Elevator Systems

Abstract

Provided is an elevator system capable of determining an appropriate waiting floor depending on the installation environment. The elevator system includes: an environmental sensor that is installed in a car moving among multiple floors and measures environmental physical quantities in the installation environment; an integration unit that creates multiple individual environmental information for each of two or more floors among the multiple floors, the individual environmental information being information for each floor in which the environmental physical quantities measured at the floor correspond to the time of measurement; and a determination unit that determines, based on the multiple individual environmental information, a floor among the multiple floors whose environmental physical quantities satisfy a specified determination condition as the waiting floor where the car will wait in a standby state.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to elevator systems. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an elevator system. The elevator system is a see-through elevator in which the side walls of the elevator shaft and the wall of the car are made of glass. When the car is in standby mode, it waits on the underground floor where it is not affected by direct sunlight. Therefore, the temperature rise inside the car can be suppressed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-079568 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the elevator system described in Patent Document 1, the floor where the car waits is fixed to the underground floor. In general, a floor that is preferable as a waiting floor varies depending on the installation environment of the elevator system. For this reason, there is a risk that the car will wait at a floor that is not preferable as a waiting floor.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems. An object of the present disclosure is to provide an elevator system that can determine an appropriate waiting floor depending on an installation environment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The elevator system according to the present disclosure includes an environmental sensor installed in a car moving between multiple floors and measuring environmental physical quantities in the environment in which the car is installed; an integration unit that creates multiple individual environmental information for each of two or more floors among the multiple floors, the individual environmental information being information for each floor in which the environmental physical quantities measured at that floor correspond to the time of measurement; and a determination unit that, based on the multiple individual environmental information, determines a floor among the multiple floors whose environmental physical quantities satisfy specified determination conditions as a waiting floor on which the car will wait in a standby state.

[0007] The elevator system according to the present disclosure further includes an environmental sensor installed in a car that moves between multiple floors and measures environmental physical quantities in the environment in which the car is installed; an integrating unit that creates multiple individual environmental information, which is information for each of two or more floors among the multiple floors, in which the environmental physical quantities measured at that floor are associated with the time of measurement; and an inference unit that infers a floor at which the car will wait in a standby state based on the multiple individual environmental information and determines it as the waiting floor, and the inference unit infers a floor from the multiple individual environmental information using a decision model, which is a trained model for inputting the individual environmental information for two or more floors among the multiple floors and outputting a waiting floor. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, the waiting floor is determined based on a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information, so that it is possible to determine a waiting floor appropriate for the installation environment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an elevator system in a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an elevator system in a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a first example of an evaluation operation performed by the elevator system in the first embodiment. [Figure 4]5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a second example of the evaluation operation performed by the elevator system in the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart outlining an operation for determining a waiting floor of the elevator system in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a modified example of the elevator system in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of an elevator system in a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a control device of the elevator system in the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The embodiments for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. The duplicated description of the parts will be appropriately simplified or omitted.

[0011] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of an elevator system according to a first embodiment.

[0012] The elevator system 1 in FIG. 1 is installed in a building 2. The building 2 has a plurality of floors 3. A hoistway 2h passes through the plurality of floors 3 of the building 2. For example, the elevator system 1 is a see-through elevator. That is, at least a portion of one wall surface 2a of the hoistway 2h is made of a transparent material such as glass. Sunlight falls on at least a portion of the interior of the hoistway 2h through the transparent material of the wall surface 2a. In the example of FIG. 1, a portion 2b of the wall surface 2a corresponding to the height of the first floor is made of a transparent material.

[0013] The elevator system 1 includes a car 4, a counterweight 5, a main rope 6, a hoist 7, and a control device 8. The car 4 and the counterweight 5 are suspended inside the hoistway 2h by the main rope 6. Of the sides of the car 4, the side 4a facing the wall surface 2a is made of a transparent material such as glass. The main rope 6 is wound around a sheave of the hoist 7. The hoist 7 is controlled by the control device 8. When the sheave of the hoist 7 rotates, the car 4 and the counterweight 5 rise and fall in opposite directions according to the movement of the main rope 6. The control device 8 can control the entire elevator system 1. For example, the control device 8 controls the operation of the car 4 by controlling the hoist 7. In this manner, the car 4 moves between the multiple floors 3.

[0014] The elevator system 1 further includes an environmental sensor 9. The environmental sensor 9 is provided in the car 4. The environmental sensor 9 measures environmental physical quantities, which are physical quantities related to the surrounding environment in which the environmental sensor 9 is installed. The environmental sensor 9 includes at least one of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance sensor, a CO2 sensor, an air quality sensor, and the like. The types of environmental physical quantities measured vary depending on the type of sensor included in the environmental sensor 9 and the position of the sensor.

[0015] For example, the temperature sensor measures the temperature of the air inside the car 4 or the temperature around the equipment provided on the top surface of the car 4. For example, the humidity sensor measures the humidity of the air inside the car 4 or the humidity around the equipment provided on the top surface of the car 4. For example, the illuminance sensor measures the illuminance of light hitting the inside of the car 4 or the illuminance of light hitting the top surface of the car 4. The CO2 sensor measures the concentration of carbon dioxide present in the open space inside the car 4. The air quality sensor measures the air quality, such as the concentration of dust present in the air inside the car 4.

[0016] Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, a case where the environment sensor 9 is a temperature sensor will be described. Also, a case where the temperature sensor measures the temperature inside the car 4 will be described.

[0017] When the cage 4 is in normal operation and no call is made for a specified time period, the control device 8 transitions to standby operation and puts the cage 4 in standby. In standby operation, the control device 8 stops the cage 4 in standby at a floor set as a standby floor. Depending on the floor at which the cage 4 is waiting, the environment around or inside the cage 4 may change. For example, in the example of FIG. 1, if the standby floor is set to the first floor or the first basement floor in summer, sunlight hits the inside of the cage 4 or the equipment installed on the top surface of the cage 4 through the portion 2b. Therefore, there is a risk that the inside of the cage 4 and the equipment may become hot.

[0018] Therefore, when the conditions for transitioning to standby operation are satisfied, the control device 8 transitions to evaluation operation. In the evaluation operation, the control device 8 causes the car 4 to wait at one of the multiple floors 3. At this time, the environmental sensor 9 measures the environmental physical quantity when the car 4 is waiting at that floor. The control device 8 determines a standby floor suitable for causing the car 4 to wait, based on the measured environmental physical quantity of each of the multiple floors 3. Thereafter, until the waiting floor is updated to another floor 3, the control device 8 causes the waiting car 4 to wait at the determined waiting floor.

[0019] Next, the function of the control device 8 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the elevator system according to the first embodiment.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 8 includes an operation control unit 10, a storage unit 11, a time management unit 12, a command unit 13, an integration unit 14, and a decision unit 15 as functions.

[0021] The operation control unit 10 controls the overall operation of the car 4.

[0022] The storage unit 11 stores information necessary for control. Specifically, the storage unit 11 stores building information indicating the number of floors of the building 2.

[0023] The time management unit 12 has a function as a clock. The time management unit 12 manages the date and time. Each function of the control device 8 operates according to the date and time managed by the time management unit 12.

[0024] The command unit 13 creates a command for the operation control unit 10 to stop the car 4 at an evaluation floor for a specified evaluation time in order to measure environmental physical quantities as an evaluation operation. For example, the command unit 13 creates the command at any timing, such as when a waiting floor has not been determined, when the conditions for waiting operation are satisfied, etc. When creating the command, the command unit 13 determines a waiting floor from among a plurality of floors 3.

[0025] The integrating unit 14 acquires information on the environmental physical quantity measured by the environmental sensor 9 while the evaluation operation is being performed, the time when the environmental physical quantity was measured, and the floor 3 on which the car 4 is stopped at that time, in association with each other. Based on the acquired information, the integrating unit 14 creates individual environmental information corresponding to the floor 3 on which the car 4 was stopped when the environmental physical quantity was measured. The individual environmental information is information in which the floor 3, the measured environmental physical quantity, and the date and time of measurement are associated with each other. For example, when the evaluation operation is started and the environmental sensor 9 starts measuring the environmental physical quantity at the evaluation floor, the integrating unit 14 starts creating the corresponding individual environmental information. The integrating unit 14 stores the created individual environmental information in the memory unit 11. The memory unit 11 stores a number of individual environmental information corresponding to the floors 3 that are the evaluation floors among the multiple floors 3.

[0026] The individual environmental information preferably includes the time transition of environmental physical quantities for one day. However, a day may be divided into any time slots, such as time slots divided every 4 hours, every 6 hours, or every 12 hours, and the individual environmental information may include measurement results of environmental physical quantities for a specified measurement time or more in each time slot. When the individual environmental information includes environmental physical quantities for a specified time, the control device 8 determines that the measurement values ​​of the individual environmental information are sufficient.

[0027] If it is determined that there are insufficient measured values ​​of individual environmental information for a certain floor 3, and an evaluation operation is performed with that floor 3 as the evaluation floor during a time period when the measured values ​​are insufficient, the integration unit 14 updates the individual environmental information stored in the memory unit 11 by adding information on the environmental physical quantities obtained during the evaluation operation.

[0028] The determination unit 15 determines a floor where the environmental physical quantity satisfies a specified determination condition as a standby floor based on the multiple pieces of individual environmental information stored in the memory unit 11. Even if a standby floor has already been determined, the determination unit 15 may determine a new standby floor at any period or command. For example, the determination unit 15 may determine a standby floor at any period, such as every day, every month, or every 12 hours.

[0029] The determination unit 15 may perform an operation of not determining a waiting floor when a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information corresponding to all floors 3 are not stored in the memory unit 11. In this case, a floor 3 set in advance becomes the waiting floor. The waiting floor determined in this manner is distinguished from a waiting floor determined based on a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information. Furthermore, when a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information corresponding to all floors 3 are not stored in the memory unit 11, the determination unit 15 may determine a waiting floor based on a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information currently stored. That is, the determination unit 15 may determine a waiting floor from among two or more floors 3 for which environmental physical quantities have been measured among the plurality of floors 3.

[0030] The determination condition may be set arbitrarily depending on the type of the environmental physical quantity. If the environmental physical quantity is temperature, the determination condition may be satisfied when the average value of the measured temperature is within a specified temperature range. In this case, floor 3 corresponding to the individual environmental information whose measured temperature is within the temperature range may be determined as the waiting floor. For example, the temperature range may be changed depending on the season. Specifically, in the summer from April to October, the temperature range is set to 24°C to 28°C. In the winter from November to March, the temperature range is set to 18°C ​​to 22°C. The temperature range may be preset to an arbitrary temperature range.

[0031] Also, for example, the determination condition may be set such that the average value of the measured temperatures is the highest or lowest temperature. In this case, the individual environmental information containing the highest or lowest temperature is selected from the temperatures contained in the multiple individual environmental information, and the floor 3 corresponding to the individual environmental information is determined as the waiting floor.

[0032] In addition, when the environmental physical quantity is humidity, the determination condition may be set to be either being within a specified humidity range or being the lowest humidity, or another condition may be used. When the environmental physical quantity is illuminance, the determination condition may be set to be the lowest illuminance, or another condition may be used. When the environmental physical quantity is carbon dioxide concentration, the determination condition may be set to be the lowest carbon dioxide concentration, or another condition may be used. When the environmental physical quantity is air quality, the determination condition may be set to be the best air quality, the lowest dust concentration in the air, or another condition may be used.

[0033] Next, a first example in which the evaluation operation is performed will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a first example of the evaluation operation performed by the elevator system in the first embodiment.

[0034] For example, this flowchart is started at a specific time every day. Note that this flowchart may be started when car 4 is in a standby state. Also, this flowchart does not have to be started when a standby floor determined based on a plurality of environmental physical quantities is set. In step S001, the command unit 13 starts an evaluation operation.

[0035] Thereafter, in step S002, the command unit 13 records the start time. The command unit 13 sets the count of the floor 3 to be the evaluated floor to the number of floors n of the building 2 with reference to the building information.

[0036] Then, the operation of step S003 is performed. In step S003, the command unit 13 determines whether the count is 0 or not.

[0037] If the count is not 0 in step S003, the operation of step S004 is performed. In step S004, the floor 3 corresponding to the count is set as the evaluation floor. The command unit 13 creates a command to wait at the evaluation floor when the car 4 enters a standby state. When the car 4 is in a standby state, the operation control unit 10 stops the car 4 at the evaluation floor based on the command created by the command unit 13. The environmental sensor 9 measures environmental physical quantities at the evaluation floor. The integration unit 14 creates or updates individual environmental information in which the date and time, the floor 3, and the measured environmental physical quantities are associated with each other.

[0038] After that, in step S005, the command unit 13 judges whether or not the evaluation time has elapsed from the start time. The evaluation time is set to an arbitrary time such as 1 day, 12 hours, 1 hour, etc.

[0039] In step S005, if the evaluation time has not elapsed since the start time, the operations from step S004 onwards are repeated. That is, the measurement by the environment sensor 9 on the evaluation floor is continued.

[0040] In step S005, if the evaluation time has elapsed from the start time, the operation of step S006 is performed. In step S006, the command unit 13 subtracts 1 from the count n to make it n-1.

[0041] Then, the operations from step S003 onwards are performed. That is, the operations from step S003 to step S006 are looped. By this loop, the evaluation floor is set to another floor 3 corresponding to the count n-1, and then the environmental physical quantities are measured on the other floor 3, and the environmental physical quantities corresponding to the other floor 3 are created or updated.

[0042] In step S003, if the count is 0, the operation of step S007 is performed. In this case, the environmental physical quantities have been measured on all floors 3. In step S007, the command unit 13 ends the evaluation operation. Thereafter, the control device 8 ends the operation of the flowchart.

[0043] In addition, in S002, the command unit 13 may set the count of the floor 3 to be the evaluated floor to the lowest floor 3. In this case, in the flowchart, the command unit 13 may increment the count of the floor 3 by one, and end the operation of the flowchart when the count exceeds the number of floors of the building 2.

[0044] Next, a second example in which the evaluation operation is performed will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of a second example of the evaluation operation performed by the elevator system in the embodiment 1. For example, the flowchart in Fig. 4 is started when the waiting floor based on the multiple pieces of individual environmental information has not been determined by the determination unit 15. Note that the flowchart in Fig. 4 may be started at regular intervals.

[0045] In step S101, the command unit 13 determines whether or not the car 4 is in a standby state. If the car 4 is not in a standby state in step S101, the operation of step S101 is repeated.

[0046] In step S101, when the car 4 is in a standby state, the operation of step S102 is performed. In step S102, the command unit 13 starts an evaluation operation. The evaluation operation is performed when the car 4 is in a standby state.

[0047] Then, in step S103, the command unit 13 sorts the information stored in the memory unit 11 and determines whether there is a floor 3 for which individual environmental information has not been created, i.e., a floor 3 for which environmental physical quantities have not yet been measured.

[0048] In step S103, if there is no floor 3 for which individual environmental information has not been created, i.e., if the memory unit 11 stores a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information corresponding to all floors 3, the operation of step S104 is performed. In step S104, the command unit 13 sorts the plurality of pieces of individual environmental information to determine whether there is a floor 3 for which the measured value of the environmental physical quantity at the current time is insufficient. For example, if there is a time in a day for which the measured value of the environmental physical quantity is not recorded in the individual environmental information corresponding to a certain floor 3, or there is a time period in a day for which the measured value of the environmental physical quantity is not recorded, and if the unrecorded time or time period includes the current time, the command unit 13 may determine that the floor 3 is a floor 3 for which the measured value of the environmental physical quantity at the current time is insufficient.

[0049] In step S104, if there is no floor 3 with an insufficient measured value of the environmental physical quantity, the command unit 13 determines that it is not necessary to perform the evaluation operation, and ends the evaluation operation. The control device 8 ends the operation of the flowchart.

[0050] In step S104, if there is a floor 3 for which the measured value of the environmental physical quantity is insufficient, the operation of step S105 is performed. In step S105, the command unit 13 determines the floor 3 for which the measured value of the environmental physical quantity is insufficient as the evaluation floor. The command unit 13 creates a command to have the car 4 wait at the evaluation floor.

[0051] In step S105, if there are multiple floors 3 with insufficient measured values ​​of the environmental physical quantities, the command unit 13 sets one of the floors 3 with insufficient measured values ​​of the environmental physical quantities as the evaluation floor based on a preset selection condition. The selection condition may be the floor 3 for which the measured values ​​of the environmental physical quantities are insufficient for the longest period of time, or the lowest floor 3 among the floors 3 with insufficient measured values ​​of the environmental physical quantities.

[0052] After step S105, in step S106, the operation control unit 10 causes the car 4 to wait at the evaluation floor based on the command created by the command unit 13. The environmental sensor 9 starts measuring the environmental physical quantity at the evaluation floor. The integration unit 14 starts updating the individual environmental information corresponding to the floor 3.

[0053] Thereafter, in step S107, the command unit 13 determines whether or not the waiting state of the car 4 has been released.

[0054] In step S107, when the waiting state of the car 4 is released, the command unit 13 ends the evaluation operation. The operation control unit 10 transitions the operation state of the car 4 to normal operation. The control device 8 ends the operation of the flowchart.

[0055] If the waiting state of the car 4 is not released in step S107, the operation of step S108 is performed. In step S108, the command unit 13 judges whether or not the measurement value of the environmental physical quantity included in the individual environment information corresponding to the current evaluation floor is sufficient. For example, if the measurement value of the environmental physical quantity at the current time of day or the current time zone is present in the individual environment information corresponding to the evaluation floor, the command unit 13 judges that the measurement value of the environmental physical quantity is sufficient.

[0056] If it is determined in step S108 that the measured values ​​of the environmental physical quantities included in the individual environment information are not sufficient, the operation of step S106 is repeated, that is, the measurement of the environmental physical quantities on the evaluation floor is continued.

[0057] If it is determined in step S108 that the measured values ​​of the environmental physical quantities included in the individual environmental information are sufficient, the operations from step S103 onwards are repeated.

[0058] In step S103, if there is a floor 3 for which individual environmental information has not been created, the operation of step S109 is performed. In step S109, the command unit 13 determines the floor 3 for which individual environmental information has not been created as the evaluation floor. The command unit 13 generates a command to have the car 4 wait at the evaluation floor.

[0059] In step S103, if there are multiple floors 3 for which individual environmental information has not been created, the command unit 13 sets one of the floors 3 for which individual environmental information has not been created as the evaluation floor based on a preset selection condition. The selection condition may be the lowest floor 3 among the floors 3 for which individual environmental information has not been created.

[0060] After the operation of step S103 is performed, the operations from step S106 onwards are performed.

[0061] Next, the operation of determining the waiting floor will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an overview of an operation for determining a waiting floor of the elevator system in the first embodiment.

[0062] 5 starts at an arbitrary timing set in the determination unit 15. In step S201, the determination unit 15 starts an operation of determining a waiting floor.

[0063] After that, in step S202, the determination unit 15 determines whether or not a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information corresponding to all floors 3 are stored in the storage unit 11. Note that the determination unit 15 may determine whether or not a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information corresponding to all floors 3 are stored and whether or not the measurement values ​​of the environmental physical quantities in all of the individual environmental information are sufficient.

[0064] In step S202, if a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information corresponding to all floors 3 are stored, the operation of step S203 is performed. In step S203, the determination unit 15 determines, based on the plurality of pieces of individual environmental information, a floor 3 that satisfies a determination condition among the plurality of floors 3 as a standby floor. Thereafter, the control device 8 ends the operation of the flowchart.

[0065] In step S202, if there is a floor 3 for which no individual environment information exists, the operation of step S204 is performed. In step S204, the determination unit 15 determines the preset floor 3 as the waiting floor. After that, the control device 8 ends the operation of the flowchart.

[0066] In step S202, the determination unit 15 may determine whether or not a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information corresponding to two or more floors 3 are stored. In this case, if a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information corresponding to two or more floors 3 are stored in the storage unit 11, the operation of step S203 is performed. In this case, in step S203, the determination unit 15 may determine a standby floor based on the plurality of pieces of individual environmental information corresponding to two or more floors 3.

[0067] According to the first embodiment described above, the elevator system 1 includes the environmental sensor 9, the integrating unit 14, and the determining unit 15. The determining unit 15 determines a waiting floor based on a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information created for two or more floors 3 among the plurality of floors 3. Therefore, it is possible to determine an appropriate floor 3 as the waiting floor depending on the structure of the building 2 and the installation environment of the elevator system 1. As a result, it is possible to improve the comfort inside the car 4 regardless of the installation environment of the elevator system 1.

[0068] The elevator system 1 further includes a command unit 13. When the car 4 is in a standby state, the command unit 13 generates a command to make the car 4 wait at the evaluated floor. The integration unit 14 generates individual environmental information based on the measurement value of the environmental sensor 9 at the evaluated floor. This makes it possible to generate individual environmental information when the car 4 is in a standby state. As a result, it is possible to increase the possibility that a suitable floor 3 will be determined as the standby floor.

[0069] Moreover, the environmental sensor 9 is a temperature sensor, and measures temperature as an environmental physical quantity. The optimum temperature condition is set as the determination condition. Therefore, a waiting floor where the temperature of the car 4 is in an optimum state can be determined. Furthermore, when the determination condition is set to the lowest temperature or within a specified temperature range, it is possible to prevent the equipment installed on the upper surface of the car 4 from becoming abnormally hot in the waiting state. As a result, the life of the equipment can be extended.

[0070] Note that, when performing the evaluation operation, the command unit 13 may create a command to have the car 4 wait at the evaluation floor with the air conditioning inside the car 4 turned off. If the environmental physical quantity is a physical quantity related to the gas inside the car 4, such as the temperature inside the car 4, the command unit 13 creates such a command, thereby making it possible to measure the environmental physical quantity that better reflects the installation conditions of the car 4.

[0071] At least one of various configurations may be further added to the elevator system 1 in the embodiment 1. Next, a modified example in which various configurations are added will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a modified example of the elevator system in the first embodiment.

[0072] As shown in Fig. 6, in the elevator system 1, another car 20 may be provided in the same building 2 as the car 4. The car 20 moves among a plurality of floors 3, similar to the car 4. For example, the car 4 and the car 20 are subject to group management control. Note that further cars may be provided in the building 2.

[0073] Furthermore, the elevator system 1 may include a second environmental sensor 21 and a third environmental sensor 22 in addition to the environmental sensor 9 which is the first environmental sensor. The second environmental sensor 21 is provided in the car 20. The second environmental sensor 21 measures the same type of environmental physical quantity as the environmental physical quantity measured by the environmental sensor 9. The third environmental sensor 22 is provided in the car 4. The third environmental sensor 22 may be provided in the same housing as the environmental sensor 9. The third environmental sensor 22 measures a different type of environmental physical quantity from the environmental physical quantity measured by the environmental sensor 9.

[0074] In this case, the command unit 13 may set a first evaluation floor for measuring the environmental physical quantity for the car 4, and set a second evaluation floor for measuring the environmental physical quantity for the car 20, when performing evaluation operation. In this case, the second environmental sensor 21 measures the environmental physical quantity at the second evaluation floor. The integration unit 14 creates individual environmental information for the second evaluation floor based on the environmental physical quantity measured by the second environmental sensor 21. In this way, the command unit 13 may set different evaluation floors for each of the multiple cars.

[0075] Furthermore, the integrator 14 may include another environmental physical quantity measured by the third environmental sensor 22 in association with the date and time in the individual environmental information. That is, the individual environmental information corresponding to each floor 3 is information in which two types of environmental physical quantities, a first environmental physical quantity measured by the environmental sensor 9 and a different type of second environmental physical quantity measured by the third environmental sensor 22, are associated with the date and time.

[0076] In this case, the determination unit 15 may determine the waiting floor based on two determination conditions, a first determination condition related to the first environmental physical quantity and another second determination condition related to the second environmental physical quantity. For example, the first environmental physical quantity is temperature and the first determination condition is a temperature range. When there are multiple floors 3 that satisfy the first determination condition, the determination unit 15 may determine the floor 3 that satisfies the second determination condition as the waiting floor from among two or more floors 3 that satisfy the first determination condition. For example, when the second environmental physical quantity is illuminance and the second determination condition is set to adopt the floor 3 with the lowest illuminance, the determination unit 15 determines the floor 3 that satisfies the temperature range that is the first determination condition and has the lowest illuminance measured by the third environmental sensor 22 as the waiting floor.

[0077] The elevator system 1 may further include a server device 23. In this case, the server device 23 is provided in a building separate from the building 2. For example, the server device 23 is provided in a building of a company that maintains and manages the elevator system 1. The control device 8 is connected to a network by remote monitoring or the like (not shown) and can communicate with the server device 23 via the network. The server device 23 can communicate with a terminal T carried by an owner of the elevator including the car 4 via the network.

[0078] The server device 23 has a function of a reception unit 23a. The reception unit 23a provides an interface that the terminal T can access to view and input information. For example, the interface is a website that can be viewed from a general web browser. The reception unit 23a receives instructions regarding changes to settings of the elevator system 1 from the terminal T. Each function of the control device 8 operates based on the instructions received from the terminal T.

[0079] For example, the reception unit 23a receives an instruction regarding the evaluation operation from the terminal T. The command unit 13 performs the evaluation operation so as to satisfy the instruction received from the terminal T. Specifically, the evaluation operation is performed at a timing based on an instruction from the terminal T regarding the frequency of the evaluation operation, the time period during which the evaluation operation may be performed, and the like. For example, the reception unit 23a receives an instruction regarding the determination condition from the terminal T. The determination unit 15 determines a waiting floor that satisfies the determination condition received from the terminal T. For example, the reception unit 23a may receive a setting for determining a waiting floor only based on the second determination condition regarding the second environmental physical quantity measured by the third environmental sensor 22, not the first environmental sensor. For example, the reception unit 23a may receive a setting for selecting a waiting floor that provides the best operation efficiency when a plurality of floors 3 that satisfy the determination condition are candidates for the waiting floor.

[0080] The control device 8 may further include a first complement unit 24, a second complement unit 25, a history storage unit 26, an external environment acquisition unit 27, and an inference unit 28 as functions.

[0081] The first complement unit 24 may estimate the measurement value of the environmental physical quantity at an intermediate floor between the first complementary floor and the second complementary floor based on the measurement value of the environmental physical quantity at a first complementary floor, which is a certain floor 3, and the measurement value of the environmental physical quantity at a second complementary floor, which is another floor 3 that is two floors or more away from the first complementary floor, and create or update the individual environmental information corresponding to the intermediate floor. The method by which the first complement unit 24 estimates the environmental physical quantity at the intermediate floor may be any method. For example, the first complement unit 24 may estimate the environmental physical quantity at the intermediate floor by linear complementation. That is, the first complement unit 24 may derive a linear function of the height of the floor 3 and the environmental physical quantity, with the environmental physical quantity at the first complementary floor at a certain time and the environmental physical quantity at the second complementary floor at the same time as its two ends, and apply the height of the floor 3 of the intermediate floor to the linear function to estimate the environmental physical quantity at the intermediate floor at that time. The first complement unit 24 may generate a complement function by applying the environmental physical quantity at the first complementary floor and the environmental physical quantity at the second complementary floor to a predefined function, and estimate the environmental physical quantity at the intermediate floor by applying the condition of the intermediate floor to the complement function. The first complement unit 24 stores the created individual environmental information in the storage unit 11, or updates the individual environmental information corresponding to the intermediate floor stored in the storage unit 11 using the estimated environmental physical quantity.

[0082] The second complement unit 25 estimates the measured value of the environmental physical quantity based on the environmental physical quantity measured by the environmental sensor 9 when the car 4 is operating normally and information on the open / closed state of the door of the car 4 (not shown), and creates or updates the individual environmental information. At this time, the environmental sensor 9 measures the environmental physical quantity inside the car 4. The floor 3 corresponding to the individual environmental information created or updated by the second complement unit 25 may be called a complement floor. The environmental physical quantity related to the gas inside the car 4 may fluctuate in value when the door of the car 4 is opened during normal operation. The second complement unit 25 acquires information on the number of times the door of the car 4 is opened and the open / closed state during the time when the door is opened from the operation control unit 10. The second complement unit 25 acquires the environmental physical quantity measured by the environmental sensor 9 when the car 4 is operating normally, in association with the date and time and the floor 3 at which the car 4 is stopped. The second complement unit 25 calculates the environmental physical quantity corresponding to the date and time and the complementary floor, which is a certain floor 3, by correcting the environmental physical quantity measured by the environmental sensor 9 during normal operation with information regarding the door open / close state, and complements the individual environmental information at the complementary floor. For example, the second complement unit 25 calculates the environmental physical quantity used for complementation by subtracting a value such as the product of the number of times the door is opened and a specified coefficient, or the product of the time the door is opened and a specified coefficient, from the environmental physical quantity at the complementary floor.

[0083] The determination unit 15 may use at least one of the individual environmental information created or updated by the first complement unit 24 and the individual environmental information created or updated by the second complement unit 25 when determining the waiting floor.

[0084] The history storage unit 26 stores the operation history of one or more cars provided in the building 2 including the car 4. The determination unit 15 may determine the waiting floor further based on the operation history. For example, when there are two or more floors 3 that satisfy a determination condition when determining a waiting floor, the determination unit 15 may determine, as the waiting floor, one of the two or more floors 3 that has the least effect on the operation rate if set as a waiting floor.

[0085] The external environment acquisition unit 27 acquires information on the external environment from an external information device (not shown) via a network in association with a date and time. For example, the information on the external environment is weather information, information on outside temperature, etc. When creating the individual environmental information, the integration unit 14 further associates the information on the external environment with a date and time. The determination unit 15 may take the external environment into consideration when determining the waiting floor. For example, the determination unit 15 refers to the current external environment when determining the waiting floor, and extracts environmental physical quantities when the external environment is similar to the current external environment from the multiple individual environmental information. The determination unit 15 may determine, as the waiting floor, a floor 3 among the multiple floors 3 for which the extracted environmental physical quantities satisfy the determination condition.

[0086] The inference unit 28 stores a decision model in advance. The decision model is a trained model that has been trained using a set of multiple pieces of individual environmental information created in an elevator system of a building other than the building 2 in a manner similar to that of the elevator system 1 of the building 2 and a waiting floor determined in the building as teacher data. The decision model is a model for inputting individual environmental information on two or more floors 3 and outputting a waiting floor. That is, even if the environmental physical quantities of all floors 3 have not been measured at all times, the inference unit 28 infers a floor 3 to be a waiting floor based on two or more pieces of individual environmental information currently stored in the storage unit 11 and the decision model. Thereafter, the inference unit 28 may determine the floor 3 inferred as a waiting floor, or the determination unit 15 may determine the floor 3 inferred by the inference unit 28 as a waiting floor.

[0087] According to the modification of the first embodiment described above, the elevator system 1 includes the car 4 and another car 20. The car 20 is provided with a second environmental sensor 21, which is another environmental sensor. The second environmental sensor 21 measures the same type of environmental physical quantity as the environmental sensor 9, which is the first environmental sensor. In the evaluation operation, the command unit 13 causes the car 4 to wait at the evaluation floor, and causes the car 20 to wait at a waiting floor different from the car 4. The integration unit 14 creates two pieces of individual environmental information based on the environmental physical quantities measured at each of the two waiting floors. Therefore, the elevator system 1 can efficiently create multiple pieces of individual environmental information.

[0088] The elevator system 1 may further include a first complement unit 24. The first complement unit 24 estimates environmental physical quantities for intermediate floors to create or update individual environmental information. Therefore, even if a sufficient amount of environmental physical quantities has not been measured on all floors 3, the elevator system 1 can complement the individual environmental information.

[0089] The elevator system 1 may further include a second complement unit 25. In this case, the environmental sensor 9 measures an environmental physical quantity inside the car 4. The second complement unit 25 creates individual environmental information for a complemented floor. Therefore, even if the environmental physical quantity of a certain floor 3 has not been measured, the elevator system 1 can complement the individual environmental information based on the measured value during normal operation.

[0090] The elevator system 1 also includes a third environmental sensor 22 installed in the car 4. The third environmental sensor 22 measures a different type of environmental physical quantity from that of the environmental sensor 9. The determination unit 15 determines the waiting floor based on the first determination condition and a second determination condition different from the first determination condition. This allows the conditions to be prioritized when the car 4 is placed on standby to be set in more detail.

[0091] The elevator system 1 further includes a reception unit 23a. The determination unit 15 determines a waiting floor based on the received determination conditions. Therefore, the waiting floor can be determined under conditions desired by the owner of the elevator system 1.

[0092] The elevator system 1 also includes an environmental sensor 9, an integration unit 14, and an inference unit 28. The inference unit 28 determines the waiting floor based on a plurality of pieces of individual environmental information. Therefore, it is possible to determine an appropriate floor 3 as the waiting floor depending on the structure of the building 2 and the installation environment of the elevator system 1. As a result, it is possible to improve the comfort inside the car 4 regardless of the installation environment of the elevator system 1.

[0093] Embodiment 2 Fig. 7 is a functional block diagram of an elevator system in embodiment 2. Note that the same or corresponding parts as those in embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of these parts is omitted.

[0094] As shown in Fig. 7, in the second embodiment, the car 4 is further provided with a fan 30. Although not shown, the car 4 is provided with an air duct connecting the inside and outside of the car 4. For example, the fan 30 is provided in the middle of the air duct. When the fan 30 is driven to rotate, it generates an airflow in the air duct that flows from the inside of the car 4 to the outside. That is, when the fan 30 is driven, it is capable of discharging the air inside the car 4 to the outside.

[0095] In the second embodiment, the command unit 13 may create a command to keep the door of the car 4 open at the evaluation floor during the evaluation operation and drive the fan 30. In this case, the operation control unit 10 may, based on the command, keep the door of the car 4 open during the evaluation operation and keep the car 4 waiting at the evaluation floor with the fan 30 driven.

[0096] When transitioning to standby operation, the operation control unit 10 keeps the door of the car 4 open and drives the fan 30 when making the car 4 wait at a standby floor determined by the determination unit 15 based on multiple individual environmental information.

[0097] Furthermore, during normal operation, the fan 30 is stopped. The operation control unit 10 may drive the fan 30 during normal operation when the car 4 stops at the waiting floor determined by the determination unit 15. In particular, when the environmental physical quantity is temperature and the temperature inside the car 4 exceeds the cooling threshold when the car 4 stops at the waiting floor, the operation control unit 10 may drive the fan 30.

[0098] According to the second embodiment described above, the elevator system 1 further includes an operation control unit 10 and a fan 30. For example, in summer, floor 3, which has a cool landing, is likely to be set as a waiting floor. This possibility is particularly high when the door of car 4 is kept open and the fan 30 is driven during evaluation operation. By keeping the door of car 4 open and driving the fan 30 while the car 4 is waiting at the waiting floor, the temperature inside the car 4 can be kept more comfortable.

[0099] Moreover, the environmental sensor 9 is a temperature sensor that measures the temperature inside the car 4. When the car 4 stops at the floor 3 set as the waiting floor during normal operation and the temperature exceeds the cooling threshold, the operation control unit 10 drives the fan 30. Therefore, even during normal operation, the inside of the car 4 can be made into a suitable environment.

[0100] Next, an example of hardware constituting the control device 8 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a hardware configuration diagram of the control device of the elevator system in the first embodiment.

[0101] Each function of the control device 8 may be realized by a processing circuit. For example, the processing circuit includes at least one processor 100a and at least one memory 100b. For example, the processing circuit includes at least one dedicated hardware 200.

[0102] When the processing circuit includes at least one processor 100a and at least one memory 100b, each function of the control device 8 is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. At least one of the software and firmware is written as a program. At least one of the software and firmware is stored in the at least one memory 100b. The at least one processor 100a realizes each function of the control device 8 by reading and executing the program stored in the at least one memory 100b. The at least one processor 100a is also called a central processing unit, processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP. For example, the at least one memory 100b is a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an EPROM, or an EEPROM, a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, a DVD, or the like.

[0103] When the processing circuit includes at least one dedicated hardware 200, the processing circuit is realized, for example, by a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof. For example, each function of the control device 8 is realized by a processing circuit. For example, each function of the control device 8 is realized collectively by a processing circuit.

[0104] Some of the functions of the control device 8 may be realized by dedicated hardware 200, and the remaining parts may be realized by software or firmware. For example, the functions of the storage unit 11 may be realized by a processing circuit as the dedicated hardware 200, and functions other than the functions of the storage unit 11 may be realized by at least one processor 100a reading and executing a program stored in at least one memory 100b.

[0105] Thus, the processing circuitry implements the functions of the controller 8 in hardware 200, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0106] Although not shown, each function of the server device 23 is also realized by a processing circuit equivalent to the processing circuit that realizes each function of the control device 8.

[0107] Furthermore, the server device 23 may be realized on a cloud server. In this case, the processing circuit is composed of a plurality of partial circuits. The plurality of partial processing circuits are provided in the plurality of devices constituting the cloud server, respectively. The plurality of devices constituting the cloud server may each be provided in a different building.

[0108] Furthermore, among the functions of the control device 8 in the first and second embodiments, at least one of the functions except for the operation control unit 10 may be realized by the server device 23 instead of the control device 8.

[0109] The elevator system 1 disclosed in the first or second embodiment is not limited to a see-through elevator, and may be an elevator system installed in any location. In particular, the technology disclosed herein may be applied to an elevator system in which the environment of the elevator shaft is easily affected by the outside air and the environment changes depending on the position of the car. Specifically, the technology disclosed herein may be applied to an elevator system in which a landing such as a station ticket gate is located outdoors. The technology disclosed herein may be applied to an elevator system in which the thickness of some parts of the walls constituting the elevator shaft is different from that of other parts, such as an elevator system installed in a building incorporating a parking lot. [Industrial Applicability]

[0110] As described above, the elevator system according to the present disclosure can be used in a see-through elevator. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1 elevator system, 2 building, 2a wall, 2b part, 2h elevator shaft, 3 floor, 4 cage, 4a side, 5 counterweight, 6 main rope, 7 hoist, 8 control device, 9 environmental sensor, 10 operation control unit, 11 memory unit, 12 time management unit, 13 command unit, 14 integration unit, 15 decision unit, 20 cage, 21 second environmental sensor, 22 third environmental sensor, 23 server device, 23a reception unit, 24 first complement unit, 25 second complement unit, 26 history memory unit, 27 external environment acquisition unit, 28 inference unit, 30 fan, 100a processor, 100b memory, 200 hardware, T terminal

Claims

1. an environmental sensor that is installed in a car that moves among a plurality of floors and that measures an environmental physical quantity in the environment in which the car is installed; an integration unit that creates, for each of two or more floors among the plurality of floors, a plurality of individual environmental information pieces that are information for each floor in which the environmental physical quantities measured at the respective floors are associated with the times at which the measurements were made; a determination unit that determines, based on the plurality of individual environmental information, a floor among the plurality of floors, for which the environmental physical quantity satisfies a prescribed determination condition, as a standby floor on which the car will wait in a standby state; Equipped with an elevator system.

2. a command unit that generates a command to make the car wait at an evaluation floor among the plurality of floors when the car is in a standby state; Further comprising:

2. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the integration unit creates individual environmental information for the evaluation floor based on environmental physical quantities measured by the environmental sensors when the car is waiting at the evaluation floor in response to a command from the command unit.

3. A second environmental sensor is installed in another car installed in the same building as the car, and measures an environmental physical quantity in the environment in which the second environmental sensor is installed; the command unit, when the car and the other car are in a standby state, creates a command to make the car wait at a first evaluation floor among the plurality of floors as the evaluation floor, and to make the other car wait at a second evaluation floor different from the first evaluation floor, The elevator system according to claim 2, wherein the integration unit creates individual environmental information for the second evaluation floor based on the environmental physical quantity measured by the second environmental sensor when the other car is waiting at the second evaluation floor in response to a command from the command unit.

4. a first complementing unit that estimates environmental physical quantities for an intermediate floor between the first complementary floor and the second complementary floor among the plurality of floors based on individual environmental information for a first complementary floor among the plurality of floors and individual environmental information for a second complementary floor that is two floors or more away from the first complementary floor, and creates individual environmental information for the intermediate floor; 10. The elevator system of claim 1, further comprising:

5. a second complementing unit that creates at least one of the plurality of pieces of individual environmental information based on information regarding an open / close state of a door of the car when the car is normally operating and the environmental physical quantity measured during the normal operation; Further comprising: The environmental sensor measures the environmental physical quantity inside the car; 2. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the second complementing unit estimates environmental physical quantities for the complementary floor based on measurement results of the environmental physical quantities by the environmental sensor when the car is stopped at a complementary floor among the plurality of floors and an open / closed state of the car door, to create individual environmental information.

6. the environmental sensor is a temperature sensor that measures a temperature as the environmental physical quantity, 6. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the determination condition is set to one of being within a specified temperature range, being the highest temperature, and being the lowest temperature.

7. a third environmental sensor installed in the car and measuring an environmental physical quantity of a different type from the environmental physical quantity measured by the environmental sensor; Further comprising: the environmental sensor is a temperature sensor that measures a temperature as the environmental physical quantity, The determination condition is set to be within a specified temperature range; The integration unit associates the different type of environmental physical quantity measured by the third environmental sensor with each of the plurality of pieces of individual environmental information; 6. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein, when there are two or more floors among the plurality of floors whose measured temperatures fall within the temperature range, the determination unit determines, as the waiting floor, a floor among the two or more floors where the different type of environmental physical quantity satisfies a determination condition other than the determination condition.

8. a reception unit that receives an instruction regarding the determination condition from a terminal carried by an owner of the cage; Further comprising: The elevator system according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit determines the waiting floor based on the determination condition accepted by the acceptance unit.

9. an operation control unit that controls an open / close state of the car door; a fan that is installed in the car and that exhausts air inside the car to the outside when driven; Further comprising:

6. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the operation control unit maintains a door of the car in an open state and drives the fan when the car is waiting at the waiting floor.

10. The environmental sensor is a temperature sensor that measures a temperature inside the car as the environmental physical quantity, 10. The elevator system according to claim 9, wherein the operation control unit drives the fan if the temperature measured by the environmental sensor exceeds a cooling threshold when the car is stopped at the waiting floor during normal operation.

11. an environmental sensor that is installed in a car that moves among a plurality of floors and that measures an environmental physical quantity in the environment in which the car is installed; an integration unit that creates, for each of two or more floors among the plurality of floors, a plurality of individual environmental information pieces that are information for each floor in which the environmental physical quantities measured at the respective floors are associated with the times at which the measurements were made; an inference unit that infers a floor at which the car will wait in a standby state based on the plurality of pieces of individual environmental information and determines the floor as the standby floor; Further comprising: The inference unit uses a learned decision model for inputting individual environmental information for two or more floors among the plurality of floors and outputting the waiting floor to infer a floor from the plurality of individual environmental information and determine the floor as the waiting floor.

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