Elevator control device and elevator system

By designing call registration and carriage allocation units in the elevator control equipment, the problem of no empty car can be immediately allocated during priority call registration, and the waiting time of priority call users and the improvement of elevator system response efficiency is achieved.

JP2025043452AActive Publication Date: 2025-04-01MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC BUILDING SOLUTIONS CORP
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2023150731
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-09-19
Publication Date
2025-04-01
Estimated Expiration
2043-09-19

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

When registering a priority call, if there are no empty cars, it can be immediately allocated, resulting in an extended waiting time for priority call users.

Method used

An elevator control device is designed, including a call registration unit and a carriage allocation unit. When priority call registration, a carriage that meets specific conditions for reallocation is selected to ensure that priority calls can obtain the carriage in a timely manner.

Benefits of technology

By redistributing the carriage, the waiting time for priority call users is significantly reduced and the response efficiency of the elevator system to priority users is improved.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To provide an elevator control device capable of shortening waiting time for a priority call registration.SOLUTION: A control device comprises a call registration part to register the call in response to a call registration request signal transmitted from a terminal and a car allocation part to determine the car to be assigned to the registered call. The call registration part registers the priority call in response to a priority call registration request signal. The control device further comprises a candidate car selection part to select a priority call allocation candidate car if there are no cars capable of being assigned to the priority call when registering a priority call, and a consent confirmation unit to confirm whether or not a terminal, which transmitted a call registration request signal for the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned, agrees to the reallocation. The car allocation part allocates the priority call allocation candidate car to the priority call if the agreement of the reallocation can be confirmed and redetermines the car to be allocated to the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car had been allocated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an elevator control device and an elevator system. [Background technology]

[0002] An elevator system is known in which users can reserve in advance the dispatch time and floor of an elevator car, in which the control device calculates the maximum number of floors that can be reserved for one round trip of the car based on the number of floors in the building at which the car can stop, and enables reservations for floors up to this maximum number of floors for each round trip of the car (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-066513 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in an elevator system such as that shown in Patent Document 1, when a priority call is registered for a user who should be given priority, such as a VIP, a wheelchair user, or a large robot, or a user who occupies a car, if there is no car available in the boarding section of the priority call, the car cannot be immediately assigned to the priority call. In such a case, the waiting time for the priority user, etc., becomes long.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and has an objective to provide an elevator control device and an elevator system that can shorten the waiting time of a user who should be given priority when the user registers a call. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The elevator control device according to the present disclosure is a control device for an elevator having a plurality of cars, and comprises: a call registration unit that registers a call in response to a call registration request signal transmitted from a terminal carried by a user; and a car allocation unit that determines which car to allocate to the registered call from among the plurality of cars. The call registration unit registers a priority call in response to a priority call registration request signal, and further comprises a candidate car selection unit that selects a priority call allocation candidate car from among the plurality of cars when there is no car that can be allocated to the priority call when the priority call is registered, and a consent confirmation unit that confirms with the terminal that transmitted the call registration request signal that was the basis of the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned whether or not the terminal agrees to the reallocation. When it is confirmed that the car allocation unit agrees to the reallocation, it assigns the priority call allocation candidate car to the priority call, and re-determines which car to allocate to the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned.

[0007] An elevator system according to the present disclosure includes an elevator control device configured as described above and the terminal. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the elevator control device and elevator system of the present disclosure, when a call is registered by a user who should be given priority, it is possible to shorten the waiting time of the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator system including an elevator control device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 3 is a flow diagram showing an example of the operation of the elevator system including the elevator control device according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining a specific example of the operation of an elevator system including the elevator control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining a specific example of the operation of an elevator system including the elevator control device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining a specific example of the operation of an elevator system including the elevator control device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing the functions of an elevator control device according to a first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The embodiments for implementing the elevator control device and elevator system according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions are appropriately simplified or omitted. In the following description, for convenience, the positional relationship of each structure may be expressed based on the illustrated state. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments, and the embodiments may be freely combined, any component of each embodiment may be modified, or any component of each embodiment may be omitted, within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure.

[0011] Embodiment 1 A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 6. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an elevator system equipped with an elevator control device. Fig. 2 is a flow diagram showing an example of the operation of an elevator system equipped with an elevator control device. Figs. 3 to 5 are diagrams explaining a specific example of the operation of an elevator system equipped with an elevator control device. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing the functions of the elevator control device.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the elevator system according to this embodiment includes an elevator control panel 100 and a terminal 10. The elevator control panel 100 is a control device that controls an elevator. The elevator controlled by the elevator control panel 100 has multiple, i.e., two or more, elevator cars (not shown).

[0013] A building in which an elevator is installed has the same number of hoistways (not shown) as there are cars. The cars are arranged in the hoistways so that they can rise and fall freely. Passengers and the like can board and disembark in the cars. The cars rise and fall in the hoistways, transporting passengers and the like who are in the cars between multiple floors of the building.

[0014] A terminal communication unit 20 is provided at the landing 1 of each floor where the elevator car can stop. The terminal communication unit 20 can communicate with a terminal 10 carried by a user at the landing 1. Communication between the terminal communication unit 20 and the terminal 10 is wireless. The terminal 10 is, for example, a smartphone, tablet PC, or smart watch carried by the user. By operating the terminal 10, the user can register a landing call that calls for a elevator car in the desired traveling direction to the floor. Note that the landing call that can be registered by operating the terminal 10 may specify not only the traveling direction of the elevator car but also the destination floor of the elevator car.

[0015] The elevator control panel 100 controls the overall operation of the elevator, including the operation of the elevator cars. The elevator control panel 100 performs group management, which comprehensively manages a plurality of cars as a group. The elevator control panel 100 is provided so as to be able to communicate with the terminal communication unit 20 of each hall 1. Communication between the elevator control panel 100 and the terminal communication unit 20 may be wireless or wired. As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator control panel 100 includes a car allocation unit 111, a memory unit 120, and a call registration unit 140.

[0016] The call registration unit 140 registers a hall call in response to a call registration request signal. In the elevator according to this embodiment, a priority is set for the hall calls. That is, there are at least two types of hall calls: normal calls and priority calls. A priority call is a hall call having a higher priority than a normal call. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 1, the call registration unit 140 includes a normal call registration unit 141 and a priority call registration unit 142. The priority call registration unit 142 registers a priority call in response to a priority call registration request. The normal call registration unit 141 registers a normal call in response to a normal call registration request that is not a priority call registration request.

[0017] When a user performs a hall call registration operation on the terminal 10, the terminal 10 transmits a call registration request signal. The terminal communication unit 20 of the hall 1 where the terminal 10 is located receives the call registration request signal transmitted from the terminal 10. The terminal communication unit 20 then transmits the received call registration request signal to the elevator control panel 100. The call registration request signal includes information indicating the boarding floor and information indicating the moving direction of the car or the destination floor. The information indicating the boarding floor may be added to the call registration request signal by the terminal communication unit 20 that received the call registration request signal. When the elevator control panel 100 receives the call registration request signal, if the received call registration request signal is a normal one that is not a priority call registration request signal, the normal call registration unit 141 registers a normal call with normal priority.

[0018] For example, a user who should be given priority, such as a VIP (Very Important Person), a wheelchair user, a large robot, or a hospital bed, or a user occupying a car (referred to as a priority user, etc.), can perform priority call registration by operating the terminal 10 that he or she carries. Alternatively, a hall button for priority call registration may be provided at the hall 1. When a user who should be given priority performs a priority call registration operation on the terminal 10 or operates a hall button for priority call registration, the terminal 10 or the hall button for priority call registration transmits a priority call registration request signal.

[0019] Like a normal call registration request signal, the priority call registration request signal also includes information indicating the boarding floor and information indicating the direction of travel of the car or the destination floor. Also, like a normal call registration, the priority call registration request signal is transmitted from the terminal 10 to the elevator control panel 100 via the terminal communication unit 20, or directly from a landing button for priority call registration. Then, when the elevator control panel 100 receives the priority call registration request signal, the priority call registration unit 142 registers the priority call, which has a higher priority than a normal call.

[0020] The car allocation unit 111 determines which car to allocate to the registered hall call from among a plurality of cars. When the hall call is a normal call, the car to allocate to the normal call is determined, for example, as follows. First, the car allocation unit 111 calculates an allocation evaluation value for each car based on the operation state of each car. This allocation evaluation value is calculated using, for example, the waiting time until the car that responded to the registered normal call arrives, the load of the car, and the like. Then, the car allocation unit 111 compares the calculated allocation evaluation values ​​of each car and determines the car with the largest allocation evaluation value as the car to be allocated to the normal call. In this way, the car allocation unit 111 allocates the car to the normal call. Then, the elevator control panel 100 notifies the terminal 10 of the user who registered the call of car number information that identifies the car allocated to the call registration.

[0021] On the other hand, when the hall call is a priority call, the car allocation unit 111 allocates a dedicated car to the priority call. That is, the car is prevented from stopping at an intermediate floor in response to another call until the car is dispatched to the boarding floor of the priority call and until the car travels from the boarding floor of the priority call to the destination floor.

[0022] When a new priority call is registered by the priority call registration unit 142, if there is a car that can be immediately assigned to the registered priority call, the car allocation unit 111 assigns the car to the priority call. The car that is immediately assigned to the priority call by the car allocation unit 111 is, for example, a car that is not assigned to any call and is on standby when a new priority call is registered. Also, if there is no waiting car when a new priority call is registered and all cars are assigned to already registered calls, a car that has no passengers boarding in the section from the boarding floor to the disembarking floor of the priority call may be the car that is immediately assigned to the priority call.

[0023] The storage unit 120 stores various data related to elevator control by the elevator control panel 100. In the configuration example shown in Fig. 1, the storage unit 120 particularly includes a passenger assignment storage unit 121 and a car assignment storage unit 122. The car assignment storage unit 122 stores call registrations assigned to each car.

[0024] The passenger allocation storage unit 121 stores the call registration made by each user. The currently registered call registration is stored in the passenger allocation storage unit 121 in association with the user who made the call registration. In this embodiment, it is assumed that each user has an individual terminal 10. Therefore, each user can be regarded as being the same as the terminal 10 that the user has. Therefore, the currently registered call registration may be stored in the passenger allocation storage unit 121 in association with the terminal 10 that is the source of the call registration request signal that made the call registration.

[0025] The elevator system includes a car control unit (not shown). The car control unit controls the operation of each of the multiple cars. One car control unit is provided corresponding to each of the multiple cars. That is, the same number of car control units are provided as the number of cars. The car control units may be provided in the elevator control panel 100, or may be provided as a car control device separate from the elevator control panel 100. The car control units control the running of the corresponding cars. For example, when the car allocation unit 111 determines a car to be assigned to a hall call, the car control unit that controls the car runs the car to the floor where the hall call is registered in order to respond to the registered hall call. Then, the car control unit runs the car to the destination floor indicated by the call.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 1, the elevator control panel 100 according to this embodiment further includes a candidate car selection unit 112, a passenger consent confirmation unit 113, and a timer unit 130. When a priority call is registered and there is no car that can be assigned to the priority call, the candidate car selection unit 112 selects a candidate car for priority call assignment from among a plurality of cars. When there is no car that can be assigned to the priority call, this corresponds to the above-mentioned case where there is no car that can be immediately assigned to the priority call. For example, the candidate car selection unit 112 selects a car that satisfies all of the following conditions (A), (B), and (C) as a candidate car for priority call assignment.

[0027] (A) A passenger already in the elevator does not continue to ride in that elevator within the priority call registration section. (B) The time (waiting time) required for an already registered call to arrive at the boarding floor is longer than a preset certain time. (C) By canceling the assignment of the car to the call registration, the time it takes to reach the boarding floor for the priority call (waiting time) is shorter than if the assignment was not canceled.

[0028] Furthermore, the candidate car selection unit 112 may add, for example, one or both of the following conditions (D) and (E) to the selection conditions for a candidate car to which a priority call is allocated.

[0029] (D) The number of passengers who will board the elevator within the priority call registration section is less than or equal to a predetermined standard number of passengers. (E) The number of call registrations to which the elevator is assigned is less than or equal to a predetermined standard assignment number.

[0030] The candidate car selection unit 112 may select multiple priority call allocation candidate cars. Also, for example, in relation to condition (C), cars may be selected as priority call allocation candidate cars in order of the amount of reduction in the waiting time of priority calls by canceling the allocation of the car to the call registration compared to the case where the cancellation is not performed. As another example, in relation to condition (D), cars may be selected as priority call allocation candidate cars in order of the number of passengers who will board the car in the call registration section of the priority call in order of the number of passengers who will board the car in order of the number of call registrations to which the car is assigned in order of the number of call registrations to which the car is assigned. As yet another example, in relation to condition (E), cars may be selected as priority call allocation candidate cars in order of the number of call registrations to which the car is assigned in order of the number of call registrations to which the car is assigned.

[0031] The passenger agreement confirmation unit 113 confirms with a user who has made a call registration to which a priority call allocation candidate car is assigned whether or not he or she agrees to the cancellation of the allocation and the reallocation of the car. The passenger agreement confirmation unit 113 first refers to the information stored in the car allocation memory unit 122 and identifies the call registration to which a priority call allocation candidate car is assigned. Next, the passenger agreement confirmation unit 113 refers to the information stored in the passenger allocation memory unit 121 and identifies a user who has made a call registration to which a priority call allocation candidate car is assigned. The passenger agreement confirmation unit 113 then notifies the identified user to confirm whether or not he or she agrees to the cancellation of the allocation and the reallocation of the car.

[0032] As described above, each user individually possesses a terminal 10 and performs call registration using the terminal 10 possessed by the user. In other words, identifying the user who performed the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car is assigned is the same as identifying the terminal 10 that transmitted the call registration request signal that was the source of the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned. Therefore, the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 transmits a notification to the terminal 10 possessed by the identified user via the terminal communication unit 20, to confirm whether or not the user agrees to the cancellation of the assignment and the reallocation of the car.

[0033] The terminal 10 that received the notification displays, for example, a message requesting consent to the cancellation of allocation and reassignment of the car, and buttons such as "Yes" and "No" for selecting whether or not to consent. The user who sees the message and buttons on the terminal 10 that he owns operates the button by selecting "Yes" if he consents to the reassignment, or "No" if he does not consent. The terminal 10 transmits an operation signal corresponding to the operated button to the elevator control panel 100 via the terminal communication unit 20. The passenger consent confirmation unit 113 judges whether or not the user (terminal 10) who performed the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned, has consented to the reassignment of the car, in accordance with the operation signal received by the elevator control panel 100. In this way, the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 confirms whether or not the terminal 10 that transmitted the call registration request signal that was the basis of the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned, agrees to the reassignment.

[0034] The timer unit 130 starts timing from the point when the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 sends a notification requesting consent to reallocation to the user (terminal 10) who has registered the call and is assigned the priority call allocation candidate car. Then, when the time elapsed from the point when the notification requesting consent to reallocation was sent, as timed by the timer unit 130, reaches a reference time, if the elevator control panel 100 does not receive a response from the user (terminal 10) as to whether or not he or she agrees, i.e., an operation signal, the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 determines that consent has not been obtained from the user (terminal 10).

[0035] The reference time in this case may be a fixed time set in advance, or may be determined, for example, in relation to the above-mentioned condition (C), according to the reduction in the waiting time of the priority call by canceling the allocation of the candidate car for the priority call allocation to the call registration, compared to the case where the cancellation is not made. In other words, when time has passed and the waiting time of the priority call cannot be reduced even if consent to reallocation is obtained and the allocation is cancelled at that point, the wait for the consent response may be terminated.

[0036] When the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 confirms that the user (terminal 10) who made the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned agrees to the reallocation, the car allocation unit 111 assigns the priority call allocation candidate car to the priority call. Then, the car allocation unit 111 again determines the car to be assigned to the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned.

[0037] On the other hand, if the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 cannot confirm that the users (terminals 10) who have made call registrations to which priority call allocation candidate cars are assigned agree to the reallocation, the car allocation unit 111 assigns to the priority call, for example, the car that can respond to the priority call most quickly after completing the response to the currently registered call registration, including those that are currently responding and those that are scheduled to respond in the future. Note that if consent cannot be obtained from all users (terminals 10) who have made call registrations to which priority call allocation candidate cars are assigned, but consent is obtained from only a portion of them, it is possible to cancel the allocation to only the call registrations of users who have given consent and perform reallocation if the waiting time for the priority call can be shortened.

[0038] Also, when multiple priority call allocation candidate cars are agreed upon at the same time, for example, the priority call allocation candidate car that will have the shortest waiting time for the priority call may be allocated to the priority call. As another example, when multiple priority call allocation candidate cars are agreed upon at the same time, the priority call allocation candidate car with the fewest users (terminals 10) who have registered calls to which the priority call allocation candidate car is allocated may be allocated to the priority call.

[0039] According to the elevator control panel 100 and elevator system configured as above, when a priority call is registered by a user who should be given priority, even if there is no vacant car in the boarding section of the priority call and a car cannot be assigned to the priority call immediately, other users who have already registered a call are asked for their consent to reallocating a car to the call, and if consent is obtained, the allocation of the car to the call is canceled once, and a car can be assigned preferentially to the priority call. This makes it possible to shorten the waiting time of users who have registered a priority call. In this case, by setting the above-mentioned condition (A), it is possible to prevent passengers who are already in the car from having to get off. In addition, by setting the condition (B), it is possible to secure time for confirming consent from users and canceling the allocation, and to minimize the number of passengers affected.

[0040] In addition, the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 may explain the reason, for example, "we want to give priority to wheelchair users" in the message requesting consent to reallocation. Furthermore, points may be awarded to users who consent to reallocation. Users may be able to make priority calls by spending a certain number of points. In this way, consent to reallocation can be easily obtained.

[0041] Next, a modified example of the elevator control panel 100 and elevator system according to this embodiment will be described. In this modified example, the car allocation unit 111 determines in advance the car to be allocated to the priority call when the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 is confirming whether or not the passenger consents to the re-allocation and is unable to confirm that the passenger consents to the re-allocation. For example, the car allocation unit 111 determines the car that can respond to the priority call earliest after the passenger has completed responding to the currently registered call registrations, including those currently responding and those scheduled to respond, as the car to be allocated to the priority call when the passenger cannot confirm that the passenger consents to the re-allocation.

[0042] In this modified example, the aforementioned reference time, i.e., the time during which the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 waits for a response as to whether or not to agree to the reallocation, may be set according to a predetermined allocation of a car to a priority call in the case where consent to the reallocation cannot be confirmed. In this case, for example, the aforementioned reference time is set according to the difference between the waiting time of the priority call due to the allocation of a car to a priority call in the case where consent to the reallocation cannot be confirmed in advance and the waiting time of the priority call in the case where consent to the reallocation is confirmed and the call registration of the priority call allocation candidate car is canceled and the priority call allocation candidate car is assigned to the priority call.

[0043] Next, an example of the operation flow of an elevator system including the elevator control panel 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. First, in step S001, the car allocation unit 111 determines whether or not there is a new priority call registered by the priority call registration unit 142. Then, if there is a new priority call registration, the elevator control panel 100 next performs the process of step S002.

[0044] In step S002, the car allocation unit 111 determines whether or not there is a car that can be immediately allocated to the new priority call registration. If there is a car that can be immediately allocated to the new priority call registration, the process of step S003 is performed, that is, the car allocation unit 111 allocates the car to the new priority call registration. On the other hand, if there is no car that can be immediately allocated to the new priority call registration in step S002, the elevator control panel 100 next performs the process of step S004.

[0045] In step S004, the candidate car selection unit 112 selects a candidate car for priority call allocation. In the following step S005, the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 displays a notification requesting consent to reallocation on the terminal 10 of the user who has registered the call to which the candidate car for priority call allocation selected in step S004 has been allocated. The elevator control panel 100 then performs the process of step S006.

[0046] In step S006, the timer unit 130 starts counting the time that has elapsed since the notification in step S005 was made. In the following step S007, the car allocation unit 111 determines in advance which car to allocate to the priority call when it is not possible to confirm that the car agrees to the reallocation. The elevator control panel 100 then performs the process of step S008.

[0047] In step S008, the car allocation unit 111 judges whether there is a candidate car for priority call allocation for which the consent to reallocation has been confirmed by the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 for all users (terminals 10) who have registered the call to which the car has been allocated. If there is no candidate car for priority call allocation for which consent has been obtained from all users, the elevator control panel 100 next performs the process of step S009.

[0048] In step S009, the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 judges whether or not the elapsed time counted by the timer unit 130 has reached the aforementioned reference time. If the elapsed time has not reached the aforementioned reference time, the elevator control panel 100 returns to the process of step S008 and continues the operation. On the other hand, if the elapsed time has reached the aforementioned reference time, the elevator control panel 100 performs the process of step S003, and the car allocation unit 111 allocates the car previously determined in step S007 to the priority call.

[0049] On the other hand, if there is a candidate car for priority call allocation for which unanimous consent has been obtained in step S008, the elevator control panel 100 then performs the process of step S010. In step S010, the car allocation unit 111 cancels the candidate car for priority call allocation for which unanimous consent has been obtained in step S008, to the normal call to which that candidate car has been assigned. In the following step S011, the car allocation unit 111 assigns the candidate car for priority call allocation for which unanimous consent has been obtained in step S008 to the priority call. Then, in step S012, the car allocation unit 111 again determines a car to be assigned to the call registration to which that candidate car for priority call allocation was assigned.

[0050] Next, a specific example of the operation of an elevator system equipped with the elevator control panel 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 5. In this example, the elevator is equipped with four cars, from A to D. The black circles (●) shown in FIG. 3 are the current positions of the cars of each car. The white circles (○) shown in FIG. 3 are the floors at which the cars of each car are scheduled to stop. FIG. 4 shows the floors at which calls assigned to the cars of each car are scheduled to stop. In this example, the car of A is currently on the first floor, and runs while stopping at the fourth, sixth, and eighth floors in this order. The car of B is currently on the fourth floor, and runs while stopping at the fifth and second floors in this order. The car of C is currently on the eighth floor, and runs while stopping at the seventh, fourth, and second floors in this order. The car of D is currently on the fifth floor, and runs while stopping at the ninth, sixth, third, and first floors in this order.

[0051] Figure 5 shows the contents of the calls registered by each user. User a is currently riding in the car of vehicle A and has registered a call to get off on the 4th floor. User b is currently riding in the car of vehicle A and has registered a call to get off on the 6th floor. User c is currently riding in the car of vehicle A and has registered a call to get off on the 8th floor. User d has registered a call to board the car of vehicle B at the 5th floor and get off on the 2nd floor. User e is currently riding in the car of vehicle C and has registered a call to get off on the 7th floor. User f has registered a call to board the car of vehicle C at the 4th floor and get off on the 2nd floor. User g is currently riding in the car of vehicle D and has registered a call to get off on the 9th floor. User h has registered a call to board the car of vehicle D at the 9th floor and get off on the 6th floor. User i has registered a call to board the car of vehicle D on the 6th floor and disembark on the 3rd floor. User j has registered a call to board the car of vehicle D on the 3rd floor and disembark on the 1st floor.

[0052] In this situation, assume that a new priority call is registered by new priority call registrant X with the boarding floor being floor 1 and the destination floor (disembarking floor) being floor 3. In this example, the maximum number of candidate cars for priority call allocation selected by the candidate car selection unit 112 is two. In this case, at the time the priority call is newly registered, all cars from car A to car D have already been assigned to calls, and there is no car that can be immediately assigned to the priority call. For this reason, the candidate car selection unit 112 selects a candidate car for priority call allocation.

[0053] Here, the conditions for selecting a candidate car for priority call allocation are based on the above-mentioned conditions (A) to (C). The car of car A already has a passenger riding in the priority call section between the first and third floors. For this reason, the car of car A cannot satisfy condition (A) and is not a candidate for selection as a candidate car for priority call allocation. The car of car B takes less time to travel from the current fourth floor to the fifth floor where user d boards, and cannot satisfy condition (B). Therefore, the car of car B cannot satisfy condition (B) and is not a candidate for selection as a candidate car for priority call allocation. Therefore, the candidate car selection unit 112 selects two cars, car C and car D, as candidate cars for priority call allocation.

[0054] Then, the passenger consent confirmation unit 113 transmits a notification requesting consent to the re-allocation to the terminals 10 of users f, h, i, and j who have been assigned the cars of cars C and D and are waiting at the platform 1 and not boarding the cars. Here, it is assumed that user f consents to the re-allocation before users h, i, and j. In this case, the car allocation unit 111 cancels the allocation of car C to the call from the 4th floor to the 2nd floor registered by user f. The car allocation unit 111 allocates the car of car C, for which consent has been obtained from all users, to the priority call. Then, the car allocation unit 111 re-determines the car to be allocated to the call from the 4th floor to the 2nd floor registered by user f. In this way, the car of car C is preferentially allocated to the priority call, and the waiting time of priority call registrant X can be shortened.

[0055] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing the functions of the elevator control panel 100 in this embodiment. The functions of the elevator control panel 100 are realized, for example, by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may include a processor 101 and a memory 102. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware 103. A part of the processing circuit may be formed as the dedicated hardware 103, and the processing circuit may further include the processor 101 and the memory 102. In the example shown in the figure, a part of the processing circuit is formed as the dedicated hardware 103. Also, in the example shown in the figure, the processing circuit further includes the processor 101 and the memory 102.

[0056] The processing circuitry, part of which is at least one dedicated hardware 103, may be, for example, a single circuit, a multiple circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof. If the processing circuitry comprises at least one processor 101 and at least one memory 102, the functionality of the elevator control panel 100 is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.

[0057] The software and firmware are written as programs and stored in memory 102. Processor 101 realizes the functions of each unit by reading and executing the programs stored in memory 102. Processor 101 is also called a CPU (Central Processing Unit), central processing unit, processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP. Memory 102 corresponds to, for example, non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM, and EEPROM, or a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, and a DVD.

[0058] In this way, the processing circuit of the elevator control panel 100 can realize each function of the elevator control panel 100 by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of these. When the processing circuit of the elevator control panel 100 includes at least the processor 101 and the memory 102, the processor 101 executes a program stored in the memory 102 in the elevator control panel 100, and the hardware and software of the elevator control panel 100 work together to realize the functions of each unit included in the elevator control panel 100.

[0059] In addition, in the present disclosure, the respective embodiments may be arbitrarily combined without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Examples of various aspects of the present disclosure are summarized below as appendices. (Appendix 1) A control device for an elevator having a plurality of elevator cars, a call registration unit that registers a call in response to a call registration request signal transmitted from a terminal carried by a user; a car allocation unit that determines the car to be allocated to the registered call from among the plurality of cars; The call registration unit registers a priority call in response to a priority call registration request signal, a candidate car selection unit that selects a candidate car for priority call allocation from among a plurality of cars when there is no car that can be allocated to the priority call when the priority call is registered; and a consent confirmation unit for confirming whether or not the terminal that transmitted the call registration request signal from which the priority call allocation candidate car was allocated agrees to the re-allocation, The car allocation unit is an elevator control device that, if it is confirmed that the re-allocation is agreed to, assigns the priority call allocation candidate car to the priority call and re-determines the elevator car to be assigned to the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned. (Appendix 2) An elevator control device as described in Appendix 1, wherein the candidate car selection unit selects, among the multiple elevator cars, the elevator car having a smaller number of assigned call registrations as the priority call allocation candidate car. (Appendix 3) An elevator control device as described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the car allocation unit determines the car to be assigned to the priority call when the consent confirmation unit is confirming whether or not to agree to the re-allocation and is unable to confirm that the re-allocation is agreed to. (Appendix 4) An elevator control device according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 3; The terminal. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1 Platform 10 Terminal 20 Terminal communication unit 100 Elevator control panel 101 Processor 102 Memory 103 Dedicated Hardware 111 Cage Allocation Department 112 Candidate cage selection section 113 Passenger Consent Verification Department 120 Storage section 121 Passenger allocation memory unit 122 Cage allocation memory unit 130 Timer section 140 Call Registration Unit 141 Normal call registration unit 142 Priority Call Registration Unit

Claims

1. A control device for an elevator having a plurality of elevator cars, a call registration unit that registers a call in response to a call registration request signal transmitted from a terminal carried by a user; a car allocation unit that determines the car to be allocated to the registered call from among the plurality of cars; The call registration unit registers a priority call in response to a priority call registration request signal, a candidate car selection unit that selects a candidate car for priority call allocation from among a plurality of cars when there is no car that can be allocated to the priority call when the priority call is registered; and a consent confirmation unit for confirming whether or not the terminal that transmitted the call registration request signal from which the priority call allocation candidate car was allocated agrees to the re-allocation, The car allocation unit is an elevator control device that, if it is confirmed that the re-allocation is agreed to, assigns the priority call allocation candidate car to the priority call and re-determines the elevator car to be assigned to the call registration to which the priority call allocation candidate car was assigned.

2. The elevator control device according to claim 1, wherein the candidate car selection unit selects, among the plurality of cars, a car having a smaller number of assigned call registrations as the priority call allocation candidate car.

3. An elevator control device as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the car allocation unit determines the car to be assigned to the priority call when the consent confirmation unit is unable to confirm that the re-allocation is agreed to while confirming whether or not to agree to the re-allocation.

4. The elevator control device according to claim 1 or 2; The terminal.

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