Door state determination device, door state determination system, and moving body equipped with door state determination device

Abstract

In an elevator, at each of a plurality of floors, a mark having identification information corresponding to each of the plurality of floors is disposed at a position that can be visually recognized from the inside of a car when an elevator door is open and that cannot be visually recognized from the inside of the car when the elevator door is closed. The door state determination device acquires an in-car image captured by a camera mounted on a moving body capable of getting on and off an elevator, determines a door opening / closing state of an elevator door according to whether the in-car image includes a marked image, and when the in-car image includes the marked image, extracts identification information from the marked image, and determines the door opening / closing state of the elevator door. And determining the floor where the elevator door is opened according to the identification information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a door state determination device for determining the state of an elevator door, a door state determination system, and a moving object equipped with the door state determination device. Background Art

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a technology related to a control system of an autonomous driving robot using an elevator. In the control system of this technology, a door state signal indicating the open or closed state of an elevator door is transmitted from a signal transmission unit provided in the elevator. When the autonomous driving robot receives the door state signal indicating that the door is open and there is a descending instruction from the descending instruction unit, the autonomous driving robot drives a drive motor to descend from the elevator.

[0003] Prior art literature

[0004] Patent Literature

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 5449952 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0007] In the technology of Patent Document 1, the elevator control device determines the open / closed state of the door and sends the signal to the autonomous driving robot through communication. Therefore, in the technology of Patent Document 1, the autonomous driving robot needs to communicate with the elevator control device in order to grasp the open / closed state of the door.

[0008] The present disclosure is made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a technology that allows a moving object in the car to determine the state of the elevator door and the floor where the door is open without communicating with the elevator control device.

[0009] Means for solving problems

[0010] The door state determination device of the present invention determines the state of an elevator door from inside a car of an elevator moving between multiple floors, wherein, at each of the multiple floor stations, a mark having identification information corresponding to the multiple floor stations is arranged at a position that can be visually recognized from inside the car when the elevator door is open and cannot be visually recognized from inside the car when the elevator door is closed. The door state determination device comprises: a camera, which is mounted on a moving body capable of getting on and off the elevator and takes a picture of the inside of the car; an acquisition unit, which acquires an image of the inside of the car captured by the camera; a door opening and closing determination unit, which determines the door opening and closing state of the elevator door based on whether an image of the mark is included in the image of the car; an extraction unit, which extracts identification information from the mark when the image of the mark is included in the image of the car; and a floor determination unit, which determines the floor on which the elevator door is open based on the identification information.

[0011] Furthermore, the moving object of the present disclosure is equipped with the above-mentioned door state determination device.

[0012] Furthermore, the door state determination system of the present disclosure has the above-mentioned marker and door state determination device.

[0013] Effects of the Invention

[0014] According to the technology disclosed in the present invention, a moving object riding in the elevator car can determine the state of the elevator door and the floor on which the door is open without communicating with the elevator control device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 This is a diagram for explaining the outline of the door state determination system according to the present embodiment.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a diagram for explaining an example of the arrangement of marks.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a door state determination system.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a functional block diagram showing functions implemented when a processor of the control device executes a program.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a routine executed when the control device determines the door state of the elevator and the floor where the door is open.

[0020] Figure 6 It is a diagram showing a modified example of the affixing position of a marker.

[0021] Figure 7 It is a diagram showing a modified example of the hardware resources of the control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same elements in each figure, and repeated descriptions are omitted.

[0023] Implementation

[0024] 1. Overview of the door status determination system

[0025] Figure 1 1 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the door state determination system of the present embodiment. The door state determination system 50 of the present embodiment is a device for determining the open / closed state of the door and the stopping floor of the elevator 100. The elevator 100 is installed in a facility constituted by a building having a plurality of floors.

[0026] A hoistway 3 of an elevator 100 is provided in the facility. The hoistway 3 is a long space in the vertical direction that extends over a plurality of floors. A landing 4 of the elevator 100 is provided on each floor of the facility. The landing 4 is a place adjacent to the hoistway 3. A landing door 40 is provided on the landing 4 of each floor. The landing door 40 is a door that divides the landing 4 and the hoistway 3.

[0027] The elevator 100 has a car 1 and a control panel 6. The car 1 is a device that transports users who are riding the elevator between multiple floors by traveling in the up-down direction in the hoistway 3. The car 1 has a car door 2. The car door 2 is a device that, when the car 1 stops at an arbitrary floor, opens and closes the landing door 40 of the landing 4 of the floor in linkage, so that users can get on and off the car 1 at the landing 4 of the floor. In the following description, the car door 2 and the landing door 40 that opens and closes in linkage with the car door 2 are referred to as "elevator doors".

[0028] The control panel 6 is a device that controls the operation of the elevator 100. The operation of the elevator 100 controlled by the control panel 6 includes, for example, opening and closing of doors, management of registered calls, and travel of the car 1 in response to the calls.

[0029] The door state determination system 50 of the present embodiment has a door state determination device 10 and a mark 30, and the door state determination device 10 has a camera 12 and a control device 20. The camera 12 is mounted on the moving body 8. The moving body 8 is, for example, a device that moves in a facility where an elevator 100 is installed. The moving body 8 is, for example, a small robot or a moving body with an autonomous driving function. The moving body 8 uses the elevator 100 when moving in the facility. The autonomous driving function of the moving body 8 is not limited. The camera 12 is arranged at a position where it can shoot the direction of the car door 2 from the moving body 8 in the car 1.

[0030] The mark 30 is, for example, a mark to which identification information for identifying the floor of the elevator 100 is assigned, and is marked on each landing 4 of the elevator 100. The mark 30 includes, for example, a code image in which the identification information for identifying the corresponding floor is encoded. Examples of such a code image include a one-dimensional barcode and a two-dimensional barcode. The mark 30 is arranged at each landing 4 at a position where it can be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the elevator door is open, and cannot be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the elevator door is closed.

[0031] Figure 2 30 is a diagram for explaining an example of the arrangement of the marker 30. Figure 2, as an example of the arrangement of the mark 30, marks 30A, 30B, and 30C are illustrated. The mark 30A is arranged on the mating surface 401 at the end of the landing door 40 in the closing direction. The mating surface 401 is a surface that cannot be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in the closed state, and can be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in the open state. The arrangement of the mark 30A in the up and down direction is not limited. For example, the mark 30A can be arranged at a position higher than the line of sight of the user of the elevator 100 so that it is not easily noticed by the human eye.

[0032] The mark 30B is arranged on the upper surface 421 side of the sill 42 of the landing door 40. The upper surface 421 of the sill 42 is a surface that cannot be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in the closed state, and can be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in the open state. The arrangement of the mark 30B in the door opening and closing direction of the landing door 40 is not limited. For example, it is preferred that the mark 30B is arranged on the side closest to the landing door 40 in the upper surface 421 of the sill 42 exposed when the landing door 40 is fully opened. According to such an arrangement, the mark 30B cannot be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in the middle of opening the door, and can be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in the fully open state.

[0033] The mark 30C is arranged on the side 422 of the threshold 42 of the landing door 40 on the car 1 side. The side 422 of the threshold 42 is a surface that cannot be visually identified from the inside of the car 1 when the car door 2 is in the closed state, and can be visually identified from the inside of the car 1 when the car door 2 is in the open state. The arrangement of the mark 30C in the door opening and closing direction of the car door 2 is not limited. For example, it is preferred that the mark 30C is arranged on the side closest to the car door 2 among the side 422 of the threshold 42 exposed when the car door 2 is fully opened. According to such an arrangement, the mark 30C cannot be visually identified from the inside of the car 1 when the car door 2 is in the middle of opening, and can be visually identified from the inside of the car 1 when the car door 2 is in the fully open state.

[0034] When the moving body 8 is riding in the car 1, the camera 12 captures the front. The image captured by the camera 12 at this time is hereinafter referred to as the "car interior image". The car interior image is sent from the camera 12 to the control device 20 at any time.

[0035] The control device 20 determines the opening and closing state of the elevator door and the floor where the door is open based on the received car interior image. The control device 20 is mounted on the moving body 8 together with the camera 12. Alternatively, part or all of the functions of the control device 20 may be configured on a remote server connected via a communication network.

[0036] The control device 20 obtains the image in the car sent by the camera 12. This process is hereinafter referred to as "acquisition process". When the image in the car contains the image of the mark 30, it can be determined that the elevator door is open. Therefore, the control device 20 determines the door opening and closing state of the elevator door based on whether the image in the car contains the image of the mark 30. This process is hereinafter referred to as "door opening and closing determination process".

[0037] Furthermore, when the image in the car contains the image of the mark 30, the control device 20 extracts identification information from the image in the car. This process is hereinafter referred to as "extraction process". The identification information extracted by the extraction process includes information on the floor where the mark 30 is set. Therefore, the control device 20 determines the floor with the door open based on the extracted identification information. This process is hereinafter referred to as "floor determination process".

[0038] Furthermore, the control device 20 determines whether the moving body 8 can get off the elevator based on the determination result in the determination process. This process is called "departure determination process". In the departure determination process, if it is determined in the determination process that the elevator door is open, the control device 20 determines that the moving body 8 can get off the elevator. On the other hand, if it is determined in the determination process that the elevator door is closed, the control device 20 determines that the moving body 8 cannot get off the elevator.

[0039] According to the door state determination device 10 as described above, when the image in the car captured by the camera 12 mounted on the moving body 8 includes the image of the mark 30, the door opening state of the elevator door and the floor on which the door is open can be determined. Thus, the moving body 8 in the car 1, in which passengers are riding, can determine the door opening state of the elevator 100 and the floor on which the door is open, without communicating with the elevator 100.

[0040] 2. Structure of the door state determination device 10

[0041] Figure 3 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the structure of the door state determination system 50. The door state determination system 50 includes a marker 30 and a door state determination device 10. The door state determination device 10 includes a camera 12 and a control device 20. The control device 20 has a function as a processing device of a computer. Typically, the control device 20 includes at least one processor 200 and at least one memory 210 combined with the processor 200. At least one program 220 executable by the processor 200 and various data 230 associated therewith are stored in the memory 210.

[0042] The processor 200 executes the program 220 , thereby realizing various processes based on the processor 200 . Figure 4 2 is a functional block diagram showing functions implemented by the processor 200 of the control device 20 executing the program 220. Figure 4As shown, the processor 200 has an acquisition unit 201, a door opening and closing determination unit 202, an extraction unit 203, a floor determination unit 204, and a de-escalation determination unit 205. The acquisition unit 201 is a functional block for executing an acquisition process for acquiring an image in the car. The door opening and closing determination unit 202 is a functional block for executing a door opening and closing determination process for determining the door opening and closing state of the elevator door. The extraction unit 203 is a functional block for executing an extraction process for extracting identification information. The floor determination unit 204 is a functional block for executing a floor determination process for determining the floor of the landing station 4 with an open door. The de-escalation determination unit 205 is a functional block for executing a de-escalation determination process for determining whether the moving body 8 can de-escalate.

[0043] 3. Specific processing performed by the door state determination device 10

[0044] Next, a method in which the control device 20 determines the door state of the elevator 100 and the floor of the landing 4 whose door is open will be described with reference to the flowchart. Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a routine executed by the control device 20 when determining the door state of the elevator 100 and the floor on which the door is open. While the moving body 8 is riding on the car 1, the processor 200 of the control device 20 repeatedly executes the control cycle. Figure 5 The routine shown.

[0045] The process of step S100 corresponds to the acquisition process executed by the acquisition unit 201. Specifically, in step S100, the image inside the car captured by the camera 12 is acquired. The acquired image inside the car is stored in the memory 210 as data 230.

[0046] The processing of steps S102, S104, and S106 is equivalent to the door opening and closing determination processing executed in the door opening and closing determination unit 202. In step S102, a known image analysis method is used to determine whether the image of the mark 30 is included in the image in the car. As a result, if it is not confirmed that the determination of step S102 is established, it is determined that the mark 30 cannot be visually recognized from the car 1, and the process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the determination of step S102 is established, it is determined that the mark 30 can be visually recognized from the car 1, and the process proceeds to step S106.

[0047] In step S104, it is determined that the elevator door is in the closed state, and the process proceeds to step S112. On the other hand, in step S106, it is determined that the elevator door is in the open state, and the process proceeds to step S108.

[0048] The process of step S108 is equivalent to the extraction process performed in the extraction unit 203. Specifically, in step S108, identification information is extracted from the mark 30 included in the image in the car. The identification information extracted here is a code image. The extracted identification information is stored in the memory 210 as data 230. After the extraction process is performed, the process proceeds to step S110.

[0049] The processing of step S110 is equivalent to the floor determination processing executed in the floor determination unit 204. Specifically, in step S110, the current floor with the door open is determined. Here, the information of the floor associated with the extracted identification information is read to determine the current floor of the car 1. After the determination processing of step S110 is executed, the processing proceeds to step S112.

[0050] The processing of step S112 corresponds to the down-stairs determination processing executed in the down-stairs determination unit 205. Specifically, in step S112, when the elevator door is open, it is determined that the moving body 8 can down-stairs. On the other hand, when the elevator door is closed, it is determined that the moving body 8 cannot down-stairs.

[0051] According to the door state determination device 10 as described above, the state of the door of the car 1 on which the moving body 8 is riding and the current floor can be determined without communicating with the elevator.

[0052] 4. Modifications of this embodiment

[0053] The door state determination system 50 of the present embodiment may be applied in the following modified forms.

[0054] 4-1. Mark 30

[0055] Figure 6 3 is a diagram showing a modified example of the attachment position of the marker 30. Figure 6 , as an example of the arrangement of the mark 30, the marks 30E, 30F, 30G, and 30H are illustrated. The mark 30E is arranged on the side surface 443 of the upper frame of the door frame 44 of the landing 4 on the landing door side. The mark 30F is arranged on the inner side surface 441 of the longitudinal frame of the door frame 44 of the landing 4. The mark 30G is arranged on the lower surface 442 of the upper frame of the door frame 44 of the landing 4. In particular, it is preferred that the marks 30E, 30F, and 30G are all arranged at positions that cannot be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the landing door 40 and the car door 2 are halfway opened, and can be visually recognized from the inside of the car 1 when the landing door 40 and the car door 2 are fully opened.

[0056] The identification information of the mark 30 is not limited to the code image. That is, even if the mark 30 does not include a code image, for example, by making the position, number or interval of the mark 30 different on each floor, these can be used as unique identification information.

[0057] The mark 30H is an example of the mark 30 not including the code image. The mark 30H is an example of the door stop rubber disposed on the mating surface 40a at the end in the closing direction of the landing door 40. That is, the mark 30H as the door stop rubber can be used as inherent identification information by making the position, number or interval different.

[0058] The code image of the mark 30 may include the specification information of the elevator 100 together with the inherent identification information. Such specification information may include, for example, the width and height of the elevator door, the length×width×height dimensions as the internal dimensions of the car 1, the passenger capacity or the maximum weight, and the number of cars. Such specification information can be useful information for the moving body 8 to use the elevator 100.

[0059] 4-2. Camera 12

[0060] The camera 12 is mounted on the moving body 8 and has no other limitations as long as it has a resolution capable of capturing images at a level capable of recognizing a code image.

[0061] 4-3. Control device 20

[0062] The configuration of the getting-down possibility determination unit 205 and the getting-down possibility determination process performed by the getting-down possibility determination unit 205 are not essential.

[0063] Figure 7 FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a modified example of the hardware resources of the control device 20. Figure 7 In the example shown, the control device 20 has, for example, a processing circuit 250 including a processor 200 , a memory 210 , and dedicated hardware 240 . Figure 7 The example in which a part of the functions of the control device 20 is implemented by the dedicated hardware 240 is shown. All the functions of the control device 20 may be implemented by the dedicated hardware 240. As the dedicated hardware 240, a single circuit, a complex circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof can be used.

[0064] When the mark 30 is arranged at the landing door 40, the control device 20 may determine that the elevator door is in the fully open state when it is determined that the mark 30 included in the car interior image is stationary. In this case, the control device 20 monitors the time change of the position of the mark 30 included in the car interior image in the door opening and closing determination process, and determines that the mark 30 is stationary when there is no time change. According to such determination processing, the opening state of the elevator door can be determined separately from the opening state of the elevator door.

[0065] Description of symbols

[0066] 10: door state determination device; 2: car door; 3: hoistway; 4: landing; 6: control panel; 8: moving body; 10: door state determination device; 12: camera; 20: control device; 30, 30A, 30B, 30C, 30E, 30F, 30G, 30H: mark; 40: landing door; 40a: mating surface; 42: sill; 44: door frame; 50: door state determination device system; 100: elevator; 200: processor; 201: acquisition unit; 202: door opening and closing determination unit; 203: extraction unit; 204: floor determination unit; 205: descending determination unit; 210: memory; 220: program; 230: data; 240: dedicated hardware; 250: processing circuit; 401: mating surface; 421: upper surface; 422: side surface; 441: inner surface; 442: lower surface; 443: side surface of the landing door.

Claims

1. A door state determination device for determining the state of an elevator door from within a car of an elevator moving between multiple floors, the door state determination device being characterized in that: In the case where a mark having identification information corresponding to each of the plurality of floor landings is arranged at a position that can be visually recognized from inside the car when the elevator door is open and cannot be visually recognized from inside the car when the elevator door is closed, The door state determination device comprises: A camera mounted on a moving body capable of boarding and disembarking the elevator, for photographing the interior of the elevator car; an acquisition unit, which acquires the image inside the car captured by the camera; a door opening / closing determination unit for determining the door opening / closing state of the elevator door according to whether the image in the car contains the image of the mark; an extraction unit that extracts the identification information from the mark when the image of the mark is included in the image inside the car; as well as A floor determination unit determines the floor on which the elevator door is open based on the identification information.

2. The door state determination device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tag includes a code image encoding the identification information, The extraction section extracts the identification information from the code image of the mark.

3. The door state determination device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The marks are arranged at different positions on the multiple floors, respectively. The extraction unit extracts the identification information based on the position of the mark.

4. The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The marks are arranged on the landing doors on the plurality of floors, respectively.

5. The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The door opening / closing determination unit is configured to determine that the elevator door is fully open when it is determined that the mark is stationary when the image of the mark is included in the car interior image.

6. The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The marks are arranged on the upper surface sides of the sills of the landing doors on the plurality of floors, respectively.

7. The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The marks are arranged on the side surfaces of the sills of the landing doors on the plurality of floors, respectively.

8. The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The door state determination device further includes a getting-off determination unit configured to determine whether the moving body can get off the elevator based on the open / closed state of the elevator door determined by the door opening / closing determination unit.

9. The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The identification information includes at least one of the width dimension of the elevator door, the height dimension of the elevator door, the internal dimension of the car, the passenger capacity of the car, and the elevator car information.

10. A door state determination system, comprising: The marking according to any one of claims 1 to 9; and The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A mobile body equipped with the door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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