Elevator Door Control Timeout for Robot Boarding Failures
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing elevator systems lack effective countermeasures for failures during the boarding and alighting procedures of robots, leading to delays and inconveniences for both robots and human passengers, particularly when completion signals are not received, causing door closure issues and potential robot misplacement.
Innovation Solution
A robot interlocking elevator control system that autonomously manages elevator door operations by releasing door close button disablement after a predetermined time if completion signals are not received, allowing the elevator to return to the alighting failure floor for robot alighting and prioritizing passenger services, thus preventing long-term delays and ensuring efficient robot operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the elevator controller maintains door opening restriction until receiving completion signal from robot, then robot safety is ensured, but passenger service is delayed and elevator productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system sets a predetermined time threshold before actually closing the door or escalating to manual intervention. This cushioning time allows the system to detect and handle completion signals that may be delayed due to communication lag or robot processing delays, while still maintaining productivity by not indefinitely restricting door closure.
Solution Approach 2:
The door control strategy dynamically changes based on the elapsed time since under-boarding/under-alighting signals. The system transitions from a static door restriction state to a dynamic state where the door can close after the predetermined time, and further transitions to manual intervention mode if abnormality is detected, optimizing both safety and productivity.
2Reliability
If the elevator door remains restricted from closing to ensure robot completes boarding/alighting, then robot operation reliability is improved, but time loss increases and service quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The predetermined time threshold acts as a cushioning period that anticipates potential delays in completion signal transmission. This allows the system to maintain door restriction only for the necessary minimum time to ensure robot safety, rather than indefinitely, thereby reducing time loss while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors for completion signals from the robot and uses this feedback to determine when to release the door restriction. The feedback mechanism ensures the door remains restricted only as long as necessary for robot safety, automatically releasing the restriction once the robot completes its operation or the time threshold is reached.
3Reliability
If the elevator system waits indefinitely for completion signals, then robot safety is maximized, but elevator productivity and service quality for passengers deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The predetermined time threshold provides a safety cushion that is sufficient for normal robot operations but does not indefinitely delay elevator service. This cushioning approach ensures robot safety for typical scenarios while maintaining elevator productivity by establishing a clear timeout for releasing door restriction and proceeding with passenger service.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts its behavior based on the elapsed time: initially maintaining door restriction for robot safety, then transitioning to allow door closure after the predetermined time if no completion signal is received. This dynamic approach optimizes the balance between robot safety and elevator productivity across different operational scenarios.
4Reliability
If the door close button is continuously disabled during robot boarding/alighting, then robot operation reliability is improved, but device complexity and control difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The door control logic is segmented into distinct time-based phases: initial restriction phase, predetermined time waiting phase, and post-timeout phase. Each phase has clear control rules, simplifying the overall control logic compared to a continuous complex decision-making system. The segmentation makes the control system more manageable and easier to implement while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The door control system transitions through dynamic states based on time elapse and signal reception, rather than maintaining a static complex control logic. The control parameters dynamically change from disabled to enabled based on simple time thresholds and signal detection, reducing the overall complexity of the control system while maintaining robot operation reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a robot interlocking elevator control system. The robot interlocking elevator control system provides countermeasures against a failure mode in a boarding/alighting procedure of a robot with respect to an elevator for movement between floors in a building, thereby achieving significant improvement in overall service quality and operation efficiency of an elevator system controlled in conjunction with the robot.