Elevator control device and control method

Abstract

To maintain high convenience of an elevator for a user even when a robot is allowed to ride in the elevator with the user. [Solution] When allocating a hall call for a target user, all or some of the multiple cars on the elevator are designated as target cars, and for each target car, the number of times the robot boards or disembarks at any floor between the target user's departure floor and the floor just before the target user's destination floor is counted, and a selection process is performed to select the target car for which the number of boarding and disembarking is less than a predetermined number as a candidate to allocate the hall call for the target user.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control technology for an elevator used by both users and robots. [Background technology]

[0002] Some elevators have a destination floor registration device installed on each floor (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such elevators, every time a user registers their destination floor in the destination floor registration device of any floor, a hall call for that user is assigned to the elevator car. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-055976 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 7380793 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, robots have been increasingly used for various tasks in buildings (cleaning, monitoring, transportation, etc.) (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Accordingly, elevators are increasingly being used to move robots between floors within buildings. In such cases, robots are increasingly being allowed to ride in elevators together with users.

[0005] On the other hand, in elevators that allow robots to ride in the car with users, users may encounter robots getting on and off at floors along the way after boarding the car and before disembarking. In such elevators, users may experience multiple robots getting on and off in a single trip. The more robots a user experiences, the longer they will have to wait in the car, forcing them to spend longer time in the elevator (riding time). For this reason, allowing robots to ride in the elevator with users may reduce the convenience of the elevator for users.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to maintain the convenience of elevators for users even when a robot is allowed to ride in the elevator with users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The control device according to the present invention is a control device that allocates hall calls to cars in an elevator, and has the following configuration (Aspect 1): When allocating a hall call for a target user, the control device sets all or some of the multiple cars equipped in the elevator as target cars, counts the number of times the robot gets on or off at any floor between the departure floor of the target user and the floor just before the destination floor of the target user, and then executes a selection process to select, from among the target cars, those for which the number of times of getting on or off is a predetermined number or less as candidates for allocation of the hall call for the target user.

[0008] According to the above-mentioned aspect 1, it is possible to limit the allocation of hall calls for a target user to elevator cars that will allow the target user to board and disembark the robot a maximum of a predetermined number of times in one trip. This makes it possible to minimize the amount of time the target user needs to use the elevator, even if the target user must board and disembark the robot. Therefore, even if the robot is allowed to ride in the elevator with the target user, it is possible to maintain a high level of convenience for the target user.

[0009] Furthermore, by setting the condition for the car when selecting candidates for allocation that the number of boarding and alighting times is less than a predetermined number, it is possible to widen the selection of candidates, and as a result, although the candidates are limited to some cars depending on the condition, it becomes easier to extract multiple cars as candidates. Therefore, in the process of allocating hall calls for target users, it becomes possible to determine the allocation destination from multiple candidates while taking transport efficiency into consideration, and as a result, it becomes possible to maintain high transport efficiency.

[0010] The control device according to the above-mentioned aspect 1 may have the following configuration (aspect 2): In the selection process, the control device may extract, for each target car, the departure floor and destination floor of the robot for which a hall call is assigned to that target car as boarding and alighting floors, determine whether each boarding and alighting floor matches any floor between the departure floor of the target user and the floor immediately preceding the destination floor of the target user, and count the number of boarding and alighting if it is determined that there is a match.

[0011] According to the above-mentioned aspect 2, the number of times the target user will board and disembark the robot can be counted in a simple manner by comparing the extracted floors on which the robot boards and disembarks with the target user's travel section (the section from the target user's departure floor to the floor just before the target user's destination floor).

[0012] The control device according to the above-mentioned aspect 2 may have the following configuration (aspect 3): When extracting the departure floor and destination floor of the robot for each target car, the control device may extract those that are the same floor together as one boarding and alighting floor.

[0013] According to the above-mentioned aspect 3, at floors where multiple robots get on and off, the number of boarding and alighting times can be counted as one. As a result, even if the number of robots increases, the number of opportunities for multiple robots to get on and off at the same floor also increases accordingly, and by taking advantage of this, it is possible to create a situation in which elevators with a predetermined number of boarding and alighting times or less are more likely to appear. Therefore, even if the number of robots increases, it is possible to ensure that the allocation of hall calls to target users is not hindered by the use of robots, and as a result, it is possible to maintain a high level of elevator transport efficiency.

[0014] The control device according to the above-mentioned aspect 2 may have the following configuration (aspect 4): When extracting the departure floor and destination floor of the robot for each target car, the control device may extract all of those floors one by one as boarding and alighting floors, rather than combining floors that are the same into one.

[0015] According to the above-mentioned aspect 4, at a floor where multiple robots get on and off, the number of times boarding and alighting can be counted as the same number as the number of robots. In other words, it is possible to reflect the number of robots getting on and off at the same floor in the number of times boarding and alighting. This makes it possible to exclude from allocation elevators elevators where the target user must experience multiple robots getting on and off at the same floor, and as a result, it is possible to minimize the elevator usage time required for the target user. This makes it possible to maintain a high level of convenience for the target user.

[0016] The control device according to any of the above aspects 1 to 4 may have the following configuration (Aspect 5): If, as a result of performing a sorting process on all of the target cars, the control device is unable to find any of the target cars whose number of boarding and alighting trips is less than or equal to a predetermined number, the control device may relax the predetermined number and perform the sorting process again for each target car.

[0017] If the number of robots using the elevator increases or if the elevator has a small number of cars, the number of times that users and robots ride together increases, which makes it more likely that the number of times that users get on and off in all cars will exceed the specified number. Even in such cases, according to the above-mentioned aspect 5, by relaxing the specified number of times, it becomes possible to reliably find a hall call allocation destination for the target user.

[0018] The control method according to the present invention is a control method for allocating hall calls to cars in an elevator, and has the following configuration (Aspect 6): When allocating a hall call for a target user, this control method sets all or some of the multiple cars equipped in the elevator as target cars, and for each target car, counts the number of times the robot gets on or off the car at any floor between the departure floor of the target user and the floor just before the destination floor of the target user, and then executes a selection process to select, from among the target cars, those for which the number of times of getting on or off is a predetermined number or less as candidates for allocation of the hall call for the target user. [Effects of the Invention]

[0019] According to the present invention, even when a robot is allowed to ride in an elevator together with a user, the convenience of the elevator for the user can be maintained at a high level. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator according to an embodiment. [Figure 2]1A and 1B are conceptual diagrams illustrating examples of robot management data and assignment request management data used in an embodiment. [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are conceptual diagrams illustrating device management data and allocation management data used in an embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing allocation request processing executed in the embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an allocation process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a first sorting process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing a part of a second sorting process executed in the embodiment. [Figure 8] 8 is a flowchart showing a continuation of FIG. 7 regarding the second sorting process. [Figure 9] 9 is a flowchart showing a continuation of FIG. 8 regarding the second sorting process. [Figure 10] 13 is a flowchart showing a part of a second sorting process executed in a third modified example. [Figure 11] 11 is a flowchart showing a continuation of FIG. 10 regarding the second sorting process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] [1] Implementation [1-1] Overall structure of the elevator FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, a destination floor registration device 1 is installed on each floor of the elevator, and when a user uses the elevator, the user must register their destination floor Fd in advance with the destination floor registration device 1 installed on the boarding floor. Furthermore, this elevator is used not only by users but also by a robot H that performs various tasks (cleaning, monitoring, transport, etc.) in the building where the elevator is installed. In other words, the robot H can also use the elevator to move between floors.

[0022] In this embodiment, the robot H is managed in a unified manner by the robot management device 2. The elevator is equipped with a plurality of cars G, and these cars G are managed in a unified manner by the group management control device 3. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the robot H is permitted to ride in the car G together with a user. Even when the robot H is permitted to ride in the car G together with a user in this way, the group management control device 3 executes a control process to make this possible so that the convenience of the elevator for the user can be maintained at a high level. The configuration of each part will be specifically described below.

[0023] <Destination floor registration device> The destination floor registration device 1 is provided with a device, such as a touch panel, that functions as both an input unit and a display unit, and the user registers the destination floor Fd and is notified of various information through this device. The destination floor registration device 1 may be provided with an input unit and a display unit separately. For example, mechanical buttons (such as a numeric keypad) may be provided as the input unit, and a monitor dedicated to display may be provided as the display unit.

[0024] When a user operates a destination floor registration device 1 at any floor to register their own destination floor Fd, that destination floor Fd is transmitted to the group management control device 3. As a result, a request is made to the group management control device 3 to allocate a hall call X (hereinafter referred to as "hall call Xg") for that user. At this time, device information Pd for distinguishing the destination floor registration device 1 from other registration devices is also transmitted to the group management control device 3 so that the group management control device 3 can recognize which registration device is the operated destination floor registration device 1.

[0025] <Robot management device> The robot management device 2 is a device that centrally manages the robot H (see FIG. 1). The robot management device 2 is not limited to being installed in the same building as the elevator, and may be a server or program that manages the robot H on the cloud.

[0026] In this embodiment, the robot management device 2 knows the deployment floor Fx of each robot H. When each robot H needs to move between floors, it transmits the destination floor Fy to the robot management device 2. At this time, the robot H also transmits its own robot information Ph to the robot management device 2 to enable it to be distinguished from other robots H, so that the robot management device 2 can recognize which robot H has transmitted the destination floor Fy.

[0027] When the robot management device 2 receives the destination floor Fy and robot information Ph from any robot H, it transmits the deployment floor Fx and destination floor Fy of that robot H as the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd, respectively, to the group management control device 3, thereby making a request to the group management control device 3 to allocate a hall call X (hereinafter referred to as "hall call Xh") for that robot H (allocation request process; see FIG. 4). At this time, the robot management device 2 also transmits the robot information Ph of that robot H to the group management control device 3 so that the group management control device 3 knows which robot H the transmitted allocation request is for. Details of this allocation request process will be described later.

[0028] Thereafter, when the car G arrives at the deployment floor Fx of the robot H in response to the hall call Xh, the robot management device 2 causes the robot H to board the car G (boarding command processing). In this case, at an appropriate timing after the robot H has boarded the car G (for example, at the timing when the robot H has boarded), the group management control device 3 registers the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Xh of the robot H as a car call Y for the robot H (hereinafter referred to as "car call Yh") for the car G. Then, when the car G arrives at the destination floor Fy of the robot H in response to the car call Yh, the robot management device 2 causes the robot H to disembark from the car G (disembark command processing).

[0029] Specifically, the robot management device 2 includes a storage unit 21 and a control unit 22 (see FIG. 1).

[0030] The storage unit 21 is a part configured with storage devices such as ROM and RAM, and stores information necessary for the control processing performed by the robot management device 2. In this embodiment, the storage unit 21 stores robot management data Dp and assignment request management data Dq as such information.

[0031] Here, the robot management data Dp is a database for managing, for each robot H, multiple pieces of information related to that robot H by linking them together (see FIG. 2(A)). The allocation request management data Dq is data for managing information on allocation requests for the robot H (see FIG. 2(B)).

[0032] 2(A) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the robot management data Dp used in this embodiment. In the robot management data Dp, for each robot H, the robot information Ph and deployment floor Fx of that robot H, and the destination of the robot H when it moves between floors are recorded in a mutually associated state. Here, the deployment floor Fx associated with each robot H is the current floor on which the robot H is deployed, and is updated each time the robot H moves between floors. Furthermore, the destination associated with each robot H records the destination floor Fy transmitted by the robot H for moving between floors, and the destination floor Fy is erased when the robot H has finished disembarking at that floor.

[0033] As a result, when the robot management device 2 receives robot information Ph from any robot H together with the destination floor Fy, it becomes possible to identify the deployment floor Fx of that robot H from the robot information Ph. In this embodiment, the deployment floor Fx of that robot H is used as the departure floor Fc when that robot H moves between floors using an elevator. Furthermore, by referring to the movement destination associated with the robot information Ph of each robot H, if the movement destination has the destination floor Fy recorded, the robot management device 2 can determine that the robot H is moving between floors and can also ascertain which floor that movement destination is. On the other hand, if the movement destination has not the destination floor Fy recorded, it can determine that the robot H is deployed to the deployment floor Fx (working).

[0034] 2(B) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the allocation request management data Dq used in this embodiment. In the allocation request management data Dq, each time an allocation request for a robot H is made to the group management control device 3, the robot information Ph of that robot H and the information transmitted to the group management control device 3 in that allocation request (in this embodiment, the departure floor Fc and the destination floor Fd) are recorded in a mutually associated state. Then, the set of information regarding that allocation request is deleted from the allocation request management data Dq when the robot H has completely disembarked at the destination floor Fd (= destination floor Fy) transmitted in that allocation request.

[0035] The control unit 22 is a part that is responsible for executing the control processes (including allocation request processing, boarding command processing, and disembarking command processing) performed by the robot management device 2. Specifically, the control unit 22 is composed of processing devices such as a CPU and an MPU, and executes a control program installed in the robot management device 2 to realize the execution of its own control processes in software. Note that, before being installed in the robot management device 2, this control program may be stored in a readable state on a portable storage medium (for example, a flash memory, etc.), or may be stored in a downloadable state on another server, etc. Furthermore, the control processes performed by the robot management device 2 are not limited to being realized in software by executing a program, but may also be realized in hardware by a processing circuit built into the robot management device 2.

[0036] <Group management control device> The group management control device 3 is a device that centrally controls a plurality of cars G equipped in the elevator of this embodiment through an elevator control device provided for each car G (see FIG. 1).

[0037] Specifically, each time the group management control device 3 receives an allocation request from the destination floor registration device 1 or the robot management device 2, it selects a car G to be allocated from among a plurality of cars G in response to the request, and allocates the hall call X to that car G (allocation process; see FIG. 5). Then, the group management control device 3 causes the car G to execute a response operation to the hall call X (response process). In this embodiment, even when the robot H is allowed to ride in the elevator with the user, the group management control device 3 performs a process in the allocation process to enable this to be achieved so that the convenience of the elevator for the user can be maintained at a high level. Details of this allocation process will be described later.

[0038] Furthermore, when responding to a hall call Xg from a user, the group management control device 3 registers the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Xg as a car call Y for the user (hereinafter referred to as "car call Yg") for that car G at an appropriate timing after the arrival of the car G at the departure floor Fc indicated by the hall call Xg (for example, when the doors start opening or when a sensor in the door detects that the user has boarded), (registration processing). Also, when responding to a hall call Xh for a robot H, the group management control device 3 registers the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Xh for that robot H as a car call Yh for that robot H at an appropriate timing after the boarding of the robot H into the car G is completed (for example, when the boarding of the robot H is completed), (registration processing). Then, the group management control device 3 causes the car G to execute a response operation to the car calls Y (response processing).

[0039] Specifically, the group management control device 3 includes a storage unit 31 and a control unit 32 (see FIG. 1).

[0040] The storage unit 31 is a part configured with storage devices such as ROM and RAM, and stores information necessary for the control processing performed by the group management control device 3. In this embodiment, the storage unit 31 stores device management data Dr and allocation management data Dt as such information.

[0041] Here, the device management data Dr is a database for managing, for each destination floor registration device 1, a plurality of pieces of information related to that registration device by linking them together (see FIG. 3(A)). The assignment management data Dt is data for managing information on hall calls X for users and robots H (see FIG. 3(B)).

[0042] 3A is a conceptual diagram illustrating the device management data Dr used in this embodiment. In the device management data Dr, for each destination floor registration device 1, the device information Pd of the registration device and the installation floor Fs are recorded in a mutually associated state.

[0043] As a result, when the group management control device 3 receives device information Pd together with the destination floor Fd from any of the destination floor registration devices 1, it becomes possible to identify the floor Fs on which the destination floor registration device 1 (the registration device on which the destination floor Fd is registered) is installed from the device information Pd. In this embodiment, the floor Fs on which the destination floor registration device 1 is installed is used as the departure floor Fc of the user who operates that registration device to register the destination floor Fd.

[0044] 3(B) is a conceptual diagram illustrating the allocation management data Dt used in this embodiment. In the allocation management data Dt, each time the group management control device 3 allocates a hall call X to a user or a robot H, identification information Pi and attribute information Pj for identifying the target of the allocation, information on the hall call X (departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd), a destination direction Kz, and car information Pg for distinguishing the car G to which the hall call X is allocated from other cars are recorded in a mutually associated state. The information on each hall call X and the information associated therewith are then deleted from the allocation management data Dt when the car G reverses its direction of movement after the hall call X has completed its role (for example, after the car G arrives at the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call X).

[0045] Here, in the identification information Pi, if the target of the allocation is a user, a number (such as a serial number) assigned to the user for each allocation is recorded, and if the target of the allocation is a robot H, robot information Ph of the robot H is recorded. In the attribute information Pj, information for distinguishing whether the target of the allocation is a user or a robot H ("user" or "robot" in the example of FIG. 3(B)) is recorded. In the destination direction Kz, the direction from the departure floor Fc to the destination floor Fd ("upward" or "downward" in the example of FIG. 3(B)) is recorded.

[0046] The control unit 32 is a part that is responsible for executing the control processes (including allocation processes, registration processes, and response processes) performed by the group management control device 3. Specifically, the control unit 32 is composed of processing devices such as a CPU or MPU, and executes a control program installed in the group management control device 3 to realize the execution of its own control processes in software. Note that, before being installed in the group management control device 3, this control program may be stored in a readable state on a portable storage medium (for example, a flash memory, etc.), or may be stored in a downloadable state on another server, etc. Furthermore, the control processes performed by the group management control device 3 are not limited to being realized in software by executing a program, but may also be realized in hardware by a processing circuit built into the group management control device 3.

[0047] [1-2] Control process executed by elevator [1-2-1] Allocation request processing performed by the robot management device 4 is a flowchart showing the allocation request process executed in this embodiment. This allocation request process is started each time the robot management device 2 receives a destination floor Fy and robot information Ph from any robot H. Here, the robot H that has transmitted this information (the robot H identified by the transmitted robot information Ph) is referred to as the "target robot Hk." Furthermore, the information received by the robot management device 2 at that time (including the destination floor Fy and robot information Ph) is collectively referred to as the "received information Pr1."

[0048] When the allocation request process is started, the robot management device 2 uses the robot management data Dp (see FIG. 2(A)) to find robot information Ph recorded therein that matches the robot information Ph in the received information Pr1, and then extracts the deployment floor Fx associated with it (step S101). Furthermore, the robot management device 2 records the destination floor Fy in the received information Pr1 in the robot management data Dp as the movement destination, in association with the found robot information Ph. This records in the robot management data Dp that the target robot Hk is currently moving between floors toward the destination floor Fy. The example in FIG. 2(A) shows a case in which the destination floors Fy of two robots H, "8th floor" and "12th floor," are recorded as movement destinations for these robots H, whose robot information Ph is "H-01" and "H-02," respectively.

[0049] Thereafter, the robot management device 2 requests allocation of a hall call Xh for the target robot Hk by setting the deployment floor Fx and destination floor Fy of the target robot Hk as the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd, respectively, and transmitting this information (departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd) to the group management control device 3 (step S102). At this time, the robot management device 2 also transmits robot information Ph of the target robot Hk to the group management control device 3 so that the group management control device 3 can recognize which robot H the transmitted allocation request is for.

[0050] Furthermore, the robot management device 2 records the information (robot information Ph, departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd) transmitted to the group management control device 3 as allocation request information for the target robot Hk in the allocation request management data Dq in a mutually associated state (see FIG. 2(B)). The example of FIG. 2(B) shows a case in which allocation request information for robot H that needs to move from the 5th floor to the 8th floor (Ph="H-01", Fc="5th floor", Fd="8th floor") and allocation request information for robot H that needs to move from the 3rd floor to the 12th floor (Ph="H-02", Fc="3rd floor", Fd="12th floor") are recorded. After step S102, the robot management device 2 ends the allocation request process.

[0051] [1-2-2] Allocation process performed by the group management control device 5 is a flowchart showing the allocation process executed in this embodiment. This allocation process is started every time the group management control device 3 receives an allocation request from the destination floor registration device 1 or the robot management device 2.

[0052] Hereinafter, the information received by the group management control device 3 for each allocation request will be collectively referred to as "received information Pr2." Specifically, if the allocation request is a request from the destination floor registration device 1 (a request to allocate a hall call Xg for a user), this received information Pr2 will be a set of information including the departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd, and device information Pd, and if the allocation request is a request from the robot management device 2 (a request to allocate a hall call Xh for robot H), this received information Pr2 will be a set of information including the departure floor Fc, destination floor Fd, and robot information Ph.

[0053] When the allocation process begins, the group management control device 3 first determines whether the received allocation request is from the destination floor registration device 1 or the robot management device 2 by determining whether the device information Pd or the robot information Ph is included in the received information Pr2 (step S200).

[0054] If the group management control device 3 determines in step S200 that the "device information Pd" is included, it can determine that the received allocation request is a request from the destination floor registration device 1. In this case, the group management control device 3 first determines the hall call Xg of the user who generated the request (i.e., the user who registered the destination floor Fd; hereinafter, this user will be referred to as the "target user") (step S210).

[0055] Specifically, the group management control device 3 uses the device management data Dr (see FIG. 3(A)) to find device information Pd recorded therein that matches the device information Pd in ​​the received information Pr2, and then extracts the installation floor Fs associated with it. The group management control device 3 then sets the extracted installation floor Fs and the destination floor Fd in the received information Pr2 as the departure floor Fcs and destination floor Fds of the target user, respectively, and determines these floors (departure floor Fcs and destination floor Fds) as one hall call Xg for the target user. Hereinafter, this hall call Xg for the target user will be referred to as the "target call Xgs."

[0056] After step S210, the group management control device 3 performs a first selection process for selecting, for each of the target cars Gk, candidates for allocation of the target call Xgs, with all the cars G of the elevator as target cars Gk (step S211). Hereinafter, the candidates for allocation are referred to as "allocation candidates." Details of this first selection process will be described later.

[0057] After step S211, the group management control device 3 determines whether or not an allocation candidate has been found by executing step S211 (step S212).

[0058] Here, if the group management control device 3 is unable to select any of the target cars Gk as an allocation candidate in the first selection process, it will end step S211 without finding an allocation candidate. In this case, the group management control device 3 determines "unable to select (No)" in step S212, returns to step S211 again, and newly executes the first selection process for each of the target cars Gk.

[0059] If the group management control device 3 determines that it has been completed (Yes) in step S212, it selects the most suitable car G from the allocation candidates found in step S211 and allocates the target call Xgs to that car G (step S213).

[0060] Thereafter, the group management control device 3 assigns identification information Pi (such as a serial number) to the target user, sets attribute information Pj to "user", and sets the direction in which the target user travels from the departure floor Fcs to the destination floor Fds as the destination direction Kz, and then records this information, the information on the target call Xgs (departure floor Fcs, destination floor Fds) and the information on the allocation destination (car information Pg) in a mutually associated state in the allocation management data Dt (step S214; see FIG. 3(B)). Thereafter, the group management control device 3 terminates the allocation process.

[0061] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines in step S200 that "robot information Ph" is included, it can determine that the received allocation request is a request from the robot management device 2. In this case, the group management control device 3 first determines the hall call Xh for the robot H that generated the request (i.e., the robot H that needs to move between floors and has transmitted the destination floor Fy to the robot management device 2; hereinafter, this robot H will be referred to as the "target robot Hk") (step S220).

[0062] Specifically, the group management control device 3 sets the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd in the received information Pr2 as the departure floor Fct and destination floor Fdt of the target robot Hk, respectively, and then determines these floors (departure floor Fct, destination floor Fdt) as one hall call Xh for the target robot Hk. Hereinafter, this hall call Xh for the target robot Hk will be referred to as the "target call Xht."

[0063] After step S220, the group management control device 3 performs a second selection process for selecting an allocation candidate for the target call Xht for each of the target cars Gk, with all the cars G of the elevator as target cars Gk (step S221). The details of this second selection process will be described later.

[0064] After step S221, the group management control device 3 determines whether or not an allocation candidate has been found by executing step S221 (step S222).

[0065] Here, if the group management control device 3 is unable to select any of the target cars Gk as an allocation candidate in the second selection process, it will end step S221 without finding an allocation candidate. In this case, the group management control device 3 determines "unable to select (No)" in step S222, returns to step S221 again, and newly executes the second selection process for each of the target cars Gk.

[0066] If the group management control device 3 determines that it has been completed (Yes) in step S222, it selects the most suitable car G from the allocation candidates found in step S221 and allocates the target call Xht to that car G (step S223).

[0067] Thereafter, the group management control device 3 sets the robot information Ph of the target robot Hk as identification information Pi, the attribute information Pj as "robot", and the direction in which the target robot Hk travels from the departure floor Fct to the destination floor Fdt as the destination direction Kz, and then records this information in the allocation management data Dt in a state in which it corresponds to the information of the target call Xht (departure floor Fct, destination floor Fdt) and the information of the allocation destination (car information Pg) (step S224; see FIG. 3(B)). Thereafter, the group management control device 3 ends the allocation process.

[0068] [1-2-3] First selection process performed by the group management control device Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the first sorting process executed in this embodiment. This first sorting process is executed for each of the target cars Gk (in this embodiment, all of the passenger cars G). Specifically, the group management control device 3 executes the first sorting process for each target car Gk (hereinafter referred to as "target car Gkw").

[0069] In the first selection process, the group management control device 3 first obtains information on the hall call Xh for the robot H that may be riding in the target car Gkw with the target user by extracting from the hall calls X assigned to the target car Gkw those that satisfy both the condition [1a] that the hall call X is the hall call Xh of the robot H and the condition [1b] that the destination direction Kz from the departure floor Fc to the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call X matches the destination direction Kz of the target user (the direction in which the target user is traveling from the departure floor Fcs to the destination floor Fds) (step S301).

[0070] Specifically, the group management control device 3 searches for car information Pg recorded in the allocation management data Dt (see Figure 3 (B)) that matches the car information Pg of the target car Gkw, and whose attribute information Pj associated with the car information Pg is "robot", and whose destination direction Kz associated with the car information Pg matches the destination direction Kz of the target user, and then extracts the information of the hall call X (departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd) associated with that car information Pg.

[0071] After step S301, the group management control device 3 determines whether or not a hall call X that satisfies both of the above conditions [1a] and [1b] has been extracted (step S302).

[0072] If the group management control device 3 determines that "not extracted (No)" in step S302, it can determine that there is no robot H that can potentially ride with the target user in the target car Gkw. In this case, if the hall call Xg (target call Xgs) for the target user is assigned to the target car Gkw, the target user will be able to travel from the departure floor Fcs to the destination floor Fds without having to get on or off the robot H. In other words, the convenience of the elevator for the target user can be maintained at a high level.

[0073] Therefore, if the group management control device 3 determines that the target car Gkw has not been extracted (No) in step S302, it adds the target car Gkw to the allocation candidates for the target call Xgs (step S310). After that, the group management control device 3 ends the first selection process for the target car Gkw.

[0074] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines "extracted (Yes)" in step S302, it can determine based on that determination that there is a robot H that may ride with the target user in the target car Gkw. In this case, if the hall call Xg (target call Xgs) for the target user is assigned to the target car Gkw, the target user may have to experience getting on and off the robot H while traveling from the departure floor Fcs to the destination floor Fds. In other words, the convenience of the elevator for the target user may be reduced. Therefore, the group management control device 3 executes the following processing to maintain a high level of convenience of the elevator for the target user.

[0075] If the group management control device 3 determines that the floors have been extracted (Yes) in step S302, it lists the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Xh of the robot H extracted in step S301 as boarding and alighting floors Fe1(I) (step S303). Here, the list number I starts from 1.

[0076] In this embodiment, when the group management control device 3 lists the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd of the robot H in step S303, those that are on the same floor are grouped into one boarding / alighting floor Fe1(I).The group management control device 3 then assigns the total number of boarding / alighting floors Fe1(I) (here, the last value of the list number I) to the variable Mh1.

[0077] After step S303, the group management control device 3 sets a variable Ix for reading out the boarding and alighting floors Fe1(I) in the order of the list to Ix=1 (step S320). In addition, the group management control device 3 sets the number of boarding and alighting trips N1 of the robot H that the target user will experience in one trip in the target car Gkw (the number of times the robot H gets on or off at any floor from the departure floor Fcs of the target user to the floor just before the destination floor Fds of the target user) to N1=0.

[0078] After step S320, the group management control device 3 counts the number of times N1 that the target user gets on and off the robot H during one movement in the target car Gkw.

[0079] Specifically, the group management control device 3 determines whether the boarding and alighting floor Fe1 (Ix) matches any floor from the target user's departure floor Fcs to the floor just before the target user's destination floor Fds (step S321).

[0080] If the group management control device 3 determines that the results are "matched (Yes)" in step S321, it can determine that the target user will board or disembark the robot H at the boarding / alighting floor Fe1 (Ix). In this case, the group management control device 3 counts one boarding / alighting as the number of boarding / alighting trips N1 (step S322), and then proceeds to step S323.

[0081] Here, if the boarding / alighting floor Fe1(Ix) matches the destination floor Fds of the target user, that floor is the floor where the target user disembarks, so even if the robot H gets on or off at that floor, it will have almost no effect on the convenience of the target user. Therefore, in steps S321 and S322, if the boarding / alighting floor Fe1(Ix) matches the destination floor Fds of the target user, it is excluded from counting the number of boarding and alighting times N1.

[0082] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines that there is no match (No) in step S321, it can determine that the target user will not get on or off the robot H at the boarding / alighting floor Fe1 (Ix). In this case, the group management control device 3 proceeds to step S323 without counting the number of boarding and alighting trips N1.

[0083] In step S323, the group management control device 3 increments the value of the variable Ix by 1 to move the boarding / alighting floor Fe1(Ix) to be determined in step S321 to the next one in the list. Thereafter, the group management control device 3 determines whether the variable Ix satisfies Ix>Mh1 to determine whether the determination in step S321 has been performed for all listed boarding / alighting floors Fe1(I) (step S324).

[0084] If the group management control device 3 determines that the condition is not met (No) in step S324, it repeats the processing of steps S321 to S324 until it determines that the condition is met (Yes) in step S324. This counts the number of times N1 that the target user gets on and off the robot H during one movement in the target car Gkw.

[0085] By processing steps S321 to S324, the number of times N1 that the target user will board and disembark the robot H can be counted in a simple manner by comparing the extracted boarding and disembarking floor Fe1(I) of the robot H with the target user's travel section (the section from the target user's departure floor Fcs to the floor just before the target user's destination floor Fds).

[0086] Thereafter, if the group management control device 3 determines that the condition is satisfied (No) in step S324, it next determines whether the counted number of boarding and alighting N1 is equal to or less than a predetermined number Nt (step S325). As an example, the predetermined number Nt is set to Nt=1.

[0087] If the group control device 3 determines in step S325 that "the number of times is less than or equal to the predetermined number Nt (Yes)," it can determine that even if the hall call Xg (target call Xgs) for the target user is assigned to the target car Gkw, the number of times N1 the target user will get on and off the robot H in one movement in the target car Gkw will be at most the predetermined number Nt. In other words, the group control device 3 can determine that it is possible to maintain high convenience of the elevator for the target user. Therefore, if the group control device 3 determines in step S325 that "the number of times is less than or equal to the predetermined number Nt (Yes)," it adds the target car Gkw to the assignment candidates for the target call Xgs (step S326). Thereafter, the group control device 3 ends the first selection process for the target car Gkw.

[0088] On the other hand, if the group control device 3 determines in step S325 that "the number of times is not less than the predetermined number Nt (No)," it can determine that if the hall call Xg (target call Xgs) for the target user were to be assigned to the target car Gkw based on that determination, the convenience of the elevator for that target user would be reduced. In this case, the group control device 3 does not perform step S326 (i.e., does not select the target car Gkw as an assignment candidate), and ends the first selection process for the target car Gkw. In other words, if the group control device 3 determines in step S325 that "the number of times is not less than the predetermined number Nt (No)," it makes a decision not to select the target car Gkw as an assignment candidate.

[0089] According to this first sorting process, it is possible to limit the allocation of the hall call Xg (target call Xgs) for the target user to cars G for which the number of times N1 that the target user will get on and off the robot H in one trip is at most a predetermined number Nt. This makes it possible to shorten the elevator usage time required for the target user at that time as much as possible, even if the robot H is allowed to ride in the elevator with the target user. Therefore, it is possible to maintain a high level of convenience for the target user in the elevator.

[0090] Furthermore, by setting the condition for the car G when selecting candidates for allocation that the number of boarding and alighting attempts N1 is equal to or less than a predetermined number Nt, it is possible to widen the selection of candidates (for example, when Nt = 1, both cars G whose counted number of boarding and alighting attempts N1 satisfies N1 = 0 and cars G whose counted number of boarding and alighting attempts N1 satisfies N1 = 1 will be selected as candidates for allocation), and as a result, although the candidates are limited to some cars G depending on the condition, it becomes easier to extract multiple cars G as candidates. Therefore, in the process of allocating the hall call Xg (target call Xgs) for the target user (step S213 in Figure 5), it becomes possible to determine the allocation destination from multiple candidates taking transport efficiency into consideration, and as a result, high transport efficiency can be maintained.

[0091] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, when the departure floors Fc and destination floors Fd of the robots H are listed in step S303, floors that are the same are grouped into a single boarding / alighting floor Fe1(I). This process allows the number of boarding / alighting trips N1 to be counted as one trip at a floor where multiple robots H board and alight. This makes it possible to create a situation in which elevators G with a boarding / alighting trip count N1 equal to or less than a predetermined number Nt are more likely to appear, even if the number of robots H increases. Therefore, even if the number of robots H increases, it is possible to prevent the allocation of hall calls Xg (target calls Xgs) to target users from being hindered by the use of the robots H, thereby maintaining high elevator transport efficiency.

[0092] [1-2-4] Second sorting process performed by the group management control device 7 to 9 are flowcharts showing the second sorting process executed in this embodiment. This second sorting process is executed for all target cars Gk (all passenger cars G in this embodiment). Specifically, the group management control device 3 executes the second sorting process for each target car Gk (hereinafter referred to as "target car Gkw").

[0093] In the second selection process, the group management control device 3 first extracts, from the hall calls X assigned to the target car Gkw, those that satisfy both the condition [2a] that the hall call X is the hall call Xg of the user and the condition [2b] that the destination direction Kz from the departure floor Fc to the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call X matches the destination direction Kz of the target robot Hk (the direction in which the target robot Hk travels from the departure floor Fct to the destination floor Fdt) in order to obtain information on the hall calls Xg for users who may be riding in the target car Gkw (step S401).

[0094] Specifically, the group management control device 3 searches for car information Pg recorded in the allocation management data Dt (see Figure 3 (B)) that matches the car information Pg of the target car Gkw, and whose attribute information Pj associated with the car information Pg is "user," and whose destination direction Kz associated with the car information Pg matches the destination direction Kz of the target robot Hk, and then extracts the information of the hall call X (departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd) associated with that car information Pg.

[0095] After step S401, the group management control device 3 determines whether or not a hall call X that satisfies both of the above conditions [2a] and [2b] has been extracted (step S402).

[0096] If the group management control device 3 determines that "not extracted (No)" in step S402, it can determine that there is no user who may ride with the target robot Hk in the target car Gkw. In this case, even if the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk is assigned to the target car Gkw, the assignment does not result in the user experiencing the target robot Hk getting on or off the target car Gkw.

[0097] Therefore, if the group management control device 3 determines that the target car Gkw was not extracted (No) in step S402, it adds the target car Gkw to the allocation candidates for the target call Xht (step S410). After that, the group management control device 3 ends the second selection process for the target car Gkw.

[0098] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines "extracted (Yes)" in step S402, it can determine based on that determination that there is a user who may ride with the target robot Hk in the target car Gkw. In this case, if the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk is assigned to the target car Gkw, the user may have to experience getting on and off the target robot Hk while traveling from the departure floor Fc to the destination floor Fd. In other words, the convenience of the elevator for the user may be reduced. Therefore, the group management control device 3 executes the following processing to maintain high convenience of the elevator for users.

[0099] If the group management control device 3 determines "extracted (Yes)" in step S402, it lists the hall calls Xg of the users extracted in step S401 as user calls Xe(J) (step S403). Here, the list number J is a number starting from 1. Then, the group management control device 3 assigns the total number of user calls Xe(J) (here, the last value of the list number J) to the variable Mg.

[0100] After step S403, the group management control device 3 acquires information on hall calls Xh for other robots H that may ride with the user in the target car Gkw, in order to count the number of times that the user will get on or off other robots H (robots H other than the target robot Hk) that have already been decided to ride in the target car Gkw. Specifically, the group management control device 3 extracts hall calls X from the hall calls X assigned to the target car Gkw that satisfy both the condition [2c] that the hall call X is the hall call Xh of the robot H, and the condition [2d] that the destination direction Kz from the departure floor Fc to the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call X matches the destination direction Kz of the target robot Hk (the direction in which the target robot Hk moves from the departure floor Fct to the destination floor Fdt) (step S421).

[0101] More specifically, the group management control device 3 searches for car information Pg recorded in the allocation management data Dt (see Figure 3 (B)) that matches the car information Pg of the target car Gkw, that the attribute information Pj associated with that car information Pg is "robot", and that the destination direction Kz associated with that car information Pg matches the destination direction Kz of the target robot Hk, and then extracts the information of the hall call X (departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd) associated with that car information Pg.

[0102] After step S421, the group management control device 3 determines whether or not a hall call X that satisfies both of the above conditions [2c] and [2d] has been extracted (step S422).

[0103] If the group management control device 3 determines "extracted (Yes)" in step S422, it can determine that a user who may ride with the target robot Hk in the target car Gkw may also ride with another robot H who has already been scheduled to ride in the target car Gkw. In this case, if the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk is assigned to the target car Gkw, the user may have to experience boarding and disembarking the target robot Hk in addition to boarding and disembarking the other robot H while traveling from the departure floor Fcs to the destination floor Fds. In other words, the convenience of the elevator for the user may be significantly reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, as described below, the convenience of the elevator for the user is maintained high while taking into consideration the possibility of riding with such other robot H.

[0104] If the group management control device 3 determines that the floors have been extracted (Yes) in step S422, it lists the departure floor Fc and destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call Xh of the robot H extracted in step S421 as boarding and alighting floors Fe2(K) (step S423). Here, the list number K is a number starting from 1.

[0105] In this embodiment, when the group management control device 3 lists the departure floors Fc and destination floors Fd of other robots H in step S423, those that are on the same floor are grouped into a single boarding / alighting floor Fe2(K). Then, the group management control device 3 assigns the total number of boarding / alighting floors Fe2(K) (here, the last value of the list number K) to the variable Mh2. Thereafter, the group management control device 3 proceeds to step S430A (see FIG. 8).

[0106] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines that "not extracted (No)" in step S422, it can determine based on that determination that the user who may ride with the target robot Hk in the target car Gkw is not likely to ride with another robot H. In this case, the group management control device 3 sets the variable Mh2 to Mh2=0 (step S424), and then proceeds to step S430A (see FIG. 8).

[0107] In step S430A, the group management control device 3 sets a variable Jx for reading out the user call Xe(J) in list order to Jx = 1. The group management control device 3 also sets the number of times N2 that a user to whom the user call Xe(Jx) has been assigned (hereinafter, this user will be referred to as the "target user") gets on and off the robot H in one movement in the target car Gkw (the number of times the target robot Hk or another robot H gets on or off at any floor from the departure floor Fc of the target user to the floor just before the destination floor Fd of the target user) to N2 = 0 (step S430B).

[0108] After step S430B, the group management control device 3 first counts the number of times the target user will get on or off the target robot Hk, assuming that a hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk has been assigned to the target cage Gkw, as the number of times N2 the target user will get on or off the robot H in one movement in the target cage Gkw (first process).

[0109] Specifically, in order to determine whether the target user will experience riding the target robot Hk, the group management control device 3 determines whether the departure floor Fct of the target robot Hk matches any floor between the departure floor Fc of the target user (the departure floor Fc indicated by the user call Xe (Jx)) and the floor just before the destination floor Fd of the target user (the destination floor Fd indicated by the user call Xe (Jx)) (step S431).

[0110] If the group management control device 3 determines that there is a match (Yes) in step S431, it can determine that the user of interest will experience riding on the target robot Hk. In this case, the group management control device 3 counts one ride as the number of times N2 the user has boarded or disembarked (step S432), and then proceeds to step S433.

[0111] Here, if the departure floor Fct of the target robot Hk matches the destination floor Fd of the target user, that floor is the floor where the target user disembarks, so even if the target robot Hk gets on at that floor, it will have almost no effect on the convenience of the target user. Therefore, in steps S431 and S432, if the departure floor Fct matches the destination floor Fd of the target user, it is excluded from counting the number of boarding and alighting N2.

[0112] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines that there is no match (No) in step S431, it can determine that the user of interest will not ride the target robot Hk. In this case, the group management control device 3 proceeds to step S433 without counting the number of times N2 that the user gets on and off.

[0113] In step S433, the group management control device 3 determines whether the destination floor Fdt of the target robot Hk matches any floor between the departure floor Fc of the target user (the departure floor Fc indicated by the user call Xe (Jx)) and the floor just before the destination floor Fd of the target user (the destination floor Fd indicated by the user call Xe (Jx)) in order to determine whether the target user will experience disembarking the target robot Hk.

[0114] If the group management control device 3 determines that the values ​​match (Yes) in step S433, it can determine that the user of interest will experience getting off the target robot Hk. In this case, the group management control device 3 counts one time as the number of times N2 that the user gets on and off (step S434), and then proceeds to step S435.

[0115] Here, if the destination floor Fdt of the target robot Hk matches the destination floor Fd of the target user, that floor is the floor where the target user disembarks, so even if the target robot Hk disembarks at that floor, it will have almost no effect on the convenience of the target user. Therefore, in steps S433 and S434, if the destination floor Fdt matches the destination floor Fd of the target user, it is excluded from counting the number of boarding and alighting N2.

[0116] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines that there is no match (No) in step S433, it can determine that the user of interest will not experience dismounting the target robot Hk. In this case, the group management control device 3 proceeds to step S435 without counting the number of times N2 that the user gets on and off.

[0117] In this way, the group management control device 3 determines whether the departure floor Fct of the target robot Hk matches any floor from the departure floor Fc of the target user (the departure floor Fc indicated by the user call Xe(Jx)) to the floor just before the destination floor Fd of the target user (the destination floor Fd indicated by the user call Xe(Jx)) (step S431), and determines whether the destination floor Fdt of the target robot Hk matches (step S433), and counts the number of times N2 that the target robot Hk gets on and off each time it determines that the floors match (steps S432, S434). As a result, the number of times the target user gets on or off the target robot Hk is counted as the number N2 of times the target user gets on or off the robot H that the target user will experience in one trip in the target car Gkw.

[0118] In step S435, the group management control device 3 determines whether the number of boarding and alighting operations N2 counted in the processing of steps S431 to S434 (first processing) is equal to or less than a predetermined number of times Nt (determination (A)). As an example, the predetermined number of times Nt is set to Nt=1.

[0119] If the group management control device 3 determines in step S435 that the number of times is "less than or equal to the predetermined number Nt (Yes)", it then proceeds to step S436 to perform a process (second process) of additionally counting the number of times the focused user will get on or off other robots H (robots H other than the target robot Hk) as necessary (if there is a possibility that the focused user will get on or off other robots H) as the number of times N2 the focused user will get on or off robots H in one movement in the focused cage Gkw.

[0120] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines in step S435 that "the number of times is not less than the predetermined number Nt (No)," it can determine that if the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk were to be assigned to the target car Gkw based on that determination, the convenience of the elevator for the target user would be reduced. In this case, the group management control device 3 terminates the second selection process for the target car Gkw without proceeding to step S436 (i.e., without performing the second process). In other words, if the group management control device 3 determines in step S435 that "the number of times is not less than the predetermined number Nt (No)," it makes a decision not to select the target car Gkw as an assignment candidate without performing the second process.

[0121] In this way, according to the processing of step S435 performed immediately after the processing of steps S431 to S434 (first processing), if the number of times N2 that the robot H gets on and off obtained in the first processing (i.e., the number of times the target user gets on or off the target robot Hk) exceeds a predetermined number Nt, the second sorting processing for the target car Gk at that time can be terminated without performing the second processing, and the second sorting processing can be moved to the second sorting processing for another target car Gk. Therefore, unnecessary processing is reduced, and as a result, the processing speed when the second sorting processing is performed on all target cars Gk can be improved.

[0122] In step S436, the group management control device 3 first determines whether the target user is likely to experience boarding and disembarking of other robots H by determining whether the variable Mh2, to which the total number of floors Fe2(K) where the other robots H board and disembark, is assigned, satisfies Mh2>0.

[0123] If the group management control device 3 determines that the condition is "satisfied (Yes)" in step S436, it can determine that there is a possibility that the focused user will experience getting on and off another robot H. In this case, the group management control device 3 additionally counts the number of times that the focused user will experience getting on and off another robot H (a robot H other than the target robot Hk) as the number of times N2 that the focused user will experience getting on and off the robot H in one movement in the focused cage Gkw (second process; see FIG. 9).

[0124] Specifically, the group management control device 3 first sets a variable Kx for reading out the getting on and off floors Fe2(K) in the order of the list to Kx=1 (step S440).

[0125] After step S440, the group management control device 3 determines whether the boarding and alighting floor Fe2 (Kx) matches any floor between the departure floor Fc of the target user (the departure floor Fc indicated by the user call Xe (Jx)) and the floor just before the destination floor Fd of the target user (the destination floor Fd indicated by the user call Xe (Jx)) (step S441).

[0126] If the group management control device 3 determines that the results are "matched (Yes)" in step S441, it can determine that the user of interest will board or disembark robot H at floor Fe2 (Kx). In this case, the group management control device 3 counts one boarding or disembarking trip as the number of boarding and disembarking trips N2 (step S442), and then proceeds to step S443.

[0127] Here, if the boarding / alighting floor Fe2(Kx) matches the destination floor Fd of the target user, that floor is the floor where the target user disembarks, so even if the robot H gets on or off at that floor, it has almost no effect on the convenience of the target user. Therefore, in steps S441 and S442, if the boarding / alighting floor Fe2(Kx) matches the destination floor Fd of the target user, it is excluded from counting the number of boarding and alighting times N2.

[0128] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines that there is no match (No) in step S441, it can determine that the user of interest will not get on or off the robot H at the boarding / alighting floor Fe2 (Kx). In this case, the group management control device 3 proceeds to step S443 without counting the number of boarding and alighting trips N2.

[0129] In step S443, the group management control device 3 increments the value of the variable Kx by 1 to move the boarding / alighting floor Fe2(Kx) to be determined in step S441 to the next one in the list. Thereafter, the group management control device 3 determines whether the variable Kx satisfies Kx>Mh2 to determine whether the determination in step S441 has been performed for all listed boarding / alighting floors Fe2(K) (step S444).

[0130] If the group management control device 3 determines that the condition is not met (No) in step S444, it repeatedly executes the processing of steps S441 to S444 (second processing) until it can determine that the condition is met (Yes) in step S444. As a result, the number of times that the focused user will get on or off other robots H (robots H other than the target robot Hk) is additionally counted as the number of times N2 that the focused user will get on or off the robot H in one movement in the focused car Gkw.

[0131] According to this series of processes, the counting of the number of times N2 the target user will get on and off the robot H in the target car Gkw can be performed separately into a first process (steps S431 to S434) of counting the number of times the target user will get on or off the target robot Hk, and a second process (steps S441 to S444) of counting the number of times the target user will get on or off another robot H. In addition, in the second process, the number of times the target user will get on or off another robot H in the target car Gkw can be counted by a simple method such as comparing the extracted floor Fe2(K) for getting on and off the robot H with the target user's travel section (the section from the target user's departure floor Fc to the floor just before the target user's destination floor Fd).

[0132] Thereafter, if the group management control device 3 determines in step S444 that the condition is "satisfied (No)", it next determines whether the final number of boarding and alighting attempts N2 obtained by the processing of steps S441 to S444 (second processing) (i.e., the number of boarding and alighting attempts N2 obtained by executing the first processing and the second processing) is less than or equal to the predetermined number of boarding and alighting attempts Nt (step S445. Determination (B)).

[0133] If the group control device 3 determines in step S445 that the number of boarding and alighting trips N2 is equal to or less than the predetermined number Nt (Yes), then even if the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk is assigned to the target car Gkw, the group control device 3 can determine that the number of boarding and alighting trips N2 of the robot H (including both the target robot Hk and other robots H) that the target user will experience in one trip in the target car Gkw will be at most the predetermined number Nt. In other words, the group control device 3 can determine that it is possible to maintain high convenience of the elevator for the target user. On the other hand, the number of boarding and alighting trips N2 for other users who ride in the same target car Gkw may not necessarily be equal to or less than the predetermined number Nt. Therefore, if the group control device 3 determines in step S445 that the number of boarding and alighting trips N2 is equal to or less than the predetermined number Nt (Yes), the group control device 3 proceeds to step S437 to make a similar determination for other users.

[0134] Furthermore, if the group management control device 3 determines that the condition is "not satisfied (No)" in step S436, it can determine that there is no possibility that the focused user will experience getting on or off another robot H. In other words, the group management control device 3 can determine that it is possible to maintain a high level of convenience for the focused user of the elevator. On the other hand, even in this case, the number of times N2 of getting on and off for other users who get on the same focused car Gkw does not necessarily become equal to or less than the predetermined number of times Nt. Therefore, if the group management control device 3 determines that the condition is "not satisfied (No)" in step S436, it proceeds to step S437 without performing the processing of steps S440 to S445 (second processing).

[0135] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines in step S445 that "the number of times is not less than the predetermined number Nt (No)," it can determine that if the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk were to be assigned to the target car Gkw based on that determination, the convenience of the elevator would be reduced at least for the target user. In this case, the group management control device 3 terminates the second selection process for the target car Gkw without making any further determinations similar to those made for the target user for other users (i.e., without proceeding to step S437). In other words, if the group management control device 3 determines in step S445 that "the number of times is not less than the predetermined number Nt (No)," it decides not to select the target car Gkw as an assignment candidate.

[0136] In step S437, the group management control device 3 increments the value of the variable Jx by 1 to advance the hall call Xg (user call Xe(Jx)) of the user that should be counted in the number of boarding and alighting times N2 to the next one in the list. Thereafter, the group management control device 3 determines whether the variable Jx satisfies Jx>Mg to determine whether the number of boarding and alighting times N2 has been counted for all listed user calls Xe(J) (step S438).

[0137] If the group management control device 3 determines in step S438 that the condition is not met (No), it will either determine in step S438 that the condition is met (Yes), or it will repeatedly execute the processing from step S430B until it determines in step S435 or step S445 that the condition is not equal to or less than the predetermined number Nt (No).

[0138] If the group control device 3 determines "satisfied (Yes)" in step S438, it can determine based on this determination that the number of times N2 of boarding and alighting for any of the target users in the target car Gkw is less than or equal to the predetermined number of times Nt. In other words, even if the group control device 3 assigns a hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk to the target car Gkw, it can determine that the number of times N2 of boarding and alighting for any of the target users in the target car Gkw that the target user experiences in one movement of the robot H (including both the target robot Hk and other robots H) will be at most the predetermined number of times Nt, and therefore it can determine that it is possible to maintain high convenience of the elevator for any of the target users in the target car Gkw. Therefore, if the group management control device 3 determines that the condition is met (Yes) in step S438, it adds the car of interest Gkw to the allocation candidates for the target call Xht (step S439). After that, the group management control device 3 ends the second selection process for the car of interest Gkw.

[0139] According to this second selection process, the allocation of the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk can be limited to elevators G for which the number of times N2 that any user will get on and off the robot H (including both the target robot Hk and other robots H) in one trip is at most a predetermined number Nt. This makes it possible to shorten the elevator usage time required for the user at that time as much as possible, even if the robot H is allowed to ride in the elevator with the user. Therefore, even if the robot H is allowed to ride in the elevator with the user, the convenience of the elevator for the user can be maintained at a high level.

[0140] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, when the departure floors Fc and destination floors Fd of other robots H are listed in step S423, those on the same floor are grouped together into a single boarding / alighting floor Fe2(K). According to this processing, at a floor where multiple robots H board and alight, the number of boarding / alighting N2 can be counted as one. As a result, even if the number of robots H increases, the opportunities for multiple robots H to board and alight at the same floor also increase accordingly, and by utilizing this, it is possible to create a situation in which cars G with the number of boarding / alighting N2 equal to or less than a predetermined number Nt are more likely to appear.

[0141] [2] Variation [2-1] First modified example In the above-described embodiment, when the group management control device 3 lists the departure floors Fc and destination floors Fd of the robot H in step S303 of the first sorting process (see FIG. 6), it may not combine floors that are the same into one, but may designate each of those floors as the boarding and alighting floors Fe1(I). Also, when the group management control device 3 lists the departure floors Fc and destination floors Fd of the robot H in step S423 of the second sorting process (see FIG. 7), it may not combine floors that are the same into one, but may designate each of those floors as the boarding and alighting floors Fe2(K).

[0142] According to the first modification, at a floor where multiple robots H get on and off, the number of times N1 or N2 of boarding and alighting can be counted as the same number of times as the number of robots H. In other words, it is possible to reflect the number of robots H getting on and off at the same floor in the number of times N1 or N2 of boarding and alighting. This makes it possible to exclude from allocation destinations elevators G where a user (a target user in the first sorting process) must experience multiple robots H getting on and off at the same floor. As a result, it is possible to shorten the elevator usage time required by the user (a target user in the first sorting process) as much as possible. Therefore, it is possible to maintain a high level of convenience for the elevator for that user (a target user in the first sorting process).

[0143] [2-2] Second variant In both the above-described embodiment and the first modified example, if, as a result of performing the first sorting process on all of the target cars Gk, the group management control device 3 is unable to find any of the target cars Gk whose number of boarding and alighting movements N1 is less than or equal to the predetermined number Nt, the group management control device 3 may relax the predetermined number Nt and perform the first sorting process again for each target car Gk. Specifically, when the group management control device 3 determines "failed (No)" in step S212 of the allocation process (see FIG. 5) and returns to step S211, it may relax the predetermined number Nt (for example, add "1" to the predetermined number Nt to set the new predetermined number Nt) so that an allocation candidate can be found in the re-executed step S211, and then return to step S211.

[0144] Furthermore, if, as a result of performing the second selection process on all of the target cars Gk, the group management control device 3 is unable to find any of the target cars Gk whose number of boarding and alighting times N2 is less than or equal to the predetermined number Nt, it may relax the predetermined number Nt and perform the second selection process again for each target car Gk. Specifically, when the group management control device 3 determines that it was "unable to do so (No)" in step S222 of the allocation process (see FIG. 5) and returns to step S221, it may relax the predetermined number Nt (for example, add "1" to the predetermined number Nt to set the new predetermined number Nt) so that it is possible to find an allocation candidate in the re-execution of step S221, and then return to step S221.

[0145] If the number of robots H using the elevator increases or if the elevator has a small number of cars G, the opportunities for users and robots H to ride together increase, which makes it more likely that the number of times N1 and N2 of boarding and alighting will exceed the predetermined number of times Nt for all cars G. Even in such cases, according to the second modified example, by relaxing the predetermined number of times Nt, it becomes possible to reliably find an allocation destination for the hall call X (an allocation destination for the hall call Xg (target call Xgs) for the target user in the first sorting process, and an allocation destination for the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk in the second sorting process).

[0146] [2-3] Third variant In any of the above-described embodiments, the first variant, and the second variant, when the group management control device 3 assigns a hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk (see steps S220 to S224 in Figure 5), in step S221, it may extract as a target car Gk from among the multiple cars G equipped in the elevator a car G to which a hall call Xh has not been assigned for a robot H other than the target robot Hk (specifically, a robot H moving in the same direction as the target robot Hk), and then perform a second selection process for each target car Gk.

[0147] Specifically, the group management control device 3 first extracts, as a target car Gk, a car G that does not satisfy both the following conditions: [3a] that none of the hall calls X assigned to the car G is the hall call Xh of the robot H; and [3b] that the destination direction Kz from the departure floor Fc to the destination floor Fd indicated by the hall call X matches the destination direction Kz of the target robot Hk (the direction in which the target robot Hk travels from the departure floor Fct to the destination floor Fdt). Then, for each extracted target car Gk, the group management control device 3 executes a second sorting process for the target car Gk (hereinafter referred to as the "target car Gkw"). The second sorting process executed in this modified example will be described in detail below.

[0148] 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing the second sorting process executed in the third modified example. In the third modified example, the group management control device 3 also executes steps S401 to S403 and S410 (see FIG. 10) in the same way as in the embodiment (see FIG. 7). Thereafter, the group management control device 3 sets a variable Jx for reading out the user calls Xe (J) in list order to Jx = 1 (step S510A in FIG. 11). In addition, the group management control device 3 sets the number of times N2 that a user to whom the user call Xe (Jx) has been assigned (hereinafter, this user will be referred to as the "target user") gets on and off the robot H in one movement in the target car Gkw to N2 = 0 (step S510B).

[0149] In this modified example, the target car Gk is extracted as a car G to which a platform call Xh has not been assigned for a robot H moving in the same direction as the target robot Hk, and therefore, in the target car Gk, the user of interest will not experience getting on or off a robot H other than the target robot Hk.

[0150] Therefore, in this modified example, after step S510B, the group management control device 3 counts only the number of times that the target user will get on or off the target robot Hk, assuming that the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk has been assigned to the target car Gkw, as the number of times N2 that the target user will get on or off the robot H in one movement in the target car Gkw. Specifically, the group management control device 3 executes steps S431 to S434 (steps S521 to S524 in FIG. 11) in the same manner as in the embodiment (see FIG. 8).

[0151] Thereafter, the group management control device 3 determines whether the number of times N2 of getting on and off counted in the processes of steps S521 to S524 is equal to or less than a predetermined number Nt (step S525). As an example, the predetermined number Nt is set to Nt=1.

[0152] If the group control device 3 determines in step S525 that the number of boarding and alighting trips N2 is equal to or less than the predetermined number Nt (Yes), then even if the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk is assigned to the target car Gkw, the group control device 3 determines that the number of boarding and alighting trips N2 of the robot H (here, only the target robot Hk) that the target user will experience in one trip in the target car Gkw will be at most the predetermined number Nt. In other words, the group control device 3 determines that it is possible to maintain high convenience of the elevator for the target user. On the other hand, the number of boarding and alighting trips N2 for other users who ride in the same target car Gkw may not necessarily be equal to or less than the predetermined number Nt. Therefore, if the group control device 3 determines in step S525 that the number of boarding and alighting trips N2 is equal to or less than the predetermined number Nt (Yes), the group control device 3 proceeds to step S526 to make a similar determination for other users.

[0153] In step S526, the group management control device 3 increments the value of the variable Jx by 1 to advance the hall call Xg (user call Xe(Jx)) of the user that should be counted in the number of boarding and alighting times N2 to the next one in the list. Thereafter, the group management control device 3 determines whether the variable Jx satisfies Jx>Mg to determine whether the number of boarding and alighting times N2 has been counted for all listed user calls Xe(J) (step S527).

[0154] If the group management control device 3 determines in step S527 that the condition is not met (No), it will either determine in step S527 that the condition is met (Yes), or it will repeatedly execute the processing from step S510B until it determines in step S525 that the condition is not equal to or less than the predetermined number Nt (No).

[0155] If the group control device 3 determines "Yes" in step S527, it can determine that the number of times N2 of boarding and alighting for any of the target users in the target car Gkw is less than or equal to the predetermined number Nt. In other words, even if the group control device 3 assigns the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk to the target car Gkw, it can determine that the number of times N2 of boarding and alighting for any of the target users in one trip in the target car Gkw will be at most the predetermined number Nt. Therefore, it can be determined that it is possible to maintain high elevator convenience for any of the target users in the target car Gkw. Therefore, the group control device 3 adds the target car Gkw to the assignment candidates for the target call Xht (step S528). Thereafter, the group management control device 3 ends the second sorting process for the target car Gkw.

[0156] On the other hand, if the group management control device 3 determines in step S525 that "the number of times is not less than the predetermined number Nt (No)," it can determine that if the hall call Xh (target call Xht) for the target robot Hk were to be assigned to the target car Gkw based on that determination, the convenience of the elevator would be reduced at least for the target user. In this case, the group management control device 3 terminates the second selection process for the target car Gkw without making any further determinations similar to those made for the target user for other users (i.e., without proceeding to step S526). In other words, if the group management control device 3 determines in step S525 that "the number of times is not less than the predetermined number Nt (No)," it decides not to select the target car Gkw as an assignment candidate.

[0157] According to the third modification, it is possible to distribute the allocation of hall calls Xh for the robots H to the elevator's cars G while maintaining a high level of convenience for users. In other words, when multiple robots H use the elevator at the same time, it is possible to prevent bias, such as multiple robots H getting on the same car G, while maintaining a high level of convenience for users.

[0158] Furthermore, it is sufficient to count only the number of times that the user of interest gets on or off the target robot Hk as the number of times N2 of getting on and off the robot H. In other words, it is sufficient to perform only the first process (steps S431 to S434) described above as the process of counting the number of times N2 of getting on and off the robot H.

[0159] Furthermore, the second selection process of this modified example (Figures 10 and 11) can also be applied to the second selection process (see step S221 in Figure 5) when there is only one robot H using the elevator and that robot H is used as the target robot Hk to assign a hall call Xh.

[0160] [2-4] Other variations In the above-described embodiment and the first to third modified examples, the predetermined number of times Nt is not limited to being set to Nt=1, but may be set to a value greater than 1 or may be set to Nt=0. The value of the predetermined number of times Nt may be changed depending on the time of day, the frequency of elevator use (degree of congestion), etc. For example, the predetermined number of times Nt may be set to Nt=0 during quiet times, and may be set to Nt=1 during busy times.

[0161] The above-described embodiments and modifications should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined not by the above-described embodiments and modifications, but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications that are equivalent to the scope of the claims and fall within the scope thereof.

[0162] From the above-described embodiments and modifications, the subject of the invention is not limited to the group management control device 3, but may also be extracted individually from part or all of the control processes (including control methods corresponding to the control processes) and programs executed by the group management control device 3. Also, part or all of the above-described elevators may also be extracted as the subject of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0163] 1. Destination floor registration device 2. Robot management device 3 Group management control device G car H Robot I, J, K list numbers X Platform call Y Cage call 21, 31 Storage section 22, 32 Control section DP Robot Management Data Dq Allocation request management data Dr. Device management data Dt Allocation Management Data Fc Departure Floor Fd Destination floor Fs Installation floor Fx deployment floor Fy Destination Floor GK target basket Hk Target Robot Kz destination direction Number of boarding and alighting on N1 and N2 Nt predetermined number of times Pd device information Pg Basket Information Ph Robot Information Pi identification information Pj attribute information Xe User Call Xg, Xh hall call Yg, Yh cage call Fcs, Fct departure floor Fds, Fdt destination floor Fe1, Fe2 boarding floors Gkw attention basket Pr1, Pr2 received information Xgs, Xht target designation

Claims

1. A control device that assigns hall calls to elevator cars, When allocating a hall call for a target user, the elevator control device performs a selection process in which all or some of the multiple cars of the elevator are designated as target cars, and for each target car, the device counts the number of times the robot boards or disembarks at any floor between the target user's departure floor and the floor just before the target user's destination floor, and then selects one of the target cars for which the number of boarding and disembarking is a predetermined number or less as a candidate to allocate a hall call for the target user.

2. 2. The elevator control device of claim 1, wherein the selection process extracts, for each target car, the departure floor and destination floor of the robot to which a hall call is assigned to that target car as boarding and alighting floors, and determines for each boarding and alighting floor whether it matches any floor from the departure floor of the target user to the floor just before the destination floor of the target user, and if it is determined that it matches, counts the number of boarding and alighting floors.

3. 3. The elevator control device according to claim 2, wherein when extracting the departure floor and destination floor of the robot for each of the target cars, those that are on the same floor are extracted together as one boarding and alighting floor.

4. 3. The elevator control device according to claim 2, wherein when extracting the departure floor and destination floor of the robot for each target car, floors that are the same are not combined into one, but all of those floors are extracted one by one as boarding and alighting floors.

5. An elevator control device as described in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein, as a result of performing the sorting process on all of the target cars, if no target car is found whose number of boarding and alighting trips is less than or equal to the predetermined number, the predetermined number is relaxed and the sorting process is performed again for each of the target cars.

6. A control method for assigning hall calls to elevator cars, When allocating a hall call for a target user, the elevator control method performs a selection process in which all or some of the multiple cars equipped in the elevator are set as target cars, and for each target car, the number of times a robot gets on or off the car at any floor between the target user's departure floor and the floor just before the target user's destination floor is counted, and then a selection process is performed in which one of the target cars for which the number of times the robot gets on or off is a predetermined number or less is selected as a candidate to allocate a hall call for the target user.

Images