JP7513172B1 - Elevator Systems - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an elevator system that can reliably prevent destination registration due to erroneous detection in a configuration equipped with a contactless destination floor registration device that allows a user to register destinations by contactless operation. [Solution] The elevator system according to the present disclosure comprises a plurality of contactless destination floor registration devices that are provided at a plurality of locations in the elevator car and allow a destination to be specified by contactless operation, a congestion level detection device that detects the congestion level in the car, and a control unit that disables contactless operation to the contactless destination floor registration device according to the congestion level detected by the congestion level detection device. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

This disclosure relates to elevator systems.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses a destination registration device that receives operations by elevator passengers and registers a destination floor, and includes a determination unit that determines the degree of congestion in the elevator car, an operation detection unit that detects the operation of specifying a destination floor in a non-contact manner, a threshold change unit that changes a distance threshold for the non-contact detection according to the degree of congestion, and a registration unit that registers the destination floor when a detection result that satisfies the distance threshold is obtained.

International Publication No. 2022/064658

When the elevator is crowded, changing the distance threshold cannot completely prevent false positives, and false positives still occur.

The present disclosure has been made to solve the problems described above. The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide an elevator system that is equipped with a contactless destination floor registration device that allows users to register destinations through contactless operations, and that can reliably prevent destination registration due to erroneous detection.

The elevator system of the present disclosure comprises a plurality of non-contact destination floor registration devices provided at multiple locations within the elevator car and allowing the destination to be specified by contactless operation, a congestion level detection device that detects the level of congestion within the car, a control unit that disables contactless operation to the non- contact destination floor registration devices depending on the level of congestion detected by the congestion level detection device, and an alarm means that alerts passengers to clear space in front of the non-contact destination floor registration devices on the sleeve wall of the car when contactless operation is disabled at all of the plurality of non-contact destination floor registration devices .

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an elevator system that can reliably prevent destination registration due to erroneous detection in a configuration equipped with a contactless destination floor registration device that allows the user to register destinations through a contactless operation.

1 is a block diagram showing an elevator system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by a destination floor control device. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by an elevator control device. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing the functions of an in-car control device, a display control device, a voice control device, a destination floor control device, an on-car control device, and an elevator control device in embodiment 1.

The following describes the embodiments with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, common or corresponding elements are given the same reference numerals, and the description is simplified or omitted. The configurations shown in the embodiments below are examples of the technical ideas related to this disclosure, and may be combined with other known technologies, or multiple technical ideas described in this disclosure may be combined. In addition, it is also possible to omit or modify part of the configuration without departing from the gist of this disclosure.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an elevator system according to a first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a display 2, a speaker 3, and a button 4 are provided inside an elevator car 1. The display 2 is a display that can be seen by passengers in the car 1. The display 2 is connected to a display control device 5. The display control device 5 is connected to an in-car control device 6. The speaker 3 is connected to a voice control device 7. The voice control device 7 is connected to the in-car control device 6. The speaker 3 is capable of outputting voice announcements. The display 2 and the speaker 3 are examples of notification means for notifying passengers in the car 1 of information.

The button 4 is a destination floor button that passengers operate to specify a destination floor. The button 4 is provided on the car operation panel. The button 4 has a non-contact sensor. The non-contact sensor may be, for example, a capacitance sensor, an infrared sensor, or a TOF sensor. The button 4 is capable of both registering a destination floor by physically pressing it and registering a destination floor by a non-contact operation. The button 4 corresponds to a non-contact destination floor registration device that allows a destination to be specified by a non-contact operation. The button 4 is connected to a destination floor control device 8. The destination floor control device 8 is connected to an in-car control device 6. In this embodiment, non-contact destination floor registration devices are provided at multiple locations in the car 1. For example, non-contact destination floor registration devices are provided at two or more locations of the two sleeve walls and two side walls of the car 1. In the following description, the function of registering a destination floor by a non-contact operation on the button 4 is referred to as a "non-contact registration function".

The car 1 is further provided with a congestion detection device 9, a lighting control device 10, and an on-car control device 11. The congestion detection device 9 detects the congestion level inside the car 1. The congestion detection device 9 may include an image capture device such as a camera installed at the top inside the car 1, and detect the congestion level inside the car 1 by image recognition of an image captured by the image capture device. The congestion detection device 9 may detect, for example, the number and positions of passengers inside the car 1. The congestion detection device 9 may detect the distance between an object other than a finger in front of the non-contact destination floor registration device and the non-contact destination floor registration device. The congestion detection device 9 is connected to the on-car control device 11.

The crowding detection device 9 is not limited to a configuration using an image acquisition device. For example, it may be a configuration using a distance sensor installed in the car 1, a configuration using a weight sensor that measures the weight of the car 1, a configuration using a pressure sensor that detects the floor pressure in the car 1, or a configuration using a temperature sensor that detects the temperature inside the car 1.

The lighting control device 10 controls the lighting inside the car 1. The lighting control device 10 is connected to the on-car control device 11. The on-car control device 11 and the in-car control device 6 are connected to the elevator control device 12.

Registration by non-contact operation on the button 4 can be controlled to be enabled or disabled. Specifically, the destination floor control device 8 is provided with a parameter that determines whether or not registration by non-contact operation is possible, and the parameter can be switched on or off based on a command from the elevator control device 12 or the car control device 6. When registration by non-contact operation is disabled, the non-contact operation detection function itself is maintained, and the destination floor control device 8 is prevented from registering the destination floor even if a non-contact operation is detected.

Since the non-contact destination floor registration device allows destination specification by non-contact operation, if the car 1 is crowded, a destination floor may be unintentionally specified if a passenger's body or baggage suddenly approaches the non-contact destination floor registration device. To prevent this from happening, the elevator control device 12 disables non-contact operation to the non-contact destination floor registration device according to the congestion level detected by the congestion level detection device 9. This reliably prevents a destination floor from being specified due to a false detection. Note that even with a non-contact destination floor registration device in which non-contact operation is disabled, it is possible to specify a destination floor by physically pressing button 4.

The elevator control device 12 has a memory unit that stores how many non-contact destination floor registration devices are in the car 1 and whether or not each non-contact destination floor registration device is implementing its non-contact registration function. This information on the number is generally known, so the information can be registered in advance. Alternatively, the number of non-contact destination floor registration devices may be obtained from an image acquisition device such as a camera that captures images inside the car, or the number may be ascertained by obtaining connection information between the non-contact destination floor registration device and the elevator control device via an electrical signal.

In the car 1, the congestion level detection device 9 mentioned above obtains the congestion level in front of the non-contact destination floor registration device. The space in front of the non-contact destination floor registration device is called the "operation position". The congestion level detection device 9 determines that the situation is crowded when the user's body or the user's belongings are present at the operation position of each non-contact destination floor registration device. The congestion level detection device 9 transmits congestion level information at the operation position of each non-contact destination floor registration device to the elevator control device 12. The elevator control device 12 provides the non-contact destination floor registration device in the car 1 with information on whether or not the non-contact registration function is enabled, depending on the congestion level. When the car is crowded, the non-contact registration function is disabled. This detection and control is performed at regular time intervals, and the information is updated each time. When the implementation or non-implementation of the non-contact registration function is changed, the information may be displayed on the display 2 in the car 1 or the user may be notified by voice announcement from the speaker 3 in the car 1.

Specifically, the congestion level detection device 9 obtains the congestion level within approximately 300 mm in front of the non-contact destination floor registration device, and in crowded conditions, non-contact registration using the button 4 on the non-contact destination floor registration device is not possible. However, registration by pressing a physical button is possible. At this time, an announcement is made from the elevator speaker 3 to the effect that "the contactless registration function is restricted." When the congestion level of approximately 300 mm in front of the non-contact destination floor registration device is resolved, contactless registration becomes possible again, and at this time an announcement is made from the speaker 3 to the effect that "the restriction on the contactless registration function has been lifted."

The congestion detection device 9 detects whether there is an object other than a hand or finger in the operation space within a predetermined distance (e.g., 300 mm) in front of the non-contact destination floor registration device. The elevator control device 12 disables non-contact operation for non-contact destination floor registration devices that have an object other than a hand or finger in the operation space, and enables non-contact operation for non-contact destination floor registration devices that do not have an object other than a hand or finger in the operation space. This makes it possible to disable non-contact operation only for non-contact destination floor registration devices that may be subject to erroneous detection, making it possible to make non-contact operation available as much as possible.

This function makes it possible to prevent users from unintentionally registering a destination floor when car 1 is crowded, resulting in the car stopping at an unintended floor.

When congestion occurs in front of all non-contact destination floor registration devices, the non-contact registration function is disabled in all non-contact destination floor registration devices. Since this is a disadvantageous state for users, the following control is used to encourage users to resolve the congestion state.

The non-contact status storage unit of the elevator control device 12 checks whether the non-contact registration function of the non-contact destination floor registration device in the car 1 is active. If all non-contact registration devices are not active, control is performed to encourage the user to secure the operating position of the representative non-contact destination floor registration device. The representative registration device may be the side wall operation panel in the car 1 (on the left side as seen from the landing), but this can be changed using parameters held by the elevator control device 12. As a specific notification method, a voice notification device in the car 1 may notify the user to make space, or an indicator may be displayed, or if there is a camera monitor in the car 1, information on the space to be made available may be superimposed on the monitor and displayed, or in the case of downlight lighting, only that area may be controlled to blink to encourage the user to secure space. With this function, the non-contact registration function in the car 1 can be maintained by securing the operating position of one non-contact destination floor registration device even during crowded times.

As described above, when contactless operation is disabled for all of the multiple contactless destination floor registration devices, the notification means may notify passengers to leave space in front of a specific contactless destination floor registration device. This allows contactless operation for the specific contactless destination floor registration device, improving convenience.

When a specific contactless operation is performed on a contactless destination floor registration device in which contactless operation has been disabled, the contactless operation may be temporarily released and contactless operation may be enabled. This is a function that temporarily enables the disabled contactless registration function for people who use the elevator frequently. Even when the contactless registration function is disabled, the contactless detection function is maintained, so contactless operation can be detected. A user can temporarily enable the contactless function by making a specific input to the contactless destination floor registration device through a contactless operation. The specific input may be a PIN number. It may also be an intentional input that is unlikely to occur accidentally, such as a simultaneous contactless input of only the door open/close button and the local floor destination floor button. When the contactless registration function is enabled or disabled, the user may be notified of this information by a display 2 in the car 1 or a voice notification device in the car 1.

The vehicle may also have a function for adjusting the non-contact detection distance when a specific operation is input to temporarily activate contactless operation. The distance between the finger and the button when the specific input is made can be used as the non-contact detection distance when temporarily activated. Specifically, the non-contact detection information (capacitance, infrared method, TOF method, etc.) when registration is made to temporarily activate contactless operation is converted into distance information, and the detection threshold used in the detection function of the contactless destination floor registration device is updated. With this function, when car 1 is crowded and an operating position cannot be secured, the non-contact function can be temporarily activated, and a usable distance threshold can be set and made usable. This allows the contactless registration function to be used even in a small space.

Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the destination floor control device 8. The destination floor control device 8 first receives information from the elevator control device 12 about whether the non-contact registration function of each non-contact destination floor registration device is enabled or disabled (step S1). Next, it determines whether a specific input has been made to the non-contact destination floor registration device whose non-contact registration function has been disabled (step S2). If a specific input has been made, it temporarily enables non-contact registration and registers the detection distance information at the time of the specific input as a threshold value (step S3).

If no specific input has been made, it is determined whether the contactless registration function is disabled (step S4). If the contactless registration function is disabled, the contactless registration function is disabled and button 4 operation acceptance processing is performed (step S5). On the other hand, if the contactless registration function is not disabled, the contactless registration function is enabled and button 4 operation acceptance processing is performed (step S6).

Next, it is determined whether a certain amount of time has passed since the specific input (step S7). If the certain amount of time has passed since the specific input, the temporary activation of the non-contact registration function is cancelled, and the detection threshold information is changed to the standard value (step S8).

Next, information on whether the non-contact registration function of each non-contact destination floor registration device is enabled or disabled is received from the elevator control device 12 (step S9). This ends the processing of this flowchart.

Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the elevator control device 12. The elevator control device 12 first receives congestion level information from the congestion level detection device 9 (step S11). Next, it determines whether or not the operation positions of all non-contact destination floor registration devices are congested (step S12). If the operation positions of all non-contact destination floor registration devices are congested, a voice announcement is made, a display is made on the display 2, or the downlight is blinked to prompt passengers to vacate the operation position of the representative non-contact destination floor registration device (step S13).

Then, it is determined whether there is a non-contact destination floor registration device in a congested state (step S14). If there is a non-contact destination floor registration device in a congested state, a command is issued to disable the non-contact registration function of that non-contact destination floor registration device, and a command is issued to notify by voice announcement that the non-contact registration function is being disabled (step S15).

Then, the elevator control device 12 transmits the information to each non-contact destination floor registration device. This completes the processing of this flowchart.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing the functions of the car control device 6, the display control device 5, the voice control device 7, the destination floor control device 8, the car control device 11, and the elevator control device 12 in the first embodiment. Each function of the car control device 6, the display control device 5, the voice control device 7, the destination floor control device 8, the car control device 11, and the elevator control device 12 is realized, for example, by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware 600. The processing circuit may include a processor 601 and a memory 602. A part of the processing circuit may be formed as the dedicated hardware 600, and the processing circuit may further include a processor 601 and a memory 602. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a part of the processing circuit is formed as the dedicated hardware 600. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the processing circuit further includes a processor 601 and a memory 602 in addition to the dedicated hardware 600.

A processing circuit, of which at least one part is dedicated hardware 600, may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination of these.

When the processing circuit has at least one processor 601 and at least one memory 602, the functions of each part of the in-car control device 6, the display control device 5, the voice control device 7, the destination floor control device 8, the on-car control device 11, and the elevator control device 12 are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.

The software and firmware are written as programs and stored in memory 602. The programs may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Processor 601 realizes the functions of each part by reading and executing the programs stored in memory 602. Processor 601 is also called a CPU (Central Processing Unit), central processing unit, processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP. Memory 602 includes, for example, non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM, and EEPROM, or magnetic disks, flexible disks, optical disks, compact disks, mini disks, and DVDs.

In this way, the processing circuit can realize the functions of the in-car control device 6, the display control device 5, the voice control device 7, the destination floor control device 8, the on-car control device 11, and the elevator control device 12 by using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of these. Note that each function of the in-car control device 6, the display control device 5, the voice control device 7, the destination floor control device 8, the on-car control device 11, and the elevator control device 12 may be realized by multiple devices working together, or may be realized by a single device. Also, at least a portion of each function of the in-car control device 6, the display control device 5, the voice control device 7, the destination floor control device 8, the on-car control device 11, and the elevator control device 12 may be implemented on a server or the like on an external network.

Various aspects of this disclosure are summarized below as appendices.

(Appendix 1)
a plurality of non-contact destination floor registration devices provided at a plurality of locations within the elevator car, the non-contact destination floor registration devices enabling a destination to be specified by a non-contact operation;
A congestion degree detection device for detecting a congestion degree in the car;
a control unit that invalidates a non-contact operation on the non-contact destination floor registration device according to a congestion degree detected by the congestion degree detection device;
Equipped with an elevator system.
(Appendix 2)
The congestion degree detection device detects whether there is an object other than a hand or finger in a space within a predetermined distance in front of the non-contact destination floor registration device,
The control unit disables non-contact operation for the non-contact destination floor registration device when there is an object other than a hand or fingers in the space within the specified distance, and enables non-contact operation for the non-contact destination floor registration device when there is no object other than a hand or fingers in the space within the specified distance.
(Appendix 3)
3. The elevator system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an alerting means for alerting passengers to make space in front of a specific one of the plurality of non-contact destination floor registration devices when non-contact operation is disabled in all of the plurality of non-contact destination floor registration devices.
(Appendix 4)
4. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein when a specific contactless operation is performed on the contactless destination floor registration device in which contactless operation has been disabled, the disabled state of the contactless operation is temporarily lifted and the contactless operation is enabled.
(Appendix 5)
5. The elevator system according to claim 1, further comprising an alarm means for notifying the user that a contactless operation to the contactless destination floor registration device has been invalidated.

1 Cage, 2 Display, 3 Speaker, 4 Button, 5 Display control device, 6 In-cab control device, 7 Voice control device, 8 Destination floor control device, 9 Occupancy detection device, 10 Lighting control device, 11 On-cab control device, 12 Elevator control device, 600 Dedicated hardware, 601 Processor, 602 Memory

Claims (4)

a plurality of non-contact destination floor registration devices provided at a plurality of locations within the elevator car, the non-contact destination floor registration devices enabling a destination to be specified by a non-contact operation;
A congestion degree detection device for detecting a congestion degree in the car;
a control unit that invalidates a non-contact operation on the non-contact destination floor registration device according to a congestion degree detected by the congestion degree detection device;
a notification means for notifying a passenger to make space in front of the non-contact destination floor registration device on a sleeve wall inside the car when non-contact operation is disabled in all of the plurality of non-contact destination floor registration devices;
Equipped with an elevator system. The congestion degree detection device detects whether there is an object other than a hand or finger in a space within a predetermined distance in front of the non-contact destination floor registration device,
2. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit disables a non-contact operation for the non-contact destination floor registration device when there is an object other than a hand or finger in a space within the predetermined distance, and enables a non-contact operation for the non-contact destination floor registration device when there is no object other than a hand or finger in a space within the predetermined distance. The elevator system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when a specific contactless operation is performed on the contactless destination floor registration device in which contactless operation is disabled, the disabled state of the contactless operation is temporarily lifted and the contactless operation is enabled. The elevator system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a notification means for notifying the user when a non-contact operation to the non-contact destination floor registration device is invalidated.

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