Elevator Group Management Methods and Systems

Abstract

This invention discloses an elevator group management method, including the following steps: S1, receiving a first elevator call signal at a first moment, and setting a time period T with a duration Tt starting from the first moment, wherein the first elevator call signal includes the number of passengers in the group, the departure floor, and the destination floor; S2, determining the first elevator and its arrival time at the destination floor; S3, enumerating all possible elevator groups, each elevator group containing only the first elevator and at least two first elevators; S4, calculating the arrival time interval of the elevator group; S5, selecting the elevator group corresponding to the minimum arrival time interval from the elevator groups as the selected elevator group; and S6, assigning the first elevator in the selected elevator group as the responding elevator to the first elevator call signal. This invention can minimize the waiting time for early-arriving group passengers while transporting the group of passengers to the destination floor no later than the arrival time specified in Reference 2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of elevators, and more specifically to a method and system for managing elevator groups. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, in scenarios with multiple elevators, elevator group control systems are typically implemented. These systems respond to passenger calls by appropriately allocating elevators, effectively improving elevator efficiency and reducing passenger waiting time. Regarding the group ride problem in elevator group control (i.e., a group of passengers exceeding the capacity of a single elevator requires multiple elevators to transport the group, and the passengers in the group need to move simultaneously after exiting the elevator car at their destination floor), Reference 1 (application number: CN200580003118.9) proposes providing transportation services to group ride passengers with as few responding elevators as possible. While this scheme achieves the goal of group ride passengers together as much as possible, it may result in the earliest arriving passenger waiting a long time before meeting the latest arriving passenger and proceeding together. To address the shortcomings of Reference 1, Reference 2 (Application No.: CN202110784547.5) proposes allocating elevators to group passengers by selecting additional elevators based on the principle of minimizing the arrival time of the elevators to the destination floors of the group passengers after determining the group passenger problem. While Reference 2 can alleviate the long waiting time for group passengers who arrive at their destination floors early to some extent, it still cannot guarantee the shortest waiting time because the scheme does not appropriately select the elevator that arrives at the destination floors of the group passengers earliest. Therefore, there is still room for further improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to minimize the time interval between the arrival time of the earliest passenger to arrive at the destination floor and the arrival time of the latest passenger to arrive at the destination floor in a group of passengers.

[0004] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention discloses an elevator group management method, comprising the following steps:

[0005] Step S1: Receive the first elevator call signal at the first moment, and set a time period T with the first moment as the starting point and a length of Tt; the first elevator call signal includes the number of passengers in the group, the departure floor and the destination floor. The group of passengers is multiple passengers who move at the same time after arriving at the destination floor. The number of passengers exceeds the number of passengers that a single elevator can carry and requires at least two elevators to transport them.

[0006] Step S2: Determine the first elevator and its arrival time at the destination floor. The first elevator refers to an elevator that can respond to the first call signal and can arrive at the destination floor within the time period T.

[0007] Step S3: Enumerate all possible elevator groups. Each elevator group contains only one first elevator and at least two first elevators. The sum of the number of passengers that can be carried by all first elevators in the same elevator group is not less than the number of passengers.

[0008] Step S4: Calculate the arrival time interval of the elevator group. The arrival time interval refers to the time interval between the arrival time of the first elevator in the elevator group that arrives first at the first departure destination floor and the arrival time of the last elevator in the elevator group that arrives last at the first departure destination floor.

[0009] Step S5: Select the elevator group corresponding to the minimum arrival time interval from the elevator groups as the selected elevator group;

[0010] Step S6: Select the first elevator in the selected elevator group as the responding elevator and assign it to the first call signal.

[0011] Preferably, in step S1, a virtual response elevator is first assigned to the group of passengers according to the preset principle of minimizing the number of passengers taking the elevator or the earliest arrival of the group of passengers at the destination floor. Then, the virtual latest arrival time of the virtual response elevator that arrives at the destination floor is estimated. Finally, the length of the time interval between the virtual latest arrival time and the first time is taken as the duration Tt.

[0012] Preferably, the step between step S2 and step S3 further includes: step A1, assigning different priorities based on the current position and direction of travel of the first elevator; step S3 prioritizes enumerating only elevator groups composed of first elevators with higher priorities than the restriction level.

[0013] Preferably, between step S5 and step S6, the following steps are further included: Step B1, determining whether the arrival time interval of the selected elevator group is greater than a threshold; if the determination result is yes, proceed to the next step; otherwise, proceed to step S6; Step B2, changing the call signal already assigned to each elevator, and returning to step S2.

[0014] The present invention also provides an elevator group management system, the elevator group management system comprising:

[0015] The receiving module is used to receive a first elevator call signal from a group of passengers, the first elevator call signal including the number of passengers in the group, the departure floor and the destination floor;

[0016] The virtual allocation module, when the number of passengers exceeds the capacity of a single elevator, virtually allocates virtual response elevators to the group of passengers according to preset principles and outputs the allocation results.

[0017] The first determining module is used to determine the virtual arrival time of the virtual response elevator dispatched by the virtual dispatching module when it arrives at the destination floor, and to determine the time period length Tt based on the virtual arrival time;

[0018] The second determining module is used to determine the first elevator and its arrival time at the destination floor. The first elevator refers to an elevator that can respond to the first elevator call signal and can arrive at the destination floor within the time period.

[0019] The enumeration module enumerates all possible elevator groups. Each elevator group contains only one first elevator and at least two first elevators. The sum of the number of passengers that can be carried by all first elevators in the same elevator group is not less than the number of passengers.

[0020] The calculation module is used to calculate the arrival time interval of the elevator group, which is the time interval between the arrival time of the first elevator that arrives at the departure floor first and the arrival time of the last elevator that arrives at the departure floor.

[0021] The dispatch module is used to select the elevator group corresponding to the minimum arrival time interval from the elevator group as the selected elevator group, and assign the first elevator in the selected elevator group as the responding elevator and assign it to the first call signal.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0023] The present invention appropriately selects all responding elevators that carry the group of passengers, rather than only appropriately selecting the non-earliest responding elevators in the prior art (Document 2). This enables the group of passengers to be transported to the destination floor no later than the arrival time of the prior art (Document 2), thereby minimizing the waiting time (waiting time for the group of passengers to arrive later).

[0024] Furthermore, in the allocation results of this invention, the arrival time of the earliest responding elevator that actually carries passengers to the destination floor is usually later than the arrival time of the earliest responding elevator that actually carries passengers to the destination floor in the allocation results of the prior art. However, this is precisely where the advantage of the technical solution of this application lies. The reason is that the later arrival time of the earliest responding elevator that carries passengers to the destination floor in this application means that the group management system allocates elevators that can arrive at the destination floor earlier to other non-group passengers. These non-group passengers leave the car after arriving at their destination floor and go to their respective destinations immediately without staying by the elevator to wait for other passengers. Therefore, it is equivalent to the group passengers giving up the opportunity to arrive early to other non-group passengers. However, for the group passengers, even if they arrive at the destination floor early, they will still stay by the elevator to wait for other group passengers who arrive later. Therefore, the group passengers who arrive early waste the time between their arrival at the destination floor and the latest arrival of the group passengers, because they need to wait to act together with all the members. By transferring elevators capable of transporting early-arriving group passengers to other non-group passengers, this application effectively utilizes the time that early-arriving group passengers waste from arriving at their destination floor to the latest-arriving group passengers, thus maximizing the practical value of this time. This is a significant advantage of this application compared to existing technologies. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to specific embodiments.

[0026] Example 1

[0027] This embodiment discloses an elevator group management method, which includes the following steps:

[0028] Step S1: Receive the first elevator call signal at the first moment, and set a time period T with the first moment as the starting point and a length of Tt; the first elevator call signal includes the number of passengers in the group, the departure floor and the destination floor. The group of passengers is multiple passengers who move at the same time after arriving at the destination floor. The number of passengers exceeds the number of passengers that a single elevator can carry and requires at least two elevators to transport them.

[0029] Step S2: Determine the first elevator and its arrival time at the destination floor. The first elevator refers to an elevator that can respond to the first call signal and can arrive at the destination floor within the time period T.

[0030] Step S3: Enumerate all possible elevator groups. Each elevator group contains only one first elevator and at least two first elevators. The sum of the number of passengers that can be carried by all first elevators in the same elevator group is not less than the number of passengers.

[0031] Step S4: Calculate the arrival time interval of the elevator group. The arrival time interval refers to the time interval between the arrival time of the first elevator in the elevator group that arrives at the destination floor first and the arrival time of the first elevator that arrives at the destination floor last.

[0032] Step S5: Select the elevator group corresponding to the minimum arrival time interval from the elevator groups as the selected elevator group;

[0033] Step S6: Select the first elevator in the selected elevator group as the responding elevator and assign it to the first call signal.

[0034] Example 2

[0035] This embodiment further explains step S1 based on embodiment 1.

[0036] In theory, the duration T can be any real value, a constant value, or a variable.

[0037] Step S1 first assigns virtual response elevators to the group of passengers according to a preset principle, then estimates the virtual latest arrival time of the virtual response elevator that arrives at the destination floor, and finally takes the length of the time interval between the virtual latest arrival time and the first time as the duration Tt.

[0038] The pre-set principles include:

[0039] Principle 1: Minimize the number of elevator trips;

[0040] Principle 2: Passengers in the aforementioned group should arrive at their destination floor earliest.

[0041] Example 3

[0042] This embodiment is a further explanation based on Embodiment 1.

[0043] The elevator group management method of this embodiment further includes the following step between step S2 and step S3 in embodiment 1:

[0044] Step A1: Assign different priorities based on the current position and direction of travel of the first elevator;

[0045] Step S3 enumerates the elevator groups consisting of the first elevator with a priority higher than the restriction level.

[0046] When the number of elevator groups obtained by enumeration is less than the threshold, step S3 expands the range of the first elevator that makes up the elevator group by reducing the priority limit.

[0047] Step S4 prioritizes calculating the arrival time interval of the elevator group consisting of the first elevator with high priority.

[0048] When the minimum arrival time interval is greater than the specified parameter or the number of elevator groups whose arrival time intervals meet the specified parameter is less than the threshold, step S3 expands the range of the first elevator that makes up the elevator group by reducing the priority limit.

[0049] The elevator has the highest priority when it moves toward the departure floor and its direction of travel is the same as the group of passengers' desired direction of travel; the elevator has the next highest priority when it moves toward the departure floor and its direction of travel is opposite to the group of passengers' desired direction of travel; and the elevator has the lowest priority when it moves away from the departure floor.

[0050] The purpose of the new content in this embodiment is to reduce the number of enumerations and reduce the difficulty of enumeration.

[0051] Example 4

[0052] This embodiment is a further explanation based on Embodiment 1.

[0053] The elevator group management method of this embodiment further includes the following step between step S5 and step S6:

[0054] Step B1: Determine whether the arrival time interval of the selected elevator group is greater than the threshold. If the determination result is yes, proceed to the next step; otherwise, proceed to step S6.

[0055] Step B2: Change the call signals already assigned to each elevator, and return to step S2.

[0056] The changes in step B2 include:

[0057] Method 1: By changing the call signal of at least one non-first elevator that has been assigned to each elevator, the arrival time of the non-first elevator whose assigned call signal has been changed to the destination floor is altered, so that the non-first elevator whose assigned call signal has been changed becomes the first elevator.

[0058] Method 2 (or based on Method 1) changes the arrival time of the first elevator whose call signal has been changed by modifying at least one call signal already assigned to the first elevator, thereby making it possible to shorten the arrival time interval between the arrival time of the first elevator whose call signal has been changed and the arrival times of other first elevators.

[0059] Example 5

[0060] This embodiment further explains method 2 in embodiment 4.

[0061] In method 2, step B2 modifies the call signal already assigned to the first elevator according to the following sub-steps:

[0062] Step B21: Estimate the average time it takes for the elevator to stop at one floor;

[0063] Step B22: Calculate the difference between the arrival times of any two first elevators in the elevator group;

[0064] Step S23: Divide each difference by the average time spent to obtain the quotient and remainder;

[0065] Step B24: Select two first elevators whose remainder does not exceed the specified parameter as the selected first elevator pair;

[0066] Step B25: By changing the assigned call signal of at least one of the first elevators in the first elevator pair, any of the following conditions are met:

[0067] Condition 1: The first elevator in the first elevator pair arrives at the destination floor earlier. The number of stops before arriving at the destination floor is reduced by m times, where m is greater than or equal to the sum of the quotient obtained in step B23 and a positive integer margin.

[0068] Condition 2: The number of stops before the first elevator reaches the destination floor increases by m times, where m is greater than or equal to the sum of the quotient obtained in step B23 and a positive integer margin.

[0069] Condition 3: The sum of the decrease in the number of stops of the first elevator in the first elevator pair that arrives at the destination floor earlier before arriving at the destination floor and the increase in the number of stops of the first elevator in the first elevator pair that arrives at the destination floor later before arriving at the destination floor is greater than or equal to the sum of the quotient obtained in step B23 and a positive integer margin.

[0070] When there are multiple first elevator pairs, step B24 selects the elevator pair with the smallest quotient obtained in step B23, thereby minimizing the change in the number of stops of the first elevator before reaching the destination floor.

[0071] Example 6

[0072] This embodiment provides a group management system that applies the elevator group management method in Embodiment 2.

[0073] The elevator group management system includes:

[0074] The receiving module is used to receive a first elevator call signal from a group of passengers, the first elevator call signal including the number of passengers in the group, the departure floor and the destination floor;

[0075] The virtual allocation module, when the number of passengers exceeds the capacity of a single elevator, virtually allocates virtual response elevators to the group of passengers according to preset principles and outputs the allocation results.

[0076] The first determining module is used to determine the virtual arrival time of the virtual response elevator dispatched by the virtual dispatching module when it arrives at the destination floor, and to determine the time period length T based on the virtual arrival time;

[0077] The second determining module is used to determine the first elevator and its arrival time at the destination floor. The first elevator refers to an elevator that can respond to the first elevator call signal and can arrive at the destination floor within the time period.

[0078] The enumeration module enumerates all possible elevator groups. Each elevator group contains only one first elevator and at least two first elevators. The sum of the number of passengers that can be carried by all first elevators in the same elevator group is not less than the number of passengers.

[0079] The calculation module is used to calculate the arrival time interval of the elevator group, which is the time interval between the arrival time of the first elevator that arrives at the departure floor first and the arrival time of the last elevator that arrives at the departure floor.

[0080] The dispatch module is used to select the elevator group corresponding to the minimum arrival time interval from the elevator group as the selected elevator group, and assign the first elevator in the selected elevator group as the responding elevator and assign it to the first call signal.

[0081] Among them, the pre-set principles include:

[0082] Principle 1: Minimize the number of elevator trips;

[0083] Principle 2: Passengers in the aforementioned group should arrive at their destination floor earliest.

[0084] The present invention has been described in detail above through specific embodiments and examples, but these are not intended to limit the invention. Many modifications and improvements can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the invention, and these should also be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for managing elevator groups, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step S1: Receive the first elevator call signal at the first moment, and set a time period T with the first moment as the starting point and a length of Tt; the first elevator call signal includes the number of passengers in the group, the departure floor and the destination floor. The group of passengers is multiple passengers who move at the same time after arriving at the destination floor. The number of passengers exceeds the number of passengers that a single elevator can carry and requires at least two elevators to transport them. Step S2: Determine the first elevator and its arrival time at the destination floor. The first elevator refers to an elevator that can respond to the first call signal and can arrive at the destination floor within the time period T. Step S3: Enumerate all possible elevator groups. Each elevator group contains only one first elevator and at least two first elevators. The sum of the number of passengers that can be carried by all first elevators in the same elevator group is not less than the number of passengers. Step S4: Calculate the arrival time interval of the elevator group. The arrival time interval refers to the time interval between the arrival time of the first elevator in the elevator group that arrives at the destination floor first and the arrival time of the first elevator that arrives at the destination floor last. Step S5: Select the elevator group corresponding to the minimum arrival time interval from the elevator groups as the selected elevator group; Step S6: Select the first elevator in the selected elevator group as the responding elevator and assign it to the first call signal.

2. The elevator group management method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Step S1 first assigns virtual response elevators to the group of passengers according to a preset principle, then estimates the virtual latest arrival time of the virtual response elevator that arrives at the destination floor, and finally takes the length of the time interval between the virtual latest arrival time and the first time as the duration Tt.

3. The elevator group management method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step between step S2 and step S3 also includes: Step A1: Assign different priorities based on the current position and direction of travel of the first elevator; Step S3 enumerates the elevator groups consisting of the first elevator with a priority higher than the restriction level.

4. The elevator group management method according to claim 3, characterized in that, When the number of elevator groups obtained by enumeration is less than the threshold, step S3 expands the range of the first elevator that makes up the elevator group by reducing the priority limit.

5. The elevator group management method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Step S4 prioritizes calculating the arrival time interval of the elevator group consisting of the first elevator with high priority. When the minimum arrival time interval is greater than the specified parameter or the number of elevator groups whose arrival time intervals meet the specified parameter is less than the threshold, step S3 expands the range of the first elevator that makes up the elevator group by reducing the priority limit.

6. The elevator group management method according to claim 3, characterized in that, When the elevator moves toward the departure floor and its direction of travel is consistent with the desired direction of travel for the group of passengers, the elevator has the highest priority. When the elevator moves toward the departure floor and its direction of travel is opposite to the desired direction of travel for the group of passengers, the elevator has the next highest priority. When the elevator is far from the departure floor, the elevator has the lowest priority.

7. The elevator group management method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Between step S5 and step S6, the following is also included: Step B1: Determine whether the arrival time interval of the selected elevator group is greater than the threshold. If the determination result is yes, proceed to the next step; otherwise, proceed to step S6. Step B2: Change the call signals already assigned to each elevator, and return to step S2.

8. The elevator group management method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Step B2 changes the arrival time of the non-first elevator whose call signal has been changed to the destination floor by changing the call signal of at least one of the non-first elevators that has been assigned to each elevator, so that the non-first elevator whose call signal has been changed becomes the first elevator.

9. The elevator group management method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, Step B2 alters the arrival time of the first elevator whose assigned call signal has been changed by modifying at least one call signal already assigned to the first elevator, thereby making it possible to shorten the arrival time interval between the arrival time of the first elevator whose assigned call signal has been changed and the arrival times of other first elevators.

10. The elevator group management method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Step B2 modifies the call signal already assigned to the first elevator according to the following sub-steps: Step B21: Estimate the average time it takes for the elevator to stop at one floor; Step B22: Calculate the difference between the arrival times of any two first elevators in the elevator group; Step S23: Divide each difference by the average time spent to obtain the quotient and remainder; Step B24: Select two first elevators whose remainder does not exceed the specified parameter as the selected first elevator pair; Step B25: By changing the assigned call signal of at least one of the first elevators in the first elevator pair, any of the following conditions are met: Condition 1: The first elevator in the first elevator pair arrives at the destination floor earlier. The number of stops before arriving at the destination floor is reduced by m times, where m is greater than or equal to the sum of the quotient obtained in step B23 and a positive integer margin. Condition 2: The number of stops before the first elevator reaches the destination floor increases by m times, where m is greater than or equal to the sum of the quotient obtained in step B23 and a positive integer margin. Condition 3: The sum of the decrease in the number of stops of the first elevator in the first elevator pair that arrives at the destination floor earlier before arriving at the destination floor and the increase in the number of stops of the first elevator in the first elevator pair that arrives at the destination floor later before arriving at the destination floor is greater than or equal to the sum of the quotient obtained in step B23 and a positive integer margin.

11. The elevator group management method according to claim 10, characterized in that, When there are multiple first elevator pairs, step B24 selects the elevator pair with the smallest quotient obtained in step B23, thereby minimizing the change in the number of stops of the first elevator before reaching the destination floor.

12. An elevator group management system, characterized in that, The elevator group management system includes: The receiving module is used to receive a first elevator call signal from a group of passengers, the first elevator call signal including the number of passengers in the group, the departure floor and the destination floor; The virtual allocation module, when the number of passengers exceeds the capacity of a single elevator, virtually allocates virtual response elevators to the group of passengers according to preset principles and outputs the allocation results. The first determining module is used to determine the virtual arrival time of the virtual response elevator dispatched by the virtual dispatching module when it arrives at the destination floor, and to determine the time period length Tt based on the virtual arrival time; The second determining module is used to determine the first elevator and its arrival time at the destination floor. The first elevator refers to an elevator that can respond to the first elevator call signal and can arrive at the destination floor within the time period. The enumeration module enumerates all possible elevator groups. Each elevator group contains only one first elevator and at least two first elevators. The sum of the number of passengers that can be carried by all first elevators in the same elevator group is not less than the number of passengers. The calculation module is used to calculate the arrival time interval of the elevator group, which is the time interval between the arrival time of the first elevator that arrives at the departure floor first and the arrival time of the last elevator that arrives at the departure floor. The dispatch module is used to select the elevator group corresponding to the minimum arrival time interval from the elevator group as the selected elevator group, and assign the first elevator in the selected elevator group as the responding elevator and assign it to the first call signal.