Elevator control system and cleaning control method

Abstract

To achieve further efficiency in cleaning operations using an elevator by an autonomous mobile body. 【Solution】In the elevator control system of the embodiment, the elevator server includes a first communication unit that transmits a cleaning command to the control device and the autonomous mobile body at a specified floor. The control device includes a storage unit that stores the boarding time of the autonomous mobile body in the car, the alighting time from the car, the weight of the car when the autonomous mobile body boards the car, and the weight of the car when the autonomous mobile body alights from the car. A prediction unit that predicts the cleaning completion time until the cleaning process by the autonomous mobile body is completed based on the first time between the boarding time and the alighting time, the weight of the car at the time of boarding, and the weight of the car at the time of alighting stored in the storage unit, and a first control unit that controls the movement of the car based on the predicted cleaning completion time. The autonomous mobile body includes a travel control unit that boards the car and moves to the specified floor when receiving a cleaning command from the elevator server, and a cleaning processing unit that executes a cleaning process at the specified floor.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an elevator control system and a cleaning control method.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, autonomous mobile bodies such as robots have realized cleaning work in buildings such as buildings and condominiums by using elevators. For example, in an elevator system that performs efficient cleaning management using a cleaning robot, a technique is known in which the elapsed time since the previous cleaning is measured, and based on the measured elapsed time, the destination floor and the car to be assigned are determined (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Also, a technique is known in which the contamination level inside the car of each elevator car is obtained from a contamination level calculation unit inside the car, and based on the obtained contamination level, the cleaning time of each elevator car is determined, and a cleaning command is sent to the car determined to be at the cleaning time (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Currently, autonomous mobile robots such as various cleaning robots for general households, office work, and those with AI functions are being introduced to save labor for cleaners. However, it is estimated that the number of cleaners will continue to decrease in the future. On the other hand, due to the ongoing redevelopment of buildings in urban areas, the cleaning demand in high-function and high-rise buildings is expected to remain the same as the existing demand, and the shortage of cleaning staff has become an issue. For these reasons, further efficiency improvement of the cleaning work using elevators by autonomous mobile robots is desired.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] The elevator control system of the embodiment includes an autonomous mobile body that can autonomously move into the elevator car installed in the building, a control device that manages the movement of the autonomous mobile body using the elevator car and the elevator that can be boarded by the autonomous mobile body and a person, and an elevator server connected to the control panel via a network and controlling the ascending and descending of the elevator cars of all the elevators in the building. The elevator server includes a first communication unit that transmits a cleaning command to the control device and the autonomous mobile body at a specified floor. The control device includes a storage unit that stores the boarding time of the autonomous mobile body on the elevator car, the alighting time from the elevator car, the weight of the elevator car when the autonomous mobile body boards the elevator car, and the weight of the elevator car when the autonomous mobile body alights from the elevator car, a second communication unit that receives the cleaning command from the elevator server, a prediction unit that predicts the cleaning completion time until the cleaning process by the autonomous mobile body is completed based on the first time between the boarding time and the alighting time, the weight of the elevator car at the time of boarding, and the weight of the elevator car at the time of alighting stored in the storage unit, and a first control unit that controls the movement of the elevator car based on the predicted cleaning completion time. The autonomous mobile body includes a third communication unit that receives the cleaning command from the elevator server, a travel control unit that boards the elevator car and moves to the specified floor when receiving the cleaning command from the elevator server, and a cleaning processing unit that executes a cleaning process at the specified floor.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

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MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] (Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an elevator control system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator control system 1 of the present embodiment mainly includes control panels 100A and 100B provided for each of a plurality of elevators 2A and 2B, robot control panels 170A and 170B provided for each of the plurality of elevators 2A and 2B, controllers 150A and 150B provided for each of the plurality of elevators 2A and 2B, a control room 160, a server 210 in an elevator penthouse 200, a server 310 in a robot penthouse 300, a monitoring center 400, and an elevator company 700.

[0010] In the present embodiment, a plurality of elevators 2A and 2B are installed in a building 3 (an example of a building) such as a condominium building. In the example of FIG. 1, two elevators 2A and 2B are illustrated, but it may be configured to have only one elevator or three or more elevators.

[0011] Each of the elevators 2A and 2B includes carriages 50A and 50B in respective hoistways 20A and 20B. In addition, each hoistway 20A and 20B includes a hoisting machine and a counterweight (not shown). The carriages 50A and 50B and the counterweight are each movably supported by a pair of guide rails (not shown) erected in the hoistways 20A and 20B, and move up and down via ropes.

[0012] In addition to the user 5A, robots 500A and 500B as autonomous mobile bodies can also board the carriages 50A and 50B.

[0013] The carriages 50A and 50B are provided with operation panels 4A and 4B, cameras 7A and 7B, and load sensors 8A and 8B. The operation panels 4A and 4B receive various operations from the user and also provide various notifications to the car 50. The operation panels 4A and 4B are provided with push buttons, non-contact sensors, speakers, liquid crystal display units, etc. (none of which are shown) for designating the destination floor and opening and closing the doors of the cars 50A and 50B. Further, the operation panels 4A and 4B are connected to the control panels 100A and 100B by wire or wirelessly. When the user 5A or 5B presses the push button for the destination floor or is detected by the non-contact sensor, the destination floor call is sent to the control panels 100A and 100B.

[0014] Here, the destination floor call is operation data performed by the user inside the car 50 to make the car 50 go to the desired destination floor. The destination floor is specified in the destination floor call.

[0015] Also, in the present embodiment, the destination floor call for the robot is transmitted from the server 210 in the elevator penthouse 200 to the control panel 100 via the controller 150. The destination floor call for the robot is specified with the robot ID of the robot 500 that wishes to use the elevator 2, the departure floor, and the destination floor (also referred to as the designated floor or the target floor), and is operation data for moving the car 50 to the designated departure floor and making it go from the departure floor to the designated destination floor.

[0016] The landing call is operation data performed by the user at the landing to make the car 50 going in either the up or down direction arrive at that landing. The landing call is specified with the direction of travel and the floor on which the landing call is made (i.e., the departure floor).

[0017] The cameras 7A and 7B capture the inside of the cars 50A and 50B and send the captured images to the control panels 100A and 100B. Also, when the doors of the cars 50A and 50B are open at the landing, the cameras 7A and 7B can capture the landing and send the captured images to the control panels 100A and 100B.

[0018] The load sensors 8A and 8B are provided on the bottom surfaces of the cars 50A and 50B, and detect the weight of the cars 50. When users 5A or robots 500A and 500B are riding in the cars 50A and 50B, the load sensors 8A and 8B detect the weight by adding the weight of the users 5A and the robots 500A and 500B in addition to the weight of the cars 50 themselves. The load sensors 8A and 8B send the detected weight as a detection signal to the control panels 100A and 100B.

[0019] The landings are provided on each floor. The landings are places where users and robots 500 wait for the arrival of the cars 50A and 50B of the elevators 2A and 2B. Cameras 9 are provided on the wall surfaces of the landings on each floor. The cameras 9 image the landings and transmit the imaged images to the control panels 100A and 100B.

[0020] Inside each of the hoistways 20A and 20B, a control panel 100A and 100B, a robot control panel 170A and 170B, and a controller 150A and 150B are provided. The control panels 100A and 100B are connected to the operation panels 4A and 4B provided on the cars 50A and 50B by wire or wirelessly.

[0021] Each of the control panels 100A and 100B controls the operation of the cars 50A and 50B in the elevators 2A and 2B. Each of the control panels 100A and 100B is connected to each of the controllers 150A and 150B by wire or wirelessly. Details of the control panels 100A and 100B will be described later.

[0022] Each of the robot control panels 170A and 170B manages the movement of the robots 500A, 500B, and 500C using the elevators 2A and 2B. Each of the robot control panels 170A and 170B is connected to the control panels 100A and 100B and the controllers 150A and 150B by wire or wirelessly. Details of the robot control panels 170A and 170B will be described later.

[0023] Each of the controllers 150A and 150B is connected to the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 via a network. The controllers 150A and 150B are mediation devices that control the communication between the control panels 100A and 100B and the robot control panels 170A and 170B and the server 210, and have an interface function and a hub function for mediating various signals exchanged between the control panels 100A and 100B and the server 210. Each of the controllers 150A and 150B has a configuration of a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.

[0024] In the control room 160, the manager of Building 3 is present and gives various instructions to the control panels 100A and 100B. Also, the manager in the control room 160 receives various instructions from the control panels 100A and 100B via email or the like through a PC or a terminal device.

[0025] In addition, in Building 3, a waiting area (not shown) is provided, for example, in a corner of the lobby floor or the like, and the robots 500A, 500B, and 500C that are not performing tasks can wait in the waiting area. Further, in Building 3, a garbage disposal area (also referred to as an accumulation area) that accumulates garbage is provided in an inconspicuous place, for example, on the lobby floor or the like.

[0026] The server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 instructs the control panels 100A and 100B to perform various controls on the cabs 50A and 50B of the elevators 2A and 2B via the controllers 150A and 150B, and also receives various instructions and various data from the control panels 100A and 100B via the controllers 150A and 150B.

[0027] In addition, the server 210 in the elevator penthouse 200 instructs the robot control panels 170A and 170B via the controllers 150A and 150B for various controls over the robots 500A, 500B, and 500C using the elevators 2A and 2B, and also receives various instructions and various data from the robot control panels 170A and 170B via the controllers 150A and 150B.

[0028] In addition, the server 210 in the elevator penthouse 200 is connected to the monitoring center 400 (in-house server) and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 via a network.

[0029] An in-house server (not shown) is installed in the monitoring center 400. The in-house server is a server installed within the affiliated company of the elevator 11, and collects information necessary for the maintenance management and remote monitoring of the elevator 2 from the elevators 2A and 2B. According to this, when a malfunction occurs in the elevators 2A and 2B, the maintenance staff can refer to the information necessary for maintenance management collected by the in-house server of the monitoring center 400 to address the occurred malfunction. Also, when functions and services are executed through the elevator penthouse 200, it is possible to access the in-house server of the monitoring center 400 as needed to refer to building and elevator information, or for the maintenance staff to obtain information necessary for elevator management.

[0030] The server 310 of the robot cloud 300 receives various instructions and various data from the server 210 of the elevator penthouse 200. The server 310 of the robot cloud 300 is connected to a plurality of robots 500A, 500B, and 500C in the building 3 via a network, and transmits various instructions to each of the plurality of robots 500A, 500B, and 500C. Details of the server 210 of the elevator penthouse 200 and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 will be described later.

[0031] The elevator company 700 is a company that provides the elevator 2, and a server 710 is provided within the elevator company 700.

[0032] Note that the number of elevators is not limited, and three or more elevators are installed in Building 3. Therefore, the number of hoistways 20A and 20B, cars 50A and 50B, control panels 100A and 100B, robot control panels 170A and 170B, and controllers 150A and 150B also changes according to the number of elevators 2A and 2B. Here, when not distinguishing each of the plurality of elevators 2A and 2B, the plurality of hoistways 20A and 20B, the plurality of cars 50A and 50B, the plurality of control panels 100A and 100B, the plurality of robot control panels 170A and 170B, and the plurality of controllers 150A and 150B, they are referred to as elevator 2, hoistway 20, car 50, control panel 100, robot control panel 170, and controller 150. When not distinguishing each of the operation panels 4A and 4B, cameras 7A and 7B, and load sensors 8A and 8B, they are referred to as operation panel 4, camera 7, and load sensor 8.

[0033] Next, the details of the robot control panel 170 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the robot control panel 170 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the robot control panel 170 according to the present embodiment is connected wirelessly or wired to the camera 7 and the load sensor 8 in the car 50. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the robot control panel 170 mainly includes a communication unit 171, a control unit 172, a prediction unit 173, a recording unit 174, a determination unit 176, and a storage unit 175. Here, the robot control panel 170 is an example of a control device and a control panel for an autonomous mobile body.

[0034] The storage unit 175 is a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). As shown in FIG. 2, history data 1751 is stored in the storage unit 175. Further, the storage unit 175 also stores the garbage disposal completion time and the cleaning completion time.

[0035] The history data 1751 is log data recorded by a recording unit 174 described later each time the robot 500 boards the car 50 and each time the robot 500 gets off the car 50.

[0036] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the history data 1751 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the history data 1751 records the date, day of the week, boarding time, weight at boarding time, alighting time, and weight at alighting time. The weight at boarding time is the weight of the car 50 obtained from the load sensor 8 after the robot 500 boards the car 50. The weight at alighting time is the weight of the car 50 obtained from the load sensor 8 after the robot 500 gets off the car 50. The garbage disposal completion time and the cleaning completion time are predicted by a prediction unit 173 described later and stored in a storage unit 175.

[0037] Returning to FIG. 2, the communication unit 171 communicates with the control panel 100 and the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. The communication unit 171 of the present embodiment receives a cleaning command including a designated floor, which is the floor to be cleaned, from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150. The communication unit 171 is an example of a second communication unit.

[0038] Each time the robot 500 boards the car 50, the recording unit 174 records the boarding time of the robot 500 on the car 50 and the weight of the car 50 when the robot 500 boards the car 50 in the history data 1751 of the storage unit 175. Each time the robot 500 gets off the car 50, the recording unit 174 records the alighting time from the car 50 and the weight of the car 50 when the robot 500 gets off the car 50 in the history data 1751 of the storage unit 175.

[0039] The prediction unit 173 predicts the cleaning completion time based on the first time between the boarding time and the alighting time, the boarding weight, and the alighting weight registered in the history data 1751 of the storage unit 175. Here, the cleaning completion time is the time from when the cleaning process by the robot 500 starts until it is completed.

[0040] Here, when the elevator 2 is performing a robot - only operation in which only the robot 500 is allowed to board the car 50 and operate, the difference between the boarding weight and the alighting weight is the weight of the robot 500. When the robot 500 is carrying garbage, the weight of the garbage is also included. The weight of the robot 500 itself is predetermined. Therefore, the prediction unit 173 can obtain the weight of the garbage by subtracting the predetermined weight of the robot 500 from the difference between the boarding weight and the alighting weight.

[0041] That is, the prediction unit 173 predicts the first time as the cleaning completion time according to the date, day of the week, time zone, and weight, and stores the cleaning completion time in the storage unit 175 for each date, day of the week, time zone, and weight.

[0042] Also, when a garbage - disposal process is commanded for the robot 500, the prediction unit 173 predicts the garbage - disposal completion time based on the first time between the boarding time and the alighting time, the boarding weight, and the alighting weight registered in the history data 1751 of the storage unit 175. Here, the garbage - disposal completion time is the time from when the garbage - disposal process by the robot 500 starts until it is completed. The prediction unit 173 predicts the first time as the garbage - disposal completion time according to the weight of the garbage calculated as described above when the garbage is disposed of, and stores the garbage - disposal prediction time in the storage unit 175 for each date, day of the week, time zone, and weight.

[0043] The determination unit 176 determines whether the amount of garbage held by the robot 500 is equal to or less than a threshold value based on the weight of the car 50 when boarding the car 50 of the robot 500. Specifically, the determination unit 176 determines the weight of the garbage, that is, the amount of garbage, as the value obtained by subtracting the predetermined weight of the car 50 itself and the predetermined weight of the robot 500 from the weight of the car 50 detected by the load sensor 8 when boarding the car 50 of the robot 500.

[0044] When the communication unit 171 receives a cleaning command from the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200, the control unit 172 sends a movement instruction for the car 50 to the control panel 100 via the communication unit 171. Further, the control unit 172 sends various control instructions for the car 50 to the control panel 100 via the communication unit 171.

[0045] When the amount of garbage held by the robot 500 is equal to or less than the threshold value, the control unit 172 instructs the control panel 100 to move the car 50 to the designated floor included in the cleaning command. When the amount of garbage held by the robot 500 is greater than the threshold value, the control unit 172 instructs the control panel 100 to move the car 50 to the floor of the garbage disposal location, and commands the robot 500 to perform the garbage disposal process. The control unit 172 is an example of a second control unit.

[0046] Next, the details of the control panel 100 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the control panel 100 according to the embodiment. The control panel 100 is an example of a control device. The control panel 100 has a general computer configuration, and mainly includes a control unit 120, a communication unit 102, and a storage unit 110, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0047] Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the control panel 100 is connected to the load sensor 8, the camera 7 in the car 50, and the landing camera 9 by wire or wirelessly. The load sensors 8 (8A, 8B) are provided in the car 50 as described above. The camera 7 is provided near the ceiling of the car 50 so as to be able to image the inside of the car 50 and the landing when the door of the car 50 is open.

[0048] The storage unit 110 is a storage medium (i.e., a memory device) such as a ROM or a RAM. A management database 111 (hereinafter referred to as "management DB111") is stored in the storage unit 110.

[0049] The management DB111 is a database in which various data for using the elevator 2 are registered. For example, the management DB111 registers the robot ID of the robot 500 that can board the elevator 2 controlled by the control panel 100. Here, the robot ID is information for identifying the robot 500.

[0050] The communication unit 102 is composed of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol and performs communication processing with the controller 150. That is, the communication unit 102 transmits and receives various data to and from other control panels 100 and the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150. In addition, the communication unit 102 transmits and receives various instructions and notifications to and from the mobile terminal or PC of the administrator in the control room 160.

[0051] Further, the communication unit 102 receives a landing call including the destination floor from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200.

[0052] In addition, the communication unit 102 performs communication processing with the robot control panel 170. The communication unit 102 of the present embodiment receives a movement command to a designated floor of the car 50 based on a cleaning command from the robot control panel 170. In addition, the communication unit 102 receives various movement instructions and control instructions for the car 50 from the robot control panel 170. The communication unit 102 is an example of a fourth communication unit.

[0053] The control unit 120 consists of a hardware processor (CPU). As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 120 mainly includes a normal operation control unit 121 and a robot-linked operation control unit 122.

[0054] The normal operation control unit 121 controls normal operation. Normal operation is an operation in which only a person rides in the car 50 without the robot. The normal operation control unit 121 performs group management control of the car 50.

[0055] Here, the group management control is a control for allocating the car 50 closest to the departure floor among the floors where calls for the car 50 are made. In the present embodiment, the normal operation control unit 121 cooperates with the other control panel 100 by, for example, inquiring the control panel 100 of the other elevator 2 about the departure floor and the position and lifting / lowering status of the current car 50 and receiving the response, and performs group management control.

[0056] The robot-linked operation control unit 122 controls robot-linked operation. Robot-linked operation is an operation in which the robot 500 rides in the car 50. The robot-linked operation includes a robot-only operation in which a person does not ride in the car 50 and a non-robot-only operation in which a person can ride in the car 50. The robot-linked operation may also be referred to as robot operation.

[0057] In the present embodiment, when the robot-linked operation control unit 122 receives, from the robot control panel 170 via the communication unit 102, a movement command to a designated floor of the car 50 based on a cleaning command, the robot-only operation is executed. Then, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 controls the lifting (i.e., movement) and standby of the car 50 according to the movement instruction and control instruction of the car 50 from the robot control panel 170. The robot-linked operation control unit 122 is an example of the first control unit.

[0058] For example, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 controls the movement of the car 50 based on the cleaning completion time predicted by the robot control panel 170. The robot-linked operation control unit 122 causes the car 50 to wait at the specified floor when the cleaning completion time has elapsed after the robot 500 gets off the car 50 at the specified floor designated by the cleaning command for executing the cleaning process.

[0059] In addition, when the robot-linked operation control unit 122 receives another call (for example, a destination floor call or a landing call) before the cleaning completion time has elapsed after the robot 500 gets off the car 50 at the above-specified floor for executing the cleaning process, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 performs group management control corresponding to the other call before the cleaning completion time has elapsed and until the cleaning completion time has elapsed.

[0060] Also, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 causes the car 50 to wait at the floor of the garbage disposal location when the garbage disposal completion time predicted by the robot control panel 170 has elapsed after the robot 500 gets off the car 50 at the floor of the garbage disposal location for executing the garbage disposal process.

[0061] Next, details of the server 210 in the elevator penthouse 200 will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 210 in the elevator penthouse 200 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the server 210 mainly includes a control unit 211, a communication unit 212, and a storage unit 220 as a general computer configuration.

[0062] The storage unit 220 is a storage medium (memory device) such as a ROM or a RAM. Various programs are stored in the storage unit 220.

[0063] The communication unit 212 is a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol, and performs communication processing via the control panel 100 and the controller 150, communication processing via the robot control panel 170 and the controller 150, communication processing with the server 310 in the robot penthouse 300, and the like. The communication unit 212 is an example of a first communication unit.

[0064] In this embodiment, the communication unit 212 transmits a cleaning instruction including the floor to be cleaned as the designated floor to the robot control panel 170 and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300. Further, the communication unit 212 transmits a landing call including the destination floor generated by the control unit 211 to the control panel 100.

[0065] Next, the details of the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the server 310 mainly includes a control unit 311, a communication unit 312, and a storage unit 320 as a general computer configuration.

[0066] The storage unit 320 is a storage medium (memory device) such as a ROM or a RAM. Various programs are stored in the storage unit 320.

[0067] The communication unit 312 is a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol, and performs communication processing with the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 and communication processing with the robot 500.

[0068] In this embodiment, the communication unit 312 receives a cleaning instruction including the designated floor from the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200, and transmits the received cleaning instruction to the robot 500.

[0069] The control unit 311 is composed of a hardware processor (CPU). The control unit 311 controls various processes related to the robot 500.

[0070] Next, the details of the robot 500 will be described. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the robot 500 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the robot 500 mainly includes a camera 506, various sensors 505, a control unit 501, a communication unit 502, a cleaning processing unit 504, a traveling control unit 509, a driving unit 503, and a storage unit 510.

[0071] The camera 506 images the surroundings of the robot 500 and transmits the captured image to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300. Further, the robot 500 may be configured to transmit the captured image to the control panel 100.

[0072] The various sensors 505 include, for example, a human sensor, an acceleration sensor, a load sensor, etc., but are not limited thereto.

[0073] The storage unit 510 is a storage medium (memory device) such as a ROM or a RAM. Various programs are stored in the storage unit 510.

[0074] The communication unit 502 is a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol and performs communication processing between the robot 500 and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 502 receives a cleaning command including a designated floor from the server 310 in the robot cloud 300. The communication unit 502 receives various instructions from the robot control panel 170 via the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 from the server 310 in the robot cloud 300. The communication unit 502 is an example of a third communication unit.

[0075] The control unit 501 is composed of a hardware processor (CPU). When the elevator 2 is operating, the control unit 501 reads and executes various programs in the storage unit 510 to execute various operations in the elevator 2.

[0076] The driving unit 503 is a motor or the like that drives the robot 500 to travel. The travel control unit 509 controls the driving unit 503 to control the travel of the robot 500. When the communication unit 502 receives a cleaning command from the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200, the travel control unit 509 in this embodiment rides in the car 50 and moves to the designated floor. Also, when the communication unit 502 receives a command for garbage disposal processing from the server 310 in the robot cloud 300, the travel control unit 509 moves to the floor of the garbage disposal site in the car 50.

[0077] The cleaning processing unit 504 executes the cleaning process on the designated floor specified by the cleaning command. The cleaning processing unit 504 executes the garbage disposal process on the floor of the garbage disposal site.

[0078] Note that the above configuration of the robot 500 is an example, and in addition, it may further include an audio output unit such as a speaker and an input unit such as a touch panel.

[0079] Next, the elevator control process by the elevator control system 1 of this embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of the elevator control process according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the overall flow of the elevator control process according to the embodiment.

[0080] First, in the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200, the communication unit 212 transmits a cleaning command including the designated floor to the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 (S101). In the server 310 in the robot cloud 300, when the communication unit 312 receives the cleaning command, it transmits the received cleaning command to the robot 500 (S102). In the robot 500, when the communication unit 502 receives the cleaning command, it executes the robot-side cleaning process (S103).

[0081] On the other hand, in the server 210 within the elevator cloud 200, the communication unit 212 also transmits a cleaning instruction including the designated floor to the robot control panel 170 (S104). In the robot control panel 170, when the communication unit 171 receives the cleaning instruction via the controller 150, the robot control panel 170 executes elevator-side cleaning processing together with the control panel 100 (S106).

[0082] Next, the robot-side cleaning process of S103 will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of the robot-side cleaning process according to the embodiment. In the robot 500, when the communication unit 502 receives a cleaning instruction from the server 310 within the robot cloud 300, the travel control unit 509 drives and controls the drive unit 503 to move to and wait in front of the elevator 2 (S201). Next, according to an instruction from the control panel 100, that is, an instruction from the control panel 100 via the server 210 in the elevator cloud and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300, the travel control unit 509 makes the robot 500 board the car 50 (S202). Then, the car 50 moves to the designated floor specified by the cleaning instruction.

[0083] When the car 50 arrives at the designated floor, in the robot 500, the communication unit 502 determines whether it has received a door open signal from the control panel 100 via the server 210 in the elevator cloud and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 (S203). Here, the door open signal is a signal issued when the door of the car 50 is opened.

[0084] If the communication unit 502 has not received the door open signal (S203: No), the robot 500 waits as it is inside the car 50. On the other hand, when the communication unit 502 receives the door open signal (S203: Yes), the communication unit 502 determines whether it has received an instruction for garbage disposal processing from the robot control panel 170 via the server 210 in the elevator cloud and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 (S204). Here, as will be described later, the instruction for garbage disposal processing is transmitted by the robot control panel 170 when it determines that the amount of garbage based on the weight of the car 50 is greater than the threshold value.

[0085] When the communication unit 502 receives a command for garbage disposal from the robot control panel 170 (S204: Yes), the robot 500 moves to the floor of the garbage disposal location in the car 50 without getting off the car 50 (S210). Then, when the car 50 opens its door, the robot 500 moves to the garbage disposal location by the travel control unit 509 (S211).

[0086] When the robot 500 arrives at the garbage disposal location, the cleaning processing unit 504 starts the garbage disposal process (S212). Then, when the cleaning processing unit 504 completes the garbage disposal process (S213), the process returns to S201 and the process from S201 is repeated.

[0087] In S204, when the communication unit 502 has not received a command for garbage disposal from the robot control panel 170 (S204: No), the robot 500 gets off the car 50 by the travel control unit 509 (S205).

[0088] Next, the cleaning processing unit 504 starts the cleaning process on that floor (S206). When the cleaning process by the cleaning processing unit 504 is completed (S207), the robot 500 moves in front of the elevator 2 by the travel control unit 509 (S208). Then, when the car 50 arrives and its door opens, the robot 500 gets on the car (S209). As a result, the robot 500 returns to the original waiting location and the process returns to the calling source.

[0089] Next, the elevator-side cleaning process of S106 will be described. FIGS. 11 and 12 are flowcharts showing an example of the procedure of the elevator-side cleaning process according to the embodiment.

[0090] When the robot control panel 170 receives a cleaning command from the server 210 in the hoistway 200, the control unit 172 transmits an instruction to the control panel 100 to move the car 50 to the designated floor specified by the cleaning command (S301).

[0091] In the control panel 100, when the communication unit 102 receives the above movement instruction, it moves the car 50. When it arrives at the designated floor, it opens the door of the car 50 and gives a standby instruction to the car 50 (S302). Then, in the robot control panel 170, it determines whether the robot 500 has boarded the car 50 based on whether the load detected by the load sensor 8 of the car 50 has increased (S303).

[0092] If the robot 500 has not boarded the car 50 (S303: No), it waits as it is. If the robot 500 has boarded the car 50 (S303: Yes), in the robot control panel 170, the recording unit 174 records the weight of the car 50 at the time of boarding, the boarding time, and the date as the history data 1751 (S304).

[0093] Next, in the robot control panel 170, the determination unit 176 determines whether the amount of garbage held by the robot 500 is less than or equal to the threshold value (S305). If the amount of garbage held by the robot 500 is greater than the threshold value, the control unit 172 of the robot control panel 170 sends an instruction to the control panel 100 via the communication unit 171 to make the car 50 go to the floor where there is a garbage disposal location (S306).

[0094] Next, when the car 50 arrives at the floor of the garbage disposal location and the robot 500 gets off the car 50, the control unit 172 of the robot control panel 170 sends an instruction to the control panel 100 to wait for the garbage disposal completion time stored in the storage unit 175 (S307). Then, the control unit 172 of the robot control panel 170 confirms the completion of the garbage disposal process by the robot 500 by confirming that the weight of the robot 500 based on the weight of the car 50 has decreased according to the detection signal from the load sensor 8 (S308). At this time, the prediction unit 173 stores the time from the start to the completion of the garbage disposal process as the garbage disposal completion time in the storage unit 175. Then, the process proceeds to S309.

[0095] In S305, if the amount of garbage held by the robot 500 is equal to or less than the threshold (S305: Yes), in S309, the control unit 172 of the robot control panel 170 transmits an instruction to the control panel 100 to move the car 50 to the designated floor specified by the cleaning command (S309). Next, in the control panel 100, the robot interlock operation control unit 122 instructs to wait for the door to open until the car 50 arrives at the designated floor (S310).

[0096] Next, when the car 50 arrives at the designated floor, the door opens, and the robot 500 gets off the car, in the robot control panel 170 of the car 50, the recording unit 174 records the getting-off time, the weight of the car 50, and the date at the time of the robot 500 getting off in the history data 1751 (S312). After the robot 500 gets off the car, it executes a cleaning process.

[0097] Then, in the control panel 100, the robot interlock operation control unit 122 determines whether all commands from the robot control panel 170 have been completed (S313). If all commands from the robot control panel 170 have not been completed yet (S313: No), the process returns to S301, and the process from S301 is repeatedly executed.

[0098] On the other hand, if all commands from the robot control panel 170 have been completed (S313: Yes), the robot interlock operation control unit 122 responds to a normal call (destination floor call or landing call) by group management control (S314). Next, the control unit 172 of the robot control panel 170 determines whether the cleaning completion time stored in the storage unit 175 has elapsed (S315). If the cleaning completion time has not elapsed yet (S315: No), the process returns to S314.

[0099] When the cleaning completion time has elapsed (S315: Yes), the control unit 172 of the robot control panel 170 sends an instruction to the control panel 100 to have the car 50 wait at the designated floor (S316). Then, in the control panel 100 that has received the instruction, the robot interlock operation control unit 122 determines whether the communication unit 102 has received a call for another floor (S317). If the communication unit 102 has not received a call for another floor (S317: No), the process returns to S316 and the car 50 waits at the designated floor.

[0100] On the other hand, in S317, if the communication unit 102 has received a call for another floor (S317: Yes), the robot interlock operation control unit 122 of the control panel 100 responds to the received call (S318). Next, the control unit 172 of the robot control panel 170 sends an instruction to the robot 500 to complete cleaning and wait in the elevator via the server 210 in the elevator penthouse 200 and the server 301 in the robot cloud 300 (S319). Next, the control unit 172 of the robot control panel 170 sends an instruction to the control panel 100 to have the car 50 wait at the designated floor (S320). Then, the process returns to the calling source.

[0101] Thus, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the server 210 in the elevator penthouse 200 transmits a cleaning instruction specifying a designated floor to the robot control panel 170 and the robot 500. The robot control panel 170 includes a storage unit 175 that stores history data 1751 in which the boarding time of the robot 500 on the car 50, the alighting time from the car 50, the weight of the car 50 when the robot 500 boards the car 50, and the weight of the car 50 when the robot 500 alights from the car 50 are registered. When the robot control panel 170 receives a cleaning instruction from the server 210 in the elevator penthouse 200, it transmits a movement instruction for the car 50 to the control panel 100, and further issues a control instruction for the car. Based on the first time between the boarding time and the alighting time, the weight of the car 50 at the time of boarding, and the weight of the car 50 at the time of alighting, which are stored in the storage unit, it predicts the cleaning completion time until the cleaning process by the robot 500 is completed, and based on the predicted cleaning completion time, issues a control instruction for the movement of the car 50 to the control panel 100. The control panel 100 controls the movement of the car 50 based on the movement instruction and the control instruction for the car 50 from the robot control panel 170. The robot 500 receives a cleaning instruction from the server 210 in the elevator penthouse 200 via the server 310 in the robot penthouse 300, and when it receives the cleaning instruction, it boards the car 50 and moves to the designated floor, and executes the cleaning process on the designated floor.

[0102] Therefore, in this embodiment, since the elevator is controlled in accordance with the completion time of the cleaning process of the cleaning robot 500, it is possible to further improve the efficiency of the cleaning work using the elevator by the robot 500.

[0103] Also, in the elevator control system 1 according to the present embodiment, each time the robot 500 boards the car 50, the robot control panel 170 records, as history data 1751, the boarding time of the robot 500 on the car 50 and the weight of the car 50 when the robot 500 boards the car 50 in the storage unit 175. Each time the robot 500 gets off the car 50, the robot control panel 170 records, as history data 1751, the getting-off time from the car 50 and the weight of the car 50 when the robot 500 gets off the car 50 in the storage unit 175.

[0104] Therefore, in the present embodiment, since various information is recorded each time the robot 500 boards and gets off the car 50, the completion time of the cleaning process can be predicted more accurately, and further efficiency improvement of the cleaning operation using the elevator by the robot 500 can be realized.

[0105] Also, in the elevator control system 1 according to the present embodiment, according to an instruction from the robot control panel 170, the control panel 100 makes the car 50 wait at the designated floor after the robot 500 gets off the car 50 at the designated floor for executing the cleaning process and when the cleaning completion time has elapsed.

[0106] Therefore, in the present embodiment, since it waits in front of the car 50 elevator in accordance with the completion time of the cleaning process of the cleaning robot 500, further efficiency improvement of the cleaning operation using the elevator by the robot 500 can be realized.

[0107] Also, in the elevator control system 1 according to the present embodiment, according to an instruction from the robot control panel 170, when the control panel 100 receives another call after the robot 500 gets off the car 50 at the designated floor for executing the cleaning process and before the cleaning completion time has elapsed, it performs group management control corresponding to the call before the cleaning completion time has elapsed and until the cleaning completion time has elapsed.

[0108] Therefore, in the present embodiment, in accordance with the completion time of the cleaning process of the cleaning robot 500, other calls are accommodated, so that by effectively utilizing time, further efficiency improvement of the cleaning operation using the elevator by the robot 500 can be realized.

[0109] In addition, in the elevator control system 1 according to the present embodiment, the robot control panel 170 determines whether the amount of garbage carried by the robot 500 is less than or equal to a threshold value based on the weight of the car 50 when boarding. When the amount of garbage is less than or equal to the threshold value, the control panel 100 is instructed to move the car to the designated floor.

[0110] Therefore, in the present embodiment, if the amount of garbage generated during the cleaning process of the cleaning robot 500 is small, by continuing the cleaning process, further efficiency improvement of the cleaning operation using the elevator by the robot 500 can be realized.

[0111] In addition, in the elevator control system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the amount of garbage is greater than the threshold value, the robot control panel 170 moves the car 50 to the floor of the garbage disposal location with respect to the control panel 100, and instructs the robot 500 to perform a garbage disposal process. When the robot 500 receives the garbage disposal instruction, it moves to the floor of the garbage disposal location in the car 50 and executes the garbage disposal process on the floor of the garbage disposal location.

[0112] Therefore, in the present embodiment, if the amount of garbage generated during the cleaning process of the cleaning robot 500 is large, the cleaning process is interrupted once to perform a garbage disposal process, and after the completion of the garbage disposal process, the cleaning process is continued, so that the cleaning operation using the elevator by the robot 500 can be smoothly performed.

[0113] Also, in the elevator control system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the garbage disposal process is commanded for the robot 500, the robot control panel 170 predicts the garbage disposal completion time until the garbage disposal process by the robot 500 is completed based on the first time between the boarding time and the alighting time, the weight of the car at the time of boarding, and the weight of the car at the time of alighting, which are stored in the storage unit 175, and instructs the control panel 100, so that after the robot 500 disembarks the car 50 at the floor of the garbage disposal location for executing the garbage disposal process, when the garbage disposal completion time has elapsed, the car 50 is made to wait at the floor of the garbage disposal location.

[0114] Therefore, in the present embodiment, the completion time of the garbage disposal process is predicted, and the car 50 is made to wait in front of the elevator 2 in accordance with the completion time of the garbage disposal process, so that the cleaning process after the completion of the garbage disposal process can be performed more smoothly.

[0115] (Modification example) In the above embodiment, the control panel 100 and the robot control panel 170 are provided separately, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control panel 100 and the robot control panel 170 can also be configured as a single control device.

[0116] Also, in the above embodiment, data and instructions are exchanged with the robot 500 via the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the servers 210, the control panel 100, and the robot control panel 170 in the elevator cloud 200 may be configured to directly exchange data and instructions with the robot 500 without providing the server 310 of the robot cloud 300.

[0117] Also, in the above embodiment, the amount of garbage held by the robot 500 is determined based on the weight of the car 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the weight of the robot 500 itself may be measured to determine the amount of garbage.

[0118] Each control program executed in each of the control panel 100, the robot control panel 170, the server 310 of the elevator cloud 200, and the robot 500 according to the above-described embodiment and modification example is provided by being pre-embedded in a ROM or the like.

[0119] Each control program executed in each of the control panel 100, the robot control panel 170, the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, and the robot 500 according to the above-described embodiment and modification example may be configured to be recorded and provided on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), etc. in an installable format or an executable format file.

[0120] Furthermore, each control program executed in each of the control panel 100, the robot control panel 170, the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, and the robot 500 according to the above-described embodiment and modification example may be configured to be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network.

[0121] Also, each control program executed in each of the control panel 100, the robot control panel 170, the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, and the robot 500 according to the above-described embodiment and modification example may be configured to be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0122] Each control program executed in each of the control panel 100, the robot control panel 170, the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, and the robot 500 according to the above-described embodiment and modification example has a module configuration including each of the above-described functional units. As actual hardware, the CPU reads each control program from the above-described ROM and executes it, so that each of the above units is loaded onto the main storage device, and each of the functional units is generated on the main storage device.

[0123] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0124] 1... Elevator control system, 2, 2A, 2B... Elevator, 3... Building, 4, 4A, 4B... Operation panel, 5A... User, 7, 7A, 7B... Camera, 8, 8A, 8B... Load sensor, 20, 20A, 20B... Hoistway, 50, 50A, 50B... Car, 100, 100A, 100B... Control panel (control device), 120, 172, 211, 311, 501... Control unit, 102, 171, 212, 312, 502... Communication unit, 110, 175, 220, 320, 510... Storage unit, 111... Management DB, 121... Normal operation control unit, 122... Robot-linked operation control unit, 150, 150A, 150B... Controller, 160... Control room, 170, 170A, 170B... Robot control panel (control device, control panel for autonomous mobile body), 173... Prediction unit, 174... Recording unit, 176... Judgment unit, 200... Elevator penthouse, 210... Server, 300... Robot cloud, 310... Server, 500, 500A, 500B, 500C... Robot (autonomous mobile body), 503... Driving unit, 504... Cleaning processing unit, 509... Travel control unit, 1751... History data.

Claims

1. An elevator control system comprising: an autonomous mobile body capable of autonomously moving into an elevator car installed in a building; a control device for managing the movement of the autonomous mobile body using the elevator car and the elevator that can be boarded by the autonomous mobile body and a person; and an elevator server connected to the control device via a network and controlling the ascent and descent of the elevator cars of all the elevators in the building, wherein the elevator server includes a first communication unit that transmits a cleaning command to the control device and the autonomous mobile body at a designated floor, the control device includes a storage unit that stores the boarding time of the autonomous mobile body on the elevator car, the alighting time from the elevator car, the weight of the elevator car when the autonomous mobile body boards the elevator car, and the weight of the elevator car when the autonomous mobile body alights from the elevator car; a second communication unit that receives the cleaning command from the elevator server; a prediction unit that predicts a cleaning completion time until the cleaning process by the autonomous mobile body is completed based on a first time between the boarding time and the alighting time, the weight of the elevator car at the time of boarding, and the weight of the elevator car at the time of alighting, stored in the storage unit; a first control unit that controls the movement of the elevator car based on the predicted cleaning completion time; and the autonomous mobile body includes a third communication unit that receives the cleaning command from the elevator server, a travel control unit that moves by boarding the elevator car to the designated floor when receiving the cleaning command from the elevator server, and a cleaning processing unit that executes a cleaning process at the designated floor. An elevator control system comprising the above components.

2. The control device further includes a recording unit that records, in the storage unit, the boarding time of the autonomous mobile body on the elevator car and the weight of the elevator car when the autonomous mobile body boards the elevator car each time the autonomous mobile body boards the elevator car, and records, in the storage unit, the alighting time from the elevator car and the weight of the elevator car when the autonomous mobile body alights from the elevator car each time the autonomous mobile body alights from the elevator car. The elevator control system according to Claim 1, further comprising the above component.

3. The first control unit causes the elevator car to wait at the designated floor at the point in time when the cleaning completion time has elapsed after the autonomous mobile body alights from the elevator car at the designated floor for executing the cleaning process. The elevator control system according to claim 2.

4. When the first control unit receives another call before the cleaning completion time elapses after the autonomous mobile device gets off the car at the designated floor for executing the cleaning process, the first control unit performs group management control corresponding to the call before the cleaning completion time elapses and until the cleaning completion time elapses. The elevator control system according to claim 3.

5. The control device A determination unit that determines whether the amount of garbage possessed by the autonomous mobile device is equal to or less than a threshold value based on the weight of the car at the time of boarding; A second control unit that moves the car to the designated floor when the amount of garbage is equal to or less than the threshold value; The elevator control system according to claim 4, further comprising the above.

6. When the amount of garbage is greater than the threshold value, the second control unit further moves the car to the floor of the garbage disposal location, commands the autonomous mobile device to perform a garbage disposal process, When receiving the command of the garbage disposal process, the travel control unit moves the car to the floor of the garbage disposal location; The cleaning processing unit further executes the garbage disposal process on the floor of the garbage disposal location. The elevator control system according to claim 5.

7. When the garbage disposal process is commanded to the autonomous mobile device, the prediction unit predicts the garbage disposal completion time until the garbage disposal process by the autonomous mobile device is completed based on the first time between the boarding time and the alighting time stored in the storage unit, the weight of the car at the time of boarding, and the weight of the car at the time of alighting. After the autonomous mobile device gets off the car at the floor of the garbage disposal location for executing the garbage disposal process, the first control unit makes the car wait at the floor of the garbage disposal location at the time when the garbage disposal completion time elapses. The elevator control system according to claim 6.

8. The control device includes a control panel that manages the movement of the car, An autonomous mobile device control panel that manages the movement of the autonomous mobile device using the elevator, The autonomous mobile device control panel The storage unit, The second communication unit, The recording unit, The prediction unit, The determination unit, The second control unit. When the second control unit receives the cleaning command from the elevator server, it gives an instruction to move the car to the control panel and further gives a control instruction to the car. The control panel includes a first control unit and a fourth communication unit that receives the movement instruction and the control instruction from the control panel for the autonomous mobile body. The first control unit controls the movement of the car based on the movement instruction and the control instruction. The elevator control system according to claim 7.

9. It further includes an autonomous mobile body server that is connected to the elevator server and the autonomous mobile body by a network and controls the autonomous mobile body. The elevator server and the control device transmit a command to the autonomous mobile body via the autonomous mobile body server. The elevator control system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A cleaning control method executed by an elevator control system including an autonomous mobile body that can autonomously move to a car of an elevator installed in a building, a control device that manages the movement of the autonomous mobile body using the car and the elevator that can be boarded by the autonomous mobile body and a person, and an elevator server that is connected to the control device by a network and controls the elevating and lowering of the cars of all the elevators in the building, the method comprising: The control device includes a storage unit that stores the boarding time of the autonomous mobile body on the car, the alighting time from the car, the weight of the car when the autonomous mobile body boards the car, and the weight of the car when the autonomous mobile body alights from the car. The step of the elevator server transmitting a cleaning command to the control device and the autonomous mobile body at a specified floor; The step of the control device receiving the cleaning command from the elevator server; The step of the control device predicting the cleaning completion time until the cleaning process by the autonomous mobile body is completed based on a first time between the boarding time and the alighting time, the weight of the car at the time of boarding, and the weight of the car at the time of alighting, which are stored in the storage unit; The step of the control device controlling the movement of the car based on the predicted cleaning completion time; The step of the autonomous mobile body receiving the cleaning command from the elevator server. When the autonomous mobile body receives the cleaning command from the elevator server, boarding the car and moving to the designated floor; When the autonomous mobile body executes a cleaning process on the designated floor; A cleaning control method including the above steps.

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