Elevator-Robot Linkage System

Abstract

To provide a system for smoothly carrying out the task of an autonomous mobile robot and executing recovery works from an elevator abnormal state by transmitting a control command of getting off the elevator, switching to an operation halt mode, etc. to the autonomous mobile robot according to the elevator abnormal state.SOLUTION: An elevator / robot cooperation system comprises an abnormality / recovery detection unit to detect an occurrence and recovery of an abnormality in an elevator, a nearest floor stopping detection unit to determine whether or not a car can be safely landed on the nearest floor based on elevator abnormality detection information transmitted from the abnormality / recovery detection unit and on elevator operational state information, an alighting indication unit to transmit an alighting command from the car to a robot control unit of a robot when the nearest floor stopping detection unit stops the car at the nearest floor, and a halt mode instruction / releasing unit to detect the elevator abnormality by the abnormality / recovery detection unit, and to command switching to the halt mode to the control mode changing unit of the robot if the elevator is out of operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator-robot coordination system equipped with a coordination server that coordinates the operation of an elevator and that of a robot. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, autonomous mobile bodies (hereinafter referred to as autonomous mobile robots) that perform tasks such as cleaning the interior of buildings such as buildings, transporting luggage, and guiding building users have been put into practical use. However, in a building with multiple floors, such as a building, it is essential for the autonomous mobile robot to move around using elevators in order to perform the above tasks.

[0003] Regarding the cooperation between autonomous mobile robots and elevators, International Publication No. 2021 / 038806 (Patent Document 1) proposes an inspection instruction device for a mobility support device that can prevent maintenance personnel from having to visit the site unnecessarily by using an autonomous mobile robot to diagnose a mobility support device that has experienced an abnormality. [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 038806 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, if an abnormality occurs in the elevator while the autonomous mobile robot is in the car, it is necessary to notify the autonomous mobile robot of the elevator abnormality and to switch the operation mode of the autonomous mobile robot according to the abnormal state of the elevator. However, the mobility support device described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 uses the autonomous mobile robot to diagnose the elevator in which an abnormality has occurred, and cannot address the above-mentioned problem.

[0005] Humans can intuitively recognize that an elevator has malfunctioned and is unable to operate, but in the case of an autonomous mobile robot, in order to recognize an elevator malfunction, it is necessary to directly provide the autonomous mobile robot with information such as an elevator fault signal. Also, if an elevator malfunction occurs, the autonomous mobile robot will not be able to move to a floor where a charging station is installed, and in the worst case scenario, the battery may run out in the elevator car, which may hinder recovery efforts for not only the autonomous mobile robot but also the elevator.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide an elevator-robot cooperation system that, when an elevator goes into an abnormal state, sends a control command to an autonomous mobile robot to switch its operating mode, such as disembarking mode or pause mode, depending on the abnormal state of the elevator, thereby enabling the autonomous mobile robot to smoothly perform its tasks and to perform recovery work from the elevator abnormal state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is characterized by comprising an elevator control device which, when an elevator abnormality is detected, determines whether the car can be stopped at the nearest floor, and if so, controls it to move to the nearest floor, stop and open the doors, and outputs an instruction for the robot to disembark; a coordinating server which receives the instruction for the robot to disembark from the elevator control device, inquires of a robot control unit of the robot in the car whether it is possible to disembark, and sends an instruction to the robot to disembark when it receives a response that it is possible; and a robot control unit which, when it receives an instruction to disembark from the coordinating server, controls the robot to disembark from the car. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, when an elevator enters an abnormal state, a control command to switch operating modes, such as disembarkation mode or pause mode, is sent to the autonomous mobile robot depending on the elevator abnormal state, thereby enabling the autonomous mobile robot to smoothly perform its duties and to carry out recovery work from the elevator abnormal state. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of an elevator-robot cooperation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an elevator-robot cooperation system in an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the elevator-robot cooperation system when an abnormality occurs in an elevator in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 11 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the elevator-robot cooperation system when the elevator in an embodiment of the present invention recovers from an abnormal state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications and application examples within the technical concept of the present invention are also included within its scope.

[0011] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of an elevator-robot cooperation system according to the present invention.

[0012] In FIG. 1, the autonomous mobile robot 1 includes a robot call generation means 4 that executes requests to a destination floor, a robot control unit 6 that executes control of the overall behavior of the autonomous mobile robot 1, and a control mode change unit 7 that changes the driving mode (operation mode) of the autonomous mobile robot 1.

[0013] The robot call generation means 4 transmits a robot call command for calling and running the elevator car to a specified floor by wireless communication means such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) to the elevator control device 3 that controls the elevator via the elevator-robot cooperation server 2. The robot call generation means 4 stores robot call floor information 5, which is information indicating the floor to call the car to and the destination floor.

[0014] In addition, the autonomous mobile robot 1 has a normal operation mode in which it executes various functions of the autonomous mobile robot 1, such as at least cleaning the building, carrying luggage, and guiding building users, and a pause mode in which it pauses the execution of various functions and enters a standby state with low power consumption, and the switching of operating modes is performed by the control mode change unit 7.

[0015] The autonomous mobile robot 1 is connected by wireless communication to an elevator control device 3 via an elevator-robot cooperation server 2. The elevator-robot cooperation server 2 includes at least a robot call sending unit 8, a boarding / alighting instruction / inquiry unit 9, and a pause mode instruction / cancellation unit 10. The elevator-robot cooperation server 2 has a function of transferring requests from the autonomous mobile robot 1 to the elevator control device 3, receiving control information for the autonomous mobile robot 1 from the elevator, and transferring it to the autonomous mobile robot 1.

[0016] The elevator control device 3 includes at least a robot call receiving unit 11, an elevator control unit 12, a nearest floor stop detection unit 13, and an abnormality / recovery detection unit 14. The robot call receiving unit 11 receives robot call floor information 5 transmitted from the robot call generating means 4 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 via the robot call transmitting unit 8 of the elevator / robot cooperation server 2, and further transmits it to the elevator control unit 12.

[0017] The elevator control unit 12 is a control block that controls the operation of the elevator, and has the function of calling the car to the floor created by the robot call and running it, as well as transmitting elevator operation status information to the nearest floor stop detection unit 13 and the abnormality / recovery detection unit 14.

[0018] The abnormality / recovery detection unit 14 detects the occurrence of an elevator abnormality and recovery from the abnormality from the elevator operation status information transmitted from the elevator control unit 12. Furthermore, it has a function of determining whether the elevator abnormality that has occurred is a minor abnormality that allows service to be continued, or a serious abnormality that makes it impossible to continue service.

[0019] The abnormality / recovery detection unit 14 further has a function of transmitting these judgment results to the nearest floor stop detection unit 13 and the pause mode instruction / cancellation unit 10 of the elevator-robot cooperation server 2. For example, a momentary power outage while the elevator is moving or an emergency stop due to a temporary door opening / closing is judged to be a minor abnormality, and an emergency stop due to a brake failure or the like is judged to be a major abnormality.

[0020] The nearest floor stop detection unit 13 judges whether the car can safely land at the nearest floor based on the elevator abnormality detection information sent from the abnormality / recovery detection unit 14 and the elevator operation status information sent from the elevator control unit 12, and if it can land, it has the function of stopping the car at the nearest floor and transmitting and notifying the boarding / alighting instruction / inquiry unit 9 of the elevator / robot cooperation server 2 that the car has stopped at the nearest floor.

[0021] In addition, if the abnormal condition is a serious malfunction that makes it impossible to continue service, if it is possible to safely run the car to the nearest floor, the abnormality / recovery detection unit 14 has a function of instructing the elevator control unit 12 to suspend operations after the car has landed at the nearest floor, and if this is not possible, to immediately suspend operations without stopping at the nearest floor.

[0022] As described above, the elevator / robot cooperation server 2 includes a robot call sending unit 8 connected to the autonomous mobile robot 1 and the elevator control device 3 via the Internet, a boarding / alighting instruction / inquiry unit 9, and a pause mode instruction / cancellation unit 10.

[0023] The robot call transmitting unit 8 has a function of transferring a robot call command transmitted from the robot call generating means 4 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 to the robot call receiving unit 11 of the elevator control device 3.

[0024] In addition, the boarding / alighting instruction / inquiry unit 9 has a function of transmitting an alighting command from the car to the robot control unit 6 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 when the nearest floor stop detection unit 13 stops the car at the nearest floor.

[0025] The pause mode command / cancel unit 10 has a function of immediately commanding the control mode change unit 7 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 to switch to the pause mode when the elevator is unable to stop at the nearest floor and the elevator is put into a pause state.

[0026] In addition, if the elevator goes into a suspended state after the car lands on the nearest floor, if the elevator does not recover from the suspended state after a certain period of time has elapsed, the system is equipped with a function to instruct the control mode change unit 7 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 to switch to the suspended mode.

[0027] In the elevator-robot cooperation system configured as above, the operation of the elevator-robot cooperation system according to this embodiment will be explained next with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 2. Note that this flowchart is for explaining the concept of this embodiment, and is not necessarily the same as the control flow actually used.

[0028] <Step S101> In step S101, if the autonomous mobile robot 1 has registered a robot call command with the robot call creation means 4 (YES), the process proceeds to step S102. On the other hand, if the autonomous mobile robot 1 has not registered a robot call command with the robot call creation means 4 (NO), the process returns to step S101 and the same determination is made again.

[0029] <Step S102> In step S102, the autonomous mobile robot 1 judges whether or not the car has arrived at the floor created by the robot call and the autonomous mobile robot 1 has boarded the car. If the judgement is that the car has been boarded (YES), the process proceeds to step S103, and if the autonomous mobile robot 1 has not boarded the car (NO), the process returns to before step S102 and the same judgment is executed.

[0030] <<Step Step S103>> In step S103, since the autonomous mobile robot 1 is in the car, the car travels toward the destination floor created by the robot call, and during this travel, the process proceeds to step S104.

[0031] <Step S104> In step S104, it is determined whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the elevator by the abnormality / recovery detection unit 14. If the abnormality / recovery detection unit 14 detects the occurrence of an elevator abnormality from the elevator operation status information transmitted from the elevator control unit 12, and an abnormality has occurred in the elevator (YES), the process proceeds to step S201. On the other hand, if no abnormality has occurred in the elevator (NO), the process continues normal operation and proceeds to step S105.

[0032] <Step S105> In step S105, if the car has arrived at the destination floor created by the robot call (YES), the process ends and exits to the end. On the other hand, if the car has not arrived at the destination floor created by the robot call (NO), the process returns to before step S103 and executes the process of step S103.

[0033] Next, the operation of the elevator-robot cooperation system when an abnormality occurs in the elevator will be explained using the flowchart in Fig. 3. This control flow is executed when YES is determined in step S104 in Fig. 2.

[0034] <Step S201> In step S201, nearest floor stop detection unit 13 judges whether or not the car can safely land at the nearest floor based on elevator abnormality detection information transmitted from abnormality / recovery detection unit 14 and elevator operation status information transmitted from elevator control unit 12. If it is determined that the car cannot land at the nearest floor, the process proceeds to step S202, and if it is determined that the car can land at the nearest floor, the process proceeds to step S203.

[0035] <Step S202> In step S202, the nearest floor stop detection unit 13 transmits a pause command for the autonomous mobile robot 1 to the pause mode instruction / cancellation unit 10 of the elevator / robot cooperation server 2. Furthermore, the pause mode instruction / cancellation unit 10 transmits a pause command for the autonomous mobile robot 1 to the control mode change unit 7 of the autonomous mobile robot 1.

[0036] This puts the autonomous mobile robot 1 into a hibernation state. When the autonomous mobile robot 1 is hibernated, the supply of power from the battery is restricted, making it possible to reduce battery consumption. Then, the process moves from this state to step S301. Step S301 and onwards are processes for recovery from an abnormal state, and will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

[0037] <Step S203> In step S203, the boarding / alighting instruction / inquiry unit 9 of the elevator / robot cooperation server 2 inquires of the robot control unit 6 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 whether or not it is possible to alight. This is because it is possible that the autonomous mobile robot 1 may not be able to alight because, for example, there is a step between the landing and the floor of the car, or the autonomous mobile robot 1 has fallen over, etc. Once the inquiry has been made, the process proceeds to step S204.

[0038] <Step S204> In step S204, the robot control unit 6 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 determines whether or not it is possible to disembark from the elevator car in response to the inquiry from the elevator-robot cooperation server 2. If it is not possible to disembark (NO), the process proceeds to step S202, and the sleep mode command / cancel unit 10 commands the control mode change unit 7 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 to switch to the sleep mode, and the process proceeds to step S301. On the other hand, if it is possible to disembark (YES), the process proceeds to step S205.

[0039] <Step S205> In step S205, after the elevator car has landed on the nearest floor, the boarding / alighting instruction / inquiry unit 9 of the elevator / robot cooperation server 2 transmits an alighting command to the robot control unit 6 of the autonomous mobile robot 1. When this process is completed, the process proceeds to step S206.

[0040] <Step S206> In step S206, it is determined whether or not dismounting of the autonomous mobile robot 1 is complete. If dismounting of the autonomous mobile robot 1 is complete (YES in the figure), the process proceeds to step S207. On the other hand, if dismounting of the autonomous mobile robot 1 is not complete (NO in the figure), the process returns to before step S206 and the same process is executed.

[0041] <Step S207> In step S207, the robot control unit 10 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 transmits to the boarding / alighting instruction / inquiry unit 9 of the elevator / robot cooperation server 2 a message that the autonomous mobile robot 1 has disembarked and the floor on which it has disembarked.

[0042] 1 to the robot manager of the robot management application 16 on the smartphone 15, notifying the manager of the floor on which the robot got off due to an elevator malfunction, and notifying the manager of the status of the autonomous mobile robot 1. After executing this process, the process proceeds to step S208.

[0043] <Step S208> In step S208, after the elevator has landed on the nearest floor, the abnormality / recovery detection unit 14 determines whether or not the elevator's operation state has shifted to a suspended state because it has determined that the service cannot be continued. If the elevator's operation state has shifted to a suspended state (YES), the process proceeds to step S301 in FIG. 4. On the other hand, if it is determined that the service can be continued and the elevator operating status remains normal (NO), the process returns to step S101, and the autonomous mobile robot 1 again creates a robot call and performs the operation of heading to the originally scheduled destination floor.

[0044] Next, the operation of the elevator-robot cooperation system when the elevator recovers from an abnormal state will be explained using the flowchart in Fig. 4. This control flow is executed after execution of step S202 in Fig. 3 and when the answer to step S208 is YES.

[0045] <Step S301> In step S301, whether or not the elevator has recovered from an abnormal state or a suspended state is determined by the abnormality / recovery detection unit 14. If recovery is detected (YES), the process proceeds to step S302, and if recovery is not detected, the process proceeds to step S304.

[0046] <Step S302> In step S302, the pause mode instruction / cancel unit 10 of the elevator-robot cooperation server 2 switches the operation mode of the autonomous mobile robot 1 to the normal operation mode by transmitting a pause release command to the control mode change unit 7 of the autonomous mobile robot 1. When this process is completed, the process proceeds to step S303.

[0047] <Step S303> In step S303, following the processing of step S302, the elevator has been restored, so the boarding / alighting instruction / inquiry unit 9 of the elevator / robot cooperation server 2 instructs the robot control unit 6 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 to reboard. After that, the process returns to step S101, and the autonomous mobile robot 1 again creates a robot call and performs the operation of heading to the originally scheduled destination floor.

[0048] <Step S304> Since it is determined in step S301 that the elevator has not recovered from the abnormal or out-of-service state, it is determined in step S304 whether a predetermined time has passed since the elevator went into the abnormal or out-of-service state. If the predetermined time has passed (YES), the process proceeds to step S305. On the other hand, if the predetermined time has not passed (NO), the process returns to before step S301 and executes the same process.

[0049] <Step S305> In step S305, it is determined whether the floor where the autonomous mobile robot 1 has dismounted is a floor without a charging stand. If the floor where the autonomous mobile robot 1 has dismounted is a floor without a charging stand (YES), the process proceeds to step S306. On the other hand, if the autonomous mobile robot 1 has not dismounted, or if the floor where the autonomous mobile robot 1 has dismounted is a floor with a charging stand (NO), the process returns to before step S301 and executes the same process without issuing a command to switch to the sleep mode.

[0050] <Step S306> In step S306, the pause mode instruction / cancellation unit 10 of the elevator-robot cooperation server 2 commands the control mode change unit 7 of the autonomous mobile robot 1 to switch to the pause mode. In this way, by switching the operation mode of the autonomous mobile robot 1 to the pause mode, it is possible to prevent the autonomous mobile robot 1 from being unable to move to a floor where a charging stand is installed and from running out of battery. After executing this process, the process proceeds to step S307.

[0051] <Step S307> In step S307, similarly to step S301, whether or not the elevator has recovered from the abnormal state or the suspended state is determined by the abnormality / recovery detection unit 14. If recovery is detected (YES), the process proceeds to step S302, and if recovery is not detected, the process returns to before step S307 and the same process is executed.

[0052] If abnormality / recovery detection unit 14 detects in step S307 that the elevator has returned from an abnormal or paused state (YES in the figure), pause mode instruction / cancellation unit 10 sends a pause release command to control mode change unit 7 of autonomous mobile robot 1 in step S302, switches the operation mode of autonomous mobile robot 1 to normal operation mode, executes step S303, and then returns to step S101. Then, autonomous mobile robot 1 again generates a robot call and performs an operation to head to the originally scheduled destination floor.

[0053] As described above, according to this embodiment, the elevator-robot cooperation server transmits control commands to the autonomous mobile robot, such as commands to disembark or switch to pause mode, in response to an abnormal state of the elevator.

[0054] This makes it possible to prevent the autonomous mobile robot from running out of battery power due to the elevator being unavailable for a long period of time and being unable to move to a floor where a charging station is installed. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a coordination system between an elevator and a robot that allows the autonomous mobile robot to smoothly carry out its tasks and promotes recovery work from an abnormality in the elevator.

[0055] As described above, according to the present invention, an elevator control device determines whether the car can be stopped at the nearest floor when an elevator abnormality is detected, and if it can be stopped, controls it to move to the nearest floor, stop it and open the doors, and outputs an instruction for the robot to disembark; a coordinating server that receives the instruction for the robot to disembark from the elevator control device, inquires of the robot control unit of the robot in the car whether it is possible to disembark, and sends an instruction to the robot to disembark when it receives a response that it is possible; and a robot control unit that controls the robot to disembark from the car when it receives the instruction to disembark from the coordinating server.

[0056] According to this, if an abnormality occurs in the elevator, control commands such as disembarking or switching to pause mode can be sent to the autonomous mobile robot depending on the abnormality, enabling the autonomous mobile robot to perform its duties smoothly and to carry out recovery work from the elevator abnormality.

[0057] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but includes various modified examples. The above-mentioned embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace other configurations with respect to the configuration of each embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1...robot, 2...elevator / robot cooperation server, 3...elevator control device, 4...robot call creation means, 5...robot call floor information, 6...robot control unit, 7...control mode change unit, 8...robot call sending unit, 9...disembarkation instruction unit, 10...pause mode instruction / cancellation unit, 11...robot call receiving unit, 12...elevator control unit, 13...nearest floor stop detection unit, 14...abnormality / recovery detection unit.

Claims

1. An elevator-robot cooperation system for an elevator that carries a robot, an elevator control device that, when an abnormality in the elevator is detected, determines whether or not a car can be stopped at the nearest floor, and if so, controls the car to move to the nearest floor, stop, and open the door, and outputs an instruction for the robot to disembark; a linkage server that receives an instruction for the robot to disembark from the elevator control device, inquires of a robot control unit of the robot riding in the elevator car whether the robot can disembark, and sends an instruction for the robot to disembark when a response that the robot can disembark is received; The robot control unit controls the robot so that the robot dismounts from the elevator when the robot receives a dismount instruction from the cooperation server. An elevator / robot collaboration system characterized by:

2. In the elevator-robot cooperation system according to claim 1, The cooperation server inquires of the robot control unit of the robot riding in the elevator whether or not it is possible to disembark, and when receiving a response that disembarkation is not possible, sends a pause instruction to the robot control unit. An elevator / robot collaboration system characterized by:

3. In the elevator-robot cooperation system according to claim 1, When the elevator control device detects an abnormality in the elevator, the elevator control device outputs an instruction to suspend the robot to the cooperation server when it is determined that the elevator car cannot be stopped at the nearest floor, The cooperation server outputs a robot pause instruction to the robot control unit of the robot riding in the car. An elevator / robot collaboration system characterized by:

4. In the elevator-robot cooperation system according to claim 1, When the elevator is restored, the elevator control device outputs a boarding instruction for the robot to the link server, The cooperation server sends an instruction to the robot control unit to board the robot. An elevator / robot collaboration system characterized by:

5. In the elevator-robot cooperation system according to claim 3 or 4, When the elevator is restored, the elevator control device sends an instruction to resume the pause of the robot to the cooperation server, The cooperation server sends an instruction to the robot control unit to resume the pause of the robot. An elevator / robot collaboration system characterized by:

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