Elevator control device

Abstract

To recover from missed connections caused by calls made from user terminals. [Solution] The elevator control device of the embodiment includes a receiving unit that receives calls to the elevator from multiple user terminals, each of which has an identification number that can uniquely identify the user terminal; a registration unit that associates the identification number with the call and registers the call; and a matching unit that compares an identification number obtained from a user terminal inside the elevator car that responded to the call among the multiple user terminals with an identification number obtained when the call was received. The registration unit re-registers the call, at least on the condition that the first identification number obtained in the elevator car and the second identification number obtained together with the call do not match.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an elevator control device.

Background Art

[0002] In an elevator system, a technique for receiving calls from user terminals such as smartphones is known. However, there are cases where the user misses a ride, such as the response car departing before the user who made the call arrives at the landing, or the response car being full and the user being unable to board.

[0003] For example, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the number of allocated people to the car scheduled to be boarded is presented to the user, and by prompting the user to board quickly, the user's missed ride is suppressed. In addition, in the technique of Patent Document 2, it is inferred that the user has missed a ride from information such as the response car being full or the door opening time of the response car being prolonged. In addition, in the technique of Patent Document 3, when the identification number of the user terminal that made the call registration does not match the identification number of the user terminal obtained in the response car, it is determined that an unauthorized boarding has occurred.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, preventing users from missing their turn to board the elevator car is left to the users themselves, and the elevator system itself cannot determine whether a user has missed their turn or prevent such a failure.

[0006] Furthermore, the technology described in Patent Document 2 indirectly estimates whether a passenger has missed their ride based on the number of passengers in the response car or the time the response car doors are open, and therefore cannot make a precise determination of whether or not a passenger has missed their ride. Also, the technology described in Patent Document 3 aims to detect passengers who have boarded the wrong train. For this reason, no consideration has been given to how to determine whether or not a passenger has missed their ride, or how to improve the accuracy of such determination.

[0007] For example, situations in which a user is not on board the response car include not only missing the response car, being unable to board due to overcrowding, but also cases where the user intentionally does not board the response car due to a sudden change in plans, etc. Patent documents 2 and 3 do not provide any measures to address such cases.

[0008] Furthermore, all of the technologies described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 are based on group control elevator systems, making them difficult to apply to elevator systems with other operating methods, such as passenger-only systems.

[0009] The problem that this embodiment aims to solve is to provide an elevator control device that can recover from missed rides caused by calls from user terminals. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The elevator control device of the embodiment includes a receiving unit that receives calls to the elevator from a plurality of user terminals, each of which has an identification number that can uniquely identify the user terminal; a registration unit that associates the identification number with the call and registers the call; and a matching unit that compares an identification number obtained from a user terminal in the elevator car that responded to the call among the plurality of user terminals with the identification number obtained when the call was received, wherein the registration unit, at least on the condition that the first identification number obtained in the elevator car and the second identification number obtained together with the call do not match, Associating it with the same identification number as the second identification number, The aforementioned nominal Same content The aforementioned call registration will be performed again. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of an elevator system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the elevator call application icon displayed on a mobile terminal according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows the selection screen from the elevator call application displayed on a mobile terminal according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows the elevator call information screen displayed on a mobile terminal according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows how the mobile terminal and the receiving unit communicate with each other according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for processing a response to a call from a mobile terminal in an elevator control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for responding to a call from a mobile terminal in an elevator control device according to a modified example 1 of the embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of the configuration of an elevator system according to a modified example 2 of the embodiment. [Figure 9]FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure for response processing to a call from a mobile terminal in an elevator control device according to Modification 2 of the embodiment.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by the following embodiments. Further, the constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be easily assumed by those skilled in the art or those that are substantially the same.

[0013] (Configuration Example of Elevator System) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elevator system 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator system 1 includes an elevator control device 10, a Machine A control device 30A, a Machine B control device 30B, a Machine C control device 30C, a Machine A 40A, a Machine B 40B, a Machine C 40C, a mobile terminal 50 of an elevator user, and an elevator hoistway 100.

[0014] The elevator hoistway 100 is a computer system placed on the cloud including a server or the like not shown. The elevator hoistway 100 may include one or more computers having physical configurations such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The elevator hoistway 100 relays the exchange of information between the elevator control device 10 and the mobile terminal 50.

[0015] The mobile terminal 50 is a portable computer such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, or a tablet. The owner of the mobile terminal 50 is generally assumed to be all elevator users broadly.

[0016] However, as the owner of the mobile terminal 50, it may be limited to those users of the elevator who need to frequently enter the building or those who have been permitted access to the building, etc. That is, when the building is a residential building such as an apartment or a condominium, the owner of the mobile terminal 50 is assumed to be a resident of that building. Also, when the building is a company office or the like, the owner of the mobile terminal 50 is assumed to be an employee of that company.

[0017] An elevator call application is installed on the mobile terminal 50 by the owner or the like of the mobile terminal 50. Also, an identification number that can uniquely identify the mobile terminal 50 is assigned to the mobile terminal 50 by the elevator call application.

[0018] The owner of the mobile terminal 50 can make a call to the elevator by using the elevator call application. When making a call from the mobile terminal 50, the identification number together with the content of the call made from the mobile terminal 50 is transmitted to the elevator control device 10 via the elevator cloud 100.

[0019] Also, the mobile terminal 50 is configured to be capable of short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or WiFi (registered trademark). After responding to a call from the mobile terminal 50, the mobile terminal 50 performs short-range wireless communication inside the car 41 described later and transmits the above identification number to the elevator system 1.

[0020] Note that the mobile terminal 50 is an example of a user terminal through which an elevator user can perform call registration.

[0021] The elevator control device 10 is connected to the elevator control devices 30A (Unit A), 30B (Unit B), and 30C (Unit C) via a network within the building where the elevators are installed, enabling information exchange. Furthermore, the elevator control device 10 is connected to an external network such as the internet via wireless or wired connections, and can communicate with a mobile terminal 50, also connected to an external network, via the elevator cloud 100, etc.

[0022] The elevator control device 10 is configured as a computer equipped with, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.

[0023] The CPU reads a program stored in ROM, for example, loads it into RAM, and executes it. The elevator control device 10 has a functional configuration that includes a transmitting / receiving unit 11, a registration unit 12, a verification unit 13, an authentication information storage unit 15, and a call registration storage unit 16.

[0024] However, some or all of the above functional configurations of the elevator control device 10 may be implemented by a dedicated ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0025] The transmitting / receiving unit 11 receives information from the mobile terminal 50 via the elevator cloud 100 and transmits information from the elevator control device 10 to the mobile terminal 50. The information from the mobile terminal 50 includes, for example, information about the call made using the mobile terminal 50 and the identification number of the mobile terminal 50. The information from the elevator control device 10 includes the number representing the elevator that is scheduled to respond to the call from the mobile terminal 50.

[0026] The transmitting / receiving unit 11 is an example of a receiving unit that receives calls to the elevator from multiple user terminals.

[0027] The registration unit 12 registers calls from the mobile terminal 50, or from the landing call button 42 or destination floor call button described later, etc., in the call registration storage unit 16. As described above, calls from the mobile terminal 50 include information about the identification number of the mobile terminal 50, and the registration unit 12 registers the calls from the mobile terminal 50 in association with the identification number.

[0028] The elevator system 1 has multiple elevator cars 41 that respond to these calls as appropriate. When a designated elevator car 41 arrives at a designated landing in response to a call from a mobile terminal 50 or a landing call button 42, one or more users, including the user who made the call, board that elevator car 41. If the owner of the mobile terminal 50 that made the call is among those users, an identification number is received from the mobile terminal 50 inside the elevator car 41.

[0029] The matching unit 13 obtains the identification number of a predetermined mobile terminal 50 received by the elevator car 41 that responded to a call from the mobile terminal 50, a landing call button 42, or a destination floor call button, etc. The matching unit 13 also compares the identification number obtained from the elevator car 41 with the identification number associated with the corresponding call and determines whether these identification numbers match.

[0030] If the verification by the verification unit 13 reveals a mismatch between the identification number obtained from the elevator car 41 and the identification number associated with the corresponding call, it is possible that the user who made the call from the mobile terminal 50 missed boarding the elevator car 41 that responded to that call. In this case, the registration unit 12 associates the same identification number with the same call and re-registers it in the call registration storage unit 16.

[0031] The authentication information storage unit 15 stores authentication information such as a user ID that uniquely identifies the owner of each mobile terminal 50, and a password set by the owner of the mobile terminal 50, all linked to the identification number of the mobile terminal 50.

[0032] The call registration storage unit 16 stores call registrations related to calls made from the mobile terminal 50, the landing call button 42, or the destination floor call button, etc.

[0033] The control devices 30A for Unit A, 30B for Unit B, and 30C for Unit C each acquire information from Unit A 40A, Unit B 40B, and Unit C 40C, respectively, and manage these units. In addition, the control devices 30A for Unit A, 30B for Unit B, and 30C for Unit C each control the operation of Unit A 40A, Unit B 40B, and Unit C 40C, respectively.

[0034] These three buses, Unit A 40A, Unit B 40B, and Unit C 40C, are operated using, for example, a passenger service. In this passenger service, in response to multiple calls, Units A 40A, B 40B, and C 40C sequentially respond to calls in the same direction. When there are no more calls in the direction of travel, the direction of travel is reversed.

[0035] At this time, the control devices 30A for unit A, 30B for unit B, and 30C for unit C may exchange information with each other to coordinate the operation of their respective units 40A, 40B, and 40C.

[0036] However, these elevators A 40A, B 40B, and C 40C may be operated using other methods such as a group control system. For example, in a group control system, the elevator control device 10 may further include an assignment unit as part of its functional configuration, thereby allowing the elevator control device 10 to assign the appropriate elevator to each call according to the circumstances at the time.

[0037] Units A 40A, B 40B, and C 40C are each equipped with elevator cars 41A, 41B, and 41C, landing call buttons 42A, 42B, and 42C, destination floor call buttons (not shown), and communication devices 43A, 43B, and 43C, respectively.

[0038] The elevator car 41 (41A, 41B, 41C) moves up and down between floors according to the control of the corresponding elevator control devices 30A (A), 30B (B), and 30C (C).

[0039] The landing call buttons 42 (42A, 42B, 42C) are installed at the landings on each floor. By pressing the up or down button on the landing call button 42, elevator users can register a call to summon the corresponding elevator car 41 to their landing. However, it is not necessary to install a landing call button 42 for each elevator unit; it is sufficient to have at least one on each floor.

[0040] A destination floor call button is installed inside each elevator car 41. By pressing the button indicating the desired destination floor included in the destination floor call button, the elevator user can make the elevator car 41 travel to the destination floor.

[0041] The communication devices 43 (43A, 43B, 43C) are installed, for example, inside the corresponding elevator car 41. The communication devices 43 are configured, for example, as short-range wireless communication devices, and are configured to receive signals such as Bluetooth® signals or WiFi® signals transmitted from a mobile terminal 50 within a predetermined range. In other words, when the signals transmitted from the mobile terminal 50 are received by the communication devices 43, it is determined that the mobile terminal 50 is within a predetermined range, such as inside the corresponding elevator car 41.

[0042] Therefore, the communication device 43 does not necessarily have to be located inside the elevator car 41, as long as it is capable of receiving signals from the portable terminal 50 located inside the elevator car 41. For example, the communication device 43 may be located outside the elevator car 41, in a place close to the elevator car 41, such as the outer wall, the top surface of the roof, or the bottom surface of the floor.

[0043] (Example of elevator system operation) Next, using Figures 2 to 5, we will explain an example of the operation of the elevator system 1 of this embodiment, while referring to the operations performed on the mobile terminal 50.

[0044] Figure 2 shows the elevator call application icon displayed on the mobile terminal 50 according to the embodiment.

[0045] The elevator call app is an application program configured to be readable by a computer, such as a mobile terminal 50. Users can download the elevator call app from, for example, the elevator cloud 100 and install it on their mobile terminal 50, thereby allowing the mobile terminal 50 to perform various elevator calling processes.

[0046] However, the elevator calling app may not need to be downloaded and installed on the mobile terminal 50. For example, the mobile terminal 50 may access the elevator cloud 100, etc., and perform various elevator calling processes on the mobile terminal 50 while it is located on the network.

[0047] As shown in Figure 2, users can launch the elevator call app by, for example, tapping the elevator call app icon displayed on their mobile device 50.

[0048] After launching the elevator calling app, the user enters authentication information such as a user ID and password, following instructions on the display screen. This allows them to start calling an elevator using the elevator calling app.

[0049] Figure 3 shows the selection screen from the elevator call application displayed on the mobile terminal 50 according to the embodiment.

[0050] As shown in Figure 3, the selection screen displays various options, such as "New Call" for making a new call to the elevator, "Confirm / Change" for checking or changing the details of a registered call, and "Manage Account Information" for managing user passwords, etc.

[0051] When making a call to the elevator, the user can tap "New Call" from the selection options displayed on the selection screen. When the user specifies the boarding and alighting floors in "New Call," this call information, along with the identification number assigned to the user's mobile terminal 50, is transmitted to the elevator control device 10 via the elevator cloud 100.

[0052] The registration unit 12 of the elevator control device 10 associates the user's mobile terminal 50 identification number with the call, which includes information such as the user's desired boarding and alighting floors, and registers it in the call registration storage unit 16. Furthermore, if the elevator is operating on a shared-ride basis, for example, the A-unit control device 30A, the B-unit control device 30B, and the C-unit control device 30C cooperate with each other to identify the elevator car 41 that will respond to the call from the mobile terminal 50, and notify the elevator control device 10 of the car number, etc.

[0053] The transmitting / receiving unit 11 of the elevator control device 10 transmits the contents of the call registration by the registration unit 12, the identification number associated with the call registration, and the response unit number received from either the Unit A control device 30A, Unit B control device 30B, or Unit C control device 30C to the user's mobile terminal 50 via the elevator cloud 100.

[0054] Figure 4 shows the elevator call information screen displayed on the mobile terminal 50 according to the embodiment.

[0055] As shown in Figure 4, when the elevator control device 10 receives a call from the mobile terminal 50 and identifies the corresponding elevator, the details of the call, such as the elevator number, boarding floor, alighting floor, and identification number, are displayed on the mobile terminal 50. The user can then check on the call information screen whether the entered call details are correctly reflected and which elevator to board, for example, elevator A 40A, elevator B 40B, and elevator C 40C.

[0056] Subsequently, the elevator car 41 of the response unit is dispatched to the boarding area on the boarding floor designated by the user. During this time, the user moves to the boarding area on the boarding floor and boards the elevator car 41 that has arrived at the boarding area. At this point, the user's mobile terminal 50 and the communication device 43 installed inside the elevator car 41 begin communication.

[0057] Figure 5 shows how the mobile terminal 50 and the communication device 43 communicate with each other according to this embodiment.

[0058] As shown in Figure 5, when user U boards a designated elevator car 41, they will be close enough to the elevator car 41's communication device 43 that the signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 50 via short-range wireless communication will be receivable by the communication device 43. At this time, the mobile terminal 50 may display a communication screen indicating that it is attempting to communicate with the elevator.

[0059] Preferably, communication between the mobile terminal 50 and the communication device 43 continues, for example, from the moment the elevator car 41 arrives at the boarding floor and opens its doors, until the elevator car 41 closes its doors and then begins responding to the destination floor, including the designated disembarking floor. During this time, the communication device 43 in the elevator car 41 receives an identification number from the mobile terminal 50 inside the elevator car 41.

[0060] At this time, the communication device 43 may receive identification numbers from multiple mobile terminals 50 located inside the elevator car 41 and on which the elevator call application is installed. One of the A-unit control devices 30A, B-unit control device 30B, and C-unit control device 30C that control the communication device 43 of the elevator car 41 transmits one or more of the received identification numbers to the elevator control device 10.

[0061] When the verification unit 13 of the elevator control device 10 receives an identification number from the communication device 43 of the elevator car 41 that has responded to a call from the mobile terminal 50, it verifies that identification number against the identification number associated with the call. If these identification numbers match, the registration unit 12 considers that the response to the call has been completed and cancels the call registration in the call registration storage unit 16.

[0062] If multiple identification numbers are received within the elevator car 41, and one of them matches the identification number associated with the above call, the above call registration will be canceled.

[0063] If the above identification numbers do not match, that is, if none of the identification numbers received inside the elevator car 41 match the identification number associated with the above call, the user may have missed boarding the elevator car 41 that responded to the call. In the elevator control device 10 of this embodiment, if a user misses boarding, the same call is re-registered and associated with the same identification number.

[0064] The registration unit 12 further checks whether, as a criterion for determining whether the same call needs to be re-registered, the same call has been registered and associated with the same identification number more than a predetermined number of times within the predetermined time period. If the same call and the same identification number have been registered repeatedly in a short period of time, it is possible that the user has decided not to use the elevator for some reason, rather than simply missing the elevator.

[0065] Therefore, if the same call with the same identification number is registered more than a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time, the registration unit 12 will not re-register the same call, even if the identification numbers do not match.

[0066] If a predetermined number of calls with the same content and identification number are not registered within a predetermined time, the registration unit 12 considers that a missed ride has occurred and re-registers a call with the same content, associated with the same identification number, in the call registration storage unit 16.

[0067] When a call for a ride that was initially missed is re-registered, the A-unit control device 30A, the B-unit control device 30B, and the C-unit control device 30C work together to identify another elevator car 41 to respond to the re-registered call and dispatch it to the designated boarding floor. This ensures that even if a passenger misses the first elevator car 41 that responded to their call, they can board the newly responded elevator car 41.

[0068] (Example of processing by an elevator control device) Next, an example of processing in the elevator control device 10 of the embodiment will be described using Figure 6. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for responding to a call from a mobile terminal 50 in the elevator control device 10 according to the embodiment.

[0069] As shown in Figure 6, while the elevator is in operation, the elevator control device 10 monitors whether or not there is a call from a designated mobile terminal 50 such as a smartphone (step S101). While no call is made from the mobile terminal 50 (step S101: No), the elevator control device 10 continues the above monitoring.

[0070] When the transmitting / receiving unit 11 receives a call from the mobile terminal 50 (Step S101: Yes), the registration unit 12 registers the call, and the elevator car 41 of the designated unit opens and closes its doors in response to the designated boarding floor (Step S102). The elevator car 41 also begins responding to destination floors, including the designated disembarking floor (Step S103).

[0071] The matching unit 13 obtains the identification number received inside the elevator car 41 from the communication device 43 inside the elevator car 41 that initiated a response to the destination floor. The matching unit 13 also compares the identification number received inside the elevator car 41 with the identification number associated with the call from the mobile terminal 50 and determines whether they match (step S104).

[0072] If any of the identification numbers received inside the elevator car 41 matches the identification number associated with the call from the mobile terminal 50 (step S104: Yes), the process is terminated as the response to the above call has been completed.

[0073] If none of the identification numbers received inside the elevator car 41 match the identification number associated with the call from the mobile terminal 50 (Step S104: No), the registration unit 12 determines whether there have been a predetermined number of calls from the mobile terminal 50 with the same identification number within a predetermined time period (Step S105).

[0074] If there are no calls with the same identification number within a predetermined time (Step S105: No), the registration unit 12 re-registers the call with the same content, associating it with the same identification number (Step S106). If there are no calls with the same identification number within a predetermined time (Step S105: Yes), the process is terminated without re-registering the same call.

[0075] With the above steps completed, the response processing of the elevator control device 10 of the embodiment is finished.

[0076] (Overview) Some elevator systems connect to an elevator cloud via a network, allowing users to register their requests from mobile devices such as smartphones. In such systems, since users can register their requests from locations far from the landing, there is a risk that the elevator car that responded to the request may depart or become full before the user reaches the landing after registering the request. This can result in the user missing out on boarding the elevator.

[0077] According to the elevator control device 10 of this embodiment, if the identification number obtained by the elevator car 41 in response to the call from the mobile terminal 50 does not match the identification number obtained along with the call, the registration unit 12 re-registers the call.

[0078] This makes it possible to recover passengers who miss their ride when calling from a mobile terminal 50. By using the identification number assigned to each mobile terminal 50, individual users can be identified, making it easy and precise to determine if a passenger has missed their ride. Furthermore, since users do not need to register a second call, user convenience is improved. Moreover, the above configuration is applicable to various elevator systems, regardless of the operating method, such as shared rides or group control systems.

[0079] According to the elevator control device 10 of this embodiment, even if the identification number acquired by the elevator car 41 does not match the identification number acquired along with the call from the mobile terminal 50, the registration unit 12 will not re-register the call if a call registration associated with the same identification number has been made a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time. In this way, by setting an upper limit on the re-registration of the same call in a short period of time, it is possible to suppress repeated re-registrations when a user cancels their use of the elevator for some reason.

[0080] According to the elevator control device 10 of this embodiment, the elevator car 41 has a communication device 43 that acquires an identification number from a portable terminal 50 inside the elevator car 41. This makes it possible to identify the user riding inside the elevator car 41 from the identification number and perform the verification described above.

[0081] According to the elevator control device 10 of this embodiment, the communication device 43 is a short-range wireless communication device. By using short-range wireless communication in this way, it is possible to detect users who are in a very limited range, such as inside the elevator car 41, and to more reliably identify users who are riding inside the elevator car 41.

[0082] (Variation 1) Next, an elevator control device of Modification 1 of the embodiment will be described using Figure 7. The elevator control device of Modification 1 differs from the embodiment described above in that the requirements for re-registration in the event of a mismatch in identification numbers are different. Hereafter, the same reference numerals will be used to describe the same components as in the embodiment described above.

[0083] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for responding to a call from a mobile terminal 50 in an elevator control device according to a modified example 1 of the embodiment.

[0084] As shown in Figure 7, the elevator control device of Modified Example 1 also performs the processing in steps S101 to S106, similar to the elevator control device 10 of the above-described embodiment. In addition to these processing steps, the elevator control device of Modified Example 1 performs the processing in steps S207 to S208.

[0085] In other words, if a call with the same content is re-registered and associated with the same identification number due to a mismatch in identification numbers (Step S104: No) and the absence of a predetermined number of identical calls within a predetermined time (Step S105: No) (Step S106), the transmitting / receiving unit of Modification 1 monitors whether or not vertical movement is detected in the mobile terminal 50 having the identification number associated with the call registration (Step S207).

[0086] In the elevator control device of Modification 1, the transmitting and receiving unit is configured to exchange various types of information with the mobile terminal 50 via the elevator cloud 100 over the network, and to acquire location information from the mobile terminal 50 using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), etc. Permission to acquire location information from the mobile terminal 50 is assumed to be obtained, for example, when the user contract for the elevator call application is signed.

[0087] In step S207, the transmitting / receiving unit of the modified example 1 acquires location information from a mobile terminal 50 having an identification number linked to the call registration using a GNSS function or the like. This makes it possible to monitor whether the mobile terminal 50 is moving up or down within the facility where the elevator is installed.

[0088] If vertical movement of the mobile terminal 50 is detected (Step S207: Yes), it is assumed that the user of the mobile terminal 50 has abandoned the use of the elevator and is heading to the desired destination floor by other means of transportation such as stairs or escalators. In addition, if the elevator system of Modification 1 has multiple elevator cars 41, it is also possible that the user has boarded another elevator car 41 and is heading to the desired destination floor.

[0089] Therefore, in this case, the registration unit 12 cancels the re-registration of the call performed in step S106 (step S208).

[0090] If no vertical movement of the mobile terminal 50 is detected (step S207: No), it is assumed that the user who initially missed boarding the elevator car 41 still needs the next elevator car 41. Therefore, the process in step S208 is skipped, and the re-registration of the call made in step S106 is maintained.

[0091] With the above steps completed, the response processing of the elevator control device of Modified Example 1 is finished.

[0092] Note that the processing in step S207 may be performed before the processing in step S106. In this case, if the registration unit 12 detects vertical movement of the mobile terminal 50 (step S207: Yes), it may choose not to perform the re-registration of the above call (step S106) at all.

[0093] Furthermore, the processing in step S207 may be performed before or after the processing in step S106. In this case, if vertical movement of the mobile terminal 50 is detected before the re-registration of the call (step S106) (step S207: Yes), the re-registration may be omitted. If vertical movement of the mobile terminal 50 is detected after the re-registration of the call (step S106) (step S207: Yes), the re-registration may be canceled (step S208).

[0094] According to the elevator control device of Modification 1, even if the identification number acquired by the elevator car 41 does not match the identification number acquired along with the call from the mobile terminal 50, and if call registrations associated with the same identification number have not been made a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time, the registration unit 12 will not re-register the call, or will cancel the re-registration of the call, when it detects the vertical movement of the mobile terminal 50 that made the call. This further suppresses the re-registration of unnecessary calls.

[0095] The elevator control device of Modified Example 1 also provides the same effects as the elevator control device 10 of the above-described embodiment.

[0096] (Modification 2) Next, the elevator system 2 of the modified embodiment 2 will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. The elevator system 2 of the modified embodiment 2 differs from the above-described embodiment in that it performs verification of identification numbers acquired by multiple elevator cars 41. Hereafter, the same reference numerals will be used to describe the same components as in the above-described embodiment.

[0097] Figure 8 shows an example of the configuration of the elevator system 2 according to a modified example of the embodiment 2.

[0098] As shown in Figure 8, the elevator system 2 of the modified example 2 is equipped with an elevator control device 20 instead of the elevator control device 10 of the above-described embodiment.

[0099] In addition to the functional configuration of the elevator control device 10 in the above-described embodiment, the elevator control device 20 has an allocation unit 24, and is configured to operate multiple elevator cars 41 in a group management manner.

[0100] The assignment unit 24, instead of a system where multiple elevator cars 41 sequentially respond to multiple calls, such as a shared-ride system, assigns individual calls to the appropriate elevator car 41 as needed, depending on the situation at the time. This allows the elevator system 2 to operate multiple elevator cars 41 more efficiently.

[0101] Unlike, for example, a passenger transport system in which multiple elevator cars 41 respond sequentially to a designated call, in a group control system, it is possible that several elevator cars 41 may respond to the same floor's landing almost simultaneously.

[0102] Furthermore, the elevator control device 20 has a verification unit 23 instead of the verification unit 13 provided in the elevator control device 10 of the above-described embodiment.

[0103] Similar to the matching unit 13 in Embodiment 1 described above, the matching unit 23 compares the identification number obtained by the elevator car 41 that responded to the call from the mobile terminal 50 with the identification number obtained along with the call. If these identification numbers do not match, the matching unit 23 also compares the identification number obtained by another elevator car 41 that is different from the elevator car 41 that responded to the call from the mobile terminal 50, and that arrived at the boarding floor specified in the call before or after the elevator car 41 that responded to the call from the mobile terminal 50, with the identification number obtained along with the call.

[0104] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for responding to a call from a mobile terminal 50 in an elevator control device 20 according to a modified example 2 of the embodiment.

[0105] As shown in Figure 9, in the modified elevator control device 20, steps S101 to S106 are performed, similar to the elevator control device 10 in the embodiment described above. In addition to these steps, the modified elevator control device 20 performs steps S307 to S308.

[0106] In other words, if the identification numbers do not match (Step S104: No) and the same call is not made a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time (Step S105: No), and a call with the same content is re-registered and associated with the same identification number (Step S106), the matching unit 23 of the modified example 2 obtains the identification number received in the other elevator car 41 from the communication device 43 in that elevator car 41. The matching unit 23 also compares the identification number received in the elevator car 41 with the identification number associated with the call from the mobile terminal 50 and determines whether they match or not (Step S307).

[0107] In this case, the other elevator cars 41 subject to identification number verification can be the elevator cars 41 that arrived at the boarding floor specified in the call, either before or after the elevator car 41 that initially responded to the call from the mobile terminal 50. As mentioned above, in the group management system, several elevator cars 41 may arrive at the same floor boarding area at approximately the same time, and it is possible that a user may mistakenly board an elevator car 41 other than the one that responded. However, the verification unit 23 may perform identification number verification on all elevator cars 41 provided by the elevator system 2.

[0108] If any of the identification numbers obtained from other elevator cars 41 match the identification number associated with the above call (Step S307: Yes), it is considered that the user of the mobile terminal 50 is traveling to the desired destination floor in an elevator car 41 different from the one that responded to the call.

[0109] Therefore, in this case, the registration unit 12 cancels the re-registration of the call performed in step S106 (step S308).

[0110] If no identification number obtained from other elevators 41 matches the identification number associated with the above call (Step S307: No), it is assumed that the user who initially missed the elevator 41 that was responded to still needs the next elevator 41. Therefore, the process in Step S308 is skipped, and the re-registration of the call made in Step S106 is maintained.

[0111] With the above steps completed, the response processing of the elevator control device 20 in modified example 2 is finished.

[0112] Note that the processing in step S307 may be performed before the processing in step S106. In this case, if the registration unit 12 finds a matching identification number among those obtained by other elevator cars 41 (step S307: Yes), it may choose not to perform the re-registration of the above call (step S106) at all.

[0113] Furthermore, the processing in step S307 may be performed before or after the processing in step S106. In this case, if a matching identification number appears before the re-registration of the above call (step S106) (step S307: Yes), the re-registration may be omitted, and if a matching identification number appears after the re-registration of the above call (step S106) (step S307: Yes), the re-registration may be canceled (step S308).

[0114] According to the elevator control device 20 of Modified Example 2, even if the identification number obtained by the elevator car 41 does not match the identification number obtained along with the call from the mobile terminal 50, and if call registrations associated with the same identification number have not been made a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time, the registration unit 12 will not re-register the call, or will cancel the re-registration of the call, if the identification number obtained by another elevator car 41 matches the identification number obtained along with the call from the mobile terminal 50. This further reduces the occurrence of unnecessary call re-registrations.

[0115] The elevator control device 20 of the modified example 2 also provides the same effects as the elevator control device 10 of the above-described embodiment.

[0116] It should be noted that the configurations of elevator systems 1 and 2 shown in the above-described embodiments and modified examples 1 and 2 are merely examples, and the elevator system may have a configuration different from that shown above.

[0117] For example, the elevator cloud 100 may include some of the functional configurations of the elevator control devices 10 and 20 in any of the above-described embodiments and modified examples 1 and 2. Furthermore, the remaining functional configurations of any of the elevator control devices 10 and 20 may be included in the individual elevator control devices A 30A, B 30B, and C 30C. In this case, the elevator control devices 10 and 20 may be eliminated, and the elevator cloud 100 itself may be configured to exchange information with the individual elevator control devices A 30A, B 30B, and C 30C.

[0118] Alternatively, for example, the elevator cloud 100 may be configured to have all the functional configurations of the elevator control devices 10 and 20, and to be able to exchange information with the individual elevator control devices A 30A, B 30B, and C 30C, eliminating the elevator control devices 10 and 20.

[0119] Furthermore, for example, the individual elevator control devices 30A, 30B, and 30C may each have some of the functional configurations of the elevator control devices 10 and 20 of any of the embodiments and modified examples 1 and 2 described above.

[0120] As an example of how the functional configuration of the elevator control devices 10 and 20 in any of the above embodiments and modified examples 1 and 2 can be shared among multiple configurations, at least the registration unit 12 can be located in a higher-level configuration among the multiple configurations.

[0121] As described above, several embodiments of the present invention have been presented, but these embodiments are provided as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their 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]

[0122] 1,2...Elevator system, 10,20...Elevator control device, 11...Transmitting / receiving unit, 12...Registration unit, 13,23...Verification unit, 24...Assignment unit, 15...Authentication information storage unit, 16...Call registration storage unit, 30A...Unit A control device, 30B...Unit B control device, 30C...Unit C control device, 40A...Unit A, 40B...Unit B, 40C...Unit C, 41...Elevator car, 42...Landing call button, 43...Communication device, 50...Portable terminal.

Claims

1. A receiving unit that receives calls to the elevator from multiple user terminals, along with an identification number that uniquely identifies each of the multiple user terminals, A registration unit that associates the aforementioned identification number with the aforementioned call and registers the call, The elevator includes a verification unit that compares an identification number obtained from a user terminal inside one of the elevator cars that responded to the call, with the identification number obtained when the call was received. The aforementioned registration unit is At least on the condition that the first identification number obtained in the aforementioned elevator and the second identification number obtained along with the aforementioned call do not match, the same identification number as the second identification number is associated with the aforementioned call, and the aforementioned call is re-registered with the same content as the aforementioned call. Elevator control device.

2. The aforementioned registration unit is Even if the first identification number and the second identification number do not match, if the call registration associated with the second identification number has been performed a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined time, the call registration will not be performed again. The elevator control device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned registration unit is Even if the first identification number and the second identification number do not match, and the call registration associated with the second identification number has not been performed more than the predetermined number of times within the predetermined time, if vertical movement of the user terminal from which the call was made is detected among the multiple user terminals, the system will not re-register the call, or will cancel the re-registration. The elevator control device according to claim 2.

4. The receiving unit is Using the GNSS function, the vertical movement of the user terminal from which the call was made is detected. The elevator control device according to claim 3.

5. The aforementioned verification unit is The elevator has a third identification number obtained from a user terminal in a different elevator car than the one that responded to the call, and the second identification number is compared with the third identification number. The aforementioned registration unit is Even if the first identification number and the second identification number do not match, and the call registration associated with the second identification number has not been performed more than the predetermined number of times within the predetermined time, if the third identification number obtained by the other elevator car matches the second identification number, the call will not be re-registered, or the re-registration will be canceled. The elevator control device according to claim 2.

6. The aforementioned elevator car is, The vehicle has a communication device that obtains the identification number from the user terminal inside the vehicle. The elevator control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The aforementioned communication device is a short-range wireless communication device. The elevator control device according to claim 6.

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