JPH09286576A - Image monitoring equipment for elevators - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [PROBLEMS] To provide an elevator image monitoring device capable of automatically restarting normal operation of a car when the degree of abnormality in the hoistway is small, and capable of reliably detecting abnormality. SOLUTION: A first memory 27 for storing an image in the hoistway in association with a position of a car and a new image by the cameras 11 and 12 are compared with an old image in the first memory 27 to compare the images in the hoistway. Image processing CPU 26 that determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred
And a second memory 2 for storing a new image of a portion where an abnormality has occurred
According to the determination result, the seismic control operation is switched to, the video data of the new image is output to the monitoring center 17, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, the abnormality in the hoistway is detected again. If this abnormality is not detected, the car is operated at a low speed to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway,
The normal operation of the car is performed according to the determination result. On the other hand, when it is determined that the situation in the hoistway is normal, the first
The old image stored in the memory 27 is updated with the new image.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image monitoring device for an elevator, which monitors an inside of a hoistway by taking an image by means of an image pickup means provided in a car, and more particularly to an inside of the hoistway when an earthquake occurs The present invention relates to an image monitoring device for an elevator, which is suitable for checking whether or not an abnormality has occurred.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an elevator, when a large earthquake with a seismic intensity of 4 or more occurs, the car running in the hoistway is stopped at the nearest floor to unload passengers, and then the door is closed to operate the car. By stopping, the safety of passengers in the car is ensured, and the secondary damage to the equipment in the hoistway is prevented. After that, maintenance personnel visually inspect the condition inside the hoistway to check whether there are any abnormalities when the operation of the car is restarted, and whether the car is operating at a low speed and abnormal vibration or noise is generated. It is necessary to inspect, and to perform the inspection in normal operation.

Therefore, in order to facilitate the above-mentioned inspection work, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-47382, a picture of the hoistway is taken by a camera after an earthquake and The video data of the image is transmitted to a monitoring center, and a supervisor belonging to this monitoring center visually compares the image with the image before the earthquake to determine whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway. Such an elevator image monitoring device has been proposed.

[0004]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional elevator image monitoring apparatus, since the image in the hoistway captured by the camera after the earthquake occurs is compared with the image before the earthquake, the data of this image is A large amount is required, and there is a problem that a large burden is placed on the observer when comparing these images after the earthquake with those before the earthquake. There was also a concern of overlooking.

The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation in the prior art as described above, and a first object thereof is to carry out a control operation of a car when an abnormality occurs in the hoistway to ensure passenger safety. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image monitoring device for an elevator that can secure the above-mentioned problems and can easily confirm the above-mentioned abnormality at a monitoring center.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an elevator image monitoring apparatus capable of automatically resuming normal operation of a car when the degree of abnormality in the hoistway is relatively small. To do.

A third object of the present invention is to detect the abnormality in the hoistway by suppressing the influence of the change even if the weather or the lighting condition changes with time. An object is to provide an image monitoring device for an elevator.

[0008]

In order to achieve the first object, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention captures an image of the inside of a hoistway in which an elevator car moves up and down. In an elevator image monitoring apparatus, which is provided with an image pickup means, outputs the image data of the image to a monitoring center via a telephone line, and monitors the situation in the hoistway by the monitoring center, First storage means for storing the car in association with the position of the car, and a new image taken by the imaging means each time the car stops on each floor of the hoistway are stored in the first storage means. When the amount of change between the new image and the old image is larger than a predetermined determination value as compared with the old image, an image processing unit that determines that an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway and a portion that has the abnormality. Memorize new image Storage means for switching the normal operation of the car from seismic control operation to the seismic control operation according to the determination result of the image processing means, and monitoring the video data of the new image stored in the second storage means. It is configured to output to the center.

According to the present invention constructed as described above, when an abnormality occurs in the hoistway, the control operation of the car can be promptly performed to ensure the safety of passengers. Since the video data of the new image of only the part that has occurred is output to the monitoring center, this video data contains the new image of only the part that has caused the anomaly described above. The abnormality can be easily confirmed at the monitoring center without overlooking the location.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned second object, the invention according to claim 2 of the present invention is, in addition to the above-mentioned configuration, predetermined after the image processing means determines that an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway. After a lapse of time, the car is operated to detect again the abnormality in the hoistway by the image processing means, and when this abnormality is not detected, the car is driven at a low speed and stopped at each floor of the hoistway. A new image on each floor is taken again by the image pickup means, and this new image is compared with the old image stored in the first storage means by the image processing means to determine whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway. It is configured to make a determination and perform the normal operation of the car according to the determination result.

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, after a predetermined time has elapsed after it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway,
After confirming that the above-mentioned abnormality was temporary by detecting the abnormality in the hoistway again, perform a low speed operation of the car to determine whether the abnormality occurred in the hoistway. Since the normal operation of the car is performed according to the result of the determination, the normal operation of the car can be automatically restarted when the degree of abnormality occurring in the hoistway is relatively small.

In order to achieve the third object, according to the invention of claim 3 of the present invention, in addition to the above configuration, when the image processing means determines that the condition in the hoistway is normal. , The old image stored in the first storage means is updated to the new image.

According to the present invention configured as described above, even when the weather or the lighting condition changes with time, the first
Since the old image stored in the storage means of is updated to the new image, the new image accompanying the change can be stored in the first storage means, and therefore the influence of the change can be suppressed to surely move up and down. It is possible to detect abnormalities in the road.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an elevator image monitoring apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image monitoring apparatus for an elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of an elevator equipped with the image monitoring apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a series of the image monitoring apparatus of FIG. It is a flow chart which shows a processing procedure.

In the elevator hoistway 1 shown in FIG. 2, a car 2 for hoisting the hoistway 1 and a counterweight 3 are provided.
And a main rope 4 to which the car 2 and the counterweight 3 are attached at both ends, and a drive sheave 6 around which the main rope 4 is wound in the machine room 5 on the hoistway 1.
And a control panel 8 for controlling the operation of a hoisting machine or the like that drives the main rope 4 via the drive sheave 6.
Further, each floor 9, 10 of the hoistway 1 is provided with hall doors 9a, 10a for opening and closing the hall entrance and exit, and the car 2 is also capable of facing the hall doors 9a, 10a.
Is provided.

The image monitoring apparatus of this embodiment is attached to the upper and lower portions of the car 2 respectively, and image pickup means for taking an image of the inside of the hoistway 1, for example, cameras 11 and 1.
2 and a main body 14 that is connected to these cameras 11 and 12 via a signal cable 13 and is housed in the control panel 8. The input side of this body 14 is
It is connected to the cameras 11 and 12 and the control panel 8, and the output side of the main body 14 is connected to the monitor 15 and the control panel 8 and to the monitoring center 17 via the telephone line 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main body 14 of the image monitoring apparatus includes a video signal switch 21 for receiving the video signals sent from the cameras 11 and 12 and selectively inputting one of the video signals. An analog signal output unit 22 for outputting the video signal input to the video signal switch 21 to the monitor 15.
And an A / D for converting the video signal into digital data
A converter 23, a video memory 24 for storing the digitally converted video signal, and a control signal sent from the control panel 8,
For example, the switching operation of the video signal switch 21 based on the digital signal input section 25 for inputting a signal relating to the stop floor and the driving direction of the car 2 and the control signal input via the digital signal input section 25. An image processing unit for controlling and processing the video signal stored in the video memory 24, for example, an image processing CPU 26, and a first storage unit and a second storage for respectively storing the video data processed by the image processing CPU 26. Means such as the first memory 27 and the second memory 28, and the image processing CPU 26
When an abnormality is detected by the data transmission unit 29 that transmits image data to the monitoring center 17 through the telephone line 16 and the image processing CPU 26 detects an abnormality, a switching signal for switching to the seismic control operation mode is sent to the control panel 8. To the digital signal output unit 30 for outputting to the monitor, and D for outputting the video data processed by the image processing CPU 26 from analog to monitor 15
A / A converter 31 is provided.

The image processing CPU 26 described above is used for the car 2
Every time the car stops at each floor 9, 10 of the hoistway 1,
The new image captured by 12 is compared with the old image stored in the first memory 27, and when the amount of change between the new image and the old image is larger than a predetermined determination value, an abnormality is found in the hoistway 1. Is determined to have occurred. Along with this, the new image of the portion that has undergone the above change is stored in the second memory 28, the normal operation of the car 2 is switched to the seismic control operation, and the new image stored in the second memory 28 is stored as described above. Output to monitoring center.

In the image monitoring apparatus of this embodiment,
The situation in the hoistway 1 is monitored in accordance with the processing procedure shown in FIG. 3, that is, as a procedure S1, first, as a procedure S1, a control signal relating to the stop floor of the car 2 and the driving direction is input as a digital signal from the control panel 8. Image processing CP based on the above-mentioned control signal.
U26 determines whether or not the car 2 is in the ascending operation, and when the car 2 is in the ascending operation, as a step S3, the image processing CPU 26 controls the switching operation of the video signal switching device 21 to allow the upper camera 11 to operate. Input video signal A
The data is converted into a digital signal by the / D converter 23 and stored in the image memory 24. Next, in step S4, the old image stored in the image memory 24 at a predetermined sampling time is compared with the new image stored this time, and the motion vector (that is, change speed) of the part in these images is calculated, and then the procedure is performed. In step S5, it is determined whether or not the motion vector has stopped. If not, in step S6, it is determined whether or not a predetermined sampling time has elapsed. At this time, if the predetermined sampling time has not elapsed, the predetermined sampling time is updated in step S7, the process returns to step S6, and it is determined again whether the motion vector has stopped.
On the other hand, when the predetermined sampling time has elapsed in step S6, the process returns to step S2 and it is determined whether the car 2 is in the ascending operation.

If it is determined in step S2 that the car 2 is not being raised, the image processing CPU 26 controls the switching operation of the video signal switching device 21 in step S8, and the video from the lower camera 12 is controlled. Input the signal and A
The digital image is digitally converted by the / D converter 23 and stored in the image memory 24. As a step S9, the old image stored in the image memory 24 at a predetermined sampling time is compared with the new image stored this time, and in these images, After calculating the motion vector of the part (that is, the changing speed), the procedure proceeds to the following step S5, and it is determined whether or not a predetermined sampling time has elapsed.

If it is determined in step S5 that the motion vector has stopped, the car 2 is in a stopped state. Therefore, in step S10, the reference image data (that is, the car 2 of the car 2) is read from the first memory 27. (Old image data corresponding to the driving direction and floor) is read, and in step S11, the new image data stored in the image memory 24 is compared with the reference image data to calculate the amount of change of the part in the image, In step S12, it is determined whether the amount of change of the part in the image is equal to or less than a predetermined value set in advance corresponding to the noise of the image. At this time, if it is determined that the amount of change exceeds the predetermined value, the procedure is As S13, the video data of only the rectangular area including the range where the image change is detected (that is, the portion where the abnormality is detected) is stored in the second memory 28, and the digital signal is stored. The force unit 30 outputs a switching signal for switching the earthquake control operation mode to the control panel 8, performs control operation of the passenger cage 2. At the same time, the data transmission unit 29 automatically dials and calls the monitoring center 17 through the telephone line 16 to output an abnormal alarm and to send the second memory 2
The video data stored in 8 is also output. Then, step S1
In step 4, after waiting for a predetermined time, for example, 1 minute, in which the earthquake is stopped, the process returns to step S1 and the situation in the hoistway 1 is repeatedly monitored.

Further, when it is determined in step S12 that the amount of change of the part in the image is less than or equal to a predetermined value, step S15.
As a result, it is determined whether the seismic control operation mode of the car 2 is instructed. If the seismic control operation mode is instructed at this time, the low speed operation mode of the car 2 is instructed in step S16, and each floor is in step S17. When it is determined that all of the floors 9 and 10 have been diagnosed and an abnormality is diagnosed, and it is determined that all floors 9 and 10 have been diagnosed, the normal operation mode of the car 2 is instructed automatically in step S18. After the restoration, the procedure returns to step S1 to repeatedly monitor the situation in the hoistway 1. On the other hand, the above step S17
If it is determined that all the diagnoses on each floor 9 and 10 have not been completed, the process directly returns to step S1. If it is determined in step S15 that the seismic control operation mode of the car 2 has not been commanded, the image memory 24 is selected in step S19.
The latest image data stored in the first memory 27 is transmitted to the first memory 27, and the reference image data corresponding to the driving direction of the car 2 and the floor is updated.

In the embodiment constructed as described above, when an abnormality occurs in the hoistway 1, it is possible to perform the control operation of the car 2 to ensure the safety of passengers, and the above-mentioned abnormality occurs. Since the video data of the new image of only the part that has been damaged is output to the monitoring center 17, this video data includes the new image of only the part where the above-mentioned abnormality has occurred, which imposes a heavy burden on the monitor and the abnormality. The abnormality can be easily confirmed at the monitoring center 17 without overlooking the location.

Further, after a lapse of a predetermined time after it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway 1, the image processing CPU 26 detects the abnormality in the hoistway 1 again, so that the occurrence of the abnormality is temporary. After confirming that, step S16
The low speed operation of the car 2 is performed to determine whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway 1, and the normal operation of the car 2 is performed according to the determination result. When the degree is relatively small, the normal operation of the car 2 can be automatically restarted. Further, in step S14, the operation of the car 2 is put on standby during the above-mentioned predetermined time. Therefore, during this time, the monitoring center 17 confirms the above-mentioned abnormality, and if it is determined that the operation of the car 2 is dangerous, The safety can be ensured by transmitting a command to stop the operation of the car 2 to the control panel 8 from the monitoring center 17.

Further, since the images of the respective floors of the hoistway 1 are stored in the first memory 27 in correspondence with the driving direction of the car 2 and the floor, it is possible to reliably detect an abnormality in the traveling direction of the car 2. Can be detected. Further, even if the weather or the lighting condition changes over time, the first memory 2 can be used in step S19.
Since the old image stored in 7 is updated to the new image, the new image accompanying the change can be stored in the first memory 27, and therefore the influence of the change can be suppressed and the inside of the hoistway 1 can be reliably held. Can detect abnormalities.

In the present embodiment, the procedure S4,
The motion vector of the image is calculated in S9, and the procedure S5 is executed.
Although the stop of the car 2 is confirmed by determining whether or not the motion vector is stopped by the procedure, the stop completion signal of the car 2 is sent from the control panel 8 instead of using the motion vector. By inputting through the digital signal input unit 25, it is also possible to confirm the stop of the car 2.

[0027]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention.
In the described invention, when an abnormality occurs in the hoistway, the passenger car can be controlled to ensure the safety of passengers, and a new image of only the portion where the abnormality has occurred is displayed. Since the data is output to the monitoring center, the abnormality can be easily confirmed at the monitoring center based on the video data.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2 of the present invention,
After a certain period of time has passed since it was determined that an abnormality had occurred in the hoistway, the abnormality in the hoistway was detected again, and after confirming that the above-mentioned abnormality was temporary, the low speed of the car The car is operated to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway, and the normal operation of the car is performed according to the result of this determination. Normal operation of the car can be automatically resumed.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3 of the present invention,
Even when the weather or the lighting condition changes with time, the old image stored in the first storage means is updated to the new image, so that the new image accompanying the change is stored in the first storage. Therefore, the influence of the above change can be suppressed and the abnormality in the hoistway can be reliably detected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image monitoring device for an elevator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an elevator provided with the image monitoring apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a series of processing procedures by the image monitoring apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Hoistway 2 Car 8 Control panel 11, 12 Camera (imaging means) 14 Main body 16 Telephone line 17 Monitoring center 24 Image memory 26 Image processing CPU (image processing means) 27 First memory (first storage means) 28th 2 memories (second storage means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An elevator car is provided with imaging means for taking an image of a hoistway in which the car ascends and descends, and video data of the image is output to a monitoring center via a telephone line. An image monitoring device for an elevator, wherein the situation in the hoistway is monitored by means of a first image storage device that stores the image in association with the position of the car.
And a new image taken by the imaging means each time the car stops on each floor of the hoistway, comparing these new images with the old image stored in the first storage means. And an amount of change between the old images that is greater than a predetermined determination value, an image processing unit that determines that an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway, and a second storage unit that stores the new image of the abnormal portion. According to the determination result of the image processing means, the normal operation of the car is switched to the seismic control operation, and the video data of the new image stored in the second storage means is output to the monitoring center. An image monitoring device for an elevator characterized by the above. 2. After a lapse of a predetermined time after the image processing means determines that an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway, the car is driven to detect the abnormality in the hoistway again by the image processing means. When no abnormality is detected, the car is operated at a low speed to stop at each floor of the hoistway, a new image of each floor is taken again by the image pickup means, and the new image is stored in the first storage means by the image processing means. 7. A comparison is made with the stored old image to determine whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the hoistway, and the normal operation of the car is performed according to the determination result. 1. The image monitoring device for an elevator according to 1. 3. The old image stored in the first storage means is updated to the new image when the image processing means determines that the condition in the hoistway is normal. The image monitoring device for an elevator according to 1 or 2.