JP7808566B2 - Elevator control system and method for selecting terminal in elevator control system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an elevator control system and a method for selecting an end terminal for an elevator control system.

Elevators are controlled using an elevator control system that includes a control panel connected via a communication line and hall terminals installed at each of the elevator halls. When installing the elevator control system, terminal settings for the hall terminals are required. In other words, it is necessary to select one of the multiple hall terminals to be the terminal terminal. However, because there are multiple hall terminals, manually setting the terminals is a time-consuming process, which poses a problem.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a technology for easily and reliably setting terminations without manual labor by an operator. Patent Document 1 discloses that "in an elevator setting device in which a network is formed by a master control device 1 and local devices 2, 2a connected to a communication path 3, termination resistors 6, 9 are provided in the master control device 1 and the local devices 2, 2a, and when the network termination resistor has not been set, the master control device 1 and the local devices 2, 2a communicate at a termination resistor set communication speed that is slower than normal. The master control device 1 selects the local device 2a located at the end of the communication path by communicating at the termination resistor set communication speed, and the selected local device 2a connects the termination resistor 9 of that local device 2a to the communication path 3 to set the network termination resistor."

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-247969

Depending on the structure of the building in which the elevator is installed and the structure and configuration of the elevator control system based on this, there was a possibility of incorrectly selecting the terminal. More specifically, there was a possibility of errors in terminal settings occurring during processes such as terminal setting instructions during elevator control system design, terminal setting during hall terminal production, and installation of the hall terminal at the delivery destination. For example, the number of hall terminals varies depending on the elevator installation location, and the distance between each hall terminal and the control panel also varies, so it was not possible to set fixed, standard criteria such as selecting the hall terminal on the first floor as the terminal.

According to Patent Document 1, when setting up a termination, the local device (hall terminal) to be used as the termination is selected by communicating at a low speed that allows communication even without a termination resistor. However, Patent Document 1 requires special control for low-speed communication, i.e., termination resistor setting mode. Furthermore, Patent Document 1 does not disclose any specific means for determining which local device should be used as the termination.

The present invention aims to select an appropriate hall terminal and perform termination configuration with a simpler configuration. Therefore, the present invention aims to accurately and automatically perform termination configuration, thereby reducing the amount of work required for investigating and repairing problems caused by configuration errors, as well as reducing the amount of work required for design and production.

To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an elevator control system having a control panel and multiple hall terminals each connected to the control panel, in which the hall terminals are provisionally set as terminal terminals. Then, communication occurs between the control panel and each hall terminal, and the hall terminal to be the terminal terminal is selected based on the communication delay time.

More specifically, this elevator control system includes a control panel and multiple hall terminals each connected to the control panel. A hall terminal included in the multiple hall terminals has a termination switching control unit that temporarily sets it as an end terminal. The control panel has a communication control unit that performs communication confirmation with the hall terminal temporarily set as the end terminal, and a communication time measurement unit that measures the communication delay time at each of the multiple hall terminals. If a communication error occurs during the communication confirmation, the termination switching control unit of a next hall terminal included in the multiple hall terminals switches the temporarily set end terminal to the next hall terminal until the communication delay time at each of the multiple hall terminals is measured. The communication time measurement unit continues to measure the communication delay time. The communication control unit selects a hall terminal from the multiple hall terminals to be the end terminal based on the measured communication delay time. The present invention also includes a method for selecting an end terminal in an elevator control system.

This invention eliminates the need for additional dedicated devices and enables the selection of an appropriate hall terminal to terminate from the hall communication path in an elevator control system with a simpler configuration.

1 is a configuration diagram of an elevator control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart showing a setting process flow of an end terminal in one embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of details of step S8 in one embodiment of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. This embodiment is directed to an elevator control system consisting of a control panel that controls elevators and multiple hall terminals. In this embodiment, when constructing the elevator control system, an end terminal is selected from the multiple hall terminals. The details of this system will be explained below.

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of an elevator control system in this embodiment. The elevator control system includes a control panel 1 and multiple hall terminals 2-1 to 2-n, each connected serially via a communication path 3. Hereinafter, hall terminals 2-1 to 2-n will also be referred to as hall terminals 2. Note that in the following explanation, details of the elevator (car, hoist, and motor) itself and the configuration for controlling them will be omitted.

First, the control panel 1 controls the elevator. Furthermore, when constructing an elevator control system, the control panel 1 selects a terminal terminal from the hall terminals 2. To this end, the control panel 1 includes a processing unit 10, a resistor 18, and a transformer 19. The processing unit 10 executes various processes for elevator control and terminal terminal selection. The processing unit 10 can be implemented as a processor, and executes various processes according to software such as a program. The processing unit 10 may also be implemented as hardware such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The processing unit 10 includes a terminal ID setting unit 11, a communication abnormality determination unit 12, a data storage unit 13, a communication time measurement unit 14, a communication control unit 15, a communication IF unit 16, and a terminal switching control unit 17.

First, the terminal ID setting unit 11 sets a terminal ID that identifies the control panel 1 based on external input or data stored in a storage medium or storage device (not shown). To this end, the terminal ID setting unit 11 issues a terminal ID in response to external input from the data storage unit 13, an external switch, etc.

The communication abnormality determination unit 12 detects and determines communication errors between the control panel 1 and the hall terminal 2. Communication errors include communication inability and communication abnormalities. The data storage unit 13 stores the hall terminal ID assignment results, the terminal setting results, and communication data described above. The communication time measurement unit 14 measures the communication time between the control panel 1 and each of the hall terminals 2. This communication time includes the length of the communication path 3 between the control panel 1 and the hall terminal 2 and the delay time in the communication processing unit. The communication distance (length) is calculated from these communication delay times.

The communication control unit 15 also controls communication with the hall terminals 2. The communication IF unit 16 also connects to the communication path 3 in accordance with the communication control unit 15. As a result, the communication IF unit 16 outputs various types of information via the communication path 3, and inputs various types of information via the communication path 3. As a result, the control panel 1 is able to communicate with each hall terminal 2.

The termination switching control unit 17 also controls the ON/OFF state of the resistor 18 in the control panel 1, i.e., performs termination settings. The resistor 18 also functions as a termination resistor in the control panel 1. The transformer 19 also functions as a communications transformer for the control panel 1. The transformer 19 is then connected to the communication path 3.

In addition, each hall terminal 2 is installed at each elevator hall. Each hall terminal 2 controls the operation of the control panel, which is a panel provided at each hall and has buttons for calling a car to that hall, and sends commands to the control panel 1 to call the elevator in accordance with operations on the control panel.

The configuration of each hall terminal 2 will be explained below. However, since they all have the same configuration, the hyphens and subsequent parts of the reference symbols will be omitted and a representative explanation will be provided. Each hall terminal 2 has a processing unit 20, a resistor 28, and a transformer 29.

Here, the processing unit 20 executes various processes for controlling the operation panel and issuing commands to the control panel 1. The processing unit 10 can be implemented as a so-called processor, and executes various processes in accordance with software such as a program. The processing unit 20 may also be implemented as hardware such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The processing unit 20 includes a terminal ID setting unit 21, a communication abnormality determination unit 22, a data storage unit 23, a communication control unit 25, a communication IF unit 26, and a termination switching control unit 27.

First, the terminal ID setting unit 21 generates a hall terminal ID that identifies itself and notifies the control panel 1. The hall terminal ID is then notified to the control panel 1 from the communication IF 26 under the control of the communication control unit 25. The terminal ID setting unit 21 also stores its own hall terminal ID in the data storage unit 13.

The communication abnormality determination unit 22 detects and determines abnormalities in communication between the control panel 1 and the hall terminal 2. Communication abnormalities include communication inability. The data storage unit 23 stores the hall terminal ID and communication data described above.

The communication control unit 25 also controls communication with the control panel 1. The communication IF unit 26 also connects to the communication path 3 in accordance with the communication control unit 25. As a result, the communication IF unit 26 outputs various types of information via the communication path 3, and inputs various types of information via the communication path 3. As a result, each hall terminal 2 is able to communicate with the control panel 1.

The termination switching control unit 27 also performs temporary settings and settings for the termination terminal. To do this, the termination switching control unit 27 enables the function of the resistor 28 in the hall terminal 2, causing the hall terminal 2 to function as the termination terminal.

In addition, resistor 28 functions as a termination resistor in the hall terminal 2 when the corresponding hall terminal 2 is set or temporarily set as the termination terminal. Transformer 29 also functions as a communications transformer for the hall terminal 2. Transformer 29 is then connected to communication path 3. This concludes the explanation of the configuration of the elevator control device.

Next, we will explain the configuration process for the terminal in this embodiment. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing the configuration process flow for the terminal in this embodiment.

In step S1, the control panel 1 and each hall terminal 2 start up when power is turned on.

Next, in step S2, the terminal switching control unit 27-1 of the hall terminal 2-1, among the hall terminals 2, whose hall terminal ID is "1", provisionally sets itself as the terminal terminal. To do this, each of the hall terminal 2's terminal switching control units 27 determines whether its own hall terminal ID is "1". Note that a hall terminal ID of "1" indicates the smallest value among the hall terminal IDs. Alternatively, other values, such as the maximum value of n, may be used as the hall terminal ID.

The termination switching control unit 27-1 also enables its own resistor 28-1. As a result, the hall terminal 2-1 functions as the termination terminal.

Next, in step S3, the communication control unit 15 checks (communication check) the communication status of the provisionally set end terminal (hall terminal 2-1 with hall terminal ID: 1) via the communication IF unit 16. To do this, the communication control unit 15 sends a communication check notification to the communication path 3 from the communication IF unit 16. As a result, this notification is sent to each hall terminal 2, including the end terminal. For example, the communication control unit 15 sends a SYN packet to the communication path 3 via the communication IF unit 16.

Then, in step S4, the communication control unit 15 checks for communication confirmation, such as the presence or absence of an ACK packet, from the provisionally set terminal. To do this, each hall terminal 2 determines whether it is the terminal. Then, in the terminal, the communication control unit 25-1 uses the communication IF unit 26-1 to reply to the communication confirmation, such as an ACK packet. Regarding the presence or absence of this reply, it is desirable to determine whether a reply has been received within a certain period of time or other predetermined conditions. As a result, if there is no reply (No), the process proceeds to step S5. If there is a reply (Yes), the process proceeds to step S8.

Next, in step S5, the hall terminal 2 switches the provisional setting of the terminal as the terminal of termination to the next hall terminal 2-m, whose hall terminal ID is "m." Here, m is "2 to n," and takes a value that is "+1" to the hall terminal ID before step S4. In other words, in step S5, the terminal switching control unit 27-m of the next hall terminal 2-m, whose hall terminal ID is "m," provisionally sets itself as the terminal of termination. Note that in the explanation up to step S4 above, m = 2, and hall terminal 2-2 becomes the terminal of termination. Note that m being "2 to n" or "+1" is merely an example, and hall terminal m-2 may be any terminal (next hall terminal) next to hall terminal 2 according to the predetermined rules.
As a result, the termination switching control section 27-m of the next hall terminal 2-m activates its own resistor 28-m, and thus the next hall terminal 2-m functions as a termination terminal.

As described above, the hall terminal ID "m" in this example is the hall terminal ID of hall terminal 2 that was provisionally set as the terminal at the end in step S2 and this step, plus 1. Furthermore, if the maximum value (n) is used as the hall terminal ID in step S2, the hall terminal ID in this step will be the value minus 1. Furthermore, adding or subtracting 1 is merely an example, and the terminal switching control unit 17 may change the hall terminal ID to the terminal ID of the next hall terminal according to other rules.

Next, in step S6, the communication control unit 15 performs a communication check on the terminal (next hall terminal 2-m) whose provisional settings have been changed via the communication IF unit 16. This process is the same as step S3, except that the hall terminal m being the target of the communication check is different.

Next, in step S7, the communication control unit 15 checks for communication confirmation from the end terminal whose provisional settings have been changed, for example, whether or not an ACK packet, which is a reply to the SYN packet, has been received. This process is the same as step S4, except that the hall terminal m targeted for communication confirmation is different. If there is no reply (No), the process proceeds to step S5. If there is a reply (Yes), the process proceeds to step S8.

If the process transitions from step S7 to step S5, the termination switching control unit 17 changes the provisional setting of the termination terminal to the next hall terminal 2-m, whose hall terminal ID is "m+1 (3 to n)." In steps S2 to S7, the communication status between the control panel 1 and the provisionally set termination terminal is checked. It is desirable that each of these steps be executed continuously and in parallel with the processing from step S8 onwards. For example, steps S3 and S6 are executed periodically.

Next, in step S8, the communication time measurement unit 14 measures the communication delay time with each hall terminal 2. For example, the communication time measurement unit 14 measures the time (delay time) between sending data such as a SYN packet and receiving a reply such as an ACK packet from the hall terminal 2. In this case, the delay time can be determined as the sum of the transmission/reception time from the control panel 1 to the hall terminal 2, the data processing time of the hall terminal 2, and the reply time from the hall terminal 2 to the control panel 1. Other well-known techniques may also be used for the measurement method. Furthermore, it is preferable that the communication time measurement unit 14 measures the communication delay time of each hall terminal 2 in hall terminal ID order, starting from the provisionally set end terminal. This hall terminal ID order may be either ascending or descending order of the hall terminal ID value. Furthermore, the communication time measurement unit 14 may measure each hall terminal 2 according to a rule other than ascending order, or randomly. Furthermore, the communication time measurement unit 14 may measure the communication delay time of the provisionally set end terminal when confirming communication in step S3 or step S6.

There are several possible ways to implement step S8. One example will be described below. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the details of step S8 in this embodiment.

In step S81, the communication time measurement unit 14 determines whether there is a hall terminal 2 for which the communication delay time has been measured. To do this, the communication time measurement unit 14 determines whether the communication delay time of a terminal other than the temporarily set end terminal has been measured. As a result, if the measurement has been completed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S82. If the measurement has not been completed (No), the process proceeds to step S84. Note that in this step, the communication time measurement unit 14 can make its determination using the measurement results of the communication delay time stored in the data storage unit 13.

In step S82, the communication time measurement unit 14 identifies the maximum hall terminal ID of the hall terminals 2 that have already been measured. The reason for using the maximum value here is that the communication delay time was measured in ascending order in step S8. If the communication delay time were measured in descending order, the minimum value would be used. Thus, in this step, the communication time measurement unit 14 identifies the hall terminal ID of the hall terminal 2 whose communication delay time was most recently measured. Note that in this step, the communication time measurement unit 14 can identify the hall terminal ID using the communication delay time measurement results stored in the data storage unit 13.

Then, in step S83, the communication time measurement unit 14 measures the communication delay time in ID order, starting with the hall ID next to the hall terminal ID identified in step S82 (for example, next hall terminal 2-m). In other words, the communication time measurement unit 14 starts measuring the communication delay time from the hall ID indicated by the hall terminal ID next to the hall terminal 2 for which the communication delay time was most recently measured. In this way, in this example, communication time measurement continues from where it was previously.

In step S84, the communication time measurement unit 14 measures the communication delay time of each hall terminal 2 in ID order, starting from the provisionally set end terminal. This completes the processing of step S8 shown in Figure 3, and the process proceeds to step S9.

Furthermore, in step S8, the communication time measurement unit 14 may measure the communication delay time of each hall terminal 2 for each provisional setting of the terminal. In other words, rather than continuously measuring the communication delay time as in the process shown in Figure 3, it is also possible to reset the measurement results for each provisional setting of the terminal and measure the communication delay time of each hall terminal 2.

In this way, the communication time measurement unit 14 can also measure and calculate the distance between the control panel 1 and each hall terminal 2 using the measured communication delay time. In other words, the communication time measurement unit 14 can also function as a communication distance measurement unit. This concludes the explanation of Figure 3, and we will return to the explanation of Figure 2.

In step S9, the communication control unit 15 determines whether measurement of the communication delay time for each hall terminal 2 has been completed. The communication time measurement unit 14 can make this determination using the communication delay time measurement results stored in the data storage unit 13. As a result, if it has been completed (Yes), the process proceeds to step S11. If it has not been completed (No), the process proceeds to step S10.

Next, in step S10, of the hall terminals 2 whose communication delay times were measured, the hall terminal 2 with the longest communication delay time is provisionally set as the terminal terminating terminal, and the process proceeds to step S8. To achieve this, the same processing as steps S2 and S5 is performed. Note that step S9 may be omitted, and the transition destination may be step S6. In this way, by executing steps S9 and S10, if a communication error occurs, the terminal switching control unit 27-m of the next hall terminal 2-m will provisionally set itself as the terminal terminating terminal until the communication delay times at each of the multiple hall terminals 2-1 to 2-n are measured.

Next, in step S11, the communication control unit 15 selects the hall terminal 2 with the longest communication delay time as the terminal end terminal from among the hall terminals 2. Here, the communication control unit 15 may control the display of this result. For example, the communication control unit 15 may display information indicating the selected terminal end terminal on a display unit provided on or connected to the control panel 1. Then, if the control panel 1 receives confirmation of the selected terminal end terminal in response to this display, the process may proceed to step S12. The communication control unit 15 also stores the selected hall terminal 2 as the terminal end terminal in the data storage unit 13.

Then, in step S12, the selected hall terminal 2 sets itself as the terminal end terminal. To do this, the same processing as in steps S2 and S5 is performed. That is, the terminal end switching control unit 27 of the selected hall terminal 2 enables its own resistor 28. As a result, the selected hall terminal 2 functions as the terminal end terminal.

Furthermore, in the hall terminal 2 that has been temporarily set, the termination switching control unit 27 disables its own resistor 28.

In the present embodiment described above, in an elevator control system having a control panel 1 and a plurality of hall terminals 2-1 to 2-n each connected to the control panel 1,
(1) If a communication error (communication abnormality or inability) occurs during communication confirmation, the terminal to be temporarily set is switched to another terminal 2 until the communication delay time of each of the hall terminals 2-1 to 2-n is measured.
(2) Continuously measure communication delay time.
(3) Based on the measured communication delay time, a hall terminal 2 to be the end terminal is selected from the plurality of hall terminals 2-1 to 2-n.

Here, regarding (1) and (2), if the above-mentioned communication error occurs, another hall terminal included in the multiple hall terminals 2 can be temporarily set as the terminal end terminal, and the communication delay time in communication between the multiple hall terminals 2 and the control panel 1 can be measured. Furthermore, regarding (1) and (2), if the above-mentioned communication error occurs, the temporarily set terminal end terminal can be switched to another hall terminal, and this can be repeated until the communication delay time at each of the multiple hall terminals 2 can be measured.

This concludes the description of this embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the present invention can be applied to systems other than elevator control systems. In other words, the present invention can be applied to a network system having a master communication device equivalent to a control panel and slave communication devices equivalent to multiple hall terminals serially connected to it. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the control panel 1 of the elevator control system selects and configures the end terminal, but these functions may also be performed by other devices.

1...Control panel, 10...Processing unit, 11...Terminal ID setting unit, 12...Communication abnormality determination unit, 13...Data storage unit, 14...Communication time measurement unit, 15...Communication control unit, 16...Communication IF unit, 17...Termination switching control unit, 18...Resistor, 19...Transformer, 2...Hall terminal, 20...Processing unit, 21...Terminal ID setting unit, 22...Communication abnormality determination unit, 23...Data storage unit, 25...Communication control unit, 26...Communication IF unit, 27...Termination switching control unit, 27, 28...Resistor, 29...Transformer, 3...Communication path

Claims (10)

In an elevator control system having a control panel and a plurality of hall terminals each connected to the control panel,
A hall terminal included in the plurality of hall terminals has a termination switching control unit that temporarily sets itself as a termination terminal,
The control panel
a communication control unit that performs communication confirmation with the hall terminal that is temporarily set as the end terminal;
A communication time measurement unit for measuring a communication delay time in each of the plurality of hall terminals,
When a communication error occurs in the communication confirmation, the termination switching control unit of the next hall terminal included in the plurality of hall terminals switches the provisionally set termination terminal to the next hall terminal;
The communication time measurement unit continuously measures the communication delay time,
The communication control unit selects a hall terminal to be a terminal end terminal from the plurality of hall terminals based on the measured communication delay time. 2. The elevator control system of claim 1,
A hall terminal ID for identifying each of the plurality of hall terminals is assigned to the hall terminal;
An elevator control system in which the switching to the next hall terminal is performed in the order of hall terminal IDs indicated by the hall terminal ID. 3. The elevator control system according to claim 2,
The communication time measurement unit is an elevator control system that starts measuring the communication delay time when the next hall terminal is provisionally set from the hall ID indicated by the hall terminal ID next to the hall terminal for which the communication delay time was most recently measured. 3. The elevator control system according to claim 2,
The communication time measurement unit resets the measurement results for each provisional setting of the terminal and measures the communication delay time of each terminal in the elevator control system. 2. The elevator control system according to claim 1,
Each of the plurality of hall terminals has a termination resistor;
The termination switching control unit is an elevator control system that enables the termination resistor when the hall terminal is set as the termination terminal. A method for selecting an end terminal in an elevator control system having a control panel and a plurality of hall terminals each connected to the control panel,
A terminal switching control unit of a hall terminal included in the plurality of hall terminals temporarily sets the hall terminal itself as a terminal terminal,
The communication control unit of the control panel checks communication with the hall terminal temporarily set as the terminal end,
A communication time measurement unit of the control panel measures a communication delay time at each of the plurality of hall terminals,
When a communication error occurs in the communication confirmation, the terminal switching control unit of the next hall terminal included in the plurality of hall terminals switches the terminal to be temporarily set as the next hall terminal;
The communication time measurement unit continuously measures the communication delay time,
A method for selecting an end terminal in an elevator control system, in which the communication control unit selects a hall terminal to be an end terminal from the plurality of hall terminals based on the measured communication delay time. 7. The method for selecting a terminal in an elevator control system according to claim 6,
A hall terminal ID for identifying each of the plurality of hall terminals is assigned to the hall terminal;
A method for selecting an end terminal in an elevator control system, in which switching to the next hall terminal is performed in the order of hall terminal IDs indicated by the hall terminal ID. 8. The method for selecting a terminal in an elevator control system according to claim 7,
A method for selecting an end terminal in an elevator control system in which the communication time measurement unit starts measuring the communication delay time when the next hall terminal is provisionally set from the hall ID indicated by the hall terminal ID next to the hall terminal whose communication delay time was most recently measured. 8. The method for selecting a terminal in an elevator control system according to claim 7,
A method for selecting an end terminal in an elevator control system, in which the communication time measurement unit resets the measurement results for each provisional setting of the end terminal and measures the communication delay time of each of the hall terminals. 7. The method for selecting a terminal in an elevator control system according to claim 6,
Each of the plurality of hall terminals has a termination resistor;
The method for selecting an end terminal in an elevator control system, wherein the end terminal switching control unit activates the end terminal resistor when the hall terminal is set as the end terminal.