WO2008150142A2

WO2008150142A2 - Elevator system and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2008150142A2
Application number: PCT/KR2008/003204
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sungsik Choi
Original assignee: Sungsik Choi
Priority date: 2007-06-08
Filing date: 2008-06-09
Publication date: 2008-12-11
Also published as: WO2008150142A3

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system, wherein the allocation of a plurality of elevator cars is determined on the basis of the information inputted from the inside and outside of the elevator cars to thereby increase the operating efficiency of the elevator cars and save a space in a building occupied by the elevator system. In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system, in which a destination floor can be selected by numeral input at the inside or outside of an elevator car. Further, a further object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system, in which a stop preferential order of elevator cars can be varied according to the number of standby passengers determined at the outside of the elevator cars. Furthermore, a still further object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system capable of calculating the average number of passengers of an elevator car at respective floors. According to the present invention for achieving the objects, there is provided an elevator system for controlling a plurality of elevator cars, wherein the plurality of elevator cars are arranged in at least one hoist way and driven individually, and speed of the plurality of elevator cars are independent of each other.

Description

Description ELEVATOR SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to an elevator system, and more particularly, to an elevator system, wherein elevator cars travel along hoist ways according to an allocation order provided by a set criterion thereby being effectively operated and reducing a space in a building occupied by the elevator system. Background Art

[2] In general, an elevator is an elevating device provided in a multistoried building to enable passengers or baggage to be transported from one floor to another floor.

[3] As shown in Fig. 1, such an elevator system comprises an internal button operating unit 10 provided inside of an elevator, an external button operating unit 20 provided outside of a hoist way, a control unit 30 and an elevator driving unit 40.

[4] The internal button operating unit 10 is provided inside of the elevator and comprises buttons for selecting a destination floor and buttons for opening/closing an elevator door. The external button operating unit 20 comprises buttons for selecting upward/ downward movement of the elevator. In addition, the control unit 30 outputs an elevator driving control signal for controlling drive of the elevator according to the signal transmitted from the internal/external button operating units 10 and 20. The elevator driving unit 40 drives the elevator according to the elevator driving control signal transmitted from the control unit 30.

[5] In a conventional elevator system, a user selects a destination floor through the external button operating unit 20 at the outside of the elevator. Then, the external button operating unit 20 transmits the signal to the control unit 30, and the control unit 30 receives the signal from the external button operating unit 20 and then transmits the elevator driving control signal to the elevator driving unit 40.

[6] The elevator system does not cause any problem in a low-rise building in which a floating population is relatively small and constant. However, it is difficult to effectively allocate the elevators to passengers in a multistoried building in which there is a large floating population, the number of passengers is not constant and a plurality of elevators are operated.

[7] That is, when transmitting an elevator driving signal, the control unit 30 transmits an elevator driving signal to the elevator driving unit 40 which is nearest to a current floor at which the user presses an external button to operate the elevator near the user. However, if the signals are simultaneously transmitted from two or more floors, the elevator is operated by the signal which was first transmitted, whereby the user at the floor at which the signal was transmitted later should frequently wait for the elevator for a long time. In addition, there is a problem in that the elevator cannot be operated for a long time due to repair or inspection of the elevator. Accordingly, there is a problem in that a significant loss of time, space and energy is caused.

[8] In addition, in the conventional elevator system, there are a lot of restrictions on a selective operation of an elevator for a user, and disabled people including blind people suffer much inconvenience in use of the elevator since the elevator system is design for healthy people.

[9] That is, there are problems in that a blind person touches a plurality of buttons indicating respective floors and arranged in the elevator to select one of the buttons corresponding to a destination floor and then presses the selected button to input the destination floor and in that it is difficult for a disabled person riding on a wheelchair to press a destination floor button out of his/her reach. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[10] An object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system, wherein the allocation of a plurality of elevator cars is determined on the basis of the information inputted from the inside and outside of the elevator cars to thereby increase the operating efficiency of the elevator cars and save a space in a building occupied by the elevator system.

[11] In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system, in which a destination floor can be selected by numeral input at the inside or outside of an elevator car.

[12] Further, a further object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system, in which a stop preferential order of elevator cars can be varied according to the number of standby passengers determined at the outside of the elevator cars.

[13] Furthermore, a still further object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system capable of calculating the average number of passengers of an elevator car at respective floors. Technical Solution

[14] According to the present invention for achieving the objects, there is provided an elevator system for controlling a plurality of elevator cars, wherein the plurality of elevator cars are arranged in at least one hoist way and driven individually, and speed of the plurality of elevator cars are independent of each other.

[15] Preferably, the plurality of elevator cars includes first and second elevator cars, the first elevator car being driven by an elevator car driving unit provided at the ceiling of the hoist way, the second elevator car being driven by an elevator car driving unit provided at a lower portion of the first elevator car.

[16] Preferably, the plurality of elevator cars are individually driven by a plurality of elevator car driving units provided at the ceiling of the hoist way.

[17] More preferably, the elevator system comprises sensing units provided at certain positions of the respective elevator cars to sense weight thereof, an interval therebetween, and speed thereof; external button input units provided outside of the hoist way to allow a standby passenger to select a destination floor; internal button input units provided inside of the elevator cars to allow a passenger to select a destination floor; and a main control unit for determining allocation of the plurality of elevator cars to be operated on the basis of output signals of the internal and external button input units and the sensing unit and a predetermined allocation order.

[18] More preferably, the elevator system further comprises a personal identification unit capable of determining a personal characteristic of a standby passenger inputted through the external button input unit, the external button input unit detecting double input of the standby passenger waiting for the elevator car at the same floor using the personal characteristic.

Advantageous Effects

[19] According to the present invention, allocation of a plurality of elevator cars is determined on the basis of the information inputted from the inside and outside of the elevator cars, so that it is possible to increase the operating efficiency of the elevator cars and to save a space in a building occupied by the elevator system.

[20] Also, according to the present invention, there is an advantage in that a destination floor can be selected by numeral input at the inside or outside of an elevator car.

[21] In addition, the present invention has an advantage in that a stop preferential order of elevator cars can be varied according to the number of standby passengers determined at the outside of the elevator cars.

[22] Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is an advantage in that the average number of passengers of an elevator car at respective floors can be calculated. Brief Description of the Drawings

[23] Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional elevator system;

[24] Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[25] Fig. 3 is a view of the overall configuration of the elevator system;

[26] Fig. 4 is a block diagram of a main control unit of the elevator system;

[27] Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing an auxiliary input unit of the elevator system;

[28] Fig. 6 is a schematic view of an elevator system according to another embodiment of the present invention; and [29] Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method for controlling the elevator system of the present invention. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[30] Hereinafter, an elevator system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference with the accompanying drawings.

[31] As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2, sensing units 330, external button input units 200, a timer input unit (not shown), internal button input units 100, a main control unit 400, elevator car driving units 500 and display units 320.

[32] A plurality of elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 are provided in at least one hoist way 1, and one or more elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 are provided in the hoist way 1 and can be driven independently by the elevator car driving units 500. That is, the following elevator car 300-2 is driven by the elevator car driving unit 500 that is provided at a lower portion of the leading elevator car 300- 1 and towing the leading elevator car.

[33] The main control unit 400 determines input signals transmitted from the internal button input units 100 provided in the respective elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 and the external button input units 200 and senses weight and interval signals transmitted from the sensing units 330 installed to the respective elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2.

[34] Using the foregoing, the elevator car driving units 500 provided at the elevator cars

300-1 and 300-2 can drive the leading and following elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 so that they travel in the opposite directions to each other. In addition, it will be apparent that the elevator car driving units 500 can drive the leading and following elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 so that they travel in the same direction at different speeds.

[35] According to one embodiment, when it is determined from the weight detection signals transmitted from the sensing units 330 that no passenger boards in the elevator cars, the elevator cars are controlled in such a manner that: the leading elevator car 300- 1 rather than the following elevator car 300-2 is operated preferentially in response to an input signal of a floor near a final destination floor in a traveling direction so as to enable the leading elevator car to first arrive at the final destination floor; the following elevator car 300-2 is operated preferentially in response to an input signal of a destination floor which the leading elevator car 300- 1 does not stop at and passes by; if an interval between the leading and following elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 exceeds a predetermined range, the traveling speed of the following elevator car 300-2 is increased; and if the interval between the leading and following elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 is in the predetermined range, the traveling speed of the following elevator car 300-2 is reduced.

[36] According to another embodiment, if it is determined from the input signal that the leading elevator car 300-1 directly travels to the final destination floor, the following elevator car 302 travels between respective destination floors at high speed.

[37] According to a further embodiment, through the calculation of the number of board- allowable passengers and the allowable weight, the leading and following elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 can travel to respective destination floors allocated for each section, and it is possible to make them be on standby at floors predetermined by an input signal of a manger prior to the operation.

[38] In the meantime, according to one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable to ensure at least one final destination floor in a structure of a building. This is because when the top floor is designated as the destination floor for the following elevator car 300-2, the following elevator car 300-2 is elevated together with the leading elevator car 300-1 and the leading elevator car 300-1 should be arrived at a secured destination floor.

[39] In the meantime, the sensing unit 330 is provided at each elevator car to sense the weight of the passengers (and baggage) boarding the elevator car, a speed of the elevator car and an interval between the elevator cars. To this end, the sensing unit may be provided with a load sensor 332, a speed sensor (not shown), an interval detecting sensor 334 and the like.

[40] The load sensor 332 is provided at the bottom of each of the elevator cars 300-1 and

300-2 to sense a weight of passengers (and baggage) boarding in the elevator car and transmit the load signal to the main control unit 400.

[41] The speed sensor is provided at the outside of each of the elevator cars 300-1 and

300-2 to sense a speed thereof and transmit the speed signal to the main control unit 400.

[42] The interval detecting sensor 334 detects an interval between the elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 and then transmits the detected interval signal to the main control unit 400.

[43] Here, the interval between the elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 and the traveling direction and speed thereof can be controlled within certain ranges on the basis of the interval detecting signal, the speed signal and the internal/external button inputting signals.

[44] The external button input units 200 are provided on an outer wall of the hoist way 1 so that the passenger is capable of inputting a numeral to designate an alighting floor, i.e., destination floor. The external button input unit may comprise opening/closing buttons, floor selecting buttons and the like.

[45] According to one embodiment of the present invention, buttons of the external button input unit 200 are controlled by the main control unit 400 so that the floors at which the passenger can alight from the elevator car are activated and the floor at which the passenger cannot alight from the elevator car are not activated, the activated and in- activated floors can be displayed on the display unit 320 so that the passenger can recognize them.

[46] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the external button input unit

200 is provided at each floor of hoist way 1 and can determine double input by a passenger for the same alighting floor by means of a sensing unit (not shown) for sensing characteristics of individual passenger such as fingerprint identification, and it is possible to set the double input by the same passenger to be recognized as a cancellation of the input.

[47] According to another embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the input devices such as the internal and external button input units 100 and 200, auxiliary input units 100' for numeral input can be further provided at the outside of the respective floors of the hoist way 1 and the inside of the elevator cars so that a blind person easily operates the input units (see Fig. 5).

[48] That is, the blind person can recognize the auxiliary input unit 100' and inputs the destination floor therethrough, and the auxiliary input unit may be provided with buttons on which Braille corresponding to numerals 0 to 9 and signs meaning "confirmation" and "cancellation" are marked. That is, only when through the auxiliary input unit 100', the button on which a Braille corresponding to the destination floor is marked is pressed and then the button on which a Braille corresponding to the "confirmation" is marked is pressed, the final information is transmitted to an input signal determination section 410. Also, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the information on the floors at which the passenger can alight can be outputted in a sound.

[49] In the meantime, the leading elevator car 300- 1 can be controlled so that it travels selectively to the destination floors by real-time operation in consideration of weight, speed and traveling direction with respect to the signal inputted through the external button input unit 200.

[50] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the external button input unit

300 may be further provided with a timer input unit (not shown) which can set a desired time at which the elevator car 300 preferably arrives at a boarding floor, and the speed of the elevator car 300 can be controlled within a certain range by the timer input unit operated by the passenger.

[51] The timer input units are provided at the outside of the hoist way 1 and the inside of a building, so that a passenger can appoint a boarding time, and when a special passenger such as a director of a company goes out of the building or comes back the building, the designated floor and time at which he/she will alight in advance can be reserved.

[52] As an example, the timer input unit can be connected to an external wireless commu- nication network such as a cellular phone and the like, so that the passenger can preferentially reserve the use of the elevator through the operation of a cellular phone.

[53] In addition, it is possible to reserve the elevator cars 300 and cancel a reservation thorough the timer input unit in the building, so that the passenger, who will go out of the building at 11: 50 a.m. or come back the building at 11:50 a.m., can reserve a designated floor and time through the timer input unit, when a current time of 11:30 a.m..

[54] The internal button input unit 100 is provided in the elevator car 300 at a side of an openable/closable door 310, thereby enabling the passenger to input the destination floor among the overall floors and the opening/closing of the door. The internal button input unit 100 may comprises an opening/closing button for the opening/closing door 310, an emergency stop button and a calling button.

[55] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the internal and external button input units 100 and 200 can be connected to a personal identification means (not shown) which stores the data on at least individuals being in the building and can identify the individuals. Thus, a double input of the passenger is allowed, and it is possible to regard the input repeated twice over by the same person within a certain time as a cancellation of the input by means of the personal identification means.

[56] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the travel of the elevator car to the destination floor can be given restriction, allowance or priority on the basis of a weight value set by the personal identification means.

[57] For example, in a case where the personal identification means reads an identification factor as a representative of a company, a weight value is given the identification factor and the main control unit responds more preferentially than anyone else. In addition, the travel of the elevator car to the floors with a strictly confidential research and development is restricted for the public but permitted for resident persons by means of the personal identification means.

[58] Furthermore, the internal and external button input units 100 and 200 can be connected to the main control unit 400 through a network, so that signals can be received and transmitted.

[59] As shown in Fig. 4, the main control unit 400 controls the operation of the corresponding elevator car 300 in the corresponding hoist way 1 based on the output signals of the internal and external button input units 100 and 200 and the sensing units 330.

[60] The main control unit 400 analyzes the information inputted by the passenger in realtime and determines the selective input on the basis of an allocating order predetermined by a certain criterion, thereby allocating the hoist way 1 and the elevator car 300 to be operated and generating a driving control signal for the allocated elevator car 300 and a control signal for providing the passenger with the information related to the elevator car to transmit the signal.

[61] According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to preferentially allocate the elevator car 300 which has a small total weight and travels to the floor corresponding to the input signal of the external button input unit 200. According to another embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to preferentially allocate the elevator car 300 to the floor to which the input is duplicated by the external button input units 200. According to a further embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to preferentially allocate the elevator car 300 which has a small total weight and travels to the floor on which the signal is inputted to the external button input unit 200. According to a still further embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to preferentially allocate the elevator car 300 to the floor at which much signals are duplicated through the external button input unit 200.

[62] The main control unit 400 is connected to an external communication network, and extracts the information on the boarding floor and the alighting floor from the input signals of the internal and external input units 100 and 200 and the output signals of the sensing units 330, the information on the total weight of the elevator car 300 and the information on the interval between the elevator cars. Then, the main control unit calculates and determines an allocating order of the hoist way 1 and the elevator car 300 on the basis of the certain criterion to allocate the elevator car 300 to be operated.

[63] That is, the main control unit 400 can preferentially allocate the elevator car 300 which is most adjacent to the floor at which a signal is inputted through the external button input unit 200 and the elevator car 300 having a small total weight, and the elevator car 300 to the floor at which the signals are inputted maximally many times through the external button input units 200.

[64] In addition, the main control unit 400 can control so that the elevators 300 are respectively operated for designated sections areas, and if a plurality of hoist ways 1 are provided, the elevator cars can travel to the designated floors according to the passenger's demands.

[65] For example, in a case where four companies occupy a thirty-story building, a company A occupies first to fifth floors, a company B occupies sixth to sixteenth floors and a company C occupies seventeenth to thirtieth floors, an elevator car 300 can be allocated to a section for the specific company and repeatedly travel within the allocated section.

[66] In a case where a plurality of hoist ways 1 are provided and a plurality of elevator cars 300 are provided in each hoist way 1, in order for the main control unit 400 to notify the optimum hoist way 1 in which the passenger can board, there may be provided an additional signal equipment (not shown) besides the display unit 320. [67] In the meantime, the main control unit 400 comprises the input signal determination section 410, an allocating order setting section 420, a determination signal analyzing section 430, an elevator car allocating section 440, a control section 450 and an operation information storage section 460.

[68] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the input signal determination section 410 determines whether the signal received through the network is the input signal transmitted through the external communication network or the input signal transmitted from the internal and external button input units 100 and 200.

[69] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the input signal determination section 410 is connected to the personal identification means to calculate a coefficient of utilization of the passengers of each floor, thereby being used for charging a fee such as an electricity bill and the like.

[70] The allocating order setting section 420 sets an allocating order of the corresponding hoist way 1 and the corresponding elevator car 300 from the comparison with a determination signal outputted from the input signal determination section 410.

[71] The determination signal analyzing section 430 analyzes the signal of the input signal determination section 410 to extract the operating information for operating a plurality of elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2. If the determination signal analyzing section 430 recognizes that there are a plurality of standby passengers who will alight at the same floor, the determination signal analyzing section 430 counts the input signals which are inputted many times through the external button input units 200 and transmits it to the elevator car allocating section 440.

[72] In addition, if the signal inputted to the determination signal analyzing section 430 is the input signals transmitted from the internal and external button input units 100 and 200, the determination signal analyzing section 430 transmits to the elevator car allocating section 440 the information on the floor at which the standby passenger waits currently and the information on the floor at which the passenger will alight.

[73] The elevator car allocating section 440 outputs an allocating order signal for allocating the elevator cars 300 to be operated on the basis of the allocating order set by the allocating order setting section 420 on the basis of the information extracted from the determination signal analyzing section 430, a weight of the elevator cars 300 detected by the sensing units 330 and an interval between the elevator cars 300.

[74] The control section 450 receives the allocating order signal to generate a driving control signal for driving the elevator cars 300 and a control signal for providing passengers with the information related to the elevator cars 300, and transmits the signals to the display unit 320.

[75] The information according to an operating criterion of the elevator cars 300 is stored in the operation information storage section 460. [76] The elevator car driving unit 500 receives a driving control signal transmitted from the main control unit 400 to drive the allocated elevator car 300, and the elevator car driving unit is provided on each elevator car 300.

[77] The elevator car driving unit 500 according to another embodiment of the present invention can be applied to a rope type driving apparatus installed to the ceiling of the hoist way 1. In this case, the upper elevator car 300 differs from the lower elevator car 300 in supporting location so that the upper elevator car and the lower elevator car do not interfere with each other.

[78] In the elevator car driving unit 500 according to a further embodiment of the present invention, a driving motor provided with a pinion gear is fixed to each elevator car 300, and a rack gear installed along a rail on the inner wall of the corresponding hoist way 1 is meshed with the pinion gear, so that the elevator car driving unit can operate respective elevator cars 300.

[79] The display units 320 may be provided in the elevator cars 300 and at the outside of the hoist way 1, and receive a control signal for the location information on the elevator car 300 from the control section 450 to display the location information. According to one embodiment, the display unit can display a current location and a traveling direction of the elevator car 300, and the display units provided at the outside of the hoist way 1 can be installed above the doors of respective floors to display a current location and a traveling direction of the elevator car 300.

[80] Furthermore, the display units 320 are provided at the outside of the hoist way 1 and the inside of the elevator cars 300. However, there are provided at least one of the display units corresponding to the number of the elevator cars 300, and each display unit 300 can display the floors, at which the passenger can alight, in numeral. In the display unit, the floors at which the passenger can alight are activated and then displayed, and the floors at which the passenger cannot alight are inactivated. Accordingly, the display unit can display the floor at which the passenger can alight so that passengers board the corresponding hoist way 1 and elevator car 300 at the destination floors which are displayed.

[81] Fig. 6 is a schematic view showing an elevator system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[82] According to the other embodiment of the present invention, the leading and following elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 can be driven individually by means of a leading and following elevator car driving units 600- 1 and 600-2 provided on the ceiling of the hoist way 1.

[83] At this time, a structure of the leading elevator car 300- 1 can be partially modified to enable a towing rope for the following elevator car 300-2 to safely pass through the leading elevator car. In addition, as compared with the leading elevator car driving unit 600-1, two pulleys can be added to the following elevator car driving unit 600-2.

[84] As shown in Fig. 7, an elevator control method according to the present invention comprises the steps of (a) sequentially determining input signals of the external and internal button input units (S700); (b) extracting a determination result of the input signal and the information on weight and speed of the elevator cars and an interval therebetween, and extracting the information on alighting floors at which a passenger can alight (S710); (c) allocating the hoist way and the elevator cars on the basis of the information result on the elevator cars and the alighting floors (S 720); and (d) changing the speed of the elevator cars according to the weight of the elevator cars and the interval between the elevator cars with respect to the boarding floors after allocating the hoist way and the elevator cars(S740).

[85] Step S700 of sequentially determining input signals of the external and internal button input units is a step in which a manager of the elevator system registers the information on a plurality of elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 if single hoist way 1 is provided, and the information on a plurality of hoist ways 1 and a plurality of elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 and an operating criterion such as traveling and preferential allocating order if a plurality of hoist ways 1 are provided, through an intranet 600 which is a computer communication protocol, so as to determine the aforementioned information in the input signal determination section 410.

[86] Furthermore, in step S700 of sequentially determining input signals of the external and internal button input units, a desired time at which the elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 arrive at a boarding floor is set and it is possible to notify the passenger of the arrival of the elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2.

[87] Step S710 of extracting a determination result of the input signal and the information on weight and speed of the elevator cars and an interval therebetween, and extracting the information on alighting floors at which a passenger can alight recognizes that the registration in the input signal determination section 410 is not the signal of the inputs of the external and internal button input units 200 and 100 but the signal according to a request for registering the operating criterion, and transmits the signal to the allocating order setting section 420 to request a registration of the operating criterion for each hoist way 1 and the leading and following elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2.

[88] The information on a weight of the elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 is obtained through the load sensors 332 provided on the bottoms of respective elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2, the information on an interval between the elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 is obtained through the interval detecting sensors 334 provided at the lower and upper surfaces of respective elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2, and the allocating order of the elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 to be operated is set and registered using the information on the basis of the allocating order obtained by the allocating order setting section 420. [89] In step S720 of allocating the hoist way and the elevator cars on the basis of the information result on the elevator cars and the alighting floors, the signal inputted by the manager is analyzed by the allocating order setting section 420 and the corresponding information is extracted to set the allocating criterion for the hoist way 1 and the elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 on the basis of the extracted information.

[90] Here, a preferential allocating order for the elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 is set by calculating an interval between the floor at which the signal is inputted to the external button input unit 200 and the elevator car 300 which is most adjacent to the floor, the elevator car 300-1 or 300-2 having a small weight sensed by the sensing units 330, the floor at which the passengers waiting at the same floor at which the signals are inputted maximally many times through the external button input units 200, and traveling directions of the leading and following elevator cars.

[91] Furthermore, in the registration information according to the operating criterion registered by the allocating order setting section 420, an allocating order of the corresponding hoist way 1 and the corresponding elevator car 300-1 or 300-2 is determined by the specific criterion. On the other hand, the registered order can be modified by the manager.

[92] In the meantime, regarding the traveling direction, when the elevator cars 300- 1 and

300-2 travel for a long distance, the leading elevator car 300- 1 is allocated; and when for a short distance, the following elevator car 300-2 located therebetween is allocated.

[93] In addition, step S730 of sensing weight of the elevator cars and an interval between the elevator cars is further provided before step S740 changing the speed of the elevator cars according to the weight of the elevator cars and the interval between the elevator cars with respect to the boarding floors after allocating the hoist way and the elevator cars. Step S730 of sensing weight of the elevator cars and an interval between the elevator cars is a step in which the traveling speed of the elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 is varied according to the weight to achieve the effective operation. In this step, if the elevator car 300-1 or 300-2 has a large weight, the number of the alighting floors is decreased to allow the elevator car to travel at low speed, and if the elevator car has a small weight, the number of the alighting floors is increased to allow the elevator car to travel at high speed.

[94] In step S740 of changing the speed of the elevator cars according to the weight of the elevator cars and the interval between the elevator cars with respect to the boarding floors after allocating the hoist way and the elevator cars, the leading elevator car 300- 1 is allocated when the elevator car 300 travels for a long distance, and the following elevator car 300-2 located therebetween is allocated when the elevator car 300 travels for a short distance. Also, the total weight of the corresponding elevator car 300-1 or 300-2 is sensed by the load sensor 332, so that if the total weight of the elevator car is large, the elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 whose the speeds are individually varied is decelerated, and the speed of the elevator cars is reduced by the sensing of the interval detecting sensor 334 although the interval between the elevator cars 300- 1 and 300-2 is reduced.

[95] On the other hand, if the total weight of the elevator car is small, the load sensor 332 senses the weight of the elevator car to cause the speed of the elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 to be increased within a certain speed range, and the speed of the elevator cars is increased within a certain speed range although an interval between the elevator cars 300-1 and 300-2 is large.

Claims

[1] An elevator system for controlling a plurality of elevator cars, wherein the plurality of elevator cars are arranged in at least one hoist way and driven individually, and speed of the plurality of elevator cars are independent of each other.

[2] The elevator system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of elevator cars includes first and second elevator cars, the first elevator car being driven by an elevator car driving unit provided at the ceiling of the hoist way, the second elevator car being driven by an elevator car driving unit provided at a lower portion of the first elevator car.

[3] The elevator system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of elevator cars are individually driven by a plurality of elevator car driving units provided at the ceiling of the hoist way.

[4] The elevator system as claimed in claim 2 or 3, comprising: sensing units provided at certain positions of the respective elevator cars to sense weight thereof, an interval therebetween, and speed thereof; external button input units provided outside of the hoist way to allow a standby passenger to select a destination floor; internal button input units provided inside of the elevator cars to allow a passenger to select a destination floor; and a main control unit for determining allocation of the plurality of elevator cars to be operated on the basis of output signals of the internal and external button input units and the sensing unit and a predetermined allocation order.

[5] The elevator system as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a personal identification unit capable of determining a personal characteristic of a standby passenger inputted through the external button input unit, the external button input unit detecting double input of the standby passenger waiting for the elevator car at the same floor using the personal characteristic.

[6] The elevator system as claimed in claim 5, wherein the main control unit allows or restricts the travel of the standby passenger to the destination floor or causes the standby passenger to preferentially travel to the destination floor on the basis of a weight value set according to the personal characteristic recognized by the personal identification unit.

[7] The elevator system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the internal and external input units allow the destination floor to be selected through a numeral input.

[8] The elevator system as claimed in claim 4, wherein a button of the internal button input unit is activated to determine whether or not the elevator car stops for an additional input of the passenger.

[9] The elevator system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the sensing unit comprises a load sensor provided on the bottom of each elevator car to sense the total weight thereof; a speed sensor provided outside of the elevator car to sense the speed thereof; and an interval detecting sensor to detect an interval between the elevator cars.

[10] The elevator system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the main control unit extracts the information on a boarding floor, an alighting floor, the total weight of the elevator cars, an interval between the elevator cars and the speed of the elevator cars from the output signals of the internal and external button input units and the sensing unit, and calculates an allocating order of the elevator cars on the basis of an established criterion to output a control signal for allocating the traveling elevator cars.

[11] The elevator system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the main control unit allocates the leading elevator car to a floor corresponding to an input signal of the external button input unit and a floor being far away from the destination floor in a traveling direction of the elevator car, and allocates a following elevator car to a floor near the destination floor.

[12] The elevator system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the main control unit preferentially allocates the elevator car having small total weight and being near the floor corresponding to an input signal of the external button input unit in the traveling direction of the elevator car to a floor at which the signals are inputted maximally many times through the external button input units.

[13] The elevator system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the external button input unit further comprises a timer input unit capable of setting a time at which the elevator car will arrive at a boarding floor.

[14] The elevator system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the main control unit allows the plurality of elevator cars to travel within respective allocated sections according to a predetermined criterion.

[15] The elevator system as claimed in claim 14, wherein an auxiliary input unit is provided with buttons on which Braille corresponding to numerals 0 to 9 and signs meaning "confirmation" and "cancellation" are marked.

[16] An elevator system for controlling an elevator car, comprising: an external button input unit provided outside of a hoist way to allow a standby passenger to select a destination floor, the elevator car traveling in the hoist way; and an internal button input unit provided inside of the elevator car to allow a passenger to select a destination floor, wherein the internal or external input unit allows the destination floor to be selected through a numeral input.

[17] A method of controlling a plurality of elevator cars, comprising the steps of:

(a) sequentially determining input signals of external and internal button input units;

(b) extracting a determination result of the input signal and the information on weight of the elevator cars and an interval therebetween, and extracting the information on alighting floors at which a passenger can alight;

(c) allocating a hoist way and the elevator cars on the basis of the information result on the elevator cars and the alighting floors; and

(d) changing speed of the elevator cars according to the weight of the elevator cars and the interval between the elevator cars with respect to the boarding floors after allocating the hoist way and the elevator cars.

[18] The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein in step (a), a time at which the elevator car arrives to the boarding floor is set in the elevator car and the arrival is notified.

[19] The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein step (a) comprises the step of counting the number of inputs through the external button input units at the corresponding floor and the number of inputs to recognize whether or not the alighting floor is identically selected.

[20] The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein in step (c), the hoist way and the elevator car are preferentially allocated if signals are inputted maximally many times through the external/internal button input units.

[21] The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein in step (c), the leading elevator car is allocated when the boarding floor is far away from the destination floor in the traveling direction of the elevator car, and the following elevator car is allocated when the boarding floor is near the destination floor.

[22] The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising the step of sensing weight of the elevator cars and an interval between the elevator cars before step (d) is performed.