Elevator control device

Abstract

To provide an elevator control device that can more safely rescue passengers when restarting operation in the event of an emergency occurring during operation of an elevator with a plurality of car compartments, such as a double-deck elevator. [Solution] The elevator control device includes a control unit. The control unit detects an abnormality that requires evacuation in the elevator, and when only one of multiple cars stops at a floor where the doors can be opened, opens the door of the car that has its doors open. The control unit runs the elevator to open the door of the car that could not be opened. The control unit changes the running speed of the elevator when running to open the door of the car that could not be opened, depending on the urgency that indicates the level of the detected abnormality.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a control device for an elevator. [Background technology]

[0002] To improve the elevator's transport capacity, double-deck elevators are sometimes used. A double-deck elevator is an elevator equipped with a passenger car with two cabs arranged vertically.

[0003] In an elevator, if passengers are not rescued from the car during an emergency such as an earthquake, they may become trapped inside the car. Depending on the structure of the building in which the elevator is operated, there may be floors where the doors cannot be opened. Furthermore, floors where the doors cannot be opened due to the effects of an emergency may also be affected. For this reason, in the case of a double-deck elevator, it may be impossible to rescue passengers from both cars at once. In this case, after rescuing passengers by opening the doors of one car at a floor where the doors can be opened, the double-deck elevator must be re-run to land the other car at a floor where the doors can be opened. In other words, there may be cases where the double-deck elevator needs to be re-run as the emergency situation such as an earthquake progresses. There is a demand for safer rescue of passengers during re-running in the event of an emergency when operating an elevator with multiple cars, such as a double-deck elevator. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 3201082 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-047401 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The embodiment provides an elevator control device that can more safely rescue passengers when restarting operation in the event of an emergency occurring during operation of an elevator with multiple car compartments, such as a double-deck elevator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An elevator control device according to one embodiment includes a control unit. The control unit detects an abnormality occurring in the elevator that requires evacuation, and when only one of multiple elevator cars is stopped at a floor where its doors can be opened, opens the door of the elevator that can be opened. The control unit runs the elevator to open the door of the elevator that could not be opened. The control unit changes the running speed of the elevator when running the elevator to open the door of the elevator that could not be opened, depending on the urgency level that indicates the degree of the detected abnormality. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elevator system including an elevator control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first example of the elevator system when an earthquake occurs as an abnormality. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of a double-deck elevator in the event of an emergency. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a second example of an elevator system when an earthquake occurs as an abnormality. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elevator system including an elevator control device according to an embodiment. The elevator system 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a double-deck elevator 2. The double-deck elevator 2 includes a passenger car having a plurality of cars, two cars in FIG. 1, an upper car 3 and a lower car 4. The upper car 3 and the lower car 4 are arranged in the vertical direction along the hoistway S. The upper car 3 is provided with a car door 3a, and the lower car 4 is provided with a car door 4a. Passengers can board both the upper car 3 and the lower car 4. The upper car 3 and the lower car 4 are connected by a car frame 5.

[0009] Here, the double-deck elevator 2 may be equipped with a floor adjustment mechanism. The floor adjustment mechanism is a mechanism that allows the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 to be raised and lowered independently, thereby adjusting the distance between the floor surfaces of the upper car 3 and the lower car 4. In this case, a ball screw that supports the upper car 3 and a ball screw that supports the lower car 4 are provided on the car frame 5. The rotation axes of the respective ball screws are aligned in the vertical direction. The ball screw that supports the upper car 3 and the ball screw that supports the lower car 4 are each driven by a servo motor.

[0010] A machine room 6 is provided, for example, at the top of the hoistway S. The machine room 6 is provided with a hoist 7 and a control device 8. In this embodiment, an elevator having a machine room is described in detail as an example, but the double-deck elevator 2 may be a machine-room-less elevator that does not have a machine room. In the case of a machine-room-less elevator, the hoist 7 and the control device 8 are installed in the hoistway S.

[0011] Furthermore, the double-deck elevator 2 is equipped with an earthquake sensor 9. A P-wave sensor 9-1 that detects P-waves is installed in the pit of the elevator shaft S, and an S-wave sensor 9-2 that detects S-waves is installed in the machine room 6. In the case of a machine-room-less elevator, the P-wave sensor 9-1 and the S-wave sensor 9-2 are both installed in the pit and may be configured to be installed in the same housing as the earthquake sensor 9, or each may be installed independently. The earthquake sensor 9 is not limited to this, but may be, for example, a detector that detects the acceleration of earthquake motion.

[0012] The hoist 7 is provided with, for example, a rope-type car drive mechanism. The drive mechanism includes, for example, a rope 7a, a sheave 7b, and a sheave 7c. One end of the rope 7a is attached to the car frame 5 and the other end is attached to the counterweight 7d, and the rope 7a is wound around the sheaves 7b and 7c. The sheave 7b is connected to the hoist 7 and is driven to rotate by the hoist 7.

[0013] A floor F of a building where the double-deck elevator 2 is installed may be provided with landings for passengers of the double-deck elevator 2 to get on and off. A hall door 10 may be installed at each landing. In this embodiment, in order to enable high-speed ascent and descent of the elevator car, floors F include express zone floors in addition to service floors. Service floors are floors where an elevator car can land and where passengers can get on and off freely. On the other hand, floors included in the express zone are floors where an elevator car does not land in order to enable high-speed ascent and descent of the elevator car. Consecutive floors may be an express zone. When consecutive floors are defined as an express zone, an emergency stop floor may be provided in the express zone for emergency evacuation in the event of an emergency. An emergency stop floor is a floor where an elevator car does not land under normal circumstances but can land in the event of an emergency. In the event of an emergency, passengers can be evacuated from the emergency stop floor.

[0014] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 8. The control device 8 has a drive control unit 81, a car door control unit 82, a hall door control unit 83, an abnormality detection unit 84, and a control unit 85. The control device 8 can be configured as a computer equipped with a processor and a memory.

[0015] The drive control unit 81 outputs a control signal to the hoist 7 for driving the hoist 7. The car door control unit 82 outputs a control signal to each of the car doors 3a and 4a individually for controlling the opening and closing of each of the car doors 3a and 4a. The hall door control unit 83 outputs a control signal to each of the hall doors 10 on each floor F individually for controlling the opening and closing of each of the hall doors 10. The abnormality detection unit 84 detects an abnormality that requires evacuation that has occurred in the double-deck elevator 2. An abnormality that requires evacuation is, for example, an abnormality with a high degree of urgency, such as an earthquake. The abnormality detection unit 84 detects the occurrence of an earthquake as an abnormality that requires evacuation, for example, based on the output of the earthquake sensor 9, and detects the strength of the shaking of each of the P waves and S waves that are occurring in the double-deck elevator 2. The control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81, the car door control unit 82, and the hall door control unit 83. For example, in the event of an earthquake, the control unit 85 determines the floor F as the emergency evacuation destination, and controls the drive control unit 81, car door control unit 82, and hall door control unit 83 based on the determination to carry out emergency evacuation.

[0016] The following describes the operation of the elevator system 1. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of a first example of the elevator system 1 when an earthquake occurs as an abnormality. The operation of Fig. 3 is controlled by the control unit 85.

[0017] In step S1, the control unit 85 determines whether or not P waves have been detected by the anomaly detection unit 84, i.e., whether or not the initial tremors of an earthquake as an emergency have been detected, based on the output of the earthquake sensor 9. If it is determined in step S1 that P waves have not been detected, the process proceeds to step S2. If it is determined in step S1 that P waves have been detected, the process proceeds to step S3.

[0018] In step S2, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S1. In practice, in step S2, when a car call or a hall call is registered, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to land the upper car 3a or the lower car 4a of the double-deck elevator 2 at the destination floor F of the car call or the floor F where the hall call is registered. The control unit 85 then controls the car door control unit 82 to open the car door of the car that has landed at the destination floor F of the car call or the floor F where the hall call is registered, and controls the hall door control unit 83 to open the hall door 10 at the floor F where the hall call is registered. Detailed descriptions of the controls are omitted in FIG. 3 .

[0019] In step S3, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F based on the current position and current traveling direction of the double-deck elevator 2. The control unit 85 basically determines the evacuation destination floor F as the floor F at which the car on the current traveling direction of the double-deck elevator 2 can land with the shortest distance among the floors F with doors that can be opened and are located in the same direction as the current traveling direction. Furthermore, if landing one of the car rooms at the determined floor F would result in the other car room landing at a floor F where the doors cannot be opened, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F for the other car room. The control unit 85 basically determines the evacuation destination floor F as the floor F at which the other car room can land with the shortest distance among the floors F with doors that can be opened. The determination of the evacuation destination floor F will be explained in detail later.

[0020] In step S4, the control unit 85 determines whether the determined evacuation destination floor F is a floor F where only one of the car compartments can open the door. If it is determined in step S4 that the determined evacuation destination floor F is not a floor F where only one of the car compartments can open the door, that is, it is a floor F where both car compartments can open the doors, the processing proceeds to step S5. If it is determined in step S4 that the determined evacuation destination floor F is a floor F where only one of the car compartments can open the door, the processing proceeds to step S7.

[0021] In step S5, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed, and makes each car land on the previously determined evacuation destination floor F.

[0022] In step S6, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door 3a of the upper car 3 and the car door 4a of the lower car 4, and also to open the hall door 10 of floor F where the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 are respectively located. After a certain time has elapsed, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to close the car door 3a of the upper car 3 and the car door 4a of the lower car 4, and also to close the hall door 10 of floor F where the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 are respectively located. Here, the certain time for which the car doors 3a and 4a and the hall door 10 are kept open is, for example, 15 seconds, although it is not limited to this. The certain time for which the hall door 10 is kept open can be determined based on the expected time for the evacuation of passengers in the car compartment to be completed. After the car door 3a of the upper car 3, the car door 4a of the lower car 4, and the hall door 10 are closed, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a trial run may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 is capable of normal operation.

[0023] In step S7, the control unit 85 determines whether or not S waves, i.e., the main motion of an earthquake, have been detected by the anomaly detection unit 84 based on the output of the earthquake sensor 9. If it is determined in step S7 that S waves have not been detected, the process proceeds to step S8. If it is determined in step S7 that S waves have been detected, the process proceeds to step S12.

[0024] In step S8, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed, and makes one of the car rooms land on the previously determined evacuation destination floor F.

[0025] In step S9, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door of the car on the side where the car has landed, and also to open the hall door 10 on the evacuation destination floor F. After a certain period of time has passed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the car on the side where the car has landed, and also closes the hall door 10 on the evacuation destination floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hall door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but can be, for example, 15 seconds, the same as in step S6.

[0026] In step S10, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at A% of the rated speed, and land the other car on the previously determined evacuation destination floor F. Here, A can be set in the range of A<100(%). For example, A is 80%.

[0027] In step S11, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door of the other car that has landed at the floor, and to open the hall door 10 at the evacuation destination floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the other car that has landed at the floor, and to close the hall door 10 at the evacuation destination floor F. The certain period of time for which the car doors and hall door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, and can be, for example, 15 seconds, the same as in steps S6 and S9. After the car doors and hall door 10 are closed, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a trial run may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 is capable of normal operation.

[0028] In step S12, the control unit 85 determines whether or not an S-wave for special low detection has been detected by the anomaly detection unit 84 based on the output of the earthquake sensor 9. Special low detection is, for example, a state in which the acceleration of seismic motion is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold for special low detection. If it is determined in step S12 that an S-wave for special low detection has been detected, the process proceeds to step S13. If it is not determined in step S12 that an S-wave for special low detection has been detected, the process proceeds to step S17.

[0029] In step S13, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed, and makes one of the car rooms land on the previously determined evacuation destination floor F.

[0030] In step S14, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door of the car room on the side where the car has landed, and to open the hall door 10 on the evacuation destination floor F. After a certain period of time has passed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the car room on the side where the car has landed, and to close the hall door 10 on the evacuation destination floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hall door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but may be, for example, 15 seconds.

[0031] In step S15, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at B% of the rated speed, and lands the other car on the previously determined evacuation floor F. Here, B can be set within the range of B < A (%). For example, B is 60%. That is, when an S wave is detected, the double-deck elevator 2 runs at a slower speed than when no S wave is detected to land the other car.

[0032] In step S16, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door of the landed other car and open the hall door 10 on the evacuation floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the landed other car and closes the hall door 10 on the evacuation floor F. The certain period of time for keeping the car door and the hall door 10 open is not limited to this, but can be, for example, 15 seconds. After closing the car door and the hall door 10, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a trial operation may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 can operate normally.

[0033] In step S17, the control unit 85 determines whether a low-detected S wave is detected in the abnormality detection unit 84 based on the output of the earthquake detector 9. Low detection is, for example, a state where the acceleration of the seismic motion is greater than a predetermined very low detection threshold and is below the low detection threshold. In step S17, if it is determined that a low-detected S wave is detected, the process proceeds to step S18. In step S17, if it is determined that a low-detected S wave is not detected, the process proceeds to step S22.

[0034] In step S18, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed and land one car on the previously determined evacuation floor F. <​​In step S19, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hold door control unit 83 to open the car door of the car compartment on the landing side and to open the hold door 10 of the floor F of the evacuation destination. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the car compartment on the landing side and closes the hold door 10 of the floor F of the evacuation destination. The certain period of time for keeping the car door and the hold door 10 open is not limited to this, but can be, for example, 15 seconds.

[0036] In step S20, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at C% of the rated speed, and lands the other car compartment on the previously determined evacuation floor F. Here, C can be set within the range of minimum speed < C < B (%). For example, C is a value corresponding to a predetermined relay level speed. That is, when a low-detection S wave is detected, the double-deck elevator 2 runs to land the other car compartment at a slower speed than when a low-detection S wave is not detected.

[0037] In step S21, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hold door control unit 83 to open the car door of the other car compartment on the landing side and to open the hold door 10 of the floor F of the evacuation destination. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the other car compartment on the landing side and closes the hold door 10 of the floor F of the evacuation destination. The certain period of time for keeping the car door and the hold door 10 open is not limited to this, but can be, for example, 15 seconds. After closing the car door and the hold door 10, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a preliminary operation may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 can operate normally.

[0038] In step S22, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed and lands one car compartment on the previously determined evacuation floor F.

[0039] In step S23, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door of the car on the side where the car has landed, and to open the hall door 10 on the evacuation destination floor F. After a certain period of time has passed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the car on the side where the car has landed, and to close the hall door 10 on the evacuation destination floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hall door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but may be, for example, 15 seconds.

[0040] In step S24, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the minimum speed to land the other car on the previously determined evacuation destination floor F. Here, the minimum speed is, but is not limited to, 10 m / min, which is slower than the re-leveling speed. That is, when S-waves stronger than low detection are detected, the double-deck elevator 2 runs at a speed slower than when S-waves stronger than low detection are not detected, in order to land the other car on the floor. Here, 0 m / min may be used as the minimum speed in step S24. That is, in step S24, the control unit 85 may stop the double-deck elevator 2. In this case, the process of step S25 is not performed, and the process returns to step S1.

[0041] In step S25, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door of the other car that has landed at the floor, and to open the hall door 10 at the evacuation destination floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the other car that has landed at the floor, and to close the hall door 10 at the evacuation destination floor F. The certain period of time for keeping the car doors and hall door 10 open is not limited to this, but may be, for example, 15 seconds. After the car doors and hall door 10 are closed, the process returns to step S1. When the process returns to step S1, a trial run may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 is capable of normal operation.

[0042] The operation of FIG. 3 will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation of the double-deck elevator 2 when an emergency occurs. Here, in FIG. 4, the operation of the double-deck elevator 2 that changes according to the operation of FIG. 3 is shown in the order of A, B, C, D, E, and F. Also in FIG. 4, the building in which the elevator system 1 is installed is a 22-story building. The 1st to 9th floors and the 19th to 22nd floors are service floors. The 10th to 18th floors are express zones. Of the express zone, the 14th floor is an emergency stop floor.

[0043] Assume that when the P wave is detected, i.e., when an earthquake occurs, the double-deck elevator 2 is ascending from the 10th floor to the 11th floor, which is the express zone, as shown in A of FIG. 4. In response to the detection of the earthquake, the control unit 85 first determines the evacuation destination floor F. As described above, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F as the floor F where the car on the side of the current traveling direction of the double-deck elevator 2 can land with the shortest distance, among the floors F in the same direction as the current traveling direction and where the doors can be opened. In the example of FIG. 4, the double-deck elevator 2 is ascending from the 10th floor to the 11th floor, which is the express zone. Therefore, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F to be the 14th floor, which is the emergency stop floor.

[0044] Although not shown in FIG. 4, for example, if the double-deck elevator 2 is ascending from the 15th floor to the 16th floor, which is an express zone, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F to be the 19th floor, which is a service floor. In this case, the floor F that can land closest to the current position of the double-deck elevator 2 is the 14th floor, which is an emergency stop floor. On the other hand, the 14th floor, which is an emergency stop floor, is a floor F that is traveling in the opposite direction to the current position. Because it is not desirable to suddenly make an elevator traveling in the opposite direction, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F to be the 19th floor, not the 14th floor.

[0045] Also, although not shown in Figure 4, for example, when the double-deck elevator 2 is descending from the 11th floor, which is the express zone, to the 10th floor, the control unit 85 determines that the evacuation floor F is the 9th floor, which is the service floor.

[0046] Here, if the evacuation destination floor F is determined to be the 14th floor, then, as shown in B in Figure 4, between upper car 3 and lower car 4, upper car 3, which is the car closest to the 14th floor, will be made to land at the 14th floor. In this case, the other lower car 4 will land in the express zone. At this time, as shown by the arrow B in Figure 4, the doors of upper car 3 can be opened, but the doors of lower car 4 cannot be opened. Therefore, after opening the car door 3a of upper car 3 to evacuate passengers to the 14th floor, which is the emergency stop floor, the double-deck elevator 2 must be restarted to evacuate passengers in lower car 4. Furthermore, even if the evacuation destination floor F is a service floor and the doors of both cars are normally openable, depending on the scale of the earthquake, the doors of only one car may be able to open due to reasons such as the hall door 10 at the landing floor of one of the cars being unable to open. In such a case, it is necessary to land one of the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 on the evacuation floor F to evacuate the passengers, and then restart the double-deck elevator 2 to evacuate the passengers in the other car.

[0047] In this way, if the evacuation destination floor F is a floor F where only one car door can be opened, the control unit 85 also determines the evacuation destination floor F for the other car. The control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F for the other car to be the floor F where the other car can land with the shortest distance, among the floors F where the doors can be opened. Because travel begins after one car has landed, the evacuation destination floor F for the other car does not need to be a floor F in the same direction as the current travel direction. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, the control unit 85 also determines the evacuation destination floor F for the other car to be the 14th floor, which is the emergency stop floor.

[0048] Here, the control unit 85 may determine the evacuation destination floor F to be a floor F at which both the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 can open their doors, rather than the floor F closest to the current location, if landing is possible within a certain time. This certain time may be, but is not limited to, 10 seconds, for example. For example, if the double-deck elevator 2 is ascending from the 15th to 16th floors, which are in the express zone, the control unit 85 may determine the evacuation destination floor F to be the 20th floor, rather than the 19th floor. In this case, the upper car 3 will land on the 20th floor and the lower car 4 will land on the 19th floor, so that both the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 can open their doors. Similarly, for example, if the double-deck elevator 2 is descending from the 11th to 10th floors, which are in the express zone, the control unit 85 may determine the evacuation destination floor F to be the 8th floor, rather than the 9th floor.

[0049] After determining the evacuation destination floor F, the control unit 85 actually operates the double-deck elevator 2 in the order from B to F to carry out emergency evacuation. Specifically, as shown in B of FIG. 4, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed and land the upper car 3 on the 14th floor, which is the evacuation destination floor F. Then, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door 3a of the upper car 3 and the hall door 10 on the 14th floor for a certain period of time, for example, 15 seconds. After the certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to close the car door 3a of the upper car 3 and the hall door 10 on the 14th floor, as shown in C of FIG. 4.

[0050] Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, the double-deck elevator 2 is operated again to land the lower car 4 on the 14th floor, which is the evacuation destination floor F. The control unit 85 changes the running speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the lower car 4 depending on the urgency level indicating the degree of the detected abnormality, for example, the type and strength of an earthquake. Specifically, when no S-waves are detected, the control unit 85 operates the double-deck elevator 2 at A% of the rated speed. When extra-low detection S-waves are detected, the control unit 85 operates the double-deck elevator 2 at B% of the rated speed. When low detection S-waves are detected, the control unit 85 operates the double-deck elevator 2 at C% of the rated speed. When stronger S-waves than low detection S-waves are detected, the control unit 85 operates the double-deck elevator 2 at the minimum speed. In this way, by changing the running speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other car room according to the type and strength of the detected earthquake, the other car room can be landed more safely.

[0051] After the lower car 4 has landed, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door 4a of the lower car 4 and the hall door 10 of the 14th floor for a fixed time, for example, 15 seconds, as shown in Fig. 4E. After the fixed time has elapsed, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to close the car door 4a of the lower car 3 and the hall door 10 of the 14th floor, as shown in Fig. 4F. In this way, the evacuation of passengers from the upper car 3 and the lower car 4 is completed.

[0052] 3 and 4, the traveling speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other car on the floor can be changed in five steps depending on the conditions of the detected P waves and S waves. However, the traveling speed does not necessarily have to be changed in five steps. The traveling speed may be changed in multiple steps other than five steps, or may be changed continuously. That is, in the embodiment, it is sufficient that the traveling speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other car on the floor is changed depending on the type and strength of the detected earthquake, i.e., the urgency indicating the level of the abnormality that has occurred.

[0053] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of a second example of the elevator system 1 when an earthquake occurs as an abnormality. The operation of Fig. 5 is controlled by the control unit 85. The example of Fig. 5 is a simplified version of the process of determining the running speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other car on the floor in the first example.

[0054] In step S101, the control unit 85 determines whether or not P waves have been detected by the anomaly detection unit 84, i.e., whether or not slight vibrations of an earthquake as an emergency have been detected, based on the output of the earthquake sensor 9. If it is determined in step S101 that P waves have not been detected, the process proceeds to step S102. If it is determined in step S101 that P waves have been detected, the process proceeds to step S103.

[0055] In step S102, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed. Thereafter, the process returns to step S101. In practice, in step S102, when a car call or a hall call is registered, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to land the upper car 3a or the lower car 4a of the double-deck elevator 2 at the destination floor F of the car call or the floor F where the hall call is registered. The control unit 85 then controls the car door control unit 82 to open the car door of the car that has landed at the destination floor F of the car call or the floor F where the hall call is registered, and controls the hall door control unit 83 to open the hall door 10 at the floor F where the hall call is registered. Detailed descriptions of the controls are omitted in FIG. 5 .

[0056] In step S103, the control unit 85 determines the evacuation destination floor F based on the current position and current running direction of the double-deck elevator 2. The method for determining the evacuation destination floor F may be the same as the method described in the operation of the first example.

[0057] In step S104, the control unit 85 determines whether or not S waves have been detected by the anomaly detection unit 84, i.e., whether or not the main motion of an earthquake has been detected, based on the output of the earthquake sensor 9. If it is determined in step S104 that S waves have not been detected, the process proceeds to step S105. If it is determined in step S104 that S waves have been detected, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0058] In step S105, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed, and lands one of the car rooms on the previously determined evacuation destination floor F.

[0059] In step S106, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door of the car room on the side where the car has landed, and also to open the hall door 10 on the evacuation destination floor F. After a certain period of time has passed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the car room on the side where the car has landed, and also closes the hall door 10 on the evacuation destination floor F. The certain period of time for which the car door and hall door 10 are kept open is not limited to this, but can be, for example, 15 seconds, the same as the operation in the first example.

[0060] In step S107, the control unit 85 controls the drive control unit 81 to run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed, and makes the other car room land on the previously determined evacuation destination floor F.

[0061] In step S108, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to open the car door of the other car that has landed at the floor, and to open the hall door 10 at the evacuation destination floor F. After a certain period of time has elapsed, the control unit 85 closes the car door of the other car that has landed at the floor, and to close the hall door 10 at the evacuation destination floor F. The certain period of time for which the car doors and hall door 10 are kept open is not limited to, but can be, for example, 15 seconds, the same as in step S106. After the car doors and hall door 10 are closed, the process returns to step S101. When the process returns to step S1, a trial run may be performed to test whether the double-deck elevator 2 is capable of normal operation.

[0062] Here, although illustration is omitted in Figure 5 for the sake of simplicity, if it is determined that the determined evacuation destination floor F is a floor F where the doors of both car chambers can be opened, the control unit 85 may run the double-deck elevator 2 at the rated speed and land each car chamber at the previously determined evacuation destination floor F, as in steps S5-S6 in the operation of the first example.

[0063] In step S109, the control unit 85 controls the car door control unit 82 and the hall door control unit 83 to stop the travel of the double-deck elevator 2. After that, the process returns to step S101. That is, in the operation of the second example, when an S-wave is detected, the travel of the double-deck elevator 2 is stopped for safety reasons, i.e., the travel speed is set to 0 m / min.

[0064] As described above, according to the embodiment, the running speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other car on the floor is changed depending on the urgency level that indicates the degree of the abnormality that has occurred. As a result, even if the evacuation destination floor F is a floor where only one of the car doors can be opened and the double-deck elevator 2 needs to run again to land the other car on the floor, the other car can be safely landed on the floor.

[0065] (Variation) Modifications of the embodiment will be described below. In the embodiment, the double-deck elevator 2 includes two cabs, an upper car 3 and a lower car 4, arranged vertically along the hoistway S. However, the technology of the embodiment is not necessarily applied only to elevators including two cabs arranged vertically. The technology of the embodiment can also be applied to elevators including three or more cabs arranged vertically.

[0066] In addition, in the embodiments, an earthquake is cited as an example of an emergency. However, the technology of the embodiments can be applied to emergency evacuation in response to various abnormalities in which the urgency level, which indicates the degree of abnormality, varies depending on conditions such as the passage of time and location. For example, other examples of abnormalities include strong winds and flooding. For example, in the case of strong winds, the traveling speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other car on the floor can be slowed down as the strength of the detected wind increases. Furthermore, in the case of flooding, the traveling speed of the double-deck elevator 2 for landing the other car on the floor can be slowed down as the speed of the flooding decreases.

[0067] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 1...elevator system, 2...double-deck elevator, 3...upper car, 4...lower car, 3a...car door, 4a...car door, 5...car frame, 6...machine room, 7...hoist, 7a...rope, 7b...sheave, 7c...sheave, 7d...counterweight, 8...control device, 9...earthquake sensor, 10...hall door, 81...drive control unit, 82...car door control unit, 83...hall door control unit, 84...abnormality detection unit, 85...control unit.

Claims

1. A control device for an elevator having a passenger car with a plurality of car rooms arranged vertically, detecting an abnormality that requires evacuation that has occurred in the elevator, and when only one of the plurality of car rooms stops at a floor where the door can be opened, opening the door of the car room where the door can be opened; running the elevator to open the door of the car room that could not be opened; A control unit is provided, the control unit changes a running speed when running the elevator to open the door of the car room whose door could not be opened, based on an urgency level indicating the degree of the detected abnormality. Elevator control device.

2. the control unit, in order to open the door of the car room whose door could not be opened, causes the elevator to run so that the car room whose door could not be opened is landed at a stopping floor of the car room whose door could be opened. The elevator control device according to claim 1.

3. the control unit runs the elevator so that the car room whose door could not be opened is landed at a floor different from a stopping floor of the car room whose door could not be opened, in order to open the door of the car room whose door could not be opened. The elevator control device according to claim 1.

4. The different floor is a floor where the car whose door cannot be opened can land with the shortest amount of movement among floors where the door can be opened. The elevator control device according to claim 3.

5. The control unit slows the traveling speed as the degree of urgency increases. The elevator control device according to claim 1.

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