JP7840892B2 - Elevator system and control menu setting method - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to an elevator system and a control menu setting method, and is particularly suitable for application to an elevator system and a control menu setting method that have a function to set the control menu of the elevator device from a user's terminal.

Conventionally, elevator systems exist that allow users (e.g., elevator or building managers) to operate user terminals to configure (including modifying and canceling) the control menu of the elevator system via the elevator's information management server and monitoring terminals. These control menu settings allow for configurations such as setting the elevator car's operating status to stop operation or to avoid flooding, as well as canceling these settings.

However, if a device malfunction or communication failure occurs in the device that relays communication between the elevator system and the user terminal (e.g., the information management server), the control menu setting request sent from the user terminal may not reach the elevator system, making it impossible to change or cancel the control menu settings. Therefore, in situations where operation suspension or flood evacuation operation is set, there was a risk that the elevator would become unusable because the user terminal could not cancel the setting.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for an access control system in which a terminal controller connected to a central device via a network controls the locking and unlocking of an electric lock based on locking and unlocking instructions from the central device. In this system, if the network communication becomes impossible, the unlocking function can be activated on the terminal side. If the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is applied to a conventional elevator system, in the event of a failure in the elevator system's components, the elevator system (e.g., the communication permission control circuit of the control panel) can be configured to allow communication with a maintenance worker terminal separate from the user terminal.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-250888

However, even if the technology described in Patent Document 1 above were used to allow communication from the maintenance worker's terminal to the control panel in the event of a failure, the control menu setting function is, in principle, provided to the user's terminal. Therefore, it is not easily conceivable that the control menu setting function could also be permitted to be operated from the maintenance worker's terminal.

Furthermore, even if it were possible to configure the control menu from a maintenance worker's terminal, a discrepancy would arise between the actual control menu changed by the maintenance worker's terminal and the control menu settings confirmed from the user's terminal after the failure was resolved (the control menu information held on the information management server). This would result in a decline in the quality of service provided to users.

This invention was made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose an elevator system and a method for changing the control menu that allows users to set the control menu of the elevator system from their terminal, even if a failure occurs in the relay device between the user terminal and the elevator system, thereby enabling the change of the control menu and avoiding a situation where the elevator is unusable.

To solve these problems, the present invention provides an elevator system comprising: an elevator device capable of changing the settings of a control menu related to the operation of the elevator car; an information management server that relays the setting operations of the control menu by a user terminal; a monitoring terminal that connects the information management server and the elevator device and monitors the device status and communication status of the information management server; and a maintenance worker terminal that can be connected to the monitoring terminal and has a control menu change function for changing the settings of the control menu. The system is characterized in that, when the monitoring terminal detects a failure in the device status or communication status of the information management server, the maintenance worker terminal connected to the monitoring terminal activates its own control menu change function.

Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for changing a control menu using an elevator system that allows the user terminal to set a control menu related to the operation of the elevator car, wherein the elevator system comprises: an information management server that relays the setting operation of the control menu by the user terminal; a monitoring terminal that connects the information management server and the elevator device and monitors the device status and communication status of the information management server; and a maintenance worker terminal that can be connected to the monitoring terminal and has a control menu change function for changing the settings of the control menu, wherein when the monitoring terminal detects a failure in the device status or communication status of the information management server, the maintenance worker terminal connected to the monitoring terminal activates its own control menu change function.

According to the present invention, even if a malfunction occurs in the relay device between the user terminal and the elevator system, it is possible to change the settings of the control menu, thereby avoiding a situation where the elevator becomes unusable.

This figure shows an example configuration of an elevator system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. This diagram shows an example of the configuration of the control menu setting data 74. This is a sequence diagram (part 1) showing an example of the processing procedure for setting the control menu. This is a sequence diagram (part 2) showing an example of the processing procedure for setting the control menu. This is a sequence diagram (part 3) showing an example of the processing procedure for setting the control menu.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

The following descriptions and drawings are illustrative examples for explaining the present invention, and have been appropriately omitted and simplified for clarity. Furthermore, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and any application that aligns with the spirit of the invention falls within its technical scope. Those skilled in the art can make various additions and modifications within the scope of the invention. The present invention can also be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural.

In the following explanation, various types of information may be described using terms such as "table," "list," and "queue," but these types of information may also be represented using other data structures. To indicate independence from data structure, "XX table," "XX list," etc., may be referred to as "XX information." When describing the content of each type of information, terms such as "identification information," "identifier," "name," "ID," and "number" are used, but these are interchangeable.

Furthermore, in the following explanation, when describing similar elements without distinction, a reference code or a common number within the reference code will be used. When describing similar elements with distinction, the reference code of that element will be used, or the ID assigned to that element may be used instead of the reference code.

Furthermore, while the following explanation may describe the processing performed by executing a program, the program is executed by at least one processor (e.g., a CPU) to perform defined processing using appropriate memory resources (e.g., memory) and/or interface devices (e.g., communication ports). Therefore, the processor may be the primary entity performing the processing. Similarly, the primary entity performing the processing by executing a program may be a controller, device, system, computer, node, storage system, storage device, server, management computer, client, or host having a processor. The primary entity performing the processing by executing a program (e.g., a processor) may include hardware circuits that perform some or all of the processing. For example, the primary entity performing the processing by executing a program may include hardware circuits that perform encryption and decryption, or compression and decompression. The processor operates as a functional unit that realizes predetermined functions by operating according to the program. Devices and systems including a processor are devices and systems that include these functional units.

The program may be installed from the program source into a device such as a computer. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a non-temporary storage medium readable by the computer. If the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server includes a processor (e.g., a CPU) and non-temporary storage resources, which may further store the distribution program and the programs to be distributed. The processor of the program distribution server may then execute the distribution program, thereby distributing the programs to other computers. Furthermore, in the following description, two or more programs may be implemented as a single program, or one program may be implemented as two or more programs.

(1) System Configuration Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elevator system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The elevator system 1 is an elevator system that normally provides a service (control menu setting service) that allows a user terminal 10 to set the control menu of the elevator device 70, and is configured to include a maintenance worker terminal 20, an information management server 30, a monitoring terminal 60, and an elevator device 70. In this description, "setting the control menu" includes not only setting the desired control menu (setting it to an active state), but also changing the settings of an already set control menu, or canceling the settings of an already set control menu.

In this explanation, "user" refers to the person who manages the elevator, specifically, for example, the elevator manager or building manager. "Maintenance worker" refers to the worker who performs maintenance or inspection of the elevator.

The user terminal 10 is an information terminal with communication capabilities operated by the user, such as a mobile phone or tablet. The user terminal 10 is connected to the information management server 30 via a network, and the control unit 12 launches a specific application, enabling the user to use the control menu setting service. The user terminal 10 comprises a communication unit 11 for external communication, a control unit 12 for overall control of the terminal, and a display unit 13 that displays information (display data) according to the control of the control unit 12.

The maintenance worker terminal 20 is an information terminal with communication capabilities operated by a maintenance worker, such as a mobile phone or tablet. When a failure occurs in the elevator system 1, the maintenance worker terminal 20 is connected to the monitoring terminal 60 in place of the user terminal 10, which has lost communication with the elevator device 70. The control unit 22 then activates a specific application, enabling the maintenance worker to use the control menu setting service. In this description, "failure" refers to a failure in the integrity of the device (information management server 30) that relays communication between the user terminal 10 and the elevator device 70. Specifically, this includes at least one of the following: a device malfunction in the information management server 30 (Web server 40, center server 50), or a communication malfunction inside or outside the information management server 30 (more specifically, a communication malfunction between the Web server 40 and the center server 50, and a communication malfunction between the center server 50 and the monitoring terminal 60). The maintenance worker terminal 20 comprises a communication unit 21 for communicating with the outside world, a control unit 22 for overall control of the terminal, a display unit 23 for displaying information (display data) according to the control of the control unit 22, and a determination unit 24 for performing predetermined determinations during processing.

The information management server 30 is a server that relays communication between the user terminal 10 and the monitoring terminal 60, and is composed of a web server 40 and a central server 50. Although Figure 1 shows the web server 40 and central server 50 as independent devices (servers), the configuration of the information management server 30 in this embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the information management server 30 may be configured such that the central server 50 also possesses the functions of the web server 40 (the function of sending and receiving data with the user terminal 10).

The Web server 40 is a server primarily responsible for communication with the user terminal 10 (receiving operation data, transmitting display data, etc.), and comprises a communication unit 41 and a control unit 42.

The central server 50 is a server that primarily relays communication with the monitoring terminal 60, and includes a communication unit 51, a control unit 52, and an information database 53. The information database 53 stores control menu setting data 54.

The control menu setting data 54 is data used to provide users with the settings of the control menu in the elevator system 70, and reflects the settings of the control menu setting data 74 managed by the elevator system 70. Preferably, the data structure of the control menu setting data 54 is configured to store at least the data content of the control menu setting data 74 (see Figure 2). Furthermore, if it is desired to notify the user terminal 10 of changes when the control menu (control menu setting data 74) of the elevator system 70 is changed, it is preferable that the control menu setting data 54 also holds information indicating the history of setting changes in the control menu setting data 74.

The monitoring terminal 60 is a computer that monitors the operation of the elevator system 70 and also monitors the device status and communication status of the information management server 30. The monitoring terminal 60 is connected to the elevator system 70 and the information management server 30 so as to communicate, and ultimately reflects commands sent from the user (user terminal 10) to the information management server 30 to the elevator system 70. Furthermore, in the event of a failure, the maintenance worker terminal 20 is connected to the monitoring terminal 60, allowing commands from the maintenance worker (maintenance worker terminal 20) to be reflected to the elevator system 70.

The monitoring terminal 60 comprises a communication unit 61 for communication with the outside world, a control unit 62 for overall control of the terminal, a determination unit 63 for executing various determination processes according to the control unit 62's control, and a management unit 64 for managing data used in the processing by the control unit 62. Examples of data managed by the management unit 64 include fault flags and control menu change flags. As will be described in detail later, the fault flag indicates the presence or absence of a fault related to health verification, and the control menu change flag indicates whether the control menu (control menu setting data 74) of the elevator device 70 has been changed based on operations from the maintenance worker terminal 20. Note that the management unit 64 may be implemented as part of the control unit 62; in that case, the control unit 62 can directly manage the fault flags and control menu change flags mentioned above.

The elevator system 70 is a typical elevator system comprising a communication unit 71 for external communication, an operation control unit 72 for controlling the operation of the elevator car, a control menu management unit 73 for managing the control menu of the elevator system 70 (mainly the car), and control menu setting data 74 in which the above control menu is set. The communication unit 71, operation control unit 72, control menu management unit 73, and control menu setting data 74 are implemented, for example, in the control panel of the elevator system 70. Note that the elevator system 70 in Figure 1 shows an internal configuration highly relevant to the present invention, and does not negate the existence of other internal configurations (e.g., the elevator car).

Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of the control menu setting data 74. As shown in Figure 2, the control menu setting data 74 manages the setting status of each control menu, linking it to one or more control menus that can be set using the control menu setting service.

Specifically, the control menu settings can include, for example, "Immediate Setting," which enables the control menu immediately after setting; "Scheduled Setting," which enables the control menu for a specified period (schedule); "Removed," which disables a control menu that was set to "Immediate Setting" or "Scheduled Setting"; and "Not Set," where none of the above settings are specified (see the "Status" column in Figure 2). Furthermore, the control menu setting data 74 may also retain the specific details of the schedule for control menus whose setting status is "Scheduled Setting" (see the "Schedule" column in Figure 2).

Note that in the control menu setting data 74 of Figure 2, the control menus "No. 2" ("Flood Evacuation (Pause at Top Floor)") and "No. 3" ("Flood Evacuation (Change Top Floor to Base Floor)") are grayed out. This indicates that these control menus are not supported by the currently connected elevator device 70. The elevator system 1 maintains information regarding the support/incompatibility of each menu in both the elevator device 70 (control menu setting data 74) and the central server 50 (control menu setting data 54).

As described above, the control menu setting data 74 holds the settings for each control menu and is managed by the control menu management unit 73. The operation control unit 72 then controls the operation of the elevator device 70 (e.g., the elevator car) according to the settings in the control menu setting data 74. Furthermore, when the communication unit 71 receives a control menu change command transmitted from the user terminal 10 or maintenance worker terminal 20 via the monitoring terminal 60, the control menu management unit 73 updates the control menu setting data 74 in response to the command, thereby updating the control menu settings in the elevator device 70.

Furthermore, the settings of the control menu setting data 74 in the elevator system 70 are transferred to the central server 50 via the monitoring terminal 60 and reflected in the control menu setting data 54. If the control menu settings of the elevator system 70 are changed based on a control menu change command from the maintenance worker terminal 20 during a malfunction, the changes in the control menu setting data 74 are reflected in the control menu setting data 54 after the malfunction is resolved.

Furthermore, the display example in Figure 2 can also be considered an example of a display screen showing the menu control settings of the elevator device 70, as displayed on the user terminal 10 by the control menu setting service. In this case, the content corresponding to the control menu setting data 54 is displayed, rather than the control menu setting data 74. For example, control menus "No. 2" and "No. 3" are displayed in a different manner from other control menus (any manner that allows for identification from other items is acceptable, such as shading or graying), thereby notifying the user that these control menus are functions not supported by the currently connected elevator device 70.

The configuration of the elevator system 1 according to this embodiment has been described above. The "control unit," "management unit," and "determination unit" in each of the above-described components provide predetermined functions, for example, by a processor reading a program into memory and executing it. These "control units," etc., are not limited to software; some or all of them may be implemented using hardware circuits such as FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays). Furthermore, the "communication unit" in each component is a communication interface. The "display unit" is, for example, a display device such as a display, but it may also be an output device that records data on an external storage medium.

(2) Control Menu Setting Process The control menu setting process, in which the elevator system 1 sets the control menu for the elevator device 70 in response to the operation of the user terminal 10 or the maintenance worker terminal 20, will be explained in detail with reference to Figures 3 to 5. In the following, the process of "changing" the settings of an already set control menu will be explained in detail, but it can be assumed that the same process is performed for all settings of control menus (i.e., including setting new control menus and canceling already set control menus).

Figures 3 to 5 are sequence diagrams (parts 1 to 3) showing example processing procedures for the control menu setting process. In Figures 3 to 5, the processing described in parentheses for the user terminal 10 or maintenance worker terminal 20 refers to processing performed by the user or maintenance worker.

According to Figure 3, first, the monitoring terminal 60 waits for a command (control menu change command) from the central server 50 (step S1). Then, for example, periodically, the determination unit 63 of the monitoring terminal 60 determines whether or not it has received a command from the central server 50 (step S2).

Regarding the control menu change command, the processes in steps S101 to S104 of Figure 3 will be explained. In a user terminal 10, which is connected to the Web server 40 via a network and provides the control menu setting service, when a user performs an operation to change the control menu of the elevator device 70 (step S101), the user terminal 10 transmits a command signal corresponding to the change operation to the Web server 40 (step S102).

When the Web server 40 receives the command signal transmitted in step S102, it forwards it to the central server 50 (step S103). The central server 50 then issues a control menu change command to the monitoring terminal 60 (step S104). The control menu change command includes at least information indicating the control menu to be changed and information indicating the change.

Then, when the communication unit 61 of the monitoring terminal 60 receives the control menu change command issued in step S104, the determination unit 63 determines in step S2 that the command has been received (step S2 is confirmed), and proceeds to step S105.

In step S105, the control unit 62 of the monitoring terminal 60 issues a menu control change command to the elevator device 70 based on the received control menu change command. In step S105, the control unit 62 may also forward the control menu change command received from the center server 50.

In the elevator system 70, when the communication unit 71 receives a change command, the control menu management unit 73 (or the operation control unit 72) updates the control menu setting data 74 according to the command content (step S106). After the update is complete, it returns a confirmation response to the change command to the monitoring terminal 60 (step S107).

Upon receiving the acknowledgment in step S107, the monitoring terminal 60 forwards the acknowledgment to the center server 50 (step S108), and then returns to step S1.

When the center server 50 receives confirmation of the change command from the monitoring terminal 60, the control unit 52 updates the control menu setting data 54 stored in the information DB 53 (step S109). In step S109, the content of the control menu change implemented by the elevator device 70 in step S106 (i.e., the update content of the control menu setting data 74) is reflected in the control menu setting data 54. A specific method of reflection is, for example, when the control unit 52 of the center server 50 issues the control menu change command in step S104, it internally stores the content of the control menu change, and when it receives confirmation of the control menu change command from the monitoring terminal 60, it updates the control menu setting data 74 with the stored content.

After updating the control menu setting data 54 in step S109, the center server 50 transmits a result signal to the user terminal 10 via the web server 40, notifying it of the result of the command signal received in step S103 (steps S110, S111).

Upon receiving the result signal, the user terminal 10 displays the result of the control menu change operation on the elevator device 70 via the control menu setting service application executed by the control unit 12 (step S112), and the control menu change operation from the user terminal 10 is completed. Note that in order to display the result of the control menu change operation in step S112, the center server 50 may send the contents of the control menu setting data 54 to the user terminal 10 when sending the result signal in steps S110 to S111, or the center server 50 may create a result display screen as illustrated in Figure 2 and send information for displaying the created screen to the user terminal 10.

On the other hand, if the user terminal 10 does not perform a control menu change operation in step S101, the communication unit 61 of the monitoring terminal 60 does not receive the control menu change command. Therefore, in step S2 described above, the determination unit 63 determines that the command could not be confirmed to have been received (step S2 is omitted), and proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the control unit 62 of the monitoring terminal 60 confirms the health of the information management server 30, which relays communication between the user terminal 10 and the elevator device 70. Specifically, this health check confirms the presence or absence of device abnormalities in the information management server 30 (i.e., device abnormalities in the Web server 40 and the central server 50), and the presence or absence of communication abnormalities between the monitoring terminal 60 and the information management server 30 (i.e., communication abnormalities in the communication path between the monitoring terminal 60 and the central server 50, and communication abnormalities in the communication path between the central server 50 and the Web server 40). During the health check, confirmation signals and response signals are transmitted and received between the monitoring terminal 60 and the central server 50, and between the central server 50 and the Web server 40 (steps S4 and S5).

Next, the determination unit 63 determines the presence or absence of a fault based on the results of the health check performed in steps S3 to S5 (step S6). Specifically, for example, if a device abnormality occurs in the Web server 40 or the center server 50, the abnormality will be notified by a response signal from the device, or a timeout will occur without a response signal being sent. Also, for example, if a communication abnormality occurs in any communication section between the Web server 40, the center server 50, and the monitoring terminal 60, a timeout will occur without a response signal being returned via that communication section. By comparing these cases of abnormality occurrence, the determination unit 63 can determine the presence or absence of a fault, and if a fault occurs, it can even pinpoint the location of the fault.

If it is determined that no failure occurred in step S6 (i.e., step S6 is omitted), the monitoring terminal 60 returns to step S1.

On the other hand, if a fault is determined to have occurred in step S6 (step S6 is performed), the control unit 62 of the monitoring terminal 60 sets the fault flag managed by the management unit 64 to "ON" (step S7). The fault flag is set to "ON" when a fault related to system health occurs, and to "OFF" when no such fault has occurred.

Next, the control unit 62 of the monitoring terminal 60 confirms that the information management server 30 (Web server 40 or central server 50) has recovered from the failure (step S8). The method for confirming the recovery of the failure in step S8 is similar to the health confirmation in step S3. Confirmation signals and response signals are transmitted and received between the monitoring terminal 60 and the central server 50, and also between the central server 50 and the Web server 40 (steps S9, S10).

Next, the determination unit 63 determines whether the fault has been resolved (step S11) based on the results of the fault recovery confirmation process performed in steps S8 to S10. The specific method for determining fault recovery is the same as the determination of the presence or absence of a fault in step S6, so the explanation is omitted. If it is determined in step S11 that the fault has been resolved (recovery in step S11), the monitoring terminal 60 proceeds to step S301 shown in Figure 5. The process shown in Figure 5 will be described later. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S11 that the fault has not been resolved (non-recovery in step S11), the monitoring terminal 60 proceeds to step S204.

The case where the monitoring terminal 60 proceeds to step S204 is when the information management server 30 is still experiencing a failure (it has not been recovered). In this situation, the user terminal 10 cannot communicate with the monitoring terminal 60 and the elevator device 70 via the information management server 30. As a result, even if the user terminal 10 attempts to change the control menu as in step S101, the menu control of the elevator device 70 cannot be changed, and the control menu change operation fails on the user terminal 10 due to a timeout or communication failure (step S201). To enable the menu control of the elevator device 70 to be changed even in a situation like step S201, the elevator system 1 is configured so that the maintenance worker terminal 20, operated by a maintenance worker, can connect to the monitoring terminal 60.

Specifically, after step S201, when the user contacts the company providing maintenance services for the elevator system 70 with a complaint (step S202), a maintenance worker is dispatched upon instruction from the maintenance service provider (step S203). Upon arriving at the site where the elevator system 70 is installed, the maintenance worker terminal 20 connects to the monitoring terminal 60 (step S205). On the maintenance worker terminal 20 connected to the monitoring terminal 60, the control unit 22 executes an application for a control menu setting service for the maintenance worker. The method of connecting the maintenance worker terminal 20 to the monitoring terminal 60 is not particularly limited, and the communication network can be either wired or wireless.

In step S204, the monitoring terminal 60 waits for the maintenance worker terminal 20 to connect. For example, periodically, the determination unit 63 determines whether the maintenance worker terminal 20 has connected to the monitoring terminal 60 (step S206). If the process described in step S205 (connection of the maintenance worker terminal 20 to the monitoring terminal 60) has been completed before step S206, the determination unit 63 detects the connection of the maintenance worker terminal 20 (connection in step S206), and the process proceeds to the stage shown in Figure 4. On the other hand, if the process in step S205 has not been completed before step S206, the determination unit 63 cannot detect the connection of the maintenance worker terminal 20 (unconnected in step S206), and the monitoring terminal 60 returns to step S8 with the fault flag still ON.

In Figure 4, first, in step S205, the maintenance worker terminal 20 connected to the monitoring terminal 60 reads the fault flag from the monitoring terminal 60 (step S207), and the monitoring terminal 60 responds to the maintenance worker terminal 20 that the fault flag is ON (step S208).

Next, in the maintenance worker terminal 20, the determination unit 24 checks the fault flag acquired in steps S207 to S208 (step S209). If the fault flag is ON (ON in step S209), the control unit 22 activates the control menu change function provided inside the maintenance worker terminal 20 (step S210). The control menu change function inside the maintenance worker terminal 20 can be considered, for example, one of the functions provided by the aforementioned control menu setting service application for maintenance workers, and this function is disabled until it is activated by the control unit 22. Therefore, if the fault flag is OFF in step S209, the control menu change function inside the maintenance worker terminal 20 cannot be used, and the processing from step S210 onwards is not performed.

After enabling the control menu change function in step S210, the maintenance worker terminal 20 performs a status read operation on the monitoring terminal 60 (step S211). Status read operation involves reading the setting status of the control menu in the elevator system 70. Upon receiving a request from the maintenance worker terminal 20, the monitoring terminal 60 performs a status read operation on the elevator system 70 (step S212). In response to the request from the monitoring terminal 60, the elevator system 70 obtains the control menu setting status, for example, by having the control menu management unit 73 refer to the control menu setting data 74, and then returns this information to the monitoring terminal 60 (step S213). The monitoring terminal 60 then returns the information indicating the control menu setting status received from the elevator system 70 to the maintenance worker terminal 20 (step S214).

Next, the maintenance worker terminal 20 displays the control menu setting status received in step S214 on a predetermined display screen (a display screen provided by the control menu change function) on the display unit 23 (step S215). Looking at this display screen, the maintenance worker examines the control menus that need to be changed in the elevator system 70 and performs the control menu change operation on the maintenance worker terminal 20 (step S216). In step S216, the maintenance worker terminal 20 transmits a command signal corresponding to the control menu change operation to the monitoring terminal 60.

Next, in the monitoring terminal 60, the communication unit 61 receives the command signal transmitted from the maintenance worker terminal 20, and the control unit 62 issues a control menu change command to the elevator device 70 in accordance with the command signal (step S217).

Then, in the elevator system 70, when the communication unit 71 receives a control menu change command, the control menu management unit 73 (or the operation control unit 72) updates the control menu setting data 74 according to the command content (step S218). After the update is complete, it returns a confirmation response to the change command to the monitoring terminal 60 (step S219).

Next, upon receiving the confirmation response in step S219, the monitoring terminal 60's control unit 62 sets the control menu change flag, managed by the management unit 64, to "ON" (step S220). The control menu change flag is set to "ON" when the control menu (control menu setting data 74) of the elevator device 70 is changed based on an operation from the maintenance worker terminal 20. In other situations, even if the control menu setting is changed from the user terminal 10, it remains at its initial value of "OFF".

After step S220, the control unit 62 of the monitoring terminal 60 notifies the maintenance worker terminal 20 that the control menu change operation instructed in step S216 has been completed (step S221). Upon receiving this notification, the display unit 23 of the maintenance worker terminal 20 displays on the display screen provided by the control menu change function that the control menu setting change has been completed (step S222). After viewing this display screen, the maintenance worker disconnects the maintenance worker terminal 20 (disconnecting the maintenance worker terminal 20 from the monitoring terminal 60) (step S223), and ends their work.

On the other hand, after notifying the maintenance worker terminal 20 of the completion of the control menu change operation in step S221, the monitoring terminal 60 returns to step S8 described above and checks whether the failure (configuration abnormality or communication abnormality of the information management server 30) has been resolved.

Until the fault is resolved, the monitoring terminal 60 repeats the processes in steps S8-S11, S204, and S205. After the fault is resolved, the determination unit 63 determines that the fault has been resolved in step S11 and proceeds to step S301.

In step S301, the control unit 62 of the monitoring terminal 60 sets the fault flag to "OFF". Next, the determination unit 63 checks the value of the control menu change flag (step S302). If the control menu change flag is "ON" (ON in step S302), the process proceeds to step S303. On the other hand, if the control menu change flag is not "ON" (OFF in step S302), the process returns to step S1 without any special processing and waits for a control menu change command from the center server 50.

In step S303, the control unit 62 of the monitoring terminal 60 notifies the center server 50 of the change in the control menu, then sets the control menu change flag to "OFF" (step S304), and returns to step S1.

Meanwhile, upon receiving notification of a control menu change from the monitoring terminal 60, the control unit 52 of the central server 50 updates the control menu setting data 54 stored in the information database 53 according to the control menu change indicated in the notification (step S305). As a result of the processing in step S305, the content of the control menu change implemented by the elevator device 70 in step S218 (i.e., the update content of the control menu setting data 74) is reflected in the control menu setting data 54.

After updating the control menu setting data 54 in step S305, the center server 50 sends a notification of the control menu change received from the monitoring terminal 60 to the user terminal 10 via the web server 40 (steps S306, S307).

Upon receiving notification of the control menu change, the user terminal 10, through the control unit 12's control menu setting service application, displays the changes to the control menu in the elevator device 70 on the display unit 13 (step S308), and the control menu setting process is completed.

As explained above, by executing the control menu setting process shown in Figures 3 to 5, the elevator system 1 can avoid a situation where the elevator system becomes unusable, even if a malfunction occurs in the information management server 30 (Web server 40, center server 50) which relays information between the user terminal 10 and the monitoring terminal 60, due to a device malfunction or communication error, preventing the user terminal 10 from changing the control menu settings of the elevator device 70. This allows the maintenance worker terminal 20 connected to the monitoring terminal 60 to change the control menu settings.

Furthermore, in the control menu setting process, if the above-mentioned fault has not occurred or has been resolved (i.e., the fault flag is OFF), the process does not proceed to steps S210 to S222 in Figure 4. Therefore, the control menu settings cannot be changed by the maintenance worker's terminal 20, thus limiting the provision of the control menu setting function during non-faulty situations to the user.

Furthermore, in the control menu setting process, the elevator system 1 reflects the changes in menu control settings based on operations from the maintenance worker terminal 20 in the control menu setting data 54 held by the central server 50 for information provision to the user terminal 10. This prevents discrepancies in the information (control menu settings) held by each device in the elevator system 1. As a result, the elevator system 1 avoids a decline in service quality for users of the control menu setting service, allowing users to accurately understand changes in the control menu settings.

1 Elevator System 10 User Terminals 11, 21, 41, 51, 61, 71 Communication Units 12, 22, 42, 52, 62 Control Units 13, 23 Display Units 20 Maintenance Personnel Terminals 24, 63 Judgment Units 30 Information Management Server 40 Web Server 50 Center Server 53 Information Database
54, 74 Control menu setting data 60 Monitoring terminal 64 Management unit 70 Elevator equipment 72 Operation control unit 73 Control menu management unit

Claims (6)

An elevator device that allows the settings of the control menu related to the operation of the elevator car to be changed,
An information management server that relays the setting operations of the control menu by the user terminal,
A monitoring terminal connects the information management server and the elevator device, and monitors the device status and communication status of the information management server.
A maintenance worker terminal that can be connected to the aforementioned monitoring terminal and has a control menu change function for changing the settings of the aforementioned control menu,
Equipped with,
An elevator system characterized in that, when the monitoring terminal detects a failure in the device status or communication status of the information management server, the maintenance worker terminal connected to the monitoring terminal activates its own control menu change function. The elevator device holds first control menu setting data indicating the setting state of the control menu,
The information management server holds second control menu setting data that reflects the first control menu setting data as information to be provided to the user terminal.
If, after the fault is detected by the monitoring terminal, and before the fault is resolved, the settings of the control menu are changed by the operation of the maintenance worker's terminal, which has the control menu change function enabled,
When the monitoring terminal detects the recovery of the fault, it obtains from the elevator device the changes in the first control menu setting data resulting from the operation of the maintenance terminal on the control menu setting, and notifies the information management server.
The elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that the information management server updates the second control menu setting data with the changes to the first control menu setting data notified from the monitoring terminal. The elevator system according to claim 2, characterized in that the information management server notifies the user terminal of the changes to the first control menu setting data notified from the monitoring terminal. The elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that, only during the period after the monitoring terminal has detected the fault but has not detected the recovery of the fault, the maintenance worker terminal connected to the monitoring terminal activates its own control menu change function. The information management server is configured to include a first server capable of communicating with the user terminal and a second server that connects the first server and the monitoring terminal.
The elevator system according to claim 1, characterized in that the monitoring terminal monitors the communication status of the information management server, specifically the communication status between the first server and the second server, and the communication status between the second server and the monitoring terminal. A method for changing the control menu of an elevator system that allows the user terminal to set the control menu related to the operation of the elevator car,
The elevator system includes an information management server that relays the setting operations of the control menu by the user terminal, a monitoring terminal that connects the information management server and the elevator device and monitors the device status and communication status of the information management server, and a maintenance worker terminal that can be connected to the monitoring terminal and has a control menu change function for changing the settings of the control menu.
A method for changing a control menu, characterized in that when the monitoring terminal detects a failure in the device status or communication status of the information management server, the maintenance worker terminal connected to the monitoring terminal activates its own control menu change function.