Communications control system for elevators

• US 6,467,583 B1
• Filed: 11/05/2001
• Issued: 10/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Nobukazu, Koura, Kunikazu, Tatsumi, Shougo
• Primary Examiner(s): Salata, Jonathan
• Application Number:
  US09/959,680
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 187/247, 187/248, 187/277, 187/380, 187/382, 187/384, 187/385, 187/387, 187/388, 187/391, 187/373, 700/3, 700/20, 700/21, 700/27, 340/3.1, 340/3.5, 340/3.52, 340/7.46, 340/7.47, 709/208, 709/209, 709/211, 709/203, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/238, 709/245, 710/110
• US Class Current: 187/247
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/3423 Control system configuration, i.e. lay-out
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 1/3438 Master-slave control system configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/403 with centralised control, e.g. polling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/4026 Bus for use in automation systems

Abstract

A communications control system for elevators with control units inter-connected via a network and each control unit receives its own logical destination from an external location. The elevator communications control system includes a first control unit for detecting an initialized state of the network and operating as a network master node governing synchronization control among the control units when the first control unit is the first to send out, to the network, a network master node candidate request having a logical destination of the first control unit attached; and a second control unit for operating as a sub-node obeying the network master node when the initialized state of the network is not detected.

Claims

1. A communications control system for elevators, in which a plurality of control units are inter-connected via a network and each control unit receives its own logical destination from an external location, the system comprising:

a first control unit for detecting an initialized state of the network and operating as a network master node governing synchronization control among the plurality of control units when the first control unit is the first to send out, to the network, a network master node candidate request having a logical destination of the first control unit attached thereto; and

a second control unit for operating as a sub-node obeying the network master node when the initialized state of the network is not detected.

2. The communications control system for elevators according to claim 1, wherein, when the first control unit detects the network master node candidate request command from a third control unit, if its own logical destination and the logical destination attached to the network master node candidate request command from the third control unit conform to specified conditions, the first control unit operates as a network master node and, if the specified conditions are not met, the first control unit operates as a sub-node.

3. The communications control system for elevators according to claim 2, wherein, when a fourth control unit operating as a sub-node detects that the network master node is failing, if the fourth control unit operating as the sub-node is the first to send out, to the network, a network master node candidate request command having the logical destination of the fourth control unit attached thereto, the fourth control unit operates as the network master node governing the synchronization controls among the plurality of control units.

4. The communications control system for elevators according to claim 3, wherein, when a fifth control unit operating as the sub-node detects the network master node candidate request command from a sixth control unit and its own logical destination and the logical destination attached to the network master node candidate request command from the sixth control unit conform to the specified conditions, the fifth control unit functions as the network master node.

5. A communications control system for elevator, comprising:

a plurality of control units inter-connected via a network, each control unit receiving its own primary logical destination from an external location, and each control unit having a first correspondence table establishing correspondence among a primary logical destination used for identifying the control unit, an elevator control function, and a secondary logical destination for identifying information used by the control unit, and

a second correspondence table establishing correspondence between the secondary logical destination and the information used by the control unit, wherein the plurality of control units reference the first correspondence table and provide an elevator control function corresponding to their own primary logical destinations.

6. The communications control system for elevators according to claim 5, comprising:

a first control unit which references the first correspondence table and corresponds to its own first primary logical destination, and which acts as a respective car control unit for controlling ascending and descending of an elevator car;

a second control unit which references the first correspondence table and corresponds to its own second primary logical destination, and which acts as an elevator hall registration control unit for controlling input processing of elevator hall call registration information from an elevator hall button registration device installed at an elevator hall on respective floors, and outputs elevator hall registration lamp .information corresponding to the elevator hall call; and

a third control unit which references the first correspondence table and corresponds to its own third primary logical destination, and which operates as a group management control unit for allocation control of an elevator in response to an elevator hall call registered, based on the elevator hall call registration information.

7. The communications control system for elevators according to claim 6, wherein each of the control units;

refers to the second correspondence table;

extracts the secondary logical destination corresponding to the information input from the external location;

adds the secondary destination to the sending data and sends the sending data to the network; and

extracts the secondary logical destination from data received from the network, and, if the extracted secondary logical destination exists at a location corresponding to its own primary logical destination in the first correspondence table, the control unit takes in the data received.

8. The communications control system for elevators according to claim 7, wherein a fourth of the plurality of control units detects an initialized state of the network and operates as the network master node governing synchronization controls among the plurality of control units when the fourth control unit is the first to send out, to the network, a network master node candidate request command having the primary logical destination of the fourth control unit attached thereto and the plurality of control units, except the fourth control unit, operate as sub-nodes obeying the network master node when the initialized state of the network is not detected.

9. The communications control system for elevators according to claim 8, wherein, when a fifth the plurality of control units detects a network master node candidate request command from a sixth control unit, if its own primary logical destination and the primary logical destination attached to the network master node candidate request command from the sixth control unit conform to specified conditions, the fifth control unit acts as the network master node, and if the primary logical destination of the fifth control unit and the primary logical destination attached to the network master node candidate request command from the sixth control unit do not conform to the specified conditions, the fifth control unit acts as a sub-node.

10. The communications control system for elevators according to claim 9, wherein, when a seventh control unit operating as a sub-node detects that the network master node is failing, the seventh control unit operates as the network master node governing the synchronization controls among the plurality of control units when the seventh control unit is the first to send out, to the network, a network master node candidate request command having the primary logical destination of the seventh control unit attached thereto.

11. The communications control system for elevators according to claim 10, wherein an eighth control unit operating as a sub-node operates as the network master node when the eighth control unit detects a network master node candidate request command from a ninth control unit operating as a sub-node, and its own primary logical destination and the primary logical destination attached to the network master node candidate request command from the ninth control unit conform to the specified conditions.