Generating destination calls for elevator system

Abstract

A method and system for generating automatic destination calls for an elevator system, in which system is a revolving door. A passenger approaching the revolving door or in a door sector of the revolving door is identified, a destination call to the home floor of the passenger is generated and the elevator serving the passenger is announced at the revolving door.

Claims

1. A method for generating automatic destination calls for an elevator system, the elevator system comprising a plurality of elevators, a control system of the elevator system, an identification device configured to identify passengers, and a revolving door comprising at least one door sector, in connection with which door sector are information means for notifying an information device configured to notify messages to a passenger in a door sector, said method comprising the steps of: identifying a passenger approaching the revolving door and/or a passenger in a door sector; determining the home floor of the passenger on the basis of the identification; automatically generating a destination call to the home floor; allocating an elevator to the passenger for taking the passenger to the home floor; identifying the door sector in which the passenger is located; notifying the passenger of the elevator serving him/her and/or other personal information with the identification device that is in connection with the door sector.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a passenger is identified from an electrical identifier that is in the possession of the passenger.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a passenger is identified from a video image.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: checking the access rights of a passenger on the basis of the identification; and preventing the generation of a destination call and/or preventing the use of the revolving door at least momentarily, if the passenger does not have a valid access right.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: using remote identification for identifying a passenger approaching the revolving door; and monitoring the door sector to which the identified passenger goes for identifying the door sector.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of identifying a passenger when the passenger is in the entry sector of the revolving door.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: collecting statistical data about the destination calls of a passenger; and determining the home floor of the passenger on the basis of the collected statistical data.

8. A system for giving destination calls to an elevator system, comprising: a plurality of elevators; a control system of the elevator system, which control system is arranged to allocate to each passenger an elevator from the elevator system; a revolving door comprising at least one door sector, in connection with which are an information device; a back-end system, in connection with which are an identification device configured to identify a passenger approaching the revolving door and/or in the entry sector of the revolving door; and a device configured to identify the door sector into which the identified passenger goes and/or in which the passenger located, wherein the system determines the home floor of the passenger on the basis of the identification, automatically generates a destination call to the home floor, allocates an elevator to the passenger for taking the passenger to the home floor, and notifies to the passenger in the door sector the elevator allocated to him/her and/or other personal information with the information device that is in connection with the identified door sector.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein: the identification device is arranged to read the identification data contained in an identifier in the possession of a passenger.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein the identification device utilizes biometric identification for identifying a passenger.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system is arranged to check the access rights of a passenger and to prevent the generation of a destination call and/or at least momentarily the use of the revolving door if the passenger does not have a valid access right.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the identification device is arranged to identify a passenger approaching the revolving door.

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the identification device is arranged to identify a passenger in the entry sector of the revolving door.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system comprises a memory, in which the system is arranged to collect statistical data about the elevator journeys made by identified passengers and to deduce the home floor of each passenger on the basis of the aforementioned statistical data.

15. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an interface, via which passenger-specific messages can be recorded in the system for presenting with the information device.

16. The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: checking the access rights of a passenger on the basis of the identification; and preventing the generation of a destination call and/or preventing the use of the revolving door at least momentarily, if the passenger does not have a valid access right.

17. The method according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: checking the access rights of a passenger on the basis of the identification; and preventing the generation of a destination call and/or preventing the use of the revolving door at least momentarily, if the passenger does not have a valid access right.

18. The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: using remote identification for identifying a passenger approaching the revolving door; and monitoring the door sector to which the identified passenger goes for identifying the door sector.

19. The method according to claim 3, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: using remote identification for identifying a passenger approaching the revolving door; and monitoring the door sector to which the identified passenger goes for identifying the door sector.

20. The method according to claim 4, wherein the method further comprises the steps of: using remote identification for identifying a passenger approaching the revolving door; and monitoring the door sector to which the identified passenger goes for identifying the door sector.

Description

LIST OF FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1 presents one embodiment of the system according to the present invention;

(2) FIG. 2 presents a more detailed view of the revolving door of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(3) FIG. 1 presents one system according to the invention. The system comprises an elevator system that is in a building 100, which elevator system comprises elevators A, B and C and also a control system 110 controlling the elevator system. The system also comprises a back-end system 120 for access control as well as a revolving door 130, via which people arriving in the building have access to the entrance lobby 101 of the building. As can be seen from FIG. 2, in connection with the revolving door 130 is an actuator 131, by controlling which the revolving door can be made to rotate counterclockwise in such a way that passenger traffic coming into the building can use the side marked with the arrow IN and passenger traffic leaving the building the side marked with the arrow OUT. The actuator 131 also comprises an angle sensor, from which the back-end system receives information about which door sectors are at the point of the entry sector 135 at any given time. Marked in FIG. 1 with the reference number 160 is a device bus, to which devices belonging to the system, such as e.g. identification means 140, 142, monitoring means 141, then actuator 131 of the revolving door, information means 134, 134A can be connected.

(4) The revolving door 130 comprises four door sectors 132, which are separated from each other by the door panels 133 of the revolving door. In each door sector are information means 134, by the aid of which messages, e.g. which elevator is serving the passenger, the location of the elevator and/or other personal messages, can be transmitted to a person in each door sector 132. The door sectors 132 rotate in synchronization in relation to each other when the actuator 131 rotates the door panels 133. In FIG. 1 marked with dashed lines is a so-called entry sector with the reference number 135, which does not rotate as the door sectors do but instead is an area inside the revolving door, via which a passenger must go when he/she tries to enter the entrance lobby of the building. Correspondingly, marked with dashed lines in FIG. 1 is a so-called exit sector 136, which is an area inside the revolving door, via which people leaving the building must go.

(5) Marked in FIG. 2 with the reference number 140 are identification means, by the aid of which a person/passenger 170 entering the building can be identified by reading the electrical identifier, e.g. a remotely-readable RFID identifier 171, that is in his/her possession. The identification data (ID) contained in the identifier is conveyed from the identification means 140 to the back-end system 120. The back-end system checks whether the person identified by the ID has an access right to the building. If the access right is valid, the back-end system searches from the memory 121 of the back-end system the destination floor corresponding to the ID (the home floor of the person) and on the basis of it sends a destination call to the control system 110. The control system allocates an elevator to the passenger 170 arriving at the building and transmits information about the serving elevator A, B or C to the back-end system 120. The back-end system sends to the actuator 131 a start command, in which case the door panels/door sectors of the revolving door start to rotate. When a passenger goes into some door sector 132 of the revolving door, the back-end system notifies, with the information means 134 of the door sector in question, which elevator the passenger should use to get to his/her home floor. For example, if the message is Floor 9, elevator A, the passenger knows that he/she will get from the entrance lobby to floor 9 with the elevator A.

(6) Personal messages intended for arriving passengers can also be recorded in the memory 121 of the back-end system via an interface 122, which messages are notified to each passenger with the information means 132 that are in the door sector used by the passenger.

(7) For example, a passenger can be requested to go to conference room 9R with the message Conference room 9R, elevator A. The message can also be of the type that it changes the destination floor of the automatic destination call or prevents the automatic destination call altogether. For example, if a colleague of the person is waiting in a caf on floor 10, the colleague can record in the memory 121 of the back-end system a message indicating this. When the person arrives in the building, the system orders an elevator to floor 10 for the person and informs him/her of this with the information means in the door sector, e.g. with the message NN is waiting in the caf on floor 10, elevator A. The back-end system can also prevent the giving of a destination call on the basis of a message recorded in the memory 121 of the back-end system. If a person e.g. does not have a right of access to the building the back-end system does not generate an automatic destination call but instead guides the person arriving to the reception desk of the entrance lobby by announcing with the information means e.g. Contact reception.

(8) So that a person arriving in the building can in the door sector be given messages intended just for him/her, the back-end system 120 must know who is in which door sector 132. If identification of a passenger occurs as remote identification outside the revolving door 130, as in FIG. 2, connected to the system can be monitoring means 141, e.g. a camera system, by the aid of which the back-end system can monitor on the basis of the ID into which door sector an identified person goes. Alternatively, identification of a passenger can be performed in the revolving door by providing the revolving door with identification means 142, which read an RFID identifier in the possession, e.g. in a pocket, of the person in the entry sector 135. In this latter embodiment, the back-end system 120 knows immediately, on the basis of the moment of identification, in which door sector the person is, in which case the aforementioned monitoring means 141 are not needed in the system.

(9) In FIG. 2 the actuator 131 is connected to the back-end system via a device bus 160. When the back-end system has identified a person approaching the revolving door and verified that his/her access right(s) is/are valid, the back-end system sends to the actuator 131 a start command, making the revolving door rotate. If the person does not have a valid access right, the back-end system can stop/lock the revolving door by controlling the actuator 131. Alternatively the revolving door can be provided with a proximity sensor 143, on the basis of the signal given by which the actuator 131 is always controlled on when someone approaches the revolving door 130. All persons thus have access to the entrance lobby of the building but the back-end system orders an elevator only for identified persons.

(10) The identification of a passenger can be based on any identification technology whatsoever that is suited to the purpose, such as e.g. the aforementioned RFID technology, NFC technology, Bluetooth technology or identification technologies occurring from a video image. Preferably the identification occurs as remote identification without manual operations but also identification technologies in which a passenger manually takes his/her identifier to an identification device can be applied in the present invention. In manual identification e.g. a reader device can be arranged in front of the revolving door, to which reader device an arriving passenger takes his/her identifier so that the ID contained in it can be read and transmitted to the back-end system.

(11) The information means that are in connection with the revolving door can be any visual and/or auditory information means whatsoever. In FIG. 2 display devices 134 are integrated into the door panels (into the door sectors) of the revolving door and sound reproduction devices 134A into the roof of the revolving door at the point of the entry sector. Since the sound reproduction devices are disposed on the roof of the revolving door, only one set of sound reproduction devices is needed in a revolving door. Conventional panel displays or transparent display elements integrated into the door panels, for example, can be used as display devices.

(12) As presented above, the home floor of each passenger, to which floor he/she will probably travel and on the basis of which an automatic destination call is generated, is recorded in the back-end system 120. The home floor can be recorded in the memory 121 e.g.

(13) manually or the system collects statistical data about the elevator journeys made by each passenger and deduces the home floor on the basis of the statistical data collected. For collecting statistical data the elevator system can be provided with identification means for identifying passengers e.g. in the elevator cars and/or in the elevator lobbies (not presented in the figures). Also the access control can be improved by disposing identification means in the elevator cars and by observing to which floors passengers go.

(14) The invention is not only limited to be applied to the embodiments described above, but instead many variations are possible within the scope of the inventive concept defined by the claims. Thus, for example, the revolving door does not need to be the entrance door of the building, but instead it can be anywhere whatsoever inside the building separating two spaces from each other. The system can also have more than one revolving door that passengers can use. The invention can be applied to exiting passenger traffic in addition to incoming passenger traffic. It is also obvious to the person skilled in the art that the control system of the elevator system can comprise a number of control units and/or the back-end system of the access monitoring is integrated into the control system of the elevator system.