Elevator system and elevator control method

Abstract

To provide an elevator control device capable of quickly rescuing passengers during an abnormality such as the occurrence of confinement inside a car.SOLUTION: An elevator system comprises a car 11 with a control board 101 in which at least a destination floor registration button and an emergency call button are arranged, an elevator control device 21 to control the running of a car 11 and the opening / closing of a car door, and an interphone master machine 23 capable of communicating with people in the car 11 when the emergency call button is operated. The elevator control device 21 controls the door of the car 11 to the open state when the operation of the emergency call button is detected. As a result, not only the communication with the interphone master machine 23 and so on but also the rescue operation of the confined passengers is executed by the elevator control device 21 when the emergency call button is operated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Destination floor registration buttons are placed on the elevator car, and when a user presses the registration button corresponding to the destination floor, the destination floor is registered in the elevator control device. For example, an elevator car in a building with 15 floors will have 15 destination floor registration buttons corresponding to the 15 floors.

[0003] Therefore, in high-rise buildings with many floors, the number of destination floor registration buttons placed inside the elevator car increases, which increases the manufacturing costs of the elevator control panel. Furthermore, when there are many floors, there are problems such as the registration buttons becoming difficult to operate and difficult to see. For this reason, in recent years, elevators have been developed that display destination floor registration buttons and other information on a liquid crystal touch panel instead of physical buttons, and only display the destination floor registration buttons for the required floors on the liquid crystal touch panel.

[0004] Patent Document 1 describes an elevator equipped with a touch panel-type operation panel. In addition to the touch panel-type operation panel, a physical emergency button is also provided in the elevator car described in Patent Document 1. In the elevator described in Patent Document 1, the physical emergency button makes it possible to operate the emergency button to call and communicate with a security office or elevator control center in the building in the event that the touch panel-type operation panel cannot be operated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2001 / 102717 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, in an elevator equipped with a touch panel operation panel as described in Patent Document 1, if the touch panel operation panel breaks down, passengers will be unable to perform operations such as registering destination floors while inside the car. Even if the operation panel is not broken, there are rare cases where the buttons displayed on the touch panel do not respond when a passenger touches them, depending on the operating conditions, such as when wearing gloves.

[0007] If this operation is not possible due to the elevator car doors being closed, passengers will have to press the emergency button to request rescue. Here, as described in Patent Document 1, if the emergency button is a physical button separate from the touch panel, passengers may press the emergency button to request rescue even when there is simply a malfunction in the touch panel.

[0008] Generally, the emergency button in the elevator car is used to communicate with the building's security office, elevator control center, etc. Therefore, when a call is made using the emergency button, an attendant who confirms the rescue request from the passenger in the elevator will respond to the rescue either on-site or remotely. In other words, it may take some time for a passenger trapped in the elevator to press the emergency button before rescue can begin. In particular, in the event of a disaster such as an earthquake, emergency buttons may be pressed simultaneously in many elevators, and in such cases, it may take some time for an attendant to respond.

[0009] In this way, elevators with touch-screen operation panels are advantageous in that they have physical emergency buttons that passengers can press to request rescue even if the touch panel malfunctions. However, as mentioned above, there are problems with using emergency buttons to request rescue, as they may not be able to respond quickly.

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system and an elevator control method that can quickly rescue passengers in the event of an emergency such as when passengers are trapped inside the car. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configurations described in the claims are adopted. The present application includes multiple means for solving the above-mentioned problems, and one example is an elevator system including a car having an operation panel on which at least a destination floor registration button and an emergency call button are arranged, an elevator control device that controls the running of the car and the opening and closing of the car doors, and an intercom master unit that enables communication with the inside of the car when the emergency call button is operated, wherein the elevator control device controls the car doors to be in an open state when it detects operation of the emergency call button. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, when a malfunction occurs in the operation panel such as the destination floor registration button, the operation of the emergency call button for communicating with the intercom master unit is detected and the elevator car door is controlled to be in an open state. Therefore, passengers trapped inside the elevator car can be quickly rescued based on the operation of the emergency call button. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an elevator system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an elevator control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram showing an example of an in-car operating panel of an elevator system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4]3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of control processing of an elevator control device in an elevator system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] An elevator system and an elevator control method according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this embodiment") will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] [Elevator system configuration] FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the elevator system of this example. In the elevator system of this example, a car 11 is arranged so as to be able to travel (move up and down) within a hoistway 10. The car 11 travels under the control of an elevator control device 21 by a traveling mechanism 22 such as a motor. The elevator car 11 is equipped with a car door (not shown), and when the elevator stops at each floor, the car door opens and closes in conjunction with the landing door under the control of the elevator control device 21. In the following description of the operation of the car doors, the operation of the landing doors will be omitted, but the landing doors also open and close in conjunction with the car doors. In addition, in the example of Figure 1, the vehicle is configured to run from the first floor to the sixth floor, but the number of floors is just an example.

[0016] An operation panel 101 that is operated by passengers is installed inside the car 11. Buttons for registering destination floors, buttons for opening and closing doors, etc. are arranged on the operation panel 101, and information on the operation of these buttons is supplied to the elevator control device 21. The elevator control device 21 then executes control corresponding to the operation of the door opening and closing buttons. Although not shown in the figure, hall call buttons, etc. are also arranged at the landings on each floor. In this example, a touch panel type liquid crystal display is arranged as the operation panel 101 inside the car 11, and a destination floor registration button is displayed on this liquid crystal display. When the operation panel 101 detects a touch on a button displayed on the liquid crystal display, it transmits the detection information to the elevator control device 21, and the elevator control device 21 performs the corresponding control.

[0017] The operation panel 101 also has an emergency call button 106, as will be described later in Fig. 3. The emergency call button 106 is not a button displayed on a liquid crystal display, but is a physically located button. If a passenger becomes trapped inside the car 11, the passenger can press and hold the emergency call button 106 to call the intercom master unit 23 or the like and make a call.

[0018] The intercom master unit 23 is installed near the security room or the landing of the building where the elevator is installed. If the intercom master unit 23 in the building does not respond to a call made from the emergency call button 106 for a certain period of time, a staff member at a monitoring center 31 that remotely monitors the elevator is connected so that they can communicate with passengers in the car 11. For this reason, the intercom master unit 23 is connected to the monitoring center 31 via the remote monitoring device 24 and the public line 25. A dedicated line may be used instead of the public line 25.

[0019] The elevator control device 21 is also connected to the monitoring center 31 via the remote monitoring device 24 and the public line 25. Information such as the elevator control status in the elevator control device 21 and the occurrence of malfunctions such as breakdowns is transmitted from the elevator control device 21 to the monitoring center 31.

[0020] Furthermore, the elevator control device 21 of this example detects that an emergency call button 106 arranged on the operation panel 101 has been pressed, and executes elevator control processing. The control processing executed when the emergency call button 106 is pressed is executed in parallel with the call processing, independent of the call between the intercom master unit 23 or the monitoring center 31 and the car 11. The control processing executed when the emergency call button 106 is pressed will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4.

[0021] [Elevator control device hardware configuration] FIG. 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the elevator control device 21. The elevator control device 21 is configured by, for example, a computer which is an information processing device. As shown in Fig. 2, the computer serving as the elevator control device 21 is configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21a, a memory 21b, a storage 21c, an input unit 21d, an output unit 21e, and a communication interface 21f.

[0022] The CPU 21a executes a program stored in the memory 21b or the storage 21c. The memory 21b is configured as, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores computer programs and calculation result data, and also provides the CPU 21a with a work area necessary for each process. In this example, the CPU 21a executes the program, and thereby a processing section for controlling the elevator and a processing section for detecting operation of the emergency call button 106 are configured in a work area in the memory 21b. The storage 21c stores computer programs, as well as data required for calculations and calculation result data.

[0023] The input unit 21d performs input processing necessary for control. For example, operation information of the operation panel 101 is supplied to the input unit 21d. The output unit 21e outputs a travel command to the travel mechanism 22 and a command to open and close the doors of the car 11. The communication interface 21f transmits and receives information to and from the outside via the remote monitoring device 24.

[0024] Note that configuring the elevator control device 21 using a computer with the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is just one example, and for example, part or all of the processing may be configured using hardware such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0025] [Configuration of the control panel inside the car] FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of the operation panel 101 provided in the car 11. The control panel 101 of the elevator car 11 in this example is equipped with a liquid crystal display 102 incorporating a touch panel. The liquid crystal display 102 is vertically long and displays a running status display area 103, a destination floor registration button 104, and a door open / close button 105. Note that instead of the liquid crystal display 102, a display of another display type, such as an organic EL (electro-luminescence) display, may be used.

[0026] The running status display area 103 displays the floor indicating the current position of the elevator car 11 and the running direction. The running status display area 103 shown in Fig. 3 shows an example in which "4" indicating the fourth floor is displayed and an upward arrow indicating running in the upward direction. The destination floor registration button 104 is a button that passengers use to register a destination floor. When the destination floor registration button 104 for any floor is touched and the destination floor is registered, the display state of the button 104 for the corresponding destination floor changes to a lit state under the control of the elevator control device 21.

[0027] In this example, as shown in Figure 1, the elevator can stop on six floors, from the first floor to the sixth floor, so the destination floor registration button 104 has six buttons arranged in two rows, one for each floor, but this display format is just one example. That is, in the case of an elevator in a high-rise building, where a large number of floors can be registered as destination floors, the liquid crystal display 102 may display only destination floor registration buttons for the main floors. Alternatively, the liquid crystal display 102 may be configured as a so-called numeric keypad with ten number buttons, 0, 1, . . . , 9, so that floors of two or more digits can be entered. Furthermore, the destination floor registration button 104 may be configured to change to a different display while the elevator car 11 is in motion.

[0028] The door open / close button 105 displays an open button and a close button. When the open button is touched, the elevator control device 21 performs control to keep the door of the car 11 open. When the close button is touched, the elevator control device 21 performs control to close the door of the car 11. Arranging an open button and a close button as the door opening / closing button 105 is just one example, and for example, an open extension button may be provided in addition to the open button and close button. Alternatively, the close button may be omitted from the door opening / closing button 105. Another example is that the liquid crystal display 102 displays the door open / close button 105, and the open button and close button may be arranged on the operation panel 101 as physical buttons.

[0029] An emergency call button 106 is also arranged on the operation panel 101. The emergency call button 106 is a physical button. In other words, the emergency call button 106 is a button equipped with a mechanism for detecting a passenger's operation when the passenger presses or touches it with a finger or the like, and is different from the display button on the liquid crystal display 102. In other words, the emergency call button 106 is configured as a button that detects a passenger's operation when a contact point inside the button comes into contact with the passenger's finger or the like when the passenger presses it, or as a button that detects a passenger's operation by detecting a change in capacitance or the like when the passenger touches it.

[0030] The emergency call button 106 has a telephone receiver graphic, which indicates that a call can be made, and the word "emergency" written on its surface. The emergency call button 106 may have only the telephone receiver graphic or only the word "emergency" written on it. An intercom handset for communicating with the intercom master unit 23 or the monitoring center 31 is installed in the location where the emergency call button 106 is located, and a speaker and microphone for communication are located adjacent to the emergency call button 106.

[0031] Furthermore, the liquid crystal display 102 of the operation panel 101 may display other information. For example, the liquid crystal display 102 may use a part of its area to display information such as guidance and advertisements for passengers.

[0032] [Control process when emergency call button is operated] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a control process performed by the elevator control device 21 when the emergency call button 106 arranged on the operation panel 101 of the car 11 is operated. As described above, the emergency call button 106 is basically a button that a passenger operates when the passenger is trapped inside the car 11. A passenger trapped inside the car 11 operates the emergency call button 106 to call the intercom master unit 23 or the monitoring center 31 and make a call. The process by which the intercom master unit 23 or the monitoring center 31 communicates with the inside of the car 11 based on the operation of the emergency call button 106 is the same as in the conventional system. However, in the elevator system of this example, what differs from the conventional system is that the elevator control device 21 executes the process shown in the flowchart of Figure 4 in parallel with the process of making the call.

[0033] Explaining the process shown in Fig. 4, first, when there is a hall call at any landing (hall), the elevator control device 21 runs the car 11 to the floor where the hall call was made and opens the car door at the corresponding floor (step S11). When the car door is "open", passengers can board the car 11.

[0034] Thereafter, the elevator control device 21 determines whether or not a touch operation on the liquid crystal display 102 of the operation panel 101 has been detected (step S12). If a touch operation is detected in step S12 (YES in step S12), and the touch operation is on the destination floor registration button, the elevator control device 21 registers the operated destination floor as a destination floor and starts the car 11 traveling to the destination floor (step S13).

[0035] After the car 11 starts traveling, the elevator control device 21 determines whether the emergency call button 106 on the operation panel 101 has been operated (step S14). If the emergency call button 106 has not been operated in step S14 (NO in step S14), the elevator control device 21 determines whether the car 11 has arrived at the destination floor (step S15). If arrival at the destination floor is not detected in step S15 (NO in step S15), the elevator control device 21 returns to the determination in step S14.

[0036] Then, when arrival at the destination floor is detected in step S15 (YES in step S15), the elevator control device 21 opens the door of the car 11, closes the door of the car 11 after a certain time, and then executes standby (step S16). After that, the elevator control device 21 returns to the processing of step S11 and waits until another hall call is received. The processing from step S11 to step S16 corresponds to the processing in the normal operation mode.

[0037] In step S12, when a touch operation of a button displayed on the liquid crystal display 102 is not detected (NO in step S12), the elevator control device 21 determines whether or not the emergency call button 106 on the operation panel 101 has been operated (step S17). If the emergency call button 106 has been operated in step S17 (YES in step S17) and if the emergency call button 106 has been operated in step S14 (YES in step S14), the elevator control device 21 determines whether or not the car 11 is traveling (step S18).

[0038] When the car 11 is traveling in step S18, the elevator control device 21 stops the car 11 at the registered destination floor (target floor) or the nearest floor (step S19). Here, whether the elevator control device 21 performs the process of stopping the car 11 at the destination floor or the nearest floor is assumed to be registered in advance in the elevator control device 21, for example.

[0039] After the car 11 stops in step S19, the elevator control device 21 opens the door of the car 11 and urges passengers to get off by voice guidance inside the car 11 (step S20). The voice guidance may be omitted. Thereafter, the elevator control device 21 determines whether or not the current state exceeds a predetermined abnormality detection threshold (step S21). Examples of the abnormality detection threshold will be described later.

[0040] If the abnormality detection threshold is not exceeded in step S21 (NO in step S21), the elevator control device 21 proceeds to step S16 and returns to normal operation. Also, if the abnormality detection threshold is exceeded in step S21 (YES in step S21), the elevator control device 21 determines that the touch panel type liquid crystal display 102 has failed, and switches the operation control of the elevator to the individual floor operation mode (step S22).

[0041] The individual floor operation mode is a cyclic operation mode in which the elevator car 11 stops at each floor, for example, 1st floor → 2nd floor → 3rd floor →... → 6th floor → 5th floor →... → 2nd floor → 1st floor, and stops at each floor for a certain period of time to open and close the doors. When switching to the individual floor operation mode in step S22, the elevator control device 21 notifies the monitoring center 31 of a malfunction of the liquid crystal display 102.

[0042] Furthermore, if the car 11 is not traveling in step S18 (NO in step S18), the elevator control device 21 determines whether the car 11 is stopped at a position where the door of the car 11 can be opened and closed (step S23). In step S23, if the elevator is stopped at a position where the doors can be opened and closed (YES in step S23), the elevator control device 21 proceeds to processing in step S20, opens the doors of the elevator car 11, and prompts passengers to disembark using audio guidance inside the elevator car 11. Also, in step S23, if the elevator is not stopped at a position where the doors can be opened and closed (NO in step S23), the elevator control device 21 notifies the monitoring center 31 via the remote monitoring device 24 that a passenger is trapped inside (step S24).

[0043] Furthermore, if no operation of the emergency call button is detected in step S17 (NO in step S17), the elevator control device 21 determines whether or not the operation panel 101 has not been operated at all for a certain period of time (for example, several minutes) (step S25). If the certain period of time has not elapsed in step S25 while the operation panel 101 has not been operated (NO in step S25), the elevator control device 21 returns to the determination in step S17.

[0044] Then, in step S25, if there is no operation on the operation panel 101 for a certain period of time (YES in step S25), the elevator control device 21 outputs an announcement in the car 11 urging the user to operate the emergency call button (step S26). After outputting the announcement urging the user to operate the emergency call button in step S26, the elevator control device 21 determines whether or not the announcement urging the user to operate the emergency call button has been output a predetermined number of times (for example, three times) (step S27).

[0045] In step S27, when the number of times that the announcement prompting the operation has been output has not reached the predetermined number of times (NO in step S27), the elevator control device 21 returns to the determination in step S17. Also, in step S27, when the number of times that the announcement voice prompting the operation is output reaches a predetermined number (YES in step S27), the elevator control device 21 proceeds to the processing of step S20, and performs processing to open the door of the car 11 and prompt the passenger to disembark.

[0046] An example of the abnormality detection threshold in step S21 is when no touch operation on the touch panel type liquid crystal display 102 of the operation panel 101 is detected and the emergency call button 106 is operated three or more times. Alternatively, another example of the abnormality detection threshold is when no touch operation on the touch panel type liquid crystal display 102 of the operation panel 101 is detected and an announcement urging the operation of the emergency call button 106 is output three or more times. However, if a touch operation on a valid touch panel type liquid crystal display 102 (operation of the destination floor registration button 104 or the door open / close button 105) is detected, the elevator control device 21 clears the detection count number to 0 and counts the number of button operations or announcements again.

[0047] As described above, according to the elevator system of this example, when passengers become trapped inside the car 11 because the touch panel type liquid crystal display 102 cannot be operated due to a malfunction or the like, the passengers can be quickly rescued. In other words, when the emergency call button 106 is operated, in parallel with calling the intercom master unit 23, the elevator control device 21 executes a process to open the door if the car 11 is stopped, and executes a process to stop the car 11 and then open the door if the car is moving.

[0048] This allows passengers to quickly exit the car 11, completing the rescue of passengers. Conventionally, when the emergency call button 106 is operated, passengers are rescued by an attendant who responds at the intercom master unit 23 or the monitoring center 31, but with this system, trapped passengers can be rescued automatically without waiting for such an operation.

[0049] Furthermore, in the case of the elevator system of this example, when the abnormality detection threshold is exceeded, such as when the emergency call button 106 is repeatedly operated, it is determined that the touch panel type liquid crystal display 102 has failed, so that a failure of the liquid crystal display 102 can be automatically determined. If the LCD display 102 fails, destination floors cannot be registered, but the elevator continues to operate on each floor, allowing it to continue providing passenger transport services. Also, if the abnormality detection threshold is not exceeded, normal operation can be restored, allowing for appropriate handling of temporary abnormalities.

[0050] [Variations] The embodiment examples described so far have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described.

[0051] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the control panel 101 of the car 11 is provided with a touch panel type liquid crystal display 102, and the liquid crystal display 102 displays the destination floor registration button 104. On the other hand, even in an elevator in which the destination floor registration button 104 is arranged as a physical button, when the emergency call button 106 is operated, the same processing as in the flowchart of Fig. 4 may be performed to rescue trapped passengers.

[0052] 4, in step S22, the elevators are set to operate on each floor when there is a malfunction in the control panel 101. However, in a building where multiple elevators are installed, for example, the car 11 of the elevator whose control panel 101 has malfunctioned may be suspended. Furthermore, when changing to a mode that operates on each floor in step S22, the change may be made after confirmation of the elevator status at the monitoring center 31 or confirmation by the security officer of the building in which the elevator is installed. Furthermore, the abnormality detection threshold value used in step S21 of the flowchart in FIG. 4 is also an example, and an abnormality may be determined based on other detection conditions.

[0053] In addition, the configuration diagrams shown in Figures 1 and 2 only show control lines and information lines that are considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily show all control lines and information lines in the product. In reality, it can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected. Furthermore, the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is also an example, and as long as the processing results are the same, the order of some of the processing may be changed or multiple processes may be executed simultaneously.

[0054] Furthermore, the elevator control device 21 performs control in accordance with instructions from a program that executes the processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 4, and in this case, the program is prepared in the memory or storage of the computer shown in Fig. 2. Alternatively, the program executed by the computer that serves as the elevator control device 21 may be stored in an external memory, IC card, SD card, optical disk, or other recording medium and transferred to the elevator control device 21. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 10...hoistway, 11...car, 21...elevator control device, 21a...CPU, 21b...memory, 21c...storage, 21d...input section, 21e...output section, 21f...communication interface, 22...travel mechanism, 23...intercom master unit, 24...remote monitoring device, 25...public line, 31...monitoring center, 101...operation panel, 102...liquid crystal display, 103...travel status display area, 104...destination floor registration button, 105...door open / close button, 106...emergency call button

Claims

1. a car having an operation panel on which at least a destination floor registration button and an emergency call button are arranged; an elevator control device that controls the running of the elevator car and the opening and closing of the car door; an intercom master unit that can communicate with the passenger car when the emergency call button is operated, The elevator control device performs control to open the car door when detecting the operation of the emergency call button. Elevator system.

2. The operation panel has a touch panel display, The destination floor registration button is displayed on the display, The emergency call button is a button located in a location separate from the display.

10. The elevator system of claim 1.

3. When the elevator control device detects the operation of the emergency call button, if the elevator car is traveling, the elevator control device stops the elevator car at a registered destination floor or the nearest floor and controls the elevator car door to be in an open state.

3. The elevator system of claim 2.

4. The elevator control device determines whether a predetermined abnormality detection threshold has been exceeded, and when it determines that the predetermined abnormality detection threshold has been exceeded, switches the running of the elevator car to an operation mode in which the car stops at each floor in turn.

3. The elevator system of claim 2.

5. When the elevator control device determines that the predetermined abnormality detection threshold is not exceeded, the elevator control device sets the running of the elevator car to a normal operation mode.

5. The elevator system of claim 4.

6. An elevator control method for controlling the running of a car having an operation panel on which at least a destination floor registration button and an emergency call button are arranged, When the operation of the emergency call button is detected, a call is made between the inside of the car and the intercom master unit, and the car door is controlled to be in an open state. Elevator control method.

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