Elevator Operation Management System with External Data Integration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current elevator control systems primarily focus on user movement within a building, neglecting the relationship between indoor and outdoor user movements, and do not comprehensively predict people's movement patterns across the facility and external systems.

Innovation Solution

An elevator operation management system that acquires user data and elevator destination information, learns from past experiences to estimate the number of users getting off at each floor, and outputs this information to external systems for integrated prediction and service enhancement.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If elevator control systems focus on user movement within a building, then operational efficiency inside the facility is improved, but the ability to predict user movement patterns across the facility and external systems deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoperational efficiencyVSAvoidprediction capability across facility and external systems
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The elevator control system is enhanced to perform multiple functions: it not only controls elevator operations within the facility but also predicts user movement patterns and outputs this information to external systems. This multi-functionality allows the system to serve both internal operational needs and external integration requirements, resolving the contradiction between focused efficiency and broad prediction capability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Device complexity

If elevator control systems manage only internal user movement, then system complexity is reduced, but the comprehensiveness of user movement prediction deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem complexityVSAvoidcompleteness of user movement information
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

An information output unit is introduced as an intermediary component that receives processed user movement information from the control system and transmits it to external systems. This intermediary module enables comprehensive information sharing without significantly increasing the core control system's complexity, as it simply facilitates data exchange rather than processing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Ease of operation

If elevator systems do not integrate with external systems, then system simplicity is maintained, but the ability to provide comprehensive prediction services deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem simplicityVSAvoidintegration capability
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system is segmented into distinct functional modules: an information acquisition unit for collecting user movement data, a control unit for processing the data, and an information output unit for external communication. This segmentation allows the integration function to be isolated as a separate module, maintaining the simplicity of the core control system while enabling external system integration through a dedicated interface.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3705433B1Elevator operation management system, and operation management method
Publication Date: 2024.05.01 HITACHI LTD
  • EP3705433B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3705433B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3705433B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To make it possible to comprehensively predict the movement of people by associating an elevator control system in a facility such as a building and an external system other than this system with each other and thereby provide a new service that has not existed before. There is provided an elevator operation management system for controlling and managing multiple elevator devices in a facility, the system including: a reception unit that acquires information on the number of users to use the elevator devices and elevator car destination information; a learning unit that stores and learns, as past experience data, the information on the number of users and the elevator car destination information acquired from the reception unit; a per-floor number-of-people estimation unit that estimates the number of users getting off at each elevator hall floor using storage information of the learning unit; and a request information output unit that outputs the number of people getting off thus estimated in the facility to a system other than the elevator operation management system.