METHOD AND DEVICE FOR GENERATING CONTROL DATA FOR CONTROLLING AN ELEVATOR SYSTEM BY MONITORING A THERMAL IMAGE OF AN OPERATING SURFACE

Abstract

A method for generating control data for controlling an elevator system includes the steps: Projecting or depicting an image of an operating panel on an operating surface to be visually perceived by a user; Detecting a region of the surface, touched by the user, within the image by optically monitoring the surface, then detecting whether a small-area region arises within the image with a temperature deviating from the surrounding large-area regions and with a temperature equalizing with the temperature of the surrounding regions over time; Generating the control data as a function of a position of the region touched by the user relative to the image; Transmitting the generated control data to a control device of the elevator system. The method may be implemented using a portable device carried by the user and equipped with a projector and an infrared camera thereby eliminating conventional operating panels in the elevator system.

Claims

1. A method for generating control data for controlling an elevator system (1), comprising: Projecting or depicting an image of the operating panel (27) such that it may be visually perceived by a user (15) on an operating surface (29); Detecting a region of the operating surface (29), touched by the user (15), within the image of the operating panel (27) by optically monitoring the operating surface (29), then detecting whether a small-area region (31) arises within the image of the operating panel (27) with a temperature deviating from the surrounding large-area regions (37) and with a temperature equalizing with the temperature of the surrounding regions (37) over time; Generating the control data as a function of a position of the region touched by the user (15) of the operating surface (29) relative to the image of the operating panel (27); Transmitting the generated control data to a control device (11) of the elevator system (1).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the image of the operating panel (27) is projected or depicted and the region of the operating surface (29) touched by the user (15) is detected by means of a portable device (16) to be carried by the user (15).

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the portable device (16) is a device selected from the group comprising a smart phone, a smart watch, smart glasses (17), and smart clothing.

4. The method according to any of claims 1 through 3, wherein the image of the operating panel (27) is projected or depicted on the operating surface (29).

5. The method according to any of claims 1 through 3, wherein the image of the operating panel (27) is projected directly into at least one eye of the user (15).

6. The method according to any of claims 1 through 5, wherein the control data are transmitted wirelessly to the control unit (11) of the elevator system (1).

7. A device for generating control data for controlling an elevator system (1), wherein the device is designed to implement a method according to any of claims 1 through 6.

8. The device according to claim 7, comprising: a projector (19) for projecting or depicting an image of the operating panel (27) such that it may be visually perceived by a user (15) on an operating surface (29); a spatially resolving infrared camera (21) for detecting regions of the operating surface (29), touched by the user (15), within the image of the operating panel (27) by optically monitoring the operating surface (29), then detecting whether a small-area region (31) arises within the image of the operating panel (27) with a temperature deviating from the surrounding large-area regions (37) and with a temperature equalizing with the temperature of the surrounding regions (27) over time; a central processing unit (23) for generating the control data as a function of a position of the regions touched by the user of the operating surface (29) relative to the image of the operating panel (27); a data transmission unit (25) for transmitting the generated control data to a control device (11) of the elevator system (1).

9. A method for controlling an elevator system (1), comprising: Generating control data by means of a method according to any of claims 1 through 6; Receiving the transmitted control data; Controlling the elevator system (1) based on the received control data.

10. Method according to claim 9, further comprising: Authorizing control of the elevator system (1) by receiving an authorization code.

11. A control device for controlling an elevator system, comprising: a device according to either of claim 7 or 8; a receiving unit (39) for receiving transmitted control data; and, a control unit (11) for controlling the elevator system (1) based on the received control data.

12. An elevator system (1), comprising: a control device according to claim 11, an operating surface (29), wherein the operating surface (29) has a temperature control device (35) to be able to vary, in a targeted manner, the surface temperature of the operating surface (29).

13. A computer program product that has computer readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, instruct the latter to control a method according to any of claims 1 through 6, 9, and 10.

14. The computer-readable medium, having a computer program product according to claim 13 stored thereon.

15. The use of a portable device that is equipped with a projector (19) and an infrared camera (21) for implementing a method according to any of claims 1 through 6 or a method according to either of claim 9 or 10.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0049] FIG. 1 illustrates an elevator system in which a method or a device according to one embodiment of the present invention is to be implemented.

[0050] FIG. 2 illustrates smart glasses that are embodied as a device executing an inventive method.

[0051] The drawings are only schematic and are not true to scale. Like reference signs refer in different drawings to like or analogous features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] FIG. 1 illustrates an elevator system 1 in which a method and a device 2 are implemented for generating control data for controlling the elevator system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The elevator system 1 has a car 3 that is suspended from suspension means 5, for example in the form of cables or belts, and may be moved vertically within an elevator shaft 9 via a drive 7. The drive 7 is appropriately controlled by a control unit 11 in order, for instance, to move the car 3 to a desired floor 13 within a building.

[0053] Conventionally, provided in the elevator car 3 is a car operating panel (COP) on which a user 15 may input a transport request, for instance by pressing buttons. A user 15 waiting on a floor 13 may indicate coming of the elevator car 3 by appropriately actuating a button on a landing operating panel (LOP).

[0054] In order to be able to avoid separately providing and installing such LOPs and COPs, and thus the associated production and installation costs, it is suggested that the functions of an LOP and COP be assumed by a type of virtual operating panel.

[0055] In this context, it is assumed that in the future users of an elevator system 1 will normally have their own portable devices that can assume, emulate, and/or virtualize such functions of an LOP or COP. Such portable devices to be carried by a user may be so-called wearables, such as for instance, a smart phone, a smart watch, smart glasses 17, or a smart article of clothing.

[0056] For example, FIG. 2 depicts a portable device 16 in the form of smart glasses 17. The smart glasses 17 may be worn on the face of a user like conventional glasses, and may also be used to correct vision and/or provide protection against the sun, like conventional glasses. In addition, the smart glasses 17 have a projector 19, a spatially and temporally resolving infrared camera 21, a central processing unit 23, and a data transmission unit 25. Using modern microelectronics, all of these components may be embodied with a very small installation space and thus integrated into eyeglasses 17.

[0057] The projector 19 may have, for example, a controllable light source, for instance in the form of one or more light-emitting diodes (LED) and/or a projection display, for instance in the form of a liquid crystal display (LCD), so that spatially resolved images may be projected onto a surface disposed in front of the eyeglasses 17 using the projector 19.

[0058] Alternatively, the projector 19 may be embodied for projecting images directly into an eye of the user 15.

[0059] The spatially-resolving infrared camera 21 may be designed, for instance using a CCD chip or a thermocolumn array, to record infrared images of a surface disposed before the eyeglasses 17 and to convert said images to a sequence of electrical signals.

[0060] The central processing unit 23 may have a central data processing unit (CPU) as well as data storage units in order to be able to control, for example, the projector 19, on the one hand, and/or to be able to process and analyze the image data supplied by the infrared camera 21, on the other hand.

[0061] Correspondingly further-processed data and signals may finally be transmitted, for instance wirelessly, to other equipment, such as for instance a receiver unit 39 of the elevator system 1, using the data transmitting unit 25.

[0062] In order to be able to emulate the task of generating control data for controlling the elevator system 1, a task previously assumed by a COP or LOP, according to one inventive method an image of an operating panel 27 may be projected such that it is visually perceived by, that is, seen by, a user 15 of the elevator system 1 on an operating surface 29. The image of the operating panel 27 may be projected directly onto the operating surface 29 using the projector 21, or alternatively, may be projected into an eye of the user 15 such that the latter sees the image on the operating surface 29.

[0063] The projector 21 may be a part of a portable device 16 to be carried by the user 15, that is, for instance, part of the smart glasses 17. Alternatively, the projector 21 may also be provided as a component of the elevator system 1, and, for instance, may be securely mounted in the elevator car 3 or in a region on the floor 13 near an elevator door.

[0064] The user 15 that wants to control the elevator system 1 may see on the operating surface 29 the image of the operating panel 27 displayed visually for him and, similar to a conventional COP or LOP, may detect small-area surfaces 31 that may optically represent conventional control buttons. As for conventional operating panels, the user 15 may touch such small-area regions 31 with his hand 33 and thus actuate the virtual operating panel 21 in a quasi-conventional manner. However, in this case it is not actual structurally provided buttons that are actuated, but instead regions on a surface that is not otherwise specially prepared for this is touched in or on the elevator system 1.

[0065] Because they are touched within the image of the operating panel 27, these small-area regions 31 heat up in a typical manner, however, since the hand 33 of the user 15 is normally warmer than, for instance, a wall of the elevator car 3 acting as the operating surface 29. In special cases, the operating surface 29 could also be warmer than the hand 33 of the user 15, so that the small-area regions 31 are locally cooled when touched by the hand 33 of the user 15.

[0066] In order to be able to influence the surface temperature of the operating surface 29 in a targeted manner, a temperature control device 35 may be provided with which the operating surface 29 may be cooled or heated. The temperature control device 35 may thus keep the operating surface 29 homogeneously at a prespecifiable temperature across as much surface area as possible.

[0067] In order now to detect which of the actuating button-like small-area regions 31 the user has touched 15 to thereby indicate in particular desired transport by the elevator system 1, the operating surface 29 is optically monitored to determine whether, within the image of the operating panel 27, one of these small-area regions 31 has a temperature deviating from surrounding large-area regions 37. If this is the case, this may be assessed as a first indication that this small-area region 31 was previously touched by the user 15.

[0068] As an additional indication, it may be monitored whether the temperature of this small-area region 31 equalizes with the temperature of the surrounding area 37 over time. If this is not the case, it may be assumed that the locally increased temperature was probably not caused by the user 15 having touched it previously, but rather by other effects.

[0069] Overall, using the described optical monitoring of the operating surface 27 it may be detected, with high reliability, whether and where the user 15 touched the operating surface 29. Then the control data for the elevator system 1 are generated as a function of an analysis of the position of the region 31 touched by the user 15 of the operating surface 29 relative to the image of the operating panel 27.

[0070] These control data may finally then be transmitted to the control unit 11 of the elevator system 1. To this end, the control unit 11 may be connected to the receiver unit 39, which is designed to receive, for instance wirelessly, the generated control data transmitted by the data transmission unit 25 of the portable device 16.

[0071] Based on the control data received in this manner, the control unit 11 may then appropriately control the elevator car, that is, in particular, the drive 7, to move the elevator car 3 to a desired position, for example.

[0072] Finally, it should be noted that terms such as comprising and the like do not preclude other elements or steps, and terms such as a or one do not preclude a plurality. Furthermore, it should be noted that features or steps that have been described with reference to one of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with other features or steps of other embodiments described above.

[0073] In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, the present invention has been described in what is considered to represent its preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0074] 1 Elevator system [0075] 2 Device for generating control data [0076] 3 Elevator car [0077] 5 Support means [0078] 7 Drive [0079] 9 Elevator shaft [0080] 11 Control unit [0081] 13 Floor [0082] 15 User [0083] 16 Portable device [0084] 17 Eyeglasses [0085] 19 Projector [0086] 21 Infrared camera [0087] 23 Central processing unit [0088] 25 Data transmission unit [0089] 27 Image of the operating panel [0090] 29 Operating surface [0091] 31 Small-area region [0092] 33 Hand [0093] 35 Temperature control device [0094] 37 Surrounding region [0095] 39 Receiving unit