Information provision system

Abstract

To provide a user with information concerning an operation status of an elevator unit that is planned to be utilized by the user after registering a destination floor call of the user without directly connecting a terminal device of the user and an elevator control device.SOLUTION: An information provision system (100) for providing operation information concerning an operation status of an elevator (1) unit contains a data transmission system (200) which acquires operation information on an attention-grabbing machine, from an elevator control device (2) which controls operation of the attention-grabbing machine identified by attention-grabbing machine information, as a response to a request from a terminal device that has acquired, from a destination floor registration device, the attention-grabbing machine information for identifying the attention-grabbing machine for which a call is registered on the basis of a call registration request containing information indicating a departure floor and a destination floor transmitted from the terminal device (9) via a destination floor registration device (300), and transmits the acquired operation information to the terminal device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information providing system that provides information to users who use elevators. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, systems that allow destination floor registration using a terminal device such as a smartphone have been known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which an elevator control device and a smartphone are directly connected, destination floor information is transmitted from the smartphone, and assigned elevator number information and car information are transmitted from the elevator control device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-118263 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In conventional systems, the more users there are, the more strain is placed on the elevator control device. Also, it is not desirable to disclose the setting information for connecting to the elevator control device to users.

[0005] One aspect of the present invention aims to register a user's destination floor call without directly connecting the user's terminal device and the elevator control device, and to provide the user with information regarding the operating status of the elevator car that the user plans to use. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, one embodiment of the information providing system of the present invention is an information providing system that provides operation information regarding the operating status of a front sign of an elevator having one or more signs installed in a building with multiple floors, and includes a terminal device of a user of the elevator, which acquires, from the destination floor registration device, sign information identifying a target sign for which a call has been registered based on a call registration request including information indicating the departure floor and destination floor transmitted from the terminal device via the destination floor registration device, in response to a request from the terminal device, the operation information of the target sign identified by the sign information from an elevator control device that controls the operation of the target sign identified by the sign information, and transmits the acquired operation information to the terminal device.

[0007] The information provision system according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the control program of the information provision system that causes the computer to operate as each part (software element) of the information provision system to realize the information provision system on a computer, and the computer-readable recording medium on which it is recorded, also fall within the scope of the present invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, a user's destination floor call can be registered without a direct connection between the user's terminal device and the elevator control device, and information regarding the operating status of the elevator car that the user plans to use can be provided to the user. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 10 is a sequence illustrating an example of a data flow based on the first use of an API. [Figure 3] 10 is a sequence showing an example of the data flow based on the second and subsequent API usages after switching to the transmission mode. [Figure 4] 10 is a sequence illustrating an example of a data flow when an API has not been used for a predetermined period of time. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information providing system according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] [Embodiment 1] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information provision system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The information provision system 100 according to this embodiment is a system that provides operation information relating to the operating status of elevators 1 having multiple elevators installed in a building with multiple floors.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 1, the information provision system 100 includes a data transmission system 200 and a destination floor registration device 300. In the information provision system 100, a call is registered in a terminal device 9 of a user of an elevator 1 based on a call registration request including information indicating a departure floor and a destination floor, which is transmitted from the terminal device 9 via the destination floor registration device 300. Hereinafter, the elevator car 1 in which the user's call has been registered based on the call registration request will be referred to as the "elevator car of interest."

[0012] The data transmission system 200 is a system that, in response to a request from a terminal device 9 that has acquired car number information identifying a car of interest from a destination floor registration device 300, acquires operation information of the car of interest from an elevator control device 2 that controls the operation of the car of interest identified by the car number information, and transmits the acquired operation information to the terminal device 9. Furthermore, the terminal device 9 presents the operation information received from the data transmission system 200 to a user.

[0013] A user can use his / her own terminal device 9 to request call registration from the elevator control device 2 via the destination floor registration device 300. When the user's call is registered, the terminal device 9 acquires car number information from the elevator control device 2 via the destination floor registration device 300. Furthermore, based on the acquired car number information, the terminal device 9 uses the data transmission system 200 to acquire operation information of a target car corresponding to the car number information, and presents this information to the user. As described above, by using the information provision system 100, a user can grasp the operation status of a target car that he / she plans to use.

[0014] Furthermore, in the information provision system 100, the terminal device 9 is not directly connected to the elevator control device 2, but exchanges information via the destination floor registration device 300. This reduces the processing load related to call registration on the elevator control device 2. Furthermore, because the terminal device 9 does not directly communicate with the elevator control device 2, it can request call registration and obtain the operating status of a target elevator without disclosing the setting information for connecting to the elevator control device to the user.

[0015] <Destination floor registration device> The destination floor registration device 300 is a device for registering user calls, and is communicatively connected to the elevator control device 2 and the terminal device 9. The destination floor registration device 300 is, for example, a cloud server communicatively connected to the elevator control device 2 and the terminal device 9, and relays the exchange of information between the elevator control device 2 and the terminal device 9. The information provision system 100 may include elevators 1 provided in each of a plurality of buildings, and elevator control devices 2 that control the elevators. In this case, the destination floor registration device 300 is communicatively connected to each of the plurality of elevator control devices 2.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 1, destination floor registration device 300 includes a control unit 301 and a storage unit 302. Control unit 301 executes various processes performed in destination floor registration device 300. Storage unit 302 stores information used in destination floor registration device 300. As shown in Fig. 1, storage unit 302 stores elevator DB (database) 303. Elevator DB 303 is a database in which building IDs and identification information of elevators 1 installed in buildings identified by the building IDs are associated with each other for each building.

[0017] When a user operates the terminal device 9 to use the elevator 1, the destination floor registration device 300 receives a call registration request transmitted from the terminal device 9 and identification information (building ID) of the building used by the user. The call registration request includes the identification information of the terminal device 9, information indicating the user's departure floor, and information indicating the user's destination floor. The identification information of the terminal device 9 may be, for example, the IP address of the terminal device 9.

[0018] When the destination floor registration device 300 receives the call registration request and the building ID, it refers to the elevator DB 303 and identifies the elevator 1 to be used by the user based on the building ID. If only one elevator 1 is installed in the building corresponding to the building ID, the destination floor registration device 300 identifies that elevator 1 as the elevator 1 to be used by the user. If multiple elevators 1 are installed in the building corresponding to the building ID, the user operates the terminal device 9 to specify the elevator 1 to be used. In this case, the terminal device 9 includes information specifying the elevator 1 to be used by the user in the call registration request and transmits it to the destination floor registration device 300. If the call registration request includes information specifying the elevator 1 to be used by the user, the destination floor registration device 300 identifies the specified elevator 1 as the elevator 1 to be used by the user.

[0019] The destination floor registration device 300 transmits a call registration request to the elevator control device 2 that controls the identified elevator 1. The call registration request includes identification information of the user's terminal device 9 and information indicating the user's departure floor and destination floor. This allows the terminal device 9 to transmit the call registration request to the elevator control device 2 via the destination floor registration device 300.

[0020] After transmitting a call registration request to the elevator control device 2, the destination floor registration device 300 receives result information from the elevator control device 2. The result information includes availability information indicating whether the call can be registered based on the call registration request, and identification information of the terminal device 9. If the availability information indicates that registration is available, i.e., if the user's call has been registered in the elevator control device 2, the result information further includes identification information (elevator number information) of the elevator of interest, which is the elevator number of the elevator 1 in which the user's call has been registered.

[0021] The destination floor registration device 300 transmits the possibility information received from the elevator control device 2 to the terminal device 9 that is the sender of the call registration request, based on the identification information of the terminal device 9 included in the result information. If the possibility information indicates that registration is possible, the destination floor registration device 300 transmits the car number information of the target car to the terminal device 9 in addition to the possibility information.

[0022] <Details of the data transmission system> The data transmission system according to this embodiment will be described in detail below. The data transmission system 200 is a system that can transmit operation information relating to the operation status of the elevator 1 controlled by the elevator control device 2 from the elevator control device 2 to a terminal device 9. The data transmission system 200 transmits the operation information of the elevator 1 to the terminal device 9, so that a user of the terminal device 9 can understand the operation status of the elevator 1.

[0023] The operation information includes, for example, information on the occurrence of an abnormality in the elevator 1 and the operation status of the elevator 1. The information indicating the operation status may include, for example, information on the position of the car, the weight inside the car, and the opening and closing status of the doors. The operation information is associated with the identification information of the elevator 1. In addition to the operation information, the identification information of the elevator 1 may be associated with detailed information on the elevator 1, such as the model name of the elevator 1 and installation information of the elevator 1.

[0024] The operation information may include at least one of information indicating the latest moving direction of the car and information indicating the latest floor on which the car is located. The operation information may further include information indicating the latest congestion status of the car. The congestion status may be determined from the load of the car, an image taken inside the car, etc.

[0025] The elevator 1 from which operation information is to be acquired may be one or more elevators 1. However, it is preferable that the terminal device 9 transmits operation information of the elevator 1 for which the user's call is registered.

[0026] A user of the data transmission system 200 is, for example, a user who gets on or off the elevator 1. A user of the data transmission system 200 may be, for example, a manager of the elevator 1. A user of the data transmission system 200 may also be, for example, a maintenance worker who performs maintenance on the elevator 1. In this case, a monitoring device that monitors the operating status of the elevator 1 may be used as the terminal device 9.

[0027] 1, the data transmission system 200 includes, for example, an elevator 1, an elevator control device 2, a communication device 3, a first server device 4 (server device), a second server device 5, a destination device 6, a storage device 7, a providing device 8, and a terminal device 9. As shown in the figure, the first server device 4, the second server device 5, the storage device 7, and the providing device 8 may be built on, for example, a virtual private cloud (VPC). Furthermore, part or all of the destination device 6 may be built on the virtual private cloud.

[0028] The elevator control device 2 is communicatively connected to the elevator 1, and is a device that controls the operation of the elevator 1 and monitors the operating status of the elevator 1.

[0029] The elevator control device 2 receives a call registration request from the user's terminal device 9 via the destination floor registration device 300. Specifically, when the call registration request and a building ID are transmitted from the terminal device 9 in response to an operation by the user, the destination floor registration device 300, which has received the call registration request and the building ID, transmits call registration information to the elevator control device 2 identified based on the building ID. As a result, the elevator control device 2 receives the call registration request from the destination floor registration device 300.

[0030] Upon receiving the call registration request, the elevator control device 2 determines whether or not the user's call can be registered based on the call registration request. If the call based on the call registration request can be registered, the elevator control device 2 registers the call.

[0031] Furthermore, the elevator control device 2 transmits availability information indicating whether or not the call can be registered based on the call registration request to the terminal device 9 via the destination floor registration device 300. Specifically, the elevator control device 2 transmits result information including availability information indicating whether or not the call can be registered based on the call registration request and identification information of the terminal device 9 that has sent the call registration request to the destination floor registration device 300. As a result, the availability information is transmitted from the destination floor registration device 300 to the terminal device 9.

[0032] In addition, when the possibility information indicates that registration is possible, that is, when the elevator control device 2 registers a call based on a call registration request, the elevator control device 2 transmits the elevator number information of the elevator of interest, which is the elevator number of the elevator 1 in which the call was registered, together with the possibility information to the terminal device 9 via the destination floor registration device 300.

[0033] Furthermore, the elevator control device 2 is communicatively connected to the communication device 3, and transmits operation information of the elevator 1 controlled by the elevator control device 2 to the communication device 3. The elevator control device 2 may transmit detailed information of the elevator 1 to the communication device 3 together with the operation information.

[0034] The elevator control device 2 generates operation information in association with the identification information of the elevator 1 and transmits the operation information to the communication device 3 by method A described below. Furthermore, the elevator control device 2 may be able to transmit the operation information to the communication device 3 by method B described below. Note that method B is a method that has traditionally been adopted in many cases as a communication method between the elevator control device 2 and the communication device 3. Therefore, the data transmission system 200 may be constructed by adding method A to an existing system that adopts method B.

[0035] (Method A: Push type) The elevator control device 2 transmits operation information to the communication device 3 every time a change occurs in the operating status of the elevator 1. In this case, the elevator control device 2 transmits the operation information to the communication device 3 every time it generates the operation information via the first control line 101 connecting the elevator control device 2 and the communication device 3. In method A, the communication device 3 does not request the elevator control device 2 to transmit the operation information.

[0036] (Method B: pull type) When the elevator control device 2 receives a transmission request for operation information from the communication device 3, it transmits the operation information to the communication device 3 as a response to the transmission request. In this case, the elevator control device 2 transmits the operation information to the communication device 3 via the second control line 102 connecting the elevator control device 2 and the communication device 3. A transmission request to the elevator control device 2 by method B will be referred to as a "transmission request each time" below.

[0037] The operating status of the elevator 1 can change from moment to moment. Therefore, the frequency of transmitting operation information by the above method A is higher than the frequency of transmitting operation information by the above method B. Therefore, it is preferable to adopt a communication standard for the first control line 101 that allows more frequent communication than the second control line 102. For example, the first control line 101 may be RS422, and the second control line 102 may be RS232C. However, the second control line 102 may adopt a communication standard equivalent to that of the first control line 101.

[0038] The communication device 3 is communicatively connected to each of the first server device 4 and the second server device 5, and transmits and receives data between the communication device 3 and the first server device 4 and the second server device 5. For example, Soracom (registered trademark) can be used for communication between the communication device 3 and each of the first server device 4 and the second server device 5. Note that the communication network connecting the communication device 3 and the first server device 4 and the communication network connecting the communication device 3 and the second server device 5 may be physically the same or may be physically separate.

[0039] The communication device 3 transmits the operation information received from the elevator control device 2 by the above-described method A to the first server device 4. Specifically, the communication device 3 starts transmitting the operation information received from the elevator control device 2 by the above-described method A to the first server device 4 at a predetermined timing according to a publish / subscribe communication method, and stops transmitting the information to the first server device 4 at a predetermined timing. In other words, the communication device 3 is a device capable of communicating with the first server device 4 according to the publish / subscribe communication method. The publish / subscribe communication method will be referred to as the "first communication method" below. A protocol used in the first communication method is preferably, for example, MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport). By using the MQTT protocol, the operation information can be transmitted from the communication device 3 to the first server device 4 at a high frequency. Therefore, the operation information transmitted at a high frequency from the elevator control device 2 to the communication device 3 according to the above-described method A is subsequently transmitted at a high frequency from the communication device 3 to the first server device 4. That is, in the data transmission system 200, the operation information can be transmitted from the elevator control device 2 to the first server device 4 at high frequency.

[0040] On the other hand, the communication device 3 may transmit the operation information received from the elevator control device 2 by the above-mentioned method B to the second server device 5 according to a second communication method different from the first communication method. The second communication method does not need to be a publish / subscribe type, and may use, for example, a protocol based on TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), or may use an independently defined protocol. Note that the second communication method is a method that is often adopted as a communication method between existing elevator monitoring systems and the communication device 3.

[0041] In the above method B, the operation information to be transmitted by the elevator control device 2 to the communication device 3 in response to the request for transmission on demand may be the latest operation information at the time when the request for transmission on demand is received from the communication device 3, or may be untransmitted operation information accumulated up to the time when the request for transmission on demand is received. In the latter case, the elevator control device 2 may generate operation information every time a change occurs in the operating status of the elevator 1 and store the information in a storage unit (not shown) of the elevator control device 2. In this case, when the communication device 3 receives a request for transmission on demand from the second server device 5, the communication device 3 may transmit the operation information stored in the storage unit (not shown) of the communication device 3 at that time to the second server device 5 in response to the request for transmission on demand.

[0042] The communication device 3 also receives a "transmission start request" for operation information from the second server device 5 according to the second communication method. Triggered by receiving the transmission start request, the communication device 3 transmits the operation information to the first server device 4 according to the first communication method every time it receives operation information from the elevator control device 2. In other words, the transmission start request is a request to start real-time transmission of the operation information to the first server device 4. The communication device 3 also receives a "continue transmission request" for operation information from the first server device 4 according to the first communication method. While the communication device 3 continues to receive the continue transmission request, it continues to transmit the operation information received from the elevator control device 2 to the first server device 4. In other words, the continue transmission request is a request to continue real-time transmission of the operation information to the first server device 4.

[0043] One elevator control device 2 and one communication device 3 are provided for each elevator 1. As described above, the data transmission system 200 may include one elevator 1 or multiple elevators 1. When the data transmission system 200 includes multiple elevators 1, one set of elevator control device 2 and communication device 3 is provided for each elevator 1.

[0044] The first server device 4 is a device that functions as a broker and is capable of communicating with the communication device 3 according to the first communication method. The data transmission system 200 may be a system that includes at least the first server device 4 as a broker and the communication device 3, which are capable of communicating with each other according to the first communication method. While receiving operation information from the communication device 3 according to the first communication method, the first server device 4 transmits the received operation information to the destination device 6 every time it receives operation information.

[0045] The first server device 4 is a device that is communicably connected to the second server device 5 and the providing device 8 according to the first communication method. The first server device 4 transmits a transmission continuation request received from the providing device 8 to the communication device 3 according to the first communication method, while transmitting a transmission start request received from the providing device 8 to the second server device 5 according to the second communication method.

[0046] The first server device 4 functions as a broker. Therefore, the communication device 3 subscribes to the first server device 4 so that the first server device 4 can transmit the transmission continuation request received from the providing device 8 to the communication device 3. This subscription will be described later in connection with the subscribing unit 313 of the communication device 3.

[0047] The second server device 5 transmits the transmission start request for the operation information received from the first server device 4 to the communication device 3 according to the second communication method. Furthermore, when the second server device 5 receives a transmission request for the operation information from the providing device 8, it may transmit the transmission request for the operation information to the communication device 3 according to the second communication method and receive the operation information as a response to the transmission request for the operation information. In this case, the second server device 5 executes a process for storing the received operation information in the storage device 7. In this embodiment, the second server device 5 directly stores the operation information in the storage device 7, but the operation information may also be stored in the storage device 7 via a relay device.

[0048] The destination device 6 is a device that executes a process for storing the received operation information in the storage device 7 every time it receives operation information from the first server device 4. In this embodiment, the destination device 6 directly stores the operation information in the storage device 7, but the destination device 6 may store the operation information in the storage device 7 via a relay device. The destination device 6 may be, for example, a device provided as a web service platform such as AWS IoT Core. The storage device 7 is a device that stores the operation information and includes, for example, a database. The database included in the storage device 7 is preferably a NoSQL database such as a key-value database with excellent scalability in order to store operation information that is transmitted frequently. The database and the mechanism for storing the operation information in the database may be provided as a database cloud service.

[0049] As described above, the first server device 4 functions as a broker. Therefore, the destination device 6 subscribes to a predetermined first topic for the first server device 4 so that the first server device 4 can transmit the operation information received from the communication device 3 to the destination device 6. The first topic is a topic for receiving the operation information, and may be set to any value.

[0050] After receiving the transmission start request, the communication device 3 starts transmitting operation information to the first server device 4. Therefore, the destination device 6 subscribes to a first topic for the first server device 4 before the first server device 4 starts receiving operation information so that the first server device 4 can transmit the operation information to the destination device 6 every time it receives it. In this embodiment, the destination device 6 subscribes to a first topic for the first server device 4 before the terminal device 9 uses (calls) an API (Application Programming Interface) 813.

[0051] The providing device 8 has a function for providing operation information of the elevator 1 in which a user's call is registered, which is available to the terminal device 9. In this embodiment, the providing device 8 is, for example, a web server, and this function is provided by the API 813. The API 813 is a software interface that can be used by a web browser or application software (hereinafter, these will be simply referred to as "terminal-side software") executed on the terminal device 9, and is used to acquire operation information of the elevator 1 stored in the storage device 7 and transmit it to the terminal device 9. While the terminal device 9 is using the API 813, the providing device 8 sequentially acquires operation information of the specified elevator 1 from the storage device 7 and transmits the acquired operation information to the terminal device 9. "The terminal device 9 is using the API 813" refers to a state in which the terminal device 9 is running terminal-side software that can use the API 813 to acquire operation information of the elevator 1 specified based on the elevator number information, i.e., the elevator 1 in which a user's call is registered.

[0052] When the API 813 is used by the terminal device 9 after a predetermined period has elapsed since the API 813 was last used by the terminal device 9, the providing device 8 executes processing for transmitting a transmission start request for operation information to the first server device 4. That is, when the terminal device 9 starts using the API 813, the providing device 8 transmits the transmission start request to the first server device 4. In this embodiment, the providing device 8 transmits the transmission start request directly to the first server device 4, but may transmit the transmission start request to the first server device 4 via a relay device.

[0053] At this time, the providing device 8 also receives designation information (e.g., identification information of the elevator 1) that designates the elevator 1 from which operation information is to be acquired. Therefore, the providing device 8 transmits a transmission start request, including the received designation information, to the first server device 4. Here, the elevator 1 from which operation information is to be acquired and that is designated by the designation information is the elevator 1 number for which the user's call is registered, i.e., the elevator of interest. Furthermore, the designation information is the elevator number information of the elevator of interest. This allows the first server device 4 to transmit the transmission start request to the communication device 3 provided for the designated elevator of interest, and to receive operation information of the elevator of interest from the communication device 3.

[0054] Furthermore, while the terminal device 9 is using the API 813, the providing device 8 transmits a transmission continuation request to the first server device 4. The first server device 4 also transmits the transmission continuation request to the communication device 3 provided for the specified elevator 1, and therefore transmits designation information designating the elevator 1 to the communication device 3 together with the transmission continuation request.

[0055] The first server device 4 transmits and receives data to and from the communication device 3 according to the first communication method. To this end, the providing device 8 creates a second topic based on the identification information of the elevator 1, and publishes a continuation transmission request to the first server device 4 using the created second topic. This allows the first server device 4 to transmit the continuation transmission request to the communication device 3 provided for the specified elevator 1 and subscribed to the second topic.

[0056] The terminal device 9 is a device capable of notifying a user of operation information transmitted by the elevator control device 2. The terminal device 9 may also be a device capable of notifying a user of detailed information transmitted by the elevator control device 2. In this embodiment, the terminal device 9 functions as a display device that displays various information. The terminal device 9 may also function as an input device that can accept input operations from a user. The terminal device 9 may also be capable of accepting, as an input operation from a user, an operation for the user to obtain operation information of a target elevator.

[0057] The terminal device 9 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a laptop computer, etc., but is not limited to these. The terminal device 9 only needs to have at least a communication function and a function to display various information. Furthermore, there may be one or more terminal devices 9.

[0058] The terminal device 9 transmits a call registration request to the elevator control device 2 via the destination floor registration device 300. The terminal device 9 also receives result information including availability information from the elevator control device 2 via the destination floor registration device 300. If the call based on the call registration request is registerable, the terminal device 9 receives the car number information of the target car along with the availability information. If the availability information indicates that registration is not possible, the terminal device 9 may present information indicating that the call based on the call registration request was not registerable to the user by a method such as a screen display.

[0059] By using the API 813, the terminal device 9 can cause the providing device 8 to issue a request to start transmitting and a request to continue transmitting operation information of the elevator 1 in which a user's call is registered, and can also receive the operation information from the providing device 8. When the terminal device 9 receives the elevator number information of the elevator of interest from the destination floor registration device 300, it starts using the API 813. This allows the terminal device 9 to transmit the above-mentioned specified information to the providing device 8 when using the API 813. By using the API 813, the terminal device 9 can cause the providing device 8 to issue a transmission request for each piece of operation information, and can also receive from the providing device 8 the operation information of the elevator 1 in which a user's call is registered.

[0060] When the terminal device 9 uses the API 813 for the first time, the providing device 8 transmits a transmission start request to the first server device 4, and thereafter, each time the terminal device 9 uses the API 813, the providing device 8 transmits a transmission continuation request to the first server device 4. Furthermore, after the first use of the API 813, the terminal device 9 receives and displays the operation information acquired by the providing device 8 from the storage device 7 each time the API 813 is used. The terminal device 9 uses the API 813 at a predetermined frequency (for example, once every 10 seconds) while the above-mentioned terminal-side software is running, for example.

[0061] The API 813 is not limited to a mode in which it passively provides the operation information to the terminal device 9 in response to a request from the terminal device 9, but may also be a mode in which it actively provides the operation information to the terminal device 9. For example, in a situation in which the terminal device 9 subscribes to a first topic to the providing device 8 and the providing device 8 subscribes to the first topic to the storage device 7, if a change occurs in the storage state of the operation information in the storage device 7 (if new operation information is stored in the storage device 7), the providing device 8 may publish the operation information stored in the storage device 7 to the terminal device 9.

[0062] <How to send a transmission start request> As described above, in this embodiment, the first server device 4 is configured to transmit the transmission start request to the communication device 3 using the second communication method via the second server device 5, but the request may be transmitted directly to the communication device 3 using the first communication method without going through the second server device 5. In this case, however, for example, in order for the communication device 3 to monitor the reception of the transmission start request from the first server device 4, it becomes necessary to keep the communication session between the communication device 3 and the first server device 4 constantly connected and subscribed according to the first communication method.

[0063] Therefore, the first server device 4 is required to have processing performance that can withstand the constant connection of the communication session. Moreover, the communication sessions must be kept active for the number of communication devices 3, and since a large number of communication devices 3 are generally connected to the first server device 4, a high-performance first server device 4 is required to keep the communication sessions constantly connected. Furthermore, while the time during which real-time transmission of operation information is required is often limited, keeping the communication sessions always connected generates an extra communication load.

[0064] Therefore, in this embodiment, the transmission start request is transmitted to the communication device 3 via the second server device 5 in accordance with the second communication method, thereby realizing reduction in the processing load and communication load on the first server device 4.

[0065] <Purpose of the data transmission system> The data transmission system 200 of this embodiment includes a first server device 4 and a communication device 3 that can communicate with each other according to a first communication method, and a first control line 101. After the communication device 3 receives a request to start transmitting operation information, while the communication device 3 continues to receive a request to continue transmission, the communication device 3 transmits operation information to the first server device 4 every time the operation status of the elevator 1 changes. The first server device 4 then stores the operation information in the storage device 7 every time it receives it. As a result, in the data transmission system 200, while the terminal device 9 is executing terminal-side software that uses the API 813, the terminal device 9 can sequentially acquire the operation information stored in the storage device 7, allowing users to visually check the operation status of the elevator 1, which may change every moment, in real time. An example of specific functions and processes that realize this data transmission system 200 will be described below.

[0066] [Data transmission system details] In the following, an example of a specific configuration of the communication device 3, the first server device 4, and the providing device 8 will be mainly described with reference to FIG.

[0067] <Communication Device> 1, the communication device 3 includes, for example, a first control unit 31 and a second control unit 32. The first control unit 31 includes, for example, a receiving unit 311, a publishing unit 312, and a subscribing unit 313. The second control unit 32 includes, for example, a transmitting / receiving unit 321.

[0068] The receiving unit 311 receives operation information from the elevator control device 2. The receiving unit 311 receives the operation information from the elevator control device 2 via the first control line 101 every time the operating status of the elevator 1 specified by the user changes.

[0069] The publishing unit 312 controls transmission and reception of data with the first server device 4 in accordance with the first communication method, and switches the operation mode between a transmission mode in which the received operation information is published to the first server device 4 using a predetermined first topic each time the receiving unit 311 receives the operation information, and a non-transmission mode in which the publishing is not performed. In this embodiment, the publishing unit 312 switches the operation mode to the transmission mode when the communication device 3 (the transmitting / receiving unit 321 of the second control unit 32 of the communication device 3) receives a request to start transmitting the operation information. This allows the publishing unit 312 to publish the operation information to the first server device 4 at the timing when the transmission start request is received.

[0070] Furthermore, if the publishing unit 312 receives a request to continue transmitting operation information during the transmission mode before a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the communication device 3 last received a request to continue transmitting operation information, the publishing unit 312 continues the transmission mode. On the other hand, if the communication device 3 does not receive a request to continue transmitting operation information after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the communication device 3 last received a request to continue transmitting operation information, the publishing unit 312 switches to the non-transmission mode. The predetermined period of time may be longer than the interval at which the communication device 3 receives requests to continue transmitting operation information. The reception interval may be equal to the interval at which the terminal device 9 uses the API 813.

[0071] The publishing unit 312 switches the operation mode depending on the reception status of the transmission continuation request, so that the publishing side can easily determine whether to continue the process of publishing the operation information according to the first communication method. Furthermore, because the first server device 4 functions as a broker, it cannot actively obtain the operation information by monitoring the communication device 3. Therefore, the communication device 3 determines whether to transmit the operation information to the first server device 4 by monitoring the reception status of the transmission continuation request (i.e., by monitoring the first server device 4).

[0072] The subscribing unit 313 controls transmission and reception of data with the first server device 4 according to the first communication method, and when the operation mode switches to the transmission mode, subscribes to a second topic created based on the identification information of the elevator 1 for the first server device 4. The second topic may be created by the first control unit 31 so that the elevator 1 can be identified.

[0073] As described above, the providing device 8 publishes the transmission continuation request to the first server device 4 using the second topic created based on the identification information of the specified elevator 1. Therefore, by having the first server device 4 subscribe to the second topic that can identify the elevator 1 to which the communication device 3 is connected, the first server device 4 can transmit the transmission continuation request to the communication device 3 connected to the specified elevator 1.

[0074] The transmitting / receiving unit 321 receives the transmission start request from the second server device 5 and transmits a signal indicating that the transmission start request has been received to the first control unit 31. As a result, at the timing when the transmitting / receiving unit 321 receives the transmission start request, the publishing unit 312 switches the operation mode to the transmission mode and publishes operation information to the first server device 4, and the subscribing unit 313 subscribes to the second topic for the first server device 4.

[0075] <First server device> 1, the first server device 4 functioning as a broker includes, for example, a server control unit 41. The server control unit 41 controls the operation of the first server device 4, and includes, for example, a first transmission unit 411, a second transmission unit 412, and a server transmission unit 413.

[0076] The first sending unit 411 sends the transmission continuation request published by the providing device 8 to the first server device 4 on the second topic to the communication device 3 that has subscribed to the second topic for the first server device 4. This allows the first server device 4 to send the transmission continuation request to the communication device 3 connected to the specified elevator 1.

[0077] When the second transmitting unit 412 receives the operation information published from the publishing unit 312, it transmits the received operation information to the destination device 6 that has subscribed to the first topic for the first server device 4. This allows the destination device 6 to store the operation information of the specified elevator 1 received by the first server device 4 in the storage device 7. Therefore, the providing device 8 can obtain the operation information from the storage device 7 and transmit it to the terminal device 9.

[0078] The server transmitting unit 413 transmits the transmission start request received from the providing device 8 to the second server device 5. This allows the first server device 4 to transmit the transmission start request to the communication device 3 via the second server device 5 (in accordance with the second communication method).

[0079] <Providing device> 1, the providing device 8 includes, for example, a providing control unit 81. The providing control unit 81 controls the operation of the providing device 8, and includes a providing unit 811, a providing publishing unit 812, and an API 813.

[0080] As described above, when the API 813 is used from the terminal device 9 after a predetermined period has elapsed since the API 813 was last used from the terminal device 9, the providing unit 811 transmits a transmission start request to the first server device 4. In this embodiment, when the API 813 is used in a state in which the API 813 has not been used for a predetermined period, the providing unit 811 transmits a transmission start request to the first server device 4, including designation information that designates the elevator 1 from which operation information is to be acquired.

[0081] The providing and publishing unit 812 publishes a transmission continuation request to the first server device 4 using a second topic created based on the identification information of the specified elevator 1. In this embodiment, after the terminal device 9 uses the API 813 for the first time, the providing and publishing unit 812 publishes a transmission continuation request to the first server device 4 using the second topic each time the terminal device 9 uses the API 813. That is, the providing and publishing unit 812 publishes a transmission continuation request to the first server device 4 using the second topic while operation information is provided from the providing device 8 to the terminal device 9 at a predetermined frequency by the terminal device 9 using the API 813. The second topic may be created by the providing control unit 81 so that the specified elevator 1 can be identified. The predetermined frequency corresponds to the usage frequency of the API 813. When the API 813 actively provides operation information to the terminal device 9, the predetermined frequency may be determined corresponding to the frequency at which changes occur in the storage device 7.

[0082] As described above, the API 813 is an example of a function for providing operation information of a specified elevator 1. When the terminal device 9 uses the API 813, the providing unit 811 can specify the elevator 1 from which operation information is to be acquired and transmit a transmission start request to the first server device 4. The providing and publishing unit 812 can also specify the elevator 1 from which operation information is to be acquired and transmit a transmission continuation request to the first server device 4. Based on this transmission, the operation information of the specified elevator 1 is stored in the storage device 7. Therefore, while the terminal device 9 is using the API 813, the providing device 8 can sequentially acquire operation information of the specified elevator 1 from the storage device 7 and transmit the operation information to the terminal device 9.

[0083] [Sequence] The flow of data between the devices will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Figure 2 is a sequence showing an example of the data flow based on the first use of API 813. Figure 3 is a sequence showing an example of the data flow based on the second or subsequent use of API 813 after switching to transmission mode. Figure 4 is a sequence showing an example of the data flow when API 813 has not been used for a predetermined period of time.

[0084] Fig. 3 shows an example of a sequence after the sequence of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 shows an example of a sequence after the sequence of Fig. 3. In addition, in Fig. 2 to Fig. 4, it is assumed that operation information is transmitted from the elevator control device 2 to the communication device 3 via the first control line 101 every time a change occurs in the operating status of the elevator 1.

[0085] 2, in this embodiment, the destination device 6 subscribes to the first topic with the first server device 4 (S1) before the terminal device 9 uses the API 813. This allows the first server device 4 to transmit the operation information to the destination device 6 at the timing when the communication device 3 receives a transmission start request from the second server device 5 and publishes the operation information to the first server device 4.

[0086] When the elevator control device 2 registers the user's call based on the call registration request, the terminal device 9 receives the car number information of the target car from the elevator control device 2 via the destination floor registration device 300. Upon receiving the car number information, the terminal device 9 uses the API 813 of the providing device 8 (S2). At this time, the terminal device 9 also transmits the received car number information to the providing device 8 as designation information of the elevator 1 that designates the target car.

[0087] In the providing device 8, the providing unit 811 transmits a transmission start request including the designation information to the first server device 4 (S3). In the first server device 4, the server transmitting unit 413 transmits the transmission start request received from the providing device 8 to the second server device 5 (S4). The second server device 5 transmits the transmission start request received from the first server device 4 to the communication device 3 (S5).

[0088] In the communication device 3, the transmitter / receiver 321 receives a transmission start request from the second server device 5. Upon receiving this request, the publishing unit 312 switches the operation mode from the non-transmission mode to the transmission mode (S6). Then, the publishing unit 312 publishes the operation information received from the elevator control device 2 to the first server device 4 using the first topic (S8). Every time the publishing unit 312 receives operation information from the elevator control device 2, it publishes the operation information to the first server device 4 using the first topic.

[0089] Furthermore, in the communication device 3, when the transmitter / receiver 321 receives the transmission start request, the subscribing unit 313 subscribes to the second topic created based on the identification information of the elevator 1 to which the communication device 3 is connected, for the first server device 4 (S7). The processing of S7 may be performed before or simultaneously with the processing of S6, or may be performed at the start of or after the start of the processing of S8, as long as it is performed after the communication device 3 has received the transmission start request in S5.

[0090] In S1, the destination device 6 subscribes to the first topic for the first server device 4. Therefore, in the first server device 4, the second transmitter 412 transmits the operation information of the specified elevator 1 published from the communication device 3 to the destination device 6 (S9). Every time the second transmitter 412 receives operation information from the communication device 3, it transmits the operation information to the destination device 6. Then, every time the destination device 6 receives operation information from the first server device 4, it stores the operation information in the storage device 7 (S10).

[0091] 3, the terminal device 9 uses the API 813 following the initial use of the API 813 (S11). In the providing device 8, the providing and publishing unit 812 publishes a transmission continuation request to the first server device 4 using a second topic created based on the identification information of the elevator 1 (S12). This allows the first server device 4 to transmit the transmission continuation request published by the providing device 8 to the communication devices 3 that have subscribed to the same second topic as the second topic.

[0092] 2, the second topic created based on the identification information of the elevator 1 is subscribed to from the communication device 3 to the first server device 4. Therefore, in the first server device 4, the first sending unit 411 sends the transmission continuation request published by the providing device 8 to the communication device 3 that has subscribed to the second topic created based on the identification information of the specified elevator 1 (S13).

[0093] Furthermore, in the providing device 8, the providing control unit 81 sequentially acquires operation information of the specified elevator 1 from the storage device 7 in accordance with the use of the API 813 in S11 (S14), and transmits it to the terminal device 9 (S15). The storage device 7 stores operation information that is generated every time a change occurs in the operation status of the elevator 1 after S10 in Fig. 2. Therefore, the terminal device 9 can notify the user of the operation status of the elevator 1 in real time by sequentially receiving the operation information to be provided from the providing device 8.

[0094] In the communication device 3, after the transceiver 321 receives the transmission start request in S5 of FIG. 2, the first control unit 31 starts timing. Then, the publishing unit 312 determines whether a transmission continuation request will be received before a predetermined period of time has elapsed after receiving the transmission start request. If the publishing unit 312 determines that the transmission continuation request transmitted in S13 has been received before the predetermined period of time has elapsed, the publishing unit 312 continues the transmission mode. Therefore, the publishing unit 312 continues publishing to the first server device 4 using the first topic every time it receives operation information from the elevator control device 2 (S16). The timing by the first control unit 31 is reset when the publishing unit 312 receives a transmission continuation request or when the predetermined period of time has elapsed.

[0095] In the first server device 4, the second transmitting unit 412 transmits the operation information of the specified elevator 1 to the transmission destination device 6 every time it receives the operation information from the communication device 3 (S17). Then, the transmission destination device 6 stores the operation information in the storage device 7 every time it receives the operation information from the first server device 4 (S18).

[0096] On the other hand, if the publishing unit 312 determines that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since receiving the transmission start request in S5 of Fig. 2, it switches the operation mode from the transmission mode to the non-transmission mode. During the non-transmission mode, the communication device 3 does not publish the operation information to the first server device 4 even if it receives operation information from the elevator control device 2 every time the operating status of the elevator 1 changes. In other words, by switching to the non-transmission mode, the communication device 3 stops transmitting the operation information to the first server device 4.

[0097] When the terminal device 9 uses the API 813 following the previous use of the API 813 (S21), the providing device 8 publishes a transmission continuation request to the first server device 4 using a second topic created based on the identification information of the elevator 1 (S22). The first server device 4 transmits the transmission continuation request published by the providing device 8 to the communication devices 3 that have subscribed to the same second topic as the second topic (S23).

[0098] Furthermore, in the providing device 8, the providing control unit 81 sequentially acquires the operation information of the elevator of interest from the storage device 7 in accordance with the use of the API 813 in S21 (S24) and transmits it to the terminal device 9 (S25). The storage device 7 continues to store operation information that is generated every time a change occurs in the operation status of the elevator 1 from S10 in FIG. 2 onwards. Therefore, the providing device 8 can continue to transmit operation information that indicates the latest operation status of the elevator 1 to the terminal device 9. Therefore, the terminal device 9 can notify the user of the operation status of the elevator 1 in real time.

[0099] In the communication device 3, after receiving the transmission continuation request in S13, the first control unit 31 starts timing again. Then, after receiving this transmission continuation request, the publishing unit 312 determines whether the next transmission continuation request will be received within a predetermined period of time. That is, the publishing unit 312 determines whether the next transmission continuation request will be received before the predetermined period has elapsed since the last transmission continuation request was received. If the publishing unit 312 determines that the transmission continuation request transmitted in S23 has been received before the predetermined period has elapsed, the publishing unit 312 continues the transmission mode. Therefore, the publishing unit 312 continues publishing to the first server device 4 on the first topic every time it receives operation information from the elevator control device 2 (S26).

[0100] In the first server device 4, the second transmitting unit 412 transmits the operation information of the target machine to the transmission destination device 6 every time the operation information is received from the communication device 3 (S27). Then, the transmission destination device 6 stores the operation information in the storage device 7 every time the operation information is received from the first server device 4 (S28).

[0101] Similarly, when the API 813 is used by the terminal device 9 thereafter (S31), the provision publishing unit 812 of the providing device 8 publishes a transmission continuation request using the second topic (S32). Thereafter, the first transmitting unit 411 of the first server device 4 transmits the transmission continuation request to the communication device 3 that has subscribed to the same second topic as the second topic (S33). In addition, the providing device 8 continues to acquire operation information from the storage device 7 (S34) and transmits it to the terminal device 9 (S35).

[0102] After receiving the transmission continuation request in S23, if it is determined that the transmission continuation request transmitted in S33 has been received before the predetermined period has elapsed, the publishing unit 312 continues the transmission mode. Therefore, every time the publishing unit 312 receives operation information from the elevator control device 2, it continues publishing the operation information to the first server device 4 using the first topic (S36). Then, the second transmitting unit 412 of the first server device 4 transmits the operation information published from the communication device 3 to the transmission destination device 6 (S37), and the transmission destination device 6 continues to store the operation information in the storage device 7 (S38). The same applies to S41 to S48 shown in FIG. 4.

[0103] In this way, the publishing unit 312 continues to publish the operation information to the first server device 4 while the next transmission continuation request is received within a predetermined period of time since the reception of the transmission continuation request (i.e., while the transmission continuation request is continuously received). Therefore, the providing device 8 can transmit the operation information indicating the latest operation status of the elevator 1 to the terminal device 9 while the terminal device 9 is continuously using the API 813.

[0104] On the other hand, if the publishing unit 312 determines that a predetermined period of time has passed since the last time it received a continuation transmission request without receiving another continuation transmission request, it switches the operating mode from the transmission mode to the non-transmission mode. As shown in Fig. 4, if the publishing unit 312 determines that it has not received a next continuation transmission request within the predetermined period of time after receiving a continuation transmission request in S43, it switches the operating mode from the transmission mode to the non-transmission mode (S51).

[0105] As described above, the elevator control device 2 transmits operation information to the communication device 3 every time a change occurs in the operating status of the elevator 1 controlled by the elevator control device 2. However, after the publishing unit 312 of the communication device 3 switches to the non-transmission mode, the publishing unit 312 does not publish the operation information to the first server device 4 even if the operation information is received. In other words, the communication device 3 stops transmitting the operation information to the first server device 4 by switching to the non-transmission mode.

[0106] Therefore, after receiving a transmission start request, the communication device 3 can transmit operation information to the first server device 4 only while it is continuously receiving a transmission continuation request. In other words, operation information can be transmitted to the first server device 4 only while the API 813 is continuously used. Therefore, while the API 813 is being used, the terminal device 9 can notify the user of the operation status of the elevator 1 in real time. On the other hand, when the API 813 is not being used, a communication session according to the first communication method is not established between the communication device 3 and the first server device 4, thereby reducing unnecessary communication load.

[0107] When the call registrations of multiple users who each own multiple terminal devices 9 are registered in the elevator control device 2 that controls a common elevator 1, when any of the terminal devices 9 uses the API 813, the providing device 8 transmits a transmission start request for the operation information of the elevator 1 to the first server device 4. Based on this transmission, the communication device 3 can switch the operation mode to the transmission mode.

[0108] As described above, if the communication device 3 receives a next transmission continuation request before a predetermined period of time has elapsed since receiving the previous transmission continuation request, the communication device 3 continues the transmission mode. If any of the terminal devices 9 is using the API 813, the providing device 8 transmits a transmission continuation request to the first server device 4. Therefore, while any of the terminal devices 9 is using the API 813, the communication device 3 continues the transmission mode and continues publishing operation information to the first server device 4.

[0109] On the other hand, if none of the terminal devices 9 uses the API 813, the providing device 8 stops sending a continuation transmission request to the first server device 4. In other words, if it is determined that none of the users is viewing the operation information of the elevator 1 corresponding to the providing device 8, the providing device 8 stops sending a continuation transmission request to the first server device 4. Therefore, if the communication device 3 does not receive a continuation transmission request from the first server device 4 within a predetermined period of time since it last received a continuation transmission request from the first server device 4 because none of the terminal devices 9 uses the API 813, the communication device 3 switches to the non-transmission mode. By switching to the non-transmission mode, the communication device 3 stops sending the operation information of the elevator of interest to the first server device 4.

[0110] In this way, when multiple users are trying to view the operating status of the same elevator of interest, the communication device 3 continues the switched transmission mode. This allows at least one of the multiple terminal devices 9 to notify the users of the operating status of the elevator 1 in real time. Only when none of the users are viewing the operating status of the elevator of interest does the communication device 3 switch to the non-transmission mode and stop transmitting the operating information to the first server device 4.

[0111] As described above, the information providing system 100 can sequentially provide the terminal device 9 with operation information of the target vehicle, and the user who owns the terminal device 9 can grasp the operation status of the target vehicle in real time.

[0112] [Embodiment 2] Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. For ease of explanation, the same reference numerals will be used to designate components having the same functions as those described in the above embodiment, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0113] Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information provision system 100A according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 5, the information provision system 100A includes a data transmission system 200, a group management control device 400, and a destination floor registration device 300A.

[0114] The group management control device 400 is a device that manages multiple elevators 1 installed in a building, and assigns elevator numbers to elevators in response to call registration requests received from the destination floor registration device 300A. The group management control device 400 is connected to each of the destination floor registration device 300A and the elevator control device 2 that controls the operation of the elevators 1 so that they can communicate with each other.

[0115] When a user operates the terminal device 9 to register a call, the group management control device 400 receives a call registration request from the terminal device 9 via the destination floor registration device 300A. Upon receiving the call registration request from the destination floor registration device 300A, the group management control device 400 assigns an optimal elevator number to the call registration request from among the multiple elevators 1. The assignment of an elevator number to the call registration request may be performed by a method based on so-called selective collective operation.

[0116] The group management control device 400 transmits allocation result information, including information indicating the result of allocation in response to the call registration request, to the terminal device 9 via the destination floor registration device 300A. For example, the allocation result information includes availability information indicating whether registration is possible and identification information of the terminal device 9. If the availability information indicates that registration is possible, the allocation result information further includes car number information indicating the car (target car) assigned to the call registration request. On the other hand, if the availability information indicates that registration is not possible, the allocation result information further includes information indicating that the call cannot be registered. The group management control device 400 also transmits an instruction to the elevator control device 2, which controls the operation of the target car, to control the operation of the elevator 1 in accordance with the departure floor and destination floor of the user. This allows the user to board the assigned target car and travel to the desired floor.

[0117] The destination floor registration device 300A relays the exchange of information between the group management control device 400 and the terminal device 9. As shown in Fig. 5, the destination floor registration device 300A includes a control unit 301 and a storage unit 302A. The storage unit 302A stores an elevator DB 303A. The elevator DB 303A is a database in which a building ID is associated with identification information that identifies the group management control device 400.

[0118] When the destination floor registration device 300A receives a call registration request and a building ID from the terminal device 9, it refers to the elevator DB 303A and identifies the group management control device 400 that corresponds to the building ID. Thereafter, the destination floor registration device 300A transmits a call registration request to the identified group management control device 400. Furthermore, when the destination floor registration device 300A receives allocation result information from the group management control device 400, it transmits the received allocation result information to the terminal device 9. When the terminal device 9 receives the allocation result information, it may present to the user car number information that indicates the target car that has been allocated in response to the call registration request, which is included in the received allocation result information.

[0119] The processing performed in the information providing system 100A after the terminal device 9 receives the allocation result information of the elevator 1 is the same as the processing performed after the terminal device 9 receives the result information in embodiment 1, so a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0120] <Variation 1> In the above-described second embodiment, a plurality of elevators 1 installed in one building may be managed by a plurality of group supervisory control devices 400.

[0121] For example, multiple elevators 1 installed in a single building may be divided into multiple banks for each service floor, and each of the multiple banks may be managed by a different group management control device 400. In this case, the elevator DB 303A may associate one building ID with information indicating each of the multiple banks, for example, information indicating each of the service floors of each of the multiple banks. Furthermore, each of the information indicating the multiple banks may be associated with identification information for each of the multiple group management control devices 400 that manages the elevators 1 of each bank.

[0122] The destination floor registration device 300A identifies the group management control device 400 to which the call registration request is to be sent, based on the building ID, the departure floor of the user, and the destination floor of the user.

[0123] An example configuration will be described in which 12 elevators 1 are installed in one building (building A), and each elevator 1 is divided into two banks according to the floors they serve, with each bank being managed by a different group management control device 400. Specifically, a first group management control device 400A manages elevators 1 No. 1 to No. 6 in building A, and a second group management control device 400B manages elevators 1 No. 7 to No. 12 in building A. Furthermore, the floors served by elevators No. 1 to No. 6 managed by the first group management control device 400A are the first to tenth floors, and the floors served by elevators No. 7 to No. 12 managed by the second group management control device 400B are the first floor and the eleventh to twentieth floors.

[0124] The destination floor registration device 300A identifies the group management control device 400 to which the call registration request should be sent from the building ID and the user's departure floor and destination floor, and sends the call registration request to the identified group management control device 400. For example, if building A corresponds to the building ID received by the destination floor registration device 300A together with the call registration request, and the user's departure floor is the first floor and the destination floor is the sixth floor, the destination floor registration device 300A identifies the first group management control device 400A as the device to which the call registration request should be sent. Also, if building A corresponds to the building ID received by the destination floor registration device 300A together with the call registration request, and the user's departure floor is the first floor and the destination floor is the twelfth floor, the destination floor registration device 300A identifies the second group management control device 400B as the device to which the call registration request should be sent.

[0125] <Variation 2> In the configuration according to the first modification, multiple group management control devices 400 may be connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other. In this case, the elevator DB 303A does not need to be associated with information indicating the service floors of each of the multiple banks. The destination floor registration device 300A transmits a call registration request to any one of the group management control devices 400 that represents the multiple group management control devices 400 corresponding to the building ID.

[0126] When the group management control device 400 receives the call registration request, if the user's departure floor and destination floor correspond to the service floors of the elevator 1 managed by the device itself, it performs allocation based on the call registration request and transmits allocation result information to the destination floor registration device 300A. On the other hand, if the user's departure floor and destination floor do not correspond to the service floors of the elevator 1 managed by the device itself, the group management control device 400 that received the call registration request transfers the call registration request to another group management control device 400 that is connected to the device itself. The group management control device 400 to which the call registration request is transferred performs the same processing as the group management control device 400 that originally received the call registration request.

[0127] As a result, among the multiple group management control devices 400, the group management control device 400 that manages the elevator 1 that can operate from the user's departure floor to the destination floor can make an allocation based on the call registration request and transmit allocation result information to the destination floor registration device 300A.

[0128] For example, if the building corresponding to the building ID received together with the call registration request is building A, the destination floor registration device 300A identifies that the group management control device 400 to which the call registration request is to be sent is either the first group management control device 400A or the second group management control device 400B. The destination floor registration device 300A sends the call registration request to, for example, the first group management control device 400A.

[0129] Here, if the user's departure floor is floor 1 and the destination floor is floor 15, floor 15 is not a service floor of elevator 1 managed by the first group management control device 400A. Therefore, the first group management control device 400A transfers the received call registration request to the second group management control device 400B. The 15th floor is a service floor of elevator 1 managed by the second group management control device 400B. Therefore, the second group management control device 400B performs allocation based on the received call registration request and transmits allocation result information to the destination floor registration device 300A.

[0130] [Software implementation example] The functions of the information provision system 100, 100A (hereinafter referred to as the "system") can be realized by a program that causes a computer to function as the system, and a program that causes a computer to function as each control block of the system (particularly each part included in the data transmission system 200).

[0131] In this case, the system includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., a memory) as hardware for executing the program. The control device and storage device execute the program, thereby realizing the functions described in each of the above embodiments.

[0132] The program may be non-transitory and may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media. The recording media may or may not be included in the system. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the system via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0133] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the control blocks can be realized by logic circuits. For example, integrated circuits in which logic circuits functioning as the control blocks are formed are also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, the functions of the control blocks can also be realized by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0134] Furthermore, each process described in each of the above embodiments may be executed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI ​​may run on the control device or on another device (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

[0135] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0136] 〔summary〕 The information provision system according to aspect 1 of the present invention is an information provision system that provides operation information regarding the operating status of a front sign of an elevator having one or more signs installed in a building having multiple floors, and includes a terminal device of a user of the elevator, which acquires, in response to a request from the terminal device, sign information identifying a target sign for which a call has been registered based on a call registration request including information indicating the departure floor and destination floor transmitted from the terminal device via a destination floor registration device, from the elevator control device that controls the operation of the target sign identified by the sign information, and transmits the acquired operation information to the terminal device.

[0137] In the information providing system according to aspect 2 of the present invention, in the above-mentioned aspect 1, the operation information may include information indicating the latest moving direction of the target car.

[0138] In the information providing system according to aspect 3 of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the operation information may include information indicating the latest floor number on which the target car is located.

[0139] In the information providing system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the operation information may include information indicating the latest congestion status of the target car.

[0140] In the information provision system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the destination floor registration device may transmit the call registration request received from the terminal device to the elevator control device.

[0141] In the information provision system of aspect 6 of the present invention, in any of aspects 1 to 5, the elevator control device may transmit availability information indicating whether or not the call can be registered based on the call registration request to the terminal device via the destination floor registration device.

[0142] In the information provision system of aspect 7 of the present invention, in aspect 6, the elevator control device may transmit the elevator number information to the terminal device via the destination floor registration device when the feasibility information indicates that registration is possible.

[0143] In the information provision system of aspect 8 of the present invention, in any of aspects 1 to 4, the destination floor registration device may transmit the call registration request received from the terminal device to a group management control device that assigns the car number to the call registration request.

[0144] In the information provision system of aspect 9 of the present invention, in any of aspects 1 to 4 and 8, the group management control device that assigns the car number in response to the call registration request may transmit availability information indicating whether or not the call can be registered based on the call registration request to the terminal device via the destination floor registration device.

[0145] In the information provision system of aspect 10 of the present invention, in aspect 9, the group management control device may, when the feasibility information indicates that registration is possible, transmit the car number information to the terminal device via the destination floor registration device.

[0146] An information providing system according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is an information providing system in any one of the first to tenth aspects, wherein the data transmission system includes a server device functioning as a broker, one or more communication devices, and a providing device, which are capable of communicating with each other using a publish / subscribe type communication method, and the communication device includes a receiving unit that receives the operation information of the elevator controlled by the elevator control device from the elevator control device that is communicably connected to the communication device itself, and an operation mode that is selected from a sending mode in which the receiving unit publishes the received operation information to the server device on a predetermined first topic every time the receiving unit receives the operation information, and a non-sending mode in which the publishing is not performed. and a publishing unit that switches between the operation information published by the publishing unit, wherein when the server device receives the operation information published from the publishing unit, it transmits the received operation information to a destination device that has subscribed to the first topic for the server device, and each time the destination device receives the operation information from the server device, it executes a process to store the received operation information in a storage device, and the providing device has a function for providing the operation information of the target machine that is usable by the user's terminal device, and while the terminal device is using the function, it may sequentially obtain the operation information of the target machine from the storage device and transmit the obtained operation information to the terminal device.

[0147] In the information provision system of aspect 12 of the present invention, in aspect 11, the elevator control device may transmit the operation information to the communication device each time a change occurs in the operating status of the elevator controlled by the elevator control device.

[0148] In an information providing system according to aspect 13 of the present invention, in aspect 11 or 12, when the function is used from the terminal device after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the function was last used from the terminal device, the providing device may execute processing to send a request to start transmitting the operation information to the communication device, and when the communication device receives the transmission start request, the publishing unit may switch the operation mode to the transmission mode.

[0149] An information providing system according to aspect 14 of the present invention is such that, in any of aspects 11 to 13, the communication device, when switching to the transmission mode, is provided with a subscribing unit that subscribes to a second topic created for the server device based on machine information identifying the target machine, and the server device transmits a request to continue transmitting the operation information published by the providing device to the server device on the second topic to the communication device that has subscribed to the second topic for the server device, and the publishing unit may continue the transmission mode if, during the transmission mode, the communication device receives the transmission continuation request within a predetermined period since it last received the transmission continuation request, and switch to the non-transmission mode if the predetermined period has elapsed since the communication device last received the transmission continuation request without receiving the transmission continuation request.

[0150] In the information providing system of aspect 15 of the present invention, in aspect 14, the providing device may publish the transmission continuation request to the server device on the second topic created based on the machine information of the target machine while the operation information is provided from the providing device to the terminal device at a predetermined frequency by the terminal device using the function.

[0151] In the information providing system according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the eleventh to fifteenth aspects, the function may be provided by an API (Application Programming Interface). [Explanation of symbols]

[0152] 1. Elevator 2. Elevator control device 3. Communications equipment 4. First server device (server device) 6 Destination device 7 Storage device 8 Providing device 9 Terminal Equipment 100, 100A Information System 200 Data Transmission System 300, 300A Destination floor registration device 311 Receiving unit 312 Publishing Department 313 Subscription Department 411 First Transmission Unit 412 Second Transmission Unit 813 API (function)

Claims

1. An information providing system that provides operation information regarding the operation status of a front-end machine of an elevator having one or more machines installed in a building having multiple floors, a terminal device of a user of the elevator, which acquires, in response to a request from the terminal device, car number information identifying a car of interest for which a call has been registered based on a call registration request including information indicating a departure floor and a destination floor transmitted from the terminal device via a destination floor registration device, from the destination floor registration device, and a data transmission system which acquires the operation information of the car of interest from an elevator control device which controls the operation of the car of interest identified by the car number information, and transmits the acquired operation information to the terminal device; Information provision system.

2. The operation information includes information indicating the latest movement direction of the target vehicle. The information providing system according to claim 1 .

3. The operation information includes information indicating the latest floor number on which the target car is located. The information providing system according to claim 1 .

4. The operation information includes information indicating the latest congestion status of the target car.

4. The information providing system according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The destination floor registration device transmits the call registration request received from the terminal device to the elevator control device. The information providing system according to claim 1 .

6. The elevator control device transmits availability information indicating whether or not the call can be registered based on the call registration request to the terminal device via the destination floor registration device. The information providing system according to claim 1 .

7. When the possibility information indicates that registration is possible, the elevator control device transmits the elevator information to the terminal device via the destination floor registration device. The information providing system according to claim 6.

8. the destination floor registration device transmits the call registration request received from the terminal device to a group management control device that assigns the elevator to the call registration request; The information providing system according to claim 1 .

9. a group management control device that assigns the elevator to the call registration request, and transmits availability information indicating whether or not the call can be registered based on the call registration request to the terminal device via the destination floor registration device; The information providing system according to claim 1 .

10. When the possibility information indicates that registration is possible, the group management control device transmits the elevator information to the terminal device via the destination floor registration device. The information providing system according to claim 9.

11. the data transmission system includes a server device functioning as a broker, one or more communication devices, and a providing device, which are capable of communicating with each other using a publish / subscribe communication method; The communication device a receiving unit that receives, from the elevator control device that is communicably connected to the elevator control device itself, the operation information of the elevator controlled by the elevator control device; a publishing unit that switches an operation mode between a sending mode in which the receiving unit publishes the received operation information to the server device using a predetermined first topic every time the receiving unit receives the operation information, and a non-sending mode in which the publishing is not performed; The server device When the operation information published by the publishing unit is received, the received operation information is transmitted to a destination device that has subscribed to the first topic with respect to the server device; The destination device Each time the operation information is received from the server device, a process is executed to store the received operation information in a storage device; The providing device is a function for providing the operation information of the target machine, which is available to the terminal device of the user; While the terminal device is using the function, the operation information of the target machine is sequentially acquired from the storage device, and the acquired operation information is transmitted to the terminal device. The information providing system according to claim 1 .

12. the elevator control device transmits the operation information to the communication device every time a change occurs in the operation status of the elevator controlled by the elevator control device; The information providing system according to claim 11.

13. The providing device is When the function is used from the terminal device after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the function was last used from the terminal device, a process is executed to transmit a request to start transmitting the operation information to the communication device; the publishing unit switches the operation mode to the transmission mode when the communication device receives the transmission start request; The information providing system according to claim 11.

14. the communication device includes a subscribing unit that, when switching to the transmission mode, subscribes to a second topic created based on vehicle information identifying the target vehicle with respect to the server device; the server device transmits a request to continue transmitting the operation information, which is published to the server device by the providing device using the second topic, to the communication device that has subscribed to the second topic with respect to the server device; The publishing unit, during the transmission mode, If the communication device receives the transmission continuation request within a predetermined period of time since the last time the communication device received the transmission continuation request, the communication device continues the transmission mode; If the predetermined period has elapsed since the communication device last received the request to continue transmission without receiving the request to continue transmission, the communication device switches to the non-transmission mode. The information providing system according to claim 11.

15. The providing device is While the terminal device is using the function to provide the operation information from the providing device to the terminal device at a predetermined frequency, the transmission continuation request is published to the server device using the second topic created based on the machine information of the target machine. The information providing system according to claim 14.

16. The function is provided by an API (Application Programming Interface), 16. The information providing system according to any one of claims 11 to 15.

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