JP7650760B2 - Earthquake information display system for elevators - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an earthquake information display system for elevators.

Conventionally, elevators are known that are equipped with earthquake sensors that detect earthquakes and perform earthquake controlled operation when the earthquake sensor detects an earthquake (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-123083

When an earthquake occurs, the earthquake detector detects the earthquake and the elevator performs earthquake controlled operation. This prevents passengers from becoming trapped inside the car. After the elevator performs earthquake controlled operation, workers perform the elevator recovery work. After the workers have performed the elevator recovery work, the elevator resumes normal operation.

When a large earthquake occurs, there is a possibility that aftershocks of a magnitude that would cause elevators to operate under earthquake control will occur within a certain amount of time after the large earthquake. However, some elevator users are worried that they will be trapped inside the elevator car if another earthquake occurs. This creates a problem in that users who feel this way will avoid using elevators until a certain amount of time has passed since the large earthquake.

This disclosure has been made to solve the problems described above, and its purpose is to provide an elevator earthquake information display system that can alleviate users' anxiety about being trapped inside the elevator car.

The elevator earthquake information display system according to the present disclosure is equipped with a display device that is provided in the elevator car and that displays earthquake controlled operation information, which is information indicating that the elevator will perform earthquake controlled operation if another earthquake occurs, from the time when earthquake controlled operation is performed until a preset earthquake information alert time has elapsed.

The elevator earthquake information display system disclosed herein can eliminate passengers' concerns about being trapped in the elevator car.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an elevator equipped with an earthquake information display system for an elevator according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of the elevator of FIG. 1. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the elevator earthquake information display system of FIG. 1 .

Embodiment 1.
Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an elevator equipped with an earthquake information display system for elevators according to embodiment 1. Fig. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a main part of the elevator in Fig. 1. The elevator is equipped with a car 1 in which users get on and off.

The car 1 has a car body 101 and a car door 102. The car body 101 is formed with a car entrance 103 through which users pass. The car door 102 is movable in the opening direction A of the car entrance 103. The car door 102 moves to open and close the car entrance 103. The car door 102 moves to switch the state of the car 1 between a door-closed state and a door-open state. The door-open state is a state in which the car entrance 103 is open, and the door-closed state is a state in which the car entrance 103 is closed by the car door 102.

The elevator also includes an elevator control panel 2. The movement of the car 1 and the car door 102 are controlled by the elevator control panel 2.

The elevator also includes a car operation panel 3 and a speaker device 4. The car operation panel 3 and the speaker device 4 are each provided on the sleeve wall 104 of the car body 101.

The car operation panel 3 is operated by a user in the car 1. The car operation panel 3 has a number of buttons 301 corresponding to each of the multiple floors of the building in which the elevator is installed. When the car operation panel 3 is operated, information on the operation of the car operation panel 3 is input to the elevator control panel 2. The information on the operation of the car operation panel 3 includes information identifying the button 301 that was operated.

The elevator control panel 2 uses the information on the operation of the car operating panel 3 to move car 1 to the destination floor. Therefore, when a user in car 1 operates the car operating panel 3, car 1 moves to the destination floor. The destination floor is the floor that corresponds to the operated button 301.

The speaker device 4 makes announcements to passengers in the car 1. Announcements from the speaker device 4 are controlled by the elevator control panel 2.

The elevator is also equipped with an earthquake detector 5 and an earthquake information display system 6.

The earthquake sensor 5 detects earthquakes in the area in which the building in which the elevator is installed is constructed. When the earthquake sensor 5 detects an earthquake, the detection result of the earthquake sensor 5 is input to the elevator control panel 2. In this example, the earthquake sensor 5 detects an earthquake when an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 4 or higher occurs. Note that the earthquake sensor 5 may also detect an earthquake when an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 3 or less occurs.

When the detection result of earthquake detector 5 is input to elevator control panel 2, elevator control panel 2 moves car 1 to the nearest floor and sets the door of car 1 to an open state. The elevator operation in which car 1 moves to the nearest floor and the door of car 1 is set to an open state is called earthquake controlled operation of the elevator.

When an earthquake occurs, the elevator will perform earthquake control operation, preventing elevator users from becoming trapped inside car 1.

After earthquake controlled operation of the elevator is performed, workers will carry out the elevator recovery work. After the workers have carried out the elevator recovery work, the elevator will resume normal operation.

The earthquake information display system 6 includes a display device 601, an earthquake information acquisition device 602, and a control device 603.

The display device 601 is provided on the sleeve wall 104 of the car body 101. If the building in which the elevator is installed is a commercial facility, the display device 601 displays information about each of the multiple stores on each floor of the building.

The display device 601 also has a monitor that displays images. The display device 601 displays earthquake controlled operation information. The earthquake controlled operation information is information indicating that the elevator will perform earthquake controlled operation when an earthquake occurs. An example of the earthquake controlled operation information is a video of the elevator performing earthquake controlled operation when an earthquake occurs, in which the car moves to the nearest floor and the car's door is open. That is, an example of the earthquake controlled operation information is a video of the elevator performing earthquake controlled operation when an earthquake occurs. The video of the elevator performing earthquake controlled operation shows the car moving to the nearest floor and the car's door being open, and users in the car evacuating to the nearest floor. Note that the earthquake controlled operation information is not limited to a video, and may be a still image.

By displaying earthquake control operation information on display device 601, elevator users' concerns that they may be trapped in car 1 in the event of an earthquake can be alleviated.

The earthquake information acquisition device 602 is composed of a communication device. The earthquake information acquisition device 602 is capable of communicating with an external information center 7. When an earthquake occurs, a group of earthquake information is input to the information center 7.

The earthquake information group input to the information center 7 includes information indicating the time the earthquake occurred, information indicating the epicenter of the earthquake, and information indicating the seismic intensity in each of multiple regions.

The earthquake information acquisition device 602 acquires earthquake information from the information center 7. The earthquake information acquired by the earthquake information acquisition device 602 from the information center 7 is part of the earthquake information group input to the information center 7. Specifically, the earthquake information acquired by the earthquake information acquisition device 602 from the information center 7 includes information indicating the time the earthquake occurred, information indicating the epicenter where the earthquake occurred, and information indicating the seismic intensity of the area where the elevator is installed. Note that the earthquake information acquired by the earthquake information acquisition device 602 from the information center 7 may be the same as the earthquake information group input to the information center 7.

The control device 603 controls each of the display device 601 and the earthquake information acquisition device 602. When earthquake controlled operation of the elevator is performed, earthquake controlled operation implementation information is input from the elevator control panel 2 to the control device 603. The earthquake controlled operation implementation information is information that indicates that earthquake controlled operation of the elevator has been performed.

When earthquake control operation implementation information is input to the control device 603, the control device 603 causes the display device 601 to display earthquake control operation information from the time earthquake control operation is performed until the earthquake information notification time, which is a preset time, has elapsed. This makes it possible to prevent users from avoiding using the elevator from the time an earthquake occurs until the earthquake information notification time has elapsed. For example, one week is set as the earthquake information notification time. Note that the earthquake information notification time is not limited to one week and can be set to any time. The earthquake information notification time may also change depending on the scale of the earthquake that has occurred. Specifically, the earthquake information notification time when a large-scale earthquake has occurred may be longer than the earthquake information notification time when a small-scale earthquake has occurred.

If a new earthquake control operation is performed before the earthquake information alert time has elapsed since the previous earthquake control operation, the control device 603 causes the display device 601 to display earthquake control operation information from the time the new earthquake control operation was performed until the earthquake information alert time has elapsed. When a large-scale earthquake occurs, there is a possibility that an aftershock of a magnitude that would cause the elevator to perform earthquake control operation will occur within a certain amount of time after the large-scale earthquake. Therefore, when a large-scale earthquake occurs and an aftershock occurs afterwards, the display device 601 displays earthquake control operation information in response to the occurrence of the aftershock.

When earthquake control operation implementation information is input to the control device 603, the control device 603 causes the earthquake information acquisition device 602 to acquire earthquake information from the information center 7. The earthquake information acquisition device 602 acquires earthquake information every time an earthquake occurs. Therefore, the earthquake information acquisition device 602 always acquires new earthquake information.

In addition, when earthquake control operation implementation information is input to the control device 603, the control device 603 causes the display device 601 to display the earthquake information acquired by the earthquake information acquisition device 602 from the time earthquake control operation is performed until the earthquake information notification time has elapsed. Therefore, it is possible to encourage users who use the elevator from the time the earthquake occurs until the earthquake information notification time has elapsed to prepare for an earthquake.

If a new earthquake control operation is performed before the earthquake information alert time has elapsed since the earthquake control operation was performed, the control device 603 causes the display device 601 to display earthquake information from the time the new earthquake control operation was performed until the earthquake information alert time has elapsed. Therefore, if a large earthquake occurs and then an aftershock occurs, the display device 601 displays earthquake information in response to the occurrence of the aftershock.

The display device 601 starts displaying the earthquake control operation information and earthquake information after an earthquake occurs, the elevator performs earthquake control operation, the worker performs recovery work, and the elevator resumes normal operation. Note that the display device 601 may start displaying the earthquake control operation information and earthquake information after an earthquake occurs and the elevator performs earthquake control operation.

The speaker device 4 emits a sound corresponding to the earthquake control operation information and the earthquake information in accordance with the timing of the display of the earthquake control operation information and the earthquake information on the display device 601.

Next, the operation of the elevator earthquake information display system 6 will be described. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the elevator earthquake information display system 6 of Figure 1.

First, in step S101, an earthquake controlled operation determination process is performed. In the earthquake controlled operation determination process, the control device 603 determines whether or not earthquake controlled operation of the elevator has been performed. The determination by the control device 603 of the presence or absence of earthquake controlled operation is made based on whether or not earthquake controlled operation implementation information has been input to the control device 603 from the elevator control panel 2.

If the control device 603 determines in step S101 that earthquake control operation is not being performed, the processing of step S101 is repeated.

On the other hand, if the control device 603 determines in step S101 that earthquake control operation has been performed, an earthquake information acquisition process is performed in step S102. In the earthquake information acquisition process, the earthquake information acquisition device 602 acquires earthquake information from the information center 7.

After that, in step S103, a display start process is performed. In the display start process, the display device 601 displays the earthquake control operation information and the earthquake information. If the building in which the elevator is installed is a commercial facility and the display device 601 is displaying guidance information for each of the multiple stores on each floor of the building, the display device 601 stops displaying the guidance information, and the display device 601 displays the earthquake control operation information and the earthquake information. In other words, the display device 601 stops normal display and displays the earthquake control operation information and the earthquake information.

Then, in step S104, a process for determining whether the earthquake information notification time has elapsed is performed. In the process for determining whether the earthquake information notification time has elapsed, the control device 603 determines whether the earthquake information notification time has elapsed since the earthquake control operation was performed.

If the control device 603 determines in step S104 that the earthquake information notification time has not elapsed since the earthquake control operation was performed, the processing of step S104 is repeated.

On the other hand, if the control device 603 determines in step S104 that the earthquake information notification time has elapsed since the earthquake control operation was performed, a display end process is performed in step S105. In the display end process, the display device 601 ends the display of the earthquake control operation information and earthquake information. This ends the operation of the elevator earthquake information display system.

As described above, the elevator earthquake information display system 6 according to the first embodiment includes a display device 601 provided in the elevator car 1. When earthquake controlled operation of the elevator is performed, the display device 601 displays earthquake controlled operation information from the time earthquake controlled operation is performed until the earthquake information alert time has elapsed. With this configuration, by having the user look at the display device 601, the user's anxiety that he or she may be trapped in the car can be alleviated.

The elevator earthquake information display system 6 also includes an earthquake information acquisition device 602 that acquires earthquake information from the information center 7 when earthquake controlled operation is performed. From the time earthquake controlled operation is performed until the earthquake information notification time has elapsed, the display device 601 displays earthquake controlled operation information and the earthquake information acquired by the earthquake information acquisition device 602. With this configuration, by the user looking at the display device 601, the user's anxiety about being trapped in the car can be alleviated and earthquake information can be notified to the user.

The earthquake information also includes information indicating the time the earthquake occurred, information indicating the epicenter where the earthquake occurred, and information indicating the seismic intensity of the area where the elevator is installed. With this configuration, by the user looking at the display device 601, the user can be notified of information indicating the time the earthquake occurred, information indicating the epicenter where the earthquake occurred, and information indicating the seismic intensity of the area where the elevator is installed.

In addition, when a new earthquake controlled operation is performed before the earthquake information alert time has elapsed since the previous earthquake controlled operation, the display device 601 displays earthquake controlled operation information from the time the new earthquake controlled operation is performed until the earthquake information alert time has elapsed. With this configuration, when a new earthquake controlled operation is performed, the user can look at the display device 601 from the time the new earthquake controlled operation is performed until the earthquake information alert time has elapsed, thereby eliminating the user's anxiety that he or she will be trapped in the car.

In the above embodiment 1, the configuration of the earthquake information display system 6 including the display device 601 provided in the car 1 has been described. However, the earthquake information display system 6 may be configured to include a display device provided in the hall in addition to the display device 601 provided in the car 1. In this case, the display device provided in the hall has the same configuration as the display device 601 provided in the car 1. Therefore, like the display device 601 provided in the car 1, the display device provided in the hall displays earthquake controlled operation information from the time earthquake controlled operation is performed until the earthquake information notification time has elapsed when the elevator earthquake controlled operation is performed. According to this configuration, the user's anxiety that he or she will be trapped in the car can be eliminated by looking at the display device provided in the hall. In addition, like the display device 601 provided in the car 1, the display device provided in the hall may display earthquake controlled operation information and earthquake information from the time earthquake controlled operation is performed until the earthquake information notification time has elapsed when the elevator earthquake controlled operation is performed. With this configuration, passengers can look at the display device installed at the platform, which can alleviate their anxiety about being trapped in the car and also inform them of earthquake information.

1 Cage, 2 Elevator control panel, 3 Cage operation panel, 4 Speaker device, 5 Earthquake detector, 6 Earthquake information display system, 7 Information center, 101 Cage body, 102 Cage door, 103 Cage entrance/exit, 104 Sleeve wall, 301 Button, 601 Display device, 602 Earthquake information acquisition device, 603 Control device.

Claims (4)

An earthquake information display system for an elevator is provided with a display device which is provided in an elevator car and which displays earthquake controlled operation information, which is information indicating that the elevator will perform earthquake controlled operation if another earthquake occurs, from the time when earthquake controlled operation was performed until a preset earthquake information alert time has elapsed. When the earthquake control operation is performed, an earthquake information acquisition device is further provided which acquires earthquake information from an external source.
2. The elevator earthquake information display system according to claim 1, wherein the display device displays the earthquake control operation information and the earthquake information acquired by the earthquake information acquisition device from the time the earthquake control operation is performed until the earthquake information alert time has elapsed. The elevator earthquake information display system according to claim 2, wherein the earthquake information includes information indicating the time when the earthquake occurred, information indicating the epicenter of the earthquake, and information indicating the seismic intensity of the area in which the elevator is installed. The elevator earthquake information display system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display device displays the earthquake control operation information from the time when the earthquake control operation is newly performed until the earthquake information notification time has elapsed, when the earthquake control operation is newly performed before the earthquake information notification time has elapsed since the earthquake control operation was performed.