Elevators and elevator systems

Abstract

An elevator (1) includes: a car (11) that has a car door (32); a car door switch (41) that outputs information indicating whether the car door (32) is closed or not; a photoelectric sensor (42) that detects an object around the car door; and a control device (19) that determines whether or not a rescue operation is possible on the basis of information from the car door switch (41) and information from the photoelectric sensor (42) and that moves the car (11) to a stop (22) and opens the car door (32) if it is determined that the rescue operation is possible.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to elevators and to elevator systems that include a plurality of elevators and a remote communication device capable of receiving signals from each elevator. [Background technology]

[0002] A conventional elevator is described in Patent Document 1. This elevator is equipped with a locking / unlocking detection means for detecting whether the landing doors are locked or unlocked, as well as a door-opening detection means for detecting movement of the landing doors from a closed position toward an open position. Even if the locking / unlocking detection means detects that the landing doors are unlocked, the elevator allows the car to ascend or descend if the door-opening detection means detects that the landing doors are in a closed position. This prevents people from becoming trapped inside the elevator due to a malfunction of the locking / unlocking detection means, and also reduces the frequency of emergency car stops due to earthquakes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-213951 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Although the above elevator can prevent people from being trapped inside due to a malfunction of the means for detecting whether the landing doors are locked or unlocked, people are likely to be trapped inside if the means for determining the open / closed state of the car doors malfunctions. Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an elevator in which people are less likely to be trapped inside even if the means for determining the open / closed state of the car doors malfunctions, and an elevator system equipped with such an elevator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the elevator according to the present disclosure includes a car having car doors, a car door opening / closing information output unit that outputs information indicating whether the car doors are closed or not, a detection unit that detects objects around the car doors, and a control device that determines whether or not a rescue operation is possible based on information from the car door opening / closing information output unit and information from the detection unit, and that moves the car to a landing and opens the car doors if it is determined that the rescue operation is possible. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the elevator of the present disclosure, even if the means for determining the open / closed state of the car doors fails, people are less likely to become trapped inside. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an elevator according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating an example of the arrangement of photoelectric sensors. [Figure 2B] FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating another example of the arrangement of the photoelectric sensor. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control device and a main configuration related to communication therewith. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart of an example of a person rescue control that can be performed by the control device when the car door switch fails and detects that the car door is open, even though the car door is closed, causing a person to become trapped in the car. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a car room in which a photographing device is installed. [Figure 6A] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a car chamber in which car doors are located at both ends in the depth direction. [Figure 6B] FIG. 2 is a plan view of an example of an operation panel installed on the side of a car door. [Figure 6C] FIG. 2 is a plan view of an example of a wheelchair control panel installed on the side wall of a car. [Figure 7] 5 is a flowchart corresponding to FIG. 4 in an example of an elevator system of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, when multiple embodiments and variations are included below, it is initially anticipated that new embodiments will be constructed by appropriately combining their characteristic features. In this specification, the area around the car door refers to a predetermined area around the car door where a detection unit detects (monitors) whether at least a portion of a person in the car and at least a portion of an item carried by the person in the car enter the car. In the following embodiments, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an elevator 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator 10 includes a car 11, a hoist 12, a counterweight 13, a wire rope 14, a car call button 15, a destination floor button 16, a landing position detection sensor 18, a car door switch 41 as an example of a car door opening / closing information output unit, a photoelectric sensor 42 as an example of a detection unit, an emergency notification operation unit 43, an encoder 45, a voice output device 27, and a control device 19. The emergency notification operation unit 43 is an example of an operation unit (control panel) that transmits or reports car confinement information indicating that a person is confined in the car 11 to the outside of the car 11. When a person inside the car 11 operates the emergency notification operation unit 43, the emergency notification operation unit 43 transmits the car confinement information to the outside of the car 11.

[0010] The control device 19 is, for example, configured as a control panel provided in a machine room 30 above the elevator shaft 20, and the hoist 12 is provided in the machine room 30. If the elevator does not have a machine room, the control device (control panel) and the hoist 12 are provided, for example, in a pit below the elevator shaft. The wire rope 14 is wound around the hoist 12, and, for example, one end is fixed to the top of the car 11, while the other end is fixed to the counterweight 13 via a deflector sheave (not shown). The wire rope 14, the hoist 12, the deflector sheave, and the counterweight 13 are included in the car lifting mechanism 25. The car call button 15 is a button that calls the car 11 and specifies the direction of movement of the car 11, and is provided at the landings 22 on all floors. The destination floor designation button 16 is a button that specifies the destination floor of the car 11, and is provided on an operation panel 39 installed inside the car 11.

[0011] The car door switch 41 is attached to the car 11 at a position above a car door hanger of one of a pair of left and right car door panels. The car door switch 41 detects whether the car door panel is in the fully open position or the fully closed position. Here, the fully open position is the position of the car door panel when the entrance of the car 11 is fully open, and the fully closed position is the position of the car door panel when the entrance of the car 11 is completely closed.

[0012] The car door switch 41 switches between a conductive state (ON state) and a non-conductive state (OFF state) depending on whether the car door 32 is in the fully closed position or not. The car door switch 41 is in the conductive state when the car door 32 is in the fully closed position and is in the non-conductive state when the car door 32 is not in the fully closed position. The car door switch 41 has a switch body including an openable / closable contact, and an operating piece that is rotatably attached to the switch body and opens and closes the contact of the switch body when rotated relative to the switch body. The contact of the switch body closes when the operating piece is pressed by the door hanger of the car door 32 when in the fully closed position, and opens when the car door 32 is displaced from the fully closed position in the door-open direction and rotates the operating piece. The car door switch 41 is in the conductive state when the contact of the switch body closes and in the non-conductive state when the contact of the switch body opens. In this way, the car door switch 41 outputs information indicating that the car door 32 is closed if it is in a conductive state, and information indicating that the car door 32 is open if it is in a non-conductive state, as car door opening / closing information.

[0013] The encoder 45 is configured, for example, as an absolute type encoder, and detects the position of the car 11 and the moving direction of the car 11 by detecting the rotation distance and rotation direction from a reference position of the hoist motor 12a of the hoist 12. The encoder 45 may be configured as any of a mechanical (contact type), optical type, magnetic type, and electromagnetic induction type.

[0014] The emergency call operation unit 43 is configured, for example, with an emergency contact button that connects the interphone in the car 11 to a facility of the elevator 10's maintenance company, such as the information processing center 2 (see FIG. 3) or a business office. When the emergency contact button is operated, a call can be made between a person in the car 11 and a person at the maintenance company's facility using a telephone line via the interphone in the car 11. In addition, in this embodiment, when the emergency call operation unit 43 is operated, a signal (information) indicating that the emergency call operation unit 43 has been operated is transmitted from the emergency call operation unit 43 to the control device 19 directly or indirectly via the maintenance company's facility. The emergency call operation unit 43 is provided, for example, on the operation panel 39. The interphone in the car 11 and the information processing system 3 of the information processing center 2 are communicatively connected to, for example, a wide area network or a local area network.

[0015] 2A is a front view illustrating an example of the arrangement of the photoelectric sensor 42, showing the car door 32 side viewed from the rear of the car 11. The photoelectric sensor 42 includes a light-emitting unit 52 and a light-receiving unit 53 installed on a wall portion 56. If the light output from the light-emitting unit 52 of the photoelectric sensor 42 is not received by the light-receiving unit 53, the photoelectric sensor 42 transmits sensor information indicating that an object has been detected to the control device 19. The control device 19, having received the sensor information, determines that a person is present near the car door. The wall portion 56 includes the end face on the car door 32 side in the depth direction of the car 11 and also includes the inner surface of the car door 32 on the car compartment side.

[0016] The light-emitting unit 52 includes, for example, a first light-emitting unit 52a and a second light-emitting unit 52b. In FIG. 2A , the first light-emitting unit 52a is installed around the lower left side of the entrance / exit 81, and the second light-emitting unit 52b is installed around the lower right side of the entrance / exit 81. The light-receiving unit 53 includes, for example, a first light-receiving unit 53a and a second light-receiving unit 53b. In FIG. 2A , the first light-receiving unit 53a is installed around the upper end face on the left side of the entrance / exit 81, and the second light-receiving unit 53b is installed around the upper end face on the right side of the entrance / exit 81. In this embodiment, the first light-receiving unit 53a is installed near the center between the center of the entrance / exit 81 and one end of the entrance / exit 81 in the width direction of the entrance / exit 81, and the second light-receiving unit 53b is installed near the center between the center of the entrance / exit 81 and the other end of the entrance / exit 81 in the width direction of the entrance / exit 81.

[0017] Light (e.g., an infrared beam) emitted from the first light-emitting unit 52a is received by the first light-receiving unit 53a when there is no object blocking the light. Similarly, light (e.g., an infrared beam) emitted from the second light-emitting unit 52b is received by the second light-receiving unit 53b when there is no object blocking the light. That is, when the first light-emitting unit 52a and the second light-emitting unit 52b emit light but at least one of the first light-receiving unit 53a and the second light-emitting unit 52b fails to detect the light, the photoelectric sensor 42 is deemed to have detected an object. When the control device 19 receives sensor information indicating that the photoelectric sensor 42 has detected an object, it determines that a person is present near the car door 32 in the car 11. The photoelectric sensor 42 can detect a person's hand or a small package approaching the door pocket of the car door 32 in the car 11, and can monitor the area around the door pocket in the car 11 with light. The arrangement of light-emitting unit 52 and light-receiving unit 53 may be reversed from that shown in FIG. 2A, with the light-emitting unit being arranged above the basket and the light-receiving unit being arranged below the basket.

[0018] The photoelectric sensor 42 may have other configurations. Fig. 2B is a perspective view illustrating another example of the arrangement of the photoelectric sensor 42. As shown in Fig. 2B, the photoelectric sensor 42 may have a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit around the center in the width direction of the upper end face of the entrance / exit 81 of the car 11. The photoelectric sensor 42 receives light (e.g., an infrared beam) emitted downward by the light-emitting unit and reflected by an object other than the floor surface at the light-receiving unit. In this case, the control device 19 determines whether or not a person is present around the car door in the car 11 based on the sensor information from the photoelectric sensor 42.

[0019] Referring again to Figure 1, the landing position detection sensor 18 detects the position of the car 11 when it lands on the landing hall 22. The landing position detection sensor 18 is composed of, for example, a vane 18a made of a steel plate or the like provided at a position (height) in the hoistway 20 that corresponds to the landing position on each floor, and a magnetic detector 18b that detects the vane 18a. The car 11 and counterweight 13 are each guided by a guide rail provided in the hoistway 20. The control device 19 receives signals from the car call button 15, the destination floor designation button 16, and the encoder 45, and controls the car lifting mechanism 25 by appropriately controlling the rotation speed and direction of the hoisting machine motor 12a, causing the car 11 to rise and fall within the hoistway 20. In addition, when the control device 19 receives a signal from the landing position detection sensor 18 indicating that the car 11 has landed at the landing hall 22, it controls the car door opening / closing motor 29, thereby opening the car door 32 and the landing hall door 31 linked to it, allowing people to get on and off the car 11.

[0020] The audio output device 27 is provided inside the car 11 and includes a car audio generation unit that generates a synthesized sound, and a car speaker electrically connected to the car audio generation unit. The audio output device 27 generates a synthesized sound in the car audio generation unit in response to a control signal from the control device 19, and outputs the generated synthesized sound from the car speaker into the car 11. The car speaker can be configured as a speaker used by people inside the car 11 to communicate with people inside the information processing center 2, for example, in an emergency, but it may also be configured as a speaker separate from the speaker used by people inside the car 11. The audio output device 27 is used to convey information to people inside the car 11.

[0021] 3 is a block diagram showing the control device 19 and the main components related to communication with the control device 19. As shown in Fig. 3, the elevator 10 includes a transmitter / receiver 47, a car call button 15, a destination floor designation button 16, a floor landing position detection sensor 18, a car door switch 41, a photoelectric sensor 42, an emergency call operation unit 43, an encoder 45, a timer 59, a hoisting machine motor 12a, a voice output device 27, a car door opening / closing motor 29, and the control device 19.

[0022] The transmitter / receiver 47 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from external devices via a network (not shown) connected to the elevator 10, and is configured, for example, with an interface compatible with Ethernet. The timer 59 is a control device that outputs an output signal at a predetermined time after receiving an input signal. In this embodiment, the timer 59 outputs an output signal to the control device 19 a predetermined time after receiving an input signal from the control device 19. The control device 19 receives signals (information) from the car call button 15, the destination floor designation button 16, the landing position detection sensor 18, the car door switch 41, the photoelectric sensor 42, the emergency call operation unit 43, the encoder 45, and the timer 59. Based on the received signals, the control device 19 controls the timer 59, the hoist motor 12a, the audio output device 27, and the car door opening / closing motor 29.

[0023] The control device 19 is preferably configured by a computer, for example, a microcomputer, and includes a control unit 70 and a storage unit 71. The control unit 70, i.e., a processor, includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The storage unit 71 is configured by a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or the like, and may include a nonvolatile memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 71 may be configured by only one storage medium, or may be configured by multiple different storage media. The CPU reads and executes programs and the like stored in the storage unit 71. The nonvolatile memory stores control programs, predetermined thresholds, and the like in advance. The volatile memory temporarily stores the read programs and processing data.

[0024] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of person rescue control that can be executed by the control device 19. This control is executed when the open state of the car door 32 is detected even though the car door switch 41 has failed and the car door 32 is in the closed state, causing a person to be trapped in the car. When normal operation, which controls the elevation of the car 11, starts due to the generation of a call for the elevator 10 or the transition from maintenance mode to normal operation mode, in step S1 the control device 19 receives open / closed information about the car door 32 from the car door switch 41 and determines whether the car door 32 is open or not based on this information.

[0025] If a negative determination is made in step S1, step S1 is repeated. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in step S1, the process proceeds to step S2, where the control device 19 determines whether a person is trapped in the car based on whether a signal from the emergency call operation unit 43 is received. At this time, the signal received by the control device 19 from the emergency call operation unit 43 may be received directly or indirectly. If a negative determination is made in step S2, step S1 is repeated. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in step S2, the process proceeds to step S3, where the control device 19 determines whether a person is present in the car 11 around the car door 32 based on the signal from the photoelectric sensor 42.

[0026] If a positive determination is made in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4, where the control device 19 causes the audio output device 27 to output a message to the person in the car 11 that instructs them to move away from the car door 32, and step S3 is repeated. Examples of such a message include, "Please move away from the car door," or "Please move to the back of the car." Furthermore, if a display unit formed of a liquid crystal panel, organic EL panel, or the like is present in the car 11, in step S4 the audio output device 27 may output a message to the person in the car 11 that instructs them to move away from the car door 32, and the display unit may also display a message to the person in the car 11 that instructs them to move away from the car door 32. In this way, information can be conveyed to people with hearing impairments.

[0027] On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S3, the process proceeds to step S5, where the control device 19 determines at which floor the car 11 has landed based on information from the encoder 45 (or the landing position detection sensor 18). If a positive determination is made in step S5, the process proceeds to step S6, where the control device 19 controls the car door opening / closing motor 29 to open the car door 32 and open the hall door 31 linked to the car door 32. Thereafter, the control ends. In this way, people inside the car 11 can be evacuated to outside the car 11.

[0028] On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S5, the process proceeds to step S7, where rescue operation is started and timer 59 starts timing. Rescue operation is an operation in which car 11 is moved to any of halls 22 and car doors 32 and hall doors 31 are opened. The floor at which car 11 is landed during rescue operation is preferably the floor to which car 11 was moving when rescue operation started and the nearest floor to the position of car 11. In elevator 10, photoelectric sensor 42 is configured to intermittently transmit sensor information to control device 19 every time less than a first predetermined time while rescue operation is being performed. In the subsequent step S8, control device 19 intermittently receives the sensor information and determines whether or not a person is present around the car doors based on the sensor information.

[0029] If a negative determination is made in step S8 (sensor information is not received intermittently, or it is determined that a person is present around the car door), the process proceeds to step S9, where the timer 59 is reset, and in the following step S10, the car 11 is stopped. Thereafter, step S3 and subsequent steps are repeated. Note that if the control device 19 is unable to receive sensor information for a first predetermined time or longer due to poor communication, the control device 19 determines that it is unable to receive sensor information intermittently. Here, the case has been described in which the photoelectric sensor 42 intermittently transmits the sensor information to the control device 19 at intervals that are less than the first predetermined time, but the photoelectric sensor 42 may continuously transmit the sensor information to the control device 19. In this case, in step S8, the control device 19 may continuously receive the sensor information and determine whether or not a person is present around the car door based on the sensor information.

[0030] On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in step S8, the process proceeds to step S11, where the control device 19 determines whether or not the car 11 has landed at any floor during rescue operation based on information from the landing position detection sensor 18. If a positive determination is made in step S11, the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S11, the process proceeds to step S12, where it is determined whether or not a second predetermined time or more has elapsed since the timer 59 started timing. The second predetermined time is longer than the first predetermined time. If a negative determination is made in step S12, the process proceeds to step S13, where the movement of the car 11 during rescue operation continues, and then step S8 and subsequent steps are repeated. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made in step S12, step S9 and subsequent steps are repeated.

[0031] In this embodiment, the rescue operation of elevator 10 has been described when information that car doors 32 are open is output and car trapped-in information is transmitted to the outside. However, even if car trapped-in information is not transmitted to the outside, elevator 10 may perform rescue operation if information that car doors 32 are open is output and the detection unit detects that a person is trapped in car 11. Furthermore, if the elevator 10 is equipped with a voice output device 27 in the car 11, and if a positive determination is made in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4, in which the control device 19 causes the voice output device 27 to output a message instructing the person in the car 11 to move away from the car door 32, and then step S3 is repeated. However, the elevator does not have to have a voice output device in the car, and step S4 may be omitted. If a positive determination is made in step S3, step S3 may be repeated, or the control may end.

[0032] Also, if a positive determination is made in step S12, the car is stopped. However, if a positive determination is made in step S12, the timer 59 may be reset, and the car 11 may be decelerated to a predetermined speed greater than zero (0) without stopping the car 11, and then step S7 and subsequent steps may be repeated. Also, the case where the sensor information is received by the control device 19 has been described. However, the receiving unit that receives the sensor information does not have to be the receiving unit of the control device in the elevator, and may be, for example, the receiving unit of a rescue operation support device shared by multiple elevators. In this case, the sensor information is transmitted to the control device 19 of the elevator 10 performing rescue operation, for example, via the rescue operation support device. Here, the rescue operation support device may be a device that is automatically operated by AI (artificial intelligence) and does not require any human intervention other than for maintenance.

[0033] As described above, the elevator 10 comprises the car 11, a car lifting mechanism 25 that raises and lowers the car 11, a car door opening / closing motor 29 that opens and closes the car doors 32, a door opening / closing information output unit (car door switch 41) that outputs opening / closing information that can identify whether the car doors 32 are open or not, a detection unit (photoelectric sensor 42) that acquires sensor information that can identify whether a person is present around the car doors 32 inside the car 11, an operation unit (emergency notification operation unit 43) that is installed inside the car 11 and transmits car confinement information indicating that a person is confined inside the car 11 to the outside of the car 11, and a control device 19 that receives information from the car door switch 41, the photoelectric sensor 42, and the emergency notification operation unit 43, and controls the car lifting mechanism 25 and the car door opening / closing motor 28. Furthermore, when car lock-in information is transmitted to the outside of the car 11, and the control device 19 determines that the car door is not closed based on the car door opening / closing information, and determines that there is no person around the car door 32 based on the sensor information, the elevator 10 performs a rescue operation to move the car 11 to one of the landings 22 and open the car door 32.

[0034] According to the present disclosure, even if the car door switch 41, which is a means for determining whether the car door 32 is open or closed, malfunctions and the control device 19 determines that the car door 32 is not closed, causing a person to become trapped in the car, the elevator 10 will perform rescue operations to rescue the person in the car 11 if it can determine that there is no person around the car door 32. Therefore, even if the car door switch 41 malfunctions, people are less likely to become trapped.

[0035] When the photoelectric sensor 42 detects part of a person's luggage or part of a person, the sensor information acquired by the photoelectric sensor 42 includes information indicating that the person is near the car door 32. According to this configuration, the photoelectric sensor 42 can reliably detect a person near the car door 32, thereby increasing safety during rescue operations.

[0036] Also, when the car 11 is moving during rescue operation, the car 11 may be configured to decelerate when a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of rescue operation.

[0037] The car 11 may be moved by releasing the brake. In this case, the speed of the car 11 increases as the time for which the brake is released increases. According to this configuration, the car 11 decelerates after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of rescue operation. Therefore, the speed of the car 11 does not exceed the predetermined speed, making it possible to more safely rescue people inside the car 11.

[0038] Furthermore, the elevator 10 may use a voice output device 27 installed in the car 11 to guide people in the car 11 to move away from the area around the car door. In this case, for example, when the control device 19 determines that the car 11 is open and that a person is present near the car door 32, the voice output device 27 outputs a message urging people to move away from the car door 32.

[0039] According to this configuration, if a person is present near the car door 32 and it is not possible to transition to rescue operation, the audio output device 27 outputs a message urging the person to move away from the car door 32. The output of this message causes the person in the car 11 to move away from the car door 32, and as a result, rescue operation can be initiated to open the car door 32. This makes it easy to quickly circumvent the situation where a person is trapped in the car.

[0040] Furthermore, the elevator 10 may be configured to terminate rescue operation under predetermined conditions while performing rescue operation. Specifically, for example, rescue operation is terminated when the control device 19 cannot receive sensor information continuously or intermittently transmitted by the photoelectric sensor 42, or when the control device 19 determines that a person is present around the car door 32 based on the received sensor information.

[0041] According to this configuration, the elevator 10 will not perform rescue operation when the conditions for performing rescue operation are no longer met or communication is interrupted, making it impossible for the control device 19 to grasp the status inside the car 11. Therefore, even if communication failure occurs between devices inside the elevator 10, unexpected movement of the car 11 can be prevented in advance, improving the safety of people inside the car 11.

[0042] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment and its modifications, and various improvements and modifications are possible within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

[0043] For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the detection unit is the photoelectric sensor 42 has been described. However, in the elevator of the present disclosure, the detection unit may include, in addition to the photoelectric sensor 42, another configuration capable of detecting an object around the car door 32, or the photoelectric sensor 42 may be replaced by another configuration capable of detecting an object around the car door 32.

[0044] Another configuration is, for example, a camera 142 capable of capturing an image of a predetermined area around the car door 32, as shown in Fig. 5. In this case, the camera captures an image of a predetermined area on the car door side inside the car compartment and transmits the captured image information to the control device 19. The control device 19 determines whether or not a person is present around the car door 32 based on at least one of the information received from the photoelectric sensor 42 and the camera. The camera 142 may also be configured to include a camera 150 and one or more mirrors 151. In the example of Fig. 5, the camera 150 is fixed to the upper side of the car 111 on the side of the car door 32 with the capturing surface 150a facing toward the depth of the car 111, and the one or more mirrors 151 are fixed to the rear side of the car 111.

[0045] In this way, the camera 150 can capture the surroundings of the car door 32 inside the car 111 reflected in one or more mirrors 151, and the control device 19 can accurately determine whether or not a person is present around the car door 32 inside the car 111. Note that the capturing device may directly capture the surroundings of the car door 32 inside the car 111, in which case the mirror is not required. Also, if the resolution of the camera is low and the edge of the car door 32 is difficult to see, tape of a highly visible color may be placed on the edge to make it easier to see.

[0046] The detection units may be installed at intervals in the depth direction on a wall portion including the end face of the car on the exit side in the depth direction of the car, and some of the detection units may be emergency contact buttons. Specifically, when the control device determines that there is only one passenger based on information from a photographing device, a weighing device, etc., the control device may determine that the person operating the control unit, such as a switch or button, on a control panel installed on a side wall away from the car door or on the wall at the back of the car door in the depth direction is being operated, thereby determining that the person operating the button is not present near the car door. For example, as long as a button on the control panel is pressed, the control device may determine that the person pressing the button is located away from the car door. Here, the pressed button may be a button assigned to another purpose during normal operation, such as a destination floor button.

[0047] 6A , elevator 210 installed in a station or the like may have car doors 232A and 232B provided at both ends in the depth direction of car 211. In such a case, control device 19 may use the operation unit of a control panel on the wall opposite the car door on the side where passengers are evacuated (exit side) to determine whether a person is present around the car door. For example, when control device 19 determines that there is only one passenger based on information from a photographing device, a weighing device, etc., and car door 232A is used as the car door on the side where passengers are evacuated, control device 19 determines whether there is a person around car door 232A based on information on whether operation panel 239B is being operated. Also, when wheelchair operation panel 238 is installed on the side wall of the car and control device 19 determines that there is only one passenger based on information from a photographing device, a weighing device, etc., control device 19 may determine that there is no person around the car door by identifying that the operation unit of wheelchair operation panel 238 is being operated.

[0048] FIG. 6B is a plan view of an example of an operation panel 239A installed on the side of a car door. As shown in FIG. 6B, operation panel 239A has, for example, a vertically long rectangular planar shape and includes destination floor designation button 241, door open button 242, door close button 243, and emergency contact button 245. FIG. 6C is a plan view of an example of a wheelchair operation panel 238 installed on the side wall of the car. As shown in FIG. 6C, wheelchair operation panel 238 has, for example, a horizontally long rectangular planar shape and includes destination floor designation button 261, door open button 262, door close button 263, and emergency contact button 265. Note that when determining that no person is present around the car door, a condition may be that a person is pressing multiple buttons. Furthermore, when determining that there is no one around the car door, it is possible that the trapped person may be confused, so a condition may be that a person is continuing to press the emergency contact button.

[0049] So far, we have explained a case in which, while elevator 10 is performing rescue operation, photoelectric sensor 42 continuously or intermittently transmits sensor information to control device 19, and when control device 19 is no longer able to receive the sensor information or determines that a person is present around car door 32 based on the received sensor information, it terminates rescue operation.

[0050] However, the sensor information may also be received by an information processing device (remote communication device) in a facility outside the elevator 10. In other words, the present invention can also be applied to an elevator system including multiple elevators according to the present disclosure and a remote communication device that receives sensor information transmitted from each elevator. If the remote communication device is unable to receive sensor information from the elevator performing rescue operation, or determines based on the received sensor information that a person is present near the car door of the elevator performing rescue operation, the remote communication device terminates the rescue operation of the elevator performing rescue operation. Here, if the remote communication device does not receive sensor information continuously for a predetermined time or a predetermined number of times, it may be determined that the remote communication device is no longer able to receive sensor information.

[0051] An example of the remote communication device may be the information processing system 3 of the information processing center 2 shown in FIG. 3. There may also be multiple information processing centers 2. The multiple information processing systems 3 installed in the multiple information processing centers 2 may manage and utilize data from equipment including multiple elevators, and may handle repairs and malfunctions and remotely monitor the equipment. Each information processing system 3 may include one or more processing servers 4 and one or more database (DB) servers 5 that store data from the multiple equipment. If the information processing center 2 is a higher-level organization for one or more business establishments, the remote communication device may be an information processing device installed in each business establishment.

[0052] In this context, when a rescue operation is being performed and there is no person around the car door, the detection unit of the elevator 10 continuously or intermittently transmits sensor information indicating whether an object has been detected around the car door to the remote communication device. Then, when the remote communication device is unable to receive sensor information from the elevator 10 that sent the sensor information while the elevator 10 is performing rescue operation, or when the remote communication device determines based on the received sensor information that there is a person around the car door of the elevator 10 performing rescue operation, it transmits a signal to the control device 19 of the elevator 10 to terminate the rescue operation. The signal to terminate the rescue operation may be, for example, a signal indicating that the car should be stopped. As a result, the control device 19 controls the car lifting mechanism 25 to terminate the rescue operation, for example, to stop the car.

[0053] Communication between the elevator 10 and the information processing system (remote communication device) 3 can be performed via a wide area network or a local area network. Furthermore, the transmission of a signal from the information processing system 3 to the elevator 10 that has sent the sensor information may be performed by a person operating the information processing system 3, or may be performed automatically by the information processing system 3 without human intervention.

[0054] For example, if the detection unit is a camera that can capture images of the area around the car door inside the car, and a person at a remote location who checks the image data sent from the camera determines that a person is present around the car door, they can operate the remote communication device to send a signal to terminate rescue operation to the control device 19 of the elevator 10 that is equipped with that camera. Also, instead of being operated by a person at a remote location, an AI built into the remote communication device may determine that a person is present around the car door based on the image data sent from the camera device, and automatically send a signal to terminate rescue operation to the control device 19 of the elevator 10.

[0055] FIG. 7 is a flowchart corresponding to FIG. 4 for an example of an elevator system 110 (see FIG. 2) according to the present disclosure. In FIG. 7, steps identical to those in FIG. 4 are assigned the same step numbers, and descriptions of the operations of those steps are omitted. In the control shown in FIG. 7, step S8′ is performed instead of step S8. In step S8′, a remote communication device (e.g., the information processing system 3 of the information processing center 2) intermittently receives sensor information from the elevator 10 performing rescue operation and determines whether or not a person is present around the car door based on the sensor information. If a positive determination is made in step S8′, the process proceeds to step S11. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step S8′, the process proceeds to step S14′, in which the remote communication device transmits a signal to the elevator control device to terminate rescue operation, and then the process proceeds to step S9. According to the elevator system 110, rescue operation is not performed when the conditions for performing rescue operation are no longer met or when communication is lost and the remote communication device is no longer able to grasp the status inside the car. In other words, the elevator according to the first embodiment does not perform rescue operation in a state where there is a safety concern, so that a person in the car will not be trapped between the car doors, thereby improving the safety of the person in the car. In the elevator system of the present disclosure, sensor information may be continuously transmitted from the elevator performing rescue operation to the remote communication device. In step S8', the remote communication device continuously receives sensor information from the elevator performing rescue operation, and determines whether or not a person is present around the car doors of the elevator based on the sensor information.

[0056] The detection unit may also include multiple devices that independently acquire multiple types of information detecting an object around the car door. The elevator 10 may then perform rescue operation only if none of the multiple devices detects an object around the car door. For example, if the detection unit includes a photoelectric sensor 42 and a photographing device 142, and the photoelectric sensor 42 acquires information indicating that no person is present around the car door (i.e., no object is detected) and the photographing device 142 acquires information indicating that no person is present around the car door (i.e., no object is included in the camera image), the elevator 10 determines that no person is present around the car door and performs rescue operation. However, if either or both of the photoelectric sensor 42 and the photographing device 142 acquire information indicating that a person is present around the car door, rescue operation is not performed. This configuration further ensures the safety of people inside the car. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 2 Information processing center, 3 Information processing system, 4 Processing server, 5 DB server, 10,210 Elevator, 11,111,211 Cage, 12 Hoisting machine, 12a Hoisting machine motor, 13 Counterweight, 14 Wire rope, 15 Cage call button, 16,241,261 Destination floor designation button, 18 Landing position detection sensor, 18a Vane, 18b Detector, 19 Control device, 20 Hoistway, 22 Landing platform, 25 Cage lifting mechanism, 27 Voice output device, 29 Cage door opening / closing motor, 30 Machine room, 31 Landing platform door, 32,232A,232B Cage door, 39,239A,239B Control panel, 41 Cage door switch, 42 Photoelectric sensor, 43 Emergency call operation unit, 45 Encoder, 47 Transmitter / receiver unit, 52 Light emitting unit, 52a First light emitting unit, 52b Second light emitting unit, 53 Light receiving unit, 53a First light receiving unit, 53b Second light receiving unit, 56 Wall unit, 59 Timer, 70 Control unit, 71 Memory unit, 81 Entrance / exit, 110 Elevator system, 142 Photography device, 150 Camera, 150a Photography surface, 151 Mirror, 238 Wheelchair control panel, 242, 262 Door opening button, 243, 263 Door closing button, 245, 265 Emergency contact button.

Claims

1. a cage having a cage door; a car door opening / closing information output unit that outputs information indicating whether the car door is closed; a detection unit that detects an object around the car door inside the car; a control device that, when a person is trapped in the car, executes a rescue operation to move the car to a landing and open the car door; an operation unit that is provided in the car and is operated when reporting to the outside of the car that a person is trapped in the car; The control device performs the rescue operation when it receives information that the car door is open from the car door opening / closing information output unit, receives information that a person is trapped in the car from the operation unit, and the detection unit does not detect an object around the car door.

2. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit includes a photoelectric sensor that detects an object in the car.

3. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit is provided with an imaging device capable of photographing the inside of the car.

4. The elevator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control device decelerates the car when a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the rescue operation.

5. Further provided is an audio output device within the car, 4. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein the control device, when receiving information from the detection unit that an object has been detected around the car door, causes the voice output device to output a message urging the user to move away from the car door.

6. a cage having a cage door; a car door opening / closing information output unit that outputs information indicating whether the car door is closed; a detection unit that detects an object around the car door inside the car; a control device that determines whether rescue operation is possible based on information from the car door opening / closing information output unit and information from the detection unit, and when it is determined that the rescue operation is possible, moves the car to a landing and opens the car door; A voice output device is provided in the car, When the control device receives information from the detection unit that an object has been detected near the car door, the control device outputs to the voice output device a message urging the user to move away from the car door.

7. Equipped with an elevator, The elevator is a cage having a cage door; a car door opening / closing information output unit that outputs information indicating whether the car door is closed; a detection unit that detects an object around the car door inside the car; a control device that determines whether rescue operation is possible based on information from the car door opening / closing information output unit and information from the detection unit, and that moves the car to a landing and opens the car door when it is determined that the rescue operation is possible; and an information processing device that receives information from the detection unit of the elevator; The information processing device causes the elevator to terminate the rescue operation when it cannot receive information from the detection unit of the elevator performing the rescue operation, or when it determines, based on the information from the detection unit, that an object is present around the car door of the elevator performing the rescue operation.

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