Elevator control system and elevator control method

Abstract

To prevent accumulation of detection errors of the number of users staying at each floor in a building, which is detected by an external device such as a human flow detector.SOLUTION: This elevator control system comprises: an elevator control device 200 for controlling elevator operation; an in-car terminal 100 that collects states in a car traveling under control of the elevator control device 200 and transmits collected data to the elevator control device 200; and an external association device 300 that manages the number of users in the car on the basis of the data collected by the in-car terminal 100 and operation control data detected by the elevator control device 200, and transmits data relating to the number of users managed by the external device. The external association device 300 transmits, to the external device, data for resetting the number of user at a specific floor to zero in a time zone other than a predesignated prescribed time zone.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator control system and an elevator control method. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the movement of people in a building has been detected as people flow, and the detection is used to grasp the usage status of the building and to monitor and control the building. Specifically, a people flow detection device has been developed that detects the movement of people inside a building from images and videos from surveillance cameras installed in various parts of the building. The people flow detection device is called a people flow dashboard, etc.

[0003] By calculating the number of people on each floor of the building, the building people flow detection device can, for example, optimize air conditioning and lighting based on the number of people on each floor, set elevators to not stop on floors with zero people, and set security settings for floors with zero people.

[0004] It is known that when this building people flow detection device detects the flow of people in a building, the device detects the flow of people by using the usage status of elevators. Patent Document 1 describes a technology that calculates the number of people on each floor of a building, which is the destination of the elevator, from elevator users. Patent Document 1 also describes that admission is restricted when the calculated number of people on each floor exceeds a threshold value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-189117 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Since the building people flow detection device calculates the number of people on each floor of the building based on camera images and detection of elevator users, the calculated number will have an error from the actual number of people. For example, if the number of people on each floor is calculated from elevator users, if someone uses the stairs, an error will occur from the actual number of people by the number of people who used the stairs. Also, when the number of people is calculated from camera images, an error will occur from the actual number of people because two people are detected in the image and one person is detected because they are overlapping.

[0007] Since building people flow detection devices do not accurately count the number of people passing through security gates, etc., it is acceptable for there to be some error in the detected number of people on each floor. However, if the number of people on each floor is detected continuously for a long period of time, the error will accumulate, causing a large discrepancy between the actual number of people and the detected number of people, which creates an undesirable situation.

[0008] In consideration of these points, an object of the present invention is to provide an elevator control system and an elevator control method that do not accumulate detection errors in the number of people detected by devices such as a people flow detection device based on the elevator operation status. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configurations described in the claims are adopted. The present application includes multiple means for solving the above problems. One example is an elevator control system that connects an elevator system to an external device and transmits data on the number of people using the elevator to the external device, enabling the external device to tally up the number of people on each floor of the building in which the elevator is installed. An example elevator control system includes an elevator control device that controls elevator operation, an in-car terminal that collects conditions inside the car that runs under the control of the elevator control device and transmits the collected data to the elevator control device, and an external linkage device that manages the number of users of the car based on the data collected by the in-car terminal and operation control data detected by the elevator control device, and transmits the managed data on the number of users to an external device. Here, the external linkage device transmits data to the external device for resetting the number of people on a specific floor to zero during a time period other than a predetermined time period designated in advance. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, the number of people on each floor in a building that is tallied by an external device can be reset to zero based on the elevator usage status. This makes it possible to appropriately prevent errors from accumulating in the number of people in the building that is tallied by the external device. Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an elevator control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an in-car terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a people flow detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an image management device / protected data management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing until data acquisition starts according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of processing in a time zone in which data acquisition has ended according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed at the time of zero reset in the people flow detection device according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing a processing example (variation) according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] An elevator control system and an elevator control method according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this embodiment") will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] [Elevator system configuration] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an elevator control system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator control system of this example includes an in-car terminal 100, an elevator control device 200, and an external linkage device 300. The in-car terminal 100 is a device installed in the car (not shown) of the elevator in this example, and acquires images and audio from the in-car camera 110, on-car cameras 120, 130, and on-car sound collection device 140 installed in the car.

[0014] That is, one in-car camera 110, two on-car cameras 120 and 130, and an on-car sound collecting device 140 are installed in the car. The in-car camera 110 is installed beside the door of the car, etc., and captures passengers in the car. The image captured by the in-car camera 110 is transmitted from the image management unit 111 to the sensor information management unit 101 of the in-car terminal 100. The car-mounted camera 120 is installed on the ceiling of the car and captures passengers in the direction from the car to the platform. The image captured by the car-mounted camera 120 is transmitted from the image management unit 121 to the sensor information management unit 101 of the in-car terminal 100.

[0015] The other on-car camera 130 is installed on the car and captures the image toward the inside of the tower. The image captured by the on-car camera 130 is transmitted from the image management unit 131 to the sensor information management unit 101 of the in-car terminal 100. The car-mounted sound collector 140 is installed on the car and collects the voices of passengers in the car. The voices collected by the car-mounted sound collector 140 are transmitted from the sound collection management unit 141 to the sensor information management unit 101 of the car-inside terminal 100.

[0016] The car in-terminal 100 includes a sensor information management unit 101, an image analysis processing unit 102, a voice analysis processing unit 103, and a data transmission management unit 104, and performs processing for collecting data in the car. The sensor information management unit 101 receives images transmitted from the cameras 110 , 120 , and 130 , and also receives audio transmitted from the on-car sound collector 140 . The image received by the sensor information management unit 101 is supplied to the image analysis processing unit 102. The image analysis processing unit 102 performs image analysis processing to detect the number of passengers in the elevator and the number of passengers getting on and off when the elevator stops at the boarding area on each floor from the supplied image. The detected data on the number of passengers and the number of passengers getting on and off is transmitted to the data transmission management unit 104.

[0017] The voice received by the sensor information management unit 101 is supplied to a voice analysis processing unit 103. The voice analysis processing unit 103 performs voice analysis processing to detect the presence or absence of passengers, the presence or absence of abnormalities, etc. The detected data on the presence or absence of passengers, etc. is transmitted to a data transmission management unit 104.

[0018] The data transmission management unit 104 transmits the data on the number of passengers and the number of passengers getting on and off at each stop floor transmitted from the image analysis processing unit 102, as well as data on the presence or absence of passengers and the presence or absence of abnormalities transmitted from the voice analysis processing unit 103, to the elevator control device 200. In addition, the data transmission management unit 104 also transmits image data and voice data obtained by the in-car terminal 100 to the elevator control device 200.

[0019] The elevator control device 200 includes a door opening state acquisition unit 211, a door opening state determination unit 212, an operation state acquisition unit 213, an operation state determination unit 214, an elevator state management unit 215, an elevator control processing unit 216, an elevator display management unit 217, and an elevator display update unit 218.

[0020] The door open state acquisition unit 211 acquires data on the door open state from the door 151 of the car. The door open state determination unit 212 determines the open state of the door 151 from the data acquired by the door open state acquisition unit 211 . The operation state acquisition unit 213 acquires the operation state detected by the operation state detection unit 152 of the elevator. The operation state determination unit 214 determines the operation state of the elevator acquired by the operation state acquisition unit 213.

[0021] The elevator status management unit 215 acquires data on the door open status determined by the door open status determination unit 212 and data on the operating status determined by the operating status determination unit 214, manages the operating status of the elevator, and transmits necessary control commands to the elevator control processing unit 216. Furthermore, when analysis is required by the image analysis processing unit 102 or the voice analysis processing unit 103 of the in-car terminal 100 based on the operating status managed by the elevator status management unit 215, the elevator status management unit 215 transmits an analysis instruction to the image analysis processing unit 102 or the voice analysis processing unit 103. Furthermore, the operating status managed by the elevator status management unit 215 is also transmitted to the data management unit 311 of the external linkage device 300.

[0022] The elevator control processing unit 216 performs control processing of the car operation based on commands from the elevator status management unit 215 and data from the in-car terminal 100, and issues instructions to the operation processing unit 153 based on the control processing results. This elevator control processing unit 216 is supplied with data such as the presence or absence of passengers and the presence or absence of abnormalities from the data transmission management unit 104 of the in-car terminal 100, and this data is reflected in the car operation control.

[0023] The elevator display management unit 217 manages the displays on the display device 161 in the car and the landing display devices 162, 163, ... on each floor. The elevator display management unit 217 is supplied with data such as the presence or absence of passengers and the presence or absence of abnormalities from the data transmission management unit 104 in the car terminal 100, and when the display content needs to be changed based on this data, the elevator display management unit 217 performs the corresponding display control.

[0024] The external collaboration device 300 includes a data management unit 311 and a data distribution unit 312 . The data management unit 311 acquires data (such as data on the presence or absence of passengers and abnormalities, as well as image data) output from the data transmission management unit 104 of the in-car terminal 100 and elevator management status data from the elevator status management unit 215, and extracts data to be transmitted to an external device. The external device here is a device that uses the elevator management status data for management, and in this example, is the people flow detection device 350, the image management device 360, and the maintenance data management device 370.

[0025] The data extracted by the data management unit 311 is distributed by the data distribution unit 312 into data to be supplied to a people flow detection device 350 , data to be supplied to an image management device 360 ​​, and data to be supplied to a security data management device 370 . The data distributed by the data distribution unit 312 is supplied to a people flow detection device 350, an image management device 360, and a security data management device 370, respectively.

[0026] The data management unit 311 of the external linking device 300 in this example is configured to transmit data for resetting the number of people to zero to a connected external device (such as the people flow detection device 350) during nighttime hours after a preset time period (opening time period of the building) has passed, in response to an instruction from the elevator control device 200. The transmission process of this data for resetting to zero will be described later.

[0027] [Example of hardware configuration for each device, such as in-car terminals] FIG. 2 shows an example of a hardware configuration in the case where the car terminal 100 is configured as a computer. The car terminal 100, which is constituted by a computer device, includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 191, a memory 192, a storage 193, an image / audio input / output unit 194, a data input / output unit 195, and a network interface 196, all of which are connected to a bus.

[0028] The CPU 191 is a calculation processing unit that reads out program code of software for implementing the functions of the car terminal 100 from the memory 192 or the storage 193 and executes it. The CPU 191 reads out program codes from the memory 192 or the storage 193 and executes arithmetic processing in a work area of ​​the memory 192, thereby configuring various processing function units in the memory 192. That is, the memory 192 is configured with the sensor information management unit 101, the image analysis processing unit 102, the voice analysis processing unit 103, and the data transmission management unit 104 shown in FIG.

[0029] For example, a large-capacity information storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a memory card, etc. is used for the storage 193. The storage 193 stores software that realizes the functions of the in-car terminal 100, data obtained by executing the program, and data required for display screen settings.

[0030] The image / audio input / output unit 194 performs input processing of image data from the cameras 110 to 130 and input processing of audio data from the sound collection device 140, and also performs output processing of image data and audio data to the elevator control device 200 and the like. The data input / output unit 195 performs input processing of instructions from the elevator control device 200 and output processing of data transmitted by the data transmission management unit 104. The network interface 196 may be, for example, a network interface card (NIC), and is used to transmit and receive data to and from other devices.

[0031] Note that the in-car terminal 100 configured with the computer shown in Fig. 2 is just an example, and may be configured with other arithmetic processing devices other than a computer. For example, some or all of the functions performed by the in-car terminal 100 may be realized by hardware such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). 1 are also configured with a computer having the same hardware configuration as the in-car terminal 100, or with other arithmetic processing devices. Furthermore, the people flow detection device 350, the image management device 360, and the maintenance data management device 370, which will be described later, are also configured with a computer having the same hardware configuration as the in-car terminal 100, or with other arithmetic processing devices.

[0032] [Example of a people flow detection device] FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of a people flow detection device 350 called a people flow dashboard. The people flow detection device 350 includes a data management unit 351, a setting data management unit 352, a display data creation unit 353, and a display data transmission unit 354. A user interface device 400 is also connected to the people flow detection device 350. This user interface device 400 is composed of input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display device, and other input / output devices. The data management unit 351 receives data from the data transmission management unit 104 of the in-car terminal 100. The data received from the in-car terminal 100 includes data such as the number of passengers in the car and the number of passengers getting on and off when the car stops at the landings on each floor. Although not shown in Fig. 3, the data management unit 351 also receives data on the elevator operation status from the elevator status management unit 215 (Fig. 1). The operation status data includes the running status of the car, as well as landing calls at the landings on each floor and the registration status of destination floors in the car.

[0033] Based on the received data, the data management unit 351 acquires the number of people getting on and off at each floor when the elevator is operating, and calculates the number of people on each floor by tallying up the number of people getting on and off at each floor. The data management unit 351 also calculates the number of people in the building by adding up the number of people on each floor for the entire building. The process of calculating the number of people on each floor and the total number of people will be described in detail later. The calculated data on the number of people on each floor and the total number of people in the building is then supplied to the display data creation unit 353.

[0034] The setting data management unit 352 receives setting data set by the time zone setting unit 401 and the detection time setting unit 402 of the connected user interface device 400, and sets the time zone and detection time for counting the number of people staying and the number of people present. For example, when the daily opening hours of the building to be monitored are from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., the time zone setting unit 401 and the detection time setting unit 402 set 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. as the time zone for detecting and counting the number of people. The setting data for these time zones may be sent from the people flow detection device 350 to the external linkage device 300 included in the elevator control system so that the elevator control system can also determine the time zone. Alternatively, the elevator control device 200 on the elevator control system side may be configured to set data such as the building's opening time zone by user operation or the like. The time zone setting unit 401 and the detection time setting unit 402 function as the corresponding setting units 401, 402, for example, by inputting a numerical value or the like into a time zone setting location or a detection time setting location on a screen displayed by the display device through a user operation. The setting data input to the setting data management unit 352 is supplied to the display data creation unit 353.

[0035] The display data creation unit 353 creates display data for the number of people on each floor and the number of people in the entire building for the time period and detection time based on the setting data input to the setting data management unit 352. The display data created by the display data creation unit 353 is transmitted by the display data transmission unit 354 to the user interface device 400 . In the user interface device 400 that has received the display data, the floor visitor number display unit 403 and the occupant number display unit 404 display the number of people on each floor and the number of people in the entire building based on the display data. In addition, the external notification unit 405 of the user interface device 400 notifies the outside of the number of people on each floor and the number of people in the entire building. This external notification unit 405 performs notification to a terminal carried by the building manager, for example. The number of people on each floor and the number of people in the entire building detected by the people flow detection device 350 is also transmitted to the elevator control device 200.

[0036] [Examples of image management devices and security data management devices] FIG. 4 shows an example of the configuration of the image management device 360 ​​and the maintenance data management device 370. As shown in FIG. The image management device 360 ​​and the maintenance data management device 370 basically have the same configuration. Here, the image management device 360 ​​will be described as an example.

[0037] The image management device 360 ​​includes a data management unit 361, a setting data management unit 362, a data analysis processing unit 363, and a display data transmission unit 364. A user interface device 500 is also connected to the image management device 360. This user interface device 500 is composed of input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display device, and the like, similar to the user interface device 400 described in FIG.

[0038] The data management unit 361 receives image data and voice data from the data transmission management unit 104 of the in-car terminal 100. In addition, the data management unit 361 also receives data on the number of passengers getting on and off at each floor when the elevator is operating from the data transmission management unit 104 of the in-car terminal 100. The setting data management unit 362 inputs setting data from the data storage limit setting unit 501, data analysis setting unit 502, and display setting unit 503 of the user interface device 500. The data storage limit setting unit 501, data analysis setting unit 502, and display setting unit 503 function as the corresponding setting units 501 to 503, for example, by inputting numerical values ​​or the like by a user operation for the data storage limit setting location, data analysis setting location, and display setting location on the screen displayed by the display device. The setting data input to the setting data management unit 362 is supplied to the data analysis processing unit 363.

[0039] The data analysis processing unit 363 analyzes the supplied image data and voice data based on setting instructions from the setting data management unit 362. At this time, data on the number of passengers getting on and off at each floor when the elevator is in operation may be used during the analysis. This data analysis performs detailed analysis, such as, for example, how often the elevator is used within a set time, estimating the age and gender of the users, etc. The analysis result is supplied to the display data transmission unit 364.

[0040] The display data transmission unit 364 supplies the image data and audio data acquired by the data management unit 361 to the data display unit 504 , and also supplies the analysis results from the data analysis processing unit 363 to the data analysis result display unit 505 . The data display unit 504 displays images from the cameras 110 to 130 installed in the elevator, and also outputs the sound collected by the sound collection device 140 from a built-in speaker. The images displayed may be either images acquired in real time or images recorded in the past. The data analysis result display unit 505 displays the analysis results from the data analysis processing unit 363 .

[0041] Such an image management device 360 ​​can display images captured by the cameras 110 to 130 of elevator usage status, as well as display the analysis results of elevator usage status. This allows the image management device 360 ​​to manage elevator usage status within a building.

[0042] In addition, in the case of the maintenance data management device 370, the basic configuration is the same as that of the image management device 360, but the analysis in the data analysis processing unit 363 is performed from the viewpoint of whether the elevator is operating normally or whether any abnormality has occurred. This makes it possible to manage the maintenance data of the elevator.

[0043] [Example of processing using a people flow detection device] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of people flow detection processing in the people flow detection device 350. First, the people flow detection device 350 starts processing when the current time is after the set start time period (step S11). The start time period here is, for example, the time set by the time period setting unit 401 and the detection time setting unit 402. Next, the people flow detection device 350 judges whether or not a hall call is detected in the elevator (step S12). If a hall call is not detected in step S12 (NO in step S12), the people flow detection device 350 repeats the judgment in step S12.

[0044] In step S12, when a hall call is detected (YES in step S12), the people flow detection device 350 judges whether or not the car stops at the floor where the hall call was made and boarding in the car is detected (step S13). This boarding detection is performed based on boarding / alighting detection by the image analysis processing unit 102 in the car terminal 100. When boarding is detected in step S13 (YES in step S13), the people flow detection device 350 judges whether or not a destination floor registration in which a passenger presses a destination floor button in the car has been detected (step S14).

[0045] Then, when no boarding is detected in step S13 (NO in step S13) and when no destination floor registration is detected in step S14 (NO in step S14), the people flow detection device 350 judges whether or not a predetermined time (for example, about 30 seconds) has elapsed since the vehicle stopped at the corresponding floor (step S15). When the people flow detection device 350 detects the elapse of the predetermined time in step S15 (YES in step S15), the people flow detection device 350 returns to the judgment in step S12.

[0046] If a destination floor registration is detected in step S14 (YES in step S14), the people flow detection device 350 judges whether or not a passenger has disembarked at a stop floor such as a destination floor (step S16). If disembarking is not detected in step S16, the people flow detection device 350 judges whether or not a predetermined time (e.g., about 30 seconds or 1 minute) has elapsed since the vehicle stopped at the corresponding floor (step S17). If the people flow detection device 350 detects the passage of the predetermined time in step S17 (YES in step S17), it returns to the judgment in step S12, and if the people flow detection device 350 does not detect the passage of the predetermined time (NO in step S17), it returns to the judgment in step S16.

[0047] Then, when disembarking is detected in step S16, the people flow detection device 350 counts the number of people in the building and the number of people staying on each floor that day from the detected number of people getting on and off (step S18). Then, the people flow detection device 350 continuously performs the process of acquiring the number of passengers getting on and off each time the elevator performs passenger transportation service (step S19). That is, the processes from step S12 to step S18 are continuously performed. Then, the people flow detection device 350 calculates the number of people getting on and off at each floor (each floor) for each predetermined time period (for example, 15 minutes / 30 minutes / 1 hour) (step S20).

[0048] Furthermore, the people flow detection device 350 accumulates the number of people getting on and off calculated in step S20, and accumulates the number of people getting on and off on each floor since the start time (since the building opens) (step S21). The people flow detection device 350 also obtains the accumulated number of people in the entire building since the start time from the accumulated number of people getting on and off on each floor obtained in step S21 (step S22). Note that the accumulated value here is the value obtained by subtracting the number of people who have left each floor and the value obtained by subtracting the number of people who have disembarked at the entrance floor of the building from the number of people present, and is the accumulated value of how many people are currently on each floor and in the entire building.

[0049] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed by the elevator control device 200 when it is time for the building to close (end). First, the elevator control device 200 starts processing after the closing time (closing time) of the building (step S31). When the process starts in step S31, the elevator control device 200 judges whether the current cumulative number of people indicated by the cumulative number of people getting on and off at each floor detected by the people flow detection device 350 is equal to or less than a predetermined value (step S32). The predetermined value here is a number of people that is assumed to be an error in the number of people detected by the process in the flowchart of Fig. 5. For example, the predetermined value is set to about several people. The value may also be a negative number.

[0050] If the cumulative number of passengers getting on and off at each floor is not equal to or less than a predetermined value in step S32 (NO in step S32), it is determined that the passenger is actually staying on that floor, and the determination in step S32 is repeated. Then, when the cumulative number of passengers on each floor is equal to or less than a predetermined value in step S32, it is determined whether or not the elevator destination floor for that floor has not been registered for a predetermined period of time (step S33). The predetermined period of time here is set to a relatively long period of time, for example, from 30 minutes to 2 hours. When it is determined in step S33 that there is no destination floor registration for a predetermined time (YES in step S33), the elevator control device 200 determines whether there has been no disembarking from the car at the corresponding floor for a predetermined time (step S34). The predetermined time here is the same as the predetermined time determined in step S33, and is set to a relatively long time, for example, from about 30 minutes to 2 hours.

[0051] Then, if there are no disembarking passengers for the predetermined time in step S34 (YES in step S34), the elevator control device 200 sends an instruction to reset the number of people on the corresponding floor to zero to the people flow detection device 350 via the external linkage device 300 (step S35). After sending the instruction to reset the number of people on any floor in the people flow detection device 350 to zero, the elevator control device 200 determines whether or not remote automatic inspection of the elevator is set (step S36). If a remote automatic inspection is set in step S36 (YES in step S36), the elevator control device 200 performs a remote automatic inspection of the floor reset to zero in step S35 (step S37). The remote automatic inspection process may include, for example, stopping the elevator car at the corresponding floor, opening and closing the door, and determining whether there are any abnormalities. If a remote automatic inspection is not set in step S36 (NO in step S36), the elevator control device 200 does not perform an automatic inspection of the corresponding floor.

[0052] Then, when it is determined in step S33 that the destination floor registration has been made for a predetermined time (NO in step S33), the elevator control device 200 further determines whether or not a passenger has been detected getting off at the floor where the destination floor is registered (step S38). When a passenger has not been detected getting off at step S38 (NO in step S38), the elevator control device 200 determines whether or not a predetermined time (for example, about 30 seconds to 1 minute) has elapsed since the elevator stopped at the corresponding floor (step S39). When it is determined in step S39 that the predetermined time has elapsed (YES in step S39), the elevator control device 200 returns to the determination in step S33. When it is determined in step S39 that the predetermined time has not elapsed (NO in step S39), the elevator control device 200 returns to the determination in step S38.

[0053] Furthermore, when disembarking is detected in step S38 (YES in step S38) and when disembarking is detected in step S34 (NO in step S34), it is determined whether boarding into the car at the floor in question is detected (step S40). When boarding is not detected in step S40 (NO in step S40), the elevator control device 200 determines whether a predetermined time (e.g., about 30 seconds to 1 minute) has elapsed since the elevator stopped at the floor in question (step S41). When the elevator control device 200 detects the passage of the predetermined time in step S41 (YES in step S41), it returns to the determination in step S33. When the elevator control device 200 does not detect the passage of the predetermined time in step S41 (NO in step S41), it returns to the determination in step S40. In this manner, the people flow detection device 350 of this embodiment performs people flow detection processing in cooperation with the elevator control device 200.

[0054] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of processing performed when the people flow detection device 350 receives a zero reset command for any floor. First, the people flow detection device 350 detects a zero reset command for any floor (step S51). At this time, the people flow detection device 350 displays the current number of people on the designated floor as zero (step S52). Thereafter, the people flow detection device 350 judges whether the setting for notifying other devices (such as the building manager's terminal) is valid (step S53). If the setting for notifying other devices is valid in step S53 (YES in step S53), the device notifies registered users that the number of people on the floor is zero (step S54).

[0055] If notification has been made in step S54, or if the setting for notification to other devices is not valid in step S53 (NO in step S53), the people flow detection device 350 determines whether equipment interlocking is valid or not (step S55). Equipment interlocking here includes, for example, turning off the lighting devices on the floor, starting an alarm process on the floor, etc. If equipment interlocking is valid in step S55 (YES in step S55), the people flow detection device 350 performs equipment interlocking processing on the floor (step S56). If the equipment interlocking is not enabled in step S55 (NO in step S55), or after the equipment interlocking process is performed in step S56, the display and notification process in the people flow detection device 350 ends.

[0056] As described above, according to the system of this embodiment, the people flow detection device 350 can calculate the number of people staying on each floor and the number of people staying in the entire building based on the number of people getting on and off each floor detected from the elevator camera images, etc. In this case, when the elevator control device 200 does not detect at least a destination floor registration for a certain consecutive time on each floor during nighttime, etc., except for a predetermined time period (opening hours), an instruction is given to the people flow detection device 350 to reset the number of people staying on the corresponding floor to zero. As a result, even if an error occurs in the number of people staying on a floor where there is no people flow at all during nighttime, etc., the people flow detection device 350 resets the number of people to zero, and errors are prevented from accumulating in the people flow detected by the people flow detection device 350.

[0057] Here, when the accumulated number of people on a given floor exceeds the number of people expected due to error, the counter is not reset to zero. This prevents the counter from being reset to zero accidentally when there are actually people present, enabling proper people flow detection.

[0058] In addition, when a destination floor to a specific floor is registered and disembarking at the specific floor is detected, it is assumed that there are passengers on the specific floor until a hall call is registered from the specific floor and boarding of the car is detected, and data to reset the number of passengers on the specific floor to zero is not sent, making it possible to accurately determine situations in which it is not appropriate to perform a zero reset based on elevator usage status.

[0059] In addition, after the external linkage device 300 transmits data to reset the number of passengers on a particular floor to zero, the elevator control device 200 performs an automatic inspection of the landing on that floor, so that the automatic inspection can also be performed when there is no one on each floor for boarding or disembarking.

[0060] In addition, the in-car terminal 100 collects information on the status inside the car by analyzing images from a camera installed inside the car and audio collected by a sound collection device installed inside the car, and performs boarding and alighting analysis, thereby enabling the number of passengers getting on and off to be appropriately determined.

[0061] [Variations] It should be noted that the embodiment examples described so far have been described in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easily understandable manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described.

[0062] For example, in the above-described embodiment, it is detected for each floor that a destination floor has not been registered for a predetermined period of time, and zero reset is performed on a floor-by-floor basis. In response to this, for example, when it is detected that no elevator call registrations have been made on any floor for a certain period of time, the number of people present in the entire building may be reset to zero.

[0063] The flowchart in FIG. 8 shows an example of processing in this case. First, the elevator control device 200 detects that a predetermined reset time period, such as nighttime, has arrived (step S61). If there are no elevator call registrations on any floor for a predetermined time period (e.g., one hour) or more (step S62), the external linkage device 300 transmits data to the people flow detection device 350 to reset the number of people on all floors to zero (step S63). In this way, by resetting the number of people on all floors to zero all at once, the people flow detection device 350 can properly tally up the number of people on each floor and the number of people in the entire building.

[0064] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the counter is reset to zero at night, but it may be configured not to reset to zero on weekdays, but to reset to zero on a fixed day of the week, such as Sunday, or on a specific day within a month.

[0065] In the above-described embodiment, the elevator control device 200 detects the elevator state and sends a zero reset command to the people flow detection device 350. Alternatively, the people flow detection device 350 may detect the elevator state (such as getting on and off at each floor) and perform the zero reset process within the people flow detection device 350.

[0066] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, an example was described in which the people flow detection device 350 performs a zero reset. However, when determining the number of people, the image management device 360 ​​and the maintenance data management device 370 shown in FIG. 4 may also similarly acquire a zero reset and perform the zero reset process.

[0067] In the above-mentioned embodiment, when it is detected that the destination floor registration for a specific floor of the elevator has not been performed for a predetermined period of time, the floor is reset to zero. In contrast, in a specific time period such as at night, when it is determined that the number of people staying on the floor is an error number, that is, without determining the destination floor registration status of the elevator, a zero reset may be sent to an external device such as a people flow detection device.

[0068] 1 to 4, only control lines and information lines that are considered necessary for explanation are shown, and not all control lines and information lines in the product are shown. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other. Furthermore, the process flows shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 5 to 8 are also examples, and so long as the process results are the same, the order of some processes may be changed or multiple processes may be executed simultaneously.

[0069] Furthermore, when the in-car terminal 100, elevator control device 200, and external linkage device 300 described in this embodiment are configured as an information processing device such as a computer, the programs that realize each processing function may be prepared in non-volatile storage or memory within the computer device, or may be stored and transferred on recording media such as external memory, an IC card, an SD card, or an optical disk. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 100... car terminal, 101... sensor information management unit, 102... image analysis processing unit, 103... voice analysis processing unit, 104... data transmission management unit, 110, 120, 130... camera, 111, 121, 131... image management unit, 140... sound collection device, 141... sound collection management unit, 151... door, 152... operation status detection unit, 153... operation processing unit, 161... display device, 162... landing display device, 191... CPU, 192... memory, 193... storage, 194... image / voice input / output unit, 195... data input / output unit, 196... network interface, 200... elevator control device, 211... door opening state acquisition unit, 212... door opening state determination unit, 213... operation status acquisition unit, 214... operation status determination unit, 215... elevator status management unit, 216... elevator control processing unit, 217... elevator display management unit , 218... elevator display update unit, 300... external linkage device, 311... data management unit, 312... data distribution unit, 350... people flow detection device, 351... data management unit, 352... setting data management unit, 353... display data creation unit, 354... display data transmission unit, 360... image management device, 361... data management unit, 362... setting data management unit, 363... data analysis processing unit, 364... display data transmission unit, 370... maintenance data management device, 400... user interface device, 401... time zone setting unit, 402... detection time setting unit, 403... floor occupancy number display unit, 404... building occupancy number display unit, 405... external notification unit, 500... user interface device, 501... data storage limit setting unit, 502... data analysis setting unit, 503... display setting unit, 504... data display unit, 505... data analysis result display unit

Claims

1. An elevator control system that connects an elevator system to an external device, transmits data on the number of people using the elevator to the external device, and enables the external device to count the number of people staying on each floor of a building in which the elevator is installed, an elevator control device that controls the operation of the elevator; A terminal in the elevator that collects data on the status of an interior of the elevator car that is traveling under the control of the elevator control device and transmits the collected data to the elevator control device; an external linkage device that manages the number of users of the elevator car based on the data collected by the terminal in the elevator car and the operation control data detected by the elevator control device, and transmits the managed data on the number of users to the external device; The external linking device transmits data to the external device for resetting the number of people staying on a specific floor to zero during a time period other than a predetermined time period designated in advance. Elevator control system.

2. The data for resetting the number of people staying on a specific floor to zero is transmitted when the cumulative total number of people getting on and off on the specific floor obtained from the data collected by the terminal in the car is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and when no destination floor registration to the specific floor is detected for a certain period of time or more in a time period other than the predetermined time period.

2. The elevator control system of claim 1.

3. When the external linkage device detects that a destination floor to the specific floor is registered and that a passenger has disembarked at the specific floor, the external linkage device considers that there is a passenger on the specific floor and does not transmit data for resetting the number of passengers on the specific floor to zero until a hall call is registered from the specific floor and a passenger boards a car.

3. The elevator control system of claim 2.

4. Furthermore, when no destination floor call is registered on any floor for a certain period of time or more during a period other than a predetermined period of time designated in advance, data for resetting the number of people on all floors to zero is transmitted to the external device.

2. The elevator control system of claim 1.

5. After the external linkage device transmits data for resetting the number of people staying on the specific floor to zero, the elevator control device executes an automatic inspection of the landing on the specific floor.

2. The elevator control system of claim 1.

6. The in-car terminal collects information about the state of the car by analyzing images from a camera installed in the car and by analyzing sounds collected by a sound collecting device installed in the car.

2. The elevator control system of claim 1.

7. An elevator control method in which an elevator system is connected to an external device, data on the number of people using the elevator is transmitted to the external device, and the external device is capable of counting the number of people staying on each floor of a building in which the elevator is installed, An elevator control process that controls elevator operation; A car interior data collection process for collecting statuses inside the car traveling in the elevator control process and transmitting the collected data; and an external linkage process for managing the number of users of the elevator car based on the data collected by the data collection process in the elevator car and the operation control data detected by the elevator control process, and transmitting the managed data on the number of users to the external device, In the external linking process, data for resetting the number of people staying on a specific floor to zero during a time period other than a predetermined time period designated in advance is transmitted to the external device. Elevator control method.

Images