Control device, elevator system, and control method

Abstract

To provide an elevator system capable of moving a robot to a robot standby floor when an elevator transits to resting operation.SOLUTION: An elevator robot control part 23 of an elevator robot cooperation device 2 for an elevator system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention transmits an execution command of a call back operation to make a robot 1 return to a robot standby floor to an elevator control board 3 when a robot getting-off floor is different from a robot standby floor, that is, when the elevator robot control part receives the information that the elevator transits to a resting operation, from the elevator control board 3. The elevator robot control part 23 performs the control to make the elevator execute the resting operation after detecting the completion of the call back operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, an elevator system, and a control method.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the practical application of autonomous mobile robots (hereinafter also referred to as autonomous mobile robots) that perform operations such as cleaning or luggage transportation in buildings, or guiding the way to building users, has been promoted. In a building with multiple floors such as a building, in order to cause an autonomous mobile robot to perform the above-described operations, it is indispensable to use an elevator by the autonomous mobile robot.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an elevator control device that performs control to move an autonomous mobile robot to a floor where garbage can be discarded or a rechargeable floor by an elevator when the garbage of the cleaning robot is full or the robot has insufficient charge.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] By the way, in the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, for example, in a situation where the elevator cannot travel due to being in parking (rest) operation, the autonomous mobile robot cannot use the elevator and cannot move to a floor where garbage can be discarded or a rechargeable floor (robot waiting floor).

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that enables a robot to be moved to a robot standby floor when an elevator shifts to a standby operation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, for example, the configuration described in the claims is adopted. This application includes a plurality of means for solving the above problems. For example, the present invention is a control device that communicates with and controls an elevator control device that controls the operation of an elevator and a robot that moves within a building using the elevator, when receiving information indicating that the elevator is shifting to a standby operation from the elevator control device, compares a robot disembarkation floor, which is the floor where the robot disembarks from the elevator, with a robot standby floor, which is the floor where the robot waits, and when the two floors are different, sends an execution command for a robot recall operation to return the robot to the robot standby floor to the elevator control device, and sends an execution command for a standby operation to the elevator control device after detecting the completion of the robot recall operation. And when receiving information indicating non-permission of execution of the robot recall operation before shifting to the standby operation, the elevator-robot cooperation unit performs control to execute the standby operation without executing the robot recall operation.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to at least one aspect of the present invention, when the elevator shifts to a standby operation, the robot can be moved to the robot standby floor. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the description of the following embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, examples of embodiments (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various numerical values in the embodiments are examples. In addition, in this specification and the drawings, the same reference numerals will be given to the same components or components having substantially the same functions, and duplicate explanations will be omitted.

[0011] <Schematic Configuration of Elevator System> First, with reference to FIG. 1, the configuration of an elevator system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of the elevator system 100.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator system 100 includes a robot 1, an elevator-robot cooperation device 2, an elevator control panel 3, a landing 4, and a car 5.

[0013] [Robot] Robot 1 is an autonomous mobile robot that can move autonomously using wheels or the like (not shown), and includes a communication unit 11 and a robot control unit 12. The communication unit 11 communicates with the robot communication unit 21 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2. The robot control unit 12 (an example of a robot control device) controls the operation of Robot 1.

[0014] For example, based on a predetermined schedule or the like, the robot control unit 12 generates a command for causing Robot 1 to perform various tasks, and transmits the command to Robot 1 via the robot communication unit 21. The schedule information may be stored in a storage unit or the like (not shown) of Robot 1, or may be transmitted from the elevator-robot cooperation device 2.

[0015] In addition, when the floor on which Robot 1 performs tasks (hereinafter also referred to as the robot working floor) is different from the robot reference floor (an example of a robot standby floor) on which Robot 1 waits, the robot control unit 12 generates a car call for moving Robot 1 to the robot working floor, and performs control to transmit the car call to the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 via the communication unit 11. The robot reference floor is, for example, the floor on which a charging stand (an example of a charger) capable of charging Robot 1 is installed.

[0016] Furthermore, when an execution command for a robot call-back operation is transmitted from the elevator-robot cooperation device 2, the robot control unit 12 generates a car call for moving Robot 1 from the robot disembarkation floor to the robot reference floor, and performs control to transmit the generated car call to the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 via the communication unit 11.

[0017] In the present embodiment, an example in which the robot control unit 12 is provided inside Robot 1 is given, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The robot control unit 12 may be provided in an external device such as a communication device provided on each floor of a building.

[0018] The elevator-robot cooperation device 2 (an example of a control device) is provided, for example, in a server (not shown) on the cloud or an on-premises server, and controls the operations of the robot 1 and the car 5 by transmitting commands to each of the robot 1 and the car 5. Note that the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 may be provided inside the robot 1 or inside the elevator control panel 3 or the like.

[0019] The elevator-robot cooperation device 2 includes a robot communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, an elevator-robot control unit 23, and an elevator communication unit 24.

[0020] The robot communication unit 21 communicates with the communication unit 11 of the robot 1. The storage unit 22 stores elevator stop floor information 221, robot reference floor information 222, robot disembarkation floor information 223, and the like.

[0021] In the elevator stop floor information 221, information on the floor where the car 5 stops during the elevator's stop operation is written. In the robot reference floor information 222, information on the robot reference floor is written. Note that as the robot reference floor, a floor other than the floor where a charging stand is installed, such as a floor where there is a garbage disposal area for the robot 1 that performs cleaning to discard the collected garbage, may be set.

[0022] In the robot disembarkation floor information 223, information on the floor (robot disembarkation floor) where the robot 1 disembarks from the car 5 to perform operations such as cleaning or luggage transportation is written. The information on the robot disembarkation floor is transmitted from the communication unit 31 of the elevator control panel 3.

[0023] The elevator-robot control unit 23 (an example of an elevator-robot cooperation unit) generates a command for controlling the operation of the robot 1 based on the information received from the robot 1 via the robot communication unit 21, and outputs the command to the robot communication unit 21. Further, the elevator-robot control unit 23 generates a command for controlling the operation of the car 5 based on the information received from the elevator control panel 3 via the elevator communication unit 24, and outputs the command to the elevator communication unit 24.

[0024] For example, based on a predetermined schedule or the like, the elevator-robot control unit 23 generates a command for moving the robot 1 from the robot standby position to the work area on the robot working floor to execute a task, and transmits the command to the robot 1 via the robot communication unit 21. Further, the elevator-robot control unit 23 generates a car call for moving the robot 1 from the robot reference floor to the robot working floor, and transmits the car call to the elevator control panel 3. After confirming the robot's getting off the elevator, the elevator-robot control unit 23 writes the information of the robot getting-off floor into the robot getting-off floor information 223 in the storage unit 22.

[0025] In addition, when the elevator-robot control unit 23 receives from the elevator control panel 3 a signal indicating that the parking switch 41 provided at the landing 4 is turned ON (hereinafter also referred to as the parking switch ON signal), it reads out the robot getting-off floor information 223 and the robot reference floor information 222 from the storage unit 22, and compares the floors indicated by both pieces of information. Then, when the robot getting-off floor and the robot reference floor do not match, the elevator-robot control unit 23 transmits an execution command for the robot call-back operation to each of the robot 1 and the elevator control panel 3.

[0026] Specifically, as an execution command for the robot call-back operation, the elevator-robot control unit 23 generates and transmits a robot call-back command to the robot 1. The robot call-back command is a command for the robot 1 to interrupt the work, move to the position of the elevator (car 5), get on the arrived car 5, move to the elevator reference floor, get off the car 5, and then move to the standby position of the robot 1.

[0027] In addition, as an execution command for the robot recall operation, the elevator robot control unit 23 generates and transmits a car call to move the car 5 to the robot disembarkation floor to the elevator control panel 3. Then, after confirming the disembarkation of the robot 1, the elevator robot control unit 23 executes a standby operation of the elevator to move the car 5 to the elevator standby floor, generates a command to stop the elevator, and transmits it to the elevator control panel 3. During the execution of the robot recall operation, the elevator robot control unit 23 also performs control to prevent the elevator control panel 3 from accepting either a landing call or a car call.

[0028] Furthermore, before executing the robot recall operation, the elevator robot control unit 23 transmits a notification command to the elevator control panel 3 to notify passengers that the standby operation will be entered after the execution of the robot recall operation.

[0029] The elevator communication unit 24 communicates with the communication unit 31 of the elevator control panel 3.

[0030] The elevator control panel 3 (an example of an elevator control device) is provided inside a machine room or a hoistway of an elevator (not shown), etc., and controls the operation of the car 5. The elevator control panel 3 includes a communication unit 31, an elevator control unit 32, a notification unit 33, and an input unit 34.

[0031] The communication unit 31 communicates with the elevator communication unit 24 of the elevator robot cooperation device 2. The elevator control unit 32 controls the ascending and descending operations of the car 5 based on a car call input from a car destination floor registration device (not shown) inside the car 5 or a landing call input from a landing destination floor registration device (not shown) on the landing 4, etc.

[0032] For example, based on the car call transmitted from the elevator communication unit 24 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2, the elevator control unit 32 controls the car 5 to move from the robot reference floor to the robot working floor. Also, for example, when executing the robot call return operation, based on the car call transmitted from the elevator-robot cooperation device 2, the elevator control unit 32 controls the car 5 to move to the robot getting-off floor and the robot 1 that has boarded the car 5 to move to the robot reference floor. Further, for example, after the end of the robot call return operation, the elevator control unit 32 controls the car 5 to move from the robot reference floor to the elevator stop floor and stops the elevator.

[0033] Furthermore, the elevator control unit 32 controls the opening and closing of the door 52 based on the detection signals from various sensors (not shown) inside the car 5 and the detection results of the pressing operations of the open button or close button (not shown).

[0034] Based on the notification command transmitted from the elevator-robot cooperation device 2, the notification unit 33 controls the speaker 512 of the notification device 51 inside the car 5 to emit an announcement indicating the transition to the standby operation after the execution of the robot call return operation. Alternatively, the notification unit 33 controls the display device 511 of the notification device 51 to display a message indicating the transition to the standby operation after the execution of the robot call return operation. The announcement and the message may be notified simultaneously, or only one of them may be notified.

[0035] The input unit 34 receives a parking switch ON signal or a parking switch OFF signal indicating that the parking switch 41 has been turned off, and outputs each received signal to the elevator control unit 32. Then, the elevator control unit 32 transmits each received signal to the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 via the communication unit 31.

[0036] The parking switch 41 provided at the landing 4 is a switch that enables switching between ON and OFF of the parking operation by inputting an operation of inserting a key (not shown) and turning it clockwise or counterclockwise. When the parking switch 41 detects such an input operation, it generates a parking switch ON signal or a parking switch OFF signal and transmits it to the elevator control panel 3.

[0037] In addition, in the present embodiment, a form in which the ON or OFF of the parking operation is switched by turning the parking switch 41 ON or OFF is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The ON or OFF of the parking operation may be set, for example, by an operation on a portable terminal possessed by a maintenance worker or an operation on a terminal device installed in a monitoring center (not shown).

[0038] The car 5 carries passengers, the robot 1, luggage, etc. (not shown) and moves up and down in a hoistway (not shown). The car 5 includes a notification device 51 and a door 52. The notification device 51 includes a display device 511 composed of a liquid crystal panel, an organic electroluminescence panel, etc., and a speaker 512.

[0039] <Example of the hardware configuration of a computer> Next, the configuration (hardware configuration) of the control system of each device (the robot 1, the elevator-robot cooperation device 2, the elevator control panel 3) constituting the elevator system 100 shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0040] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of each device constituting the elevator system 100. The computer 200 shown in FIG. 2 is hardware used as a so-called computer.

[0041] The computer 200 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 203, a non-volatile storage 204, and a communication I / F (Interface) 205, each connected to the bus B.

[0042] The CPU 201 reads the program code of the software that realizes each function according to this embodiment from the ROM 202, expands it in the RAM 203, and executes it. Alternatively, the CPU 201 directly reads the program code from the ROM 202 and executes it as it is. Note that the computer 200 may include a processing device such as an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) instead of the CPU 201. Variables, parameters, etc. generated during the arithmetic processing by the CPU 201 are temporarily written into the RAM 203.

[0043] The functions of the robot control unit 12 of the robot 1, the elevator-robot control unit 23 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2, the elevator control unit 32 of the elevator control panel 3, the notification unit 33, and the input unit 34 are realized by the CPU 201 reading and executing a program for realizing each of these functions from the ROM 202.

[0044] As the non-volatile storage 204, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flexible disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a non-volatile memory card, etc. can be used. In this non-volatile storage 204, in addition to the OS (Operating System) and various parameters, a program for operating the computer 200 and the like are recorded. The function of the storage unit 22 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 is realized by the non-volatile storage 204.

[0045] Incidentally, the program may be stored in the ROM 202. The program is stored in the form of computer-readable program code, and the CPU 201 sequentially executes operations according to the program code. That is, the ROM 202 or the non-volatile storage 204 is used as an example of a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium storing a program executed by a computer.

[0046] The communication I / F 205 is constituted by a communication device or the like that controls communication with other devices. Networks for which the communication I / F 205 performs communication control include, for example, serial communication in a multi-drop form such as RS-485, and communication paths that provide a plurality of topologies such as Ethernet (registered trademark). Communication paths that provide a plurality of topologies include wired communication paths such as LAN (Local Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network), and wireless communication paths such as RAN (Radio Area Network).

[0047] Also, for example, networks for which the communication I / F 205 performs communication control include wireless such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and wireless in a wireless communication infrastructure. The functions of the communication unit 11 of the robot 1, the elevator communication unit 24 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2, and the communication unit 31 of the elevator control panel 3 are realized by the communication I / F 205.

[0048] <Processing of the elevator system during operation of the robot> Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the processing of the elevator system 100 during the operation of the robot 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the processing of the elevator system 100 during the operation of the robot 1.

[0049] First, based on a predetermined schedule or the like, the robot control unit 12 of the robot 1 generates a car call for moving the robot 1 to the robot working floor and transmits the car call to the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 (step S1). Note that this car call may be generated by the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 instead of the robot 1.

[0050] Next, the robot communication unit 21 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 outputs the received car call to the elevator-robot control unit 23 (step S2). Next, the elevator-robot control unit 23 transmits the input car call to the elevator control panel 3 via the elevator communication unit 24 (step S3).

[0051] Next, the communication unit 31 of the elevator control panel 3 outputs the received car call to the elevator control unit 32 (step S4). Next, based on the input car call, the elevator control unit 32 controls the car 5 to move to the robot reference floor and opens the door 52 of the car 5 after arriving at the robot reference floor (step S5). For example, if the robot reference floor is the first floor and the car 5 is located on the second floor, by performing the control in step S5, the car 5 moves from the second floor to the first floor, and the door 52 of the car 5 opens after arriving at the first floor.

[0052] Next, after confirming that the robot 1 has boarded the car 5, the elevator control unit 32 closes the door 52 of the car 5 and moves it to the robot working floor, and controls to open the door 52 of the car 5 after arriving at the robot working floor (step S6). For example, if the robot working floor is the third floor, by performing the control in step S6, the car moves from the first floor to the third floor, and the door 52 of the car 5 opens after arriving at the third floor.

[0053] Next, after the elevator control unit 32 confirms that the robot 1 has alighted from the car 5, it performs control to close the door of the car 5 (step S7). Next, the elevator control unit 32 transmits information on the robot alighting floor, which is the floor where the robot 1 has alighted (here, the 3rd floor), to the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 via the communication unit 31 (step S8).

[0054] Next, the elevator communication unit 24 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 outputs the received information on the robot alighting floor to the elevator-robot control unit 23 (step S9). Next, the elevator-robot control unit 23 stores the input information on the robot alighting floor in the storage unit 22 (writes it to the robot alighting floor information 223) (step S10). After the process of step S10, the processing of the elevator system 100 during the operation of the robot 1 ends.

[0055] <Processing of the elevator system during transition to standby operation> Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the processing of the elevator system 100 during the transition of the elevator to standby operation will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the processing of the elevator system 100 during the transition of the robot 1 to standby operation.

[0056] First, the input unit 34 of the elevator control panel 3 determines whether the parking switch 41 has been turned on (whether a parking switch ON signal has been input) (step S11). If it is determined in step S11 that the parking switch 41 has not been turned on (if step S11 is a NO determination), the input unit 34 continues the determination in step S11.

[0057] On the one hand, in step S11, when it is determined that the parking switch 41 is turned on (when step S11 is a YES determination), the input unit 34 outputs a parking switch ON signal to the elevator control unit 32 (step S12). Next, the elevator control unit 32 transmits the input parking switch ON signal to the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 via the communication unit 31 (step S13). Next, the elevator communication unit 24 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 outputs the received parking switch ON signal to the elevator-robot control unit 23 (step S14).

[0058] Next, the elevator-robot control unit 23 determines whether the robot disembarkation floor and the robot reference floor match (step S15). The process of step S15 can be performed by the elevator-robot control unit 23 comparing the information on the robot disembarkation floor read from the storage unit 22 with the information on the robot reference floor.

[0059] In step S15, when it is determined that the robot disembarkation floor and the robot reference floor are on the same floor (when step S15 is a YES determination), the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 and the elevator control panel 3 perform a standby operation control process (step S16). The standby operation control process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6 described later. After the process of step S16, the robot call return operation control process by the elevator system 100 ends.

[0060] On the other hand, in step S15, when it is determined that the robot disembarkation floor and the robot reference floor are not on the same floor (when step S15 is a NO determination), the elevator-robot control unit 23 generates a call reception cancellation command and transmits the call reception cancellation command to the elevator control panel 3 via the elevator communication unit 24 (step S17). The call reception cancellation command is a command instructing the cancellation of the reception of both the landing call from the landing destination floor registration device (not shown) at the landing 4 and the car call from the car destination floor registration device (not shown) inside the car 5. In the elevator control panel 3 that receives this command, control is performed to cancel the reception of both the landing call and the car call.

[0061] Next, the elevator robot control unit 23 generates an execution command for notification and transmits it to the elevator control panel 3 via the elevator communication unit 24 (step S18). The execution command for notification generated and transmitted in step S18 is a command for notifying the passengers in the car 5 that the elevator will shift to the standby operation after the end of the robot recall operation.

[0062] Next, the communication unit 31 of the elevator control panel 3 outputs the received execution command for notification to the elevator control unit 32 (step S19). Next, the elevator control unit 32 outputs the input execution command for notification to the notification unit 33 (step S20). Next, the notification unit 33 controls the notification device 51 (display device 511 and / or speaker 512) in the car 5 to notify the passengers in the car 5 of an announcement or message indicating that the elevator will shift to the standby operation after the end of the robot recall operation (step S21).

[0063] Next, the robot recall operation control process is performed (step S22). The robot recall operation control process in step S22 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5 below. Next, the elevator control panel 3 performs the elevator standby operation control process in step S16.

[0064] <Robot recall operation control process> Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the robot recall operation control process in step S21 of FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the robot recall operation control process according to the present embodiment.

[0065] First, the elevator-robot control unit 23 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 generates a robot call-return operation execution command for instructing the execution of the elevator call-return operation, and transmits the robot call-return operation execution command to the elevator control panel 3 via the elevator communication unit 24 (step S31). Next, the communication unit 31 of the elevator control panel 3 outputs the received robot call-return operation execution command to the elevator control unit 32 (step S32).

[0066] Next, based on the input robot call-return operation execution instruction, the elevator control unit 32 moves the car 5 to the robot disembarkation floor and controls to open the door 52 of the car 5 after arriving at the robot disembarkation floor (step S33).

[0067] Next, after confirming that the robot 1 has boarded the car 5, the elevator control unit 32 closes the door 52 of the car 5, moves the car 5 to the robot reference floor, and controls to open the door 52 of the car 5 after arriving at the robot reference floor (step S34).

[0068] Next, after confirming that the robot 1 has disembarked from the car 5, the elevator control unit 32 controls to close the door 52 of the car 5. Then, the elevator control unit 32 transmits, via the communication unit 31, that the call-return operation of the robot 1 has been completed to the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 (step S36). After the process of step S36, the robot call-return operation control process ends.

[0069] <Elevator Rest Operation Control Process> Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the elevator rest operation control process in step S16 of FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the elevator rest operation control process according to the present embodiment. First, the elevator-robot control unit 23 generates a rest operation transition command for instructing the transition to the elevator rest operation, and transmits the command to the elevator control panel 3 via the elevator communication unit 24 (step S41).

[0070] Next, the communication unit 31 of the elevator control panel 3 outputs the received dormant operation transition command to the elevator control unit 32 (step S42). Next, the elevator control unit 32 performs control to execute the dormant operation, move the car 5 to the elevator dormant floor (for example, the first floor, etc.), and stop the elevator (step S43). After the process of step S43, the dormant operation control process of the elevator ends.

[0071] In the above-described embodiment, when the elevator-robot control unit 23 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 receives information (parking switch ON signal) indicating that the elevator is transitioning to the dormant operation from the elevator control panel 3, it compares the robot disembarkation floor and the robot standby floor. When the two floors are different, it transmits an execution command for a robot recall operation to return the robot 1 to the robot standby floor to the elevator control panel 3. Then, the elevator-robot control unit 23 causes the elevator dormant operation to be executed after detecting the completion of the robot recall operation. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, since the recall operation is executed before the execution of the dormant operation, it is possible to prevent the robot 1 from being left on a floor other than the robot reference floor during the elevator dormant operation.

[0072] Also, in the above-described embodiment, during the execution of the robot recall operation, the elevator-robot control unit 23 transmits a call reception stop command for stopping the reception of both the landing call and the car call to the elevator control panel 3 via the elevator communication unit 24. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the car 5 from moving to a floor other than the robot disembarkation floor or the robot reference floor in response to a landing call or a car call during the recall operation of the robot 1.

[0073] Also, in the above-described embodiment, when an execution command for the robot recall operation is transmitted from the elevator-robot control unit 23 to the notification unit 33 of the elevator control panel 3, the notification unit 33 controls the notification device 51 in the car 5 to notify that the elevator will shift to the elevator stop operation after the execution of the robot recall operation. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, passengers riding in the car 5 of the elevator in which the robot recall operation is performed can grasp in advance that operations such as the recall operation of the robot 1 and the elevator stop operation will be executed.

[0074] Note that, instead of performing the above notification, control may be performed to shift to the recall operation of the robot 1 after detecting that all the passengers in the car 5 targeted for the robot recall operation have gotten off.

[0075] Also, in the above-described embodiment, the robot reference floor is the floor where a charging stand (charger), not shown, of the robot 1 is installed. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, before shifting to the elevator stop operation, the robot 1 can move to the robot reference floor where the charging stand is located, so that it is possible to prevent the robot 1 from running out of charge due to being left on other floors without a charging stand.

[0076] <Modification Example> Note that when an operator of the parking switch 41 (the person who gives the instruction for the stop operation) gives an instruction not to execute the robot recall operation before shifting to the stop operation, control may be performed to shift to the elevator stop operation without performing the robot recall operation. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the process of the elevator system 100 at the time of shifting to the stop operation according to the modification example.

[0077] Since the processes from step S51 to step S61 in FIG. 7 are the same as the processes from step S11 to step S21 in FIG. 4, the description of these processes will be omitted here.

[0078] In step S61, after the notification unit 33 performs control to notify the passengers in the car 5 through the notification device 51 in the car 5, the elevator-robot control unit 23 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 determines whether a signal prohibiting the execution of the robot recall operation (an instruction not allowing the recall operation) is input (step S62).

[0079] The signal prohibiting the execution of the robot recall operation is input to the input unit 34 of the elevator control panel 3 when the parking switch 41 is turned off once and then turned on again. Note that the signal prohibiting the execution of the robot recall operation may be generated based on other operations on the parking switch 41 or operations on a portable terminal held by a maintenance worker.

[0080] After that, the signal prohibiting the execution of the robot recall operation is transmitted by the elevator control unit 32 to the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 via the communication unit 31, and is output from the elevator communication unit 24 of the elevator-robot cooperation device 2 to the elevator-robot control unit 23.

[0081] In step S62, if it is determined that the signal prohibiting the execution of the robot recall operation is not input (if step S62 is a NO determination), the robot recall operation control process is executed (step S63). Next, the elevator stop operation control process is executed (step S56). After the process of step S56, the process of the elevator system 100 at the time of transition to the stop operation according to the modified example ends.

[0082] On the other hand, in step S62, if it is determined that the signal prohibiting the execution of the robot recall operation is input (if step S62 is a YES determination), the elevator stop operation control process is performed (step S56). That is, when the signal prohibiting the execution of the robot recall operation is input, the robot recall operation is not executed, and the elevator transitions to the stop operation.

[0083] According to this modification example, when the elevator stop operation instructor does not wish to execute the call-back operation of the robot 1 before the execution of the elevator stop operation, the robot call-back operation is not executed and the operation proceeds to the stop operation. Therefore, it is possible to operate the elevator in a form that meets the requirements of the stop operation instructor.

[0084] In addition, the above-described embodiments have described the configurations of the devices and systems in detail and specifically in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described.

[0085] Also, the control lines or information lines indicated by double-headed arrows or single-headed arrows with solid lines in FIG. 1 show those considered necessary for explanation, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily shown on the product. In reality, it may be considered that almost all configurations are interconnected.

[0086] In addition, in this specification, the processing steps for describing time-series processing include not only the processing that is performed in time series in the described order, but also processing that is not necessarily processed in time series, such as parallel or individual execution (for example, parallel processing or object-based processing).

[0087] Furthermore, each component of the elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention described above may be implemented on any hardware as long as the respective hardware can transmit and receive information to and from each other via a network. Also, the processing performed by a certain processing unit may be realized by one hardware or by distributed processing by a plurality of hardwares.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0088] 1... Robot, 2... Elevator-Robot Linkage Device, 3... Elevator Control Panel, 5... Car, 12... Robot Control Unit, 22... Memory Unit, 23... Elevator-Robot Control Unit, 32... Elevator Control Unit, 33... Notification Unit, 34... Input Unit, 41... Parking Switch, 51... Notification Device, 100... Elevator System

Claims

1. An elevator control device for controlling the operation of an elevator, and a control device that communicates with and controls each of robots that move within a building using the elevator, when receiving information indicating that the elevator is about to shift to a standby operation from the elevator control device, compares a robot disembarkation floor, which is the floor where the robot disembarks from the elevator, with a robot standby floor, which is the floor where the robot waits, and when the two floors are different, transmits an execution command for a robot recall operation to return the robot to the robot standby floor to the elevator control device, and transmits an execution command for the standby operation to the elevator control device after detecting completion of the robot recall operation, an elevator-robot cooperation unit, comprising when receiving information indicating non-permission to execute the robot recall operation before shifting to the standby operation, the elevator-robot cooperation unit performs control to execute the standby operation without executing the robot recall operation Control device.

2. The execution command for the robot recall operation is a command to move the elevator car to the robot disembarkation floor, allow the robot to board, and then move the car to the robot standby floor The control device according to claim 1.

3. During the execution of the robot recall operation, the elevator-robot cooperation unit transmits a command to the elevator control device to suspend acceptance of any landing call registered by a landing destination floor registration device at the landing and any car call registered by a car destination floor registration device inside the car The control device according to claim 2.

4. When transmitting the execution command for the robot recall operation, the elevator-robot cooperation unit performs control to cause a notification device provided inside the elevator car to notify that the standby operation will be shifted to after execution of the robot recall operation to a notification unit that controls the notification operation of the notification device The control device according to claim 3.

5. The robot standby floor is the floor where the charger for the robot is installed The control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. An elevator system comprising an elevator control device for controlling the operation of an elevator, a robot control device for controlling the operation of a robot that moves within a building using the elevator, and a control device that communicates with and controls each of the elevator control device and the robot control device. When the control device receives information indicating that the elevator is about to shift to a standby operation from the elevator control device, it compares the robot disembarkation floor, which is the floor where the robot disembarks from the elevator, with the robot standby floor, which is the floor where the robot waits. If the two floors are different, it sends an execution command for a robot recall operation to return the robot to the robot standby floor to the elevator control device, and after detecting the completion of the robot recall operation, it sends an execution command for the standby operation to the elevator control device. The control device includes an elevator-robot cooperation unit. When the elevator-robot cooperation unit receives information indicating that execution of the robot recall operation before the transition to the standby operation is not permitted, it performs control to execute the standby operation without executing the robot recall operation. Elevator system.

7. A control method by an elevator control device for controlling the operation of an elevator and a control device that communicates with and controls each of the elevator and a robot that moves within a building using the elevator. When the control device receives information indicating that the elevator is about to shift to a standby operation from the elevator control device, it compares the robot disembarkation floor, which is the floor where the robot disembarks from the elevator, with the robot standby floor, which is the floor where the robot waits. If the two floors are different, it sends an execution command for a robot recall operation to return the robot to the robot standby floor to the elevator control device, and after detecting the completion of the robot recall operation, it sends an execution command for the standby operation to the elevator control device. The method includes the following steps: When the elevator-robot cooperation unit receives information indicating that execution of the robot recall operation before the transition to the standby operation is not permitted, it performs control to execute the standby operation without executing the robot recall operation. The method includes the following steps: Control method.

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