ELEVATOR GROUP CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20120055742A1
• Filed: 08/17/2011
• Published: 03/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Elevator Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Elevator Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: TAKEDA, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,794,388 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 187/382
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/2458 For elevator systems with multiple shafts and a single car per shaft
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 2201/102 Up or down call input
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 2201/211 Waiting time, i.e. response time
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 2201/216 Energy consumption
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 2201/222 Taking into account the number of passengers present in the elevator car to be allocated
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 2201/235 Taking into account predicted future events, e.g. predicted future call inputs
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 2201/243 Distribution of elevator cars, e.g. based on expected future need
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 50/00 Energy efficient technologies in elevators, escalators and moving walkways, e.g. energy saving or recuperation technologies

Abstract

According to one embodiment, an elevator group control apparatus performs group control of operations of cars. The apparatus includes a power consumption calculation unit that calculates power consumption when each of the cars is run according to the operation curve on the basis of object data stored in the object data storage unit and an operation curve created by the operation curve creation unit, a distributed waiting controller that sets a car in a waiting state among the cars as a distributed waiting target car and outputs a distributed waiting instruction to move the target car to a distributed waiting floor, and a distribution instruction controller that obtains, from the power consumption calculation unit, power consumption when the distributed waiting target car is moved to the distributed waiting floor and, on the basis of the power consumption, permits or inhibits a distributed waiting instruction output from the distributed waiting controller.

Claims

1. An elevator group control apparatus that performs group control of operations of a plurality of cars, the elevator group control apparatus comprising:

an object data storage unit that stores a unique parameter as object data for each object with regard to a building and an elevator;

an operation curve creation unit that creates an operation curve indicating a future operational situation on the basis of call entry information for each of the cars;

a power consumption calculation unit that calculates power consumption when each of the cars is run according to the operation curve on the basis of object data stored in the object data storage unit and an operation curve created by the operation curve creation unit;

a distributed waiting controller that sets a car in a waiting state among the cars as a distributed waiting target car and outputs a distributed waiting instruction to move the target car to a distributed waiting floor; and

a distribution instruction controller that obtains, from the power consumption calculation unit, power consumption when the distributed waiting target car is moved to the distributed waiting floor and, on the basis of the power consumption, permits or inhibits a distributed waiting instruction output from the distributed waiting controller.

2. The elevator group control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distribution instruction controller permits the distributed waiting instruction if electric energy corresponding to an integral of power consumption with respect to time, when the distributed waiting target car is moved to the distributed waiting floor, is less than a first reference value previously set.

3. The elevator group control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distribution instruction controller permits or inhibits the distributed waiting instruction on the basis of power consumption of the distributed waiting target car and the other cars, taking into account the operational situations of the other cars during the movement of the distributed waiting target car.

4. The elevator group control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the distribution instruction controller permits the distributed waiting instruction if a time average value of electric energy obtained by adding electric energy corresponding to an integral of power consumption with respect to time, when the distributed waiting target car is moved to the distributed waiting floor, to electric energy corresponding to an integral of power consumption with respect to time, when other cars are moved in the meantime, is less than a first reference value previously set.

5. The elevator group control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the distribution instruction controller permits the distributed waiting instruction if a peak value of power consumption of the distributed waiting target car and the other cars is less than a second reference value previously set.

6. The elevator group control apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an operational situation monitor that monitors an operation curve created by the operation curve creation unit and requests the power consumption calculation unit to recalculate power consumption when the operational situation of one other car has changed while the distributed waiting target car is moving to the distributed waiting floor,

wherein the distribution instruction controller controls the movement of the distributed waiting target car to the distributed waiting floor on the basis of power consumption recalculated by the power consumption calculation unit.

7. The elevator group control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the distribution instruction controller interrupts the movement of the distributed waiting target car to the distributed waiting floor when the peak value of power consumption of the distributed waiting target car and the other cars recalculated by the power consumption calculation unit is not less than a third reference value previously set.

8. The elevator group control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a power reference value change unit that changes a reference value for the distribution instruction controller to determine whether to perform distributed waiting.

9. The elevator group control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a distributed waiting floor selector that, when there are a plurality of candidates for distributed waiting floors, selects a distributed waiting floor to which the distributed waiting target car is to be moved on the basis of power consumption due to the movement of the distributed waiting target car to each of the candidates and outputs a selection result to the distributed waiting controller.

10. The elevator group control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a distributed waiting car selector that, when there are a plurality of candidates for distributed waiting target cars, selects a distributed waiting target car to be moved to the distributed waiting floor on the basis of power consumption due to the movement of each of the candidates to the distributed waiting floor and outputs a selection result to the distributed waiting controller.