elevator

Abstract

To provide an elevator capable of adjusting a sound volume when emitting sound via a sound emission unit installed in a car to an appropriate level.SOLUTION: An elevator 10 has a function for adjusting a sound level of an audio guide performed via a speaker (sound emission unit) SP installed in a car of an elevator car 20, and comprises: a call microphone (sound collection unit) 46M of the elevator car 20; and a sound control unit 36 that controls the audio guide performed via the speaker SP. The sound control unit 36 has a sound volume adjustment mode for adjusting a sound level emitted from the speaker SP by using a correction value obtained by removing sudden sound from environmental sound collected via the call microphone 46M.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to elevators, and more particularly to the volume of sound emitted within an elevator car. [Background technology]

[0002] Elevator cars are equipped with speakers to emit various types of audio guidance and other sounds into the car. It is desirable to set the volume of the sounds emitted from such speakers into the car so that passengers can easily hear the audio guidance. However, if the volume emitted from the speaker is too loud, it may impair the comfort inside the car. For this reason, it is necessary to set the volume at an appropriate level so that passengers can easily hear the audio guidance.

[0003] Furthermore, the volume of background noise (environmental noise), which is generated from sources other than the speakers and propagates inside the elevator car, varies greatly depending on the level of congestion in the elevator car and various environmental factors inside and outside the car that could be noise sources. For this reason, the appropriate volume to be generated from the speakers varies individually depending on the elevator's installation environment and usage conditions.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an elevator in which an output signal from a microphone that picks up environmental sounds inside the car is analyzed by an in-car sound analysis means to create a sound component signal 11a, a broadcast signal 7a from an in-car public address system is analyzed by a broadcast signal analysis means to create a sound component signal 9a, sound component signal 9a is subtracted from sound component signal 11a to create a noise signal 13a, and the broadcast volume is controlled based on the magnitude of this noise signal 13a and the relationship between noise signal 13a and broadcast signal 7a. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-297587 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, with the elevator configuration described in Patent Document 1, if a sound generated by a temporary factor, such as an object hitting the wall inside the car or a user's voice, is picked up by the microphone, it is not possible to set the volume appropriately, which can lead to problems such as the volume of the voice guidance being set to an inappropriate level.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide an elevator capable of adjusting the volume of sound emitted through a sound emitting unit installed in the car to an appropriate level. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The elevator of the present invention is an elevator that has the function of adjusting the volume of sound emitted from a sound emission unit installed in the elevator car, and is equipped with a sound collection unit installed in the car and a sound control unit that controls the sound emitted from the sound emission unit, and the sound control unit has a volume adjustment mode that adjusts the volume of sound emitted from the sound emission unit using a correction value that removes abnormal sounds from environmental sounds collected via the sound collection unit.

[0009] In the elevator of the present invention, the elevator car is provided with car doors for passengers to get on and off, and the sound control unit may execute the volume adjustment mode when the car doors are open and when the car doors are closed.

[0010] In the elevator of the present invention, the sound control unit may execute the volume adjustment mode while the elevator is stopped at each landing.

[0011] In the elevator of the present invention, the car includes a load detection unit that detects the load on the car, and the sound control unit may adjust the volume of the sound emitted from the sound emission unit by executing a volume adjustment mode when the load on the car detected by the load detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and when the load on the car detected by the load detection unit is less than the predetermined value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the elevator of the present invention, the volume of the sound emitted from the sound emitting unit can be adjusted using a correction value calculated by removing abnormal sounds from the environmental sound. As a result, the volume of the sound emitted from the sound emitting unit can be accurately adjusted to an appropriate volume depending on the volume of the environmental sound. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Fig. 2(a) is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the internal configuration around the car door of the passenger car, and Fig. 2(b) is a diagram showing the configuration of the car operating panel. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram mainly showing the control device included in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the control process in the volume adjustment mode. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing in the environmental sound acquisition subroutine. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of frequency characteristics of a microphone for communication. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a graph showing a schematic diagram of the change in the square value of the sound pressure over time in the corrected data. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing in the sudden sound region identification subroutine. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] An elevator 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, "X" indicates the horizontal direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the sheave 16A, "Y" indicates the horizontal direction Y perpendicular to the horizontal direction X, and "Z" indicates the vertical direction Z.

[0015] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of an elevator 10. As shown in Fig. 1, the elevator 10 is a traction-type rope elevator, and includes a car 20 suspended via a support frame 14 connected to one end of a main rope 11, a counterweight W suspended from the other end of the main rope 11, and a control device 30 provided in a machine room M provided directly above a hoistway 12. The main rope 11 is stretched across a sheave 16A and a deflector sheave 16B of a hoisting machine 16 installed in the machine room M, and the car 20 and the counterweight W are raised and lowered relative to each other by rotating the sheave 16A forward or backward using an electric motor 16M (see Fig. 3).

[0016] The support frame 14 includes a lower beam 14U that supports the bottom surface of the car 20, and the lower beam 14U is provided with a load detection unit 23 for detecting the load weight of the car 20 (see FIG. 3).

[0017] In addition, landings 24A, 24B, 24C... (hereinafter referred to as "landings 24" unless there is a need to distinguish between them) on each floor are provided with landing doors 26A, 26B, 26C... (hereinafter referred to as "landing doors 26" unless there is a need to distinguish between them).

[0018] Fig. 2(a) is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the internal configuration around the car doors 28A, 28B of the car 20. Fig. 2(b) is a diagram showing the configuration of the car operating panel 40. As shown in Fig. 2(a) and Fig. 2(b), the car interior of the car 20 is provided with car doors 28A, 28B for boarding and disembarking, and the car operating panel 40 is provided on the sleeve wall 21 adjacent to the car doors 28A, 28B.

[0019] A passenger using the elevator 10 determines the destination floor of the car 20 by pressing a destination floor button 42A, 42B, 42C, etc. (hereinafter, referred to as destination floor button "42" unless there is a need to distinguish between them) located in the center of the car operation panel 40. In addition, a display unit 44 is provided on the top of the car operation panel 40 to display the ascending and descending direction of the car 20, the floors the car 20 will pass through, and other information to be notified to passengers.

[0020] An emergency call button 46 is provided between the display unit 44 and the destination floor buttons 42. This emergency call button 46 has a function of enabling communication with a management center (not shown) when pressed, and is an emergency communication means for passengers to report an abnormality to the outside in the event of an abnormality occurring inside the elevator car 20. A call microphone (sound pickup unit) 46M is provided adjacent to the emergency call button 46. The call microphone 46M is, for example, configured as an intercom microphone. Also, a speaker (sound emission unit) SP that outputs sound is built in directly above the emergency call button 46.

[0021] Fig. 3 is a block diagram centered on the control device 30. As shown in Fig. 3, the control device 30 includes a storage device 32 including a ROM, a RAM, an HDD, etc., in which various control programs are stored, and an arithmetic processing unit (not shown) such as a CPU.

[0022] The control device 30 functions as an operation control unit 34 that controls the driving of the hoisting machine 16 by reading the control program from the storage device 32 and performing arithmetic processing, and a sound control unit 36 ​​that controls the generation of sound effects, such as voice guidance and sound for announcing the opening and closing of the car doors 28A, 28B, in the car 20 via the speaker SP. The operation control unit 34 has a function of raising and lowering the car 20 based on a car call operation received via a car operating panel 40 or a hall call operation received via a hall operating panel (not shown).

[0023] The sound control unit 36 ​​has a volume adjustment mode that adjusts the volume of the various voice guidance and other sounds based on the environmental sound (background noise) inside the car. In the volume adjustment mode of this embodiment, the volume is adjusted after removing any sudden (abnormal) sounds that occur temporarily from the environmental sound picked up by the communication microphone 46M. In this embodiment, the environmental sound refers to various sounds heard by passengers inside the car 20, such as noise from nearby construction sites, the sound of cars running, and the sounds of a crowd caused by people walking around the landing area, as well as sounds propagating inside the car from various sound sources such as sounds generated by the hoist 16 and the main rope 11. In this embodiment, the sound control unit 36 ​​executes the volume adjustment mode, for example, immediately before executing the voice guidance. This enables the voice guidance to be provided at a volume appropriate for the situation inside the car 20.

[0024] The volume adjustment mode in this embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing in the volume adjustment mode. As shown in Fig. 4, when the volume adjustment mode is executed (step S1: YES), the sound control unit 36 ​​sets the count N to 1 (step S2) and transitions to the environmental sound acquisition subroutine SB1.

[0025] 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing in the environmental sound acquisition subroutine SB1. As shown in FIG. 5, the sound control unit 36 ​​collects environmental sounds in the car 20 via the call microphone 46M (see FIG. 2(b)) at a predetermined sampling frequency (for example, 12.8 kHz) for a preset time (for example, 2 seconds) (step S21), and performs microphone correction processing on the collected sound data SD1 to obtain frequency characteristic correction data SD2 (step S22). This microphone correction processing is a correction processing that applies a microphone correction filter to the sound data SD1 collected via the call microphone 46M. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the collection of environmental sounds by the sound control unit 36 ​​in step S21 is configured to be performed when sounds such as voice guidance and sound effects are not being generated via the speaker SP.

[0026] FIG. 6 shows the frequency characteristics of the call microphone 46M as a solid line and a schematic diagram of the change in the frequency characteristics after applying the microphone correction filter as a dashed line. As shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, the frequency characteristics of the call microphone 46M have low sensitivity to sounds in the low-frequency range. Therefore, sounds in the low-frequency range are picked up as lower sounds (sound pressure) than they actually are. On the other hand, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 6, the microphone correction filter is a filter that corrects the sound pressure of the picked-up sound data SD1 so that the frequency characteristics in the low-frequency range of the call microphone 46M (see FIG. 2(b)) become closer to flat. This makes it possible to obtain frequency characteristic correction data SD2 that approximates the sound pressure of actual environmental sounds based on the picked-up sound data SD1 picked up via the call microphone 46M. As a result, it is possible to obtain accurate data on the environmental sounds inside the elevator car 20 without using expensive microphones such as condenser microphones.

[0027] Next, the sound control unit 36 ​​calculates the hearing characteristic correction data SD3 by weighting the frequency characteristic correction data SD2 using an A-weighting filter. This A-weighting filter is a correction filter for performing weighting taking into account human hearing. This allows the collected environmental sound to approximate the noise that a passenger would actually hear inside the elevator car 20.

[0028] Furthermore, the sound control unit 36 ​​calculates the square value of the auditory characteristic correction data SD3 to calculate square value conversion data SD4 (step S24).

[0029] Furthermore, the sound control unit 36 ​​applies a low-pass filter (for example, a filter that passes only frequency components of 10 Hz or less) to the squared value converted data SD4 to obtain averaged processed data SD5. This makes it possible to average out variations in the loudness of the sound over time. Then, the process transitions from the environmental sound acquisition subroutine SB1 to the processing of step S3 (see FIG. 4).

[0030] The sound control unit 36 ​​calculates the maximum value V(m) in each section when the averaged data SD5 is divided into sections each having a predetermined number of samples (step S3). Here, if the number of sections is U, m is an integer that satisfies the relationship 1≦m≦U. Furthermore, the sound control unit 36 ​​calculates the average value α of the averaged data SD5 (step S4).

[0031] 7 is a graph showing a schematic change in the squared value of sound pressure (Pa) over time included in part of the averaging process data SD5, and also shows a partially enlarged view of the regions of the end time TE(i-1) and the start time TS(i), which will be described in detail later. In FIG. 7, the boundary line BL shown by the dashed-dotted line indicates a reference value four times the average value α. As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the region in the averaging process data SD5 that is four times or more the average value α is set as the sudden sound occurrence section. If the variable i is a number indicating the chronological order of the sudden sound occurrence sections (i=1, 2, 3, . . .), the start time TS(i) indicates the occurrence start time of the i-th sudden sound occurrence section, and the end time TE(i) indicates the occurrence end time of the i-th sudden sound occurrence section.

[0032] The sound control unit 36 ​​sets the initial values ​​of the variables i and m to 1, and sets the initial value of the end time TE(0) to 0 (step S5), and then transitions to the sudden sound region identification subroutine SB2.

[0033] Here, Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of control processing in the sudden sound region identification subroutine SB2. As shown in Fig. 8, if the maximum value V(m) in each section of the averaging process data SD5 is four times or more the average value α (step S31: YES), the sound control unit 36 ​​assigns the time corresponding to the maximum value V(m), i.e., the occurrence time of the maximum value V(m), to the start time TS(i) (step S32). Then, the sound control unit 36 ​​determines whether the relationship of the following (Equation 1) is satisfied (step S33).

[0034]

number

[0035] In this embodiment, the above-mentioned predetermined front-rear region CL is set to the region of time t shown in the following (Equation 2) (see FIG. 7).

[0036]

number

[0037] On the other hand, in the processing of step S33, if the elapsed time from the end time TE(i-1) of the (i-1)th, i.e., the previous, sudden sound occurrence section to the start time TS(i) of the i-th sudden sound occurrence section is less than 0.3 seconds, the sound control unit 36 ​​regards this as a region where sudden sounds are continuously occurring, does not use this region as a calculation target region for the calculations required for volume adjustment described later, and terminates the series of processes (step S33: NO).

[0038] Furthermore, when the maximum value V(m) in each section of the averaging processing data SD5 is less than four times the average value α (step S31: NO), the sound control unit 36 ​​assigns the occurrence time of the maximum value V(m) to the end time TE(i) (step S36) on the condition that a value has been assigned to the start time TS(i), in other words, that the start time of the i-th sudden sound occurrence section has already been input (step S35: YES).

[0039] Then, the sound control unit 36 ​​adds 1 to the variable i and proceeds to the processing of step S6 (step S37). If a value has not been assigned to the start time TS(i), that is, if the start time of the i-th sudden sound occurrence section has not yet been input, the sound control unit 36 ​​proceeds to the processing of step S6 (see FIG. 4) without going through steps S36 and S37 (step S35: NO).

[0040] Next, as shown in FIG. 4, if the variable m has not reached the maximum value, that is, if the variable m is a number less than U indicating the final section divided in step S3 described above (step S6: NO), the sound control unit 36 ​​adds 1 to the variable m and transitions again to the sudden sound area identification subroutine SB2 (step S9).

[0041] On the other hand, if the variable m has reached its maximum value (step S6: YES), the sound control unit 36 ​​creates volume adjustment data SD6 by removing data from sections other than the region selected as the calculation target in step S34 described above (step S7). Furthermore, if the count N is 1 (step S8: NO), the sound control unit 36 ​​adds 1 to the count N (step S10) and returns to the processing of step S3. By repeating the processing of removing the sudden sound generation region twice in this manner, sudden sounds can be removed with high precision. Note that in this embodiment, the series of processes for removing the sudden sound generation region is repeated twice, but it may also be performed once, or three or more times.

[0042] On the other hand, if the count N is 2 (S8: YES), the sound control unit 36 ​​calculates an average value β of the volume adjustment data SD6 (step S11). Then, the sound control unit 36 ​​converts the average value β into a sound pressure level (decibel conversion) using the following (Equation 3) to calculate a correction value Q (step S11).

[0043]

number

[0044] The sound control unit 36 ​​uses the correction value Q to adjust the volume of the voice guidance and various sound effects output through the speaker SP (step S12).

[0045] In this embodiment, in step S11, the sound control unit 36 ​​calculates the average value β and then performs decibel conversion to calculate the correction value Q, but the correction value Q may also be obtained by calculating the average value after decibel conversion of the volume adjustment data SD6.

[0046] According to the elevator 10 of this embodiment, the volume of the sound generated from the speaker SP can be adjusted using the correction value Q calculated by removing sudden (abnormal) sounds from the environmental sound. As a result, the volume of the sound generated from the speaker SP can be accurately adjusted to an appropriate volume according to the volume of the environmental sound.

[0047] In the above embodiment, the sound control unit 36 ​​executes the volume adjustment mode immediately before executing the voice guidance, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the volume adjustment mode may be executed in the following cases (A) to (I).

[0048] (A) The sound control unit 36 ​​may be configured to execute the volume adjustment mode at the landing 24 on a specific floor at a predetermined time interval (for example, every hour) or several times a day (for example, once each in the morning, afternoon, and evening).

[0049] (B) The sound control unit 36 ​​may execute the volume adjustment mode at the landing 24 on a specific floor for each time period, such as once every few days or once a week, and store the calculated correction values ​​in the memory device 32. During each time period, the sound control unit 36 ​​may read out the correction values ​​corresponding to each time period stored in the memory device 32 and change the volume of sounds such as voice guidance that are generated through the speaker SP.

[0050] (C) When the elevator car 20 is stopped at the landing 24 on a specific floor, the sound control unit 36 ​​may execute a volume adjustment mode separately for when the elevator car doors 28A, 28B are open (door open state) and when the elevator car doors 28A, 28B are closed (door closed state), and adjust the volume of voice guidance, etc. in the door open state and the door closed state to a level appropriate for each state.

[0051] (D) The sound control unit 36 ​​may be configured to execute a volume adjustment mode at the landing 24 on a specific floor when a maintenance technician performs a specified operation via a terminal such as a computer connected to the car operation panel 40 or the control device 30 during maintenance and inspection.

[0052] (E) The sound control unit 36 ​​may detect the load weight in the car 20 via the load detection unit 23, and may execute the volume adjustment mode when the detected load value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and when it is less than the predetermined value, and store the obtained first and second correction values ​​in the storage device 32. The sound control unit 36 ​​may then set different volumes of the voice guidance and the like provided through the speaker SP using the first correction value when the load value is equal to or greater than the predetermined value and the second correction value when the load value is less than the predetermined value. In this case, the sound control unit 36 ​​may execute the volume adjustment mode when the car 20 is stopped at the hall 24 on a specific floor.

[0053] (F) In the above cases (A) to (E), the sound control unit 36 ​​may execute the volume adjustment mode not only at the landing 24 of a specific floor, but also at each floor landing 24, for example, when the elevator car 20 is stopped, to calculate each correction value and store it in the storage device 32, and read out the corresponding correction value from the storage device 32 and individually set the volume of the voice guidance provided through the speaker SP at each floor landing 24. In this case, for example, the volume of the voice guidance provided at the landing 24 of a floor with noisy surroundings and the volume of the voice guidance provided at the landing 24 of a floor with quiet surroundings can be individually set to volumes appropriate for the respective environments.

[0054] (G) In the case of (F) above, the sound control unit 36 ​​may adjust the volume using the average value γ of the correction values ​​obtained by executing the volume adjustment mode at each floor landing 24, and set the volume to the same level at each floor landing 24. In this case, the volume of the voice guidance and the like at each floor landing 24 is the same, so that the volume variation is suppressed and the volume can be set to be within an appropriate range.

[0055] (H) The sound control unit 36 ​​may be configured to execute the volume adjustment mode every time voice guidance is executed via the speaker SP a predetermined number of times.

[0056] (I) The sound control unit 36 ​​may be configured to execute the volume adjustment mode while the car 20 is moving up and down.

[0057] The present invention can be implemented in various forms, including improvements, modifications, and variations based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the invention can be implemented in a form in which any of the features of the invention are replaced with other technology, as long as the same action or effect is achieved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 10 Elevator 11 Main rope 12 Elevator shaft 14 Support Frame 14U bottom frame 16 Hoisting machine 20 Car 24A, 24B, 24C, 24 Platform 28A, 28B Cage door 30 Control device 34 Operation control unit 36 Sound control section 40 Cage control panel 46 Emergency call button 46M Call microphone (sound pickup section) S1~S37 steps SB1 Environmental sound acquisition subroutine SB2 Sudden sound area identification subroutine SP speaker (sound emitting part) X,Y horizontal direction Z vertical direction

Claims

1. An elevator having a function to adjust the volume of sound emitted from a sound emitting unit installed in the elevator car, A sound collection unit installed in the car; a sound control unit that controls the sound emitted from the sound emitting unit; Equipped with The sound control unit has a volume adjustment mode that adjusts the volume of the sound emitted from the sound emission unit using a correction value calculated by removing abnormal sounds from the environmental sound collected via the sound collection unit. Elevator.

2. The car is provided with a car door for passengers to board and disembark, the sound control unit executes the volume adjustment mode when the car door is open and when the car door is closed, 2. The elevator of claim 1.

3. The sound control unit executes the volume adjustment mode while the vehicle is stopped at each landing.

2. The elevator of claim 1.

4. The car includes a load detection unit that detects a load, the sound control unit executes the volume adjustment mode when the load detected by the load detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and when the load is less than the predetermined value, and adjusts the volume of the sound emitted from the sound emission unit.

2. The elevator of claim 1.

Images