CALL-GIVING DEVICE, ELEVATOR SYSTEM, METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

• US 20150246790A1
• Filed: 05/11/2015
• Published: 09/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kone Corporation
• Inventors: HILTUNEN, Jussi, SALONEN, Tommi, BERGMAN, Kim, PARKKINEN, Jarmo
• Granted Patent: US 9,994,422 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/2408 where the allocation of a call to an elevator car is of importance, i.e. by means of a supervisory or group controller
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/2458 For elevator systems with multiple shafts and a single car per shaft
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/3415 Control system configuration and the data transmission or communication within the control system
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/461 characterised by their shape or profile
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/463 Touch sensitive input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/468 Call registering systems
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 2201/4615 Wherein the destination is registered before boarding
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 2201/463 Wherein the call is registered through physical contact with the elevator system
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 2201/4653 wherein the call is registered using portable devices

Abstract

A destination call-giving device for giving destination calls in an elevator system includes a device available to a user for selecting a destination floor from a plurality of floors that are in a certain sequence, and an output for communicating the selected destination floor to the control system of the elevator system. The device for selecting a destination floor includes a touch-sensitive display forming a user interface for presenting to the user information related to the selection of a destination floor and for receiving the input of the user. The destination floor is arranged to be selectable by the user from the aforementioned plurality of floors by moving a touch-sensitive point on a touch-sensitive display. An elevator system, a method for giving a destination call, and a computer program product are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A destination call-giving device for giving destination calls in an elevator system, said destination call-giving device comprises comprising:

a device available to a user for selecting a destination floor from a plurality of floors that are in a certain sequence; and

an output for communicating the selected destination floor to the control system of the elevator system,

wherein the device for selecting a destination floor comprises a touch-sensitive display forming a user interface for presenting to the user information related to the selection of a destination floor and for receiving the input of the user, and wherein the destination floor is arranged to be selectable by the user from the plurality of floors by moving a touch-sensitive point on a touch-sensitive display.

2. The destination call-giving device according to claim 1, wherein the device for selecting a destination floor is arranged to detect the movement of a touch-sensitive point on a touch-sensitive display, and to change the selected destination floor on the basis of the movement of the touch-sensitive point.

3. The destination call-giving device according to claim 1, wherein the device for selecting a destination floor comprises a processing unit in data transfer connection with a touch-sensitive display for processing a touch signal received from the touch-sensitive display and for executing program commands, which processing unit comprises a processor, which can be brought into data transfer connection with a memory, which is comprised in the processing unit or is separate from the processing unit and stores program commands and/or information relating to the floor plurality.

4. The destination call-giving device according to claim 1, wherein the device for selecting a destination floor is arranged to present on a touch-sensitive display a sliding indicator to be moved in a first and a second direction, said directions being opposite to each other, which sliding indicator can be moved with the movement of a touch-sensitive point.

5. The destination call-giving device according to claim 1, wherein the device for selecting a destination floor is arranged to present on a touch-sensitive display a sliding indicator to be moved in a first and a second direction, said directions being opposite to each other, and to detect a touch at the point of the sliding indicator, and to detect the movement of a touch-sensitive point on a touch-sensitive display, and to change the selected destination floor and the position of the sliding indicator on the touch-sensitive display on the basis of the movement of the touch-sensitive point.

6. The destination call-giving device according to claim 5, wherein the sliding indicator has a limited range of movement on the touch-sensitive display, which range of movement has a first end and a second end, and the position of the sliding indicator at the first end of the range of movement corresponds to the selection of the topmost floor of the floor plurality, and the position of the sliding indicator at the second end of the range of movement corresponds to the selection of the bottommost floor of the floor plurality.

7. The destination call-giving device according to claim 5, wherein the range of movement of the sliding indicator covers the position of the sliding indicator for each (every) floor of the floor plurality.

8. The destination call-giving device according to claim 1, wherein the moving of the touch-sensitive point on the touch-sensitive display in the first direction is arranged to change the selected destination floor in sequence in a first direction and the moving of the touch-sensitive point on the touch-sensitive display in the second direction is arranged to change the selected destination floor in sequence in a second direction.

9. The destination call-giving device according to claim 1, wherein the destination call-giving device is a portable destination call-giving device, or a destination call-giving device permanently installed into its position in the proximity of the elevator.

10. The destination call-giving device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of floors that are in a certain sequence, from which the destination floor is arranged to be selectable, is arranged to be presented to the user as a series on a touch-sensitive display, which series is arranged to be browseable by moving the touch-sensitive point on the touch-sensitive display.

11. The destination call-giving device according to claim 1, wherein the selected destination floor is arranged to be presented to the user on a touch-sensitive display.

12. An elevator system comprising:

one or more elevator cars; and

a control system, which is arranged to control the one or more elevator cars on the basis of destination calls of a destination call-giving device communicating with the control system, which destination call-giving device is according to claim 1.

13. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the control system is arranged to allocate an elevator car in response to a destination call received from the destination call-giving device, and to communicate to the destination call-giving device the allocated elevator car, and the destination call-giving device is arranged to identify for the user the allocated elevator car with the touch-sensitive display.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the sliding indicator is presented to the user on a touch-sensitive display and the selected destination floor and the position of the sliding indicator on the touch-sensitive display are changed on the basis of the movement of the touch-sensitive point.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the position of the sliding indicator on the touch-sensitive displayer is changed in a limited range of movement of the sliding indicator, which range of movement has a first end and a second end, and the position of the sliding indicator at the first end of the range of movement corresponds to the selection of the topmost floor of the floor plurality, and the position of the sliding indicator at the second end of the range of movement corresponds to the selection of the bottommost floor of the floor plurality.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein a response signal to the destination call signal sent to it earlier is received from the control system of the elevator system, which response signal contains information identifying the elevator car, and the information identifying the elevator car is presented to the user on the touch-sensitive display.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selected destination floor is changed in the first direction in sequence within the plurality in response to the moving of the touch-sensitive point in a first direction on the touch-sensitive display and the selected destination floor is changed in the second direction in sequence in response to the moving of the touch-sensitive point in a second direction on the touch-sensitive display.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selected destination floor is changed within the plurality on the basis of at least the movement distance and movement direction of the touch-sensitive point and also on the basis of the speed of the movement of the touch-sensitive point.

20. A computer program product, which comprises program commands, which bring a computer provided with a touch-sensitive display and an output to perform a method according to claim 1, when the program commands are run in the computer, which is arranged to communicate via the output with the control system of the elevator system.

14. A method for giving a destination call to the control system of an elevator system, in which method a destination floor is selected from a plurality of floors that are in a certain sequence, said method comprising the steps of:

presenting the selected destination floor to the user on a touch-sensitive display;

detecting the moving of a touch-sensitive point on the touch-sensitive display;

changing the selected destination floor on the basis of the movement of the touch-sensitive point; and

sending a signal containing information identifying the selected destination floor to the control system of the elevator system.