the group management control device 5 of the elevator (first elevator EvA or second elevator EvB) identified by the responsible information Pm as the registration responsible unit Jt.

After that, in either case where the control unit 42 selects the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA as the registration unit Jt in step S602 (Jt1 = "group management A") or where the control unit 42 selects the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB as the registration unit Jt in step S602 (Jt1 = "group management B"), the control unit 42 acquires the departure floor Fs (boarding floor) of the user in addition to the destination floor Ft and panel information Pwh in the received information Pr6 as information necessary for call registration for the user (steps S603A and S603B). More specifically, the control unit 42 uses the reader information Pxh in the received information Pr6 to acquire the installation floor Fh associated with the reader information Pxh from the third device management data Dq3, and sets the installation floor Fh as the departure floor Fs (Fs = Fh).

After step S603A, the control unit 42 transmits the information acquired in step S603A (start floor Fs, destination floor Ft, panel information Pwh) in a mutually associated state to the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA, which is the registration unit Jt (transmission process; step S604A). After executing step S604A, the control unit 42 ends the control process.

After step S603B, the control unit 42 transmits the information acquired in step S603B (start floor Fs, destination floor Ft, panel information Pwh) in a mutually associated state to the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB, which is the registration unit Jt (transmission process; step S604B). After executing step S604B, the control unit 42 ends the control process.

For either the first elevator EvA or the second elevator EvB, when the group management control device 5 receives the departure floor Fs, destination floor Ft, and panel information Pwh from the security management device 4 as the set of information required for call registration, it immediately performs call registration and displays the call registration information (car information Pk) on the registration unit 62 identified by the panel information Pwh. This allows the user to recognize which car they should board by checking the car information Pk displayed on the registration unit 62.

On the other hand, if the control unit 42 cannot find a match in step S601 (No), in order to notify the user that the registration of the destination floor Ft has failed, the control unit 42 transmits a failure notification command Sy to the registration unit 62 used by the user to input the destination floor Ft via the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA to execute a display to notify the user of the failure to register (step S610). Specifically, the control unit 42 uses the panel information Pwh in the received information Pr6 to transmit the panel information Pwh and the failure notification command Sy to the group management control device 5 of the first elevator EvA. When the group management control device 5 receives this information, the group management control device 5 transfers the failure notification command Sy to the registration unit 62 identified by the received panel information Pwh. As a result, the registration unit 62 executes a display to notify the user of the failure to register. After executing step S610, the control unit 42 ends the control process. In addition, in step S610, the failure notification command Sy may be transmitted to the registration unit 62 via the group management control device 5 of the second elevator EvB.

[2-10] Other Modifications In the configurations including the first face information acquisition unit 21 among the above-described embodiments and modifications, a unit having a function of measuring body temperature may be used as the first face information acquisition unit 21. With this configuration, more users will try to bring their faces closer to the first face information acquisition unit 21 in order to measure their body temperature. Therefore, the first face information acquisition unit 21 can reliably acquire the first face information Pf1 from each user.

In any of the above-described embodiments and variations, a separate device equipped with a reading unit 11 (such as a destination floor registration device, not limited to devices with gates) may be installed at the entry point Xs (first entry point Xs1, second entry point Xs2) instead of the regulating device 1. In this case, the first face information acquisition unit 21 and the first display unit 31 are provided in association with each separate device.

The above-mentioned embodiments and the description of the modifications should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not by the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

Furthermore, from the above-mentioned embodiments and variations, the subject of the invention is not limited to the elevator control system, but may also include devices constituting the control system, control processes and programs executed by the control system, etc., which may be extracted individually, or some of these may be extracted partially. Also, some or all of the configuration of an elevator to which a control system is applied may be extracted as the subject of the invention.

1 Restriction device 2 Information acquisition device 3 Display device 4 Security management device 5 Group management control device 6 Destination floor registration device Q Recording medium 11 Reading unit 12 Opening/closing control unit 21 First face information acquisition unit 22 Second face information acquisition unit 31 First display unit 32 Second display unit 41, 51 Memory unit 42, 52 Control unit 61 Reading unit 62 Registration unit Dr Information management data Fg, Fh Installation floor Fs Departure floor Ft Destination floor Jt Registration responsible unit Ld, Le Distance Pi Identification information Pk Cage information Pm Responsible information Pn Processing information Rt Ratio Sx, Sy Failure notification command Td Actual measurement value Te Predicted value Tx Elapsed time Vd Walking speed Xs Entry point Xt Passing points t1, t2 Shooting time tx Current time 421 Authentication processing unit 422 Selection processing unit 423 Acquisition processing unit 424 Transmission processing unit 521 First call registration processing unit 522 Second call registration processing unit 523 Information recording processing unit Dp1 First correspondence management data Dp2 Second correspondence management data Dp3 Third correspondence management data Dq1 First device management data Dq2 Second device management data Dq3 Third device management data EvA First elevator EvB Second elevator Ftd Default floor Fte Disembarkation permitted floor Pf1 First face information Pf2 Second face information Pft Target face information Pr0, Pr1, Pr2, Pr3 Received information Pr4, Pr5, Pr6 Received information Pwg Gate information Pwh Panel information Pxg, Pxh Reader information Py1, Py2 Camera information Pyt Target camera information Pz1, Pz2 Monitor information Sg1 Gate open command Sg2 Gate close command Xs1 First entry point Xs2 Second entry point

Claims (6)

a control system applicable to an elevator configuration including a first elevator and a second elevator, a first entry point through which a user passes to reach a landing of the first elevator at a specific floor, and the landing of the first elevator is provided midway along a path from the first entry point to the landing of the second elevator,
A first call registration processing unit that performs call registration in the first elevator;
A second call registration processing unit that performs call registration in the second elevator;
a first face information acquisition unit that acquires face information of each user who passes through the first entrance point as first face information;
A destination floor acquisition unit that acquires a destination floor of each user who has passed through the first entrance point;
a second face information acquisition unit that acquires, at a passing point on the route from the landing of the first elevator to the landing of the second elevator, face information of each user who has passed through the passing point as second face information;
a selection processing unit that selects, based on a destination floor of the first target user acquired by the destination floor acquisition unit, one of the first call registration processing unit and the second call registration processing unit as a registration unit in charge of executing the call registration for the first target user, for each user who has passed through the first entrance point as a first target user;
Equipped with
When the first call registration processing unit is selected as the registration unit for the first target user, the first call registration processing unit performs a call registration for the first target user in the first elevator using a destination floor of the first target user;
The second call registration processing unit,
When the registration unit is selected as the registration unit for the first target user, the first face information acquisition unit records the first face information acquired for the first target user in information management data in a state where the first face information acquisition unit is associated with the destination floor of the first target user;
Then, when the second face information acquisition unit acquires the second face information of each user who has passed through the passing point, the elevator control system sets the first face information recorded in the information management data that matches the second face information as target face information, and performs a call registration for the user identified by the target face information in the second elevator using the destination floor that corresponds to the target face information in the information management data. The elevator control system of claim 1, wherein when performing call registration in the second elevator for a user identified by the target face information, the second call registration processing unit acquires an actual measurement value of the walking time of the user from the first entry point to the passing point, estimates a predicted value of the walking time of the user from the passing point to the landing of the second elevator based on the actual measurement value, and performs the call registration taking into account the predicted value. The elevator control system of claim 1, wherein when performing call registration in the second elevator for a user identified by the target face information, the second call registration processing unit acquires an actual measurement value of the walking time of the user from the first entry point to the passing point, estimates a predicted value of the walking time of the user from the passing point to the landing of the second elevator based on the actual measurement value, and waits for the predicted time to elapse before performing the call registration. 3. The control system according to claim 1 or 2, which is applicable to a configuration of the elevators in such a positional relationship that a second entry point through which a user passes to go to a landing of a first elevator and a landing of a second elevator is provided separately from the first entry point at the specific floor, and the landing of the second elevator is provided midway on a path from the second entry point to the landing of the first elevator,
The selection processing unit, for each user who has passed through the second entrance point, selects, based on the destination floor of the second target user acquired by the destination floor acquisition unit, one of the first call registration processing unit and the second call registration processing unit as a registration unit in charge of executing the call registration for the second target user, with the user as a second target user, and
The first call registration processing unit,
When the registration section is selected as the registration section for the second target user, the first face information acquisition section records the first face information acquired for the second target user in information management data separate from the information management data in a state where the first face information acquisition section is associated with the destination floor of the second target user,
Then, when the second face information acquisition unit acquires the second face information of each user who has passed through the passing point, the first face information recorded in the other information management data that matches the second face information is set as target face information, and a call registration is performed in the first elevator for the user identified by the target face information using the destination floor that is associated with the target face information in the other information management data;
An elevator control system as described in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the second call registration processing unit is selected as the registration unit for the second target user, it performs call registration for the second target user in the second elevator using the destination floor of the second target user. The elevator control system of claim 4, wherein when performing call registration in the first elevator for a user identified by the target face information, the first call registration processing unit acquires an actual measurement value of the walking time of the user from the second entry point to the passing point, estimates a predicted value of the walking time of the user from the passing point to the landing of the first elevator based on the actual measurement value, and performs the call registration taking into account the predicted value. The elevator control system of claim 4, wherein when performing call registration in the first elevator for a user identified by the target face information, the first call registration processing unit acquires an actual measurement value of the walking time of the user from the second entry point to the passing point, estimates a predicted value of the walking time of the user from the passing point to the landing of the first elevator based on the actual measurement value, and waits for the predicted time to elapse before performing the call registration.

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