Elevator control device and program

Abstract

To perform operation in consideration of feeling of an elevator user.SOLUTION: An elevator control device 1 is applied to an elevator system including a plurality of elevators capable of performing inter-floor adjustment by adjusting a distance between an upper car 3 and a lower car 4. An emotion analysis unit 10 that analyzes an emotion of a user who performs call registration from a landing to a target floor based on information obtained from at least one sensor or an imaging device, and determines a degree of irritation indicating a degree of irritation of the user; The elevator control device includes a time calculation unit 11 that calculates an inter-floor adjustment required time required for inter-floor adjustment after call registration or a door-closed constraint time caused by another user getting on and off in another car until a user who has performed call registration gets on a car and arrives at a target floor, and an allocation control unit 12 that determines an allocation elevator to be allocated from among a plurality of elevators based on a degree of irritation and the inter-floor adjustment required time or the door-closed constraint time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to an elevator control device and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Double-deck elevators have an upper car and a lower car, and are equipped with a function for adjusting the distance between the upper and lower cars to adjust the floor height. This function allows the upper and lower cars to land at the correct height on their corresponding floors, even if there are floors of different heights in the building. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-234296 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-111240 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Floor adjustment takes a certain amount of time from start to finish, which is one of the reasons that delays the arrival time of elevator users at their destination floor. Also, if another user gets on or off in a car other than the one the user is in (either the upper or lower car), time is lost, which is one of the reasons that delays the arrival time at the destination floor.

[0005] Such a delay in arrival time may put the user in a bad mood and reduce their satisfaction with the elevator, depending on the user's emotions at the time.

[0006] The problem to be solved by the invention is to provide an elevator control device and program that can operate the elevator while taking into consideration the feelings of elevator users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The elevator system of one embodiment is an elevator control device applied to an elevator system having a plurality of cars that can adjust the distance between the upper and lower cars to perform floor adjustment, and is equipped with an emotion analysis unit that analyzes the emotions of a user who registers a call from a landing to a destination floor based on information obtained from at least one sensor or imaging device, and determines an irritation level that indicates the user's level of irritation; a time calculation unit that calculates, for each of the plurality of cars, the floor adjustment required time required for the floor adjustment after the call registration, or the door closing constraint time that occurs when other users get on or off in another car while the user who registered the call is in the car and arrives at the destination floor; and an allocation control unit that determines an assigned car from the plurality of cars to be assigned to the call of the user who registered the call based on the irritation level and the floor adjustment required time or the door closing constraint time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an elevator system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of allocation control in a building that does not have a "downward protruding floor." [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of allocation control in a building with a "downward protruding floor." [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the main operation of the elevator control device 1. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a detailed example of the process in step S2 in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the state of each car when allocation control is performed. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a modified example of the configuration of the elevator system shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <System configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an elevator system according to an embodiment.

[0011] The elevator system shown in Figure 1 performs group management of double-deck elevators, and includes an elevator control device 1, elevator units 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N that make up N elevators (N: natural number), N landing destination floor registration devices 5-1, 5-2, ..., 5-N, a photography device C, and a sensor D.

[0012] The elevator control device 1 is realized using one or more computers, and includes, as various functions, a sentiment analysis unit 10, an inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11, an allocation control unit 12, and N elevator control units 13-1, 13-2, ..., 13-N. These functions can be realized as functions of a program executed by the computer. Details of these functions will be described later.

[0013] Each of the N elevators 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N has an upper car 3 and a lower car 4, and is equipped with a function for adjusting the distance between the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 to perform floor adjustment. In other words, even if there are floors of different heights in a building, each elevator can make the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 land at the correct height on the corresponding floor by performing floor adjustment according to the distance between the floors when the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 land.

[0014] The N landing destination floor registration devices 5-1, 5-2, ..., 5-N are installed on each of the floors from the 1st to the Nth floors, and are used by elevator users on any of the floors to register a call (hall call registration) from the landing on that floor to a destination floor (destination floor). Note that the landing destination floor registration devices may be installed on some of the floors from the 1st to the Nth floors.

[0015] Information indicating the call registration for each user performed at each landing destination floor registration device is transmitted to the allocation control unit 12 together with the user's identification number, floor identification number, etc. The user may be identified by vein authentication, fingerprint authentication, iris authentication, face authentication, etc. using a biometric authentication device or a photographing device. If an ID card is used to enter the building, the user may be identified from the information on the ID card.

[0016] The photographing devices C are provided near the N landing destination floor registration devices 5-1, 5-2, ..., 5-N, respectively. The photographing devices C are realized by security cameras or the like, and photograph the behavior of users who register calls at the corresponding landing destination floor registration devices.

[0017] The images showing the behavior of each user captured by each camera C are transmitted to the emotion analysis unit 10 together with the user's identification number, floor identification number, and the like.

[0018] The sensor D is provided near each of the N landing destination floor registration devices 5-1, 5-2, ..., 5-N. The sensor D includes at least one type of sensor from among a sensor (first sensor) that detects the "voice" of a user who registers a call at the corresponding landing destination floor registration device, a sensor (second sensor) that detects the "pulse" of a user who registers a call at the corresponding landing destination floor registration device, and a sensor (third sensor) that detects the "blood pressure" of a user who registers a call at the corresponding landing destination floor registration device. It is desirable that the sensor that detects the "pulse" or the sensor that detects the "blood pressure" be of a non-contact type. When landing destination floor registration devices are installed on only some of the floors from the 1st to the Nth floors, up-down call registration devices are installed on floors where no landing destination floor registration device is installed. In this case, the sensor D is installed near the up-down call registration device.

[0019] That is, each landing-destination-floor registration device may be provided with all of the above-mentioned three types of sensors, any two types of sensors, or only one type of sensor. In this embodiment, the description will be given assuming that all of the above-mentioned three types of sensors are provided.

[0020] Information indicating the voice, pulse, blood pressure, etc. of each user detected by each sensor D is transmitted to the emotion analysis unit 10 together with the user's identification number, floor identification number, etc.

[0021] <Various functions> As described above, the elevator control device 1 includes, as various functions, the emotion analysis unit 10, the inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11, the allocation control unit 12, and N elevator control units 13-1, 13-2, . . . , 13-N.

[0022] 1 are merely examples, and are not limited to these examples and may be modified as appropriate. For example, the functions of the emotion analysis unit 10 and the inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11 may be incorporated into the allocation control unit 12.

[0023] ·Emotion analysis part 10 The emotion analysis unit 10 analyzes the emotion of the user (i.e., the user who registered a call from the landing to the destination floor at that floor) based on information showing an image of the user captured by the camera C on any floor or information showing the user's voice, pulse, blood pressure, etc. detected by the sensor D, and determines the level of irritation that indicates the degree of irritation of the user. The irritation level determined by the emotion analysis unit 10 is stored in a predetermined memory area and sent to the allocation control unit 12.

[0024] The various information (items) used to determine the level of irritation are shown below.

[0025] (b) "Movement in the video" When the emotion analysis unit 10 acquires video from the camera C, it detects the user's movements in the video. The emotion analysis unit 10 determines whether the magnitude of the movements exceeds a predetermined threshold, thereby determining whether the user is irritated. The magnitude of the movements is determined, for example, according to the frequency and duration of foot movements.

[0026] (b) "Voice volume" When the emotion analysis unit 10 acquires information indicating the user's voice from the sensor D, it obtains information indicating the "volume of the voice" from the information. The emotion analysis unit 10 determines whether the volume of the voice exceeds a predetermined threshold, thereby determining whether the user is irritated.

[0027] (c) "Intensity of voice" When the emotion analysis unit 10 acquires information indicating the user's voice from the sensor D, it obtains information indicating the "voice tone" from the acquired information. The emotion analysis unit 10 determines whether the voice tone exceeds a predetermined threshold, thereby determining whether the user is irritated. The voice tone is determined, for example, by observing the waveform of the voice and depending on the number and amount of prominent portions in the waveform that exceed the threshold.

[0028] (2) "Pulse" The emotion analysis unit 10 acquires information indicating the "pulse rate" of the user from the sensor D. The emotion analysis unit 10 determines whether the pulse rate exceeds a predetermined threshold value, thereby determining whether the user is irritated.

[0029] (e) "Blood pressure" The emotion analysis unit 10 acquires information indicating the "blood pressure" of the user from the sensor D. The emotion analysis unit 10 determines whether the blood pressure exceeds a predetermined threshold value, thereby determining whether the user is irritated.

[0030] The emotion analysis and irritation level determination processes in the emotion analysis unit 10 can be performed using AI (Artificial Intelligence) that has been trained using a model. By having the AI ​​learn in advance, for example, the relationship between the volume of the voices of many users, the strength of the voices, the pulse rate, the blood pressure, and the movements in the video, and the presence or absence of irritation and the irritation level of each, it is possible to accurately determine the irritation level of the target user.

[0031] In this example, the greater the number of items among the five items, "voice volume," "voice strength," "pulse rate," "blood pressure," and "movement in the video," whose detected values ​​exceed a predetermined threshold, the greater the level of irritation.

[0032] For example, if the points allocated to each of the items "voice volume," "voice intensity," "pulse rate," "blood pressure," and "movement in the video" are 1 point each, then 1 point is assigned to any item whose detected value exceeds the threshold, and 0 point is assigned to any item whose detected value does not exceed the threshold, and the total value obtained by adding up the points for each item is output as the level of irritation. In this case, the maximum level of irritation is 5, indicating the highest level of irritation. The minimum level of irritation is 0, indicating no irritation.

[0033] However, the calculation example shown here is merely an example and is not limited to this example. For example, different points may be allocated to each item. Also, instead of just one threshold, multiple different thresholds may be set for each item, and the points may increase each time the detected value exceeds a threshold. Also, the number of types of items used to calculate the irritation level may be increased or decreased.

[0034] Floor adjustment time calculation section 11 The floor adjustment time calculation unit 11 calculates the time required for floor adjustment (floor adjustment required time) for each of the N elevators 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N after a call is registered by a user. The floor adjustment required time can be calculated from the positions and states of the upper car 3 and the lower car 4, information indicating the floors where registered hall calls and car calls are occurring, and the like. This information can be obtained directly from the elevator control units 13-1, 13-2, ..., 13-N described later or via the allocation control unit 12.

[0035] In this example, the inter-floor adjustment time is treated as the "evaluation value" used to determine the assigned car, which will be described later. Note that, in addition to the inter-floor adjustment time, other evaluation values ​​include the predicted arrival time (the predicted value of the time it takes for the target car to arrive at the corresponding floor in response to a hall call from a user), but to avoid complicating the explanation here, the predicted arrival time will not be taken into consideration.

[0036] If there are several other calls already assigned when the user registers the call, the inter-floor adjustment required time required to respond to each call is also added. The inter-floor adjustment required time calculated by the inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11 is stored in a predetermined memory area and sent to the assignment control unit 12.

[0037] Allocation control unit 12 The allocation control unit 12 determines the assigned car (and either the upper car 3 or the lower car 4) to be assigned from among N cars 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N to the call of the user who has registered the call, based on the level of irritation calculated by the emotion analysis unit 10 and the required time for floor adjustment (evaluation value) calculated by the floor adjustment time calculation unit 11.

[0038] For example, the allocation control unit 12 performs control such that it is more difficult to assign a car with a longer inter-floor adjustment time to a user with a higher level of frustration. In other words, the longer a car with a longer inter-floor adjustment time is, the more delayed the arrival time of the user at the destination floor. Therefore, by making it more difficult to assign a car with a longer inter-floor adjustment time to a user with a higher level of frustration, it is expected that the frustration level of the user will decrease. On the other hand, the allocation control unit 12 performs control such that it is more easy to assign a car with a longer inter-floor adjustment time to a user with a lower level of frustration. This allows for balanced allocation control throughout the system.

[0039] A specific example of allocation control will be described in detail later.

[0040] The allocation control for each unit is handled differently between buildings that do not have "downward protruding floors" and buildings that have "downward protruding floors."

[0041] Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of allocation control in a building without "downward protruding floors." On the other hand, Figure 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of allocation control in a building with "downward protruding floors." In each diagram, black inverted triangles indicate already registered hall calls (those with destination floors below (DN direction)), and black circles indicate already registered car calls.

[0042] Here, we consider a case in which a user moves from the third floor to the first floor in a building where the first floor is higher than the other floors and there is a registered car call on the second floor.

[0043] As shown in Figure 2, in a building with no "downward-projecting floors" below the first floor, if the first floor is included in a passenger's departure or destination floors and there is a registered car call on the second floor, floor adjustment is required. For example, if a passenger's departure floor is the third floor and their destination floor is the first floor, the passenger must be placed in lower car 4 at the third floor boarding area (lower car 4 is assigned), and lower car 4 must land on the first floor. In this case, because the floor height of the first floor is greater than the floor height of the second floor, floor adjustment is required, and a certain amount of time is required for floor adjustment.

[0044] On the other hand, as shown in Figure 3, in buildings with a "downward protruding floor" below the first floor, it may not be necessary to perform floor adjustment. For example, as in the case above, if a passenger's departure floor is the third floor and their destination floor is the first floor, if the passenger is placed in upper car 3 at the third floor boarding area (if upper car 3 is assigned), upper car 3 can be made to land on the first floor. In this case, the time required for floor adjustment is zero, and since this does not cause a delay in the passenger's arrival time at their destination floor, it is appropriate to determine that car as the assigned car for passengers with a high level of irritation. In this case, it is desirable to assign upper car 3.

[0045] Unit control section 13-1, 13-2, ..., 13-N Each of the N car control units 13-1, 13-2, ..., 13-N performs control such as directing the corresponding car to a designated floor (a floor where a call registration has been made) in accordance with instructions from the allocation control unit 12, and sends information indicating the operating status of the corresponding car, the positions of the upper car 3 and the lower car 4, the status of inter-floor adjustment, etc. to the allocation control unit 12. The information is also transmitted to the inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11.

[0046] <Example of operation> Next, an example of the main operation of the elevator control device 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0047] 4 is merely an example, and is not limited to this example and may be modified as appropriate. For example, the order of the processes in steps S2 and S3 may be reversed, or they may be performed simultaneously.

[0048] The elevator control device 1 acquires information indicating the call registration of a user who has registered a call with one of the N landing destination floor registration devices 5-1, 5-2, ..., 5-N, and also acquires an image showing the user's behavior captured by the corresponding imaging device C, and information indicating the user's voice, pulse rate, and blood pressure detected by the corresponding sensor D (step S1).

[0049] The emotion analysis unit 10 analyzes the emotions of the user based on the acquired information showing the user's video and information showing the user's voice, pulse rate, and blood pressure, and calculates the level of irritation that indicates the degree of irritation of the user (step S2).

[0050] Meanwhile, the floor adjustment time calculation unit 11 calculates the floor adjustment time required for floor adjustment after the user registers the call for each of the N units 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N, and sets the floor adjustment time required as the evaluation value (step S3).

[0051] Finally, the allocation control unit 12 determines the car number (and either the upper car 3 or the lower car 4) to be assigned from among the N cars 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N to the call of the user who has registered the call, based on the level of irritation calculated by the emotion analysis unit 10 and the required time for inter-floor adjustment (evaluation value) calculated by the inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11 (step S4). For example, the allocation control unit 12 performs control such that it is more difficult to assign a car number that requires a long time for inter-floor adjustment to a user with a higher level of irritation. In addition, the allocation control unit 12 performs control such that it is more easy to assign a car number that requires a long time for inter-floor adjustment to a user with a lower level of irritation.

[0052] Next, a detailed example of the process in step S2 in FIG. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

[0053] 5 is merely an example, and is not limited to this example and may be modified as appropriate. For example, the processes of steps S11 to S15 do not need to be performed in this order, and may be performed simultaneously.

[0054] The emotion analysis unit 10 determines the level of irritation based on the volume of the user's voice (step S11).

[0055] Furthermore, the emotion analysis unit 10 determines the level of irritation based on the strength of the user's voice (step S12).

[0056] Furthermore, the emotion analysis unit 10 determines the level of irritation based on the pulse rate of the user (step S13).

[0057] Furthermore, the emotion analysis unit 10 determines the level of irritation based on the user's blood pressure (step S14).

[0058] Furthermore, the emotion analysis unit 10 determines the degree of irritation based on the user's movements in the video (step S15).

[0059] Finally, the emotion analysis unit 10 determines the total value of the irritation levels determined in steps S11 to S15 as the final irritation level (step S16).

[0060] <Example of quota control> Next, a specific example of allocation control by the allocation control unit 12 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the status of each car when allocation control is performed. In Fig. 6, black triangles indicate already registered hall calls (those with destination floors above (UP direction)), and black inverted triangles indicate already registered hall calls (those with destination floors below (DN direction)). Black circles indicate already registered car calls. Here, in addition to the inter-floor adjustment time, predicted arrival times are also used as evaluation values.

[0061] (A) Premise The building consists of 10 floors, with the floor heights of the 1st and 5th floors being higher than the other floors, and the required time for floor-to-floor adjustment being 5 seconds per cycle. The building is also equipped with four double-deck elevators 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4, each of which is equipped with a landing destination floor registration device 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, and 5-4, and a sensor D and a photographing device C corresponding to each floor. Here, the target user is referred to as the target user.

[0062] The sensor D, the photographing device C, the emotion analysis unit 10, the inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11, and the allocation control unit 12 each perform the following processing.

[0063] a) Processing by sensor D The voice and pulse of the target user are detected, and the detection results are sent to the emotion analysis unit 10.

[0064] b) Processing at Imaging Device C The target user's appearance is photographed, and the photographed result is sent to the emotion analysis unit 10.

[0065] c) Processing in the emotion analysis unit 10 Based on the detection results from sensor D and image capture device C, each time the emotion analysis results in a judgment of "irritated," the irritation level is incremented by "1."

[0066] d) Processing in the floor adjustment time calculation unit 11 For each of the four elevators, when the target user registers a call, the number of floor adjustments required to reach the destination floor is confirmed, and then multiplied by the aforementioned 5 seconds per adjustment to calculate the required time for floor adjustment (evaluation value).

[0067] e) Processing in the allocation control unit 12 The assigned car number is determined based on the level of frustration, predicted arrival time, and floor adjustment time (evaluation value).

[0068] The following two cases will be explained with specific examples.

[0069] - A case in which the more irritated a user is, the less likely they are to be assigned to a car with a longer inter-floor adjustment time. - A case where users with low levels of frustration (users who are not detected) are more likely to be assigned to units with longer inter-floor adjustment times. Note that floor adjustment may not be necessary if the upper and lower cars are not responding to calls on consecutive second floors. For example, if the distance between the upper and lower cars is wide when the lower car responds to a call on the first floor and the upper car on the second floor, and the next call is to a floor lower than the first floor, such as the lower car on the third floor and the upper car on the fourth floor, floor adjustment is necessary if the call is being responded to on a consecutive second floor. However, if there is a call on the third floor but not on the fourth floor, the lower car will need to open its doors on the third floor to respond to the call, but since there are no calls on the fourth floor, the upper car will not need to open its doors on the fourth floor, and therefore there is no need to adjust the distance between the upper and lower cars to the height of the third and fourth floors.

[0070] (B) Example 1 Here, we will give an example of allocation control in which an irritated passenger registers a call with the ninth floor as the destination floor using the hall destination floor registration device 5-1 installed on the first floor. Specifically, we will assume that the situation is as follows.

[0071] ·Appearance of target users When registering the call on the boarding hall destination floor registration device, the passenger's feet are slamming against the floor, and the whole body is in constant motion.

[0072] · Calls already registered at the time of registration of the target user's call The "registered hall calls" and "registered car calls" at the time of call registration for the target user are as shown in Figure 6. For units A and D, the lower car 4 is waiting with the door open on the first floor, for unit B the lower car 4 is traveling in the UP direction near the seventh floor, and for unit C the lower car 4 is traveling in the DN direction near the fourth floor.

[0073] Under these circumstances, the processing performed by the sensor D, the photographing device C, the emotion analysis unit 10, the inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11, and the allocation control unit 12 can be exemplified as follows using specific numerical values.

[0074] a) Processing by sensor D Detect the target user's pulse rate of 105 bpm. For other items, detect values ​​below the threshold.

[0075] b) Processing at Imaging Device C The target user is filmed slamming their feet against the floor.

[0076] c) Processing in the emotion analysis unit 10 The target user's pulse rate is "105 bpm," which exceeds a predetermined threshold (for example, 100 bpm), so "1 point" is added to the irritation level. Also, because the movement of the entire body exceeds the threshold, "1 point" is added to the irritation level. As a result, the irritation level becomes "2."

[0077] d) Processing in the floor adjustment time calculation unit 11 Regarding the time required for floor adjustment until the target user arrives at the destination floor (9th floor), if we consider the case where the target user's call is registered on each elevator, the number of times floor adjustments are performed and the total time required for floor adjustments will be as follows (the information in parentheses below indicates the timing when floor adjustments are performed).

[0078] Unit A: 2 times (1st floor → 3rd floor, 3rd floor → 5th floor). The time required for floor adjustment is "10 seconds."

[0079] Unit B: 0 times. The time required for floor adjustment is "0 seconds."

[0080] Unit C: 1 time (3rd floor → 1st floor). The time required for floor adjustment is "5 seconds."

[0081] Unit D: 1 time (1st floor to 8th floor). The time required for floor adjustment is "5 seconds."

[0082] e) Processing in the allocation control unit 12 Since the target user's level of irritation is "2", it is difficult to assign a unit with a large value for the required time for inter-floor adjustment.

[0083] Unit A: The car is located on the first floor, but the required time for floor adjustment is 10 seconds. Because the car is located on the first floor, immediate call response is possible, but compared to unit D below, the required time for floor adjustment is longer, making this unit unsuitable for allocation.

[0084] Unit B: The required floor adjustment time is "0 seconds", but the car is located on the "7th floor", and it takes time to return to the "1st floor" after responding to the call on the "10th floor", so the predicted arrival time is long. Compared to Unit D below, the combined time of the predicted arrival time and the required floor adjustment time is long, making it unsuitable as an assigned unit.

[0085] Unit C: The required time for floor adjustment is 5 seconds, which is shorter than the predicted arrival time of Unit B, but longer than Unit D below. Compared to Unit D below, the combined time of the predicted arrival time and the required time for floor adjustment is longer, making this unit unsuitable for allocation.

[0086] Machine D: The car position is the same as Machine A, "1st floor," and the required time for floor adjustment is "5 seconds." The combined time of the predicted arrival time and the required time for floor adjustment is shorter than any other machine, so it is suitable as the machine to be assigned.

[0087] In other words, since Unit D is suitable as the assigned unit, Unit D is designated as the assigned unit.

[0088] (C) Example 2 Here, an example of allocation control will be given in which a non-irritated user registers a call with the ninth floor as the destination floor using the hall destination floor registration device installed on the first floor.

[0089] ·Appearance of target users When registering a call on the boarding floor destination registration device, the passenger did not appear particularly irritated and remained calm.

[0090] · Calls already registered at the time of registration of the target user's call The "already registered hall calls" and "already registered car calls" at the time of call registration of the target user are the same as in Example 1, as shown in FIG.

[0091] Under these circumstances, the processing performed by the sensor D, the photographing device C, the emotion analysis unit 10, the inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11, and the allocation control unit 12 can be exemplified as follows using specific numerical values.

[0092] a) Processing by sensor D Detect the target user's pulse rate of "75 bpm." For other items, detect values ​​below the threshold.

[0093] b) Processing at Imaging Device C Film the target user calmly.

[0094] c) Processing in the emotion analysis unit 10 The target user's pulse rate is "75 bpm" and the user's state is calm, so no points are added to the irritability level. As a result, the irritability level is "0".

[0095] d) Processing in the floor adjustment time calculation unit 11 This is the same as the case of the above-mentioned specific example 1.

[0096] e) Processing in the allocation control unit 12 Since the target user's level of irritation is "0", it is easier to assign a unit with a larger value for the required time for inter-floor adjustment.

[0097] Unit A: The car is located on the first floor and the required time for floor adjustment is 10 seconds. Because the car is located on the first floor, it can respond to calls immediately, but the required time for floor adjustment is longer than any of the other units, so it is suitable as a unit to be assigned.

[0098] Unit B: The required time for floor adjustment is "0 seconds." The car is located on the "7th floor," and it takes time to return to the "1st floor" after responding to a call from the "10th floor," which increases the predicted arrival time. However, compared to Unit A, the combined time of the predicted arrival time and the required time for floor adjustment is shorter, making this unit unsuitable as an assigned unit.

[0099] Unit C: The required time for floor adjustment is 5 seconds, which is shorter than Unit B's predicted arrival time, but longer than Unit D below. However, compared to Unit A, the combined time of the predicted arrival time and the required time for floor adjustment is shorter, making this unit unsuitable for allocation.

[0100] Machine D: The car position is the same as Machine A, "1st floor," but the time required for floor adjustment is "5 seconds." Compared to Machine A, the time required for floor adjustment is shorter, making it unsuitable as an assigned machine.

[0101] That is, since Unit A is suitable as the assigned unit, Unit A is set as the assigned unit.

[0102] In this way, according to this embodiment, by performing allocation control to determine the elevator car to be assigned to the call of a user based on the level of irritation of the user who registered the call and at least the time required for floor-to-floor adjustment, it is possible to reduce the irritation of irritated users and prevent a decline in satisfaction with the elevator.

[0103] <Modification> In the explanation up to this point, an example has been shown in which the "inter-floor adjustment time required" is mainly used as the evaluation value, but instead of using the "inter-floor adjustment time required," the "door closed constraint time" may be used, or both the "inter-floor adjustment time required" and the "door closed constraint time" may be used. The "door closed constraint time" here refers to the constraint time (the time a user is confined in a car with its door closed) that occurs when other users get on and off in another car while the user who registered the call is in the car and arrives at the destination floor.

[0104] Below, we will show an example of using the "door closing constraint time" instead of the "floor adjustment required time".

[0105] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a modified example of the configuration of the elevator system shown in FIG.

[0106] The configuration of FIG. 7 differs from the configuration of FIG. 1 in that a door closing restraint time calculation unit 14 is provided instead of the inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit 11.

[0107] The door closing constraint time calculation unit 14 calculates the "door closing constraint time" for each of the N elevators 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N, which occurs when a user who has registered a call gets on one elevator and another passenger gets on or off the other elevator before the other passenger gets on or off the other elevator. The door closing constraint time can be calculated from the positions and states of the upper elevator 3 and the lower elevator 4, information indicating the floors where registered hall calls and elevator calls are occurring, and the like. This information can be obtained directly from the elevator control units 13-1, 13-2, ..., 13-N or via the allocation control unit 12.

[0108] In this case, the allocation control unit 12 determines the assigned car (and either the upper car 3 or the lower car 4) to be assigned from among the N cars 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-N to the call of the user who has registered the call, based on the level of irritation calculated by the emotion analysis unit 10 and the door closing constraint time (evaluation value) calculated by the door closing constraint time calculation unit 14.

[0109] For example, the allocation control unit 12 performs control such that it is more difficult to assign a car with a longer door-closed constraint time to a user with a higher level of irritation. In other words, the longer the door-closed constraint time, the more delayed the arrival time of the user at the destination floor. Therefore, by making it more difficult to assign a car with a longer door-closed constraint time to a user with a higher level of irritation, it is expected that the level of irritation of the user will decrease. On the other hand, the allocation control unit 12 performs control such that it is more easy to assign a car with a longer door-closed constraint time to a user with a lower level of irritation. This allows for balanced allocation control throughout the system.

[0110] An example of operation when "door closing constraint time" is used as the evaluation value can be easily understood by replacing "floor adjustment time required" with "door closing constraint time" in the explanation of Figure 5 above, so the explanation will be omitted.

[0111] In this way, according to the above-described modified example, by performing allocation control to determine the elevator number to be assigned to the call of a user based on the level of irritation of the user who registered the call and at least the door closing constraint time, it is possible to reduce the irritation of irritated users and prevent a decrease in satisfaction with the elevator.

[0112] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described, the above embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the inventions and their equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0113] 1... elevator control device, 2-1, 2-2, 2-N... unit number, 3... upper car, 4... lower car, 5-1, 5-2, 5-N... landing destination floor registration device, 10... emotion analysis unit, 11... inter-floor adjustment time calculation unit, 12... allocation control unit, 13-1, 13-2, 13-N... unit number control unit.

Claims

1. An elevator control device applied to an elevator system having a plurality of elevator cars capable of adjusting the distance between upper and lower cars to perform floor-to-floor adjustment, an emotion analysis unit that analyzes the emotion of a user who registers a call from a hall to a destination floor based on information obtained from at least one sensor or imaging device, and determines an irritation level indicating a degree of irritation of the user; a time calculation unit that calculates, for each of the plurality of elevators, a floor adjustment required time required for the floor adjustment after the call registration or a door closing constraint time that occurs when another passenger gets on or off another elevator while the user who registered the call is in the elevator and arrives at the destination floor; an allocation control unit that determines an allocation car to be allocated from among the plurality of cars to the call of the user who has registered the call, based on the degree of irritation and the required floor adjustment time or the door closing restraint time; An elevator control device comprising:

2. the allocation control unit performs control such that a car having a longer inter-floor adjustment required time or a longer door closing constraint time is less likely to be assigned to a user having a higher level of irritation; The elevator control device according to claim 1 .

3. the allocation control unit performs control such that a car having a longer inter-floor adjustment required time or a longer door closing constraint time is more likely to be allocated to a user having a lower level of irritation, The elevator control device according to claim 1 .

4. the sensor includes a sensor for detecting a user's voice; the emotion analysis unit uses the volume of the user's voice to determine the level of irritation; The elevator control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. the sensor includes a sensor for detecting a user's voice; the emotion analysis unit uses the strength of the user's voice to determine the level of irritation; The elevator control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The sensor includes a sensor for detecting a pulse of the user; the emotion analysis unit uses the pulse rate of the user to determine the level of irritation; The elevator control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. the sensor includes a sensor for detecting a blood pressure of the user; the emotion analysis unit uses the user's blood pressure to determine the level of irritation; The elevator control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. the emotion analysis unit uses the user's movements captured by the image capturing device to determine the level of irritation; The elevator control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

9. A computer is applied to an elevator system having a plurality of elevator cars capable of adjusting the distance between upper and lower cars to perform floor adjustment, a function of analyzing the emotions of a user who registers a call from a landing to a destination floor based on information obtained from at least one sensor or photographing device, and determining an irritation level indicating the degree of irritation of the user; a function for calculating, for each of the plurality of elevators, a floor adjustment required time for the floor adjustment after the call registration or a door closing restraint time that occurs when another passenger gets on or off another elevator while the user who registered the call is in the elevator and arrives at the destination floor; a function of determining an assigned car number to be assigned from among the plurality of cars to a user call based on the degree of irritation and the required floor adjustment time or the door closing restraint time; A program to achieve this.

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