Control equipment and elevator systems

Abstract

To provide a management device and an elevator system that can provide content having effective attributes for each passenger.SOLUTION: A management device is an elevator system that assigns a call from a passenger including a departure floor to multiple cars that are playing different types of content internally, the management device comprising a first acquisition unit that acquires content attributes of each content being played in the multiple cars, a second acquisition unit that acquires passenger attributes of the passenger, an assignment unit that determines the car among the multiple cars in which the content of the content attributes matching the passenger attributes is being played as an assigned car, and a command unit that assigns the call from the passenger to the assigned car.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an elevator management apparatus and an elevator system. [Background Art]

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses an elevator system. In said elevator system, attributes of passengers riding in the car are acquired. Content having attributes corresponding to the attributes of the passengers can be played within the car. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[0003] [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-070273 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] In general, a plurality of passengers often ride together in a car, and the plurality of passengers each have various attributes. In the elevator system described in Patent Literature 1, when passengers having various attributes ride together in the car, there is a risk that content corresponding to the attributes of one passenger but not corresponding to the attributes of another passenger will be played.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-described problem. An object of the present disclosure is to provide a management apparatus and an elevator system capable of providing content with effective attributes to each passenger. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0006] The management device relating to this disclosure is an elevator device that assigns calls from passengers, including the departure floor, to multiple elevator cars in which different types of content are being played internally, and comprises: a first acquisition unit that acquires the content attributes of each of the multiple elevator cars being played; a second acquisition unit that acquires the passenger attributes of the passengers; an assignment unit that determines which of the multiple elevator cars is playing content with content attributes that match the passenger attributes as the assigned elevator car; and a command unit that assigns calls from passengers to the assigned elevator car.

[0007] The elevator system according to this disclosure comprises a plurality of cars, a plurality of playback means provided in each of the plurality of cars for playing content inside the car, a reception means for receiving calls from passengers including the departure floor, and a management means for assigning passenger calls operated by the reception means to one of the plurality of cars. The management means includes a first acquisition unit for acquiring content attributes of each of the contents being played in the plurality of cars, a second acquisition unit for acquiring passenger attributes of passengers, an assignment unit for determining which of the plurality of cars is playing content with content attributes that match the passenger attributes as the assigned car, and a command unit for assigning passenger calls to the assigned car. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to this disclosure, passenger calls are assigned to a cart playing content with content attributes that match the passenger's attributes. This allows for the provision of attribute-specific content to each passenger. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing the configuration of a building to which the elevator system in Embodiment 1 is applied. [Figure 2] This is a functional block diagram of the elevator system in Embodiment 1. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of a screen displayed on the elevator landing display device in Embodiment 1. [Figure 4]This is a flowchart of the operations performed by the management device in Embodiment 1. [Figure 5] This is a functional block diagram of the elevator system in Embodiment 2. [Figure 6] This is a hardware configuration diagram of the management device in Embodiments 1 and 2. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments for implementing this disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. The explanation of such parts will be simplified or omitted as appropriate.

[0011] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a diagram of the building structure to which the elevator system in Embodiment 1 is applied. Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the elevator system in Embodiment 1. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the landing display device of the elevator system in Embodiment 1. Figure 4 is a flowchart of the operations performed by the management device in Embodiment 1.

[0012] As shown in Figure 1, the elevator system 1 comprises a plurality of elevator devices 50 and a control device 2. The control device 2, acting as a so-called group control device, assigns passenger calls to one of the plurality of elevator devices 50.

[0013] As an example, a building may be equipped with four elevator systems 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d. Each of the elevator systems 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d has a similar configuration.

[0014] The elevator system 50a comprises a drive unit 51a, a car 52a, a control panel 53a, a car operation panel 54a, and a regenerator 55a. The drive unit 51a raises and lowers the car 52a via a main rope. The control panel 53a controls the operation of the car 52a by controlling the drive of the drive unit 51a. Specifically, the control panel 53a registers the call assigned by the management device 2 and moves the car 52a to the departure floor included in the call. After that, the control panel 53a controls the car 52a to move to the destination floor. The car operation panel 54a is installed inside the car 52a. The car operation panel 54a receives car calls, including the destination floor, from passengers traveling in the car 52a.

[0015] The player 55a is installed in the elevator car 52a. As a playback means, the player 55a can play content inside the elevator car 52a. That is, in elevator system 1, content is played inside the elevator car 52a by the player 55a.

[0016] The term "content" as used herein refers to digital content, which is the realization of sounds, images, etc., that are perceived by human hearing, sight, etc. Content includes music, images, videos, etc. For example, images or videos include those displayed on a display device by the player 55a, those projected onto the floor or walls by a projector inside the cage 52a, and those displayed visibly by augmented reality display means. Playback as used herein means that music, images, or videos are output in a manner that is perceived by humans.

[0017] This embodiment describes an example in which video content is played back. In this case, the players 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d are display devices that play back video.

[0018] Similarly, the elevator device 50b includes a driving machine 51b, a car 52b, a control panel 53b, a car operation panel 54b, and a regenerator 55b. Similarly, the elevator device 50c includes a driving machine 51c, a car 52c, a control panel 53c, a car operation panel 54c, and a regenerator 55c. Similarly, the elevator device 50d includes a driving machine 51d, a car 52d, a control panel 53d, a car operation panel 54d, and a regenerator 55d.

[0019] The elevator system 1 further includes a hall operation panel 3, an acquisition device 4, a hall display device 5, a server device 6, and a regeneration control device 7. The hall operation panel 3, the acquisition device 4, and the hall display device 5 are provided at a hall H where passengers get into the cars 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d. Although not shown in the figures, the hall operation panel 3, the acquisition device 4, and the hall display device 5 may be provided at the hall H on each floor of a building.

[0020] The hall operation panel 3 accepts a hall call operation including at least a departure floor from a passenger at the hall H. The hall operation panel 3 may be configured by a button or a touch mechanism indicating an upward or downward direction, or may be configured by a button or a touch mechanism indicating a destination floor. The hall operation panel 3 may be configured to be capable of reading an IC card, and generate a hall call by reading the IC card. The hall call may further include a destination floor.

[0021] The acquisition device 4 is capable of acquiring passenger attributes, which are attributes of passengers. Any items indicating personal attributes such as age, gender, occupation, hobbies and interests can be set as passenger attributes. The acquisition device 4 may be any device capable of acquiring passenger attributes. For example, the acquisition device 4 may be configured by a camera and a device that estimates passenger attributes of a passenger appearing in a video by analyzing the video captured by the camera. For example, the acquisition device 4 may be a part of the hall operation panel 3, and configured by a device that estimates passenger attributes from information included in a read IC card. As described above, the hall operation panel 3 and the acquisition device 4 may be integrally installed in the same housing, or may be installed as separate devices in separate housings.

[0022] The boarding area display device 5 is a display device that displays information to passengers at boarding area H. The boarding area display device 5 is capable of communicating with at least the management device 2.

[0023] The server device 6 is located in a building separate from the building where the elevator device 50 is installed. The server device 6 can communicate with the passenger's mobile terminal 80 and the management device 2.

[0024] A dedicated application is installed on the mobile terminal 80. The mobile terminal 80 receives a call request from a passenger, including the departure floor and destination floor. The mobile terminal 80 sends the call request, including the call, to the server device 6. In the application, the passenger attributes of the passenger carrying the mobile terminal 80 may be pre-configured. In this case, the call request may include information about the configured passenger attributes.

[0025] When the server device 6 receives a call request from the mobile terminal 80 that includes a call to the elevator system 1, it transmits the call included in the call request to the management device 2.

[0026] The playback control device 7 can communicate with each of the playback devices 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d via wired or wireless connection. The playback control device 7 can also communicate with the management device 2. The playback control device 7 controls the type and content of the content played back by the playback devices 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d.

[0027] The management device 2 obtains identification information of the content being played back by each of the players 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d from the playback control device 7. When the management device 2, which is a management means, receives a call included in a landing call from the landing control panel 3 or a call request from the server device 6, it determines which elevator car to assign the call to from among elevators 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d, based on the content being played back by the players 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d and the passenger attributes of the passenger who made the call. Subsequently, the call is registered in the elevator car determined to be assigned from among elevators 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d, and the assigned elevator car is dispatched to the departure floor included in the call.

[0028] In this case, passenger calls can be received by a reception system consisting of a server device 6 and a mobile terminal 80, or by a boarding control panel 3. Passenger attributes can be obtained by a passenger attribute acquisition system consisting of a server device 6 and a mobile terminal 80, or by an acquisition device 4.

[0029] Next, we will explain the functions of elevator system 1 in more detail using Figure 2.

[0030] The server device 6 includes, functionally, a request acquisition unit 61 and a call transmission unit 62. The request acquisition unit 61 acquires call requests from the mobile terminal 80. The request acquisition unit 61 identifies the target building from the call request. The call transmission unit 62 transmits the acquired call request to the management device 2 located in the building identified by the request acquisition unit 61.

[0031] The playback control device 7 includes, functionally, a storage unit 71 and a playback unit 72. The storage unit 71 stores information on multiple content items. The content information includes the video content, which is the content of the video. For example, the content information includes items such as "math quiz," "stock price information," and "baseball game results" as video content. Each piece of video content is identifiable as video identification information.

[0032] The playback unit 72 causes the playback units 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d to play back the content information stored in the storage unit 71, respectively. The content to be played back may be selected randomly, or it may be selected according to rules stipulated in the contract with the contractor to whom the content is to be played back.

[0033] The management device 2 includes, as functions, a first acquisition unit 21, a second acquisition unit 22, an allocation unit 23, and a command unit 24.

[0034] The first acquisition unit 21 acquires information from the playback control device 7 about the content being played back by the players 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d, that is, the content being played back inside the cages 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d, respectively. The first acquisition unit 21 has content correspondence information stored in advance. Based on the content correspondence information and the information acquired from the playback control device 7, the first acquisition unit 21 acquires the content attributes of the content being played back inside the cages 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d, respectively.

[0035] Content compatibility information includes a mapping between the video content, which is the content itself, and the content attributes, which are the attributes of that content. Content attributes are the attributes of the people the content primarily targets. For example, the following mapping is made in the content compatibility information, as shown in Table 1 below.

[0036] [Table 1]

[0037] As shown in Table 1, the video content includes "math quizzes," "stock price information," and "baseball game results." Corresponding content attributes include "for children," "for office workers," "for office workers who work at securities companies," and "for people whose hobby is baseball." As shown in the row for "stock price information," multiple content attributes may be associated with a single piece of content. In addition, any items can be set for the content attributes, such as "for adults," "for teenagers," "for people who work at electronics manufacturers," "for writers," "for doctors," "for people whose hobby is skiing," "for people whose hobby is rugby," and "for people whose hobby is cooking."

[0038] The content information may already include content attributes. In this case, the first acquisition unit 21 will acquire the content attributes of the content being played back inside cages 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d from the playback control device 7.

[0039] When the second acquisition unit 22 receives a call from a passenger, it acquires the passenger attributes of the passenger who made the call from the acquisition means, which is a combination of the server device 6 and the mobile terminal 80 or the acquisition device 4.

[0040] The allocation unit 23 calculates a matching index between content attributes and passenger attributes. The matching index is an indicator of the relationship between content attributes and passenger attributes, and is a value that shows the degree of matching between the two attributes. The higher the relationship between content attributes and passenger attributes, the larger the matching index. The allocation unit 23 can employ any method to calculate the matching index. For example, the allocation unit 23 stores a relationship table showing the correspondence between content attributes and passenger attributes and calculates the matching index based on the relationship table.

[0041] [Table 2]

[0042] As shown in the relationship table in Table 2, for example, the content attribute "for children" is associated with the passenger attributes "age is child" (6 to 15 years old) and "has children in the family." That is, when the content attribute is "for children" and the passenger attribute is "has children in the family," the matching index calculated by the allocation unit 23 will be large. In this case, the allocation unit 23 may determine that the matching index is at its highest value, i.e., that it "matches."

[0043] In addition, the allocation unit 23 may calculate the matching index using methods other than the relationship table example, such as using a model for calculating the matching index.

[0044] The allocation unit 23 calculates the matching index of the content attributes of the content being played in cars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d for each passenger attribute corresponding to the call. Then, the allocation unit 23 determines the cart among cars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d that is playing content with content attributes that match the passenger attribute corresponding to the call as the allocated cart. At this time, the allocation unit 23 determines that the content with the content attribute that has the highest matching index with the passenger attribute among the content being played in cars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d is a match.

[0045] The allocation unit 23 may select multiple candidate cars from among cars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d before determining the assigned car. The multiple candidate cars may be cars to which a call can be assigned, or cars to which operation efficiency will not decrease even if a call is assigned. The allocation unit 23 may also determine the assigned car from among the multiple candidate cars to be the one in which content with content attributes that match the passenger attributes corresponding to the call is being played.

[0046] The command unit 24 assigns the call to the assigned elevator car determined by the assignment unit 23. That is, the command unit 24 sends a command to the control panel 53a, 53b, 53c, 53d that controls the assigned elevator car to register the call. The command unit 24 causes the landing display device 5 to display information indicating that it will guide passengers to the registered assigned elevator car.

[0047] As shown in Figure 3, the landing display device 5 displays the position of the elevator car 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d that has been assigned to the landing H with an arrow X. For example, elevator cars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d are named A, B, C, and D, respectively. Alternatively, elevator cars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d may be named 001, 002, 003, 004, or any other name.

[0048] Furthermore, the boarding display device 5 may also display information that identifies the passenger who initiated the call, such as "Passenger who has requested to go to the 5th floor" or "Female passenger," along with the location of the assigned elevator car.

[0049] The flowchart shown in Figure 4 begins when a passenger makes a call to the reception system, including a call to the departure floor.

[0050] In step S1, the management device 2 receives a call. Then, in step S2, the second acquisition unit 22 of the management device 2 acquires the passenger attributes of the passenger who made the call from the acquisition means. In step S3, the first acquisition unit 21 of the management device 2 acquires the content attributes of the content being played in the cars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d, respectively. Note that the operations in step S2 and step S3 may be performed in the reverse order.

[0051] Subsequently, in step S4, the allocation unit 23 determines the allocated elevator car. Then, in step S5, the command unit 24 sends a command to the control panel that controls the allocated elevator car to register the call and dispatch the elevator. Then, in step S6, the command unit 24 causes the landing display device 5 to display information indicating that the allocated elevator car will be guided.

[0052] Subsequently, the control device 2 terminates the operation of the flowchart.

[0053] According to Embodiment 1 described above, the elevator system 1 comprises a plurality of elevator cars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d, a plurality of playback means, namely playback devices 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d, a reception means for receiving calls, and a management device 2, namely a management means. The management device 2 comprises a first acquisition unit 21, a second acquisition unit 22, an assignment unit 23, and a command unit 24. The assignment unit 23 determines the assigned elevator car in which content with content attributes matching the passenger's attributes is being played. The command unit 24 assigns the call to the assigned elevator car. In the prior art, content corresponding to the passenger's attributes was played after the passenger boarded the elevator car. In this case, it was difficult to provide content suitable for each passenger. Also, because content with content attributes that try to correspond to various passenger attributes is often played, the played content tends to be bland, and there is a risk that the range of content genres will be narrow. In this embodiment, the management device 2 assigns a call from a passenger to an elevator car in which content with content attributes matching the passenger's attributes is being played. In other words, passenger calls are assigned to carriages 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d according to their content attributes. Therefore, each carriage 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d is filled with passengers whose content attributes match. As a result, content with attributes that are effective for each passenger can be provided. Furthermore, because there is no need to prepare content tailored to diverse passenger attributes, a wide range of content genres can be played.

[0054] Furthermore, the allocation unit 23 calculates a matching index and determines the cart playing the content with the highest matching index as the allocated cart. This makes it possible to quantitatively determine whether the passenger attributes and content attributes match.

[0055] Furthermore, the allocation unit 23 calculates a matching index. The allocation unit 23 selects several candidate elevator cars from among the multiple cars 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d that can be assigned a call. The allocation unit 23 determines the candidate elevator car that is playing the content with the highest matching index among the multiple candidate elevator cars to be the assigned elevator car. In this way, the management device 2 can provide each passenger with content with effective attributes while maintaining the operational efficiency of the elevator system 1.

[0056] The command unit 24 may also display information regarding the location of the assigned cart on the passenger's mobile terminal 80.

[0057] Furthermore, each of the players 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d may play only one or more pieces of content, each having one content attribute. In this case, the content attributes of the content played by players 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d may all be different. In this case, content information is stored in players 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d, and a playback control device 7 may not be provided. In this case, the first acquisition unit 21 may have already acquired the content attributes of the content to be played by players 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d. Even in this case, the management device 2 can determine which assigned car is playing content with content attributes that match the passenger attributes.

[0058] Embodiment 2. Figure 5 is a functional block diagram of the elevator system in Embodiment 2. Parts identical or corresponding to those in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals. Descriptions of these parts are omitted.

[0059] In Embodiment 2, the management device 2 further includes a content command unit 25 as a function. The content command unit 25 transmits commands to the playback control device 7 specifying the content attributes to be played in each of the cages 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d.

[0060] For example, a command is sent to the playback control device 7 so that content with different content attributes is played in each of the baskets 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d. For example, a command is sent to the playback control device 7 so that content with the same content attributes is played in half of the baskets 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d during a certain time period.

[0061] The playback control device 7 plays content in cages 52a, 52b, 52c, and 52d according to commands from the content command unit 25.

[0062] According to Embodiment 2 described above, the management device 2 further includes a content command unit 25 as a function. The content command unit 25 specifies the content attributes of the content to be played so that content with different content attributes is played. Therefore, the management device 2 can create a situation in which content with the highest possible match index for various passenger attributes is played. As a result, content with attributes that are as effective as possible can be provided to each passenger.

[0063] The content command unit 25 may also be provided as a function of the playback control device 7.

[0064] Next, we will explain an example of the hardware that makes up the management device 2 using Figure 6. Figure 6 is a hardware configuration diagram of the management device in Embodiments 1 and 2.

[0065] Each function of the management device 2 can be implemented by a processing circuit. For example, the processing circuit comprises at least one processor 100a and at least one memory 100b. For example, the processing circuit comprises at least one dedicated hardware 200.

[0066] When the processing circuit comprises at least one processor 100a and at least one memory 100b, each function of the management device 2 is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. At least one of the software and firmware is written as a program. At least one of the software and firmware is stored in at least one memory 100b. At least one processor 100a realizes each function of the management device 2 by reading and executing the program stored in at least one memory 100b. At least one processor 100a is also called a central processing unit, processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP. For example, at least one memory 100b is a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, minidisc, DVD, etc.

[0067] If the processing circuit comprises at least one dedicated piece of hardware 200, the processing circuit may be implemented as, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof. For example, each function of the management device 2 may be implemented by a processing circuit. For example, each function of the management device 2 may be implemented together by a processing circuit.

[0068] For each function of the management device 2, some may be implemented by dedicated hardware 200, and others by software or firmware. For example, at least some of the functions of the allocation unit 23 may be implemented by a processing circuit as dedicated hardware 200, and the functions of the other parts of the allocation unit 23 may be implemented by at least one processor 100a reading and executing a program stored in at least one memory 100b.

[0069] In this way, the processing circuit implements each function of the management device 2 using hardware 200, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.

[0070] Although not shown in the diagram, the functions of the acquisition device 4 and the server device 6 are also implemented using processing circuits equivalent to those that implement the functions of the management device 2.

[0071] Furthermore, at least some of the functions of the management device 2 may be implemented on a cloud server. In this case, the processing circuit is composed of multiple sub-circuits. Each of the multiple sub-processing circuits is provided on one of the multiple devices that make up the cloud server. Each of the multiple devices that make up the cloud server may be located in a different building. In this case, the functions of the management device 2 that are implemented on the cloud server are involved in the control of the elevator devices 50 by communicating with the multiple elevator devices 50 via a network. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0072] 1 Elevator system, 2 Management device, 3 Landing control panel, 4 Acquisition device, 5 Landing display device, 6 Server device, 7 Playback control device, 21 First acquisition unit, 22 Second acquisition unit, 23 Allocation unit, 24 Command unit, 25 Content command unit, 50, 50a, 50b, 50c, 50d Elevator device, 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d Drive unit, 52a, 52b, 52c, 52d Car, 53a, 53b, 53c, 53d Control panel, 54a, 54b, 54c, 54d Car operation panel, 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d Playback unit, 61 Request acquisition unit, 62 Call transmission unit, 71 Storage unit, 72 Playback unit, 80 Mobile terminal 100a Processor, 100b Memory, 200 Hardware, H Platform

Claims

1. An elevator system that assigns calls from passengers, including the departure floor, to multiple elevator cars, each playing different types of content internally, A first acquisition unit that acquires the content attributes of each piece of content being played in the aforementioned multiple baskets, A second acquisition unit for acquiring the passenger attributes of the aforementioned passenger, An assignment unit determines which of the plurality of seats is the assigned seat in which content matching the passenger attributes is being played. A command unit that assigns the passenger's call to the aforementioned assigned cart, A management device equipped with this device.

2. The allocation unit calculates a matching index between the passenger attributes and the content attributes, and determines the allocation cart to be the cart in which the content with the highest matching index among the multiple carts is being played. The control device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned allocation unit is The matching index between the passenger attributes and the content attributes is calculated, Select several candidate baskets from the aforementioned multiple baskets to which a call can be assigned. Among the multiple candidate baskets mentioned above, the candidate basket in which the content with the highest matching index is being played is determined to be the assigned basket. The control device according to claim 1.

4. A content command unit that specifies the content attributes of the content to be played so that content with different content attributes is played in each of the aforementioned multiple baskets, A control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising the above.

5. Multiple baskets, Each of the aforementioned multiple cages is provided with multiple playback means for playing content inside the provided cage, A reception system that accepts calls from passengers, including the departure floor, A management means that assigns the passenger call, operated by the reception means, to one of the multiple elevators, Equipped with, The aforementioned management means is A first acquisition unit that acquires the content attributes of each piece of content being played in the aforementioned multiple baskets, A second acquisition unit for acquiring the passenger attributes of the aforementioned passenger, An assignment unit determines which of the plurality of seats is the assigned seat in which content matching the passenger attributes is being played. A command unit that assigns the passenger's call to the aforementioned assigned cart, An elevator system equipped with [a specific feature / feature].

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