Elevator equipment fault detection device, fault detection system, and fault detection method

Abstract

To provide a failure detection device for an elevator device that distinguishes between natural failure and damage of the elevator device and provides the information to the outside.SOLUTION: A failure detection device for an elevator device detects a failure in buttons of an elevator car, and comprises: a video processing unit that determines whether the failure of the buttons of the elevator car is natural or caused by human action, based on videos captured by a security camera; and a reporting unit that reports, to the outside, the result of the determination of the video processing unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fault detection device, a fault detection system, and a fault detection method that notify a fault to a remote office or management company when a fault in the car interior button of an elevator is detected.

Background Art

[0002] As a prior art for notifying a fault in an elevator button to a remote location, there is Patent Document 1. In the abstract of this document, it is described as a problem that "even in a remote location, it is possible to provide an inspection system and an inspection method that can easily determine that the light source of the destination floor registration button has burned out or malfunctioned." As a solution, it is described that "the car includes an operation panel having a plurality of destination floor registration buttons 810 for a user to move the car to the destination floor, and an imaging device for imaging the operation panel. The elevator control device includes a storage unit for storing an image, and compares an image of all the destination floor registration buttons 810 in the fully lit state stored in the storage unit with an image of the destination floor registration buttons 810 in the state where a command for full lighting has been issued and imaged by the imaging device, and includes an image determination unit for determining whether or not the positions of the lit destination floor registration buttons 810 match, which is an elevator inspection system."

[0003] Thus, in Patent Document 1, the fully lit image in the normal state stored in the storage unit is compared with the fully lit image captured by the imaging device, and when a difference occurs, it detects the burnout or malfunction of the button light source.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 cannot distinguish between natural failures due to aging and human error such as vandalism. Therefore, it was difficult for the sales office or management company that received the failure notification to take appropriate action to differentiate between natural and human error.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its purpose is to provide an elevator equipment failure detection device, failure detection system, and failure detection method that distinguish between natural failures and human-induced failures and notify the business office or management company accordingly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a fault detection device for detecting a fault in an elevator car button, comprising: a video processing unit that determines whether the fault in the elevator car button is a natural fault or a human error based on video footage from a security camera; and an alarm unit that emits the determination result of the video processing unit to an external source. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the elevator equipment fault detection device, fault detection system, and fault detection method of the present invention, natural failures and human-induced failures are distinguished and notified to the sales office or management company, so that the sales office or management company that receives the fault notification can take appropriate action by distinguishing between natural failures and human-induced failures. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] A functional block diagram of a fault detection system in one embodiment. [Figure 2] An example of an image taken inside a shopping cart by a security camera. [Figure 3] A flowchart of a fault detection system in one embodiment. [Figure 4] Example of a photograph of a button [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] A fault detection system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The elevator monitored by the fault detection system 100 of this embodiment is a general passenger elevator that elevator users (hereinafter simply referred to as "users") can freely get on and off, and it is assumed that users may damage the elevator equipment through vandalism or other means. Furthermore, although the following example illustrates the detection of a fault in a button inside the elevator car, the present invention may also be used to detect faults in buttons in halls, LCD panels, etc.

[0011] First, the overview of the fault detection system 100 of this embodiment will be explained using the functional block diagram in Figure 1. As shown here, the fault detection system 100 of this embodiment comprises a security camera 1, a boarding / alighting determination device 2, a video recording device 3, and a fault detection device 10. Each device will be described in order below.

[0012] <Security camera 1> Security camera 1 is a camera that films the inside of the elevator car and transmits the filmed footage to video recording device 3. Figure 2 is an example of the inside-the-elevation footage P filmed by security camera 1. As is clear from the inside-the-elevation footage P in Figure 2, security camera 1 in this embodiment is installed in a position that allows it to film the entire inside of the elevator car, facing the direction of the door and control panel. As a result, security camera 1 can film the faces of passengers when they get on and off the elevator, and film their actions while they are riding. Hereafter, the footage of the area near the buttons on the control panel within the inside-the-elevation footage P will be specifically referred to as "button footage p".

[0013] <Boarding / Alighting Detection Device 2> The boarding / alighting detection device 2 is a device for determining when a passenger is getting on or off the train, and is installed, for example, on top of the train car. Possible methods for determining when a passenger is getting on or off include using a security camera 1 or using a load sensor (not shown). If using a security camera 1, for example, one method is to compare the captured video of the inside of the train car P with video of the inside of the train car when it is empty, and determine when a passenger is getting on or off based on the presence or absence of differences between the two videos. Alternatively, if using a load sensor, one method is to detect the weight inside the train car using a load sensor attached to the floor of the train car, and determine when a passenger is getting on or off based on the increase or decrease in the weight inside the train car. When boarding or alighting is detected, the boarding / alighting detection device 2 transmits the detection result to the video recording device 3.

[0014] <Video recording device 3> The video recording device 3 is a recording device such as a hard disk drive that records the in-car video P received from the security camera 1, and is installed, for example, on top of the car. The video recording device 3 also transmits the in-car video P for a selected period to the fault detection device 10 in response to an external command. The video recording device 3 is also assumed to have pre-recorded button video p1 when all buttons are lit and button video p2 when all buttons are off, which are taken when the car is unoccupied and the control panel is functioning normally.

[0015] <Fault detection device 10> The fault detection device 10 is a device that, when it detects a malfunction in a button on the elevator car's control panel, notifies the sales office 4 where a technician is stationed, or the management company 5 that manages the elevator, of the occurrence of a malfunction. Specifically, the fault detection device 10 is a computer equipped with hardware such as a CPU or other processing unit, a main memory such as semiconductor memory, an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk, and a communication device. The processing unit then executes a predetermined program to realize the various functions described later, but in the following explanation, such well-known technologies will be omitted as appropriate.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the failure detection device 10 includes a video processing unit 11, a reporting content selection unit 12, and a reporting unit 13. The video processing unit 11 includes a button lamp failure determination unit 11a, a button damage determination unit 11b, and a user extraction unit 11c. Each unit will be outlined sequentially below.

[0017] Based on the in-car video P after the user gets off the elevator captured by the security camera 1, the button lamp failure determination unit 11a determines whether the lamp of the in-car button is off.

[0018] Based on the in-car video P after the user gets off the elevator captured by the security camera 1, the button damage determination unit 11b determines whether the in-car button is damaged.

[0019] Based on the in-car video P during elevator operation captured by the security camera 1, the user extraction unit 11c extracts the face and actions of the user.

[0020] Based on the data received from the video processing unit 11, the reporting content selection unit 12 selects the reporting content.

[0021] The reporting unit 13 notifies the computers installed in the business office 4 and the management company 5 of the reporting content selected by the reporting content selection unit 12. In the following, the computers installed in the business office 4 and the management company 5 may sometimes be simply referred to as the business office 4 and the management company 5.

[0022] <Flowchart> Next, according to the flowchart of FIG. 3, the processing contents of each part of the failure detection system 100 of this embodiment will be described in detail. As a prerequisite for FIG. 3, it is assumed that the car called by the user has arrived at the floor where the user who is trying to move to another floor using the elevator is currently located.

[0023] In step S1, the boarding / alighting determination device 2 detects the boarding of the user on the car based on the output of the security camera 1 or the output of the load sensor.

[0024] In step S2, security camera 1 starts recording the inside of the elevator car, and video recording device 3 starts recording the captured video P of the inside of the elevator car.

[0025] Here, when a user registers their destination floor by operating a button inside the car, the car begins to ascend or descend toward the registered destination floor. In the following description of the present invention, it is assumed that the user has registered their destination floor, but the present invention can also be applied when the destination floor is not registered (i.e., when a user who boarded at a certain floor alights at the same floor).

[0026] When the elevator car arrives at the desired destination floor and the passenger disembarks (or when the passenger disembarks on the same floor without registering a destination floor), in step S3, the boarding / alighting detection device 2 detects the passenger disembarking from the elevator car based on the output of the security camera 1 or the output of the load sensor.

[0027] In step S4, security camera 1 finishes recording inside the car, and video recording device 3 stops recording the car interior video P.

[0028] In step S5, the boarding / alighting determination device 2 determines whether there is another passenger before a certain period of time (for example, 10 minutes) has elapsed. If there is another passenger, the device returns to step S1; otherwise, it proceeds to step S6.

[0029] In step S6, the fault detection device 10 determines whether or not there is a malfunction in the elevator car buttons. Specifically, the fault detection device 10 causes the elevator car control device (not shown) to generate a command to light up all the elevator car buttons, and the security camera 1 and video recording device 3 record the button images p at this time. The video processing unit 11 then compares the captured button images p1, which are pre-registered in the video recording device 3 for normal illumination, with the recorded button images p. If the comparison results of the two images match, it is determined that there is no malfunction in the elevator car buttons and the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the comparison results of the two images differ, it is determined that there is some kind of malfunction in the elevator car buttons and the process proceeds to step S8. In this step, "match" does not mean a perfect match, but rather a state in which the difference between the two images is smaller than a predetermined value. Similarly, in this step, "difference" does not include even very slight differences, but rather a state in which the difference between the two images is larger than a predetermined value.

[0030] If all the elevator car buttons light up normally, the captured button image p will be similar to the button image p1 in Figure 4. If any of the elevator car buttons (for example, the button for registering the 3rd floor as the destination (3rd floor button)) does not light up normally, the captured button image p will be similar to the button image p3 in Figure 4. Therefore, if there is a dark area in the captured button image p that differs from the normal button image p1, such as the faulty part f1 in the button image p3, it can be easily determined that some kind of button malfunction has occurred.

[0031] In step S7, the fault detection device 10 determined that there was no fault in the button, and therefore terminated the fault detection process successfully.

[0032] Meanwhile, in step S8, the fault detection device 10 determines the type of button failure. Specifically, the video processing unit 11 of the fault detection device 10 generates a command to the car control device (not shown) to turn off all the buttons inside the car, and the security camera 1 and video recording device 3 record the button video p at this time. The video processing unit 11 then compares the captured button video p with the button video p2 of normal illumination that is pre-registered in the video recording device 3. If the comparison results of the two videos match, the button lamp failure determination unit 11a determines that the lamp on the button inside the car is out and proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, if the comparison results of the two videos differ, the button damage determination unit 11b determines that there is a very high possibility that the button itself has been damaged by human error and proceeds to step S11.

[0033] If none of the elevator car buttons are damaged, the captured button image p will be similar to the button image p2 in Figure 4. If any of the elevator car buttons (for example, the 3rd floor button) are damaged, the captured button image p will be similar to the button image p4 in Figure 4. Therefore, if there is a part in the captured button image p that differs from the normal button image p2, such as the faulty part f2 in the button image p4, it can be easily determined that some kind of button damage has occurred.

[0034] In step S9, the alarm content selection unit 12 transmits to the alarm unit 13 that the button lamp failure determination unit 11a has determined that the lamp on one of the elevator car buttons is out, along with the elevator car video P (for example, the button video p3 in Figure 4) which is the basis for that determination.

[0035] In step S10, the alarm unit 13 notifies the sales office 4 of the lamp failure based on the received information. Upon receiving the notification from the alarm unit 13, the technician at sales office 4 checks the status of the buttons based on the in-car video P received from the fault detection device 10, and if the fault detection device 10's determination is correct, plans to replace the lamp at the next inspection.

[0036] Meanwhile, in step S11, the alarm content selection unit 12 transmits to the alarm unit 13 that the button damage determination unit 11b has determined that a button inside the elevator car is damaged, along with the elevator car video P (for example, the button video p4 in Figure 4) which is the basis for that determination.

[0037] If the elevator car buttons are damaged, it is highly likely that the user immediately before the damage was detected intentionally destroyed the buttons. Therefore, in step S12, the user extraction unit 11c acquires the elevator car video P, which was filmed of the user immediately before the button damage, from the video recording device 3, and extracts the video of that user's face and movements. Subsequently, the user extraction unit 11c transmits the extracted user video to the alarm unit 13 via the alarm content selection unit 12.

[0038] In step S13, the alarm unit 13 notifies the sales office 4 of the button damage. Upon receiving the notification, the technician at sales office 4 checks the condition of the button based on the in-car video P received from the fault detection device 10. If the fault detection device 10's determination is correct, they plan to replace the button during the next inspection.

[0039] In step S14, the alarm unit 13 notifies the management company 5 of the possibility that the elevator car buttons have been damaged intentionally. Upon receiving the notification, the administrator of management company 5 checks whether the damage was intentional based on the user video received from the fault detection device 10. If the damage is intentional, the administrator takes necessary actions, such as reporting it to the police. It is desirable that the user video received from the fault detection device 10 be automatically deleted after a certain period of time from a privacy perspective.

[0040] As explained above, according to this embodiment, natural failures and human-induced failures are distinguished and notified to the sales office or management company, so that the sales office or management company that receives the failure notification can take appropriate action depending on whether the failure is natural or human-induced. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0041] 100 Fault Detection Systems 1. Security camera 2. Boarding / Alighting Determination Device 3. Video recording device 4 Sales Offices 5. Management Company 10. Fault detection device 11. Video Processing Unit 11a Button lamp failure detection unit 11b Button damage detection unit 11c User extraction part 12. Notification Content Selection Department 13. Alarm Unit P (Picture of the inside of the car) p button video

Claims

1. A fault detection device for detecting malfunctions in elevator car buttons, A video processing unit that determines whether the malfunction of the in-car button is a natural failure or a human error based on the video footage captured by the security camera, An alarm unit that broadcasts the determination result of the video processing unit to the outside, A fault detection device for elevator equipment, characterized by being equipped with the following:

2. In the fault detection device according to claim 1, The aforementioned video processing unit compares a pre-prepared image of a fully illuminated button with a captured image of a fully illuminated button, determines that the in-car button is functioning correctly if the two images match, and determines that the in-car button is malfunctioning if the two images differ.

3. In the fault detection device according to claim 2, If the internal buttons are determined to be malfunctioning, The aforementioned video processing unit compares a pre-prepared image of a button in a normal state with all lights off with a captured image of a button in a state with all lights off, determines that the in-car button has malfunctioned naturally if the two images match, and determines that the in-car button has malfunctioned due to human error if the two images do not match.

4. In the fault detection device according to claim 3, If it is determined that the buttons inside the elevator car have been malfunctioned due to human error, The aforementioned video processing unit extracts the actions or face of the elevator user from the video footage of the elevator user taken immediately before the malfunction was detected. The fault detection device is characterized in that the alarm unit notifies an external party of the face or actions of the elevator user extracted by the video processing unit.

5. A security camera is installed inside the elevator car so that the buttons inside the car can be photographed, A video recording device that records the video captured by the security camera, A fault detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, to which video recorded by the video recording device is input, An elevator equipment fault detection system characterized by having the following features.

6. A fault detection method for detecting a malfunction in an elevator car's internal buttons, A video processing step that determines whether the malfunction of the in-car button is a natural failure or a human error based on the video footage captured by the security camera, A notification step that sends the determination result from the video processing step to the sales office or management company, A method for detecting failures in elevator equipment, characterized by comprising the following:

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