WO2021184756A1

WO2021184756A1 - Elevator scheduling method and apparatus, and electronic device and storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2021184756A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/123314
Authority: WO
Inventors: 陈锋; 伍嘉文; 王军
Original assignee: 广东博智林机器人有限公司
Priority date: 2020-03-19
Filing date: 2020-10-23
Publication date: 2021-09-23
Also published as: CN111086929B; CN111086929A

Abstract

An elevator scheduling method and apparatus, and an electronic device and a storage medium. The method comprises: when executing a first task request, controlling, according to the first task request, an elevator to move from a first starting floor to a first target floor, the first task request comprising the first starting floor and the first target floor; in a process of moving to the first target floor, obtaining, according to the first target floor and door opening directions of the elevator in different floors, a second task request from task requests in which a scheduling direction of the elevator is the same as the current movement direction, the second task request comprising a second starting floor and a second target floor; and controlling the stopping of the elevator according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor. When the elevator executes the first task request, the space in the elevator is sufficiently used, and the second task request that can be simultaneously executed is searched, so as to improve transport efficiency of the elevator to the greatest extent.

Description

Lift dispatching method, device, electronic equipment and storage medium

Cross-reference of patent application documents

This application claims the priority of the Chinese application with the application number 202010194475.4 filed on March 19, 2020, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

Technical field

This application relates to the field of computer technology, and more specifically, to an elevator scheduling method, device, electronic equipment, and storage medium.

Background technique

With economic development and the continuous acceleration of urban construction, high-rise buildings continue to increase. In high-rise buildings, elevators, as a vertical transportation tool, can quickly reach all floors of high-rise buildings. With the development of artificial intelligence and robots, in addition to transporting people and goods, elevators can also transport various robots, such as construction robots and delivery robots.

Summary of the invention

This application proposes an elevator dispatching method, device, electronic equipment and storage medium to improve the above-mentioned problems.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an elevator scheduling method. The method includes: when a first task request is executed, according to the first task request, controlling the elevator from the first starting floor to the first Target floor movement, the first task request includes the first starting floor and the first target floor; in the process of moving to the first target floor, the task from the elevator dispatching direction is the same as the current moving direction In the request, a second task request is obtained according to the first target floor, and the second task request includes a second starting floor and a second target floor; according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and The second target floor controls the stopping of the elevator.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an elevator scheduling device, which includes: when executing a first task request, according to the first task request, controlling the elevator from the first starting floor to the first Target floor movement, the first task request includes the first starting floor and the first target floor; in the process of moving to the first target floor, the task from the elevator dispatching direction is the same as the current moving direction In the request, a second task request is obtained according to the first target floor, and the second task request includes a second starting floor and a second target floor; according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and The second target floor controls the stopping of the elevator.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an electronic device that includes one or more processors; a memory; one or more application programs, wherein the one or more application programs are stored in the memory And configured to be executed by the one or more processors, and the one or more programs are configured to execute the method applied to the electronic device as described above.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium in which a program code is stored, wherein the above-mentioned method is executed when the program code is running.

These and other aspects of the application will be more concise and understandable in the description of the following embodiments.

Description of the drawings

In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

Fig. 1 shows a flowchart of an elevator dispatching method provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 2 shows a flowchart of an elevator dispatching method provided by another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of an elevator dispatching method provided by another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a robot point in an elevator provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of an elevator dispatching method provided by still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 shows a flow chart of an elevator dispatching method provided by still another embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 7 shows a functional block diagram of an elevator dispatching device provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 8 shows a structural block diagram of an electronic device proposed by an embodiment of the present application for executing the elevator scheduling method according to the embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 9 shows a storage medium provided by an embodiment of the present application for storing or carrying program code for implementing the elevator scheduling method according to the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the solutions of the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

An elevator is a device used to transport objects or people in a vertical direction. The elevator can be a construction elevator, a passenger elevator, a freight elevator, etc. At present, there are some elevator algorithms, such as the LOOK algorithm, and the applicable elevators are mainly people. In building construction elevators, robots need to be carried to assist building construction.

Since the actual size of the robot is large and the movement is not flexible enough, if an elevator needs to carry two robots, collisions between robots are prone to occur. Therefore, when transporting the robot by elevator, only one elevator is allowed to carry one robot. However, with this method, the transportation efficiency of the robot is low, which affects the progress of the entire building construction.

The inventor found in the research that the elevator scheduling algorithms mainly include the first-come, first-served algorithm, the shortest floor-finding time priority algorithm, and the LOOK algorithm. If the first-come, first-served algorithm is used when the load is large, the performance will be severely degraded and the efficiency is extremely low. If the algorithm is used for the shortest floor search with limited time, the first-arrival task request may not be responded to for a long time due to the location relationship; if it is used The LOOK algorithm, when carrying more than one robot, avoiding each other between robots takes a lot of time and is inefficient.

Therefore, the inventor proposed the elevator scheduling algorithm of the present application. When the first task request is executed, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor according to the first task request; During the floor movement process, the second task request is obtained according to the first target floor from the task requests whose dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current moving direction; according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor Control the parking of the elevator. When the elevator performs the first task request, make full use of the space in the elevator to find the second task request that can be executed at the same time, so as to maximize the transportation efficiency of the elevator.

The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present application provides an elevator dispatching method, which can be applied to electronic equipment, and the electronic equipment includes a smart device and a server. Specifically, the method may include:

In step S110, when the first task request is executed, according to the first task request, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor.

The elevator can move in the vertical direction for transportation in the vertical direction. The elevator can be connected with electronic equipment, and usually the electronic equipment has a data processing function, so that the elevator can be controlled to stop at different floors. Wherein, the electronic equipment of the elevator may be a controller integrated on the elevator, or may be a smart device communicatively connected with the elevator that can realize a dispatch function, or a server.

Wherein, the electronic device can receive the task request, and control the movement and parking of the elevator according to the task request. The task request may include a starting floor and a target floor, indicating that the elevator needs to stop at the starting floor and then move to the target floor to stop, so as to transport robots, people, or other objects from the starting floor to the target floor. In the embodiments of the present application, only an elevator transport robot is taken as an example for detailed explanation. Of course, the elevator can also transport people or other objects, which is not specifically limited here.

When receiving the first task request, the electronic device can control the movement of the elevator according to the first task request, wherein the first task request can include the first starting floor and the first target floor, so that the electronic device The elevator can be controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor to execute the first task request. Wherein, the first task request is defined as the task request being executed by the elevator.

In some embodiments, the elevator can stop at a preset floor. If the preset floor is inconsistent with the first starting floor, the elevator can be controlled to move from the preset floor to the first floor. Starting floor movement, when controlling the elevator to stop at the first starting floor, according to the first task request, controlling the movement of the elevator from the first starting floor to the first target floor, To execute the first task request.

For example, an elevator needs to transport robots. If the first starting floor is 2, the first target floor is 7, and the preset floor is 1, that is, the elevator is parked on the first floor, and the elevator can be controlled from 1. The floor moves to the 2nd floor to pick up the robot, and then the elevator is controlled to move from the 2nd floor to the 7th floor to execute the first task request.

Step S120, in the process of moving to the first target floor, obtain a second task request according to the first target floor from the task requests in which the dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current moving direction.

In the process of controlling the movement of the elevator to the first target floor, if the elevator is not in a fully loaded state, in order to improve the efficiency of the elevator transportation robot, other robots can be taken during the movement to improve The efficiency of the elevator transportation robot. The demand of each robot can be considered as a task request. Therefore, in the process of moving to the first target floor, the dispatching direction of the elevator and the current moving direction of the task request can be determined according to the first target floor. Obtain the second task request. If the elevator is in a fully loaded state during the movement to the first target floor, it cannot take other robots and move directly to the first target floor until the elevator is moving towards the first target floor. When the target floor is not in a fully loaded state during the movement of the target floor, the step S120 is executed.

The elevator is in the process of moving a robot from the first starting floor to the first target floor. Since the actual size of the robot is large and the movement is not flexible enough, in order not to affect the up and down of the robot being transported, you can Obtain a second task request according to the first target floor from task requests in which the dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current movement direction.

The scheduling direction of the elevator is the movement direction when other task requests are executed. For example, the movement direction of the first task request is upward, and the movement direction of task request A is also upward. If the elevator also executes the task request A, the elevator dispatch direction is upward; if there is a task request B, the movement direction is downward, and if the elevator executes the task request B, the elevator dispatch direction is downward.

The electronic device can receive multiple task requests. When receiving the task request, the received task request can be stored in the request list. In the process of controlling the movement of the elevator to the first target floor, the request is traversed. List, determine that the task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is the task request to be executed, and then according to the first target floor, the task request that meets the preset conditions among the task requests to be executed is used as the second task request .

Step S130, controlling the stopping of the elevator according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor.

When the second task request is obtained, the second starting floor and the second target floor included in the second task request can be obtained. That is to say, the elevator needs to stop at the second starting floor while performing the first task request, and after receiving the robot on the second starting floor, it will move to the first target floor and the second target floor respectively. And respectively stop at the first target floor and the second target floor to transport multiple robots at the same time.

It is understandable that when the elevator executes the first task request and the second task request at the same time, after any one of the task requests is executed, the elevator may regard the task request being executed as the first task request. A task request, and continue to obtain the second task request according to step S120, until all the received task requests are executed. If the elevator can take up to two robots, when the elevator is performing the first task request and the second task request, all task requests are ignored until the task request is completed.

In the elevator scheduling method proposed in the present application, when the first task request is executed, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor according to the first task request; when the elevator is controlled to move to the first target floor In the process, the second task request is obtained according to the first target floor from the task requests whose dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current direction of movement; according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor control The docking of the elevator. When the elevator performs the first task request, make full use of the space in the elevator to find the second task request that can be executed at the same time, so as to maximize the transportation efficiency of the elevator.

Referring to Figure 2, another embodiment of the present application provides an elevator scheduling method. On the basis of the previous embodiment, it focuses on describing the task request from the elevator scheduling direction that is the same as the current movement direction. The process in which the first target floor obtains the second task request. Specifically, the method may include:

In step S210, when the first task request is executed, according to the first task request, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor.

For step S210, reference may be made to the corresponding part of the foregoing embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

Step S220: In the process of moving to the first target floor, the request list is traversed, and a task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is determined as a task request to be executed.

Among them, the electronic device may receive multiple task requests, and each task request includes a corresponding starting floor and a target floor. The electronic device may establish a request list in advance to store the received task request. In the process of controlling the movement of the elevator to the first target floor, the request list may be traversed to determine that a task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is a task request to be executed. The scheduling direction is the direction of moving to the target floor according to the starting floor in the task request.

If the starting floor in the task request is greater than the target floor, indicating that the elevator needs to move from a high floor to a low floor, it can be determined that the scheduling direction of the task request is downward; if the starting floor in the task request It is smaller than the target floor, indicating that the elevator needs to move from a low floor to a high floor, and it can be determined that the scheduling direction of the task request is upward.

For example, the received task request includes task request A, task request B, and task request C. These three task requests are stored in the request list, where the starting floor of the task request A is 2, and the target floor It is 5; the starting floor of the task request B is 3 and the target floor is 6; the starting floor of the task request C is 9, and the target floor is 2. Thus, the scheduling direction of task request A is upward, the scheduling direction of task request B is upward, and the scheduling direction of task request C is downward. Therefore, it can be determined from the request list that a task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is a task request to be executed.

Before traversing the request list and determining that the task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is the task request to be executed, it can be determined whether the elevator is in a fully loaded state during the movement to the first target floor; When the elevator is not in a fully loaded state, traverse the request list, and determine that the task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is the task request to be executed; if the elevator is in a fully loaded state, move directly to the first target floor to pick up and drop off The robot in the elevator determines the task request to be executed until there is a robot in the elevator and it is not in a fully loaded state.

In some embodiments, to determine whether the elevator is in a fully loaded state, an execution list can be established in advance, and it is determined whether the execution list reaches the maximum length of the execution list. Specifically, it may be that the received task request is stored in the request list, indicating that there is a robot that needs to be transported, and when the task request in the request list is executed, the task request being executed can be removed from the request list, And added to the execution list. Therefore, when the number of task requests in the execution list reaches the maximum length of the execution list, it is determined that the elevator is in a fully loaded state.

In other embodiments, judging whether the elevator is in a fully loaded state may be judging whether the status indicator of the elevator is a full-load indicator. Specifically, multiple points can be set in the elevator, and each point can carry a robot. When it is detected that there is a robot at the point in the elevator, a full load indicator can be generated to indicate the elevator The rest of the robots cannot be carried inside, and the status flag of the elevator can be updated to the full load flag at this time. If it is detected that there are remaining points in the elevator that can carry the robot, an under-load indicator can be generated. At this time, the status indicator of the elevator can be updated to an under-load indicator. If it is detected that there are no robots at all points in the elevator, an idling indicator can be generated, and the status indicator of the elevator can be updated to an idling indicator. Therefore, when the status indicator of the elevator is a full load indicator, it can be considered that the elevator is in a fully loaded state.

In step S230, according to the first target floor, a task request that satisfies a preset condition among the to-be-executed task requests is used as the second task request.

After traversing the request list and determining the task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction, that is, the task request to be executed, the task to be executed can be further determined from the task request to be executed according to the first target floor. Request as the second task request.

Specifically, it may be based on the first target floor to determine the starting floor in the task request to be executed and the relationship between the target floor and the first target floor, and further determine the second target floor from the task request to be executed. Task request.

In some embodiments, the door opening direction of the elevator on different floors is the same, that is, the door opening direction of the elevator on all floors is the same side. Open the door on the left when the floor is parked. In other embodiments, the elevator has different door opening directions on different floors, that is, the door opening directions of the elevator on different floors may be different. Open the door on the right when the floor is parked. Wherein, the door opening direction of the elevator is different, and the corresponding preset condition is different, so that the task request meeting the corresponding preset condition can be determined as the second task request according to the first target floor.

For example, the elevator can ride on two robots, that is to say, it can execute at most two task requests at the same time, that is, the first task request and the second task request. When one of the task requests is completed, step S230 can be executed cyclically. To determine the next second task request that can be executed at the same time.

Step S240, controlling the stopping of the elevator according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor.

For step S240, reference may be made to the corresponding part of the foregoing embodiment, and details are not described herein again. In the elevator scheduling method proposed in the present application, when the first task request is executed, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor according to the first task request; when the elevator is controlled to move to the first target floor In the process of traversing the request list, it is determined that the task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current direction of motion is the task request to be executed; according to the first target floor, the task request that meets the preset condition is selected from the task request to be executed The request is used as a second task request; the parking of the elevator is controlled according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor. When the elevator performs the first task request, make full use of the space inside the elevator, and consider the different door opening directions of the elevator, and search for the second task request that can be executed at the same time according to different preset conditions, so as to meet the requirements in various situations It can maximize the efficiency of the elevator transportation robot.

Referring to Figure 3, another embodiment of the present application provides an elevator scheduling method. On the basis of the previous embodiment, it focuses on describing that the elevator obtains the request of the second task under the condition that the door opening direction of different floors is the same. process. Specifically, the method may include:

Step S310: When the first task request is executed, according to the first task request, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor.

Step S320: In the process of moving to the first target floor, traverse the request list, and determine that a task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is a task request to be executed.

For step S310 to step S320, reference may be made to the corresponding part of the foregoing embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

Step S330: Obtain the first target floor and the current floor of the elevator.

Since the elevator is moving from the first starting floor to the first target floor requested by the first task, the elevator is moving toward the first target floor, so that the first target floor can be acquired, And the floor where the elevator is currently located for subsequent use.

Step S340: For the task request to be executed, determine whether the difference between the current floor and the starting floor of the task request to be executed is greater than or equal to a preset value; if yes, go to step S350; if not, go to step S330 .

Wherein, the scheduling direction of the task request to be executed is the same as the moving direction of the elevator. Because the elevator has inertia during movement, it needs to be decelerated to a stop in advance. For example, the current floor of the elevator is the 4th floor, and one of the task requests to be executed has a starting floor that is also a task request for the 4th floor. The elevator is not decelerated to a stop in advance and cannot be stopped immediately on the 4th floor. In order to have enough time for the elevator to decelerate, it can be determined whether the difference between the current floor of the elevator and the starting floor of the task request to be executed is greater than or equal to the preset value.

For example, the current floor of the elevator is 4, the starting floor of the task request D to be executed is 5, the starting floor of the task request E to be executed is 6, and the preset value is 2. For task request D, the difference between the current floor and its starting floor is 1; for task request E, the difference between the current floor and its starting floor is 2, so the elevator has enough time to decelerate and stop on the 6th floor. Wherein, the preset value can be set according to the actual deceleration situation of the elevator, which is not specifically limited here.

The difference between the current floor and the starting floor of the to-be-executed task request is greater than or equal to the preset value, indicating that it is possible to stop at the starting floor of the to-be-executed task request, and step S350 can be continued; if all The difference between the current floor and the starting floor of the to-be-executed task request is less than the preset value, indicating that the elevator does not have enough time to decelerate and stop at the starting floor of the to-be-executed task request, and the steps can be executed S330.

Step S350: Determine whether the target floor of the task request to be executed arrives at the first target floor earlier or at the same time; if yes, execute step S360; if not, execute step S330.

Due to the elevator transportation robot, it is assumed that the elevator can take two robots at most. Considering the inflexible movement of the robots, the difference between the current floor and the starting floor requested by the task to be executed can be greater than or equal to the expected value. When setting the value, continue to determine whether the target floor requested by the task to be executed reaches the first target floor earlier or at the same time.

For example, there are at most two robots in the elevator, and there is already one robot in the elevator. Assuming that the moving direction of the elevator is upward, the first starting floor in the first task request is 2, and the first target The floor is 7. If there is a task to be executed, the starting floor is 4 and the target floor is 6. When the elevator moves upwards, it will first reach the 6th floor and then reach the 7th floor. The task to be performed requests to meet this condition.

Since the door opening direction of the elevator is on the same side, in order to avoid the robots avoiding each other and wasting more time, if the first robot enters the elevator and moves to the side where the door is not open, then the other robot will take the elevator It is necessary to get out of the elevator before the first robot, so that mutual avoidance between the two robots can be avoided. Then, if the first task request is from the 2nd floor to the 7th floor, and the other task request is from the 4th floor to the 6th floor, the mutual avoidance between robots can be avoided, and the efficient transportation of robots can be realized.

Of course, if the first target floor is the same as the target floor requested by the task to be executed, the two robots in the elevator can step out of the elevator one by one without avoiding the situation. If it is determined that the target floor of the task request to be executed arrives before or at the same time as the first target floor, it indicates that the elevator can stop at the starting floor of the task request to be executed and pick up the second robot, Then step S360 can be performed; if it is determined that the target floor of the task request to be executed is later than the first target floor, it indicates that the elevator will pick up the second robot and the first robot in the elevator. An avoidance situation occurs occasionally, and the robot cannot be accessed, so step S330 can be executed.

Step S360: Determine that the task request to be executed is the second task request.

Step S370: Control the parking of the elevator according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor.

If it is determined to arrive at the target floor of the task request to be executed before or at the same time as the first target floor, it indicates that the elevator can stop at the starting floor of the task request to be executed and pick up the second robot , It can be determined that the task request to be executed is the second task request, so that the elevator can be controlled to stop at the second starting floor, pick up the second robot, and then stop at the second target floor in turn. A target floor to realize the high-efficiency transportation of the robot.

If the elevator stops at the second target floor, step S330 to step S360 can be executed cyclically to continue searching for task requests that can be executed at the same time, and if the above conditions are met, continue to pick up other robots.

As an implementation manner, the request list can be traversed to determine whether there is a task request with the same scheduling direction in the current direction of motion. If there is, the task request with the same scheduling direction and the direction of motion is executed; if there is no scheduling in the current direction of motion For task requests with the same direction, the direction of motion can be switched, and the above steps can be executed in a loop to execute other task requests.

For example, if the current movement direction is upward, there are only task requests whose scheduling direction is downward in the request list. At this time, the elevator can be controlled to turn to change the movement direction to downward to execute the scheduling direction as Downward task request.

As another implementation manner, when the elevator reaches the top floor or the first floor, if it is determined that there is no task request with the same scheduling direction in the current movement direction, the elevator is controlled to perform the task request with the opposite scheduling direction; If there are task requests with the same scheduling direction in the movement direction, the elevator is controlled to turn to execute the task requests with the same scheduling direction.

For example, in the current movement direction, the elevator is at the top level. At this time, there are only task requests whose scheduling direction is downward in the request list, and then the task request whose scheduling direction is downward is switched to be executed. If there is a task request whose scheduling direction is upward in the request list at this time, the task request whose scheduling direction is upward is continued to be executed.

It is understandable that during the operation of the elevator, it is necessary to coordinate the movement of the robots to avoid collision and avoidance between the robots to achieve more efficient transportation. For example, in the first task request, the first starting floor is the 2nd floor and the first target floor is the 7th floor. In the second task request, the second starting floor is the 4th floor and the second target floor is the 6th floor. There are a first point and a second point in the elevator, and the first point is on the door opening side.

Specifically, refer to Fig. 4, which shows a schematic diagram of the position of the robot in the elevator. The elevator 100 is docked to the robot 200 on the 2nd floor. At this time, the elevator moves from the 2nd floor to the 4th floor and picks up the robot B. In this process, the robot 200 can be moved from the first point 101 through the robot scheduling algorithm. Move to the second point 102, so that robot B can be picked up smoothly when docked on the 4th floor. When it reaches the 6th floor, robot B leaves the elevator. At this time, it can continue to judge whether it can pick up other robots. If not, When the elevator moves from the 6th floor to the 7th floor, the robot 200 is moved to the first point 101. Since the first point 101 is close to the door opening side 103, when the elevator reaches the 7th floor, the robot 200 can leave directly Lifts to improve the efficiency of transport robots.

In the elevator scheduling method proposed in the present application, when the first task request is executed, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor according to the first task request; when the elevator is controlled to move to the first target floor In the process of traversing the request list, it is determined that the task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is the task request to be executed; the first target floor and the current floor of the elevator are obtained, the task request to be executed is determined, and the current Whether the difference between the floor and the starting floor of the to-be-executed task request is greater than or equal to the preset value, if so, continue to determine whether the target floor of the to-be-executed task request is earlier than or equal to the first target floor If it is, it can be determined that the task request is a second task request; and then the parking of the elevator is controlled according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor. When the elevator performs the first task request, make full use of the space in the elevator, consider the door opening direction of the elevator on different floors, and cooperate with the movement of the robot to avoid avoidance and collision between the robots, so as to improve the transportation of the elevator robot. efficient.

Referring to FIG. 5, another embodiment of the present application provides an elevator scheduling method. On the basis of the previous embodiment, it focuses on describing that the elevator obtains the request of the second task under the condition that the door opening directions of different floors are different. process. As shown in Figure 5, the method may include:

Step S410: When the first task request is executed, according to the first task request, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor.

Step S420: In the process of moving to the first target floor, traverse the request list, and determine that a task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is a task request to be executed.

Step S430: Obtain the first target floor and the current floor of the elevator.

Step S440: For the task request to be executed, it is determined whether the difference between the current floor and the starting floor of the task request to be executed is greater than or equal to a preset value; if yes, execute step S450; if not, execute step S430 .

Steps S410 to S440 can refer to the corresponding parts of the foregoing embodiment, and details are not described herein again.

Step S450: Determine the second task request according to the starting floor of the task request to be executed, the target floor of the task request to be executed, the first target floor, and the corresponding door opening direction.

For the task request meeting the above conditions, the second task request may be determined according to the starting floor of the task request to be executed, the target floor of the task request to be executed, the first target floor, and the corresponding door opening direction. Specifically, since the door opening direction of the elevator on different floors may be different, the electronic device may pre-store the corresponding relationship between each floor and the door opening direction.

When the starting floor and target floor in the task request to be executed are obtained, the corresponding relationship can be searched to determine the starting floor and the door opening direction of the target floor in the task request to be executed. In the same way, the corresponding relationship can be searched to determine the door opening direction of the first target floor.

In some embodiments, if the door opening direction of the starting floor and the target floor in the task request to be executed is the same and different from the door opening direction of the first target floor, a task request to be executed is selected as the first target floor. The second task is required.

For example, the first target floor is 7, the door opening direction of the elevator on the 7th floor is the left side, the starting floor in the task request to be executed is 3, the target floor is 8, and the elevator is on the 3rd and 8th floors. The direction of opening the door is to the right. It indicates that the first robot wants to leave the elevator from the left, and the second robot goes up and down the elevator from the right, and then the two robots will not need to avoid the situation. Therefore, in the task request to be executed that meets the aforementioned conditions, the door opening of the starting floor and the target floor are the same, and different from the first target floor, can be used as the second task request, and one of them can be selected as the second task request That's it.

In other embodiments, if the door opening directions of the starting floor and the target floor in the task request to be executed are different, and the door opening directions of the target floor and the first target floor in the task request to be executed are different same. It shows that the first robot and the second robot need to leave the elevator on the same side, and the second robot enters the elevator from the other side.

For example, the elevator opens the left door on the starting floor, and opens the right door on the target floor and the first target floor. Then, after the first robot enters the elevator, it needs to stop on the right side of the elevator, so that the second robot can enter the elevator from the left and stop on the left side of the elevator. At this time, there are already two robots in the elevator. Because the two robots leave the elevator from the right side, and the first robot stops on the right side of the elevator at this time, the first robot needs to leave first After the elevator, the second robot can leave the elevator from the right side. Then the elevator needs to reach the first target floor first, and then reach the target floor, in order to avoid avoidance between robots.

Therefore, when the door opening directions of the starting floor and the target floor in the task request to be executed are different, and the door opening direction of the target floor of the task request to be executed is the same as the door opening direction of the first target floor, it can be determined to arrive at the The task request to be executed after the target floor is equal to or equal to the first target floor is the second task request.

Step S460: Control the parking of the elevator according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor.

For step S460, reference may be made to the corresponding part of the foregoing embodiment, and details are not described herein again. Similarly, in the operation of elevators, it is necessary to coordinate the movement of robots to avoid collision and avoidance between robots to achieve more efficient transportation.

In the elevator scheduling method proposed in the present application, when the first task request is executed, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor according to the first task request; when the elevator is controlled to move to the first target floor In the process of traversing the request list, it is determined that the task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is the task request to be executed; the first target floor and the current floor of the elevator are obtained, the task request to be executed is determined, and the current Whether the difference between the floor and the starting floor of the task request to be executed is greater than or equal to the preset value, if so, according to the starting floor of the task request to be executed, the target floor of the task request to be executed, and the first target floor And the corresponding door opening direction determines the second task; and then controls the parking of the elevator according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor. When the elevator performs the first task request, make full use of the space in the elevator, consider the door opening direction of the elevator on different floors, and cooperate with the movement of the robot to avoid avoidance and collision between the robots, so as to improve the transportation of the elevator robot. efficient.

Referring to FIG. 6, another embodiment of the present application provides an elevator scheduling method. On the basis of the foregoing embodiment, this embodiment focuses on the process before executing the first task request. As shown in Figure 6, the method may include:

Step S510: Store the received task request in a request list, and determine the first task request from the request list.

The electronic device can receive multiple task requests, and upon receiving the task request, the task request can be stored in a pre-established request list. The elevator can be parked on a preset floor in advance, where the preset floor can be set according to needs. For example, the elevator transports robots during construction, and the preset floor can be parked on the floor with the largest workload, indoors. When the robot is transported vertically, it can be parked on the first floor, which is not specifically limited here.

When the electronic device receives the first task request, it can store the first task request in the request list. At this time, it can obtain the starting floor and the target floor in the received task request. If the starting floor is different from the preset floor, the elevator needs to be controlled to move from the elevator from the preset floor to the starting floor; during the movement, the request list is traversed to It is determined that the task request for which the scheduling direction is the same as the current direction and the difference between the starting floor and the current floor is greater than or equal to the preset value is the first task request.

That is to say, in the process of the elevator moving from the preset floor to the starting floor, the request list can be traversed, and the first task request can be determined according to the condition. If there is no first task request meeting the condition in the request list, Then, you can move to the starting floor, and use the received task request as the first task request.

During the movement of the elevator from the preset floor to the starting floor, the electronic device may receive other task requests, and the received task requests can be stored in the request list. In order to meet the requirements of running in the same direction and deceleration, the task request in the request list needs to meet the same direction as the dispatching direction and the moving direction of the elevator, and the difference between the starting floor and the current floor of the elevator is greater than or equal to the preset value . If there is a task request that meets the condition in the request list, it can be determined that the task request is the first task request, and if there is no task request that meets the conditions, it can be determined that the received task request is the first task request.

For example, the preset floor is the first floor, and the starting floor in the received task request F is the 6th floor, then the elevator needs to run upwards from the 1st floor to the 6th floor. At this time, the request list has the start of the task request G If the floor is 5, the target floor is 3, and the task request G is opposite to the current movement direction of the elevator, it can be determined that the task request F is the first task request. Thereby improving the efficiency of the elevator transportation robot.

Step S520: While the first task request is being executed, the first task request is removed from the request list, and the first task request is added to the execution list.

After the first task request is determined, the first task request can be executed, and the electronic device can create an execution list in advance. While executing the first task request, the task request can be selected from the request list. Remove and add the first task request to the execution list. After the first task request is executed, the first task request may be removed from the execution list.

In step S530, when the first task request is executed, according to the first task request, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor.

Step S540, in the process of moving to the first target floor, obtain a second task request according to the first target floor from among the task requests in which the dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current moving direction.

Step S550, controlling the stopping of the elevator according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor.

For step S530 to step S550, refer to the corresponding part of the foregoing embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

It can be understood that the scheduling directions of the first task request and the second task request are the same, and the starting floors are different. If at this time there are two task requests in the request list with the same starting floor, and when the elevator moves to the starting floor, it needs to execute two task requests at the same time, then the first task request and the second task are determined at the same time ask.

As an implementation manner, if the elevator has the same door opening direction on all floors, the target floors corresponding to the two task requests can be obtained, and the task request corresponding to the target floor reached after determination is the first task request, that is, the target floor of the task request. The robot needs to enter the elevator first.

For example, the starting floor of task request A is 2, the target floor is 7, the starting floor of task request B is 2, and the target floor is 5. At this time, there is no robot in the elevator. Taking two robots, it is determined that the task request A is the first task request, and the task request B is the second task request, so that the collision between the two robots can be avoided.

As another embodiment, if the elevator has different door opening directions on all floors, and the door opening directions of the target floors in the two task requests are different, the task request that the door opening direction of the target floor is different from the door opening direction of the starting direction is determined It is the first task request; if the door opening direction of the target floor in the two task requests is the same and is different from the door opening direction of the starting floor, the task request corresponding to the target floor that arrives first is determined as the first task request.

For example, the starting floor of task request A is 2, the target floor is 7, the starting floor of task request B is 2, and the target floor is 5, the door opening direction of the elevator on the second floor is the left side, and the door opening direction of the elevator on the second floor is the left side. The door opening direction is the left side, and the door opening direction on the 5th floor is the right side, it can be determined that the task request A is the first task request, and the task request B is the second task request.

If the door opening direction of the elevator on the 2nd floor is the left side, the door opening direction on the 7th floor is the right side, and the door opening direction on the 5th floor is the right side, it can be determined that the task request B is the first task request, and the task request A is the second task request.

In summary, there are a request list and an execution list in the process of data processing. The request list is used to store received task requests, and the execution list is used to store task requests that are being executed. After the second task request is determined, the second task request can be removed from the request list, and the second task request can be added to the execution list. It is understandable that the length of the execution list can be the same as the maximum number of robots that can be carried in the elevator. For example, if the maximum number of robots that can be carried in the elevator is 2, then the execution list can store at most two The task request being executed, specifically, the length of the execution list and the maximum number of robots that can be carried in the elevator can be set as required, and there is no limitation here. When the task request in the execution list is the length of the execution list, the received task request is ignored, and only the received task request is stored in the request list. Until the task request is completed, the task request being executed is regarded as a new task request. As the first task request, step 540 and step S550 are cyclically executed to determine a new second task request until the request list and execution list are empty, and the elevator is controlled to stop at a preset floor.

In the elevator scheduling method proposed in this application, the received task request is stored in a request list, and the first task request is determined from the request list; while the first task request is executed, the The first task request is removed from the request list, and the first task request is added to the execution list; when the first task request is executed, the elevator is controlled from the first starting floor to the first task request according to the first task request. The first target floor moves; in the process of moving to the first target floor, the second task request is obtained according to the first target floor from among the task requests in which the dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current moving direction; according to the The first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor control the stopping of the elevator. Before the elevator executes the first task request, the first task request is determined from the request list to improve the efficiency of the elevator transportation robot.

Please refer to FIG. 7, which shows an elevator scheduling device 600 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The elevator scheduling device 600 includes a first execution module 610, an acquisition module 620, and a second execution module 630.

The first execution module 610 is configured to control the movement of the elevator from the first starting floor to the first target floor according to the first task request when the first task request is executed, and the first task request includes The first starting floor and the first target floor; the acquisition module 620 is used to obtain task requests in which the dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current moving direction in the process of moving to the first target floor, Acquire a second task request according to the first target floor, the second task request includes a second starting floor and a second target floor; the second execution module 630 is used to obtain a second task request according to the first target floor, The second starting floor and the second target floor control the stopping of the elevator.

Further, the received task request is stored in the request list, and the acquisition module 620 is further configured to traverse the request list during the movement to the first target floor, and determine the task whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction The request is a task request to be executed; according to the first target floor, a task request meeting a preset condition among the task requests to be executed is used as the second task request.

Further, if the door opening directions of the elevators on different floors are the same, the acquisition module 620 is also used to acquire the first target floor and the current floor of the elevator; for the task request to be executed, determine Whether the difference between the current floor and the starting floor of the task request is greater than or equal to the preset value; if so, it is determined whether the target floor of the task request arrives before or at the same time as the first target floor; if so, it is determined The task request is the second task request.

Further, if the door opening directions of the elevator are different on different floors, the acquisition module 620 is also used to acquire the first target floor and the current floor of the elevator; for the task request to be executed, determine Whether the difference between the current floor and the starting floor of the task request is greater than or equal to the preset value; if so, the first floor is determined according to the starting floor, the target floor, the first target floor and the corresponding door opening direction of the task request 2. Task request.

Further, the acquiring module 620 is further configured to select a task request as the second task if the door opening direction of the starting floor and the target floor are the same and different from the door opening direction of the first target floor Request; if the door opening directions of the starting floor and the target floor are different, and the door opening directions of the target floor and the first target floor are the same, it is determined that arriving at the target floor is equal to or equal to reaching the first target floor The task request of is the second task request.

Further, before executing the first task request, the first execution module 610 is further configured to store the received task request in a request list, and determine the first task request from the request list; the execution At the same time as the first task request, the first task request is removed from the request list, and the first task request is added to the execution list.

Further, the first execution module 610 is also used to control the movement of the elevator from a preset floor to the starting floor in the received task request; during the movement, the request list is traversed to It is determined that the task request for which the scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction and the difference between the starting floor and the current floor is greater than or equal to the preset value is the first task request.

Further, the acquisition module 620 is also used to determine whether the elevator is in a fully loaded state during the movement to the first target floor; if not, execute the dispatching direction of the elevator from the same direction as the current movement direction. In the task request, the step of obtaining the second task request according to the first target floor.

It should be noted that those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and conciseness of description, the specific working process of the device and module described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

In summary, the elevator scheduling method provided by the present application controls the movement of the elevator from the first starting floor to the first target floor according to the first task request when executing the first task request; During the movement of the first target floor, the second task request is obtained according to the first target floor from the task requests whose dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current moving direction; according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and The second target floor controls the stopping of the elevator. When the elevator performs the first task request, make full use of the space in the elevator to find the second task request that can be executed at the same time, so as to maximize the transportation efficiency of the elevator.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between the displayed or discussed modules may be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection between the devices or modules may be electrical, Mechanical or other forms.

In addition, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing module, or each module may exist alone physically, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module. The above-mentioned integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

Please refer to FIG. 8, which shows a structural block diagram of an electronic device provided by an embodiment of the present application. The electronic device 700 may be an electronic device capable of running application programs, such as a smart phone or a tablet computer, or a server. The electronic device 700 in this application may include one or more of the following components: a processor 710, a memory 720, and one or more application programs, where one or more application programs may be stored in the memory 720 and configured to be configured by One or more processors 710 execute, and one or more programs are configured to execute the methods described in the foregoing method embodiments.

The processor 710 may include one or more processing cores. The processor 710 uses various interfaces and lines to connect various parts of the entire electronic device 700, and executes by running or executing instructions, programs, code sets, or instruction sets stored in the memory 720, and calling data stored in the memory 720. Various functions and processing data of the electronic device 600. Optionally, the processor 710 may use at least one of Digital Signal Processing (DSP), Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and Programmable Logic Array (PLA) Realize in the form of hardware. The processor 710 may be integrated with one or a combination of a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), a graphics processing unit (Graphics Processing Unit, GPU), a modem, and the like. Among them, the CPU mainly processes the operating system, user interface, and application programs; the GPU is used for rendering and drawing of display content; the modem is used for processing wireless communication. It can be understood that the above-mentioned modem may not be integrated into the processor 710, but may be implemented by a communication chip alone.

The memory 720 may include random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (Read-Only Memory). The memory 720 may be used to store instructions, programs, codes, code sets or instruction sets. The memory 720 may include a program storage area and a data storage area, where the program storage area may store instructions for implementing the operating system and instructions for implementing at least one function (such as touch function, sound playback function, image playback function, etc.) , Instructions used to implement the following various method embodiments, etc. The storage data area can also store data created by the electronic device 700 during use (such as phone book, audio and video data, chat record data) and the like.

Please refer to FIG. 9, which shows a structural block diagram of a computer-readable storage medium provided by an embodiment of the present application. The computer-readable storage medium 800 stores program code, and the program code can be invoked by a processor to execute the method described in the foregoing method embodiment.

The computer-readable storage medium 800 may be an electronic memory such as flash memory, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EPROM, hard disk, or ROM. Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium 800 includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium 800 has storage space for the program code 810 for executing any method steps in the above-mentioned methods. These program codes can be read from or written into one or more computer program products. The program code 810 may be compressed in a suitable form, for example.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the application, not to limit them; although the application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: The technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments are modified, or some of the technical features thereof are equivalently replaced; these modifications or replacements do not drive the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

An elevator dispatching method, characterized in that the method includes:

When executing the first task request, according to the first task request, the elevator is controlled to move from the first starting floor to the first target floor, and the first task request includes the first starting floor and the first target floor. A target floor;

In the process of moving to the first target floor, from the task requests in which the dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current movement direction, the second task request is obtained according to the first target floor and the door opening direction of the elevator on a different floor, The second task request includes a second starting floor and a second target floor;

The stopping of the elevator is controlled according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor.
The method according to claim 1, further comprising storing the received task request in a request list; wherein, in the process of moving to the first target floor, the dispatching direction of the elevator and Among the task requests with the same current movement direction, acquiring the second task request according to the first target floor and the door opening direction of the elevator on a different floor includes:

During the movement to the first target floor, traverse the request list, and determine that a task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction is a task request to be executed;

According to the first target floor and the door opening directions of the elevator on different floors, a task request meeting a preset condition among the task requests to be executed is used as the second task request.
The method according to claim 2, wherein if the door opening directions of the elevators on different floors are the same, the task to be executed is requested according to the first target floor and the door opening directions of the elevators on different floors. As the second task request, the task request meeting the preset condition in the above includes:

Acquiring the first target floor and the current floor of the elevator;

For the task request to be executed, determining whether the difference between the current floor and the starting floor of the task request to be executed is greater than or equal to a preset value;

If yes, determine whether the target floor requested by the task to be executed arrives at the first target floor earlier or at the same time;

If yes, it is determined that the task request to be executed is the second task request.
The method according to claim 2, wherein if the elevator has different door opening directions on different floors, the task request to be executed is satisfied according to the first target floor and the door opening directions of the elevator on different floors The task request with preset conditions as the second task request includes:

If so, the second task request is determined according to the starting floor of the task request to be executed, the target floor of the task request to be executed, the first target floor, and the corresponding door opening direction.
The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the determination of the location is based on the starting floor of the task request to be executed, the target floor of the task request to be executed, the first target floor, and the corresponding door opening direction. The second task request includes:

If the door opening direction of the starting floor of the task request to be executed is the same as the door opening direction of the target floor of the task request to be executed, and is different from the door opening direction of the first target floor, a task request to be executed is selected as the door opening direction. The second task request;

If the door opening direction of the starting floor of the task request to be executed is different from the door opening direction of the target floor of the task request to be executed, and the door opening direction of the target floor of the task request to be executed is the same as the door opening direction of the first target floor , Determining that a task request to be executed that arrives at the first target floor after arriving at the target floor is the second task request.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the corresponding relationship between each floor and door opening direction is pre-stored; the starting floor requested according to the task to be executed, the task to be executed Before determining the second task request on the target floor, the first target floor, and the corresponding door opening direction of the task request, the method further includes:

According to the corresponding relationship, the starting floor, the target floor requested by the task to be executed, the first target floor, and the corresponding door opening direction are obtained.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before executing the first task request, the method further comprises:

Store the received task request in a request list, and determine the first task request from the request list;

While executing the first task request, the first task request is removed from the request list, and the first task request is added to the execution list.
The method according to claim 7, wherein the determining the first task request from the request list comprises:

Controlling the movement of the elevator from a preset floor to the starting floor in the received task request;

During the movement, the request list is traversed to determine that a task request whose scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction and whose difference between the starting floor and the current floor is greater than or equal to a preset value is the first task request.
The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, in the movement process, the request list is traversed to determine that the scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction, and the difference between the starting floor and the current floor is greater than or equal to The preset task request is the first task request, including:

During the movement process, traverse the request list to determine the starting floor and the target floor according to the task request;

Obtaining the dispatch direction according to the starting floor and the target floor;

It is determined that the task request in which the scheduling direction is the same as the current movement direction and the difference between the starting floor and the current floor is greater than or equal to a preset value is the first task request.
The method according to claim 1, wherein if the elevator has the same door opening direction on different floors, and there are two task requests in the request list whose starting floors are the same, the first task request is executed Before, it also included:

The target floor corresponding to each of the two task requests is obtained, and the task request corresponding to the target floor reached after determination is the first task request.
The method according to claim 1, wherein if the door opening directions of the target floors in the two task requests are different, before the first task request is executed, the method further comprises:

It is determined that the task request in which the door opening direction of the target floor is different from the door opening direction of the starting direction is the first task request.
The method according to claim 1, wherein before executing the first task request, the method further comprises:

Traversing the request list, and when it is determined that there is no request task with the same movement direction as the scheduling direction in the request list, adjusting the scheduling direction to the same direction as the movement direction.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

During the movement to the first target floor, judging whether the elevator is in a fully loaded state;

If not, execute the step of obtaining the second task request according to the first target floor from the task requests in which the dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current movement direction.
The method according to claim 13, further comprising:

Store the received task request in the request list;

When executing the task request in the request list, adding the task request to the execution list;

The judging whether the elevator is in a fully loaded state during the movement to the first target floor includes:

During the movement to the first target floor, obtain the length of the execution list, and determine whether the length is equal to the maximum length;

If the length is equal to the maximum length, it is determined that the elevator is in a fully loaded state;

If the length is not equal to the maximum length, it is determined that the elevator is not in a fully loaded state.
The method according to claim 13, wherein the judging whether the elevator is in a fully loaded state during the movement to the first target floor comprises:

Acquiring the identifier of the elevator;

During the movement to the first target floor, it is determined whether the identifier of the elevator is a full load identifier.
The method according to claim 15, wherein the elevator includes a plurality of points, and each point carries a robot; the method further comprises:

When it is detected that a robot is carried on a plurality of points in the elevator, the identification of the elevator is acquired as a full-load identification.
The method according to any one of claims 13-16, wherein the method further comprises:

If the elevator is in a fully loaded state, control the elevator to move to the first target floor.
An elevator dispatching device, characterized in that the device comprises:

The first execution module is used to control the movement of the elevator from the first starting floor to the first target floor according to the first task request when the first task request is executed, and the first task request includes the first task request. A starting floor and the first target floor;

The acquisition module is used to obtain the task request from the task request in which the dispatching direction of the elevator is the same as the current movement direction in the process of moving to the first target floor, according to the first target floor and the door opening direction of the elevator on different floors. A second task request, where the second task request includes a second starting floor and a second target floor;

The second execution module is used for controlling the parking of the elevator according to the first target floor, the second starting floor, and the second target floor.
An electronic device, characterized in that, the electronic device includes:

One or more processors;

A memory, electrically connected to the one or more processors;

One or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, and the one or more programs are configured to execute as claimed The method of any one of 1 to 17.
A computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores program code, and the program code can be called by a processor to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 .