Door state determination device, door state determination system, and mobile object equipped with door state determination device

Abstract

In the present invention, for an elevator, a marker having identification information corresponding to each of the elevator halls on a plurality of floors is disposed at each of the elevator halls on the plurality of floors at a position that can be visually recognized from inside the car while the elevator door is open and that cannot be visually recognized from inside the car while the elevator door is closed. This door state determination device acquires an in-car image captured by a camera installed on a mobile object that can get on and off the elevator, determines the door open / closed state of the elevator door according to whether an image of the marker is included in the in-car image, extracts identification information from the marker when an image of the marker is included in the in-car image, and determines the floor on which the elevator door is open on the basis of the identification information.

Description

Door status determination device, door status determination system, and mobile body equipped with door status determination device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a door state determination device that determines the state of an elevator door, a door state determination system, and a moving body equipped with the door state determination device.

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology related to a control system for an autonomous mobile robot that uses an elevator. In this control system, a door status signal indicating the open / closed state of the elevator doors is transmitted from a signal transmitting means provided in the elevator. When the autonomous mobile robot receives the door status signal indicating that the doors are open and receives a disembarkation instruction from a disembarkation instruction means, it drives a drive motor to disembark from the elevator.

[0003] Japanese Patent No. 5449952

[0004] In the technology of Patent Document 1, the elevator control device determines the open / closed state of the doors and transmits a signal to the autonomous mobile robot via communication. Therefore, in the technology of Patent Document 1, the autonomous mobile robot needs to communicate with the elevator control device to know the open / closed state of the doors.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology that allows a moving object in a car to determine the state of the elevator doors and the floor on which the doors are open without communicating with an elevator control device.

[0006] The door status determination device disclosed herein is a door status determination device that determines the status of elevator doors from inside the car of an elevator that moves between multiple floors, and is equipped with: a camera that is mounted on a mobile body that can get on and off the elevator and captures images of the inside of the car when a marker having identification information corresponding to each of the multiple floor landings is located in a position that is visible from inside the car when the elevator doors are open and not visible from inside the car when the elevator doors are closed; an acquisition unit that acquires images of the inside of the car captured by the camera; a door open / close determination unit that determines the open / closed state of the elevator doors based on whether an image of the marker is included in the image of the inside of the car; an extraction unit that extracts identification information from the marker if the image of the marker is included in the image of the inside of the car; and a floor determination unit that determines the floor on which the elevator doors are open based on the identification information.

[0007] The moving body of the present disclosure is equipped with the door state determination device described above.

[0008] Furthermore, the door state determination system of the present disclosure includes the above-mentioned marker and the door state determination device.

[0009] According to the technology of the present disclosure, it is possible for a moving object riding in a car to determine the state of the elevator doors and the floor on which the doors are open without communicating with an elevator control device.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a door state determination system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of marker placement. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a door state determination system. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing functions realized by a processor of a control device executing a program. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a routine executed by a control device when determining an elevator door state and a floor on which the door is open. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing modified examples of marker attachment positions. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing modified examples of hardware resources of a control device.

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that elements common to the various drawings are given the same reference numerals and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0012] 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a door state determination system according to this embodiment. A door state determination system 50 according to this embodiment is a device that determines the open / closed state of the doors of an elevator 100 and the landing floor. The elevator 100 is installed in a facility consisting of a building or the like having multiple floors.

[0013] A hoistway 3 for an elevator 100 is provided in a facility. The hoistway 3 is a long space extending vertically across multiple floors. A landing 4 for the elevator 100 is provided on each floor of the facility. The landing 4 is a location adjacent to the hoistway 3. A landing door 40 is provided at the landing 4 on each floor. The landing door 40 is a door that separates the landing 4 from the hoistway 3.

[0014] The elevator 100 includes a car 1 and a control panel 6. The car 1 is a device that transports passengers and other passengers inside the car between multiple floors by traveling up and down a hoistway 3. The car 1 includes car doors 2. When the car 1 stops at a floor, the car doors 2 open and close in conjunction with the hall doors 40 of the hall 4 of that floor so that passengers can board and disembark at the hall 4 and the car 1 of that floor. In the following description, the car doors 2 and the hall doors 40 that open and close in conjunction with the car doors 2 are referred to as "elevator doors."

[0015] The control panel 6 is a device that controls the operation of the elevator 100. The operation of the elevator 100 controlled by the control panel 6 includes, for example, opening and closing of doors, management of registered calls, and running of the car 1 in response to calls.

[0016] The door state determination system 50 according to this embodiment includes a door state determination device 10 having a camera 12 and a control device 20, and a marker 30. The camera 12 is mounted on a mobile object 8. The mobile object 8 is, for example, a device that moves in a facility in which an elevator 100 is installed. The mobile object 8 is, for example, a small robot or mobility with an autonomous traveling function. The mobile object 8 uses, for example, the elevator 100 to move around the facility. There is no limitation on the autonomous traveling function of the mobile object 8. The camera 12 is arranged in a position where it can capture an image of the direction from the mobile object 8 in the car 1 toward the car door 2.

[0017] The markers 30 are, for example, markers to which identification information for identifying the floors of the elevator 100 is assigned, and are attached to each hall 4 of the elevator 100. The markers 30 include, for example, a code image in which identification information for identifying the corresponding floor is encoded. Examples of such code images include a one-dimensional barcode and a two-dimensional barcode. At each hall 4, the markers 30 are positioned so that they are visible from inside the car 1 when the elevator doors are open, but are not visible from inside the car 1 when the elevator doors are closed.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the arrangement of the marker 30. FIG. 2 illustrates markers 30A, 30B, and 30C as an example of the arrangement of the marker 30. The marker 30A is arranged on a mating surface 401 at the end of the landing door 40 in the door closing direction. The mating surface 401 is a surface that is not visible from inside the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in a closed state, and is visible from inside the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in an open state. There is no limitation on the arrangement of the marker 30A in the up-down direction. For example, the marker 30A can be made less noticeable by placing it at a position higher than the eye level of users of the elevator 100.

[0019] The marker 30B is arranged on the side of an upper surface 421 of the threshold 42 of the landing door 40. The upper surface 421 of the threshold 42 is a surface that is not visible from inside the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in a door-closed state, and is visible from inside the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in a door-open state. There are no limitations on the arrangement of the marker 30B in the door opening / closing direction of the landing door 40. For example, it is preferable that the marker 30B be arranged on the side of the upper surface 421 of the threshold 42 that is exposed when the landing door 40 is fully open, closest to the landing door 40. With this arrangement, the marker 30B is not visible from inside the car 1 when the landing door 40 is in the middle of opening, and is visible from inside the car 1 when the landing door 40 is fully open.

[0020] The marker 30C is arranged on the side of a side surface 422 of the threshold 42 of the landing door 40 that faces the car 1. The side surface 422 of the threshold 42 is a surface that is not visible from inside the car 1 when the car door 2 is in a closed state, and is visible from inside the car 1 when the car door 2 is in an open state. There are no limitations on the arrangement of the marker 30C in the door opening / closing direction of the car door 2. For example, it is preferable that the marker 30C be arranged on the side of the side surface 422 of the threshold 42 that is exposed when the car door 2 is fully open, closest to the car door 2. With this arrangement, the marker 30C is not visible from inside the car 1 when the car door 2 is in the middle of opening, but is visible from inside the car 1 when the car door 2 is fully open.

[0021] When the moving object 8 is inside the car 1, the camera 12 captures an image of the area ahead. The image captured by the camera 12 at this time is hereinafter referred to as an "inside car image." The inside car image is sent from the camera 12 to the control device 20 as needed.

[0022] The control device 20 determines the open / closed state of the elevator doors and the floor on which the doors have opened based on the received images of the inside of the car. The control device 20 is mounted on the mobile object 8 together with the camera 12. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the control device 20 may be located on a remote server connected via a communication network.

[0023] The control device 20 acquires the car interior image transmitted by the camera 12. This process is hereinafter referred to as the "acquisition process." If the car interior image includes an image of the marker 30, it can be determined that the elevator doors are open. Therefore, the control device 20 determines whether the elevator doors are open or closed depending on whether the car interior image includes an image of the marker 30. This process is hereinafter referred to as the "door open / close determination process."

[0024] Furthermore, if the image of the marker 30 is included in the car interior image, the control device 20 extracts identification information from the car interior image. This process is hereinafter referred to as the "extraction process." The identification information extracted by the extraction process includes information about the floor on which the marker 30 is installed. Therefore, the control device 20 determines the floor on which the door has opened based on the extracted identification information. This process is hereinafter referred to as the "floor determination process."

[0025] Furthermore, the control device 20 determines whether the moving object 8 can disembark based on the determination result of the determination process. This process is called the "disembarkation possibility determination process." In the disembarkation possibility determination process, if the determination process determines that the elevator doors are open, the control device 20 determines that the moving object 8 can disembark. On the other hand, if the determination process determines that the elevator doors are closed, the control device 20 determines that the moving object 8 cannot disembark.

[0026] According to the door status determination device 10 described above, if the image inside the car captured by the camera 12 mounted on the moving object 8 includes an image of the marker 30, it is possible to determine the open state of the elevator doors and the floor on which the doors are open. This allows the moving object 8 riding in the car 1 to determine the open state of the elevator 100 doors and the floor on which the doors are open at the landing 4 without communicating with the elevator 100.

[0027] 2. Configuration of the Door State Determination Device 10 Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a door state determination system 50. The door state determination system 50 includes a marker 30 and a door state determination device 10. The door state determination device 10 includes a camera 12 and a control device 20. The control device 20 has the functionality of a processing device as a computer. Typically, the control device 20 includes at least one processor 200 and at least one memory 210 coupled to the processor 200. The memory 210 stores at least one program 220 executable by the processor 200 and various data 230 associated therewith.

[0028] The processor 200 executes the program 220 to realize various processes by the processor 200. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing functions realized by the processor 200 of the control device 20 executing the program 220. As shown in FIG. 4, the processor 200 includes an acquisition unit 201, a door open / close determination unit 202, an extraction unit 203, a floor determination unit 204, and an alighting permission determination unit 205. The acquisition unit 201 is a functional block for executing an acquisition process to acquire an image inside the car. The door open / close determination unit 202 is a functional block for executing a door open / close determination process to determine the open / closed state of the elevator doors. The extraction unit 203 is a functional block for executing an extraction process to extract identification information. The floor determination unit 204 is a functional block for executing a floor determination process to determine the floor of the hall 4 whose doors are open. The alighting permission determination unit 205 is a functional block for executing a alighting permission determination process to determine whether the mobile object 8 is allowed to alight.

[0029] 3. Specific Processing Executed in Door State Determination Device 10 Hereinafter, a method by which the control device 20 determines the door state of the elevator 100 and the floor of the hall 4 where the door is open will be described with reference to a flowchart. Figure 5 is a flowchart of a routine executed by the control device 20 when determining the door state of the elevator 100 and the floor where the door is open. The routine shown in Figure 5 is repeatedly executed in the processor 200 of the control device 20 at control intervals while the moving object 8 is in the car 1.

[0030] The processing of step S100 corresponds to the acquisition processing executed by the acquisition unit 201. Specifically, in step S100, an image of the inside of the car captured by the camera 12 is acquired. The acquired image of the inside of the car is stored in the memory 210 as data 230.

[0031] The processing of steps S102, S104, and S106 corresponds to the door opening / closing determination processing executed in the door opening / closing determination unit 202. In step S102, a known image analysis method is used to determine whether or not an image of the marker 30 is included in the car interior image. As a result, if the determination in step S102 is not established, it is determined that the marker 30 is not visible from inside car 1, and the process proceeds to step S104. On the other hand, if the determination in step S102 is established, it is determined that the marker 30 is visible from inside car 1, and the process proceeds to step S106.

[0032] In step S104, it is determined that the elevator doors are closed, and the process proceeds to step S112. On the other hand, in step S106, it is determined that the elevator doors are open, and the process proceeds to step S108.

[0033] The processing of step S108 corresponds to the extraction processing executed by the extraction unit 203. Specifically, in step S108, identification information is extracted from the marker 30 included in the car interior image. The extracted identification information is a code image. The extracted identification information is stored as data 230 in the memory 210. Once the extraction processing is executed, the process proceeds to step S110.

[0034] The processing of step S110 corresponds to the floor determination processing executed in the floor determination unit 204. Specifically, in step S110, the current floor on which the door is open is determined. Here, the floor information linked to the extracted identification information is read, and the current floor of car 1 is determined. Once the determination processing of step S110 is executed, the processing proceeds to step S112.

[0035] The process of step S112 corresponds to the disembarkation determination process executed by the disembarkation permission determination unit 205. Specifically, in step S112, when the elevator doors are open, it is determined that the moving object 8 is disembarking. On the other hand, when the elevator doors are closed, it is determined that the moving object 8 is not disembarking.

[0036] According to the door state determination device 10 described above, it is possible to determine the door state of the car 1 in which the moving object 8 is riding and the current floor without communicating with the elevator.

[0037] 4. Modifications of the Present Embodiment The door state determination system 50 of the present embodiment may be modified as follows.

[0038] 4-1. Marker 30 FIG. 6 is a diagram showing modified examples of the affixing position of the marker 30. FIG. 6 illustrates markers 30E, 30F, 30G, and 30H as examples of the arrangement of the marker 30. Marker 30E is arranged on a side surface 443 of the upper frame of the jamb 44 of the landing 4 that faces the landing door. Marker 30F is arranged on an inner surface 441 of the vertical frame of the jamb 44 of the landing 4. Marker 30G is arranged on a lower surface 442 of the upper frame of the jamb 44 of the landing 4. In particular, it is desirable that markers 30E, 30F, and 30G are all arranged in positions that are not visible from inside the car 1 when the landing doors 40 and the car doors 2 are in the middle of opening, but are visible from inside the car 1 when the landing doors 40 and the car doors 2 are fully open.

[0039] The identification information of the markers 30 is not limited to the code image. In other words, even if the markers 30 do not include a code image, the positions, number, or spacing of the markers 30 on each floor may be varied, and these may be used as unique identification information.

[0040] The marker 30H is an example of the marker 30 that does not include a code image. The marker 30H is an example of a door stop rubber that is arranged on the mating surface 40a at the end of the landing door 40 in the door closing direction. In other words, the markers 30H as door stop rubber may be varied in position, number, or interval, and these may be used as unique identification information.

[0041] The code image of the marker 30 may include the unique identification information as well as specification information of the elevator 100. Such specification information may include, for example, any one of the width and height dimensions of the elevator door, the length x width x height dimensions of the interior dimensions of the car 1, the passenger capacity or maximum weight, and the elevator number information. Such specification information may be useful information for the moving object 8 when using the elevator 100.

[0042] 4-2. Camera 12 The camera 12 is mounted on the mobile object 8 and is not limited to any particular type as long as it has a resolution that allows it to capture an image at a level that allows the code image to be recognized.

[0043] 4-3. Control Device 20 The configuration of the alighting permission determination unit 205 and the alighting permission determination process executed by the alighting permission determination unit 205 are not essential.

[0044] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a modified example of the hardware resources of the control device 20. In the example shown in Fig. 7, the control device 20 includes a processing circuit 250 including, for example, a processor 200, a memory 210, and dedicated hardware 240. Fig. 7 shows an example in which some of the functions of the control device 20 are realized by the dedicated hardware 240. All of the functions of the control device 20 may be realized by the dedicated hardware 240. The dedicated hardware 240 may be a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0045] When the marker 30 is placed on the hall door 40, the control device 20 may determine that the elevator door is fully open if it is determined that the marker 30 included in the car interior image is stationary. In this case, the control device 20 monitors the change over time in the position of the marker 30 included in the car interior image in the door open / close determination process, and determines that the marker 30 is stationary when there is no more change over time. This determination process makes it possible to distinguish between the partially open and fully open states of the elevator door.

[0046] 10 Door status determination device, 2 Car door, 3 Hoistway, 4 Landing, 6 Control panel, 8 Moving body, 10 Door status determination device, 12 Camera, 20 Control device, 30, 30A, 30B, 30C, 30E, 30F, 30G, 30H Marker, 40 Landing door, 40a Joint surface, 42 Threshold, 44 Three-sided jamb, 50 Door status determination device system, 100 Elevator, 200 Processor, 201 Acquisition unit, 202 Door opening / closing determination unit, 203 Extraction unit, 204 Floor determination unit, 205 Exit possibility determination unit, 210 Memory, 220 Program, 230 Data, 240 Dedicated hardware, 250 Processing circuit, 401 Joint surface, 421 Upper surface, 422 side surface, 441 inner surface, 442 lower surface, 443 landing door side surface

Claims

1. A door status determination device that determines the status of an elevator door from inside an elevator car moving between multiple floors, When a marker having identification information corresponding to each of the landings of the plurality of floors is arranged at a position that is visible from inside the elevator car when the elevator doors are open and is not visible from inside the elevator car when the elevator doors are closed, A camera mounted on a moving body capable of getting on and off the elevator and capturing an image of the inside of the car; An acquisition unit that acquires an image of the inside of the car captured by the camera; a door opening / closing determination unit that determines whether the elevator doors are open or closed based on whether the image of the marker is included in the image inside the car; an extraction unit that extracts the identification information from the marker when the image of the marker is included in the image inside the car; A floor determination unit that determines a floor on which the elevator door is open based on the identification information; Equipped with The markers are arranged at different positions on each of the plurality of floors, The extraction unit extracts the identification information from the position of the marker. A door status determination device characterized by the above.

2. The door state determination device according to claim 1 , wherein the marker is arranged on a landing door at each of the plurality of floors.

3. The door state determination device according to claim 1, wherein the marker is arranged on an upper surface side of a threshold of a landing door at each of the plurality of floors.

4. The door state determination device according to claim 1, wherein the marker is arranged on a side of a threshold of a landing door at each of the plurality of floors.

5. A door status determination device for determining the status of an elevator door from inside an elevator car moving between multiple floors, comprising: When a marker having identification information corresponding to each of the landings of the plurality of floors is arranged at a position that is visible from inside the elevator car when the elevator doors are open and is not visible from inside the elevator car when the elevator doors are closed, A camera mounted on a moving body capable of getting on and off the elevator and capturing an image of the inside of the car; An acquisition unit that acquires an image of the inside of the car captured by the camera; a door opening / closing determination unit that determines whether the elevator doors are open or closed based on whether the image of the marker is included in the image inside the car; an extraction unit that extracts the identification information from the marker when the image of the marker is included in the image inside the car; and a floor determination unit that determines the floor at which the elevator door is open based on the identification information, The marker is arranged on a landing door at each of the plurality of floors, The door opening / closing determination unit is When the image of the marker is included in the image of the inside of the car, if it is determined that the marker is stationary, it is determined that the elevator door is fully open. A door state determination device configured as described above.

6. The marker includes a code image in which the identification information is encoded, The extraction unit extracts the identification information from the code image of the marker.

6. The door state determination device according to claim 5.

7. The markers are arranged at different positions on each of the plurality of floors, The extraction unit extracts the identification information from the position of the marker.

6. The door state determination device according to claim 5.

8. The elevator further includes an alighting permission / prohibition determination unit that determines whether the moving object is alighting permission or not based on the open / closed state of the elevator doors determined by the door opening / closing determination unit. The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The identification information includes at least one of the following: the width dimension of the elevator door, the height dimension of the elevator door, the inside dimension of the car, the passenger capacity of the car, and the elevator number information. The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

10. A marker according to any one of claims 1 to 7; The door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, A door status determination system comprising:

11. A moving object equipped with the door state determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.