Group management control device and group management control method for double deck elevator

Abstract

To provide a group management control device for a double deck elevator, which can accurately perform a car allocation process in response to a generated landing call in group management control for the double deck elevator.SOLUTION: This group management control device for the double deck elevator comprises: an operation prediction unit; an allocation pattern evaluation unit; and an allocated car determination unit. The operation prediction unit generates operation prediction information for each car allocation pattern in response to a landing call indicating a destination floor, executes operation simulation for each generated operation prediction information, and predicts, each time one of cars opens, whether a leaving state where a user waiting at the opened door boards a car different from a car allocated in response to a registered landing call so as to be unable to arrive at a destination floor occurs. The allocation pattern evaluation unit calculates an allocation evaluation value for each car. The allocated car determination unit determines an allocated car in response to a new landing call on the basis of the occurrence of the leaving state and the allocation evaluation value for each allocation pattern.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a group management control device for a double-deck elevator and a group management control method for a double-deck elevator. [Background technology]

[0002] A system that controls multiple elevators is called an elevator group control system. In particular, a group control system in which each elevator is a double-deck elevator with an upper car and a lower car connected together is called a double-deck group control system.

[0003] In an elevator group management control system, when a user registers a hall call, an assignment process is performed to determine which car (assigned car) will respond to the hall call so as to transport the user most efficiently.

[0004] When performing allocation processing for hall calls involving multiple elevators, first, multiple elevator allocation patterns are assumed in which various cars are provisionally assigned to generated hall calls. Then, the time required to respond to hall calls is estimated for each assumed allocation pattern, and the best allocation pattern that can respond as quickly as possible overall to hall calls and registered calls is selected. Then, actual allocation is performed based on the information in the selected allocation pattern. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2013 / 164882 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] When performing allocation processing for hall calls regarding double-deck elevators, the processing is performed by distinguishing between the upper car and the lower car. On the other hand, when registering calls at a hall by inputting a destination floor using a hall destination floor registration device, the hall destination floor registration device displays the assigned car number to the user who inputs the destination floor, but does not inform the user whether it is the upper car or the lower car.

[0007] When a call is registered using a landing destination floor registration device, the call to the destination floor is automatically registered when the assigned car responds at the departure floor. Therefore, the user does not operate the call button for the destination floor while in the car. Or, in such elevators, the call button for the destination floor may not be installed in the car.

[0008] If a car assigned to a user arrives at the platform at which the user makes a platform call and another car of the same car number arrives first and opens its doors, the user may mistakenly board the car whose door is open. If a user who has entered a destination floor into the platform destination floor registration device mistakenly boards a car whose door is open, the call to the destination floor is not automatically registered in the car that the user mistakenly boarded, and the user is unable to disembark at the destination floor.

[0009] In order to avoid such a situation, when another car of the same car arrives first and opens its door in the same direction as the registered call, an allocation change can be performed in which the assigned car is changed to the car that arrived first.

[0010] On the other hand, in a double-deck elevator, there are floors that can only be served by the upper car, such as the top floor, and floors that can only be served by the lower car, such as the bottom floor. Therefore, depending on the user, it may be possible to reach the destination floor only by either the upper car or the lower car. If a car of the same model number assigned to such a user arrives first and opens its door, the first-arriving car cannot automatically register the call for that user's destination floor, so the assignment cannot be changed to the first-arriving car.

[0011] Therefore, a user traveling to a destination floor that can only be reached by an upper or lower car must avoid the first-arriving car and wait for a response from the originally assigned car before boarding, but there is a possibility that the user may mistakenly board the first-arriving car, making it difficult to use.

[0012] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a group management control device for double-deck elevators and a group management control method for double-deck elevators that are capable of accurately assigning cars to generated hall calls in group management control of double-deck elevators. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] According to an embodiment for achieving the above object, a group management control device for double-deck elevators includes an operation prediction unit, an allocation pattern evaluation unit, and an assigned car determination unit. The operation prediction unit generates operation prediction information for each car allocation pattern for hall calls with a specified destination floor, executes an operation simulation for each generated operation prediction information, and predicts whether or not a left-behind situation will occur each time a door of any car opens, in which a waiting user at the floor where the door opens boards a car different from the car assigned to the registered hall call and is unable to arrive at the destination floor. The allocation pattern evaluation unit calculates an allocation evaluation value for each car. The assigned car determination unit determines an assigned car for a new hall call based on the occurrence of a left-behind situation for each allocation pattern and the allocation evaluation value. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a double-deck elevator group management control system utilizing a group management control device for double-deck elevators according to an embodiment. [Figure 2A] 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of an assigned car determination process executed by a group management control device for double-deck elevators according to one embodiment. [Figure 2B] 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of an assigned car determination process executed by a group management control device for double-deck elevators according to one embodiment. [Diagram 3] 11 is a flowchart showing a process of generating operation prediction information for each allocation pattern and calculating an operation evaluation value, which is executed by a group management control device for double-deck elevators according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart showing a process executed by a group management control device for a double-deck elevator during an operation simulation according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of an operation simulation executed by a group management control device of a double-deck elevator according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the group management control device when, during operation of multiple elevators under the control of a group management control device for a double-deck elevator according to one embodiment, an assigned car and another car of the same elevator arrive first in the same direction and open their doors in response to an unanswered assignment request at a departure floor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Below, an embodiment of a double-deck group management control system that uses a group management control device that groups together multiple double-deck elevators consisting of an upper car and a lower car installed in a building is described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] <Configuration of a double-deck group management control system using a group management control device according to one embodiment> The configuration of a double-deck group management control system using a group management control device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The double-deck group management control system 1 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of double-deck elevators (an A-unit elevator 10A, a B-unit elevator 10B, and a C-unit elevator 10C) installed in an m-story building, landing destination floor registration devices 20-1 to 20-m installed at landings on each floor, and a group management control device 30. The double-deck group management control system 1 of this embodiment is configured using a destination floor control system (DCS: Destination Control System) in which landing destination floor registration devices 20-1 to 20-m are installed on each floor in the building. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which three double-deck elevators are installed in the building, but the number is not limited to this number, and two or four or more may be installed.

[0017] The A elevator 10A has an upper car 11A, a lower car 12A, and an A controller 13A. The A controller 13A outputs the position information, running status information, door opening / closing status information, load status information, etc. of the upper car 11A and the lower car 12A as elevator information to the group management controller 30. In addition, the A controller 13A makes the A elevator 10A respond to the registered floor of the call in response to an allocation command from the group management controller 30, and opens the door of the corresponding car.

[0018] Elevator B 10B and elevator C 10C have the same configuration as elevator A 10A, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0019] Each of the landing destination floor registration devices 20-1 to 20-m is a device for allowing a landing user to register a landing call for calling any one of the cars 11A to 11C, 12A to 12C by specifying a destination floor.

[0020] The group management control device 30 performs group management of the A-unit elevator 10A, the B-unit elevator 10B, and the C-unit elevator 10C. The group management control device 30 has a hall call registration unit 31, a non-stop floor information storage unit 32, an elevator information acquisition unit 33, an operation prediction unit 34, a counting unit 35, an allocation pattern evaluation unit 36, an assigned car determination unit 37, an allocation information output unit 38, and an allocation change unit 39.

[0021] The hall call registration unit 31 receives and registers hall call information acquired from the hall / destination floor registration devices 20-1 to 20-m.

[0022] The non-stop floor information storage unit 32 stores information on non-stop floors for each elevator car. For example, since the lower car of a double-deck elevator cannot stop at the top floor, the non-stop floor information storage unit 32 stores information that the top floor (floor m) is a non-stop floor for the lower car 12A of elevator A 10A, the lower car 12B of elevator B 10B, and the lower car 12C of elevator C 10C.

[0023] In addition, since the upper car of a double-deck elevator cannot stop at the lowest floor, the non-stop floor information memory unit 32 stores information that the lowest floor (1st floor) is a non-stop floor for the upper car 11A of elevator A 10A, the upper car 11B of elevator B 10B, and the upper car 11C of elevator C 10C.

[0024] The elevator information acquisition unit 33 acquires the elevator information output from each of the control devices 13A, 13B, and 13C.

[0025] When a new allocation request occurs as a result of a new hall call being registered in the hall call registration unit 31, the operation prediction unit 34 generates operation prediction information for each elevator according to an operation schedule generated from the generated allocation request and calls already registered and allocated to the elevator. In the process of generating operation prediction information, multiple allocation patterns are assumed depending on which car is provisionally assigned to the allocation request, and future operations are predicted for each allocation pattern. There are as many allocation patterns as there are cars in the elevators 10A, 10B, and 10C that can be assigned to the allocation request, and the operation prediction unit 34 generates operation prediction information for each allocation pattern.

[0026] The operation prediction unit 34 executes an operation simulation for each generated operation prediction information, and predicts whether a situation where a passenger is left behind will occur each time a door of any car opens during the executed operation simulation. A situation where a passenger waiting at a floor where the door has opened gets into a car other than the car assigned to the hall call registered by the passenger, and is unable to arrive at the destination floor.

[0027] In addition, when an operation simulation is executed, the operation prediction unit 34 predicts whether or not a situation where a user will board a wrong car will occur each time the door of any car opens during the executed operation simulation. A situation where a user waiting at a floor where the door has opened boards a car other than the car assigned to the hall call registered by the user and travels to the destination floor.

[0028] The counting unit 35 counts the number of times a left-behind situation occurs, which is the number of times a left-behind situation occurs, and the number of times a wrong-boarding situation occurs, which is the number of times a wrong-boarding situation occurs, for each piece of operation prediction information.

[0029] The allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​estimates the time required to respond to an allocation request for each piece of operation prediction information generated by the operation prediction unit 34, based on the results of the operation simulation and the counted values ​​of the number of remaining values ​​and the number of mis-boardings counted by the counting unit 35, and calculates an operation evaluation value related to service performance. Also, based on the calculated operation evaluation value, the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​calculates an allocation evaluation value indicating the appropriateness of allocation in response to an allocation request for each car among the elevators 10A, 10B, and 10C.

[0030] The car assignment determination unit 37 selects an optimal assignment pattern that can transport users most efficiently overall for the generated assignment request and the registered calls, based on the assignment evaluation value calculated by the assignment pattern evaluation unit 36. The car assignment determination unit 37 determines a car (allocated car) to be assigned to this assignment request, based on the selected assignment pattern.

[0031] The allocation information output unit 38 outputs an allocation command to the corresponding elevator based on the information of the assigned car determined by the assigned car determination unit 37.

[0032] When the assigned car for the allocation request determined by the assigned car determination unit 37 and another car of the same machine arrive first at the registered floor of the allocation request in the same direction as the allocation request and open their doors, the allocation change unit 39 changes the assigned car for the allocation request to the first-arriving car of the same machine and causes it to respond immediately. However, if the allocation request is a call having both the departure floor and destination floor information registered in the landing destination floor registration device, the allocation change unit 39 changes the assigned car for the allocation request to the first-arriving car of the same machine only if the first-arriving car of the same machine can stop (can provide service) at the destination floor of the allocation request. If the first-arriving car of the same machine cannot stop at the destination floor of the allocation request, the allocation change unit 39 does not change the assigned car for the allocation request.

[0033] <Operation of the double deck group management control system according to one embodiment> 2A and 2B are flowcharts showing the operation of the assigned car determination process executed by the group management controller 30 when the double-deck group management control system 1 according to this embodiment is in operation.

[0034] When a user performs a hall call registration operation on a hall destination floor registration device of a hall on any floor in the building, for example, the hall destination floor registration device 20-1 of the first floor hall, information on the hall call (allocation request) is registered in the hall call registration unit 31 of the group management control device 30 ("YES" in S1). When the allocation request information is registered, a loop process is started in which the operation prediction unit 34 generates operation prediction information for each elevator and each allocation pattern, and the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​calculates an evaluation value.

[0035] The allocation patterns include "no provisional allocation," which is an allocation pattern that does not provisionally allocate an allocation request to the elevator that is the subject of the generation of operation prediction information and the calculation of evaluation values; "lower car provisional allocation," which is an allocation pattern that allocates an allocation request to the lower car; and "upper car provisional allocation," which is an allocation pattern that allocates an allocation request to the upper car.

[0036] First, a case will be described in which the generation of operation prediction information and the calculation of an operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "without provisional allocation" are executed for the A elevator 10A (S2).

[0037] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the process of generating operation prediction information and calculating an operation evaluation value for each allocation pattern, which is executed by the group management control device 30.

[0038] The operation prediction unit 34 starts the operation prediction process by setting the current status of the upper car 11A and the lower car 12A of the elevator A 10A and the allocation status to calls acquired from the elevator information acquisition unit 33 as the initial state (S21).

[0039] Here, since the process is performed for an allocation pattern without provisional allocation ("YES" in S22), the process proceeds to step S23, where the operation prediction unit 34 generates operation prediction information for elevator A 10A according to an operation schedule generated from calls already registered and assigned to the elevator (S23). The operation prediction unit 34 executes an operation simulation based on the generated operation prediction information (S24).

[0040] 4 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the operation prediction unit 34 during the operation simulation. In this operation simulation, the operation prediction unit 34 responds to calls one by one while traveling the upper car 11A and the lower car 12A of the elevator A 10A in a predetermined direction at a predetermined speed based on the generated operation prediction information, and when there are no more calls that can be responded to in the traveling direction, the operation prediction unit 34 reverses the traveling direction and responds to further calls, thereby measuring the time until all registered calls are responded to. In addition, the operation prediction unit 34 stores information on the time when the registered user gets on any of the cars and the time when the registered user gets off the car for each registered call during the operation simulation.

[0041] In the operation simulation, when the doors of any of the elevators in elevator A 10A, elevator B 10B, and elevator C 10C open ("YES" in S41), the operation prediction unit 34 acquires, for example, the time when the doors open as the disembarking time for a call whose destination floor is the floor where the doors open, and stores the acquired disembarking time and the current state "disembarking state" for this call. The operation prediction unit 34 also acquires, for example, the time when the doors open as the boarding time for a call whose departure floor is the floor where the doors open, and stores the acquired boarding time and the current state "boarding" for this call (S42).

[0042] Here, the operation prediction unit 34 judges whether the car with the open door is a car different from the car assigned to the hall call registered by the waiting user at the floor where the door is opened, that is, the hall call having the floor where the door is opened as the departure floor (S43). If the car with the open door is a car different from the car assigned to the hall call registered by the waiting user at this floor, specifically, if it is a different car of the same car as the car assigned to this hall call ("YES" in S43), the operation prediction unit 34 considers that this waiting user will board the car with the open door.

[0043] This is because, when a car assigned to a hall call and another car of the same car number arrive at the floor where the hall call occurred in the forward direction before the assigned car and open their doors, it is expected that a user will recognize that the car that responded to the hall call that he or she registered has arrived and will board the car.

[0044] The operation prediction unit 34 judges whether the car with the door open can stop at the destination floor of the landing call of this waiting user. When the destination floor of the landing call of this waiting user is stored in the non-stop floor information storage unit 32 as a non-stop floor of the car with the door open ("YES" in S44), the operation prediction unit 34 judges that the car with the door open cannot stop at the destination floor of this waiting user. In this case, the operation prediction unit 34 predicts that a "left-behind situation" will occur, in which a user who has boarded the car cannot arrive at the destination floor, and based on this, the counting unit 35 increments the number of times that the left-behind situation has occurred in this operation simulation (S45). When the operation prediction unit 34 increments the number of times that the left-behind situation has occurred, it predicts that this waiting user will move to the destination floor in the assigned car.

[0045] Furthermore, if the destination floor of the platform call of this waiting user is not a non-stop floor of the car with the door open ("NO" in S44), the operation prediction unit 34 predicts that the waiting user will board this car and travel to the destination floor. Since the car that this waiting user is predicted to board is not the car that was originally assigned to the call of this waiting user, the operation prediction unit 34 predicts that a "misboarding situation" will occur for this call, and based on this, the counting unit 35 increments the number of misboardings, which is the number of times that misboarding situations have occurred in this operation simulation (S46).

[0046] When the operation prediction unit 34 increments the number of misboardings, it predicts that the allocation of the hall call for which a misboarding is assumed will be changed to another car whose door has opened this time (S47), and for example, acquires the time when the door of this other car opens as the boarding time for this hall call, and stores the acquired boarding time and the current status of this call, "boarding." Furthermore, when it predicts the occurrence of a misboarding in this way, the operation prediction unit 34 also changes the car whose door is open at the destination floor of this hall call so that the upper car is switched to the lower car.

[0047] This reassignment is a prediction made within the operation simulation as a possibility of reassigning a hall call to another car that arrives first at the hall where the hall call occurred, and is not a change that occurs during actual operation.

[0048] When the processing of step S45 or S46 is executed, if there is an unanswered call among the calls registered in the hall call registration unit 31 ("YES" in S48), that is, if there is a call whose current state is not "disembarking state", the process returns to step S41, and the processing of steps S41 to S47 is repeated each time the door of any car opens until the operation simulation is completed.

[0049] When the operation simulation is completed, returning to Fig. 3, the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​calculates an operation evaluation value for the operation simulation of this allocation pattern "without provisional allocation" (S25). The operation evaluation value is, for example, the waiting time from the time when the call is generated to the time when the car door opens at the departure floor.

[0050] After calculating the operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "no provisional allocation", the process returns to Fig. 2A, and the operation prediction unit 34 executes the process of generating operation prediction information and calculating an operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "lower car provisional allocation" for the A-unit elevator 10A (S3). The process of generating operation prediction information and calculating an operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "lower car provisional allocation" is also executed based on the flowchart in Fig. 3, similar to the case of the allocation pattern "no provisional allocation".

[0051] In the case of the allocation pattern "lower car provisional allocation", since the allocation pattern is not one without provisional allocation in step S22 in the flowchart of Fig. 3 ("NO" in S22), the process proceeds to step S32. The operation prediction unit 34 determines whether the departure floor or destination floor of the currently generated allocation request is a non-stop floor of the lower car 12A of the elevator A 10A being processed based on the information stored in the non-stop floor information storage unit 32 (S32).

[0052] Here, when the operation prediction unit 34 determines that the departure floor or destination floor of the currently generated allocation request is a non-stop floor for the lower car 12A of elevator A 10A ("YES" in S32), it is unable to calculate an operation evaluation value for this allocation pattern, and determines that it is not possible to evaluate it, terminating the processing (S33).

[0053] In step S32, when the operation prediction unit 34 determines that the condition of whether the currently generated allocation request does not stop at either the departure floor or the destination floor is not satisfied ("NO" in S32), this allocation request is added as a call to be responded to (S34), and operation prediction information for elevator A 10A is generated according to the operation schedule generated from the generated allocation request and calls that have already been registered and assigned to the elevator (S23).

[0054] The operation prediction unit 34 executes an operation simulation based on the generated operation prediction information (S24). The process of the operation simulation executed by the operation prediction unit 34 is similar to the process described in the case of the allocation pattern "no provisional allocation", and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0055] When the operation simulation is completed, the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​calculates an operation evaluation value for the operation simulation of this allocation pattern "lower car tentative allocation" (S25). After calculating the operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "lower car tentative allocation", the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​returns to Fig. 2A and calculates an allocation evaluation value for the lower car 12A (S4).

[0056] The allocation evaluation value is a value indicating the appropriateness of the allocation of the corresponding car in response to the allocation request. The allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​calculates an allocation evaluation value for the lower car 12A by subtracting the operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "no provisional allocation" calculated in step S2 from the operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "lower car provisional allocation" calculated in step S3.

[0057] Next, the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​performs a process of adjusting each allocation evaluation value so as to significantly lower the allocation evaluation for the allocation pattern in which the remaining situation is predicted to occur. The allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​compares the counted number of remaining times when the allocation pattern is "no provisional allocation" and when the allocation pattern is "lower car provisional allocation" (S5).

[0058] Here, if the count value of the remaining number of times is greater when the allocation pattern is "lower car provisional allocation" than when the allocation pattern is "no provisional allocation" ("YES" in S5), the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​applies strong allocation constraints to the allocation pattern of the lower car 12A of elevator A 10A (S6).

[0059] Specifically, the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​adds a sufficiently large value, for example, 300 seconds, as a waiting time until the door opening time of the lower car 12A of elevator A 10A at the departure floor, which is indicated by the allocation evaluation value calculated in step S4, thereby significantly lowering the allocation evaluation for this lower car 12A. By adjusting the allocation evaluation value in this manner, it is possible to avoid, as much as possible, the lower car 12A being allocated to an allocation request in the allocation car determination process described later.

[0060] Also, in step S5, if the number of remaining placements when the allocation pattern is "lower car provisional allocation" is equal to or less than the number of remaining placements when the allocation pattern is "no provisional allocation" ("NO" in S5), the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​compares the number of mis-boardings counted when the allocation pattern is "no provisional allocation" and when the allocation pattern is "lower car provisional allocation" (S7).

[0061] Here, if the count of the number of mis-boardings is greater when the allocation pattern is "lower car provisional allocation" than when the allocation pattern is "no provisional allocation" ("YES" in S7), the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​applies weak allocation constraints to the allocation pattern of the lower car 12A of elevator A 10A (S8).

[0062] Specifically, the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​adds a value that increases slightly as a waiting time, for example, 10 seconds, which is a value smaller than the value added when the remaining number count is larger in the case of "lower car provisional allocation", to the waiting time until the door opening time of the lower car 12A of elevator A 10A at the departure floor, which is indicated by the allocation evaluation value calculated in step S4, thereby slightly lowering the allocation evaluation for this lower car 12A. By adjusting the allocation evaluation value in this way, it is possible to lower the priority while leaving the possibility that the lower car 12A will be allocated to an allocation request in the allocation car determination process described later.

[0063] Next, the operation prediction unit 34 executes the process of generating operation prediction information and calculating an operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "upper car tentative allocation" for the A elevator 10A (S9). The process of generating operation prediction information and calculating an operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "upper car tentative allocation" is also executed based on the flowchart of FIG. 3, similarly to the case of the allocation pattern "lower car tentative allocation".

[0064] When the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​calculates the operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern "upper car tentative allocation", the process returns to FIG. 2B and an allocation evaluation value for the upper car 11A is calculated (S10).

[0065] The allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​calculates an allocation evaluation value for the upper car 11A by subtracting the operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern “no provisional allocation” calculated in step S2 from the operation evaluation value for the allocation pattern “upper car provisional allocation” calculated in step S9.

[0066] Next, the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​performs a process of adjusting each allocation evaluation value so as to significantly lower the evaluation for the allocation pattern in which it is predicted that a remaining situation will occur. After calculating the evaluation value for the allocation pattern "upper car provisional allocation", the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​compares the counted number of remaining times in the cases of "no provisional allocation" and "upper car provisional allocation" (S9).

[0067] Here, if the count of remaining times is greater when the allocation pattern is "upper car provisional allocation" than when the allocation pattern is "no provisional allocation" ("YES" in S11), the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​applies strong allocation constraints to the allocation pattern of the upper car 11A of elevator A 10A (S12), as in step S6.

[0068] Also, in step S11, if the number of remaining placements when the allocation pattern is "upper car provisional allocation" is equal to or less than the number of remaining placements when the allocation pattern is "no provisional allocation" ("NO" in S11), the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​compares the number of mis-boardings counted when the allocation pattern is "no provisional allocation" and when the allocation pattern is "upper car provisional allocation" (S13).

[0069] Here, if the count value of the number of mis-boardings is greater when the allocation pattern is "upper car provisional allocation" than when the allocation pattern is "no provisional allocation" ("YES" in S13), the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​applies weak allocation restriction to the allocation pattern of the upper car 11A of this elevator A 10A (S14), as in step S8. The group management control device 30 also executes the processes of steps S2 to S14 above for elevator B 10B and elevator C 10C.

[0070] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of an operation simulation executed for the elevator A 10A and the elevator B 10B.

[0071] In this example, in the initial state, the upper cars 11A and 11B of both elevator A 10A and elevator B 10B are stopped at the second floor, and the lower cars 12A and 12B are stopped at the first floor. Many passengers are already in the lower cars 12A and 12B, and the congestion level is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. The group management control device 30 has a constraint that prevents new calls from being assigned to cars with a congestion level equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

[0072] Furthermore, a hall call Q1 from user P1 and a hall call Q2 from user P2 are registered in the hall call registration unit 31. The hall call Q1 has a departure floor of 5th floor and a destination floor of 9th floor, and the lower car 12A of elevator A 10A has been assigned to this hall call Q1 by the assigned car determination unit 37. The hall call Q2 has a departure floor of 5th floor and a destination floor of 13th floor, and the lower car 12B of elevator B 10B has been assigned to this hall call Q2 by the assigned car determination unit 37. In Fig. 5, a triangle mark indicates the departure floor of each hall call, and a circle mark indicates the disembarking floor.

[0073] In addition, user P1 is notified of "Elevator A" as the information on the assigned elevator for hall call Q1, and user P2 is notified of "Elevator B" as the information on the assigned elevator for hall call Q2. As a result, user P1 is waiting for the arrival of the elevator car of Elevator A 10A at the 5th floor landing, and user P2 is waiting for the arrival of the elevator car of Elevator B 10B at the 5th floor landing.

[0074] In this example, the ninth floor is a floor exclusively for the lower cars, and the non-stop floor information storage unit 32 stores the ninth floor as a non-stop floor for the upper cars 11A and 11B.

[0075] Here, when a new hall call (allocation request) P3 with a departure floor of 3 and a destination floor of 5 is registered in the hall call registration unit 31 by operation of user Q3, the operation prediction unit 34 first generates operation prediction information for elevator A 10A and executes an operation simulation.

[0076] The operation prediction unit 34 may generate operation prediction information for elevator A 10A for each of the allocation patterns "no provisional allocation", "lower car provisional allocation", and "upper car provisional allocation". However, since the lower car 12A of elevator A 10A has a congestion degree equal to or greater than a predetermined value and cannot be assigned a call, it is assumed here that there is a possibility of allocation only to the upper car 11A. As a result, for elevator A 10A, first, operation prediction information is generated and an operation simulation is performed for the allocation pattern "no provisional allocation", and then operation prediction information is generated and an operation simulation is performed for the allocation pattern "upper car provisional allocation".

[0077] For the allocation pattern "upper car tentative allocation", operation prediction information is generated in which the upper car 11A of elevator A 10A responds to hall call P3, arrives at the third floor, and user Q3 boards, and then the upper car 11A arrives at the fifth floor, which is the destination floor of user Q3, and user Q3 disembarks, and an operation simulation is executed. In this operation simulation, the car assigned to hall call Q1 is the lower car 12A of elevator A 10A, but since only "car A" is notified to user P1 as the information on the assigned car, the operation prediction unit 34 predicts that when the door of upper car 11A opens at the fifth floor, user P1 will recognize that the door of the car assigned to hall call Q1 has opened and will board.

[0078] However, the destination floor of user P1 is the 9th floor, and since the 9th floor is a floor reserved for the lower car, the upper car 11A cannot land or open its door. In this case, the operation prediction unit 34 determines that the upper car 11A, which is another car of the same car number (car number A) as the lower car 12A assigned to the hall call Q1, arrives in the forward direction at the 5th floor, which is the floor where the hall call originates, before the assigned lower car 12A, and opens its door, and user P1 gets on, but this upper car 11A cannot stop at the 9th floor, which is the destination floor of this hall call Q1, and a remaining situation occurs in which user P1 cannot arrive at the destination floor, and the counting unit 35 increments the number of remaining times.

[0079] Also, a case will be described in which, when a hall call P3 is registered, the operation prediction unit 34 generates operation prediction information for the B elevator 10B and executes an operation simulation.

[0080] In this case as well, the operation prediction unit 34 may generate operation prediction information for elevator B 10B for each of the allocation patterns "no provisional allocation," "lower car provisional allocation," and "upper car provisional allocation." However, since the lower car 12B of elevator B 10B has a congestion degree equal to or greater than a predetermined value and cannot be assigned a call, it is assumed here that there is a possibility of allocation only to the upper car 11B. As a result, for elevator B 10B, first, operation prediction information is generated and an operation simulation is performed for the allocation pattern "no provisional allocation," and then operation prediction information is generated and an operation simulation is performed for the allocation pattern "upper car provisional allocation."

[0081] For the allocation pattern "upper car tentative allocation", operation prediction information is generated in which the upper car 11B of elevator B 10B responds to hall call P3, arrives at the third floor, and user Q3 boards, and then the upper car 11B arrives at the fifth floor, which is the destination floor of user Q3, and user Q3 disembarks, and an operation simulation is executed. In this operation simulation, the car assigned to hall call Q2 is the lower car 12B of elevator B 10B, but since only "car B" is notified to user P2 as the information on the assigned car, the operation prediction unit 34 predicts that when the door of upper car 11B opens at the fifth floor, user P2 will recognize that the door of the car assigned to hall call Q2 has opened and will board.

[0082] At this time, the destination floor of user P2 is the 13th floor, which is a floor where the upper car 11B can land and open its doors, so the operation prediction unit 34 predicts that the upper car 11B in which user P2 boards will move to the destination floor, the 13th floor. In this case, the operation prediction unit 34 determines that the upper car 11B, which is another car of the same car number (car number B) as the lower car 12B assigned to the hall call Q2, will arrive in the forward direction at the 5th floor, which is the floor where the assignment request occurred, before the assigned lower car 12B, and will open its doors, and user P2 will board, and this upper car 11B will move to the 13th floor, which is the destination floor of this hall call Q2, in a wrong boarding situation, and increments the number of wrong boardings.

[0083] Using the thus counted number of remaining elevators and number of mis-boardings, the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36 ​​calculates an operation evaluation value for each elevator and each allocation pattern, and calculates an allocation evaluation value for each car based on the calculated operation evaluation values. This concludes the explanation of the example of the operation simulation using FIG. 5.

[0084] When the loop of steps S2 to S12 for all elevators in the double-deck group management control system 1 is completed, the allocation car determination unit 37 selects the optimal elevator allocation pattern based on the allocation evaluation value calculated by the allocation pattern evaluation unit 36, and determines the car to be allocated to the allocation request being processed based on the selected elevator allocation pattern (S13).

[0085] Specifically, the car allocation determination unit 37 selects an elevator allocation pattern with the shortest total waiting time for each call as the optimal elevator allocation pattern with a high evaluation value. At this time, an allocation pattern in which it is predicted that there will be cases where passengers are left behind has a sufficiently long waiting time set, so it is less likely to be selected. In addition, an allocation pattern in which it is predicted that passengers will board the wrong car has an increased waiting time, so it has a low priority, although it may be selected. As a result, the car allocation determination unit 37 selects the optimal elevator allocation pattern from the calculated evaluation value, while avoiding selection of allocation patterns in which it is predicted that passengers will be left behind as much as possible and lowering the priority of allocation patterns in which it is predicted that passengers will board the wrong car.

[0086] Then, the allocation information output unit 38 outputs an allocation command to the control device of the elevator to be allocated, based on the information of the car to be allocated to the allocation request determined by the allocated car determination unit 37. Each of the control devices 13A, 13B, and 13C controls the equipment in each of the elevators 10A, 10B, and 10C so as to respond to the corresponding hall call based on the acquired allocation command.

[0087] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the group management control device 30 when, during operation of the elevators 10A, 10B, and 10C under the control of the group management control device 30, in response to an unanswered assignment at the departure floor, an assigned car and another car of the same elevator number arrive first in the same direction and open their doors.

[0088] When elevators 10A, 10B, and 10C are operating, if an assigned car and another car of the same elevator arrive in the same direction first for an unanswered assignment at the departure floor and open their doors ("YES" in S51), the assignment change unit 39 determines whether this assignment is an assignment that has information on both the departure floor and the destination floor registered in the hall destination floor registration device (S52).

[0089] When the allocation change unit 39 determines that this allocation is for a call registered in the hall destination floor registration device ("YES" in S52), it determines whether the first-arriving car of the same car type can stop (provide service) at the assigned destination floor (S53).

[0090] Here, if the first-arriving same-unit cage can stop (serve) at the assigned destination floor ("YES" in S53), the allocation change unit 39 changes the assigned cage for this assignment to the first-arriving same-unit cage (S54). Even if the allocation change unit 39 determines in step S52 that this assignment does not have destination floor information ("NO" in S52), it also changes the assigned cage for this assignment to the first-arriving same-unit cage (S54).

[0091] When the allocation change unit 39 changes the assigned car, it outputs an allocation change command to the control device of the corresponding elevator to the allocation information output unit 38, thereby causing the changed assigned car to immediately respond. Each control device 13A, 13B, 13C controls the equipment in each elevator 10A, 10B, 10C so as to respond to the corresponding allocation based on the acquired allocation change command. This allows the user to board the first arriving car, move to the destination floor, and disembark at the destination floor.

[0092] When the allocation change unit 39 determines in step S53 that the first-arriving same-unit car cannot stop at the assigned destination floor ("NO" in S53), it does not change the assigned car for this allocation.

[0093] According to the above embodiment, when the group management control device of the double deck elevator executes car allocation processing for an allocation request that has been generated, when it predicts by operation simulation that a car assigned to this allocation request and another car of the same car of the same car will arrive at the hall call generating floor and open the door before the assigned car, it judges whether or not a customer will be left behind or board the wrong car, and performs a service evaluation for each allocation pattern based on this judgment to determine the car to be assigned. By performing the processing in this manner, the group management control device can execute an allocation car determination process with high accuracy that conforms to actual operation, without causing a situation where a customer is left behind or boards the wrong car for the allocation request that has been generated.

[0094] In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which, in an operation simulation for each car in elevator A 10A, elevator B 10B, and elevator C 10C, the allocation evaluation value for each car is adjusted depending on whether the provisional allocation of the allocation request increases the number of remaining cars and whether the provisional allocation of the allocation request increases the number of incorrect boardings, and the car to be allocated to the allocation request is determined based on the adjusted allocation evaluation value. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the allocation car determination process may be performed in other forms as long as a car that does not cause a remaining situation or an incorrect boarding situation can be allocated to the allocation request as much as possible.

[0095] Another embodiment of the car allocation decision process will be described. In this embodiment, the operation prediction unit 34 of the group management control device 30 calculates the increase in the number of remaining cars due to provisional allocation of the allocation request and the increase in the number of mis-boardings due to provisional allocation of the allocation request in an operation simulation performed for each car.

[0096] The operation prediction unit 34 first extracts the car with the smallest calculated increase in the number of remaining cars, then further extracts from this extraction the car with the smallest calculated increase in the number of mis-boardings, and then determines from this extraction the car with the smallest increase in the operation evaluation value (waiting time) due to provisionally allocating the allocation request as the car to be allocated to the allocation request. Even with this embodiment, it is possible to perform accurate car allocation processing that is in line with actual operation, without occurrence of remaining and mis-boarding situations as much as possible.

[0097] In the above-described embodiment, the double-deck group management control system 1 is configured using a destination floor control system (DCS) by installing the landing destination floor registration devices 20-1 to 20-m at the landings of each floor in the building. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the double-deck group management control system may be configured using a hybrid DCS in which landing destination floor registration devices are installed at landings of only some floors, and landing call registration devices that perform landing call operations by specifying only the destination direction (up and down) without specifying a destination floor are installed at other floors.

[0098] When a double-deck group management control system is configured using a hybrid DCS, the destination floor of a hall call registered in a hall call registration device is unknown, so the presence or absence of a left-behind situation and a wrong-boarding situation is not determined for this hall call. In addition, in a hybrid DCS, a derived car call that is a temporary destination floor is set for a hall call registered in a hall call registration device to perform operation prediction, but since a derived car call is a call where it is not certain that a car will stop, the presence or absence of a left-behind situation and a wrong-boarding situation is not determined for this derived car call either. In other words, in a hybrid DCS, the presence or absence of a left-behind situation and a wrong-boarding situation are determined only for hall calls registered in a hall destination floor registration device, and the allocation evaluation value is adjusted based on this. By performing the process in this way, even in a double-deck group management control system using a hybrid DCS, the left-behind situation and the wrong-boarding situation do not occur as much as possible, and it is possible to perform a highly accurate car allocation process in accordance with actual operation.

[0099] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the car to be assigned is determined in such a way that a car that is predicted to cause a left-behind situation is avoided as much as possible in response to a generated assignment request, and a car that is predicted to cause a wrong-boarding situation is assigned a lower priority while still retaining the possibility of being assigned. However, since a wrong-boarding situation is unlikely to cause inconvenience to users even if it does occur, the car to be assigned may be determined by considering only the number of times that a wrong-boarding situation occurs, without considering the number of times that a wrong-boarding situation occurs.

[0100] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0101] 1...Double deck group management control system, 10A, 10B, 10C...Elevator, 11A, 11B, 11C...Upper car, 12A, 12B, 12C...Lower car, 13A, 13B, 13C...Control device, 20-1 to 20-m...Departure hall destination floor registration device, 30...Group management control device, 31...Departure hall call registration unit, 32...Non-stop floor information storage unit, 33...Elevator information acquisition unit, 34...Operation prediction unit, 35...Counting unit, 36...Allocation pattern evaluation unit, 37...Allocation car determination unit, 38...Allocation information output unit, 39...Allocation change unit

Claims

1. Multiple double-deck elevators consisting of an upper car and a lower car are managed in groups. a platform call registration unit that registers platform call information registered by a user specifying a destination floor at a platform; an operation prediction unit which, when a new hall call is registered in the hall call registration unit, generates operation prediction information for each allocation pattern of cars among the plurality of double deck elevators for the registered hall call, executes an operation simulation for each generated operation prediction information, and predicts whether or not a left-behind situation will occur in which a waiting user at a floor whose door has been opened gets into a car different from a car assigned to the hall call registered by the waiting user and is unable to arrive at a destination floor each time a door of any car is opened in the executed operation simulation; an allocation pattern evaluation unit that calculates an allocation evaluation value indicating a degree of appropriateness of an allocation to the new hall calls for each car among the plurality of double-deck elevators based on an execution result of the operation simulation; an allocation car determination unit that determines a car to be assigned to the new hall call from among the cars of the plurality of double-deck elevators, based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of the remaining situation for each allocation pattern predicted by the operation prediction unit and the allocation evaluation value calculated by the allocation pattern evaluation unit; A group management control device for a double-deck elevator comprising:

2. The group management control device for double-deck elevators according to claim 1 , wherein the allocation pattern evaluation unit adjusts so as to lower an allocation evaluation value for an allocation pattern in which the operation prediction unit predicts that the remaining-space situation will occur.

3. 2. The double-deck elevator group management control device according to claim 1, wherein the car assignment determination unit determines a car to be assigned to the new hall call from among the assignment patterns in which the operation prediction unit predicts that the number of times the left-behind situation will occur is the smallest.

4. the operation prediction unit, when executing the operation simulation, predicts whether or not a wrong boarding situation will occur in which a waiting user at a floor whose door has been opened gets on a car different from a car assigned to a hall call registered by the waiting user and travels to a destination floor each time the door of any car is opened during the executed operation simulation, 2. The double-deck elevator group management control device according to claim 1, wherein the car assignment determination unit determines a car to be assigned to the new hall call based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of the left-behind situation and the occurrence or non-occurrence of the wrong-boarding situation for each of the assignment patterns predicted by the operation prediction unit and the assignment evaluation value calculated by the assignment pattern evaluation unit.

5. 5. The group management control device for double-deck elevators according to claim 4, wherein the operation prediction unit, when executing the operation simulation, predicts, each time a door of any car opens during the executed operation simulation, whether or not there is the left-behind situation and the wrong boarding situation that occurs when a waiting user at a floor whose door has opened gets into another car of the same double-deck elevator as a car assigned to a hall call registered by the waiting user.

6. A non-stop floor information storage unit is further provided for storing information on non-stop floors preset for each of the cars in the plurality of double-deck elevators, 5. The double-deck elevator group management control device according to claim 4, wherein the operation prediction unit predicts whether or not the left-behind situation and the wrong-boarding situation will occur based on the non-stop floor information stored in the non-stop floor information storage unit.

7. A group management control device which manages a group of a plurality of double-deck elevators each consisting of an upper car and a lower car, and is provided with a hall call registration unit which registers information on hall calls registered by users specifying a destination floor at a hall, When a new hall call is registered in the hall call registration unit, operation prediction information is generated for each allocation pattern of cars among the plurality of double-deck elevators for the registered hall call, an operation simulation is executed for each generated operation prediction information, and each time a door of any car is opened in the executed operation simulation, a prediction is made as to whether or not a left-behind situation will occur in which a waiting user at a floor whose door has been opened gets into a car different from the car assigned to the hall call registered by the waiting user and is unable to arrive at a destination floor, calculating an allocation evaluation value indicating a degree of appropriateness of an allocation of each of the cars among the plurality of double-deck elevators to the new hall calls based on a result of the execution of the operation simulation; a group management control method for double-deck elevators, the method determining an allocation car to be assigned to the new hall call from among the cars of the plurality of double-deck elevators, based on the predicted occurrence or nonoccurrence of the remaining situation for each of the allocation patterns and a calculated allocation evaluation value.

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