Disclosed is an elevator system including a system controller, wherein the system controller is configured to: render a plurality of determinations for effecting elevator service during a lockdown condition, including a first determination that an elevator car is transporting a first passenger to a first floor, a second determination that a lockdown event is occurring at a second floor, a third determination for the elevator car to transport the first passenger to a third floor to avoid travel proximate the second floor, and execute one or more communications including: a first communication to an elevator car controller for the elevator car to effect the third determination.

A method, system, and computer readable storage medium for controlling elevator operation. More specifically, the embodiments of the present invention relate to controlling elevator operation by means of media information. In accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a computer implemented method for controlling elevator operation. The method comprises receiving and storing media information over a network; obtaining an indication of an event that has occurred or is about to occur based on the media information, the indication including date, time, and location information of the event; and determining one or more buildings associated with the event based on the indication. The method generates a command for controlling the operation of one or more elevators in the one or more buildings at least partly based on the indication.

The invention relates to a method for using an elevator system in a building having several vertically spaced floors served by an elevator system, particularly by one or more vertically traveling elevator cars of an elevator system, said floors comprising at least a first floor, a second floor, and a plurality of intermediate floors positioned vertically between the first and second floor, the elevator system being configured to have several modes, including at least a normal operating mode and an evacuation operating mode, in which normal operating mode a car of the elevator system is used to serve a first set of floors, and in which evacuation operating mode said elevator car is used to serve a second set of floors different from said first set of floors; the method comprising evacuating passengers from the first floor to the second floor, the evacuating comprising changing the mode of the elevator system from the normal operating mode to the evacuation operating mode; and determining the second set of floors to include the first floor and an intermediate stop floor from amongst the plurality of intermediate floors or a subset thereof; and transporting a load of passengers from the first floor with said elevator car without intermediate stops to said intermediate stop floor; and repeating one or more times said transporting a load of passengers from the first floor; and after one or more of said transporting, transporting passengers from said intermediate stop floor with an elevator car to the second floor. The invention relates also to an elevator system implementing the method.

Disclosed is an elevator system for a multilevel architectural structure, the system having: a system controller, an elevator and an elevator controller, wherein the system controller and elevator controller communicate over a network, multi-level hoistway in which the elevator travels, the multi-level hoistway including a plurality of egress levels, including a first egress level, the first level being a primary egress level, wherein during an alarm condition the system, when the primary level is inaccessible, performs an emergency assessment of identifying a safe level of the plurality of levels at which to discharge passengers, the assessment comprising obtaining a smoke density profile for the egress levels, the profile illustrating a distribution of smoke within the multilevel structure, analyzing the smoke density profile, identifying a safe level having a smoke density that is safe, and instructing the elevator to discharge passengers on the safe level.

Disclosed is an elevator system having a first sensor in communication with an elevator in a multi-level hoistway, wherein during an emergency the elevator instructs the first sensor to sense conditions and transmit sensor data representing the sensed conditions, and the transmitted sensor data is processed to obtain an image representing an intensity of hazard conditions on at least a subset of levels serviced by the multilevel hoistway.

An elevator system includes: key switches, provided at a hall, used in an evacuation operation to select either a shuttle operation request mode requesting a car to shuttle between an evacuation floor and a rescue floor, or an evacuation completion mode indicating completion of evacuation; a first notification mechanism provided in the car; and an elevator controller switching between normal operation and the evacuation operation, determining, in a case at least one of the key switches is switched to the evacuation operation, that a floor at a hall whose key switch is in the shuttle operation mode is a rescue floor and a floor at a hall whose key switch is in the evacuation completion mode is an evacuation completion floor, and making, in a case a hall button provided at the hall of the evacuation completion floor is operated, the first notification mechanism notify of the evacuation completion floor.

According to one embodiment, a method of operating an elevator system having at least one lane is provided. The method comprising: detecting a failure in the elevator system; detecting a location of the failure within the elevator system; determining a traffic pattern of the elevator car in response to the location of the failure, the traffic pattern operable to direct the elevator car to avoid the location of the failure; and moving the elevator car in accordance with the traffic pattern selected.

According to one embodiment, a method of operating an elevator system having at least one lane is provided. The method comprising: detecting a failure in the elevator system; detecting a location of the failure within the elevator system; determining a traffic pattern of the elevator car in response to the location of the failure, the traffic pattern operable to direct the elevator car to avoid the location of the failure; and moving the elevator car in accordance with the traffic pattern selected.

Unmanned aerial vehicle evacuation assistance systems and methods for a building are provided. The systems include an unmanned aerial vehicle having at least one sensor and an elevator system having an elevator controller and an elevator car. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver to communicate with the elevator controller, wherein the memory includes instructions for execution by the processor to communicate with the elevator system to dispatch the elevator car to a designated floor based on information obtained at the unmanned aerial vehicle by the at least one sensor.

An elevator device that can continuously evacuate any evacuee left in a building by using an elevator. The elevator device includes a control device configured to maintain an evacuation operation mode corresponding to a rescue floor concerned when a car operation instructing device is operated on the rescue floor concerned before a predetermined time passes from when the car stops at the rescue floor concerned during the evacuation operation mode corresponding to the rescue floor concerned, and release the evacuation operation mode corresponding to the rescue floor concerned when the car operation instructing device is not operated on the rescue floor concerned before the predetermined time passes from when the car stops at the rescue floor concerned during the evacuation operation mode corresponding to the rescue floor concerned.