Destination floor registration system and control method

Abstract

The present invention provides a destination floor registration system equipped with multiple group control devices having an improved configuration. [Solution] The destination floor registration system (100) comprises a plurality of elevators (3), a plurality of group control devices (1) that manage each of the plurality of elevators, and a destination floor registration device (4) that is communicatively connected to each of the plurality of group control devices. The destination floor registration device transmits an assignment request to the group control device that manages elevators whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor, requesting that the elevator be assigned to the user's destination floor call. The group control device then assigns an elevator unit to the received assignment request.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a destination floor registration system comprising a plurality of group management control devices and a control method for the destination floor registration system. BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Conventionally, in buildings, a plurality of elevators are installed, and these plurality of elevators are sometimes grouped into a plurality of control units called "banks". In a conventional system provided with such elevators, each of the plurality of group management control devices manages elevators belonging to different banks respectively (for example, Patent Document 1). When a user performs an operation for registering a destination floor call with respect to a destination floor registration device, an elevator car is allocated to the destination floor call by the group management control device. PRIOR ART DOCUMENT PATENT DOCUMENT

[0003] Patent Document 1 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2019-142651 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0004] In a conventional system, a destination floor call with the departure floor and destination floor being service floors of an elevator belonging to a bank different from the corresponding bank may be registered with a destination floor registration device corresponding to a certain bank. In a conventional system, when such a destination floor call is registered, a communication path for performing an allocation request from the destination floor registration device to the group management control device and provision of an allocation result from the group management control device to the destination floor registration device may become complicated.

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is a destination floor registration system provided with a plurality of group management control devices, and an object thereof is to provide a destination floor registration system having a more improved configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] To solve the above problems, a destination floor registration system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of elevators whose service floors differ from each other in some respects, a plurality of group control devices for managing each of the plurality of elevators, and a destination floor registration device for registering destination floor calls of users of the elevators, wherein each of the plurality of group control devices and the destination floor registration device are communicateable with each other, and the destination floor registration device transmits an assignment request to the group control device that manages the elevators whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor, based on the input for a destination floor call by the user, requesting the assignment of an elevator unit to the user's destination floor call, and the group control device assigns an elevator unit to the received assignment request.

[0007] To solve the above problems, a control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a control method for a destination floor registration system comprising: a plurality of elevators whose service floors differ from each other in some respects; a plurality of group control devices each managing the plurality of elevators; and a destination floor registration device for registering destination floor calls of users of the elevators, wherein each of the plurality of group control devices and the destination floor registration device are communicateable with each other, and the method includes: a transmission step in which the destination floor registration device transmits an assignment request to the group control device that manages the elevators whose service floors include at least the user's departure floor and destination floor, based on an input for a destination floor call by the user, requesting the assignment of an elevator unit to the user's destination floor call; and an assignment step in which the group control device assigns an elevator unit to the received assignment request.

[0008] Each aspect of the present invention may be implemented by a computer, in which case a control program for the destination floor registration system that implements the destination floor registration system by operating the computer as each part (software element) of the destination floor registration system, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the control program is recorded, also fall within the scope of the present invention. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, a destination floor registration system having a more improved configuration can be provided. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the destination floor registration system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 2] This diagram shows an example of elevator installation on the lobby floor of a building. [Figure 3] This is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing flow performed by the destination floor registration system. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the destination floor registration system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the destination floor registration system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] [Embodiment 1] <Overview of Destination Floor Registration System 100> Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the destination floor registration system 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The destination floor registration system 100 is a system having a plurality of so-called elevator banks (banks). The number of banks provided by the destination floor registration system 100 may be two or three or more. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the destination floor registration system 100 will be described using a configuration in which it has two banks, a first bank 10A and a second bank 10B, as an example. The first bank 10A includes at least one first elevator 3A belonging to the first bank 10A, a first elevator control device 2A that controls the first elevator 3A, and a first group management control device 1A that manages the allocation of the first elevator 3A. The second bank 10B includes at least one second elevator 3B belonging to the second bank 10B, a second elevator control device 2B that controls the second elevator 3B, and a second group management control device 1B that manages the allocation of the second elevator 3B.

[0012] In this specification, when the first group control device 1A and the second group control device 1B are not distinguished, they will be referred to as "group control device 1". Similarly, when the first elevator control device 2A and the second elevator control device 2B are not distinguished, they will be referred to as "elevator control device 2". Furthermore, when the first elevator 3A and the second elevator 3B are not distinguished, they will be referred to as "elevator 3".

[0013] The destination floor registration system 100 comprises multiple elevators 3 belonging to different banks 10 and multiple group control devices 1. Furthermore, the destination floor registration system 100 includes a destination floor registration device 4 for users of the elevators 3 to register their destination floor requests. In addition, each of the multiple group control devices 1 and the destination floor registration device 4 are communicated with each other.

[0014] In the destination floor registration system 100, elevators 3 belonging to different banks 10 have at least some service floors that differ from each other. For example, the service floors of the first elevator 3A may be the lobby floor (1st floor) and floors 2 through 10, while the service floors of the second elevator 3B may be the lobby floor (1st floor) and floors 10 through 20. In this example, the 1st and 10th floors are common service floors between elevators 3 belonging to different banks, and these are also referred to as "common floors".

[0015] Figure 2 shows an example of the installation of elevators 3 on a common floor of a building according to this embodiment, for example, the lobby floor. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the explanation will be given using as an example a configuration in which there are four first elevators 3A belonging to the first bank 10A and four second elevators 3B belonging to the second bank 10B. Note that the number of banks and the number of elevators 3 included in one bank are not limited to the example in Figure 2.

[0016] In the destination floor registration system 100, the destination floor registration device 4 transmits an assignment request to the group control device 1 to request an assignment for a user's call to a destination floor. Based on the assignment request from the destination floor registration device 4, the group control device 1 assigns elevator unit 3 to the user's call to a destination floor. Hereinafter, the act of assigning elevator unit 3 to a user's call to a destination floor based on the assignment request from the destination floor registration device 4 will also be referred to as "performing an assignment in response to an assignment request."

[0017] In the destination floor registration system 100, the group control device 1 that manages the elevator 3 whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor, among the group control devices 1 that receive the assignment request, makes the assignment in response to the assignment request. Hereinafter, the group control device 1 that manages the elevator 3 whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor will be referred to as the "target group control device 1". As described above, in the destination floor registration device 4, each of the multiple group control devices 1 and the destination floor registration device 4 are communicated with each other. Therefore, the destination floor registration device 4 can directly send an assignment request to the target group control device 1.

[0018] <First group management control device 1A> The first group management control device 1A is a device that manages the first elevator 3A. The first group management control device 1A can receive an allocation request, which is information for requesting registration of a destination floor call, from the destination floor registration device 4. When the first group management control device 1A receives an allocation request and is capable of allocating a car of the first elevator 3A to the user's destination floor call based on the allocation request, it performs allocation in response to the allocation request.

[0019] As shown in Figure 1, the first group management control device 1A includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and an input / output interface 13. The control unit 11 includes an allocation unit 111 and a registration unit 112. The input / output interface 13 is a communication module for the first group management control device 1A to communicate with the first elevator control device 2A and the destination floor registration device 4 for transmitting and receiving information.

[0020] The storage unit 12 stores information indicating results of allocation performed by the allocation unit 111. Specifically, the storage unit 12 stores, in association with each other, information indicating the departure floor, destination floor, and allocated car for a destination floor call that has been allocated by the allocation unit 111 and registered by the registration unit 112. The storage unit 12 also stores information related to the destination floor registration devices 4. Specifically, the storage unit 12 stores, for each destination floor registration device 4, the identification information of each of an input unit 41 and a display unit 42 provided in the destination floor registration device 4, and information indicating the floor where the destination floor registration device 4 is installed.

[0021] (Allocation Unit 111) The allocation unit 111 assigns elevators to users' destination floor calls based on allocation requests received from the destination floor registration device 4. An allocation request is information requesting the allocation of elevator unit 3 to a user's destination floor call, and includes identification information of the input unit 41, which is the source of the allocation request, and information indicating the destination floor entered by the user. When the allocation unit 111 receives an allocation request, it identifies the user's departure floor based on the allocation request. The allocation unit 111 refers to the storage unit 12 based on the identification information of the input unit 41 included in the allocation request and identifies the floor on which the destination floor registration device 4 equipped with the input unit 41 is installed. The allocation unit 111 identifies the identified floor as the user's departure floor. When the allocation unit 111 receives an allocation request from the destination floor registration device 4, it assigns elevator unit 1A to the received allocation request. Here, the allocation unit 111 makes an allocation if it is possible to make an allocation to the allocation request.

[0022] In the destination floor registration system 100, an assignment request is sent to all group control devices 1. Then, the group control device 1 that manages the elevator 3 whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor among the multiple group control devices 1 makes the assignment in response to the assignment request. The assignment unit 111 of the first group control device 1A assigns elevator number 1 of elevator 3A to the received assignment request if elevator number 1A, which is managed by the first group control device 1A, includes the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors. When the assignment unit 111 has made an assignment in response to the assignment request, it outputs information indicating the result of the assignment to the registration unit 112. This information includes information indicating the assigned elevator number and information indicating the user's departure floor and destination floor. If elevator number 1A, which is managed by the first group control device 1A, does not include the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors, the assignment unit 111 terminates processing without making an assignment in response to the assignment request.

[0023] The registration unit 112 registers the user's destination floor call based on the result of the allocation in response to the allocation request. When the allocation unit 111 makes an allocation in response to the allocation request, the registration unit 112 obtains information from the allocation unit 111 indicating the result of the allocation. Upon obtaining this information, the registration unit 112 registers information indicating the user's departure floor, destination floor, and assigned elevator unit in the storage unit 12 based on the obtained information. After registering the user's destination floor call, the registration unit 112 transmits the information regarding the registered destination floor call to the first elevator control device 2A that controls the assigned elevator unit. This information includes information indicating the user's departure floor and destination floor.

[0024] The registration unit 112 then transmits the assignment result information for the assignment request to the display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4, which is the source of the assignment request. Specifically, when the assignment unit 111 registers the user's destination floor call, it refers to the storage unit 12 based on the identification information of the input unit 41 included in the assignment request and identifies the display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4, which is the source of the assignment request. The registration unit 112 then transmits the assignment result information, which includes information indicating the assigned elevator number and the user's destination floor, to the identified display unit 42.

[0025] Furthermore, the registration unit 112 can receive a cancellation signal from the destination floor registration device 4. The cancellation signal is a signal for instructing the cancellation of an assignment and includes information for identifying the assignment to be canceled. For example, when the registration unit 112 registers a destination floor call, it may attach identification information that can identify the destination floor call to the destination floor call. The registration unit 112 may then include this identification information in the assignment result information it transmits and send it to the display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4. The cancellation signal may include identification information of the destination floor call to be canceled. When the registration unit 112 receives a cancellation signal, it identifies the destination floor call to be canceled from the registered destination floor calls and cancels the assignment for the identified destination floor call. Specifically, the registration unit 112 deletes the information regarding the identified destination floor call from the storage unit 12. When the registration unit 112 deletes information related to a destination floor call, it sends a signal to the first elevator control device 2A, which controls the assigned elevator for the deleted destination floor call, instructing it to cancel the said destination floor call.

[0026] <First elevator control device 2A and first elevator 3A> The first elevator control device 2A controls the operation of the first elevator 3A. The first elevator control device 2A receives a call request from the first group control device 1A, which includes information indicating the departure floor and destination floor. Upon receiving the call request, the first elevator control device 2A registers the user's destination floor call based on the call request. Based on the registered destination floor call, the first elevator control device 2A controls the movement of the car of the first elevator 3A to the user's departure floor and destination floor, and the opening and closing of the car doors. If the first elevator control device 2A receives information from the first group control device 1A instructing an extension of the door opening time, it may extend the door opening time of the car of the first elevator 3A. The first elevator 3A moves between floors and opens and closes its doors according to the control of the first elevator control device 2A.

[0027] Furthermore, when the first group control device 1A receives a cancellation signal from the destination floor registration device 4, it cancels the assignment to the assignment request in accordance with the cancellation signal. In this case, the first elevator control device 2A, which controls the elevator assigned to the assignment request, receives a signal from the first group control device 1A instructing it to cancel the destination floor call. This signal may include information to identify the destination floor call to be canceled, such as information indicating the departure floor and destination floor in the destination floor call. Upon receiving this signal, the first elevator control device 2A identifies the destination floor call to be canceled and cancels the destination floor call. Alternatively, when the first elevator control device 2A receives a cancellation signal, it may cancel the most recently registered destination floor call. As a result, the first elevator 3A operates without responding to the canceled destination floor calls.

[0028] <Second group control device 1B, second elevator control device 2B, and second elevator 3B> The second group control device 1B is a device that manages the second elevator 3B. The second group control device 1B has the same configuration as the first group control device 1A, except that the object being managed is the second elevator 3B and not the first elevator 3A.

[0029] The second elevator control device 2B controls the second elevator 3B based on the assignment results of the second group control device 1B. The second elevator 3B is an elevator belonging to a different bank than the first elevator 3A and operates according to the control of the second elevator control device 2B. The service floors of the second elevator 3B may differ in some respects from those of the first elevator 3A, or they may differ completely.

[0030] <Destination Floor Registration Device 4> The destination floor registration device 4 is a device used by users to register their destination floor requests. The destination floor registration device 4 requests the group control device 1 to register the destination floor request in response to user input. As shown in Figure 1, the destination floor registration device 4 comprises an input unit 41 and a display unit 42, and is connected to all group control devices 1. The input unit 41 and the display unit 42 may be separate devices housed in a single housing, or they may be configured as a single integrated device. In this embodiment, the configuration in which the input unit 41 and the display unit 42 are separate devices and housed in a single housing will be used as an example for explanation. The destination floor registration device 4 may be installed on each floor of the building where the elevator 3 is installed. Furthermore, multiple destination floor registration devices 4 may be installed on a single floor.

[0031] (Input section 41) The input unit 41 is a device such as a touch panel and accepts input operations from the user. The input unit 41 can accept input specifying the destination floor for registering a destination floor call. When the input unit 41 receives input from the user for a destination floor call, it sends an assignment request to the group control device 1, which manages elevators 3 that include the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors, requesting the allocation of elevator 3 to the user's destination floor call based on the input.

[0032] The input unit 41 of the destination floor registration device 4 transmits an assignment request to all group control devices 1. As a result, if a group control device 1 corresponding to the target group control device 1 exists, that target group control device 1 can receive the assignment request from the destination floor registration device 4. In addition, after transmitting the assignment request, the input unit 41 transmits information to the display unit 42 indicating that the assignment request has been transmitted.

[0033] According to the above configuration, when the destination floor registration device 4 receives input for a destination floor call, it sends an assignment request to all group control devices 1. Thus, in the above configuration, all group control devices 1 are targets for the assignment request. Therefore, the destination floor registration device 4 can send an assignment request to at least the target group control devices 1, and the target group control devices 1 can perform the assignment based on the assignment request.

[0034] (Display section 42) When the display unit 42 receives allocation result information for an allocation request, it displays a screen containing the allocation result information. Upon receiving the allocation result information, the display unit 42 displays a screen showing the allocated elevator assigned to the allocation request, which is included in the allocation result information. The display unit 42 may also further display information indicating the destination floor of the user who registered the destination floor call.

[0035] According to the above configuration, when an assignment is made to a user's destination floor based on an assignment request, the assignment result information is displayed on the display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4 used by the user. This allows the user to know which elevator 3 they should board. In addition, in the destination floor registration system 100, the destination floor registration device 4 and multiple group control devices 1 are communicated with each other. Therefore, a group control device 1 can directly transmit the assignment result information to the display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4, which is equipped with an input unit 41 that is the source of the assignment request, without going through another group control device 1.

[0036] When the destination floor registration device 4's display unit 42 receives assignment results for an assignment request from multiple group control devices 1, it instructs each of the group control devices 1, except for one, to cancel the assignment. For example, if the display unit 42 receives assignment result information from both the first group control device 1A and the second group control device 1B, the display unit 42 sends a cancellation signal to one of the two group control devices 1 instructing them to cancel the assignment. As another example, if the destination floor registration system 100 has three group control devices 1, and the display unit 42 receives assignment result information from all three group control devices 1, the display unit 42 sends cancellation signals to the remaining two group control devices 1.

[0037] When the display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4 receives assignment results for an assignment request from multiple group control devices 1, it may instruct each of the group control devices 1, except for the group control device 1 that first sent the assignment result, to cancel the assignment. After the input unit 41 sends an assignment request, if the display unit 42 receives assignment result information from one group control device 1, the display unit 42 displays the information. Subsequently, if the display unit 42 receives assignment result information from another group control device 1, the display unit 42 sends a cancellation signal to that group control device 1.

[0038] For example, if the display unit 42 receives assignment result information from the first group control device 1A after receiving assignment result information from the second group control device 1B, it displays the assignment result information received from the first group control device 1A. The display unit 42 then sends a cancellation signal to the second group control device 1B. If the destination floor registration system 100 has three or more group control devices 1, and the display unit 42 receives assignment result information from three or more group control devices 1, the display unit 42 sends a cancellation signal to the group control device 1 that is the source of the second or subsequent received assignment result information.

[0039] In the group control device 1, when an assignment is made to a user's destination floor call based on an assignment request, the user's destination floor call is registered, and elevator 3 responds to the registered destination floor call. Here, the user's floor may be a service floor of elevator 3 belonging to a different bank. For example, consider a case where elevator 3 belonging to the first bank 10A has service floors 1 to 10, and elevator 3 belonging to the second bank 10B has service floors 1 and 10 to 20. In this case, if the user's departure floor is the 1st floor and the destination floor is the 10th floor, the user's floor is a service floor of elevator 3 belonging to a different bank 10.

[0040] In this case, when each of the multiple group control devices 1, which manage elevators 3 belonging to different banks 10, receives an assignment request, each of these group control devices 1 makes an assignment in response to the request. When assignments are made by multiple group control devices 1, multiple elevators 3 will respond to a user's call for their destination floor based on the assignment results of each of the multiple group control devices 1. Since a user can only ride one elevator, responses from other elevators become so-called wasted calls. Thus, depending on the floor used by the user, the operational efficiency of the elevators 3 may decrease.

[0041] In this configuration, when the destination floor registration device 4 receives the assignment result for an assignment request from multiple group control devices 1, it instructs each of the group control devices 1, except for one of the multiple group control devices 1, to cancel the assignment. As a result, only one elevator 3 responds to a user's call for a destination floor, thus reducing the possibility of wasted calls and a decrease in the operational efficiency of the elevator 3.

[0042] If the display unit 42 does not receive allocation result information within a predetermined time after sending an allocation request, it displays a screen indicating that the allocation request was not made. When the input unit 41 sends an allocation request, the display unit 42 receives information from the input unit 41 indicating that an allocation request has been sent. The display unit 42 determines whether or not it has received allocation result information from one of the group control devices 1 within a predetermined time (e.g., 5 seconds) after the input unit 41 sent the allocation request. If the input unit 41 receives allocation result information from one of the group control devices 1 within a predetermined time after sending the allocation request, the display unit 42 displays the information. Alternatively, the display unit 42 sends a cancellation signal to the group control device 1 that sent the information. On the other hand, if the input unit 41 does not receive allocation result information from one of the group control devices 1 within a predetermined time after sending the allocation request, the display unit 42 displays a screen (error screen) indicating that the allocation request was not made.

[0043] If the target group management control device 1 is malfunctioning or undergoing maintenance, or if the elevator 3 managed by the target group management control device 1 is malfunctioning or undergoing maintenance, the target group management control device 1 may be unable to perform the assignment. If an assignment is not made to the user's destination floor, the destination floor registration device 4 may not receive the assignment result information within a predetermined time after sending the assignment request.

[0044] According to the above configuration, if the destination floor registration device 4 fails to receive assignment result information within a predetermined time after sending an assignment request, it displays a screen on the display unit 42 indicating that the assignment request was not made. This allows the user to understand that they cannot reach their desired floor using the elevator 3.

[0045] Conventionally, in systems with multiple banks, destination floor registration devices communicated with only one corresponding group control device. For example, consider a system that includes a low-rise group control device for managing elevators whose service floors are lower floors, and a high-rise group control device for elevators whose service floors are higher floors. In this case, one destination floor registration device constitutes a bank (high-rise bank) together with the high-rise group control device, and another destination floor registration device constitutes a bank (low-rise bank) together with the low-rise group control device. Each destination floor registration device was connected to communicate with the group control device included in the bank to which it belonged. Furthermore, the low-rise group control device and the high-rise group control device were connected to communicate with each other.

[0046] In such conventional systems, destination floor calls were sometimes registered in destination floor registration devices belonging to the lower bank, with the departure floor and destination floor (hereinafter referred to as the "usage floor") being floors corresponding to the upper bank. In this case, the destination floor registration device sends an allocation request to the lower bank group control device, but even if the lower bank group control device receives the allocation request from the destination floor registration device, it cannot make the allocation for that request. Therefore, after the destination floor registration device belonging to the lower bank sends an allocation request to the lower bank group control device, the lower bank group control device forwards the allocation request to the upper bank group control device, and the upper bank group control device makes the allocation based on the allocation request. After the allocation is made by the upper bank group control device, the allocation result is sent to the lower bank group control device, and the lower bank group control device sends the allocation result to the destination floor registration device that made the request.

[0047] Thus, in the conventional system, destination floor registration devices could not directly request assignments from group control devices belonging to different banks, and group control devices could not directly return assignment results to different destination floor registration devices. As described above, the communication paths involved in registering destination floor calls in the conventional system could be complex. Furthermore, in the conventional system, if the group control device for lower floors failed, all destination floor registration devices belonging to the lower bank would become unusable, which could reduce convenience.

[0048] In contrast, in the destination floor registration system 100 according to the present invention, the destination floor registration device 4 transmits an assignment request regarding the user's destination floor to the group control device 1 (target group control device 1), which manages elevators 3 that include the user's floor as a service floor. Upon receiving the assignment request, the target group control device 1 assigns elevator unit 3 to the request. Here, in the destination floor registration system 100 according to the present invention, multiple group control devices 1 and the destination floor registration device 4 are communicated with each other. Therefore, regardless of which elevator 3's service floor is the user's floor, if the target group control device 1 exists among the multiple group control devices 1, the destination floor registration device 4 can directly transmit an assignment request to the target group control device 1.

[0049] As described above, the destination floor registration system 100 simplifies the communication path in a system equipped with multiple group control devices 1. Furthermore, even if a group control device 1 other than the target group control device 1 fails, the destination floor registration device 4 can directly send an assignment request to the target group control device 1. This reduces the possibility of a situation where the destination floor registration device 4 becomes unusable when any of the group control devices 1 fail, thereby reducing the likelihood of decreased convenience.

[0050] <An example of the processing flow performed by the destination floor registration system 100> Figure 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the processing flow performed by the destination floor registration system 100. The processing flow performed by the destination floor registration system 100 will be explained below using Figure 3.

[0051] The input unit 41 of the destination floor registration device 4 waits for the user to input a destination floor. When a destination floor is registered in the input unit 41 by the user's input operation (YES in S1), the input unit 41 sends an assignment request to the whole group management control device 1 (S2: transmission step). The input unit 41 also sends information indicating that it has sent an assignment request to the display unit 42 corresponding to the input unit 41.

[0052] When the allocation unit 111 of the first group management control device 1A receives an allocation request from the destination floor registration device 4 (YES in S11), it identifies the user's departure floor based on the information contained in the allocation request. The allocation unit 111 refers to the storage unit 12 and identifies the floor on which the destination floor registration device 4 equipped with the input unit 41 is installed, which is associated with the identification information of the input unit 41 contained in the allocation request. The allocation unit 111 identifies the identified floor as the user's departure floor.

[0053] The allocation unit 111 determines whether the first elevator 3A includes the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors based on the identified departure floor and destination floor included in the allocation request (S12). If the first elevator 3A includes the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors (YES in S12), the allocation unit 111 assigns the most suitable elevator 3A unit to the allocation request (S13: allocation step). After making the allocation, the allocation unit 111 outputs information indicating the allocation result to the registration unit 112. On the other hand, if the first elevator 3A does not include at least one of the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors (NO in S12), the allocation unit 111 terminates processing without making an allocation to the allocation request.

[0054] When the registration unit 112 obtains information indicating the allocation result, it registers the user's destination floor call based on that information. The registration unit 112 stores in the storage unit 12 information indicating the user's departure floor and destination floor, and information indicating the assigned elevator for the allocation request that requests the user's destination floor call, in association with each other. When the registration unit 112 registers the user's destination floor call, it transmits the information regarding the registered destination floor call to the first elevator control device 2A that controls the assigned elevator.

[0055] Furthermore, the registration unit 112 identifies the display unit 42 corresponding to the input unit 41, which is the source of the assignment request. Specifically, the registration unit 112 refers to the storage unit 12 and identifies the identification information of the display unit 42 associated with the identification information of the input unit 41 included in the assignment request. The registration unit 112 transmits assignment result information indicating the assignment result to the display unit 42 identified by the identified identification information, that is, the display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4, which is the source of the assignment request (S14).

[0056] When the allocation unit 111 of the second group control device 1B receives an allocation request from the destination floor registration device 4 (YES in S21), it identifies the user's departure floor based on the allocation request and determines whether the second elevator 3B includes the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors (S22). If the second elevator 3B includes the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors (YES in S22), the allocation unit 111 assigns the most suitable elevator 3B unit to the allocation request. On the other hand, if the second elevator 3B does not include at least one of the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors (NO in S22), the allocation unit 111 terminates processing without making an allocation to the allocation request. The processing in S23 and S24 is the same as the processing in S13 and S14 performed by the first group control device 1A, so the explanation is omitted.

[0057] If the display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4 receives assignment result information from the group control device 1 before a predetermined time has elapsed since the input unit 41 sent the assignment request (NO in S3) (YES in S4), it determines whether or not it is the second or subsequent assignment result information received (S5). If the received assignment result information is the first information received since the input unit 41 sent the assignment request (NO in S5), the display unit 42 displays the assignment result based on that assignment result information on the display unit 42 (S6). On the other hand, if the received assignment result information is the second or subsequent information received since the input unit 41 sent the assignment request (YES in S5), the display unit 42 sends a cancellation signal to the group control device 1, which is the source of the assignment result information (S7). After S6 or S7, the process returns to S3.

[0058] The registration unit 112 of the first group management control device 1A cancels the assignment (S16) if it receives a cancellation signal from the destination floor registration device 4 within a predetermined time after transmitting the assignment result information to the destination floor registration device 4 (YES in S15). The registration unit 112 also transmits information instructing the cancellation of the destination floor call to the first elevator control device 2A, which controls the assigned elevator in the assignment to be canceled. If the registration unit 112 does not receive a cancellation signal within the predetermined time (NO in S15), it terminates processing without canceling the assignment.

[0059] The registration unit 112 of the second group management control device 1B cancels the assignment (S26) if it receives a cancellation signal from the destination floor registration device 4 within a predetermined time after transmitting the assignment result information to the destination floor registration device 4 (YES in S25). The registration unit 112 also transmits information instructing the cancellation of the destination floor call to the second elevator control device 2B, which controls the assigned elevator in the assignment to be canceled. If the registration unit 112 does not receive a cancellation signal within the predetermined time (NO in S25), it terminates the process without canceling the assignment.

[0060] The display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4 determines whether or not the assignment result was received within a predetermined time after the input unit 41 sent the assignment request (S8) if a predetermined time has elapsed since the input unit 41 sent the assignment request (YES in S3). If the assignment result was not received within a predetermined time after the input unit 41 sent the assignment request (NO in S8), the display unit 42 displays an error screen indicating that the assignment was not made (S9). If the assignment result was received within a predetermined time after the input unit 41 sent the assignment request (YES in S8), the display unit 42 does not display an error screen. If YES in S8, or after S9, the display unit 42 terminates the display after a predetermined time (e.g., 5 seconds) has elapsed since it started displaying the screen showing the assignment result or the error screen.

[0061] In the process described above, if the response is NO in S12 or NO in S22, each group control device 1 may send a signal to the destination floor registration device 4 indicating that at least one of the user's departure floor and destination floor is a non-service floor. If the display unit 42 of the destination floor registration device 4 receives the signal from all group control devices 1, it may perform the process in S9 without performing the processes in S3 and S8 and display an error screen. If a user inputs a floor that is not included in the service floors of the elevator 3 as the destination floor, for example, if the 50th floor is input as the destination floor in a 40-story building, all group control devices 1 will not be able to make an assignment. In such a case, the destination floor registration device 4 can receive a signal from all group control devices 1 indicating that it is a non-service floor and display an error screen without waiting for a predetermined time to elapse. This allows the user to be notified more quickly that the group control devices 1 have not made an assignment.

[0062] [Embodiment 2] Other embodiments of the present invention are described below. For the sake of clarity, components having the same function as those described in the above embodiments will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions will not be repeated.

[0063] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the destination floor registration system 100A according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in Figure 4, the destination floor registration system 100A differs from the destination floor registration system 100 in that it includes a destination floor registration device 4A instead of the destination floor registration device 4. In the destination floor registration system 100A according to this embodiment, the destination floor registration device 4A transmits an assignment request only to the target group management control device 1 among the plurality of group management control devices 1.

[0064] As shown in Figure 4, the destination floor registration device 4A includes an input unit 41A and a display unit 42. The input unit 41A stores the service floors for each elevator 3 belonging to each of the multiple banks 10. For example, the input unit 41A stores information indicating the first elevator 3A and information indicating the service floors of the first elevator 3A in association, and stores information indicating the second elevator 3B and information indicating the service floors of the second elevator 3B in association.

[0065] When the input unit 41A receives an input operation from a user to register a destination floor, it generates an assignment request that includes information indicating the user's departure floor and destination floor, and identification information of the device itself. Specifically, the input unit 41A designates the floor on which the input unit 41A is installed as the user's departure floor, and the floor registered by the user as the destination floor. Based on the user's departure floor and destination floor, and the service floors of each elevator 3, the input unit 41A identifies the group control device 1 that manages the elevator 3 whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor. The input unit 41A transmits the assignment request to the identified group control device 1.

[0066] According to the above configuration, the destination floor registration device 4A can send an assignment request only to the group control device 1 that manages the elevator 3 whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor. If there are multiple identified group control devices 1, the input unit 41A may send an assignment request to all identified group control devices 1.

[0067] When the group control device 1 receives an allocation request, it makes an allocation to the requested elevator and registers the user's destination floor. The group control device 1 then transmits the allocation result information to the display unit 42 corresponding to the input unit 41A. Here, the destination of the allocation request from the input unit 41A is the group control device 1 that manages elevator 3 whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor. Therefore, the allocation unit 111 of the group control device 1 that receives the allocation request may make an allocation to the allocation request without determining whether the elevator 3 under its management includes the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors.

[0068] [Embodiment 3] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the destination floor registration system 100B according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. As shown in Figure 5, the destination floor registration system 100B differs from the destination floor registration system 100 in that it includes a destination floor registration device 4B instead of the destination floor registration device 4. In the destination floor registration system 100B according to this embodiment, the destination floor registration device 4B transmits an assignment request to one of the multiple group control devices 1, and if it does not receive assignment result information from that group control device 1 within a predetermined time, it transmits an assignment request to another group control device 1.

[0069] As shown in Figure 5, the destination floor registration device 4B includes an input unit 41B and a display unit 42B. The input unit 41B stores information indicating the priority of multiple group control devices 1. For example, the priority of the first group control device 1A may be high and the priority of the second group control device 1B may be low.

[0070] When the input unit 41B receives an input operation from a user to register a destination floor, it generates an assignment request in the same manner as the input unit 41 in Embodiment 1. Once the input unit 41B has generated an assignment request, it transmits the assignment request to the group management control device 1 with the highest priority.

[0071] If the display unit 42B receives the allocation result information within a predetermined time after the input unit 41B sends the allocation request, it displays the allocation result based on the said allocation result information. The display unit 42B also sends information to the input unit 41B indicating that it has received the allocation result information from the group control device 1. Upon receiving this information, the input unit 41B terminates its processing.

[0072] On the other hand, if the display unit 42B does not receive allocation result information within a predetermined time after the input unit 41B sends an allocation request, it sends information to the input unit 41B indicating that it did not receive the allocation result information. Upon receiving this information from the display unit 42B, the input unit 41B sends an allocation request to the group control device 1 with the next highest priority after the group control device 1 to which it sent the allocation request immediately before. After sending an allocation request to the group control device 1 with the lowest priority, if the input unit 41B receives information from the display unit 42B indicating that it did not receive the allocation result information, it sends information to the display unit 42B indicating that the allocation was not performed. Upon receiving this information, the display unit 42B displays an error screen.

[0073] As described above, the input unit 41B of the destination floor registration device 4B sends an assignment request to one group control device 1, and if the display unit 42B does not receive assignment result information within a predetermined time, it sends an assignment request to the next group control device 1. With the above configuration, even if the floor used by the users is a common floor, the display unit 42B will not receive assignment result information from multiple group control devices 1. Therefore, with the above configuration, the display unit 42B does not need to send a cancellation signal, and the group control device 1 does not need to perform processing to cancel the assignment. This makes it possible to simplify the processing in the destination floor registration system 100B.

[0074] The priority of the group control device 1 is not particularly limited. For example, the priority of the group control device 1 that manages elevators 3 whose service floors include relatively higher floors may be set higher. For example, if the service floors of the first elevator 3A are floors 1 to 10, and the service floors of the second elevator 3B are floors 1 and floors 10 to 20, the priority of the second group control device 1B that manages the second elevator 3B may be set higher than that of the first group control device 1A.

[0075] In this case, if the user's floor is a common floor, for example, if the departure floor is the 1st floor and the destination floor is the 10th floor, the input unit 41B first sends an assignment request to the second group control device 1B, and the second group control device 1B makes the assignment in response to the assignment request. When the departure floor is the 1st floor and the destination floor is the 10th floor, if the first group control device 1A makes the assignment, the first elevator 3A assigned to the user may stop on other floors between the 1st and 10th floors. In contrast, if the second group control device 1B makes the assignment, the second elevator 3B assigned to the user will not stop on other floors between the 1st and 10th floors.

[0076] In this way, by preferentially sending allocation requests to the group control device 1 that manages elevator 3, which includes relatively high floors in its service area, it is expected that the number of intermediate stops for users when using elevator 3 will be reduced, thereby improving convenience.

[0077] [Examples of implementation using software] The functions of the destination floor registration systems 100, 100A, and 100B (hereinafter referred to as "the system") are programs that cause a computer to function as the system, and these programs can be realized by programs that cause a computer to function as each control block of the system (particularly the control unit 11, input units 41, 41A, 41B, and display units 42, 42B).

[0078] In this case, the system includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., memory) as hardware for executing the program. By executing the program using this control device and storage device, the functions described in each of the embodiments are realized.

[0079] The above program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not temporary ones. These recording media may or may not be provided by the system. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0080] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of each of the above control blocks can also be realized by logic circuits. For example, an integrated circuit in which logic circuits functioning as each of the above control blocks are formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, it is also possible to realize the functions of each of the above control blocks by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0081] Furthermore, each process described in the above embodiments may be performed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI ​​may operate on the control device described above, or it may operate on other devices (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

[0082] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0083] 〔summary〕 A destination floor registration system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention comprises a plurality of elevators whose service floors differ from each other in some respects, a plurality of group control devices for managing each of the plurality of elevators, and a destination floor registration device for registering destination floor calls of users of the elevators, wherein each of the plurality of group control devices and the destination floor registration device are communicateable with each other, and the destination floor registration device transmits an assignment request to the group control device for managing the elevators whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor, based on the input for a destination floor call by the user, requesting the assignment of an elevator unit to the user's destination floor call, and the group control device assigns an elevator unit to the received assignment request.

[0084] In the destination floor registration system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the destination floor registration device transmits the assignment request to all of the group control devices, and the group control device that manages the elevator whose service floor includes the user's departure floor and destination floor, among the plurality of group control devices, performs the assignment in response to the assignment request.

[0085] In the destination floor registration system according to embodiment 3 of the present invention, in embodiment 2, the group control device registers the destination floor call based on the result of the assignment to the assignment request, and if the destination floor registration device receives the assignment result to the assignment request from a plurality of group control devices, it may instruct each of the group control devices, except for one of the plurality of group control devices, to cancel the assignment.

[0086] In the destination floor registration system according to embodiment 4 of the present invention, in embodiment 3, if the destination floor registration device receives the assignment result for the assignment request from a plurality of group management control devices, it may instruct each of the plurality of group management control devices, except for the group management control device that first transmitted the assignment result, to cancel the assignment.

[0087] In the destination floor registration system according to embodiment 5 of the present invention, in any of embodiments 1 to 4 above, the group management control device transmits information indicating the assignment result for the assignment request to the destination floor registration device which is the source of the assignment request, and when the destination floor registration device receives information indicating the assignment result for the assignment request, it may cause the display unit to display a screen containing said information.

[0088] In the destination floor registration system according to embodiment 6 of the present invention, in embodiment 5 above, if the destination floor registration device does not receive information indicating the assignment result within a predetermined time after transmitting the assignment request, it may display a screen on the display unit indicating that the assignment request was not made.

[0089] In the destination floor registration system according to embodiment 7 of the present invention, in embodiment 1, the destination floor registration device may identify the group control device that manages the elevator that includes the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors, and transmit the assignment request to the identified group control device.

[0090] In the destination floor registration system according to embodiment 8 of the present invention, in embodiment 1, if the destination floor registration device has transmitted the assignment request to one of the group management control devices and has not received information indicating the assignment result for the assignment request within a predetermined time, it may transmit the assignment request to another group management control device.

[0091] A control method according to aspect 9 of the present invention is a control method for a destination floor registration system comprising: a plurality of elevators whose service floors differ from each other in some respects; a plurality of group control devices each managing the plurality of elevators; and a destination floor registration device for registering destination floor calls of users of the elevators, wherein each of the plurality of group control devices and the destination floor registration device are communicateable with each other, and the method includes: a transmission step in which the destination floor registration device transmits an assignment request to the group control device that manages the elevators whose service floors include at least the user's departure floor and destination floor, based on an input for a destination floor call by the user, requesting the assignment of an elevator unit to the user's destination floor call; and an assignment step in which the group control device assigns an elevator unit to the received assignment request. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0092] 100, 100A, 100B Destination Floor Registration System 1A, 1B Group Control System Elevators 3A and 3B 4, 4A, 4B Destination Floor Registration Device 42, 42B display section S2 transmission step S13, S23 Assignment Steps

Claims

1. A destination floor registration system comprising: a plurality of elevators, each serving at least some of the elevators; a plurality of group control devices, each managing one of the plurality of elevators; and a destination floor registration device, which registers the destination floor requests of users of the elevators, Each of the multiple group control devices and the destination floor registration device are connected in a communication manner. The destination floor registration device, based on the input from the user for calling for a destination floor, directly transmits an assignment request to the group control device that manages the elevators whose service floors include the user's departure floor and destination floor, requesting the assignment of the elevator number to the user's call for a destination floor. The group control device assigns the elevator unit number to the received assignment request. Destination floor registration system.

2. The destination floor registration device transmits the assignment request to all of the group control devices. Among the multiple group control devices, the departure floor and destination floor of the user are included in the service floor. The group control device that manages the elevator performs the assignment in response to the assignment request. The destination floor registration system according to claim 1.

3. The group management control device registers the destination floor call based on the result of the assignment in response to the assignment request. When the destination floor registration device receives the assignment results for the assignment request from a plurality of the group management control devices, it instructs each of the group management control devices, except for one of the plurality of group management control devices, to cancel the assignment. The destination floor registration system according to claim 2.

4. When the destination floor registration device receives the assignment result for the assignment request from a plurality of the group control devices, it instructs each of the group control devices, except for the group control device that first transmitted the assignment result, to cancel the assignment. The destination floor registration system according to claim 3.

5. The group management control device transmits information indicating the assignment result for the assignment request to the destination floor registration device, which is the source of the assignment request. When the destination floor registration device receives information indicating the assignment result for the assignment request, it causes the display unit to display a screen containing such information. The destination floor registration system according to claim 1.

6. If the destination floor registration device does not receive information indicating the assignment result within a predetermined time after transmitting the assignment request, it will display a screen on the display unit indicating that the assignment request was not made. The destination floor registration system according to claim 5.

7. The destination floor registration device is, The group control device that manages the elevators, which include the departure floor and destination floor of the user as service floors, is identified. The assignment request is transmitted to the identified group control device. The destination floor registration system according to claim 1.

8. The destination floor registration device is, If, after sending the assignment request to one of the group control devices, information indicating the assignment result for the assignment request is not received within a predetermined time, the assignment request is sent to another group control device. The destination floor registration system according to claim 1.

9. A control method for a destination floor registration system comprising: a plurality of elevators, each serving at least some of which serve different floors; a plurality of group control devices, each managing one of the plurality of elevators; and a destination floor registration device, which registers destination floor requests from users of the elevators, Each of the multiple group control devices and the destination floor registration device are connected in a way that allows them to communicate with each other. The destination floor registration device transmits, based on the input of the user for calling for a destination floor, a transmission step in which it directly transmits an assignment request to the group control device that manages the elevators that include at least the user's departure floor and destination floor as service floors, requesting the assignment of the elevator unit to the user's call for a destination floor. The group control device includes an assignment step of assigning the elevator unit number to the received assignment request, Control method.

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