Elevator System

The elevator system addresses the challenge of distinguishing between smartphone and robot ride requests by using a server-based identification system to transmit ride information to the control panel, ensuring efficient and conflict-free ride dispatch in a simple configuration.

JP7653067B1Active Publication Date: 2025-03-28FUJITEC CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2023197515
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2023-11-21
Publication Date
2025-03-28
Estimated Expiration
2043-11-21

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing elevator systems face challenges in distinguishing between ride requests from smartphones and robots, leading to potential conflicts and requiring advanced processing capabilities, making it difficult to implement in existing elevators.

Method used

The elevator system includes a control panel, an elevator server communicatively connected to the control panel, a terminal server, and a mobile server. The elevator server identifies the source of ride requests from either the terminal server or the mobile server and transmits this information to the control panel, allowing for appropriate dispatch control.

Benefits of technology

This configuration enables smooth destination floor registration for both terminals and mobile units with a simple setup, preventing conflicts and allowing for efficient ride dispatch without requiring advanced processing capabilities in existing elevators.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

To provide an elevator system that enables smooth destination floor registration of a terminal and a mobile object with a simple configuration. [Solution] An elevator system comprising a control panel that controls elevator dispatch, an elevator server communicatively connected to the control panel, a terminal server communicatively connected to the elevator server and transmitting boarding request information received from a terminal operated by an elevator user to the elevator server, and a mobile body server communicatively connected to the elevator server and transmitting boarding request information received from a mobile body that can board the elevator to the elevator server, wherein the elevator server has an identification unit that identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server or boarding request information from the mobile body server, and transmits the boarding request information to the control panel based on the identification result of the identification unit.
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator system in which a destination floor can be registered from a terminal or a mobile object. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, for example, in elevator systems, destination floor registration is performed by signals transmitted from a smartphone or a robot (for example, Patent Document 1). However, when destination floor registration is performed from both a smartphone and a robot, if dispatch control is performed without distinguishing between them, there is a possibility that the smartphone user and the robot will ride together. Furthermore, in order to distinguish between them and perform dispatch control, an elevator control unit capable of relatively advanced processing is required, which makes it difficult to apply this to existing elevators, for example. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7271748 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system that enables smooth destination floor registration between a terminal and a mobile object with a simple configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The elevator system comprises a control panel that controls elevator dispatching, an elevator server that is communicatively connected to the control panel, a terminal server that is communicatively connected to the elevator server and transmits boarding request information received from a terminal operated by a user of the elevator to the elevator server, and a mobile body server that is communicatively connected to the elevator server and transmits boarding request information received from a mobile body that can board the elevator to the elevator server, wherein the elevator server has an identification unit that identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server or the mobile body server, and transmits the boarding request information to the control panel based on the identification result of the identification unit.

[0006] The elevator system may be configured such that the elevator server transmits operation mode information corresponding to the identification result of the identification unit to the control panel.

[0007] The elevator system may also be configured such that, when the identification unit identifies the boarding request information as being from the mobile server, if the elevator server does not receive boarding request information from the terminal server within a period from the time the boarding request information from the mobile server is received until a first specified time later, the elevator server transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server to the control panel.

[0008] The elevator system may also be configured such that, when the identification unit identifies the boarding request information as being from the mobile server, when the elevator server receives the boarding request information from the terminal server during a period from a second predetermined time before the boarding request information was received from the mobile server to the time, the elevator server transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server to the control panel after a third predetermined time has elapsed from the time the boarding request information was received from the terminal server.

[0009] The elevator system may also be configured such that the boarding request information transmitted by the terminal server includes boarding floor information and destination floor information, the elevator further includes a boarding detection unit that determines boarding into the elevator, and when the identification unit identifies the boarding request information as being from the terminal server, the elevator server transmits the destination floor information to the control panel when the boarding detection unit detects boarding at a boarding floor based on the boarding floor information.

[0010] The elevator system may also be configured such that the boarding request information transmitted by the terminal server includes ID information of the terminal and the boarding request information transmitted by the mobile server includes ID information of the mobile body, the elevator system further comprising: a terminal authentication database storing ID information of the terminal authorized to transmit boarding request information to the elevator; a mobile body authentication database storing ID information of the mobile body authorized to transmit boarding request information to the elevator; and an authentication unit authenticating the ID information of the terminal or the ID information of the mobile body, the authentication unit selecting either the terminal authentication database or the mobile body authentication database for authentication based on an identification result of the identification unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram showing the control of the elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing control of an elevator system according to a first modified example of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an elevator system according to a second modified example of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing control of an elevator system according to a second modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] 1. Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator system 100 includes an elevator 1, an operation unit 2, a control panel 3, an elevator server 4, a terminal server 5, a terminal 6, a mobile body server 7, and a mobile body 8.

[0015] The elevator 1 includes a car and a drive device, and moves the car to a landing by driving the drive device based on dispatch control of a control panel 3 described later. Note that, in this embodiment, the elevator system 100 includes one elevator 1, but is not limited to this configuration, and may include multiple elevators 1.

[0016] The operation unit 2 is a hall call button installed at the hall of the elevator 1 or a car call button installed in the car of the elevator 1. When the operation unit 2 detects an operation by a user, it transmits a signal corresponding to the operation to the control panel 3 described later. Note that the signal from the operation unit 2 may be transmitted via the elevator 1.

[0017] A platform call button is a button for calling a car at the platform where the button is installed, and is accompanied by an icon indicating up or down. A user calls a car at the platform by pressing the platform call button corresponding to the direction of the destination floor at the platform. Note that the platform call button is not limited to this configuration, and may be accompanied by a number icon indicating the destination floor, and a user may call a car at the platform by pressing the platform call button corresponding to the destination floor at the platform.

[0018] The car call button is accompanied by a number icon indicating the destination floor, and a user registers a destination floor by pressing the car call button corresponding to the destination floor while in the car.

[0019] The operation unit 2 is not limited to buttons that can be operated by pressing them, but may be a non-contact sensor that can be operated by a user placing his / her hand over it, or a touch panel.

[0020] In addition, in this embodiment, the elevator system 100 is configured to include an operation unit 2, but is not limited to this configuration. It may also be configured not to include an operation unit 2, and a terminal 6, which will be described later, may be installed at the landing or in the car.

[0021] The control panel 3 controls the dispatch of the elevator 1. Specifically, the control panel 3 includes a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32 such as a memory or a HDD, and a control unit 33 such as a CPU.

[0022] The communication unit 31 is a communication module for communicating with the elevator 1, the operation unit 2, and the elevator server 4 described below. Specifically, the communication unit 31 receives a signal corresponding to an operation from the operation unit 2. The communication unit 31 also receives boarding request information from the elevator server 4. Furthermore, the communication unit 31 transmits a signal to the elevator 1 to instruct it to operate to a hall.

[0023] The storage unit 32 stores various information used in the control panel 3. The storage unit 32 stores various control programs for controlling the dispatch of the elevator 1, for example.

[0024] The control unit 33 controls the dispatch of the elevator 1 by reading and executing various control programs for controlling the dispatch of the elevator 1, which are stored in the storage unit 32.

[0025] Specifically, based on a signal received from the operation unit 2 or boarding request information received from the elevator server 4 described below, the elevator 1 is instructed to operate to the landing via the communication unit 31. When multiple elevators 1 are provided, for example, an elevator 1 is selected so as to maximize operational efficiency, and the selected elevator 1 is instructed to operate to the landing.

[0026] The control unit 33 may perform dispatch control involving various operation modes. The operation modes include, for example, wheelchair operation, which performs dispatch control limited to a specific elevator 1 suitable for wheelchair users, and dedicated operation.

[0027] In addition, the dedicated operation is a operation in which only users or mobile units 8 who have registered their destination floors board and move to the destination floor. Specifically, when a destination floor is registered and vehicle dispatch control involving a dedicated operation is performed, an unmanned car is moved to the boarding area where the user or mobile unit 8 is waiting, and when the user or mobile unit 8 boards the car, no other vehicles are dispatched until the car moves to the destination floor.

[0028] The terminal 6 is, for example, a smartphone owned by a user of the elevator 1, and the user of the elevator 1 can register the destination floor of the elevator 1 by operating the terminal 6.

[0029] Specifically, the user touches the icon of the elevator 1 that the user wishes to board from among multiple elevator 1 icons displayed on the touch panel of the terminal 6, thereby specifying the elevator 1. The user also touches the floor button displayed on the touch panel of the terminal 6 to specify the boarding floor and the destination floor.

[0030] The terminal 6 transmits boarding request information to a terminal server 5 described later, the boarding request information including information specifying the control panel 3 corresponding to the specified elevator 1, boarding floor information indicating the specified boarding floor, destination floor information indicating the specified destination floor, and ID information of the terminal 6.

[0031] The terminal server 5 transmits the boarding request information to the elevator server 4, which will be described later. The elevator server 4 transmits the boarding request information to the specified control panel 3, whereby the destination floor is registered.

[0032] In addition, terminal 6 is not limited to a smartphone owned by the user of elevator 1, but may be, for example, a touch panel installed at the landing or in the elevator car, or a device that can register the destination floor by authenticating the user's face.

[0033] The terminal server 5 transmits the boarding request information received from the terminal 6 to the elevator server 4. Specifically, the terminal server 5 includes a communication unit 51, a storage unit 52 such as a memory or a HDD, and a control unit 53 such as a CPU.

[0034] The communication unit 51 is a communication module for communicating with the terminal 6 and the elevator server 4 described later. Specifically, the communication unit 51 receives boarding request information from the terminal 6. In addition, the communication unit 51 transmits the boarding request information to the elevator server 4.

[0035] The storage unit 52 stores various information used in the terminal server 5. The storage unit 52 stores various control programs for transmitting boarding request information transmitted from the terminal 6 to the elevator server 4, for example.

[0036] The control unit 53 controls the communication unit 51 to transmit the boarding request information received from the terminal 6 to the elevator server 4.

[0037] The control unit 53 may determine, based on the ID information of the terminal 6 included in the boarding request information received from the terminal 6, whether the terminal is permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator server 4 or not.

[0038] When the control unit 53 determines that the terminal is permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator server 4, the control unit 53 controls the communication unit 51 to transmit the boarding request information to the elevator server 4. On the other hand, when the control unit 53 determines that the terminal is not permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator server 4, the control unit 53 does not transmit the boarding request information to the elevator server 4.

[0039] The moving body 8 is, for example, a robot that can ride in the elevator 1 and moves autonomously, and, for example, the planned movement path of the moving body 8 includes riding in the elevator 1, and when the moving body 8 arrives at a landing along the movement path, the moving body 8 can register the destination floor of the elevator 1.

[0040] Specifically, the moving object 8 specifies the elevator 1, the boarding floor, and the destination floor included in the planned moving route.

[0041] The mobile body 8 transmits boarding request information to the mobile body server 7 described later, the boarding request information including information specifying the control panel 3 corresponding to the specified elevator 1, boarding floor information indicating the specified boarding floor, destination floor information indicating the specified destination floor, and ID information of the mobile body 8.

[0042] The mobile body server 7 transmits the boarding request information to the elevator server 4, which will be described later. The elevator server 4 transmits the boarding request information to the specified control panel 3, whereby the destination floor is registered.

[0043] The moving body 8 is not limited to a robot, and may be, for example, a personal mobility vehicle that is ridden and operated by a person.

[0044] The mobile server 7 includes a communication unit 71, a storage unit 72 such as a memory or a HDD, and a control unit 73 such as a CPU.

[0045] The communication unit 71 is a communication module for communicating with the mobile object 8 and the elevator server 4 described later. Specifically, the communication unit 71 receives boarding request information from the mobile object 8. In addition, the communication unit 71 transmits the boarding request information to the elevator server 4.

[0046] The storage unit 72 stores various information used in the mobile body server 7. The storage unit 72 stores various control programs for transmitting boarding request information transmitted from the mobile body 8 to the elevator server 4, for example.

[0047] The control unit 73 controls the communication unit 71 to transmit the boarding request information received from the moving object 8 to the elevator server 4.

[0048] In addition, the control unit 73 may determine whether or not the mobile body 8 is permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator server 4 based on the ID information of the mobile body 8 contained in the boarding request information received from the mobile body 8.

[0049] When the control unit 73 determines that the moving object is permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator server 4, the control unit 73 controls the communication unit 71 to transmit the boarding request information to the elevator server 4. On the other hand, when the control unit 73 determines that the moving object is not permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator server 4, the control unit 73 does not transmit the boarding request information to the elevator server 4.

[0050] The elevator server 4 transmits boarding request information to the control panel 3 based on boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 and the mobile server 7. Specifically, the elevator server 4 includes a communication unit 41, a storage unit 42 such as a memory or HDD, and a control unit 43 such as a CPU.

[0051] The communication unit 41 is a communication module for communicating with the control panel 3, the terminal server 5, and the mobile server 7. Specifically, the communication unit 41 receives boarding request information from the terminal server 5. The communication unit 41 also receives boarding request information from the mobile server 7. Furthermore, the communication unit 41 transmits the boarding request information to the control panel 3. Note that in this embodiment, the elevator server 4 communicates with one control panel 3, but is not limited to this configuration, and may communicate with multiple control panels 3.

[0052] The storage unit 42 stores various information used in the elevator server 4. The storage unit 42 stores various control programs for transmitting boarding request information to the control panel 3 based on boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 and the mobile body server 7, for example.

[0053] The storage unit 42 also includes a terminal authentication database 421 and a mobile object authentication database 422. The terminal authentication database 421 stores ID information of the terminal 6 permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator 1. The mobile object authentication database 422 stores ID information of the mobile object 8 permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator 1.

[0054] The control unit 43 transmits the boarding request information to the control panel 3 by reading and executing various programs for transmitting the boarding request information stored in the storage unit 42. Specifically, the control unit 43 includes an acquisition unit 431, a specification unit 432, an authentication unit 433, an identification unit 434, and a communication control unit 435.

[0055] The acquisition unit 431 acquires the boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 or the mobile server 7 via the communication unit 41. Here, the boarding request information transmitted by the terminal server 5 includes ID information of the terminal 6. Moreover, the boarding request information transmitted by the mobile server 7 includes ID information of the mobile 8. Furthermore, the boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 and the mobile server 7 includes information designating the control panel 3.

[0056] The identification unit 432 identifies the control panel 3 to which the boarding request information should be transmitted, based on information specifying the control panel 3, which is included in the boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 or the mobile server 7.

[0057] The authentication unit 433 authenticates the ID information of the terminal 6 or the ID information of the mobile body 8. Specifically, the authentication unit 433 authenticates the ID information of the terminal 6 or the ID information of the mobile body 8 by determining whether or not the ID information included in the boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 or the mobile body server 7 is included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile body authentication database 422 stored in the storage unit 42.

[0058] The identification unit 434 identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server 5 or boarding request information from the mobile server 7.

[0059] Specifically, when transmitting boarding request information to the elevator server 4, the terminal server 5 transmits identification information indicating that the source of the boarding request information is the terminal server 5 to the elevator server 4. In addition, when transmitting boarding request information to the elevator server 4, the mobile server 7 transmits identification information indicating that the source of the boarding request information is the mobile server 7 to the elevator server 4. The identification unit 434 identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server 5 or boarding request information from the mobile server 7, based on the identification information acquired by the acquisition unit 431.

[0060] However, without being limited to such a configuration, the identification unit 434 may identify whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server 5 or boarding request information from the mobile server 7 based on the authentication result of the authentication unit 433. Specifically, the identification unit 434 may identify whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server 5 or boarding request information from the mobile server 7 based on whether the ID information included in the boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 or the mobile server 7 is included in the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile authentication database 422.

[0061] The communication control unit 435 transmits boarding request information to the control panel 3 identified by the identification unit 432 via the communication unit 41 based on the identification result of the identification unit 434. This allows the control panel 3 to perform dispatch control using the boarding request information based on the identification result of the identification unit 434 of the elevator server 4. This makes it possible to smoothly register destination floors between the terminal 6 and the mobile object 8 with a simple configuration.

[0062] The communication control unit 435 transmits driving mode information corresponding to the identification result of the identification unit 434 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41. Here, the driving mode information is information accompanying the boarding request information, and when the control panel 3 receives the driving mode information, it performs vehicle dispatch control accompanied by a driving mode corresponding to the driving mode information.

[0063] For example, when the identification unit 434 identifies the boarding request information as being from the mobile body server 7, the communication control unit 435 transmits information indicating "dedicated driving" as driving mode information together with the boarding request information to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41. As a result, the control panel 3 performs vehicle dispatch control involving dedicated driving in response to the boarding request information of the mobile body 8.

[0064] Also, for example, when the identification unit 434 identifies that the boarding request information is from the terminal server 5, the communication control unit 435 transmits information indicating "no operation mode" as the operation mode information together with the boarding request information to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41. As a result, the control panel 3 performs dispatch control without an operation mode in response to the boarding request information of the terminal 6. Here, when multiple elevators 1 are provided, for example, an elevator 1 is selected so that the operation efficiency is maximized, and the selected elevator 1 is instructed to operate to the hall.

[0065] This allows the elevator server 4 to set an operating mode on the control panel 3 that is appropriate for the identification results, such as the most efficient operation mode for boarding request information from terminal 6, and a dedicated operation mode for boarding request information from a moving body 8.

[0066] When the identification unit 434 identifies that the boarding request information is from the mobile server 7, if the communication control unit 435 does not receive boarding request information from the terminal server 5 within a period from the time when the boarding request information is received from the mobile server 7 to a first predetermined time (e.g., 5 minutes), the communication control unit 435 transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41.

[0067] Specifically, when the identification unit 434 identifies that the boarding request information is from the mobile server 7, the communication control unit 435 holds the boarding request information from the mobile server 7, and determines whether or not the boarding request information is received from the terminal server 5. When the boarding request information is not received from the terminal server 5 within a period from the time when the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 is received until a first predetermined time has elapsed, the boarding request information that has been held from the mobile server 7 is transmitted to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41.

[0068] This allows boarding requests from the terminal 6 to be sent to the control panel 3 with priority over boarding requests from the moving body 8, making it possible to prevent a user's movement from being hindered by boarding the moving body 8 with a simple configuration.

[0069] 2. Operation 2 is a flow diagram showing the control of the elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the control in the elevator system 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0070] In this embodiment, the flow shown in Figure 2 starts when the elevator server 4 receives boarding request information from either the terminal server 5 or the mobile server 7, and the acquisition unit 431 acquires the received boarding request information (step S11) and proceeds to step S12.

[0071] The identification unit 432 identifies the control panel 3 to which the boarding request information should be sent based on the information specifying the control panel 3 contained in the boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 or the mobile server 7 (step S12), and proceeds to step S13.

[0072] The authentication unit 433 determines whether or not the ID information included in the boarding request information is included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile unit authentication database 422 stored in the storage unit 42 (step S13).

[0073] If the authentication unit 433 determines that the ID information is not included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile authentication database 422 stored in the memory unit 42, that is, if authentication of the ID information fails (NO in step S13), the flow is terminated without transmitting the received boarding request information to the identified control panel 3.

[0074] On the other hand, if the authentication unit 433 determines that the ID information is included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile authentication database 422 stored in the memory unit 42, that is, if authentication of the ID information is successful (YES in step S13), the process proceeds to step S14.

[0075] The identification unit 434 identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server 5 or boarding request information from the mobile server 7 (step S14).

[0076] When the identification unit 434 identifies the received boarding request information as boarding request information from the terminal server 5 ([Terminal Server] in step S14), the communication control unit 435 transmits the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 (step S18), and ends the flow. Also, in step S18, the communication control unit 435 transmits information indicating "no driving mode" as driving mode information together with the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41.

[0077] On the other hand, if the identification unit 434 identifies the received boarding request information as boarding request information from the mobile server 7 ([Mobile Server] in step S14), the communication control unit 435 determines whether or not boarding request information has been received from the terminal server 5 (step S15).

[0078] If the communication control unit 435 determines that it has not received boarding request information from the terminal server 5 (NO in step S15), the communication control unit 435 determines whether a first predetermined time has elapsed since it received the boarding request information from the mobile server 8 (step S16).

[0079] When the communication control unit 435 determines that the first predetermined time has elapsed since receiving the boarding request information from the mobile server 8 (YES in step S16), the communication control unit 435 transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 (step S17), and ends the flow. Also, in step S17, the communication control unit 435 transmits information indicating "dedicated driving" as driving mode information together with the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41.

[0080] On the other hand, if the communication control unit 435 determines that the first predetermined time has not elapsed since receiving the boarding request information from the mobile server 8 (NO in step S16), the process returns to step S15.

[0081] When the communication control unit 435 determines that it has received the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 (YES in step S15), the communication control unit 435 transmits the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 (step S19), and proceeds to step S20. Also, in step S19, the communication control unit 435 transmits information indicating "no driving mode" as driving mode information together with the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41.

[0082] The communication control unit 435 determines whether or not a fourth predetermined time (for example, 3 minutes) has elapsed since the last time boarding request information was received from the terminal server 5 (step S20).

[0083] When the communication control unit 435 determines that a fourth predetermined time has elapsed since it last received boarding request information from the terminal server 5 (YES in step S20), the communication control unit 435 transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 (step S17), and ends the flow. Also, in step S17, the communication control unit 435 transmits information indicating "dedicated driving" as driving mode information together with the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41.

[0084] If the communication control unit 435 determines that the fourth predetermined time has not elapsed since it last received boarding request information from the terminal server 5 (NO in step S20), the communication control unit 435 determines whether or not it has received boarding request information from the terminal server 5 (step S21).

[0085] When the communication control unit 435 determines that the boarding request information has not been received from the terminal server 5 (NO in step S21), the process returns to step S20.

[0086] On the other hand, if the communication control unit 435 determines that the boarding request information has been received from the terminal server 5 (YES in step S21), the process returns to step S19.

[0087] As a result, no boarding request information is sent from the mobile body server 7 to the control panel 3 during the fourth predetermined time period after the last boarding request information was received from the terminal server 5. Therefore, by appropriately setting the fourth predetermined time period, it is possible to prevent the user who operated the terminal 6 from boarding the mobile body 8 together.

[0088] In the above flow, when boarding request information is transmitted from the elevator server 4 to the control panel 3, the control panel 3 performs dispatch control of the elevator 1 based on the received boarding request information and operation mode information.

[0089] 3. Summary of this embodiment As described above, the elevator system 100 of this embodiment comprises a control panel 3 that controls the dispatch of the elevator 1, an elevator server 4 that is communicatively connected to the control panel 3, a terminal server 5 that is communicatively connected to the elevator server 4 and transmits boarding request information received from a terminal 6 operated by a user of the elevator 1 to the elevator server 4, and a mobile body server 7 that is communicatively connected to the elevator server 4 and transmits boarding request information received from a mobile body 8 that can board the elevator 1 to the elevator server 4, and the elevator server 4 comprises an identification unit 434 that identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server 5 or boarding request information from the mobile body server 7, and transmits the boarding request information to the control panel 3 based on the identification result of the identification unit 434.

[0090] According to the configuration of this embodiment, the control panel 3 only needs to perform dispatch control using boarding request information based on the identification result of the identification unit 434 of the elevator server 4, enabling smooth destination floor registration of the terminal 6 and the mobile body 8 with a simple configuration.

[0091] Moreover, the elevator system 100 according to this embodiment is configured such that the elevator server 4 transmits, to the control panel 3, operation mode information according to the identification result of the identification unit 434.

[0092] According to the configuration of this embodiment, the elevator server 4 can set an operation mode on the control panel 3 that is suitable for the identification result, such as setting the most efficient operation mode for boarding request information from the terminal 6, and setting a dedicated operation mode for boarding request information from the mobile body 8.

[0093] In addition, the elevator system 100 of this embodiment is configured such that when the identification unit 434 identifies that the boarding request information is from the mobile server 7, if no boarding request information is received from the terminal server 5 within the period from the time the boarding request information is received from the mobile server 7 until a first specified time has elapsed, the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 is transmitted to the control panel 3.

[0094] According to the configuration of this embodiment, a boarding request from the terminal 6 can be sent to the control panel 3 with priority over a boarding request from the moving body 8, so that a simple configuration can be used to prevent a user's movement from being hindered by boarding the moving body 8.

[0095] The elevator system 100 is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various improvements, modifications, and variations are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the following variations may be selected and used in the configuration of the above embodiment.

[0096] 4. Variations (1) In the elevator system 100 according to the above embodiment, when the identification unit 434 identifies the boarding request information as being from the mobile server 7, if no boarding request is received from the terminal server 5 during the period from the time point when the boarding request information is received from the mobile server 7 until the first predetermined time has elapsed, the elevator system 100 transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 to the control panel 3. However, the elevator system 100 is not limited to this configuration.

[0097] For example, in the elevator system 100 of the first variant example, when the identification unit 434 identifies that the boarding request information is from the mobile server 7, when the elevator server 4 receives the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 during the period from a second predetermined time before the boarding request information is received from the mobile server 7 to the boarding request information is received, the elevator server 4 may be configured to transmit the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 to the control panel 3 after a third predetermined time has elapsed from the time the boarding request information was received from the terminal server 5.

[0098] 3 is a flow diagram showing the control of the elevator system according to the first modified example of the present invention. The control in the elevator system 100 will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0099] In the first variant, the flow shown in FIG. 3 starts when the elevator server 4 receives boarding request information from either the terminal server 5 or the mobile server 7, and the acquisition unit 431 acquires the received boarding request information (step S101) and proceeds to step S102.

[0100] The identification unit 432 identifies the control panel 3 to which the boarding request information should be sent based on the information specifying the control panel 3 contained in the boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 or the mobile server 7 (step S102), and proceeds to step S103.

[0101] The authentication unit 433 determines whether or not the ID information included in the boarding request information is included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile unit authentication database 422 stored in the storage unit 42 (step S103).

[0102] If the authentication unit 433 determines that the ID information is not included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile authentication database 422 stored in the memory unit 42, that is, if authentication of the ID information fails (NO in step S103), the flow is terminated without transmitting the received boarding request information to the identified control panel 3.

[0103] On the other hand, if the authentication unit 433 determines that the ID information is included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile authentication database 422 stored in the memory unit 42, that is, if authentication of the ID information is successful (YES in step S103), the process proceeds to step S104.

[0104] The identification unit 434 identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server 5 or boarding request information from the mobile server 7 (step S104).

[0105] If the identification unit 434 identifies the received boarding request information as boarding request information from the terminal server 5 ([Terminal Server] in step S104), the communication control unit 435 transmits the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 (step S108), and terminates the flow.

[0106] On the other hand, if the identification unit 434 identifies the received boarding request information as boarding request information from the mobile server 7 ([Mobile Server] in step S104), the communication control unit 435 determines whether or not boarding request information has been received from the terminal server 5 during the period from a second predetermined time ago (e.g., 3 minutes ago) to the time the boarding request information was received (step S105).

[0107] If the communication control unit 435 determines that it has received boarding request information from the terminal server 5 during the period from the second predetermined time before the time when it received the boarding request information (YES in step S105), the communication control unit 435 transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server 5 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 after a third predetermined time (e.g., 5 minutes) has elapsed from the time when it received the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 (step S106), and ends the flow.

[0108] On the other hand, if the communication control unit 435 determines that it has not received boarding request information from the terminal server 5 during the period from the second predetermined time ago to the time when it received the boarding request information (NO in step S105), it transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server 5 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 (step S107), and terminates the flow.

[0109] According to the configuration of the first modified example, if boarding request information is received from the terminal server 5 during the period from the second predetermined time before the boarding request information is received from the mobile server 7 to the time the boarding request information is received, the boarding request information from the mobile server 7 is not transmitted to the control panel 3 for the third predetermined time period from the time the boarding request information is received from the terminal server 5. Therefore, by appropriately setting the second predetermined time and the third predetermined time, it is possible to prevent the user who operates the terminal 6 from riding in the mobile body 8 together.

[0110] (2) For example, in the elevator system 100A of the second variant example, the boarding request information transmitted by the terminal server 5 includes boarding floor information and destination floor information, the elevator 1A further includes a boarding detection unit 11 that determines boarding to the elevator 1A, and when the identification unit 434 identifies that the boarding request information is from the terminal server 5, the elevator server 4 transmits the destination floor information to the control panel 3 when the boarding detection unit 11 detects boarding at the boarding floor based on the boarding floor information.

[0111] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an elevator system according to a second modified example of the present invention.

[0112] As shown in FIG. 4, an elevator system 100A as the second modified example differs from the above-described embodiment in that an elevator 1A includes an entry detector 11.

[0113] The boarding detection unit 11 is a load cell that measures the load inside the elevator car of the elevator 1A, and detects that a user has boarded when the load measured by the load cell increases. Note that the boarding detection unit 11 is not limited to this configuration, and may be a camera that captures an image of the vicinity of the door of the elevator car, and detect that a user has boarded by image recognition.

[0114] When the boarding detection unit 11 detects that a user has boarded the elevator 1A, the elevator 1A transmits, to the control panel 3, boarding detection information indicating that the boarding has been detected.

[0115] 5 is a flow diagram showing the control of the elevator system according to the second modified example of the present invention. Hereinafter, the control in the elevator system 100A will be described with reference to FIG.

[0116] In the second variant, the flow shown in FIG. 5 starts when the elevator server 4 receives boarding request information from either the terminal server 5 or the mobile server 7, and the acquisition unit 431 acquires the received boarding request information (step S201) and proceeds to step S202.

[0117] The identification unit 432 identifies the control panel 3 to which the boarding request information should be sent based on the information specifying the control panel 3 included in the boarding request information transmitted from the terminal server 5 or the mobile server 7 (step S202), and proceeds to step S203.

[0118] The authentication unit 433 determines whether or not the ID information included in the boarding request information is included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile unit authentication database 422 stored in the storage unit 42 (step S203).

[0119] If the authentication unit 433 determines that the ID information is not included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile authentication database 422 stored in the memory unit 42, that is, if authentication of the ID information fails (NO in step S203), the flow is terminated without transmitting the received boarding request information to the identified control panel 3.

[0120] On the other hand, if the authentication unit 433 determines that the ID information is included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile authentication database 422 stored in the memory unit 42, that is, if authentication of the ID information is successful (YES in step S203), the process proceeds to step S204.

[0121] The identification unit 434 identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server 5 or boarding request information from the mobile server 7 (step S204).

[0122] If the identification unit 434 identifies the received boarding request information as boarding request information from the mobile server 7 ([Mobile Server] in step S204), the communication control unit 435 transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server 7, including the boarding floor information and the destination floor information, to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 (step S205), and terminates the flow.

[0123] On the other hand, if the identification unit 434 identifies the received boarding request information as boarding request information from the terminal server 5 ([Terminal Server] in step S204), the communication control unit 435 transmits the boarding floor information contained in the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 (step S206), and proceeds to step S207.

[0124] The control panel 3 performs dispatch control so that the elevator 1A heads for the floor corresponding to the boarding floor information. When the control panel 3 detects boarding detection information from the elevator 1A at the floor corresponding to the boarding floor information, the control panel 3 transmits the boarding detection information to the elevator server 4 via the communication unit 31.

[0125] The elevator server 4 judges whether the boarding detection unit 11 detects boarding at the boarding floor based on the boarding floor information. Specifically, the communication control unit 435 judges whether boarding detection information is received from the control panel 3 (step S207). When the communication control unit 435 judges that boarding detection information is received from the control panel 3 (YES in step S207), the communication control unit 435 transmits the destination floor information included in the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 to the control panel 3 via the communication unit 41 (step S208), and ends the flow.

[0126] On the other hand, if the communication control unit 435 determines that it has not received boarding detection information from the control panel 3 (NO in step S207), the communication control unit 435 terminates the flow without sending the destination floor information included in the boarding request information from the terminal server 5 to the control panel 3.

[0127] According to the configuration of the second modified example, when boarding request information is transmitted from the terminal 6, destination floor information is not transmitted to the control panel 3 unless boarding of a user is detected at the boarding floor. Therefore, even if the user who operated the terminal does not board the elevator 1A, dispatch control based on the destination floor information is not executed in the control panel 3, so that unnecessary operation of the elevator 1A can be suppressed.

[0128] Furthermore, when boarding request information is transmitted from the mobile unit 8, regardless of whether boarding is detected at the boarding floor, boarding floor information and destination floor information are transmitted to the control panel 3. Thus, at the time of receiving the boarding floor information, the control panel 3 can perform vehicle dispatch control that also refers to the destination floor information, and can perform vehicle dispatch control that improves, for example, operation efficiency.

[0129] (3) In the elevator system 100 according to the above embodiment, the boarding request information transmitted by the terminal server 5 includes ID information of the terminal 6, and the boarding request information transmitted by the mobile server 7 includes ID information of the mobile unit 8, and the elevator system 100 includes a terminal authentication database 421 that stores ID information of the terminal 6 permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator 1, a mobile unit authentication database 422 that stores ID information of the mobile unit 8 permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator 1, and an authentication unit 433 that authenticates the ID information of the terminal 6 or the ID information of the mobile unit 8, and the authentication unit 433 determines whether the ID information included in the boarding request information is included in either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile unit authentication database 422. However, the elevator system 100 is not limited to such a configuration.

[0130] For example, the elevator system 100 according to the third modification may be configured such that the authentication unit 433 selects either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile unit authentication database 422 based on the identification result of the identification unit 434 to perform authentication.

[0131] Specifically, when the identification unit 434 identifies that the boarding request information is from the terminal server 5, the authentication unit 433 selects the terminal authentication database 421 and determines whether the ID information included in the boarding request information is included in the terminal authentication database 421.

[0132] In addition, if the identification unit 434 identifies the boarding request information as being from the mobile server 7, the authentication unit 433 selects the mobile authentication database 422 and determines whether the ID information included in the boarding request information is included in the mobile authentication database 422.

[0133] According to the configuration of the third modified example, in the authentication process by the authentication unit 433, it is only necessary to select either the terminal authentication database 421 or the mobile object authentication database 422, so that the authentication process can be performed smoothly.

[0134] (4) In the elevator system 100 according to the above embodiment, some or all of the components of the elevator server 4, the terminal server 5, and the mobile server 7 may be provided in an external server or a cloud server. [Explanation of symbols]

[0135] 100, 100A elevator system 1, 1A Elevator 2 Control section 3. Control Panel 4 Elevator Server 5 Terminal Server 6 Terminal 7 Mobile Server 8. Mobile 11. Boarding detector 31, 41, 51, 71 Communications Department 32, 42, 52, 72 storage section 33, 43, 53, 73 Control section 421 Terminal Authentication Database 422 Mobile Authentication Database 431 Acquisition Department 432 Specific part 433 Authentication Department 434 Identification Unit 435 Communication Control Unit

Claims

1. A control panel for controlling elevator dispatch; An elevator server communicatively connected to the control panel; A terminal server that is communicatively connected to the elevator server and transmits boarding request information received from a terminal operated by a user of the elevator to the elevator server; a mobile body server that is communicatively connected to the elevator server and transmits boarding request information received from a mobile body that can board the elevator to the elevator server; The elevator server includes: an identification unit that identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server or boarding request information from the mobile body server; Transmitting boarding request information to the control panel based on the identification result of the identification unit; When the identification unit identifies that the boarding request information is from the mobile server, if the boarding request information is not received from the terminal server within a period from the time when the boarding request information is received from the mobile server until a first predetermined time has elapsed, the boarding request information from the mobile server is transmitted to the control panel. Elevator system.

2. A control panel for controlling elevator dispatch; An elevator server communicatively connected to the control panel; A terminal server that is communicatively connected to the elevator server and transmits boarding request information received from a terminal operated by a user of the elevator to the elevator server; a mobile body server that is communicatively connected to the elevator server and transmits boarding request information received from a mobile body that can board the elevator to the elevator server; The elevator server includes: an identification unit that identifies whether the received boarding request information is boarding request information from the terminal server or boarding request information from the mobile body server; Transmitting boarding request information to the control panel based on the identification result of the identification unit; When the identification unit identifies the boarding request information as being from the mobile server, when the boarding request information is received from the terminal server during a period from a second predetermined time before the time when the boarding request information from the mobile server is received to the time when the boarding request information is received, the elevator server transmits the boarding request information from the mobile server to the control panel after a third predetermined time has elapsed from the time when the boarding request information from the terminal server is received. Elevator system.

3. The boarding request information transmitted by the terminal server includes ID information of the terminal, the boarding request information transmitted by the mobile server includes ID information of the mobile; a terminal authentication database that stores ID information of the terminal that is permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator; a mobile object authentication database that stores ID information of the mobile object that is permitted to transmit boarding request information to the elevator; an authentication unit that authenticates ID information of the terminal or ID information of the mobile object, the authentication unit selects and authenticates either the terminal authentication database or the mobile authentication database based on the identification result of the identification unit.

3. An elevator system according to claim 1 or 2.

Citation Information

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