Elevator system

Abstract

To suppress the lowering of the moving efficiency of a robot with low priority when the priority related to the use of an elevator is set to the robot movable on a plurality of floors by using the elevator.SOLUTION: An elevator system according to an embodiment includes a plurality of robots and an elevator control device that controls an operation of a car of an elevator. The plurality of robots include a first robot in which a first priority is set as a priority related to use of the elevator and a second robot in which a second priority higher than the first priority is set. When a departure floor and a target floor included in a robot call received from a first robot coincide with a departure floor and a target floor included in a robot call received from a second robot, an elevator control device allows the first robot to join a car which operates in response to the robot call from the second robot.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention relates to an elevator system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, it has been considered that various services such as transporting luggage within a building or guarding the building can be provided by having mobile objects such as autonomous robots (hereinafter referred to as robots) move (travel) within the building.

[0003] For example, if the building in which the robot moves is a multi-story building, the robot can move between the multiple floors of the building by using elevators provided in the building.

[0004] A priority for using an elevator may be set for a robot, such as "high priority" or "normal priority." By setting such priorities, for example, if a robot with "high priority" and a robot with "normal priority" want to use an elevator at the same time, the robot with "high priority" can use the elevator first.

[0005] However, if the priorities are set as described above, only robots with "high priority" will be able to use the elevator, and robots with "normal priority" may not be able to use the elevator easily. This will result in lower movement efficiency for robots with "normal priority." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6552755 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-106953 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide an elevator system that can prevent the movement efficiency of robots with lower priorities from becoming low when priorities regarding elevator use are set for robots that can move between multiple floors using elevators. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An elevator system according to one embodiment includes a plurality of robots that move within a building in which an elevator is installed, and an elevator control device that controls the operation of the elevator car. The plurality of robots include a first robot that is assigned a first priority as a priority for using the elevator, and a second robot that is assigned a second priority higher than the first priority. The elevator control device includes a robot call management means that receives a robot call transmitted from each robot when using the elevator, the robot call including a departure floor at which the robot will board the car, a destination floor at which the robot will disembark from the car, and the priority set for the robot. If the departure floor and destination floor included in the robot call received from the first robot match the departure floor and destination floor included in the robot call received from the second robot, the elevator control device determines that the first robot should ride in a car that operates in response to the robot call from the second robot, and transmits a boarding availability notification to the first robot and the second robot, indicating that the first robot and the second robot are available to board the car. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of an elevator system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hall call management table in the embodiment. [Figure 3]FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a robot call management table in the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the elevator system in the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the elevator system in the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of an elevator system according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the disclosure is merely an example, and the invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiments. Modifications that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art are naturally included in the scope of the disclosure. For clearer explanation, the size, shape, etc. of each part may be changed from the actual embodiment and shown schematically in the drawings. In multiple drawings, corresponding elements may be given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations may be omitted.

[0011] (First embodiment) In this embodiment, it is assumed that a mobile object moves within a building to provide various services. The mobile object includes an autonomous mobile robot (hereinafter simply referred to as a robot) that provides services such as transporting (carrying) luggage within the building and guarding the building.

[0012] Here, if the building in which the robot moves is a building with multiple floors, the robot can move between the multiple floors by using, for example, an elevator installed in the building.

[0013] A robot may be assigned a priority for using the elevator, such as "priority: normal" (first priority) or "priority: high" (second priority). Note that "priority: high" is a higher priority than "priority: normal." By setting such priorities, for example, if a robot with "priority: high" and a robot with "priority: normal" want to use the elevator at the same time, the robot with "priority: high" can use the elevator first.

[0014] However, if priorities are set as described above, only robots with "high priority" will be able to use the elevator, and robots with "normal priority" may have difficulty using the elevator.

[0015] Generally, if a human (user) and a robot want to use an elevator at the same time, the human will have priority in using the elevator. Therefore, if the priorities described above are set, the opportunities for a robot with "normal priority" to use the elevator will be significantly limited, and the movement efficiency of a robot with "normal priority" is expected to be extremely low.

[0016] Therefore, in this embodiment, we describe an elevator system with a robot call management function that can prevent the movement efficiency of robots with low priority from becoming extremely low when priority for elevator use is set for robots.

[0017] An overview of the elevator system according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the elevator system is made up of a car 10, an elevator control device 20, and a plurality of robots 30.

[0018] The car 10 moves up and down in the elevator shaft under the control of the elevator control device 20 by being driven by a hoisting machine (not shown).

[0019] 1, the elevator control device 20 includes a control unit 21, a robot call management unit 22, and a robot call storage unit 23. The elevator control device 20 is communicably connected to a plurality of robots 30 via a network (public line network) such as the Internet.

[0020] The control unit 21 controls the operation of the elevator car 10 in response to hall calls and car calls. A "hall call" is a call signal registered by operating a hall call button installed at the hall of each floor, and includes information on the registered floor and destination direction. In contrast, a "car call" is a call signal registered by operating a destination call button installed in the elevator car 10, and includes information on the destination floor. The hall call buttons include, for example, an up button and a down button. The destination call buttons include, for example, the same number of buttons as the number of floors in the building in which the elevator is installed.

[0021] The control unit 21 includes a hall call management table 21t, which manages information on hall calls registered by users at halls.

[0022] An example of the hall call management table 21t is shown in Figure 2. The "registered floor" is the floor where the user has registered a hall call by operating the hall call button, that is, the floor where the user will board the car 10. The "destination direction" is the direction of the hall call button operated by the user, that is, the direction the user wants to go.

[0023] For example, the hall call management table 21t shown in Fig. 2 stores hall call information for the registered floor "1F" and the destination direction "upward." This hall call information indicates that a user has registered a hall call at "1F" and that the direction the user wants to go is "upward."

[0024] 2 stores information on the hall call for the registered floor "5F" and the destination direction "downward." This hall call information indicates that a user has registered a hall call for "5F" and that the direction the user wants to go is "downward."

[0025] The hall call management table 21t stores information about hall calls that have not yet been answered (unanswered), and information about answered hall calls is deleted from the hall call management table 21t. The hall call information is stored in ascending order in the hall call management table 21t. That is, the information in the upper rows of the hall call management table 21t is hall call information that was registered earlier.

[0026] The robot call management unit 22 receives robot calls sent from the robot 30 and registers information about the received robot call in the robot call storage unit 23. A "robot call" is a signal that the robot 30 sends to the elevator control device 20 when using the car 10, and includes a robot ID for uniquely identifying the robot 30, the departure floor of the robot 30, the destination floor of the robot 30, and a priority set for the robot 30. Note that a robot call may also be referred to as a movement request, as it is a signal indicating that the robot 30 wants to use the car 10 to move from the departure floor to the destination floor.

[0027] The robot call storage unit 23 includes a robot call management table 23t, which manages information on robot calls received from the robot 30.

[0028] An example of the robot call management table 23t is shown in Figure 3. "Robot ID" is information for uniquely identifying the robot 30 that sent the robot call. "Departure floor" is the departure floor of the robot 30 that sent the robot call, that is, the floor where the robot 30 gets on the car 10. "Destination floor" is the destination floor of the robot 30 that sent the robot call, that is, the floor where the robot 30 gets off the car 10. "Priority" is the priority for elevator use set for the robot 30 that sent the robot call.

[0029] For example, the robot call management table 23t shown in Figure 3 stores information about a robot call with a robot ID of "id1", a departure floor of "1F", a destination floor of "3F", and a priority of "Priority: High". This robot call information indicates that the robot 30 with "id1" wants to move from "1F" to "3F", and that the priority set for the robot 30 is "Priority: High".

[0030] 3 stores robot call information with a robot ID of "id2," a departure floor of "1F," a destination floor of "5F," and a priority of "normal." This robot call information indicates that the robot 30 with "id2" wants to move from "1F" to "5F," and that the priority of the robot 30 is "normal."

[0031] The robot call management table 23t stores information about robot calls that have not yet been answered (unanswered), and information about answered robot calls is deleted from the robot call management table 23t. The robot call information is also stored in ascending order in the robot call management table 23t. In other words, the information in the top row of the robot call management table 23t is the information about the robot call that was registered earlier.

[0032] The robot call management unit 22 determines whether or not to allow a robot 30 with "normal priority" to ride in a car 10 in which a robot 30 with "high priority" is scheduled to ride, based on the robot call management table 23t. Note that the details of this function will be described later, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted here.

[0033] The robot call management unit 22 registers the robot call received from the robot 30 in the control unit 21 and causes the elevator 10 to respond to the robot call. The robot call management unit 22 also transmits a boarding availability notification to the robot 30 that is scheduled to board the elevator 10, indicating that the elevator 10 that operates in response to the robot call registered in the control unit 21 is available for boarding. The robot call management unit 22 also transmits an arrival notification to the robot 30 that is scheduled to board the elevator 10, indicating that the elevator 10 that operates in response to the robot call registered in the control unit 21 has arrived at the departure floor of the robot call.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 30 includes a communication unit 31 and a movement control unit 32. The communication unit 31 transmits the robot call to the elevator control device 20. Note that the robot call is generated by a CPU or the like mounted on the robot 30, for example, when the robot 30 needs to use an elevator to provide various services. The communication unit 31 also receives the boarding availability notification and the arrival notification from the elevator control device 20.

[0035] The movement control unit 32 controls the movement of the robot 30 based on the above-mentioned boarding availability notification and the above-mentioned arrival notification. For example, based on the above-mentioned boarding availability notification, the movement control unit 32 moves the robot 30 from its current location to the boarding hall of the departure floor included in the robot call transmitted by the communication unit 31. Furthermore, when the communication unit 31 further receives the above-mentioned arrival notification after receiving the above-mentioned boarding availability notification, the movement control unit 32 moves the robot 30 so that it boards the elevator 10 that has arrived at the departure floor.

[0036] Next, an example of the operation of the elevator system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 illustrates the operation of the elevator control device 20 in a case where, when information on one robot call indicating "high priority" is stored in the robot call management table 23t as information on a robot call from a specific robot 30, a new robot call including "normal priority" is received from another robot 30, and information on one robot call indicating "normal priority" is stored in the robot call management table 23t as information on the new robot call.

[0037] In this case, the robot call management unit 22 registers a robot call corresponding to the information of the robot call with "high priority" stored in the robot call management table 23t in the control unit 21. The control unit 21 causes the elevator 10 to respond to the registered robot call with "high priority" and moves the elevator 10 toward the departure floor included in the robot call (step S1).

[0038] Next, the robot call management unit 22 determines whether the departure floor included in the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" stored in the robot call management table 23t is the same as the departure floor included in the robot call with "priority: high" registered in the processing of step S1 (step S2).

[0039] In the processing of step S2, if it is determined that the departure floor included in the information of the robot call with "normal priority" is not the same as the departure floor included in the robot call with "high priority" (No in step S2), the processing of step S5 described below is executed.

[0040] On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing of step S2 that the departure floor included in the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" is the same as the departure floor included in the robot call with "priority: high" (Yes in step S2), the robot call management unit 22 determines whether the destination floor included in the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" stored in the robot call management table 23t is the same as the destination floor included in the robot call with "priority: high" registered in the processing of step S1 (step S3).

[0041] In the processing of step S3, if it is determined that the destination floor included in the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" is the same as the destination floor included in the robot call with "priority: high" (Yes in step S3), the robot call management unit 22 determines that the robot 30 with "priority: normal" will ride in the elevator 10 in which the robot 30 with "priority: high" is scheduled to ride, and sends a boarding availability notification to both the robot 30 with "priority: high" and the robot 30 with "priority: normal" indicating that they can board the elevator 10 (step S4).

[0042] When the robot 30 with "high priority" and the robot 30 with "normal priority" receive the boarding availability notification transmitted in the processing of step S4 and then receive an arrival notification indicating that the car 10 has arrived at the departure floor, they board the car 10 and move to the destination floor. When the car 10 arrives at the destination floor, the robot 30 with "high priority" disembarks from the car 10 first, followed by the robot 30 with "normal priority", whereupon the series of operations ends. Note that if the elevator control device 20 detects that the door of the car 10 has closed before the robot 30 with "normal priority" disembarks from the car 10, it reopens the door of the car 10 and transmits a notification to the robot 30 with "normal priority" to encourage it to disembark.

[0043] In this way, when the departure floor and destination floor of the robot 30 (second robot) with "high priority" coincide with the departure floor and destination floor of the robot 30 (first robot) with "normal priority," the robot 30 with "normal priority" can ride in the elevator car 10 in which the robot 30 with "high priority" is riding, thereby improving the transport efficiency of the elevator and preventing the movement efficiency of the robot 30 with "normal priority" from becoming low.

[0044] Furthermore, when a robot 30 with "high priority" and a robot 30 with "normal priority" board the elevator 10 and the elevator 10 departs for the destination floor, the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t and deletes the information on the robot call with "high priority" and the information on the robot call with "normal priority" from the robot call management table 23t.

[0045] Returning to the explanation of FIG. In the processing of step S2, if it is determined that the departure floor included in the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" is not the same as the departure floor included in the robot call with "priority: high" (No in step S2), or if it is determined in the processing of step S3 that the destination floor included in the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" is not the same as the destination floor included in the robot call with "priority: high" (No in step S3), the robot call management unit 22 determines that the robot 30 with "priority: normal" will not ride in the elevator 10 that the robot 30 with "priority: high" is scheduled to ride in, and sends the above-mentioned boarding availability notification only to the robot 30 with "priority: high" (step S5).

[0046] According to this, a robot 30 with "high priority" can board a car 10 that has arrived at the departure floor and travel to the destination floor. When a robot 30 with "high priority" boards a car 10 and the car 10 departs for the destination floor of the robot 30 with "high priority," the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t and deletes the information about the robot call with "high priority" from the robot call management table 23t.

[0047] When a robot 30 with "high priority" gets on a car 10 and the car 10 departs for the destination floor of the robot 30 with "high priority", the robot call management unit 22 registers a robot call corresponding to the information of the robot call with "normal priority" remaining in the robot call management table 23t in the control unit 21. When the car 10 arrives at the destination floor of the robot 30 with "high priority" and the robot 30 with "high priority" gets off the car 10, the control unit 21 makes the car 10 respond to the registered robot call with "normal priority" and moves the car 10 toward the departure floor included in the robot call (step S6).

[0048] Thereafter, the robot call management unit 22 transmits the above-mentioned boarding availability notification to the robot 30 with "normal priority" (step S7), and ends the series of operations here.

[0049] According to this, a robot 30 with "priority: normal" can board a car 10 that has arrived at the departure floor and travel to the destination floor. When a robot 30 with "priority: normal" boards a car 10 and the car 10 departs for the destination floor of the robot 30 with "priority: normal", the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t and deletes the information on the robot call with "priority: normal" from the robot call management table 23t.

[0050] The series of operations shown in Figure 4 can also be applied when, when information on one robot call indicating "priority: normal" is stored in the robot call management table 23t as information on a robot call from a specific robot 30, a new robot call including "priority: high" is received from another robot 30, and information on one robot call indicating "priority: high" is stored in the robot call management table 23t as information on the new robot call.

[0051] Next, an example of the operation of the elevator system according to this embodiment will be further described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5. While Fig. 4 describes the operation of the elevator system assuming a specific situation, Fig. 5 describes the operation of the elevator system that can be applied to various situations without assuming a specific situation.

[0052] First, when the robot call management unit 22 receives a robot call from a predetermined robot 30, it stores (writes) information about the robot call in the robot call management table 23t in the robot call storage unit 23. Thereafter, the robot call management unit 22 inquires of the control unit 21 about the presence or absence of an unanswered hall call. In response to the inquiry from the robot call management unit 22, the control unit 21 refers to the hall call management table 21t and determines whether or not there is an unanswered hall call (in other words, whether or not hall call information is stored in the hall call management table 21t) (step S11).

[0053] In the process of step S11, when it is determined that there is an unanswered hall call (Yes in step S11), the control unit 21 notifies the robot call management unit 22 that there is an unanswered hall call, and causes the car 10 to respond to a hall call corresponding to the hall call information that was registered earliest among the hall call information stored in the hall call management table 21t, and moves the car 10 toward the registered floor included in the hall call (step S12). After the process of step S12, the control unit 21 updates the hall call management table 21t, deletes the information of the answered hall call from the hall call management table 21t, and then executes the process of step S11 again to determine again whether there is an unanswered hall call.

[0054] On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing of step S11 that there are no unanswered hall calls (No in step S11), control unit 21 notifies robot call management unit 22 that there are no unanswered hall calls. Upon receiving the notification that there are no unanswered hall calls, robot call management unit 22 refers to robot call management table 23t in robot call storage unit 23, and determines whether or not there is a robot call indicating "high priority" (in other words, whether or not information about a robot call with "high priority" is stored in robot call management table 23t) (step S13).

[0055] In the processing of step S13, if it is determined that there are no robot calls with "high priority," that is, if it is determined that there are only robot calls with "normal priority" (No in step S13), the robot call management unit 22 registers in the control unit 21 a robot call that corresponds to the information on the robot call with "normal priority" that was registered earliest among the information on the robot calls with "normal priority" stored in the robot call management table 23t. The control unit 21 causes the elevator 10 to respond to the registered robot call with "normal priority" (target call), and moves the elevator 10 toward the departure floor included in the target call (step S14).

[0056] Thereafter, the robot call management unit 22 transmits a boarding availability notification indicating that the robot 30 (target robot 30) identified by the robot ID included in the robot call registered in the processing of step S14 is able to board the car 10 (step S15). After the processing of step S15, the processing of step S21 described below is executed.

[0057] In the following, a robot call registered in the control unit 21 will be referred to as a "target call," and the robot 30 identified by the robot ID included in the target call will be referred to as the "target robot 30."

[0058] On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing of step S13 that there is a robot call with "high priority" (Yes in step S13), the robot call management unit 22 registers in the control unit 21 a robot call that corresponds to the information on the robot call with "high priority" that was registered earliest among the information on the robot calls with "high priority" stored in the robot call management table 23t. The control unit 21 causes the elevator 10 to respond to the registered robot call with "high priority" (target call), and moves the elevator 10 toward the departure floor included in the target call (step S16).

[0059] Next, the robot call management unit 22 refers to the robot call management table 23t and determines whether there are other robot calls that have the same departure floor as the target call (in other words, whether information about a robot call that has the same departure floor as the target call is stored in the robot call management table 23t) (step S17).

[0060] In the processing of step S17, if it is determined that there is another robot call that has the same departure floor as the target call (Yes in step S17), the robot call management unit 22 refers to the robot call management table 23t and determines whether the destination floor of the other robot call (i.e., the other robot call that has the same departure floor as the target call) is the same as the destination floor of the target call (step S18).

[0061] In the processing of step S18, if it is determined that the destination floor of another robot call is the same as the destination floor of the target call (Yes in step S18), the robot call management unit 22 determines that a robot 30 with the same departure floor and destination floor as the target robot 30 will be allowed to ride in the elevator 10 in which the target robot 30 is scheduled to board, and sends a boarding availability notification to these robots 30 indicating that they can board the elevator 10 (step S19).

[0062] When the target robot 30 and the robot 30 sharing the car 10 in which the target robot 30 is riding receive the boarding availability notification transmitted in the processing of step S19 and further receive an arrival notification indicating that the car 10 has arrived at the departure floor, they board the car 10 and move to the destination floor. When the car 10 arrives at the destination floor, the target robot 30 dismounts from the car 10 first, and the sharing robot 30 dismounts from the car 10 next. Note that when the target robot 30 and the sharing robot 30 board the car 10 and the car 10 departs for the destination floor, the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t and deletes information about the target call and information about other robot calls that have the same departure floor and destination floor as the target call from the robot call management table 23t, and then executes the processing of step S21, which will be described later.

[0063] If, in the processing of step S17, it is determined that there are no other robot calls with the same departure floor as the target call (No in step S17), or if, in the processing of step S18, it is determined that the destination floor of the other robot calls is not the same as the destination floor of the target call (No in step S18), the robot call management unit 22 sends the above-mentioned boarding availability notification only to the target robot 30 (step S20).

[0064] When the target robot 30 receives the boarding availability notification transmitted in the processing of step S20 and further receives an arrival notification indicating that the car 10 that responded to the target call has arrived at the departure floor, the target robot 30 boards the car 10 and moves to the destination floor. Note that when the target robot 30 boards the car 10 and the car 10 departs for the destination floor, the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t, deletes the information of the target call from the robot call management table 23t, and then executes the processing of step S21, which will be described later.

[0065] Thereafter, robot call manager 22 refers to robot call management table 23t to determine whether there are other robot calls (in other words, whether robot call information is stored in robot call management table 23t) (step S21). If it is determined that there are other robot calls (Yes in step S21), robot call manager 22 executes the process of step S11 again. On the other hand, if it is determined that there are no other robot calls (No in step S21), the elevator system ends this series of operations.

[0066] It is preferable that the robot call management unit 22 does not respond (react) to a new robot call until the series of operations shown in Fig. 5 is completed, even if the robot call management unit 22 receives a new robot call from another robot 30 after the series of operations shown in Fig. 5 is completed. This allows the robot call management unit 22 to prioritize the elevator car 10 in responding to a robot call that corresponds to the robot call information stored in the robot call management table 23t at the time the series of operations shown in Fig. 5 was completed.

[0067] As explained above, the elevator system of this embodiment takes into consideration the priority of elevator use set for the robot 30, and has a robot call management function that allows a robot 30 with "normal priority" to share the car 10 with a robot 30 with "high priority" if the departure floor and destination floor of the robot 30 with "normal priority" match.

[0068] This can improve the transportation efficiency of the elevator. It can also prevent a situation in which only the robots 30 with "high priority" can use the elevator, leaving the robots 30 with "normal priority" unable to use the elevator, resulting in an extremely low movement efficiency for the robots 30 with "normal priority."

[0069] Furthermore, the elevator system of this embodiment does not respond to robot calls received after the series of operations shown in Figure 5 has begun until the series of operations has ended. This eliminates a situation where, for example, robot calls from a robot 30 with "high priority" are continuously received, preventing a robot 30 with "normal priority" that sent a robot call earlier from being able to use the elevator.

[0070] In the present embodiment described above, the robot 30 is set to two types of priorities, "high priority" and "normal priority," but the robot 30 may be set to three or more types of priorities (that is, the priorities set to the robot 30 may be further subdivided). In this case, the highest priority among the priorities set to the robot 30 is regarded as the same as "high priority" in this embodiment, and the other priorities are regarded as the same as "normal priority" in this embodiment, making it possible to perform operations similar to the series of operations shown in FIG. 5.

[0071] (Second embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described. As shown in Fig. 6, the elevator system according to this embodiment differs from the elevator system according to the first embodiment in that it further includes a remote monitoring system 40 communicably connected to the elevator control device 20. Below, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and descriptions of similar parts to the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0072] If there is robot call information that has not been deleted even after a certain amount of time has passed since it was stored in the robot call management table 23t (in other words, if there is a robot call received from a robot 30 that has not been responded to even after a certain amount of time has passed), the robot call management unit 22 sends a notification (alert) to the remote monitoring system 40 that there may be an abnormality in the robot 30 identified by the robot ID included in the robot call information.

[0073] By sending such a notification, the monitor at the remote monitoring system 40 can determine which robot 30 operating in which building may be experiencing an abnormality, and can therefore take action such as dispatching maintenance personnel to the building where the robot 30 with a possible abnormality is operating.

[0074] According to at least one of the embodiments described above, when a priority is set for elevator use for a robot that can move between multiple floors using an elevator, an elevator system can be provided that can prevent the movement efficiency of a robot with a low priority from becoming low.

[0075] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be 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]

[0076] 10...car, 20...elevator control device, 21...control unit, 21t...hall call management table, 22...robot call management unit, 23...robot call memory unit, 23t...robot call management table, 30...robot, 31...communication unit, 32...movement control unit, 40...remote monitoring system

Claims

1. An elevator system including a plurality of robots that move within a building in which an elevator is installed, and an elevator control device that controls the operation of a car of the elevator, the plurality of robots include a first robot to which a first priority is set as a priority for using the elevator, and a second robot to which a second priority higher than the first priority is set; The elevator control device includes: receiving a robot call transmitted from each robot when using the elevator, the robot call including a departure floor where the robot will board the elevator car, a destination floor where the robot will disembark from the elevator car, and a priority set for the robot; and a robot call management means for determining that the first robot will ride in a car that operates in response to the robot call from the second robot when the departure floor and destination floor included in the robot call received from the first robot match the departure floor and destination floor included in the robot call received from the second robot, and sending a boarding availability notification to the first robot and the second robot indicating that they can ride in the car. Elevator system.

2. When the first robot rides in a car that operates in response to a robot call from the second robot, when the car arrives at a destination floor for the first robot and the second robot, the first robot gets off after the second robot gets off the car.

10. The elevator system of claim 1.

3. The robot call management means If at least one of the departure floor and the destination floor included in the robot call received from the first robot does not match the departure floor and the destination floor included in the robot call received from the second robot, it is determined that the first robot will not be allowed to ride in a car that operates in response to the robot call from the second robot, and the boarding availability notification is sent only to the second robot.

10. The elevator system of claim 1.

4. The robot call management means When it is determined that the first robot will not ride in a car that operates in response to a robot call from the second robot, after the second robot gets off the car at its destination floor, the car responds to the robot call received from the first robot and transmits the boarding availability notification to the first robot.

4. The elevator system of claim 3.

5. The robot call management means not allowing the elevator car to respond to a new robot call received from a robot other than the first robot and the second robot until the first robot gets off the elevator car at its destination floor; 10. The elevator system of claim 1.

6. The robot call management means Checking whether there is a hall call registered by a user at the hall, and if it is confirmed that there is no hall call, responding to the robot call received from each of the robots.

10. The elevator system of claim 1.

7. a remote monitoring system communicatively connected to the elevator control device; The robot call management means If a robot call is received from a predetermined robot and has not been responded to even after a certain period of time has passed, a notification is sent to the remote monitoring system indicating that an abnormality may have occurred in the predetermined robot.

10. The elevator system of claim 1.

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