Elevator control device

Abstract

The present invention provides an elevator control device that enables safer rescue of passengers when restarting operation in the event of an emergency during the operation of an elevator with multiple elevator cars, such as a double-deck elevator. [Solution] The elevator control device includes a control unit. The control unit detects an abnormality requiring evacuation that has occurred in the elevator, and when it stops at a floor where only one of the multiple elevator cars can have its doors opened, it opens the doors of the car that can be opened. The control unit moves the elevator to open the doors of the cars that could not be opened. The control unit changes the travel speed when moving the elevator to open the cars that could not be opened, based on the urgency level indicating the degree of the detected abnormality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an elevator control device.

Background Art

[0002] In order to improve the transportation capacity of an elevator, a double-deck elevator may be adopted. A double-deck elevator is an elevator provided with a car having two car chambers arranged vertically.

[0003] In an elevator, when an emergency such as an earthquake occurs, if passengers are not rescued from the car chamber, there may be a case where passengers are trapped in the car chamber. Here, depending on the structure of the building in which the elevator is operated, there may be a floor where the door cannot be opened. Also, due to the influence of an emergency, there may be a floor where the door cannot be opened. Therefore, in the case of a double-deck elevator, there may be a case where passengers cannot be rescued from the two car chambers at once. In this case, after opening the door of one side's car chamber at a floor where the door can be opened and rescuing the passengers, it is necessary to restart the double-deck elevator in order to land the other side's car chamber at a floor where the door can be opened. That is, there may be a case where the double-deck elevator needs to be restarted under the situation where an emergency such as an earthquake is progressing. When an emergency occurs during the operation of an elevator in which a plurality of car chambers such as a double-deck elevator are arranged, it is required to be able to rescue passengers more safely during restart.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The embodiment provides an elevator control device that can more safely rescue passengers when restarting operation in the event of an emergency during the operation of an elevator with multiple car compartments, such as a double-deck elevator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One embodiment of an elevator control device includes a control unit. The control unit detects an abnormality in the elevator that requires evacuation, and when the elevator stops at a floor where only one of the multiple elevator cars can be opened, it opens the door of the car that can be opened. The control unit moves the elevator to open the doors of the cars that could not be opened. The control unit changes the travel speed when moving the elevator to open the cars that could not be opened, based on the urgency level indicating the degree of the detected abnormality. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of an elevator system including an elevator control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a first example elevator system when an earthquake occurs as an anomaly. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the operation of a double-deck elevator in the event of an emergency. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a second example elevator system when an earthquake occurs as an anomaly. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elevator system including a control device for an elevator according to the embodiment. The elevator system 1 shown in Figure 1 includes a double-deck elevator 2. The double-deck elevator 2 includes a plurality of elevator cars, which in Figure 1 are two cars, an upper car 3 and a lower car 4. The upper car 3 and the lower car 4 are arranged vertically along the hoistway S. The upper car 3 is provided with a car door 3a, and the lower car 4 is provided with a car door 4a. Passengers can board the upper car 3 and the lower car 4, respectively. The upper car 3 and the lower car 4 are connected by a car frame 5.

[0009] Here, the double-deck elevator 2 may be equipped with a floor-to-floor adjustment mechanism. The floor-to-floor adjustment mechanism is a mechanism that allows the distance between the floor surfaces of the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 to be adjusted by making the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 able to move up and down independently. In this case, the car frame 5 is provided with a ball screw that supports the upper car 3 and a ball screw that supports the lower car 4. The rotation axis of each ball screw is aligned in the vertical direction. The ball screw that supports the upper car 3 and the ball screw that supports the lower car 4 are each driven by a servo motor.

[0010] A machine room 6 is provided at the top of the hoistway S, for example. The machine room 6 houses a hoisting machine 7 and a control device 8. In this embodiment, an elevator with a machine room is described in detail as an example, but the double-deck elevator 2 may also be a machine room-less elevator without a machine room. In the case of a machine room-less elevator, the hoisting machine 7 and the control device 8 are installed in the hoistway S.

[0011] Furthermore, the double-deck elevator 2 is equipped with an earthquake sensor 9. A P-wave sensor 9-1 for detecting P-waves is installed in the pit of the hoistway S, and an S-wave sensor 9-2 for detecting S-waves is installed in the machine room 6. In the case of a machine room-less elevator, both the P-wave sensor 9-1 and the S-wave sensor 9-2 are installed in the pit and may be configured to be installed in the same housing as the earthquake sensor 9, or they may be installed independently. The earthquake sensor 9 is not limited to this, but for example, it may be a sensor that detects the acceleration of seismic motion.

[0012] The hoisting machine 7 is equipped with, for example, a rope-type elevator car drive mechanism. The drive mechanism comprises, for example, a rope 7a, a sheave 7b, and a sheave 7c. One end of the rope 7a is attached to the elevator car frame 5 and the other end is attached to the counterweight 7d, and it is wound around the sheaves 7b and 7c. The sheave 7b is connected to the hoisting machine 7 and is rotationally driven by the hoisting machine 7.

[0013] On the floor F of a building where the double-deck elevator 2 is installed, landings may be provided for passengers to board and alight from the double-deck elevator 2. A door 10 may be installed at each landing. In this embodiment, in order to enable high-speed ascent and descent of the elevator car, floor F includes not only service floors but also express zone floors. Service floors are floors on which the elevator car can land and where passengers can freely board and alight. On the other hand, floors included in the express zone are floors on which the elevator car does not land in order to increase the speed of ascent and descent of the elevator car. Consecutive floors may constitute the express zone. If consecutive floors are designated as the express zone, an emergency stop floor may be provided in the express zone for emergency evacuation in the event of an emergency. An emergency stop floor is a floor on which the elevator car does not normally land, but can land in the event of an emergency. In the event of an emergency, passengers can be evacuated from the emergency stop floor.

[0014] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 8. The control device 8 includes a drive control unit 81, a cage door control unit 82, a hold door control unit 83, an abnormality detection unit 84, and a control unit 85. The control device 8 may be configured as a computer equipped with a processor and memory.

[0015] The drive control unit 81 outputs a control signal to the hoisting machine 7 for driving the hoisting machine 7. The car door control unit 82 outputs individual control signals to the car doors 3a and 4a to control the opening and closing of each car door. The door control unit 83 outputs individual control signals to the door doors 10 of each floor F to control the opening and closing of each door door. The abnormality detection unit 84 detects abnormalities in the double-deck elevator 2 that require evacuation. Abnormalities requiring evacuation are, for example, highly urgent abnormalities such as earthquakes. For example, based on the output of the earthquake sensor 9, the abnormality detection unit 84 detects the occurrence of an earthquake as an abnormality requiring evacuation, and also detects the intensity of the P-waves and S-waves that are occurring in the double-deck elevator 2. The control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81, the car door control unit 82, and the door control unit 83. For example, in the event of an earthquake, the control unit 85 determines the floor F to which the emergency evacuation will take place, and based on this determination, controls the drive control unit 81, the car door control unit 82, and the hand door control unit 83 to carry out the emergency evacuation.

[0016] The operation of elevator system 1 is described below. Figure 3 is a flowchart of the operation of elevator system 1 in a first example when an earthquake occurs as an anomaly. The operation in Figure 3 is controlled by the control unit 85.

[0017] In step S1, the control unit 85 determines, based on the output of the seismic sensor 9, whether or not a P-wave has been detected in the anomaly detection unit 84, that is, whether or not the initial tremors of an earthquake indicating an emergency have been detected. If it is determined in step S1 that a P-wave has not been detected, the process proceeds to step S2. If it is determined in step S1 that a P-wave has been detected, the process proceeds to step S3.

[0018] In step S2, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed. Then, the process returns to step S1. Actually, in step S2, when there is a registration of a car call or a hall call, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to land the upper car 3a or the lower car 4a of the double-deck elevator 2 at the destination floor F of the car call or the floor F where the hall call is registered. Then, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 to open the car door of the car compartment landed at the destination floor F of the car call or the floor F where the hall call is registered, and controls the hall door control unit 83 to open the hall door 10 at the floor F where the hall call is registered. In FIG. 3, the description of the detailed control is omitted.

[0019] In step S3, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F based on the current position and the current traveling direction of the double-deck elevator 2. Basically, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F as the floor F where the car compartment on the side in the current traveling direction of the current double-deck elevator 2 can land with the shortest movement amount among the floors F where the doors can be opened in the same direction as the current traveling direction. Further, when the control unit 85 determines that if one car compartment lands on the determined floor F, the other car compartment will land on a floor F where the door cannot be opened, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F for the other car compartment. Basically, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F as the floor F where the other car compartment can land with the shortest movement amount among the floors F where the doors can be opened. The determination of the evacuation destination floor F will be described in detail later.

[0020] In step S4, the control unit 85 determines whether the floor F of the determined evacuation destination is a floor F where only one of the car rooms on one side can open its door. In step S4, if it is not determined that the floor F of the determined evacuation destination is a floor F where only one of the car rooms on one side can open its door, that is, if it is determined that it is a floor F where both car rooms can open their doors, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S4, if it is determined that the floor F of the determined evacuation destination is a floor F where only one of the car rooms on one side can open its door, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0021] In step S5, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double - deck elevator 2 at the rated speed and land each car room on the floor F of the previously determined evacuation destination.

[0022] In step S6, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car doors 3a of the upper car 3 and 4a of the lower car 4, and at the same time, open the hall doors 10 on the floor F where the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 have landed respectively. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to close the car doors 3a of the upper car 3 and 4a of the lower car 4, and at the same time, close the hall doors 10 on the floor F where the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 have landed respectively. Here, the certain period of time for keeping the car doors 3a and 4a and the hall doors 10 open is not limited to this, but for example, it is 15 seconds. The certain period of time for keeping the hall doors 10 open can be determined based on the time when it is assumed that the evacuation of the passengers in the car room is completed. After closing the car doors 3a and 4a of the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 and the hall doors 10, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a trial operation may be carried out to test whether the double - deck elevator 2 can operate normally.

[0023] In step S7, the control unit 85 determines whether or not S-waves, i.e., the main seismic motion, have been detected in the anomaly detection unit 84 based on the output of the seismic sensor 9. If it is determined in step S7 that S-waves have not been detected, the process proceeds to step S8. If it is determined in step S7 that S-waves have been detected, the process proceeds to step S12.

[0024] In step S8, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to move the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed, and brings one of the elevator cars to rest on the floor F of the evacuation destination that was determined earlier.

[0025] In step S9, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hold door control unit 83 to open the car door of the elevator car on the side where the elevator has landed, and to open the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the elevator car on the side where the elevator has landed, and to close the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hold door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but could be the same as in step S6, for example, 15 seconds.

[0026] In step S10, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to move the double-deck elevator 2 at A% of the rated speed, so that the other elevator car lands on the previously determined evacuation floor F. Here, A can be set in the range A < 100 (%). For example, A is 80%.

[0027] In step S11, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hold door control unit 83 to open the car door of the other car that has landed, and to open the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the other car that has landed, and to close the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hold door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but may be the same as in steps S6 and S9, for example, 15 seconds. After the car door and hold door 10 are closed, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a trial run may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 can operate normally.

[0028] In step S12, the control unit 85 determines whether or not an S-wave of extra-low detection has been detected in the anomaly detection unit 84 based on the output of the seismic sensor 9. Extra-low detection is, for example, a state in which the acceleration of the seismic motion is below a predetermined extra-low detection threshold. If it is determined in step S12 that an S-wave of extra-low detection has been detected, the process proceeds to step S13. If it is not determined in step S12 that an S-wave of extra-low detection has been detected, the process proceeds to step S17.

[0029] In step S13, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to move the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed, and brings one of the elevator cars to rest on the floor F of the evacuation destination that was determined earlier.

[0030] In step S14, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hold door control unit 83 to open the car door of the elevator car on the side where the elevator has landed, and to open the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the elevator car on the side where the elevator has landed, and to close the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hold door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but could be, for example, 15 seconds.

[0031] In step S15, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at B% of the rated speed, and lands the other car on the previously determined evacuation floor F. Here, B can be set within the range of B < A (%). For example, B is 60%. That is, when an S wave is detected, the double-deck elevator 2 runs at a slower speed than when no S wave is detected to land the other car.

[0032] In step S16, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the landing door control unit 83 to open the car door of the landed other car and open the landing door 10 on the evacuation floor F. After a certain time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the landed other car and closes the landing door 10 on the evacuation floor F. The certain time for opening the car door and the landing door 10 is not limited to this, but can be, for example, 15 seconds. After closing the car door and the landing door 10, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a trial operation may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 can operate normally.

[0033] In step S17, the control unit 85 determines whether a low-detection S wave is detected in the abnormality detection unit 84 based on the output of the earthquake detector 9. Low detection is, for example, a state where the acceleration of the seismic motion is greater than a predetermined very low detection threshold and less than or equal to the low detection threshold. In step S17, if it is determined that a low-detection S wave is detected, the process proceeds to step S18. In step S17, if it is determined that a low-detection S wave is not detected, the process proceeds to step S22.

[0034] In step S18, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed and land one car on the previously determined evacuation floor F.

[0035] In step S19, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the landing door control unit 83 to open the car door of the car cabin on the landing side and to open the landing door 10 of the floor F of the evacuation destination. After a lapse of a certain period of time, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the car cabin on the landing side and closes the landing door 10 of the floor F of the evacuation destination. The certain period of time for keeping the car door and the landing door 10 open is not limited to this, but can be, for example, 15 seconds.

[0036] In step S20, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at C% of the rated speed and land the other car cabin on the floor F of the previously determined evacuation destination. Here, C can be set within the range of minimum speed < C < B (%). For example, C is a value corresponding to a predetermined relay level speed. That is, when a low-detected S wave is detected, the double-deck elevator 2 runs to land the other car cabin at a slower speed than when a low-detected S wave is not detected.

[0037] In step S21, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the landing door control unit 83 to open the car door of the other car cabin on the landing side and to open the landing door 10 of the floor F of the evacuation destination. After a lapse of a certain period of time, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the other car cabin on the landing side and closes the landing door 10 of the floor F of the evacuation destination. The certain period of time for keeping the car door and the landing door 10 open is not limited to this, but can be, for example, 15 seconds. After closing the car door and the landing door 10, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a trial operation may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 can operate normally.

[0038] In step S22, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed and land one car cabin on the floor F of the previously determined evacuation destination.

[0039] In step S23, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hold door control unit 83 to open the car door of the elevator car on the side where the elevator has landed, and to open the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the elevator car on the side where the elevator has landed, and to close the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hold door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but could be, for example, 15 seconds.

[0040] In step S24, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to move the double-deck elevator 2 at the minimum speed to land the other elevator car on the previously determined evacuation floor F. Here, the minimum speed is not limited to this, but is, for example, even slower than the releveling speed, such as 10 m / min. That is, if an S-wave stronger than low detection is detected, the double-deck elevator 2 will move at an even slower speed than when no S-wave stronger than low detection is detected to land the other elevator car. Here, 0 m / min may be used as the minimum speed in step S24. That is, in step S24, the control unit 85 may stop the double-deck elevator 2. In this case, the process in step S25 is not performed, and the process returns to step S1.

[0041] In step S25, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hold door control unit 83 to open the car door of the other car that has landed, and to open the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the other car that has landed, and to close the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hold door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but could be, for example, 15 seconds. After the car door and hold door 10 are closed, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a trial run may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 can operate normally.

[0042] The operation shown in Figure 3 will be explained in more detail below with reference to Figure 4. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the double-deck elevator 2 in the event of an emergency. In Figure 4, the operation of the double-deck elevator 2, which changes according to the operation in Figure 3, is shown in the order of A, B, C, D, E, and F. Also in Figure 4, the building in which elevator system 1 is installed is a 22-story building. The floors from the 1st to the 9th floor and the 19th to the 22nd floor are service floors. The floors from the 10th to the 18th floor are express zones. Of the express zones, the 14th floor is an emergency stop floor.

[0043] Assume that at the time of P-wave detection, i.e., the occurrence of the earthquake, the double-deck elevator 2 was ascending from the 10th to the 11th floor, which is the express zone, as shown in Figure 4A. Upon detection of the earthquake, the control unit 85 first determines the evacuation floor F. As mentioned above, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation floor F to be the floor F that, among the floors F with openable doors in the same direction as the current travel direction, allows the elevator car on the side of the current travel direction of the double-deck elevator 2 to land with the shortest possible movement. In the example in Figure 4, the double-deck elevator 2 is ascending from the 10th to the 11th floor, which is the express zone. Therefore, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation floor F to be the 14th floor, which is the emergency stop floor.

[0044] Although not shown in Figure 4, for example, if the double-deck elevator 2 is ascending from the 15th to the 16th floor, which is the express zone, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation floor F to be the 19th floor, which is the service floor. In this case, the closest floor F that the double-deck elevator 2 can land on from its current position is the 14th floor, which is the emergency stop floor. On the other hand, the 14th floor, which is the emergency stop floor, is a floor F in the opposite direction of travel relative to the current position. Since it is undesirable to suddenly reverse the direction of travel of an elevator that is in motion, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation floor F to be the 19th floor, not the 14th floor.

[0045] Furthermore, although not shown in Figure 4, if, for example, the double-deck elevator 2 is descending from the 11th floor to the 10th floor, which is the express zone, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation floor F to be the 9th floor, which is the service floor.

[0046] If the destination floor F is determined to be the 14th floor, as shown in Figure 4B, the upper car 3, which is closer to the 14th floor than the upper car 3, will be brought down to the 14th floor. In this case, the other lower car 4 will come down to the express zone. At this time, as shown by the arrow in Figure 4B, the doors of the upper car 3 can be opened, but the doors of the lower car 4 cannot. Therefore, after opening the car door 3a of the upper car 3 to evacuate the passengers to the 14th floor, which is the emergency stop floor, the double-deck elevator 2 must be restarted to evacuate the passengers in the lower car 4. Furthermore, even if the destination floor F is a service floor and both cars can normally be opened, depending on the magnitude of the earthquake, it may be possible that only one car can be opened for reasons such as the door 10 on the landing floor of one of the cars being unable to be opened. In such cases, it is necessary to evacuate the passengers by bringing one of the two elevator cars, the upper car 3 or the lower car 4, to the destination floor F, and then restart the double-deck elevator 2 to evacuate the passengers in the other elevator car.

[0047] Thus, if the evacuation floor F is a floor where only one car door can be opened, the control unit 85 also determines the evacuation floor F for the other car. The control unit 85 determines the evacuation floor F for the other car to be the floor F from which the other car can land with the shortest possible movement among the floors F where the doors can be opened. Since travel will begin after one car has landed, the evacuation floor F for the other car does not need to be a floor F in the same direction as the current travel direction. For example, in the example in Figure 4, the control unit 85 also determines the evacuation floor F for the other car to be the 14th floor, which is the emergency stop floor.

[0048] Here, the control unit 85 may determine the destination floor F to be a floor F where both the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 can open their doors, rather than the nearest floor F from the current position where landing is possible, provided that landing is possible within a certain time. This certain time is not limited to this, but for example, it is 10 seconds. For example, if the double-deck elevator 2 is ascending from the 15th to the 16th floor, which is the express zone, the control unit 85 may determine the destination floor F to be the 20th floor instead of the 19th floor. In this case, the upper car 3 lands on the 20th floor and the lower car 4 lands on the 19th floor, so both the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 can open their doors. Similarly, for example, if the double-deck elevator 2 is descending from the 11th to the 10th floor, which is the express zone, the control unit 85 may determine the destination floor F to be the 8th floor instead of the 9th floor.

[0049] After determining the evacuation floor F, the control unit 85 operates the double-deck elevator 2 in the order from B to F to carry out the emergency evacuation. Specifically, as shown in Figure 4B, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to make the double-deck elevator 2 travel at the rated speed and bring the upper car 3 to the 14th floor, which is the evacuation floor F. Then, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the door control unit 83 to open the car door 3a of the upper car 3 and the door 10 of the 14th floor for a certain period of time, for example, 15 seconds. After the period of time has elapsed, as shown in Figure 4C, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the door control unit 83 to close the car door 3a of the upper car 3 and the door 10 of the 14th floor.

[0050] Next, as shown in Figure 4D, the double-deck elevator 2 is driven again to land the lower car 4 on the 14th floor, which is the evacuation floor F. The control unit 85 changes the driving speed of the double-deck elevator 2 to land the lower car 4 according to the urgency of the detected abnormality, for example, the type and strength of the earthquake. Specifically, when no S-waves are detected, the control unit 85 drives the double-deck elevator 2 at A% of the rated speed. When very low S-waves are detected, the control unit 85 drives the double-deck elevator 2 at B% of the rated speed. When low S-waves are detected, the control unit 85 drives the double-deck elevator 2 at C% of the rated speed. When S-waves stronger than low are detected, the control unit 85 drives the double-deck elevator 2 at the minimum speed. In this way, by changing the travel speed of the double-deck elevator 2, which is used to land the other elevator car, according to the type and strength of the detected earthquake, the other elevator car can be landed more safely.

[0051] After the lower elevator car 4 has landed, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the door control unit 83, as shown in Figure 4E, to open the car door 4a of the lower elevator car 4 and the door 10 on the 14th floor for a certain period of time, for example, 15 seconds. After the period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the door control unit 83, as shown in Figure 4F, to close the car door 4a of the lower elevator car 3 and the door 10 on the 14th floor. In this way, the evacuation of passengers from the upper elevator car 3 and the lower elevator car 4 is completed.

[0052] In the examples shown in Figures 3 and 4, the travel speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other elevator car can be changed in five stages depending on the detected P-wave and S-wave conditions. However, the travel speed does not necessarily have to be changed in five stages. The travel speed may be changed to multiple stages other than five, or to no stages at all. In other words, in this embodiment, the travel speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other elevator car should be changed according to the type and strength of the detected earthquake, i.e., the urgency indicating the degree of the anomaly that occurred.

[0053] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the second example of elevator system 1 when an earthquake occurs as an anomaly. The operation in Figure 5 is controlled by the control unit 85. The example in Figure 5 is a simplified version of the process in the first example for determining the travel speed of the double-deck elevator 2 to bring the other elevator car to the floor.

[0054] In step S101, the control unit 85 determines, based on the output of the seismic sensor 9, whether or not a P-wave has been detected in the anomaly detection unit 84, that is, whether or not a slight seismic vibration indicating an emergency has been detected. If it is determined in step S101 that a P-wave has not been detected, the process proceeds to step S102. If it is determined in step S101 that a P-wave has been detected, the process proceeds to step S103.

[0055] In step S102, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to move the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed. After that, the process returns to step S101. In practice, in step S102, when a car call or hall call is registered, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to bring the upper car 3a or lower car 4a of the double-deck elevator 2 to the destination floor F of the car call or the floor F where the hall call was registered. Then, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 to open the car door of the car that has come to rest on the destination floor F of the car call or the floor F where the hall call was registered, and controls the hall door control unit 83 to open the hall door 10 of the floor F where the hall call was registered. Detailed control information is omitted in Figure 5.

[0056] In step S103, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation floor F based on the current position and current direction of travel of the double-deck elevator 2. The method for determining the evacuation floor F may be the same as the method described in the operation of the first example.

[0057] In step S104, the control unit 85 determines, based on the output of the seismic sensor 9, whether or not an S-wave has been detected in the anomaly detection unit 84, that is, whether or not the main seismic motion has been detected. If it is determined in step S104 that an S-wave has not been detected, the process proceeds to step S105. If it is determined in step S104 that an S-wave has been detected, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0058] In step S105, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to move the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed, and brings one of the elevator cars to rest on the floor F of the evacuation destination determined earlier.

[0059] In step S106, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hold door control unit 83 to open the car door of the elevator car on the side where the elevator has landed, and to open the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the elevator car on the side where the elevator has landed, and to close the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hold door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but could be the same as in the operation of the first example, for example, 15 seconds.

[0060] In step S107, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to move the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed, and brings the other elevator car to rest on the floor F of the evacuation destination that was determined earlier.

[0061] In step S108, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hold door control unit 83 to open the car door of the other car that has landed, and to open the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the other car that has landed, and to close the hold door 10 of the evacuation floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hold door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but could be, for example, 15 seconds, the same as in step S106. After the car door and hold door 10 are closed, the process returns to step S101. When the process returns to step S1, a trial run may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 can operate normally.

[0062] Here, although the illustration is omitted in Figure 5 for the sake of simplicity, if it is determined that the floor F of the evacuation destination is a floor F from which the doors of both elevator cars can be opened, the control unit 85 may, similar to steps S5-S6 in the operation of the first example, move the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed and bring each elevator car to the previously determined floor F of the evacuation destination.

[0063] In step S109, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hand door control unit 83 to stop the movement of the double-deck elevator 2. The process then returns to step S101. In other words, in the operation of the second example, when an S wave is detected, the movement of the double-deck elevator 2 is stopped for safety reasons, i.e., the travel speed is set to 0 m / min.

[0064] As described above, according to the embodiment, the travel speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other elevator car is changed according to the urgency of the abnormality that has occurred. As a result, even if the evacuation floor F is a floor where only one elevator car door can be opened, and the double-deck elevator 2 needs to be restarted to land the other elevator car, the other elevator car can be safely landed.

[0065] (modified version) Modifications of the embodiment are described below. In the embodiment, the double-deck elevator 2 includes two car compartments, an upper car 3 and a lower car 4, arranged vertically along the hoistway S. However, the technology of the embodiment is not necessarily applicable only to elevators including two car compartments arranged vertically. The technology of the embodiment can also be applied to elevators including three or more car compartments arranged vertically.

[0066] Furthermore, in the embodiment, an earthquake is given as an example of an emergency. However, the technology of the embodiment can be applied to emergency evacuations for various types of anomalies, where the degree of urgency, indicating the severity of the anomaly, differs depending on conditions such as the passage of time and location. For example, other examples of anomalies include strong winds and flooding. For example, in the case of strong winds, the travel speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other elevator car can be slowed down as the detected wind strength increases. Similarly, in the case of flooding, the travel speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other elevator car can be slowed down as the rate of flooding decreases.

[0067] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0068] 1...Elevator system, 2...Double-deck elevator, 3...Upper car, 4...Lower car, 3a...Cage door, 4a...Cage door, 5...Cage frame, 6...Machine room, 7...Hoisting machine, 7a...Rope, 7b...Sheave, 7c...Sheave, 7d...Counterweight, 8...Control device, 9...Earthquake sensor, 10...Hold door, 81...Drive control unit, 82...Cage door control unit, 83...Hold door control unit, 84...Anomaly detection unit, 85...Control unit.

Claims

1. A control device for an elevator equipped with a car having multiple car compartments arranged vertically, When an abnormality requiring evacuation occurs in the elevator, and the elevator stops at a floor where only one of the multiple elevator cars can have its doors opened, the doors of the car that can be opened are opened. To open the door of the car that could not be opened, the elevator is driven. It is equipped with a control unit, The control unit changes the travel speed when the elevator is driven to open the doors of the car that could not be opened, based on the urgency level indicating the degree of the detected abnormality. Elevator control unit.

2. The control unit causes the elevator to travel so that the elevator car whose doors could not be opened can land at the same floor as the elevator car whose doors could be opened, in order to open the elevator car whose doors could not be opened. The elevator control device according to claim 1.

3. The control unit causes the elevator to travel so that the elevator car whose doors could not be opened lands on a floor different from the floor where the elevator car whose doors could be opened stopped, in order to open the doors of the elevator car whose doors could not be opened. The elevator control device according to claim 1.

4. The aforementioned different floor is the floor on which the elevator car, whose door could not be opened, can land with the shortest possible movement. The elevator control device according to claim 3.

5. The control unit slows down the travel speed as the urgency increases. The elevator control device according to claim 1.

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