Elevator operation panel and elevator system

Abstract

An elevator operation panel (1) according to the present disclosure comprises: a distance detection unit (20) that detects the distance to a finger of a user from a distance detection region including at least a portion of non-contact type operation buttons (2); and a fingertip determination unit (30) that determines, in accordance with the detection result of the distance detection unit (20), whether an object approaching the operation buttons (2) is a fingertip. If the gradient of change in the distance detected by the distance detection unit (20) according to the positional change within the distance detection region is more gradual than a reference, the fingertip determination unit (30) determines that the object approaching the operation buttons (2) is not a fingertip. The elevator operation panel (1) is configured so as to not execute registration of the destination floor by use of the operation buttons (2) if the fingertip determination unit (30) has determined that the object approaching the operation buttons (2) is not a fingertip.

Description

Elevator control panels and elevator systems

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an elevator control panel and an elevator system.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an elevator control panel equipped with non-contact operation buttons.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-66676

[0004] Conventional elevator control panels such as those described in Patent Document 1 have a problem in that the non-contact operation buttons are prone to erroneous registration of destination floors. For example, when the elevator is crowded and a user approaches the elevator control panel from a position other than the front, an erroneous registration occurs when a part of the user's finger approaches a button other than the intended button and is detected.

[0005] The present disclosure is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems. An object of the present disclosure is to prevent erroneous registration of destination floors on an elevator control panel equipped with contactless operation buttons.

[0006] The elevator control panel according to the present disclosure is an elevator control panel with contactless operation buttons, and includes: a distance detection unit that detects the distance from a distance detection area including at least a portion of the operation button to a user's fingers; and a determination unit that determines, based on the detection result of the distance detection unit, whether an object near the operation button is eligible for registration acceptance. If the gradient of the change in distance detected by the distance detection unit in response to a position change in the distance detection area is gentler than a reference value, the determination unit determines that the object near the operation button is not eligible for registration acceptance. The elevator control panel according to the present disclosure does not register a destination floor using the operation button when the determination unit determines that the object near the operation button is not eligible for registration acceptance. The elevator system according to the present disclosure includes: an elevator control panel with contactless operation buttons; a distance detection unit that detects the distance from a distance detection area including at least a portion of the operation button to a user's fingers; and a determination unit that determines, based on the detection result of the distance detection unit, whether the object near the operation button is eligible for registration acceptance. The determination unit determines that the object close to the operation button is not a target for registration acceptance when a gradient of the change in distance detected by the distance detection unit in response to a position change in the distance detection area is gentler than a reference value. When the determination unit determines that the object close to the operation button is not a target for registration acceptance, the elevator system according to the present disclosure does not register a destination floor using the operation button.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent erroneous registration of destination floors on an elevator control panel equipped with contactless operation buttons.

[0008] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an elevator system according to embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a diagram explaining the operation and function of a distance detection unit and a fingertip determination unit according to embodiment 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram explaining the operation and function of a distance detection unit and a fingertip determination unit according to embodiment 1. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a modified example of the elevator system according to embodiment 1. Fig. 5 is a diagram explaining the operation of a modified example of embodiment 1. Fig. 6 is a diagram explaining skeleton information in a modified example of embodiment 1. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration for realizing the functions of the elevator operation panel and control system of the elevator system according to embodiment 1.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Common or corresponding elements in each drawing are designated by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be simplified or omitted. The configurations shown in the following embodiments are examples of the technical ideas of the present disclosure, and may be combined with other known technologies, or multiple technical ideas described in the present disclosure may be combined. Furthermore, it is also possible to omit or modify part of the configuration without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0010] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an elevator system according to embodiment 1. The elevator system according to this embodiment includes an elevator operation panel 1. The elevator operation panel 1 includes contactless operation buttons 2. Note that the elevator system according to this embodiment can be realized using only the elevator operation panel 1 as a component, or can be realized by linking the elevator operation panel 1 with another component.

[0011] The non-contact operation button 2 has a built-in touchless sensor 2a. The touchless sensor 2a detects a fingertip, which is the object for accepting destination floor registration, when the distance from the touchless sensor 2a to the fingertip comes within a certain distance. The touchless sensor 2a may be, for example, a capacitance sensor or an infrared sensor. The type of touchless sensor 2a is not limited to these, and an optimal sensor may be selected appropriately depending on the specifications of the elevator, etc. The elevator control panel 1 may also be equipped with a display unit (not shown) that displays information such as the current position of the elevator car and the next floor.

[0012] The elevator system according to the present embodiment includes, as an example, a registration determination unit 10. The registration determination unit 10 determines whether or not to register a destination floor based on the detection result of the touchless sensor 2 a. The registration determination unit 10 may be provided in the elevator control panel 1 or may be provided outside the elevator control panel 1.

[0013] The user registers a destination floor by bringing his / her fingertip close to the operation button 2. When the touchless sensor 2a built into the operation button 2 detects the fingertip, which is the object for accepting destination floor registration, the registration determination unit 10 determines to execute registration of the destination floor corresponding to the operation button 2 including the touchless sensor 2a. For example, in order to prevent erroneous registration, the registration determination unit 10 may determine to execute destination floor registration when the time that the user's fingertip is detected is equal to or longer than a certain period of time. For example, the operation button 2 including the touchless sensor 2a lights up to indicate that the destination floor has been registered.

[0014] As shown in Fig. 1, the elevator system according to this embodiment is characterized by including a distance detection unit 20 and a fingertip determination unit 30. Note that the distance detection unit 20 and the fingertip determination unit 30 may be provided in the elevator operation panel 1 or may be provided outside the elevator operation panel 1.

[0015] 2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating the operation and function of the distance detection unit 20 and the fingertip determination unit 30 according to the first embodiment. The distance detection unit 20 detects the distance from a distance detection area 21 including the operation button 2 to the user's finger 40. The fingertip determination unit 30 is an example of a determination unit that determines whether an object in proximity to the operation button 2 is a target for registration acceptance based on the detection result of the distance detection unit 20. Note that the registration acceptance target in this disclosure refers to an object for which destination floor registration is accepted, such as a fingertip. FIG. 2 illustrates a case where the object in proximity to the operation button 2 is a fingertip that is a target for registration acceptance. FIG. 3 illustrates a case where the object in proximity to the operation button 2 is not a target for registration acceptance.

[0016] As described above, the distance detection unit 20 detects the distance from the distance detection area 21 to the user's finger 40. The distance detection area 21 is set, for example, to the entire surface of the operation button 2 or a part of the surface of the operation button 2. The distance detection area 21 may also be set to include the surface of the operation button 2 and the periphery of the operation button 2. The distance detection area 21 may be set to include at least a part of the operation button 2. In the examples of FIGS. 2 and 3 , as an example, the arrangement area of ​​the touchless sensor 2a built into the operation button 2 is set as the distance detection area 21.

[0017] When distance detection area 21 is set to be included on the surface of operation button 2, the function of distance detection unit 20 can be realized by touchless sensor 2a. Also, a device other than touchless sensor 2a may function as distance detection unit 20. For example, a distance measurement sensor other than touchless sensor 2a built into elevator operation panel 1, or a distance measurement sensor or camera provided outside elevator operation panel 1 may function as distance detection unit 20.

[0018] As described above, the fingertip determination unit 30 determines whether an object close to the operation button 2 is a target for registration acceptance, based on the detection result of the distance detection unit 20. As shown in Figures 2 and 3 , the distance detected by the distance detection unit 20, i.e., the distance from the distance detection area 21 to the user's finger 40, changes in accordance with a change in position in the distance detection area 21. The fingertip determination unit 30 determines whether the object close to the operation button 2 is a fingertip, based on a gradient 41 of this change in distance.

[0019] For example, as shown in Fig. 2, when the fingertips of the fingers 40 are close to the distance detection area 21 including the operation button 2, the gradient 41 is steep. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 3, when the palm or fist part of the fingers 40 other than the fingertips are close to the distance detection area 21, the gradient 41 is gentle. In this embodiment, when the gradient 41 is steeper than a reference value, the fingertip determination unit 30 determines that the object close to the operation button 2 is a fingertip. When the gradient 41 is gentler than a reference value, the fingertip determination unit 30 determines that the object close to the operation button 2 is not a fingertip.

[0020] 2 and 3, the distance detection area 21 must be large enough for the fingers 40. As an example, the operation button 2 or the distance detection area 21 is set to be round with a diameter of about 30 mm.

[0021] The elevator system or elevator control panel 1 according to this embodiment is configured so that, if the fingertip determination unit 30 determines that the object in proximity to the operation button 2 is not a fingertip, the destination floor will not be registered using that operation button 2. With an elevator system or elevator control panel 1 configured in this manner, it is possible to prevent erroneous registration of a destination floor using a non-contact type operation button 2.

[0022] Note that the registration acceptance target in the present disclosure is not limited to fingertips and may include, for example, a touch pen or the like. The gradient 41 changes as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 when a registration acceptance target such as a touch pen is brought close and when another object is brought close. Conversely, the registration acceptance target may not include a touch pen or the like. The registration acceptance target may be limited to fingertips. For example, by setting the criteria for the gradient 41 to an appropriate value or limiting the type of the touchless sensor 2a, it is possible to limit the registration acceptance target to fingertips only.

[0023] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a modification of the elevator system according to embodiment 1. Fig. 5 is a diagram explaining the operation of the modification of embodiment 1. Fig. 6 is a diagram explaining skeleton information in the modification of embodiment 1.

[0024] In this modification, the elevator system includes a skeletal information acquisition unit 50 that acquires skeletal information 42 of the user's fingers 40 that are in close proximity to the operation button 2. The skeletal information acquisition unit 50 may be configured from any device, for example, a camera as shown in Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 6, the skeletal information 42 may be acquired as positional information of any point, such as a joint, in the finger 40.

[0025] In this modification, the fingertip determination unit 30 determines, from among the operation buttons 2 that the user's finger 40 is in proximity to, the acceptance button to which the fingertip is in proximity and the non-acceptance buttons other than the acceptance button, based on the detection result of the distance detection unit 20 and the skeletal information 42. In the example shown in FIG. 5 , button A is determined to be the acceptance button, and buttons B and C are determined to be the non-acceptance buttons. The elevator system according to this modification is configured not to register a destination floor using an operation button 2 determined to be a non-acceptance button. In this modification, the use of the skeletal information 42 makes it possible to more reliably prevent erroneous registration of a destination floor using a contactless operation button 2.

[0026] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing the functions of the elevator operation panel 1 and the control system of the elevator system according to the first embodiment. The control system includes, for example, the fingertip determination unit 30. Each function of the control system is realized by, for example, a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be dedicated hardware 600. The processing circuit may include a processor 601 and a memory 602. A portion of the processing circuit may be formed as the dedicated hardware 600, and the processing circuit may further include the processor 601 and the memory 602. In the example shown in FIG. 7, a portion of the processing circuit is formed as the dedicated hardware 600. Furthermore, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the processing circuit further includes the processor 601 and the memory 602 in addition to the dedicated hardware 600.

[0027] The processing circuitry of which at least one portion is dedicated hardware 600 may be, for example, a single circuit, multiple circuits, a programmed processor, parallel programmed processors, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0028] When the processing circuitry includes at least one processor 601 and at least one memory 602, each function of the control system is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.

[0029] The software and firmware are written as programs and stored in memory 602. The programs may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The processor 601 realizes the functions of each unit by reading and executing the programs stored in memory 602. The processor 601 is also called a CPU (Central Processing Unit), central processing unit, processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP. The memory 602 may be, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM, or EEPROM, or a magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, minidisk, DVD, etc.

[0030] In this way, the processing circuit can realize the functions of the elevator operation panel 1 and the control system of the elevator system by using hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of these. Note that each function of the control system may be realized by multiple devices working together, or may be realized by a single device. Furthermore, at least some of the functions of the control system may be implemented on a server or the like on an external network.

[0031] The elevator control panel and elevator system according to the present disclosure are used in elevators for transporting people.

[0032] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 elevator control panel, 2 operation button, 2a touchless sensor, 10 registration determination unit, 20 distance detection unit, 30 fingertip determination unit, 40 finger, 41 gradient, 42 skeletal information, 50 skeletal information acquisition unit, 600 dedicated hardware, 601 processor, 602 memory

Claims

1. An elevator operation panel equipped with contactless operation buttons, comprising: a distance detection unit which detects the distance from a distance detection area including at least a portion of the operation button to a user's fingers; and a judgment unit which judges whether an object in proximity to the operation button is eligible for registration acceptance based on the detection result of the distance detection unit, wherein the judgment unit judges that the object in proximity to the operation button is not eligible for registration acceptance if the gradient of the change in distance detected by the distance detection unit in response to the position change in the distance detection area is gentler than a standard, and does not register a destination floor using the operation button if the judgment unit judges that the object in proximity to the operation button is not eligible for registration acceptance.

2. An elevator system comprising: an elevator operation panel as described in claim 1; and a skeletal information acquisition unit which acquires skeletal information of the user's fingers which are in close proximity to the operation buttons, wherein the judgment unit judges, based on the detection results of the distance detection unit and the skeletal information acquired by the skeletal information acquisition unit, from the operation buttons which the user's fingers are in close proximity to, an acceptance button which is in close proximity to the fingertip which is the object of the registration acceptance, and a non-acceptance button other than the acceptance button, and does not execute the registration of a destination floor using an operation button which the judgment unit has judged to be a non-acceptance button.

3. An elevator system comprising: an elevator operation panel equipped with non-contact operation buttons; a distance detection unit which detects the distance from a distance detection area including the operation buttons to a user's fingers; and a judgment unit which judges whether an object in proximity to the operation button is eligible for registration acceptance based on the detection result of the distance detection unit, wherein the judgment unit judges that the object in proximity to the operation button is not eligible for registration acceptance if the gradient of the change in distance detected by the distance detection unit in response to the position change in the distance detection area is gentler than a standard, and does not register a destination floor using the operation button if the judgment unit judges that the object in proximity to the operation button is not eligible for registration acceptance.

4. An elevator system as described in claim 3, further comprising a skeletal information acquisition unit that acquires skeletal information of the user's fingers that are in close proximity to the operation button, and the determination unit determines, based on the detection results of the distance detection unit and the skeletal information acquired by the skeletal information acquisition unit, from the operation buttons that the user's fingers are in close proximity to, an acceptance button to which the fingertip that is the registration acceptance target is in close proximity and a non-acceptance button other than the acceptance button, and does not execute registration of a destination floor using an operation button that is determined to be a non-acceptance button by the determination unit.

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