JP7839079B2 - Elevator equipment fault detection device, fault detection system, and fault detection method - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a fault detection device, a fault detection system, and a fault detection method that notify a remote branch office or management company of a malfunction in an elevator car button.

Patent Document 1 describes a prior art method for remotely notifying a location of elevator button malfunctions. The abstract of this document states the problem as "to provide an inspection system and inspection method that allows for easy detection of burnt-out or malfunctioning light sources in destination floor registration buttons, even from a remote location." The solution is described as "an elevator inspection system comprising: a car including an operation panel with multiple destination floor registration buttons 810 for users to move the car to a destination floor; an imaging device for imaging the operation panel; and an elevator control device including a storage unit for storing images; and an image determination unit that compares an image of the destination floor registration buttons 810 in a fully illuminated state stored in the storage unit with an image of the destination floor registration buttons 810 in a fully illuminated state captured by the imaging device, and determines whether the positions of the illuminated destination floor registration buttons 810 match."

Thus, in Patent Document 1, a fully illuminated image of the buttons under normal conditions, stored in the memory unit, is compared with a fully illuminated image captured by the imaging device. If a difference occurs, a burnt-out or malfunction of the button light source is detected.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-079144

However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 cannot distinguish between natural failures due to aging and human error such as vandalism. Therefore, it was difficult for the business office or management company receiving the failure notification to take appropriate action based on the distinction between natural and human error.

This invention has been made in view of the above, and its object is to provide an elevator equipment fault detection device, fault detection system, and fault detection method that distinguish between natural and human-induced faults and notifies the business office or management company accordingly.

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a fault detection device for detecting malfunctions of elevator car buttons, comprising: a video processing unit that determines whether the malfunction of the elevator car buttons is a natural malfunction or a human error based on video footage from a security camera; and an alarm unit that emits the determination result of the video processing unit to an external source.

According to the elevator equipment fault detection device, fault detection system, and fault detection method of the present invention, natural failures and human-induced failures are distinguished and notified to the business office or management company. Therefore, the business office or management company that receives the fault notification can take appropriate action based on whether the failure was natural or human-induced.

A functional block diagram of a fault detection system in one embodiment. An example of an image taken inside a shopping cart by a security camera. A flowchart of a fault detection system in one embodiment. Example of a photograph of a button

The following describes a fault detection system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, using the drawings. The elevator monitored by the fault detection system 100 in this embodiment is a typical passenger elevator that elevator users (hereinafter simply referred to as "users") can freely board and alight from, and which may potentially damage elevator equipment due to vandalism or other reasons. Furthermore, while the following example illustrates the detection of a fault in a button inside the elevator car, the present invention may also be used to detect faults in buttons in hallways, LCD panels, etc.

First, the overview of the fault detection system 100 of this embodiment will be explained using the functional block diagram in Figure 1. As shown here, the fault detection system 100 of this embodiment comprises a security camera 1, a boarding/alighting detection device 2, a video recording device 3, and a fault detection device 10. Each device will be described in turn below.

<Security camera 1>
Security camera 1 is a camera that films the inside of the elevator car and transmits the filmed footage to video recording device 3. Figure 2 is an example of the inside-the-elevation footage P filmed by security camera 1. As is clear from the inside-the-elevation footage P in Figure 2, security camera 1 in this embodiment is installed in a position that allows it to film the entire inside of the elevator car, facing the direction of the door and control panel. As a result, security camera 1 can film the faces of passengers when they get on and off the elevator, and film their actions while they are riding. Hereafter, the footage of the area near the buttons on the control panel within the inside-the-elevation footage P will be specifically referred to as "button footage p".

<Boarding/Alighting Determination Device 2>
The boarding/alighting detection device 2 is a device for determining when a user is getting on or off the elevator, and is installed, for example, on top of the elevator car. Possible methods for determining when a user is getting on or off include using a security camera 1 or using a load sensor (not shown). When using the security camera 1, for example, one method is to compare the captured video of the inside of the elevator car P with the video of the inside of the elevator car when it is empty, and determine when a user is getting on or off based on the presence or absence of differences between the two videos. When using a load sensor, one method is to detect the weight inside the elevator car using a load sensor attached to the floor of the elevator car, and determine when a user is getting on or off based on the increase or decrease in the weight inside the elevator car. When boarding or alighting is detected, the boarding/alighting detection device 2 transmits the detection result to the video recording device 3.

<Video recording device 3>
The video recording device 3 is a recording device such as a hard disk drive that records the in-car video P received from the security camera 1, and is installed, for example, on top of the car. The video recording device 3 also transmits the in-car video P for a selected period to the fault detection device 10 in response to an external command. The video recording device 3 is also pre-recorded with button video p1 when all buttons are lit and button video p2 when all buttons are off, which are taken when the car is unoccupied and the control panel is functioning normally.

<Fault detection device 10>
The fault detection device 10 is a device that, when it detects a malfunction in a button on the elevator car's control panel, notifies the sales office 4 where a technician is stationed, or the management company 5 that manages the elevator, of the occurrence of a malfunction. Specifically, the fault detection device 10 is a computer equipped with hardware such as a CPU or other processing unit, a main memory such as semiconductor memory, an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk, and a communication device. The processing unit then executes a predetermined program to realize the various functions described later, but in the following explanation, such well-known technologies will be omitted as appropriate.

As shown in Figure 1, the fault detection device 10 comprises a video processing unit 11, a notification content selection unit 12, and a notification unit 13. The video processing unit 11 also includes a button lamp failure detection unit 11a, a button damage detection unit 11b, and a user extraction unit 11c. Each of these units will be described in detail below.

The button lamp failure detection unit 11a determines whether or not the lamps on the elevator car buttons are out, based on the in-car video P captured by the security camera 1 after the passenger has disembarked.

The button damage detection unit 11b determines whether or not the buttons inside the elevator car are damaged based on the in-car video footage P captured by the security camera 1 after the passenger disembarks.

The user extraction unit 11c extracts the faces and actions of users based on the in-car video P captured by the security camera 1 during elevator operation.

The alarm content selection unit 12 selects the alarm content based on the data received from the video processing unit 11.

The alarm generation unit 13 notifies the computers installed in the sales offices 4 and management companies 5 of the alarm content selected by the alarm content selection unit 12. In the following, the computers installed in the sales offices 4 and management companies 5 may simply be referred to as sales offices 4 and management companies 5.

<Flowchart>
Next, following the flowchart in Figure 3, the processing performed by each part of the fault detection system 100 in this embodiment will be explained in detail. As a prerequisite for Figure 3, it is assumed that the elevator car called by the user has arrived at the floor where the user is currently located and is attempting to move to another floor using the elevator.

In step S1, the boarding/alighting detection device 2 detects a passenger boarding the cart based on the output of the security camera 1 or the output of the load sensor.

In step S2, security camera 1 begins recording the inside of the elevator car, and video recording device 3 begins recording the captured video P of the inside of the elevator car.

Here, when a user registers their destination floor by operating a button inside the car, the car begins to ascend or descend toward the registered destination floor. While the present invention is described below assuming the user has registered their destination floor, the present invention can also be applied when the destination floor is not registered (i.e., when a user who boarded at a certain floor alights at the same floor).

When the elevator car arrives at the desired destination floor and the passenger disembarks (or when the passenger disembarks on the same floor without registering a destination floor), in step S3, the boarding/alighting detection device 2 detects the passenger's disembarkation from the elevator car based on the output of the security camera 1 or the output of the load sensor.

In step S4, security camera 1 stops recording inside the elevator car, and video recording device 3 stops recording the elevator car video P.

In step S5, the boarding/alighting detection device 2 determines whether there is another passenger before a certain period of time (for example, 10 minutes) has elapsed. If there is another passenger, the process returns to step S1; otherwise, it proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the fault detection device 10 determines whether or not there is a malfunction in the elevator car buttons. Specifically, the fault detection device 10 generates a command to the elevator car control device (not shown) to illuminate all the elevator car buttons, and the security camera 1 and video recording device 3 record the button images p at this time. The video processing unit 11 then compares the captured button image p1, which is pre-registered in the video recording device 3 for normal illumination, with the recorded button image p. If the comparison results of the two images match, it is determined that there is no malfunction in the elevator car buttons, and the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if the comparison results of the two images differ, it is determined that there is some kind of malfunction in the elevator car buttons, and the process proceeds to step S8. Note that "match" in this step does not mean a perfect match, but rather a state in which the difference between the two images is smaller than a predetermined value. Similarly, "difference" in this step does not include extremely small differences, but rather a state in which the difference between the two images is larger than a predetermined value.

If all the elevator car buttons light up normally, the captured button image p will resemble button image p1 in Figure 4. If any of the elevator car buttons (for example, the button for registering the 3rd floor as the destination (3rd floor button)) does not light up normally, the captured button image p will resemble button image p3 in Figure 4. Therefore, if there is a dark area in the captured button image p that differs from the normal button image p1, such as the area of malfunction f1 in button image p3, it can be easily determined that some kind of button malfunction has occurred.

In step S7, the fault detection device 10 determined that there was no fault in the button, and therefore the fault detection process was successfully completed.

Meanwhile, in step S8, the fault detection device 10 determines the type of button failure. Specifically, the video processing unit 11 of the fault detection device 10 generates a command to the elevator car control device (not shown) to turn off all the buttons inside the elevator car, and the security camera 1 and video recording device 3 record the button image p at this time. The video processing unit 11 then compares the captured button image p2, which is pre-registered in the video recording device 3 for normal button deactivation, with the captured button image p. If the comparison results of the two images match, the button lamp failure determination unit 11a determines that the lamp on the elevator car button is out and proceeds to step S9. On the other hand, if the comparison results of the two images differ, the button damage determination unit 11b determines that there is a very high possibility that the button itself has been damaged by human error and proceeds to step S11.

If none of the elevator car buttons are damaged, the captured button image p will resemble button image p2 in Figure 4. If any of the elevator car buttons (for example, the third-floor button) are damaged, the captured button image p will resemble button image p4 in Figure 4. Therefore, if there is a part in the captured button image p that differs from the normal button image p2, such as the faulty part f2 in button image p4, it can be easily determined that some kind of button damage has occurred.

In step S9, the alarm content selection unit 12 transmits to the alarm unit 13 that the button lamp failure detection unit 11a has determined that the lamp on one of the elevator car buttons is out, along with the elevator car video P (for example, the button video p3 in Figure 4) which is the basis for that determination.

In step S10, the alarm unit 13 notifies the sales office 4 of the lamp failure based on the received information. The technician at sales office 4, upon receiving the notification from the alarm unit 13, checks the status of the buttons based on the in-car video P received from the fault detection device 10. If the fault detection device 10's determination is correct, they plan to replace the lamp during the next inspection.

Meanwhile, in step S11, the alarm content selection unit 12 transmits to the alarm unit 13 that the button damage determination unit 11b has determined that a button inside the elevator car is damaged, along with the elevator car video P (for example, the button video p4 in Figure 4) which is the basis for that determination.

If the elevator car button is damaged, it is highly likely that the user immediately before the damage was detected intentionally destroyed the button. Therefore, in step S12, the user extraction unit 11c acquires the elevator car video P from the video recording device 3, which shows the user immediately before the button damage occurred, and extracts the video footage of that user's face and actions. The user extraction unit 11c then transmits the extracted user video to the alarm unit 13 via the alarm content selection unit 12.

In step S13, the alarm unit 13 notifies the sales office 4 of the button damage. Upon receiving the notification, the technician at sales office 4 checks the condition of the button based on the in-car video P received from the fault detection device 10. If the fault detection device 10's determination is correct, they plan to replace the button during the next inspection.

In step S14, the alarm unit 13 notifies the management company 5 of the possibility that the elevator car buttons have been damaged intentionally. Upon receiving this notification, the administrator of management company 5 will verify whether the damage was intentional based on the user video footage received from the fault detection device 10. If the damage is indeed intentional, they will take necessary actions, such as reporting it to the police. It is desirable, from a privacy perspective, that the user video footage received from the fault detection device 10 be automatically deleted after a certain period.

As explained above, this embodiment distinguishes between natural failures and human-induced failures when notifying sales offices and management companies. Therefore, sales offices and management companies that receive failure notifications can take appropriate action based on whether the failure was natural or human-induced.

100 Fault detection system 1 Security camera 2 Boarding/alighting determination device 3 Video recording device 4 Sales office 5 Management company 10 Fault detection device 11 Video processing unit 11a Button lamp failure detection unit 11b Button damage detection unit 11c User extraction unit 12 Alarm content selection unit 13 Alarm unit P In-car video p Button video

Claims (6)

A fault detection device for detecting malfunctions in elevator car buttons,
A video processing unit that determines whether the malfunction of the in-car button is a natural failure or a human error based on the video footage captured by the security camera,
An alarm unit that broadcasts the determination result of the video processing unit to the outside,
A fault detection device for elevator equipment, characterized by being equipped with the following: In the fault detection device according to claim 1,
The aforementioned video processing unit compares a pre-prepared image of a fully illuminated button with a captured image of a fully illuminated button, determines that the in-car button is functioning correctly if the two images match, and determines that the in-car button is malfunctioning if the two images differ. In the fault detection device according to claim 2,
If the internal buttons are determined to be malfunctioning,
The aforementioned video processing unit compares a pre-prepared image of a button in a normal state with all lights off with a captured image of a button in a state with all lights off, determines that the in-car button has malfunctioned naturally if the two images match, and determines that the in-car button has malfunctioned due to human error if the two images do not match. In the fault detection device according to claim 3,
If it is determined that the buttons inside the elevator car have been malfunctioned due to human error,
The aforementioned video processing unit extracts the actions or face of the elevator user from the video footage of the elevator user taken immediately before the malfunction was detected.
The fault detection device is characterized in that the alarm unit notifies an external party of the face or actions of the elevator user extracted by the video processing unit. A security camera is installed inside the elevator car so that the buttons inside the car can be photographed,
A video recording device that records the video captured by the security camera,
A fault detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, to which video recorded by the video recording device is input,
An elevator equipment fault detection system characterized by having the following features. A fault detection method for detecting a malfunction in an elevator car's internal buttons,
A video processing step that determines whether the malfunction of the in-car button is a natural failure or a human error based on the video footage captured by the security camera,
A notification step that sends the determination result from the video processing step to the sales office or management company,
A method for detecting failures in elevator equipment, characterized by comprising the following: