Elevator display system using composite images to display car position

• US 5,485,897 A
• Filed: 02/15/1995
• Issued: 01/23/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitec Company Limited, Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujitec Company Limited, Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Kimio, Yamashita, Akitoshi, Sawaike, Ichihiro, Nishigakik, Atsuo, Tsumura, Tomohiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Peter S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): NAPPI, ROBERT E
• Application Number:
  US08/389,619
• Time in Patent Office: 342 Days
• Field of Search: 343/5, 343/4, 343/32, 343/40, 187/395, 187/396, 187/397, 187/398, 187/399
• US Class Current: 187/399
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 3/008 Displaying information not related to the elevator, e.g. weather, publicity, internet or TV
• CPC Class Codes: B66B 3/02 Position or depth indicators

Abstract

An elevator sysem having an elevator operation control unit 2 for controlling the upward or downward movement of an elevator car 6 and an image display unit 5 provided inside the car. The system comprises an image reproduction unit 1 for feeding a main image signal for forming a background image to the image display unit 5, a superimposition image production circuit 3 for producing a subimage signal for forming a floor indicating image based on a floor signal from the control unit 3, and an image composition unit 4 for combining the main image signal and the subimage signal into a composite image signal to superimpose the floor indicating image on the background image and feeding the composite image signal to the display unit 5.

Claims

1. An elevator system having an elevator operation control unit for controlling the upward or downward movement of an elevator car and an image display unit provided inside the car, the elevator system comprising an image reproduction unit for feeding a main image signal for forming a background image to the image display unit, a superimposition image production circuit for producing a subimage signal for forming a floor indicating image based on a floor signal from the elevator operation control unit and a direction indicating image showing whether the car is in an upward or downward movement based upon an elevator operation data obtained from the operation control unit, and an image composition unit for combining the main image signal and the subimage signal into a composite image signal to superimpose the floor indicating image on the background image and feeding the composite image signal to the image display unit.

2. An elevator system as defined claim 1 wherein the image display unit has a display screen positioned inside the car above entrance-exit doors in a slating posture to oppose the eyes of passengers.

3. An elevator system having an image display unit provided inside an elevator car, the car being provided with a slanting wall joined to a side of a horizontal ceiling and disposed in an inclined posture to oppose the eyes of passengers, the image display unit comprising a display screen installed in the slanting wall for images to be projected thereon from behind, an image projector installed on the ceiling and a light reflector for reflecting an image projected thereon from the projector and guiding the image to the rear side of the display screen.

4. An elevator system as defined in claim 3 wherein the image display unit has connected thereto a circuit for showing a floor indicating image on the display screen based on a floor signal from an elevator operation control unit.

5. An elevator system having an image display unit provided inside an elevator car, the car being provided with a plurality of slanting walls each joined to a side of a horizontal ceiling and disposed in an inclined posture to be opposed to the eyes of passengers, the image display unit comprising a plurality of display screens installed in the respective slanting walls for images to be projected thereon from behind, a single image projector installed on the ceiling and a light distributor for dividing the light of an image projected thereon from the projector and guiding the image to the rear side of each of the display screens.

6. An elevator system as defined in claim 5 wherein the image display unit has connected thereto a circuit for showing a floor indicating image on each display screen based on a floor signal from an elevator operation control unit.

7. An elevator system having an elevator operation control unit for controlling the upward or downward movement of an elevator car and an image display unit provided inside the car, the elevator system comprising an image source storage unit having recorded therein an image corresponding to the position of the car in upward or downward movement, a video memory capable of storing a plurality of fields of image signal to be reproduced from the image source storage unit, and a control circuit for controlling signal writing to and reading from the video memory and controlling a display of the read image signal on the image display unit, the control circuit comprising means for obtaining data as to the position of the car based on a position signal from the elevator operation control unit, means for reproducing from a recording area of the image source storage unit signals of two selected fields of image corresponding to the car position based on the position data obtained and writing the image signal to the video memory, and means for reading the signal from the video memory to prepare an image signal for a single picture which is a combination of said two selected fields of image, and therefore continuous to said two selected fields of image, and controlling the display of the image signal on the image display unit, the display of the image signal on the image display unit being continuous at each floor and at intermediate positions of the car.

8. An elevator system as defined in claim 7, wherein the image source storage unit has recorded therein a plurality of still pictures assigned respectively to floors where the car stops, and at least two of the still pictures assigned to two floors, said two floors being one floor above and one floor below the position of the car, are written to the video memory and are displayed on the display unit upon change-over in corresponding relation to the position of the car.

9. An elevator system as defined in claim 8 wherein the two still pictures written to the video memory are combined into a composite image and the composite image is shown on the display unit during movement of the car.

10. An elevator system as defined in claim 7, wherein the image source storage unit has recorded therein different kinds of animations in a sequential configuration, assigned respectively to floors where the car stops, and at least two of the animations in sequence assigned to two floors, said two floors being one floor above and one floor below the position of the car, are written to the video memory only for a plurality of fields including the field of current time and are shown on the display unit as a continuous image upon change-over in corresponding relation to the position of the car and the current time.

11. An elevator system as defined in claim 10 wherein the two animations written to the video memory are combined into a composite image and the composite image is shown on the display unit during movement of the car.

12. An elevator system having an elevator operation control unit for controlling the upward or downward movement of an elevator car and an image display unit provided inside the car, the elevator system comprising an image source storage unit having recorded therein a first image representing the opening-closing movement of doors of the car and a second image corresponding to a background for the position of the car, a video memory capable of storing the first and second image signals signal to be reproduced from the image source storage unit, and a control circuit for controlling the first and second image signals writing to and reading from the video memory and controlling a display of the read image signal on the image display unit, the control circuit comprising means for reproducing from a recording area of the image source storage unit the first and second image signals based on a door opening-closing signal obtained from the elevator operation control unit which recording area corresponds to the opening-closing signal and the position of the car, means for reading the signal from the video memory for combining the first and the second image signals into a composite image signal based on the position of the car and controlling the display of the signal on the image display unit.

13. An elevator system as defined in claim 12 wherein the image source storage unit has recorded therein a first image signal representing the door opening-closing operation of the car and a second image signal for displaying a background for fully open doors, and the control circuit has means for combining the first and second image signals into a composite image signal on the video memory based on the door opening-closing signal obtained from the elevator operation control unit.

14. An elevator system having an elevator operation control unit for controlling the upward or downward movement of an elevator car and an image display unit provided inside the car, the elevator system comprising a coded data storage unit wherein an image of a subject approaching or moving away at a constant speed is recorded as coded for every frame number, a coded data memory for storing the data to be read from the storage unit, a decoding circuit for decoding the data read from the coded data memory, a signal processing circuit for preparing an image signal for one picture from a signal output from the decoding circuit, and a control circuit for controlling data reading from the coded data storage unit and data reading from the coded data memory, the control circuit comprising means for determining a frame number in accordance with the velocity of movement of the car based on an elevator velocity signal obtained from the elevator operation control unit, and means for reading the data of the frame number determined from the coded data storage unit and writing the data to the coded data memory.

15. An elevator system having an image display unit inside an elevator car and comprising:

an emergency detector for detecting an emergency when the operation of the elevator has developed the emergency,

a usual image production unit for feeding a first image signal to the image display unit while the elevator is in normal operation,

an emergency image production unit for feeding a second image signal as to the emergency to the image display unit in the event of the emergency,

a change-over unit for connecting an output terminal of the usual image production unit or the emergency image production unit alternatively to an input terminal of the image display unit upon a change-over, and

a main control circuit for controlling the change-over operation of the change-over unit;

wherein the emergency image production unit is provided in a control center for monitoring the operating state of the elevator and comprises a unit for picking up an image of an operation control attendant, the control center having a voice input unit disposed therein for inputting the voice of the attendant, the elevator car having a voice output unit disposed therein along with the image display unit, so that an image signal from the image pickup unit is fed to the image display unit and a voice signal from the voice input unit is fed to the voice output unit at the same time.