Elevator system

Abstract

We provide an elevator system that can detect malfunctions on floors with poor radio wave reception. [Solution] The elevator system according to this disclosure is an elevator system comprising a monitoring device installed in the elevator car to monitor the operating status of the elevator, and a communication device connected to the monitoring device to communicate wirelessly with a base station, wherein the monitoring device is configured to perform a radio wave check when the elevator car stops at a floor, checking the strength of the radio waves received by the communication device, and to detect OK floors where the radio wave strength meets the standard and NG floors where the radio wave strength does not meet the standard. If the monitoring device determines that it has arrived at an NG floor, it notifies the monitoring center.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an elevator system.

Background Art

[0002] In the conventional elevator system disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, a first communication terminal is installed as a master unit and connected to a cloud server using radio waves in a first radio frequency band, and a slave unit is installed near a device to be monitored. A second communication terminal that transmits data indicating the state of the device to the first communication terminal using radio waves in a second radio frequency band. In the elevator system in which the first communication terminal sends the data received from the second communication terminal to the cloud server to perform failure diagnosis of the device, the first communication terminal is unable to receive the data from the second communication terminal at a predetermined start time of periodic communication. When this occurs, a retry communication means for performing retry communication after waiting for a certain period of time, a time change means for changing the start time of the periodic communication when the retry communication continues for a certain number of consecutive times, and after changing the start time of the periodic communication, when the retry communication continues for a certain number of consecutive times, it is characterized by comprising a frequency band change means for changing the channel in the second radio frequency band.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A monitoring device for monitoring an elevator may be installed on the car. In that case, communication is performed by a communication device connected to the monitoring device, but there is a problem that reporting cannot be done on a floor with poor radio wave conditions.

[0005] This disclosure was made to solve the problems described above. The purpose of this disclosure is to provide an elevator system that can detect malfunctions on floors with poor radio wave conditions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The elevator system relating to this disclosure is an elevator system comprising a monitoring device installed in the elevator car to monitor the operating status of the elevator, and a communication device connected to the monitoring device to communicate wirelessly with a base station. The monitoring device is configured to perform a radio wave check when the elevator car stops at a floor, checking the strength of the radio waves received by the communication device, and to detect OK floors where the radio wave strength meets the standard and NG floors where the radio wave strength does not meet the standard. If the monitoring device determines that it has arrived at an NG floor, it notifies the monitoring center. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] This disclosure makes it possible to provide an elevator system that can detect malfunctions on floors with poor radio wave conditions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing an elevator system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an elevator system. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram of the monitoring device. [Figure 4] This is a radio wave reception status management table stored in the monitoring device's memory. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows an example of operation according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart showing the start and end of monitoring on the monitoring device side. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart showing the start and end of monitoring on the central device side. [Figure 8]This is a time chart showing examples of the operation of monitoring equipment and central equipment. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of a configuration that realizes the functions of the control device and the central device in Embodiment 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Common or corresponding elements in each drawing are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are simplified or omitted. The configurations shown in the embodiments below are examples of the technical ideas related to this disclosure and can be combined with other known technologies, or multiple technical ideas described in this disclosure can be combined. Furthermore, it is possible to omit or modify parts of the configuration without departing from the gist of this disclosure.

[0010] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 shows an elevator system 1 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in Figure 1, an elevator 3 is installed in building 2. The elevator car 4 of the elevator 3 is installed to move up and down within the hoistway 12 by a hoisting machine (not shown). The hoistway 12 runs through each floor of building 2. In the example in Figure 1, there are floors 1 through 3.

[0011] The elevator system 1 of this embodiment includes a monitoring device 5 installed in the car 4 to monitor the operating status of the elevator 3. The monitoring device 5 is installed, for example, on top of the car 4.

[0012] The control device 6 controls the operation of the elevator car 4. The monitoring device 5 does not need to be connected to the control device 6. Since the monitoring device 5 does not need to be connected to the control device 6, the monitoring device 5 can monitor elevators 3 manufactured by other companies.

[0013] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the elevator system 1. For example, a 4G modem 7 is connected to the monitoring device 5. The modem 7 is an example of a communication device that wirelessly communicates with the base station 9 of the communication network 8. The monitoring device 5 is connected to the center device 10, which is a server, via the modem 7, the base station 9, and the communication network 8. As shown in Figure 1, the center device 10 is installed in the monitoring center 11 in a building separate from the building 2. A terminal 13 equipped with a display unit is installed in the monitoring center 11.

[0014] Figure 3 is a block diagram of the monitoring device 5. As shown in Figure 3, the monitoring device 5 has a CPU 5a, a RAM 5b which is a storage device, a ROM 5c which is a storage device, a wireless communication unit 5d, a display unit 5e, an operation unit 5f, and an acceleration sensor 5g.

[0015] The monitoring device 5 detects a failure of the elevator 3 using the acceleration sensor 5g. For example, when the acceleration sensor 5g detects that the car 4 has suddenly stopped, the monitoring device 5 detects that it is a failure of the elevator 3. Also, when it is detected by the door sensor that the door of the car 4 is closed and the car 4 does not start, the monitoring device 5 detects that it is a failure of the elevator 3.

[0016] The monitoring device 5 can detect which floor the car 4 is on using the acceleration sensor 5g. For example, when the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 5g reverses up and down, it can be detected that the car 4 is on the top floor or the bottom floor. Also, the monitoring device 5 can detect the number of floors in the building by counting the number of stops on the intermediate floors. And the monitoring device 5 can detect which floor it is on by detecting the distance moved from the top floor or the bottom floor using the acceleration sensor 5g.

[0017] When the car 4 stops at a floor, the monitoring device 5 performs a radio wave check to check the intensity of the radio waves received by the modem 7, and detects an OK floor where the intensity of the radio waves meets the standard and a NG floor where the intensity of the radio waves does not meet the standard. Thereby, when the monitoring device 5 moves to a floor with good radio wave conditions, it can notify the center device 10. Also, by automatically notifying the center device 10 of information on floors with poor radio wave conditions, it becomes possible to grasp in advance the risk of not being able to notify in case the elevator 3 fails on a floor with poor radio wave conditions.

[0018] When the monitoring device 5 performs a radio wave check on the same floor within a certain period of time, it omits the radio wave check. Thereby, it is possible to avoid performing radio wave checks more frequently than necessary.

[0019] When the monitoring device 5 performs a radio wave check, it resets the power of the modem 7. Thereby, since the modem 7 redoes position registration etc., it is possible to detect the radio wave conditions of that floor more accurately.

[0020] If the car 4 moves before the radio wave check is completed, the monitoring device 5 treats the radio wave check as not being performed. Thereby, it is possible to redo the radio wave check when it stops at that floor next time.

[0021] When the monitoring device 5 detects a NG floor where the intensity of the radio waves does not meet the standard, when it stops at another floor, it notifies the monitoring center 11 that a NG floor where the intensity of the radio waves does not meet the standard has been detected. If that notification fails, when it stops at another floor, it makes the same notification. Thereby, it is possible to surely make the notification.

[0022] The monitoring device 5 can determine whether the elevator car 4 is arriving at an NG floor. In other words, the monitoring device 5 can determine whether the destination floor is an NG floor. If the monitoring device 5 determines that the elevator car 4 is arriving at an NG floor, it will notify the monitoring center 11 of its intention to keep an eye on the elevator before the radio signal deteriorates, i.e., before the elevator car 4 arrives at the NG floor, and will also start the first timer. In this embodiment, the monitoring device 5 can notify the monitoring center 11 of its intention to keep an eye on the elevator as soon as the elevator car 4 arrives at the NG floor, thereby alerting the monitoring center 11 that it is an NG floor. In addition, the first timer can detect the time the elevator car is staying on the NG floor.

[0023] When monitoring center 11 receives a notification indicating that it is being watched from monitoring device 5, it starts a second timer. This allows it to detect the amount of time spent on the NG floor.

[0024] When monitoring device 5 determines that the user has moved from the NG floor to the OK floor, it notifies monitoring center 11 that monitoring has ended and stops the first timer. This allows it to communicate that there is no longer a need to monitor the NG floor.

[0025] If monitoring center 11 receives a notification indicating the end of monitoring, it stops the second timer. Conversely, if monitoring center 11 does not receive a notification indicating the end of monitoring and the second timer times out, it displays a message on terminal 13's monitoring screen indicating that the elevator may be malfunctioning.

[0026] If the monitoring device 5 fails to determine that the elevator has moved from the NG floor to the OK floor and the first timer times out, it will notify an external party that a malfunction has occurred. For example, it may sound a buzzer on the monitoring device 5 or activate a contact that causes the elevator's intercom button to be pressed.

[0027] Figure 4 shows the radio wave reception status management table stored in the memory of the monitoring device 5. Figure 4 represents an image of the internal memory of the monitoring device 5. As shown in Figure 4, the memory of the monitoring device 5 can store the date and time of radio wave reception failure and whether or not a notification was sent, as well as the date and time of radio wave reception success, for each floor. The memory of the monitoring device 5 is also equipped with a "watching" flag. When a notification indicating that something is being watched is sent, the "watching" flag is turned on.

[0028] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of operation according to Embodiment 1. In step S1 of Figure 5, the monitoring device 5 determines whether the elevator car 4 has stopped on the floor. If the elevator car 4 has stopped on the floor, it determines whether the date and time of successful radio wave reception on that floor is within a certain time period. If the date and time of successful radio wave reception on that floor is within a certain time period, it is considered that a radio wave check is not necessary, and the process proceeds to step S8. If the date and time of successful radio wave reception on that floor is not within a certain time period, the process proceeds to step S3, and the monitoring device 5 starts the radio wave check. Next, it determines whether the elevator car 4 has moved during the radio wave check, and if the elevator car 4 has moved, the process in this flowchart ends. If the elevator car 4 has not moved during the radio wave check, it is determined whether the radio wave strength meets the criteria (step S5).

[0029] If the radio wave strength does not meet the standard, the monitoring device 5 records the history of radio wave reception failure (step S6) and terminates the processing of this flowchart. Conversely, if the radio wave strength meets the standard, the monitoring device 5 records the history of radio wave reception success (step S7). Next, the monitoring device 5 determines whether there is a history of radio wave reception failure that was not reported (step S8). If there is a history of radio wave reception failure that was not reported, the monitoring device 5 notifies the center device 10 of the radio wave reception failure along with floor information (step S9). The monitoring device 5 determines whether the notification was successful (step S10), and if the notification was successful, it marks the radio wave reception failure as reported (step S11).

[0030] As explained above, in this embodiment, floors with poor radio wave conditions can be detected, and when the elevator moves to a floor with good radio wave conditions, a notification can be sent to the central device 10. Furthermore, by automatically notifying the central device 10 of floors with poor radio wave conditions, it becomes possible to anticipate the risk of not being able to notify the central device 10 if the elevator 3 malfunctions on a floor with poor radio wave conditions.

[0031] When the monitoring device 5 can communicate with the control device 6, the elevator car 4 may be moved to a floor with better radio wave conditions when the monitoring device 5 is collecting data. This makes it more reliable to prevent the monitoring device 5 from failing to receive radio waves when it is collecting data.

[0032] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the start and end of monitoring on the monitoring device 5 side. First, the monitoring device 5 determines whether the destination floor is an NG floor (step S21). That is, it determines whether the destination floor is a floor with a history of radio wave reception failure date and time, and also whether the history of radio wave reception success date and time is more than a certain amount in the past. If it determines that the destination floor is an NG floor, the monitoring device 5 notifies the monitoring center 11 of the start of monitoring, turns on the monitoring flag, and turns on the first timer (step S22).

[0033] Next, the monitoring device 5 determines whether the first timer has timed out (step S23). If the first timer has not yet timed out, it determines whether the elevator car has moved to another floor (step S24). If the elevator car has not moved to another floor, the monitoring device 5 returns to step S23 and determines again whether the first timer has timed out. If the first timer has timed out, the monitoring device 5 notifies the outside that a malfunction has occurred, for example, by sounding a buzzer on the monitoring device 5 or by turning on a contact that causes the elevator's intercom button to be pressed.

[0034] If, in step S24, it is determined that the basket has moved to another floor which is an OK floor, then in step S26, the monitoring device 5 turns off the first timer, turns off the buzzer, and turns off the contacts of the intercom button.

[0035] In step S21, if it is determined that the destination floor is an OK floor and not an NG floor, it is determined whether the monitoring flag is on (step S27). If the monitoring flag is on, the monitoring device 5 issues a notification indicating the end of monitoring and turns off the monitoring flag.

[0036] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the start and end of monitoring on the central device 10 side. First, the central device 10 determines whether it has received a notification from the monitoring device 5 to start monitoring (step S31). If it has received a notification from the monitoring device 5 to start monitoring, the central device 10 turns on the second timer. Next, the central device 10 determines whether it has received a notification from the monitoring device 5 indicating the end of monitoring (step S33).

[0037] If the monitoring device 5 has received notification that monitoring has ended, the center device 10 turns off the second timer (step S34). If the monitoring device 5 has not received notification that monitoring has ended, the center device 10 determines whether the second timer has timed out (step S35). If the second timer has not timed out, the process from step S33 onwards is repeated. If the second timer has timed out, the process proceeds to step S36, and an alert is displayed on the monitoring screen of the display unit of the terminal 13 of the monitoring center 11.

[0038] Figure 8 is a time chart showing an example of the operation of the monitoring device 5 and the center device 10. As shown in Figure 8, when the monitoring device 5 determines that it has arrived at the NG floor, it starts the first timer, and when the center device 10 of the monitoring center 11 receives this notification, it starts the second timer. Furthermore, when the monitoring device 5 determines that it has moved from the NG floor to the OK floor, it sends a notification to the center device 10 of the monitoring center 11 indicating the end of monitoring and stops the first timer. When the center device 10 of the monitoring center 11 receives a notification indicating the end of monitoring, it stops the second timer, and if the second timer times out without receiving a notification indicating the end of monitoring, it displays an alert on the monitoring screen of the terminal 13 indicating that the elevator may be malfunctioning.

[0039] If the monitoring device 5 fails to determine that the user has moved from the NG floor to the OK floor and the first timer times out, it will notify the outside world of the malfunction by sounding a buzzer or similar means.

[0040] As explained above, this embodiment provides a means to notify when the elevator travels to an NG floor with poor radio wave conditions and does not move to an OK floor with good radio wave conditions within a certain period of time, thereby reducing the impact of being unable to report when an elevator malfunctions on a floor with poor radio wave conditions.

[0041] Figure 9 shows an example of a configuration that realizes the functions of the control device 6 and the central device 10 in Embodiment 1. Each function of the control device 6 and the central device 10 is realized, for example, by a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware 600. The processing circuit may include a processor 601 and a memory 602. A part of the processing circuit may be formed as dedicated hardware 600, and the processing circuit may further include a processor 601 and a memory 602. In the example shown in Figure 9, a part of the processing circuit is formed as dedicated hardware 600. Also, in the example shown in Figure 9, the processing circuit further includes a processor 601 and a memory 602 in addition to the dedicated hardware 600.

[0042] Processing circuits that consist of at least one dedicated hardware 600 include, for example, single circuits, composite circuits, programmed processors, parallel programmed processors, ASICs, FPGAs, or combinations thereof.

[0043] If the processing circuit comprises at least one processor 601 and at least one memory 602, the functions of each part of the control unit 6 and the central unit 10 are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.

[0044] Software and firmware are written as programs and stored in memory 602. The processor 601 realizes the functions of each part by reading and executing the programs stored in memory 602. The processor 601 is also called a CPU (Central Processing Unit), central processing unit, processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP. Examples of memory 602 include non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM and EEPROM, or magnetic disks, flexible disks, optical disks, compact disks, minidiscs and DVDs.

[0045] Thus, the processing circuit can realize the functions of the control unit 6 and the central unit 10 through hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Note that each function of the control unit 6 and the central unit 10 may be realized by the cooperation of multiple devices, or by a single device. Furthermore, at least some of the functions of the control unit 6 and the central unit 10 may be implemented on a server or the like on an external network. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0046] 1 Elevator system, 2 Building, 3 Elevator, 5 Monitoring device, 5d Wireless communication unit, 5e Display unit, 5f Control unit, 5g Accelerometer, 6 Control device, 7 Modem, 8 Communication network, 9 Base station, 10 Center equipment, 11 Monitoring center, 12 Elevator shaft, 13 Terminal, 600 Dedicated hardware, 601 Processor, 602 Memory

Claims

1. A monitoring device installed in the elevator car to monitor the elevator's operating status, A communication device connected to the aforementioned monitoring device and communicating wirelessly with the base station, An elevator system equipped with, The monitoring device is configured to perform a radio wave check when the elevator car stops on a floor, checking the strength of the radio waves received by the communication device, and to detect OK floors where the radio wave strength meets the standard and NG floors where the radio wave strength does not meet the standard. The monitoring device is an elevator system that notifies the monitoring center when it determines that the elevator car has arrived at the NG floor.

2. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring device determines that the elevator car has arrived at the NG floor and starts the first timer.

3. The elevator system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the monitoring center starts the second timer upon receiving the notification.

4. The elevator system according to claim 2, wherein when the monitoring device determines that the elevator car has moved from the NG floor to the OK floor, it notifies the monitoring center that monitoring has ended and stops the first timer.

5. When the monitoring device determines that the cage has arrived at the NG floor, it starts the first timer. Upon receiving the notification, the monitoring center starts the second timer. When the monitoring device determines that the cage has moved from the NG floor to the OK floor, it notifies the monitoring center that monitoring has ended and stops the first timer. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring center stops the second timer when it receives a notification indicating the end of monitoring, and displays a message on the terminal indicating that the elevator may be malfunctioning when the second timer times out without receiving a notification indicating the end of monitoring.

6. The elevator system according to claim 2, claim 4, or claim 5, wherein the monitoring device notifies an external party that a malfunction has occurred if the first timer times out because it is unable to determine that the elevator car has moved from the NG floor to the OK floor.

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