Elevator control device, elevator control system, program, and elevator control method

Abstract

This elevator control device (140) comprises: a destination floor registration unit (142) that, on the basis of a destination floor or floors inputted at a landing of an elevator comprising a plurality of cars, counts the number of people waiting for each destination floor; a number of people waiting estimation unit (146) that estimates, from a video of the landing, the destination floor of a user who is at the landing, and uses this estimated destination floor to update the number of people waiting for each destination floor; a group supervisory control unit (144) that determines an allocation of the plurality of cars in accordance with the number of people waiting for each destination floor; and an elevator control unit (147) that controls the elevator (110) in accordance with this allocation.

Description

Elevator control device, elevator control system, program, and elevator control method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an elevator control device, an elevator control system, a program, and an elevator control method.

[0002] Elevator control systems have been developed that allow passengers to specify their destination floors in advance at the elevator hall, and in such systems, a specific car is assigned to each destination floor based on the passenger's specification.

[0003] In such elevator control systems, it is necessary to alleviate congestion in the hall by displaying information based on the number of users in each car. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a group control system that generates an image of the queue length and queuing position for each elevator based on the results of elevator allocation to users and displays it on a display.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-193772

[0005] Conventional technology assigns elevators based on user input. However, there are users who do not input their destination floor. For example, consider the following situation: If a person in front of you inputs the same floor as you as your destination floor, you may line up in the car assigned to the person in front of you without inputting your destination floor. Also, when multiple people are traveling, only the representative may input their destination floor, while the other users may line up in the car assigned to the representative without inputting their destination floor. In situations like these, conventional technology cannot accurately grasp the number of users in each car, resulting in users being left behind.

[0006] Therefore, one or more aspects of the present disclosure aim to make it possible to grasp the number of users scheduled to use each destination floor even if there are users lining up without inputting their destination floor.

[0007] An elevator control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is characterized by comprising: a destination floor registration unit that counts the number of people waiting at each destination floor based on the destination floor input at an elevator hall having multiple cars; a waiting number estimation unit that estimates the destination floor of users at the hall from an image of the hall and updates the number of people waiting at each destination floor using the estimated destination floor; a group management control unit that determines the allocation of the multiple cars according to the number of people waiting at each destination floor; and an elevator control unit that controls the elevators in accordance with the allocation.

[0008] An elevator control system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is characterized by comprising an imaging unit that captures an image of an elevator hall having multiple cars; an input unit that accepts input of destination floors at the hall; a destination floor registration unit that counts the number of people waiting at each destination floor based on the input destination floor; a waiting number estimation unit that estimates the destination floor of users at the hall from the image and updates the number of people waiting at each destination floor using the estimated destination floor; a group management control unit that determines the allocation of the multiple cars according to the number of people waiting at each destination floor; and an elevator control unit that controls the elevators in accordance with the allocation.

[0009] A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is characterized in that it causes a computer to function as a destination floor registration unit that counts the number of people waiting at each destination floor based on the destination floor input at an elevator hall having multiple cars; a waiting number estimation unit that estimates the destination floor of users at the hall from video of the hall and updates the number of people waiting at each destination floor using the estimated destination floor; a group management control unit that determines the allocation of the multiple cars according to the number of people waiting at each destination floor; and an elevator control unit that controls the elevator in accordance with the allocation.

[0010] An elevator control method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a waiting number estimation unit that counts the number of people waiting at each destination floor based on destination floors input at a landing of an elevator having multiple cars, estimates the destination floor of the users at the landing from an image of the landing, and updates the number of people waiting at each destination floor using the estimated destination floor; and determines an allocation of the multiple cars according to the number of people waiting at each destination floor, and controls the elevator in accordance with the allocation.

[0011] According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, even if there are users lining up without inputting their destination floor, it is possible to grasp the users scheduled to use each destination floor.

[0012] 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an elevator control system according to Embodiments 1 and 2. (A) to (D) are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of camera installation. (A) and (B) are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of extracting skeletal information. (A) and (B) are schematic diagrams illustrating a process of identifying a user's body orientation. (B) are schematic diagrams illustrating a process of identifying a car of interest. (C) are schematic diagrams illustrating a process of identifying a group of multiple users. (A) and (B) are block diagrams showing an example of a hardware configuration. (C) is a flowchart showing the operation when receiving an input for registering a destination floor. (D) is a flowchart showing the operation when estimating the number of people waiting in Embodiment 1. (E) is a flowchart showing a first method for processing the number of people waiting estimation. (E) is a flowchart showing a second method for processing the number of people waiting estimation. (F) is a flowchart showing the operation when an elevator car arrives at a landing. (F) is a flowchart showing the operation when estimating the number of people waiting in Embodiment 2. (F) is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of an elevator control system according to Embodiment 3. (F) is a schematic diagram showing a first example of installing a display device. (F) is a schematic diagram showing a second example of installing a display device. (F) is a flowchart showing the operation when estimating the number of people waiting in Embodiment 3.

[0013] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an elevator control system 100 according to embodiment 1. The elevator control system 100 includes an elevator 110, an operation terminal 120, a camera 130 as an imaging device, and an elevator control device 140.

[0014] The elevator 110 has a plurality of cars, such as a first car 110A, a second car 110B, etc., and each of the plurality of cars transports a user to a floor desired by the user.

[0015] The operation terminal 120 is installed at the elevator hall of the elevator 110 and is a terminal through which a user inputs a destination floor. The operation terminal 120 includes an input unit 121 that accepts operation inputs from the user, and a display unit 122 that notifies the user of the car assigned to the user. The destination floor data that indicates the destination floor input to the input unit 121 is provided to the elevator control device 140. The cars of the elevator 110 are identified by their car numbers.

[0016] In elevator control system 100, all users are expected to input their destination floors into operation terminal 120, and elevator control device 140 is expected to assign elevator 110 cars to efficiently transport users to their destination floors. However, as described above, even if there are users who do not input their destination floors, elevator control system 100 according to embodiment 1 can estimate the destination floors of users who do not input their destination floors and efficiently transport users to their destination floors.

[0017] The camera 130 is an imaging unit installed at the elevator hall of the elevator 110 and captures images of users at the hall. Video data representing the images captured by the camera 130 is provided to the elevator control device 140. FIGS. 2A to 2D are schematic diagrams illustrating installation examples of the camera 130. As shown in FIG. 2A, the camera 130 may be installed as high as possible so that the entire hall FL where the first to fourth elevators 110A to 110D are located is within its field of view. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2B, an omnidirectional camera may be installed on the ceiling of the hall FL as the camera 130.

[0018] Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 2(C), a camera 130 may be installed in each of the first car 110A to the fourth car 110D. In this case, for example, as shown in Fig. 2(D), by installing the camera 130 near the destination indicator light LI installed on the door DR that serves as the entrance and exit to the car, it becomes possible to use common wiring and the accuracy of determining the direction of the user's line of sight is improved.

[0019] Returning to Figure 1, the elevator control device 140 includes a communication unit 141, a destination floor registration unit 142, a number of people waiting memory unit 143, a group management control unit 144, an assigned car presentation processing unit 145, a number of people waiting estimation unit 146, and an elevator control unit 147.

[0020] The communication unit 141 communicates with the elevator 110 , the operation terminal 120 , and the camera 130 .

[0021] The destination floor registration unit 142 acquires destination floor data from the operation terminal 120 via the communication unit 141. Then, the destination floor registration unit 142 registers the destination floor indicated by the destination floor data in the group management control unit 144.

[0022] The destination floor registration unit 142 also counts the number of people waiting for each destination floor based on the destination floor input at the elevator hall of the elevator 110. Here, the destination floor registration unit 142 updates the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the number-of-people-waiting memory unit 143 based on the destination floor indicated by the destination floor data.

[0023] The number-of-people-waiting storage unit 143 stores the number of people waiting for each destination floor.

[0024] When a destination floor is registered by the destination floor registration unit 142, the group management control unit 144 specifies the car of the elevator 110 that the user who registered the destination floor should board. For example, the group management control unit 144 determines the allocation of destination floors to the multiple cars included in the elevator 110 according to the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the number-of-people-waiting storage unit 143.

[0025] Here, the group management control unit 144 allocates multiple cars based on the users already in the cars, the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the waiting number storage unit 143, and the current position of the car. A known method may be used for specific car allocation. The group management control unit 144 then notifies the car number presentation processing unit 145 of the car number in which the user should board.

[0026] Upon receiving notification from the group management control unit 144, the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 causes the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 to display the car number in which the user should board via the communication unit 141.

[0027] The waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 estimates the destination floor of the passenger at the platform from the video of the platform, and updates the number of passengers waiting for each destination floor using the estimated destination floor. For example, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 receives video data from the camera 130 via the communication unit 141. The waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 then monitors the video shown in the video data and estimates the car that the passenger will use. Based on the estimation result of the car that the passenger will use, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 estimates the destination floor of the passenger from the destination floor of that car. The waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 then updates the number of passengers waiting for each destination floor stored in the waiting number storage unit 143 from the estimation result of the destination floor. The waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 can estimate the car using the following first and second methods.

[0028] First, the first method will be described. In the first method, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 identifies, from the video, one of multiple cars that the user is paying attention to as the car of interest, and estimates the destination floor of the car of interest as the destination floor of the user. For example, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 monitors the video shown in the video data, and at predetermined time intervals, identifies the car that the user is paying attention to, and estimates that car as the car that the user will use.

[0029] Here, the waiting number estimation unit 146 extracts skeletal information indicating the user's skeleton, and identifies the car of interest based on the user's standing position at the boarding area and the user's body orientation estimated from the skeletal information.

[0030] Specifically, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 extracts skeletal information indicating the skeletons of users at the boarding area from each frame of the video represented by the video data using a known method, as shown in Fig. 3. Then, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 tracks the users by the detected positions of the skeletons or by image matching, etc.

[0031] Next, the waiting number estimation unit 146 performs body orientation estimation for each skeleton in the frame. For example, the waiting number estimation unit 146 estimates the height of each user from the position of the user's boarding area and the skeleton of the user. Then, the waiting number estimation unit 146 calculates a standard shoulder width L, which is a standard shoulder width at the position of the user's boarding area, from the height of the user. ｓ Estimate.

[0032] Standard shoulder width L ｓ As shown in FIG. 4A, the standard shoulder width L is the shoulder width when the user is facing the image capturing surface of the camera 130. ｓ is the projected shoulder width L, which is the shoulder width of the skeleton being imaged. ｐ matches.

[0033] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the user is tilted with respect to the imaging plane of the camera 130, the projected shoulder width L ｐ is the standard shoulder width Lｓ will be smaller than

[0034] Since the direction in which the user's body is facing is considered to be the direction in which the user's line of sight is, the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 can calculate the angle θ of the line of sight with respect to the image plane using the following equation (1): θ=sin －１ (L ｐ ÷L ｓ ) (1)

[0035] This allows the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 to estimate the gaze direction of the user in the frame as the body orientation of that user.

[0036] The waiting number estimation unit 146 then estimates which car the user is focusing on based on the user's body orientation and the user's standing position. For example, as shown in Fig. 5, the waiting number estimation unit 146 determines the car that is included at the highest rate within a field of view obtained by adding a predetermined angle margin to the estimated body orientation as the car of interest. Note that if multiple cars are included within the field of view, the waiting number estimation unit 146 determines the closest car as the car of interest.

[0037] The number-of-waiting-persons estimation unit 146 estimates the destination floor of the user from the destination floor of the car that the user focuses on most frequently at each predetermined time interval. For example, if the car that the user focuses on has only one destination floor, the number-of-waiting-persons estimation unit 146 estimates that the destination floor of the user is that one destination floor.

[0038] Furthermore, if the destination floor of the car of interest of a user is multiple floors, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 estimates that the destination floor of the user is one selected from the multiple destination floors. As a method for selecting one destination floor, for example, the destination floor last input as the destination floor of the car of interest at the boarding point where the user is located may be selected, or the destination floor may be selected so that the number of people waiting at the destination floor of the car of interest is equalized. Furthermore, the destination floor may be selected from the multiple destination floors in a predetermined order, for example, from the closest floor.

[0039] Next, the second method will be described. In the second method, the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 identifies a group of multiple users from the video, and if none of the multiple users has input a destination floor, estimates the destination floor input by one user included in the group as the destination floor for the users who have not input a destination floor.

[0040] For example, as shown in Figure 6, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 monitors the video shown in the video data and tracks users from the entrance to the platform, and determines whether the multiple users are a group based on the movement trajectories of the multiple users or the distance between the multiple users. Then, when one user in the group (hereinafter also referred to as the representative) inputs a destination floor and the other users of the group have not input a destination floor, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 estimates the destination floor input by the representative as the destination floor for the other users who have not input a destination floor. In this way, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 estimates the number of people waiting for each destination floor.

[0041] Then, the waiting number estimation unit 146 updates the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the waiting number storage unit 143 using the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the waiting number storage unit 143 and the destination floor estimated as described above.

[0042] In this manner, in the first embodiment, after the number of people waiting for each destination floor is updated by the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146, the user inputs the destination floor into the operation terminal 120, and a car is assigned based on the updated number of people waiting.

[0043] The elevator control unit 147 controls the elevators 110 in accordance with the car assignment by the group management control unit 144. For example, the elevator control unit 147 is provided with a control unit for each car, such as a first car control unit 147A, a second car control unit 147B, ..., and control is performed for each car.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 7A , some or all of the above-described destination floor registration unit 142, group management control unit 144, assigned elevator presentation processing unit 145, number-of-waiting-persons storage unit 143, number-of-waiting-persons estimation unit 146, and elevator control unit 147 can be configured by a memory 10 and a processor 11 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a program stored in the memory 10. Such a program may be provided via a network or may be provided by being recorded on a recording medium. That is, such a program may be provided, for example, as a computer program product.

[0045] 4(B), some or all of the destination floor registration unit 142, the number-of-waiting-persons memory unit 143, the group management control unit 144, the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145, the number-of-waiting-persons estimation unit 146, and the elevator control unit 147 can be configured by a processing circuit 12 such as a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). As described above, the destination floor registration unit 142, the number-of-waiting-persons memory unit 143, the group management control unit 144, the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145, the number-of-waiting-persons estimation unit 146, and the elevator control unit 147 can be configured by a processing circuit network.

[0046] The communication unit 141 can be realized by a communication I / F (not shown) for communicating with other devices.

[0047] 8 is a flowchart showing the operation when receiving input for registering a destination floor. First, the destination floor registration unit 142 receives input for registering a destination floor via the operation terminal 120 (S10). Then, the destination floor registration unit 142 determines whether or not input for registering a destination floor has been received (S11). Here, when the destination floor registration unit 142 receives destination floor data from the operation terminal 120 via the communication unit 141, it determines that input for registering a destination floor has been received. If input for registering a destination floor has been received (S11), the process proceeds to step S12.

[0048] In step S12, the destination floor registration unit 142 increases the number of people waiting for the destination floor indicated by the destination floor data by one, among the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the number-of-people-waiting storage unit 143.

[0049] Next, the destination floor registration unit 142 registers the destination floor indicated by the destination floor data in the group management control unit 144, and the group management control unit 144 allocates a plurality of cars (S13).

[0050] Then, in accordance with the car allocation, the group management control unit 144 notifies the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 of the car number that the user who inputted the destination floor should board, and the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 displays the car number on the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 via the communication unit 141 (S14).

[0051] 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of estimating the number of people waiting in embodiment 1. The number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 executes the process of estimating the number of people waiting (S20). This process will be described in detail using FIGS. 10 and 11.

[0052] 10 is a flowchart showing a first method of processing for estimating the number of people waiting by the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146. First, the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 determines (S30) whether a new frame has been acquired from the camera 130. If a new frame has been acquired (Yes in S30), the processing proceeds to step S31.

[0053] In step S31, the waiting number estimation unit 146 extracts the skeletons of users included in a newly acquired frame. Then, the waiting number estimation unit 146 tracks users by matching users detected in previous frames with users detected in the newly acquired frame (S32). Tracking of users in step S32 is performed for a predetermined number of frames, in other words, a predetermined time interval, and after the predetermined time interval has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S33.

[0054] Next, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 determines whether there are any users who have not yet undergone the destination floor estimation process (S33). If there are any unprocessed users (Yes in S33), the process proceeds to step S34. If there are no unprocessed users (No in S33), the process proceeds to step S38. Note that the unprocessed users here are also referred to as target users.

[0055] In step S34, the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 identifies the standing position of the target user at the boarding area in the newly acquired frame.

[0056] Next, the waiting number estimation unit 146 estimates the height of the target user from the standing position of the target user and the skeleton of the target user, and calculates the standard shoulder width L at the standing position of the target user from the height. ｓ and projected shoulder width L, which is the shoulder width of the target user in that frame. ｐ The angle θ of the line of sight of the target user is calculated from the relationship between the above and the target user's body orientation is estimated (S35).

[0057] Then, the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 determines which car the user is focusing on based on the body orientation and the standing position of the user (S36).

[0058] Then, the waiting number estimation unit 146 estimates the destination floor of the target user from the destination floor of the car that is most frequently in focus at each predetermined time interval, and counts the number of people waiting for each destination floor (S37).

[0059] Then, in step S33, if there are no more unprocessed users (No in S33), the process proceeds to step S38. In step S38, the number-of-waiting-people estimation unit 146 determines whether the number of waiting people counted for each destination floor differs from the number of waiting people for each destination floor stored in the number-of-waiting-people storage unit 143. If they differ (Yes in S38), the process proceeds to step S39, and if they do not differ (No in S38), the process returns to step S30.

[0060] In step S39, the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 updates the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the number-of-people-waiting storage unit 143 using the counted number of people waiting for each destination floor.

[0061] 11 is a flowchart showing a second method of processing for estimating the number of people waiting by the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146. First, the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 determines (S40) whether a new frame has been acquired from the camera 130. If a new frame has been acquired (Yes in S40), the processing proceeds to step S41.

[0062] In step S41, the number-of-waiting-people estimation unit 146 detects users included in a newly acquired frame. Then, the number-of-waiting-people estimation unit 146 tracks the users by associating the users detected in the previous frame with the users detected in the newly acquired frame (S42). The tracking of users in step S42 is performed for a predetermined number of frames, in other words, for a predetermined time interval, and after the predetermined time interval has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S43.

[0063] Next, the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146 detects a group of the multiple users from the movement trajectories of the multiple users or the distances between the multiple users (S43).

[0064] The number-of-people-in-waiting estimation unit 146 then monitors the update status of the number-of-people-in-waiting storage unit 143 and determines whether the destination floors of all people in the group have been input (S44). For example, when the group approaches the operation terminal 120 and then moves away from the operation terminal 120 by a predetermined distance, the number-of-people-in-waiting estimation unit 146 monitors the update status of the number-of-people-in-waiting storage unit 143 and determines whether the destination floors of all people in the group have been input based on whether the destination floors of the number of people in the group have been stored. If the destination floors of all people in the group have not been input (No in S44), the process proceeds to step S45, and if the destination floors of all people in the group have been input (Yes in S44), the process returns to step S40.

[0065] In step S45, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 updates the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the waiting number storage unit 143 by adding the number of users whose destination floor has not been entered to the number of people waiting for the destination floor entered by any user in the group. Note that if multiple destination floors are entered by users in the group, the waiting number-of-people estimation unit 146 may add the number of users whose destination floor has not been entered to the last entered destination floor, or may add the number of users whose destination floor has not been entered evenly to the multiple entered floors. In other words, it is sufficient if the number of users whose destination floor has not been entered is allocated to one of the multiple floors using a predetermined method.

[0066] 12 is a flowchart showing the operation when the car of the elevator 110 arrives at the landing. The elevator control unit 147 controls the elevator 110 based on the car assignment by the group management control unit 144 (S50).

[0067] Next, the group management control unit 144 determines whether the car of the elevator 110 has arrived at the landing where the user is waiting (S51). If the car of the elevator 110 has arrived at the landing where the user is waiting (Yes in S51), the process proceeds to step S52, and if the car of the elevator 110 has not arrived at the landing where the user is waiting (No in S51), the process returns to step S50.

[0068] In step S52, the group management control unit 144 updates the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the waiting number memory unit 143 by subtracting the number of people waiting for the destination floor assigned to the car that has arrived at the boarding point from the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the waiting number memory unit 143.

[0069] As described above, according to the first embodiment, even if a user does not input a destination floor, the destination floor of the user can be estimated by image analysis. This allows for more optimal car allocation and prevents a decline in operational efficiency.

[0070] Furthermore, by using the orientation of the user's body to estimate the destination floor of that user, for example, even in a situation where people waiting for the first elevator 110A are spread out and waiting in front of the second elevator 110B, the users who are looking at the first elevator 110A can be estimated as users of the destination floor of the first elevator 110A. This makes it possible to stably estimate the number of people waiting at each destination floor.

[0071] Second Embodiment As shown in Fig. 1, an elevator control system 200 according to a second embodiment includes an elevator 110, an operation terminal 120, a camera 130, and an elevator control device 240.

[0072] The elevator 110, operation terminal 120, and camera 130 of the elevator control system 200 according to the second embodiment are similar to the elevator 110, operation terminal 120, and camera 130 of the elevator control system 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0073] The elevator control device 240 includes a communication unit 141, a destination floor registration unit 142, a number of people waiting memory unit 143, a group management control unit 244, an assigned elevator presentation processing unit 145, a number of people waiting estimation unit 146, and an elevator control unit 147.

[0074] The communication unit 141, destination floor registration unit 142, number of people waiting memory unit 143, assigned car number presentation processing unit 145, number of people waiting estimation unit 146 and elevator control unit 147 of the elevator control device 240 in embodiment 2 are similar to the communication unit 141, destination floor registration unit 142, number of people waiting memory unit 143, assigned car number presentation processing unit 145, number of people waiting estimation unit 146 and elevator control unit 147 of the elevator control device 140 in embodiment 1.

[0075] The group management control unit 244 performs the same processing as the group management control unit 144 in the first embodiment, and also performs the following processing: When the number of passengers waiting for each destination floor is updated, if the group management control unit 244 determines that there is a destination floor shortage, that is, a destination floor where the cars assigned based on the number of passengers waiting for each destination floor before the update cannot carry the number of passengers waiting for each destination floor after the update, the group management control unit 244 increases the number of cars assigned to passengers heading to that destination floor shortage.

[0076] For example, the group management control unit 244 monitors the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the number-of-people-waiting memory unit 143, and when the number of people waiting for each destination floor is updated by the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146, determines whether or not an additional car is required based on the updated number of people waiting for each destination floor. If it is determined that an additional car is required, the group management control unit 244 assigns an additional car. The group management control unit 244 then notifies the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 of the car number of the additionally assigned car. Upon receiving such a notification, the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 displays the car number of the additionally assigned car on the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 via the communication unit 141.

[0077] Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation when estimating the number of people waiting in embodiment 2. In the flowchart shown in Fig. 13, steps that perform the same processing as in the flowchart shown in Fig. 9 are assigned the same reference numerals as in Fig. 9.

[0078] The process of step S20 in Fig. 13 is the same as the process of step S20 in Fig. 9. However, after the process of step S20 in Fig. 13, the process proceeds to step S61.

[0079] In step S61, the group management control unit 244 determines whether there is a destination floor at which passengers waiting at the platform cannot be picked up with the current car allocation by referring to the number of waiting passengers for each destination floor stored in the number-of-waiting-passengers storage unit 143. If there is such a destination floor (Yes in S61), the process proceeds to step S62, and if there is no such destination floor (No in S61), the process returns to step S20.

[0080] In step S62, the group management control unit 244 allocates additional cars to destination floors for which the current allocation of cars is insufficient.

[0081] Then, the group management control unit 244 notifies the assigned car number to the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145, and the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 displays the added car number on the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 via the communication unit 141 (S63).

[0082] As described above, according to the second embodiment, by estimating the number of people waiting through image analysis, even if the current car allocation results in passengers being left behind, a new car can be allocated, so that the left-behind passengers can quickly reach their destination floor.

[0083] In such cases, the car allocation will be notified again, allowing users to recognize that the allocation has changed, thereby reducing confusion caused by passengers being left behind.

[0084] 14 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an elevator control system 300 according to embodiment 3. The elevator control system 300 includes an elevator 110, an operation terminal 120, a camera 130, an elevator control device 340, and a display device 360.

[0085] The elevator 110, operation terminal 120, and camera 130 of the elevator control system 300 according to the third embodiment are similar to the elevator 110, operation terminal 120, and camera 130 of the elevator control system 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0086] The display device 360 ​​constantly displays the current car allocation status to users at the platform. For example, as shown in Fig. 15, the display device 360 ​​may be provided near (here, above) the door DR that serves as the entrance and exit for each of a plurality of cars installed at the platform, and the floor at which the car will stop may be displayed as the destination floor.

[0087] Also, as shown in FIG. 16, floors at which multiple cars stop may be displayed as destination floors on a single display device 360.

[0088] Returning to Figure 14, the elevator control device 340 includes a communication unit 141, a destination floor registration unit 142, a number of people waiting memory unit 143, a group management control unit 344, an assigned elevator presentation processing unit 145, a number of people waiting estimation unit 146, an elevator control unit 147, and a display processing unit 348.

[0089] The communication unit 141, destination floor registration unit 142, number of people waiting memory unit 143, assigned car number presentation processing unit 145, number of people waiting estimation unit 146 and elevator control unit 147 of the elevator control device 340 in embodiment 3 are similar to the communication unit 141, destination floor registration unit 142, number of people waiting memory unit 143, assigned car number presentation processing unit 145, number of people waiting estimation unit 146 and elevator control unit 147 of the elevator control device 140 in embodiment 1.

[0090] The group management control unit 344 performs the same processing as the group management control unit 144 in the first embodiment, and also performs the following processing: When the number of people waiting for each destination floor is updated, the group management control unit 344 re-determines the allocation of cars to users from among multiple cars, in accordance with the number of people waiting for each destination floor after the update.

[0091] When the group management control unit 344 assigns a car to a user at a platform, it notifies the assigned car number to the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 and the display processing unit 348. Upon receiving such a notification, the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 displays the currently assigned car number on the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 via the communication unit 141, and the display processing unit 348 displays the currently assigned car number on the display device 360 ​​via the communication unit 141.

[0092] The group management control unit 344 also monitors the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the number-of-people-waiting memory unit 143, and when the number of people waiting for each destination floor is updated by the number-of-people-waiting estimation unit 146, reassigns cars according to the updated number of people waiting for each destination floor. A known method may be used for specific car assignment. The group management control unit 344 then notifies the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 and the display processing unit 348 of the assigned car number. Upon receiving such notification, the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 displays the currently assigned car number on the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 via the communication unit 141, and the display processing unit 348 displays the currently assigned car number on the display device 360 ​​via the communication unit 141.

[0093] The display processing unit 348 receives notification of the car allocation from the group management control unit 344, and causes the display device 360 ​​to display the car number of the currently allocated car via the communication unit 141. Here, the display processing unit 348 causes the display device 360 ​​to display information indicating the destination floor of each of the multiple cars.

[0094] Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation when estimating the number of people waiting in embodiment 3. In the flowchart shown in Fig. 17, steps that perform the same processing as in the flowchart shown in Fig. 9 are assigned the same reference numerals as in Fig. 9.

[0095] The process of step S20 in Fig. 17 is the same as the process of step S20 in Fig. 9. However, after the process of step S20 in Fig. 17, the process proceeds to step S71.

[0096] In step S71, the group management control unit 344 monitors the number of people waiting for each destination floor stored in the waiting number memory unit 143, and when it detects that the number of people waiting for each destination floor has been updated in step S20, it re-allocates the cars.

[0097] The group management control unit 344 then determines whether or not the destination floor of the car has changed as a result of the re-allocation of the car in step S71 (S72). If the destination floor of the car has changed (Yes in S72), the process proceeds to step S73, and if the destination floor of the car has not changed (No in S72), the process returns to step S20.

[0098] Then, the group management control unit 344 notifies the assigned car number to the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 and the display processing unit 348, and the assigned car number presentation processing unit 145 displays the currently assigned car number on the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 via the communication unit 141, and the display processing unit 348 displays the currently assigned car number on the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 via the communication unit 141 (S73).

[0099] As described above, according to embodiment 3, when the number of people waiting at each destination floor is updated by estimating the number of people waiting through image analysis, the car allocation is carried out again, thereby preventing passengers from being left behind.

[0100] In the above-described first to third embodiments, the operation terminal 120 notifies the user of the car allocation via the display unit 122, but the first to third embodiments are not limited to this example. For example, the operation terminal 120 may be provided with an audio output device such as a speaker instead of the display unit 122, and may notify the user of the car allocation by voice.

[0101] Furthermore, in the third embodiment, the user is notified of the car assignment by the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 and the display device 360, but the third embodiment is not limited to this example. For example, the notification by the operation terminal 120 may be omitted. In such a case, the display unit 122 of the operation terminal 120 and the assigned car presentation processing unit 145 may be omitted.

[0102] In the first to third embodiments described above, both the first method and the second method are used to estimate the number of people waiting, but only one of these methods may be used.

[0103] 100, 200, 300 Elevator control system, 110 Elevator, 120 Operation terminal, 130 Camera, 140, 240, 340 Elevator control device, 141 Communication unit, 142 Destination floor registration unit, 143 Number of people waiting memory unit, 144, 244, 344 Group management control unit, 145 Assigned car presentation processing unit, 146 Number of people waiting estimation unit, 147 Elevator control unit, 348 Display processing unit, 360 Display device.

Claims

1. An elevator control device comprising: a destination floor registration unit that counts the number of people waiting at each destination floor based on destination floors input at an elevator hall having multiple cars; a waiting number estimation unit that estimates the destination floors of users at the hall from video of the hall and updates the number of people waiting at each destination floor using the estimated destination floor; a group management control unit that determines the allocation of the multiple cars according to the number of people waiting at each destination floor; and an elevator control unit that controls the elevators in accordance with the allocation.

2. The elevator control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the waiting number estimation unit identifies, from the image, one of the plurality of cars that the user is paying attention to as the car of interest, and estimates the destination floor of the car of interest as the destination floor of the user.

3. The elevator control device according to claim 2, wherein the waiting number estimation unit extracts skeletal information indicating the skeleton of the user, and identifies the car of interest based on the user's standing position at the landing and the user's body orientation estimated from the skeletal information.

4. The elevator control device described in claim 1, characterized in that the waiting number estimation unit identifies a group of multiple users from the video, and if all of the multiple users have not input their destination floor, estimates the destination floor input by one user included in the group as the destination floor of the users among the multiple users who have not input their destination floor.

5. An elevator control device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that when the group management control unit determines that there is a destination floor shortage, which is a destination floor where the cars assigned based on the number of people waiting for each destination floor before the update cannot carry the number of people waiting for each destination floor after the update, it increases the number of cars heading to the destination floor shortage.

6. An elevator control device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that when the update is performed, the group management control unit re-determines the allocation of the multiple cars according to the number of people waiting at each destination floor after the update.

7. An elevator control device according to claim 6, further comprising a display processing unit that displays information indicating the destination floor of each of the plurality of cars on a display device.

8. An elevator control system comprising: an imaging unit that captures an image of an elevator hall having multiple cars; an input unit that accepts input of destination floors at the hall; a destination floor registration unit that counts the number of people waiting at each destination floor based on the input destination floor; a waiting number estimation unit that estimates the destination floor of users at the hall from the image and updates the number of people waiting at each destination floor using the estimated destination floor; a group management control unit that determines the allocation of the multiple cars according to the number of people waiting at each destination floor; and an elevator control unit that controls the elevators in accordance with the allocation.

9. A program that causes a computer to function as: a destination floor registration unit that counts the number of people waiting at each destination floor based on the destination floor entered at the elevator hall of an elevator equipped with multiple cars; a waiting number estimation unit that estimates the destination floor of users at the elevator hall from an image of the elevator hall and updates the number of people waiting at each destination floor using the estimated destination floor; a group management control unit that determines the allocation of the multiple cars according to the number of people waiting at each destination floor; and an elevator control unit that controls the elevators in accordance with the allocation.

10. An elevator control method comprising: a waiting number estimation unit that counts the number of people waiting at each destination floor based on destination floors input at a landing of an elevator having multiple cars, estimates the destination floors of users at the landing from an image of the landing, and updates the number of people waiting at each destination floor using the estimated destination floor; and determines the allocation of the multiple cars according to the number of people waiting at each destination floor, and controls the elevator in accordance with the allocation.

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