Elevator control device

Abstract

To provide an elevator control device expandable to be used for a robot elevator by a simple method.SOLUTION: The elevator control device comprises in a car: an operation panel in which a plurality of buttons for designating a destination floor and door opening is installed; and a car control unit that controls an operation of an elevator and a door in accordance with a button operation of the operation panel. The elevator control device further comprises a retrofitted control unit that has a plurality of actuators for receiving an allocation request signal from outside the car through communication and pressing a button in response to the received content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator control device, and more particularly to an elevator control device suitable for retrofitting and expansion so that a robot can use the elevator to move within a building. [Background technology]

[0002] There is a need for robots to move autonomously within high-rise buildings for purposes such as transporting materials and cleaning within the building. In this case, autonomous movement refers to a robot moving independently without human intervention. For a robot to move freely and autonomously within a high-rise building, it is extremely important that the robot can move using elevators in existing building facilities. While it is possible to use stairs for robot movement, there are only a limited number of robots that can move up stairs, and it takes a long time for the robot to move.

[0003] When a robot uses an elevator, the robot typically arranges for the elevator car (hereafter simply referred to as the car) to arrive at the desired floor, confirms that the car has arrived at the desired floor, boards the car, travels to the destination floor, and then disembarks. In this process, the robot does not recognize and operate the elevator in the same way as a human; rather, operation is usually performed via communication. Furthermore, when a robot gets on or off a car, it is extremely useful for the robot to easily learn the status of the elevator and each car through communication, such as when the car has arrived at the robot's destination floor, when the car it boarded has arrived at the destination floor, and whether the car doors are open or closed.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses an elevator system that uses multiple elevators to transport multiple robots. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-216408 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In Patent Document 1, multiple robots, an elevator control device, and a car control device are connected so that they can communicate with each other. Here, "connected" also refers to a state in which wireless communication is possible.

[0007] However, existing elevators do not generally have the required functionality of communicating with external robots or devices, and for security reasons, elevators that can be operated from external devices are limited. As a result, elevators that robots can ride in are limited to specialized models that are compatible with robots. Because elevators are not easy to replace or expand their functionality, mainly due to cost, solving this problem is extremely important for those who want to operate robots within buildings.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an elevator control device that can be expanded to accommodate robot elevator use in a simple manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In view of the above, the present invention provides an elevator control device that includes an operation panel on which a plurality of buttons for specifying a destination floor and for specifying door opening are installed, and a car control unit in the car that controls elevator operation and doors in response to button operations on the operation panel, and that includes a retrofitted car control unit having a plurality of actuators that receive dispatch request signals from outside the car via communication and operate the buttons according to the received signals. , the buttons include a button for specifying door closing The invention is an elevator control device characterized by the above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, regardless of the elevator manufacturer or model, communication with an external device enables operation from the external device, and the position of each car and the open / closed status of the doors can be shared. By utilizing the present invention, it becomes easy for robots to board elevators in many elevators, regardless of whether they are new or existing, manufacturer, or model. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an elevator control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the layout relationship between various buttons and actuators on the operation panel 22. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a situation in which an extended function is used after being added; [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of operation when a user makes a vehicle dispatch request to travel from the first floor to the second floor. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of a vehicle allocation information list 32 that stores vehicle allocation information D102. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a portable information terminal 42 held by a user. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a portable information terminal 42 held by a user. [Figure 8] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of the actuator described in FIGS. 1 and 2. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a process flow for determining car control content from a vehicle allocation request D102. [Figure 10] A diagram showing the processing flow when a boarding floor is specified and automatic door closing is OFF. [Figure 11] A diagram showing the processing flow when a boarding floor is specified and automatic door closing is ON. [Figure 12] A diagram showing the processing flow when boarding and disembarking floors are specified and automatic door closing is OFF. [Figure 13] A diagram showing the processing flow when boarding and disembarking floors are specified and automatic door closing is ON. [Figure 14]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing floor estimation using a barometric pressure sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. [Example]

[0013] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an elevator control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] The elevator control device of the present invention shown in Figure 1 is mainly composed of multiple cars 20 (two cars 20A and 20B in the illustrated example), a group management control unit 10 that manages the multiple cars 20 as a group, and a server 30 that functions as a retrofit system control unit. Of these, each car 20 (20A, 20B) is equipped with an operation panel 22 (22A, 22B), a car control unit 21 (21A, 21B), and an operation panel control unit 28 (28A, 28B).

[0015] In this overall configuration, in contrast to the existing elevator control device configuration that has an operation panel 22 (22A, 22B) and a car control unit 21 (21A, 21B) inside the car 20 (20A, 20B), in the present invention, an operation panel control unit 28 (28A, 28B) and a server 30 are added as retrofit functional expansion parts to enable operation mainly by robots.

[0016] To put it simply, this retrofitting of functionality allows the various buttons on the operation panel 22 (22A, 22B) to be pressed and operated by actuators provided in the operation panel control unit 28 (28A, 28B) instead of a robot that cannot operate the buttons.

[0017] Fig. 2 illustrates the layout relationship between various buttons and actuators on operation panel 22A (22B has the same configuration, so illustration and description will be omitted), and referring to Fig. 1 as well, the various operation buttons on operation panel 22A are destination floor designation buttons 22A1, 22A2, and 22A3, door open button 22A5, and door close button 22A6, and actuators 23A1, 23A2, 23A3, 23A5, and 23A6 are provided for each button. The example in Fig. 2 illustrates a state in which destination floor designation button 22A2 for the second floor is selected and operated by actuator 23A2, and door open button 22A5 is selected and operated by actuator 23A5.

[0018] In Fig. 2, 24A1 and 24A2 are bases that store these actuators, and these may also store the functions of sensor 25A, car position estimation unit 26A, and trailing car control unit 27A, which will be described later. Operation panel 22B is similarly configured and can be easily understood from the above explanation, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. In Figs. 1 and 2, destination floor designation buttons 22A1, 22A2, and 22A3 and door open / close buttons are all operable from actuator 23A, but only some of them may be operable depending on the individual elevator conditions and configuration.

[0019] In FIG. 1, the actuator 23 is selected by the trailing car control unit 27 and is given an appropriate drive command, but the trailing car control unit 27 receives commands from a server 30 connected via communication, and selects the actuator 23 while checking the information on the car position estimated by the car position estimation unit 26 using the output of the sensor 25, and controls the timing of selection.

[0020] The server 30, which functions as a retrofit system control unit, is installed, for example, in a building where an elevator is installed or in a data center, and communicates with the autonomous mobile robot 40. Furthermore, as with the autonomous mobile robot 40, if the server 30 can communicate with a mobile information terminal 42 carried by the user and a human presence sensor 41 installed at the elevator hall via wired or wireless communication, then the server 30 can be retrofitted to expand its functionality.

[0021] The server 30 detects communications from users 40, 41, 42 requesting dispatch using a dispatch request sensor 50, and when an elevator use request (dispatch request) is received, the dispatch car determination unit 31 determines which of multiple cars to use for the dispatch request, and sends a command signal to the retrofit car control unit 27 in the car.

[0022] There are two ways to access an elevator using the elevator control device shown in Figures 1 and 2. One is to use the existing device, where the car is operated by the group management control unit 10 in response to the user pressing the call button at the hall, and the other is to operate the car via an additional function that can be added later.

[0023] The following describes the series of processing steps for operating the car in the latter case, in which the autonomous mobile robot 40 requests elevator use from the server 30 via communication, the user requests elevator use from the server 30 via communication from the mobile information terminal 42, or the user approaches the elevator door at the hall and a sensor detects this, causing the server 30 to detect the elevator use. In either case, the call button at the hall is not used. In the following, the autonomous mobile robot 40, human presence sensor 41, and mobile information terminal 42 are all referred to as the user.

[0024] Figure 3 shows an example of a scenario in which the retrofitted expansion function is used. In Figure 3, the elevator usage conditions (dispatch request) for the retrofitted expansion function occur on the first and second floors. Furthermore, the dispatch request in this case specifies only the boarding floor where the user will board.

[0025] At this time, user M1 on the first floor communicates with the retrofit system control unit 30 (S102a) and adds vehicle allocation information D102a for the first floor, the floor where the user will board, to the vehicle allocation information list 32 managed by the retrofit system control unit 30. Based on the vehicle allocation information D102a, the vehicle allocation unit determination unit 31 in the retrofit system control unit 30 determines the allocation of, for example, car 20A, and the retrofit system control unit 30 communicates with the retrofit car control unit 27A, which controls the actuator 23A1 to press the destination floor button 22A1 for the first floor in the car, thereby indirectly allocating car 20A to the first floor (3301). The movement of car 20A to the first floor is not directly controlled by the retrofit system for vehicle allocation, but is controlled by the car control unit 21A provided in the elevator itself.

[0026] At this time, user M2 on the second floor communicates with the retrofit system control unit 30 (S102b) and adds vehicle allocation information D102b for the second floor, the floor where the user will board, to the vehicle allocation information list 32 managed by the retrofit system control unit 30. Based on the vehicle allocation information D102b, the vehicle allocation unit determination unit 31 in the retrofit system control unit 30 determines the allocation of, for example, car 20B, and the retrofit system control unit 30 communicates with the retrofit car control unit 27B, which controls the actuator 23B1 to press the destination floor button 22B1 for the first floor in the car, thereby indirectly allocating car 20B to the second floor (3302). The movement of car 20A to the first floor is not directly controlled by the retrofit system for vehicle allocation, but is controlled by the car control unit 21B provided in the elevator itself.

[0027] Next, an example of operation when a user makes a vehicle dispatch request to move from the first floor to the second floor to the retrofit expansion control device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0028] At this time, user M1 on the first floor communicates with the retrofit system control unit 30 (S102a) and adds vehicle allocation information D102a, which indicates that a vehicle will be allocated to the first floor and then to the second floor, to the vehicle allocation information list 32 managed by the retrofit system control unit 30. Based on the vehicle allocation information D102a, the vehicle allocation unit determination unit 31 in the retrofit system control unit 30 determines the allocation of, for example, car 20A, and the retrofit system control unit 30 and the retrofit car control unit 27A communicate, and the retrofit car control unit 27A controls the actuator 23A1 to press the destination floor button 22A1 for the first floor in the car, thereby indirectly distributing car 20A to the first floor (3301).

[0029] After the user gets on, the retrofit car control unit 27A controls the actuator 23A2 to press the destination floor button 22A2 for the second floor inside the car, thereby dispatching the same car 20A to the second floor (4302). In this example, the destination floor is entered before boarding, but the destination floor may also be entered via communication after boarding. This user may be an autonomous mobile robot 40 or a person (mobile information terminal 42 or human presence sensor 41).

[0030] 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of the configuration of the vehicle dispatch information list 32 that stores vehicle dispatch information D102. The vehicle dispatch information D102 shown on the vertical axis is information issued from the autonomous mobile robot 40, the mobile information terminal 42, or the human presence sensor 41, and includes at least time information D11 and boarding floor information D12 shown on the horizontal axis. It may also include disembarking floor information D13 indicating to which floor the elevator dispatched to the boarding floor should be moved, and elevator number information D14 that is set when the elevator number to be dispatched is specified without leaving it to the retrofit system control unit 30. The vehicle dispatch information D102 may also include information D15 indicating that the elevator car in question is an automatic door-closing car.

[0031] The top row of Fig. 5 shows an example configured with time information D11, boarding floor information D12, and disembarking floor information D13, the second row shows an example configured with time information D11 and boarding floor information D12, the third row shows an example configured with time information D11, boarding floor information D12, and elevator information D14, and the fourth row shows an example configured with time information D11, boarding floor information D12, disembarking floor information D13, and elevator information D14. The control content for each example of vehicle allocation information will be described separately using Figs. 9 to 12. Note that the retrofit system control unit 30 does not need to support all combinations, and it is sufficient to provide control corresponding to combinations of data in the vehicle allocation information D102 as needed.

[0032] Next, examples of the display screen of the mobile information terminal 42 held by the user will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 shows an example of a user interface (screen design) that allows operation of all boarding floors and disembarking floors using a web browser. The display screen 90 in FIG. 6 displays boarding floors D12 and disembarking floors D13 in a matrix format. In this example, buttons for requesting a vehicle dispatch by specifying the boarding floor and disembarking floor are arranged in a table format in which boarding floors and destination floors are aligned in rows 6011, 6012, and 6013 for boarding floor D12 and columns 6021, 6022, and 6023 for disembarking floor D13. Pressing one of the buttons arranged in the matrix format sends data of vehicle dispatch information D102, which includes a set of time information D11, boarding floor D12, and disembarking floor D13, from the mobile information terminal 42 to the retrofit system control unit 30, and the data is stored in the vehicle dispatch information list 32 described above. In the example of 6024, a button that does not specify a floor for getting off is placed. This makes it possible to generate data for dispatch information D102, which is composed of time information D11 and boarding floor information D12, as shown in the second row of Fig. 5.

[0033] The example display screen 90 of the user interface shown in Figure 6 is designed to cover all possible combinations of boarding and disembarking floors, but considering actual operation, the large number of buttons that can be pressed makes it difficult to operate. For this reason, Figure 7 shows an example display screen 91 of the user interface when the boarding floor is limited to floor 3 and only the destination floor is entered. Button 7011 indicates moving from boarding floor 3 to destination floor 1, and button 7012 indicates moving from boarding floor 3 to destination floor 2.

[0034] The example display screen 91 of the user interface in Fig. 7 can be used as the screen of a terminal installed on an apartment building or office, for example, where the third floor where the user resides is provided as the boarding floor. Compared to Fig. 6, there are fewer operable buttons, improving operability.

[0035] Figure 8 shows a specific example of the configuration of the actuator described in Figures 1 and 2. Here, we will explain an actuator that uses a servo motor whose rotation angle can be controlled by PWM as an actuator that can hold down the door open button for any length of time.

[0036] Some servo motors can control their rotation angle using PWM. As shown in the PWM time waveform at the top of Figure 8, PWM controls the rotation angle θ by inputting high and low voltages on the vertical axis at a constant cycle T. The rotation angle θ is adjusted by changing the high time t relative to the cycle T. Here, assuming the high period is time t1, the servo motor horn, which is an actuator 23 rotatably mounted on a base 24, is controlled to be positioned at a rotation angle θ0 parallel to the destination floor and open / close buttons 22, as shown at the bottom of Figure 8. This positions the door open buttons 22A5 and 22B5 so that they are not pressed. By setting the high period to time t3, the servo motor horn 23 can be controlled to a rotation angle θ1, which is precisely positioned so that the door open buttons 22A5 and 22B5 can be pressed.

[0037] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a process flow for determining car control content from a vehicle allocation request D102. In the flow of Fig. 9, in the retrofit system control unit (server) 30, a processing step St11 starts a series of subsequent processes when the vehicle allocation request D102 is received from the user 40, 41, 42.

[0038] When there is a vehicle dispatch request D102, the contents of the vehicle dispatch request D102 are analyzed in processing steps St12, St13, and St21. First, in processing step St12, the disembarking floor information D13 shown in Figure 5 is checked, and if there is disembarking floor information D13, the value is "1", then processing step St13 determines whether there is vehicle number information D14, and if there is no disembarking floor information D13, the value is "0", then processing step St21 determines whether there is vehicle number information D14. If there is no vehicle number information, the vehicle number to be dispatched is determined in processing steps St13 and St22.

[0039] Thereafter, in processing steps St15 and St23, it is determined whether the automatic door closing is "1", and finally one of four types of control is decided. Processing step St16 is selected in the case of the second row of vehicle allocation information D102 in Fig. 5, where there is no disembarking floor (destination floor) and automatic door closing is OFF, processing step St17 is selected in the case of the third row of vehicle allocation information D102 in Fig. 5, where there is no disembarking floor (destination floor) and automatic door closing is ON, processing step St24 is selected in the case of the fourth row of vehicle allocation information D102 in Fig. 5, where there is a disembarking floor (destination floor) and automatic door closing is OFF, and processing step St25 is selected in the case of the first row of vehicle allocation information D102 in Fig. 5, where there is a disembarking floor (destination floor) and automatic door closing is ON.

[0040] Car control for each dispatch request D102 classified in Figure 9 will be explained using Figures 10 to 13. Figures 10, 11, 12, and 13 show the cases where processing steps St16, St17, St24, and St25 are selected, respectively. Note that the processing contents of Figures 10 and 11, and Figures 12 and 13 have much in common, so they will be explained in parallel while clarifying the differences.

[0041] First, in Figures 10 and 11, when the disembarking floor (destination floor) is not specified, the horizontal axis shows the autonomous mobile robot 40, the mobile information terminal 42, the dispatch request sensor 50 that received the dispatch request from the human presence sensor 41, the retrofitted system control unit 30, and the operation panel control unit 28A retrofitted inside the car, while the vertical axis shows the control status of the elevator, indicating the chronological exchange of processing between the devices.

[0042] In addition, the operation panel control unit 28 that is retrofitted inside the car is shown, with its constituent parts being retrofitted car control unit 27A, altitude sensor 25A, actuator 23A1 that can press the first floor button, actuator 23A5 that can press the door open button, and actuator 23A6 that can press the door close button, and the flow of communication and operation between them is shown.

[0043] The first stage of the time series on the vertical axis side is the "standby H11" state in which no particular dispatch request or the like is being accepted. This state H11 is a standby state in which the car to which the retrofit car control unit 27A is attached is not accepting instructions such as dispatch, and the retrofit car control unit 27A notifies the retrofit system control unit 30 by signal S901 that it is waiting for dispatch information. By having the retrofit system control unit 30 store the information by this signal S901, the retrofit system control unit 30 can grasp which car is in a standby state.

[0044] The next stage in the time series on the vertical axis is the "boarding floor dispatch control H12" state in response to a dispatch request. Here, the dispatch request sensor 50, which receives a dispatch request from either the autonomous mobile robot 40, the mobile information terminal 42, or the human presence sensor 41, notifies the retrofit system control unit 30 by signal S902 that it has received a dispatch request D102 to the floor to which the car is to be dispatched (here, the first floor). Upon receiving signal S902, the retrofit system control unit 30 transmits a dispatch instruction signal S903 to the retrofit car control unit 30 in one of the waiting cars to move the car to the first floor received in S902.

[0045] The selection and decision of the retrofit car control unit 27 to which the retrofit system control unit 30 sends the dispatch instruction may be determined by the car dispatch number determination unit 31 included in the retrofit system control unit 30. One example of a method for determining the car (car number) to be dispatched by the car dispatch number determination unit 31 is to dispatch, among the waiting cars, the car whose current altitude is the smallest with respect to the altitude of the floor to which the car will be dispatched. Another known method is an advanced car dispatch method in which the car that takes the longest time to move to the destination is selected as the car to be dispatched first.

[0046] In the "boarding floor dispatch control in progress H12" state, the retrofitted car control unit 27A further notifies the actuator 23A1, which can press the destination floor button 22A1 of the floor to which the car is to be dispatched (1st floor), of control command information S904 to press the destination floor button 22A1 of the 1st floor.

[0047] The altitude sensor 26A detects information S905 about the height position of the elevator and transmits it to the retrofitted car control unit 27A. Here, the retrofitted car control unit 27A continues to monitor the value of the altitude sensor until it determines that the elevator has arrived at the floor (first floor) controlled by the control command information S904, or until it determines that the elevator has reached the altitude of said floor (first floor). The above is the processing content in the "boarding floor dispatch control in progress H12" state. In the final stage of this state, the elevator reaches the designated boarding floor.

[0048] The next state when the designated floor is reached is the "door open control H13" state. In this state, the rear car control unit 27A first sends a control command S906 instructing the door to open to the actuator 23A5 of the door floor upon arrival at the designated floor S905, causing the door open button 22A5 to be pressed. This opens the door, allowing passengers to board. The door open button 22A5 continues to be pressed until a command to release the button is subsequently given.

[0049] In the "door opening control in progress H13" state, the boarding time for the passenger is secured before moving to the next "door closing control in progress H14" state, but the process of securing the boarding time for the passenger differs between Figure 10, where automatic door closing is not possible, and Figure 11, where automatic door closing is possible. In Figure 11, where automatic door closing is possible, the fixed time standby process S1000 in the retrofit car control unit 27A waits until a predetermined door opening time (for example, 10 seconds) has elapsed, and then the state moves to the next "door closing control in progress H14" state.

[0050] 10, where automatic door closing is not possible, boarding control is performed on the vehicle dispatch request sensor 50 side. For this reason, the retrofit car control unit 27A sends a vehicle dispatch notification S907 to the retrofit system control unit 30, and the retrofit system control unit 30 performs communication processing S1001 with the user via the vehicle dispatch request sensor 50. In particular, when the user is an autonomous mobile robot 40, communication processing S1001 instructs the user to board the car, and when the autonomous mobile robot 40 boards, a boarding notification S1002 generated by the vehicle dispatch request sensor 50 is transferred to the retrofit car control unit 27A via the retrofit system control unit 30. Upon receiving the boarding notification S1002, the retrofit car control unit 27A simply moves to the next "door closing control in progress H14" state.

[0051] 10 and 11, in the next "door closing control in progress H14" state, the door opening wait time has elapsed or boarding control has been completed, and the rear car control unit 27A transmits control information S908 to the actuator 23A5 that is transmitting control information to press the door open button 22A5, instructing it to release the depression of the door open button 22A5. In parallel with transmitting the release control information S908, the rear car control unit 27A controls the actuator 23A6 that can press the door close button 22A6, and transmits control information S909 to press the door close button 22A6. While using the door close button 22A6 in combination can provide a system with better responsiveness, depending on the elevator in question, it is possible to provide functionality without pressing the door close button 22A6, and therefore installation of a door closing actuator is optional.

[0052] When the above series of processes are completed, the vehicle is finally returned to the "Waiting H11" state. This is achieved by returning to the waiting state after the dispatch process is completed, and the retrofit car control unit notifies the retrofit system control unit that it has returned to the waiting state (S901).

[0053] With the above steps, the elevator car can be actually dispatched to the floor requested by the dispatch request sensor. After this, the passenger in the car can specify the destination floor by operating the destination floor button, and the car control unit 21 and group management control unit 10 in Figure 1 will operate the car.

[0054] Figures 12 and 13 show the case where the dispatch request specifies both the boarding floor and the destination floor, as in the first and fourth lines of Figure 5. Here, for example, the flow of operations is shown when the autonomous mobile robot 40 communicates with the retrofit system control unit 30 and requests the dispatch of a car so that it can move from the boarding floor to the destination floor. Note that while automatic door closing is controlled to be OFF in Figure 12, automatic door closing is controlled to be ON in Figure 13.

[0055] In Figures 12 and 13, the processing includes information about the destination floor, so actuator 23a2 for the second floor, which is the destination floor, is added to the horizontal axis items in Figures 10 and 11. Also, looking at the vertical axis items, while Figures 10 and 11 only describe the processing status (H11, H12, H13, H14) at the boarding floor, this adds the processing status (H15, H13, H14) at the boarding floor. Also, since Figure 12 targets the autonomous mobile robot 40, the description also includes the specific communications and processing content with the autonomous mobile robot 40. Figure 13 illustrates the case of a mobile information terminal.

[0056] Below, the following will explain the series of processing contents, focusing on the parts specific to FIGS. 12 and 13, while omitting parts that overlap with the explanation of FIGS. 10 and 11.

[0057] Of the series of processing flows in Figures 12 and 13, the processing (H11, H12, H13, H14) on the first floor, which is the boarding floor, is basically the same as the processing in Figures 10 and 11, respectively. The only difference is that the instructions in the dispatch request signal S902 (D102) include information about the destination floor.

[0058] By the processing up to this point, the passenger is in the car 20 and the door is closed. In this case, the destination floor instruction has already been given in advance, so there is nothing for the passenger to do, and the car is in a state of waiting for processing by the retrofit car control unit 27A and the retrofit system control unit 30.

[0059] 12 and 13, in the "destination floor dispatch control in progress H15" state, the retrofit car control unit 27A issues a control command S1014 to the actuator 23A2 that drives the destination floor designation button 22A2 for the second floor, and operates it. Operation of this push button activates the car control unit 21 in FIG. 1, which controls the elevator car to move to the designated second floor.

[0060] The subsequent processes in Figures 12 and 13, "Door open control in progress H13," "Door close control in progress H14," and "Waiting H11," are basically the same as the processes in Figures 10 and 11, respectively, and detailed explanations will be omitted.

[0061] In addition, FIG. 13 shows an example in which the user carries a mobile information terminal, and at appropriate times, a notification that a car has been dispatched (S907) and a notification that a car has arrived (S1017) are given.

[0062] In Fig. 1, various sensors 25 can be used to measure the car position, but Fig. 14 explains a method for estimating the car position based on the altitude obtained from a barometric pressure sensor. In the car position estimation unit 26 in Fig. 1, the barometric pressure sensor 25 records in advance altitude information for the reference floor and the relative altitude, which is the difference in altitude of each floor from the altitude of the reference floor.

[0063] In FIG. 14, the vertical axis represents altitude and the horizontal axis represents time. 110 is a graph showing the time change in altitude information acquired from the atmospheric pressure sensor 25. 103 represents the altitude of the third floor, 102 represents the altitude of the second floor, and 101 represents the altitude of the first floor. The relative altitude from the reference floor is calculated based on the relative altitude from the reference floor and the difference between the altitude information calculated from the atmospheric pressure sensor at the current location and the altitude information of the reference floor. Once the relative altitude is determined, it can be determined that the current car position is the floor with the smallest absolute error from the relative altitude based on the relative distance of each floor from the reference floor recorded in advance. Furthermore, if the error is above a certain level, it may be determined that the car is moving. For example, if the altitude falls within the range 112, it is determined that the car is traveling between the second and third floors, and if the altitude falls within the range 111, it is determined that the car is traveling between the first and second floors. Furthermore, the rate of change (differential value) of the relative altitude may be used to determine whether the car is traveling or stopped.

[0064] Note that methods for obtaining altitude information from a barometric pressure sensor are well known and are provided as open source software, etc., so a detailed explanation will be omitted. Also, while the method for estimating the car position using a barometric pressure sensor has been explained as an example this time, other possible methods include estimating the car position by integrating the accelerometer twice to obtain the vertical movement distance, or using a camera to read the floor displayed on a display inside the car.

[0065] As explained above, by utilizing this system, system administrators can understand the sub-models that users are interested in, making it easier to implement elevator operation improvement proposals that are in line with users' interests.

[0066] According to the present invention, regardless of the elevator manufacturer or model, communication with an external device enables operation from the external device, and the position of each car and the open / closed status of the doors can be shared. By utilizing the present invention, it becomes easy for robots to board elevators in many elevators, regardless of whether they are new or existing, manufacturer, or model. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 20, 20A, 20B: Cage 10: Group management control unit 30: Retrofit system control unit, server 22, 22A, 22B: Operation panel 21, 21A, 21B: Cage control unit 28, 28A, 28B: Operation panel control section 22A1, 22A2, 22A3: Destination floor selection buttons 22A5: Door open button 22A6: Door close button 23A1, 23A2, 23A3, 23A5, 23A6: Actuators

Claims

1. An elevator control device comprising: an operation panel on which a plurality of buttons for specifying a destination floor and for specifying door opening is installed; and a car control unit in a car that controls elevator operation and doors in response to button operations on the operation panel; An elevator control device comprising: a retrofitted car control unit having a plurality of actuators that receive dispatch request signals from outside the car via communications and press buttons according to the received signals, the buttons including a button for specifying door closing.

2. The elevator control device according to claim 1, The elevator control device is characterized in that the retrofitted car control unit has a function of estimating the height position of the car.

3. The elevator control device according to claim 1 or 2, The retrofit car control unit communicates with a server external to the car, the server detects a vehicle dispatch request including a floor that an external user wishes to use via a vehicle dispatch request sensor, and transmits the vehicle dispatch request to the retrofit car control unit; The elevator control device is characterized in that the retrofit car control unit selects and operates the plurality of buttons for specifying a destination floor and a door opening in response to the dispatch request.

4. The elevator control device according to claim 3, The elevator control device is characterized in that the dispatch request sensor detects the dispatch request through wireless communication with the user, an autonomous mobile robot or a mobile information terminal.

5. The elevator control device according to claim 3, The elevator control device is characterized in that the dispatch request sensor detects the dispatch request when a user approaches.

6. The elevator control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The elevator control device is characterized in that the retrofit car control unit changes a processing procedure depending on whether the dispatch request signal from the outside includes only a boarding floor or a disembarking floor.

7. The elevator control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The elevator control device is characterized in that the retrofit car control unit changes processing procedures depending on whether the doors can be closed automatically or not.

8. The elevator control device according to claim 4, The elevator control device is characterized in that, when the user is an autonomous mobile robot, the retrofitted car control unit transmits a dispatch notification via the server and the dispatch request sensor, allowing the user to board or disembark.

9. The elevator control device according to claim 4, The elevator control device is characterized in that, when the user is using a mobile information terminal, the retrofitted car control unit transmits a dispatch notification and an arrival notification via the server and the dispatch request sensor.

10. The elevator control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, An elevator control device that uses a barometric pressure sensor to detect the car position and estimates the current floor from the difference between the altitude of the reference floor calculated based on the barometric pressure sensor and the altitude of the current position.

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