JP6912427B2 - Multicar elevator and car movement control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a multi-car elevator in which a plurality of cars move and a car movement control method.

Generally, in the event of a fire, except for special elevators such as emergency elevators, the control device for ordinary elevators for general passengers transports passengers using the elevator to the evacuation floor, then suspends the operation of the elevator and cannot use the elevator thereafter. Control operation control is performed so as to. This prevents the occurrence of a secondary disaster in the event of a fire.

By the way, there is known a multi-car elevator in which a plurality of cars circulate and move in a hoistway. Also in the multi-car elevator, a driving method has been proposed in which each car is quickly moved to and stopped at the evacuation floor during control operation.

For example, in Patent Document 1, in a multi-car elevator, "a floor in a zone below the fire-breaking floor is designated as a transfer floor, and a lower car that goes directly to the evacuation floor is made to wait on this transfer floor to carry evacuees. The upper car will be landed on the floor of the zone above the floor where the fire broke out, and the evacuees who moved from this floor to the transfer floor via the emergency stairs will board the lower car and then move the lower car to the evacuation floor. " It is stated that.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-148591

However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 does not correspond to a multi-car elevator in which a plurality of cars circulate and move in a hoistway. In general, a multicar elevator circulates multiple cars in the same direction, but in the event of an emergency such as a fire, passengers in the car located on the downstream side near the evacuation floor on the circulation movement route are transported to the evacuation floor. There was a problem that it took time to do so.

From the above situation, there has been a demand for a method of giving priority to the passenger car to the evacuation floor in the shortest time during the control operation of the multicar elevator.

The multi-car elevator according to one aspect of the present invention is provided in each of a plurality of car cars and a plurality of car cars provided so as to be able to circulate and move in the hoistway so as to detect the presence or absence of passengers in the car car. The configured passenger detection unit, the car position / speed detection unit that detects the position and traveling speed of each of the hoistways of the plurality of cars, the detection result of the passenger detection unit in the control operation mode, and the car position / speed. Based on the detection result of the detection unit, the first traveling order of the evacuation target car is such that the time required for the evacuation target car with passengers to arrive at the evacuation floor among multiple cars is the shortest. Is provided, and a control unit configured to control the traveling of the car to be evacuated is provided based on the first traveling order.

According to at least one aspect of the present invention, during the control operation of the multicar elevator, the passengers can be evacuated by traveling to the evacuation floor with priority and the shortest time. Issues, configurations and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the description of the following embodiments.

It is a schematic block diagram of the multicar elevator which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which looked at the multicar elevator which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention from the top view. It is sectional drawing which shows the schematic structure of the car which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure example of the control device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware configuration example of the computer provided in the control device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a procedure example of the car movement control process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and is the flowchart in the case where the presence or absence of a passenger in a car can be detected. It is a procedure example of the car movement control process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and is the flowchart in the case where the presence or absence of a passenger in a car cannot be detected. It is a figure which shows the moving example (1) of the car to be evacuated when lateral movement is not necessary at the time of the fire control operation which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the moving example (2) of the car to be evacuated when lateral movement is not necessary at the time of the fire control operation which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the moving example (3) of the car to be evacuated when lateral movement is not necessary at the time of the fire control operation which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the moving example (4) of the car to be evacuated when lateral movement is not necessary at the time of the fire control operation which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the moving example (1) of the car of the evacuation target when lateral movement is necessary at the time of the fire control operation which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the moving example (2) of the car of the evacuation target when lateral movement is necessary at the time of the fire control operation which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the moving example (3) of the car of the evacuation target when lateral movement is necessary at the time of the fire control operation which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, examples of embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present specification and the accompanying drawings, components having substantially the same function or configuration are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

<One Embodiment>
[Multicar elevator configuration]
First, a configuration example of the multicar elevator 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a multicar elevator 100 according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view of the multicar elevator. The multicar elevator 100 shown in these figures has a hoistway 20 provided so as to penetrate the building in the vertical direction and a plurality of pairs provided so as to be circulated and movable in the vertical direction in the hoistway 20 (here, as an example). It has 3 pairs) of car 1 and. Further, the multicar elevator 100 has a control device 50 (see FIG. 4) that controls the operation of the car 1.

The hoistway 20 is composed of a first hoistway 20u and a second hoistway 20d. An ascending platform 9 is provided on each floor of the first hoistway 20u. A descent platform 10 is provided on each floor of the second hoistway 20d. During normal operation, the car 1 moves in the ascending direction in the first hoistway 20u, and the car 1 moves in the descending direction in the second hoistway 20d. However, during the control operation, the car 1 may move in the first hoistway 20u and the second hoistway 20d in the opposite direction to the above. In the following description, in order to make it easier to distinguish each car 1, it is also referred to as car A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 by the code attached to each car 1 in the figure. ..

[Car installation status]
As the installation state of the car cars A1 to C2 in the hoistway 20, first, a pair of car cars A1 and A2 will be described as an example. As shown in FIG. 2, one end of the car A1 is fixed by the grip portion 2a so as to grip the endless first main rope 21A, and the other end of the car A1 is endless by the grip portion 2b. The shape of the second main rope 22A is fixed so as to be gripped. The first main rope 21A is stretched over a pair of drive pulleys 23 (an example of a drive sheave) and a lower pulley 25 (an example of a lower sheave). The second main rope 22A is stretched over a pair of drive pulleys 24 (an example of a drive sheave) and a lower pulley 26 (an example of a lower sheave). The grip portion 2a and the grip portion 2b, and the grip portion 3a and the grip portion 3b are connected by a reinforcing member 28, respectively.

The pair of car cars A1 and A2 are arranged at symmetrical positions so as to function as balancing weights with each other in a state of being fixed to the first main rope 21A and the second main rope 22A. That is, the car A1 and the car A2 are fixed to each main measure so that the distance between the axis of the pulley close to each car 1 and the grip portion is equal.

Three sets of the first main rope and the second main rope are provided according to the pair of the car 1. In FIG. 1, "first main measure 21" and "second main measure 22" are described without distinguishing between the types of the pair of the car 1. The drive pulley 23 and the lower pulley 25, and the drive pulley 24 and the lower pulley 26 are provided in three sets coaxially according to the pair of the car 1. That is, each of the endless first main ropes 21B and 21C is stretched on the corresponding drive pulley 23 and the lower pulley 25 according to the pair of the car 1, and the endless second main ropes 22B and 22C are stretched. Each of the above is stretched on the corresponding drive pulley 24 and the lower pulley 26.

Then, each of the pair of car cars B1 and B2 is fixed to the endless first main rope 21B and the endless second main rope 22B so as to function as a balance weight with each other. Further, each of the pair of car cars C1 and C2 is fixed to the endless first main rope 21C and the endless second main rope 22C so as to function as a balance weight with each other.

The three pairs of car cars A1 to C2 installed as described above are the same in the hoistway 20 at each speed in a limited range by the drive of each of the three drive pulleys 23 and the three drive pulleys 24. It is configured to circulate on the same orbit and stop on the same orbit. For example, the three pairs of car cars A1 to C2 circulate inside the hoistway 20 in accordance with the clockwise circulation direction.

Further, by controlling the rotation directions of the drive pulleys 23 and 24, the circulation directions of the three pairs of cars A1 to C2 can be reversed. Further, the drive pulleys 23 and 24 form an upper traveling direction reversing portion 27u that reverses the traveling direction of the car 1 (from the ascending direction to the descending direction or from the descending direction to the ascending direction). Further, the lower pulleys 25 and 26 form a lower traveling direction reversing portion 27d that reverses the traveling direction of the car 1. In the following, when the upper traveling direction reversing portion 27u and the lower traveling direction reversing portion 27d are not distinguished, they are referred to as "traveling direction reversing portion 27". In FIG. 1, the car C2 is passing through the upper traveling direction reversing portion 27u (during lateral movement), and the car C1 is passing through the lower traveling direction reversing portion 27d.

Further, an encoder 5 is attached to the drive pulley 24, and it is possible to detect the rotation direction and the amount of rotation of the drive pulley 24 and output an encoder signal (see FIG. 4) as a detection signal to the control device 50. It is possible.

[Car configuration]
The car 1 includes a car door 14 shown in FIG. The car door 14 is provided on the front surface of the car 1. The car door 14 is used by passengers to get on and off. On the stop floor of the car 1, an ascending platform 9 and a descending platform 10 are provided. In FIG. 1, the ascending platform 9 is arranged on each floor on the left side of the hoistway 20, and the descending platform 10 is arranged on each floor on the right side of the hoistway 20. In the ascending platform 9 and the descending platform 10, the platform door is generally provided at a position facing the car door 14.

Although FIG. 2 shows an example in which one car door 14 is provided on the front surface of the car 1, for example, a car door for getting on the car 1 is provided on the front side of the car 1 and a car door for getting off the car is provided on the back side. May be good. In this case, a landing door and a landing door for ascending, and a landing door and a landing door for descending are provided on one floor corresponding to each car door.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the car 1. FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the car 1 when the direction of the car door 14 is visually recognized from the inside of the car 1. A destination button 31 is provided on the right side of the car door 14, and a monitor 32 and a speaker 33 are provided above the car door 14. The destination button 31 is a button for a passenger (hereinafter, also referred to as “passenger”) who has boarded the car 1 to perform an operation (car call) for registering the destination floor.

The monitor 32 is used as an example of a display unit that displays information on the floor on which the car 1 is running or stopped, as well as guidance for urging passengers to get off, and is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display panel. The speaker 33 is used as an example of a sound emitting unit that notifies the floor on which the car 1 has arrived and also emits a guide or the like urging the passenger to get off. The monitor 32 and the speaker 33 are examples of output units that perform output processing by voice or display based on instructions from the control device 50. The operations of the monitor 32 and the speaker 33 are controlled by the car control unit 54c of the arithmetic processing unit 54 shown in FIG. 4, which will be described later. The car 1 may be provided with either a monitor 32 or a speaker 33.

Further, a surveillance camera 34 (an example of a human sensor) is installed inside the car 1. The surveillance camera 34 has a wireless communication function, and transmits a wireless signal including captured image data to the control device 50 by wireless communication. The wireless signal includes image data and information (for example, ID) for identifying the car 1 in which the surveillance camera 34 is installed.

Further, the car 1 is provided with a hanging strap 35, a handrail bar 36, and a seat 37. When the strap 35, the handrail bar 36, and the seat 37 are not in use, they are stored out of sight of the passengers in car 1. Then, at the time of fire control operation or the like, the hanging strap 35, the handrail bar 36, and the seat seat 37 are configured to jump out into the internal space of the car 1 based on the control command from the control device 50. As a result, during the fire control operation, the passenger can use the hanging strap 35, the handrail bar 36, and the seat seat 37 that have jumped out into the internal space of the car 1.

[Platform door on each floor]
Returning to FIG. 1 again, the explanation will be continued. In the first hoistway 20u where the car 1 rises during normal operation, an ascending landing door (not shown) is provided in the ascending landing 9. The car door 14 engages with the landing door on the floor that arrives while the car 1 is ascending. Then, the landing door opens and closes following the opening and closing of the car door 14.

On the other hand, in the second hoistway 20d where the car 1 descends during normal operation, a descending landing door (not shown) is provided in the descending landing 10. The car door 14 engages with the landing door on the floor that arrives while the car 1 is descending. Then, the landing door opens and closes following the opening and closing of the car door 14.

During normal operation, passengers are prohibited from riding in the car 1 until the car 1 rises to reach the top floor and then turns down through the drive pulleys 23 and 24. Therefore, on the top floor, passengers in car 1 must get off. Therefore, on the top floor where the car 1 is raised, only the ascending platform 9 is provided, and there is no ascending call button 13u. On the contrary, after the car 1 descends and reaches the lowest floor, passengers are prohibited from boarding the car 1 until it starts to rise through the lower pulleys 25 and 26. Therefore, on the lowest floor, passengers in car 1 must get off. Therefore, on the lowest floor where the car 1 has descended, only the descending platform 10 is provided, and there is no descending call button 13d.

[Platform device]
Near the landing doors on each floor of the hoistway 20, ascending call buttons 13u and descending call buttons 13d are provided as hall buttons for registering car calls for passengers to use the car 1. When the ascending call button 13u and the descending call button 13d are not distinguished, they are described as "hole button 13". When the hole button 13 is pressed, a normal car call signal (referred to as a "normal call signal") is transmitted to the control device 50, and the car call is registered. Then, the control device 50 moves the car 1 on the nearest floor to the floor where the car call is registered. As a result, the passenger who presses the hall button 13 can get on the car 1. The car call is also called the "landing call".

Fire alarms 16 are installed on each floor or elevator hall in the building. The fire alarm 16 is a device that detects a fire by a detector or a person who discovers a fire issues an alarm or notifies a fire engine by operating a transmission button. When the detector detects a fire or a person in the building presses the call button, the fire alarm 16 outputs an alarm signal (an example of an external signal) indicating that a fire has occurred to the control device 50. ..

[Control device]
Next, the control system of the multicar elevator 100 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the control device 50 according to the embodiment. The control device 50 is configured to control the operation of the multicar elevator 100. The control device 50 outputs a control signal to the motor drive circuits 60A to 60C to control the drive of the motor for rotationally driving the drive pulleys 23 and 24 for each pair of the car 1. As a result, the movement or stop of the cars A1 to C2 is controlled. That is, the control device 50 centrally controls the operation of the motor drive circuits 60A to 60C.

The motor drive circuit 60A synchronizes and controls a set of drive pulleys 23 and 24 on which the first main rope 21A to which the pair of car cars A1 and A2 are fixed and the second main rope 22A are stretched. It is configured. Similarly, the motor drive circuit 60B synchronizes the drive control of the first main rope 21B to which the pair of car cars B1 and B2 are fixed and the set of drive pulleys 23 and 24 to which the second main rope 22B is stretched. It is configured to do. Further, the motor drive circuit 60C synchronously drives and controls a set of drive pulleys 23 and 24 on which the first main rope 21C to which the pair of car cars C1 and C2 are fixed and the second main rope 22C are stretched. It is configured as follows.

The control device 50 includes an operation mode switching unit 51, a passenger detection unit 52, a car position / speed detection unit 53, and an arithmetic processing unit 54.

The operation mode switching unit 51 receives an input of an external signal indicating a fire from a landing or a building on each floor, and performs a process of switching the operation mode. The operation mode switching unit 51 switches at least two operation modes, a normal operation mode and a fire control operation mode, and outputs information on the current operation mode to the arithmetic processing unit 54.

The normal operation mode is an operation mode in which the passenger can get in the car 1. In the normal operation mode, the user can press the hall button 13 to register the car call, and the passenger in the car 1 can press the destination button 31 to register the destination floor. Then, the passenger who got on each car 1 can go to the registered destination floor. In the fire control operation mode, a warning signal from the fire alarm 16 or an input of a fire control switch installed in a control room or the like (an example of an external signal) is received, and the car 1 is placed on the evacuation floor (usually the reference floor of the building). ) Is a mode for direct operation.

The passenger detection unit 52 analyzes the wireless signal transmitted from the car 1, that is, the image data obtained by the surveillance camera 34 in the car 1, and performs a process of detecting the presence or absence of passengers in the car 1 to detect the presence or absence of passengers. The result is output to the arithmetic processing unit 54. In the present embodiment, the image data of the surveillance camera 34 is received as a wireless signal, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, a weight sensor may be installed under the floor of the car 1 as a human sensor to detect passengers in the car 1 based on a detection signal output by the weight sensor.

The car position / speed detection unit 53 moves the moving direction and movement of the car 1 controlled by the motor drive circuits 60A to 60C based on the detection signal (encoder signal) input from the encoder 5 attached to each drive pulley 24. The quantity can be calculated. As a result, the car position / speed detection unit 53 obtains the current position and running speed of the car 1 and outputs information on the current position and running speed of the car 1 to the arithmetic processing unit 54.

The arithmetic processing unit 54 has a function of accepting destination floor registration and landing call registration, and is based on the current operation mode, information on destination floor registration and landing call registration, and information on the current position and traveling speed of each car 1. , Controls the operation of all car 1s in the hoistway 20. The arithmetic processing unit 54 can control the motor drive circuits 60A to 60C to control the drive of the drive pulleys 23 and 24 in two operation modes, a normal operation mode and a fire control operation mode. In order to realize this control, the arithmetic processing unit 54 includes a travel order determination unit 54a, a travel control unit 54b, and a car control unit 54c.

The traveling order determination unit 54a determines the traveling order of the plurality of car 1s based on the information of the current driving mode, the current position of each car 1, and the traveling speed. For example, the traveling order determination unit 54a is an evacuation target in which there are passengers among a plurality of passenger cars 1 based on the detection result of the passenger detection unit 52 and the detection result of the car position / speed detection unit 53 in the fire control operation mode. The traveling order (first traveling order) of the plurality of passenger cars 1 including the car 1 to be evacuated is determined so that the time required for the passenger car 1 to arrive at the evacuation floor is the shortest.

The travel control unit 54b determines the operation direction 55 and the operation speed 56 of the corresponding car 1 for each of the motor drive circuits 60A to 60C based on the travel order determined by the travel order determination unit 54a, and each vehicle 1 Control the running of. For example, the travel control unit 54b is configured to control the travel of a plurality of vehicles 1 including the vehicle 1 to be evacuated based on the travel order determined by the travel order determination unit 54a in the fire control operation mode. Has been done.

In addition, the travel control unit 54b uses the first car 1 stopped on the evacuation floor after a certain period of time has passed since the first car 1 to be evacuated arrives on the evacuation floor, and then the first car 1 stopped on the evacuation floor. The second car 1 to be evacuated to the evacuation floor is configured to run on the side opposite to the side entering the stop zone on the evacuation floor, and the second car 1 to run toward the evacuation floor. There is. The stop zone is a stop position of the car 1 having a predetermined allowable width. As a result, a place for the car 1 arriving at the evacuation floor next can be vacated, and passengers can be evacuated smoothly.

Further, the travel control unit 54b is an evacuation target traveling in the first direction (for example, upward direction) in the first hoistway 20u (an example of the first travel path) based on the determined travel order. The circulation direction of the car 1 can be switched to a second direction (downward) opposite to the first direction. As a result, the car 1 to be evacuated can be reached to the evacuation floor more quickly than the vehicle circulates in one direction.

The car control unit 54c controls the operation of the monitor 32 and the speaker 33 provided in the car 1, and controls the movements of the hanging strap 35, the handrail bar 36, and the seat 37 housed in the car 1. ..

[Hardware configuration of control device]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of hardware configuration of a computer included in the control device 50. The computer shown in FIG. 5 includes a CPU (Control Processing Unit) 71, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 72, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 73, which are connected to the bus 78, respectively. Further, the computer includes a storage device 74, an operation unit 75, a display unit 76, and a communication interface 77.

The CPU 71 reads the program code of the software that realizes each function according to the present embodiment from the ROM 72 and executes it. Variables, parameters, etc. generated during the arithmetic processing are temporarily written in the RAM 73. Execution of the processing in each system and device according to the present embodiment is realized mainly by executing the program code by the CPU 71. The CPU 71, ROM 72, and RAM 73 are examples of control units.

The display unit 76 is, for example, a liquid crystal display monitor, and the result of processing executed by the computer by the display unit 76 is displayed to the operator. For example, a keyboard, a mouse, or the like is used as the operation unit 75, and the operator uses the operation unit 75 to perform a predetermined input. The display unit 76 and the operation unit 75 are used during maintenance of the elevator. The control device 50 may not include the display unit 76 and the operation unit 75.

For the storage device 74, for example, a large-capacity data storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) is used. The storage device 74 records various data such as a program for controlling the operation and an operation history.
For the communication interface 77, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like is used. The communication interface 77 transmits / receives various data to / from an external device or another controller via a LAN (Local Area Network) to which terminals are connected, a dedicated line, or the like.

[Procedure for car movement control processing]
(If passengers can be detected)
Next, a procedure example of the car movement control process according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is an example of the procedure of the car movement control process, and is a flowchart in the case where the presence or absence of passengers in the car 1 can be detected.

In FIG. 6, when the operation mode switching unit 51 detects the occurrence of a fire based on an external signal, the operation mode is switched from the normal operation mode to the fire control operation mode, and the car movement control process is started.

After switching to the fire control operation mode, the arithmetic processing unit 54 (traveling order determination unit 54a) cancels the registered destination floor registration and landing call, and makes it impossible to register a new car call (S1). In FIG. 6, the car is referred to as a "car".

Next, the passenger detection unit 52 determines whether or not it is possible to detect the passengers in the car 1 (S2). If it is not possible to detect the passengers in the car 1 (NO in S2), the process proceeds to step S16 shown in FIG. For example, the passenger detection unit 52 determines that it is impossible to detect the passengers in the car 1 when the radio signal cannot be received from the human sensor (surveillance camera 34 or weight sensor). The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 will be described later.

On the other hand, when the passenger detection unit 52 determines that the passengers in the car 1 can be detected (YES in S2), the passenger detection unit 52 detects the passenger car 1 in which the passengers are present from the radio signal (S3). Next, the travel order determination unit 54a determines a travel order (an example of the first travel order) that minimizes the time required for n cars 1 with passengers to arrive at the evacuation floor, and the travel control unit 54b. Drives each car 1 according to this running order (S4). Since a well-known technique can be used for the algorithm for determining the traveling order, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the traveling control unit 54b needs to move laterally to pass the traveling direction reversing unit 27 (see FIG. 1) to the target car 1 based on the detection signal from the car position / speed detecting unit 53. Whether or not it is determined (S5). Here, if the travel control unit 54b determines that lateral movement is not necessary (NO in S5), the process proceeds to step S12.

For example, a reversing position (not shown) for determining whether or not lateral movement of the car 1 is necessary is set in advance between the end floor and the pulley, and the car 1 is set to the reversing position. When it reaches, it is determined that lateral movement is necessary. The car 1 that exceeds the reversing position passes through the traveling direction reversing portion 27 and is reversed. For example, since the ascending car 1 shown in FIG. 9, which will be described later, is in the inverted position beyond the top floor, it subsequently passes through (laterally moves) the upper traveling direction reversing portion 27u.

Next, when the travel control unit 54b determines that lateral movement is necessary (YES in S5), the passenger detection unit 52 determines whether or not there are passengers in the car 1 (S6). The car 1 with passengers is the car to be evacuated. Here, if there are no passengers in the car 1 (NO in S6), the process proceeds to step S12.

On the other hand, when there are passengers in the car 1 (YES in S6), the car control unit 54c controls the monitor 32 and the speaker 33 to call attention by voice / display prior to the lateral movement of the car 1 in which the passengers are. (S7). Further, the car control unit 54c controls the hanging strap 35, the handrail bar 36, and the seat seat 37 stored in the car 1 in which the passengers are present so as to appear in the internal space of the car 1 (S8). By using the hanging strap 35, the handrail bar 36, and the seat seat 37, the passenger can maintain a stable posture even if the car 1 moves laterally. In addition, it is possible to alleviate the anxiety of passengers by calling attention in advance about the lateral movement of the car 1.

Next, the travel control unit 54b reduces the travel speed of the laterally moving car 1. (S9). As a result, the shaking of the car 1 during lateral movement is suppressed to improve safety and security. Then, the car position / speed detection unit 53 determines whether or not the lateral movement of the car 1 with passengers is completed based on the encoder signal of the encoder 5 (S10). Here, if the lateral movement of the car 1 is not completed (NO in S10), the process returns to the process of step S7. On the other hand, when the lateral movement of the car 1 with passengers is completed (YES in S10), the traveling control unit 54b restores the traveling speed of the vehicle 1 with passengers (S11), and the car control unit 54c receives the vehicle control unit 54c. End the voice / display alert.

If the determination process in step S5 is NO, if the determination process in step S6 is NO, or after the process in step S11, the car 1 with passengers arrives at the evacuation floor (S12).

Next, the car control unit 54c opens the car door 14 of the car 1 and closes the car door 14 after a lapse of a certain period of time (S13). At this time, the landing door on the evacuation floor opens and closes following the opening and closing of the car door 14. When the car door 14 and the landing door are opened, the passengers in the car 1 exit the car 1 and evacuate to the evacuation floor. The control device 50 carries out the processes of steps S5 to S13 surrounded by a broken line for each car with passengers at any time.

Next, the travel control unit 54b determines whether or not all the passenger cars 1 have been evacuated to the evacuation floor (S14). Then, when the travel control unit 54b has not arrived at the evacuation floor for all the passengers in the car 1 (NO in S14), the passengers arriving next time in the car 1 stopped at the evacuation floor. The passenger car 1 is driven to the side opposite to the side entering the stop zone of the evacuation floor, and the passenger car 1 to be stopped next time is driven toward the evacuation floor (S15). After this process, the process proceeds to step S5, and the processes of steps S5 to S14 are executed.

On the other hand, when all the car 1s with passengers arrive at the evacuation floor (YES in S14), the traveling control unit 54b ends the car movement control process.

(When passengers cannot be detected)
FIG. 7 is an example of the procedure of the car movement control process, and is a flowchart in the case where the presence or absence of passengers in the car 1 cannot be detected. When it is determined in FIG. 6 that the passengers in the car 1 cannot be detected (NO in S2), the car movement control process shown in this flowchart is executed.

In FIG. 7, after the NO determination in step S2, the traveling order determination unit 54a performs the traveling order (second traveling order) so that the plurality of car 1s circulate in one direction (for example, the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1). An example) is determined. By circulating and moving a plurality of car 1s in one direction when the presence or absence of passengers is unknown, all the car 1s can be made to arrive at the evacuation floor, and passengers are prevented from being left behind in the car 1. NS.

Then, the traveling control unit 54b determines the traveling order (an example of the second traveling order) so that the plurality of car 1s circulate in one direction (for example, the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 1). The travel control unit 54b circulates a plurality of car 1s in one direction (S16). Next, the traveling control unit 54b needs to move laterally to pass the traveling direction reversing unit 27 (see FIG. 1) to the target car 1 based on the detection signal from the car position / speed detecting unit 53. Whether or not it is determined (S17). Here, if the travel control unit 54b determines that lateral movement is not necessary (NO in S17), the process proceeds to step S23.

Next, when the traveling control unit 54b determines that lateral movement is necessary (YES in S17), the car control unit 54c controls the monitor 32 and the speaker 33 to make a voice sound prior to the lateral movement of the car 1. / Display alerts (S18). It is unclear whether there are passengers in the car 1, but we will increase safety by calling attention just in case.

The processing of steps S18 to S24 is the same as the processing of steps S7 to S13 shown in FIG. The control device 50 carries out the processes of steps S17 to S24 surrounded by a broken line for each car at any time.

Next, the travel control unit 54b determines whether or not all the car 1s have been evacuated to the evacuation floor (S25). Then, when all the car 1s have not arrived at the evacuation floor (NO in S25), the traveling control unit 54b keeps the car 1 stopped on the evacuation floor in the above-mentioned one direction while the service is disabled. The car 1 to be stopped next time is driven toward the evacuation floor by circulating operation (S26). After this process, the process proceeds to step S17, and the processes of steps S17 to S25 are executed.

On the other hand, when all the car 1s have arrived at the evacuation floor (YES in S25), the traveling control unit 54b ends the car movement control process.

As described above, in the car movement control process shown in FIG. 7, since it is unknown whether or not there are passengers in the car 1, all the car 1s are operated so as to arrive at the evacuation floor in sequence. As a result, if there is a passenger in the car 1, the passenger can be surely disembarked on the evacuation floor and evacuated. Further, even if it is unknown whether or not there are passengers in the car 1, it is possible to improve the safety by calling attention when the car 1 moves laterally.

[Example of moving the evacuation target car when lateral movement is not required]
Next, an example of moving the car to be evacuated when lateral movement is not required during the fire control operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11. FIG. 8 shows an example (1) of moving a car to be evacuated when lateral movement is not required during fire control operation. FIG. 9 shows an example (2) of moving the car to be evacuated when lateral movement is not required during fire control operation. FIG. 10 shows an example (3) of moving a car to be evacuated when lateral movement is not required during fire control operation. FIG. 11 shows an example (4) of moving a car to be evacuated when lateral movement is not required during fire control operation.

In the multicar elevator 100 shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that passengers are detected in the cars A1, A2, and C1 from the detection result of the passenger detection unit 52. The evacuation floor is the lowest floor, and the evacuation floor has an ascending platform 9-1 and a descending platform 10-1. In the event of a fire, the car C1 is the closest to the evacuation floor. In the following, it is assumed that the traveling order determination unit 54a determines the traveling order for arriving at the evacuation floor in the order of the passenger cars C1, A2, and A1.

First, the travel control unit 54b causes the plurality of cars A1 to C2 to travel in the clockwise circulation direction based on the travel order determined by the travel order determination unit 54a (see FIG. 8). As a result, the car C1 in which the passenger U1 is located travels down the second hoistway 20d toward the evacuation floor (descending platform 10-1).

When the car C1 arrives at the evacuation floor (descending landing 10-1), the car door 14 and the landing door of the car C1 are opened, and the passenger U1 of the car C1 can get off from the car C1 and evacuate. (See FIG. 9).

Subsequently, the travel control unit 54b drives the car C1 stopped on the evacuation floor to the side opposite to the side where the car A2 with the passenger U2 arriving on the next evacuation floor enters the stop zone. Drive the car A2 toward the evacuation floor. Then, when the car A2 arrives at the evacuation floor (descending landing 10-1), the car door 14 and the landing door of the car A2 are opened, and the passenger U2 of the car A2 gets off from the car A2 and evacuates. Can be done (see FIG. 10).

Finally, it is necessary to evacuate the passenger U3 in the car A1 to the evacuation floor. After the car A1 in the first hoistway 20u rises, it reverses (moves laterally) at the upper traveling direction reversing part 27u, descends the second hoistway 20d, and descends to the evacuation floor (descending platform 10-1). The mileage is shorter and the time required for evacuation is shorter when the car A1 descends the first hoistway 20u and heads for the evacuation floor where the ascending platform 9-1 is located, rather than heading for. It will be shortened.

Therefore, the travel control unit 54b reverses the circulation directions of the plurality of vehicles A1 to C2 counterclockwise, and changes the traveling direction of the vehicle A1 traveling on the first hoistway 20u from the ascending direction to the descending direction. Switch (see FIG. 10).

Then, when the car C1 arrives at the evacuation floor (lifting platform 9-1), the car door 14 and the landing door of the car A1 are opened, and the passenger U3 of the car A1 gets off from the car A1 and evacuates. (See FIG. 11). As a result, all the cars C1, A2, and A1 carrying the passengers U1 to U3 of the multicar elevator 100 have arrived at the evacuation floor.

[Example of moving the evacuation target car when lateral movement is required]
Next, an example of moving the car to be evacuated when lateral movement is required during fire control operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14. FIG. 12 shows an example (1) of moving a car to be evacuated when lateral movement is required during fire control operation. FIG. 13 shows an example (2) of moving the car when lateral movement is required during fire control operation. FIG. 14 shows an example (3) of moving the car when lateral movement is required during fire control operation.

In the multicar elevator 100 shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that the presence of passengers in the cars A2 and C2 is detected from the detection result of the passenger detection unit 52. In the event of a fire, the car A2 is the closest to the evacuation floor. In the following, it is assumed that the travel order determination unit 54a determines the travel order for arriving at the evacuation floor in the order of the passenger cars A2 and C2.

First, the travel control unit 54b causes the plurality of cars A1 to C2 to travel in the clockwise circulation direction based on the travel order determined by the travel order determination unit 54a (see FIG. 12). As a result, the car A2 with the passenger U1 travels down the second hoistway 20d toward the evacuation floor (descending platform 10-1).

When the car A2 arrives at the evacuation floor (descending landing 10-1), the car door 14 and the landing door of the car A2 are opened, and the passenger U1 of the car A2 can get off from the car A2 and evacuate. (See FIG. 13).

Here, before the car A2 arrives at the evacuation floor, the car C2 carrying the passenger U2 moves from the first hoistway 20u to the second hoistway 20d via the upper traveling direction reversing portion 27u. Move (horizontally move). Therefore, the car control unit 54c alerts the passenger U2 in the car C2 with the monitor 32 and the speaker 33 while the car C2 is passing through the upper traveling direction reversing part 27u (lateral movement), and also controls the running. The portion 54b reduces the traveling speed of the car 1 passing through the upper traveling direction reversing portion 27u. After that, after the lateral movement of the car C2 is completed, the traveling control unit 54b causes the car C2 to travel in the descending direction toward the evacuation floor (descending platform 10-1) in the second hoistway 20d.

Then, when the car C2 arrives at the evacuation floor (descending landing 10-1), the car door 14 and the landing door of the car C2 are opened, and the passenger U2 of the car C2 gets off from the car C2 and evacuates. Can be done (see FIG. 14). As a result, the cars A2 and C2 carrying the passengers U1 and U2 of the multicar elevator 100 have arrived at the evacuation floor.

In the above-described embodiment, the presence or absence of passengers in the car 1 is detected, the car 1 without passengers invalidates the immediate service during the fire control operation, and the car 1 with passengers is evacuated preferentially and in the shortest time. Control the running of a plurality of car 1s so as to run to the floor.

During normal operation, multiple car 1s are circulated in the same direction, but during fire control operation, by not limiting the driving direction to one direction, the degree of freedom in the driving direction can be increased and the driving efficiency can be improved. can. As a result, the car 1 having passengers among the plurality of car 1 can be driven to the evacuation floor with priority and the shortest time, and all the passengers in the plurality of car 1 are evacuated from the evacuation floor. You can save time.

Further, in the above-mentioned balanced type multicar elevator 100, in order to enable lateral movement with passengers in the car 1, the traveling speed of the car 1 during lateral movement is reduced, and a dedicated voice or sound is provided. Safety can be improved by calling attention by display.

<Modification example>
The above-mentioned algorithm of the car movement control method is suitable for use when switching from the normal operation mode to the private power generation control operation mode using the electric power generated by the private power generator, in addition to the control operation in the event of a fire. ..

Further, in the above-mentioned multi-car elevator 100, the control device 50 (overall controller) controls the operation of each car 1, but a loop controller is provided for each pair of car 1 and each loop controller is used for each pair of car 1. The operation of each car 1 may be controlled for each operation. Each loop controller has each function unit provided in the whole controller, and by communicating with each other for each loop controller, it is possible to grasp the situation of the car 1 driven and controlled by each loop controller. Further, a controller may be provided for each car.

Further, the number of the car 1 provided in the multicar elevator 100 is not limited to 6, and the number of the car 1 may be 5 or less, or 7 or more.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the vertical direction, which is the vertical direction, is applied as the first direction in which the car 1 mainly moves has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first direction may be a horizontal direction orthogonal to the vertical direction, or an oblique direction inclined from the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. Then, as the multicar elevator, at least a first direction in which the car 1 mainly moves (for example, a vertical direction in the above-described embodiment) and a second direction intersecting with the first direction (for example, the above-described embodiment). In the horizontal direction), a multi-car elevator that can move is applied.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and various other application examples and modifications can be taken as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Of course.

For example, the above-described embodiment describes the configuration of the multicar elevator in detail and concretely in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to the one including all the components described. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace other components with respect to a part of the configuration of the above embodiment.

In addition, each of the above-mentioned components, functions, processing units, and the like may be partially or wholly realized by hardware, for example, by designing an integrated circuit. In addition, the control lines and information lines indicate those that are considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily indicate all the control lines and information lines in the product. In practice, it can be considered that almost all configurations are interconnected.

1 ... Car, 5 ... Encoder, 27u ... Upper traveling direction reversing part, 27d ... Lower traveling direction reversing part, 32 ... Monitor, 33 ... Speaker, 50 ... Control device, 51 ... Driving mode switching unit, 52 ... Passenger detection unit , 53 ... Car position / speed detection unit, 54 ... Arithmetic processing unit, 54a ... Travel order determination unit, 54b ... Travel control unit, 54c ... Car control unit, 100 ... Multi-car elevator

Claims (7)

Multiple car cages that can be circulated and moved in the hoistway,
A passenger detection unit provided in each of the plurality of passenger cars and configured to detect the presence or absence of passengers in the car.
A car position / speed detection unit that detects the position and running speed of each of the plurality of cars in the hoistway, and
Until the evacuation target car with passengers among the plurality of cars arrives at the evacuation floor based on the detection result of the passenger detection unit and the detection result of the car position / speed detection unit in the control operation mode. The first traveling order of the evacuation target car is determined so that the time required for the evacuation is the shortest, and the traveling of the evacuation target car is controlled based on the first traveling order. Multi-car evacuation equipped with a control unit. The control unit transfers the first car stopped at the evacuation floor to the evacuation floor after a certain period of time has passed since the first car to be evacuated arrives at the evacuation floor. Claim 1 is configured such that the arriving second car to be evacuated travels on the side opposite to the side entering the stop zone, and the second car travels toward the evacuation floor. Multi-car elevator described in. Based on the first travel order, the control unit sets the circulation direction of the car to be evacuated while traveling in the first direction on the first travel path to a second direction opposite to the first direction. The multi-car elevator according to claim 2, wherein the car to be evacuated is configured to arrive at the evacuation floor by switching in the direction of. The plurality of cars are a plurality of pairs of cars provided so as to be able to circulate and move in the hoistway.
The control unit determines whether or not the evacuation target vehicle needs to pass through the traveling direction reversing unit for reversing the traveling direction of the evacuation target vehicle, and the evacuation target vehicle is moved. When it is necessary to pass through the traveling direction reversing portion, the traveling speed of the evacuation target car passing through the traveling direction reversing portion is reduced, and the evacuation target vehicle passes through the traveling direction reversing portion. The multi-car elevator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is configured to increase the traveling speed of the car to be evacuated after the evacuation. Further, an output unit, which is provided in each of the plurality of the above-mentioned cars and is configured to be capable of performing output processing by voice or display, is further provided.
The control unit is configured to perform output processing for alerting the passengers to the output unit provided in the car to be evacuated, which needs to pass through the traveling direction reversing unit. The multicar elevator according to claim 4. When it is unknown whether or not there are passengers in the car, the control unit determines a second running order so that the plurality of the cars circulate and move in one direction, and the second running order. The multi-car elevator according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the passenger cars are circulated and moved in one direction so that the passenger cars to be evacuated arrive at the evacuation floor in sequence. A plurality of passenger cars provided so as to be able to circulate in the hoistway, a passenger detection unit provided in each of the plurality of cars, and a passenger detection unit configured to detect the presence or absence of passengers in the car. It is a car movement control method in a multi-car elevator including a car position / speed detection unit that detects a position and a traveling speed of each of the plurality of cars in the hoistway.
Until the evacuation target car with passengers among the plurality of cars arrives at the evacuation floor based on the detection result of the passenger detection unit and the detection result of the car position / speed detection unit in the control operation mode. The process of determining the first traveling order of the car to be evacuated so that the time required for the evacuation is the shortest.
A car movement control method including a process of controlling the running of the car to be evacuated based on the first running order.

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