Arrangement for the allocation of destination calls

Abstract

The invention refers to an arrangement for the allocation of destination calls in an elevator system with at least two elevators, comprising a wireless transmitter device connected with an allocation control of the elevator system. The transmitter device interacts within a certain mutual distance with a wireless ID device carried by a passenger, which ID device is configured to transmit to the transmitter device an ID which is linked with a special transportation service in the elevator system. The elevator system comprises a memory with correlated operation parameters of the elevators which are linked to the particular special transportation service request of the ID device, whereby the ID device is configured to transmit ID data and/or a call with a departure floor and destination floor to the allocation control. The transmitter device is located within a transmitter accommodation space located at least in the vicinity of an elevator, whereby the transmitter device is located in the vicinity of a tag carrying a symbol correlated to the special transportation service.

Claims

1. Arrangement for the allocation of destination calls in an elevator system with at least two elevators, an allocation control device, and at least one destination operation panel, each of the at least one destination operation panels being provided at a respective floor of the elevator system, comprising: a wireless transmitter device connected with the allocation control device of the elevator system, which transmitter device interacts within a certain mutual distance with a wireless ID device carried by a passenger, which ID device is configured to transmit to the wireless transmitter device an ID which is linked with a special transportation service in the elevator system, whereby the ID device is configured to transmit ID data and/or a call with a departure floor and destination floor to the allocation control device, in which arrangement the wireless transmitter device is separate from the allocation control device and any destination operation panel provided at a respective floor of the elevator system, and located within a predefined distance of an elevator and within a transmitter accommodation space which is physically covered by a tag carrying a symbol correlated to the special transportation service, wherein the elevator system comprises a memory with particular operation parameters of the elevators linked to a special transportation service request of the ID device and that the tag is realized as a display which is configured to display different symbols, each symbol indicative of a different special transportation service, in response to the data received from the ID device.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1, which tag is made of a material permeable for broadcast signals emitted from the wireless transmitter device and the ID device.

3. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the tag is illuminated by an illumination device and that the illumination device is operable by the elevator system when the wireless transmitter device receives data from the ID device and/or a call is allocated in response to the interaction between the wireless transmitter device and the ID device.

4. Arrangement according to claim 1, further comprising an audio device located within a predefined area around the tag, which audio device is operable by the allocation control device when the wireless transmitter device receives data from the ID device and/or a call is allocated in response to the interaction between the wireless transmitter device and the ID device.

5. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the ID device is a smartphone on which an App is running, whereby a default transmission data of the ID device is correlated with a predetermined departure and destination floor.

6. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the ID device is a smartphone on which an App is running, which smartphone allows the input of a destination floor, which is transmitted together with a predetermined or actual departure floor to the wireless transmitter device.

7. Arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the symbol comprises at least one visual element and/or at least one three-dimensional touchable element.

8. Elevator system comprising: at least two cars; at least one destination operation panel, each of the at least one destination operation panels being provided at a respective floor of the elevator system; at least one arrangement for the allocation of destination calls in the elevator system; and a wireless transmitter device connected with an allocation control device of the elevator system, which transmitter device interacts within a certain mutual distance with a wireless ID device carried by a passenger, which ID device is configured to transmit to the wireless transmitter device an ID which is linked with a special transportation service in the elevator system, whereby the ID device is configured to transmit ID data and/or a call with a departure floor and destination floor to the allocation control device, in which arrangement the wireless transmitter device is separate from the allocation control device and any destination operation panel provided at a respective floor of the elevator system, and located within a predefined distance of the elevator and within a transmitter accommodation space which is physically covered by a tag carrying a symbol correlated to the special transportation service, wherein the elevator system comprises a memory with particular operation parameters of the elevators linked to a special transportation service request of the ID device and that the tag is realized as a display which is configured to display different symbols, each symbol indicative of a different special transportation service, in response to the data received from the ID device.

9. Elevator system according to claim 8, wherein the allocation control device or an elevator control of the elevator system changes the operation parameters of an elevator allocated to a call entered via the interaction between the ID device and the wireless transmitter device.

10. Elevator system according to claim 9, wherein the operation parameters comprise at least one of the following parameters: door opening time door velocity car acceleration car speed car size car load status addition of voice indication time span between allocation of an elevator car and arrival of said car, allocation parameter of the allocation control device.

11. Elevator system according to claim 8, wherein the allocation control device comprises an indication device for an allocated elevator.

12. Elevator system according to claim 11, wherein the indication device is a smartphone.

13. Elevator system according to claim 11, wherein the elevator system includes a plurality of elevator floors and a tag is located at each elevator floor and the indication device is arranged in connection with each tag.

14. Method for allocating destination calls wirelessly in an elevator system in connection with a special transportation service of an elevator, the elevator system comprising as at least two cars, an allocation control device, at least one destination operation panel, each of the at least one destination operation panels being provided at a respective floor of the elevator system, and a wireless transmitter device in communication with but separate from the allocation control device, the method comprising: receiving by the wireless transmitter device an interaction via a wireless ID device; and issuing a call requiring a special transportation service response to the wireless interaction via the wireless ID device and the wireless transmitter device, whereby the wireless transmitter device is separate from the allocation control device and any destination operation panel provided at a respective floor of the elevator system, and located within a transmitter accommodation space which is physically covered by a tag carrying a symbol indicative of the special transportation service, displaying, in response to the data received from the ID device, a symbol indicative of the special transportation service required by the issued call on the tag, wherein the tag is used as an indication device for an allocated elevator.

15. Method according to claim 14, wherein the wireless transmitter device interacts within a certain mutual distance with the wireless ID device carried by a passenger, which wireless ID device is configured to transmit to the wireless transmitter device an ID which is linked with a special transportation service in the elevator system, the ID device is configured to transmit ID data and/or a call with a departure floor and destination floor to the allocation control device, in which arrangement the wireless transmitter device is located within a predefined distance from an elevator, and the elevator system comprises a memory with particular operation parameters of the elevators linked to a special transportation service request of the ID device and that the tag is realized as a display which is configured to display different symbols according to different special transportation services in response to the data received from the ID device.

16. Arrangement according to claim 2, wherein at least a part of the tag is illuminated by an illumination device and that the illumination device is operable by the elevator system when the wireless transmitter device receives data from the ID device and/or a call is allocated in response to the interaction between the wireless transmitter device and the ID device.

17. Arrangement according to claim 2, further comprising an audio device located within a predefined area around the tag, which audio device is operable by the allocation control device when the wireless transmitter device receives data from the ID device and/or a call is allocated in response to the interaction between the wireless transmitter device and the ID device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is described in detail via an example in the enclosed schematic drawing.

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an inventive elevator system,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of a transmitter device and a tag which comprises a display for displaying different symbols,

(4) FIG. 3 is a view III of FIG. 2 and

(5) FIG. 4 shows different symbols for different special transportation services.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(6) FIG. 1 shows an elevator system 10 comprising at least two elevators 12 each comprising an elevator shaft 14 in which an elevator car 16 is moving vertically. The elevator 12 is of course designed according to current regulations with several safety-related components as a drive unit, hoisting ropes, guide rails, eventually a counterweight, car doors and landing doors which are not shown in the figure. Preferably, the elevator is a traction sheave elevator, preferably a machine-room less traction sheave elevator. All elevators 12 are controlled via an elevator control 18 which is in this case an elevator group control. The elevator group control 18 comprises a memory 19 and has or is connected with an allocation control 20 which realizes all control functions with respect to the elevator call allocation in the elevator system. The allocation control 20 is connected with at least one destination operation panel 22 provided in the lobby of each floor of the elevator system 10. The destination operation panel, short DOP, comprises a display 24, destination call push buttons 26 for selecting different destination floors of the elevator system. The destination call buttons 26 can also be embodied as a decade keyboard. Furthermore, the DOP comprises a loudspeaker 28, an emergency button 30 and optionally at least one door button 32 for faster opening or closing of the car doors and landing doors. Furthermore, the allocation control 20 is connected with a transmitter device 34 which is located behind a tag 36 mounted at the wall or floor of the building in the area of the elevator lobby and/or in the elevator car. The lines in the drawing symbolize electric data and/or control lines between the corresponding components. Behind the tag 36, an illumination device 38 is located to illuminate the tag 36 in response to a special transportation service request. Furthermore, the elevator system 10 comprises ID devices 40 carried by passengers, which ID devices are for example smartphones or RFIDs or any other mobile devices which are able to get into a broadcast contact with the transmitter device 34.

(7) The invention works as follows:

(8) When the ID device 40 gets within a certain range of the transmitter device 34, the ID device 40 is initiated to send data to the transmitter device 34 which data comprise either simply ID data and/or data relating to a special service request and call data as for example the departure floor and the destination floor. With the receipt of the data from the ID device 34, the allocation control 20 controls the illumination device 38 to illuminate the tag 36 covering the transmitter device 34. Via this measure, the passenger acknowledges his special transportation service request being confirmed. Now the allocation control 20 allocates an elevator 12 and displays the number of the elevator on the display 24 of the DOP 22. Furthermore, the allocation control 20 may also indicate the allocated elevator acoustically via the loudspeaker 28 so that the passenger gets visual as well as audio information about his allocated elevator. The activation of audio indication may also be dependent on the type of specialize transportation service requested. As mentioned above, the elevator control 18 comprises a memory 19 for different operating parameters of the elevators 12. For the required special transportation service request, a corresponding set of operating parameters is read from the memory 19 and the elevator control sets the allocated elevator 12 to these particular operating parameters correlated with the required special transportation service. With the data transmitted from the ID device 40 to the transmitter device 34, the allocation control 20 also gets the departure floor and the destination floor of the requested call. Of course, in a preferred embodiment of the invention it is possible to select a different destination floor on the ID device 40. The particular operating parameters may for example relate to other transportation speed or acceleration, to different car sizes, to different load status of the elevator car. Thus, a special transportation service request given by an ID device 40 for a wheelchaired person is only allocated to an elevator car 16 having a low load status so that the interior of the car is presumably empty enough to accommodate the wheelchaired person. The operating parameters are of course also the allocation parameters of an allocation control algorithm of the allocation control 20, as e.g. riding time, waiting time etc.

(9) FIG. 2 shows the details of the transmitter device 34 and the tag 36. The transmitter device 34 comprises a housing 50 which is inserted in a wall 52 of the building and/or elevator car 16. In the housing 50, a transmitter device accommodation space 54 is provided in which a transmitter circuit 56 as well as the illumination device 38 is located. The tag 36 is covering the housing 50 to the public and comprises an LCD display 58 which is controlled by the allocation control 20. The LCD 58 display is optionally surrounded by a metal ring frame 60. The allocation control 20 is able to control the LCD display 58 to display various symbols 62, 64, 66, 68, 70 which are indicative for different special transportation services. Thus, the symbol 62 regards to a first aid service which is for example used by medicines or nurses. The symbol 64 is for an emergency ride which is for example necessary for maintenance persons, police or firefighter to get a priorized elevator ride. The symbol 66 is indicative of a wheelchaired person request whereas the symbol 68 is indicative of a blind person transportation request. At last the symbol 70 indicates a VIP transportation service which has a higher priority than other services. Of course, other special transportation services may be possible which are not listed in FIG. 4.

(10) It shall be clear that the transmitter device 34 with the tag 36 can be located in the elevator lobby as well as in the elevator car whereby it may be located on the floor as well as/or on a wall thereof.

(11) The embodiment of the drawing is not limiting the invention but the invention can be varied within the scope of the appended patent claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(12) 10 Elevator system 12 Elevator 14 Elevator car 16 Elevator shaft 18 Elevator control 19 Memory 20 Allocation control 22 Destination operation panel (DOP) 24 Display 26 call push buttons 28 Loudspeaker (audio device) 30 Emergency button 32 Door button 34 Transmitter device 36 Tag 38 Illumination device 40 ID device (Smartphone) 50 Housing of Transmitter device 52 Wall of elevator shaft and/or elevator car 54 Transmitter device accommodation space 56 Transmitter circuit 58 LCD-Display 60 Surrounding frame 62 First aid symbol 64 Emergency symbol 66 Wheelchaired person symbol 68 Blind person symbol 70 VIP symbol