Method for detecting an entry into an elevator car of an elevator system by a passenger

Abstract

A method for detecting an entry into an elevator car of an elevator system by a passenger uses a mobile device carried by the passenger. The mobile device has at least one, but in particular a plurality of sensors, with which the mobile device detects and evaluates measured values. An entry into the elevator car is then detected on the basis of comparing the measured values with at least one stored signal pattern.

Claims

1. A method for detecting an entry into an elevator car of an elevator system by a passenger comprising the steps of: detecting measured values using at least one sensor of a mobile device carried by the passenger during entry of the passenger into the elevator car, the at least one sensor being a rotational speed sensor; evaluating the detected measured values with the mobile device to detect an instant of entry of the passenger into the elevator car based on the measured values; wherein the measured values characterize movements of the passenger carrying the mobile device and represent rotational speeds; and generating information representing the instant of entry from the mobile device.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the mobile device detects and evaluates the measured values representing at least one of accelerations and magnetic fields.

3. The method according to claim 1 including deriving a movement pattern of the passenger from the measured values, comparing the movement pattern to at least one stored signal pattern, and detecting the instant of entry of the passenger into the elevator car based upon the comparison.

4. The method according to claim 1 including the mobile device detecting and evaluating characterizing activities of the elevator system using the at least one sensor.

5. A method for detecting an entry into an elevator car of an elevator system by a passenger comprising the steps of: detecting measured values using at least one sensor of a mobile device carried by the passenger during entry of the passenger into the elevator car, the measured values representing movements of the passenger, and the at least one sensor being a rotational speed sensor; evaluating the detected measured values with the mobile device to detect an instant of entry of the passenger into the elevator car based on the measured values; and generating information representing the instant of entry from the mobile device.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the mobile device detects and evaluates the measured values representing at least one of accelerations, rotational speeds and magnetic fields.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an elevator system with one passenger,

(2) FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c show time characteristics of rotational speeds during the entry of a passenger into an elevator car,

(3) FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c show time characteristics of magnetic field strengths during the entry of a passenger into an elevator car, and

(4) FIG. 4 shows a time characteristic of an acceleration in the vertical direction during a trip of an elevator car.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(5) According to FIG. 1, an elevator system 10 features an elevator car 11 that can move up and down in the vertical direction 13 within an elevator shaft 12. For this purpose, the elevator car 11 is connected to a counterweight 16 via a flexible suspension means 14 and a drive pulley 15 of a drive, not described in further detail. The drive can move the elevator car 11 and the counterweight 16 up and down in opposite directions via the drive pulley 15 and the suspension means 14. The elevator shaft 12 has three shaft openings 17a, 17b, 17c and thus three floors that are closed with shaft doors 18a, 18b, 18c. In FIG. 1 the elevator car 11 is located at the shaft opening 17a, thus on the lowest floor. If the elevator car 11 is located at a floor, meaning at one of the shaft openings 17a, 17b, 17c, the corresponding shaft door 18a, 18b, 18c together with a car door 19 may be opened and the entry into the elevator car 11 thereby made possible. To open the car door 19 and the corresponding shaft door 18a, 18b, 18c, door segments, not further described, are pushed laterally, so that there is a displacement of the door segments. The car door 19 and the corresponding shaft door 18a, 18b, 18c are actuated by a door drive 20 that is controlled by a door control unit 21. The door control unit 21 is in signal connection with an elevator control unit 22 that controls the whole elevator system 10. The elevator control unit 22 controls the drive, for example, and, thus, can move the elevator car 11 to a desired floor. It can, for example, also transmit a request to the door control unit 21 to open the car door 19 and the corresponding shaft door 18a, 18b, 18c that the door control unit 21 then executes via a corresponding control of the door drive 20.

(6) A passenger 23 who carries with him a mobile device in the form of a mobile telephone 24 stands at the lowest floor, thus in front of the shaft door 18a. The mobile telephone 24 features a plurality of sensors, of which only a microphone 25 is illustrated. The mobile telephone 24 also has three-dimensional acceleration, rotational speed and magnetic field sensors that can detect measured values in the x, y and z directions. As explained above, the measured values detected by the acceleration, rotational speed and magnetic field sensors may be easily converted into values related to the absolute x, y and z directions. All of the following statements on acceleration, rotational speed or magnetic field strength are thus based on measured values and statements about the x, y and z directions converted in this manner to the absolute x, y and z directions.

(7) Measured values detected on the basis of sensors of the mobile telephone 24 are recognized if the passenger 23 enters the elevator car 11. The mobile telephone 24 continuously detects measured values for this purpose and evaluates them. The mobile telephone 24 detects, for example, the rotational speeds about the x, y and z axes. These measured rotational speeds characterize not only movements of the mobile telephone 24, but also movements of the passenger 23. Measured values are detected continuously, and an ongoing movement pattern of the passenger 23 is created from a combination of the individual measured values of the different acceleration sensors. The measured values are thereby filtered, specifically by a low-pass filter. The indicated movement pattern thus contains in this case the characteristics of the rotational speeds about the x, y and z axes. The mobile telephone 24 compares the ongoing movement pattern thus created to stored signal patterns that are typical for a movement pattern during an entry into an elevator car 11. In order to be able to carry out the comparison, attributes in the form of averages, standard deviations and minimum/maximum values of the individual rotational speeds or time segments of the rotational speeds are specified and compared to stored values. If the differences between the attributes of the measured characteristics and the stored attributes are smaller than determinable threshold values, a sufficient match of a movement pattern with a stored signal pattern is recognized. The mobile telephone 24 concludes from this that the passenger 23 has entered the elevator car 11. The mobile telephone 24 can evaluate this information in many different ways. In this example, it switches into a measuring mode, wherein for measurements during the upcoming trip in the elevator car 11 it is ready for monitoring the elevator system 10. The measurements are thus only started at a later instant.

(8) The comparison between a measured movement pattern and a stored signal pattern and thus the recognition or classification of movement patterns can also be carried out using methods of what is termed machine learning. For example, what is termed a support vector machine, a random forest algorithm or a deep-learning algorithm may be used.

(9) The transverse accelerations in the x, y and z directions may also be taken into account, so that the movement pattern also contains the characteristics of the accelerations in the x, y and z directions.

(10) It is also possible that the mobile telephone does not just perform the detection of an entry into an elevator car to the exclusion of anything else, but also transmits the detected data to an evaluation unit. The detection of an entry into the elevator car is then carried out by the evaluation unit. As soon as an entry is recognized, the evaluation unit sends a corresponding signal to the mobile telephone.

(11) In FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c, a measured movement pattern and a stored signal pattern over time are shown, wherein in FIG. 2a the rotational speeds a about the x axis, in FIG. 2b about the y axis and in FIG. 2c about the z axis are shown. The measured rotational speeds are each represented by a solid line, and the stored rotational speeds of the signal pattern are each represented by a dashed line. The solid lines 26a, 26b, 26c thus represent the measured rotational speeds and the dashed lines 27a, 27b, 27c represent the stored rotational speeds about the x, y and z axes. The measured values are shown after smoothing.

(12) The stored signal pattern (dashed lines 27a, 27b, 27c) contains typical characteristics of rotational speeds as they appear during an entry into an elevator car. From instant t0 to instant t1, the passenger approaches the shaft door, in order to stop at instant t1 and to wait for the opening of the shaft and car doors at instant t2. Virtually no rotational speeds appear in this. After instant t2, the passenger enters the elevator car and then turns around in the direction of the car door. This reversal first of all results in a significant deflection of the rotational speed about the z axis (line 27c), wherein a brief undershooting in the opposite direction occurs at the beginning and at the end of the deflection. As is evident from FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c, the measured movement pattern (solid lines 26a, 26b, 26c) follows the stored signal pattern quite closely. The comparison of the movement pattern to stored signal patterns proceeds as described above. Based on this correspondence, the mobile telephone concludes that the passenger has entered the elevator car.

(13) Because not all people move in the same way, for example, they turn around at different speeds, and, for example, waiting times are of different lengths, the measured pattern of movement is in particular compared not just to one signal pattern, but to a whole array of slightly different signal patterns.

(14) Complementary to the rotational speeds, the accelerations in the x, y and z directions may also be considered in a comparable manner. Running in the direction of the shaft door and into the elevator car, as well as the waiting in front of and in the elevator car can thus be more easily identified.

(15) In order to make the detection of the entry into an elevator car more reliable, additional measured values detected by sensors of the mobile telephone, in particular, are evaluated. The mobile telephone 24 detects the magnetic field strengths in the x, y and z directions, in particular using the three-dimensional magnetic field sensor. The measured values thus characterize a property of the elevator system. It is very difficult to conclude from measured values at a single instant that the mobile telephone and, thus, the passenger is located in an elevator car. For this reason, a characteristic pattern is created from the time characteristics of the three field strengths, wherein the measured values are filtered, in particular via a low-pass filter. The mobile telephone 24 compares the ongoing characteristic pattern thus created to stored signal patterns that are typical for a movement pattern during an entry into an elevator car 11. If a sufficient correspondence of a movement pattern to a stored signal pattern is detected, the mobile telephone 24 concludes that the passenger 23 has entered the elevator car 11. The comparison of the movement pattern to stored signal patterns proceeds as described above.

(16) In FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c, a measured characteristic pattern and a stored signal pattern over time are described, wherein in FIG. 3a the magnetic field strength H is shown in the x direction, in FIG. 3b it is shown in the y direction and in FIG. 3c it is shown in the z direction. The measured field strengths are each represented by a solid line and the stored field strengths of the signal pattern are each represented by a dashed line. The solid lines 28a, 28b, 28c thus represent the measured field strengths and the dashed lines 29a, 29b, 29c the stored field strengths in the x, y and z directions. The measured values are shown after smoothing.

(17) The stored signal pattern (dashed lines 29a, 29b, 29c) contains typical characteristics of field strengths as they appear during an entry into an elevator car. A significant increase in the field strengths in the y and z directions can be seen from shortly before to shortly after instant t2, at which point the passenger enters the elevator car, whereas the field strengths in the x direction remain almost unchanged the whole time. The change in the field strengths is specifically attributable to the use of ferromagnetic materials in the elevator car. As is evident from FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c, the measured characteristic pattern (solid lines 28a, 28b, 28c) follows the stored signal pattern quite closely. For the mobile telephone, this match is a further indication that the passenger has entered the elevator car. The comparison of the characteristic pattern to the stored signal pattern runs analogously to the comparison of the movement pattern with the stored signal pattern described above.

(18) Because not all elevator systems have identical characteristic patterns, but instead they may vary, the measured characteristic pattern is compared not just to one signal pattern, but to a whole array of slightly different signal patterns.

(19) Furthermore, additional further measured values, such as the air pressure, the brightness, the relative humidity or a carbon dioxide content of the air may be considered.

(20) A further increase in the reliability of the detection of an entry into an elevator car, which also considers measured values that characterize an activity of the elevator system, can thereby be achieved. For example, an activity pattern may be derived from the magnetic field strengths described above that is compared to a signal pattern that is typical for the opening of the car and shaft doors. Another possibility is to derive an activity pattern from noises measured using the microphone and to compare this to the signal pattern that is typical for the opening of the car and shaft doors. As with the movement and characteristic patterns, it may be useful to compare the activity pattern to a plurality of slightly different signal patterns. An adequate match between the measured activity patterns and a stored signal pattern may in turn be evaluated as an indication that the passenger has entered into an elevator car.

(21) The mobile telephone may be designed in such a way that it already detects an entry into an elevator car if there is a single adequate match of a movement pattern, a characteristic pattern or an activity pattern with a stored signal pattern. It is also possible, however, that an entry is only detected if there are at least two, three or more matches.

(22) In order to make a detection of an entry into an elevator car more reliable, the stored signal pattern may be adjusted. Using an adjustment, the method can be specifically adapted to the behavior of the owner of the mobile telephone. To do this, the mobile telephone detects, in particular, a trip in an elevator car. This can be very reliably detected by monitoring the acceleration in the z direction and thus in the vertical direction 13. In FIG. 4, for example, a characteristic of the acceleration “a” upward in the z direction is represented by the line 30, wherein the gravitational acceleration is disregarded. The elevator car 11, and thus also the passenger 23 with his mobile telephone 24, are accelerated from the instant t4 with an almost constant acceleration. Shortly before the desired speed of the elevator car 11 is reached, the acceleration decreases in order to reach the zero line at instant t5. The elevator car 11 then travels at constant speed until instant t6 in order to then brake with a nearly constant negative acceleration until instant t7. This typical characteristic with acceleration in the vertical direction, constant travel and braking to a standstill can be easily detected in the measured values.

(23) As soon as a trip in an elevator car is detected, movement, activity and/or characteristic patterns are compared to stored signal patterns and, based on the comparison, the stored signal patterns are adapted using the methods of machine learning. In doing so, the stored signal pattern is changed in the direction of the movement, activity and/or characteristic patterns detected before the trip.

(24) Finally, it should be noted that terms such as “having,” “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 attributes or steps that have been described with reference to any one of the above embodiments may also be used in combination with other attributes or steps of other embodiments described above.

(25) 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.