JPH04226293A - Operation control method for elevator car door - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To increase the efficiency of an elevator control system by controlling the opening time of an elevator car door based on a traffic state. CONSTITUTION: A door open sensor 200 is installed to the door frame 202 of an elevator car 204. This sensor issues a radiation wave and detects the radiation wave reflected when a passenger exists and decides the moving direction of the passenger based on the time between the reflection signals. For example, when the reflection signal is reduced, it shows that the passenger moves toward the elevator car. When the reflection signal is increased, it shows that the passenger leaves the elevator car.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for controlling the operation of an elevator car door, and more particularly to a method for controlling the opening time of an elevator car door based on traffic conditions.

[0002] Hereinafter, door opening time means the time between when the door of an elevator car receives an opening command and when the door receives a closing command.

0003

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In buildings with multiple floors, each floor is provided with a set of buttons in the hallway near the elevator. These buttons, commonly referred to as hall call buttons, allow the user to take elevator car service in a predetermined direction, ie, upstairs and/or downstairs. Additionally, a plurality of buttons, commonly referred to as car call buttons, are provided within the elevator car to allow the user to service a particular floor.

In summary, an elevator control system, also technically referred to as an elevator delivery system, monitors the status of hall calls at floors and car calls at elevator cars and dispatches elevators in response to those registered calls. Assigning cars to floors.

[0005] To increase the efficiency of passenger traffic flow through elevator cars, elevator control systems are commonly equipped with advanced door opening devices. In this device, the elevator control system provides a signal to open the elevator car door when the elevator car enters the floor, for example when the elevator car begins to decelerate to stop at the floor. In this method, the elevator car door is almost completely opened by the time the elevator car stops at the floor.

[0006]

[Problem to be solved by the invention] In the conventional system,
The doors remain open for a period of time based on whether the elevator car is answering a car call or a hall call. As a representative example, assume that only one passenger enters the elevator car in response to a car call. Further assume that it takes less time to get off the elevator car than to get on it. Based on these assumptions, the constant time is approximately 4 seconds for car calls and approximately 6 seconds for hall calls.

At the end of this period of time, the elevator control system commands the elevator car doors to begin closing. If the passenger movement is not completely finished by the time the door begins to close, the door will move in the opposite direction. Door reverse motion is typically initiated either when the edge of the door contacts the passenger or when the passenger is holding the edge of the door.

[0008] In relatively congested traffic conditions, it is common for the door to reverse action more than once. Interference with passengers when closing the door further delays passenger movement, thereby aggravating the situation.

Furthermore, even though a hall call for a floor has been registered, there are cases where no passengers are waiting to board the elevator car. For example, when you intend to go only in one direction, or when you accidentally or out of patience register a hall call in both directions. Also, there is a case where the user registers a hall call, but then changes his mind and decides to use the stairs or remembers something else to do.

A certain door opening time is too short, for example when there is relatively heavy traffic, and too long when there are no passengers with the elevator car.

[0011] When the elevator car reaches a floor, the doors open to allow passengers to board or exit the car. Preferably, the door is initially opened for a period of time to allow passengers to exit and to give those wishing to board an opportunity to proceed to the elevator car. Therefore, the present invention detects passenger traffic based on passenger movement to the elevator car. If no boarding traffic is detected, the elevator car doors begin to close.

[0012] If passenger traffic is detected, the door is opened for an additional predetermined period of one second. If the total time that the elevator car door was opened is less than a predetermined maximum time, the invention again detects the presence of passenger traffic. If boarding traffic is detected, the door is opened again for a predetermined period of 1 second. This process continues until no vehicle traffic is detected or the door remains open for at least the predetermined maximum amount of time. The elevator car door begins to close again when no passenger traffic is detected or when the door remains open for at least a predetermined maximum time.

[0013] The predetermined maximum time can be a constant value or can be variable based on the circumstances of the elevator car stopped at the floor. Alternatively, the predetermined maximum time may be based on the predicted door open time. The opening time takes into account the condition of the particular elevator car as well as the number of passengers expected to board and exit the elevator car at the floor.

Accordingly, the present invention uses information received from door open sensors to control elevator car door opening times based on traffic conditions. For example, when no vehicle traffic is detected, the door will remain open for a minimum opening time. As ridership increases, open time also increases. Therefore, the efficiency of the elevator control system is improved.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Elevator control systems are well known in the art. For example, Bittar's USP 4,36
No. 3,381 discloses an elevator control system using a group controller connecting individual elevator car controllers. Additionally, Auer et al. DE/EP 0,239,662 (corresponding to U.S. Application No. 029,495 filed March 23, 1987,
(published October 7, 1987) discloses an elevator control system that employs individual elevator car controllers that communicate via a bidirectional ring communication system.

FIG. 1 depicts an elevator control system employing individual elevator car controllers communicating via a two-way ring communication system. However, the invention can also be used with other elevator control systems.

Returning to FIG. 1. Each elevator car has line 10
2,103 to all other OCSSs in the ring communication system.
It has 101. Each OCSS has various circuits connected to it. However, for simplicity, only one OCSS
Only relevant circuits will be described.

The hall call button and its associated lights and circuitry (not shown) are connected to remote station 104, remote serial communication link 105 and switch changeover module 1.
It is connected to OCSS via 06. Elevator car button and associated lights and circuitry (not shown)
is connected to the OCSS via a remote station 107 and a remote serial communications link 108. The hall lights and their associated lights and circuits that indicate the direction of travel of the elevator car that is about to stop and/or the set of doors to be opened to accommodate the elevator car that is about to stop are connected to the remote station 109 and the remote serial It is connected to the OCSS via a communications link 110.

Elevator car door operation is controlled by a door control subsystem (DCSS) 111. Optionally, sensors (not shown) are mounted on the elevator car door frame to detect passenger traffic through the elevator, thereby determining opening times via the DCSS based on the presence of passenger flow. control.

Elevator car movement is controlled by a movement control subsystem (MCSS) 112. It is Drive and Brake Subsystem (DBSS) 112A
It works by connecting with. Delivery is done using a new delivery subsystem (
determined and executed by the OCSS under the supervisory control of the ADSS) 113. The ADSS includes computers that communicate via an information control subsystem (ICSS) 114, for example.

In the preferred embodiment, the DCSS also determines the elevator car load. The load is MCSS
is converted into a user boarding and/or alighting count by . This information is sent to the ADSS to predict and record traffic volume in order to increase the efficiency of elevator service. Alternatively, user boarding and/or alighting counts may be
For example, it may be determined by a person detection/counting device as shown in Zepke US Pat. No. 4,799,243.

Now, refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of a door opening sensor for detecting the presence of passenger traffic through an elevator car door. Preferably, door open sensor 200 is attached to a door frame 202 of elevator car 204. Therefore, only one sensor is required per elevator car. However, as an alternative, a sensor may be provided at the floor for each elevator.

[0023] The sensor is based on infrared radiation or other radiation technology, such as ultrasound, for example. The sensor emits radiated waves and detects radiated waves reflected by the presence of passenger 206. The sensor preferably emits radiation waves outwardly towards the area where passengers are waiting for the elevator car after registering a hall call. That sensor is
The direction in which the passenger will travel is determined based on the time between reflected radiation signals. For example, if the reflected signal decreases, it indicates that the passenger is moving towards the elevator car. If the reflected signal is increasing, it indicates that the passenger is moving further away from the elevator car.

The elevator control system receives information regarding passenger traffic periodically, for example every 100 seconds. In a preferred embodiment, when the sensor detects the presence of traffic, D
A signal is sent to the OCSS to control the operation of the elevator car door 208 via the CSS.

Refer to FIG. 3. An embodiment is shown for controlling elevator car door opening time based on traffic conditions. The present invention uses information received from door open sensors (FIG. 2) to control elevator car door opening times based on traffic conditions. For example, when no vehicle traffic is detected, the door remains open for a minimum amount of time. As the amount of passenger traffic increases, the door opening time also increases. Therefore,
Elevator control system efficiency is improved.

In step 300, the elevator control system determines when an elevator car comes to a floor.
That is, it commands the elevator car door to open when it starts decelerating to stop at a floor, or when the elevator car stops at a floor. In the preferred embodiment, the elevator car door is initially opened for a period of time Δt1 to allow passengers to exit and to give those wishing to board an opportunity to move towards the elevator car.

The value of Δt1 is preferably constant, for example 1
Seconds. Alternatively, Δt1 is, for example, 1 second. If the elevator and elevator car are on the same floor,
Answer both car and hall calls. When stopping in response to a simultaneous call, Δt1 is, for example, 3 seconds.

In step 302, a value representing the total time that the elevator car door was open, ie, ttOtal, is determined.
is initialized. In the preferred embodiment, the value of ttotal is initialized to the value of Δt1.

In step 304, the system detects the presence of vehicle traffic. In a preferred embodiment, the system detects passenger movement toward the elevator car. It is assumed that these movements towards the elevator car are done with the intention of boarding.

If passenger traffic is detected, step 30
At 6, the door is opened for a further time Δt2. The value of Δt2 is preferably constant, for example 1 second. At the end of Δt2, in step 301 the system calculates ttotal
Update. In step 310, if ttotal is less than the predetermined maximum time tMAX, step 304
310 is repeated.

The value of tMAX represents the desired door opening time defined here. That is, the time between when the elevator car door is commanded to open and when the door is commanded to close. The value of tMAX is a constant value,
For example, it is 10 seconds. Alternatively, the value of tMAX is
May be variable based on the reason the elevator car stopped at the floor. For example, if the elevator stops in response to a car call, tMAX may be, for example, 4 seconds. If the elevator stops in response to a hall call, tMAX
is, for example, 8 seconds.

Alternatively, the value of tMAX may be determined based on the expected door opening time. The door opening time takes into account the condition of the particular elevator car as well as the number of passengers expected to board and exit the elevator car at the floor.

As is well known in the art, historical information regarding the number of passengers entering and exiting each elevator, per floor, for a given period of time, eg, one minute, is obtained over several days. This information is then used to determine historical boarding and alighting rates and predicting the number of passengers boarding and alighting at the floors where the elevator car stops.

The expected door open time can be determined based on the following empirically derived formula.

[0035]X [ae-x/s+be-r/s+c]

[
[0036] Here, X is the total number of predicted passenger movements. r represents the remaining capacity after passengers alight and before boarding (e.g., total capacity - current load + predicted alighting), and s represents approximately one quarter elevator car capacity. a, b, c represent constants that depend on the size of the elevator car and the transport mode.

Based on a typical mode of transport in which there is an exit of a passenger to exit the vehicle followed by an entry of a passenger to board the vehicle, a is 1.0.
8, b is 2.36 and c is 0.62.

For example, assume that three passengers are expected to board the vehicle and two passengers are expected to exit the vehicle at the same time. The load sensor also modifies the case where eight passengers are on the elevator car just before the elevator car stops at the floor. In addition, each passenger weighs 142,85 lbs.
Assume a 4,000lb elevator car with a capacity of 28 people.

The predicted door opening time is 5[1.08
e-5/7+2.36e-22/7+0.62]

00
40] This is 6.25 seconds. In a preferred implementation, if the value of the predicted door open time is greater than a predetermined maximum value, such as 10 seconds, then the value of tMAX is set to the value of the predicted door open time.

When determining the predicted door opening time, if a car call is not registered with the elevator car, the number of alighting passengers is set equal to zero regardless of the predicted value. Similarly, if a hall call is not registered on a floor, the number of passengers boarding is set equal to zero, regardless of the predicted value. Furthermore, the value of r is preferably not greater than the remaining capacity of the elevator car, regardless of the predicted value.

In step 304, if no passenger traffic is detected, or in step 310, ttotal is t.
If it is greater than or equal to MAX, the elevator control system commands the elevator car doors to close in step 312. In a preferred embodiment, the system commands the elevator car door to close if the door has been opened for at least a predetermined maximum time tMAX. In this way, even if there is a false detection, the door will start closing. However, only when passenger traffic is no longer detected, the door is commanded to close.

After the elevator door begins to close, if the edge of the door touches or is held by the passenger,
Alternatively, if a "door open" button in the elevator car is pressed, the elevator door will be opened again.

As discussed above with respect to step 302, t
total is initialized to the value of Δt1 to ensure an accurate value for the total time determined in step 308. Alternatively, if the value of tMAX is adjusted to guarantee the desired door open time, the value of ttotal is initialized to zero.

[0045]

According to the present invention, the elevator car door opening time is controlled by traffic conditions, increasing the efficiency of the elevator control system.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary elevator control system.

FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of a sensor for detecting the presence of passenger traffic through an elevator door.

FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment for controlling elevator car door opening times based on traffic conditions.

[Explanation of symbols]

200 Door open sensor 202 Door frame 204 Elevator car 206 Passenger 208 Door

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. (a) opening an elevator car door; (b) maintaining the door in an open position for a first predetermined time; (c) at the end of a first predetermined time, the presence of passenger traffic flow. (d) if passenger traffic flow is detected, repeating steps (a) to (d) above; (e) if not, starting to close the doors of the elevator car. Car door operation control method. 2. The method of controlling the operation of an elevator car door according to claim 1, wherein the first predetermined time is one second. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the elevator car stops in response to either a car call, a hall call or a simultaneous call, and the first predetermined time value is such that the elevator car stops in response to a car call, a hall call, or a simultaneous call. A method for controlling the operation of an elevator car door, characterized in that the method is based on whether the elevator car door stops in response to a call, a hall call or a simultaneous call. 4. (a) opening an elevator car door; (b) maintaining the door in an open position for a first predetermined period of time; (c) detecting the presence of passenger traffic flow; (d) passenger traffic. maintaining the door in the open position for a second predetermined period of time if a traffic flow is detected; (e) maintaining the door in the open position for less than a predetermined maximum period of time if passenger traffic is detected; A method for controlling the operation of an elevator car door, comprising repeating steps (c) to (e) above if maintained, and (f) otherwise starting to close the door of the elevator car. 5. The method of controlling the operation of an elevator car door according to claim 4, wherein the first predetermined time is one second. 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the elevator car stops in response to either a car call, a hall call or a simultaneous call, and the first predetermined time value is such that the elevator car A method for controlling the operation of an elevator car door, characterized in that the method is based on whether the elevator car door stops in response to a call, a hall call or a simultaneous call. 7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the second predetermined time is one second. 8. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined maximum time is approximately 10 seconds. 9. The method of claim 4, wherein the elevator car stops in response to a car call, a hall call, or a simultaneous call, and the maximum predetermined time value is such that the elevator car stops in response to a car call, a hall call, or a simultaneous call. , an operation control method for an elevator car door, characterized in that the method is based on whether the elevator car door has stopped in response to a hall call or a simultaneous call. 10. The method according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined maximum time is based on a predicted door opening time, and the door opening time is based on a predicted time for entering and exiting the elevator car. A method for controlling the operation of an elevator car door, characterized in that the method is based on the number of passengers carried. 11. The method of claim 4, wherein the elevator car stops at a floor in response to an elevator car and a hall call or a simultaneous call, and the method further comprises: obtaining historical rate information;
To predict the number of passengers who will board an elevator car at a floor based on the historical boarding information, to obtain historical information on the rate of passenger alighting at a floor, to predict the number of passengers who will board an elevator car at a floor based on the historical boarding information, predicting the number of passengers who will exit the elevator car at a floor; determining a predicted door opening time based on the predicted number of passengers who will board and exit the elevator car at a floor; assigning a predetermined maximum time value based on a door open time value;
A method for controlling the operation of an elevator car door, the method comprising: 12. The method according to claim 11,
The step of determining the predicted door opening time further includes determining the passenger load of the elevator car before the elevator car arrives at the floor, and determining the elevator car's total capacity based on the determined passenger load. predicting the remaining capacity of the elevator car, the predicted door number based on the predicted number of alighting passengers who will board and alight the elevator car at the floor, the predicted remaining capacity, and a predetermined total elevator car capacity; Deciding on opening hours