Abstract:
A method for controlling the dispatching of elevator cars, and apparatus for accomplishing the method. The method includes the steps of (a) receiving a hall call from a floor landing; (b) determining a current passenger load of an elevator car; (c) determining if a crowd signal is generated for the floor landing; and, if it is determined that a crowd signal is generated for the floor landing, (d) determining, from the current passenger load, if the elevator car is EMPTY. If it is determined that the elevator car is EMPTY, the method further includes the steps of (e) assigning an Empty Car Bonus to the elevator car; and (f) employing the Empty Car Bonus value in determining a Relative System Response for the elevator car. The Relative System Response is a function of a plurality of bonuses and penalties. The use of the invention increases the efficiency of the elevator system and serves to decrease the waiting time for persons waiting behind the hall call by increasing the probability of an empty car being assigned to a hall call having a crowd waiting behind the hall call.
Abstract:
An elevator car dispatcher having an artificially intelligent supervisor which generates a crowd prediction signal associated with a particular floor, monitors a condition of a first elevator car which has serviced the predetermined floor and controls the remainder of elevator cars assigned to the predetermined floor dependent upon the condition of the first car.
Abstract:
During up-peak, a dispatcher selecting method chooses among three dispatching algorithms: (i) an up-peak sectoring scheme triggered when two cars leave the lobby fully loaded, (ii) static sectoring, and (iii) dynamic sectoring, in response to any of three criteria: car load, floor population, and average waiting time, allowing a group of elevators to be operated under any three of the dispatching algorithms, not locked into any two.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for the control of the dispatch of elevator cars from the main floor during up peak traffic conditions are implemented in an algorithm performed by a process computer. The algorithm for an elevator group, consisting of at least one elevator, calculates a transport capacity and a nominal time interval. The transport capacity and the nominal time interval are dependent on the nominal departure load and the compound values are stored in a transport capacity field and in an interval field, respectively. From data generated by a sensor, an elevator control and an input/output unit, the algorithm determines the traffic requirement at the main floor and the traffic requirement at an associated car, and the transport capacity is computed dependant on the higher of the two traffic requirements. Subsequently, the algorithm searches in the transport capacity field for the nominal departure load corresponding to this transport capacity. In a similar manner, the field component of the interval field, indexed with the nominal departure load, is addressed and the value of the field component assigned to the nominal time interval. As soon as the condition actual departure load equals nominal departure load or the condition actual time interval equals nominal time interval is satisfied, the associated car is dispatched.
Abstract:
A method for increasing the transportation capacity of elevators in a building involving dividing the elevators (2-7) into two or more groups, each comprising one or more elevators, in such manner that in certain loading situations the groups will temporarily serve different zones (11, 12) of the building (1). Upward peak traffic conditions are detected and the boundaries between zones (11, 12) are determined and maintained by the steps which include:(a) detecting by a peak traffic condition, mainly on the basis of elevator loading time and/or the number of people arriving in an elevator lobby (9) of the building (1).(b) calculating an initial optimal zone boundary value mainly on the basis of traffic statistics and existing transportation capacity.(c) effecting transition of elevator operation to sub-zoning during upward peak traffic.(d) re-calculating the optimal zone boundary value mainly on the basis of short-term traffic statistics, the number of people in the elevator lobby and the available transportation capacity.(e) sensing the need for change in the zone boundary and effecting the desired change as calculated in section (d).(f) cancelling the sub-zoning upon completion of the upward peak passenger period or when the volume of upward traffic has fallen below a predetermined limit.
Abstract:
A group supervision apparatus for an elevator has apparatus operating under program control to predict periods of time of service by respective cages and to calculate predicted service periods of time, to calculate a mean value and a variance of the predicted service periods of time as to each of the cages, to set a reference value for deciding whether the service periods of time are long or short, to obtain a square value of a difference between the reference value and the mean value, to calculate a value of a ratio between the variance and the square value and to calculate an assignment estimation value on the basis of the value of the ratio in conformity with a predetermined assignment estimation function which becomes a monotonically increasing function of the ratio, to preferentially select a cage as to which the assignment estimation value is smaller, and to assign the selected cage to a hall call.
Abstract:
A group control assigns elevator cars to floor calls optimized in such a manner, that minimal waiting times result and the elevating capacity is increased. A computing device provided for each elevator calculates at every floor a sum proportional to the time losses of the waiting passengers from the distance between the floor and the car position as indicated by a selector, the intermediate stops to be expected within the distance and the instantaneous car load. By means of call registering devices in the form of ten key keyboards at the floors, it is possible to enter calls for destination floors, so that at the time of calculation, the floor calls and the car calls are available simultaneously. The calculated lost time sum, also called servicing costs, is stored in a cost memory provided for each elevator. During a cost comparison cycle, the servicing costs of all elevators are compared with each other by way of a cost comparison device where in each case an assignment instruction can be stored in an assignment memory of the elevator with the lowest servicing costs which instruction designates that floor to which the respective car is optimally assigned in time.
Abstract:
A plural elevator system having a group controller for controlling the joint response of a plurality of elevator cars to the needs of a building, employs a microprocessor-based group controller for providing up peak, down peak and other zone-controlled elevator functions. The group controller provides a variable interval between dispatching of elevator cars from the lobby during up peak, the dispatching interval being controlled by the approximate round trip time of an elevator being dispatched from the lobby in serving the car calls registered within it and returning to the lobby, or the average of the approximate round trip time for two or three most recently dispatched elevator cars. The dispatching interval is determined by the approximate round trip time divided by the number of elevator cars serving the up peak traffic. In addition, the dispatching interval can be further reduced in dependence upon the number of cars standing at the lobby, the reduction being greater in case the last car leaving the lobby is not more than half full than in the case when the last car leaving the lobby is more than half full. Exemplary elevator and microprocessor structure, an overall group controller microprocessor program logic flowchart, illustrative of the environment of the invention, and detailed logic flowcharts illustrative of an embodiment of the invention are disclosed.
Abstract:
The invention relates to a method for allocating elevators of an elevator group to landing calls given in the elevator group, the elevator group having a control unit (32) having a destination call control (36), which elevator control unit is connected to determining means (37) for the prevailing traffic condition in the elevator group. Further the control unit comprises at least a first and second operating mode which are selected according to the prevailing traffic condition, wherein the first operating mode uses immediate call allocation of the elevators which includes the display of the allocated elevator on a destination operating panel (10) immediately after having issued a landing call and wherein the second mode comprises the allocation of an elevator to a landing call before the arrival of the allocated elevator call to the landing where the landing call has been issued. The invention allows an adaption of destination control to different traffic situations.
Abstract:
The invention relates to an arrangement and a method for limiting the electricity consumption of an elevator system. In the method, the operation of the elevator system (10) is measured; the electricity consumption of the elevator system is adjusted according to the operating mode; in a certain operating mode, one or more elevators (HA, HB, HC) are selected to be temporarily removed from use,- and also the electricity supply to the elevators (HA, HB, HC) that are selected to be temporarily removed from use is disconnected.