Elevator control system and elevator control method

Abstract

To improve crime prevention of an elevator.SOLUTION: An elevator control system is provided with an input device including: an input control unit which receives, from a display input unit, an instruction of an accompanying service for accompanying a user to ride in the car together with an autonomous mobile body and an input of a destination floor; and a first communication unit which transmits, when the instruction of the accompanying service is received, the instruction of the accompanying service to the autonomous mobile body and transmits the destination floor to an elevator control device, wherein the elevator control device includes a control unit which moves the car to a reference floor when the destination floor is received, and the autonomous mobile body includes a third communication unit which receives the instruction of the accompanying service, and a travel control unit which, when the instruction of the accompanying service is received, moves to a position of the user existing in a predetermined place, recognizes the user by an imaging unit, moves following the recognized user, and rides in the car arrived at the reference floor together with the user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Recent elevator control systems operate in conjunction with autonomous mobile objects, such as robots that perform various tasks such as delivery services, cleaning, and security, by having them board the elevator car and move to their destination floor (target floor).

[0003] Meanwhile, in buildings such as apartment buildings, security measures for elevators that operate at night have traditionally been known, such as installing security cameras inside the elevator car and operating the elevator in a way that hides the direction of the elevator car's movement and its position at the landing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5449873 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6791399 [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 6874111 [Patent Document 4] Patent No. 7063405 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-264819 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, passengers often feel intimidated and uneasy when a stranger rides in the elevator, and there is a need for improved security in elevators. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An elevator control system according to an embodiment is an elevator control system including an autonomous mobile body that can move autonomously in a car installed in a building, an elevator control device that controls an elevator that can carry the autonomous mobile body and a person, and an input device that is provided at a predetermined location and connected to the autonomous mobile body via a network, wherein the input device includes an input control unit that receives from a display input unit an instruction for an accompaniment service in which a user accompanies the autonomous mobile body into the car and an input of a destination floor, and a display input unit that, when the instruction for the accompaniment service is received, displays the instruction for the accompaniment service to the autonomous mobile body. and a first communication unit that transmits the destination floor to the elevator control device, the elevator control device comprising a second communication unit that receives the destination floor from the input device and a control unit that moves the elevator car to a predetermined reference floor when the destination floor is received, and the autonomous mobile body comprising a third communication unit that receives an instruction for the accompaniment service and a travel control unit that, when the instruction for the accompaniment service is received, moves to the position of the user who is at the predetermined location, moves following the user, and boards the elevator car together with the user when it arrives at the reference floor. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an elevator control system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of a lobby floor of a building in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the input device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input screen according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying the status of the robot accompaniment service in the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a control panel according to the embodiment. [Figure 7]FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server in the elevator cloud according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server in the robot cloud according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the robot according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overall flow of the elevator control process according to the embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the state of the robot, the user, and the car when using the robot accompaniment service in the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] (Embodiment) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an elevator control system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the elevator control system 1 of this embodiment mainly includes control panels 100A and 100B provided for each of a plurality of elevators 2A and 2B, controllers 150A and 150B provided for each of the plurality of elevators 2A and 2B, a control room 160, an input device 170, a server 210 in an elevator cloud 200, a server 310 in a robot cloud 300, a monitoring center 400, and an elevator company 700.

[0010] In this embodiment, a plurality of elevators 2A and 2B are installed in a building 3 (an example of a building) such as an apartment building. In the example of Fig. 1, two elevators 2A and 2B are shown, but the system may be configured with only one elevator or three or more elevators.

[0011] Elevators 2A, 2B each have a car 50A, 50B in their respective hoistways 20A, 20B. Additionally, each hoistway 20A, 20B also has a hoisting machine and a counterweight (not shown). The cars 50A, 50B and the counterweight are supported so as to be able to rise and fall freely on a pair of guide rails (not shown) erected in each of the hoistways 20A, 20B, and move up and down via ropes.

[0012] In addition to the user 5A, robots 500A and 500B as autonomous moving bodies can also ride in the cars 50A and 50B.

[0013] The cars 50A and 50B are provided with operation panels 4A and 4B, cameras 7A and 7B, and load sensors 8A and 8B. The operation panels 4A, 4B accept various operations from users and issue various notifications to the elevator car 50. The operation panels 4A, 4B are provided with push buttons, non-contact sensors, speakers, LCD displays, etc. (none of which are shown) for specifying destination floors and opening and closing the doors of the elevator cars 50A, 50B. The operation panels 4A, 4B are also connected to the control panels 100A, 100B by wire or wirelessly. When users 5A, 5B press the destination floor push button or when detected by a non-contact sensor, a destination floor call is sent to the control panels 100A, 100B.

[0014] Here, the destination floor call is operation data that is performed by a user in the elevator car 50 to move the elevator car 50 to a desired destination floor. The destination floor call specifies a destination floor.

[0015] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a destination floor call for the robot is transmitted from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the control panel 100 via the controller 150. The destination floor call for the robot is operation data in which the robot ID of the robot 500 that wishes to use the elevator 2, the departure floor, and the destination floor (also referred to as the target floor) are specified, and the car 50 is moved to the specified departure floor and directed from the departure floor to the specified destination floor.

[0016] A platform call is operation data that a platform user performs to make a car 50 heading in either the up or down direction arrive at the platform. The platform call specifies the destination direction and the floor where the platform call is made (i.e., the departure floor).

[0017] Cameras 7A and 7B photograph the interiors of cars 50A and 50B and send the captured images to control panels 100A and 100B. When the doors of cars 50A and 50B are open at the platform, cameras 7A and 7B are capable of capturing images of the platform and send the captured images to control panels 100A and 100B.

[0018] The load sensors 8A and 8B are provided on the bottom of the cars 50A and 50B and detect the weight of the car 50. When a user 5A or a robot 500A or 500B is inside the car 50A or 50B, the load sensors 8A and 8B detect the weight of the car 50 itself, as well as the weight of the user 5A and the robot 500A or 500B. The load sensors 8A and 8B send the detected weights as detection signals to the control panels 100A and 100B.

[0019] A landing is provided on each floor. The landing is a place where users and robot 500 wait for the arrival of elevator cars 50A and 50B of elevators 2A and 2B. A camera 9 is provided on the wall of the landing on each floor. Camera 9 captures an image of the landing and transmits the captured image to control panels 100A and 100B.

[0020] Control panels 100A and 100B and controllers 150A and 150B are provided inside the elevator shafts 20A and 20B, respectively. The control panels 100A and 100B are connected wirelessly or by wire to operation panels 4A and 4B provided on the cars 50A and 50B.

[0021] The control panels 100A and 100B control the operation of the cars 50A and 50B in the elevators 2A and 2B, respectively. The control panels 100A and 100B are connected to the controllers 150A and 150B, respectively, by wire or wirelessly. The control panels 100A and 100B will be described in detail later.

[0022] Each of the controllers 150A, 150B is connected to a server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 via a network. The controllers 150A, 150B are intermediary devices that control communication between the control panels 100A, 100B and the server 210 and have an interface function and a hub function for intermediating various signals exchanged between the control panels 100A, 100B and the server 210. Each of the controllers 150A, 150B is configured as a computer that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.

[0023] The manager of building 3 is present in control room 160 and issues various instructions to control panels 100A and 100B. The manager of control room 160 also receives various instructions from control panels 100A and 100B by email or the like via a PC or terminal device.

[0024] The input device 170 is provided at the entrance 23 on the lobby floor. The input device 170 is a device that allows a user to input whether or not to use the robot accompaniment service and the destination floor at the entrance. Here, the entrance is an example of a predetermined location.

[0025] The server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 issues various control instructions for the cars 50A and 50B of the elevators 2A and 2B to the control panels 100A and 100B via the controllers 150A and 150B, and also receives various instructions and data from the control panels 100A and 100B via the controllers 150A and 150B. The server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 is connected to a monitoring center 400 (an in-house server) and a server 310 in the robot cloud 300 via a network.

[0026] An in-house server (not shown) is installed in the monitoring center 400. The in-house server is a server installed in an affiliated company of the elevator 11, and collects information necessary for maintenance management and remote monitoring of the elevator 2 from the elevators 2A and 2B. This allows maintenance personnel to deal with the malfunction by referring to the information necessary for maintenance management collected in the in-house server of the monitoring center 400. Furthermore, when functions or services are executed through the elevator cloud 200, the in-house server of the monitoring center 400 can be accessed as needed to refer to building and elevator information, or the maintenance personnel can obtain information necessary for elevator management.

[0027] The server 310 of the robot cloud 300 receives various instructions and various data from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. The server 310 of the robot cloud 300 is connected to multiple robots 500A, 500B, and 500C in the building 3 via a network, and transmits various instructions to each of the multiple robots 500A, 500B, and 500C. The server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 will be described in detail later.

[0028] The elevator company 700 is a company that provides the elevator 2, and a server 710 is provided within the elevator company 700.

[0029] The number of elevators is not limited, and three or more elevators are installed in building 3. Therefore, the number of elevator shafts 20A, 20B, cars 50A, 50B, control panels 100A, 100B, and controllers 150A, 150B also varies depending on the number of elevators 2A, 2B. Here, when the multiple elevators 2A, 2B, the multiple elevator shafts 20A, 20B, the multiple cars 50A, 50B, the multiple control panels 100A, 100B, and the multiple controllers 150A, 150B are not distinguished from one another, they will be referred to as elevator 2, hoistway 20, car 50, control panel 100, and controller 150. When the operation panels 4A, 4B, cameras 7A, 7B, and load sensors 8A, 8B are not distinguished from one another, they will be referred to as operation panel 4, camera 7, and load sensor 8.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the lobby floor of the building 3 in the first embodiment. In the example of FIG. 2, a waiting area 32 for the robot 500 is provided on the right side of the entrance 23 of the building 3. An input device 170 is also provided at the entrance. The lobby floor is an example of a reference floor. The reference floor is a floor that serves as a reference for the elevator 50 when ascending or descending.

[0031] In this embodiment, when the user 5 inputs via the input device 170 that he / she wishes to use the robot accompaniment service, the robot 500 waiting in the waiting area 32 moves to the entrance 23 and follows the user 5 to the elevator car 50 of the elevator 2, as shown in FIG. 2. Here, the robot accompaniment service is a service in which a passenger is accompanied by a robot in the elevator car 50.

[0032] Next, the input device 170 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the input device 170 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the input device 170 according to this embodiment mainly includes a touch panel display 177, a communication unit 171, an authentication unit 172, a display control unit 173, an input control unit 174, and a memory unit 175.

[0033] Touch panel display 177 displays various screens and accepts input operations from the user by touch input. Touch panel display 177 is an example of a display input unit.

[0034] The display control unit 173 displays various screens on the touch panel display 177. In this embodiment, the display control unit 173 displays an input screen on the touch panel display 177 to prompt the user 5 to input whether or not to use the robot accompaniment service during a predetermined time period.

[0035] Here, the predetermined time period may be, for example, a nighttime period such as from 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM the next day.

[0036] The input control unit 174 accepts various operations from the user 5 via the touch panel display 177. In this embodiment, the input control unit 174 accepts instructions for the robot accompaniment service and input of the destination floor by the user 5 via the input screen displayed on the touch panel display 177.

[0037] 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating examples of input screens according to an embodiment. Fig. 4A shows a screen for inputting whether or not to use the robot accompaniment service. When "Yes" is touched on the input screen, an instruction for the robot accompaniment service is issued.

[0038] Figure 4(b) is a screen for inputting the destination floor. In Figure 4(b), by inputting a room number, the destination floor is specified from the input room number. Fig. 4(c) is a screen that is displayed when "Yes" is touched on the input screen of Fig. 4(a) and the robot accompaniment service is used. In the example of Fig. 4(c), a confirmation of the user's intention to depart and the time remaining until the robot 500 starts moving are displayed.

[0039] Fig. 5 shows an example of a screen displaying the status of the robot accompaniment service in an embodiment. Fig. 5(a) displays that the robot accompaniment service is being provided and the service duration. Fig. 5(b) displays that the robot accompaniment service is stopped and the service duration. Fig. 5(c) displays that the robot accompaniment service is temporarily suspended, that all robots 500 are in operation, and the standby time.

[0040] 3, the storage unit 175 is, for example, a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). In this embodiment, the storage unit 175 stores an authentication database 1751 (hereinafter referred to as "authentication DB 1751"). The authentication DB 1751 is a database that associates a user ID for identifying a user with authentication information such as facial feature points for face authentication.

[0041] When the input control unit 174 receives an instruction for a robot accompaniment service or an input of a destination floor from the user 5, the authentication unit 172 refers to the authentication DB 1751 and authenticates the user 5. In this embodiment, the authentication unit 172 performs face authentication of the user 5.

[0042] The communication unit 171 communicates with the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. In this embodiment, when the input control unit 174 receives an instruction for the robot accompany service or input of a destination floor from the user 5, the communication unit 171 transmits an instruction for the robot accompany service to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. As a result, the communication unit 171 transmits an instruction for the robot accompany service to the robot 500 via the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, and transmits the destination floor input to the control panel 100 via the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. Here, when the authentication unit 172 has successfully authenticated the user 5, the communication unit 171 transmits an instruction for the robot accompany service and the destination floor. The communication unit 171 is an example of a first communication unit.

[0043] Next, the control panel 100 will be described. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the control panel 100 according to the embodiment. The control panel 100 is an example of an elevator control device. The control panel 100 has a typical computer configuration, and as shown in FIG. 3, mainly comprises a control unit 120, a communication unit 102, and a storage unit 110.

[0044] 2, the control panel 100 is connected by wire or wirelessly to a load sensor 8, a camera 7 inside the car 50, and a camera 9 at the landing. The load sensor 8 (8A, 8B) is provided in the car 50 as described above. The camera 7 is provided near the ceiling of the car 50 so as to be able to capture images of the inside of the car 50 and, when the door of the car 50 is open, the landing.

[0045] The storage unit 110 is a storage medium (that is, a memory device) such as a ROM or RAM, etc. The storage unit 110 stores a management database 111 (hereinafter referred to as "management DB 111").

[0046] The management DB 111 is a database in which various data for using the elevator 2 is registered. For example, the management DB 111 registers the robot IDs of the robots 500 that can ride the elevator 2 controlled by the control panel 100. Here, the robot ID is information for identifying the robot 500.

[0047] The communication unit 102 is made up of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol, and performs communication processing between the control panel 100 and the controller 150. That is, the communication unit 102 transmits and receives various data to and from other control panels 100 and the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150. The communication unit 102 also transmits and receives various instructions and notifications to and from the mobile terminal, PC, etc. of the manager of the control room 160.

[0048] In this embodiment, the communication unit 102 receives a hall call including a destination floor transmitted from the input device 170 from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. The communication unit 102 is an example of a second communication unit.

[0049] The control unit 120 is made up of a hardware processor (CPU) and mainly includes a normal operation control unit 121 and a robot-linked operation control unit 122, as shown in FIG.

[0050] The normal operation control unit 121 controls the normal operation. Normal operation is an operation in which no robot is on board and only people are on board the elevator 50. The normal operation control unit 121 performs group management control of the elevator 50.

[0051] Here, group management control refers to control for allocating the car 50 that is closest to a departure floor, such as a floor where a call for the car 50 is made. In this embodiment, the normal operation control unit 121 performs group management control in cooperation with the other control panels 100 by, for example, inquiring of the control panels 100 of other elevators 2 about the departure floor and the current position and elevation status of the car 50 and receiving the response.

[0052] The robot interlocking operation control unit 122 controls the robot interlocking operation. Robot-linked driving is driving in which the robot 500 rides in the car 50. Robot-linked driving includes robot-only driving in which no person rides in the car 50, and non-robot-only driving in which a person can ride in the car 50. Robot-linked driving is sometimes referred to as robot driving. In this embodiment, when the communication unit 102 receives a hall call including a destination floor, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 moves the elevator car 50 to the lobby floor where the entrance 23 is located.

[0053] Next, the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 will be described. Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 according to the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 7, the server 210 mainly includes a control unit 211, a communication unit 212, and a storage unit 220 as a general computer configuration.

[0054] The storage unit 220 is a storage medium (memory device) such as a ROM, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 220 stores various programs.

[0055] The communication unit 212 is composed of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol, and performs communication processing between the server 210 and the controller 150 of the control panel 100, and communication processing between the server 210 and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300.

[0056] In this embodiment, the communication unit 212 receives an instruction for the robot accompaniment service and information on the destination floor from the input device 170. Furthermore, when the communication unit 212 receives an instruction for the robot accompaniment service, the communication unit 212 transmits the instruction for the robot accompaniment service to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300. Furthermore, the communication unit 212 transmits a hall call including the destination floor generated by the control unit 211 to the control panel 100.

[0057] The control unit 211 is composed of a hardware processor (CPU). When the communication unit 212 receives an instruction for the robot accompaniment service and information about the destination floor from the input device 170, the control unit 211 generates a landing floor call that includes the destination floor.

[0058] Next, the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 will be described. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server 310 in the robot cloud 300 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the server 310 mainly includes a control unit 311, a communication unit 312, and a storage unit 320, as a general computer configuration.

[0059] The storage unit 320 is a storage medium (memory device) such as a ROM, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 320 stores various programs.

[0060] The communication unit 312 is made up of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol, and performs communication processing between the server 310 and the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 , and communication processing between the server 310 and the robot 500 .

[0061] In this embodiment, the communication unit 312 receives an instruction for the robot accompany service from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, and transmits the received instruction for the robot accompany service to the waiting robot 500 as an instruction to move to the entrance 23. The communication unit 312 receives a disembarkation completion notification from the robot 500, and transmits the received disembarkation completion notification to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200.

[0062] The control unit 311 is made up of a hardware processor (CPU) and controls various processes related to the robot 500.

[0063] Next, the robot 500 will be described. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a robot 500 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the robot 500 mainly includes a camera 506, various sensors 505, a control unit 501, a communication unit 502, a traveling control unit 509, a driving unit 503, and a storage unit 510.

[0064] The camera 506 captures images of the surroundings of the robot 500 and transmits the captured images to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300. The robot 500 may be configured to further transmit the captured images to the control panel 100.

[0065] The various sensors 505 include, but are not limited to, a human sensor, an acceleration sensor, a load sensor, and the like.

[0066] The storage unit 510 is a storage medium (memory device) such as a ROM, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 510 stores various programs.

[0067] The communication unit 502 is made up of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol, and performs communication processing between the robot 500 and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 . In this embodiment, the communication unit 502 receives an instruction to move to the entrance from the server 310 in the robot cloud 300. The communication unit 502 also transmits a notification of completion of disembarking to the server 310 in the robot cloud 300. The communication unit 502 is an example of a third communication unit.

[0068] The control unit 501 is made up of a hardware processor (CPU). When the elevator 2 is in operation, the control unit 501 reads and executes various programs from the storage unit 510, thereby executing various operations in the elevator 2.

[0069] The driving unit 503 is a motor or the like that drives the robot 500 to move. The travel control unit 509 controls the drive unit 503 to control the travel of the robot 500. In this embodiment, when the communication unit 502 receives an instruction to move to the entrance 23 (the location of the input device 170) (i.e., an instruction for the accompaniment service) from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, the travel control unit 509 moves to the position of the user 5 at the entrance 23, recognizes the user 5 with the camera 506, moves while following the recognized user 5, and gets into the elevator 50 together with the user 5 when it arrives at the lobby floor where the entrance 23 is located.

[0070] The above configuration of the robot 500 is an example, and the robot 500 may further include an audio output unit such as a speaker and an input unit such as a touch panel.

[0071] Next, an elevator control process performed by the elevator control system 1 of this embodiment configured as above will be described. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the overall flow of the elevator control process according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the state of the robot 500, the user 5, and the car 50 when using the robot accompaniment service in the embodiment.

[0072] First, the user 5 inputs a destination floor and an instruction for the robot accompany service to the touch panel display 177 of the input device 170 at the entrance 23 (S101). In the input device 170, the input control unit 174 accepts the input of the destination floor and the instruction for the robot accompany service, and the authentication unit 172 authenticates the user 5 (S102). If the authentication of the user 5 is successful, the communication unit 171 transmits the input destination floor and instruction for the robot accompany service to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S103).

[0073] In the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, when the communication unit 212 receives the destination floor and the instruction for the robot accompany service, it transmits the instruction for the robot accompany service to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S107).

[0074] In the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, when the communication unit 312 receives an instruction for the robot accompany service from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, the control unit 311 selects an arbitrary robot 500 from the robots 500 waiting in the waiting area 32 (S108). Then, the communication unit 312 transmits an instruction to the selected robot 500 to move to the entrance 23 (S109).

[0075] Meanwhile, in the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, after transmitting an instruction for the robot accompany service to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, the control unit 211 generates a hall call registration including the destination floor (S104). Then, the control unit 211 dispatches the car 50 of the elevator 2 (S105). Then, the communication unit 212 transmits the destination floor to the control panel 100 corresponding to the dispatched car 50 (S106).

[0076] In the control panel 100, when the communication unit 102 receives information about the destination floor from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150, the robot interlocking operation control unit 122 moves the car 50 to the lobby floor where the entrance 23 is located. Then, as shown in FIG. 11(a), when the car 50 arrives at the lobby floor, an instruction is given to open the door of the car 50 (S112). This causes the door to be in the open state. Here, opening the door of the car 50 is referred to as "door open," and closing the door of the car 50 is referred to as "door close."

[0077] Meanwhile, in the robot 500 that has received the movement instruction, the travel control unit 509 moves to the entrance 23 in accordance with the movement instruction (S110). Then, when the travel control unit 509 recognizes the user 5 with the camera 506, it follows the user 5 and moves to the elevator 2 (S111). Then, as shown in FIG. 11(b), the robot 500 and the user 5 get on together in the car 50 whose door has been opened in S112 (S113, S114). Next, the robot interlocking operation control unit 122 of the control panel 100 issues an instruction to close the door (S115). As a result, the car 50 moves toward the destination floor, as shown in FIG. 11(c).

[0078] When the car 50 arrives at the destination floor specified by the user 5, the robot interlocking operation control unit 122 of the control panel 100 issues a command to open the door (S116). As a result, the door of the car 50 opens. Then, as shown in FIG. 11(d), the user 5 gets off the car 50 (S117). Here, as shown in FIG. 11(d), the robot 500 remains in the car 50 without getting off.

[0079] Then, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 of the control panel 100 instructs the car 50 to close the doors and to move to the lobby floor, which is the reference floor (S118). As a result, the car 50 moves to the lobby floor. As shown in FIG. 11(e), when the car 50 arrives at the lobby floor, which is the reference floor, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 instructs the car 50 to open the doors (S119). As a result, the car 50 opens the doors.

[0080] When the door of the car 50 opens, the robot 500 in the car 50 dismounts under the control of the travel control unit 509 (S120). Next, in the robot 500, the communication unit 502 transmits a dismounting completion notification to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S121). Then, the robot 500 moves to a waiting location under the control of the travel control unit 509 (S122).

[0081] The dismounting completion notification transmitted to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 is transmitted to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S123), and further transmitted to the control panel 100 (S124).

[0082] In the control panel 100, when the communication unit 102 receives a disembarkation completion notification from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 instructs the car 50 to close the door (S125). As a result, the car 50 closes the door, and the robot accompaniment service ends (S126).

[0083] As described above, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the input device 170 receives, from the touch panel display 177, an instruction for the robot accompaniment service, in which the user 5 boards the elevator car 50 accompanied by the robot 500, and an input of the destination floor. When the instruction for the robot accompaniment service is received, the input device 170 transmits the instruction for the robot accompaniment service to the robot 500 and transmits the destination floor to the control panel 100. The control panel 100 receives the destination floor from the input device 170, and when the control panel 100 receives the destination floor, moves the elevator car 50 to the lobby floor where the entrance 23 is located. The robot 500 receives the instruction for the robot accompaniment service, and when the robot 500 receives the instruction for the robot accompaniment service, moves to the position of the user 5 present at the input device 170, recognizes the user 5 with the camera 506, moves while following the recognized user 5, and boards the elevator car 50 together with the user 5 at the entrance floor.

[0084] Therefore, in this embodiment, by using the robot accompaniment service, robots that have been installed for various purposes in buildings such as apartment buildings can be used as security equipment, and elevator security can be improved by having the robot ride with the user.

[0085] In addition, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, when the input device 170 receives instructions for the robot accompaniment service and input of the destination floor, it authenticates the user 5, and if the user authentication is successful, it transmits instructions for the robot accompaniment service and the destination floor.

[0086] Therefore, in this embodiment, the robot accompaniment service is only available if the user authentication is successful, so that the security of the elevator 2 can be further improved.

[0087] Furthermore, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the robot 500 remains inside the car 50 even after the car 50 has arrived at the destination floor and the user 5 has gotten off the car 50.

[0088] Therefore, according to this embodiment, once the user 5 arrives at the desired destination floor, there is no longer any need for accompaniment, and by returning the robot 500 to the reference floor, it becomes possible to use the robot 500 for other accompaniment services.

[0089] Furthermore, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the input device 170 displays an input screen on the touch panel display 177, prompting the user to input whether or not to use the robot accompaniment service during a predetermined time period.

[0090] Therefore, according to this embodiment, instructions for the robot accompaniment service can be given with simple operations on the input screen, which is convenient for the user.

[0091] In addition, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the control panel 100 transmits the destination floor and instructions for the robot accompaniment service to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, thereby transmitting instructions for the robot accompaniment service to the robot 500 via the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, and transmitting the destination floor to the control panel 100.

[0092] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the robot accompaniment service is performed using the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, thereby further improving elevator security.

[0093] (Variation) Various modifications of the above embodiment are possible. In the above embodiment, the robot accompaniment service is available during nighttime hours, but during daytime hours, the robot 500 may be configured to perform tasks other than the accompaniment service (e.g., cleaning, security, etc.).

[0094] In addition, the communication unit 502 may be configured to send a boarding completion notification indicating that boarding has been completed to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 after the robot 500 has boarded the elevator car 50, and the boarding completion notification may be further configured to be sent to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, and the control panel 100, and the control unit 120 may be configured to close the door of the elevator car 50 when the boarding completion notification is received by the control panel 100.

[0095] In the control panel 100, when the user 5 who has requested the robot accompaniment service is on board with the robot 500 based on the image captured by the camera 7 inside the car 50, if it is determined that there are other users in the car 50 other than the user 5 who has requested the robot accompaniment service, the control unit 120 may be configured to output a message inside the car 50 to the other users to get off.

[0096] When there are multiple elevators 50 and an instruction for a robot accompaniment service is given, the control unit 120 may be configured to exclude the elevators 50 used for the robot accompaniment service from the targets of group management control.

[0097] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the robot 500 is kept waiting in the waiting area 32, but the robot 500 may be configured to be kept waiting in advance in the car 50 during the time period when the robot accompaniment service is provided (such as at night). In this case, the control panel 100 or the server of the elevator cloud 200 may be configured to assign the car 50 in which the robot 500 is waiting and move the car 50 to the destination floor when a command for the robot accompaniment service is input by a user to the input device 170. In this case, the travel time of the robot 500 from the waiting area to the entrance and elevator 2 can be shortened, which is convenient for users who use the robot accompaniment service.

[0098] In the above embodiment, the lobby floor is used as the reference floor, but a floor other than the lobby floor may be used as the reference floor. Also, in the above embodiment, the input device 170 is provided at the entrance as the predetermined location, but the input device 170 may be provided at a location other than the entrance.

[0099] In the above embodiment, the input device 170 is described as a device dedicated to elevators, but is not limited to this. For example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone owned by the user 5 can also be configured as the input device 170. In this case, the user 5 can issue instructions for the robot accompaniment service from any location, which is convenient for the user 5.

[0100] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the user 5 inputs a room number and facial recognition information as a set into the input device 170 to execute the robot accompaniment service, but the input device 170, the control panel 100, the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, etc. may be configured so that the robot accompaniment service is executed with only the room number or only facial recognition information. In this case, the authentication DB 1751 may be configured to register the travel route (e.g., destination floor) in addition to the authentication information. In this case, the input operation by the user 5 can be simplified.

[0101] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the robot accompaniment service is executed after authenticating the user 5, but this is not limited to this. For example, the input device 170, the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, the robot 500, etc. may be configured so that, when a command for the robot accompaniment service is received from the user 5, the robot accompaniment service is started without authenticating the user, and the robot 500 moves to the location of the user 5.

[0102] The control programs executed by the control panel 100, the input device 170, and the robot 500 according to the above-described embodiment and modifications are provided in advance in a ROM or the like.

[0103] Each control program executed by the control panel 100, input device 170, and robot 500 according to the above-described embodiment and modified examples may be provided by being recorded in an installable or executable file format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0104] Furthermore, the control programs executed by the control panel 100, the input device 170, and the robot 500 according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network.

[0105] Furthermore, the control programs executed by the control panel 100, the input device 170, and the robot 500 according to the above-described embodiment and modifications may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0106] Each control program executed by the control panel 100, input device 170, and robot 500 in the above-described embodiment and modified example has a modular structure including each of the functional units described above, and in actual hardware, the CPU reads and executes each control program from the ROM, loading each of the above units onto the main memory, and generating each of the functional units on the main memory.

[0107] 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 scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0108] 1...Elevator control system, 2, 2A, 2B...Elevator, 3...Building, 4, 4A, 4B...Operation panel, 5A...User, 7, 7A, 7B...Camera, 8, 8A, 8B...Load sensor, 20, 20A, 20B...Hoistway, 23...Entrance, 32...Waiting area, 50, 50A, 50B...Cab, 100, 100A, 100B...Control panel (elevator control device), 120, 211, 311, 501...Control unit, 102, 171, 212, 312, 502...Communication unit, 110, 175, 220, 320, 510...Memory unit, 111...Management DB, 121...Normal operation control unit, 122...Robot linked operation control unit, 150, 150A, 150B...Controller, 160...Control room, 170...Input device, 172...Authentication unit, 173...Display control unit, 174...Input control unit, 177...Touch panel display (display input unit), 200...Elevator cloud, 210...Server, 300...Robot cloud, 310...Server, 500...Robot, 503...Drive unit, 509...Travel control unit.

Claims

1. An elevator control system comprising: an autonomous moving body that can move autonomously in a car installed in a building; an elevator control device that controls an elevator that can carry the autonomous moving body and people; and an input device that is installed in a predetermined location and connected to the autonomous moving body via a network, The input device is an input control unit that receives, from a display input unit, an instruction for an accompaniment service in which the user accompanies the autonomous moving body into the elevator car and an input of a destination floor; a first communication unit that, when receiving the instruction for the accompaniment service, transmits the instruction for the accompaniment service to the autonomous moving body and transmits the destination floor to the elevator control device; The elevator control device includes: a second communication unit that receives the destination floor from the input device; a control unit that moves the elevator car to a predetermined reference floor when the destination floor is received, The autonomous moving body is a third communication unit that receives an instruction for the accompanying service; a travel control unit that, when receiving an instruction for the accompanying service, moves to the position of the user who is present at the predetermined location, moves while following the user, and gets into the elevator together with the user when the elevator arrives at the reference floor; An elevator control system comprising:

2. The input device is an authentication unit that authenticates the user when the input control unit receives the instruction for the accompaniment service and the input of the destination floor, the first communication unit transmits the instruction for the accompaniment service and the destination floor when the authentication unit has successfully authenticated the user.

10. The elevator control system of claim 1.

3. The autonomous moving body further includes an imaging unit capable of imaging the user, the authentication unit performs face authentication of the user captured by the imaging unit, The traveling control unit recognizes and follows the user captured by the imaging unit.

3. The elevator control system of claim 2.

4. the travel control unit of the autonomous moving body remains inside the car even after the car arrives at the destination floor and the user gets off the car, 10. The elevator control system of claim 1.

5. The input device is a display control unit that displays an input screen on the display input unit to prompt the user to input whether or not to use the accompaniment service during a predetermined time period; The elevator control system of claim 1 further comprising:

6. The system further includes an elevator server connected to the elevator control device and the input device via the network and controlling the elevation and descent of the car, and an autonomous moving body server connected to the elevator server and the autonomous moving body via the network and controlling the autonomous moving body, the first communication unit transmits an instruction for the accompaniment service including the destination floor to the elevator server, thereby transmitting the instruction for the accompaniment service to the autonomous mobile object via the autonomous mobile object server, and transmitting the destination floor to the elevator control device; An elevator control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. An elevator control method executed in an elevator control system including: an autonomous moving body that can move autonomously in a car installed in a building; an elevator control device that controls an elevator that can carry the autonomous moving body and people; and an input device that is provided at a predetermined location and connected to the autonomous moving body via a network, a step in which the input device receives, from the user, an instruction for an accompaniment service in which the user is accompanied by the autonomous moving body into the elevator car and an input of a destination floor; When the input device receives the instruction for the accompaniment service, the input device transmits the instruction for the accompaniment service to the autonomous moving body and transmits the destination floor to the elevator control device; the elevator control device receiving the destination floor from the input device; When the elevator control device receives the destination floor, the elevator control device moves the car to a predetermined reference floor; receiving, by the autonomous vehicle, an instruction for the accompaniment service; When the autonomous mobile body receives an instruction for the accompaniment service, the autonomous mobile body moves to a position of the user who is present at the predetermined location, moves while following the user, and gets into the elevator that has arrived at the reference floor together with the user; An elevator control method comprising:

Images