HK1034704A - Elevator system - Google Patents

Description

Elevator system

The invention relates to an elevator system in which information can be transmitted and received between an elevator control unit and terminals in the elevator car of each floor.

The elevator operates at the request of a hall call button at each floor landing and a car call button (also called a designation button) in the elevator car, and the states of each floor hall call button and the car call button in the car are continuously transmitted to the elevator control unit. Transmission typically employs wired communication.

In japanese patent application laid-open nos. 6-227766, 7-97152, and 11-150505, it is proposed to transmit information between an elevator machine room and a car by a wireless system. Further, japanese patent application laid-open No. 3-46979 discloses a system in which a control panel of a roof elevator machine room is connected to indicators of landing entrance of each floor by a wireless communication line.

On the other hand, in a field other than the elevator system, there is a technique of transmitting information indirectly by transmitting the information between units by using a plurality of dedicated low-power radio transmitting/receiving units or extremely weak radio wave transmitting/receiving units. Such techniques are disclosed in Japanese patent application laid-open Nos. 5-292577, 6-348999, 9-66129 and 9-205908.

The above conventional technology has not been widely used in the elevator field because it is required to use a wireless unit having a large output capacity corresponding to 8 buildings. In addition, each technique is still insufficient to reduce the amount of elevator wiring within a building.

An object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system capable of ensuring transmission and reception of information between an elevator control unit and a car, a counterweight, or a landing of each floor even if a communicable range of a wireless transmission and reception unit is narrow.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the extremely weak radio wave transmitting/receiving units are provided in the elevator control unit and the car terminal or the floor terminal one by one, and the extremely weak radio wave transmitted by the radio transmitting unit of the sender terminal includes the last receiving party (last designated place) and the transmission information. One of the terminals near the sender that receives the radio waves transmits the radio waves containing the same information to the other terminal within communication distance. Thereafter, the above process is repeated and the information is transmitted to the last recipient. In the communication with the terminal in the car, the terminal serving as the relay station is selected based on the car position information at that time, and the relay transmission is completed.

The wireless transmission of the terminal relay information in the communication range can be applied to realize the communication between a sender and a receiver which are far away from each other in the direct communication, and the information can be transmitted and received in the elevator system by using the wireless transmitting and receiving unit with a narrower communication range.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a structure of an embodiment of an elevator system of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a main terminal structure.

Fig. 3 shows a data structure of transmission information.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a low-priority information transmission path.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing a high priority information transmission path.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a process in the floor terminal.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a procedure of determining the transfer designation of the relay transmission in each terminal.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing a process in the car terminal.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing a process in the master terminal.

Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing the construction of another embodiment of an elevator system in which a control unit is located in a hoistway.

Fig. 11 shows transmission paths of various priorities.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a structure of an embodiment of an elevator system according to the present invention. The ropes 37 are wound around pulleys 36 mounted on the top of the elevator shaft, and the elevator car 34 and the counterweight 33 are suspended on the ropes so that the weights cancel each other. That is, the wire rope 26 is fixed at one end to the fixed portion 38 at the top, passes downward through the pulley 25 mounted on the lower side of the car 34, goes upward, and then passes around the pulley 36. In addition, the wire rope 37 passes down through the driving pulley 30 of the counterweight 33 and up, and the other end is fixed to a fixed position 39 at the top.

The elevator is driven by the rotational force of a motor 35 mounted on a counterweight 33. That is, the control unit 32 controls the power converter 31 to supply the variable-voltage variable-frequency ac power to the motor 34. The motor 35 drives the rotary drive sheave 30 in response to the ac power, and drives the counterweight 33 and the elevator car 34 via a wire rope wound around the sheave.

The elevator operation is controlled by an elevator control unit 32 which manages the operation. An elevator control unit 32 is mounted on the counter weight 33 and controls the operation of the elevator in accordance with the service requests of the hall call buttons 141-14n and the car call button 24 in the car 34. The call information of the hall call 141-14n and the car call 24 is transmitted by radio (radio wave) via the wireless transmitting/receiving terminals 131 to 13n and 22. The transmitted call information is received by the main terminal 40, which is also equipped with the wireless transmitting and receiving terminal 42, and the received call information is transferred to the control unit 32. The radio transmitting/receiving unit used herein is a radio transmitting/receiving unit usable without any permission or approval, for example, a short-distance radio transmitting/receiving unit having a communication distance of 2.5 to 10m, that is, an extremely weak radio wave prescribed by the radio wave law, that is, a radio wave having a frequency band of less than 322MHz and an electric field intensity of less than 500 μ V/m at a position 3 m away, a radio wave having a frequency band of less than 322MHz to 10GHz and an electric field intensity of less than 35 μ V/m at a position 3 m away, a radio wave having a frequency band of 10GHz to 150GHz and less than 3.5(f μ V/m) and an electric field intensity of not more than 500 μ V/m at a position 3 m away, and a radio wave having a frequency band of 150GHz or more and an electric field intensity of less than 500 μ V/m at a position 3 m away.

The block diagram of fig. 2 shows the structure of the radio transmitting and receiving unit 42. Although the structure of each of the wireless transceiving units 131 to 13n and 22 of the terminal is the same as that of the wireless transceiving unit 42, the description will be made taking the main terminal 40 mounted on the counter weight 33 as an example, the wireless transceiving unit 42 includes both the transmitter 421 and the receiver 423, and the transmitted and received data are converted between serial/parallel data by the encoder 422 and the decoder 424, respectively, to communicate with the microcomputer 41. The control section 425 switches transmission and reception, and the radio transmitting and receiving unit 42 is normally in the receiving state, and switches to the transmitting state only when a transmission request (transmission interruption: IRQ2) is received from the control unit 32. The microcomputer 41 receives the interrupt signal (IRQ1) and notifies that it is to receive radio waves in addition to transmitting and receiving data to and from the wireless unit 42. The microcomputer 41 is activated by the received relay signal (IRQ1) and executes the processing (different for each terminal) to be described later.

The main terminal 40 has control information similar to that of the control unit 32, and wirelessly transmits and receives the following three types of information to and from the floor terminals 101 to 10n and the car terminal 20 via the wireless unit 42 mounted on the main terminal 40.

The first type of information is call information indicating the states of the hall call buttons 141 to 14n and the car call button 24 (pressed buttons), the second type of information is information instructing to turn on the indicator lamp of each hall call button 141 to 14n or the car call button 24, and the third type of information is car position information displayed on the indicators 151 to 15n and 23 installed in the floor and the car, respectively, for informing the position of the car. The call information is information transmitted from the floor terminal 101-10n and the car terminal 20 to the master terminal, and the other two kinds of information are information transmitted from the master terminal 40 to the floor terminal 101-10n and the car terminal 20. These three types of information are all transmitted in a relay transmission method to be described below.

The structure of the floor terminal will be described below, taking the floor terminal 101 of the first floor shown in fig. 1 as an example. The structure of the floor terminals 102-10n for the other floors is the same.

The floor terminal 101 includes a microcomputer 111, a wireless transmitting/receiving unit 131, a floor setting device 121, and a battery 171. In addition, the floor terminal 101 is configured to interface with the hall call button 141, the indicator 151, and the solar panel 161. The micom 111 may detect the state of the hall call button 141 through the I/O port and may turn on the hall call button 141 and the indicator lamps of the indicator 151. Therefore, when the call button 141 is pressed, the floor terminal 101 transmits the information to the main terminal 40 through the wireless transmitting/receiving unit 131. The floor terminal 101 receives the on-lamp command information or the car position information transmitted from the main terminal 40, and turns on the indicator lamp of the hall call button 141 or the indicator 151 based on the information.

The floor setting device 121 sets a floor (number of floors) by installing the floor terminal 101, and includes a two-in-line package (DIP) switch and the like. The set number of layers is input to the microcomputer 111 and used when determining a designation place (last designation place or transfer designation place) of the radio wave.

The solar cell panel 161 mounted on the floor terminal 101 converts the light energy of the hall lantern 181 into electric energy and uses the electric energy as a driving electric energy source of the floor terminal 101. The battery 171 serves to store the electric energy. In this way, power cables can be eliminated, thus eliminating both information transmission cables and the installation effort of the floor terminal.

When the car 44 and the corresponding counter weight are stopped, electric power can be supplied from the energy storage unit provided in the car 34 or the counter weight 33 to the battery 171, which is used as a driving power source of the floor terminal 101 without using the solar cell panel 161. In this case, since the solar cell panel 161 is not used, there is an advantage that the hall appearance is not damaged. The energy storage unit mounted on the car 34 or the counter weight 33 is not specifically limited, but it is recommended to supply electric power to the energy storage unit by a contact or non-contact power supply unit mounted on a suitable floor.

The car terminal 20 is described below. The terminal also includes a microcomputer 21, a transceiver unit 22, and an indicator 23 and a car call button 24 that interface with the car terminal. The car terminal 20 detects information of the car call button 24, transmits radio waves to the main terminal 40 through the wireless transmitting/receiving unit 22, receives light-on instruction information or car position information transmitted from the main terminal 40, and turns on the indicator light of the car call button 24 or the indicator 23.

In addition to the above three types of terminals, the mobile terminal 50 connected to the radio transceiver unit 51 is added to an information transmission network composed of terminals as one terminal. Specifically, the mobile terminal is constituted by a personal computer or the like. The application mobile terminal 50 can access the control unit 32 through the respective terminals and the master terminal 40 like each terminal, and obtain control information and general information (service information like the control unit 32). In this way, the person in charge of maintenance can perform maintenance work without entering the machine room. In the case where the mobile terminal 50 is added to the information transmission network as a terminal, it is preferable that an identification code is previously defined for the mobile terminal 50 and the host terminal 40, and the mobile terminal is allowed to enter the information transmission network only when the identification codes coincide with each other. The position (floor or in car) where the mobile terminal is located is entered as a position code into the mobile terminal to define its position and sent to the main terminal 40 (control unit 32) for setting together with the identification code. The radio wave transmitted to the mobile terminal 50 is transmitted to a certain terminal (floor terminal or car terminal) set in the mobile terminal.

The relay transmission using wireless communication (short-range wireless) is described below.

Even if the distance between the wireless stations is longer than the above-described communicable range, the relay transmission can communicate between the wireless stations (the transmission side and the reception side) using short-range wireless. That is, the other wireless station is transferred within the communicable range of the transmission side, and thereby the wireless station can communicate with a wireless station other than the communicable range. The short-range wireless communication range applied by the embodiment of the invention is close to the distance of two floors (such as from the first floor to the third floor). By the relay transmission method, a short-range wireless transmitting/receiving unit having a small capacity can be used even if the communicable range is as narrow as two floors.

Fig. 3 shows a data structure of a transmission and reception signal. In order to efficiently relay transmission, radio waves are transmitted in a form in which a last destination 302 which becomes a last receiving side and a transfer destination 301 which becomes a relay station are added in addition to data 304 to be transmitted. Among the terminals designated as the relay station, the transfer destination 301 is changed to the name of the terminal of the next relay station. The priority 303 is additional information for specifying the priority of data to be transmitted, and a priority (high/low level) is set for each piece of information to be transmitted. That is, the priority of call information from the floor terminal and the car terminal to the main terminal is set to high, and the priority of car position information and lamp-on command information from the main terminal to the floor terminal and the car terminal is set to low. By switching a relay transmission path described below with the priority 303, priority is given to information that is transmission-critical in transmission to speed up transmission. The priority may be divided into three or more levels. In the transfer destination, the data 304 to be sent may be added to the information from the originating station if the transfer destination has any information to be sent to the same last destination.

Fig. 4 shows a transmission path (low-speed transmission path) of low-priority information, assuming that a relay station (transfer destination) is a floor terminal on an adjacent floor. The wireless transceiver unit has a communication distance of more than 2.5 m, and 2.5 m is the minimum floor distance of a building such as an apartment house. The figure shows an example of the transmission of car position information, the control unit 32 with car position information providing information to the car terminal 29 and all floor terminals 101 and 106 via the radio transceiver unit 42. The main terminal 40 transmits radio waves, sets the car terminal 20 and floor terminals of the uppermost layer and the lowermost layer (sixth layer and first layer in the figure) as the last designation place, and sets the floor terminal (floor terminal 105 of the fifth layer in the figure) near the position of the counter weight 33 (main terminal 40) as the transfer designation place, using the car position information as data to be transmitted. The fifth floor terminal 105, which is receiving the radio waves, sets the floor terminals 106 and 104 of the sixth and fourth floors as the transfer designation places according to the last designation place judgment, and transmits the radio waves to the floor terminals 106 and 104. The information is then communicated to the transfer destination by placing adjacent floor terminals, and the second floor terminal 102 communicates the information to the first floor terminal 101 while also communicating the information to the car terminal 20.

As described above, when the car terminal 20 or the main terminal 40 is finally designated, the floor terminal can know the position of the car 34 or the counter weight 33 based on the car position information to determine the transfer designation place in the vicinity of these moving objects.

Fig. 5 shows a high-speed transmission path of high-priority information. In the case of high priority, a terminal of a non-adjacent layer (one layer skipped in the present embodiment) is set to the relay station. The priority difference is only in that a difference in the designated place of the transition is set, and the transition itself is the same as in the low-speed transmission path. The transmission of hall call button information (priority: high) is illustrated as an example, and the final designation is the master terminal 40, and the relay station sets a floor terminal that skips one floor. Since the transfer destination is always set after the positions of the car terminal 34 and the counter weight 33 are known as in the above case, the transfer destination is set not to the first floor terminal 101 but to the second floor terminal 102 in the third floor terminal 103, and information is transmitted from the second floor terminal 102 to the car terminal 20.

When both the transmission side and the reception side are within the direct communication range, radio wave communication is performed between the both sides without any relay station. Such as in the case where the car terminal 20 and the main terminal 40 are close to each other, or in the case where the floor terminal and the main terminal are close to each other, radio waves are exchanged between the terminals close to each other.

Fig. 6 shows the processing of the microcomputer in the floor terminal, as is the case for all floors of the floor terminal. The first floor terminal 101 will be described as an example. Two types of interrupt signals are input from the hall call button 141 and the wireless transmitting/receiving unit 131 to the microcomputer 111 in the floor terminal 101. One is an interrupt signal (IRQ1) generated when the hall call button 141 is pressed, and the other is an interrupt signal (IRQ2) generated when the radio wave is received by the radio transceiver unit 131. The microcomputer 111 processes these two signals as follows.

First, in step 601, the type of an input interrupt signal is determined. If the determination is that the incoming interrupt signal is a hall call interrupt signal (IRQ1), the process proceeds to step 602. If the determination result is that the input interrupt signal is the signal reception interrupt signal (IRQ2), the process proceeds to step 605.

The case of the hall call button interrupt signal (IRQ1) is described first. In step 602, it is detected which button is pressed in the hall call button 141. This information directly becomes transmission data (hall call button information) with a high priority. Then, in steps 603, 604, the last destination and the transfer destination are set. The last designation is the master terminal 40, and the transfer designation is determined in a transfer designation setting process to be described later because it must consider the location of the master terminal 40. After the setting of the last designation place and the transfer designation place is completed, the radio wave is transmitted from the radio transmitting and receiving unit 131 to end the processing.

The following describes the case of the signal reception interrupt signal (IRQ 2). In steps 605 and 606, the designation place (last designation place, transfer designation place) of the received radio wave is checked. The designation is checked by comparison with the number of floors set in the floor setting device 121, and whether or not the designation matches the number of floors is determined. In step 605, it is determined whether the received information must be transferred (when the transfer designation coincides with the number of layers, the received information must be transferred). For example, if the destination does not match the number of layers, it is determined that the received radio wave is not related, and the process is terminated. On the other hand, if the destination address matches the number of layers, the process proceeds to step 606 to determine whether the last destination address matches the number of layers. If the last designation does not correspond to the number of layers, the received radio waves are transferred in step 607 and subsequent steps. In step 607, it is judged whether or not the received radio wave is car position information, and if so, an indicator lamp of the indicator 151 is turned on through an I/O port of the microcomputer 111 using the information (step 608). Then, the transfer process is performed on the received radio wave in step 609. In the transfer process of step 609, since the transfer designation place is to be determined according to the priority of the last designation place and the transferred information, the transfer designation place is determined in the transfer designation place setting process (described later), and then the radio wave is emitted from the wireless transceiving unit 131.

If the last designation corresponds to a number of layers, the process proceeds to 610 where the content of the diverted information is analyzed and processed accordingly. If the transferred information is a light on information, the indicator light of the hall call button 141 is turned on in step 611. If the transferred information is car position information, the indicator lamp of the indicator 151 is turned on in step 612. If it is determined in the processing of step 610 that the information is not the above type of information, it is determined that the transmitted radio wave is information for the above mobile terminal 50, and the floor terminal ends the processing as it is.

In the case of communication from the main terminal 40 to the portable terminal 50, since radio waves are transmitted to a terminal (here, a floor terminal) provided with a location code (specifying the floor or the car on which the portable terminal 50 is placed), the transmission information is not considered in the floor terminal processing.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the migration designation place setting processing. Car position information is initially obtained at step 701 in order to know the position of the car terminal 20 (including the master terminal 40). At step 702, the last destination is determined. If the last designation is a car terminal, the process proceeds to step 703. If the last designation is a master terminal, the process proceeds to step 713. If the last designation was a specified floor terminal, the process proceeds to step 715.

The case where the last designation is the car terminal is described first. In step 703, the positioning of the car 34 having the car terminal 20 mounted thereon with respect to the floor terminal (including the main terminal 40) is determined based on the number of floors set by the floor setting device 121. Wherein, the judgment result is expressed as three types: upper/same/lower layer. For example, if the car terminal 20 is on the same floor, there is no need to set any transfer destination (step 704) when transmitting the radio waves to the car terminal 20 (step 715), because the car terminal 20 is within the distance that the radio waves can reach. If the car terminal 20 is on the upper floor, the process proceeds to step 705 to check the priority of the information to determine the destination to which the transfer is assigned. If the priority is low, the transfer is designated to be set to a floor terminal of +1 floor (step 706). On the other hand, if the priority is high, the transfer is set to the floor terminal of +2 floor as specified (step 708). Then, the radio wave is transmitted in step 715. Wherein, when a transition is specified to be set by the +2 layer, the transition can exceed the last specified. Therefore, the layer difference with respect to the last designated place is checked in step 707. And the floor terminal of +2 floors is set only when the floor difference is higher than two floors. On the other hand, if the car terminal 20 is on the lower floor, the process proceeds to step 709, where the priority of the transmitted information is checked. However, unlike the above case, if the priority is low, the transfer is set to the floor terminal of floor-1 as specified in step 710. If the priority is high, the transfer is specifically set to the floor terminal of floor-2 at step 712. Then, radio waves are transmitted (step 715). In this case, the layer differences are also checked in step 711 to determine the appropriate destination for the transfer.

In addition, in step 702, if the last designation is a master terminal, the position of the master terminal is estimated in step 713. The main terminal 40 is located in the counterweight 33 and moves up and down as the car 34. Therefore, the position of the counter weight 33 (main terminal 40) is estimated based on the car position information to determine the terminal of the adjacent floor. At step 714, the location of the main terminal 40 relative to the floor terminals (including the car terminal 20) is determined. The judgment result is expressed as three types: upper/same/lower layer. The setting of the designated place for the subsequent transfer is the same as described above.

In step 702, if the floor terminal of the specific floor is designated last, the process proceeds to step 715, where the floor terminal of the specific floor is positioned (only in the vertical direction) with respect to the floor terminals (including the car terminal 20). The setting of the transfer destination is then the same as described above. The floor terminal of a particular floor includes a mobile terminal 50.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing of the microcomputer 21 in the car terminal 20. Two types of interrupt signals are inputted from the call button 24 and the radio transmitting/receiving unit 22 to the microcomputer 21 in the car terminal 20. One is an interrupt signal (IRQ1) generated when the car call button 24 is pressed, and the other is an interrupt signal (IRQ2) generated when the radio wave is received by the radio transceiver unit 22. The microcomputer 21 performs the following processing on these two kinds of interrupt signals.

In step 801, the type of input interrupt signal is determined. If it is determined that the input interrupt signal is the designated button interrupt signal (IRQ1), the process proceeds to step 802. If the determination indicates that the input interrupt signal is a signal received interrupt signal (IRQ2), the process proceeds to step 805 for processing.

The case of designating the ground button interrupt signal (IRQ1) is described first. In step 802, it is detected which car call button 24 is pressed. This information directly becomes transmission data (car call button information) with high priority. The last destination and transfer destinations are then set at steps 803, 804. The final destination is the master terminal 40, and the destination is determined in consideration of the position of the master terminal 40 in the destination setting process. After the setting of the last designation place and the transfer designation place is completed, radio waves are emitted from the radio transmitting and receiving unit 22.

The following describes the case of the signal reception interrupt signal (IRQ 2). In steps 805 and 806, the designation place (last designation place, transfer designation place) of the received radio wave is checked. In the embodiment of the present invention, the transfer processing of the relay transfer is not performed in the car terminal 20, which is different from the case of the floor terminal described above. Therefore, if the destination does not match the car terminal. The process is directly ended. At this point, "transfer designated place? And a judgment step. However, assuming that the car terminal erroneously receives (detects) a certain signal without receiving "the radio wave of which transfer is designated by another terminal and the last designation is the car terminal itself", the judgment step of step 805 in the embodiment of the present invention has a role of excluding such a detected radio wave.

If the transfer destination and the last destination match the car terminal, the process proceeds to step 807, where the contents of the transfer information are analyzed and processed accordingly. If the transfer message is a light on message, the indicator light of the car call button 24 is turned on in step 808. If the transfer information is car position information, the indicator lamp of the indicator 23 is turned on in step 809. If it is determined in the content processed in step 807 that the information is other than the type information, it is determined that the transmitted radio wave is information for the mobile terminal 50. At this time, the mobile terminal is located in the car 34, and the radio wave transmitted to the car terminal is set as the last destination. Therefore, the car terminal 20 omits the information and ends the processing directly.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the processing of the master terminal 40. Two types of interrupt signals are input from the control unit 32 and the radio transmitting and receiving unit 42 to the microcomputer 41 of the main terminal 40, one is an interrupt signal (IRQ1) concerning a request of the control unit 32 to transmit radio waves, and the other is an interrupt signal (IRQ2) generated when the radio transmitting and receiving unit 42 receives radio waves. The microcomputer 41 performs the following processing using these two interrupt signals as trigger signals.

In step 901, the type of the input interrupt signal is determined. If the signal is the transmission request interrupt signal (IRQ1), the process proceeds to step 902, and if the signal is the reception interrupt signal (IRQ2), the process proceeds to step 910 for processing. The case of the transmission request interrupt (IRQ1) is described first. In step 903, the content of the transmission signal is determined. If the transmitted information is car position information, the process proceeds to step 903. If the transmission information is a lamp-on information, the process proceeds to step 906. The case of the car position information will be described again. Car position information is set to the transmitted data at step 903 and then set to the final destination at step 904. Car position information to be transmitted to each floor terminal and car terminal and the final designation are set to the car terminal 20 and the floor terminals of the uppermost floor and the lowermost floor, and then transmitted to the three final designation places in step 905. The destination of the transmission of the car position information is determined by the above-described destination setting process.

The case where it is determined in step 902 that the transmitted information is the lamp-on information is described below. The lamp-on information is set to the transmitted information in step 906, and the last designation place is set in step 907. Finally designated is the car terminal 20 or floor terminal of a particular floor whose indicator lights are to be switched on. Thereafter, the transfer designation place is determined and the radio wave is transmitted in step 905. If it is determined that the information is not of the above-described information type, it is determined that the transmitted radio wave is information for the above-described mobile terminal 50, and the process proceeds to step 908. This information is set to the transmitted data (priority low) in step 908, and the last designation place is set in step 909. Since the communication with the mobile terminal 50 is to transmit radio waves to the floor or the car on which the mobile terminal 50 is installed, the last designation is set based on the installation position code (the place where the mobile terminal 50 is specified). Then, in step 905, it is determined to transfer the designated place and the radio wave is transmitted.

The following describes the case of the signal reception interrupt signal (IRQ 2). In steps 910 and 911, the designation place (last designation place, transfer designation place) of the received radio wave is checked. In the embodiment of the present invention, the master terminal 40 does not perform the transfer process of the relay transmission. Therefore, if the designation is not matched with the master terminal, the process is completed as it is. If the transfer destination and the last destination are consistent with the master terminal, the process proceeds to step 912 where the content of the delivery message is analyzed and processed accordingly. For example, if the received information is car call (destination) button information or hall call button information, the data is transferred to the control unit 32 in step 913. If it is determined in step 912 that the information is from an external unit, the identification code contained in the information is checked in step 914. Since the mobile terminal 50 and the control unit 32 have the same kind of identification codes in advance, information is transferred to the control unit 32 only when the identification codes coincide with each other. If the identification codes are different from each other, it is determined that the information is a radio wave from a unit other than the elevator system, and the processing is completed.

In the above description, each terminal mounted on the car and the counter weight does not have a function of transmitting to the other terminals, i.e., a relay function. However, if the terminals mounted on the car and the counter weight are used as relay stations while moving, it is possible to perform the same processing as that performed by other floor terminals after determining the positions where the car and the counter weight are currently located.

Fig. 10 shows another embodiment of the elevator system, in which both the drive sheave 30 and the motor 35 that rotates the drive sheave are mounted in the pit of the hoistway. In the wall near the hoistway pit, there is also installed a power converter 31, which supplies power to the motor 35, and a control unit 32, which is involved in controlling the power converter 31 and the elevator. Wherein the main terminal 40 is located in the hoistway wall, either centralized with or separate from the control unit 32. The main terminal 40 includes a microcomputer 41 and a wireless transceiving unit 42, and performs control and processing in exactly the same manner as the above-described embodiment. The counter weight 33 may be installed with a relay station terminal. In an elevator, a drive sheave 30, a motor 35, a power converter 31 and a control unit 32 are disposed in a machine room outside a hoistway of a roof of a building, and if a radio wave of a main terminal 40 is directed to the inside of the hoistway, it is installed in the machine room or at the top of the hoistway.

The floor terminals are not limited to be installed corresponding to each floor, but one terminal may be installed for 20-3 floors so as to cover information transceiving of several floors. In addition, communication between the floor terminals and the main terminal can be performed using a Local Area Network (LAN) that has been already used. One or more relay-only transceiver units may be arranged in the hoistway between the elevator control unit, which may be fixed or movable, and the car.

Fig. 11 shows another embodiment in which the transmission paths vary by priority. In the present embodiment, the priority is divided into three levels (low/medium/high). The low-priority transmission path is described first. The first tier terminal initially transmits a radio wave A, B containing the same information to the second and third tier floor terminals that can receive the radio wave. The second tier terminal that receives the radio wave a transmits a radio wave C of the same information to the fourth tier terminal while skipping one tier. On the other hand, the third tier terminal that receives the radio wave B transmits a radio wave D of the same information to the fourth tier terminal. In the fourth layer terminal that receives the radio waves C and D through two different paths, the data contents of the received radio waves C and D are compared, and the presence or absence of an error is checked. The above process is arranged as a loop, and then the loop is repeated to transmit information.

In the medium priority transmission path, the first floor terminal initially transmits radio waves a and B to the floor terminals of the second and third floors. Then, the second tier terminal that receives the radio wave a transmits a radio wave C of the same information to the third tier terminal. In the third layer terminal which receives the radio waves B and C transmitted through the two paths, the contents of the received data are compared, and the presence or absence of an error is checked. The above process is set as a loop, and then the loop is repeated to transmit information. Similarly, in the high priority transmission path, the received data contents are compared in a round robin fashion as shown. The difference between these three transmission paths is the frequency with which the received data content is checked. And the transmission paths are switched according to the priority, so that the reliability of information transmission is improved.

In addition to the embodiments of the invention described in the claims section, there are also some embodiments that follow.

11. The elevator system according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the transmission and reception of signals is performed by relaying between two terminals distant from each other by the wireless transmitting and receiving unit of the terminal of the adjacent floor.

12. The elevator system according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the transmission and reception of the signal is performed by relaying between two terminals distant from each other by the wireless transmitting and receiving unit of the terminal of the next adjacent floor.

13. The elevator system according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the 1 st signal transmission and reception is performed by relaying between two terminals distant from each other through the radio transmitting and receiving unit of the adjacent floor terminal, and the 2 nd signal transmission and reception is performed by relaying between two terminals distant from each other through the radio transmitting and receiving unit of the next adjacent floor terminal.

14. The elevator system of embodiment 13 wherein the terminals include means for comparing information received from the wtrus of adjacent floor terminals with information received from the wtrus of an alternate floor terminal.

15. The elevator system of any of claims 1-7, wherein the terminal comprises a solar panel and a battery.

16. The elevator system according to claim 4, wherein the balance weight is provided with a control unit to which a hall call button signal and a car call signal are inputted.

17. The elevator system of any of claims 1-10 and examples 11-16 wherein the wireless transceiver unit has a transmission capability with a communicable distance above 2.5 meters and below 10 m.

The elevator system according to any one of claims 1-10 and examples 11-16, wherein the radio waves emitted by the radio transceiver unit are: the frequency band is less than 322MHz, and the electric field intensity at the position of 3 meters is less than 500 μ V/m; the frequency band is in the range of 322MHz-10GHz, and the electric field intensity at the position of 3 m is less than 35 μ V/m; the frequency band is in the range of 10GHz-150GH, and the electric field intensity at 3 m is less than 3.5(f μ V/m) in the range of not more than 500 μ V/m; and the frequency band is more than 150GHz, and the electric field intensity at 3 m is less than 500 μ V/m.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an elevator system in which information such as an elevator call button signal can be transmitted between an elevator control unit and a car or floors using a wireless transmitting/receiving unit having a narrow communicable range, and an elevator information transmission cable and installation work can be saved.

Claims (10)

1. An elevator system in which a car travels up and down between a plurality of floors, the elevator system comprising:

an elevator control unit; and

a terminal having a wireless transceiving unit, the terminal being provided corresponding to each of the floors;

the signal is relayed and transmitted between two terminals distant from each other by the radio transmitting/receiving unit of the other terminal.

2. An elevator system in which a car travels up and down between a plurality of floors, the elevator system comprising:

a terminal having a wireless transceiver unit, the terminal being disposed corresponding to each of the floors, the cars, and/or the counter weights;

the signal is relayed and transmitted between two terminals distant from each other by the radio transmitting/receiving unit of the other terminal.

3. An elevator system in which a car travels up and down between a plurality of floors, the elevator system comprising:

a terminal having a wireless transceiver unit, the terminal being provided corresponding to the cage, the counter weight, and each of the floors;

the terminal of the floor relays signals between the car and the counterweight and transmits and receives signals to and from the wireless transmitting and receiving unit of the terminal of the floor.

4. An elevator system in which a car travels up and down between a plurality of floors, the elevator system comprising:

a terminal having a wireless transceiver unit, the terminal being provided separately to the car, the counterweight, and the hoistway;

between the two terminals, the signal is relayed and transmitted and received by the radio transmitting and receiving unit of the other terminal.

5. An elevator system in which a car travels up and down between a plurality of floors, the elevator system comprising:

terminals having wireless transceiver units, one of the terminals being provided for the plurality of floors, one being provided for the car, and/or one being provided for a counterweight; and

a transmission network for transmitting information between the terminals which are close enough to be able to transceive signals.

6. An elevator system in which a car travels up and down between a plurality of floors, the elevator system comprising:

a terminal with a wireless transceiver unit, said terminal being correspondingly arranged one for each of said one to several floors, one for said car and one for an elevator control unit in the hoistway;

signals are then transceived among the terminals through the other terminals.

7. An elevator system in which a car travels up and down between a plurality of floors, the elevator system comprising:

a terminal having a wireless transceiver unit, said terminal being correspondingly configured with one for each of said one to several floors, one for said car, and/or one for a counterweight; and

a mobile terminal capable of transceiving signals to and from the terminal within a suitable distance.

8. An elevator system including a hall call button provided at each floor, a car call button provided in a car, and a control unit for operating an elevator car between a plurality of floors in accordance with operation of the call buttons, said elevator system further comprising:

the wireless transmitting units are used for transmitting the hall call button signals into the elevator lifting channel from the elevator climbing port;

a wireless transmitting unit for transmitting the car call button signal from the car into the lifting channel; and

and the wireless receiving unit is used for receiving the signal from each transmitting unit and transmitting the signal to the control unit directly or by relaying the signal through another transmitting and receiving unit, and the wireless receiving unit is arranged in the lifting channel.

9. An elevator system including a hall call button provided at each floor, a car call button provided in a car, and a control unit for operating an elevator car between a plurality of floors in accordance with operation of the call buttons, said elevator system further comprising:

the wireless receiving and transmitting units are used for transmitting signals from the hall call buttons of the landing entrance into an elevator lifting channel;

a wireless transceiver unit for transmitting the car call button signal from the car into the hoistway; and

a wireless transceiver unit for receiving the signal from each of the transmitting units and transmitting the signal to the control unit, and transmitting a lamp-on command signal from the control unit into the hoistway in response to each of the call button indicators, the wireless transceiver unit being installed in the hoistway.

10. An elevator system including a hall call button provided at each floor, a car call button provided in a car, and a control unit for operating an elevator car between a plurality of floors in accordance with operation of the call buttons, said elevator system further comprising:

a wireless transmitting unit for transmitting the car call button signal from the car into the lifting channel;

a wireless transceiver unit for relaying and retransmitting the car call signal from the transmitter unit, the wireless transceiver unit being installed in the hoistway; and

and the wireless receiving unit is used for receiving the car calling signal from the wireless transmitting unit of the car or from the wireless transmitting and receiving unit in the lifting channel and transmitting the car calling signal to the control unit, and the wireless receiving unit is arranged in the lifting channel.