JP7514170B2 - Elevator operation management server, car congestion status output system, and car congestion status output method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an elevator operation management server, an elevator car congestion status output system, and an elevator car congestion status output method.

When building an office or commercial building, the number of elevator users is predicted during the construction planning stage, and elevators are installed with optimal equipment specifications, such as the number of elevators to be installed, speed, and capacity, to ensure smooth elevator operation. After the elevators are installed, building management companies and maintenance companies that maintain the elevators monitor their operation. Building management companies and maintenance companies then collect elevator operation information and analyze the data to make adjustments to optimize operation and reduce waiting times for users at the elevator stands on each floor.

In recent years, there has been a growing demand from building users, tenant companies, building owners, building managers and other building-related parties to avoid crowding inside elevator cars and at elevator landings when using elevators. The main reason for this is to prevent infection. There is also a need to be able to use elevators more comfortably by maintaining a certain distance between users and other users at the landing or inside the car. There has also been a demand to know the reason when users experience long wait times at the landing.

Patent Document 1 discloses an elevator information display system that displays information about elevator operation status on a terminal device. This system displays building operation information and other information side-by-side on the customer's terminal screen, making it possible to understand the causes of congestion by time period.

JP 2020-66493 A

By using the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, customers could understand the cause of congestion when an elevator was crowded, but the level of congestion was not indicated, and sufficient consideration was not given to determining the risk of infection. For example, even though the risk of infection increases the more people in the elevator and the more crowded it becomes, no information was provided to determine whether or not there was a risk of infection, such as an indication of how crowded the elevator was.

The present invention was made in light of these circumstances, and aims to provide information to reduce the risk of infection for elevator users.

The elevator operation control server according to the present invention outputs the congestion status in an elevator car. This car congestion status output system includes an elevator operation information storage unit that stores elevator operation information, a congestion degree calculation unit that extracts elevator operation information specified by a first terminal from the elevator operation information storage unit for a specified period specified by the first terminal, and calculates a value obtained by multiplying the car's running time by the number of passengers in the car based on the car's departure time, arrival time, and number of passengers as the congestion level in the car for each time period, and an output unit that outputs the congestion level for each time period and, if the congestion level exceeds a preregistered threshold value, outputs information indicating that the congestion level is high to the first terminal and/or the second terminal .

According to the present invention, for example, information indicating high congestion in the car is provided from the first terminal and/or the second terminal as information for reducing the infection risk of elevator users. Therefore, for example, the elevator manager can take measures to reduce the infection risk of elevator users.
Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration example of an elevator car congestion status output system 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a group control elevator according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display of a managed building selection screen according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of the number of users by date and alerts according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display of a cage congestion status screen by time period according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the details of a graph of congestion in a car by time period according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a display of an in-car movement floor-to-floor crowding status screen in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display of a car congestion status screen by floor and time period in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a modified example of the elevator car congestion status screen by floor and time period in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an operation status data table according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an elevator operation diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display of a time-zone-by-time-zone congestion status screen in the first embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the car congestion status output system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a computer according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration example of an elevator car congestion status output system 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a group control elevator according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Below, the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functions or configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elevator car congestion status output system 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
The elevator car congestion status output system 10 includes a customer terminal 2, a user mobile terminal 4, an information providing device 5, and an elevator operation management server 6.

The customer 1 is, for example, the owner of the building in which the elevator is installed, or the manager who manages this building. The customer terminal 2 is an example of a first terminal used by an elevator manager to check the congestion status of elevators in a building managed by the customer 1. The elevator manager mainly targets the customer 1, but may also be a maintenance company staff member who works at the request of the customer 1. For example, a PC (Personal Computer) or tablet terminal owned by a customer such as a building management company or building owner is used as the customer terminal 2. The customer 1 uses the customer terminal 2 to access the elevator operation management server 6 and obtains information indicating the congestion status inside the car from the elevator operation management server 6. The customer terminal 2 in this embodiment displays information that is required by the customer 1 but does not need to be shown to the user 3.

User 3 is, for example, a person who uses an elevator to go to a tenant such as an office or a store in a building. User mobile terminal 4 is an example of a second terminal used by user 3 to check the congestion status of the elevator. As user mobile terminal 4, for example, a smartphone, tablet terminal, etc. carried by an elevator user is used. User 3 uses user mobile terminal 4 to access elevator operation management server 6 and obtains information indicating the congestion status inside the elevator car from elevator operation management server 6.

The information providing device 5 is an example of a second terminal that provides the information acquired from the elevator operation management server 6 to the user 3. For example, a signage (electronic signboard) installed in a building lobby, an elevator landing, or the like is used as the information providing device 5. The user 3 can also obtain information indicating the congestion status inside the car from the information providing device 5 instead of the user mobile terminal 4.
In the user portable terminal 4 and the information providing device 5 according to this embodiment, only the information required by the user 3 is displayed in an easily understandable manner.

The group management elevator 20 performs group management of the operation of multiple elevators installed in a building managed by customer 1 (also called the "customer building"). For this reason, the group management elevator 20 transmits operation data of each elevator to the elevator operation management server 6.

The elevator operation management server 6 outputs the congestion status inside the elevator car to the customer terminal 2, the user's mobile terminal 4, or the information providing device 5. This elevator operation management server 6 includes a server processing unit 7, a building/elevator information storage unit 11, a communication device 14, an operation data collection device 15, and an elevator operation information storage unit 16.

The server processing unit 7 includes an output unit 8a, an information generating unit 8b, a density calculating unit 9a, and a congestion calculating unit 9b.
The output unit 8a outputs the congestion for each time period to the customer terminal 2 and/or the user mobile terminal 4 or the information providing device 5. When the congestion exceeds a preregistered threshold, the output unit 8a outputs information indicating that the congestion is high together with information indicating the crowded state in the car to the customer terminal 2 and/or the user mobile terminal 4 or the information providing device 5. Therefore, the customer 1 and/or the user 3 can check the information indicating that the congestion is high and the information indicating the crowded state in the car, and avoid the time period when the congestion is high. Here, the congestion is a value calculated by a calculation formula described later using one or more of the number of passengers, the running time of the car, and the number of times the car is started when the occupancy rate in the car is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. The calculation formula for the congestion can be changed at the request of the customer 1. Since the congestion can be calculated in this way in various ways, the customer 1 can compare the calculated congestions and select an appropriate calculation formula for the congestion according to the operation of the elevators he/she manages.

For example, when calculating the congestion, the congestion calculation unit 9a extracts elevator operation information specified by the customer terminal 2 from the elevator operation information storage unit 16 for the specified period specified by the customer terminal 2. Then, based on the departure time, arrival time, and number of passengers of the car, the congestion calculation unit 9a calculates the congestion as the value obtained by multiplying the car's travel time by the number of passengers in the car. Since the congestion is calculated based on the elevator operation information extracted for the specified period in this way, it becomes easier for customer 1 to check the congestion during the specified period of interest.

In addition, when an elevator is a group-managed elevator, banks are often set up. In a building with banks, the attributes of users 3 (e.g., tenant employees, residents, etc.) vary for each bank. Therefore, the output unit 8a outputs information indicating the congestion status in the car for each bank and information indicating high congestion to the customer terminal 2 and/or the user mobile terminal 4 or the information providing device 5. By outputting information for each bank to each terminal, it becomes easier for the customer 1 and/or user 3 to understand the congestion status in the car for each bank of the elevator they are using.

The information generating unit 8b generates information representing the congestion state in the car during the specified period based on the congestion calculated by the congestion calculating unit 9a. The output unit 8a then outputs the information representing the congestion state in the car to the customer terminal 2, and when the congestion state exceeds a preregistered threshold, outputs information indicating high congestion to the customer terminal 2. Therefore, the customer 1 can grasp the transition of the congestion state and the time when the congestion state became high during the specified period based on the information indicating high congestion obtained from the customer terminal 2. Note that when the congestion state exceeds a preregistered threshold, the output unit 8a may output information indicating high congestion to the customer terminal 2 together with the information representing the congestion state in the car. Since the information representing the congestion state in the car is output to the customer terminal 2 in this manner, the customer 1 can appropriately grasp the congestion state in the car.

The information generated by the information generating unit 8b includes, for example, a screen including information showing the congestion status in the car and information showing high congestion. The output unit 8a can display the screen generated by the information generating unit 8b on the customer terminal 2 and/or the user mobile terminal 4 or the information providing device 5. Since various information output by the output unit 8a is displayed on a screen according to the purpose, the customer 1 and/or the user 3 can easily understand the information. Here, the screen generated by the information generating unit 8b is transmitted to the customer terminal 2 by the output unit 8a as screen data. The customer terminal 2 interprets the screen data and displays the screen. The output unit 8a also transmits the screen data of the screen generated by the information generating unit 8b to the user mobile terminal 4 and the information providing device 5. The user mobile terminal 4 and the information providing device 5 interpret the screen data and display the screen on the display unit of each terminal and device.

The congestion calculation unit 9a calculates the congestion in the car for each time period based on the elevator operation information 17 stored in the elevator operation information storage unit 16. The congestion is a value calculated using one or more of the number of passengers, the running time of the car, and the number of times the car is started when the occupancy rate in the car is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. At this time, the congestion calculation unit 9a selects the building specified by the customer terminal 2 from the building master information 12, extracts the elevator operation information 17 of the elevators operating in the selected building from the elevator operation information storage unit 16 for the specified period specified by the customer terminal 2, and calculates the congestion in the car for each time period. Therefore, the congestion calculation unit 9a extracts necessary data from the building master information 12 and the elevator information 13 stored in the building/elevator information storage unit 11, and further searches for data within the specified range from the elevator operation information 17. In this way, the congestion calculation unit 9a extracts elevator operation information 17 from the elevator operation information storage unit 16 for a specified period specified by the customer terminal 2, so that the information can be narrowed down to only the specified period for which the customer 1 wants to check the congestion situation.

The congestion degree calculation unit 9b calculates the congestion degree of the car. The congestion degree is the average passenger load rate for each time period. The information representing the congestion state in the car includes the congestion degree. The congestion degree calculation unit 9b can also calculate the congestion degree in the car for each floor. Both the congestion degree and the congestion degree are values that quantify the degree of congestion in the car. The value calculated using the calculation formula in FIG. 5 described later is called the congestion degree, and the average passenger load rate for each floor and time period shown in FIG. 8 is called the congestion degree. By outputting the congestion degree to the customer terminal 2, the customer 1 can take measures such as encouraging the users 3 to spread out their boarding for each time period based on the perceived congestion degree. Spreading out boarding means, for example, that the users 3 board the car while avoiding time periods with high congestion or high congestion.

The building/elevator information storage unit 11 (an example of a master storage unit) includes building master information 12 and elevator information 13.
The building master information 12 stores building master information including building information for identifying the building in which the elevator is installed and the floor of the building. Examples of the building master information include building information including the building name, address, building use, floor information, etc.

The elevator information 13 includes at least information on the equipment constituting the elevators managed by the group management elevator 20 and information on the load weight of the car, and manages elevator master information for the server processing unit 7 to identify the elevator. The elevator information 13 includes, for example, information on the building in which the elevator is installed, the number of elevators installed, the floors that can be serviced, the passenger capacity of the car, elevator equipment information, bank information which is the management unit of the group management elevator 20, connection information, etc. The connection information corresponds to, for example, a telephone number and IP (Internet Protocol) address assigned to each communication device 21 installed in the group management elevator 20 of the customer building and each communication device 14 installed in the elevator operation management server 6.

The communication device 14 can be connected to the group control elevator 20 through a high-speed communication network. The communication device 14 converts elevator operation data in a format conforming to a predetermined communication method transmitted from the group control elevator 20 into an importable format, and outputs the converted elevator operation data to the operation data collection device 15.
The operation data collection device 15 is used as an example of an elevator operation data collection device for periodically collecting elevator operation data from the group control elevator 20 in the customer building via a high-speed communication network.

The elevator operation information storage unit 16 (an example of an elevator operation information storage unit) accumulates elevator operation data within the customer building collected by the operation data collection device 15 as elevator operation information in elevator operation information 17.

<Group Control Elevators>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the group control elevator 20.
The group control elevator 20 includes a communication device 21, a group control device 22, elevator control devices 23a to 23n, elevators 24a to 24n, and an operation data storage unit 25.

The communication device 21 is connected to a high-speed communication network and transmits and receives various data to and from the elevator operation management server 6. For example, the communication device 21 receives a request to acquire elevator operation data from the elevator operation management server 6, converts the elevator operation data into a form that can be transmitted via the high-speed communication network, and transmits the elevator operation data to the elevator operation management server 6.

The group management control device 22 outputs instructions to the elevator control devices 23a to 23n to control the operation of the elevators 24a to 24n. The elevator control devices 23a to 23n control the operation of the elevators 24a to 24n (movement of the car, opening and closing of the doors, lighting of the lights, etc.) according to the instructions input from the group management control device 22. The group management control device 22 also collects elevator operation data of the elevators 24a to 24n (departure time of the car, arrival time, opening and closing time of the doors, number of passengers in the car, number of passengers disembarking, etc.) from the elevator control devices 23a to 23n.

The operation data storage unit 25 stores the elevator operation data collected by the group management control device 22 from the elevators 24a to 24n in elevator operation data 26. The operation data storage unit 25 is configured by, for example, a memory card.
In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the elevators 24a to 24n, they will simply be referred to as "elevators."

Elevator operation data is transmitted from the group control elevator 20 to the elevator operation control server 6 in the following manner.
The operation data collection device 15 of the elevator operation control server 6 shown in Fig. 1 periodically connects to the communication device 21 of the group control elevator 20 shown in Fig. 2 through the communication device 14 connected to the high-speed communication network. After the communication device 14 connects to the communication device 21, the operation data collection device 15 requests the group management control device 22 to collect operation data. The group management control device 22 reads out the elevator operation data from the elevator operation data 26 stored in the operation data storage unit 25 and outputs it to the communication device 21. The communication device 21 transmits the elevator operation data to the high-speed communication network, and the communication device 14 receives the elevator operation data from the high-speed communication network.
Then, the operation data collecting device 15 stores the elevator operation data received by the communication device 14 in the elevator operation information storage unit 16 as elevator operation information 17. This elevator operation information 17 includes information such as the departure time of the car, the arrival time, the door opening and closing times, the number of people getting on and off the car, and the like.

<Example of infection risk assessment procedure>
Next, the procedure for customer 1 to determine the risk of infection in an elevator car operating in the customer's building will be described. Here, the procedure for checking the congestion status by date, time period, and floor will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Each screen described below is generated by the information generation unit 8b.

<Managed building selection screen>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the managed building selection screen 100. As shown in FIG.
The managed building selection screen 100 is a screen that is displayed on the customer terminal 2 and is used by the customer 1 operating the customer terminal 2 to select a building to be managed. While looking at the managed building selection screen 100, the customer 1 selects a building in which an elevator for which the congestion status is to be checked is installed.

The managed building selection screen 100 includes a building contractor name pull-down menu 101, a building name pull-down menu 102, an address input field 103, a search button 104, a building name list 105, radio buttons 106, and a building selection button 107.

The building contractor name pull-down menu 101 displays selectable names of building contractors (customer 1) who have concluded a management contract with the business entity that manages the elevator operation management server 6.
In the case where the building contractor selected in the building contractor name pull-down menu 101 owns a plurality of buildings, the building name pull-down menu 102 displays the name of any of the buildings in a selectable manner.
Information for extracting a building managed by a business operator from the address of the building is input into the address input field 103. The information input into the address input field 103 may be only a part of the address (for example, Tokyo).

When customer 1 logs in to the application service provided by elevator operation management server 6 through customer terminal 2, server processing unit 7 judges whether the contractor name is correct based on the login ID entered from customer terminal 2. If there are multiple contractor names depending on the contract type, etc., the server processing unit 7 displays them in the building contractor name pull-down menu 101 so that the contractor of the managed building to be targeted this time can be selected.

The data selected from the building contractor name pull-down 101 and building name pull-down 102, and the data entered in the address input field 103 are used as search keys to search for the relevant building in the building master information 12. When the customer 1 presses the search button 104, the search key information is sent to the elevator operation control server 6. The server processing unit 7 of the elevator operation control server 6 extracts the relevant building information from the building master information 12 based on the received search key.

At this time, the information generation unit 8b outputs the search key received from the customer terminal 2 to the density calculation unit 9a. The density calculation unit 9a accesses the building master information 12, extracts building information based on the search key, and outputs the building information to the output unit 8a. The output unit 8a then transmits the building information to the customer terminal 2. Upon receiving the building information, the customer terminal 2 assigns the building information to the building name list 105 on the managed building selection screen 100, and redisplays the managed building selection screen 100. The building name, address, and radio buttons 106 are displayed in the building name list 105.

In the following, the series of processes performed by the output unit 8a, information generation unit 8b, density calculation unit 9a, and congestion calculation unit 9b in conjunction with the display of various screens may be described as the processes of the server processing unit 7.

Customer 1 selects the relevant building from the building name list 105 using radio button 106. Then, customer 1 selects the building selection button 107. When the building selection button 107 is selected, the screen transitions from the managed building selection screen 100 to the date-by-date occupancy and alert display screen 200 shown in FIG. 4.

<Number of users by date/alert display screen>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the date-specific number of users/alerts display screen 200. As shown in FIG.
The date-based user count/alert display screen 200 is used to check the usage status of elevators installed in the building selected by the customer 1 on the management target building selection screen 100 (see FIG. 3). The date-based user count/alert display screen 200 displays information such as the number of elevator users for each date and elevator car congestion alerts for the date selected by the customer 1.

The date-specific user count/alert display screen 200 displays a building name display field, a bank selection pull-down 201, a target period setting field 202, a search button 203, a date-specific usage status display field 204, a date selection field 205, and a number of users graph display field 206. In addition, at the bottom of the date-specific user count/alert display screen 200, a time-specific cage congestion button 208 and a cage congestion status button 209 are displayed.

The building name display field displays the building name of the building selected by customer 1 on the managed building selection screen 100 .
The bank management name is displayed in a selectable manner in the bank selection pull-down 201. When the group control elevator 20 is installed in the building selected by the customer 1, the management name of the bank, which is the management unit of the group control elevator, can be selected from the bank selection pull-down 201.

The target period setting field 202 is displayed so that customer 1 can select the period for which they want to check the elevator usage status. This period is set in the format of year, month, and day in the Gregorian calendar, with a start date and end date. However, when customer 1 sets the period, a sub-screen displaying a calendar may be displayed in the target period setting field 202, and the period may be set from the sub-screen.

When the customer 1 selects a bank from the bank selection pull-down 201, sets the target period in the target period setting field 202, and then selects the search button 203, the building ID, bank, and target period information are sent to the elevator operation control server 6. Then, the server processing unit 7 of the elevator operation control server 6 extracts the corresponding information from the building/elevator information storage unit 11,
A screen including a date-based usage status display field 204 is generated and transmitted to the customer terminal 2 .

The date-specific usage display field 204 displays elevator usage by date during the period set in the target period setting field 202. Below the date-specific usage display field 204, a date selection field 205 represented by radio buttons is displayed, and below the date selection field 205, a user count graph display field 206 is displayed, which shows an overview of the number of elevator users by date and the number of users by time period in the form of a bar graph.

In addition, in the car congestion state notification field 207 located at the bottom of the number of passengers graph display field 206, when the car congestion threshold is exceeded, two types of car congestion state alerts (caution alert, warning alert) are displayed as an example of a car congestion state notification. The car congestion is a value represented by the car congestion by time period shown in FIG. 5, which will be described later. For example, on August 1, 2, 3, and 5, "Crowding occurred" is displayed as a caution alert. Also, on August 2, "High congestion occurred" is displayed as a warning alert, indicating that the car was highly crowded. These alerts are examples of information representing the congestion state in the car, which changes depending on the level of infection risk.

When customer 1 wishes to check the details of any of the alerts displayed in the car congestion status notification field 207, the customer selects the relevant date from the date selection field 205. Then, when customer 1 selects the car congestion by time period button 208, the screen transitions to the car congestion status by time period screen 300 shown in FIG. 5. On the other hand, when customer 1 selects the car congestion status by floor button 209, the screen transitions to the car congestion status by floor and time period screen 500 shown in FIG. 8.

<Screen showing congestion in cars by time period>
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a display of the cage congestion status screen 300 by time period.
The time-zone-by-time zone congestion status screen 300 is an example of a screen that displays the congestion status of passengers in the car at the set date and time using a bar graph, the congestion level calculated by the congestion level calculation unit 9a for each time zone.

The information generating unit 8b generates a value of the accumulated crowding degree and a breakdown of the accumulated crowding degree for each time period, and generates a time-slot-by-time cage crowding status screen 300 including these values. Then, the output unit 8a outputs the value of the accumulated crowding degree and the breakdown of the accumulated crowding degree for each time period to the customer terminal 2. The output unit 8a outputs the value of the accumulated crowding degree for each congestion degree classified by a predetermined congestion degree threshold. For example, a passenger load rate of 50% or 80% is set as a threshold. Then, the value of the accumulated crowding degree for each passenger load rate of 50% to 80% and passenger load rate of 80% or more classified by this threshold is displayed, for example, in a bar graph. This makes it easier for the customer 1 to visually recognize the crowding state for each time period. The crowding degree is expressed by the formula in FIG. 5 described later, but there are cases where the same value is calculated for the crowding degree at different passenger load rates. Even if the congestion level is the same, different measures must be implemented to alleviate the congestion situation when the passenger occupancy rate is different, and by displaying the accumulated value of congestion for each congestion level classified by a predetermined congestion level threshold, it becomes possible to consider measures for each congestion level. Therefore, the information representing the congestion status inside the car includes the accumulated value of congestion for each congestion level classified by a predetermined congestion level threshold. Furthermore, instead of the accumulated value of congestion, the congestion level for each time period may be output to the customer terminal 2. The congestion level threshold may be changed by a maintenance company at the request of the customer 1.

The cage congestion status by time period screen 300 displays a building name display field, a bank display field, a target car selection pull-down 301, a breakdown display check box 302, a search button 303, and cage congestion by time period 304.

First, customer 1 selects an elevator number managed by a group-controlled elevator operating in the building from the target elevator number selection pull-down 301. The threshold value of the alert displayed in the car congestion state notification field 207 shown in FIG. 4 is determined using a value calculated by the congestion calculation unit 9a for all elevators. The alert thresholds are a caution threshold 309 and a warning threshold 310. If customer 1 wants to know details about the alert (for example, congestion 307, 308 showing the breakdown of the car congestion graph 306 by time period), he or she selects "all elevators" which targets all elevators for the congestion calculation.

The breakdown of density values displayed when the breakdown display checkbox 302 is selected is shown in FIG. 6, which will be described later.

If customer 1 wishes to check the details of the congestion status of only one of the target cars of the bank displayed in the bank display area, he/she selects the name of the relevant car (e.g., "No. 1"). After customer 1 selects the name of the relevant car in the target car selection pull-down 301, he/she selects the search button 303, and the car congestion by time period 304 is displayed. Customer 1 can switch between graphs of the congestion status in the car according to the car's operating direction (upward, downward) by selecting either "upward" or "downward" shown in the up/down direction display switch tab 305 provided at the top of the car congestion by time period 304.

In the cage congestion by time period 304, multiple cage congestion by time period graphs 306 are displayed by time period (e.g., every 5 minutes). The cage congestion by time period graphs 306 show the details according to the cage occupancy rate. For example, it shows that the cage was operated at full capacity between 8:25 and 8:55. It also shows that the cage congestion by time period graph 306 exceeded the warning threshold 309 between 8:35 and 8:40. In this way, the cage congestion by time period graph 306 and the occupancies 307 and 308 correspond to "details for the alert".

Here, we will explain the method of calculating the congestion used as the index value of the time-slot-by-time-zone cage congestion graph 306 shown in Figure 5 with reference to Figures 10 and 11.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the operation status data table 700. As shown in FIG.
The operation status data table 700 is a table showing operation status such as the floor section where the car has moved, the floor where the car has stopped, the number of passengers, the occupancy rate, etc. The operation status data table 700 is created based on the elevator operation information 17 in which the elevator operation data collected by the operation data collection device 15 from the group control elevator 20 shown in FIG.

The operation status data table 700 is composed of the following items: record number 701, departure time 711, arrival time 712, running time 713, departure floor 714, arrival floor 715, driving direction 716, number of passengers 717, and occupancy rate 718. The data stored in each item of the operation status data table 700 is included in the elevator operation data.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an elevator operation diagram 800.
The elevator operation diagram 800 is an operation diagram showing the operation status of an elevator in chronological order based on the data stored in each item of the operation status data table 700 shown in Fig. 10. The horizontal axis of the elevator operation diagram 800 represents time, and the vertical axis represents floors. The stopping floors, destination floors, travel time, etc. of the car are clearly shown by the change of the solid line 801 in the diagram.

In the figure, two numbers 802, 803 are written side by side for each floor the car stops at. Number 802 indicates the number of passengers in the car (data at the time the car departs from the departure floor). The number of passengers is calculated by dividing the car's load, calculated from the detection value of a load sensor installed in the car, by a predetermined average adult weight (65 kg).

The number 803 in parentheses next to the number 802 indicates the occupancy rate (%). The occupancy rate is expressed as the ratio of the number of passengers to the passenger capacity of the car. The departure time 804 indicates the time when the car departs from the departure floor. The arrival time 805 indicates the time when the car arrives at the destination floor. The departure time 711 and the arrival time 712 in the operation status data table 700 in FIG. 10 correspond to the departure time 804 and the arrival time 805. The travel time between the arrival time 805 and the departure time 804 is represented by the travel time 806. The travel time 713 in the operation status data table 700 in FIG. 10 corresponds to the travel time 806. The congestion calculation unit 9a can calculate the travel time of the car by subtracting the departure time 804 from the arrival time 805.

Next, a method for calculating the congestion level by the congestion level calculation unit 9a based on data extracted from the elevator operation information 17 will be described. The congestion level calculated by this method is used to display the car congestion level by time period 304 shown in FIG. 5. Note that the congestion level is a value calculated by the congestion level calculation unit 9a when the passenger occupancy rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

For example, in the case of the display example of the cage congestion by time period 304, the congestion calculation unit 9a extracts data where the occupancy rate is between 50% and 80% and data where the occupancy rate is 80% or more from the operation status data table 700. Then, using the data of the running time 713 and the number of passengers 717 when the occupancy rate is between 50% and 80% and when the occupancy rate is 80% or more, the congestion calculation unit 9a calculates the cage congestion (also abbreviated as "congestion") using the following formula (1). The congestion calculation unit 9a then accumulates the cage congestion by time period.

Cage density = travel time (seconds) x number of passengers (persons) … (1)

In the cage congestion graph 306 by time period shown in FIG. 5, for example, if the cage is crowded (boarding rate 50% to 80%), a congestion value of 307 is displayed, and if the cage is full (80% or more), a congestion value of 308 is displayed. If customer 1 wishes to check the breakdown of the entire travel time for the relevant time period, including data for occupancy rates of less than 50%, the breakdown shown in FIG. 6 can be displayed by selecting the breakdown display checkbox 302.

Figure 6 shows the breakdown of the cage congestion graph 306 by time period. As described above, the breakdown of the total running time for the relevant time period is shown by the bar graph shown in Figure 6. The horizontal axis of Figure 6 represents time, and the vertical axis represents congestion. This bar graph shows the breakdown of good, caution, and crowded every 5 minutes, for example. "Good" indicates that the occupancy rate is less than 50%.

The congestion degree is also defined as the ratio of the actual number of passengers (or actual weight) to the number of people (or loadable weight) that the car can carry. However, the definition of the congestion degree is the same as the occupancy rate (the ratio of the actual number of passengers (or actual weight) to the number of people (or loadable weight) that the car can carry). However, the average occupancy rate for every 5 minutes is defined as the congestion degree (in the car) for each floor. The time used to define the congestion degree can be changed, for example, every 10 minutes or every hour. The congestion degree calculation unit 9b extracts elevator information 13 of the elevators installed in the building specified by the customer terminal 2 and selected from the building master information 12 from the building/elevator information storage unit 11, and calculates the congestion degree expressed as the average occupancy rate for each time period and each floor based on the elevator information 13. The output unit 8a then outputs the congestion degree to the customer terminal 2. In this way, the congestion level for each time period and each floor is output to the customer terminal 2, so that the customer 1 knows which floors have a high degree of congestion inside the car and can encourage users 3 to avoid boarding at these floors or to spread out their boarding.

As shown in FIG. 5, the congestion calculation unit 9a multiplies the value of the running time 713 when the occupancy rate is 50% or more by the value of the number of people 717 in the elevator at that time, and uses the value accumulated per unit time as the congestion. However, the congestion calculation unit 9a may use a value calculated by any of the following formulas as the congestion.

<Other formulas for calculating cage density>
・Cumulative total number of elevator passengers (car load) per unit time ・Elevator passengers (car load) x number of starts (times)
・Number of people in elevator (car load) x occupancy rate (%) / 100
・Cumulative total number of starts (times) per unit of time ・Cumulative total running time (seconds) per unit of time ・Coefficient determined for each occupancy rate x running time (seconds)
Travel time (seconds) x (passenger load rate (%) + 100) / 100

In this calculation formula, "start" refers to the number of times the elevator is started. It indicates how many times the car departs from each floor where it is stopped. For example, if the car stops at the third floor on its way from the first floor to the sixth floor, the number of times the elevator is started is two, when the car departs from the first floor and when it departs from the third floor. Information such as the car load is included in elevator information 13. The congestion degree is a value obtained by accumulating the values calculated using these calculation formulas.

As described above, when calculating the congestion, the congestion calculation unit 9a extracts elevator operation information specified by the customer terminal 2 from the elevator operation information storage unit 16 for a specified period specified by the customer terminal 2. Then, based on the elevator operation information including the departure time, arrival time, and number of passengers of the car, the congestion calculation unit 9a can calculate, as the congestion, any one of the cumulative value of the car's running time, the cumulative value of the number of times the car is started, or a value obtained by multiplying the number of passengers by the number of times the car is started.

As described above, two types of alerts, caution and warning, may be displayed in the car congestion status notification field 207 in FIG. 4. When the date-by-date user count/alert display screen 200 is launched, the start time of the time period in which the value of the car congestion by time period graph 306 exceeds the caution threshold 309 or the warning threshold 310, and the text of the corresponding alert are displayed in the car congestion status notification field 207.

In addition, the conditions for determining the occupancy rate used by the congestion calculation unit 9a to extract values from the operation status data table 700 and the threshold value for the alert to be displayed in the car congestion status notification field 207 in Figure 4 may be changed depending on the date, time period, or day of the week.

When customer 1 wishes to check the details of the congestion level from the time-zone-by-time zone congestion status screen 300 (see FIG. 5), the customer selects the corresponding time-zone-by-time zone congestion level graph 306. This operation transitions to the time-zone-by-floor congestion status screen 400 shown in FIG. 7, which allows the customer 1 to check the congestion level for each floor between which the car moves.

<In-car moving floor-to-floor crowding status screen>
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the in-car movement floor-to-floor congestion status screen 400 by time period.
The in-car movement floor-to-floor crowding status screen 400 by time period has an in-car movement floor-to-floor crowding status table 401. The in-car movement floor-to-floor crowding status table 401 shows the crowding status during the time period corresponding to the in-car crowding level graph by time period 306 in Fig. 4 selected by the customer 1. The vertical axis of the in-car movement floor-to-floor crowding status table 401 shows the boarding floor, and the horizontal axis shows the disembarking floor.

In the in-car floor-to-floor congestion status table 401, the congestion calculation unit 9a uses the congestion calculation formula described above based on the values of the departure floor 714 and arrival floor 715 included in the operation status data table 700 shown in FIG. 10 to calculate the unit time cumulative value of congestion obtained by integrating the travel time 713 and the number of passengers 717 in the corresponding column. This allows the customer 1 to grasp the congestion status for each floor to be moved.

For example, if a car moving from the 6th floor to the 10th floor moves without stopping at any floors along the way, and six passengers get on the car at the 6th floor, and it takes 10 seconds for these passengers to move to the 10th floor, the value is calculated as "60". This value is calculated by the congestion calculation unit 9a by integrating the number of passengers and the floor-to-floor running time. The information generation unit 8b generates a screen 400 in which "60" is stored as the in-car movement floor-to-floor congestion 402 in the corresponding column of the in-car movement floor-to-floor congestion status table 401. In addition, "30" as the in-car movement floor-to-floor congestion 403 indicates the congestion of the car when it starts from the 6th floor, which is the boarding floor, and then stops at the 9th floor, which is the disembarking floor. In this way, the in-car movement floor-to-floor congestion status table 401 is used by the customer 1 to check the floors where the congestion was high when the car was moving.

<In-car congestion status screen by floor and time period>
Next, a configuration example of the car congestion status screen 500 by floor and time period will be described.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a car congestion status screen 500 by floor and time period.
The information generation unit 8b generates a car congestion status screen 500 by floor and time period in which the congestion degree calculated for each time period by the congestion degree calculation unit 9b is stored for each column of the table specified by time period and floor.

The car congestion status by floor and time period screen 500 is displayed on the customer terminal 2 when the customer 1 selects the relevant date from the date selection field 205 on the date-by-date number of users/alert display screen 200 shown in FIG. 4 and selects the car congestion status by floor button 209. The car congestion status by floor and time period screen 500 is used by the customer 1 to check the elevator floor and car congestion status (boarding rate) by time period on a specified date.

The car congestion status screen 500 by floor and time period has a building name display field, a bank display field, a target car number selection pull-down menu 501 , and a search button 502 .
The functions of the building name display field, the bank display field, and the target car selection pull-down 501 are similar to the functions of the respective parts of the car congestion status screen 300 by time period shown in FIG.

First, customer 1 selects an elevator number managed by the group control elevator 20 operating in the building from the target elevator number selection pull-down 501. Then, when customer 1 selects the search button 502, the car congestion status by time period and floor 504 is displayed.

If customer 1 selects "All elevators" in the target elevator selection pull-down menu 501, the congestion status of all elevators is displayed. Also, if customer 1 wants to know the congestion status of each elevator, he or she can select the relevant elevator from the target elevator selection pull-down menu 501, and the congestion status of the selected elevator will be displayed.

Customer 1 can also select either "up" or "down" from the up/down direction display switch tab 503 located at the top of car congestion status by time period and floor 504 to switch between displays of congestion status in the car according to the car's operating direction (up, down). In this way, car congestion status by floor and time period screen 500 is used by customer 1 to check the congestion status in the car by floor and time period.

The numbers shown in column 505 of car congestion status by time period and floor 504 represent the average occupancy rate (%) in the car. As described above, the average occupancy rate in the car can be interpreted as the congestion level. The average occupancy rate in the car stored in column 505 is a value calculated by the congestion level calculation unit 9b as the average occupancy rate (%) per unit time for each floor based on the occupancy rate 718 stored in the operation status data table 700 shown in Figure 10, using the floor from which the car departs as the reference.

The congestion degree calculation unit 9b also adds the occupancy rate at the time the car passes through floors that the car has passed through to the calculation of the average occupancy rate in the car. However, when the car moves between floors without passengers on board (only car movement due to hall calls), the congestion degree calculation unit 9b calculates the average occupancy rate in the car without including data when the car passes between floors.

In addition, the information generating unit 8b changes the background color of the table items when the car occupancy rate is between 50% and 80%, or 80% or more. Therefore, it is clear to the customer 1 at a glance that column 506 indicates a crowded situation (occupancy rate between 50% and 80%), and column 507 indicates a full-capacity situation (occupancy rate of 80% or more).

For example, as shown in the lower part of car congestion status by time period and floor 504, during the time period from 8:25 to 8:30 508 to the time period from 8:45 to 8:50 509, when passengers on the first floor get into the car and the car ascends to a higher floor, customer 1 can see that the car is almost full. Customer 1 can also see that the occupancy rate up to the seventh floor is 50% or more.

<Modified example of car congestion status screen by floor and time period>
Although the occupancy rate (%) is displayed in the column 505 for the cage congestion status by time zone and floor 504, the number of passengers getting on and off at each floor may be displayed instead.
Here, a modified example of the car congestion status screen 500 by floor and time period will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a modified example of the car congestion status screen 500 by floor and time period.
The information representing the congestion status in the car includes the number of users who got on the car and the number of users who got off the car, extracted from the elevator operation information 17. Then, the information generating unit 8b generates a floor/time period-specific car congestion status screen 600 according to a modified example, in which the number of users who got on the car and the number of users who got off the car are stored in each column of a table together with the congestion degree.

In the column 601 of the floor/time zone-specific crowdedness status screen 600 according to the modified example, the number of passengers, the passenger load rate, and the number of passengers alighting are written side by side. Here, the number on the left side of the column 601 indicates the number of passengers, the number in parentheses indicates the passenger load rate (%), and the number on the right side indicates the number of passengers alighting. The group management control device 22 shown in FIG. 2 can calculate the number of passengers alighting based on the detection value of the load sensor installed in the car, just like the number of passengers alighting. For this reason, the elevator operation information 17 in FIG. 1 includes not only the number of passengers alighting but also the number of passengers alighting. Then, the output unit 8a outputs the number of passengers who boarded the car and the number of passengers who alighted from the car, extracted from the elevator operation information. Based on the information displayed by time zone in this way, the customer 1 can accurately grasp the number of passengers alighting and the number of passengers alighting by floor. For example, if the passenger load rate is high on a certain floor, it is assumed that the number of users 3 who board and alight on this floor is greater than the number of users 3 who board and alight on other floors with lower passenger load rates. Therefore, customer 1 can encourage users 3 who board or disembark at floors with high occupancy rates to spread out their boarding.

<Screen showing congestion status in car by time period>
Next, a display example of a screen displayed on the user's portable terminal 4 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example of a time-zone-based cage congestion status screen 900. As shown in FIG.

The information generating unit 8b generates a time-zone-by-time-zone crowded-in-car screen 900 that includes information showing the crowdedness in the car for each time zone and information indicating high congestion. The output unit 8a displays the screen 900 on a user mobile terminal 4 used by elevator users, or on an information providing device 5 installed at the elevator landing. This time-zone-by-time zone crowded-in-car screen 900 is an example of a screen that is displayed on the user mobile terminal 4 and can be confirmed by the user 3.

The car congestion status by time period screen 900 has a building name display field, an elevator name display field, a target period display field, and an average congestion status by time period field 901.
The building name display field displays the name of the building selected by the user 3, and the elevator name display field displays the name of the elevator selected by the user 3. In addition, the target period display field displays the target period set by the user 3 for which the user 3 wishes to check the congestion status.

The congestion calculation unit 9a calculates the average congestion (crowding) for a past period (one day, one week, one month, etc.) specified by the user 3 based on the time-zone-specific congestion value calculated on the time-zone-specific congestion status screen 300 shown in FIG. 5. The information generation unit 8b then generates a time-zone-specific congestion status screen 900 including a time-zone-specific average congestion status field 901 showing the average congestion. The output unit 8a transmits the screen 900 to the user mobile terminal 4. For this reason, the user 3 can consider using the elevator at a different time zone, for example, since the time zone from 8:25 to 8:40 is crowded.

The output unit 8a also transmits the car congestion status screen by time period 900 to an information providing device 5, which is a signage or the like installed at an elevator landing or the like. Therefore, the information providing device 5 can display the car congestion status screen by time period 900, which includes an average congestion status by time period column 901, and provide information to the user 3.

<Processing of the car congestion status output system>
Next, a series of processes performed by the car congestion status output system 10 will be described.
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by the customer 1 using the car congestion status output system 10.

First, the customer terminal 2 displays the managed building selection screen 100 generated by the information generation unit 8b. The customer 1 selects a building to grasp the congestion status in the car (S1). The building is selected through the managed building selection screen 100 shown in FIG. 3, which is displayed on the customer terminal 2.

Next, customer 1 specifies the elevator (bank) in the building and the date, and searches for congestion status in the elevator (S2). The bank and date are specified through the date-specific number of users/alerts display screen 200 shown in FIG. 4. When the search button 203 on the date-specific number of users/alerts display screen 200 is selected, the congestion calculation unit 9a calculates the number of users for a specific time period on the specified bank and date on the relevant date. The information generation unit 8b then generates the date-specific number of users/alerts display screen 200, which includes a date-specific usage status display field 204, and the output unit 8a displays the screen 200 on the customer terminal 2.

Next, customer 1 checks the elevator date displayed in the date selection field 205, the number of users by time period in the number of users graph display field 206, and the car congestion status notification field 207 (S3). Customer 1 then checks whether or not a car congestion status notification including a caution or warning alert is displayed in the car congestion status notification field 207 (S4). If a car congestion status notification is not displayed (NO in S4), the car is not crowded, so this process ends.

On the other hand, if the car congestion notification is displayed (YES in S4), the customer 1 grasps the congestion status in the car by displaying the time-slot-by-time-zone car congestion status screen 300 shown in FIG. 5, which shows the congestion status in the car by time zone during the time zone when the congestion status notification occurred (S5). The congestion calculation unit 9a calculates the congestion status in the car by time zone, and the information generation unit 8b generates the time-slot-by-time car congestion status screen 300. The output unit 8a then displays the screen 300 on the customer terminal 2. The screen 300 shows the congestion status in the car by time zone. The customer 1 also checks the necessary information by displaying on the customer terminal 2 the breakdown of the running time for the entire time zone, including the data for the occupancy rate of less than 50% shown in FIG. 6, and by displaying on the customer terminal 2 the time-slot-by-floor congestion status screen 400 shown in FIG. 7.

Next, the customer 1 displays the car congestion status by floor and time period screen 500 shown in FIG. 8, which shows the congestion status in the car by floor and time period during the time period when the congestion status notification occurred, to grasp the congestion status (S6). Then, the congestion degree calculation unit 9b calculates the congestion level in the car by floor and time period, the information generation unit 8b generates the car congestion status by floor and time period screen 500, and the output unit 8a displays the screen 500 on the customer terminal 2. The screen 500 shown in FIG. 8 shows the congestion level in the car by floor and time period. The congestion level may be calculated by the congestion level calculation unit 9b during steps S2 to S6, or may be calculated in advance before the start of this process.

Next, customer 1 determines whether the congestion in the car is temporary based on the congestion and crowding conditions grasped through each screen (S7). If customer 1 determines that the congestion in the car is temporary (YES in S7), this process ends.

On the other hand, if the customer 1 determines that the congestion in the car is not temporary (NO in S7), the server processing unit 7 will provide the user 3 with shift information on usage times and post warning notices in the hall, etc. (S8). At this time, the user's mobile terminal 4 displays the car congestion status by time period 900 shown in FIG. 12, which shows information such as time periods when the car is not crowded. The information providing device 5 installed in the hall also displays the car congestion status by time period 900 shown in FIG. 12, which shows information such as the car being crowded at the current time.

Next, customer 1 determines whether the elevator occupancy level needs to be changed (S9). For example, by lowering the occupancy level, it becomes easier to generate a crowded or full car alert even if the number of passengers in the car is small. In this case, passengers will avoid crowded or full cars, which can reduce the risk of infection inside the car.

If customer 1 determines that the elevator occupancy level needs to be changed (YES in S9), customer 1 requests an investigation from the elevator maintenance company. The maintenance company then investigates the elevator operation status (S10). The maintenance company then passes the investigation results on to customer 1, and with customer 1's consent, changes the elevator occupancy level settings (S11). On the other hand, if customer 1 determines that the elevator occupancy level does not need to be changed (NO in S9), this process ends.

Next, the hardware configuration of the computer 30 constituting each device of the car congestion status output system 10 will be described.
Fig. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the calculator 30. The calculator 30 is an example of hardware used as a computer capable of operating as the customer terminal 2, the user mobile terminal 4, the information providing device 5, and the elevator traffic control server 6 according to this embodiment. Each device in the elevator traffic control server 6 according to this embodiment realizes a method for outputting congestion status in a car, in which each functional block shown in Fig. 14 cooperates with each other, by the calculator 30 (computer) executing a program.

The computer 30 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 33, each of which is connected to a bus 34. The computer 30 further includes a display device 35, an input device 36, a non-volatile storage 37, and a network interface 38.

The CPU 31 reads out the program code of the software that realizes each function according to this embodiment from the ROM 32, loads it into the RAM 33, and executes it. Variables, parameters, etc. generated during the calculation processing of the CPU 31 are temporarily written to the RAM 33, and these variables, parameters, etc. are read out by the CPU 31 as appropriate. However, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) may be used instead of the CPU 31. For example, the functions of the server processing unit 7 and the operation data collection device 15 in the elevator operation management server 6 are realized by the program code executed by the CPU 31.

The display device 35 is, for example, a liquid crystal display monitor, and displays the results of the processing performed by the computer 30 to the customer 1 or user 3. The display device 35 of the customer terminal 2 displays any of the screens 100 to 600 shown in Figures 3 to 9 described above. The display device 35 of the user mobile terminal 4 and the information providing device 5 displays the screen 900 shown in Figure 12 described above. The input device 36 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and the customer 1 can input predetermined operations and give instructions on the customer terminal 2. The input device 36 may also be used as a touch panel display device together with the display device 35 on the user mobile terminal 4. The elevator operation management server 6 does not need to be provided with the display device 35 and the input device 36.

The non-volatile storage 37 may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flexible disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, or a non-volatile memory. In addition to the operating system (OS) and various parameters, the non-volatile storage 37 stores programs for operating the computer 30. The ROM 32 and the non-volatile storage 37 store programs and data necessary for the CPU 31 to operate, and are used as an example of a computer-readable non-transient storage medium that stores programs executed by the computer 30. For example, the functions of the building/elevator information storage unit 11 and the elevator operation information storage unit 16 in the elevator operation management server 6 are configured in the non-volatile storage 37.

For example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) is used as the network interface 38, and various data can be transmitted and received between devices via a LAN (Local Area Network) or a dedicated line connected to the terminal of the NIC. The function of the communication device 14 in the elevator operation control server 6 is realized by the network interface 38.

In the car congestion status output system 10 according to the first embodiment described above, the customer 1, who is the owner or manager of the building, can confirm the information indicating high congestion and/or the information indicating the congestion status in the car output from the elevator operation management server 6. At this time, the customer 1 can confirm the usage status of the elevator through the date-by-date number of users/alert display screen 200 shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, the customer 1 grasps the congestion status in the car from the date-by-date number of users/alert display screen 200 using any of the time-by-time car congestion status screen 300 shown in FIG. 5, the time-by-time car movement floor-to-floor congestion status screen 400 shown in FIG. 7, and the floor/time-by-floor car congestion status screen 500 shown in FIG. 8. In this way, the customer terminal 2 is provided with not only information indicating the congestion status in the car, but also information indicating, for example, high congestion in the car, which indicates a high risk of infection with an infectious disease, as information for reducing the infection risk of elevator users. And, the information indicating the congestion status in the car changes depending on, for example, the congestion status in the car, which indicates a high risk of infection with an infectious disease. Therefore, by checking the information indicating high crowding, customer 1 can understand the times when the elevator is crowded, the times and floors when an alert is displayed, and can take measures to reduce the risk of infection for elevator users. For example, customer 1 can encourage user 3 to shift their usage time when the elevator car is crowded in order to reduce the risk of infection.

In addition, the customer terminal 2 outputs the congestion level expressed as the average passenger occupancy rate for each time period. The congestion level is included in the information that indicates the congestion status inside the car. Therefore, by understanding not only the density but also the congestion level, the customer 1 can confirm which time periods are crowded and whether it is better to encourage users 3 to spread out their boarding. The congestion level is also output for each time period and for each floor. Therefore, the customer 1 can confirm the changes in the congestion level not only for each time period but also for each floor, and accurately grasp the level of infection risk. And the customer 1 can also individually encourage users 3 of tenants on floors with high congestion levels to spread out their boarding, for example.

Customer 1 can also take steps to reduce the risk of infection for elevator users 3 by requesting the maintenance company to change the occupancy level setting of the elevator itself during peak hours. In this case, the maintenance company that receives the request will set the occupancy level.

The user 3 can also ascertain the congestion status in the car from the car congestion status by time period screen 900 shown in FIG. 12, which is displayed on the user mobile terminal 4 or the information providing device 5. This allows the user 3 to independently shift the elevator usage time to a less crowded time period. The user mobile terminal 4 or the information providing device 5 may also display the number of users by date graph display field 206 on the number of users by date/alert display screen 200 in FIG. 4.

The information generating unit 8b may generate a message including information representing the congestion state in the car during the specified period and information indicating that the congestion is high, and the output unit 8a may display the message on the customer terminal 2 and/or the user mobile terminal 4 or the information providing device 5. In this case, an email including the message may be sent to the user mobile terminal 4 or the information providing device 5. By displaying the message on the customer terminal 2 and/or the user mobile terminal 4 or the information providing device 5 in this manner, the customer 1 and/or the user 3 can quickly confirm that the congestion in the car is high, without having to operate the terminal they are using and wait for various screens to be displayed.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a configuration example of an elevator car congestion status output system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 15 and 16.
FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration example of an elevator car congestion status output system 10A according to the second embodiment.

The overall configuration of the car congestion status output system 10A is almost the same as the car congestion status output system 10 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, except that the communication device 14 of the elevator operation management server 6 communicates with a single-managed elevator 20A installed in the customer's building. The operation data collection device 15 stores the elevator operation information acquired from the single-managed elevator 20A through the communication device 14 in the elevator operation information storage unit 16. In the single-managed elevator 20A, the operation of one elevator 24 installed in the customer's building is operated.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a single-management elevator 20A.
The single-management elevator 20A is equipped with a communication device 21, an elevator control device 23, an elevator 24, and an operation data memory unit 25.

The communication device 21 is connected to a high-speed communication network and transmits and receives various data to and from the elevator operation control server 6.
The elevator control device 23 controls the operation of the elevator 24. In addition, the elevator control device 23 collects elevator operation data from the elevator 24 and writes the elevator operation data to the operation data storage unit 25.

The elevator control device 23 collects elevator operation data from the elevator 24 and stores it in the operation data storage unit 25 as elevator operation data 26. The elevator control device 23 then transmits the elevator operation data read from the elevator operation data 26 at the instruction of the operation data collection device 15 to the elevator operation management server 6 via the communication device 21. The subsequent processing in the elevator operation management server 6 is the same as the processing in the elevator operation management server 6 according to the first embodiment.

In the car congestion status output system 10A according to the second embodiment described above, the car congestion and congestion degree of the elevator 24 are calculated based on the elevator operation data acquired from the single-management elevator 20A. Then, based on the calculated car congestion and congestion degree, information indicating high congestion is output to the customer terminal 2, the user mobile terminal 4, and the information providing device 5. This allows the customer 1 and/or user 3 to confirm the information indicating high congestion. By confirming the information indicating high congestion, the customer 1 can understand the time periods when the elevator 24 is crowded, the time periods and floors when an alert is displayed, and can urge the user 3 to avoid using the elevator during those time periods. The user 3 can also use the elevator 24 while avoiding crowded conditions inside the car.

Incidentally, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that various other applications and modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention as set forth in the claims.
For example, the above-mentioned embodiment describes the system configuration in detail and specifically in order to explain the present invention in an easily understandable manner, and is not necessarily limited to a system having all of the described configurations. In addition, it is also possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of the present embodiment with other configurations.
In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and not all control lines and information lines in the product are necessarily shown. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other.

2...Customer terminal, 4...User mobile terminal, 5...Information providing device, 6...Elevator operation management server, 7...Server processing unit, 8a...Output unit, 8b...Information generating unit, 9a...Congestion degree calculation unit, 9b...Congestion degree calculation unit, 10...In-car congestion status output system, 11...Building/elevator information storage unit, 12...Building master information, 13...Elevator information, 15...Operation data collection device, 16...Elevator operation information storage unit, 17...Elevator operation information, 20...Group management elevator, 22...Group management control device, 23a-23n...Elevator control device, 24a-24n...Elevator, 25...Operation data storage unit, 26...Elevator operation data

Claims (9)

An elevator operation control server that outputs the congestion status in an elevator car,
an elevator operation information storage unit that stores the elevator operation information;
a congestion calculation unit that extracts operation information of the elevator specified by a first terminal from the elevator operation information storage unit for a specified period specified by the first terminal, and calculates a value obtained by multiplying a travel time of the elevator by the number of passengers in the elevator based on a departure time, an arrival time, and the number of passengers of the elevator, as a congestion in the elevator for each time period;
an output unit that outputs the congestion degree for each time period, and when the congestion degree exceeds a preregistered threshold value, outputs information indicating that the congestion degree is high to the first terminal and/or the second terminal. an information generating unit that generates information representing a congestion state in the car during a designated period designated by the first terminal based on the congestion degree calculated by the congestion degree calculating unit,
The elevator operation control server according to claim 1 , wherein the output unit outputs information representing a congestion state in the car to the first terminal and/or the second terminal. A congestion degree calculation unit that calculates a congestion degree of the car is provided,
The congestion degree is an average passenger load rate for each time period,
The elevator operation control server according to claim 2 , wherein the information representing the congestion state in the car includes the congestion degree. The information generation unit generates a message including information representing a congestion state in the car during a specified period specified by the first terminal and information indicating that the congestion degree is high;
The elevator operation control server according to claim 2 , wherein the output unit outputs the message to the first terminal and/or the second terminal. The elevator is a group control elevator in which the operation of a plurality of the elevators is managed,
3. The elevator operation control server according to claim 2, wherein the output unit outputs information representing a congestion state in the car for each bank and information indicating that the congestion degree is high to a first terminal and/or a second terminal. The information generation unit generates a screen including information representing a congestion state in the car and information indicating that the congestion degree is high,
The elevator operation control server according to claim 2 , wherein the output unit displays the screen generated by the information generation unit on the first terminal and/or the second terminal. The first terminal is a terminal used by a manager of the elevator,
The elevator operation control server according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the second terminal is a terminal used by a user of the elevator. An elevator car congestion status output system including an elevator operation management server that outputs a congestion status in an elevator car,
The elevator operation control server includes:
an elevator operation information storage unit that stores the elevator operation information;
a congestion calculation unit that extracts operation information of the elevator specified by a first terminal from the elevator operation information storage unit for a specified period specified by the first terminal, and calculates a value obtained by multiplying a travel time of the elevator by the number of passengers in the elevator based on a departure time, an arrival time, and the number of passengers of the elevator, as a congestion in the elevator for each time period;
an output unit that outputs the congestion degree for each time period, and when the congestion degree exceeds a preregistered threshold value, outputs information indicating that the congestion degree is high to the first terminal and/or the second terminal. A method for outputting a congestion status in an elevator car, comprising:
extracting operation information of the elevator specified by a first terminal from an elevator operation information storage unit that stores operation information of the elevator during a specified period specified by the first terminal, and calculating a value obtained by multiplying a travel time of the elevator by the number of passengers in the elevator based on the departure time, arrival time, and number of passengers of the elevator as a congestion degree in the elevator for each time period;
a step of outputting the congestion degree for each time period, and if the congestion degree exceeds a preregistered threshold value, outputting information indicating that the congestion degree is high to the first terminal and/or the second terminal.

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