Elevator System

Abstract

To prevent a robot having a low priority from having a low moving efficiency when a priority regarding the use of an elevator is set for a robot capable of moving among a plurality of floors using the elevator. [Solution] An elevator system according to one embodiment includes multiple robots and an elevator control device that controls the operation of an elevator car. The multiple robots include a first robot to which a first priority is set as a priority for elevator use, and a second robot to which a second priority higher than the first priority is set. When the departure floor and destination floor included in a robot call received from the first robot match the departure floor and destination floor included in a robot call received from the second robot, the elevator control device causes the first robot to ride in a car that operates in response to the robot call from the second robot.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE An embodiment of the present invention relates to an elevator system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, it has been considered that various services, such as transporting luggage within a building or providing security within the building, will be provided by having mobile objects such as autonomous robots (hereinafter referred to as robots) move (drive) within the building.

[0003] When the building in which the robot moves is, for example, a multi-story building, the robot can move between the multiple floors of the building by using an elevator provided in the building.

[0004] For robots, priorities for using elevators may be set, such as "high priority" or "normal priority." By setting priorities in this way, for example, if a robot with "high priority" and a robot with "normal priority" want to use an elevator at the same time, the robot with "high priority" can use the elevator first.

[0005] However, if the above-mentioned priorities are set, only robots with "high priority" will be able to use the elevator, and robots with "normal priority" may not be able to use the elevator easily. This will result in lower movement efficiency for robots with "normal priority". [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6552755 [Patent Document 2] JP 2023-106953 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide an elevator system that can prevent the movement efficiency of robots with low priority from becoming low when priorities regarding elevator use are set for robots that can move between multiple floors using the elevator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An elevator system according to one embodiment includes a plurality of robots that move within a building in which an elevator is installed, and an elevator control device that controls the operation of a car of the elevator. The plurality of robots include a first robot to which a first priority is set as a priority for using the elevator, and a second robot to which a second priority higher than the first priority is set. The elevator control device includes a robot call management means that receives a robot call transmitted from each robot when using the elevator, the robot call including a departure floor at which the robot boards the car, a destination floor at which the robot disembarks from the car, and a priority set for the robot, and that determines that the first robot will ride in a car that operates in response to the robot call from the second robot when the departure floor and destination floor included in the robot call received from the first robot match the departure floor and destination floor included in the robot call received from the second robot, and transmits a ride availability notification to the first robot and the second robot, indicating that the first robot and the second robot can ride in the car. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of an elevator system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hall call management table in the embodiment. [Diagram 3]FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a robot call management table in the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the elevator system in the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the elevator system in the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of an elevator system according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the disclosure is merely an example, and the invention is not limited to the contents described in the following embodiments. Modifications that a person skilled in the art can easily conceive are naturally included in the scope of the disclosure. In order to make the explanation clearer, the size, shape, etc. of each part may be changed from the actual embodiment and shown diagrammatically. In multiple drawings, corresponding elements may be given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations may be omitted.

[0011] (First embodiment) In this embodiment, it is assumed that a mobile object moves within a building to provide various services. The mobile object includes an autonomous robot (hereinafter, simply referred to as a robot) that provides services such as transporting (carrying) luggage within the building and guarding the building.

[0012] Here, if the building in which the robot moves is a building having multiple floors, the robot can move between the multiple floors by using, for example, an elevator installed in the building.

[0013] For robots, priorities for using elevators may be set, such as "priority: normal" (first priority) or "priority: high" (second priority). Note that "priority: high" is a higher priority than "priority: normal." By setting priorities in this way, for example, if a robot with "priority: high" and a robot with "priority: normal" want to use an elevator at the same time, the robot with "priority: high" can use the elevator first.

[0014] However, if priorities are set as described above, only robots with "high priority" will be able to use the elevator, and robots with "normal priority" may have difficulty using the elevator.

[0015] Generally, if a human (user) and a robot want to use an elevator at the same time, the human will have priority in using the elevator. Therefore, if priorities are set as described above, the opportunities for a robot with "normal priority" to use the elevator will be significantly limited, and the movement efficiency of a robot with "normal priority" is expected to be extremely low.

[0016] For this reason, in this embodiment, an elevator system having a robot call management function that can prevent the movement efficiency of a robot with a low priority from becoming extremely low when priority for elevator use is set for the robot is described.

[0017] Hereinafter, an overview of an elevator system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the elevator system includes a car 10, an elevator control device 20, and a plurality of robots 30.

[0018] The car 10 moves up and down in the elevator shaft under the control of the elevator control device 20 by being driven by a hoisting machine (not shown).

[0019] 1, the elevator control device 20 includes a control unit 21, a robot call management unit 22, and a robot call storage unit 23. The elevator control device 20 is communicatively connected to a plurality of robots 30 via a network (public line network) such as the Internet.

[0020] The control unit 21 controls the operation of the elevator car 10 in response to hall calls and car calls. A "hall call" is a call signal registered by operating a hall call button installed at the hall of each floor, and includes information on the registered floor and destination direction. In contrast, a "car call" is a call signal registered by operating a destination call button installed in the elevator car 10, and includes information on the destination floor. The hall call button includes, for example, an up button and a down button. The destination call button includes, for example, the same number of buttons as the number of floors of the building in which the elevator is installed.

[0021] The control unit 21 includes a hall call management table 21t. The hall call management table 21t manages information on hall calls registered by users at halls.

[0022] An example of the hall call management table 21t is shown in Fig. 2. The "registered floor" is a floor where a user has registered a hall call by operating a hall call button, that is, a floor where the user boards the car 10. The "destination direction" is the direction of the hall call button operated by the user, that is, the direction the user wants to go.

[0023] For example, the hall call management table 21t shown in Fig. 2 stores hall call information for a registered floor "1F" and a destination direction "upward." This hall call information indicates that a user registers a hall call at "1F" and that the direction the user wants to go is "upward."

[0024] 2 stores information on a registered floor "5F" and a destination "downward" of the hall call management table 21t. The hall call information indicates that a user has registered a hall call at "5F" and that the direction the user wants to go is "downward."

[0025] The hall call management table 21t stores information on hall calls that have not yet been answered (unanswered), and information on answered hall calls is deleted from the hall call management table 21t. The hall call information is stored in ascending order in the hall call management table 21t. That is, the higher the row of information in the hall call management table 21t, the earlier the hall call information was registered.

[0026] The robot call management unit 22 receives a robot call transmitted from the robot 30, and registers information about the received robot call in the robot call storage unit 23. A "robot call" is a signal transmitted to the elevator control device 20 when the robot 30 uses the car 10, and includes a robot ID for uniquely identifying the robot 30, the departure floor of the robot 30, the destination floor of the robot 30, and a priority set for the robot 30. Note that a robot call may also be referred to as a movement request, since it is a signal indicating that the robot 30 wishes to move from the departure floor to the destination floor using the car 10.

[0027] The robot call storage unit 23 includes a robot call management table 23t. The robot call management table 23t manages information on robot calls received from the robot 30.

[0028] An example of the robot call management table 23t is shown in Figure 3. "Robot ID" is information for uniquely identifying the robot 30 that sent the robot call. "Departure floor" is the departure floor of the robot 30 that sent the robot call, i.e., the floor where the robot 30 boards the car 10. "Destination floor" is the destination floor of the robot 30 that sent the robot call, i.e., the floor where the robot 30 disembarks from the car 10. "Priority" is the priority for elevator use set for the robot 30 that sent the robot call.

[0029] For example, the robot call management table 23t shown in Fig. 3 stores robot call information with a robot ID of "id1", a departure floor of "1F", a destination floor of "3F", and a priority of "Priority: High". This robot call information indicates that the robot 30 with "id1" wants to move from "1F" to "3F", and that the priority set for the robot 30 is "Priority: High".

[0030] 3 stores robot call information with a robot ID of "id2", a departure floor of "1F", a destination floor of "5F", and a priority of "Priority: Normal". This robot call information indicates that the robot 30 with "id2" wants to move from "1F" to "5F", and that the priority of the robot 30 is "Priority: Normal".

[0031] The robot call management table 23t stores information about robot calls that have not yet been answered (unanswered), and information about robot calls that have been answered is deleted from the robot call management table 23t. The robot call management table 23t also stores robot call information in ascending order. In other words, the information in the upper rows of the robot call management table 23t is information about robot calls that were registered earlier.

[0032] The robot call management unit 22 judges whether or not to allow a robot 30 with "normal priority" to ride in a car 10 in which a robot 30 with "high priority" is scheduled to ride, based on the robot call management table 23t. Note that the details of this function will be described later, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted here.

[0033] The robot call management unit 22 registers the robot call received from the robot 30 in the control unit 21, and causes the car 10 to respond to the robot call. The robot call management unit 22 also transmits a boarding availability notification, indicating that the car 10 operating in response to the robot call registered in the control unit 21 is available to the robot 30 that is to board the car 10. The robot call management unit 22 also transmits an arrival notification, indicating that the car 10 operating in response to the robot call registered in the control unit 21 has arrived at the departure floor of the robot call, to the robot 30 that is to board the car 10.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 30 includes a communication unit 31 and a movement control unit 32. The communication unit 31 transmits the robot call to the elevator control device 20. Note that the robot call is generated by a CPU or the like mounted on the robot 30, for example, when the robot 30 needs to use an elevator to provide various services. In addition, the communication unit 31 receives the boarding availability notification and the arrival notification from the elevator control device 20.

[0035] The movement control unit 32 controls the movement of the robot 30 based on the boarding availability notification and the arrival notification. For example, based on the boarding availability notification, the movement control unit 32 moves the robot 30 from its current location to the boarding platform of the departure floor included in the robot call transmitted by the communication unit 31. Furthermore, when the communication unit 31 further receives the arrival notification after receiving the boarding availability notification, the movement control unit 32 moves the robot 30 so that the robot 30 boards the elevator 10 that has arrived at the departure floor.

[0036] Next, an example of the operation of the elevator system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 describes the operation of the elevator control device 20 in a case where, when one robot call information indicating "priority: high" is stored in the robot call management table 23t as information on a robot call from a specific robot 30, a new robot call including "priority: normal" is received from another robot 30, and one robot call information indicating "priority: normal" is stored in the robot call management table 23t as information on the new robot call.

[0037] In this case, the robot call management unit 22 registers a robot call corresponding to the information of the robot call with "high priority" stored in the robot call management table 23t in the control unit 21. The control unit 21 makes the elevator 10 respond to the registered robot call with "high priority" and moves the elevator 10 toward the departure floor included in the robot call (step S1).

[0038] Next, the robot call management unit 22 determines whether the departure floor included in the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" stored in the robot call management table 23t is the same as the departure floor included in the robot call with "priority: high" registered in the processing of step S1 (step S2).

[0039] In the processing of step S2, if it is determined that the departure floor included in the information of a robot call with "normal priority" is not the same as the departure floor included in the information of a robot call with "high priority" (No in step S2), the processing of step S5 described below is executed.

[0040] On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing of step S2 that the departure floor included in the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" is the same as the departure floor included in the robot call with "priority: high" (Yes in step S2), the robot call management unit 22 determines whether the destination floor included in the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" stored in the robot call management table 23t is the same as the destination floor included in the robot call with "priority: high" registered in the processing of step S1 (step S3).

[0041] In the processing of step S3, if it is determined that the destination floor included in the information of the robot call with "normal priority" is the same as the destination floor included in the robot call with "high priority" (Yes in step S3), the robot call management unit 22 decides to have the robot 30 with "normal priority" ride in the elevator 10 in which the robot 30 with "high priority" is scheduled to ride, and sends a boarding availability notification to both the robot 30 with "high priority" and the robot 30 with "normal priority" indicating that they can board the elevator 10 (step S4).

[0042] When the robot 30 with "high priority" and the robot 30 with "normal priority" further receive an arrival notification indicating that the car 10 has arrived at the departure floor after receiving the boarding availability notification transmitted in the processing of step S4, they board the car 10 and move to the destination floor. When the car 10 arrives at the destination floor, the robot 30 with "high priority" gets off the car 10 first, and the robot 30 with "normal priority" gets off the car 10 next, and the series of operations ends here. Note that, if the elevator control device 20 detects that the door of the car 10 has closed before the robot 30 with "normal priority" gets off the car 10, it reopens the door of the car 10 and transmits a notification to the robot 30 with "normal priority" to encourage the robot 30 with "normal priority" to get off.

[0043] In this way, when the departure floor and destination floor of the robot 30 (second robot) with "high priority" coincide with the departure floor and destination floor of the robot 30 (first robot) with "normal priority", the robot 30 with "normal priority" can ride in the elevator 10 in which the robot 30 with "high priority" is riding, thereby improving the transport efficiency of the elevator and preventing the movement efficiency of the robot 30 with "normal priority" from decreasing.

[0044] In addition, when a robot 30 with "high priority" and a robot 30 with "normal priority" board the elevator 10 and the elevator 10 departs for the destination floor, the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t and deletes the information on the robot call with "high priority" and the information on the robot call with "normal priority" from the robot call management table 23t.

[0045] Returning to the explanation of FIG. If, in the processing of step S2, it is determined that the departure floor included in the information of the robot call with "normal priority" is not the same as the departure floor included in the robot call with "high priority" (No in step S2), or if, in the processing of step S3, it is determined that the destination floor included in the information of the robot call with "normal priority" is not the same as the destination floor included in the robot call with "high priority" (No in step S3), the robot call management unit 22 determines that the robot 30 with "normal priority" will not ride in the elevator 10 in which the robot 30 with "high priority" is scheduled to ride, and sends the above-mentioned boarding availability notification only to the robot 30 with "high priority" (step S5).

[0046] According to this, the robot 30 with "high priority" can board the car 10 that has arrived at the departure floor and move to the destination floor. When the robot 30 with "high priority" boards the car 10 and the car 10 departs for the destination floor of the robot 30 with "high priority", the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t and deletes the information of the robot call with "high priority" from the robot call management table 23t.

[0047] When the robot 30 with "high priority" gets on the car 10 and the car 10 departs toward the destination floor of the robot 30 with "high priority", the robot call management unit 22 registers a robot call corresponding to the information of the robot call with "normal priority" remaining in the robot call management table 23t in the control unit 21. When the car 10 arrives at the destination floor of the robot 30 with "high priority" and the robot 30 with "high priority" gets off the car 10, the control unit 21 makes the car 10 respond to the registered robot call with "normal priority" and moves the car 10 toward the departure floor included in the robot call (step S6).

[0048] Thereafter, the robot call management unit 22 transmits the above-mentioned boarding availability notification to the robot 30 with "normal priority" (step S7), and ends the series of operations here.

[0049] According to this, the robot 30 with "priority: normal" can board the car 10 that has arrived at the departure floor and move to the destination floor. When the robot 30 with "priority: normal" boards the car 10 and the car 10 departs for the destination floor of the robot 30 with "priority: normal", the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t and deletes the information of the robot call with "priority: normal" from the robot call management table 23t.

[0050] The series of operations shown in Figure 4 can also be applied when, when information on a robot call from a specific robot 30, indicating "priority: normal" is stored in the robot call management table 23t, a new robot call including "priority: high" is received from another robot 30, and information on a robot call indicating "priority: high" is stored in the robot call management table 23t as information on the new robot call.

[0051] Next, an example of the operation of the elevator system according to this embodiment will be further described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5. In Fig. 4, the operation of the elevator system assuming a specific situation is described, but in Fig. 5, the operation of the elevator system applicable to various situations without assuming a specific situation is described.

[0052] First, when the robot call management unit 22 receives a robot call from a specific robot 30, it stores (writes) information about the robot call in the robot call management table 23t in the robot call storage unit 23. After that, the robot call management unit 22 inquires of the control unit 21 whether there is an unanswered hall call. In response to the inquiry from the robot call management unit 22, the control unit 21 refers to the hall call management table 21t and determines whether there is an unanswered hall call (in other words, whether hall call information is stored in the hall call management table 21t) (step S11).

[0053] In the process of step S11, when it is determined that there is an unanswered hall call (Yes in step S11), the control unit 21 notifies the robot call management unit 22 that there is an unanswered hall call, and causes the car 10 to respond to the hall call corresponding to the hall call information registered earliest among the hall call information stored in the hall call management table 21t, and moves the car 10 toward the registered floor included in the hall call (step S12). After the process of step S12, the control unit 21 updates the hall call management table 21t, deletes the information of the responded hall call from the hall call management table 21t, and then executes the process of step S11 again to determine again whether there is an unanswered hall call.

[0054] On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing of step S11 that there is no unanswered hall call (No in step S11), the control unit 21 notifies the robot call management unit 22 that there is no unanswered hall call. Upon receiving the notification that there is no unanswered hall call, the robot call management unit 22 refers to the robot call management table 23t in the robot call storage unit 23 and determines whether or not there is a robot call indicating "priority: high" (in other words, whether or not information on a robot call with "priority: high" is stored in the robot call management table 23t) (step S13).

[0055] In the process of step S13, if it is determined that there are no robot calls with "high priority", that is, if it is determined that there are only robot calls with "normal priority" (No in step S13), the robot call management unit 22 registers in the control unit 21 a robot call that corresponds to the information of the robot call with "normal priority" that was registered earliest among the information of the robot calls with "normal priority" stored in the robot call management table 23t. The control unit 21 makes the elevator 10 respond to the registered robot call with "normal priority" (target call), and moves the elevator 10 toward the departure floor included in the target call (step S14).

[0056] After that, the robot call management unit 22 transmits a boarding availability notification indicating that the robot 30 (target robot 30) identified by the robot ID included in the robot call registered in the processing of step S14 can board the car 10 (step S15). After the processing of step S15, the processing of step S21 described later is executed.

[0057] In the following, a robot call registered in the control unit 21 will be referred to as a "target call", and the robot 30 identified by the robot ID included in the target call will be referred to as the "target robot 30".

[0058] On the other hand, if it is determined in the processing of step S13 that there is a robot call with "high priority" (Yes in step S13), the robot call management unit 22 registers in the control unit 21 a robot call corresponding to the information of the robot call with "high priority" that was registered earliest among the information of the robot calls with "high priority" stored in the robot call management table 23t. The control unit 21 makes the elevator 10 respond to the registered robot call with "high priority" (target call), and moves the elevator 10 toward the departure floor included in the target call (step S16).

[0059] Next, the robot call management unit 22 refers to the robot call management table 23t and determines whether there are other robot calls that have the same departure floor as the target call (in other words, whether information about a robot call that indicates the same departure floor as the target call is stored in the robot call management table 23t) (step S17).

[0060] In the processing of step S17, if it is determined that there is another robot call that has the same departure floor as the target call (Yes in step S17), the robot call management unit 22 refers to the robot call management table 23t and determines whether the destination floor of the other robot call (i.e., the other robot call that has the same departure floor as the target call) is the same as the destination floor of the target call (step S18).

[0061] In the processing of step S18, if it is determined that the destination floor of another robot call is the same as the destination floor of the target call (Yes in step S18), the robot call management unit 22 decides to allow a robot 30 with the same departure floor and destination floor as the target robot 30 to ride in the elevator 10 in which the target robot 30 is scheduled to board, and sends a boarding availability notification to these robots 30 indicating that they can board the elevator 10 (step S19).

[0062] When the target robot 30 and the robot 30 sharing the car 10 in which the target robot 30 is riding receive the boarding availability notification transmitted in the processing of step S19 and further receive an arrival notification indicating that the car 10 has arrived at the departure floor, the target robot 30 rides in the car 10 and moves to the destination floor. When the car 10 arrives at the destination floor, the target robot 30 gets off the car 10 first, and the shared robot 30 gets off the car 10 next. When the target robot 30 and the shared robot 30 get on the car 10 and the car 10 departs for the destination floor, the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t, and deletes the information of the target call and the information of other robot calls having the same departure floor and destination floor as the target call from the robot call management table 23t, and then executes the processing of step S21 described later.

[0063] If, in the processing of step S17, it is determined that there are no other robot calls with the same departure floor as the target call (No in step S17), or if, in the processing of step S18, it is determined that the destination floor of the other robot calls is not the same as the destination floor of the target call (No in step S18), the robot call management unit 22 sends the above-mentioned boarding availability notification only to the target robot 30 (step S20).

[0064] When the target robot 30 receives the boarding availability notification transmitted in the processing of step S20 and further receives an arrival notification indicating that the car 10 that responded to the target call has arrived at the departure floor, the target robot 30 boards the car 10 and moves to the destination floor. Note that when the target robot 30 boards the car 10 and the car 10 departs for the destination floor, the robot call management unit 22 updates the robot call management table 23t and deletes the information of the target call from the robot call management table 23t, and then executes the processing of step S21 described later.

[0065] Thereafter, robot call management unit 22 refers to robot call management table 23t to determine whether or not there is another robot call (in other words, whether or not robot call information is stored in robot call management table 23t) (step S21), and if it is determined that there is another robot call (Yes in step S21), robot call management unit 22 executes the process of step S11 again. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no other robot call (No in step S21), the elevator system ends this series of operations.

[0066] It is preferable that the robot call management unit 22 does not respond (react) to a new robot call until the end of the series of operations, even if the robot call management unit 22 receives a new robot call from another robot 30 after the series of operations shown in Fig. 5 has started. In this way, the robot call management unit 22 can cause the elevator 10 to preferentially respond to a robot call that corresponds to the robot call information stored in the robot call management table 23t at the time the series of operations shown in Fig. 5 started.

[0067] As described above, the elevator system of this embodiment takes into consideration the priority for elevator use set for the robot 30, but has a robot call management function that allows a robot 30 with "normal priority" to share the car 10 with a robot 30 with "high priority" when the departure floor and destination floor of the robot 30 with "high priority" match the departure floor and destination floor of a robot 30 with "normal priority."

[0068] This can improve the transportation efficiency of the elevator. Also, it can prevent a situation in which only the robots 30 with "high priority" can use the elevator, while the robots 30 with "normal priority" have difficulty using the elevator, resulting in an extremely low movement efficiency for the robots 30 with "normal priority".

[0069] Furthermore, the elevator system of this embodiment does not respond to a robot call received after the series of operations shown in Figure 5 has begun until the series of operations is completed, eliminating a case in which, for example, robot calls from a robot 30 with "high priority" are continuously received, preventing a robot 30 with "normal priority" that sent a robot call earlier from being able to use the elevator.

[0070] In the present embodiment described above, the robot 30 is set to two types of priorities, "high priority" and "normal priority", but the robot 30 may be set to three or more types of priorities (i.e., the priorities set to the robot 30 may be further subdivided). In this case, the highest priority among the priorities set to the robot 30 is regarded as the same as "high priority" in this embodiment, and the other priorities are regarded as the same as "normal priority" in this embodiment, making it possible to perform operations similar to the series of operations shown in FIG. 5.

[0071] Second embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. The elevator system according to this embodiment differs from the elevator system according to the first embodiment in that it further includes a remote monitoring system 40 communicably connected to the elevator control device 20, as shown in Fig. 6. In the following, the parts different from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the explanation of the parts similar to the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0072] If there is robot call information that has not been deleted even after a certain amount of time has passed since it was stored in the robot call management table 23t (in other words, there is a robot call received from a robot 30 that has not been responded to even after a certain amount of time has passed), the robot call management unit 22 sends a notification (alert) to the remote monitoring system 40 that there may be an abnormality in the robot 30 identified by the robot ID included in the robot call information.

[0073] By sending such a notification, a monitor at the remote monitoring system 40 can determine which robot 30 operating in which building may be experiencing an abnormality, and can therefore take action such as dispatching a maintenance worker to the building in which the robot 30 with the possible abnormality is operating.

[0074] According to at least one of the embodiments described above, when a priority is set regarding elevator use for a robot that can move between multiple floors using the elevator, an elevator system can be provided that can prevent the movement efficiency of a robot with a low priority from becoming low.

[0075] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0076] 10...car, 20...elevator control device, 21...control unit, 21t...hall call management table, 22...robot call management unit, 23...robot call memory unit, 23t...robot call management table, 30...robot, 31...communication unit, 32...movement control unit, 40...remote monitoring system.

Claims

1. An elevator system including a plurality of robots that move within a building in which an elevator is installed, and an elevator control device that controls an operation of a car of the elevator, the plurality of robots include a first robot to which a first priority is set as a priority regarding use of the elevator, and a second robot to which a second priority higher than the first priority is set, The elevator control device includes: receiving a robot call transmitted from each robot when using the elevator, the robot call including a departure floor where the robot gets on the elevator, a destination floor where the robot gets off the elevator, and a priority level set for the robot; a robot call management means for determining that the first robot will ride in a car that operates in response to the robot call from the second robot when a departure floor and a destination floor included in a robot call received from the first robot match a departure floor and a destination floor included in a robot call received from the second robot, and for transmitting a ride availability notification to the first robot and the second robot indicating that the first robot and the second robot can ride in the car; Elevator system.

2. When the first robot rides in a car that operates in response to a robot call from the second robot, when the car arrives at a destination floor of the first robot and the second robot, the first robot gets off after the second robot gets off the car.

10. The elevator system of claim 1.

3. The robot call management means includes: when at least one of a departure floor and a destination floor included in the robot call received from the first robot does not match a departure floor and a destination floor included in the robot call received from the second robot, determining that the first robot will not ride in a car that operates in response to the robot call from the second robot, and transmitting the boarding availability notification only to the second robot; 10. The elevator system of claim 1.

4. The robot call management means includes: when it is determined that the first robot should not ride in a car that operates in response to a robot call from the second robot, after the second robot gets off the car at its destination floor, the car is made to respond to the robot call received from the first robot, and the boarding availability notification is transmitted to the first robot; 4. The elevator system of claim 3.

5. The robot call management means includes: not allowing the elevator to respond to a new robot call received from a robot other than the first robot and the second robot until the first robot gets off the elevator at its destination floor; 10. The elevator system of claim 1.

6. The robot call management means includes: Checking whether there is a hall call registered by a user at the hall, and responding to a robot call received from each of the robots when it is confirmed that there is no hall call.

10. The elevator system of claim 1.

7. a remote monitoring system communicatively connected to the elevator control device; The robot call management means includes: When a robot call is received from a specific robot and has not been responded to even after a certain period of time has passed, a notification is sent to the remote monitoring system indicating that an abnormality may be occurring in the specific robot.

10. The elevator system of claim 1.

Images