JPH02221082A - Elevator device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten waiting time for the arrival of an elevator by disposing cage call means at plural places away from an elevator stop in addition to cage call means installed at the elevator stop on each floor. CONSTITUTION:In addition to cage call means 131-132 installed at an elevator stop, cage call means 111-115 are also disposed at places away from the elevator stop on each floor of a building 120. Accordingly, a user can press remote buttons 111-115 disposed beside the entrance of his room when he is leaving his room to go to the other floor or remote buttons 112-115 disposed on the corridor wall on his way to the elevator stop. Calls from these remote buttons 112-115 are inputted into the operation control device of an elevator, and the operation control device controls the elevator according to the position of the pressed remote button in such a way that a cage arrives at the floor at the closest possible time to the supposed time of the user's arrival at the elevator stop.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an elevator device and its operation system.

(Prior Art) A push button switch called a landing button is usually installed as a car calling means at an elevator landing.

This platform button is only available at the elevator platform, so those who want to ride the elevator must go to the elevator platform and then press the platform button to call the car.The probability that the car will arrive at that floor at that time is small, so in most cases, the car will wait until the car arrives. Therefore, before getting on the car, it takes time to get to the elevator platform and time to wait for the car to arrive.

In buildings where elevators are installed, most of the users of the building use the elevators, so the total waiting time for these users results in a large loss.

For example, in a building used as an office or the like, waiting time for elevators is a major cause of wasted working time and frustration due to having to wait.

Furthermore, in high-rise residential buildings where the public passages on each floor are open to the outside air, waiting for an elevator in the wind during the bitterly cold season can be especially difficult for the elderly.

In this way, elevator waiting time is not just a time loss, but can actually lead to various problems.

(Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention) The present invention realizes shortening of waiting time for elevator arrival.

(Means for solving the problem) On each floor of the building, in addition to the car calling means at the elevator landing, place car calling means at a place away from the elevator landing.For example, on the wall of the corridor leading to the elevator landing, Install a car calling device at an appropriate distance next to the doorway of the room. These car calling means can be conventionally installed at elevator landings using push-button switches called platform buttons. I'll call it.

A remote button allows a user wishing to board an elevator to place a call in advance before arriving at the elevator landing.

For example, a user may press a remote button next to the doorway of a room when leaving the room to go to another floor, or press a remote button on the wall of a hallway while walking toward an elevator landing. , the call from this remote button is input to the elevator's operation control system, and depending on the position of the remote button pressed, a car is placed on that floor as close as possible to the time when the person is expected to arrive at the elevator landing. The traffic control device controls the elevator to arrive. In particular, when several elevators are installed in parallel, the elevators are adjusted based on the operation status of each elevator, taking into account not only the shortening of waiting time but also the economy of operating energy for the entire elevator system. A specific example of such a control method for performing appropriate allocation control will be described later.

According to the present invention, when the remote button is pressed, the car allocation process is already started and the elevator is operated. The waiting time is shorter than the method.

When the assigned car receives duplicate calls from the remote button on the relevant floor, after the car arrives at the relevant floor, the car is dispatched to the user who is expected to arrive at the elevator platform latest among the users who made those calls. Correspondingly, the departure should be delayed (Claim 2).However, if users appear one after another and press the remote button on the relevant floor, duplicate calls will occur in succession. This results in a long departure delay, making it difficult for the car to depart. This increases the waiting time for users on other floors and delays for users already in the car.

It is also conceivable that a remote button could be used to intentionally interfere with the car's departure. In this way, remote buttons can have some negative effects, so we will next explain ways to take advantage of the advantages of remote buttons while reducing these negative effects.

b) If a call from a remote button located a certain distance or more from the platform occurs after the car has arrived, departure will not be delayed in response to the call from the remote button.

If a remote button located far from the platform is pressed, departure will have to be delayed for a long time, so if a call from a remote button located more than a certain distance from the platform occurs after the car has arrived, , ignore this.

Remote buttons located far from the landing area may be susceptible to tampering, so it may be a good idea to place such restrictions on remote buttons located far from the landing area in order to avoid tampering such as interfering with car departure. .

The extent to which such restrictions should be applied to remote buttons located far away should be determined appropriately depending on the building usage type and traffic conditions.

口）After a certain period of time has passed since the car arrived at the corresponding floor, calls from the remote button will be ignored.

This can prevent the departure delay of the car from exceeding a certain period of time.

It is also possible to prevent the driver from disturbing the car's departure by pressing the remote button too many times.

c) If the button to close the door in the car that has arrived at the relevant floor (door open button in the car) is pressed,
It is possible to ignore the call from the remote button, immediately close the door, and depart from the relevant floor (Claim 3).

Usually, the landing button has priority over the door opening button inside the car. In other words, even if the door open button inside the car is pressed, if the landing button is pressed, the door will open and wait for departure.This prevents the door from being closed when trying to get into the car, and prevents people at the landing from closing the door when trying to board the car. This is necessary to ensure that the person can board the car. However, the user at the location of the remote button is far away from the landing area and cannot be trying to get into the car when the remote button is pressed, so the call from the remote button is given priority over the door close button inside the car. It is not necessary; in fact, if there is someone already in the car, it would be better if that person could close the door and let the car depart regardless of the call from the remote button. This prevents people in the car from having to wait and not be able to depart.

(d) When a car that has arrived at the relevant floor delays its departure in response to a call from a remote button, the car will indicate in the car that it is waiting for the user who pressed the remote button and how many seconds it plans to wait. The information is notified to the user using a voice synthesizer, a character display, etc. (Claim 4).

For example, an announcement on a display or a voice synthesizer that says, ``Someone will be boarding this elevator after XXX, please wait a moment until then,'' is repeated at a certain cycle until the car departs. People can learn why they are not leaving right away and how long they will be leaving, which can reduce their frustration with delays. (c) Even if a person already in the car is able to ignore the call from the remote button and start the car, as in Cicada Beta, if the person in the car is in a particular hurry, If the car is not available, or depending on the predicted waiting time, it may be possible to decide to wait without having to open the car nine times for the sake of a later user. Being able to choose to wait for the other person in this way creates an opportunity for elevator users to respect each other and increase intimacy, and it also has the potential to make elevators easier to use as a means of transportation.

A new advantage can be added to the present invention by means of notifying users in the car of the presence of users who will arrive later.

In this way, by combining some or all of the methods described in (a) to (d) depending on the characteristics of the building, flexible operation that takes advantage of the advantages of the remote button and suppresses its disadvantages becomes possible.

(Example) Figure 1 shows an example in which four elevators 101, 102, 103, and 104 are installed in a building 120 with one basement floor and ten floors above ground, and five elevators are installed on each floor from the second floor to the 10th floor. Remote buttons 111, 112.113, 114.115 are installed, and remote buttons 111, 112.
113 and 114 are each located at the same distance from the elevator landing.

The 1st unit 411101 and the 2nd unit 102 operate from the 1st floor underground to the 10th floor above ground, and the 3rd unit 103 and the 4th unit 10
4 operates from the 1st floor above ground to the 10th floor above ground.

In this example, it is assumed that there are public passageways, parking lots, shopping streets, etc. on the first floor and the first basement floor, so many people who are not related to the second floor and above of this building pass through. Therefore, there is a risk that the remote button may be pressed indecently.
There are no remote buttons installed on the first floor or the first basement floor.

It is assumed that the second to tenth floors are occupied by offices or residences. Since most of the pedestrians on these floors are people who work or live in the building, it is assumed that if remote buttons are installed on these floors, they will understand their function and will be able to use the elevator effectively and in an orderly manner. Ru.

In this way, remote buttons are arranged according to the character of the building.

Among the remote buttons installed on each floor, remote button 1
15 is far from the elevator landing, so as mentioned in (a) above, even if this remote button 115 is pressed after the car arrives at that floor, the car will not wait for departure. , even if pressed after the car has arrived, the car will delay departure depending on the distance from the pressed remote button to the elevator landing.

In this figure, the car of No. 4 104 has arrived at the 9th floor, and this car has delayed its departure because of the user 141 who is heading to the elevator platform after pressing the remote button 112 for the corresponding floor. It shows. 140 is a user who is already in the cart.

The remote button is similar to the platform button called a hall lantern, and consists of two push buttons with lighting functions for raising and lowering, and when the user presses the button in the desired direction, all remote buttons and platform buttons on that floor will be activated. However, the remote button on the top floor only has a button for the descending direction.When the car arrives at the corresponding floor, the call in the corresponding direction from the landing button on that floor will light up. It disappears, and the platform button in the corresponding direction also turns off. When the car subsequently departs in the appropriate direction, the calls from all of its remote buttons in that direction disappear, and the buttons in those directions also go out.

In this way, you can tell when a car has departed by turning off the remote button, so users who were unable to board the car can press one of the remote buttons on that floor again or press the platform button to call a new car. must occur.

Figure 2 illustrates the configuration of the elevator system installed in the building shown in Figure 1, and shows the remote button 111N1.
The feature is that 15 signals are connected to the traffic management device 201. 131 and 132 are platform buttons.

240 is a bundle of signal lines from the platform buttons and remote buttons, and inputs calls from each button to the operation control device. The operation control device outputs a signal to the corresponding button according to the registration or deletion of a call, and turns on or off the button's illumination. 241 is a bundle of signal lines to the remote button.

The operation management device 201 is composed of one or more electronic computers, and functionally includes an allocation control section 202 and each control section 2.
Consists of 03.

Each car control unit 203 is provided corresponding to each car (Nos. 1 to 4), and controls the hoist 230, controls the car, and controls the information in the car to the allocation control unit according to instructions from the allocation control unit. Convey information, etc.

Reference numeral 210 in the car 205 is a floor position display device.The destination floor of the passenger designated by the destination instruction button 212 in the car is input to the assignment control unit through each control unit. 2
48 is a bundle of signal lines input from each control section to the allocation control section, and 249 is a bundle of signal lines output from the allocation management section to each control section.

As stated in claim 4 and above (d), each control unit is capable of detecting whether the car that has arrived at the floor has delayed its departure in order to wait for the user who has pressed the remote button. When informing the users in the car of the expected delay time, it is displayed on a character display 213 in the car, or the output of speech synthesis is broadcast through the speaker 211.

243 is a bundle of signal lines for outputting instructions from each car control unit to the car, 244 is a bundle of signal lines for inputting information in the car to each car control unit, and 246 is a bundle of signal lines for each car control unit. 247 is a bundle of signal lines for outputting instructions from the unit to the hoisting machine, and 247 is a bundle of signal lines for inputting information from the hoisting machine to each control unit.

The operation control device 201 is operated by platform buttons 131 to 13 on each floor.
Based on the calls from Ill to 115 from 2 and remote buttons, the destination direction instruction from the destination instruction button 212 in the car, and the location and operating status of each car, it is determined which car to assign to each of the seven calls. , by issuing operation instructions to each car control unit 203, efficient car operation is performed.

Of the five remote buttons 111 to 115, 111 and 1
12. Calls from places such as 113 and 114, which are located at the same distance from the elevator landing, have the same conditions in the allocation determination process, so they can each be treated as one call factor.

Therefore, even though there are five remote buttons, calls from these remote buttons are actually reduced to three calls and processed.

In this way, when arranging remote buttons, if groups of buttons that are equidistant are created, the number of call factors is reduced to the number of the groups (degenerates), which simplifies the assignment process.

In addition, signal lines for remote buttons located on the same floor and equidistant from the platform can be connected in parallel because the processing within the operation control device is the same. It is also possible to reduce the number of input/output signal lines.

Next, a method of car allocation processing when a plurality of elevators are operated in parallel in this manner will be described in more detail.

The method of allocating cars varies depending on the unique conditions of the building, but an example will be described below.

Now, let Te be the estimated time it will take for the user to arrive at the platform after pressing the remote button or platform button. 0 If the platform button is pressed, then Te
=O, and when the remote button is pressed, 're>o, but it is impossible for Te to be negative.Of course, the remote button that is farther from the platform has a larger Te.

Tc is the estimated time it will take for the car to arrive at the relevant floor after the remote button is pressed.

t1 to t3 are constants (parameters) and are set to appropriate values to enable efficient operation.

Using the above numbers, when a call occurs from a certain floor,
An example of a method for determining the order of car allocation for the call will be described.

Ranking 1) Te-tl < Tc <
If there is a car that has already been assigned to arrive at the relevant floor at time Tc (Te + t2) and can depart in the direction desired by the user who made the call from the relevant floor after arrival, that car Assign.

Rank 2) If there is no such basket in rank l, T
e-t3<Tc Among the cars that can arrive at the relevant floor at the time Tc, and after arrival, can depart in the direction desired by the user who made the call from the relevant floor, the most Tc
Allocate a car that will arrive at a time close to .

The value of the parameter tl-t3 is determined by a simulation using a computer, etc., using the building and elevator specifications and traffic conditions as input values, and using the waiting time of each user, elevator operating energy, etc. as evaluation values.
Optimization is achieved by repeatedly comparing the results obtained with the actual operating conditions, but we will not explain this method here. This article describes an example of how to allocate cars to calls.

Furthermore, I will explain why I chose the method of rank 1.2.

For the user who presses the remote button or the platform button, it is sufficient for the car to arrive at the corresponding floor in as short a waiting time as possible after the user arrives at the platform, but this reduces the energy consumption and Waiting time and the time it takes for people who are already in the car to reach the destination floor must also be taken into account, so if there is already a car assigned to the floor, you can reach the floor faster. Even if there are other cars, if there is only a slight increase in waiting time, it is better to allocate the car that has already been assigned to the relevant floor to the call from the relevant floor, so that the other cars can be newly directed to the relevant floor. There is a high possibility that operation energy can be saved even more.In reality, car assignment must be decided at a stage when it is not known which floor the user who boarded from the relevant floor will designate as the destination floor, so the condition for rank 1 is Although it cannot be said that operating energy can be reduced in all applicable cases, at least the energy required for opening and closing doors, stopping and starting the car can be saved.

- The balance between the expected energy savings and the increase in waiting time allowed thereby is defined by the parameters tt, tz.

As mentioned in rank 1, if there is a car that is scheduled to arrive at the floor where the call occurs in a timely manner, it is very convenient in terms of saving waiting time and operation energy, but if there is no such car, it is ranked in rank 2. Allocate a basket like this.

An example of relatively simple and effective allocation processing has been described above. More advanced allocation determination methods are also possible, and even more efficient operation control is possible by adding a destination floor indication function to the platform button or remote button. However, there are also cases where simply connecting the landing button and the remote button in parallel can have a significant effect. As described above, various methods can be considered, but the basis of the present invention is to install a car calling means even at a location away from the landing area.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, the waiting time for the elevator can be shortened by simply adding a cheap and simple means of installing the calling means at a location away from the elevator landing. .

The present invention can be effectively applied to elevators in buildings used in various ways, such as offices, residences, and hotels.

For example, in an office, it is possible to improve work efficiency by reducing wasted working time due to waiting time and mental irritation caused by having to wait.

The present invention is particularly effective in high-rise residences, hotels, etc., where elevators are often on standby.

In high-rise residential buildings where the public passages and elevator stops on each floor are open to the outside air, waiting for an elevator during the coldest months can be a pain, but the present invention can alleviate that pain.

Hotel guests expect particularly attentive service.
I felt satisfied with the service, where the elevator came to pick me up at just the right time when I arrived at the platform.
The present invention enhances such possibilities.

In addition, hotel guests tend to be reluctant to meet other people at elevator stands, etc., but according to the present invention,
Since the waiting time is reduced, this possibility is also reduced. Even if there is a call from a remote button by a person coming later when the car arrives, the function described in (c) allows you to ignore the call and leave if you do not want to meet face to face.

Of course, because of the function mentioned in (d), you know that someone who still wants to ride will come later, so you can show your kindness by waiting for that person.

As described in the several examples above, the present invention can shorten elevator waiting time and flexibly respond to user situations, increasing the value of buildings in various ways.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram in which the elevator device of the present invention is installed, and 120 is a building in which the elevator device of the present invention is installed;
1ot-104 are the elevators for cars 1 to 4, 131 and 132 are platform buttons, 111-115 are remote buttons, 140 is a user who is already in the car,
141 is a user heading to the elevator hall. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the elevator system of the present invention, in which 201 is a traffic management device, 202 is an allocation control unit, and 20
3 is each control unit, 230 is a hoisting machine 205 is a cage, 21
0 is a floor position display device, 216 is an in-car operation panel, 211
is a speaker, 212 is a destination instruction button, 213 is a character display device, 214 is a door open button, 215 is a door open button, 2
40 is a bundle of signal wires from the landing button and remote button 241 is a bundle of signal wires to the landing button and remote button, 244 is a bundle of signal wires from the car, 243 is a bundle of signal wires to the car, 247 is a winding Bundle of signal lines from aircraft, 246
is a bundle of signal wires to the hoist.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In addition to the car calling means installed at the elevator landing on each floor, by placing at least one car calling means in a place away from the elevator landing, people who want to board the elevator can arrive at the elevator landing. Elevator equipment with which it is possible to previously call a car. (2) Some or all of the users who have made a call from the car calling means located at a location away from the elevator landing will be able to reach the relevant floor within the time limit until the time when they are expected to arrive at the elevator landing. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein departure of the car is delayed after arrival. (3) After arriving at the relevant floor, even if the departure of the car is delayed for the reason stated in claim 2, the means for closing the car door installed inside the car is exercised. 3. The elevator system according to claim 2, which ignores the call from the car calling means located away from the elevator landing, immediately closes the door, and departs from the corresponding floor. (4) If the departure of the car is delayed due to the reason set forth in claim 2 after arriving at the relevant floor, means for notifying passengers in the car of the reason and expected delay time. An elevator apparatus according to claim 2 or 3.