Elevator control system, autonomous mobile device, and decision-making method

Abstract

To ensure smooth movement between elevator 2 and robot 500, regardless of the communication environment. [Solution] The elevator control system of the embodiment is provided for each elevator having a movable elevator car installed in a building, and comprises a control device for controlling the elevator and an autonomous mobile body that can autonomously travel and board the elevator car, wherein the control device comprises a display control unit that performs display control for a display device provided in the elevator car, and the autonomous mobile body comprises a determination unit that determines the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile body is intended to travel, based on the display of the display device on the elevator car.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an elevator control system, an autonomous mobile robot, and a determination method.

Background Art

[0002] In recent elevator control systems, for the purpose of having an autonomous mobile robot such as a robot ride in an elevator car in a building and execute various operations, autonomous mobile robot operations such as moving to a destination floor (target floor) are performed. In such conventional technologies, generally, the movement processing of the autonomous mobile robot is controlled by wireless communication between the autonomous mobile robot and a cloud service.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, with such conventional technologies, if the communication environment inside the elevator car is poor, communication between the autonomous mobile unit in the elevator car and the control device that controls the elevator or the server for the autonomous mobile unit becomes difficult, making it difficult for the autonomous mobile unit to receive notifications from the control device or server indicating that it is ready to disembark. In such cases, problems arise such as the inability to start the disembarkation process even when the elevator car arrives at the destination floor. Furthermore, even when there is no communication interruption, it is desirable for the autonomous mobile unit to recognize that the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor and to start the disembarkation process on its own. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The elevator control system of the embodiment is provided for each elevator having a movable elevator car installed in a building, and comprises a control device for controlling the elevator and an autonomous mobile body that can autonomously travel and board the elevator car, wherein the control device comprises a display control unit for performing display control on a display device provided on the elevator car, and the autonomous mobile body comprises a determination unit that determines the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile body is intended to travel, based on the display on the display device of the elevator car. The display control unit displays a display on the display device that corresponds to the movement of the elevator car, and the determination unit determines the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor based on the display of the floor on the display device, and the display of the floor includes the number of the current floor of the elevator car, a driving direction indicator that shows the direction of travel of the elevator car, and a display of information that serves as a guideline from the time the elevator car departs the first stopping floor until it arrives at the second stopping floor. . [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of an elevator control system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display device installed in a train car in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of the control panel inside the elevator car according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a control panel according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5]Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server in the elevator cloud according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server in a robot cloud according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a robot according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the procedure for elevator control processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the procedure (continued) for elevator control processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for the arrival determination process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] Figure 11 shows an example of the display of a device according to Modification 2. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows a first example of elapsed time display in a display device according to Modification 2. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows a second example of elapsed time display in a display device according to Modification 2. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for elevator control processing according to Modification Example 3. [Figure 15] Figure 15 shows an example of a robot-specific display shown on the display device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 16] Figure 16 is a sequence diagram showing an example of elevator control processing according to the second embodiment. [Figure 17] Figure 17 shows an example of a robot-specific display shown on the display device according to Modification 6. [Figure 18] Figure 18 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a control panel according to the third embodiment. [Figure 19] Figure 19 is a sequence diagram showing an example of elevator control processing according to the third embodiment.

Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

[0007] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0008] [First Embodiment] (Overall Configuration of Elevator Control System) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an elevator control system 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator control system 1 of the present embodiment mainly includes control panels 100A and 100B provided for each of a plurality of elevators 2A and 2B, controllers 150A and 150B provided for each of the plurality of elevators 2A and 2B, a server 210 in an elevator penthouse 200, a server 310 in a robot penthouse 300, a monitoring center 400, an elevator company 700, and a plurality of robots 500A, 500B, and 500C.

[0009] In the present embodiment, a plurality of elevators 2A and 2B are installed in a building 3 (an example of a building) such as an apartment building. In the example of FIG. 1, two elevators 2A and 2B are shown, but it may be configured to have only one elevator or three or more elevators.

[0010] Each of the elevators 2A and 2B includes carriages 50A and 50B in respective hoistways 20A and 20B. In addition, each of the hoistways 20A and 20B includes a hoisting machine and a counterweight (not shown). The carriages 50A and 50B and the counterweight are each supported so as to be movable up and down along a pair of guide rails (not shown) erected in the hoistways 20A and 20B, and move up and down via ropes.

[0011] In addition to the user 5A, robots 500A, 500B, and 500C as autonomous mobile bodies can also ride in the carriages 50A and 50B.

[0012] The elevator cars 50A and 50B are equipped with control panels 4A and 4B, cameras 7A and 7B, load sensors 8A and 8B, and lighting devices 13A and 13B. The cameras 7A and 7B and the lighting devices 13A and 13B are installed on the ceiling of the elevator cars 50A and 50B.

[0013] Here, when multiple elevators 2A, 2B, multiple hoistways 20A, 20B, multiple elevator cars 50A, 50B, multiple control panels 100A, 100B, and multiple controllers 150A, 150B are not distinguished, they will be referred to as elevator 2, hoistway 20, elevator car 50, control panel 100, and controller 150. Also, when operation panels 4A, 4B, cameras 7A, 7B, load sensors 8A, 8B, and lighting devices 13A, 13B are not distinguished, they will be referred to as operation panel 4, camera 7, load sensor 8, and lighting device 13.

[0014] (Internal configuration of elevator car 50) Figure 2 shows an example of the internal configuration of the elevator car 50 according to the first embodiment. Inside the elevator car 50, as shown in Figure 2, a lighting device 13 is provided on the ceiling, and a ceiling display device 37 is provided on the lighting device 13. The lighting device 13 illuminates the interior of the elevator car 50. The ceiling display device 37 displays various information according to instructions from the control panel 100, which will be described later.

[0015] A skirting board indicator 36 is provided on the inner wall surface above the door 401 of the elevator car 50. The skirting board indicator 36 is a display device that lights up the number of the floor that the elevator car 50 is passing through in accordance with the movement of the elevator car 50.

[0016] Furthermore, an operation panel 4 is provided on the inner wall surface next to the door 401 of the elevator car 50. The operation panel 4 is equipped with a display device 411, which will be described later. The control panel 4 receives various operations from passengers inside the elevator car 50 and also sends various notifications to the elevator car 50. The control panel 4 is connected to the control panel 100 by wire or wireless.

[0017] (Configuration of control panel 4) Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of the control panel 4 inside the elevator car 50 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the control panel 4 is provided with a plurality of push buttons 413 and two open / close push buttons 414 in the center.

[0018] Each of the multiple push buttons 413 is assigned a floor number. When a user presses the push button 413 corresponding to the floor number of their desired destination, a destination floor request is transmitted from the operation panel 4 to the control panel 100.

[0019] One of the two push buttons 414 for opening and closing the doors is a button that, when pressed by a user, instructs the user to open the doors of the elevator car 50. The other of the two push buttons 414 is a button that, when pressed by a user, instructs the user to close the doors of the elevator car 50. Here, opening the doors may be referred to as "door opening," and closing the doors may be referred to as "door closing."

[0020] Here, a destination floor request is a request (operation data) made by a passenger inside elevator car 50 to direct elevator car 50 to the desired destination floor. The destination floor is specified in the destination floor request.

[0021] In this embodiment, a destination floor request for the robot is transmitted from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the control panel 100 via the controller 150. The destination floor request for the robot specifies the robot ID of the robot 500 that wishes to use the elevator 2, the departure floor, and the destination floor (also referred to as the target floor). This operation data is used to move the elevator car 50 to the specified departure floor and then proceed from that departure floor to the specified destination floor. The destination floor request for the robot is an example of a movement request.

[0022] Alternatively, a non-contact sensor may be provided on the control panel 4 along with the push button 413 and the open / close push button 414, or in place of the push button 413 and the open / close push button 414.

[0023] As shown in Figure 3, a display device 411 and a speaker 412 are provided at the top of the control panel 4. The display device 411 is a liquid crystal display device that displays various information in response to instructions from the control panel 100, etc. In the example in Figure 3, the display device 411 shows an upward arrow (↑) indicating that the elevator car 50 is ascending, and the number "3" indicating that it is currently passing the 3rd floor. When the elevator car 50 is descending, a downward arrow (↓) indicating that the elevator car 50 is descending is displayed on the display device 411.

[0024] Here, the up arrow and down arrow are examples of driving direction indicators. Alternatively, instead of an up arrow, a mountain-shaped indicator (^) with an upward convex part may be used, and instead of a down arrow, a mountain-shaped indicator (v) with a downward convex part may be used. Furthermore, the driving direction indicator and text are examples of displays related to the floor level corresponding to the movement of the elevator car 50.

[0025] Speaker 412 outputs various types of audio based on instructions from the control panel 100, etc. Speaker 412 is an example of an audio output device.

[0026] Furthermore, a card reader 415 is provided at the bottom of the control panel 4, as shown in Figure 3. The card reader 415 reads information from IC cards or smartphones held by users via proximity communication and transmits the read information to the control panel 100, etc.

[0027] Returning to Figure 1, the camera 7 inside the elevator car 50 photographs the interior of the elevator car 50 and sends the captured image to the control panel 100. Also, when the doors of the elevator car 50 are open at the landing 25, the camera 7 is able to photograph the landing and sends the captured image to the control panel 100.

[0028] The load sensor 8 is installed on the bottom of the elevator car 50 and detects the weight of the elevator car 50. If a user 5A or robot 500 is inside the elevator car 50, the load sensor 8 detects the weight of the elevator car 50 itself, plus the weight of the user 5A and the robot 500. The load sensor 8 sends the detected weight as a detection signal to the control panel 100.

[0029] In addition, a motion sensor (not shown) may be installed inside the elevator car 50. In this case, the motion sensor can be installed on the ceiling of the elevator car 50 and configured to detect the presence of a user (person) inside the elevator car 50 and send a detection signal to the control panel 100.

[0030] Landing 25 is located on each floor. Landing 25 is where users and robots 500 wait for the arrival of elevator car 50 of elevator 2. As shown in Figure 1, a camera 9 is installed at boarding area 25. The camera 9 is installed on the wall next to the door (not shown) that serves as the entrance and exit for the elevator car 50, and captures images of the boarding area 25, including users waiting there.

[0031] In addition, lighting devices (not shown) can be installed on the ceiling of each landing 25 to illuminate the landing 25. A control panel (not shown) is also provided at the landing 25. Users can call for a landing from this control panel.

[0032] Here, a boarding call is a request (operation data) made by a boarding user to have a train car 50 traveling in either an up or down direction arrive at that boarding location. The boarding call specifies the destination direction and the floor from which the boarding call was made (i.e., the departure floor).

[0033] Each section of the elevator shaft 20 is equipped with a control panel 100 and a controller 150. The control panel 100 is connected wirelessly or wirelessly to the control panel 4 located in the elevator car 50. The camera 9, lighting equipment, and control panel are also connected to the control panel 100 wirelessly or wirelessly.

[0034] Each control panel 100 controls the operation of the elevator car 50 inside the elevator 2. Each control panel 100 is connected to each controller 150 by wire or wireless. Details of the control panels 100 will be described later.

[0035] Each of the controllers 150 is connected to a server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 via a network. The controller 150 is an intermediary device equipped with interface and hub functions to control communication between the control panel 100 and the server 210, and to mediate various signals exchanged between the control panel 100 and the server 210. Each of the controllers 150 is configured as a computer with a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc.

[0036] Control room 160 is where the building manager and other personnel from Building 3 are stationed. The building manager and other personnel in control room 160 give various instructions to the control panel 100. The manager of control room 160 also receives various instructions from the control panel 100 via email or other means through a PC or terminal device.

[0037] Server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 issues various control instructions to the control panel 100 via the controller 150 for the elevator car 50 of elevator 2, and also receives various instructions and data from the control panel 100 via the controller 150. Server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 is connected via the network to the monitoring center 400 (internal server) and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300.

[0038] The monitoring center 400 houses an internal server (not shown). This internal server is located within an affiliated company of elevator 11 and collects information necessary for the maintenance and remote monitoring of elevator 2 from elevator 2. This allows maintenance personnel to address any malfunctions in elevator 2 by referring to the maintenance information collected on the internal server at the monitoring center 400. Furthermore, when functions and services are executed through the elevator cloud 200, the internal server at the monitoring center 400 can be accessed as needed to access building and elevator information, or to obtain information necessary for elevator management by maintenance personnel.

[0039] The server 310 of the robot cloud 300 receives various instructions and data from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. The server 310 of the robot cloud 300 is connected to multiple robots 500 within building 3 via a network and sends various instructions to each of the multiple robots 500. Details regarding the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 will be described later.

[0040] Elevator Company 700 is a company that provides elevator 2, and within Elevator Company 700, there is a server 710.

[0041] Server 710 stores the signal exchanges between Server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, Server 310 of the robot cloud 300, Server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 and Server 310 of the robot cloud 300, Server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 and the control panel 100, and Server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 and the security system 161 and monitoring center 400 of the control room 160 that manages Building 3. In other words, it behaves like a mirror server for Server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. Server 710 also has the function of storing error notifications between each of these devices.

[0042] Furthermore, the number of elevators is not limited; there are three or more elevators installed in Building 3. Therefore, the number of hoistways (20), elevator cars (50), control panels (100), and controllers (150) will also vary according to the number of elevators (2).

[0043] (Configuration of control panel 100) Next, we will describe the details of the control panel 100. Figure 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a control panel 100 according to the first embodiment. The control panel 100 is an example of a control device.

[0044] The control panel 100 has a typical computer configuration and, as shown in Figure 4, mainly comprises a control unit 120, a communication unit 102, and a storage unit 110.

[0045] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4, the control panel 100 is connected by wires or wirelessly to the load sensor 8, the camera 7 inside the elevator car 50, the camera 9 at the landing 25, the lighting device 13 inside the elevator car 50, the operation panel 4, and the display device 411 and speaker 412 provided on the operation panel 4.

[0046] The storage unit 110 is a storage medium (i.e., a memory device) such as ROM or RAM. The storage unit 110 stores a management database 111 (hereinafter referred to as "management DB 111").

[0047] The management DB 111 is a database containing various data necessary for using elevator 2. For example, the management DB 111 registers the robot IDs of robots 500 that can ride elevator 2 controlled by the control panel 100. Here, the robot ID is information used to identify robot 500.

[0048] The communication unit 102 consists of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol and performs communication processing between the control panel 100 and the controller 150. Specifically, the communication unit 102 sends and receives various data with other control panels 100 and the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150. The communication unit 102 also sends and receives various instructions and notifications with the administrator's mobile terminal or PC in the control room 160.

[0049] In this embodiment, the communication unit 102 receives destination floor requests from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150. The communication unit 102 also receives movement requests from the robot 500 via the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 and the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, specifying the departure floor from which the robot will board the elevator car 50 and the destination floor to which it will travel in the elevator car 50 (i.e., destination floor requests for the robot). Communications Unit 101 is an example of a second communications unit.

[0050] The control unit 120 consists of a hardware processor (CPU). As shown in Figure 2, the control unit 120 mainly comprises a normal operation control unit 121, a robot-linked operation control unit 122, an output control unit 123, a display control unit 124, and a door control unit 125.

[0051] The normal operation control unit 121 controls normal operation. Normal operation refers to operation in which only people are riding in the elevator car 50, without any robots. The normal operation control unit 121 performs group management control of the elevator cars 50.

[0052] Here, group control refers to a control system that assigns the elevator car 50 closest to the departure floor, such as the floor from which the elevator car 50 was called. In this embodiment, the normal operation control unit 121 performs group control by coordinating with the control panel 100 of another elevator 2, for example, by querying the control panel 100 of another elevator 2 for the departure floor, the current position and status of the elevator car 50, and receiving the response.

[0053] The robot-linked operation control unit 122 controls the robot-linked operation. Robot-linked operation refers to operation in which robot 500 rides in elevator car 50. Robot-linked operation can be divided into two types: robot-only operation, where no human passengers ride in elevator car 50, and non-robot-only operation, where humans can ride in elevator car 50. Robot-linked operation is sometimes simply referred to as robot operation.

[0054] When the communication unit 101 receives a movement request, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 moves the elevator car 50 to the departure floor specified in the movement request. Furthermore, when the robot-linked operation control unit 122 determines that the robot 500 has completed boarding the elevator car 50, it moves the elevator car 50 to the destination floor specified in the movement request.

[0055] The display control unit 124 controls the display on the display device 411 of the control panel 4. Specifically, the display control unit 124 displays information related to the movement of the elevator car 50, that is, information related to the floor corresponding to the movement of the elevator car 50, on the display device 411 of the control panel 4. As information related to the floor corresponding to the movement of the elevator car 50, the display control unit 124 displays on the display device 411 a character indicating the current floor number of the elevator car 50 and a driving direction indicator (for example, an up arrow, a down arrow, or an upward-convex mountain shape, a downward-convex mountain shape) indicating the direction of operation of the elevator car 50. The output control unit 123 controls the audio output to the speaker 412 of the control panel 4.

[0056] The door control unit 125 controls the opening and closing of the doors of the elevator car 50. In this embodiment, the door control unit 125 opens the doors of the elevator car 50 when it arrives at the departure floor and when it arrives at the destination floor. It also closes the doors of the elevator car 50 when it receives a boarding completion notification from the robot 500.

[0057] (Configuration of server 210 within elevator cloud 200) Next, we will describe the details of server 210 within the elevator cloud 200. Figure 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, the server 210 mainly comprises a control unit 211, a communication unit 212, and a storage unit 220, as is typical for a computer.

[0058] The memory unit 220 is, for example, a storage medium (memory device) such as ROM or RAM. Various programs are stored in the memory unit 220.

[0059] The communication unit 212 consists of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol and performs communication processing between the server 210 and the controller 150 of the control panel 100, and communication processing between the server 210 and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300.

[0060] In this embodiment, the communication unit 212 receives a destination floor call (movement request) for the robot from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300. The communication unit 212 also transmits the destination floor call, the destination floor call (movement request) for the robot, and the landing call including the destination floor, generated by the control unit 211 (described later), to the control panel 100.

[0061] The control unit 211 consists of a hardware processor (CPU).

[0062] (Configuration of Server 310 within Robot Cloud 300) Next, we will describe the details of server 310 within robot cloud 300. Figure 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a server 310 in a robot cloud 300 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, the server 310 mainly comprises a control unit 311, a communication unit 312, and a storage unit 320, as is typical for a computer.

[0063] The memory unit 320 is a storage medium (memory device) such as ROM or RAM. Various programs are stored in the memory unit 320.

[0064] The communication unit 312 consists of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol and performs communication processing between the server 310 and the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200, as well as communication processing between the server 310 and the robot 500.

[0065] In this embodiment, the communication unit 312 receives a movement request (destination floor call) from the robot 500 along with the robot ID, and transmits the received movement request from the robot 500 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200.

[0066] The control unit 311 consists of a hardware processor (CPU). The control unit 311 controls various processes related to the robot 500.

[0067] (Configuration of Robot 500) Next, we will explain the details of Robot 500. Figure 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a robot 500 according to an embodiment. As shown in Figure 7, the robot 500 mainly comprises a camera 506, various sensors 505, a control unit 501, a judgment unit 511, a communication unit 502, a travel control unit 509, a drive unit 503, and a storage unit 510.

[0068] The camera 506 captures images of the area around the robot 500 and transmits the captured images to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300. The robot 500 may also be configured to transmit the captured images to the control panel 100.

[0069] The various sensors 505 include, for example, motion sensors, acceleration sensors, and load sensors, but are not limited to these.

[0070] The memory unit 510 is, for example, a storage medium (memory device) such as ROM or RAM. Various programs are stored in the memory unit 510.

[0071] The communication unit 502 consists of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol and performs communication processing between the robot 500 and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300. The communication unit 502 is an example of a first communication unit.

[0072] In this embodiment, before boarding the elevator car 50 (when about to board the elevator car 50), the communication unit 502 sends a destination floor call for the robot, i.e., a movement request, specifying the departure floor and destination floor, to the control panel 100 via the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 and the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200. Furthermore, when boarding the elevator car 50 is complete, the communication unit 502 sends a boarding completion notification indicating the completion of boarding to the control panel 100 via the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 and the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200.

[0073] The control unit 501 consists of a hardware processor (CPU). When the elevator 2 is in operation, the control unit 501 reads and executes various programs from the memory unit 510, thereby performing various operations on the elevator 2.

[0074] The determination unit 511 determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor based on the display inside the elevator car 50, for example, the display on the display device 411 of the control panel 4. Specifically, the determination unit 511 determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor based on the display on the display device 411 regarding the movement of the elevator car, for example, the display regarding the floor corresponding to the movement of the elevator car 50. The determination unit 511 determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor based on the display on the display device 411, which includes characters indicating the current floor number of the elevator car 50 and the driving direction indication of the elevator car 50 (for example, an up arrow, a down arrow, or an upward-convex mountain shape, a downward-convex mountain shape, etc.).

[0075] Here, the determination unit 511 determines the current position of the elevator car 50 using a specific pattern displayed on the display device 411 used in the elevator 2. More specifically, the determination unit 511 prioritizes recognizing numbers with symbols (e.g., up arrows, down arrows, or upward-convex mountain shapes, downward-convex mountain shapes, etc.) displayed in the vicinity (e.g., top, bottom, left, right, etc.) as the current floor number of the elevator car 50, and determines the current position of the elevator car 50. It then determines the symbols in the vicinity of the floor number as indicators of the direction of travel.

[0076] This is for the following reasons. Inside the elevator car 50, there are various numbers (characters), such as the floor buttons on the control panel 4 and numbers (letters) drawn on posters attached inside the elevator car 50 (in other words, numbers other than those displayed on the display device 411). Therefore, if the robot 500 were to determine the current position of the elevator car 50 using only numbers (characters), there is a possibility of misjudging the current position of the elevator car 50. For this reason, in this embodiment, the determination unit 511 determines the current position of the elevator car 50 using a specific pattern displayed on the display device 411 used in the elevator 2. That is, by prioritizing the recognition of numbers with symbols displayed nearby as the current floor number of the elevator car 50 and determining the current position of the elevator car 50, it is possible to prevent misjudgment of the current position of the elevator car 50 and make a more accurate determination.

[0077] The drive unit 503 is a motor or the like that drives the robot 500 to make it move. The travel control unit 509 controls the drive unit 503 to control the movement of the robot 500. In this embodiment, the travel control unit 509 controls the drive unit 503 to place the robot 500 into the elevator car 50, which has its doors opened at the departure floor.

[0078] Furthermore, when the determination unit 511 determines that the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor, the driving control unit 503 controls the robot 500 to disembark from the elevator car 50.

[0079] The above configuration of the robot 500 is just one example, and it may also be further equipped with an audio output unit such as a speaker and an input unit such as a touch panel.

[0080] (Elevator control processing) Next, the elevator control process performed by the elevator control system 1 of this embodiment, configured as described above, will be explained. Figures 8 and 9 are sequence diagrams showing an example of the procedure for elevator control processing according to the first embodiment.

[0081] First, when the robot 500 starts using elevator 2, the communication unit 502 sends elevator usage registration to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S11a). The elevator usage registration is then sent from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S11b), and further sent from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the control panel 100 via the controller 150 (S11c).

[0082] Next, in the control panel 100, the communication unit 102 transmits permission to use the robot to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150 (S14a). This permission to use the robot is then transmitted from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S14b), and further transmitted from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the robot 500 that submitted the elevator usage registration (S14c).

[0083] Next, when the robot 500 receives permission to use the robot, the communication unit 502 sends a request to move to another floor (i.e., a destination floor call for the robot) to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S17a). This request to move to another floor is then sent from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S17b), and further sent from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the control panel 100 via the controller 150 (S17c).

[0084] In the control panel 100, when the communication unit 102 receives a movement request, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 moves the elevator car 50 to the departure floor specified in the movement request, and when the elevator car 50 arrives at the departure floor, the door control unit 125 opens the doors (S21). Next, the communication unit 102 sends a boarding preparation completion notification to the elevator cloud 200 server 210 indicating that preparation for boarding the elevator car 50 is complete (S22a). This boarding preparation completion notification is sent from the elevator cloud 200 server 210 to the robot cloud 300 server 310 (S22b), and further sent from the robot cloud 300 server 310 to the robot 500 waiting at the landing 25 (S22c).

[0085] Upon receiving the boarding preparation completion notification, the robot 500 begins boarding the open elevator car 50 via the driving control unit 509 (S25). Once the robot 500 has completed boarding the elevator car 50 (S26), the communication unit 502 sends a boarding completion notification to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S27a).

[0086] This boarding completion notification is sent from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S27b), and then sent from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the control panel 100 via the controller 150 (S27c).

[0087] When the control panel 100 receives a boarding completion notification from the communication unit 102, it starts closing the doors and closes all doors (i.e., completes door closing) (S30).

[0088] Next, in the control panel 100, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 starts the movement of the elevator car 50 to the destination floor. While the elevator car 50 is moving, the display control unit 124 displays the current floor (floor number) of the elevator car 50 (i.e., floor display) and the direction of travel on the display device 411 of the operation panel 4 (S35). When the elevator car 50 arrives at the destination floor, the display control unit 24 clears the direction of travel from the display device 411 (S37). Next, the door control unit 125 opens the door (S42). Then, the communication unit 102 sends a disembarkation completion notification to the elevator cloud 200 server 210, indicating that preparations for disembarkation are complete (S43a). The disembarkation completion notification is sent from the elevator cloud 200 server 210 to the robot cloud 300 server 310 (S43b), and then from the robot cloud 300 server 310 to the robot 500 (S43c). Here, let's assume that the communication environment inside the elevator car 50 is poor and the transmission in S43c fails due to an error. Therefore, the robot 500 cannot receive the disembarkation preparation completion notification.

[0089] However, in the robot 500, once the elevator car 50 begins moving to the destination floor, the decision unit 511 executes an arrival determination process (S38). As a result, the decision unit 511 of the robot 500 determines that the passenger is ready to disembark, even if it has not received a disembarkation preparation completion notification (S40).

[0090] Here, we will explain the arrival determination process performed by the determination unit 511 of the robot 500. Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for the arrival determination process according to the first embodiment.

[0091] In the robot 500, the decision unit 511 determines from the image of the inside of the elevator car 50 captured by the camera 506 whether or not the floor number is displayed on the display device 411 (S101). If the floor number is displayed on the display device 411 (S101: Yes), the decision unit 511 further determines from the captured image whether or not the display device 411 also has a driving direction indicator (S102).

[0092] If the display device 411 has a driving direction display (S102: Yes), the determination unit 511 recognizes the current position of the elevator car 50 and its direction of movement from the floor number and the driving direction display (S103). Next, the determination unit 511 determines whether the current position of the elevator car 50 matches the destination floor (S104). If the current position of the elevator car 50 does not match the destination floor (S104: No), the determination unit 511 determines that the elevator car 50 has not yet arrived at the destination floor, and the process returns to S101. The determination unit 511 then repeatedly executes the process from S101.

[0093] On the other hand, if in S104 the current position of elevator car 50 matches the destination floor (S104: Yes), the determination unit 511 determines that elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor. Then, the process returns to the caller.

[0094] If the floor number is not displayed on the display device 411 in S101 (S101: No), or if the driving direction indicator is not displayed on the display device 411 in S102 (S102: No), the determination unit 511 determines that the passenger has not yet boarded and terminates the process.

[0095] Returning to Figure 9, when the robot 500 determines that the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor, the robot 500 waits for a few seconds (S41). During this time, when the doors of the elevator car 50 open, the robot 500 begins disembarking from the elevator car 50 via the driving control unit 509 (S45).

[0096] When the robot 500 has completed disembarking (S46), the communication unit 502 sends a disembarking completion notification to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S47a). The disembarking completion notification is sent from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S47b), and further sent from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the control panel 100 via the controller 150 (S47c).

[0097] In the control panel 100, when the communication unit 102 receives a notification that the passenger has disembarked, the door control unit 125 closes the doors of the elevator car 50 (S50).

[0098] In robot 500, after disembarking is complete, the communication unit 502 transmits a message to the server 310 of robot cloud 300 indicating that elevator use has been discontinued (S51a). This message is then transmitted from the server 310 of robot cloud 300 to the server 210 of elevator cloud 200 (S51b), and further transmitted from the server 210 of elevator cloud 200 to the control panel 100 via the controller 150 (S51c).

[0099] Upon receiving notification that the elevator use has been discontinued, the control panel 100's communication unit 102 transmits permission to discontinue robot use to the elevator cloud 200's server 210 via the controller 150 (S54a). The permission to discontinue robot use is transmitted from the elevator cloud 200's server 210 to the robot cloud 300's server 310 (S54b), and then from the robot cloud 300's server 310 to the robot 500 that transmitted the notification that the elevator use has been discontinued (S54c). With this, the series of elevator control processes is completed.

[0100] In the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the control panel 100 controls the display on the display device 411 installed in the elevator car 50, and the robot 500 determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor based on the display on the display device 411 of the elevator car 50.

[0101] Therefore, in this embodiment, the robot 500 can accurately determine the position of the elevator car 50 and that the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor by checking the display on the elevator car 50's display device 411, and can promptly start the disembarking process. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smooth, regardless of the communication environment.

[0102] Furthermore, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the control panel 100 displays information about the floor corresponding to the movement of the elevator car 50 on the display device 411, and the robot 500 determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at its destination floor based on the floor information displayed on the display device 411.

[0103] Therefore, in this embodiment, the robot 500 can accurately determine the position of the elevator car 50 and when the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor by checking the display on the elevator car 50's display device 411 that corresponds to the movement of the elevator car 50, and can promptly start the disembarking process. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0104] Furthermore, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the display relating to the floor includes the current floor number of the elevator car 50 and a driving direction indicator showing the direction of operation of the elevator car 50.

[0105] Furthermore, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the robot 500 determines the current position of the elevator car 50 using a specific pattern displayed on the display device 411 used in the elevator 2. That is, it prioritizes recognizing the numbers with symbols displayed nearby as the current floor number of the elevator car 50 and determines the current position of the elevator car 50.

[0106] Therefore, although there are various numbers (characters) inside the elevator car 50, such as floor buttons on the control panel 4 and numbers (characters) drawn on posters attached inside the elevator car 50 (numbers other than those displayed by the display device 411), in this embodiment, the current position of the elevator car 50 is determined using a specific pattern displayed by the display device 411 used in the elevator 2. This prevents misjudgment of the current position of the elevator car 50 and allows for more accurate determination of the current position.

[0107] Therefore, in this embodiment, the robot 500 can accurately determine the position of the elevator car 50 and when it has arrived at its destination floor by checking the current floor number of the elevator car 50 and the driving direction indicator displayed on the elevator car 50's display device 411, and can quickly begin the disembarking process. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0108] Furthermore, in the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the display device 411 is located inside the elevator car 50 and is provided on the control panel 4 that receives various operations from users riding in the elevator car 50.

[0109] Therefore, according to this embodiment, by utilizing existing equipment, the robot 500 can accurately determine the position of the elevator car 50 and when the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor, and promptly begin the disembarking process. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smooth, regardless of the communication environment.

[0110] [Example 1] Various modifications are possible to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the robot 500 determines whether the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor based on whether the floor number on the display device 411 matches the destination floor. However, the determination of arrival at the destination floor is not limited to this. For example, the determination unit 511 can be configured to determine that the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor when the driving direction indicator displayed on the display device 411 disappears while the elevator car 50 is moving. In this case, it is possible to determine that the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor simply by the disappearance of the driving direction indicator that was previously displayed. This eliminates the need to check the floor number and allows for smoother movement between the elevator 2 and the robot 500, without relying on the communication environment.

[0111] [Differentiation 2] In the above embodiment, the display related to the floor was represented by the floor number and an arrow indicating the direction of operation, but it is not limited to this. For example, the display control unit 124 of the control panel 100 may be configured so that the display related to the floor includes a floor indicator (characters representing the floor number), a direction of operation indicator, and a so-called progress ring.

[0112] In other words, the display related to the floor level can be configured to include not only floor level indications and operating direction indications, but also a progress ring, which is a display of information that serves as a guideline from when the elevator car 50 departs the first stopping floor until it arrives at the second stopping floor.

[0113] Here, the information regarding the guideline can be a display showing the ratio of the time elapsed since the elevator car 50 departed the first stopping floor to the first required time from the time the elevator car 50 departed the first stopping floor until it arrives at the second stopping floor.

[0114] Furthermore, the information regarding the guideline can be displayed as a ratio of the distance traveled by the elevator car since departing the first stopping floor to the first distance from the first stopping floor to the second stopping floor. Furthermore, the first stopping floor can be designated as the departure floor, and the second stopping floor as the destination floor.

[0115] Figure 11 shows an example of the display of the display device 411 according to the modified example 2.

[0116] As described above, the display control unit 124 displays the driving direction indicator A, the progress rate of the elevator car 50's movement to the next stop floor indicator B, the current floor indicator N, and the like on the display screen of the display device 411.

[0117] The current floor indicator N represents the floor corresponding to the current position of elevator car 50. More specifically, the current floor indicator N may be a symbol, number, letter, or a combination thereof.

[0118] The driving direction indicator A indicates the current direction of travel of the elevator car 50. The driving direction indicator A may be an arrow, for example. For example, when elevator car 50 is traveling upwards, the driving direction indicator A is an upward-pointing arrow. On the other hand, when elevator car 50 is traveling downwards, the driving direction indicator A is a downward-pointing arrow.

[0119] Furthermore, when the elevator car 50 is moving upwards, it is preferable that the direction of travel indicator A is displayed above the current floor indicator N on the display screen. On the other hand, when the elevator car 50 is moving downwards, it is preferable that the direction of travel indicator A is displayed below the current floor indicator N on the display screen. This allows users to intuitively and easily understand which direction the elevator is moving from the current floor, thereby improving user convenience.

[0120] Note that the driving direction indicator A is optional. Also, in this embodiment, any other indicator that allows users of the elevator car 50 to identify the driving direction may be used as a substitute.

[0121] The display control unit 124 displays a display B around the current floor display N, which shows the progress rate of the elevator car 50's journey to the next stopping floor. More specifically, display B shows the ratio of the time elapsed so far to the total time required for the elevator car 50 to arrive at the next stopping floor after departing from a current stopping floor. Display B will be explained in more detail below using Figure 12.

[0122] Figure 12 shows a first example of the elapsed time display in the display device 411 according to Modification 2. Specifically, Figure 12 shows the display screen of the display device 411 at a certain point in time from when the elevator car 50 departs from one stop floor until it arrives at the next stop floor.

[0123] Display B includes the elapsed time display C and the remaining time display D. The remaining time display D does not necessarily have to be drawn on the display screen, or it may be displayed in a different manner than the elapsed time display C. Specifically, for example, the elapsed time display C may be displayed as a solid line, and the remaining time display D may be displayed as a dotted line. In the following explanation, the remaining time display D will not be displayed.

[0124] Users can recognize the remaining time display D, excluding the already drawn elapsed time display C, from display B, and understand the time until the next stop.

[0125] The display control unit 124 starts drawing the elapsed time display C from an arbitrary point when the elevator car 50 starts operating. Next, while the elevator car 50 is operating, the display control unit 124 continues drawing the elapsed time display C so that when the elevator car 50 arrives at the next stop floor, the elapsed time display C completes one full rotation around the current floor display N. Finally, the display control unit 124 completes drawing the elapsed time display C when the elevator car 50 arrives at the next stop floor.

[0126] Furthermore, display B (elapsed time display C and remaining time display D) may take any shape as long as it is displayed around the current floor display N, enclosing the current floor display N. For example, display B may be an ellipse, a polygon, or a similar shape.

[0127] In the following explanation, for convenience, the elapsed time display C will be described as a circle (circumference). That is, a circumference will be displayed as the elapsed time display C around the current floor display N. Drawing of the elapsed time display C begins when the elevator car 50 departs from its stopping floor, and is drawn in a circular shape as time passes until the elevator car 50 arrives at the next stopping floor, at which point it becomes a circle.

[0128] Furthermore, while the drawing of the elapsed time display C can start from any position on the circumference of display B, in the following, drawing will start from the 0-degree baseline position when display B is circular (in other words, the position corresponding to 12 o'clock when display B is imagined as a clock). This makes it easier for users to recognize that display B displays elapsed time.

[0129] Figure 13 shows a second example of the elapsed time display in the display device 411 according to Modification 2.

[0130] In Figure 13, the drawing is erased when the elevator car 50 departs from its stopping floor. That is, in Figure 4, the elapsed time indicator C is already drawn in a circular shape when the elevator car 50 departs from its stopping floor, and is erased in a circular shape as time passes until the elevator car 50 arrives at the next stopping floor, and becomes invisible when the elevator car 50 arrives at the next stopping floor.

[0131] Users can recognize the uncleared elapsed time display C in display B and understand the time remaining until the next stop.

[0132] The configuration of the elapsed time display C shown in Figures 12 and 13 may be switched based on the direction of travel of the elevator car 50. For example, when the elevator car 50 is traveling upwards, the elapsed time display C is drawn clockwise from a hidden state. On the other hand, when the elevator car 50 is traveling downwards, the elapsed time display C is erased counterclockwise from a circular state. This allows users to more intuitively understand the direction of travel of the elevator car 50 and the remaining time until arrival at the next stop.

[0133] Therefore, according to this modified example, the robot 500 can easily understand the current position of the elevator car 50 and its arrival at the destination floor, thus enabling smoother movement between the elevator 2 and the robot 500, regardless of the communication environment.

[0134] [Difference 3] Furthermore, the control panel 100 may be configured to receive a request from the robot 500 to move to a destination floor (a destination floor call for the robot), and to send a display of the floor information to the robot 500 that sent the request, and the robot 500 may be configured to receive a display of the floor information from the robot 500, and to determine whether the display on the display of the robot 50 has arrived at the destination floor based on the captured image, if the display on the display of the robot 50 is the same as the display of the floor information received from the control panel 100, and the robot 50 is configured to determine the position of the elevator car 50 and whether the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor.

[0135] Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for elevator control processing according to Modification 3. As shown in Figure 14, when the robot 500 sends a request to move to another floor (destination floor call for the robot) (S17), and the control panel 100 receives the request (S17c), the communication unit 102 in the control panel 100 sends a display image of the floor to be displayed on the display device 411 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S71a). The display image is then sent from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S71b), and further sent from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the robot 500 (S71c).

[0136] The subsequent processing is carried out in the same manner as in the first embodiment. However, in S38 of Figure 9, the robot 500 will use the received display image to determine when the elevator car will arrive at its destination floor.

[0137] Thus, in this modified configuration, the control panel 100 pre-transmits floor information to be displayed on the display device 411 to the robot 500. Therefore, even if multiple floor information displays are prepared and switched on the display device 411 as needed, the robot 500 can correctly determine the position of the elevator car 50 and its arrival at the destination floor. Consequently, this modified configuration allows for smoother movement between the elevator 2 and the robot 500, regardless of the communication environment.

[0138] In this case, when the communication unit 502 of the robot 500 receives a display regarding the floor, a learning function may be added to the determination unit 511 to learn a learned model using the received display regarding the floor. The determination unit 511 may then be configured to determine the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor, using the received display regarding the floor and the learned model. In this case, by using the learned model, the robot 500 can more accurately determine the position of the elevator car 50 and its arrival at its destination floor from the display regarding the floor. Therefore, according to this modified example, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0139] [Differentiation Example 4] Furthermore, although the above embodiment described an example in which the display device 411 is installed on the control panel 4, it is not limited to this. For example, the display device may be installed inside the elevator car 50 in a location that is easily visible to the robot 500. As an example of such a location that is easily visible to the robot 500, a ceiling display device 37 installed on the ceiling inside the elevator car 50 can be used. In this case, for example, even if the inside of the elevator car 50 is crowded, the robot 500 can easily see the ceiling display device 37, so according to this modified example, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0140] [Difference 5] Alternatively, a display device that shows the movement between floors, located in an easily visible place, may be used: a fascia indicator 36 provided on the inner wall surface above the door 401 of the elevator car 50. In this case, for example, even when the elevator car 50 is crowded, the robot 500 can easily see the fascia indicator 36. Therefore, according to this modified example, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0141] [Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the robot 500 determined the position of the elevator car 50 and its arrival at the destination floor based on the display on the display device 411, which is also visible to the user. In this second embodiment, in addition to the display visible to the user, or in place of the display visible to the user, the display device 411 displays a display specifically for the robot, and the robot 500 uses this robot-specific display to determine the position of the elevator car 50 and its arrival at the destination floor.

[0142] The overall configuration of the elevator control system 1 according to the second embodiment, the control panel 100, the operation panel 4, the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, and the configuration of the robot 500 are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0143] In the control panel 100 of this embodiment, when the robot 500 boards the elevator car 50, the display control unit 124 displays a special message for the robot 500 on the display device 411. In this embodiment, a two-dimensional code is used for displaying information specifically for the robot.

[0144] Figure 15 shows an example of a robot-specific display shown on the display device 411 according to the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the display control unit 124 of the control panel 100 displays a two-dimensional code 423 on the display device 411 as a display specifically for the robot, as shown in Figure 15, next to the floor number characters 421 and the driving direction indicator 422. This two-dimensional code 423 changes as the elevator car 50 moves, and the two-dimensional code 423 includes the current floor and driving direction of the elevator car 50.

[0145] Furthermore, in the robot 500 of this embodiment, the determination unit 511 determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor based on the robot-specific display shown on the display device 411, that is, by reading and analyzing the two-dimensional code 423, which is a robot-specific display, with the camera 506.

[0146] (Elevator control processing) Next, the elevator control process according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 16 is a sequence diagram showing an example of elevator control processing according to the second embodiment. The processing from registration of elevator 2 use to closing all doors (S11a to S30) is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described in Figure 8.

[0147] Next, in the control panel 100, the robot-linked operation control unit 122 starts the movement of the elevator car 50 to the destination floor. While the elevator car 50 is moving, the display control unit 124 displays the current floor (floor number), the direction of travel, and a robot-only indicator on the display device 411 of the operation panel 4 (S81).

[0148] Then, when elevator car 50 arrives at the destination floor, the display control unit 24 erases the direction of travel display from the display device 411 (S37).

[0149] The subsequent processing is carried out in the same manner as in the first embodiment. However, in S38 of Figure 16, the robot 500 will determine the position of the elevator car 50 and its arrival at the destination floor based on the robot-specific display (i.e., the two-dimensional code 423) displayed on the display device 411.

[0150] In the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, when the robot 500 boards the elevator car 50, the control panel 100 displays a robot-specific display on the display device 411, and the robot 500 determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor based on the robot-specific display on the display device 411.

[0151] Therefore, in this embodiment, the robot 500 can determine the position of the elevator car 50 and that the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor, independently of the display for the user, by checking the robot-specific display (e.g., a two-dimensional code) on the elevator car 50's display device 411, and can promptly begin the disembarking process. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0152] [Modification 6] In the above embodiment, a two-dimensional code was used as a display specifically for the robot, but it is not limited to this. For example, an icon indicating that the robot 500 is riding in the elevator car 50 can be used as a display specifically for the robot.

[0153] Figure 17 shows an example of a robot-specific display shown on the display device 411 according to Modification 6.

[0154] In this embodiment, the display control unit 124 of the control panel 100 displays an icon 424 indicating that the robot is on board on the display device 411, as shown in Figure 17, next to the floor number 421 and the driving direction indicator 422, as a display specifically for the robot. This icon 424 includes, for example, floor number characters that change with the movement of the elevator car 50, and left and right arms indicating the driving direction. When the arms are pointing upwards, it indicates that the elevator car 50 is moving upwards, and when they are pointing downwards, it indicates that it is moving downwards. However, these displays are just examples and are not limited to these.

[0155] Therefore, according to this modified example, similar to the above embodiment, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0156] [Difference 7] Furthermore, the robot 500's determination unit 511 can be configured to use both the robot-specific display and the floor number characters 421 and the driving direction display 422 to determine the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not it has arrived at the destination floor.

[0157] Therefore, according to this modified version, since the robot 500 uses both the floor number characters 421 and the driving direction indicator 421, it can more reliably determine the position of the elevator car 50 and whether the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor. Accordingly, according to this modified version, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0158] [Differentiation 8] Furthermore, as a display specifically for the robot, the display format for user-facing displays, such as the floor number text 421 and the driving direction indicator 421, can be modified. Modifications to the display format include, for example, changing the display color and size of the floor number text, or the display color and size of the arrow or mountain shape used for the driving direction indicator 422. However, it is not limited to these.

[0159] Therefore, according to this modified example, similar to the above embodiment, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0160] [Modification 9] Furthermore, the display control unit 124 of the control panel 100 may be configured to display images or characters on the display device 411 that are visible only to the robot 500 due to polarization, as a display specifically for the robot. In this case, the robot can read the display specifically for the robot by attaching a polarizing filter or the like to the camera 506 lens of the robot 500.

[0161] Therefore, according to this modified version, it is possible to prevent users from being confused by unnecessary displays, and the movement of elevator 2 and robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0162] [Third Embodiment] In the above embodiment, the robot 500 determined the location of the elevator car 50 and whether or not it had arrived at its destination floor based on the display of the display device 411. In this third embodiment, the control panel 100 further outputs audio into the elevator car 50, and the robot 500 further determines the location of the elevator car 50 and whether or not it has arrived at its destination floor based on the audio output.

[0163] The overall configuration of the elevator control system 1 according to the third embodiment, the control panel 4, the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, and the configuration of the robot 500 are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0164] (Configuration of control panel 1100) Next, we will explain the details of the control panel 1100. Figure 18 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a control panel 1100 according to the third embodiment. The control panel 1100 is an example of a control device.

[0165] The control panel 1100 has a typical computer configuration and, as shown in Figure 18, mainly comprises a control unit 1120, a communication unit 1102, and a storage unit 110. The storage unit 110 is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0166] The communication unit 1102 according to this embodiment has the same functions as in the first embodiment, and also transmits a priority notification to the robot 500 indicating the priority device determined by the decision unit 1126, which will be described later.

[0167] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 18, the control panel 1100 is connected by wire or wireless means to the load sensor 8, the camera 7 inside the elevator car 50, the camera 9 at the landing 25, the lighting device 13 inside the elevator car 50, the operation panel 4, and the display device 411 and speaker 412 provided on the operation panel 4, similar to the first embodiment.

[0168] The control unit 1120 consists of a hardware processor (CPU). As shown in Figure 18, the control unit 1120 mainly comprises a normal operation control unit 121, a robot-linked operation control unit 122, an output control unit 123, a display control unit 124, a decision unit 1126, and a door control unit 125. The output control unit 123 outputs audio information to the speaker 412 of the control panel 4, indicating the floor level and direction of travel of the elevator car 50 as it moves.

[0169] The decision unit 1126 determines whether to prioritize the display on the display device 411 or the audio output from the speaker 412, based on the occupancy status of the elevator car 50 and the size of the robot 500.

[0170] For example, the decision unit 1126 determines the size of the robot 500 and the number of users riding in the elevator car 50 from images captured by the camera 7 inside the elevator car 50 and the detection results of the load sensor 8. If the size of the robot 500 is larger than a predetermined size, or if the number of users riding in the elevator car 50 is greater than a predetermined number, the decision unit 1126 determines that it would be difficult for the robot 500 to confirm the display on the display device 411 and decides to prioritize the audio output from the speaker 412. Alternatively, the decision unit 1126 may determine that there is a possibility of misinterpreting the audio output from the speaker 412 and decide to prioritize the display on the display device 411.

[0171] On the other hand, if the size of the robot 500 is smaller than a predetermined size, or if the number of passengers in the elevator car 50 is less than a predetermined number, the decision unit 1126 determines that it is easy for the robot 500 to check the display on the display device 411, and decides to prioritize the display on the display device 411. Alternatively, the decision unit 1126 may determine that there is no possibility of misinterpreting the audio output from the speaker 412, and decide to prioritize the audio output from the speaker 412.

[0172] In the robot 500 according to this embodiment, the communication unit 502 has the same functions as in the first embodiment, and also receives priority notifications from the control panel 100.

[0173] Furthermore, in the robot 500 according to this embodiment, the determination unit 511 determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor, based on the display on the display device 411 and the audio output from the speaker 412 of the elevator car 50.

[0174] Furthermore, the determination unit 511 determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor, based on the output of the device indicated in the priority notification received by the communication unit 502 from the control panel 1100, that is, the output of the device determined to be prioritized in the priority notification (display on the display device 411 or output on the speaker 412).

[0175] (Elevator control processing) Next, the elevator control process according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 19 is a sequence diagram showing an example of elevator control processing according to the third embodiment. The processing from registration of elevator 2 use to closing all doors (S11a to S30) is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment described in Figure 8.

[0176] Next, the control panel 100 determines whether to prioritize the display on the display device 411 or the audio output from the speaker 412 based on the occupancy status of the elevator car 50 and the size of the robot 500 (S91). Then, the communication unit 1102 sends a priority notification indicating the device determined by the determination unit 1126 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S92a). This priority notification is then sent from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S92b), and further sent from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the robot 500 (S92c).

[0177] The subsequent processing is carried out in the same manner as in the first embodiment. However, in S38 of Figure 19, the robot 500 will determine the position of the elevator car 50 and its arrival at the destination floor based on the output of the device indicated in the priority notification received. Examples of voice output include: "We are currently passing the 3rd floor," "We have arrived at the 5th floor," and "The door is opening."

[0178] In the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the control panel 100 determines whether to prioritize the display on the display device 411 or the audio output of the speaker 412 based on the occupancy status of the elevator car 50 and the size of the robot 500, and transmits a priority notification to the robot 500 indicating the determined priority device. The robot 500 receives the priority notification from the control panel 100 and determines the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor based on the output of the device indicated in the received priority notification.

[0179] Therefore, even if, for example, a malfunction causes a discrepancy between the audio output ("Arrived on the 3rd floor") and the display ("Arrived on the 5th floor"), the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor can be determined based on the output from the device that has been designated as the priority. This allows for smoother movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500, regardless of the communication environment.

[0180] In the elevator control system 1 according to this embodiment, the control panel 100 may control the audio output to the speaker 412 installed in the elevator car 50 without using priority notification, and the robot 500 may determine the position of the elevator car 50 and whether or not the elevator car 50 has arrived at the destination floor based on both the display on the display device 411 and the audio output from the speaker 412 in the elevator car 50.

[0181] In this case, the robot 500 uses both the display on the display device 411 and the audio output from the speaker 412 of the elevator car 50, so it can more reliably determine the position of the elevator car 50 and whether the elevator car 50 has arrived at its destination floor. Therefore, according to this modified example, the movement of the elevator 2 and the robot 500 can be made smoother, regardless of the communication environment.

[0182] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the control panel 100 and the robot 500 communicate with each other via the server of the elevator cloud 200 and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, but this is not the only way to do so. For example, the control panel 100 and the robot 500 can be configured to communicate directly with each other without going through the server of the elevator cloud 200 and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300.

[0183] The control programs executed by the control panel 100, servers 210, 310, and robot 500 according to the above embodiments and modified examples are provided pre-loaded into ROM or the like.

[0184] Each control program executed by the control panel 100, servers 210, 310, and robot 500 according to the above embodiments and modifications may be configured to be provided as a file in an installable or executable format, recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, flexible disk (FD), CD-R, or DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0185] Furthermore, the control programs executed by the control panel 100, servers 210, 310, and robot 500 according to the above embodiments and modifications may be configured to be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network.

[0186] Furthermore, the control programs executed by the control panel 100, servers 210, 310, and robot 500 according to the above embodiments and modified examples may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0187] Each control program executed by the control panel 100, servers 210, 310, and robot 500 according to the above embodiment and modified examples has a modular configuration that includes each of the functional units described above. In actual hardware, the CPU reads the control program from the ROM and executes it, thereby loading each of the functional units into the main memory, and generating each of the functional units in the main memory.

[0188] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0189] 1…Elevator control system, 2,2A,2B…Elevator, 3…Building, 4,4A,4B…Control panel, 5A…User, 7,7A,7B,9,506…Camera, 8,8A,8B…Load sensor, 13,13A,13B…Lighting device, 20,20A,20B…Housing shaft, 25…Landing, 50,50A,50B…Elevator car, 100,100A,100B,1100…Control panel (control device), 120,211,311,501,1120…Control unit, 102,212,312,502,1102…Communication unit, 110,220, 320, 510... Memory unit, 111... Management DB, 121... Normal operation control unit, 122... Robot-linked operation control unit, 123... Output control unit, 124... Display control unit, 511... Decision unit, 125... Door control unit, 150, 150A, 150B... Controller, 160... Control room, 200... Elevator cloud, 210... Server, 300... Robot cloud, 310... Server, 500... Robot (autonomous mobile unit), 411... Display device, 412... Speaker (voice output device), 503... Drive unit, 509... Travel control unit, 1126... Decision unit.

Claims

1. An elevator control system comprising: a control device provided for each elevator having a movable elevator car installed within a building, the control device for controlling the elevator, and an autonomous mobile body capable of autonomously traveling and boarding the elevator car, The control device is A display control unit that performs display control for a display device installed in the elevator car, Equipped with, The autonomous mobile unit includes a determination unit that determines, based on the display of the display device in the elevator car, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor for which the autonomous mobile unit is moving. The display control unit displays information on the display device regarding the floor corresponding to the movement of the elevator car. The determination unit determines, based on the display of the floor by the display device, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor. The display relating to the floor includes the current floor number of the elevator car, a direction indicator showing the direction of travel of the elevator car, and a display of information that serves as a guideline from the time the elevator car departs the first stopping floor until it arrives at the second stopping floor. Elevator control system.

2. The determination unit prioritizes recognizing the number with a symbol displayed nearby as the current floor number to determine the current position of the elevator car, and determines the symbol as the direction of travel indicator. The elevator control system according to claim 1.

3. The determination unit determines that the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor when the driving direction indicator disappears on the display device. The elevator control system according to claim 1.

4. An elevator control system comprising: a control device provided for each elevator having a movable elevator car installed in a building, for controlling the elevator; and an autonomous mobile body that can travel autonomously and board the elevator car, The control device is A display control unit that performs display control for a display device installed in the elevator car, Equipped with, The autonomous mobile unit includes a determination unit that determines, based on the display of the display device in the elevator car, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor for which the autonomous mobile unit is moving. The display control unit displays information on the display device regarding the floor corresponding to the movement of the elevator car. The determination unit determines, based on the display of the floor by the display device, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor. The autonomous mobile body, A first communication unit transmits a request for movement of the elevator car, including the departure floor and the destination floor, which are the floors from which the autonomous mobile unit boards the elevator car, to the control device, further comprising The control device is The system further comprises a second communication unit that receives the movement request from the autonomous mobile unit and transmits a display of the floor level to be shown on the display device to the autonomous mobile unit that transmitted the movement request, The first communication unit receives an indication of the floor level from the control device, The determination unit uses the received display regarding the floor and a trained model that has learned to output the position of the elevator car from the display regarding the floor to determine the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor. Elevator control system.

5. The display device is also provided inside the elevator car and is installed on an operation panel that receives various operations from users riding in the elevator car. The elevator control system according to claim 1.

6. The display device is installed inside the elevator car in a location where the autonomous mobile body can be easily seen. The elevator control system according to claim 1.

7. The display device is a panel indicator provided on the inner wall surface above the door of the elevator car, which lights up the floor number of the elevator car as it moves, according to the movement of the elevator car. The elevator control system according to claim 1.

8. When the autonomous mobile vehicle boards the elevator car, the display control unit displays a special message for the autonomous mobile vehicle on the display device. The determination unit determines, based on a display on the display device specifically for the autonomous mobile unit, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile unit is intended to travel. The elevator control system according to claim 1.

9. The display specific to the aforementioned autonomous mobile device is a two-dimensional code. The elevator control system according to claim 8.

10. The control device is An output control unit that controls the audio output to the audio output device provided in the elevator car, Furthermore, The determination unit determines, based on the display of the display device and the audio output of the audio output device of the elevator car, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile body is intended to move. The elevator control system according to claim 1.

11. The control device is A determination unit that determines whether to prioritize the display on the display device or the audio output of the audio output device based on the occupancy status of the elevator car and the size of the autonomous mobile body, The system further comprises a second communication unit that transmits a priority notification indicating the determined priority device to the autonomous mobile unit, The autonomous mobile body, The system further comprises a first communication unit that receives the priority notification from the control device, The determination unit determines, based on the output of the device indicated in the received priority notification, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile body is intended to move. The elevator control system according to claim 10.

12. An autonomous mobile body capable of autonomously traveling and boarding an elevator car, which has a movable car installed inside a building, The system includes a determination unit that determines the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile unit is intended to travel, based on the display of a display device provided in the elevator car. The determination unit determines the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor based on the display of the floor corresponding to the movement of the elevator car by the display device. The display relating to the floor includes the current floor number of the elevator car, a direction indicator showing the direction of travel of the elevator car, and a display of information that serves as a guideline from the time the elevator car departs the first stopping floor until it arrives at the second stopping floor. Autonomous mobile device.

13. The determination unit prioritizes recognizing the number with a symbol displayed nearby as the current floor number to determine the current position of the elevator car, and determines the symbol as the direction of travel indicator. The autonomous mobile body according to claim 12.

14. The determination unit determines that the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor when the driving direction indicator disappears on the display device. The autonomous mobile body according to claim 12.

15. An autonomous mobile body capable of autonomously traveling and boarding an elevator car, which has a car that can be raised and lowered and installed inside a building, The system includes a determination unit that determines the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile unit is intended to travel, based on the display of a display device provided in the elevator car. The determination unit determines the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor based on the display of the floor corresponding to the movement of the elevator car by the display device. The autonomous mobile body, A communication unit transmits a request for movement of the elevator car, including the departure floor (where the autonomous mobile body boards the car) and the destination floor, to a control device that controls the elevator, and further comprises: The communication unit receives the display regarding the floor from the control device, The determination unit uses the received display regarding the floor and a trained model that has learned to output the position of the elevator car from the display regarding the floor to determine the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor. Autonomous mobile device.

16. The determination unit determines, based on a display on the display device specifically for the autonomous mobile unit, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile unit is intended to travel. The autonomous mobile body according to claim 12.

17. The determination unit determines, based on the display of the display device and the audio output of the elevator car's audio output device, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile body is intended to move. The autonomous mobile body according to claim 12.

18. The system further includes a communication unit that receives a priority notification from a control device that controls the elevator, indicating which to prioritize, the display on the display device or the audio output of the audio output device, which is determined based on the occupancy status of the elevator car and the size of the autonomous mobile body. The determination unit determines, based on the output of the device indicated in the received priority notification, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, which is the floor to which the autonomous mobile body is intended to move. The autonomous mobile body according to claim 17.

19. A determination method performed in an elevator control system, which is provided for each elevator having a movable elevator car installed in a building, and comprises a control device for controlling the elevator and an autonomous mobile body that can travel autonomously and board the elevator car, The control device performs a display control step that controls the display on the display device provided in the elevator car, The autonomous mobile unit includes a determination step of determining, based on the display of the elevator car's display device, the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor which is the floor for which the autonomous mobile unit is moving, The display control step involves displaying information on the display device regarding the floor corresponding to the movement of the elevator car. The determination step involves determining the position of the elevator car and whether or not the elevator car has arrived at the destination floor, based on the display of the floor by the display device. The display relating to the floor includes the current floor number of the elevator car, a direction indicator showing the direction of travel of the elevator car, and a display of information that serves as a guideline from the time the elevator car departs the first stopping floor until it arrives at the second stopping floor. Judgment method.

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