Contactless destination floor registration method for elevators

Abstract

This invention discloses a method for contactless registration of destination floors in elevators. The method detects a first distance between the passenger's operating part and a contactless button during registration, estimates an angle θ between the operating part and a first plane containing the contactless button, and determines a distance threshold based on the angle θ. When the first distance is less than the distance threshold, a registration signal corresponding to the operated contactless button is output. This method reduces the risk of incorrect registration even when the passenger's finger does not touch the button.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of elevator technology, and more specifically to a method for non-contact registration of destination floors in elevators. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, elevator systems typically provide passengers with a destination floor registration device inside the elevator car to register their destination floor information. This device usually includes multiple buttons corresponding to the various floors of the building where the elevator is located. Passengers register their destination floor by pressing these buttons, which are arranged on a flat surface. The destination floor registration device can be either a touchscreen based on virtual buttons or a traditional control panel based on mechanical buttons (though traditional control panels based on non-touch buttons are becoming increasingly common due to concerns about virus transmission).

[0003] In existing technologies, contactless buttons typically determine whether a passenger has registered the button based on whether the distance between the passenger's operating part (such as a finger) and the button is less than a preset distance threshold. Since the preset distance threshold is usually a constant value, false registrations can occur in some cases. To address this issue, Reference 1 (202080104303.1) proposes a destination registration device that registers the destination floor based on passenger actions in an elevator. This device comprises: a congestion determination unit that determines the congestion level of the elevator car; an operation detection unit that detects the operation specifying the destination floor in a contactless manner; a threshold changing unit that changes a distance-related threshold based on the congestion level for the contactless detection; and a registration unit that registers the destination floor if the detection result satisfies the distance-related threshold. This structure and operation enable separate destination registration operations while preventing false registrations. Essentially, this solution adjusts the distance threshold based on the congestion level in the elevator car and registers the destination floor based on the adjusted distance threshold, thereby preventing false registrations of elevator call signals. However, adjusting the distance threshold solely based on the crowding level inside the car, without considering the specific circumstances of the operating unit when passengers are registering, obviously has limited practical effect and leaves considerable room for improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to prevent false registration of elevator call signals by appropriately adjusting the distance threshold used to determine whether a passenger has performed a registration operation on a contactless button.

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention discloses a method for registering a destination floor in an elevator without contact, wherein the registration method detects a first distance between the operating part of the passenger and the non-contact button when the passenger performs the registration operation;

[0006] Estimate the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane where the non-contact button is located;

[0007] A distance threshold is determined based on the angle θ; when the first distance is less than the distance threshold, a registration signal corresponding to the operated contactless button is output, wherein the angle θ satisfies: 0 < θ ≤ 90°; the distance threshold is a monotonically increasing function with the angle θ as the independent variable, wherein the monotonically increasing function is a function that is monotonically increasing throughout the entire domain, or a function that is monotonically increasing in one or more segments of the domain while the rest is a constant value.

[0008] Preferably, the registration method calculates a first difference by subtracting the passenger's elbow height h from the height of the non-contact button relative to the second plane, and estimates the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane based on the first difference, wherein the second plane is the car floor or the waiting hall floor where the passenger performs the registration operation.

[0009] Preferably, the registration method estimates the angle θ according to the following rules: when the first difference is non-negative, the angle θ is a monotonically decreasing function with the first difference as the independent variable; when the first difference is negative, the angle θ is a monotonically decreasing function with the absolute value of the first difference as the independent variable.

[0010] Preferably, the registration method uses the length between the passenger's elbow and fingers minus the second distance between the passenger's standing position and the first plane when performing the registration operation, and uses the difference as the second difference, and estimates the angle θ based on the second difference.

[0011] Preferably, the registration method estimates the angle θ according to the following rule based on the second difference: when the second difference is non-negative, the angle θ is a monotonically decreasing function with the second difference as the independent variable; when the second difference is negative, the angle θ is a constant value not less than 45°.

[0012] Preferably, the registration method calculates the horizontal distance between the passenger's standing position and the contactless button based on the passenger's standing position when performing the registration operation, calculates the horizontal distance minus half of the passenger's shoulder width and uses the difference as a third difference, and estimates the angle θ based on the third difference.

[0013] Preferably, the registration method estimates the angle θ based on the third difference as follows: when the third difference is non-negative, the angle θ is a first monotonically decreasing function with the third difference as the independent variable; when the third difference is negative, the angle θ is a first monotonically increasing function with the third difference as the independent variable.

[0014] Preferably, both the first monotonically decreasing function and the first monotonically increasing function converge to point A, where point A is a point in the Cartesian coordinate system with a first difference of 0 as the abscissa and an angle θ of 90° as the ordinate.

[0015] This invention also provides a method for registering a destination floor in an elevator using a non-contact method. The registration method detects a first distance between the passenger's operating part and a non-contact button. When the first distance is less than a distance threshold, a registration signal for the non-contact button is output. At least two non-contact buttons located at different heights correspond to different preset distance thresholds. The method for setting the preset distance thresholds corresponding to non-contact buttons at different heights is as follows: a preset reference height is established, and the distance difference between the non-contact button and the reference height is calculated to obtain a fourth difference value. An adjustment amount Δ is determined based on the fourth difference value. The larger the fourth difference value, the larger the corresponding adjustment amount Δ.

[0016] Preferably, the distance threshold of the non-contact button at the preset reference height is used as the reference distance threshold, and the distance threshold of other non-contact buttons at non-reference heights is used as the difference between the reference distance threshold and the corresponding adjustment amount Δ.

[0017] The present invention also provides a method for registering a destination floor in an elevator without contact. The registration method detects a first distance between a passenger's operating part and a contactless button. When the first distance is less than a distance threshold, a registration signal is output for the contactless button. At least two contactless buttons located at different heights correspond to different preset distance thresholds. The registration method adjusts the adjustment amount Δ of the contactless button according to the first position of the passenger's operating part relative to the contactless button.

[0018] Preferably, the registration method estimates the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane where the non-contact button is located based on the first position, and adjusts the adjustment amount Δ based on the angle θ; the larger the angle θ, the smaller the adjustment amount Δ.

[0019] Beneficial technical effects

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention prevents the false registration of elevator call signals by identifying the angle between the operating part of the passenger and the plane where the contactless button is located when the passenger performs the registration operation, or by adjusting the distance threshold for triggering the registration of the corresponding contactless button according to the height of the contactless button. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the target floor registration for the operation part in Example 1.

[0022] Figure 2This is a schematic diagram of the non-contact registration method for the destination floor in an elevator, as described in Example 1. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0024] Example 1: In registration systems where the operation of a contactless button is typically determined by the relationship between the distance between the button and the passenger's finger used for registration, and a distance threshold, a small distance threshold increases the risk of the passenger accidentally touching the button. Conversely, a large distance threshold can lead to incorrect registration because the distance between the passenger's finger and the target button, as well as adjacent buttons, may be less than the threshold when the passenger approaches the button for registration. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the distance threshold appropriately to reduce the risk of incorrect registration without the passenger touching the button. The key issue then lies in how to appropriately adjust the distance threshold.

[0025] The essence of Reference 1 is to adjust the distance threshold based on the crowding level inside the car: a smaller distance threshold when crowding is high, and a larger distance threshold when crowding is low. Analysis revealed that the reason why the target button and the non-target button are mistakenly identified as being registered simultaneously during passenger registration is that the distance between a part of the passenger's operating part (fingertips, the part between the fingertip and palm, the palm, and even the forearm or clothing covering the forearm) and the target button is less than the distance threshold, and the distance between other parts and the non-target button is also less than the distance threshold. Therefore, to solve the problem of misregistration, it is necessary to understand the posture of the passenger's operating part relative to the non-contact button (or the first plane where the non-contact button is located) during registration (because posture determines the minimum distance between each part of the operating part and the first plane, which is the distance detected by the nearest non-contact button to each part of the operating part), and adjust the distance threshold according to this posture. Only in this way can the distance threshold be reasonably adjusted, ultimately achieving the goal of reducing the risk of misregistration without the passenger's fingers touching the button.

[0026] Considering that under normal circumstances, when passengers are checking in, their index finger is extended, the other fingers are naturally clenched into a fist, and the index finger, the back of the hand, and the forearm are roughly in a straight line, such as... Figure 1As shown. To prevent accidental registration due to the distance between the thumb and button B being less than a distance threshold while the passenger is moving towards the first plane where the button A is located, the distance between the tip of the index finger and the first plane should be L1 when the passenger's hand finally stops moving towards the first plane. Here, L1 is the safe distance to ensure that the passenger's index finger will not touch the button, and L2 is the distance between the closest part of the hand to the first plane other than the index finger and the first plane. The difference between the two is ΔL.

[0027] Depend on Figure 1 It can be seen that when the distance threshold L satisfies: L1 < L < L2, button A can detect that the distance to the tip of the index finger is less than the distance threshold L, and thus register the signal corresponding to button A. At the same time, it can ensure that the minimum distance between the part of the hand other than the index finger that is closest to the first plane and the first plane is greater than the distance threshold L, so that no signal is registered, thereby avoiding false registration.

[0028] As the passenger's hand approaches the first panel where the button is located, the speed at which the passenger's hand approaches the first plane gradually decreases as the distance between the fingertips and the first plane decreases (thus avoiding the index finger touching the button). Therefore, the required ΔL decreases, which means that L2 decreases accordingly.

[0029] On the other hand, ΔL is determined by the angle θ between the straight line containing the passenger's operating part (i.e., the dotted line in the figure) and the first plane, as well as the length of the index finger (approximately equal to the distance f between the tip of the index finger and the middle joint of the thumb or middle finger when making a fist). The latter can be roughly considered a constant, so ΔL can be approximated as a function of the angle θ (approximately f*sinθ). Therefore, the smaller the angle θ, the smaller ΔL, and the smaller the corresponding L2, which in turn results in a smaller distance threshold. This makes the speed at which the passenger's hand approaches the first plane less when the distance between the passenger's index finger and the first plane is detected to be less than the distance threshold.

[0030] In summary, the distance threshold should be adjusted according to the angle θ between the passenger's hand (i.e., the operating part of the non-contact button) and the first plane, so that the smaller the angle θ, the smaller the distance threshold.

[0031] Based on the above analysis, this embodiment proposes a contactless destination floor registration device for elevators, comprising a contactless button, a registration module, an estimation module, and a threshold determination module. The contactless button provides passengers with a corresponding floor button identifier and detects a first distance between the passenger's operating part and the contactless button during the registration operation. The estimation module estimates the angle θ between the passenger's operating part and the first plane containing the contactless button (button identifier). The threshold determination module determines a distance threshold based on the angle θ. The registration module compares the first distance with the distance threshold; when the first distance is less than the distance threshold, the registration module determines that the passenger has performed a registration operation on the contactless button, and generates and outputs a registration signal corresponding to the contactless button.

[0032] The aforementioned contactless destination floor registration device for elevators utilizes the following method for contactless destination floor registration:

[0033] The method for registering a destination floor in an elevator without contact utilizes a contactless button to detect a first distance between the operating part of the passenger and the contactless button (i.e., the first plane where the contactless button is located) when the passenger performs the registration operation. An estimation module estimates the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane where the contactless button is located. A threshold determination module determines a distance threshold based on the angle θ. The distance threshold is used to determine whether to output a registration signal corresponding to the operated contactless button. When the first distance is less than the distance threshold, the registration module outputs a registration signal corresponding to the operated contactless button.

[0034] like Figure 2 As shown, the working principle of the elevator non-contact destination floor registration device, that is, the specific working process of registering the elevator call signal using the above-mentioned non-contact destination floor registration method, is as follows: Figure 2 As shown.

[0035] The passenger's operating parts include at least one of the following: fingers, hands, forearms, and combinations of at least two adjacent parts of the aforementioned three (such as a combination of hands and forearms).

[0036] The angle θ satisfies: 0 < θ ≤ 90°; the distance threshold is a monotonically increasing function with the angle θ as the independent variable. The monotonically increasing function is a function that is monotonically increasing throughout the entire domain, or a function that is monotonically increasing in one or more segments of the domain while the rest is a constant value.

[0037] The solution in this embodiment determines the distance threshold based on the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane, so that when the first distance reaches the distance threshold, the speed at which the hand approaches the first plane is adapted to the corresponding ΔL direction. Therefore, it can avoid the occurrence of false registration due to the distance between other parts of the hand and the first plane being less than the distance threshold while ensuring that the index finger does not touch the button.

[0038] Example 2: This example further explains how to estimate the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane where the non-contact button is located, based on Example 1.

[0039] There are various factors that affect the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane when a passenger performs the check-in operation. In this embodiment, the angle θ is estimated from the angle of the relative height between the passenger's elbow and the contactless button when performing the check-in operation. The greater the relative height difference between the elbow height and the operated contactless button, the smaller the angle θ.

[0040] The registration method calculates a first difference by subtracting the passenger's elbow height h from the height of the non-contact button relative to the second plane, and estimates the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane based on the first difference. The second plane is the car floor or waiting hall floor where the passenger performs the registration operation.

[0041] When the first difference is non-negative, the angle θ is a monotonically decreasing function with the first difference as the independent variable; when the first difference is negative, the angle θ is a monotonically decreasing function with the absolute value of the first difference as the independent variable.

[0042] Both the first monotonically decreasing function and the first monotonically increasing function converge to point A, where point A is a point in the Cartesian coordinate system with the first difference equal to 0 as the abscissa and the angle θ equal to 90° as the ordinate.

[0043] Example 3: This example further explains how to estimate the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane where the non-contact button is located, based on Example 1.

[0044] This embodiment estimates the angle θ based on the distance between the passenger's standing position and the first plane during the registration process. Specifically, it estimates the angle θ based on the difference between the length from the passenger's elbow to their fingers and the distance between the standing position and the first plane. When the distance between the standing position and the first plane is greater than the length from the passenger's elbow to their fingers, the passenger cannot complete the registration operation using only their forearm and hand. They must further raise their upper arm to increase the distance between their shoulder and the tip of their index finger so that the distance between the tip of their index finger and the first plane is less than a distance threshold, thus enabling the registration operation. In this case, the combination of the passenger's forearm and hand is roughly straight and approximately perpendicular to the first plane, or the angle between them is close to a right angle. The larger the difference between the length from the passenger's elbow to their fingers and the distance between the standing position and the first plane, the more likely the passenger is to adjust the distance between the tip of their index finger and the first plane by decreasing the angle θ between the operating part (the combination of the forearm and hand) and the first plane. Therefore, the angle θ can be estimated based on the relative magnitude of the length from the passenger's elbow to their fingers and the distance between the standing position and the first plane.

[0045] The registration method uses the length between the passenger's elbow and fingers minus the second distance between the passenger's standing position and the first plane when performing the registration operation, and uses the difference as the second difference value, and estimates the angle θ based on the second difference value.

[0046] When the second difference is non-negative, the angle θ is a monotonically decreasing function with the second difference as the independent variable; when the second difference is negative, the angle θ is a constant value not less than 45°.

[0047] When the second difference is negative, under normal circumstances, passengers cannot perform the registration operation by relying solely on their forearms without moving their upper arms. At this time, the forearms and hands are basically in a position perpendicular or approximately perpendicular to the first plane, with the angle θ close to 90°.

[0048] Example 4: This example further explains how to estimate the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane where the non-contact button is located, based on Example 1.

[0049] This embodiment estimates the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane based on the relative distance between the passenger's standing position and the operated contactless button in a horizontal direction parallel to the first plane. When the passenger stands to the left of the contactless button, the operating part (i.e., the combination of forearm and hand) will inevitably extend to the right and forward to perform the registration operation. The angle θ at this time is actually the angle between the projection of the operating part onto the first plane and the operating part itself (this angle is actually the smallest angle between the operating part and the first plane, and this statement holds true for all angles θ disclosed herein). Furthermore, the further to the left the passenger's standing position is relative to the contactless button, the smaller the corresponding angle θ; the same rule applies when the passenger stands to the right of the contactless button. Therefore, the angle θ can be estimated based on the relative distance between the passenger's standing position and the contactless button in a horizontal direction parallel to the first plane. It should be noted that since the standing position usually refers to the center point of the human body in the straight line between the two shoulders, and the passenger protrudes outward from the shoulders when registering, when determining the relative distance between the passenger's standing position and the contactless button in a horizontal direction parallel to the first plane, attention should be paid to the difference between the passenger's shoulder (as the starting point of the operating part) and the center point.

[0050] The registration method calculates the horizontal distance between the passenger's standing position and the contactless button based on the passenger's standing position when performing the registration operation, calculates this horizontal distance minus half of the passenger's shoulder width and uses the difference as a third difference, and estimates the angle θ based on the third difference.

[0051] When the third difference is non-negative, the angle θ is a first monotonically decreasing function with the third difference as the independent variable; when the third difference is negative, the angle θ is a first monotonically increasing function with the third difference as the independent variable.

[0052] Both the first monotonically decreasing function and the first monotonically increasing function converge to point A, where point A is a point in the Cartesian coordinate system with the first difference equal to 0 as the abscissa and the angle θ equal to 90° as the ordinate.

[0053] Example 5: This example provides a method for registering a destination floor in an elevator using a non-contact method. The registration method detects a first distance between the passenger's operating part and the non-contact button. When the first distance is less than a distance threshold, a registration signal for the non-contact button is output. At least two non-contact buttons located at different heights correspond to different preset distance thresholds.

[0054] The method for setting the preset distance threshold corresponding to non-contact buttons of different heights is as follows: a preset reference height is established, the distance difference (absolute value) between the non-contact button and the reference height is calculated to obtain a fourth difference value, and the adjustment amount Δ is determined based on the fourth difference value. The larger the fourth difference value is, the larger the corresponding adjustment amount Δ is. The difference between the reference distance threshold of the non-contact button at the preset reference height and the adjustment amount Δ is used as the distance threshold of the non-contact button.

[0055] In essence, this embodiment sets a reference distance threshold for a non-contact button at a preset reference height, then determines an adjustment amount Δ based on the fourth difference between the operated non-contact button and the preset reference height, and adjusts the reference distance threshold according to the adjustment amount to obtain the distance threshold of the non-contact button that has a height difference from the preset reference height.

[0056] Example 6: In Example 5, the distance threshold for each contactless button was a preset fixed value. In this example, the distance threshold for each contactless button is dynamically adjusted according to the actual situation.

[0057] The method for registering the destination floor of an elevator using non-contact technology in this embodiment adjusts the non-contact button by an adjustment amount Δ based on the first position of the non-contact button relative to the operating part of the passenger's operation of the non-contact button.

[0058] More specifically, the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane where the non-contact button is located is estimated based on the first position, and the adjustment amount Δ is adjusted based on the angle θ. After each change of the adjustment amount Δ, the distance threshold of the non-contact button is recalculated. The adjustment rule is: the larger the angle θ, the smaller the adjustment amount Δ.

[0059] For the estimation method of angle θ, any one of Examples 2 to 5 can be used.

Claims

1. A method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator, characterized in that, The registration method detects the first distance between the operating part of the passenger and the contactless button when the passenger performs the registration operation; Estimate the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane where the non-contact button is located; A distance threshold is determined based on the angle θ; when the first distance is less than the distance threshold, a registration signal corresponding to the operated contactless button is output; the angle θ satisfies: 0 < θ ≤ 90°; the distance threshold is a monotonically increasing function with the angle θ as the independent variable, wherein the monotonically increasing function is a function that is monotonically increasing throughout the entire domain, or a function that is monotonically increasing in one or more segments of the domain while the rest is a constant value.

2. The method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The registration method calculates a first difference by subtracting the passenger's elbow height h from the height of the non-contact button relative to the second plane, and estimates the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane based on the first difference. The second plane is the car floor or waiting hall floor where the passenger performs the registration operation.

3. The method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator according to claim 2, characterized in that, The registration method estimates the angle θ based on the first difference as follows: When the first difference is non-negative, the angle θ is a monotonically decreasing function with the first difference as the independent variable; When the first difference is negative, the angle θ is a monotonically decreasing function with the absolute value of the first difference as the independent variable.

4. The method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The registration method uses the length between the passenger's elbow and fingers minus the second distance between the passenger's standing position and the first plane when performing the registration operation, and uses the difference as the second difference value, and estimates the angle θ based on the second difference value.

5. The method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator according to claim 4, characterized in that, The registration method estimates the angle θ based on the second difference as follows: When the second difference is non-negative, the angle θ is a monotonically decreasing function with the second difference as the independent variable; When the second difference is negative, the angle θ is a constant value of not less than 45°.

6. The method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator according to claim 1, characterized in that, The registration method calculates the horizontal distance between the passenger's standing position and the contactless button based on the passenger's standing position when performing the registration operation, calculates this horizontal distance minus half of the passenger's shoulder width and uses the difference as a third difference, and estimates the angle θ based on the third difference.

7. The method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator according to claim 6, characterized in that, The registration method estimates the angle θ based on the third difference as follows: When the third difference is non-negative, the angle θ is a first monotonically decreasing function with the third difference as the independent variable; When the third difference is negative, the angle θ is a first monotonically increasing function with the third difference as the independent variable.

8. The method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator according to claim 3 or 7, characterized in that, Both the first monotonically decreasing function and the first monotonically increasing function converge to point A, where point A is a point in the Cartesian coordinate system with the first difference equal to 0 as the abscissa and the angle θ equal to 90° as the ordinate.

9. A method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator, characterized in that, The registration method detects a first distance between the passenger's operating part and the contactless button. When the first distance is less than a distance threshold, a registration signal for the contactless button is output. At least two contactless buttons located at different heights have different preset distance thresholds. The method for setting the preset distance thresholds for contactless buttons at different heights is as follows: a preset reference height is used, and the distance difference between the contactless button and the reference height is calculated to obtain a fourth difference value. An adjustment amount Δ is determined based on the fourth difference value. The larger the fourth difference value, the larger the corresponding adjustment amount Δ.

10. The elevator non-contact destination floor registration method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The distance threshold of the non-contact button at the preset reference height is used as the reference distance threshold. For other non-contact buttons at non-reference heights, the difference between the reference distance threshold and the corresponding adjustment amount Δ is used as the distance threshold of the non-contact button.

11. A method for non-contact registration of destination floors in an elevator, characterized in that, The registration method detects a first distance between the passenger's operating part and the contactless button. When the first distance is less than a distance threshold, it outputs a registration signal for the contactless button. At least two contactless buttons located at different heights correspond to different preset distance thresholds. The registration method adjusts the adjustment amount Δ of the contactless button according to the first position of the passenger's operating part relative to the contactless button.

12. The elevator non-contact destination floor registration method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The registration method estimates the angle θ between the operating part and the first plane where the non-contact button is located based on the first position, and adjusts the adjustment amount Δ according to the angle θ; the larger the angle θ, the smaller the adjustment amount Δ.

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