Group-controlled elevator system

Multiple elevators are installed as a group in a building and are equipped with destination floor boarding location buttons (7), (8), (9) and (10) that are provided on the lobby floor. Multiple car controllers (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) are input car data for each elevator so that the controllers control the operations of each elevator. A higher level controller (6) is provided with input data from the multiple car controllers and call data and that efficiently operates multiple cars while accommodating changes in traffic demand. When it is determined that higher level controller (6) is in service, all the floors are divided up into sectors and cars are quickly dispatched to the aforementioned sectors in response to the aforementioned destination floor boarding calls, and the sequencing of service in each sector will be in the order in which each destination floor boarding call has occurred.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention efficiently operates and controls multiple elevators 
as a group in response to changes in traffic demand, and in particular it 
pertains to an elevator system that reduces congestion while in service. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In modern buildings, group-controlled elevators in which multiple elevators 
are controlled as one group have been installed to operate these 
elevators. These group-controlled elevators are equipped with multiple car 
controllers into which are input data from each elevator car and that 
control the operation of each of these cars, and with a higher level 
controller into which are input data from these multiple car controllers 
and call data and that efficiently operates each of these multiple cars 
while accommodating changes in traffic demand. When a call occurs on a 
certain floor, the higher level controller calculates the time in which 
each car can respond to the aforementioned call and then assigns the car 
that can respond most rapidly to the aforementioned call. 
When it is determined that the higher level controller is in service, 
however, rather than group control in the normal mode described above, 
group control in the peak demand mode is performed. All service floors 
(floors on which cars respond to destination floor calls initiated on the 
lobby floor) are assigned to (N-1) cars remaining when 1 car is subtracted 
from N total cars. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, 15 service floors are 
assigned to four cars (A), (B), (C) and (D), when one car (E) is 
subtracted from five cars (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E). The second through 
the fifth service floors are designated the first sector, the sixth 
through the ninth service floors are designated the second sector, the 
tenth through the twelfth service floors are designated the third sector, 
and the thirteenth through the fifteenth service floors are designated the 
fourth sector. 
Here, when a destination call for floor 7 is produced on the lobby floor, 
since the seventh floor is part of the second sector, passengers board car 
(B) on the lobby floor and the car is rapidly dispatched to floor 7. Next, 
when destination calls occur in the order floor 14, floor 3 and floor 11, 
cars (D), (A) and (C) are rapidly dispatched in that order to floor 14, 
floor 3 and floor 11 from the lobby floor. Therefore, once the sector 
service order is carried out in the order of sectors 2, 4, 1 and 3 
(2-4-1-3) in this way, it will subsequently be carried out in the same 
order. 
Accordingly, when destination floor boarding calls occur in the order floor 
7, floor 14, floor 3, and floor 11 on the lobby floor, and the next is for 
floor 11 (the third sector), the elevators are not able to respond to this 
call immediately because the sector service order is 2-4-1-3. The higher 
level controller recognizes that there was no destination floor call for 
the second, fourth or first sectors. Passengers wanting to go from the 
lobby to floor 11 have to wait. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide a group-controlled 
elevator system in which, when a peak demand mode is established during 
servicing, passengers in the lobby will not be kept waiting for a long 
period of time. 
In accordance with the present invention, a group-controlled elevator 
system controls a plurality of elevator cars disposed in a building having 
a plurality of floors. The group-controlled elevator system comprises: a 
destination floor input device for receiving destination calls; a 
plurality of elevator controllers for controlling the operation of the 
plurality of elevator cars in response to the destination calls; and a 
group controller responsive to data provided by said plurality of elevator 
controllers such that the plurality of floors are formed into sectors and 
the plurality of elevator cars are dispatched to the sectors in response 
to the destination calls wherein service is provided to the sectors in an 
order that corresponds to an order of the destination calls.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
The present invention will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 
2 which show an application example of a group-controlled elevator system 
according to the present invention. 
Referring to FIG. 1, symbols (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E) are multiple 
elevators provided for a building. These elevators (A), (B), (C), (D) and 
(E) are equipped with car controllers (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) for 
controlling the operation of their respective cars. Car position data and 
car call data are output to higher level controller (6) from car 
controllers (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5), and boarding call data for each 
elevator are also input to this higher level controller (6). 
Higher level controller (6) calculates and processes the constantly 
changing positions and direction of movement of the cars, the 
circumstances of car calls and boarding calls, car load conditions, car 
departure interval conditions, and other types of traffic data to control 
movement of the cars in response to traffic demands, and assigns the most 
appropriate cars to floors where passengers are waiting. In addition, when 
it is determined that upper level controller (6) is in service, it 
performs group control in the peak demand mode, as described above. 
From congested floors, such as the lobby floor, the cars will often be 
completely filled so that a large number of passengers may board. In this 
case. passengers at the back of the car may not be able to press the 
destination floor buttons on the car operating panel provided at the front 
of the car because of the passengers at the front. Therefore, on congested 
floors, such as the lobby floor, destination boarding location buttons 
which are the same as the destination floor buttons on the car operating 
panel, are provided at these boarding locations. When the destination 
floor boarding location buttons at these boarding locations are pressed, 
it will not be necessary to press the destination floor buttons on the car 
operating panels inside the cars. 
On the lobby floor, destination floor boarding location buttons (7), (8), 
(9) and (10) are provided between elevators (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E). In 
addition, indicators (11), (12), (13), (14) and (15) that indicate the 
destination floor and that can be used when in service are provided above 
each elevator (A), (B), (C), (D) and (E). 
First, when it is determined that higher level controller (6) is in 
service. operation is set to the peak demand mode. 
Upper level controller (6) determines whether destination floor boarding 
location buttons (7), (8), (9) and (10) have been pressed on the lobby 
floor to produce a call (Step S.sub.1). When destination floor boarding 
location button is pressed and the indicated destination floor belongs to 
sector .alpha. (one of either the first, second, third or fourth sectors), 
it is determined whether there is another destination floor boarding call 
for this sector .alpha. (Step S.sub.2). 
When a sector .alpha. has no other call, the priority level of sector 
.alpha. is tentatively made 1 (Step S.sub.3). Next, it is determined if 
sector .beta. (one of either the first, second, third or fourth sectors), 
with a priority level that precedes sector .alpha., has a destination 
floor boarding call that belongs to this sector (Step S.sub.4). When 
.beta. already has a destination floor boarding call, the priority level 
of sector .beta. becomes 1, and sector .alpha. is determined to be 2 (Step 
S.sub.5). On the other hand, when sector .beta. has no call, the priority 
level of sector .alpha. is determined to be 1 (Step S.sub.6). In this way, 
the priority levels of sectors .alpha. and .beta. are made 1 and 2 and the 
sector service order becomes the order in which destination floor boarding 
calls occur. In addition, when a car departs from the lobby floor to a 
destination floor that belongs to sector .alpha., the priority level of 
sector .beta. becomes 1. 
Initially when the system is set to the peak demand mode, sector .beta. 
will be the closest sector to the lobby floor. Thus, the destination floor 
boarding calls that occur first can be assigned priority level one. Note 
that cars (A), (B), (C) and (D), which reach the lobby in that order, will 
be responsible for the first, second, third and fourth sectors. 
Thus, according to the present invention, when the peak demand mode is set, 
the sector service order will be the order in which each destination floor 
boarding call occurs, so that passengers on the lobby floor will not have 
to wait for a long period of time. 
Various changes to the above description may be made without departing from 
the spirit and scope of the present invention as would be obvious to one 
of ordinary skill in the art of the present invention.