Route planning on the basis of expected passenger number

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12297073-B2
Application number	US-201816955327-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2018
Priority date	Dec 21, 2017
Publication date	May 13, 2025
Grant date	May 13, 2025

Abstract

In an elevator System with a destination call control device, a first destination call being input on a floor by a first passenger at a first point in time is evaluated in order to determine first call information comprising data on a call input floor and/or a destination floor. The first call information determines if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call resulting in an additional space requirement in an elevator car handling the first destination call. Information on the additional space requirement is generated if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call. If this is the case, the first destination call is allocated with the aid of an allocation algorithm by using information on the additional space requirement in order to transport the first passenger from the call input floor to the destination floor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for operating an elevator system in a building, wherein the elevator system comprises a destination call control device and an elevator car, which can travel between floors of the building and has a defined passenger capacity, the method comprising:
evaluating a first destination call being input on a floor by a first passenger at a first point in time in order to determine first call information from the first destination call, wherein the first call information contains data on a call input floor or a destination floor;
using the first call information for determining if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call, wherein the number of additional passengers results in an additional space requirement in an elevator car handling the first destination call;
generating information on the additional space requirement if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call; and
if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call, allocating the first destination call with the aid of an allocation algorithm by using information on the additional space requirement in order to transport the first passenger from the call input floor to the destination floor,
wherein the space requirement of the first passenger is increased by the space requirement of the additional passengers and the resulting overall space requirement is fed to the allocation algorithm in order to allocate the first destination call.

2. The method according to claim 1 , in which the determination if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call comprises
accessing a database, in which a plurality of datasets can be stored, wherein a dataset has predefined data fields that describe a call situation, and wherein a first data field indicates the call input floor, a second data field indicates a time window, a third data field indicates the destination floor and a fourth data field indicates the number of additional passengers for the call situation described in the dataset, and
determining if the first destination call corresponds to a call situation stored in the database.

3. The method according to claim 2 , in which the generation of information on the additional space requirement comprises reading the fourth data field in order to determine the number of additional passengers.

4. A method for operating an elevator system in a building, wherein the elevator system comprises a destination call control device and an elevator car, which can travel between floors of the building and has a defined passenger capacity, the method comprising:
evaluating a first destination call being input on a floor by a first passenger at a first point in time in order to determine first call information from the first destination call, wherein the first call information contains data on a call input floor or a destination floor;
using the first call information for determining if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call, wherein the number of additional passengers results in an additional space requirement in an elevator car handling the first destination call;
generating information on the additional space requirement if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call; and
if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call, allocating the first destination call with the aid of an allocation algorithm by using information on the additional space requirement in order to transport the first passenger from the call input floor to the destination floor, wherein the information on the additional space requirement is kept separate of the first destination call and both are fed to the allocation algorithm separately in order to allocate the first destination call.

5. The method according to claim 4 , in which the allocation of destination calls is, if a number of destination calls essentially are input by different passengers at the first point in time, based on a space requirement that, for one passenger per destination call, results from the number of destination calls and a maximum number of additional passengers, wherein a number of additional passengers is determined for each destination call and the destination call, to which the maximum number of additional passengers is assigned, is determined thereof.

6. The method according to claim 4 , in which the allocation of destination calls is, if a number of destination calls essentially are input by different passengers at the first point in time, based on a space requirement that, for one passenger per destination call, results from the number of destination calls and a maximum number of additional passengers, wherein a number of additional passengers is determined for each destination call and each floor and a maximum value of the additional space requirement per floor is determined thereof, and wherein the resulting maximum values are added.

7. An elevator control system for controlling an elevator system including an elevator car, the elevator control system comprising:
a destination call control device that is configured to:
evaluate a first destination call being input on a floor by a first passenger at a first point in time in order to determine first call information from the first destination call, wherein the first call information contains data on a call input floor or a destination floor;
use the first call information for determining if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call, wherein the number of additional passengers results in an additional space requirement in an elevator car handling the first destination call;
generate information on the additional space requirement if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call;
if a number of additional passengers are to be assigned to the first destination call, allocate the first destination call with the aid of an allocation algorithm by using information on the additional space requirement in order to transport the first passenger from the call input floor to the destination floor, and
to increase the space requirement of the first passenger by the space requirement of the additional passengers and to feed the resulting overall space requirement to the allocation algorithm in order to allocate the first destination call.

8. The elevator control system according to claim 7 , further comprising a storage device, in which a database containing a plurality of datasets is stored, wherein each dataset has predefined data fields that describe a call situation, and wherein a first data field indicates the call input floor, a second data field indicates a time window, a third data field indicates the destination floor and a fourth data field indicates the number of additional passengers for the call situation described in the dataset.

9. The elevator control system according to claim 8 , further comprising a sensor system that is linked to the destination call control device and the storage device, wherein the sensor system determines information on a number of passengers, who board the elevator car on a floor.

10. The elevator control system according to claim 9 , in which the sensor system comprises sensors that are arranged on the floors and linked to the destination call control device and the storage device via a line.

11. The elevator control system according to claim 10 , wherein a sensor of the sensor system comprises a camera and the sensor system is configured for determining the numb

Assignees

• Inventio Ag

Inventors

• Finschi Lukas

Classifications

• B66B2201/463

  Wherein the call is registered through physical contact with the elevator system · CPC title

• B66B2201/4615

  Wherein the destination is registered before boarding · CPC title

• B66B2201/23

  Other aspects of the evaluation method · CPC title

• B66B2201/222

  Taking into account the number of passengers present in the elevator car to be allocated · CPC title

• B66B2201/103

  Destination call input before entering the elevator car · CPC title