Elevator waiting time estimation device and elevator waiting time estimation method

Abstract

The elevator waiting time estimation device of the present invention includes: a queuing start measurement unit that measures the situation where the user of the elevator arrives at a set position, a boarding measurement unit that measures the situation where the user of the elevator enters the car, a storage unit that stores the arrival time measured by the queuing start measurement unit and the boarding time measured by the boarding measurement unit, and a waiting time calculation unit that calculates the waiting time required until the user of the elevator enters the car based on the arrival time and the boarding time stored in the storage unit. Thus, the waiting time at the landing can be calculated with simple processing and structure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator waiting time estimation device and an elevator waiting time estimation method. Background Art

[0002] Properly grasping the waiting time of an elevator is very important for elevator operation control and providing information to elevator users.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for reading actual elevator operation data to calculate the elevator waiting time of passengers.

[0004] In addition, Patent Document 2 discloses an elevator group management system that analyzes images obtained by photographing elevator landings, corridors, etc. using multiple cameras to track each person using the elevator and minimize the waiting time.

[0005] Prior Art Documents

[0006] Patent Documents

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-52681

[0008] Patent Document 2: WO2010 / 098024 Summary of the Invention

[0009] Technical Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0010] In the technique described in Patent Document 1, the time from when the call button at the elevator landing is pressed until the car is allocated and the door is opened is approximated as the elevator waiting time. Therefore, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has the problem that in a congestion situation where passengers cannot all board the allocated elevator, the correct waiting time cannot be obtained.

[0011] On the other hand, the technique described in Patent Document 2 calculates the movement and actions of each person in the image captured by the camera by detecting and continuously tracking through image analysis. Therefore, in the case of congestion, it is necessary to continuously track multiple people moving across the shooting ranges of multiple cameras for a long time. Thus, the technique described in Patent Document 2 has the problem that a complex algorithm and a large-scale system structure are required to correctly calculate the waiting time.

[0012] Therefore, a technique is desired that can correctly estimate the elevator waiting time with a simple structure and processing without requiring a complex algorithm and a large-scale system structure.

[0013] Technical Means for Solving the Problem

[0014] To solve the above problems, for example, the structure described in the technical solution to be protected by the invention is adopted.

[0015] This application includes various means for solving the above problems. As an example, it is an elevator waiting time estimation device, which includes: a queuing start measurement unit that measures the situation where an elevator user arrives at a set position; a boarding measurement unit that measures the situation where an elevator user enters the car; a storage unit that stores the arrival time measured by the queuing start measurement unit and the boarding time measured by the boarding measurement unit; and a waiting time calculation unit that calculates the waiting time required for the elevator user to enter the car based on the arrival time and the boarding time stored in the storage unit.

[0016] Advantages of the Invention

[0017] According to the present invention, even during congested periods with a large number of passengers, the waiting time of the elevator can be calculated with high accuracy through simple processing and structure.

[0018] Problems, features, and effects other than the above will be described through the following description of the embodiments. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram showing an example of an elevator waiting time estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 It is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware structure in the case where an elevator waiting time estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured by a computer device.

[0021] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing an example of the planar structure of the lobby floor targeted by an elevator waiting time estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the measurable range of the sensor, and the position for determining the start of queuing.

[0022] Figure 4 It shows the state where elevator users are queuing on the Figure 3 shown lobby floor.

[0023] Figure 5 It shows the state where elevator users are queuing beyond the measurable range of the sensor on the Figure 3 shown lobby floor.

[0024] Figure 6 It shows, in the Figure 5 shown queuing state, an example of the density calculated by the sensor to detect the end position of the boarding queue.

[0025] Figure 7This is a flowchart showing an example of the process of calculating waiting time data based on measured boarding time data and queuing start time data in an elevator waiting time estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 8 This is a graph showing the relationship between the measured boarding time data and queuing start time data plotted and the estimated waiting time in an elevator waiting time estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 9 This is a table showing the measured boarding time data and queuing start time data in the elevator waiting time estimation device of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 10 This is a diagram showing an example of the state where the queuing start time cannot be obtained because the elevator users queue outside the measurable range of the set sensor in the elevator waiting time estimation device of the present invention. Detailed Embodiment

[0029] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, an elevator waiting time estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this embodiment") will be described.

[0030] <Device Structure>

[0031] Figure 1 This shows the structure of the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 of this embodiment.

[0032] The elevator waiting time estimation device 10 of this embodiment includes at least one or more sensors 11, a queuing position detection unit 12, a queuing start measurement unit 13, a boarding measurement unit 14, an outflow measurement unit 15, a waiting time calculation unit 16, and a storage unit 20.

[0033] The sensors 11, the queuing position detection unit 12, the queuing start measurement unit 13, the boarding measurement unit 14, the outflow measurement unit 15, the waiting time calculation unit 16, and the storage unit 20 are directly or connected to each other via a network. In addition, the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 of this embodiment includes a data usage unit 30 that effectively uses the waiting time data calculated by the waiting time calculation unit 16.

[0034] The sensor 11 is a sensor that measures a specified position around the elevator landing, and is composed of a camera or a laser sensor that shoots the measurement range, and detects the people located in the measurement range. For example, when using a camera as the sensor 11, the captured image of the camera is analyzed to detect the positions of the respective people existing in the captured range (measurement range). That is, the sensor 11 measures the range where elevator users exist, such as the elevator hall and its vicinity, as described later.

[0035] When an elevator user queues within the measurement range of the sensor 11 in order to enter the car, the queuing position detection unit 12 detects the queuing position based on the measurement data of the sensor 11.

[0036] The queuing start measurement unit 13 measures the queuing start time when each user starts queuing at the queuing position detected by the queuing position detection unit 12. The queuing start times measured by the queuing start measurement unit 13 are accumulated in the queuing start time data accumulation unit 22 of the storage unit 20.

[0037] When a user within the measurement range of the sensor 11 enters (gets into) the car, the boarding measurement unit 14 measures the boarding time of each user. The boarding times measured by the boarding measurement unit 14 are accumulated in the boarding time data accumulation unit 21 of the storage unit 20.

[0038] When a user within the measurement range of the sensor 11 does not enter the car but flows out of the measurement range, the outflow measurement unit 15 measures the outflow time of the user.

[0039] The waiting time calculation unit 16 calculates the waiting time of each user based on the queuing start time accumulated in the queuing start time data accumulation unit 22 and the boarding time accumulated in the boarding time data accumulation unit 21. However, when the waiting time calculation unit 16 calculates the waiting time, if there is a person who has not entered the car but has flowed out of the measurement range measured by the outflow measurement unit 15, the waiting time calculation unit 16 excludes this person to calculate the waiting time. A specific example of the calculation of the waiting time performed in the waiting time calculation unit 16 will be described later. The waiting times calculated by the waiting time calculation unit 16 are accumulated in the waiting time data accumulation unit 23 of the storage unit 20.

[0040] The data usage unit 30 effectively uses the data of the waiting times accumulated in the waiting time data accumulation unit 23. For example, in a control device for controlling the operation of an elevator, the data usage unit 30 is provided, and it sets the operation mode of the car, the number of operating cars, etc. according to the situation of the waiting time, and performs operation control in a manner that makes the waiting time appropriate.

[0041] Alternatively, the data usage unit 30 can also be provided in a monitoring center that remotely manages the operation of the elevator or in a monitoring room where the building manager is located, and the current value and history of the waiting time are displayed on the display device provided in the data usage unit 30. In this way, when the waiting time is displayed for monitoring purposes, the data usage unit 30 can be configured as a dashboard system, for example, and the operation status of the elevator can be visualized using line graphs, graphics, animations, etc.

[0042] Furthermore, a data usage unit 30 can also be provided at the landing of the elevator. Based on the waiting time data, the current congestion status is displayed to the elevator users on the display device provided in the data usage unit 30. When the waiting time is displayed as a service for passengers in this way, the data usage unit 30 can be configured as a digital signage system.

[0043] <Example of hardware structure in the case of using a computer to form a device>

[0044] Figure 2 This is an example of the hardware structure in the case where the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 of this example is configured by a computer device.

[0045] Figure 2 The shown elevator waiting time estimation device (computer device) 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 10b, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 10c, which are respectively connected to a bus. Furthermore, the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 includes a non-volatile memory 10d, a network interface 10e, an input interface 10f, and a display device 10g.

[0046] The CPU 10a is an arithmetic processing unit that reads the program code of the software for executing the processing of the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 from the ROM 10b and executes it. Programs related to the waiting time calculation processing function to be executed by the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 are recorded in the ROM 10b.

[0047] The RAM 10c is used for temporarily writing variables, parameters, etc. generated during the arithmetic processing.

[0048] The non-volatile memory 10d is a large-capacity information storage unit such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), for example. In the non-volatile memory 10d, for example, Figure 1 the stored data of the shown storage unit 20, that is, the data of the boarding time data accumulation unit 21, the queuing start time data accumulation unit 22, and the waiting time data accumulation unit 23, is saved.

[0049] The network interface 10e performs the process of transmitting data such as the waiting time to an external data usage unit 30, etc.

[0050] The input interface 10f is used for inputting image data, etc. obtained by the sensor 11.

[0051] The display device 10g displays data such as the waiting time.

[0052] In addition, the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 is composed ofFigure 2 The computer device configuration shown is just an example, and it can also be constituted by other arithmetic processing devices other than computer devices. For example, part or all of the functions executed by the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 can also be implemented by hardware such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) and ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0053] In addition, each of the measurement units 13, 14, 15, the waiting time calculation unit 16, the storage unit 20, and the data usage unit 30 can also be constituted by different computer devices and connected to each other through a network.

[0054] <Layout of the building as the object, installation positions of sensors, and measurement positions>

[0055] Figure 3 It is a floor plan showing the layout of the lobby floor where the elevator waiting time is estimated by the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 of this example.

[0056] Figure 3 It shows the measurable positions of the sensor 11 installed on the lobby floor, and the positions where the sensor 11 determines that the user has entered the elevator car and the start of queuing (queue start position detection line). In addition, Figure 3 the example of [] shows a case where two cameras 121 and 122 are installed as the sensor 11 in the elevator lobby (elevator landing 101) and the place adjacent to the lobby (elevator landing adjacent space 102).

[0057] Specifically, the measurement range 121a of the camera 121 for shooting is the elevator landing adjacent space 102 such as the lobby at the building entrance. The measurement range 122a of the camera 122 for shooting is the elevator landing 101.

[0058] Elevator users on the lobby floor pass through the elevator landing adjacent space 102 to reach the elevator landing 101 and take one of the six cars 111 - 116 at the elevator landing 101. However, the elevator landing 101 is connected to a staircase 103, and there are also users who do not use the elevator at the elevator landing 101 but pass through the staircase 103.

[0059] A queue start detection line 131 is set in the measurement range 121a of the camera 121. Entrance detection lines 132 and 133 are set in the measurement range 122a of the sensor 122. In addition, an outflow detection line 134 for detecting people going to the staircase 103 is also set in the measurement range 122a of the sensor 122.

[0060] The camera 121 detects a person crossing the queue start detection line 131, thereby detecting that an elevator user has started queuing. The camera 122 detects a person crossing the elevator boarding detection lines 132 and 133, thereby detecting that a user has boarded an elevator car 111 to 116.

[0061] Furthermore, the camera 122 detects people crossing the outflow detection line 134, thereby detecting that the person at the landing is moving via the stairs 103 instead of taking the elevator. Alternatively, the camera 122 may detect people crossing the elevator detection lines 132 and 133 for each of the cars 111 to 116.

[0062] exist Figure 3 In the layout shown, it is expected that not all people passing the queue start detection line 131 will take the elevator, and some people may use the stairs 103. As in this example, depending on the shape of the layout, there may be cases where the queue start detection line 131 for detecting the elevator user queue must be set at a position that includes people other than elevator users.

[0063] In such a case, it is necessary to exclude people who move to other locations, for example, by using the stairs 103, from the elevator users. Details of the process of distinguishing between elevator users and non-elevator users will be described later.

[0064] In addition, the queue start detection line 131 can also be dynamically changed according to the state of the queue. Figure 4 and Figure 5 Provide explanation.

[0065] <Example of queue status and density of people within the measurable range>

[0066] Next, the flow of the process of estimating the waiting time of users in the landing by the elevator waiting time estimating device 10 of this example will be described. Figure 3 The waiting time estimation process is performed when the sensors 11 (cameras 121 and 122) are arranged in the layout of the building shown.

[0067] In this example, the elevator waiting time estimating device 10 detects the density of people within the measurable range based on the images captured by the cameras 121 and 122, and detects the tail position of the passenger queue based on the change and distribution of the detected density.

[0068] Figure 4 An example of the queue state of elevator users in the elevator hall 101 and the elevator hall adjacent space 102 is shown. Figure 4 In the figure, P1, P2, P3, ... represent elevator users.

[0069] Figure 4 The example shown represents a state where the number of elevator users has increased to the extent that users have to queue at the landing to take the elevator. That is, Figure 4 It represents a state where 12 elevator users P1 to P12 are queuing at elevator landing 101 and the adjacent space 102 of the elevator landing.

[0070] In this Figure 4 shown state, since the queue has exceeded Figure 3 the queue start detection line 131 shown, the queue start time of all the people P1 to P12 queuing cannot be detected only by this queue start detection line 131. Therefore, the end of the queue (the tail of the queue) can be dynamically detected based on the image captured by camera 121, and the queue start detection line can be set at a position further behind it. For example, when the user at the tail of the queue is user P11, the position behind this user P11 can be set as the queue start detection line.

[0071] Figure 5 It represents a state where, compared with the state shown in Figure 4 , the number of users has further increased, resulting in a state where the place where elevator users queue exceeds the measurable range of sensor 11 (cameras 121, 122). In this Figure 5 state, even if the queue start detection line is set within the measurable range of sensor 11, the queue start time of all the people queuing cannot be detected.

[0072] In such a case, in order to be able to detect the queue start time of as many people as possible, it is preferable to set the position detected by queue start detection line 136 at the rearmost position of the measurable queue.

[0073] In addition, the waiting time of the elevator users in this example is defined as the time from the moment when the same user starts queuing until the moment when it is detected that the user takes the elevator.

[0074] That is, in the case of taking the elevator at the lobby floor shown in Figure 3 , assuming that the movement trend of the people taking the elevator is to take the elevator cars 111 to 116 in turn starting from the users who arrive first, the waiting time is calculated based on the queue start time and the elevator taking time on this premise.

[0075] Elevator users usually take the elevator in the order of arrival at the landing or the order of queuing. Therefore, if it is assumed that they take the elevator in this queuing order, it can be considered that the nth user (n is an arbitrary integer) starts queuing at the nth moment and enters the elevator at the nth moment. That is, the waiting time can be calculated from the nth queue start time until the nth elevator taking time.

[0076] Consider in Figures 3 to 5In the case of calculating the waiting time for the layout of the lobby floor in the state shown, it can be seen that not only the people waiting to take the elevator will cross Figures 3 to 5 the queuing start detection lines 131, 135, and 136, but also the people who want to use the stairs 103 will do so.

[0077] In this way, when the queuing start line cannot be set in a place where only the people waiting to take the elevator pass, the waiting time cannot be simply calculated based on the nth queuing start time and the nth elevator boarding time. That is, it is necessary to exclude the people who want to use the stairs 103 from the people passing through the queuing start detection lines 131, etc.

[0078] To cope with such a situation, as Figure 3 shown, in addition to detecting the people in the carriages 111-116 waiting to take the elevator, it is also necessary to set up an outflow detection line 134 to detect the people who do not use the elevator but flow out (move to other positions), such as the people who want to use the stairs 103.

[0079] <Queue end position detection process>

[0080] Next, an example of the queue end position detection process in the queue position detection unit 12 will be described.

[0081] Here, as an example of the queue end position detection method, by performing image analysis processing on the image captured by the camera 121, the density of people within the measurable range 121a is detected, and the queue end position is detected based on the detected density change and density distribution.

[0082] Figure 6 In, for the Figure 5 situation where the users P1-P20 are queuing in the state shown, the density of people within the measurement range 121a of the sensor 121 is represented at three levels: the high-density range 211, the medium-density range 212, and the low-density range 213. However, only a part of the measurement range 121a is shown for the low-density range 213.

[0083] The density here is calculated based on the number of people staying in a certain space. That is, starting from the preset queuing reference position 201, only the spaces ([[]] Figure 6 the high-density range 211) where the density exceeds the specified threshold are connected, and the position 202 with the farthest distance is detected as the queue end position.

[0084] Then, a line segment 203 connecting the detected queue end position 202 and the queuing reference position 201 is made, and at a position close to the queue end position 202 at a specified distance from the queuing reference position 201, a line segment 204 orthogonal to the line segment 203 is set as the queuing start detection line 136.

[0085] When the position of the orthogonal line segment 204 (queue start detection line 136) is outside the measurement range of the sensor 11 (camera 121), it can also be adjusted to be within the measurement range of the sensor 11. At this time, the camera 121 detects a person moving across the set queue start detection line 136, and the queue start detection unit 13 records the fact that the detection performed by the camera 121 is a detection under the measurement limit in the queue start time data accumulation unit 22.

[0086] In addition, when a space exceeding the specified threshold value represented by the high density 211 cannot be detected Figure 6 the pre-set queue start detection line 136 is used. In addition, the detection of the queue end position is not limited to the method shown here, and other methods or algorithms can also be applied.

[0087] <Waiting time calculation process>

[0088] Figure 7 It is a flowchart showing the process of waiting time calculation in the waiting time calculation unit 16.

[0089] The waiting time calculation unit 16 first sorts the sequence T1 of queue start time data and the sequence T2 of elevator boarding time data in the order of measurement time (step S11). Then, it transfers to the process of excluding the record group of measurement data that does not board the elevator but flows out (moves to other positions such as stairs).

[0090] That is, the waiting time calculation unit 16 extracts the record group that does not board the elevator but flows out (the outflow time is also included in the elevator boarding time data) from the elevator boarding time data T2, and constructs it into a sequence T4 sorted in the order of measurement time. Then, the waiting time calculation unit 16 takes the sequence of only boarding data after excluding the sequence T4 from the elevator boarding time data as T2' = T2 - T4 (step S12).

[0091] Next, the waiting time calculation unit 16 executes the loop process from step S14 to step S15 for j in descending order of the number of elements of |T4| (step S13). That is, as the loop process, the waiting time calculation unit 16 extracts the j-th record as the data t from the sequence T1 of queue start time data (1，j) (step S14).

[0092] Furthermore, the waiting time calculation unit 16 extracts the data t (4，k) before the data t (4，k) [[ID=X]]and having the smallest difference from the data t (1，k) , and deletes it from the sequence T1 of queue start time data (step S15). Here, the reason why the waiting time calculation unit 16 takes the data t(4，k) The data t at the moment when the difference is the smallest (1，k) Deleted from the sequence T1 of data starting from the queuing start moment to avoid the data t (4，k) The data t at the moment when the difference is the smallest (1，k) Is repeatedly extracted as the same record from the data T1 at the queuing start moment (that is, to avoid extracting the same record multiple times).

[0093] After the processing in step S15 is completed and the processing for all records is executed (step S13R), the waiting time calculation unit 16 executes the loop processing from step S17 to step S20 in descending order of the number of elements of |T1| for i (step S16).

[0094] In this loop processing of step S16, the waiting time calculation unit 16 first determines whether the i-th record in the sequence T1 is the measurement limit (step S17).

[0095] When it is determined in this step S17 that it is not the measurement limit (the "yes" in step S17), the waiting time calculation unit 16 extracts the i-th record from the data T1 at the queuing start moment as the data t (1，i) (step S18). Then, the waiting time calculation unit 16 extracts the i-th record from the sequence T2′ as the data t (2，i) ′(step S19).

[0096] After that, the waiting time calculation unit 16 calculates the waiting time t (2，i) ′ - t (1，i) through the operation of [t (3，i) (step S20).

[0097] In addition, when it is determined in step S17 that it is the measurement limit (the "no" in step S17), the waiting time calculation unit 16 cannot correctly measure the waiting time, so a preset specified value is used as the waiting time t (3，i) (step S21).

[0098] Then, after the processing in step S20 or S21 is completed, if the waiting time setting for all records has not been completed, the waiting time calculation unit 16 returns to the processing starting from step S17 for other records, and when the processing for all records is completed, the loop processing of step S16 ends (step S16R).

[0099] After the loop processing in step S16 ends, the waiting time calculation unit 16 outputs the calculated sequence of waiting times T3 = {t 3，1 , t 3，2 , …… t 3，n}, and ends the processing (step S22).

[0100] In this way, the waiting time calculation unit 16 can output a sequence of waiting times.

[0101] <Specific example of waiting time data>

[0102] Figure 8 It is a diagram showing that the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 of this example sequentially detects the states of elevator users arriving at the floor and entering the car for each person.

[0103] Figure 8 The horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the cumulative number of people.

[0104] For example, as Figure 8 shown, at a certain time, the arrival 1011 of the first user occurs, and after a relatively short waiting time from this arrival, the boarding 1031 of this user into the car occurs.

[0105] After that, the arrival 1012 and boarding 1032 of the second user occur. The arrivals 1011 and 1012 are measured by the queuing start measurement unit 13 after passing through the queuing start detection line 131. Then, the boardings 1031 and 1032 are measured by the boarding measurement unit 14 after passing through the boarding detection line 132 or 133. The time from the arrivals 1011 and 1012 of each user to the boardings 1031 and 1032 is the waiting time of the user.

[0106] Figure 8 In the example of, after the boarding 1032 of the second user, the arrival 1013 of the third user at the floor occurs, but this third user does not enter the car and an outflow 1033 to the stairs occurs from the floor. This outflow 1033 to the stairs is measured by the outflow measurement unit 15 after the user passes through the outflow detection line 134.

[0107] In the case where the outflow 1033 to the stairs occurs, the outflow measurement unit 15 determines that the user with the minimum waiting time among the users located at the floor at this time has outflowed.

[0108] That is, in the case of using the stairs, different from the case of using the elevator, the possibility of queuing at the floor is small. Thus, it can be assumed that almost no waiting time occurs from passing through the queuing start detection line 131 until passing through the outflow detection line 134. Therefore, it can be considered that the person at the moment with the smallest difference from the boarding start time (here, the time of passing through the outflow detection line) before the boarding start time (the arrival time) has outflowed. In Figure 8 the case of the outflow 1033 shown, it can be determined that the person of the previous arrival 1013 has outflowed.

[0109] In addition, in a case where the moving distance from the start detection line 131 to the outflow detection line 134 is relatively long during queuing, etc., this minimum moving time can be taken into consideration, and it is assumed to be a time that is earlier than the time when the outflow detection line 134 is passed by the minimum moving time and has a small difference from the passing time of the outflow detection line 134. Here, for the sake of convenience of explanation, the minimum moving time is not considered.

[0110] Furthermore, it continues in the order of the arrival 1014 of the fourth user, the arrival 1015 of the fifth user, the arrival 1016 of the sixth user, and the arrival 1017 of the seventh user. Here, it is assumed that until the arrival 1017 of the seventh user, the users after the fourth user are all in a state of not having taken the elevator yet. Assume that in this state, after the arrival 1017 of the seventh user, the boarding 1034 of the fifth user and the outflow 1035 to the stairs occur almost simultaneously.

[0111] In such a case, based on the above conditions, the outflow measurement unit 15 determines that the user who has the outflow 1035 to the stairs is the seventh user who has the arrival 1017 at the latest among the users waiting at the landing.

[0112] Accordingly, the boarding measurement unit 14 determines the boardings 1036 and 1037 after the outflow 1035 as the boardings of the fifth and sixth users respectively. Thus, the waiting time calculation unit 16 calculates the waiting time from the arrival 1015 to the boarding 1036 and the waiting time from the arrival 1016 to the boarding 1037.

[0113] In this way, the waiting time calculation unit 16 of this example can appropriately calculate the waiting time of the elevator even in the case where there is an outflow and people go to the stairs, etc.

[0114] After that, in Figure 8 the example, for the arrivals 1018, 1019,... of the users after the eighth user, there is no outflow to the stairs, and every time a boarding 1039, 1040,... occurs, the waiting time calculation unit 16 calculates the waiting time of each user.

[0115] Figure 9 Indicates that there has occurred Figure 8 A data example of the arrival time table T11, the boarding time table T12, and the waiting time table T13 showing the situation of the waiting time of the elevator users as shown.

[0116] The arrival time table T11 is the data accumulated in the queuing start time data accumulation unit 22 as shown in Figure 1 The boarding time table T12 is the data accumulated in the boarding time data accumulation unit 21 as shown in Figure 1 shown. In addition, the waiting time table T13 is inFigure 1 The data accumulated in the waiting time data accumulation unit 23 shown.

[0117] Figure 9 In this case, the three tables T11, T12, and T13 are shown as separate tables, but they can also be combined and saved as one table.

[0118] In the arrival time schedule T11, as the queue start time data, for Figure 8 each arrival 1011 to 1025 shown, the ID of each data, the arrival time, and the data "arrival" indicating the event are saved.

[0119] In the elevator ride time schedule T12, as the elevator ride time data, for Figure 8 each elevator ride 1031 to 1045 shown, the ID of each data, the elevator ride time, and the data indicating which elevator was boarded, such as "boarded elevator No. 1", are saved. The data saved in the elevator ride time schedule T12 also includes the data of the outflows 1033 and 1035.

[0120] For the data of the outflows 1033 and 1035, the ID of each data, the outflow time, and the data "outflow to the stairs" indicating the event are also saved. In addition, storing the elevator number boarded in the elevator ride time schedule T12 is just an example, and the data of the elevator number may not be stored.

[0121] The waiting time schedule T13 saves the data of the waiting time of each user calculated by the waiting time calculation unit 16. In the waiting time data, the IDs (ID1 and ID2) of the arrival time data and the elevator ride time data, and the data of the difference between the two times, that is, the waiting time (seconds), are saved. The waiting time data saved in the waiting time schedule T13 corresponds to Figure 7 the sequence T3 of the waiting time calculated in step S22 of the flowchart shown.

[0122] Figure 10 Indicates Figure 9 Examples of the arrival time schedule T21, the elevator ride time schedule T22, and the waiting time schedule T23, which are different from the example shown.

[0123] This Figure 10 example shows a state where, due to the queue of elevator users exceeding the measurable range of the set sensor, the queue start time cannot be obtained. That is, in the arrival time schedule T21, the event of the data with the ID 2015 indicated in the uppermost column is "measurement limit". The event indicated by this measurement limit is, for example, the following situation, that is, as Figure 6 shown, the queue start detection line 136 is set near the end of the measurement range 121a, and the queue position detection unit 12 cannot detect the end of the queue position.

[0124] At this time, the difference between the time of arrival at schedule T21 and the time of elevator ride at schedule T22 is the waiting time. However, in the waiting time schedule T23, data of ">60" with the inequality sign ">" indicating a time greater than the difference is saved as the waiting time.

[0125] Among them, Figure 10 In the example of, the difference between the arrival time of ID2015 in the arrival schedule T21 and the elevator ride time of ID2035 in the elevator ride schedule T22 is 55 seconds. However, since a longer waiting time is generated, data of ">60" obtained by adding a certain amount of time (5 seconds in this case) to the time difference is adopted.

[0126] Data of the current and past waiting times calculated by the waiting time calculation unit 16 in this way is effectively used by the data usage unit 30.

[0127] For example, when the data usage unit 30 is provided in the elevator control device, the elevator control device performs group management based on the waiting time data so as to minimize the elevator waiting time at the landing.

[0128] In addition, when the data usage unit 30 is provided in the elevator operation management department (such as the building management room), the operation index or operation status of the elevator - for example, the current value and trend of the waiting time - can be displayed on the display device provided in the operation management department.

[0129] Furthermore, when the data usage unit 30 is provided in the display device as a digital signage system that notifies the building users of the operation status of the elevator, the display device can display the current waiting time and congestion status.

[0130] As described above, according to the elevator waiting time estimation device 10 of this example, it is possible to independently measure the elevator ride time and the queuing start time of each user for each of the lobby floors of the elevator moving from the entrance of the building to each floor, and appropriately calculate the waiting time.

[0131] Specifically, assuming that elevator users take the elevator in order from the first - arrived person, the waiting time can be calculated well with simple processing and structure without tracking the movement lines of each user. That is, assuming that each user takes the elevator in the queuing order, the value obtained by subtracting the arrival time of the n - th (n is an arbitrary integer) measured by the elevator ride measurement unit 14 from the elevator ride time of the n - th measured by the queuing start measurement unit 13 is consistent with the waiting time of the user who arrives at the queuing position and is in the n - th place. Thus, according to the processing of this example, without tracking the movement line of each person, it is possible to calculate the correct waiting time only through simple processing such as detecting the start of queuing and detecting the entry into the elevator.

[0132] In addition, even when there are people flowing out from the elevator landing to the stairs or the like, the waiting time can be calculated correctly by setting the external flow line flowing out from the landing and excluding the people flowing out from this external flow line, thereby calculating the waiting time correctly.

[0133] <Variation Example>

[0134] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment examples and includes various variation examples. For example, the above-described embodiment examples have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, but are not limited to having all the structures described.

[0135] For example, Figure 3 the arrangement positions of sensors (cameras 121, 122) such as, the queuing start detection line 131 and the elevator boarding detection lines 132, 133 are examples and are not limited to the illustrated examples. Regarding the queuing start detection line 131, it can also be like Figure 4 and Figure 5 the queuing start detection lines 135, 136 shown, and can be dynamically changed according to the queuing situation.

[0136] Furthermore, in the block diagrams of Figure 1 and Figure 2 only the control lines and information lines considered necessary for explanation are shown, and not necessarily all the control lines and information lines on the product. In fact, it can also be considered that almost all the structures are interconnected. In addition, in the flowchart shown in Figure , multiple processes can also be executed simultaneously or the process order can be changed within a range that does not affect the processing results.

[0137] Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0138] 10... Elevator waiting time estimation device, 10a... Central processing unit (CPU), 10b... ROM, 10c... RAM, 10d... Non-volatile memory, 10e... Network interface, 10f... Input interface, 10g... Display device, 11... Sensor (camera), 12... Queuing position detection unit, 13... Queuing start measurement unit, 14... Elevator boarding measurement unit, 15... Outflow measurement unit, 16... Waiting time calculation unit, 20... Storage unit, 21... Elevator boarding time data accumulation unit, 22... Queuing start time data accumulation unit, 23... Waiting time data accumulation unit, 30... Data usage unit, 101... Elevator landing, 102... Space adjacent to elevator landing, 103... Stairs, 111 - 116... Car, 121... Landing entrance camera, 122... Landing camera, 121a, 122a... Measurement range, 131... Queuing start detection line, 132, 133... Elevator boarding detection lines, 134... Outflow detection line, 135, 136... (Dynamically set) queuing start detection lines, 201... Queuing reference position, 202... End of queue position, 203, 204... Line segments, 211... High-density range, 212... Medium-density range, 213... Low-density range.

Claims

1. An elevator waiting time estimation device, characterized in that, Comprising: A queuing start measurement unit that measures the situation where the user of the elevator reaches a set position; A boarding measurement unit that measures the situation where the user of the elevator enters the car; A storage unit that stores the arrival time measured by the queuing start measurement unit and the boarding time measured by the boarding measurement unit; And A waiting time calculation unit that calculates the waiting time required for the user of the elevator to enter the car based on the arrival time and the boarding time stored in the storage unit, wherein, The waiting time calculation unit subtracts the nth arrival time measured by the queuing start measurement unit from the nth boarding time measured by the boarding measurement unit, and uses the obtained value as the waiting time of the user who reaches the set position and is ranked the nth, where n is an arbitrary integer.

2. The elevator waiting time estimation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It further includes a queuing position detection unit that detects the position of the user of the elevator when queuing, The queuing position detection unit dynamically detects the end of the queue when the user of the elevator is queuing, and dynamically changes the set position measured by the queuing start measurement unit.

3. The elevator waiting time estimation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It further includes an outflow measurement unit that measures the situation where the user who reaches the set position measured by the queuing start measurement unit does not use the elevator, The waiting time calculation unit excludes the data of the number of people who flow out without using the elevator detected by the outflow measurement unit from the data measured by the queuing start measurement unit to calculate the waiting time.

4. The elevator waiting time estimation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It includes a display unit that uses the waiting time calculated by the waiting time calculation unit to display the operation index or operation status of the elevator.

5. An elevator waiting time estimation method, characterized in that, Comprising: A step of using the queuing start measurement unit to measure the arrival time when the user of the elevator reaches the set queuing start position; A step of using the boarding measurement unit to measure the boarding time when the user of the elevator enters the car; A step of storing the arrival time and the boarding time in the storage unit; And A step of calculating the waiting time required for the user of the elevator to enter the car based on the arrival time and the boarding time stored in the storage unit by using the waiting time calculation unit, wherein, The waiting time calculation unit subtracts the nth arrival time measured by the queuing start measurement unit from the nth boarding time measured by the boarding measurement unit, and uses the obtained value as the waiting time of the user who reaches the set position and is ranked the nth, where n is an arbitrary integer.

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