Elevator system

Abstract

Provided is an elevator system capable of moving a car to an entry floor and an exit floor by remote operation even when the operation panel of a car call is digitized. This elevator system comprises an elevator having a hall call input device, and a remote device that remotely operates the elevator. The elevator system comprises a hall call operation panel module for the hall call input device, the hall call operation panel module having a relay connected in parallel with a button of the hall call input device, and an interface device that controls the relay. An on-car control module capable of communicating with each of the hall call operation panel module and the remote device is provided on the car. In response to receiving a car call request together with information on the entry floor and the exit floor from the remote device, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the hall call operation panel module to bring the button into a pressed state, and causes the car to be moved to the entry floor and the exit floor.

Description

elevator system

[0001] This invention relates to an elevator system that can remotely control a car to move to a landing floor and then to a landing floor, thereby enabling, for example, a robot to board and disembark.

[0002] In recent years, systems have been proposed that use elevators to move robots between floors. For example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, an interface device is installed that is independent of the control panel that controls the elevator, and instructions from the robot are sent to the interface device, which then instructs the robot to go to the destination floor and so on.

[0003] In conventional elevators used in such systems, the destination floor buttons, etc. on the car call operation panel are connected by wired analog to the control panel that controls the elevator, making it possible to control them from the above-mentioned interface device, etc. For example, in the systems of Patent Documents 1 and 2, the destination floor buttons, etc. on the operation panel are connected in parallel to a relay, so that the destination floor buttons, etc. are operated from the above-mentioned interface device via the relay.

[0004] Patent No. 6567195 Patent No. 6567196

[0005] However, in recent years, with the advent of digitalization, a control device has been installed on the car call operation panel itself, and the signal when a destination floor button or the like is pressed is converted into a digital signal by the control device, which then transmits the digital signal from the control device to the control panel that controls the elevator.

[0006] In elevators using such digitalized operation panels, the destination floor buttons and the like are directly connected to the control board, making it impossible to connect the destination floor buttons and the like in parallel with the relay as in Patent Documents 1 and 2. As a result, in such elevators, it is not possible to operate the destination floor buttons and the like using the interface device described above.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide an elevator system that allows the car to be moved to the landing floor and then to the disembarking floor by remote control, even in the case of an elevator with a digital car call operation panel, thereby enabling, for example, movement between floors by a robot.

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the elevator system of the present invention is an elevator system comprising: an elevator having a hall call input device at each floor; and a remote device for remotely operating the elevator; a hall call operation panel module provided in the hall call input device, the hall call operation panel module comprising a relay connected in parallel to a button on the hall call input device and an interface device for controlling the relay; and an on-car control module attached to the top of the elevator car, the on-car control module being able to communicate with the hall call operation panel module and the remote device, respectively; when the on-car control module receives a car call request from the remote device together with information on a landing floor and a disembarking floor, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the hall call operation panel modules at the landing floor and the disembarking floor to press down the buttons on the hall call input devices at the landing floor and the disembarking floor, and moves the car to the landing floor and the disembarking floor.

[0009] According to one aspect, when the on-car control module receives a car call request from the remote device along with information about the landing floor and the disembarkation floor, it transmits an instruction to the hall call operation panel modules at the landing floor and the disembarkation floor to press down the buttons on the hall call input devices at the landing floor and the disembarkation floor. When the interface device of the hall call operation panel module receives the instruction to press down the buttons from the on-car control module, it controls the relay to press down the buttons on the hall call input devices. As a result, the control panel that controls the entire elevator moves the car to the landing floor and the disembarkation floor in response to the button on the hall call input device being pressed. Therefore, according to this aspect, even in the case of an elevator with a digital car call operation panel, an elevator system is provided that can remotely move the car to the landing floor and then to the disembarkation floor.

[0010] In another aspect of the present invention, the remote device is a robot capable of autonomous travel, and further comprises: a server capable of communicating with the robot and the on-car control module; and an in-hoistway sensor module provided at a position corresponding to each floor in the elevator shaft and capable of communicating with the on-car control module, wherein the robot receives instructions for the landing floor and the disembarking floor from the server, and when the in-hoistway sensor module determines that the car has arrived at the landing floor, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the robot to get into the car, and when the in-hoistway sensor module determines that the car has arrived at the disembarking floor, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the robot to disembark from the car.

[0011] According to this aspect, the server transmits to the robot an instruction to board an elevator and move, along with information about the landing floor and the destination floor. Upon receiving this instruction, the robot moves to the elevator location and transmits the landing floor and destination floor information, along with a car call request, to the on-car control module. Upon receiving this information, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the hall call operation panel modules at the landing floor and the destination floor to press down the buttons on the hall call input devices at the landing floor and the destination floor. Upon receiving the instruction to press down the buttons from the on-car control module, the interface device of the hall call operation panel module controls the relay to press down the buttons on the hall call input devices. As a result, the control panel that controls the entire elevator moves the car to the landing floor and the destination floor in response to the pressing of the buttons on the hall call input devices. When the in-hoistway sensor module determines that the car has arrived at the landing floor, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the robot to board the car, and when the in-hoistway sensor module determines that the car has arrived at the disembarkation floor, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the robot to disembark from the car. Thus, even in the case of an elevator with a digitalized car call operation panel, it is possible to remotely move the car to the landing floor and then to the disembarkation floor, providing an elevator system that enables movement between floors by a robot.

[0012] Another aspect of the present invention further comprises a car call input device for the elevator; and a car call operation panel module provided in the car call input device and capable of communicating with the on-car control module, the car call operation panel module including a relay connected in parallel to a door open button of the car call input device and an interface device for controlling the relay, wherein when the on-car control module determines from the in-shaft sensor module that the car has arrived at the landing floor and the disembarking floor, it transmits an instruction to the car call operation panel module to open the door open button.

[0013] According to this aspect, when the in-shaft sensor module determines that the car has arrived at the landing floor and the disembarking floor, the on-car control module sends an instruction to the car call operation panel module to open the door open button. As a result, the control panel that controls the entire elevator opens the elevator doors in response to the depression of the door open button. This allows the robot to enter and exit the elevator car. Thus, according to this aspect, even in the case of an elevator with a digitalized car call operation panel, the car can be remotely controlled to move to the landing floor and then to the disembarking floor, providing an elevator system that enables robots to move between floors.

[0014] In another aspect of the present invention, the car call operation panel module further includes a relay connected in parallel to the door close button of the car call input device and controlled by the interface device of the car call operation panel module, and when the on-car control module receives information from the robot indicating that the robot has completed boarding the car, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the car call operation panel module to close the door close button.

[0015] According to this aspect, when the on-car control module receives information from the robot indicating that the robot has completed boarding the car, it sends an instruction to the car call operation panel module to close the door close button. As a result, the control panel that controls the entire elevator closes the elevator doors in response to the depression of the door close button. Therefore, according to this aspect, even in the case of an elevator with a digitalized car call operation panel, it is possible to remotely move the car to a landing floor and then to a disembarking floor, providing an elevator system that enables movement between floors by a robot.

[0016] In another aspect of the present invention, the buttons on the hall call input device are an up button and a down button, the relays of the hall call operation panel module are connected in parallel to each of the up button and the down button, and the interface device of the hall call operation panel module controls the relays connected in parallel to each of the up button and the down button, and when the on-car control module sends an instruction to the hall call operation panel modules of the landing floor and the disembarking floor to press down the buttons on the hall call input devices of the landing floor and the disembarking floor, it sends an instruction to press down both the up button and the down button.

[0017] According to this aspect, when the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the hall call operation panel modules at the landing floor and the disembarking floor to press the buttons on the hall call input devices at the landing floor and the disembarking floor, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to press both the up button and the down button. As a result, the control panel that controls the entire elevator moves the car to the landing floor and the disembarking floor regardless of the car's position when the car call request is received. Therefore, according to this aspect, even in the case of an elevator with a digitalized car call operation panel, an elevator system is provided that can remotely move the car to the landing floor and then to the disembarking floor with a simple configuration.

[0018] According to the present invention, even in the case of an elevator with a digitalized car call operation panel, it is possible to remotely control the car to move to the landing floor and then to move it to the disembarking floor, thereby providing an elevator system that allows, for example, movement between floors by a robot.

[0019] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic view of an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic view of each floor in an elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the control relationship between each component in one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the control relationship between an on-car control module, a car call operation panel module, a hall call control panel module, a car call input device, a hall call input device, and a control panel in one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the elevator system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an elevator system of this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the state of each floor in the elevator system of this embodiment. Fig. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the control relationship between each component in this embodiment. Fig. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the control relationship between the on-car control module, car call operation panel module, hall call control panel module, car call input device, hall call input device, and control panel in this embodiment.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the elevator system 100 of this embodiment includes an elevator 10, an in-hoistway sensor module 20, an on-car control module 30, a robot 70, and a robot cloud server 80.

[0022] 2, the elevator 10 includes a car 12 arranged in a hoistway 11, a drive unit 60 that raises and lowers the car 12, a wire 62 that is wound around the drive unit 60 and connects a counterweight 61 to the car 12, and a control panel 63 that controls the drive unit 60 and the opening and closing of the door 13. The control panel 63 may be configured as a computer including a CPU and memory therein, or may be configured as a combination of relays and switches.

[0023] The hoistway sensor modules 20 are installed on the interior wall of the hoistway 11 at predetermined positions corresponding to each floor, and are modules for determining the location of the car 12. Each hoistway sensor module 20 is equipped with an RFID tag that indicates the corresponding floor. As shown in FIG. 3 , the hoistway sensor modules 20 are capable of communicating with the on-car control module 30. In this embodiment, the RFID tag of the hoistway sensor module 20 is, for example, a battery-less passive tag that operates by obtaining power from a carrier wave transmitted from the on-car control module 30. The RFID tag itself does not have a signal source, and communicates by, for example, reflecting the carrier wave transmitted from the on-car control module 30. The ID information of the RFID tag includes information indicating each floor, and this ID information is returned on the reflected wave.

[0024] The on-car control module 30 is a control module installed on the top of the car 12. As described above, the on-car control module 30 is capable of communicating with the in-hoistway sensor module 20 and reads the ID information of the RFID tag from the in-hoistway sensor module 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the on-car control module 30 is also capable of communicating with the robot 70 via the Internet or the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the on-car control module 30 is also connected by wire or wirelessly to the car call operation panel module 50 and the hall call operation panel module 54. The on-car control module 30 receives predetermined commands from the robot 70 and transmits predetermined control signals to the car call operation panel module 50 and the hall call operation panel module 54. The on-car control module 30 also transmits predetermined commands to the robot 70.

[0025] Furthermore, the on-car control module 30 can communicate with the robot cloud server 80, and transmits information such as the position of the robot 70 obtained through communication with the robot 70 to the robot cloud server 80. Communication between the on-car control module 30 and the robot 70 and the robot cloud server 80 is performed, for example, via the Internet.

[0026] A display device (not shown) and a car call input device 43 (shown in Fig. 3) are provided inside the car 12. The display device is a device that displays the operating status of the elevator 10. The car call input device 43 is a device that inputs instructions for the destination floor and instructions for opening or closing the door 13 to the control panel 63 of the elevator 10.

[0027] The car call input device 43 is provided with a plurality of destination floor buttons (not shown) which are push buttons on which the numbers of the stopping floors are displayed, and as shown in Figure 4, a door open button 45 which is a push button on which an open mark is displayed, and a door close button 46 which is a push button on which a close mark is displayed.

[0028] The destination floor button of the car call input device 43 is connected to, for example, a control device (not shown) attached to the car call input device 43. A signal generated when the destination floor button is pressed is converted into a digital signal by this control device and transmitted to the control panel 63. Therefore, a relay cannot be connected in parallel to a destination floor button configured in this way.

[0029] 4, the door open button 45 and the door close button 46 of the car call input device 43 are connected to the control panel 63 by analog connection without going through the control device (not shown). When the door open button 45 is pressed, the control panel 63 operates the opening and closing device of the door 13 to open the door 13. The door close button 46 is also connected to the control panel 63 by analog connection, and when the door close button 46 is pressed, the control panel 63 operates the opening and closing device of the door 13 to close the door 13.

[0030] 3 and 4 , a car call operation panel module 50 is connected to the car call input device 43. The car call operation panel module 50 is provided with a first instruction input relay 51, a second instruction input relay 52, and a first interface device 53. The first instruction input relay 51 is connected in parallel with the door open button 45. The first instruction input relay 51 is connected to the first interface device 53 and is turned on and off in response to commands from the first interface device 53. The first interface device 53 is capable of communicating with the on-car control module 30, receives a predetermined control signal from the on-car control module 30, and outputs a command to the first instruction input relay 51 to turn it on and off.

[0031] Similarly, the second instruction input relay 52 is connected in parallel to the door close button 46. The second instruction input relay 52 is connected to the first interface device 53, and is turned on and off in response to commands from the first interface device 53. The first interface device 53 is capable of communicating with the on-car control module 30, receives a predetermined control signal from the on-car control module 30, and outputs a command to the second instruction input relay 52 to turn it on and off.

[0032] The first instruction input relay 51 remains in the OFF state unless an ON signal is input from the first interface device 53. On the other hand, the first instruction input relay 51 is turned ON when an ON signal is input from the first interface device 53. Then, a signal indicating that the door open button 45 has been pressed is input to the control panel 63, and the control panel 63 outputs an operation command to the door 13 to open it.

[0033] Similarly, the second instruction input relay 52 remains in the OFF state unless an ON signal is input from the first interface device 53. On the other hand, the second instruction input relay 52 is turned ON when an ON signal is input from the first interface device 53. Then, a signal indicating that the door close button 46 has been pressed is input to the control panel 63, and the control panel 63 outputs an operation command to the door 13 to close the door 13.

[0034] In this manner, in this embodiment, the door 13 can be set to an open or closed state by turning on or off the first instruction input relay 51 and the second instruction input relay 52 connected to the door open button 45 and the door close button 46 in response to an instruction from the first interface device 53.

[0035] 1 and 2, a hall call input device 47 is provided near the door 13 on the elevator hall side of the elevator 10. The hall call input device 47 is a device for inputting destination direction instructions to the control panel 63 of the elevator 10.

[0036] 4, the hall call input device 47 is provided with an up button 48, which is a push button marked with an upward mark, and a down button 49, which is a push button marked with a downward mark. The up button 48 and the down button 49 are also analog-connected to the control panel 63. When the up button 48 and / or the down button 49 is pressed, the control panel 63 moves the car 12 to the floor where the up button 48 and / or the down button 49 was pressed.

[0037] 3 and 4 , a hall call operation panel module 54 is connected to the hall call input device 47. The hall call operation panel module 54 is equipped with a third instruction input relay 55, a fourth instruction input relay 56, and a second interface device 57. The third instruction input relay 55 is connected in parallel with the up button 48. The third instruction input relay 55 is connected to the second interface device 57 and is turned on and off in response to commands from the second interface device 57. The second interface device 57 is capable of communicating with the on-car control module 30, receives a predetermined control signal from the on-car control module 30, and outputs a command to the third instruction input relay 55 to turn it on and off.

[0038] Similarly, the fourth instruction input relay 56 is connected in parallel to the down button 49. The fourth instruction input relay 56 is connected to the second interface device 57, and is turned on and off in response to commands from the second interface device 57. The second interface device 57 is capable of communicating with the on-car control module 30, receives a predetermined control signal from the on-car control module 30, and outputs a command to the fourth instruction input relay 56 to turn it on and off.

[0039] The third instruction input relay 55 remains in the off state unless an on signal is input from the second interface device 57. On the other hand, the third instruction input relay 55 is turned on when an on signal is input from the second interface device 57. Then, a signal indicating that the up button 48 has been pressed is input to the control panel 63, and the control panel 63 outputs an operation command to the drive device 60 to move the car 12 to the floor for which the up button 48 was pressed.

[0040] Similarly, the fourth instruction input relay 56 remains in the off state unless an on signal is input from the second interface device 57. On the other hand, the fourth instruction input relay 56 is turned on when an on signal is input from the second interface device 57. Then, a signal indicating that the down button 49 has been pressed is input to the control panel 63, and the control panel 63 outputs an operation command to the drive device 60 to move the car 12 to the floor where the down button 49 was pressed.

[0041] In this way, by using the second interface device 57 to turn on and off the third instruction input relay 55 and the fourth instruction input relay 56 connected to the up button 48 and the down button 49, the car 12 can be moved to the floor where the up button 48 and the down button 49 are pressed.

[0042] The robot 70 is a robot that recognizes a travel route based on images and position information obtained from cameras, sensors, GPS, etc., and travels autonomously to a destination. Examples include a transport robot that transports luggage to a predetermined location, a ride-on mobility support robot that transports disabled or sick people to a predetermined location, a cleaning robot that cleans a predetermined space, a security robot that patrols a predetermined route, and an inspection and diagnosis robot that inspects and diagnoses building facilities such as elevators, escalators, lighting equipment, and air conditioning equipment.

[0043] Robot 70 is equipped with a communication device that communicates with robot cloud server 80 and on-car control module 30 via the Internet or the like, and transmits and receives data. When robot 70 receives an instruction to board elevator 10 from robot cloud server 80, it moves close to elevator 10 and transmits the boarding floor and disembarking floor to on-car control module 30. On-car control module 30 communicates with hall call operation panel module 54 according to the received landing floor and disembarking floor, and controls the operation of elevator 10.

[0044] The robot cloud server 80 is a server that communicates with the robot 70 and the on-car control module 30 via the Internet or the like, and manages the position information and status of the robot 70. The robot cloud server 80 also communicates via the Internet or the like with other systems that make dispatch requests for the robot 70, and transmits predetermined instructions to the robot 70 in response to requests from the other systems.

[0045] The operation of the elevator system 100 configured as above will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a sequence diagram for explaining the operation of the elevator system 100. In this example, a case will be described in which, while the robot 70 is on the second floor, a dispatch request for the robot 70 to the fifth floor is received from another system that requests dispatch of the robot 70.

[0046] First, when a dispatch request to the fifth floor is sent from the other system, the robot cloud server 80 receives this dispatch request. The robot cloud server 80 is aware of the location information and status of the robot 70, and if the robot 70 is on the second floor, it sends instructions to the robot 70 to get on the elevator 10 on the second floor and get off the elevator 10 on the fifth floor (step S1).

[0047] When the robot 70 receives the instruction from the robot cloud server 80, in this example, it starts moving to the position of the elevator 10 on the second floor. When the robot 70 arrives at the position of the elevator 10 on the second floor, it transmits a car call request to the on-car control module 30 together with information that the landing floor is the second floor and the disembarkation floor is the fifth floor (step S2).

[0048] When the car on-car control module 30 receives a car call request from the robot 70, it sends an instruction to the hall call operation panel module 54 attached to the hall call input device 47 on the second floor to press the up button 48 and the down button 49 on the hall call input device 47 on the second floor (step S3).

[0049] When the second interface device 57 of the hall call operation panel module 54 attached to the hall call input device 47 on the second floor receives an instruction to press the up button 48 and the down button 49 from the on-car control module 30, it turns on the third instruction input relay 55 and the fourth instruction input relay 56. Therefore, a signal indicating that the up button 48 and the down button 49 have been pressed is input to the control panel 63, and the up button 48 and the down button 49 are placed in a pressed state. The control panel 63 outputs an operation command to the drive device 60 to move the car 12 to the floor where the up button 48 and the down button 49 were pressed (step S3).

[0050] The reason why both the up button 48 and the down button 49 are pressed in this manner is to enable the car on-car control module 30 to handle both cases where the car 12 is located on a floor below the second floor and where the car 12 is located on a floor above the second floor when the car on-car control module 30 receives a car call request. By performing the processing in this manner, the movement control of the car 12 can be simplified.

[0051] When the car 12 arrives at the second floor, which is the landing floor, the car-mounted control module 30 receives the ID information of the RFID tag of the elevator shaft sensor module 20 and detects that the car 12 has arrived at the second floor (step S4).

[0052] When the car 12 arrives at the second floor, the control panel 63 outputs an operation command to open the door 13. Furthermore, when the on-car control module 30 detects that the car 12 has arrived at the second floor, it transmits an instruction to the robot 70 to get into the car 12 (step S5).

[0053] When the robot 70 confirms that the door 13 is open, it gets into the car 12, and when it has completed boarding, it transmits a signal to the on-car control module 30 notifying that boarding has been completed (step S6). When the on-car control module 30 receives the signal notifying that the robot 70 has completed boarding, it transmits a signal to the robot cloud server 80 notifying that the robot 70 has completed boarding (step S7).

[0054] In addition, when the car control module 30 receives a signal indicating that the robot 70 has completed boarding, it sends an instruction to the second interface device 57 of the car call operation panel module 50 attached to the car call input device 43 to press the door close button 46 (step S8).

[0055] When the car call operation panel module 50 attached to the car call input device 43 receives the instruction to press the door close button 46, it turns on the second instruction input relay 52. ​​Therefore, a signal indicating that the door close button 46 has been pressed is input to the control panel 63, and the door close button 46 is placed in a pressed state. The control panel 63 outputs an operation command to the door 13 to close the door 13, thereby closing the door 13 (step S8).

[0056] Next, the car control module 30 sends an instruction to the hall call operation panel module 54 attached to the hall call input device 47 on the 5th floor, which is the disembarking floor, to press the up button 48 and the down button 49 on the hall call input device 47 on the 5th floor (step S9).

[0057] When the second interface device 57 of the hall call operation panel module 54 attached to the hall call input device 47 on the fifth floor receives an instruction to press the up button 48 and the down button 49 from the on-car control module 30, it turns on the third instruction input relay 55 and the fourth instruction input relay 56. Therefore, a signal indicating that the up button 48 and the down button 49 have been pressed is input to the control panel 63, and the up button 48 and the down button 49 are placed in a pressed state. The control panel 63 outputs an operation command to the drive device 60 to move the car 12 to the fifth floor where the up button 48 and the down button 49 were pressed (step S9).

[0058] The reason why both the up button 48 and the down button 49 are pressed in this manner is to accommodate both the case where the disembarking floor is below the landing floor and the case where the disembarking floor is above the landing floor. By performing the processing in this manner, the movement control of the car 12 can be simplified.

[0059] When the car 12 arrives at the fifth floor, which is the disembarking floor, the car-mounted control module 30 receives the ID information of the RFID tag of the elevator shaft sensor module 20 and detects that the car 12 has arrived at the fifth floor (step S10).

[0060] When the car 12 arrives at the fifth floor, the control panel 63 outputs an operation command to open the door 13. Furthermore, when the on-car control module 30 detects that the car 12 has arrived at the fifth floor, it transmits an instruction to the robot 70 to disembark from the car 12 (step S11).

[0061] When the robot 70 confirms that the door 13 is open, it dismounts from the car 12, and when dismounting is complete, it transmits a signal to the on-car control module 30 notifying the completion of dismounting (step S12). When the on-car control module 30 receives the signal notifying the completion of dismounting of the robot 70, it transmits a signal to the robot cloud server 80 notifying the completion of dismounting of the robot 70 (step S13).

[0062] In this way, the robot cloud server 80 can confirm that the robot 70 has moved from the second floor to the fifth floor, and can perform processing such as sending instructions to the robot 70 to move to the specified location where the dispatch request was made.

[0063] As described above, in the elevator system 100 of this embodiment, the on-car control module 30 attached to the car 12 outputs instructions to the hall call operation panel module 54 attached to the hall call input device 47, and the car 12 can be moved to a desired floor by operating the door open button 45 and the door close button 46. Therefore, even in the case of an elevator in which the operation panel of the car call input device 43 is digitalized, it is possible to provide an elevator system 100 that enables the robot 70 to move between floors.

[0064] Furthermore, according to the above-described aspect, vertical transportation of a self-propelled transport device (e.g., a robot) as a remote device can be realized with relatively simple installation work and at relatively low cost, regardless of the elevator manufacturer or model.

[0065] (Modifications) The above embodiment is merely an example, and various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0066] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the door 13 is opened and closed by instructions from the on-car control module 30 when the robot 70 gets on and off the car, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. The opening and closing of the door 13 may be left to the control of the control panel 63, and the robot 70 may move autonomously after checking the open / closed state of the door 13 by itself.

[0067] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which both the up button 48 and the down button 49 are operated at the same time by the on-car control module 30 and the hall call operation panel module 54 when moving the car 12. However, the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, when a car call request is received from the robot 70, the on-car control module 30 may be configured to grasp both the floor where the robot 70 is located and the position of the car 12, and to operate either the up button 48 or the down button 49 as appropriate, taking into consideration the relationship between the landing floor and the disembarking floor.

[0068] In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a robot is used as a self-propelled transport device as an example of a remote device, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, a smartphone or a wheelchair may be used as a remote device, and car call requests, information on boarding and disembarking floors, etc. may be transmitted from the smartphone or wheelchair to the on-car control module 30.

[0069] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Elevator 11 Hoistway 12 Cage 13 Door 20 Hoistway sensor module 30 Cage control module 40 Display device 41 Service status indicator 42 Indicator 43 Car call input device 45 Door open button 46 Door close button 47 Hall call input device 48 Up button 49 Down button 50 Car call operation panel module 51 First instruction input relay 52 Second instruction input relay 53 First interface device 54 Hall call operation panel module 55 Third instruction input relay 56 Fourth instruction input relay 57 Second interface device 60 Drive device 61 Counterweight 62 Wire 63 Control panel 70 Robot 80 Robot cloud server 100 Elevator system

Claims

1. An elevator system comprising: an elevator having a hall call input device at each floor; and a remote device for remotely operating the elevator, the elevator system comprising: a hall call operation panel module provided in the hall call input device, the hall call operation panel module comprising a relay connected in parallel to a button on the hall call input device and an interface device for controlling the relay; and an on-car control module mounted on the car of the elevator, the on-car control module being capable of communicating with the hall call operation panel module and the remote device, wherein when the on-car control module receives a car call request from the remote device together with information on a landing floor and a disembarking floor, the on-car control module transmits an instruction to the hall call operation panel modules at the landing floor and the disembarking floor to press down the buttons on the hall call input devices at the landing floor and the disembarking floor, thereby moving the car to the landing floor and the disembarking floor.

2. The elevator system of claim 1, wherein the remote device is a robot capable of autonomous travel, and further comprises: a server capable of communicating with the robot and the on-car control module; and an in-hoistway sensor module provided at a position corresponding to each floor in the elevator shaft and capable of communicating with the on-car control module, wherein the robot receives instructions for the landing floor and the disembarking floor from the server, and when the in-hoistway sensor module determines that the car has arrived at the landing floor, the on-car control module sends an instruction to the robot to board the car, and when the in-hoistway sensor module determines that the car has arrived at the disembarking floor, the on-car control module sends an instruction to the robot to disembark from the car.

3. The elevator system described in claim 2, further comprising: a car call input device of the elevator; and a car call operation panel module provided in the car call input device and capable of communicating with the on-car control module, the car call operation panel module comprising a relay connected in parallel to a door open button of the car call input device and an interface device for controlling the relay, wherein when the on-car control module determines through the in-shaft sensor module that the car has arrived at the landing floor and the disembarking floor, it transmits an instruction to the car call operation panel module to open the door open button.

4. The elevator system described in claim 3, wherein the car call operation panel module further comprises a relay connected in parallel with a door close button of the car call input device and controlled by the interface device of the car call operation panel module, and when the on-car control module receives information from the robot indicating that the robot has completed boarding the car, it sends an instruction to the car call operation panel module to close the door close button.

5. The elevator system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the buttons of the hall call input device are an up button and a down button, the relays of the hall call operation panel module are connected in parallel to each of the up button and the down button, the interface device of the hall call operation panel module controls the relays connected in parallel to each of the up button and the down button, and when the car on-board control module transmits an instruction to the hall call operation panel modules of the landing floor and the disembarking floor to press down the buttons of the hall call input devices of the landing floor and the disembarking floor, it transmits an instruction to press down both the up button and the down button.

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