Destination registration device and destination registration method

Abstract

A destination registration device (40) for registering a destination floor by an operation performed by a passenger of an elevator comprises: a congestion determination unit (44) as a determination unit, which determines the congestion of the elevator car; an operation detection unit (42) which detects the operation of specifying the destination floor in a non-contact manner; a threshold value changing unit (45) which changes a threshold value related to the distance according to the congestion in response to the non-contact detection; and a registration unit (46) which registers the destination floor when a detection result that satisfies the threshold value related to the distance is obtained. With this structure and operation, separate destination registration operations can be performed while preventing erroneous operations.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to management of a destination registration device and a destination registration method. Background Art

[0002] In order to accept non-contact operations performed by passengers of an elevator and register a destination floor, there is a technology described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-151253 (Patent Document 1). The publication states that "In the elevator operating panel device involved in the present invention, there are: operating buttons, which are provided on an operating panel provided in the elevator lobby or in the elevator car; sensors, which are provided in a predetermined number or more corresponding to each of the operating buttons, respectively detecting the presence or absence of an object on a linear detection axis in a non-contact manner; and a determination unit, which determines that the operating button is in an operation detection state when the predetermined number of sensors corresponding to the operating button simultaneously detect an object on the detection axis, and the detection axes of the predetermined number of sensors corresponding to the operating button are arranged to intersect with each other at a point in the space inside the operating surface of the operating button when viewed from the front."

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-151253 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0007] In Patent Document 1, a structure is adopted in which the operation is detected at a point where the detection axes intersect, and the distance from the operating panel to the point where the operation detection is established is fixed. In this case, the distance is set near the operating panel to prevent erroneous operation, and contact with the operating panel is also allowed. However, in recent years, from the perspective of infectious disease countermeasures, in order to reduce the risk caused by contact, it is required to make the destination registration operation established at a position sufficiently away from the operating panel surface, and erroneous operation also needs to be suppressed at this time.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of performing separate destination registration operations while preventing erroneous operations.

[0009] Means for solving problems

[0010] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, one of the representative destination registration devices and destination registration methods of the present invention is that the destination registration device that receives the operation performed by the passengers of an elevator to register the destination floor determines the congestion of the elevator car, detects the operation of specifying the destination floor in a non-contact manner, changes a threshold value related to the distance according to the congestion in response to the non-contact detection, and registers the destination floor when a detection result that satisfies the threshold value related to the distance is obtained.

[0011] Effects of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to perform separate destination registration operations while preventing erroneous operations.

[0013] Other problems, structures, and effects than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 This is an explanatory diagram regarding destination registration in one embodiment.

[0015] Figure 2 is a structural diagram of an elevator management system in an embodiment.

[0016] Figure 3 FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a destination registration device 40 in an embodiment.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a specific example of the operation panel of the destination registration device 40 in one embodiment.

[0018] Figure 5 1 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the destination registration device 40 in one embodiment.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a configuration example in which the output of the operation detection unit in one embodiment is used for congestion degree determination.

[0020] Figure 7 It is an explanatory diagram of operation detection in a variation of one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0022] Example

[0023] Figure 1 2 is an explanatory diagram of the destination registration in the embodiment. Figure 1As shown, a passenger riding in an elevator car can operate the destination registration device 40 in a contactless manner to designate a desired destination floor. The destination registration device 40 includes an infrared sensor and an electrostatic capacitance sensor as an operation detection unit, and detects the passenger's operation using a distance threshold and a time threshold. That is, when the operation detection unit detects an object for a period of time greater than a short-distance duration threshold and less than the distance threshold, the destination floor is registered as an operation to register the destination floor.

[0024] Here, the destination registration device 40 determines the degree of congestion of the car and changes the distance threshold and the time threshold. Specifically, if the car is empty, the destination registration device 40 increases the distance threshold and decreases the time threshold. As a result, the passenger can complete the destination registration operation at a location sufficiently far away from the destination registration device 40, which can reduce the risk of infectious diseases caused by contact.

[0025] On the other hand, if the distance threshold is large and the time threshold is small, erroneous operation may occur. In particular, if the car is crowded, the passenger's body or cargo may unintentionally approach the operation detection unit, and the possibility of erroneous recognition as an operation to register the destination floor increases. Therefore, in the case of crowded car, the destination registration device 40 prevents erroneous operation by reducing the distance threshold and increasing the time threshold.

[0026] In this way, the destination registration device 40 changes the distance threshold value and the time threshold value related to operation detection according to the congestion degree of the car, thereby preventing erroneous operation and realizing separate destination registration operations.

[0027] Figure 2 This is the structural diagram of the elevator management system. Figure 1 As shown, the elevator management system includes an operation management device 10 , a lift control device 30 , a destination registration device 40 , and a service request device 50 .

[0028] The lifting control device 30 and the destination registration device 40 are installed for each elevator car. The lifting control device 30 is a device that controls the lifting and lowering of the car in response to instructions from the operation management device 10. The destination registration device 40 receives a destination registration operation in the car.

[0029] The service request device 50 is installed in each elevator lobby of each floor. Here, the floor refers to the floor that constitutes the floor in the building where the elevator is installed. The elevator car moves in the up and down directions on the layered floors, and the current location and destination floor at this time are identified by the floor. The service request device 50 has buttons corresponding to the direction of the destination floor (upward and / or downward). The operation of this button is a request from the passenger to the elevator service, that is, "call". When the service request device 50 accepts the button operation, it notifies the operation management device 10 of the acceptance of the service request. The acceptance notification of the service request includes the floor of the elevator lobby where the service request is accepted and the direction of the destination floor.

[0030] When receiving the acceptance notification of the service request from the service request device 50, the operation management device 10 allocates an elevator to the service request with reference to the current position and destination floor of each elevator. The allocated elevator registers the floor of the service request source as the destination floor and allows passengers waiting in the elevator lobby to board.

[0031] Figure 3 40 is a structural diagram of the destination registration device 40. Figure 3 As shown, the destination registration device includes a load sensor 41 , an operation detection unit 42 , a destination floor display unit 43 , a congestion level determination unit 44 , a threshold value change unit 45 , and a registration unit 46 .

[0032] The load sensor 41 is a sensor for detecting the load applied to the car. The operation detection unit 42 is an infrared sensor or an electrostatic capacitance sensor, etc., for detecting the operation of the passenger to designate the destination floor in a non-contact manner. The destination floor display unit 43 displays the floors that are candidates for the destination floor, that is, the floors where the car can stop.

[0033] The destination floor indicator 43 is provided for each floor that is a candidate for the destination floor, and lights up the floor registered as the destination floor, etc. In addition, since the operation detector 42 is also provided for each destination floor indicator 43, it corresponds to each floor that is a candidate for the destination floor.

[0034] The congestion determination unit 44 is a processing unit for determining the congestion of the car. The congestion determination unit 44 determines the congestion based on the output of the load sensor 41. The more passengers there are in the car, the greater the output of the load sensor 41, and the higher the congestion. If the congestion increases, the position where the passengers stand and the body movement are restricted, so the possibility of considering that the passenger is near the operation detection unit 42 increases, and the number of false detections increases.

[0035] The threshold changing unit 45 changes the distance threshold and the time threshold related to the detection of the operation based on the determination result of the congestion determination unit 44. Specifically, the threshold changing unit 45 sets the distance threshold when the congestion degree is greater than the predetermined threshold to be smaller than the distance threshold when the congestion degree is less than the predetermined threshold. In addition, the threshold changing unit 45 sets the time threshold when the congestion degree is greater than the predetermined threshold to be smaller than the time threshold when the congestion degree is less than the predetermined threshold.

[0036] The registering unit 46 compares the distance threshold and time threshold set by the threshold changing unit 45 with the output of the operation detecting unit 42 to identify whether the operation is to register a destination floor. If the operation is to register a destination floor, the destination floor is registered.

[0037] Specifically, when any one of the operation detection units 42 detects an object closer than the distance threshold and this state continues for a time threshold or longer, the registration unit 46 registers the floor corresponding to the operation detection unit as the destination floor.

[0038] In addition, in the case where the passenger is close to the operation detection unit 42, for example, a destination floor that is contrary to the passenger's intention may be registered. Therefore, when the operation detection unit 42 detects an object closer than the distance threshold for a predetermined time or longer after the destination floor is registered, the registration unit 46 cancels the registration of the destination floor. For convenience, the predetermined time at this time is referred to as a cancellation threshold. The cancellation threshold is sufficiently larger than the time threshold set by the threshold change unit 45. For example, the time threshold is changed to a range of less than 1 second, and the cancellation threshold is set to about 10 seconds.

[0039] Figure 4 This is a specific example of the operation panel of the destination registration device 40. Figure 4 In the example, corresponding destination floor display units 43 and operation detection units 42 are provided for floors "B1" to "5F". Figure 4 In the display, "4F" is registered as the destination floor, and the destination floor display unit 43 of "4F" is lit.

[0040] Figure 5 4 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of the destination registration device 40. Figure 5 In the example, N1, N2, and N3 are used as the thresholds for the congestion degree, and N1 < N2 < N3. In addition, DS, DM, and DL are used as the distance thresholds, and DS < DM < DL. In addition, TS, TM, and TL are used as the time thresholds, and TS < TM < TL. The destination registration device 40 repeatedly performs the following operations within a predetermined time. Figure 5 The processing steps are shown.

[0041] First, the congestion determination unit 44 of the destination registration device 40 determines the congestion level based on the output of the load sensor 41 (step S101). If the congestion level is less than N1 (step S102: Yes), the threshold change unit 45 sets the distance threshold to DL and the time threshold to TS (step S103).

[0042] If the congestion degree is greater than or equal to N1 and less than N2 (step S102: No, S104: Yes), the threshold value changing unit 45 sets the distance threshold value to DM and the time threshold value to TM (step S105). If the congestion degree is greater than or equal to N2 and less than N3 (step S104: No, S106: Yes), the threshold value changing unit 45 sets the distance threshold value to DS and the time threshold value to TL (step S107). In addition, if the congestion degree is greater than or equal to N3, the process is terminated directly.

[0043] After step S103 , step S105 , or step S107 , the registration unit 46 determines whether the detection distance, which is the distance to the nearest object detected by the operation detection unit 42 , is smaller than a distance threshold value for each operation detection unit 42 (step S108 ).

[0044] If the detection distance is less than the distance threshold (step S108: Yes), the registration unit 46 adds the detection time (step S110). If the detection distance is greater than the distance threshold (step S108: No), the registration unit 46 clears the previously added detection time (step S109) and ends the process.

[0045] After step S110, the registration unit 46 determines whether the detection time is equal to or longer than the time threshold (step S111). If the detection time is less than the time threshold (step S111: No), the registration unit 46 ends the process directly.

[0046] If the detection time is greater than the time threshold (step S111: Yes), the registration unit 46 determines whether the detection time is greater than the release threshold (step S112). If the detection time is greater than the release threshold (step S112: Yes), the registration unit 46 releases the registration of the destination floor (step S113), and the process ends. If the detection time is less than the release threshold (step S112: No), the registration unit 46 registers the destination floor (step S114), and the process ends.

[0047] (Variation Example)

[0048] In the previous description, the output of the load sensor 41 is used to determine the degree of congestion, but the degree of congestion indicates the degree to which the standing position and physical activity of the passengers in the car are restricted, and is not limited to the load, and can be determined using any index. For example, it is also possible to make a determination by photographing the interior of the car. In this case, even if the number of passengers is small, as long as the passenger's standing position or physical activity is restricted due to reasons such as carrying large cargo, it is determined that the degree of congestion is high. In addition, the outputs of multiple operation detection units 42 can also be used to determine the degree of congestion.

[0049] Figure 6 This is a configuration example in which the output of the operation detection unit 42 is used for determining the degree of congestion. Figure 6 In the illustrated configuration, the output of the operation detection unit 42 is input to both the congestion level determination unit 44 and the registration unit 46. The congestion level determination unit 44 determines the congestion level based on the outputs of the plurality of operation detection units 42, and sets the threshold value of the threshold value change unit 45 based on the congestion level. Therefore, the registration unit 46 compares the detection output of each of the plurality of operation detection units 42 with the detection outputs of the other plurality of operation detection units 42 to identify the destination floor registration operation.

[0050] Figure 7 FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of operation detection in a modified example. Figure 7 In the above diagram, the operation detection unit 42a, the operation detection unit 42b, and the operation detection unit 42c respectively output the distance to the closest object, that is, the detection distance. Since the passenger operates the destination floor display unit 43b corresponding to the operation detection unit 42b, the detection distance output by the operation detection unit 42b is significantly smaller than the detection distance output by the operation detection unit 42a and the operation detection unit 42c. In addition, it is considered that the detection distance output by the operation detection unit 42a and the operation detection unit 42c becomes smaller in a crowded car.

[0051] Therefore, if the congestion determination unit 44 determines the congestion level using the outputs of the plurality of operation detection units 42 (operation detection unit 42a, operation detection unit 42b, operation detection unit 42c, etc.) and sets a distance threshold, it is possible to appropriately detect the destination floor registration operation of the passenger.

[0052] As described above, according to the present invention, the destination floor registration device 40 for registering a destination floor by an operation performed by a passenger of an elevator comprises: a congestion determination unit 44 as a determination unit, which determines the congestion of the elevator car; an operation detection unit 42, which detects the operation of specifying the destination floor in a non-contact manner; a threshold value changing unit 45, which changes the threshold value related to the distance according to the congestion in response to the non-contact detection; and a registration unit 46, which registers the destination floor when a detection result that satisfies the threshold value related to the distance is obtained. With this structure and operation, it is possible to perform separate destination registration operations while preventing erroneous operations.

[0053] In addition, the threshold change unit 45 sets the threshold related to the distance when the congestion level is above the predetermined threshold to be smaller than the threshold related to the distance when the congestion level is less than the predetermined threshold, thereby preventing erroneous operations in congestion and detecting operations sufficiently separated from the operating panel when idle.

[0054] In addition, the threshold value changing unit 45 further changes the threshold value related to the time for the non-contact detection according to the congestion level, so that erroneous operation can be prevented with higher accuracy.

[0055] Furthermore, since the determination unit determines the degree of congestion based on the output of the load sensor 41 provided in the car, the degree of congestion can be determined by effectively utilizing existing equipment of the car.

[0056] Furthermore, the determination unit may determine the degree of congestion based on an image captured by capturing the interior of the car. The image capturing of the interior of the car may be performed by a camera installed for the purpose of theft prevention, for example.

[0057] In addition, the operation detection unit 42 is provided corresponding to each floor that is a candidate for the destination floor, and when any operation detection unit 42 detects an object located closer than a threshold value related to the distance, the registration unit 46 registers the floor corresponding to the operation detection unit as the destination floor, thereby being able to simply and reliably detect operations on the destination floor.

[0058] In addition, when the operation detection unit detects an object located closer than a threshold value related to the distance for more than a predetermined time after registration of the destination floor, the registration unit cancels the registration of the destination floor, thereby canceling the registration that the passenger does not want due to leaning, etc.

[0059] Furthermore, the determination unit determines the congestion degree based on the detection results of the plurality of operation detection units 42 provided corresponding to each of the floors, thereby making it possible to more easily determine the congestion degree.

[0060] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiments are examples described in detail in order to easily explain the present invention, and are not limited to all the structures described. In addition, it is not limited to the deletion of related structures, and it is also possible to replace or add structures.

[0061] For example, a physical button for registering a destination floor may be further provided, and when the congestion level is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, non-contact detection may be stopped and the destination floor registration operation may be performed using the physical button.

[0062] Description of Reference Numerals

[0063] 10: Operation management device, 30: Lift control device, 40: Destination registration device, 41: Load sensor, 42: Operation detection unit, 43: Destination floor display unit, 44: Congestion determination unit, 45: Threshold value changing unit, 46: Registration unit, 50: Service request device.

Claims

1. A destination registration device for registering a destination floor by an operation performed by a passenger of an elevator, characterized in that: The destination registration device comprises: a determination unit that determines a degree of congestion of the elevator car; an operation detection unit that detects an operation of designating the destination floor in a non-contact manner; a threshold value changing unit for changing a threshold value related to the distance according to the congestion level with respect to the non-contact detection; as well as a registering unit that registers the destination floor when a detection result satisfying a threshold value related to the distance is obtained, The distance is the distance from the operating panel of the elevator to the point where the detection of the operation is established.

2. The destination registration device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The threshold value changing unit sets the threshold value related to the distance when the congestion level is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value to be smaller than the threshold value related to the distance when the congestion level is less than the predetermined threshold value.

3. The destination registration device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The threshold value changing unit further changes a threshold value related to the time for the non-contact detection according to the congestion level, The operation detection unit detects the passenger's operation using a threshold value related to the distance and a threshold value related to the time, and the registration unit registers the destination floor when an object is detected in a state below the threshold value related to the distance for a time period longer than the threshold value related to the time.

4. The destination registration device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The determination unit determines the degree of congestion based on an output of a load sensor provided in the car.

5. The destination registration device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The determination unit determines the degree of congestion based on an image captured inside the car.

6. The destination registration device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The operation detection unit is provided corresponding to each floor that is a candidate for the destination floor. When any one of the operation detection units detects an object located closer than a threshold value related to the distance, the registration unit registers a floor corresponding to the operation detection unit as the destination floor.

7. The destination registration device according to claim 6, characterized in that: When the operation detection unit detects an object located closer than a threshold value related to the distance for a predetermined time or longer even after the destination floor is registered, the registration unit cancels the registration of the destination floor.

8. The destination registration device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The determination unit determines the congestion degree based on detection results of the plurality of operation detection units provided corresponding to each of the floors.

9. A destination registration method for registering a destination floor by an operation performed by a passenger of an elevator, characterized in that: The destination registration method includes: a step of determining a degree of congestion of a car of the elevator; An operation detection step of contactlessly detecting an operation of designating the destination floor; a threshold value changing step of changing a threshold value related to the distance according to the congestion level for the non-contact detection; and A step of registering the destination floor when a detection result satisfying a threshold value related to the distance is obtained, The distance is the distance from the operating panel of the elevator to the point where the detection of the operation is established.

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