ROBOT MANAGEMENT DEVICE, ROBOT, AND PROGRAM

Abstract

To mitigate the prolongation of a user's riding time, which may occur when the user and the robot ride in the same elevator car, by controlling the robot side autonomously from the elevator. [Solution] When a car arrives at a stop floor, the robot management device judges whether the arrival floor of the car matches any of the departure floors transmitted in the allocation request, and if it judges that it matches any of the departure floors, it sets the matching allocation request as a first focus request, and using the departure floor and destination floor transmitted in the first focus request, sets the direction from the departure floor to the destination floor as the robot's transport direction, and judges whether the departure direction of the car from the arrival floor matches that transport direction.Furthermore, if the robot management device judges that it matches the robot's transport direction, it judges whether the departure floor transmitted in the first focus request matches the robot's boarding floor.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control technique for a robot that uses an elevator. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, robots have come to be used more and more for various tasks (cleaning, monitoring, transportation, etc.) within buildings (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Accordingly, elevators are increasingly being used to move robots between floors within buildings, and there are an increasing number of cases in which both users and robots use elevators. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7380793 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On the other hand, a robot takes longer to board and disembark than a user. Therefore, in an environment where a robot uses an elevator together with a user, if the robot boards at an intermediate floor during the transportation of the user, or if the robot disembarks at an intermediate floor during the transportation of the user, the user will be forced to wait in the elevator until the robot has boarded and disembarked. In this way, when a user and a robot ride together in an elevator, the user may be forced to spend a longer time riding until the user reaches his or her destination floor.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to mitigate the lengthening of a user's ride time, which can occur when a user and a robot ride in the same elevator car, by controlling the robot autonomously from the elevator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The robot management device of the present invention is a device that manages robots used in a building in which elevators are installed, and when a robot is moved from a boarding floor to a destination floor using the elevator car, the robot management device requests the robot to be assigned a hall call by transmitting the departure floor and destination floor or destination direction required for the hall call assignment to the elevator control device, and performs the following control processing (mode 1-1). When an elevator car is used to move a robot from a boarding floor to a destination floor, and a hall call for a user is assigned by the elevator control device, the robot management device determines whether the following conditions are satisfied for the robot's boarding floor and destination floor, and the departure floor and destination direction indicated by the hall call for the user: (1) the forward direction from the robot's boarding floor to the robot's destination floor is the same as the destination direction of the user; (2) the car arrives at the robot's boarding floor before arriving at the departure floor of the user; (3) the user's departure floor is between the robot's boarding floor and the robot's destination floor; and (4) the robot's destination floor is a floor different from the first end floor located in the forward direction relative to the robot's boarding floor. Then, when the robot management device determines that all of conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied, it makes a request to allocate a first hall call for the robot, in which the boarding floor of the robot is set as the departure floor and the car departs from the boarding floor in the forward direction, and makes a request to allocate a second hall call for the robot, in which the destination floor of the robot is set as the departure floor and the car departs from the destination floor in the opposite direction to the forward direction.

[0007] If a normal hall call allocation request for a robot is made, such as requesting allocation of one hall call with the boarding floor and destination floor of the robot as the departure floor and destination floor, respectively, when conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied, a situation may occur in which, after getting on the car, the user must experience the robot getting off at a floor on the way to the alighting floor, depending on the positional relationship between the user's alighting floor and the robot's alighting floor (=destination floor). When such a situation may occur, according to the above-mentioned aspect 1-1, by moving the robot from the boarding floor to the destination floor by the above-mentioned two allocation requests (the first hall call allocation request and the second hall call allocation request), it becomes possible to move the car in the forward direction passing through the destination floor of the robot. In other words, when the car is moving in the forward direction, it becomes possible to stop the car only at the alighting floor of the user without stopping at the destination floor of the robot. Therefore, it is possible for the passenger to get off the car before the robot. This means that the passenger does not have to experience the robot getting off while traveling in the car. As a result, it is possible to alleviate the lengthening of the passenger's ride time.

[0008] Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned aspect 1-1, by making a request for allocation of a second hall call, even after the elevator has passed the destination floor of the robot, when the elevator moves in the reverse direction, the elevator can be stopped in the reverse direction at the destination floor of the robot.

[0009] The robot management device according to the above-mentioned aspect 1-1 further comprises the following configuration (aspect 1-2). When the car arrives at a stop floor, the robot management device judges (A1) whether the arrival floor of the car matches any of the departure floors transmitted in the allocation request, and if it judges in the judgment (A1) that it matches any of the departure floors, it sets the matching allocation request as a first focus request, and uses the departure floor and destination floor or destination direction transmitted in the first focus request to set the direction from the departure floor to the destination floor or the destination direction as the robot's transport direction, and judges (B1) whether the departure direction of the car from the arrival floor matches the transport direction. Furthermore, if it judges in the judgment (B1) that it matches the robot's transport direction, it judges (C1) whether the departure floor transmitted in the first focus request matches the robot's boarding floor. If the robot management device determines in decision (C1) that the floor matches the boarding floor of the robot, it transmits a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and commands the robot to board the car, and then transmits a boarding completion signal to the elevator control device when the robot has completed boarding. On the other hand, if the robot management device determines in decision (C1) that the floor does not match the boarding floor of the robot, it transmits a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and commands the robot to disembark from the car, and then transmits a boarding completion signal as a dummy signal to the elevator control device when the robot has completed disembarking.

[0010] According to the above aspect 1-2, the robot management device itself performs judgments (A1) and (B1) and can determine that the car has arrived at the departure floor in response to a hall call for the robot (either a normal hall call, a first hall call, or a second hall call) without notification from the elevator control device.

[0011] Therefore, when the robot management device judges that there is a "match" in the judgment (C1), it can judge that the car has arrived at the boarding floor in response to a normal hall call or a first hall call with the boarding floor of the robot as the departure floor. In this case, the robot management device transmits a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device. This allows the control device to execute the door-open extension required for the robot to board the car, and to recognize that a boarding completion signal will be transmitted from the robot management device when the boarding of the robot is completed.

[0012] On the other hand, if the robot management device judges that the robot does not match in the judgment (C1), it can judge that the car has arrived at the destination floor in response to the second hall call, which has the robot's destination floor as the departure floor. In this case, the robot management device also transmits a door open extension signal to the elevator control device. This makes it possible to cause the control device to execute the door open extension required for the robot to disembark from the car. On the other hand, since the control device at this time has caused the car to arrive at the departure floor indicated by the second hall call, when the door open extension signal is received from the robot management device, the control device recognizes that the boarding completion signal will be transmitted from the robot management device when the robot has completed boarding, even though the robot has disembarked. Therefore, the robot management device commands the robot to disembark from the car, and then transmits the boarding completion signal as a dummy signal to the elevator control device when the robot has completed disembarking. This makes it possible to cause the robot to disembark from the car without stalling the elevator control.

[0013] The robot management device according to the above aspect 1-2 may make a first hall call allocation request, in which the boarding floor of the robot is the departure floor and the departure floor of the user used in determining condition (3) is the destination floor, and may make a second hall call allocation request, in which the destination floor of the robot is the departure floor and the destination floor is a floor located in the opposite direction to the destination floor (aspect 2).

[0014] According to the above-mentioned aspect 2, by making an allocation request for the first hall call (a hall call having the departure floor of the user as the destination floor) as described above, it becomes possible to stop the elevator car at the departure floor (boarding floor) of the user as the destination floor indicated by the first hall call after the robot is boarded therein. Even if the elevator car stops at the destination floor indicated by the first hall call, it becomes possible to move the elevator car in the forward direction after that, passing through the destination floor of the robot, by leaving the robot on the elevator car. In other words, when the elevator car is moving in the forward direction, it becomes possible to stop the elevator car only at the floor where the user disembarks, without stopping at the destination floor of the robot. Therefore, it becomes possible to allow the user to disembark before the robot. This allows the user to avoid experiencing the robot disembarking while moving in the elevator. As a result, it becomes possible to alleviate the lengthening of the riding time of the user.

[0015] Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned aspect 2, by making a request to allocate the first hall call using the user's departure floor (boarding floor), it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the elevator at a floor where no one gets on or off (including the first end floor) just to allow the robot to pass through its destination floor.

[0016] The robot management device according to the above aspect 2 may also make a request for allocation of a second hall call, in which the destination floor of the robot is the departure floor and a second end floor located in the opposite direction to the destination floor is the destination floor (aspect 3).

[0017] According to the above aspect 3, by making a request to allocate a second hall call with the second end floor, where the elevator will necessarily turn around, as the destination floor, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the elevator at a floor where no one gets on or off after the robot gets off at the departure floor (= destination floor) indicated by the hall call.

[0018] The robot management device according to the above aspect 1-2 may make a first hall call allocation request in which the boarding floor of the robot is set as the departure floor and the departure floor of the user used in determining condition (3) is set as the destination floor, and may make a second hall call allocation request in which the destination floor of the robot is set as the departure floor and the destination direction from the departure floor is the opposite direction to the forward direction (aspect 4).

[0019] According to the above-mentioned aspect 4, it is possible to alleviate the increase in the passenger's boarding time for the same reason as in the case of aspect 2. Also, according to the above-mentioned aspect 4, by making a request for allocation of the second hall call using the destination direction instead of the destination floor, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the elevator at a floor where no one gets on or off after the robot gets off at the departure floor (= destination floor) indicated by the hall call.

[0020] The robot management device according to the above aspect 1-2 may make a request for allocation of a first hall call, in which the boarding floor of the robot is the departure floor and the first end floor is the destination floor, and may make a request for allocation of a second hall call, in which the destination floor of the robot is the departure floor and the destination direction from the departure floor is the opposite direction to the forward direction (aspect 5).

[0021] According to the above aspect 5, it becomes possible to move the car to the first end floor on the premise that the condition (4) is satisfied, so that the car can pass through the destination floor of the robot with the robot still aboard. Therefore, it becomes possible to have the user disembark before the robot on the way to the first end floor. This eliminates the need for the user to experience the robot disembarking while traveling in the car. As a result, it becomes possible to alleviate the lengthening of the user's riding time.

[0022] Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned aspect 5, by making a request to allocate the first hall call with the first end floor, where the direction of movement of the elevator will necessarily be reversed, as the destination floor, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the elevator at an intermediate floor where no one is getting on or off just to allow the elevator to pass through the destination floor of the robot.

[0023] Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned aspect 5, as in aspect 4, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the elevator at a floor where no one is getting on or off after the robot gets off at the departure floor (= destination floor) indicated by the second hall call.

[0024] The robot management device according to any one of the above-mentioned aspects 1-2 to 5 may simultaneously make a first hall call allocation request and a second hall call allocation request to the elevator control device (Aspect 6).

[0025] According to the above-mentioned aspect 6, the first and second platform calls for the robot are easily assigned to the car so that the robot can respond to the platform calls in order while the car makes one revolution around the operating section. On the other hand, if the second platform call is requested after the timing of the request for the assignment of the first platform call, depending on the assignment status of other platform calls to the car at that time, it is easy for a situation to occur in which the assignment cannot be performed so that the robot can respond to the first and second platform calls in order while the car makes one revolution.

[0026] The robot management device according to the above-mentioned aspects 1-2 to 6 may have the following configuration (Aspect 7). When the car arrives at a stop floor, the robot management device may further determine (A2) whether the arrival floor of the car matches any of the destination floors transmitted in the allocation request, and if it is determined in the determination (A2) that the arrival floor of the car matches any of the destination floors, the robot management device may use the matching allocation request as a second focus request, and determine (B2) whether the arrival direction of the car at the arrival floor matches the transport direction using the departure floor and destination floor transmitted in the second focus request, and set the direction from the departure floor to the destination floor as the transport direction of the robot. Furthermore, if it is determined in the determination (B2) that the arrival direction of the car matches the transport direction of the robot, the robot management device may determine (C2) whether the destination floor transmitted in the second focus request matches the target floor of the robot. Then, if the robot management device determines in decision (C2) that the floor matches the robot's destination floor, it may send a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and command the robot to disembark from the car, and then send a disembarkation completion signal to the elevator control device when the robot has completed disembarking. On the other hand, if the robot management device determines in decision (C2) that the floor does not match the robot's destination floor, it may send a disembarkation completion signal as a dummy signal to the elevator control device without sending a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and without commanding the robot to disembark from the car.

[0027] According to the above aspect 7, the robot management device itself performs judgments (A2) and (B2) and can determine that the car has arrived at the destination floor in response to a hall call for the robot (either a normal hall call, a first hall call, or a second hall call; specifically, the car call corresponding to each of them) without notification from the elevator control device.

[0028] Therefore, when the robot control device judges that there is a "match" in the judgment (C2), it can judge that the car has arrived at the destination floor of the robot in response to a normal hall call (specifically, a car call corresponding thereto) whose destination floor is the destination floor of the robot. In this case, the robot control device transmits a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device. This allows the control device to execute the door-open extension required for the robot to disembark from the car, and to recognize that a disembarkation completion signal will be transmitted from the robot control device when the robot has completed disembarking.

[0029] On the other hand, if the robot management device judges that the results are "not identical" in the judgment (C2), it can judge that the car has arrived at the different floor in response to the first hall call or the second hall call (specifically, the car call corresponding thereto) whose destination floor is different from the robot's destination floor. Here, when the car arrives at the destination floor indicated by the first hall call, the destination floor is a floor on the way to the destination floor for the robot. Therefore, it is not necessary for the robot to disembark from the car. Therefore, the robot management device transmits a disembarkation completion signal as a dummy signal to the elevator control device without commanding the robot to disembark from the car. This makes it possible to shift the control of the elevator to the next process while the robot is still in the car.

[0030] Furthermore, when responding to the second hall call, the robot will disembark at the departure floor (= destination floor) indicated by that hall call, so the car will arrive at the destination floor indicated by the second hall call without the robot aboard. In this case, too, since it is not necessary for the robot to disembark from the car, the robot management device returns a disembarkation completion signal as a dummy signal. This makes it possible to transition to the next process without causing a stagnation in elevator control.

[0031] The robot of the present invention is a robot used in a building in which an elevator is installed, and when the robot itself uses the elevator car to move from a boarding floor to a destination floor, it requests the allocation of a hall call for itself by transmitting the departure floor and destination floor or destination direction required for the allocation of the hall call to the elevator control device, and performs the following control processing (mode 8-1). When the robot uses an elevator car to move from a boarding floor to a destination floor, and when a hall call for a user has been assigned by the elevator control device, the robot determines whether or not the following conditions are satisfied with respect to its boarding floor and destination floor, and the departure floor and destination direction indicated by the hall call for the user: (1) the forward direction from its boarding floor to the destination floor is the same as the destination direction of the user; (2) the car arrives at its boarding floor before arriving at the departure floor of the user; (3) the departure floor of the user is between its boarding floor and the destination floor; and (4) its destination floor is a floor different from the first end floor located in the forward direction with respect to the boarding floor. Then, when the robot determines that all of the conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied, the robot makes a first hall call allocation request for itself, which sets the robot's boarding floor as the departure floor and causes the car to depart in the forward direction from the boarding floor, and makes a second hall call allocation request for itself, which sets the robot's destination floor as the departure floor and causes the car to depart from the destination floor in the opposite direction to the forward direction.

[0032] The robot according to the above-mentioned aspect 8-1 further comprises the following configuration (aspect 8-2). When the car arrives at a stop floor, the robot judges (A1) whether the arrival floor of the car matches any of the departure floors transmitted in the allocation request, and if it judges in the judgment (A1) that it matches any of the departure floors, it sets the matching allocation request as a first focus request, and uses the departure floor and destination floor or destination direction transmitted in the first focus request to set the direction from the departure floor to the destination floor or the destination direction as its own conveyance direction, and judges (B1) whether the departure direction of the car from the arrival floor matches the conveyance direction. Furthermore, if it judges in the judgment (B1) that it matches its own conveyance direction, it judges (C1) whether the departure floor transmitted in the first focus request matches its own boarding floor. If the robot determines in decision (C1) that the floor matches the floor the user boards, it transmits a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and boards the car, and then transmits a boarding completion signal to the elevator control device when boarding is complete. On the other hand, if the robot determines in decision (C1) that the floor does not match the floor the user boards, it transmits a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and boards the car, and then transmits a boarding completion signal as a dummy signal to the elevator control device when boarding is complete.

[0033] The program of the present invention is a program that causes a robot used in a building in which an elevator is installed, or a robot management device that manages the robot, to execute a judgment step, a request step, and a boarding / disembarking command step (Aspect 9).

[0034] In the judgment step, when the robot is moved from a boarding floor to a destination floor using an elevator car and a hall call for a user has been assigned by the elevator control device, the program causes the robot or the robot management device to determine whether or not the following conditions are satisfied for the robot's boarding floor and destination floor, and the departure floor and destination direction indicated by the hall call for the user: (1) the forward direction from the robot's boarding floor to the robot's destination floor is the same as the destination direction of the user; (2) the car arrives at the robot's boarding floor before arriving at the departure floor of the user; (3) the user's departure floor is between the robot's boarding floor and the robot's destination floor; and (4) the robot's destination floor is a floor different from the first end floor located in the forward direction relative to the robot's boarding floor.

[0035] In the request step, the program causes the robot or the robot management device to execute the following when the robot is moved from a boarding floor to a destination floor by using a car: making a hall call allocation request for the robot by transmitting a departure floor and a destination floor or destination direction required for the hall call allocation to the elevator control device. Specifically, when the program determines that all of the conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied in the judgment step, the program causes the robot or the robot management device to execute the following: making a hall call allocation request as a first hall call allocation request for the robot, in which the boarding floor of the robot is set as a departure floor and the car is started from the boarding floor in a forward direction; and making a hall call allocation request as a second hall call allocation request for the robot, in which the destination floor of the robot is set as a departure floor and the car is started from the destination floor in a direction opposite to the forward direction.

[0036] In the boarding / alighting command step, when the elevator car arrives at a stop floor, the program makes a judgment (A1) as to whether the arrival floor of the elevator car matches any of the departure floors transmitted in the allocation request, and if the judgment (A1) determines that the arrival floor matches any of the departure floors, the program causes the robot or the robot management device to take the matching allocation request as a first focus request, and use the departure floor and destination floor or destination direction transmitted in the first focus request to set the direction from the departure floor to the destination floor or the destination direction as the conveying direction of the robot, and then makes a judgment (B1) as to whether the departure direction of the elevator car from the arrival floor matches that conveying direction. Furthermore, if the program determines in judgment (B1) that it matches the robot's transport direction, it makes a judgment (C1) as to whether the departure floor transmitted in the first focus request matches the robot's boarding floor, and if it determines in judgment (C1) that it matches the robot's boarding floor, it sends a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and commands the robot to board the car, and then, when the robot has completed boarding, sends a boarding completion signal to the elevator control device; on the other hand, if it determines in judgment (C1) that it does not match the robot's boarding floor, it sends a door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and commands the robot to disembark from the car, and then, when the robot has completed disembarking, sends a boarding completion signal as a dummy signal to the elevator control device. Effect of the Invention

[0037] According to the present invention, the lengthening of a user's ride time, which may occur when a user and a robot ride in the same elevator car, can be mitigated by control on the robot side that is autonomous from the elevator. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0038] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating (A) device management data, (B) hall call management data and car call management data for users, and (C) hall call management data and car call management data for robots, which are used in the embodiment. [Diagram 3] 2A and 2B are conceptual diagrams illustrating robot management data and assignment request management data used in an embodiment. [Figure 4] 11 is a flowchart showing an allocation request process executed in the embodiment. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart showing an allocation process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 6] 11 is a flowchart showing a response process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 7] 11 is a flowchart showing a first response process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart showing a second response process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 9] 11 is a flowchart showing a third response process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing a part of a third response process. [Figure 11] 4 is a flowchart showing a boarding / alighting command process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart showing an operation command process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 13] 4 is a flowchart showing a disembarking command process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 14] 11 is a flowchart showing a door-opening extension process at the time of boarding executed in the embodiment. [Figure 15] 11 is a flowchart showing a door-opening extension process at the time of disembarking executed in the embodiment. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart showing an allocation request process executed in a first modified example. [Figure 17]13A and 13B are conceptual diagrams illustrating examples of assignment request management data and hall call management data for a robot, respectively, used in a first modified example. [Figure 18] 13 is a flowchart showing an allocation process executed in a first modified example. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart showing a first response process executed in a first modified example. [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart showing a part of a third response process executed in a first modified example. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart showing an allocation request process executed in a second modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0039] [1] Implementation Example [1-1] Overall structure of elevator FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the elevator includes one car G, which is used not only by users but also by a robot H that performs various tasks (cleaning, monitoring, transport, etc.) in a building in which the elevator is installed. In addition, in this elevator, a destination direction button 1 is provided at the landing of each floor for users to specify a destination direction Kc, and a destination floor button 2 is provided in the car G for users to specify a destination floor Fd. In addition to these components, the elevator of this embodiment further includes an elevator control device 3 and a robot management device 4. The configuration of each part will be specifically described below.

[0040] <Destination button> On floors other than the terminal floor Fy, which is the top floor or the bottom floor, the destination direction button 1 includes an up button for specifying an up direction as the destination direction Kc and a down button for specifying a down direction as the destination direction Kc. On the other hand, on the top floor, the destination direction button 1 includes only the down button, and on the bottom floor, the destination direction button 1 includes only the up button.

[0041] When a user presses a destination direction button 1 at a landing to specify a destination direction Kc, the destination direction Kc is transmitted to the elevator control device 3. As a result, an assignment of a landing call Rg for the user (assignment of the landing call Rg to the car G) is requested of the elevator control device 3 (assignment request from the user). At this time, the destination direction button 1 transmits device information Pd for identifying itself from other buttons, devices, etc., together with the destination direction Kc to the elevator control device 3 so that the elevator control device 3 can recognize which destination direction button 1 is the source of the transmission of the destination direction Kc.

[0042] <Destination Floor Button> The destination floor button 2 is provided for each stop floor that can be guided by the car G, and is a button for registering the stop floor as a destination floor Fd.

[0043] When a user presses the destination floor button 2 in the car G to register a destination floor Fd, the destination floor Fd is transmitted to the elevator control device 3. As a result, the elevator control device 3 is requested to register a car call Vg for the user (registering a car call Vg in the car G).

[0044] <Elevator control device> The elevator control device 3 is a device that controls the operation of the car G. Specifically, the elevator control device 3 assigns a hall call Rg to the car G in response to an assignment request from a user at a hall (an assignment request from the destination direction button 1 in which the user specifies the destination direction Kc) (assignment process (see FIG. 5)), and causes the car G to execute an operation to respond to the hall call Rg (response process (see FIG. 6 to FIG. 10)). In this embodiment, the elevator control device 3 not only executes assignment to the car G in response to an assignment request from a user at a hall, but also assigns a hall call Rh to the car G in response to an assignment request from a robot management device 4 (assignment request for the robot H) to be described later (assignment process (see FIG. 5)), and causes the car G to execute an operation to respond to the hall call Rh (response process (see FIG. 6 to FIG. 10) and door open extension process (see FIG. 14 and FIG. 15)). Details of these processes will be described later.

[0045] Specifically, the elevator control device 3 includes a storage unit 31 and a control unit 32 (see FIG. 1).

[0046] The storage unit 31 is a part configured with storage devices such as ROM and RAM, and stores information necessary for the control processing performed by the elevator control device 3. In this embodiment, as such information, the storage unit 31 stores device management data Dp, hall call management data Dq1G and car call management data Dq2G for users, and hall call management data Dq1H and car call management data Dq2H for the robot H.

[0047] Here, the device management data Dp is a database for managing, for each destination direction button 1, multiple pieces of information related to that destination direction button 1 in association with each other. The hall call management data Dq1G and the car call management data Dq2G are data for managing information on hall calls Rg and car calls Vg for users, respectively. The hall call management data Dq1H and the car call management data Dq2H are data for managing information on hall calls Rh and car calls Vh for robot H, respectively. Specifically, they are as follows.

[0048] 2A is a conceptual diagram illustrating the device management data Dp used in this embodiment. In the device management data Dp illustrated in this figure, the device information Pd and the installation floor Fs are recorded for each destination direction button 1 in a mutually associated state.

[0049] As a result, when the elevator control device 3 receives device information Pd together with the destination direction Kc from each destination direction button 1, it becomes possible to identify the installation floor Fs of the destination direction button 1 (the destination direction button 1 for which the destination direction Kc has been specified by the user) from the device information Pd. In this embodiment, the installation floor Fs of the destination direction button 1 is used as the departure floor Fc (boarding floor) of the user who specified the destination direction Kc with the destination direction button 1.

[0050] FIG. 2(B) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the hall call management data Dq1G and the car call management data Dq2G for users used in this embodiment.

[0051] In the hall call management data Dq1G, for each stop floor that can be guided by the car G, and further for each direction that can be traveled from that stop floor, an allocation status is associated that indicates whether or not a hall call Rg for a user with that stop floor as the departure floor Fc and that direction as the destination direction Kc has been allocated to the car G (in other words, whether or not a button (up button or down button) for designating that direction as the destination direction Kc on the destination direction button 1 provided at that stop floor has been pressed). In the example of FIG. 2(B), a case is shown in which the allocation status for each direction from each stop floor is updated to "ON" when a hall call Rg with that stop floor as the departure floor Fc and that direction as the destination direction Kc has been allocated, and is updated to "OFF" when that hall call Rg is deleted.

[0052] In the car call management data Dq2G, each stop floor that can be guided by car G is associated with a registration status indicating whether or not a car call Vg for a user whose stop floor is a destination floor Fd is registered in car G (in other words, whether or not the destination floor button 2 for registering the stop floor as a destination floor Fd is pressed). The example in FIG. 2(B) shows a case in which the registration status for each stop floor is updated to "ON" when a car call Vg whose stop floor is a destination floor Fd is registered, and is updated to "OFF" when the car call Vg is deleted.

[0053] FIG. 2(C) is a conceptual diagram illustrating examples of the hall call management data Dq1H and the car call management data Dq2H for the robot H used in this embodiment.

[0054] In the hall call management data Dq1H, each time a hall call Rh for each robot H is assigned to a car G, the robot information Ph of the robot H and the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Rh are recorded in a mutually associated state. Then, when each hall call Rh has completed its role, the information corresponding to the hall call Rh in the hall call management data Dq1H is erased, thereby deleting the hall call Rh.

[0055] In addition, in the car call management data Dq2H, each time a car call Vh for each robot H is registered in a car G, the robot information Ph of that robot H and the destination floor Fd indicated by that car call Vh are recorded in a mutually associated state. Then, when each car call Vh has completed its role, the information corresponding to that car call Vh is erased from the car call management data Dq2H, thereby deleting the car call Vh.

[0056] The control unit 32 is a part that is responsible for executing the control processes (including assignment process, response process, and door-open extension process) performed by the elevator control device 3. Specifically, the control unit 32 is composed of a processing device such as a CPU or an MPU, and executes a control program installed in the elevator control device 3 to realize the execution of the control processes it is responsible for by software. Note that, before being installed in the elevator control device 3, this control program may be stored in a portable storage medium (e.g., a flash memory or the like) in a readable state, or may be stored in a state that can be downloaded to another server or the like. In addition, the control processes performed by the elevator control device 3 are not limited to being realized by software by executing a program, but may also be realized by hardware by a processing circuit (control unit 32) built in the elevator control device 3.

[0057] <Robot management device> The robot management device 4 is a device that centrally manages the robots H used in the building in which the elevator of this embodiment is installed.

[0058] In this embodiment, when an inter-floor movement is required, each robot H transmits a destination floor Fx to the robot management device 4. At this time, the robot H transmits robot information Ph for identifying itself from other robots H together with the destination floor Fx to the robot management device 4 so that the robot management device 4 recognizes which robot H has transmitted the destination floor Fx.

[0059] When the robot management device 4 receives the destination floor Fx and the robot information Ph from each robot H, the robot management device 4 executes a control process for moving the robot H between floors, in order to alleviate the increase in the riding time of the user that may occur when the user and the robot H ride together in the elevator G. Specifically, the robot management device 4 executes an allocation request process (see FIG. 4) and a boarding / disembarking command process (see FIG. 11 to FIG. 13). The details of these processes will be described later.

[0060] Specifically, the robot management device 4 includes a storage unit 41 and a control unit 42 (see FIG. 1).

[0061] The storage unit 41 is a part configured with storage devices such as ROM and RAM, and stores information necessary for the control processing performed by the robot management device 4. In this embodiment, the storage unit 41 stores robot management data Dr and assignment request management data Ds as such information.

[0062] Here, the robot management data Dr is a database for managing, for each robot H, a plurality of pieces of information related to the robot H in association with each other. The allocation request management data Ds is data for managing information on allocation requests for the robot H. Specifically, it is as follows.

[0063] Fig. 3(A) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the robot management data Dr used in this embodiment. In the robot management data Dr illustrated in this figure, for each robot H, the robot information Ph and boarding floor Ft are recorded in a mutually associated state with the destination of the robot H when the robot H moves between floors. Here, the boarding floor Ft associated with each robot H is the floor where the robot H is located, and is updated each time the robot H moves between floors. In addition, the destination associated with each robot H is recorded with the destination floor Fx transmitted by the robot H for the inter-floor movement, and the destination floor Fx is erased when the robot H has completed disembarking at that floor.

[0064] As a result, when the robot management device 4 receives the robot information Ph together with the destination floor Fx from each robot H, it becomes possible to identify the boarding floor Ft of the robot H from the robot information Ph. In this embodiment, the boarding floor Ft of the robot H is used as the departure floor Fc when the robot H moves between floors using the elevator car G. Furthermore, by referring to the movement destination associated with the robot information Ph of each robot H, if the movement destination has the destination floor Fx recorded therein, the robot management device 4 can determine that the robot H is moving between floors, and on the other hand, if the movement destination has no destination floor Fx recorded therein, the robot management device 4 can determine that the robot H is deployed at the boarding floor Ft.

[0065] 3B is a conceptual diagram illustrating the allocation request management data Ds used in this embodiment. In the allocation request management data Ds illustrated in this figure, each time an allocation request for each robot H is made to the elevator control device 3, the robot information Ph of the robot H and the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd transmitted to the elevator control device 3 in the allocation request are recorded in a mutually associated state. In this embodiment, the information of each allocation request is erased from the allocation request management data Ds when the car G arrives at the destination floor Fd associated with the allocation request (specifically, after a disembarking completion signal Sy, which will be described later, is transmitted to the elevator control device 3).

[0066] The control unit 42 is a part that is responsible for executing the control processes (including allocation request processes and boarding / disembarking command processes) performed by the robot management device 4. Specifically, the control unit 42 is composed of processing devices such as a CPU and an MPU, and executes a control program installed in the robot management device 4 to realize the execution of the control processes it is responsible for in software. Note that, before being installed in the robot management device 4, this control program may be stored in a portable storage medium (e.g., a flash memory, etc.) in a readable state, or may be stored in a state that can be downloaded to another server, etc. In addition, the control processes performed by the robot management device 4 are not limited to being realized in software by executing a program, but may also be realized in hardware by a processing circuit (control unit 42) constructed in the robot management device 4.

[0067] [1-2] Control process executed in elevators [1-2-1] Allocation request processing performed by the robot management device 4 is a flowchart showing the allocation request process executed in this embodiment. This allocation request process is started every time the robot management device 4 receives a destination floor Fx and robot information Ph from any robot H. In the allocation request process, the robot H that has transmitted the information is referred to as the "target robot Hk." Furthermore, the information received by the robot management device 4 at that time (including the destination floor Fx and robot information Ph) is collectively referred to as the "received information Pr1."

[0068] When the allocation request process is started, the robot management device 4 records the destination floor Fx in the received information Pr1 as the destination associated with the robot information Ph in the received information Pr1 in the robot management data Dr (step S100). This enables the robot management device 4 to grasp the destination of the target robot Hk even in the disembarking command process described later.

[0069] In this allocation request process, the robot management device 4 uses the current elevator information Pe (including information indicating the operating status of the car G and the user's usage status, etc.) to determine whether the target robot Hk and the user will ride in the car G together, and whether the extension of the user's ride time that may occur if they do can be mitigated, and requests the elevator control device 3 to allocate a hall call Rh (allocation of a hall call Rh for the target robot Hk) based on the result of the determination.

[0070] Therefore, the robot management device 4 first obtains the elevator information Pe at the current time from the elevator control device 3 (step S101). Specifically, the robot management device 4 requests the elevator control device 3 to return the elevator information Pe at that time. The robot management device 4 then receives the elevator information Pe returned from the elevator control device 3 in response to its request, thereby obtaining the necessary information. At this time, the robot management device 4 obtains information on the current position Qt and moving direction Kg of the car G as information indicating the operating status of the car G, and obtains information on the hall call Rg for the user assigned to the car G as information indicating the usage status of the user.

[0071] Next, the robot management device 4 makes the following judgment using the elevator information Pe acquired in step S101.

[0072] The robot management device 4 first judges whether or not information on the hall call Rg for the user is included in the elevator information Pe (step S102). If the robot management device 4 judges "included (Yes)" in step S102, it can judge that there is a user who plans to board the car G, and further judges that there is a risk that the user will be riding with the target robot Hk if the target robot Hk is allowed to board the car G at that time.

[0073] In this case, the robot management device 4 uses the robot management data Dr to extract the boarding floor Ft associated with the robot information Ph in the received information Pr1. Then, the robot management device 4 judges whether or not all of the following conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied for the boarding floor Ft and the destination floor Fx in the received information Pr1 (the boarding floor Ft and destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk), and the information of the hall call Rg for a user who may ride with the target robot Hk (the departure floor Fc and destination direction Kc of the user indicated by the hall call Rg) (step S103).

[0074] Condition (1): The forward direction Ks from the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk to the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk is the same as the destination direction Kc of the user. Condition (2): The car G arrives at the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk before arriving at the departure floor Fc of the user. Condition (3): The user's departure floor Fc is between the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk and the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk. Condition (4): The destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk is a floor different from the first end floor Fy1 located in the forward direction Ks with respect to the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk.

[0075] When conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied, if a normal hall call (a hall call with the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk as the destination floor Fd) is assigned as the hall call Rh for the target robot Hk, a situation may arise in which, after getting on the car G, the user must experience the target robot Hk getting off at an intermediate floor before getting off, depending on the positional relationship between the user's disembarking floor and the disembarking floor (= destination floor Fx) of the target robot Hk. If such a situation occurs, the user will be forced to wait in the car G until the target robot Hk has completed disembarking at an intermediate floor. In this way, when the user and the target robot Hk ride in the car G together, the user may be forced to spend a longer ride time before getting off due to the target robot Hk getting off at an intermediate floor.

[0076] Therefore, when the robot management device 4 determines in step S103 that all of the conditions (1) to (4) are "satisfied (Yes)," it makes two allocation requests that differ from the usual ones (steps S110A and 110B) in order to mitigate the lengthening of the user's riding time that may occur when the user and the target robot Hk ride in the elevator G together.

[0077] In the first allocation request, the robot management device 4 requests the elevator control device 3 to allocate a hall call as the first hall call Rh (first hall call) for the target robot Hk, with the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the departure floor Fc of the user (the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rg) as the destination floor Fd (step S110A). Specifically, the robot management device 4 sets the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the departure floor Fc of the user as the destination floor Fd, and transmits these pieces of information together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk to the elevator control device 3. In addition, the robot management device 4 records the information (robot information Ph, departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd) transmitted to the elevator control device 3 as information of the allocation request in the allocation request management data Ds (see FIG. 3(B)) in a mutually associated state. By such an allocation request, a request is made to the elevator control device 3 to allocate a hall call for causing the car G to depart in the forward direction Ks from the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk as a first hall call.

[0078] By making such a first allocation request (allocation request for the first hall call), the car G can be stopped at the departure floor Fc (boarding floor) of the user as the destination floor Fd indicated by the first hall call after the target robot Hk has boarded therein. Even if the car G stops at the destination floor Fd indicated by the first hall call, by leaving the target robot Hk on the car G, it becomes possible to move the car G in the forward direction Ks afterwards, passing through the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk. Therefore, when the car G is moving in the forward direction Ks, it becomes possible to stop the car G only at the floor where the user disembarks, without stopping at the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk. Therefore, it becomes possible to allow the user to disembark before the target robot Hk. In addition, by making a request to allocate the first hall call using the user's departure floor Fc (boarding floor), it is possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the elevator G at a floor where no one gets on or off (including the first terminal floor Fy1) just to allow the target robot Hk to pass through the destination floor Fx.

[0079] In the second allocation request, the robot management device 4 requests the elevator control device 3 to allocate a second hall call Rh (second hall call) for the target robot Hk, in which the target floor Fx of the target robot Hk is set as the departure floor Fc and the second end floor Fy2 located in the reverse direction Kt (the direction opposite to the forward direction Ks) from the target floor Fx is set as the destination floor Fd (step S110B). Specifically, the robot management device 4 sets the target floor Fx of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the second end floor Fy2 as the destination floor Fd, and transmits these pieces of information together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk to the elevator control device 3. In addition, the robot management device 4 records the information (robot information Ph, departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd) transmitted to the elevator control device 3 as information of the allocation request in the allocation request management data Ds (see FIG. 3(B)) in a mutually associated state. By such an allocation request, the allocation of a hall call for causing the car G to depart in the reverse direction Kt from the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk as a second hall call is requested to the elevator control device 3. After step S110B, the robot management device 4 ends the allocation request process.

[0080] By making such a second allocation request (allocation request for the second hall call), when the car G moves in the reverse direction Kt, it becomes possible to stop the car G at the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk in the reverse direction Kt even after the car G has passed the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk. Therefore, it becomes possible to move the target robot Hk from the boarding floor Ft to the destination floor Fx by the car G by two allocation requests (the allocation request for the first hall call and the allocation request for the second hall call). In addition, by making an allocation request for the second hall call with the second end floor Fy2, where the car G will always turn around, as the destination floor Fd, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the car G at an intermediate floor where no one gets on or off after the target robot Hk gets off at the departure floor Fc (=destination floor Fx) indicated by the hall call.

[0081] In this embodiment, the robot management device 4 performs steps S110A and S110B simultaneously (including the case where step S110B is performed immediately at almost the same timing after step S110A). In other words, the robot management device 4 simultaneously requests the elevator control device 3 to assign both the first hall call and the second hall call to the target robot Hk.

[0082] By performing steps S110A and S110B simultaneously in this manner, in the assignment process performed by the elevator control device 3 described later, the first hall call and the second hall call for the target robot Hk are more likely to be assigned to the car G so that the car G can respond to those hall calls in order while making one revolution around the operating section. Note that, if such an assignment can be performed reliably, step S110B may be executed after step S110A.

[0083] Regarding the above-mentioned conditions (1) to (4), if at least one of the conditions (1) to (3) is not satisfied, even if a normal hall call is assigned as the hall call Rh for the target robot Hk, a situation may occur in which the user does not experience any riding with the target robot Hk at all from the time the user boards the elevator G at the departure floor Fc until the time the user moves in the destination direction Kc and disembarks.

[0084] Moreover, when the condition (4) is not satisfied, it is when the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk is the first end floor Fy1. In this case, the user of the car G moving in the forward direction Ks gets off before the car G arrives at the destination floor Fx (= the first end floor Fy1) of the target robot Hk, or gets off together with the target robot Hk at the destination floor Fx. In other words, when the condition (4) is not satisfied, the user does not experience the target robot Hk getting off at an intermediate floor. Therefore, in such a case, it is sufficient to assign a normal hall call as the hall call Rh for the target robot Hk.

[0085] Furthermore, if the elevator information Pe does not include information on the hall call Rg for the user, then there is no user who may be riding with the target robot Hk at that time. In this case, a normal hall call can be assigned as the hall call Rh for the target robot Hk without affecting the user in any way.

[0086] Therefore, when the robot management device 4 judges that at least one of the conditions is "not satisfied (No)" in step S103, or judges that the condition is "not included (No)" in step S102, it makes a normal allocation request to the elevator control device 3 (step S120). Specifically, the robot management device 4 requests the elevator control device 3 to allocate a normal hall call as a hall call Rh for the target robot Hk, with the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the target floor Fx of the target robot Hk as the destination floor Fd. More specifically, the robot management device 4 transmits the boarding floor Ft and the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the destination floor Fd of the target robot Hk, respectively, to the elevator control device 3 together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk. After step S120, the robot management device 4 ends the allocation request process.

[0087] [1-2-2] Allocation process performed by elevator control device Fig. 5 is a flow chart showing the allocation process executed in this embodiment. This allocation process is started when a hall call allocation request is made to the elevator control device 3 from the destination direction button 1 or the robot management device 4. In this embodiment, even if the first hall call and the second hall call allocation requests for the robot H (steps S110A and S110B in Fig. 4) are made simultaneously, the allocation process in Fig. 5 is executed for each of them.

[0088] Hereinafter, the information received by the elevator control device 3 for each assignment request will be collectively referred to as "received information Pr2." Specifically, this received information Pr2 is a set of information including the destination direction Kc and device information Pd when the assignment request is a request from the destination direction button 1 (assignment request of hall call Rg for a user), and is a set of information including the departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd, and robot information Ph when the assignment request is a request from the robot management device 4 (assignment request of hall call Rh for robot H).

[0089] When the allocation process begins, the elevator control device 3 determines whether the received allocation request is from the destination direction button 1 or the robot management device 4, and determines whether the received information Pr2 contains the device information Pd or the robot information Ph (step S200).

[0090] If the elevator control device 3 determines in step S200 that the "device information Pd" is included, it can determine that the received allocation request is a request from the destination direction button 1. In this case, the elevator control device 3 uses the device management data Dp to extract the installation floor Fs associated with the device information Pd in ​​the received information Pr2, and sets it as the departure floor Fc of the user. Then, the elevator control device 3 performs allocation to the car G by treating the departure floor Fc and the destination direction Kc in the received information Pr2 (the destination direction Kc of the user) as one hall call Rg (allocation for the user; step S201). After that, the elevator control device 3 ends the allocation process.

[0091] On the other hand, if the elevator control device 3 determines in step S200 that "robot information Ph" is included, it can determine that the received allocation request is a request from the robot management device 4. In this case, the elevator control device 3 executes allocation to the car G by treating the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd in the received information Pr2 as one hall call Rh (allocation for the robot H; step S202). After that, the elevator control device 3 ends the allocation process.

[0092] [1-2-3] Response processing by elevator control device Fig. 6 is a flow chart showing the response process executed in this embodiment. This response process is a normal response process executed by the elevator control device 3, and the hall calls and car calls to be responded to are not limited to hall calls and car calls for the user and robot H who are the judgment targets when it is judged that all of the conditions (1) to (4) are "satisfied (Yes)" in step S103 of the above-mentioned allocation request process (see Fig. 4), but also include hall calls and car calls for other users and robots H. This response process is started when the next stop floor of the car G is determined.

[0093] When the response process is started, the elevator control device 3 judges what kind of calls are included in the response targets to be responded to in the response process (step S30X). Specifically, the elevator control device 3 judges whether the response targets include only hall calls (either or both of a hall call Rg of a user and a hall call Rh of the robot H), only car calls (either or both of a car call Vg of a user and a car call Vh of the robot H), or both hall calls and car calls.

[0094] Then, the elevator control device 3 executes a first response process if it determines in step S30X that the call is "only a hall call", executes a second response process if it determines in step S30X that the call is "only a car call", and executes a third response process if it determines in step S30X that the call is "both a hall call and a car call". These processes will be specifically described below.

[0095] <First response process> 7 is a flowchart showing the first response process executed in this embodiment. In this first response process, the elevator control device 3 first determines whether or not the response target includes the hall call Rh of the robot H (step S300).

[0096] When the elevator control device 3 judges "not included (No)" in step S300, it can determine that the response target includes only the hall call Rg of the user. In this case, the elevator control device 3 transmits a command to the car G to stop the car G at the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rg (the departure floor Fc of the user) in the same direction as the destination direction Kc indicated by the hall call Rg (step S301).

[0097] After step S301, the elevator control device 3 judges whether the car G has arrived at the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rg (step S302). Furthermore, the elevator control device 3 repeatedly executes step S302 until it can judge "arrived (Yes)" in step S302.

[0098] Then, when the elevator control device 3 determines that the elevator has arrived (Yes) in step S302, it deletes the hall call Rg that has completed its function with the arrival (step S303).

[0099] After that, the user gets into the car G that has arrived, and then registers his / her destination floor Fd by pressing the destination floor button 2 in the car G. At this time, if the destination floor button 2 corresponding to his / her destination floor Fd has already been registered by pressing it by another user, the user only gets into the car G.

[0100] Therefore, after step S303, the elevator control device 3 judges whether or not an unregistered destination floor Fd has been pressed on the destination floor button 2 in the car G (step S304).

[0101] Then, when the elevator control device 3 determines that the button is "pressed (Yes)" in step S304, it registers the pressed destination floor Fd in the car G as a car call Vg for the user (step S305). This makes it possible to stop the car G at the destination floor Fd registered by the user in the car G. After that, the elevator control device 3 ends the first response process.

[0102] On the other hand, if the elevator control device 3 determines in step S304 that the button was not pressed (No), the elevator control device 3 ends the first response process without performing step S305.

[0103] When the elevator control device 3 determines in step S300 that the hall call Rh of the robot H is included in the response targets (Yes), it responds to the hall call Rh, and when the response targets further include the hall call Rg of a user, it also processes the hall call Rg of the user. Specifically, it is as follows.

[0104] The elevator control device 3 sends a command to the car G to stop the car G at the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rh (the departure floor Fc of the robot H) in the direction toward the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Rh (step S401).

[0105] After step S401, the elevator control device 3 judges whether the car G has arrived at the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rh (step S402). Furthermore, the elevator control device 3 repeatedly executes step S402 until it can judge "arrived (Yes)" in step S402.

[0106] When the elevator control device 3 determines in step S402 that the elevator has arrived (Yes), it executes the door-open extension process at the time of boarding shown in Fig. 14, thereby causing the car G to extend the door open period in response to a command transmitted from the robot management device 4 at that time. The details of the door-open extension process at the time of boarding will be described later.

[0107] After completing the door-open extension process at the time of boarding, the elevator control device 3 returns to the process in FIG. 7 and registers the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Rh (the destination floor Fd of the robot H) in the car G as a car call Vh for the robot H (step S403). This makes it possible to stop the car G at the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Rh. Meanwhile, the hall call Rh has completed its role due to the registration of the car call Vh in the car G in this way. Therefore, the elevator control device 3 deletes the hall call Rh that has completed its role.

[0108] After that, the elevator control device 3 judges whether the hall call Rg of the user is further included in the response targets in this first response process (step S404). If the elevator control device 3 judges "included (Yes)" in step S404, it executes the processes of steps S303 to S305 (deleting the hall call Rg to registering the car call Vg) as the process for the hall call Rg. Then, the elevator control device 3 ends the first response process. On the other hand, if the elevator control device 3 judges "not included (No)" in step S404, it ends the first response process without executing the processes of steps S303 to S305.

[0109] <Second response process> 8 is a flowchart showing the second response process executed in this embodiment. In this second response process, the elevator control device 3 first determines whether or not the response target includes a car call Vh of the robot H (step S310).

[0110] If the elevator control device 3 determines "not included (No)" in step S310, it can determine that only the car call Vg of the user is included in the response target. In this case, the elevator control device 3 transmits a command to the car G to stop the car G at the destination floor Fd (destination floor Fd of the user) indicated by the car call Vg (step S311).

[0111] After step S311, the elevator control device 3 judges whether the car G has arrived at the destination floor Fd indicated by the car call Vg (step S312). Furthermore, the elevator control device 3 repeatedly executes step S312 until it can judge "arrived (Yes)" in step S312.

[0112] Then, when the elevator control device 3 determines that the car has arrived (Yes) in step S312, it deletes the car call Vg that has completed its role upon arrival (step S313). After that, the elevator control device 3 ends the second response process.

[0113] When the elevator control device 3 determines in step S310 that the car call Vh of the robot H is included in the response targets (Yes), it responds to the car call Vh, and when the response targets further include a car call Vg of a user, it also processes the car call Vg of the user. Specifically, it is as follows.

[0114] The elevator control device 3 transmits a command to the car G to stop the car G at the destination floor Fd indicated by the car call Vh (the destination floor Fd of the robot H) (step S411).

[0115] After step S411, the elevator control device 3 judges whether the car G has arrived at the destination floor Fd indicated by the car call Vh (step S412). Furthermore, the elevator control device 3 repeatedly executes step S412 until it can judge "arrived (Yes)" in step S412.

[0116] If the elevator control device 3 determines in step S412 that the car has arrived (Yes), it deletes the car call Vh that has completed its role upon arrival (step S413). The elevator control device 3 also executes the door open extension process at the time of disembarking shown in Fig. 15, thereby causing the car G to extend the door open period in response to a command transmitted from the robot management device 4 at that time. The door open extension process at the time of disembarking will be described in detail later.

[0117] After completing the door-open extension process at the time of disembarking, the elevator control device 3 returns to the process in Fig. 8 and determines whether the user's car call Vg is further included in the response targets in this second response process (step S414). If the elevator control device 3 determines "included (Yes)" in step S414, it executes the process of step S313 (delete car call Vg) as the process for that car call Vg. Thereafter, the elevator control device 3 ends the second response process. On the other hand, if the elevator control device 3 determines "not included (No)" in step S414, it ends the second response process without executing the process of step S313.

[0118] <Third response process> 9 and 10 are flowcharts showing the third response process executed in this embodiment. In this third response process, the elevator control device 3 first determines whether or not the response targets include the hall call Rh of the robot H (step S320).

[0119] If the elevator control device 3 determines "not included (No)" in step S320, it can determine that the response target includes the hall call Rg of the user. In this case, the elevator control device 3 executes the same processes as steps S301 to S305 described in the first response process (steps S321 to S325).

[0120] On the other hand, if the elevator control device 3 determines in step S320 that it is “included (Yes)”, it proceeds to process X in FIG. 10 and executes the same processes as steps S401 and S402 described in the first response process (steps S421 and S422).

[0121] Here, if another robot H is riding in the car G and the stop floor (arrival floor Fg) at which the car G arrives is the destination floor Fx of the other robot H, the other robot H will dismount from the car G at the arrival floor Fg. In this embodiment, in order to smoothly board the robot H from the platform and dismount the other robot H from the car G, the robot H in the car G dismounts first, and then the robot H at the platform boards.

[0122] Therefore, the elevator control device 3 first determines whether or not the response targets in this third response process further include a car call Vh of another robot H (step S423).

[0123] Then, when the elevator control device 3 judges that the robot H in the car G is included (Yes) in step S423, it can judge that the other robot H in the car G will disembark at the stop floor (arrival floor Fg) where the car G arrives. In this case, the elevator control device 3 deletes the car call Vh for the other robot H that has completed its role with its arrival (step S430), and then executes the door open extension process at disembarkation shown in FIG. 15 as the process at disembarkation for the other robot H. The details of the door open extension process at disembarkation will be described later, but in the door open extension process at this time (see FIG. 15), the elevator control device 3 receives a door open extension signal Sz from the robot management device 4 for the disembarkation of the other robot H, so that the elevator control device 3 judges that the door open extension signal Sz is received (Yes) in step S901, and then proceeds to step S910A via step S902 (door open extension).

[0124] After the completion of the door open extension process at the time of disembarking (when it is determined that the signal is “received (Yes)” in step S910A of FIG. 15), or when it is determined that the signal is “not included (No)” in step S423 of FIG. 10, the elevator control device 3 next (see FIG. 10) executes the door open extension process at the time of boarding shown in FIG. 14 as the process at the time of boarding for the robot H at the hall. The details of the door open extension process at the time of boarding will be described later, but in the door open extension process at this time (see FIG. 14), the elevator control device 3 receives the door open extension signal Sz from the robot management device 4 for the boarding of the robot H at the hall, so that it determines that the signal is “received (Yes)” in step S801, and then proceeds to step S810A via step S802 (door open extension). If the elevator control device 3 determines in step S810A that the signal has been received (Yes), it returns to the processing in FIG. 10 and executes the same processing as step S403 (registration of car call Vh, deletion of hall call Rh) described in the first response processing (step S424).

[0125] After that, the elevator control device 3 returns to the process in Fig. 9 and judges whether or not the hall call Rg of the user is further included in the response targets in this third response process (step S441). If the elevator control device 3 judges "included (Yes)" in step S441, it executes steps S323 to S325 (deletion of hall call Rg to registration of car call Vg) as the process for that hall call Rg. Then, the elevator control device 3 proceeds to step S442. On the other hand, if the elevator control device 3 judges "not included (No)" in step S441, it proceeds to step S442 without executing the processes of steps S323 to S325.

[0126] In step S442, the elevator control device 3 judges whether or not the user's car call Vg is further included in the response targets in this third response process. If the user's car call Vg is included in the response targets, the car call Vg will also finish its role when the elevator car G arrives. Therefore, if the elevator control device 3 judges "included (Yes)" in step S442, it also deletes the car call Vg that has finished its role (step S443). Thereafter, the elevator control device 3 ends the third response process. On the other hand, if the elevator control device 3 judges "not included (No)" in step S442, it ends the third response process without performing the process of step S443.

[0127] [1-2-4] Boarding and disembarking command processing by the robot management device FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the boarding / alighting command processing executed in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the robot management device 4 acquires information indicating the operating status of the car G from the elevator control device 3 at any time, and grasps the current position Qt and the moving direction Kg of the car G based on the information. Therefore, the robot management device 4 can determine whether the car G has arrived at a stop floor, and when it determines that the car G has "arrived", it can specify the arrival floor Fg of the car G at that time, the departure direction Kg1 of the car G from the arrival floor Fg (the moving direction Kg at the time of departure), and the arrival direction Kg2 of the car G to the arrival floor Fg (the moving direction Kg at the time of arrival). The boarding / alighting command processing shown in FIG. 11 is started every time the robot management device 4 determines that the car G has "arrived" at a stop floor.

[0128] When the boarding / alighting command processing is started, the robot management device 4 first determines whether the arrival floor Fg of the elevator car G matches any of the destination floors Fd recorded in the allocation request management data Ds (see Figure 3(B)) (in other words, the destination floors Fd sent in the allocation request) in order to determine whether the stopping of the elevator car G at the arrival floor Fg is likely to be a stop in response to a elevator call Vh for the robot H (step S501).

[0129] Then, when the robot management device 4 judges that the results are "matched (Yes)" in step S501, it can judge that the stop of the car G at the arrival floor Fg may correspond to a stop in response to the car call Vh for the robot H. On the other hand, it cannot be determined by this judgment alone that the stop of the car G at the arrival floor Fg is a stop in response to the car call Vh for the robot H. Therefore, the robot management device 4 further makes a judgment to specify what kind of stop the car G at the arrival floor Fg is by executing the disembarking command processing shown in FIG. 13, and performs processing required for the inter-floor movement of the robot H according to the judgment result. The disembarking command processing will be described in detail later.

[0130] After completing the disembarkation command processing, or if the robot management device 4 determines that there is no match (No) in step S501, it then determines whether the arrival floor Fg of the elevator G matches any of the departure floors Fc recorded in the allocation request management data Ds (see Figure 3(B)) (in other words, the departure floors Fc sent in the allocation request) (step S502), in order to determine whether the stopping of the elevator G at the arrival floor Fg is likely to be a stop in response to a hall call Rh for the robot H.

[0131] Then, when the robot management device 4 judges that the results are "matched (Yes)" in step S502, it can judge that the stop of the car G at the arrival floor Fg may correspond to a stop in response to the hall call Rh for the robot H. On the other hand, this judgment alone cannot determine that the stop of the car G at the arrival floor Fg is a stop in response to the hall call Rg for the robot H. Therefore, the robot management device 4 further performs a judgment to specify what kind of stop the car G at the arrival floor Fg is by executing the operation command processing shown in FIG. 12, and performs processing required for the inter-floor movement of the robot H according to the judgment result. The details of the operation command processing will be described later.

[0132] After completing the operation command processing, the robot management device 4 ends the boarding / alighting command processing. If the robot management device 4 determines "no match" in step S502, it can determine that the car G's stop at the arrival floor Fg is not a stop in response to a hall call Rh or a car call Vh for the robot H, in other words, a stop in response to a hall call Rg or a car call Vg for the user. In this case, the robot management device 4 ends the boarding / alighting command processing since processing for the robot H is not necessary.

[0133] In the boarding / alighting command process in FIG. 11, the alighting command process (see FIG. 13) can be executed before the operation command process (see FIG. 12) including the process of commanding boarding the robot H. This makes it possible to execute the alighting of the other robot H first when it becomes necessary to both board a robot H from a hall and disembark another robot H from a car G at the same stopping floor. Therefore, according to the boarding / alighting command process in FIG. 11, the boarding and alighting of the two robots H can be executed smoothly.

[0134] <Operation command processing> FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation command process executed in this embodiment.

[0135] In the operation command processing, the robot management device 4 first determines that the allocation request that was determined to be "matched (Yes)" in step S502 of Figure 11 is the first focus request, and uses the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd sent in the first focus request (specifically, the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd corresponding to the first focus request in the allocation request management data Ds) to identify the direction from the departure floor Fc to the destination floor Fd as the transport direction Kh of the robot H (step S601).

[0136] Next, in order to determine whether the stopping of the elevator G at the arrival floor Fg is in response to a hall call Rh for the robot H, the robot management device 4 determines whether the departure direction Kg1 of the elevator G from the arrival floor Fg coincides with the conveying direction Kh of the robot H identified in step S601 (step S602).

[0137] If the robot management device 4 determines that there is a “match (Yes)” in step S602, then that determination can determine that the stopping of the elevator G at the arrival floor Fg is a stop in response to a hall call Rh for the robot H.

[0138] On the other hand, if the robot management device 4 determines "no match" in step S602, it can determine that the car G's stop at the arrival floor Fg is not a stop in response to a hall call Rh for the robot H, in other words, a stop in response to a hall call Rg or a car call Vg for a user. In this case, the robot management device 4 ends the operation command processing since processing for the robot H is not necessary.

[0139] In this way, by the robot management device 4 making the judgments of steps S502 and S602, the robot management device 4 itself becomes able to determine that the car G has arrived at the departure floor Fc in response to a hall call Rh (either a normal hall call, a first hall call, or a second hall call) for the robot H, without notification from the elevator control device 3.

[0140] On the other hand, even if such a specification can be made, it is not necessarily necessary to have the robot H board at the arrival floor Fg of the car G at that time. Specifically, the following is true.

[0141] First, the case where the robot H needs to board at the arrival floor Fg of the car G is when the hall call Rh to be responded to at that time is the one (first hall call) that has been assigned to the car G in response to the first assignment request (step S110A in FIG. 4) from the robot management device 4, or the one that has been assigned to the car G in response to a normal assignment request (step S120 in FIG. 4). In these cases, the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rh is the boarding floor Ft of the robot H, and when the car G arrives at the arrival floor Fg, the robot H has not yet boarded the car G and is waiting at the boarding floor Ft for a command to board the car G.

[0142] On the other hand, a case where it is not necessary to have the robot H board at the arrival floor Fg of the car G is when the hall call Rh to be responded to at that time is the one (second hall call) that has been assigned to the car G in response to the second assignment request from the robot management device 4 (step S110B in FIG. 4). In this case, the elevator control device 3 is in a state where it is further executing a response process to the second hall call after completing the response process to the first hall call (in other words, after the robot H boards the car G). Therefore, when the car G arrives at the arrival floor Fg, the robot H has already boarded the car G. Therefore, it is not necessary for the robot H to execute the action of boarding the car G from the hall. On the other hand, in this embodiment, in the second hall call, the destination floor Fx of the robot H is set as the departure floor Fc. For this reason, when the car G arrives at the departure floor Fc (=destination floor Fx) indicated by the second hall call, it is necessary to make the robot H disembark from the car G.

[0143] Therefore, in order to determine whether the robot H should board or disembark at the arrival floor Fg of the car G at that time, the robot management device 4 determines whether the departure floor Fc transmitted in the first focus request matches the boarding floor Ft of the robot H targeted in the first focus request (step S603). Specifically, the robot management device 4 refers to the departure floor Fc and robot information Ph corresponding to the first focus request in the allocation request management data Ds (see FIG. 3(B)), and then determines whether the departure floor Fc matches the boarding floor Ft recorded in association with the robot information Ph in the robot management data Dr (see FIG. 3(A)).

[0144] When the robot management device 4 judges that the two match (Yes) in step S603, it can judge that the car G has arrived at the boarding floor Ft of the robot H in response to a normal hall call or a first hall call with the boarding floor Ft of the robot H as the departure floor Fc. Therefore, the robot management device 4 can judge that the robot H should board the car G that has arrived.

[0145] In this case, the robot management device 4 transmits a door open extension signal Sz to the elevator control device 3 to request a door open extension necessary for the robot H to board (step S611). Furthermore, in order to make the elevator control device 3 recognize which robot H requires a door open extension, the robot management device 4 extracts robot information Ph corresponding to the first focus request from the allocation request management data Ds (see FIG. 3(B)), and transmits the robot information Ph to the elevator control device 3 together with the door open extension signal Sz.

[0146] As a result, when responding to a hall call Rh for the robot H (here, this robot H will be referred to as the "target robot Hk") specified by the robot information Ph, the elevator control device 3 receives a door open extension signal Sz from the robot management device 4 while performing the door open extension process at boarding time shown in Fig. 14. In this way, the elevator control device 3 can be made to execute the door open extension required for the target robot Hk to board the car G, and can be made to recognize that a boarding completion signal Sx will be transmitted from the robot management device 4 when the boarding of the target robot Hk is completed.

[0147] After step S611, the robot management device 4 commands the robot H (target robot Hk) identified by the robot information Ph transmitted to the elevator control device 3 to board the car G (step S612). As a result, the target robot Hk starts boarding the car G in response to the command from the robot management device 4, and when boarding is completed, notifies the robot management device 4 of the completion of boarding.

[0148] After step S612, the robot management device 4 determines whether or not the target robot Hk has completed boarding the car G by determining whether or not it has received a notification of boarding completion from the target robot Hk (step S613). Furthermore, the robot management device 4 repeatedly executes step S613 until it can determine "completed (Yes)" in step S613.

[0149] If the robot management device 4 determines "completed (Yes)" in step S613, it transmits a boarding completion signal Sx to notify the elevator control device 3 that the boarding of the target robot Hk has been completed together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk (step S620A). After that, the robot management device 4 ends the operation command process.

[0150] On the other hand, if the robot management device 4 judges "not to match (No)" in step S603, it can judge that the car G has arrived at the destination floor Fx of the robot H in response to the second hall call with the destination floor Fx of the robot H as the departure floor Fc. Therefore, the robot management device 4 can judge that the robot H should get off the car G that has arrived.

[0151] In this case, the robot management device 4 transmits a door open extension signal Sz to the elevator control device 3 to request a door open extension necessary for the robot H to disembark (step S631). Furthermore, in order to make the elevator control device 3 recognize which robot H requires a door open extension, the robot management device 4 extracts robot information Ph corresponding to the first focus request from the allocation request management data Ds (see FIG. 3(B)), and transmits the robot information Ph to the elevator control device 3 together with the door open extension signal Sz.

[0152] This enables the elevator control device 3 to execute the door open extension required for the robot H to disembark from the car G. Meanwhile, the elevator control device 3 at this time receives a door open extension signal Sz from the robot management device 4 while performing the door open extension process at boarding time shown in Fig. 14 when responding to a hall call Rh for the robot H specified by the robot information Ph (here, this robot H will be referred to as the "target robot Hk"), and therefore recognizes that when the elevator control device 3 receives the door open extension signal Sz from the robot management device 4, the elevator control device 3 recognizes that the boarding completion signal Sx will be transmitted from the robot management device 4 when the boarding of the target robot Hk is completed, even though the target robot Hk has disembarked.

[0153] Therefore, the robot management device 4 executes the following process.

[0154] First, the robot management device 4 issues a command to the target robot Hk to dismount from the car G (step S632) in order to make the target robot Hk dismount from the car G. As a result, the target robot Hk starts dismounting from the car G in response to the command from the robot management device 4, and when dismounting is completed, notifies the robot management device 4 of the dismounting completion.

[0155] After step S632, the robot management device 4 determines whether or not a notification of disembarkation completion has been received from the target robot Hk, thereby determining whether or not disembarkation of the target robot Hk from the car G has been completed (step S633). Furthermore, the robot management device 4 repeatedly executes step S633 until it can determine "completed (Yes)" in step S633.

[0156] Then, if the robot management device 4 judges "completed (Yes)" in step S633, it transmits the boarding completion signal Sx as a dummy signal together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk to the elevator control device 3 (step S640). As a result, when responding to the hall call Rh for the target robot Hk, the elevator control device 3 receives the boarding completion signal Sx (dummy signal) from the robot management device 4 while performing the boarding door opening extension process shown in Fig. 14.

[0157] According to such a process, it becomes possible to cause the target robot Hk to disembark from the car G without causing a stagnation in the control of the elevator by the elevator control device 3.

[0158] After step S640, the robot management device 4 updates the boarding floor Ft recorded in the robot management data Dr for the target robot Hk to the disembarking floor of the target robot Hk (the departure floor Fc (= destination floor Fx) corresponding to the first focus request in the allocation request management data Ds) (step S641). The robot management device 4 also erases the destination floor Fx recorded as the movement destination of the target robot Hk in the robot management data Dr. After that, the robot management device 4 ends the operation command process.

[0159] In step S603 in Fig. 12, the robot management device 4 may refer to the departure floor Fc and robot information Ph corresponding to the first target request in the allocation request management data Ds (see Fig. 3(B)), and determine whether the departure floor Fc matches the boarding floor Ft or the destination floor Fx recorded in association with the robot information Ph in the robot management data Dr (see Fig. 3(A)). If the robot management device 4 determines that the departure floor Fc matches the "boarding floor Ft," it may execute a process for boarding the car G (steps S611 to S620A in Fig. 12), and if it determines that the departure floor Fc matches the "destination floor Fx," it may execute a process for disembarking from the car G (steps S631 to S641 in Fig. 12).

[0160] <Disembarkation command processing> FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the disembarking command process executed in this embodiment.

[0161] In the disembarking command processing, the robot management device 4 first determines that the allocation request that was determined to be "matching (Yes)" in step S501 of Figure 11 is the second focus request, and uses the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd sent in the second focus request (specifically, the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd corresponding to the second focus request in the allocation request management data Ds) to identify the direction from the departure floor Fc to the destination floor Fd as the transport direction Kh of the robot H (step S701).

[0162] Next, in order to determine whether the stopping of the elevator G at the arrival floor Fg is in response to a elevator call Vh for the robot H, the robot management device 4 determines whether the arrival direction Kg2 of the elevator G at the arrival floor Fg coincides with the transport direction Kh of the robot H identified in step S701 (step S702).

[0163] If the robot management device 4 determines that there is a "match (Yes)" in step S702, then that determination can determine that the stopping of the elevator car G at the arrival floor Fg is a stop in response to a car call Vh for the robot H.

[0164] On the other hand, if the robot management device 4 determines "no match" in step S702, it can determine that the stopping of the car G at the arrival floor Fg is not a stop in response to a car call Vh for the robot H, in other words, a stop in response to a hall call Rg or a car call Vg for a user. In this case, the robot management device 4 ends the disembarking command processing since processing for the robot H is not necessary.

[0165] In this way, by the robot management device 4 making the judgments of steps S501 and S702, the robot management device 4 itself becomes able to determine that the car G has arrived at the destination floor Fd in response to a car call Vh for the robot H (a car call Vh corresponding to either a normal hall call, a first hall call, or a second hall call) without notification from the elevator control device 3.

[0166] On the other hand, even if such a determination can be made, it is not necessarily necessary to make the robot H get off at the arrival floor Fg of the car G at that time. Specifically, the following is true.

[0167] First, the case where the robot H needs to get off at the arrival floor Fg of the car G occurs when the car call Vh to be responded to at that time is registered in the car G through a hall call Rh corresponding to a normal allocation request (step S120 in FIG. 4). In this case, the destination floor Fd indicated by the car call Vh is the target floor Fx of the robot H, and the arrival floor Fg of the car at that time coincides with the target floor Fx of the robot H.

[0168] On the other hand, the case where the robot H does not need to get off at the arrival floor Fg of the car G is the case where the car call Vh to which the robot H is to respond at that time is registered to the car G through the hall call Rh (first hall call or second hall call) corresponding to the first allocation request (step S110A in FIG. 4) or the second allocation request (step S110B in FIG. 4) from the robot management device 4. Here, when the car G arrives at the destination floor Fd indicated by the car call Vh corresponding to the first hall call, the destination floor Fd is a floor on the way until the car G moves around to the destination floor Fx of the robot H (in this embodiment, the departure floor Fc of the user used for the judgment in step S103 in FIG. 4), and the car G has only arrived at a floor on the way (in other words, a floor where the robot H does not need to get off). Therefore, the robot H does not need to execute the act of getting off the car G to the hall.

[0169] Furthermore, when responding to the second hall call, the robot H will get off at the departure floor Fc (= destination floor Fx) indicated by the hall call, so the car G will arrive at the destination floor Fd indicated by the car call Vh corresponding to the second hall call without the robot H being on board. In this case, too, the robot H does not need to get off the car G to the hall.

[0170] Therefore, in order to determine whether the robot H should be disembarked at the arrival floor Fg of the car G at that time, the robot management device 4 determines whether the destination floor Fd transmitted in the second focus request matches the target floor Fx of the robot H targeted in the second focus request (step S703). Specifically, the robot management device 4 refers to the destination floor Fd and robot information Ph corresponding to the second focus request in the allocation request management data Ds (see FIG. 3(B)), and determines whether the destination floor Fd matches the target floor Fx recorded as a movement destination in association with the robot information Ph in the robot management data Dr (see FIG. 3(A)).

[0171] If the robot management device 4 judges that the results are "matched (Yes)" in step S703, it can determine that the car G has arrived at the destination floor Fx of the robot H in response to a car call Vh (a car call Vh corresponding to a normal hall call) with the destination floor Fd being the destination floor Fx of the robot H. Therefore, the robot management device 4 can determine that the robot H should disembark from the car G that has arrived.

[0172] In this case, the robot management device 4 transmits a door open extension signal Sz to the elevator control device 3 to request a door open extension necessary for the robot H to disembark (step S711). Furthermore, in order to make the elevator control device 3 recognize which robot H requires a door open extension, the robot management device 4 extracts the robot information Ph corresponding to the second focus request from the allocation request management data Ds (see FIG. 3(B)), and transmits the robot information Ph to the elevator control device 3 together with the door open extension signal Sz.

[0173] As a result, when responding to a hall call Rh for the robot H (here, this robot H will be referred to as the "target robot Hk") specified by the robot information Ph, the elevator control device 3 receives a door open extension signal Sz from the robot management device 4 while performing the door open extension process at the time of disembarking shown in Fig. 15. In this way, the elevator control device 3 can be made to execute the door open extension required for the target robot Hk to disembark from the car G, and can be made to recognize that a disembarking completion signal Sy will be sent from the robot management device 4 when the target robot Hk has completed disembarking.

[0174] After step S711, the robot management device 4 commands the robot H (target robot Hk) identified by the robot information Ph transmitted to the elevator control device 3 to dismount from the car G (step S712). As a result, the target robot Hk starts dismounting from the car G in response to the command from the robot management device 4, and notifies the robot management device 4 of the dismounting completion when dismounting is completed.

[0175] After step S712, the robot management device 4 determines whether or not the target robot Hk has completed disembarking from the car G by determining whether or not a notification of disembarkation completion has been received from the target robot Hk (step S713). Furthermore, the robot management device 4 repeatedly executes step S713 until it can determine "completed (Yes)" in step S713.

[0176] If the robot management device 4 determines in step S713 that the process is “completed (Yes)”, it transmits a disembarkation completion signal Sy to the elevator control device 3 to notify the elevator control device 3 that the target robot Hk has completed disembarking, along with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk (step S720A).

[0177] Then, the robot management device 4 updates the boarding floor Ft recorded in the robot management data Dr for the target robot Hk to the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk used in the judgment in step S703 (step S721). The robot management device 4 also erases the destination floor Fx recorded in the robot management data Dr as the movement destination of the target robot Hk. Furthermore, the robot management device 4 erases information about the second focus request (robot information Ph, departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd) from the allocation request management data Ds (step S722). After that, the robot management device 4 ends the disembarking command process.

[0178] On the other hand, if the robot management device 4 judges that there is no match (No) in step S703, it can judge that the car G has arrived at a different floor in response to a car call Vh (a car call Vh corresponding to the first hall call or the second hall call) having a destination floor Fd different from the target floor Fx of the target robot Hk. Therefore, the robot management device 4 can judge that there is no need to make the target robot Hk disembark from the arriving car G.

[0179] In this case, the robot management device 4 transmits the disembarkation completion signal Sy as a dummy signal together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk to the elevator control device 3 (step S720B) without transmitting the door open extension signal Sz to the elevator control device 3 and without instructing the target robot Hk to disembark from the car G. As a result, when responding to a hall call Rh for the robot H (target robot Hk) specified by the robot information Ph, the elevator control device 3 receives the disembarkation completion signal Sy from the robot management device 4 without receiving the door open extension signal Sz while performing the door open extension process at the time of disembarkation shown in Fig. 15.

[0180] According to this type of processing, it becomes possible to transition to the next process without stalling the elevator control device 3 in controlling the elevator (with the target robot Hk remaining in the car G when responding to the first hall call).

[0181] After step S720B, the robot management device 4 proceeds to step S722, where it deletes the information on the second target request (robot information Ph, departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd) from the allocation request management data Ds, and then ends the disembarking command processing.

[0182] Furthermore, when the robot management device 4 makes two allocation requests (a first hall call allocation request and a second hall call allocation request) for one target robot Hk, the information recorded in the allocation request management data Ds may not only be deleted each time the elevator car G arrives at the destination floor Fd for each allocation request, but may also be deleted all at once from the allocation request management data Ds when the elevator car G arrives at the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk.

[0183] [1-2-5] Door opening extension processing performed by elevator control device <Door opening extension when boarding> FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the door-opening extension process at the time of boarding executed in this embodiment.

[0184] According to the boarding / alighting command processing (Figures 11 to 13) performed by the robot management device 4 described above, when the elevator control device 3 is executing the response processing described above and the response target at that time is a hall call Rh for the robot H, while executing the boarding door opening extension processing (boarding door opening extension processing in the first response processing (see Figure 7) or the third response processing (see Figure 10)) for the robot H (here, this robot H will be referred to as the "target robot Hk"), the elevator control device 3 will receive a door opening extension signal Sz and a boarding completion signal Sx from the robot management device 4 together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk.

[0185] Therefore, in the door open extension process at the time of boarding, the elevator control device 3 first determines whether or not a door open extension signal Sz for the target robot Hk has been received from the robot management device 4 (step S801).

[0186] If the elevator control device 3 determines in step S801 that the signal has been received (Yes), it can determine that the boarding of the target robot Hk will be carried out, and can further recognize that a boarding completion signal Sx will be sent from the robot management device 4 when the boarding is completed.

[0187] Therefore, the elevator control device 3 starts extending the door open period of the car G at the arrival floor Fg at that time (step S802), and then judges whether or not a boarding completion signal Sx has been received from the robot management device 4 (step S810A). The elevator control device 3 also repeatedly executes step S810A until it can determine that the signal has been received (Yes) in step S810A. If the elevator control device 3 can determine that the signal has been received (Yes) in step S810A, it can therefore be determined that the boarding of the target robot Hk has been completed, and therefore ends the door open extension process at boarding.

[0188] On the other hand, the robot management device 4 may send a boarding completion signal Sx as a dummy signal without instructing the target robot Hk to board the elevator car G. In that case, the elevator control device 3 will receive the boarding completion signal Sx together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk without receiving the door opening extension signal Sz.

[0189] Therefore, when the elevator control device 3 determines "not received (No)" in step S801, it determines whether or not the boarding completion signal Sx has been received from the robot control device 4 (step S810B) as a process for determining whether or not the boarding completion signal Sx has been transmitted as a dummy signal from the robot control device 4. Furthermore, the elevator control device 3 repeatedly executes steps S801 and S810A until it can determine in step S801 that the door-open extension signal Sz has been "received (Yes)" or until it can determine in step S810B that the boarding completion signal Sx has been "received (Yes)".

[0190] If the elevator control device 3 determines "received (Yes)" in step S810B, it can determine that the received boarding completion signal Sx is a dummy signal. In this case, the elevator control device 3 ends the boarding door opening extension process at the time of receiving the dummy signal.

[0191] When the robot H gets on the car G, some kind of trouble (such as a breakdown in the power system or insufficient battery power) may occur, and the robot H may not be able to complete the boarding into the car G. Therefore, if the elevator control device 3 is unable to receive the boarding completion signal Sx (is unable to determine "Received (Yes)" in step S810A or S810B) after a predetermined time has elapsed, it may delete the hall call Rh and proceed to step S404 in the processing of Fig. 7, or to S441 in the processing of Fig. 9.

[0192] <Extended door opening when getting off> FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the door open extension process at the time of disembarking, which is executed in this embodiment.

[0193] According to the boarding and alighting command processing (Figures 11 to 13) performed by the robot management device 4 described above, when the elevator control device 3 is executing the above-mentioned response processing and the response target at that time is a car call Vh for robot H, when the elevator control device 3 is executing the door opening extension processing at the time of alighting (door opening extension processing at the time of alighting in the second response processing (see Figure 8) or the third response processing (see Figure 10)) for the robot H (here, this robot H will be referred to as the "target robot Hk"), the elevator control device 3 will receive a door opening extension signal Sz and a disembarking completion signal Sy from the robot management device 4 together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk.

[0194] Therefore, in the door open extension process at the time of disembarking, the elevator control device 3 first determines whether or not a door open extension signal Sz for the target robot Hk has been received from the robot management device 4 (step S901).

[0195] If the elevator control device 3 determines in step S901 that the signal has been received (Yes), it can determine that the target robot Hk will disembark, and can further recognize that a disembarkation completion signal Sy will be sent from the robot management device 4 when the disembarkation is complete.

[0196] Therefore, the elevator control device 3 starts extending the door open period of the car G at the arrival floor Fg at that time (step S902), and then judges whether or not a disembarking completion signal Sy has been received from the robot management device 4 (step S910A). The elevator control device 3 also repeatedly executes step S910A until it can determine that the signal has been received (Yes) in step S910A. If the elevator control device 3 can determine that the signal has been received (Yes) in step S910A, it can therefore be determined that the disembarking of the target robot Hk has been completed, and therefore ends the door open extension process at the time of disembarking.

[0197] On the other hand, the robot management device 4 may send a disembarkation completion signal Sy as a dummy signal without instructing the target robot Hk to disembark from the elevator car G. In that case, the elevator control device 3 will receive the disembarkation completion signal Sy together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk without receiving the door opening extension signal Sz.

[0198] Therefore, if the elevator control device 3 determines "not received (No)" in step S901, it determines whether or not the alighting completion signal Sy has been received from the robot control device 4 (step S910B) as a process for determining whether or not the alighting completion signal Sy has been transmitted as a dummy signal from the robot control device 4. Furthermore, the elevator control device 3 repeatedly executes steps S901 and S910A until it can determine in step S901 that the door-open extension signal Sz has been "received (Yes)" or until it can determine in step S910B that the alighting completion signal Sy has been "received (Yes)."

[0199] If the elevator control device 3 determines "received (Yes)" in step S910B, it can determine that the received disembarking completion signal Sy is a dummy signal. In this case, the elevator control device 3 ends the door-open extension process at the time of receiving the dummy signal.

[0200] According to the control processing of this embodiment, the robot management device 4 itself becomes able to determine whether or not the robot H should board or disembark at the arrival floor Fg of the car G without notification from the elevator control device 3, and further becomes able to transmit corresponding commands (door opening extension signal Sz, boarding completion signal Sx, disembarking completion signal Sy, dummy signal) to the elevator control device 3.

[0201] According to the above control process, if a normal allocation request is made for the target robot Hk, in a case where a situation may arise where the user must experience riding the target robot Hk before getting off (when the user's riding time is extended due to the riding of the target robot Hk), by making an allocation request for the first hall call (a hall call with the user's departure floor Fc as the destination floor Fd) as described above, the car G can be stopped at the user's departure floor Fc (boarding floor) as the destination floor Fd indicated by the first hall call after the target robot Hk has boarded there. Also, even if the car G stops at the destination floor Fd indicated by the first hall call, the target robot Hk can be left on the car G. Therefore, after that, it becomes possible to stop the car G only at the user's disembarking floor without stopping at the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk. In other words, when the car G is moving in the forward direction Ks, it is possible to stop the car G only at the floor where the user disembarks, without stopping at the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk. Therefore, it is possible to have the user disembark before the target robot Hk. This means that the user does not have to experience the target robot Hk disembarking while moving in the car G.

[0202] As a result, the lengthening of passenger riding times can be mitigated by the autonomous control of the robot management device 4 from the elevator.

[0203] In addition, according to the above control process, by making a request to allocate the first hall call using the user's departure floor Fc (boarding floor), it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the elevator G at a floor where no one gets on or off just to allow the target robot Hk to pass through the destination floor Fx.

[0204] In this embodiment, in the second allocation request in the allocation request process (step S110B in Figure 4), as long as there is no need to generate unnecessary control such as stopping the elevator car G at a floor where no one gets on or off, a second hall call allocation request may be made to the elevator control device 3 for a destination floor Fd that is a floor (not limited to the second end floor Fy2) located in the opposite direction Kt to the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk.

[0205] [2] Variations [2-1] First modified example The first modification is a modification of the above-described embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the allocation request process and the boarding / alighting command process executed by the robot management device 4, and the allocation process and the response process executed by the elevator control device 3 may be modified as appropriate to the following processes.

[0206] 16 is a flowchart showing the allocation request process executed in the first modified example. In the allocation request process of this modified example, when the robot management device 4 determines in step S103 that all of the conditions (1) to (4) are "satisfied (Yes)", it makes the following two allocation requests as allocation requests different from the usual ones (steps S130A and S130B).

[0207] In the first allocation request, the robot management device 4 requests the elevator control device 3 to allocate a hall call as a first hall call Rh (first hall call) for the target robot Hk, with the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the departure floor Fc of the user used in the determination in step S103 (the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rg) as the destination floor Fd, as in step S130A in Fig. 4. Then, the robot management device 4 records the information (robot information Ph, departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd) transmitted to the elevator control device 3 as information of the allocation request in the allocation request management data Ds in a mutually associated state (see Fig. 17(A)).

[0208] In the second allocation request, the robot management device 4 requests the elevator control device 3 to allocate a second hall call Rh (second hall call) for the target robot Hk, with the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk set as the departure floor Fc and the reverse direction Kt to the forward direction Ks (the direction from the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk to the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk) set as the destination direction Kc from the departure floor Fc (step S130B). Specifically, the robot management device 4 sets the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk to the departure floor Fc and the reverse direction Kt to the destination direction Kc, and transmits these information together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk to the elevator control device 3. The robot management device 4 also records the information (robot information Ph, departure floor Fc, destination direction Kc) sent to the elevator control device 3 as allocation request information in the allocation request management data Ds in a mutually associated state (see FIG. 17(A)). This allocation request also requests the elevator control device 3 to allocate a hall call for departing the car G from the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk in the reverse direction Kt as a second hall call. After step S130B, the robot management device 4 ends the allocation request process.

[0209] 17(A) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the allocation request management data Ds used in the first modified example. In the allocation request management data Ds of this modified example, each time an allocation request for each robot H is made to the elevator control device 3, the robot information Ph of the robot H and information on the departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd, and destination direction Kc are recorded in a mutually associated state.

[0210] In the example of Fig. 17(A), "upward" and "downward" are associated as information indicating the destination direction Kc, and when an allocation request for each robot H is made in step S130B, the departure floor Fc transmitted in step S130B is recorded in the allocation request management data Ds, and the direction transmitted as the destination direction Kc in step S130B out of the two directions, up and down, is set to "ON", while the other direction is set to "OFF", and further, the destination floor Fd is set to "Null". Then, the information of each allocation request in which the destination floor Fd is set to "Null" is erased from the allocation request management data Ds when the car G arrives at the departure floor Fc associated with the allocation request (specifically, after the boarding completion signal Sx is transmitted to the elevator control device 3).

[0211] 17(A) shows a case where, when an allocation request for each robot H is made in step S120 or S130A, the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd transmitted in these steps are recorded in the allocation request management data Ds, while the "upward" and "downward" directions indicating the destination direction Kc are both set to "OFF". Then, the information of each allocation request in which information other than "Null" is recorded in the destination floor Fd (stop floor of the car G) is erased from the allocation request management data Ds when the car G arrives at the destination floor Fd associated with the allocation request (specifically, after the disembarking completion signal Sy is transmitted to the elevator control device 3).

[0212] Furthermore, when two allocation requests (a first hall call allocation request and a second hall call allocation request) are made for one target robot Hk, the information recorded in the allocation request management data Ds may not only be deleted each time the car G arrives at the departure floor Fc or destination floor Fd for each allocation request, but may also be deleted all at once from the allocation request management data Ds when the car G arrives at the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk.

[0213] By making the second allocation request (allocation request for the second hall call) as in this modified example, as in the embodiment, even after the car G has passed the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk, when the car G moves in the reverse direction Kt, the car G can be stopped at the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk in the reverse direction Kt. Therefore, it is possible to move the target robot Hk from the boarding floor Ft to the destination floor Fx by the car G by two allocation requests (the allocation request for the first hall call and the allocation request for the second hall call). In addition, by making the allocation request for the second hall call using the destination direction Kc instead of the destination floor Fd, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the car G at a floor where no one gets on or off after the target robot Hk gets off at the departure floor Fc (=destination floor Fx) indicated by the hall call.

[0214] In this modified example, when the robot management device 4 determines the transport direction Kh of the robot H in step S601 of the operation command processing (see FIG. 19), if the departure floor Fc and destination direction Kc (destination floor Fd="Null") are associated in the allocation request management data Ds as information of the first focus request, the robot management device 4 will determine the destination direction Kc as the transport direction Kh of the robot H as is.

[0215] Fig. 18 is a flow chart showing the allocation process executed in the first modified example. In this modified example, the allocation process is also started when a hall call allocation request is made to the elevator control device 3 from the destination direction button 1 or the robot management device 4. Even if the first hall call and the second hall call allocation requests for the robot H (steps S130A and S130B in Fig. 16) are made simultaneously, the allocation process in Fig. 18 is executed for each of them.

[0216] In this modified example, the information (received information Pr2) received by the elevator control device 3 each time there is an allocation request is a set of information including the departure floor Fc, destination direction Kc, and robot information Ph if the allocation request is a request from the robot management device 4 (a request to allocate a hall call Rh for robot H), or a set of information including the departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd, and robot information Ph.

[0217] Therefore, when the elevator control device 3 determines in step S200 that "robot information Ph" is included, it further determines which of the two sets of information described above was received as the allocation request for robot H, namely, the destination direction Kc or the destination floor Fd, is included in the received information Pr2 (step S210).

[0218] Then, when the elevator control device 3 determines in step S210 that the "destination direction Kc" is included, it assigns the departure floor Fc and the destination direction Kc in the received information Pr2 as one hall call Rh to the car G (assignment for the robot H. Step S211. See FIG. 17(B)). After that, the elevator control device 3 ends the assignment process.

[0219] On the other hand, if the elevator control device 3 determines in step S210 that the "destination floor Fd" is included, it assigns the departure floor Fc and the destination floor Fd in the received information Pr2 as one hall call Rh to the car G (assignment for the robot H; step S212; see FIG. 17(B)). After that, the elevator control device 3 ends the assignment process.

[0220] FIG. 17(B) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the hall call management data Dq1H for the robot H used in the first modified example. In the hall call management data Dq1H of this modified example, each time a hall call Rh for each robot H is assigned to a car G, the robot information Ph of the robot H and the information on the departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd, and destination direction Kc are recorded in a mutually associated state. In the example of FIG. 17(B), "upward" and "downward" are associated as information indicating the destination direction Kc, and when a hall call Rh for each robot H is assigned in step S211, the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rh is recorded in the hall call management data Dq1H, and the direction indicated as the destination direction Kc by the hall call Rh of the two directions, up and down, is set to "ON", while the other direction is set to "OFF", and the destination floor Fd is set to "Null". 17B shows a case where, when the allocation of a hall call Rh to each robot H is performed in step S201 or S212, the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Rh are recorded in the hall call management data Dq1H, while the "upward" and "downward" indicating the destination direction Kc are both set to "OFF." Then, when each hall call Rh has completed its role, the information in the hall call management data Dq1H corresponding to the hall call Rh is erased, thereby deleting the hall call Rh.

[0221] FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the first response process executed in the first modification. In this modification, when the response target is the hall call Rh of the robot H, the hall call Rh indicates either the destination direction Kc or the destination floor Fd. Therefore, in the first response process of this modification, when the elevator control device 3 determines in step S300 that the response target includes the hall call Rh of the robot H (Yes), it determines whether the hall call Rh indicates the destination direction Kc or the destination floor Fd (step S460). Specifically, the elevator control device 3 refers to the hall call management data Dq1H (FIG. 17(B)) to determine whether the information of the hall call Rh to be responded to is either "ON" for either "upward" or "downward" indicating the destination direction Kc, or whether information other than "Null" (stop floor of the car G) is recorded in the destination floor Fd.

[0222] If the elevator control device 3 determines in step S460 that the "destination direction Kc" is indicated, it sends a command to the car G to stop the car G in the same direction as the destination direction Kc indicated by the hall call Rh at the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rh (the departure floor Fc of the robot H) (step S461).

[0223] After step S461, the elevator control device 3 judges whether the car G has arrived at the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Rh (step S462). Furthermore, the elevator control device 3 repeatedly executes step S462 until it can judge "arrived (Yes)" in step S462.

[0224] When the elevator control device 3 judges that the elevator has arrived (Yes) in step S462, it deletes the hall call Rh (the second hall call in this modification) that has completed its role with the arrival (step S463). At this time, the hall call Rh does not include the destination floor Fd (specifically, the destination floor Fd corresponding to the hall call Rh is set to "Null" in the hall call management data Dq1H (see FIG. 17(B))), and the destination floor Fd is not newly specified by the robot management device 4, so the elevator control device 3 does not register the car call Vh in response to the hall call Rh (the second hall call in this case).

[0225] In this way, the robot management device 4 requests the elevator control device 3 to assign a hall call Rh (here, the second hall call) for the target robot Hk, with the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the conveying direction Kh of the target robot Hk as the destination direction Kc.In this way, the response processing performed by the elevator control device 3 makes it possible to stop the car G at the departure floor Fc of the target robot Hk in the conveying direction Kh of the target robot Hk without generating a car call Vh corresponding to the hall call Rh.

[0226] After step S463, the elevator control device 3 executes the door open extension process at the time of boarding shown in Fig. 14, thereby causing the car G to execute the door open extension in response to the command transmitted from the robot management device 4 at that time. After that, the elevator control device 3 proceeds to step S404.

[0227] If the elevator control device 3 determines in step S460 that the "destination floor Fd" is indicated, it executes steps S401 to S403 (including the door opening extension processing at the time of boarding shown in FIG. 14) described in the first response processing (see FIG. 7) of the above embodiment, and then proceeds to step S404.

[0228] Fig. 20 is a flowchart showing a part of the process X in the third response process executed in the first modified example. In the third response process of this modified example, if the elevator control device 3 determines in step S320 (see Fig. 9) that the hall call Rh of the robot H is "included (Yes)" in the response targets, it executes the same process as step S460 described in the first response process (step S470).

[0229] When it is determined in step S470 that the "destination direction Kc" is indicated, the elevator control device 3 executes the same processes as steps S461 to S463 described in the first response process of this modified example (steps S471 to S473). Then, the elevator control device 3 executes the door opening extension process at the time of boarding shown in Fig. 14, and then proceeds to step S441 (see Fig. 9).

[0230] When it is determined in step S470 that the "destination floor Fd" is indicated, the elevator control device 3 executes steps S421 to S424 and S430 (including the door-open extension process shown in Figs. 14 and 15) described in the third response process (see Fig. 10) of the above embodiment. After that, the elevator control device 3 proceeds to step S441 (see Fig. 9).

[0231] According to such a first response process and a third response process, when responding to the second hall call (when it is determined in step S460 or S470 that the "destination direction Kc" is indicated), it becomes possible to make the target robot Hk disembark from the car G without generating a car call Vh. Therefore, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the car G at an intermediate floor where no one is getting on or off just to make the target robot Hk disembark from the car G heading in the opposite direction Kt.

[0232] Even with the control process of this modified example, if a request for allocation of a normal hall call Rh is made for the target robot Hk, in any case where a situation may arise in which the user must experience the target robot Hk getting off before getting off (such as a case in which the user's riding time is extended due to the target robot Hk getting off), it is possible to pass the car G through the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk with the target robot Hk still aboard. Therefore, it is possible to have the user get off before the target robot Hk. This eliminates the need for the user to experience the target robot Hk getting off while traveling in the car G.

[0233] As a result, in this modified example as well, the lengthening of the passenger's ride time can be mitigated by the control of the robot management device 4 autonomously from the elevator.

[0234] Furthermore, according to the control processing of this modified example, by making a request to allocate a second hall call using the destination direction Kc instead of the destination floor Fd, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the elevator G at a floor where no one gets on or off after the target robot Hk gets off at the departure floor Fc (= destination floor Fx) indicated by the hall call.

[0235] [2-2] Second variant The second modified example is a further modified example of the above-mentioned first modified example. In the above-mentioned first modified example, the allocation request process executed by the robot management device 4 may be modified as appropriate to the following process.

[0236] 21 is a flowchart showing the allocation request process executed in the second modified example. In the allocation request process of this modified example, when the robot management device 4 determines in step S103 that all of the conditions (1) to (4) are "satisfied (Yes)", it makes the following two allocation requests as allocation requests different from the usual ones (steps S140A and S140B).

[0237] In the first allocation request, the robot management device 4 requests the elevator control device 3 to allocate a hall call as the first hall call Rh (first hall call) for the target robot Hk, with the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the first terminal floor Fy1 as the destination floor Fd (step S140A). Specifically, the robot management device 4 sets the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and the first terminal floor Fy1 as the destination floor Fd, and transmits the information together with the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk to the elevator control device 3. In addition, the robot management device 4 records the information (robot information Ph, departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd) transmitted to the elevator control device 3 as information of the allocation request in the allocation request management data Ds in a mutually associated state. By such an allocation request, the elevator control device 3 is also requested to allocate, as a first hall call, a hall call for causing the car G to depart in the forward direction Ks from the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk.

[0238] By making such a first allocation request (first hall call allocation request), it becomes possible to move the car G to the first terminal floor Fy1 on the premise that the condition (4) is satisfied, and therefore it becomes possible to pass the target floor Fx of the target robot Hk while the target robot Hk is still on the car G. Therefore, it becomes possible to have the user disembark before the target robot Hk on the way to the first terminal floor Fy1. In addition, by making a first hall call allocation request with the first terminal floor Fy1, where the moving direction Kg of the car G is necessarily reversed, as the destination floor Fd, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the car G at an intermediate floor where no one gets on or off just to pass the target floor Fx of the target robot Hk.

[0239] In the second allocation request, the robot management device 4 requests the elevator control device 3 to allocate a second hall call Rh (second hall call) for the target robot Hk, with the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk set as the departure floor Fc and the destination direction Kc from the departure floor Fc set as the opposite direction Kt to the forward direction Ks, as in step S130B of Fig. 16. Then, the robot management device 4 records the information (robot information Ph, departure floor Fc, destination direction Kc) transmitted to the elevator control device 3 as information of the allocation request in the allocation request management data Ds in a mutually associated state. After step S140B, the robot management device 4 ends the allocation request process.

[0240] By making such a second allocation request (allocation request for the second hall call), as in the first modified example, even after the car G has passed the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk, when the car G moves in the reverse direction Kt, the car G can be stopped at the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk in the reverse direction Kt. Therefore, it is possible to move the target robot Hk from the boarding floor Ft to the destination floor Fx by the car G by two allocation requests (the allocation request for the first hall call and the allocation request for the second hall call). In addition, by making an allocation request for the second hall call using the destination direction Kc instead of the destination floor Fd, it becomes possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the car G at a floor where no one gets on or off after the target robot Hk gets off at the departure floor Fc (=destination floor Fx) indicated by the hall call.

[0241] According to the control process of this modified example, if a request for allocation of a normal hall call Rh is made for the target robot Hk, in any case where a situation may arise in which the user must experience the target robot Hk getting off before getting off (when the target robot Hk's getting off increases the user's riding time), the car G can be moved to the first terminal floor Fy1 on the premise that the condition (4) is satisfied, so that the car G can pass through the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk while the target robot Hk is still on board. Therefore, it is possible to have the user get off before the target robot Hk on the way to the first terminal floor Fy1. This eliminates the need for the user to experience the target robot Hk getting off while moving in the car G.

[0242] As a result, in this modified example as well, the lengthening of the passenger's ride time can be mitigated by the control of the robot management device 4 autonomously from the elevator.

[0243] According to the control process of this modification, the first hall call allocation request is made with the first end floor Fy1, where the moving direction Kg of the car G is always reversed, as the destination floor Fd, thereby making it possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the car G at an intermediate floor where no one gets on or off just to allow the target robot Hk to pass through the destination floor Fx. Similarly to the first modification, the second hall call allocation request is made using the destination direction Kc instead of the destination floor Fd, making it possible to avoid unnecessary control such as stopping the car G at a floor where no one gets on or off after the target robot Hk gets off at the departure floor Fc (=destination floor Fx) indicated by the hall call.

[0244] [2-3] Third variant In any of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, the request for allocation of a hall call Rg for a user may be appropriately changed to one requested from a destination floor registration device installed on each floor by the user registering a destination floor Fd in the destination floor registration device. In this case, the destination floor registration device transmits the destination floor Fd registered by the user and its own device information Pd to the elevator control device 3 as a request for allocation of a hall call Rg for the user.

[0245] Then, when the elevator control device 3 receives an allocation request from a destination floor registration device, it determines that it is "device information Pd" in step S200 of Figure 5, and then in the subsequent step S201, it sets the floor where the destination floor registration device (the destination floor registration device identified by the received device information Pd; see Figure 2 (A)) is installed as the departure floor Fc, and then assigns the departure floor Fc and the received destination floor Fd (the destination floor Fd registered by the user in the destination floor registration device) to a single hall call Rg, and executes allocation to the car G.

[0246] In such a configuration, the condition (1) determined in step S103 is changed to a condition that the forward direction Ks from the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk to the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk is the same as the direction from the departure floor Fc of the user to the destination floor Fd of the user. Also, the condition (3) determined in step S103 is changed to a condition that the departure floor Fc of the user and the destination floor Fx of the target robot Hk are located in this order between the boarding floor Ft of the target robot Hk and the destination floor Fd of the user.

[0247] Also, when responding to a hall call Rg for a user in the first response process of Fig. 7, the elevator control device 3 registers the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Rg (destination floor Fd of the user) in the car G as a car call Vg for the user in step S303, instead of executing steps S304 and S305. Then, the elevator control device 3 deletes the hall call Rg that has completed its function, and then ends the first response process. Furthermore, when responding to a hall call Rg for a user in the third response process of Fig. 9, the elevator control device 3 performs a similar process, instead of executing steps S324 and S325.

[0248] [2-4] Fourth variant In any of the above-described embodiments and modified examples, each robot H may be modified as appropriate to execute the control processes (including allocation request processes and boarding / disembarking command processes) performed by the robot management device 4 on behalf of the robot management device 4. In this case, each robot H communicates with the elevator control device 3 without going through the robot management device 4. This allows each robot H to use the elevator car G autonomously.

[0249] The above-mentioned embodiments and the description of the modifications should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims, not by the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

[0250] Furthermore, from the above-described embodiments and modifications, the subject of the invention is not limited to the robot management device 4 or the robot H, but the control processes and programs executed by the robot management device 4 or the robot H may be extracted individually, or a part of them may be extracted partially. Also, a part or the whole of an elevator equipped with the robot management device 4 or the robot H may be extracted as the subject of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0251] 1 Destination button 2 Destination Floor Button 3 Elevator control device 4. Robot Management Device G Car H Robot 31, 41 Storage section 32, 42 Control section Dp Equipment Management Data Dr Robot Management Data Ds Allocation request management data Fc Departure floor Fd Destination floor Fg Arrival floor Fs Installation floor Ft Boarding Floor Fx destination floor Fy end floor Hk Target Robot Kc destination direction Kg Moving direction Kh Transport direction Ks forward Kt reverse direction Pd device information Pe Elevator Information Ph Robot Information Qt current position Rg, Rh Hall call Sx ride completion signal Sy exit completion signal Sz Door open extension signal Vg, Vh cage call Dq1G, Dq1H Hall call management data Dq2G, Dq2H cage call management data FY1 1st floor FY2 2nd End Floor Kg1 Departure direction Kg2 Arrival Direction Pr1, Pr2 received information

Claims

1. A robot management device that manages a robot used in a building in which an elevator is installed, when the robot is moved from a boarding floor to a destination floor using a car of the elevator, by transmitting a hall call allocation request for the robot to a control device of the elevator, the departure floor and the destination floor or the destination direction required for the hall call allocation, When the robot is moved from the boarding floor to the destination floor by using the elevator car, when a hall call for a user is assigned by the elevator control device, the boarding floor and destination floor of the robot and the departure floor and destination direction indicated by the hall call for the user are determined as follows: (1) A condition that the forward direction from the boarding floor of the robot to the destination floor of the robot is the same as the destination direction of the user; (2) a condition that the elevator arrives at the boarding floor of the robot before the elevator arrives at the departure floor of the user; and (3) A condition that the departure floor of the user is between the boarding floor of the robot and the destination floor of the robot; and (4) A condition that a destination floor of the robot is a floor different from a first end floor located in the forward direction with respect to a boarding floor of the robot; and Determine whether each of the following is satisfied, If it is determined that all of the above conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied, a first hall call allocation request for the robot, the first hall call allocation request being for causing the elevator car to depart in the forward direction from the boarding floor of the robot as a departure floor; a second hall call allocation request for the robot, the second hall call allocation request being a departure floor for the destination floor of the robot and causing the elevator to depart from the destination floor in a direction opposite to the forward direction; Do the following: When the car arrives at a stop floor, A determination is made (A1) as to whether the arrival floor of the elevator coincides with any of the departure floors transmitted in the allocation request; If it is determined in the judgment (A1) that the floor matches any of the departure floors, the matching allocation request is set as a first focus request, and the departure floor and the destination floor or the destination direction transmitted in the first focus request are used to set the direction from the departure floor to the destination floor or the destination direction as the conveying direction of the robot, and then a judgment is made (B1) as to whether the departure direction of the elevator from the arrival floor matches the conveying direction, When it is determined in the judgment (B1) that the direction of transportation of the robot coincides with the direction of transportation of the robot, a judgment (C1) is made as to whether or not the departure floor transmitted in the first focus request coincides with the boarding floor of the robot; When it is determined in the judgment (C1) that the floor coincides with the boarding floor of the robot, a door-open extension signal is transmitted to the control device of the elevator, and the robot is instructed to board the car. Thereafter, when the boarding of the robot is completed, a boarding completion signal is transmitted to the control device of the elevator. If the judgment (C1) determines that the floor does not match the floor the robot is to board, the robot management device sends the door opening extension signal to the elevator control device and commands the robot to disembark from the elevator car, and then, when the robot has completed disembarking, sends the boarding completion signal as a dummy signal to the elevator control device.

2. As the first hall call allocation request, a hall call allocation request is made with the boarding floor of the robot as a departure floor and the departure floor of the user as a destination floor; 2. The robot management device according to claim 1, wherein the second hall call allocation request is a hall call allocation request in which the destination floor of the robot is a departure floor and a floor located in the opposite direction to the forward direction with respect to the destination floor is a destination floor.

3. 3. The robot management device according to claim 2, wherein the second hall call allocation request is made with the destination floor of the robot as the departure floor and with a second end floor located in the opposite direction to the destination floor as the destination floor.

4. As the first hall call allocation request, a hall call allocation request is made with the boarding floor of the robot as a departure floor and the departure floor of the user as a destination floor; 2. The robot management device according to claim 1, wherein the second hall call allocation request is a hall call allocation request in which the destination floor of the robot is a departure floor and a destination direction from the departure floor is a direction opposite to the forward direction.

5. As the first hall call allocation request, a hall call allocation request is made with the boarding floor of the robot as a departure floor and the first end floor as a destination floor; 2. The robot management device according to claim 1, wherein the second hall call allocation request is a hall call allocation request in which the destination floor of the robot is a departure floor and a destination direction from the departure floor is a direction opposite to the forward direction.

6. The robot management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first hall call allocation request and the second hall call allocation request are simultaneously made to the elevator control device.

7. When the elevator car arrives at a stop floor, A determination is made as to whether the arrival floor of the elevator car coincides with any of the destination floors transmitted in the allocation request (A2); If it is determined in the judgment (A2) that the request matches any of the destination floors, the matching assignment request is treated as a second focus request, and the direction from the departure floor to the destination floor transmitted in the second focus request is used as the conveying direction of the robot, and then a judgment is made as to whether or not the arrival direction of the elevator at the arrival floor matches the conveying direction (B2). When it is determined in the judgment (B2) that the direction of the robot coincides with the conveying direction of the robot, a judgment (C2) is made as to whether the destination floor transmitted in the second focus request coincides with the target floor of the robot; When it is determined in the judgment (C2) that the destination floor of the robot coincides with the destination floor of the robot, the door-open extension signal is transmitted to the elevator control device, and the robot is instructed to disembark from the elevator car. Thereafter, when the robot has disembarked, a disembarkation completion signal is transmitted to the elevator control device. A robot management device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein if the judgment (C2) determines that the destination floor does not match the destination floor of the robot, the door opening extension signal is not sent to the elevator control device, and the disembarkation completion signal is sent to the elevator control device as a dummy signal without instructing the robot to disembark from the car.

8. a robot used in a building in which an elevator is installed, the robot making a hall call allocation request for itself when the robot uses a car of the elevator to move from a boarding floor to a destination floor by transmitting a departure floor and a destination floor or a destination direction required for the hall call allocation to a control device of the elevator, When the user uses the elevator car to move from the boarding floor to the destination floor, and when a hall call for the user is assigned by the elevator control device, the boarding floor and destination floor of the user, and the departure floor and destination direction indicated by the hall call for the user are (1) The forward direction from the boarding floor to the destination floor is the same as the destination direction of the user; and (2) a condition that the elevator arrives at its boarding floor before the elevator arrives at the departure floor of the user; and (3) The user's departure floor is between the user's boarding floor and the destination floor; and (4) A condition that the destination floor is a floor different from the first end floor located in the forward direction with respect to the boarding floor; and Determine whether each of the following is satisfied, If it is determined that all of the above conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied, a first hall call allocation request for the vehicle itself, the first hall call allocation request being to set the vehicle's boarding floor as a departure floor and to cause the vehicle to depart in the forward direction from the boarding floor; a second hall call allocation request for the vehicle itself, the second hall call allocation request being for the vehicle itself to set its destination floor as a departure floor and to cause the vehicle to depart from the destination floor in a direction opposite to the forward direction; Do the following: When the car arrives at a stop floor, A determination is made (A1) as to whether the arrival floor of the elevator coincides with any of the departure floors transmitted in the allocation request; If it is determined in the judgment (A1) that the floor matches any of the departure floors, the matching allocation request is treated as a first focus request, and the departure floor and the destination floor or the destination direction transmitted in the first focus request are used to determine the direction from the departure floor to the destination floor or the destination direction as the direction of conveyance of the elevator, and then a judgment is made (B1) as to whether the departure direction of the elevator from the arrival floor matches the conveyance direction, If it is determined in the judgment (B1) that the direction of transportation coincides with the vehicle's own transportation direction, a judgment is made (C1) as to whether the departure floor transmitted in the first focus request coincides with the vehicle's own boarding floor, When it is determined in the judgment (C1) that the floor coincides with the boarding floor of the user, a door-open extension signal is sent to the control device of the elevator, and boarding of the user is performed. Then, when boarding is completed, a boarding completion signal is sent to the control device of the elevator. If the robot determines in the judgment (C1) that the floor does not match the floor to which the user is to board, the robot transmits the door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and executes disembarkation from the elevator car, and then, when disembarkation is completed, transmits the boarding completion signal as a dummy signal to the elevator control device.

9. A program for causing a robot used in a building in which an elevator is installed, or a robot management device that manages the robot, to execute a determination step, a request step, and a boarding / alighting command step, In the determining step, When the robot is moved from a boarding floor to a destination floor using the elevator car, and a hall call for a user is assigned by the elevator control device, the boarding floor and the destination floor of the robot, and the departure floor and destination direction indicated by the hall call for the user are determined as follows: (1) A condition that the forward direction from the boarding floor of the robot to the destination floor of the robot is the same as the destination direction of the user; (2) a condition that the elevator arrives at the boarding floor of the robot before the elevator arrives at the departure floor of the user; and (3) A condition that the departure floor of the user is between the boarding floor of the robot and the destination floor of the robot; and (4) A condition that a destination floor of the robot is a floor different from a first end floor located in the forward direction with respect to a boarding floor of the robot; and Determine whether each of the following is satisfied, In the request step, when the robot is moved from the boarding floor to the destination floor by using the elevator car, a request for allocation of a hall call for the robot is made by transmitting a departure floor and a destination floor or a destination direction required for the allocation of the hall call to a control device of the elevator; If it is determined in the determination step that all of the conditions (1) to (4) are satisfied, a first hall call assignment request for the robot, the first hall call assignment request being a departure floor for the robot and causing the elevator to depart in the forward direction from the boarding floor; As a second hall call allocation request for the robot, a hall call allocation request in which a destination floor of the robot is a departure floor and the elevator is caused to depart from the destination floor in a direction opposite to the forward direction; To carry out the above, In the getting on and off command step, When the car arrives at a stop floor, A determination is made (A1) as to whether the arrival floor of the elevator coincides with any of the departure floors transmitted in the allocation request; If it is determined in the judgment (A1) that the floor matches any of the departure floors, the matching allocation request is set as a first focus request, and the departure floor and the destination floor or the destination direction transmitted in the first focus request are used to set the direction from the departure floor to the destination floor or the destination direction as the conveying direction of the robot, and then a judgment is made as to whether or not the departure direction of the elevator from the arrival floor matches the conveying direction (B1); and When it is determined in the judgment (B1) that the direction of transportation of the robot coincides with the direction of transportation of the robot, a judgment (C1) is made as to whether or not the departure floor transmitted in the first focus request coincides with the boarding floor of the robot; When it is determined in the judgment (C1) that the floor coincides with the boarding floor of the robot, a door-open extension signal is transmitted to the control device of the elevator, and the robot is instructed to board the car. Thereafter, when the boarding of the robot is completed, a boarding completion signal is transmitted to the control device of the elevator. If the judgment (C1) determines that the floor does not match the floor the robot is to board, the program transmits the door-open extension signal to the elevator control device and commands the robot to disembark from the elevator car, and then, when the robot has completed disembarking, transmits the boarding completion signal as a dummy signal to the elevator control device.

Images