Elevator system

Abstract

To provide an elevator system capable of preventing a service robot from being confined inside an elevator car during earthquake control operation.SOLUTION: An elevator system according to an embodiment is a system in which a mobile object moving in a building in which an elevator is installed is communicably connected to an elevator control device that controls an operation of the elevator. The elevator control device includes: a getting-on / getting-off determination unit that determines whether or not the mobile object is in the elevator based on a getting-on signal indicating that the mobile object has gotten on the elevator and a get-off signal indicating that the mobile object has gotten off the elevator, which are signals transmitted by the mobile object; and a control unit that transmits, to the mobile object, a change command for changing a destination floor of the mobile object to the nearest floor when an earthquake is detected and the getting-on / getting-off determination unit determines that the mobile object is in the elevator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an elevator system.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, it has been considered to provide various services such as a service of carrying (transporting) luggage in a building and a service of guarding the building by moving (traveling) a moving body such as an autonomous mobile robot (hereinafter referred to as a service robot) inside the building.

[0003] When the building in which the service robot moves is, for example, a multi-story building, the service robot can move between a plurality of floors in the building by using an elevator provided in the building.

[0004] By the way, an elevator is equipped with an earthquake control operation function (earthquake control operation mode) that stops at the nearest floor when an earthquake occurs and allows users to get off at the nearest floor. According to this function, when an earthquake occurs, the risk that users are trapped in the elevator car can be reduced.

[0005] However, in the case of a service robot, even if the elevator arrives at the nearest floor due to the earthquake control operation function, it cannot be recognized as the floor to get off at the nearest floor unless the nearest floor is the destination floor of the service robot. For this reason, there is a possibility that the service robot may be trapped in the elevator car.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an elevator system capable of preventing a service robot from being trapped in an elevator car during earthquake control operation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] An elevator system according to an embodiment is a system in which a moving body that moves within a building where an elevator is installed and an elevator control device that controls the operation of the elevator are communicably connected. The elevator control device includes an earthquake detection unit that detects the occurrence of an earthquake, a boarding signal that is a signal transmitted by the moving body and indicates that the moving body has boarded the elevator, a disembarkation signal that indicates that the moving body has disembarked from the elevator, a boarding / alighting determination unit that determines whether the moving body is inside the elevator based on these signals, a control unit that, when the earthquake detection unit detects the occurrence of an earthquake, switches from normal operation to earthquake control operation in which the elevator is moved to the nearest floor and the elevator door is controlled to open, and further, when the boarding / alighting determination unit determines that the moving body is inside the elevator, transmits a change command to the moving body to change the destination floor of the moving body to the nearest floor.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the disclosure is merely an example, and the invention is not limited by the content described in the following embodiments. Modifications that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art are naturally included in the scope of the disclosure. For the sake of clarity in the description, in the drawings, the sizes, shapes, etc. of each part may be changed with respect to the actual embodiment and represented schematically. In a plurality of drawings, the same reference numerals may be assigned to corresponding elements, and detailed descriptions may be omitted.

[0011] In the embodiment, it is assumed that a moving body moves inside a building in order to provide various services. This moving body includes, for example, an autonomous mobile robot (hereinafter referred to as a service robot) that provides services such as carrying (transporting) luggage inside a building and guarding the inside of the building.

[0012] Here, when the building in which the service robot moves is a building or the like having a plurality of floors, the service robot can move between a plurality of floors, for example, by using an elevator installed in the building.

[0013] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1, the outline of an elevator system according to an embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator system includes a car 10 (elevator), a seismic sensor 20, an elevator control device 30, and a service robot 40. Note that FIG. 1 shows a state in which the service robot 40 is riding in the car 10 (a state in which the service robot 40 is inside the car 10).

[0014] The earthquake sensor 20 includes a P-wave sensor (a sensor that senses initial tremors) and an S-wave sensor (a sensor that senses the main earthquake), and is installed in a machine room located at the upper part of the building where the car 10 is installed, a pit in an elevator shaft, or the like. When the earthquake sensor 20 senses initial tremors, it transmits a sensing signal indicating that the initial tremors have been sensed to the elevator control device 30.

[0015] The elevator control device 30 is communicably connected to the service robot 40 via a network (public line network) such as the Internet. The elevator control device 30 controls a hoisting machine (not shown) for moving the car 10 up and down, controls the opening and closing of the door, controls various devices (for example, lighting, etc.) in the car 10, and controls operations in cooperation with the service robot 40.

[0016] As one of the operations in cooperation with the service robot 40, the elevator control device 30 receives a movement request transmitted by the service robot 40 and performs control to make the car 10 respond to the movement request. The movement request is a request for the service robot 40 to move from the floor corresponding to the departure floor to the floor corresponding to the destination floor (the floor to which it wants to go), and includes information indicating the departure floor and the destination floor. The elevator control device 30 performs control to move the car 10 from the departure floor indicated by the received movement request to the destination floor.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator control device 30 includes an earthquake detection unit 31, an elevator control unit 32, a robot boarding / jetting determination unit 33, and a robot linkage unit 34 (communication unit).

[0018] The earthquake detection unit 31 detects the occurrence of an earthquake based on the sensing signal transmitted by the earthquake sensor 20, and outputs an earthquake detection signal indicating that the occurrence of the earthquake has been detected to the elevator control unit 32.

[0019] The elevator control unit 32 controls the operations of the earthquake detection unit 31, the robot boarding / jetting determination unit 33, and the robot linkage unit 34, and controls the operation of the car 10 based on various signals from the earthquake detection unit 31, the robot boarding / jetting determination unit 33, and the robot linkage unit 34.

[0020] The elevator control unit 32 controls the operation of the car 10 based on the earthquake detection signal output by the earthquake detection unit 31. Specifically, the elevator control unit 32 switches the operation mode of the car 10 from the normal operation mode to the earthquake control operation mode, moves the car 10 to the nearest floor, and performs controls such as opening the door and waiting there. According to this, before a large shake (main shock) occurs, the car 10 can be stopped at the nearest floor, and the users riding in the car 10 can be made to get off at the nearest floor, so that risks such as being trapped can be reduced.

[0021] Also, when the service robot 40 is inside the car 10 during the earthquake control operation mode (during earthquake control operation), the elevator control unit 32 transmits a destination floor change command for changing the destination floor of the service robot 40 to the nearest floor to the service robot 40 via the robot linkage unit 34.

[0022] Furthermore, when the car 10 lands on the destination floor of the service robot 40, the elevator control unit 32 transmits a destination floor arrival notification (in other words, a notification prompting getting off the car 10) indicating that the car 10 has arrived at the destination floor to the service robot 40 via the robot linkage unit 34. Although detailed description is omitted in this specification, when the car 10 lands on the departure floor of the service robot 40, the elevator control unit 32 transmits a departure floor arrival notification (that is, a notification prompting boarding the car 10) indicating that the car 10 has arrived at the departure floor to the service robot 40 via the robot linkage unit 34.

[0023] The robot boarding / alighting determination unit 33 detects the boarding and alighting of the service robot 40 in the car 10 and determines whether the service robot 40 is inside the car 10 based on a signal transmitted from the service robot 40, namely, a boarding signal indicating that the service robot 40 has boarded the car 10 and an alighting signal indicating that the service robot 40 has alighted from the car 10.

[0024] For example, when the robot boarding / alighting determination unit 33 receives a boarding signal transmitted by the service robot 40, it detects that the service robot 40 has boarded the car 10. Also, when the robot boarding / alighting determination unit 33 receives an alighting signal transmitted by the service robot 40, it detects that the service robot 40 has alighted from the car 10.

[0025] When the robot boarding / alighting determination unit 33 has received the above-described boarding signal but has not received the above-described alighting signal, it determines that the service robot 40 is inside the car 10 (in other words, it detects that the service robot 40 is inside the car 10). The result of the determination (detection) by the robot boarding / alighting determination unit 33 is sent to the elevator control unit 32.

[0026] The robot interlocking unit 34 is a communication interface for communicating with the service robot 40. The robot interlocking unit 34 receives a boarding signal transmitted by the service robot 40 and outputs the boarding signal to the robot boarding / alighting determination unit 33. Similarly, the robot interlocking unit 34 receives an alighting signal transmitted by the service robot 40 and outputs the alighting signal to the robot boarding / alighting determination unit 33. Furthermore, the robot interlocking unit 34 transmits a destination floor change command output from the elevator control unit 32 to the service robot 40.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, the service robot 40 includes an elevator interlocking unit 41 (communication unit), a destination floor setting unit 42, a robot control unit 43, and a robot boarding / alighting transmitter 44.

[0028] The elevator interlocking unit 41 is a communication interface for communicating with the elevator control device 30. The elevator interlocking unit 41 receives a destination floor change command transmitted by the elevator control device 30 and outputs the destination floor change command to the destination floor setting unit 42. Further, the elevator interlocking unit 41 receives a destination floor arrival notification transmitted by the elevator control device 30 and outputs the destination floor arrival notification to the robot control unit 43. In addition, when the elevator interlocking unit 41 receives the above-described departure floor arrival notification, it similarly outputs the departure floor arrival notification to the robot control unit 43.

[0029] The destination floor setting unit 42 has a function of setting the destination floor of the service robot 40. Based on the destination floor change command output from the elevator interlocking unit 41, the destination floor setting unit 42 changes the destination floor being set for the service robot 40 to the destination floor (in this case, the nearest floor) indicated by the destination floor change command. In other words, the destination floor setting unit 42 changes the destination floor set when the service robot 40 transmits a movement request to the destination floor indicated by the above-described destination floor change command. Information indicating the destination floor set for the service robot 40 is sent to the robot control unit 43.

[0030] The robot control unit 43 controls the operations of the elevator interlocking unit 41, the destination floor setting unit 42, and the robot boarding and alighting transmission unit 44, and controls the operation of the service robot 40 based on various signals from the elevator interlocking unit 41 and the destination floor setting unit 42. The robot control unit 43 transmits the above-described movement request to the elevator control device 30 via the elevator interlocking unit 41. The movement request is generated, for example, when the service robot 40 needs to use the car 10 when providing various services. When the above-described movement request is transmitted to the elevator control device 30, the robot control unit 43 controls the operation of the service robot 40 to move from the departure floor indicated by the movement request to the destination floor.

[0031] Further, based on the destination floor arrival notification output from the elevator interlock unit 41, the robot control unit 43 controls the operation (movement) of the service robot 40 so that the service robot 40 gets off the car 10. Note that the robot control unit 43 also controls the operation (movement) of the service robot 40 so that the service robot 40 gets on the car 10 based on the departure floor arrival notification output from the elevator interlock unit 41.

[0032] Furthermore, the robot control unit 43 outputs a notification indicating that the boarding / alighting of the service robot 40 has been completed to the robot boarding / alighting transmission unit 44.

[0033] Based on the notification indicating that the alighting of the service robot 40 output from the robot control unit 43, the robot boarding / alighting transmission unit 44 transmits an alighting signal indicating that the service robot 40 has alighted from the car 10 to the elevator control device 30 via the elevator interlock unit 41. Also, based on the notification indicating that the boarding of the service robot 40 output from the robot control unit 43, the robot boarding / alighting transmission unit 44 transmits a boarding signal indicating that the service robot 40 has boarded the car 10 to the elevator control device 30 via the elevator interlock unit 41.

[0034] Next, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, an example of the operation of the elevator system according to the present embodiment will be described. Here, the operation when an earthquake occurs while the car 10 is operating in the normal operation mode will be described.

[0035] When the earthquake detection unit 31 included in the elevator control device 30 detects the occurrence of an earthquake (step S1), the elevator control unit 32 switches the operation mode of the car 10 from the normal operation mode to the earthquake control operation mode and controls to move the car 10 to the nearest floor (step S2).

[0036] Subsequently, the robot boarding / j alighting determination unit 33 determines whether the service robot 40 is inside the car 10. Specifically, the robot boarding / j alighting determination unit 33 determines whether the service robot 40 is inside the car 10 based on the boarding signal and the alighting signal transmitted by the service robot 40 (step S3).

[0037] In addition, when the robot boarding / j alighting determination unit 33 has received the above-described boarding signal but has not received the above-described alighting signal, the robot boarding / j alighting determination unit 33 determines that the service robot 40 is inside the car 10. On the other hand, when the robot boarding / j alighting determination unit 33 has received both the above-described boarding signal and the alighting signal (that is, when it has received the boarding signal and the alighting signal corresponding to the boarding signal), or when it has not received the above-described boarding signal at all, the robot boarding / j alighting determination unit 33 determines that the service robot 40 is not inside the car 10.

[0038] In the process of step S3, when it is determined that the service robot 40 is not inside the car 10 (step S3), the series of operations here ends.

[0039] On the other hand, in the process of step S3, when it is determined that the service robot 40 is inside the car 10 (Yes in step S3), the elevator control unit 32 transmits a destination floor change command for changing the destination floor of the service robot 40 to the nearest floor to the service robot 40 via the robot linkage unit 34 (step S4).

[0040] When the elevator linkage unit 41 included in the service robot 40 receives the destination floor change command (step S5), the destination floor setting unit 42 changes the destination floor being set in the service robot 40 to the destination floor indicated by the destination floor change command (that is, the nearest floor) (step S6).

[0041] When the elevator car 10 lands on the nearest floor, the elevator control unit 32 included in the elevator control device 30 performs control to open the door of the elevator car 10 (step S7). After that, the elevator control unit 32 transmits a destination floor arrival notification indicating that the elevator car 10 has arrived at the destination floor of the service robot 40 (in this case, the nearest floor) to the service robot 40 via the robot linkage unit 34 (step S8).

[0042] When the elevator linkage unit 41 included in the service robot 40 receives the destination floor arrival notification (step S9), the robot control unit 43 controls the operation (movement) of the service robot 40 so that the service robot 40 gets off the elevator car 10 (step S10).

[0043] When the getting-off of the service robot 40 is completed by the process of step S10, the robot boarding / alighting transmission unit 44 transmits a getting-off signal indicating that the service robot 40 has gotten off the elevator car 10 to the elevator control device 30 via the elevator linkage unit 41 (step S11). After the process of step S11, the service robot 40 enters a standby state near the landing. Here, the standby state means that various settings related to the movement request generated when boarding the elevator car 10 this time (for example, the previous destination floor) are reset, and it is waiting for a new request related to the provision of a predetermined service (for example, a new request such as wanting to transport something from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor).

[0044] After that, when the elevator control device 30 receives the getting-off signal transmitted by the service robot 40 and confirms that the getting-off of the service robot 40 has been completed successfully (normally) (step S12), it ends the series of operations here.

[0045] Here, assuming a specific situation, the operation of the elevator system according to this embodiment will be described. In the following, as shown in FIG. 3, in an elevator system including one car 10 installed in a three-story building, it is assumed that an earthquake is detected while the service robot 40 is boarding the car 10 and moving from the first floor to the third floor, and while the car 10 is moving between the first floor and the second floor.

[0046] In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the elevator control unit 32 included in the elevator control device 30 switches the operation mode of the car 10 to the earthquake control operation mode and controls the car 10 to move to the nearest floor, which is the second floor. Further, the elevator control unit 32 sends a destination floor change command to the service robot 40 boarding the car 10 to change the currently set destination floor (in this case, the third floor) to the nearest floor, which is the second floor. The destination floor setting unit 42 included in the service robot 40 changes (sets) the destination floor from the third floor to the second floor based on the destination floor change command sent by the elevator control device 30.

[0047] After that, as shown in FIG. 3(b), when the car 10 lands on the nearest floor, which is the second floor, the elevator control unit 32 included in the elevator control device 30 controls the door of the car 10 to open. Further, the elevator control unit 32 sends a destination floor arrival notification indicating that the destination floor has been reached to the service robot 40 boarding the car 10.

[0048] The robot control unit 43 included in the service robot 40 controls the operation (movement) of the service robot 40 to get off the car 10 according to the destination floor arrival notification sent by the elevator control device 30. When the getting-off of the service robot 40 is completed, as shown in FIG. 3(c), the robot boarding / alighting transmission unit 44 sends a getting-off signal indicating that the service robot 40 has got off the car 10 to the elevator control device 30.

[0049] According to this, even when an earthquake is detected while the service robot 40 is moving while riding in the elevator car 10 and the elevator car 10 moves to the nearest floor of a floor different from the original destination floor in the earthquake control operation mode, the service robot 40 can be made to get off at the nearest floor of a floor different from the original destination floor (in the case of FIG. 3, the 2nd floor), so that it is possible to prevent the service robot 40 from being confined inside the elevator car 10.

[0050] In the present embodiment described above, it was assumed that after getting off at the nearest floor, the service robot 40 enters a standby state in which various settings (for example, the destination floor before the change) regarding the movement request generated when getting on the elevator car 10 this time are reset. However, for example, when the service robot 40 gets off at a floor different from the original destination floor (the nearest floor), it may save various settings regarding the movement request generated when getting on the elevator car 10 this time as an error log, and when the operation of the elevator car 10 is restored, it may resend to the elevator control device 30 the movement request for the various settings indicated by the error log (that is, it may register a call to move to the destination floor before the change). According to this, the service robot 40 can automatically resume providing the service that has been interrupted, for example, due to the occurrence of an earthquake, along with the restoration of the elevator.

[0051] Hereinafter, a modified example will be described. (Modified Example) In this modified example, the operation when the elevator control device 30 cannot receive a getting-off signal from the service robot 40 despite sending a destination floor change command and a destination floor arrival notification to the service robot 40 will be described.

[0052] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the elevator control device 30 in the modified example. Note that detailed description of the processes similar to those shown in FIG. 2 will be omitted here.

[0053] First, as in the processes of steps S1 to S4, S7, and S8 shown in FIG. 2, the processes of steps S21 to S26 are executed. According to this, the destination floor change command and the destination floor arrival notification are transmitted from the elevator control device 30 to the service robot 40.

[0054] When a certain period of time has elapsed after the elevator control device 30 opens the door of the car 10, the elevator control device 30 performs control to close the door of the car 10. At this time, the elevator control device 30 checks whether it has received a getting-off signal from the service robot 40 (step S27).

[0055] In the process of step S27, when it is confirmed that a getting-off signal has been received from the service robot 40 (Yes in step S27), the elevator control device 30 assumes that the getting-off of the service robot 40 has been successfully (normally) completed, and ends the series of operations here.

[0056] On the other hand, in the process of step S27, when it is confirmed that a getting-off signal has not been received from the service robot 40 (No in step S27), the elevator control device 30 re-transmits the destination floor change command transmitted in the process of step S24 above to the service robot 40, and after performing control to re-open the door of the car 10 (step S28), the process of step S26 above is executed again.

[0057] By executing the processes of steps S27 and S28 above, the elevator control device 30 re-executes the process of transmitting the destination floor change command to the service robot 40 and the process of transmitting the destination floor arrival notification to the service robot 40, and can get the service robot 40 to get off from the re-opened car 10. According to this, for example, when the communication situation is poor when the process of step S24 is executed and the service robot 40 cannot normally receive the destination floor change command transmitted from the elevator control device 30 and cannot change the destination floor of the service robot 40 to the nearest floor, it is also possible to handle this situation.

[0058] In addition, when reopening the door of the car 10 by the process of step S28 described above, the elevator control device 30 performs control to cause a display device (for example, an indicator that displays the floor level, etc.) installed on the landing side to display a notice indicating that the elevator cannot be used currently due to the occurrence of an earthquake. According to this, it is possible to prevent users from mistakenly boarding the reopened car 10.

[0059] According to the embodiment described above, it is possible to provide an elevator system that can prevent the service robot 40 from being trapped inside the elevator (car 10) during earthquake control operation.

[0060] Note that, in this embodiment, the earthquake control operation when the occurrence of an earthquake is detected is taken as a representative example for explanation, but it is not limited thereto. For example, the elevator system according to this embodiment can be similarly applied during the long object sway control operation or the automatic landing operation during a power outage.

[0061] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and its equivalent scope.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0062] 10…Car, 20…Earthquake sensor, 30…Elevator control device, 31…Earthquake detection unit, 32…Elevator control unit, 33…Robot boarding and alighting determination unit, 34…Robot linkage unit, 40…Service robot, 41…Elevator linkage unit, 42…Destination floor setting unit, 43…Robot control unit, 44…Robot boarding and alighting transmission unit.

Claims

1. An elevator system in which a moving body that moves within a building where an elevator is installed and an elevator control device that controls the operation of the elevator are communicably connected, wherein the elevator control device includes: an earthquake detection unit that detects the occurrence of an earthquake; a boarding / alighting determination unit that determines whether or not the moving body is inside the elevator based on a signal transmitted by the moving body, the boarding signal indicating that the moving body has boarded the elevator, and the alighting signal indicating that the moving body has alighted from the elevator; a control unit that, when the earthquake detection unit detects the occurrence of an earthquake, switches from normal operation to earthquake control operation in which the elevator is moved to the nearest floor and the door of the elevator is controlled to open, and further, when the boarding / alighting determination unit determines that the moving body is inside the elevator, transmits a change command to the moving body to change the destination floor of the moving body to the nearest floor; An elevator system comprising the above.

2. When the control unit cannot receive the alighting signal from the moving body even though the elevator has landed on the nearest floor and the door has been opened and closed, the control unit transmits the change command to the moving body again and re-opens the door. The elevator system according to Claim 1.

3. When re-opening the door, the control unit causes a display device installed on the landing side to display a notification indicating that the elevator cannot be used currently due to the occurrence of an earthquake. The elevator system according to Claim 2.

4. The moving body changes the destination floor to the nearest floor according to the change command, and when alighting at the nearest floor, enters a standby state near the landing. The elevator system according to any one of Claims 1 to 3.

5. When the moving body changes the destination floor to the nearest floor according to the change command, the moving body saves the destination floor before the change as a log, and after the elevator is restored, registers a call to move to the destination floor before the change indicated by the log. The elevator system according to any one of Claims 1 to 3.

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