Elevator and control method for elevator

Abstract

The elevator controls the operation of an elevator group including a plurality of shuttle elevators that operate between a reference floor and a transfer floor, and a plurality of local elevators that operate between the transfer floor and an upper floor. The elevator comprises: an arrival number prediction unit that predicts the number of people who will arrive at a transfer floor within a fixed time from a shuttle elevator; an excess arrival number detection unit that detects that the predicted number of people who will arrive output by the arrival number prediction unit exceeds a threshold; and an operation control unit that performs operation control for suppressing an increase in the predicted number of people who will arrive when it is detected by the excess arrival number detection unit that the predicted number of people who will arrive exceeds the threshold.

Description

Elevator and elevator control method

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevator and an elevator control method.

[0002] With the recent urbanization, the number of buildings with sky lobbies, which involve transfers between large-capacity express elevators (shuttle elevators) and local elevators, is increasing. Depending on the operation status of the shuttle elevators, multiple shuttle elevators may arrive at the sky lobby floor (transfer floor) at the same time, causing a large number of people to flow into the sky lobby floor at once.

[0003] As a measure to reduce elevator waiting times in such sky lobby buildings, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is disclosed. Patent Document 1 describes a technology in which, when congestion in a shuttle elevator is detected, that information is sent to multiple local elevators, and multiple local elevators are dispatched to transfer floors.

[0004] JP 2012-218908 A

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is a method in which, like the prior art, a bank of shuttle elevators (shuttle bank) and a bank of local elevators (local bank) share information to simultaneously dispatch multiple local elevators at the local bank. However, this method requires new communication between the shuttle bank and the local bank, which increases costs.

[0006] Given the above situation, the objective is to reduce waiting times for local elevators by controlling the operation of the shuttle elevators without communication between the shuttle bank and the local bank.

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention provides an elevator that controls the operation of an elevator group including a plurality of shuttle elevators that operate between a base floor and a transfer floor and a plurality of local elevators that operate between the transfer floor and upper floors. The elevator includes an arrival number prediction unit that predicts the number of people who will arrive at the transfer floor within a certain period of time by the shuttle elevators, an excess arrival number detection unit that detects when the predicted arrival number output from the arrival number prediction unit exceeds a threshold, and an operation control unit that performs operation control to suppress an increase in the predicted arrival number when the excess arrival number detection unit detects that the predicted arrival number exceeds the threshold.

[0008] According to at least one aspect of the present invention, the operation of the shuttle elevator is controlled to suppress an increase in the number of predicted arrivals without communication between the shuttle elevator and the local elevators. This reduces waiting times for local elevators at transfer floors. Problems, configurations, and advantages other than those described above will become clear from the description of the following embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system of an elevator operation control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the arrangement (application) of each elevator in a building. FIG. 2 is a diagram explaining an overview of an elevator operation control method according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure by a simultaneous arrival number prediction unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of calculation of the number of simultaneous arrivals according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure by an excess arrival number detection unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of calculation of the number of excess arrivals when there are multiple local elevators at a transfer floor according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure (simultaneous departure suppression) by an operation control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining simultaneous departure suppression by an operation control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure (occupancy rate restriction) by an operation control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram explaining occupancy rate restriction by an operation control unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an elevator operation control device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Hereinafter, examples of modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the accompanying drawings, identical or similar components are given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations may be omitted or only explanations focusing on the differences may be given. Furthermore, when there are multiple identical or similar components, they may be described using the same reference numerals with different subscripts. Note that when it is not necessary to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted in the description. The number of each component may be singular or plural unless otherwise specified.

[0011] First, an elevator operation control device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a shuttle elevator passenger count at a level that is expected to overwhelm the local elevators at a transfer floor is detected. When such a shuttle elevator passenger count is detected, simultaneous departures of the next shuttle elevators are suppressed, or passenger occupancy is limited by a buzzer or hall lantern display. This suppresses an increase in the number of people arriving at a transfer floor (e.g., a sky lobby floor) at the same time. Here, simultaneous means a short, fixed period of time (e.g., the average interval between operations). The fixed period of time may be determined based on general elevator design standards. The hall lantern is an elevator arrival light installed in the elevator hall that flashes to notify passengers of the elevator's expected arrival.

[0012] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system for an elevator operation control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The elevator 200 shown in Figure 1 includes car control devices 11-1 and 11-2, cars 12-1 and 12-2, hall terminals 31-1 and 31-N, and an elevator operation control device 100. Hereinafter, the cars will be referred to simply as "cars."

[0013] Cars 12-1 and 12-2 are passenger cars of elevator 200 that moves up and down in the building's elevator shaft. Various terminals (car terminals) (not shown) are provided inside cars 12-1 and 12-2. The car terminals include, for example, destination floor buttons, door open / close buttons, display devices, speakers, and lighting (all not shown). For example, the various car terminals accept the user's destination floor, open / close the doors, display the running status of the car, and output audio.

[0014] The hall terminals 31-1, 31-N are terminals that are provided in the hall (not shown) of the elevator 200 and are configured with hall buttons (car call buttons), indicators, and a control system that controls these. The hall terminals 31-1, 31-N may also include other terminals such as speakers and lighting (hall lanterns). For example, the various hall terminals 31-1, 31-N accept car calls from users, display the running status of the car, and output voice information.

[0015] Although two unit controllers 11-1 and 11-2 and cars 12-1 and 12-2 are shown in Figure 1, there are as many unit controllers 11 and cars 12 as there are shuttle elevators. For example, as shown in Figure 2, there are six shuttle elevators. There are also as many unit controllers and cars for local elevators as there are local elevators. The unit controllers and cars for each local elevator are controlled by an operation control device (not shown).

[0016] The elevator operation control device 100 includes local elevator specification information 1, shuttle elevator operation information 2, a simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3, an excess arrival number detection unit 4, and an operation control unit 5.

[0017] The elevator operation control device 100 controls the operation of multiple elevators equipped in the elevator 200. In this embodiment, the elevator operation control device 100 controls the operation of a shuttle elevator. The elevator operation control device 100 outputs commands to the elevator controllers 11-1 and 11-2.

[0018] The unit controllers 11-1 and 11-2 are devices that control the position, speed, stopping floors, and door opening / closing of a single elevator in accordance with commands from the operation control unit 5. Each of the unit controllers 11-1 and 11-2 drives a motor of a hoist (not shown) to raise and lower the car 12 by winding up the rope connected to the car sections 12-1 and 12-2. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the unit controllers 11-1 and 11-2, they will be referred to as unit controller 11. Furthermore, when there is no need to distinguish between the multiple cars 12-1 and 12-2, they will be referred to as cars 12 if necessary.

[0019] Next, each processing unit of the elevator operation control device 100 will be described. [Local elevator specification information] Local elevator specification information 1 includes information on specifications such as the average operation interval and capacity of the local elevator. These are various parameters used to determine whether an excess of passengers is arriving at the local elevator. Local elevator specification information 1 includes the following parameters. However, instead of the parameters themselves, the original parameters used to calculate these parameters may be stored instead. Local elevator specification information 1 is saved as a database in, for example, the non-volatile storage 66 in FIG. 12. Note that if there are multiple local elevator banks to which passengers can transfer from the shuttle elevator, local elevator specification information 1 is stored for each bank.

[0020] (Average Headway Between Local Elevators) The average headway between local elevators refers to the time interval between when one elevator leaves a departure floor (the reference floor in this example) and when the next elevator leaves a departure floor. This can be approximated using parameters such as the elevator capacity, rated speed, door width, and acceleration, or it can be calculated using actual measured values. The calculation formula is provided in JIS.

[0021] (Number of passengers that can ride in one car of a local elevator) The number of passengers that can ride in one car of a local elevator is calculated by multiplying the capacity of the local elevator by the occupancy rate of the local elevator. The occupancy rate of a local elevator is information that indicates the maximum percentage of the capacity that is expected to ride in the car. In this embodiment, for example, 60% is used, but the value is not limited to this.

[0022] (Number of people to be transported by a local elevator bank) The number of people to be transported by a local elevator bank is the total expected floor capacity. The value of the number of people to be transported by this local elevator bank can be stored as the value at the time of traffic calculation. Note that the value of the number of people to be transported by the local elevator bank can also be corrected using actual operation data. JIS provides a formula for calculating the number of people to be transported. Calculate the local elevator's (personnel transport capacity) x (number of elevators) per certain time period. Then, calculate the number of people per specified area of ​​the target floor.

[0023] [Shuttle elevator operation information] Shuttle elevator operation information 2 is operation information such as the current position, speed, number of passengers, and door open status of each elevator subject to group management. This information is used to predict the number of passengers arriving at a transfer floor at the same time. For example, the elevator operation control device 100 can obtain this information by communicating with the elevator number control device 11 of each elevator.

[0024] The number of passengers can be predicted and obtained from the load value of the car 12. For example, assuming the load per person is 65 kg, the number of passengers can be estimated by dividing the load value of the car 12 by 65 kg. Also, if the number of passengers in the elevator is known from a surveillance camera (not shown) installed inside the car 12, that number of passengers can be used directly.

[0025] [Simultaneous Arrivals Number Prediction Unit] The simultaneous arrivals number prediction unit 3 (an example of an arrivals number prediction unit) predicts and calculates the number of passengers who will arrive at a transfer floor (sky lobby floor) within the average operating interval of the local elevators. Shuttle elevators generally do not stop at intermediate floors. Therefore, it is sufficient to add up the number of passengers on each shuttle elevator that departed from the reference floor (lobby floor) during the period going back from the current time by the average operating interval of the local elevators. In this case, the number of passengers on shuttle elevators with their doors open at the reference floor may also be added to the predicted number of arrivals.

[0026] If local elevators are located across multiple banks (e.g., low floors, middle floors, and high floors), this may be calculated separately for each bank using the average headway between local elevators, or the average headway between local elevators may be averaged to calculate a single "average headway between all local elevators."

[0027] [Excess Arrival Number Detector] The excess arrival number detector 4 determines whether the number of passengers arriving at a transfer floor (sky lobby floor) at the same time exceeds a preset threshold. The threshold may be, for example, the number of passengers that can fit in one car of a local elevator, or another value proportional to this may also be used.

[0028] The operation control unit 5 controls the operation of the shuttle elevator to suppress an increase in the number of passengers arriving at the transfer floor (sky lobby floor) at the same time (i.e., the predicted number of passengers arriving). For example, the operation control unit 5 suppresses simultaneous departures of the next shuttle elevator or issues a warning. The warning is issued, for example, within the car 12 of the shuttle elevator or to the elevator hall of the reference floor (lobby floor). For example, the warning is issued by sounding a buzzer in the car 12 or displaying a hall lantern. An announcement that a large number of passengers are arriving at the transfer floor may be made through a speaker within the car 12, or a message may be displayed within the car 12 or in the elevator hall. The warning can inform passengers in the car 12 and in the elevator hall that a large number of passengers are arriving at the transfer floor at the same time. Such a warning discourages passengers from using the shuttle elevator and limits or reduces the occupancy rate of the shuttle elevator (car 12).

[0029] The operation control unit 5 appropriately transmits the above control content to each elevator control device 11 via the communication interface 67 shown in Fig. 12. In this way, the elevator operation control device 100 realizes the desired elevator operation control to achieve simultaneous departure suppression and occupancy rate restriction.

[0030] Figure 2 shows the layout (use) of each elevator within a building. In high-rise complex buildings, in order to expand the rental space on the lower floors, the starting points of elevators to the middle and upper floors are set on the middle floors of the building (10th floor in Figure 2, hereafter referred to as the "transfer floor"). A shuttle elevator is provided that provides direct service between the main lobby floor (1st floor) and the transfer floor (10th floor). The square "■" mark indicates the elevator's service floor (stop floor), and the vertical line "|" mark indicates the floor the elevator passes through.

[0031] For example, floors 1 to 9 (or 10) are commercial floors. Floors 11 to 34 are offices. There are six shuttle elevators (No. 1 to No. 6). Furthermore, there are six local elevators (No. 7 to No. 12) serving lower floors, six local elevators (No. 13 to No. 18) serving mid-rise floors, and six local elevators (No. 19 to No. 24) serving upper floors. The multiple floors including the starting and ending service floors assigned to each elevator are also called a bank.

[0032] To reach the offices located above the commercial facilities, users board one of the shuttle elevators, No. 1 to No. 6, from the main lobby floor (1st floor). After that, users get off at the transfer floor (10th floor) and board either the local elevators (No. 13 to No. 18) bound for the mid-rise floors or the local elevators (No. 19 to No. 24) bound for the upper floors.

[0033] 3 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the elevator operation control method according to this embodiment, showing an example of four shuttle elevators 41 to 44 and three local elevators 45 to 47.

[0034] The number of passengers in the shuttle elevator can be calculated as the number of passengers predicted to arrive at the transfer floor FL2 within the average operation interval of the local elevator. The operation control unit 5 executes control such as setting a departure limit time for the shuttle elevator or restricting the occupancy rate so that this number of passengers falls below the local elevator capacity x occupancy rate, or a value proportional to this calculation result. The value proportional to the calculation result is, for example, 0.8, 1, 1.5 times the calculation result. These values ​​are called adjustment rates. For example, these values ​​can be obtained as feedback from actual elevator operation data or simulation results.

[0035] (1) Calculation of Preconditions (Before Operation) For example, if the average operation interval of a local elevator is 30 seconds, the capacity of the local elevator is 20 people, and the occupancy rate is 80%, the number of people that can ride in the local elevator is 16. The occupancy rate is not limited to 80%. This number of people that can ride is calculated as a precondition (threshold) before operation. The number of people that can ride can be calculated in advance as local elevator specification information 1 ( FIG. 1 ). The calculated number of people that can ride (threshold) is stored in the memory unit of the elevator operation control device 100. For example, the memory unit can be the ROM 62 or non-volatile storage 66 shown in FIG. 12 (described later).

[0036] (2) Determining the Number of Simultaneous Arrivals (During Operation) The simultaneous arrivals prediction unit 3 (FIG. 1) of the elevator operation control device 100 on the shuttle elevator side predicts the number of passengers who will arrive at the transfer floor FL2 (sky lobby floor) within the average operation interval of the local elevators, based on the number of passengers in each car 12 and the predicted arrival time at the transfer floor FL2. From the position and speed of the shuttle elevator, it is possible to calculate how many seconds it will take for the shuttle elevator to arrive at the transfer floor. The excess arrivals detection unit 4 determines that an excess of passengers has occurred if the predicted number of passengers exceeds the number of passengers that can simultaneously board the local elevator (or a threshold proportional to this number). The result of the excess arrivals determination is sent to the operation control unit 5.

[0037] (3) Changing the control mode (during operation) The operation control unit 5 restricts the departure of the next shuttle elevator at the reference floor FL1, sounds a buzzer in the car 12, and restricts the occupancy rate by displaying a hall lantern. For example, if the total number of people arriving during the average operation interval of the local elevators of 30 seconds is 20, this exceeds the threshold of 16. Therefore, the operation control unit 5 restricts the departure of the shuttle elevator and outputs an alert.

[0038] As described above, the elevator operation control device 100 according to this embodiment controls the operation of the shuttle elevator without communication between the shuttle elevator and the local elevator, thereby suppressing an increase in the number of passengers predicted to arrive at a transfer floor within a certain period of time. The certain period of time is, for example, the average interval between local elevator operations. This reduces the number of passengers who are unable to board a local elevator at a transfer floor, thereby shortening the waiting time for the local elevator at the transfer floor. This embodiment is particularly effective when the combined transport capacity of multiple shuttle elevators is greater than the combined transport capacity of multiple local elevators.

[0039] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure by the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 according to this embodiment. First, upon receiving a command to start processing, the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 initializes the number of simultaneous arrival people N at the transfer floor to "0" (S1). Next, the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 repeats the processing of steps S2 to S4 for each elevator C. The elevator C corresponds to, for example, elevators 1 to 6 of the shuttle elevators.

[0040] The simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 determines whether the last departure time of vehicle C is within the average local elevator operating interval from the current time (S2). If the last departure time of vehicle C is within the average local elevator operating interval from the current time (YES determination in S2), the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the last departure time of vehicle C is not within the average local elevator operating interval from the current time (NO determination in S2), the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 proceeds to the determination processing of step S3.

[0041] In step S3, the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 determines whether or not the doors of vehicle C are open on the reference floor (lobby floor) (S3). If vehicle C has its doors open on the reference floor (lobby floor) (YES in S3), the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 proceeds to step S4.

[0042] Next, if the answer is YES in step S2 or YES in step S3, the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 adds the number of passengers Pc on car C (cage 12) to the number of simultaneous arrivals n at the transfer floor (S4).

[0043] Next, if the door of elevator C is not open on the reference floor (lobby floor) in step S3 (NO in S3), or after the processing of step S4, the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 checks whether the processing of steps S2 to S4 has been completed for all elevators C. If there is an elevator C for which the processing of steps S2 to S4 has not been completed, the process returns to step S2. The simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 then executes the processing of steps S2 to S4. On the other hand, if the processing of steps S2 to S4 has been completed for all elevators C, the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 proceeds to step S5.

[0044] Next, the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 passes the number of simultaneous arrivals N at the transfer floor to the next processing unit (S5). The next processing unit is the excess arrival number detection unit 4. After processing in step S5, the processing by the simultaneous arrival number prediction unit 3 ends.

[0045] Figure 5 shows an example of how to calculate the number of simultaneous arrivals according to this embodiment. Assume that 20 passengers board car 12-1 of shuttle elevator 41 and depart, and then 25 passengers board car 12-2 of shuttle elevator 42. The time between the first departure and the next departure is within the average operating interval of the local elevator. In this case, the number of simultaneous arrivals at the transfer floor is 45, which is the sum of the 20 departing passengers and the 25 (predicted) departing passengers.

[0046] [Processing by Excess Arrival Number Detection Unit] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure by the excess arrival number detection unit 4 according to this embodiment. Upon receiving a command to start processing, the excess arrival number detection unit 4 repeats the processing of steps S11 to S12 for each local elevator bank L. The excess arrival number detection unit 4 executes the processing of step S13 as necessary. The local elevator bank L includes groups of elevators for low floors, elevators for middle floors, and elevators for high floors.

[0047] First, the excess arrival number detection unit 4 calculates the number of people N_l entering the local elevator bank L at the same time by multiplying the ratio R_l of the number of people P_l to be transported by the local elevator bank L to the total number of people in the building by the number N of people arriving at the transfer floor at the same time (S11).

[0048] Next, the excess arrival number detection unit 4 determines whether the number of people N_l simultaneously entering the local elevator bank L exceeds the number of people m (threshold) that can ride per car of the local elevator bank L (S12).

[0049] If the simultaneous incoming number of people N_l does not exceed the number of people m (threshold) that can ride per car of the local elevator bank L (NO in S12), the excess-arrival number detection unit 4 checks whether the processing of steps S11 to S12 has been completed for all local elevator banks L. If there is a local elevator bank L for which the processing of steps S11 to S12 has not been completed, the process returns to step S11. The excess-arrival number detection unit 4 then executes the processing of steps S11 to S12.

[0050] In step S12, if the simultaneous inflow number N_l exceeds the number of passengers m (threshold) per car of the local elevator bank L (YES determination in S12), the excess arrival number detection unit 4 notifies the next processing unit that the simultaneous inflow number N_l has exceeded the threshold (S13). The next processing unit is the operation control unit 5.

[0051] Then, when the processing of steps S11 to S12 is completed for all local elevator banks L, or after the processing of step S13, the processing by the excess arrival number detection unit 4 ends.

[0052] 7 is a diagram showing an example of how to calculate the number of excess arrivals when there are multiple local elevators at a transfer floor. In this example, four shuttle elevators 41 to 44, three local elevators 45 to 47, and three local elevators 48 to 50 are shown.

[0053] If there are multiple local elevators 45-47 and 48-50 at transfer floor FL2, the number of passengers on the shuttle elevator (the number of people arriving at transfer floor FL2 at the same time) is allocated to each bank according to the proportion of the number of people in the building (the number of people to be transported) that each bank handles.The presence or absence of an excess number of arrivals is then determined based on whether the number of people arriving at the same time allocated to each bank exceeds the capacity of the local elevator multiplied by the occupancy rate (a threshold proportional to the capacity).

[0054] - Local elevator bank (1): Average operation interval 30 seconds, maximum number of passengers allowed to board at the same time 16 (threshold), total number of passengers on service floors (transportation target) 900. For example, local elevator bank (1) corresponds to a bank made up of elevators for lower floors. In Figure 7, the local elevator bank is referred to as "local bank". - Local elevator bank (2): Average operation interval 30 seconds, maximum number of passengers allowed to board at the same time 19 (threshold), total number of passengers on service floors (transportation target) 600. For example, local elevator bank (2) corresponds to a bank made up of elevators for mid-rise floors.

[0055] The total number of arrivals in 30 seconds, "45 people," is divided proportionally based on the proportion of people in the building. → Local elevator bank (1): Number of simultaneous arrivals: 27 people > 16 people Local elevator bank (2): Number of simultaneous arrivals: 18 people < 19 people → In this case, the number of simultaneous arrivals at local elevator bank (1) is determined to exceed the threshold.

[0056] If the average interval between local elevator operations differs significantly between local elevator banks, the time interval for calculating the total number of simultaneous arrivals may be different for each bank.

[0057] [Processing by Operation Control Unit] (Simultaneous Departure Suppression) Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of processing (simultaneous departure suppression) by the operation control unit 5 according to this embodiment. First, upon receiving a command to start processing, the operation control unit 5 determines whether the excess arrival number detection unit 4 has detected that the number of excess arrivals has exceeded the threshold (S21). Here, if the excess arrival number has not been detected to have exceeded the threshold (NO in S21), the operation control unit 5 ends this processing. If the excess arrival number has been detected to have exceeded the threshold (YES in S21), the operation control unit 5 repeats the processing of steps S22 to S26 for each control period T.

[0058] The operation control unit 5 determines whether or not there is a car C_o with its doors open on the reference floor (lobby floor) (S22). Car C_o is a car (car 12) among cars C with its doors open, and corresponds to, for example, any of cars 1 to 6 of the shuttle elevator. If there is no car C_o with its doors open (NO in S22), the operation control unit 5 ends the control process (S27). In this case, the operation control unit 5 waits until the next control cycle.

[0059] On the other hand, if there is a car C_o with its door open (YES determination in S22), the operation control unit 5 determines whether the car 12 of the car C_o is full (S23). If the car 12 of the car C_o is full (YES determination in S23), the operation control unit 5 proceeds to step S28, and if the car 12 of the car C_o is not full (NO determination in S23), the operation control unit 5 proceeds to step S24.

[0060] If the cage 12 of car C_o is not full (YES judgment in S23), the operation control unit 5 recalculates the number of people arriving at the transfer floor at the same time and again performs the threshold exceeding judgment by the excess arrival number detection unit 4 in step S21 (S24).

[0061] Next, the operation control unit 5 determines whether or not the excess arrival number detection unit 4 has detected that the excess arrival number has exceeded the threshold (S25). If the operation control unit 5 has not detected that the excess arrival number has exceeded the threshold (NO in S25), the operation control unit 5 proceeds to step S28.

[0062] If it is detected that the number of excess arrivals exceeds the threshold (YES in S25), the operation control unit 5 proceeds to step S26. If the determination in step S25 is YES, the operation control unit 5 disables door closing of the car 12 of car No. C_o (S26). In other words, the car 12 maintains the door open state. Thereafter, when the timing of the next control cycle T arrives, the operation control unit 5 executes the processing of steps S22 to S26.

[0063] If the determination in step S23 is YES, or if the determination in step S25 is NO, the door closing of the car 12 of elevator C_o is enabled and the control process is terminated (S28). This causes elevator C_o to close the door of the car 12 and prepare to depart for the transfer floor. If the car 12 is full or the number of excess arrivals does not exceed the threshold, elevator C_o can depart for the transfer floor. For example, if the threshold for the number of excess arrivals is not detected in step S25, the next shuttle elevator may depart within the average operating interval of the local elevator (e.g., before 30 seconds have elapsed).

[0064] In this way, the next shuttle elevator departs when the excess number of passengers arriving at the transfer floor does not exceed the threshold, thereby reducing the increase in the number of passengers arriving at the transfer floor at the same time. Furthermore, the operation control unit 5 will immediately depart a full shuttle elevator, even if it is the next shuttle elevator. Having a full-occupancy determination function prevents an unexpected influx of passengers to the transfer floor and increases satisfaction with shuttle elevator operation (by shortening the shuttle elevator's downtime). When determining full occupancy, the amount of time that has elapsed since the previous shuttle elevator departed is irrelevant.

[0065] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating simultaneous departure suppression by the operation control unit 5 according to this embodiment. After the first shuttle elevator 41 departs from the reference floor FL1, the next shuttle elevator 42 cannot depart until the excess arrival number at the transfer floor FL2 does not exceed the threshold (NO in S25). Therefore, the departure of the next shuttle elevator 42 can be delayed (suppressing simultaneous departure), thereby suppressing an increase in the number of simultaneous arrivals at the transfer floor FL2. This reduces the waiting time for local elevators at the transfer floor FL2. Note that the shuttle elevator 42 can depart after the average operation interval (e.g., 30 seconds) has elapsed during the repeated loop processing in FIG. 8 .

[0066] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure of processing (occupancy rate restriction) by the operation control unit 5 according to this embodiment. First, when the operation control unit 5 receives a command to start processing, it determines whether or not the excess arrival number detection unit 4 has detected that the number of excess arrivals has exceeded the threshold (S31). If the excess arrival number has not been detected to have exceeded the threshold (NO in S31), the operation control unit 5 ends this processing.

[0067] If it is detected in step S31 that the number of excess arrivals exceeds the threshold (YES in S31), the operation control unit 5 determines whether or not there is a car C_o with its door open on the reference floor (lobby floor) (S32). If there is no car C_o with its door open (NO in S32), the operation control unit 5 ends this process.

[0068] If there is a car C_o whose door is open in step S32 (YES in S32), the operation control unit 5 determines whether the occupancy rate of the car C_o exceeds a preset control occupancy rate (S33). If the occupancy rate of the car C_o does not exceed the control occupancy rate (NO in S33), the operation control unit 5 ends this process.

[0069] If the occupancy rate of car C_o exceeds the control occupancy rate in step S33 (YES judgment in S33), the operation control unit 5 sounds a buzzer in the car 12 of car C_o and turns on the hall lantern of the car whose doors will open next.

[0070] In this way, passengers in the car 12 of car C_o and passengers at the platform of the car whose doors will open next can be notified that a large number of people will be arriving at transfer floor FL2 at the same time.

[0071] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the occupancy rate restriction by the operation control unit 5 according to this embodiment. A user waiting in the elevator hall attempts to board the next shuttle elevator 42, but notices that a buzzer sounds and the hall lantern is lit on the shuttle elevator 42. This informs the user that if they use the next shuttle elevator 42, a large number of people will arrive at transfer floor FL2 at the same time. The user then decides not to use the shuttle elevator 42 and moves to car 12-3 of the adjacent shuttle elevator 43. There is also a possibility that some users will hear the buzzer and get off car 12-2. In this way, by issuing a warning against using the shuttle elevator 42, it is possible to restrict the occupancy rate.

[0072] For example, the occupancy rate is limited so that the number of passengers on the next shuttle elevator scheduled to depart (within 30 seconds) does not exceed the maximum capacity (16 passengers, for example). In addition, if the average interval between operations (30 seconds, for example) is exceeded during the occupancy rate limit, passengers may be allowed to board up to the maximum capacity.

[0073] (Implementation of simultaneous departure suppression and occupancy rate restriction) The operation control unit 5 may implement both simultaneous departure suppression and occupancy rate restriction. For example, it is possible to limit the occupancy rate of the next shuttle elevator to 40%, and implement control to suppress simultaneous departures for another shuttle elevator to which the user is guided.

[0074] Second Embodiment The elevator operation control device 100 according to the first embodiment is configured to have the operation control unit 5 suppress simultaneous departures and / or limit the occupancy rate when an excess number of passengers arriving at a transfer floor is detected. That is, by suppressing simultaneous departures or limiting the occupancy rate when an excess number of passengers arriving at a transfer floor is detected, the waiting time for local elevators at the transfer floor is shortened compared to the current time. However, it is desirable to further shorten the waiting time. Therefore, it is preferable that the operation control unit 5 suppress simultaneous departures and limit the occupancy rate so that the number of passengers arriving at a transfer floor at the same time falls below a preset threshold.

[0075] (Simultaneous Departure Suppression) For example, if the average operation interval of a local elevator is 30 seconds, the capacity of the local elevator is 20 people, and the occupancy rate is 80%, the number of people that can ride the local elevator is 16. In response to this, the operation control unit 5 adjusts the departure time of the next shuttle elevator so that the number of people who arrive at the transfer floor at the same time within a 30-second period does not exceed 16. One method for suppressing simultaneous departures is to not close the doors of the next shuttle elevator until the number of people who arrive at the transfer floor at the same time does not exceed a threshold value.

[0076] In addition, simultaneous departure suppression can be achieved by disabling the door-close button of the next shuttle elevator, but allowing the doors to close after a set door-open time has elapsed. This type of control can keep the discomfort felt by users of shuttle elevators that are slow to depart below a certain level.

[0077] (Occupancy Rate Limit) As described above, if the average operation interval of a local elevator is 30 seconds, the capacity of a local elevator is 20 people, and the occupancy rate is 80%, the number of people that can ride in the local elevator is 16. In response to this, the operation control unit 5 adjusts the number of people that can ride in the next shuttle elevator (occupancy rate) so that the number of people who arrive at a transfer floor simultaneously within a 30-second period does not exceed 16. One method of occupancy rate limit is to not close the doors of the next shuttle elevator until the occupancy rate of the next shuttle elevator does not exceed a threshold value.

[0078] With this configuration, the present embodiment repeatedly suppresses simultaneous departures or limits occupancy rates until the number of simultaneous arrivals at the transfer floor does not exceed the threshold. This allows the present embodiment to suppress an increase in the number of simultaneous arrivals at the transfer floor and reduce the number of simultaneous arrivals at the transfer floor more quickly than the first embodiment. This allows the waiting time for local elevators at transfer floors to be reduced more quickly than the first embodiment.

[0079] <Third embodiment> As an example of simultaneous departure suppression by the operation control unit 5, simultaneous departure suppression may be realized by fixing the departure order of multiple shuttle elevators and performing control such that the other shuttle elevators cannot depart until the first shuttle elevator has departed. This makes it easy for users to know which shuttle elevator will depart next during simultaneous departure suppression. With this configuration, it is possible to achieve both ease of use of the shuttle elevators and suppression of the number of people entering the shuttle elevators.

[0080] [Hardware Configuration of Operation Control Device] Next, the hardware configuration for realizing the functions of the control system of the elevator operation control device 100 shown in Fig. 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the control system provided in the elevator operation control device 100. The calculator 60 shown in Fig. 12 is hardware used as a so-called computer.

[0081] The computer 60 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 61, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 62, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 63, a non-volatile storage 66, and a communication interface 67, all of which are connected to a system bus.

[0082] The CPU 61 is a processing device that reads out from the ROM 62 the program code of the software that realizes each function according to this embodiment, expands it into the RAM 63, and executes it. Note that the computer 60 may include a processing device such as an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) instead of the CPU 61. Variables, parameters, etc. that are generated during the calculation process are temporarily written to the RAM 63. The processing device such as the CPU 61 may include a register.

[0083] Each function of the elevator operation control device 100 is realized by the CPU 61 reading out the corresponding program code from the ROM 62, expanding it into the RAM 63, and executing it. Note that the elevator control device 11 and each terminal device in the car 12 connected to the elevator operation control device 100 also have a hardware configuration similar to that of the computer 60, and the functions of each device are realized by the CPU 61, ROM 62, and RAM 63.

[0084] The display unit 64 is a monitor such as a liquid crystal display, and displays a GUI screen, the results of processing performed by the CPU 61, etc. The input unit 65 generates an input signal in response to a user's operation and outputs it to the CPU 61. The input unit 65 may be, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, etc., and the user can operate the input unit 65 to input information and instructions.

[0085] The nonvolatile storage 66 may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flexible disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a nonvolatile memory card, etc. In addition to an operating system (OS) and various parameters, programs for operating the computer 60 may also be recorded in this nonvolatile storage 66. The local elevator specification information 1 and the shuttle elevator operation information 2 may be stored in the nonvolatile storage 66.

[0086] The program is stored in the form of a computer-readable program code, and the CPU 61 sequentially executes operations in accordance with the program code. In other words, the ROM 62 or the non-volatile storage 66 is used as an example of a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium that stores a program to be executed by a computer.

[0087] The communication interface 67 may be, for example, a network interface card (NIC), and may transmit and receive various data to and from external devices via a network or a communication line. The communication function of the elevator operation control device 100 is realized by the communication interface 67.

[0088] As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various other modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail and specifically to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the components described. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with a component of another embodiment. It is also possible to add a component of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, replace, or delete other components from part of the configuration of each embodiment.

[0089] Furthermore, some or all of the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, etc. may be implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits, etc. As the hardware, a broad processor device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) may be used.

[0090] Furthermore, each component of the elevator operation control device according to the above-described embodiment may be implemented in any hardware as long as the respective hardware can transmit and receive information to each other via a network. Furthermore, the processing performed by a certain processing unit may be realized by a single piece of hardware, or may be realized by distributed processing using multiple pieces of hardware.

[0091] 1...Local elevator specification information, 2...Shuttle elevator operation information, 3...Simultaneous arrival number prediction unit, 4...Excess arrival number detection unit, 5...Operation control unit, 11, 11-1, 11-2...Unit control device, 12, 12-1, 12-3...Cage, 41 to 44...Shuttle elevator, 45 to 50...Local elevator, 100...Elevator operation control device, 200...Elevator, FL1...Reference floor, FL2...Transfer floor

Claims

1. An elevator that controls the operation of a group of elevators including a number of shuttle elevators that operate between a base floor and a transfer floor and a number of local elevators that operate between the transfer floor and upper floors, the elevator comprising: an arrival number prediction unit that predicts the number of people who will arrive at the transfer floor within a certain period of time by the shuttle elevators; an excess arrival number detection unit that detects when the predicted arrival number output from the arrival number prediction unit exceeds a threshold value; and an operation control unit that performs operation control to suppress an increase in the predicted arrival number when the excess arrival number detection unit detects that the predicted arrival number exceeds the threshold value.

2. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein the certain time period is a value proportional to an average interval between operations of the local elevator.

3. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is a value proportional to the number of passengers per car calculated by multiplying the capacity of the local elevator by a set occupancy rate.

4. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein the operation control unit delays the departure time of the next shuttle elevator when the predicted number of arrivals exceeds the threshold value.

5. The elevator according to claim 1, wherein the operation control unit performs processing to alert the inside of the shuttle elevator car or the elevator hall of the reference floor when the predicted number of arrivals exceeds the threshold value.

6. The elevator described in claim 1, wherein the operation control unit fixes the departure order of the multiple shuttle elevators when the predicted number of arrivals exceeds the threshold value, and restricts the departure of the next shuttle elevator until the previous shuttle elevator has departed.

7. An elevator control method for controlling the operation of an elevator group including a plurality of shuttle elevators operating between a reference floor and a transfer floor and a plurality of local elevators operating between the transfer floor and upper floors, the elevator control method including: a process for predicting the number of people who will arrive at the transfer floor within a certain period of time by the shuttle elevators; a process for detecting when the predicted number of people arriving exceeds a threshold; and a process for performing operation control to suppress an increase in the predicted number of people arriving when it is detected that the predicted number of people arriving exceeds the threshold.