Method and systems for issuing alerts for premises that have lifts

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for issuing alerts to persons who are present on premises that have lifts (100), comprising retrieving an alert from an alert generation server (20), selecting at least one of the premises which is located in a geographical area affected by the alert, transmitting the alert to a monitoring system (1, 2) of a lift on the selected premises, and controlling a loudspeaker (4) of a remote alarm system in the lift by means of the monitoring system so as to issue the alert message in audio form. Preferably, the cab (101) of the lift can be controlled by the monitoring system so as to move and stop successively at multiple floors, and the alert message is issued at each floor while the cab is open, in order to be audible to persons on each floor outside the cab.

Description

Description Title: ALERT DISSEMINATION METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PREMISES EQUIPPED WITH ELEVATORS technical field

[0001] This description relates to a method and systems for disseminating alerts to people who are present in premises equipped with elevators. Previous technique

[0002] Elevators are very common passenger transport systems, installed in residential buildings, office buildings, parking garages, shopping centers, company premises, train stations, airports, etc. An elevator is understood to be the complete system that provides the transport service, including the moving cabin, the machinery, the power supply room for this machinery, the elevator shaft and its shaft pit, the cabin roof where onboard components can be installed, etc.Due to regulatory requirements in some countries and / or for safety reasons, every elevator may include emergency call systems located in areas of the elevator where a person, whether an elevator user or a maintenance technician, might be present. These systems allow the person to call for external assistance, such as elevator repair services, emergency services, or other resources. Such an emergency call system typically includes a call button, a loudspeaker, a microphone, and a communication system connected to an external network. At least some of the components of each emergency call system often consist of a standard telephone terminal.

[0003] Furthermore, it is common practice to equip an elevator with a multifunctional supervisory system that performs functions such as controlling and recording user-activated elevator operations, safety functions, fault diagnostics, monitoring elevator maintenance operations, and more. Such a supervisory system is notably capable of autonomously controlling elevator car movements and / or opening the car door, without requiring a user to initiate these actions via the control panel located in the car or one of the elevator call buttons on the landings.Furthermore, such an elevator monitoring system may incorporate an additional emergency alarm system beyond the one originally installed in the elevator, and / or a presence sensor to detect a person in the car or elsewhere in the elevator where a maintenance technician might need to go. Regulations and / or an elevator maintenance and service contract may require that elevator emergency alarm systems be continuously operational, with periodic functional checks.

[0004] Finally, there are alert generation systems, notably operated by public authorities, national or international services, or humanitarian organizations, to disseminate weather alerts, earthquake or tsunami alerts, civil security alerts (including pollution alerts), abduction alerts, terrorist attack alerts, and so on, to the public. These alerts are currently generated by identified servers to which tools for viewing, querying, downloading, retransmitting, and / or disseminating the alerts can be interfaced. Alerts can be generated using the CAP (Common Alerting Protocol), an international standard for structured alert formats.The use of the CAP protocol facilitates the relaying of alerts and their dissemination to the population through communication media such as television, radio, mobile terminals, billboards, etc. Technical problem

[0005] Based on this situation, one aim of the present invention is to improve the efficiency and speed of disseminating alerts to the population, particularly in premises that are spread over several levels.

[0006] In particular, one aim of the invention is to broadcast alerts in premises which may otherwise be poorly served by appropriate means of communication to alert people who are there.

[0007] Another objective of the invention is to be able to restrict the dissemination of an alert to premises which are concerned by that alert, without the alert being unnecessarily disseminated in other premises for which it is not relevant. Summary of the invention

[0008] To achieve at least one of these goals or another, a first aspect of the invention proposes a method for disseminating an alert to people who are present in premises equipped with elevators, the method comprising the following steps: / 1 / retrieve an alert from an alert generation server, the alert including at least an indication of a geographical area which is concerned by this alert and an alert message to be disseminated; 121 from a set of premises, select at least one of the premises which is located in the geographical area concerned by the alert; 131 transmit the alert to a monitoring system of an elevator in the selected room, called the recipient elevator; and / 4 / control a loudspeaker of a telealarm system of the recipient elevator, by means of the supervision system of this recipient elevator, to broadcast the alert message in audio form.

[0009] Thus, elevator emergency call systems are used to broadcast alerts. They allow alerts to reach people who might be temporarily out of range of other systems or media used to broadcast an alert. This increases the effectiveness of alert dissemination to the public. Furthermore, the method of the invention allows for the selection of locations where an alert is broadcast, based on the installation address of each elevator and according to the specified geographic area covered by the alert.

[0010] Generally for the invention, the loudspeaker of the telealarm system of the recipient elevator can be located in a car, a pit, or a machinery area of ​​that recipient elevator, or on a roof of its car.

[0011] In preferred embodiments of the invention in which the loudspeaker of the telealarm system is located in the cabin of the recipient elevator, step / 4 / may include detecting whether a person is present in this cabin, and then, if no person is present, activating the following functions via the supervisory system of the recipient elevator: • at least one movement of the cabin between at least two floors, with a stop and opening of the cabin at each floor, and • while the cabin is stopped and opened successively on each floor, broadcast the alert message at least once using the loudspeaker of the tele-alarm system in this cabin.

[0012] Thus, the method of the invention makes it possible to spread the alert quickly in premises which are spread over several levels, without each of these levels necessarily being equipped with a fixed audio broadcasting system.

[0013] For these preferred embodiments of the invention, the monitoring system of the receiving elevator can advantageously adjust the volume for the audio broadcast of the alert message each time the car stops and opens, to a level that is higher than the level required for communication with a person inside the car. Thus, the alert message is audible outside the elevator car, allowing people on each floor at a distance from the elevator to hear it. The number of people who can clearly hear the alert message is therefore increased.

[0014] In other preferred embodiments of the invention, the recipient elevator's monitoring system can be configured to: - determine the duration of a user's transport by the destination elevator, or the duration of a stop of a cabin of this destination elevator with the user inside the cabin; - adapt the alert message to be broadcast according to the duration of the transport or stop; and - Execute step 141 during user transport or car stop using the alert message adapted to the duration of the transport or stop. This adaptation of the alert message ensures that the user hears alert content that is not too long relative to their time in the elevator car, or that uses this time to provide optimal information to the user. This makes the alert delivery to the user more efficient.

[0015] Generally speaking, for the invention, the alert retrieved in step / 1 / may also include at least one value for at least one attribute, for example, to indicate an alert category, a population group affected by the alert, an urgency level, a severity level, or a certainty level of the alert. The alert message may be broadcast in step / 4 / by adapting at least one audio broadcast parameter, for example, a loudspeaker volume level, the number of repetitions of the alert message, an audio broadcast time range, an audio broadcast speed, or at least an audio frequency, according to the attribute value. In this way, the attention of those hearing the alert message can be further enhanced or captured.

[0016] A second aspect of the invention provides a monitoring system for an elevator, intended to be connected to an elevator control system and further connected to a loudspeaker of a remote alarm system installed in that elevator, this monitoring system being configured to: - receive an alert including an alert message to be disseminated; and - control the speaker of the tele-alarm system to broadcast the alert message in audio form.

[0017] Such a supervisory elevator system can be used to implement a method that conforms to the first aspect of the invention, including its optional improvements.

[0018] This elevator monitoring system can optionally include a presence sensor designed for installation in the elevator car and adapted to detect a person inside. The monitoring system can then be further configured to activate the following functions if no person is detected in the car: • at least one movement of the cabin between at least two floors, with a stop and opening of the cabin at each of these floors, and • while the cabin is stopped and opened successively on each floor, broadcast the alert message at least once using the loudspeaker of the tele-alarm system in this cabin.

[0019] Possibly, the telealarm system including the speaker can advantageously be integrated into the supervision system, in particular to eliminate difficulties of connection or interfacing between the supervision system and a telealarm system specific to the elevator, and also to avoid maintenance of the telealarm system and the supervision system being separate.

[0020] Optionally, but advantageously, the monitoring system can be further configured to adapt at least one audio broadcast parameter used to broadcast the alert message, for example, a loudspeaker volume level, a number of repetitions of the alert message, an audio broadcast time range, an audio broadcast speed, or at least an audio frequency, based on a value of at least one attribute included in the received alert, for example, an attribute that indicates an alert category, a class of affected population, an emergency level, a severity level, or a level of certainty of the alert.

[0021] Finally, a third aspect of the invention proposes a system for disseminating an alert to people present in premises equipped with elevators, the dissemination system comprising: - respective monitoring systems installed in the elevators, each monitoring system conforming to the second aspect of the invention; and - an elevator management server, configured for: • Retrieve the alert, which must include at least an indication of the geographical area affected by the alert and an alert message to be disseminated. • select at least one of the premises that is located in the geographical area affected by the alert, and • transmit the alert to the elevator monitoring system of the selected room.

[0022] Such an alert dissemination system is suitable for implementing a method that conforms to the first aspect of the invention, including its optional improvements. Brief description of the figures

[0023] The features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer in the following detailed description of non-limiting implementation examples, with reference to the accompanying figures, among which:

[0024] [Fig. 1] is a block diagram of an alert dissemination system according to the invention; and

[0025] [Fig. 2] shows steps in an alert dissemination process that can be executed by the system in [Fig. 1], Detailed description of the invention

[0026] In [Fig. 1], reference 20 designates one or more alert generation servers that provide alerts to warn populations concerned by imminent risks or to solicit witnesses. The alert generation server(s) 20 may be national or international. For example, each alert generation server 20 may be administered by the IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies), by Météo France's weather service known as "VigiMétéo," or by alert services such as Alert-Hub, FR-Alert in France, EU-Alert in Europe, Amber Alert, etc. Some alert generation servers may be dedicated to a specific type of alert, such as weather alerts, civil protection alerts, or abduction alerts.The alert generation server(s) 20 is / are designed to transmit alerts over a communication network in the form of RSS feeds, API interface feeds, FTP queries, or other methods, including as XML files. Specifically, but not limited to, each alert may be structured according to the CAP protocol. In particular, each alert may contain the following elements: an alert period, during which the alert is to be disseminated, for example in the form of a start date and time and an end date and time of the alert, an indication of a geographical area that is affected by the alert, for example in the form of geolocation coordinates, such as GPS, Galileo or other, alert attributes, such as an alert category attribute contained in a field <category>, a population class attribute that is affected by the alert, an emergency attribute contained in a field <urgency>, a severity attribute contained in a field <severity>or a certainty attribute contained in a field <certainty>and an alert message, which is the useful content of the alert to be disseminated. For example, different categories of alerts include weather alerts, earthquake or tsunami alerts, civil security alerts, alerts for terrorist attacks or kidnappings, etc. Different classes of people affected by an alert may correspond to a public alert, which is intended for the entire population, a private alert, which is intended for one or more identified individuals, a restricted alert, which is intended for a group of people designated collectively, etc.

[0027] An elevator supervision and monitoring service provider proposes equipping each elevator with a supervision system that performs functions such as verifying the elevator's operating status and power supply, verifying the elevator's safety systems, verifying and recording user-entered operating commands and their execution, verifying the planning and execution of maintenance operations, etc. Each supervision system may include a fixed control unit 1, an on-board unit 2 located in the elevator car 101 or on its roof, and optionally one or more detectors 3 located in the car 101. The on-board unit 2 is connected to the fixed control unit 1 either by wired or short-range radio connection to enable communication between the two units.The fixed control unit 1 is designed to be installed in a technical room of the elevator 100. It interfaces, on the one hand, with the elevator 100's power supply and control system 102 to collect elevator operating and diagnostic signals, and on the other hand, with the elevator 100's call buttons 104 located at the various floor landings. This fixed control unit 1 allows, in particular, the triggering and execution of elevator 100 functions, such as the movement of the car 101 between floors, the stopping of the car 101 at floors designated by this fixed control unit 1, and the opening of the car 101 door.Unit 2, which is installed in or on the elevator car 101 of elevator 100, is interfaced with the control panel 103 located in that car, specifically to transmit, for recording purposes, the commands entered on this panel by the elevator 100 users. The installed unit 2 can also be interfaced with the sensor(s) 3 of the supervisory system located in car 101, specifically to collect measurement and / or detection signals produced by each sensor 3. For example, one of these sensors 3 could be a presence detector, to detect the presence of at least one person in car 101. Other possible sensors include a smoke detector, a fire detector, etc.

[0028] Due to regulatory requirements and / or for safety purposes, cabin 101 is equipped with a tele-alarm system that allows a person inside the cabin to call an assistance service, for example, a service provided by the elevator manufacturer 100 or a public emergency service such as the fire department. Such a tele-alarm system typically includes a help button located on the control panel 103, a microphone, a loudspeaker 4, and a telephone communication system. For the purposes of this invention, the on-board unit 2 is connected to the loudspeaker 4 of this tele-alarm system and configured to control it. Alternatively, the supervisory system with which elevator 100 is equipped may incorporate an additional tele-alarm system. In this case, the on-board unit 2 is connected to a loudspeaker of this additional tele-alarm system, which is positioned to emit audio signals inside cabin 101.In the following, reference 4 designates a loudspeaker which is fitted inside cabin 101, which may belong either to a tele-alarm system initially supplied with elevator 100, or to a tele-alarm system integrated into the supervision system with which elevator 100 is equipped.

[0029] The alert dissemination system comprises an elevator management server 10 and a set of elevator monitoring systems, each as described above, with each monitoring system equipping a different elevator. The management server 10 is connected to a database 11 that lists a set of monitoring systems installed on a fleet of elevators 100. For example, each monitoring system can be identified in the database 11 by the GPS coordinates of its elevator 100's installation location. The fixed control unit 1 of each monitoring system is connected to the management server 10 via a communication network, for example, a 4G or 5G network using an IP protocol, and the management server 10 is connected to the alert generation server(s) 20, possibly also via this same communication network. Optionally, the management server 10 may consist of several interconnected servers.

[0030] The operation of this alert dissemination system is now described with reference to [Fig. 2],

[0031] The S0 step, which is carried out by the elevator management server 10, consists of monitoring the generation of a new alert by one of the servers 20. For this, the management server 10 can periodically query each alert generation server 20. When a new alert has been generated, it is transmitted in response to the management server 10, for example as an XML file via RSS feed, and in CAP format.

[0032] At step S1, the management server 10 retrieves the file of the new alert and, upon receiving the alert file as transmitted by the alert generation server 20, it reads in this file the indication of the geographical area which is concerned by the alert.

[0033] In step S2, the management server 10 accesses the database 11 to select the monitoring systems installed in the alert's geographic area, for example, using their GPS coordinates. The elevators 100 of the monitoring systems selected for the alert being processed are referred to as recipient elevators in the general section of the description. The management server 10 may also select the monitoring systems affected by the alert using an artificial intelligence circuit, for example, to improve or modify the geographic selection result. The management server 10 then transmits the alert to each of the selected monitoring systems.

[0034] In step S3, the fixed control unit 1 of each selected monitoring system receives the alert, for example, the XML file of that alert. The rest of the alert dissemination process is executed separately within each of the selected monitoring systems.

[0035] In step S4, the fixed control unit 1 reads the alert period, its optional attributes, and the alert message. If the alert period has not yet expired, the fixed control unit 1 generates a speech synthesis corresponding to the alert message and creates an audio file containing this speech synthesis. The audio file format can be one of those commonly used, depending on the desired compression level. Certain characteristics of the speech synthesis performed by the fixed control unit 1 can be adjusted based on the values ​​of the alert attributes. For example, the audio frequency, speaker volume level, audio playback speed, number of repetitions of the alert audio message, or the speech synthesis language can be determined based on the attribute values, particularly to more effectively capture the attention of the intended recipients of the alert.

[0036] At step S5, fixed control unit 1 verifies that the alert period is in progress. If so, this fixed control unit 1 commands the execution of the following steps S6 and S7, or otherwise terminates the alert dissemination process currently being processed. Monitoring for a possible new alert continues according to step S0. Possibly, if the alert contains an indication of an audio dissemination time range, such as, for example, a morning, afternoon, or daytime period, fixed control unit 1 verifies that the current time is within this time range and proceeds with steps S6 and S7 only if it is; otherwise, it suspends the execution of the alert dissemination process until the current time falls within the indicated time range.

[0037] At stage S6, the fixed control unit 1 commands the elevator 100 to bring the cabin 101 to a floor where the alert is first broadcast, for example to a ground floor, and commands the door of cabin 101 to open once it has stopped at the desired floor.

[0038] Then, at step S7, the audio file is played through speaker 4, controlled by fixed unit 1, at a volume level sufficient to be audible outside cabin 101 at a distance from elevator 100. For this reason, the volume level selected by fixed control unit 1 at step S4 for speaker 4 may be higher than that of a tele-alarm system intended for a user of elevator 100 located in cabin 101. While cabin 101 is stopped at the current floor with its door open, the audio message may be repeated several times according to the repetition schedule determined by fixed control unit 1.

[0039] Fixed control unit 1 then commands the closing of the door of cabin 101, and the repetition of steps S5, S6, and S7 on a different floor. All floors can thus be addressed successively, or a selection thereof, allowing the alert message to be effectively disseminated to all levels of the building where elevator 100 is located.

[0040] According to a first optional improvement of the invention, each execution of steps S6 and S7 can be made conditional upon no person being present in cabin 101 at the time step S6 is initiated. To this end, the detection signal delivered by the presence detector 3 is verified by the fixed control unit 1 before triggering a new execution of step S6.

[0041] According to a second optional improvement of the invention, the fixed control unit 1 can inhibit the processing of commands entered by users of elevator 100 at the panel 103 or the elevator call buttons on the landings 104, in order to broadcast the alert by executing steps S6 and S7 with priority over transporting these users. Alternatively, the execution of steps S6 and S7 can be suspended if a command is entered by a user of elevator 100, and transporting that user takes priority. The alert message can also be broadcast during this transport of the user, with the volume reduced to suit the user present in the car 101.The repetition of steps S5, S6 and S7 can then be resumed automatically in the absence of a new command entered on panel 103 or by the elevator call buttons on floor landings 104.

[0042] In a variant of the alert dissemination method, which is also consistent with the invention, the alert message broadcast by the loudspeaker 4 of the tele-alarm system in cabin 101 is intended for a user who is present in that cabin. The alert message to be broadcast can then be adapted to the duration of the user's presence in cabin 101. This duration can be determined in advance by the fixed control unit 1 based on the floor level at which the user entered their transport command on panel 103, and the arrival floor level indicated by that command. Alternatively, the duration of the user's presence in cabin 101 can be identified by the fixed control unit 1 as the duration of the cabin's stop at a floor level with the user remaining in the cabin.The fixed control unit 1 can then adapt the alert message to be broadcast based on the user's length of stay in cabin 101, for example, by using an artificial intelligence content generation circuit. This adaptation of the alert message adjusts its length to the user's duration in cabin 101. The speech synthesis is then generated by the fixed control unit 1 from the alert message as adapted to the user's stay, and this audio file is then broadcast via the speaker 4 while the user is in cabin 101. The broadcast message thus ends approximately when the user leaves cabin 101, having optimized the alert information heard by the user.

[0043] Although the invention has been described for broadcasting an alert using a loudspeaker for a tele-alarm system located in car 101, the alert can be broadcast using the other tele-alarm systems installed in each elevator 100, each of which has its own loudspeaker separate from those of the other tele-alarm systems within the same elevator. Thus, the alarm can be broadcast audibly independently in the shaft of elevator 100, also called the pit, on the roof of car 101, or in a room of its machinery or power and control system 102. For each of these additional areas, the audio broadcast of the alert can again be subject to the detection of a person in the area concerned, by a dedicated presence sensor installed for that area.

[0044] It is understood that the invention can be reproduced by modifying minor aspects of the implementation methods described in detail above, while retaining at least some of the advantages mentioned. In particular, certain steps described as being performed by the elevator management server 10 can be performed alternatively by the fixed control units 1, and vice versa. Specifically, the speech synthesis audio file containing the alert message can be generated by the management server 10 or by a dedicated server and then sent to the fixed control units 1 of the recipient elevators.< / certainty> < / severity> < / urgency> < / category>

Claims

Demands

1. A method for disseminating an alert to persons who are present in premises equipped with elevators (100), the method comprising the following steps: / 1 / retrieve an alert from an alert generation server (20), the alert including at least an indication of a geographical area which is concerned by said alert and an alert message to be disseminated; 121 from a set of premises, select at least one of the premises which is located in the geographical area concerned by the alert; 131 transmit the alert to a monitoring system (1, 2) of an elevator (100) in the selected room, referred to as the recipient elevator; and / 4 / control a loudspeaker (4) of a telealarm system of the recipient elevator (100), by means of the supervision system (1, 2) of said recipient elevator, to broadcast the alert message in audio form.

2. A method for broadcasting an alert according to claim 1, wherein the loudspeaker (4) of the remote alarm system of the recipient elevator (100) is located in a cabin (101), a pit, or a machinery area of ​​said recipient elevator, or on a cabin roof of said recipient elevator.

3. A method for disseminating an alert according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the loudspeaker (4) of the remote alarm system is located in a cabin (101) of the recipient elevator (100), and according to which step / 4 / includes detecting whether a person is present in the cabin (101), and then, if no person is present in the cabin, activating the following functions via the supervisory system (1, 2) of the recipient elevator: • at least one movement of the cabin (101) between at least two floors with a stop and opening of the cabin at each of said floors, and • while the cabin (101) is stopped and opened successively at each floor, broadcast the alert message at least once using the loudspeaker (4) of the tele-alarm system in said cabin.

4. Method of broadcasting an alert according to claim 3, wherein the supervisory system (1, 2) of the recipient elevator (4) adjusts a sound volume for the audio broadcast of the alert message at each stop and opening of the cabin (101), to a level that is higher than a level prescribed for communication with a person present in said cabin.

5. A method for disseminating an alert according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the monitoring system (1, 2) of the recipient elevator (100) is configured to: - determine a duration of a transport of a user by the destination elevator (100), or a duration of a stop of a cabin (101) of said destination elevator with the user inside the cabin; - adapt the alert message to be broadcast according to the duration of the transport or stop; and - execute step / 4 / during user transport or cabin stop (101) using the alert message as adapted according to the duration of the transport or stop.

6. A method of disseminating an alert according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the alert retrieved in step / 1 / further includes at least one value of at least one attribute, for example to indicate a category of the alert, a class of population concerned, a level of urgency, a level of severity or a level of certainty of the alert, and wherein the alert message is disseminated in step / 4 / by adapting at least one audio dissemination parameter, for example a loudspeaker volume level (4), a number of repetitions of the alert message, an audio dissemination time range, an audio dissemination speed or at least an audio frequency, according to the value of the attribute.

7. Supervisory system (1, 2) for an elevator (100), intended to be connected to an elevator control system, and further to be connected to a loudspeaker (4) of a remote alarm system installed in said elevator, the supervisory system being configured to: - receive an alert including an alert message to be broadcast; and - control the speaker (4) of the tele-alarm system to broadcast the alert message in audio form.

8. Supervisory system (1, 2) for an elevator (100) according to claim 7, further comprising a presence sensor (3) intended to be installed in an elevator car (101) and adapted to detect a person present in the car, and in which the supervisory system (1, 2) is further configured to activate the following functions if no person is detected in the cabin (101): • at least one movement of the cabin (101) between at least two floors with a stop and opening of the cabin at each of said floors, and • while the cabin (101) is stopped and opened successively on each floor, broadcast at least once the alert message using the loudspeaker (4) of the tele-alarm system in said cabin.

9. Supervisory system (1, 2) for an elevator (101) according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the remote alarm system including the loudspeaker (4) is integrated into the supervisory system.

10. Supervisory system (1, 2) for an elevator (100) according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the supervisory system is further configured to adapt at least one audio broadcasting parameter used to broadcast the alert message, for example a loudspeaker (4) volume level, a number of repetitions of the alert message, an audio broadcasting time range, an audio broadcasting speed or at least an audio frequency, according to a value of at least one attribute included in the received alert, for example an attribute that indicates an alert category, a class of affected population, an urgency level, a severity level or a level of certainty of said alert.

11. A system for disseminating (1, 2) an alert to persons present in premises equipped with elevators (100), the dissemination system comprising: - respective monitoring systems (1, 2) installed in the elevators (100), each monitoring system conforming to one of claims 7 to 10; and - an elevator management server (10), configured to: • Retrieve the alert, which must include at least an indication of the geographical area affected by the alert and an alert message to be disseminated. • select at least one of the premises that is located in the geographical area affected by the alert, and • transmit the alert to the supervision system (1, 2) of the elevator (100) of the selected room.

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