Patent Publication Number: US-11661310-B2

Title: Content information of floor of elevator

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Information systems for elevators have not been widely spread. Typically, mostly floor information is displayed to the user of the elevator. Especially inside the elevator, the user sees merely the floor number at the display unit, such as a number of the current floor of the elevator. Additionally, the elevator may contain specific information attached inside the elevator. For example, different kinds of textual or graphical notifications or labels may be manually and mechanically inserted inside the elevator. They are typically temporary so that a certain notification or information is manually and mechanically removed, or replaced, after a period of time. 
     SUMMARY 
     An object of an embodiment may be to provide floor content information of an elevator. The object may be achieved by the features of the independent claims. Further embodiments are discussed in the dependent claims. 
     Floor content information of an elevator is described. According to an embodiment, a device is disclosed, comprising: a processor; a storage comprising a set of instructions; wherein the set of instructions cause the processor to: Receive a destination floor of the elevator; Receive information describing content of the destination floor, wherein the content identifies the content located within the destination floor; Based on the destination floor and the information describing the content of the destination floor, display a data notification to at least one user using the elevator travelling to the destination floor. 
     According to other embodiments, an elevator, a method and a computer program product is described along with the features of the device. 
     At least one of the afore-mentioned implementation examples offers one or more solutions to the problems and disadvantages of the known prior art. Other technological benefits of the present invention become evident to a person skilled in the art from the following description and the claims. The numerous examples of implementing the present invention achieve only a part of the presented advantages. None of the advantages is critical to the examples of implementation. Any required embodiment can technically be combined with any other required embodiment. The examples represent only a few advantageous embodiments and they do not limit the idea of the invention that can be implemented even in other manners within the framework of the claims presented further below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The attached figures illustrate examples of embodiments of the present invention, and together with the above general description and the detailed current embodiments help explain, by way of examples, the principles of the invention. 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic cross section of an elevator shaft having an elevator with a display in accordance with an embodiment; 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram of a server according to an embodiment; and 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic flow chart of displaying content information of a floor of an elevator in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the embodiment  FIG.  1   , an elevator  100  is illustrated. The elevator  100  runs within an elevator shaft  101 . Different floors  103  are also illustrated in  FIG.  1   . Each floor  103  of the building has different kind of content, for example, depending on the building type, the floor content may be a parking hall, office spaces, apartment blocks, shops, etc. The floor content may be any kind of information describing what the floor has and/or what the floor is. The floor content describes more details of the floor than, for example, illustrating a number or an abbreviation of the floor. A server  104  is connected to the display  102 . The display  102  may be inside the elevator. According to another embodiment, the display  102  may be positioned in a lobby of the elevator floor  103 . At least one user  105  of the elevator  100  is shown in the elevator  100  in  FIG.  1   . An embodiment of  FIG.  1    provides a floor  103  content based data notification to a user  105  of the elevator  100 . The displayed data notifications may be selected based on the use and type of the floor  103  or building, for example a shopping center, hotel, etc. Furthermore, it may maintain and administer associated statistics of the floor content data notifications. 
     An embodiment of  FIG.  1    includes a server  104  which is loaded with a set of instructions. The set of instructions may be selected based on a desired criterion or several criteria. The set of instructions are configured to present at the display  102  the floor content data notifications to the user  105 . The floor content data notifications may be based on various criteria, for example at least a portion of the content of the destination floor  103  where the elevator  100  is set to go from the origin floor  103 . According to an embodiment, the floor content data notifications may be based on an elevator ride from an origin floor to a target floor, or be based on personalized information of the user  105  such as gender, age, etc. The personalized information of the user  105  may be obtained from an access control system or other control system, etc. 
     Data notifications are transmitted to a display  102  of the elevator  100  from the server  104 . According to an embodiment, media data content is transmitted to a media display that is situated in the elevator. This may include pictures, sound, audio, video. 
     According to an embodiment, analysis of the activities of the user  105  of the elevator  100 , and consequently collection of data of the analysis, may enable use of the data notifications within the elevator  100  or in connection with the elevator  100 . An embodiment may better focus the elevator&#39;s  100  data notifications for certain users, even in terms of a campaign of the data notifications. An embodiment may design the content of the data notifications, for example to have more user personalized data notifications. An embodiment may increase the probability of meeting the target of data notification success plans. An embodiment may enhance recordability and measurability of the executed data notifications. 
     The server  104  may be an elevator specific, a building specific, and/or a cloud service. The elevator specific server controls a single elevator, for example as illustrated in the embodiment of  FIG.  1   . A building specific server may control several elevators, or there may be several connected servers controlling the building. A cloud service may control a single elevator  100 , individual elevators  100  of the building, even up to several buildings with elevators  100 . An embodiment may be extended to multiple displays  102 , for example to an entire elevator group, a whole building, or several buildings. Consequently, one or more server  104  may control one or more displays  102 . 
     An embodiment describes a report of the data notifications. According to an embodiment, an automatic report may be obtained with respect to the data notifications. The report may be configured to describe how the data notifications have reached the users  105 . Data notifications may be focused on a certain user  105  based on the received data information. Rather than having standing fixed notifications on the walls of the elevator, dynamic data notifications are being displayed, possibly with respect to the desired users  105 . According to an embodiment, a data notification campaign may be established. The server may be configured to create new data notifications and campaigns at least semi-automatically based on the collected and statistical data of the performed data notifications. For example, the server  104  may alter the data notifications based on the received information relating to the user  105 . 
     According to an embodiment, a number of users  105  of the elevator  100  can be detected. For example, the number of users  105  may be calculated in real time. This information may be used in executing the data notifications. Thus, the data notification may be partly based on the number of users  105  of the elevator  100 . According to an embodiment, an access system which is connected to the server  104  detects the number of users  105 . The access system sends the number of users  105  to the server  104 . Consequently, the server  104  may render the data notifications based on the received number of users  105 . 
     According to an embodiment, for example optionally with respect to other embodiments, access information of the user  105  may be collected. Personal details of the user  105  may be detected based on an access identification system of the user  105 , such as a personal access key. For example, gender, age, family status, etc may be collected. By an embodiment, personal details may be conveyed from an external system having such data. The access system may contain personal information of the user  105 . The access system may convey this personal information to the server  104 , to be processed for rendering the data notifications at the display  102 . 
     According to an embodiment, data indicating a destination floor  103  of the path of the elevator  100  is collected. Thus, elevator data may be collected in real-time. Elevator data may indicate an origin floor  103  such as the current floor where the elevator  100  is. The data may indicate a target floor  103 , such as a destination where the elevator  100  is supposed to go, for example as a user  105  presses a certain floor button. In addition to and/or in combination with the above, the elevator data may comprise floor level content information of the departure and the destination floors, for example content of what the destination floor  103  is, such as the destination floor  103  being a metro station. As another example, the content may indicate what the destination floor  103  contains, such as children&#39;s clothing of a department store. The content data of the floor  103  may contain specific units, locations, places, functionalities relating to a certain floor  103 . 
     According to an embodiment, each data notification may have a defined target hit or hits in terms of, for example, a number of presentations at the display  102 . However, there may be other factors as well. The access data of the user  105 , when it is available, may be used for defining the target number of presentations. A data notification having a desired context may be used in an embodiment. For example, the context may be a way to a women&#39;s clothing department. Based on the context, it can be profiled to what kinds of persons, having personal interests, the data notification has been displayed at the display  102 . 
     According to an embodiment, the following data information may be enclosed in the process of rendering the data notifications: identification data of the displayed data notifications, time of the data notifications, date of the data notifications, the number of users relating to the data notifications, and information relating to the elevator path, such as the target floor content information, for example a floor of women&#39;s clothing. According to an embodiment, in addition to or instead of the above, the following may be included with respect to any embodiments: user access control information. Because the user access control information may be subject to privacy, it may be profiling information instead of personal identifying information. 
     According to an embodiment, the server  104  may be configured to establish a log or a register. For example, data which is applied in the embodiments is automatically generated in the log. The log may contain all data, for example as discussed in the embodiments. As another embodiment, the log may contain certain data, while other data is omitted; for example media data notifications, elevator travel data, floor content data, as well as the access data, and their synchronizing data. 
     An embodiment may enable the calculation of how many users  105  have been displayed the data notification at the display  102 . This may be based on the detected number of users  105  and/or the number of presentations of the data notification. Furthermore, the context of the data notification may be determined, for example if the data notification has been illustrated on a way to the food department of the building where the elevator  100  is situated. An embodiment may in real-time control the selection of content of the data notifications automatically so that those data notifications which have not yet reached the target number of hits, for example “reached eyeballs”, may be further displayed. However, when the presentation of the data notification reaches the target amount, it can be stopped and the server  104  generates an alert notification. 
     An embodiment may configure the server  104  to insert a data notification to a buffer or a queue which is maintained at the server  104 . When a number of presentations of a certain data notification reaches a predetermined threshold, the server  104  may remove it from the playlist and a new data notification may, optionally automatically, replace the previous one. The server  104  may store the previous data notification and insert it at the bottom of the playlist. Consequently, the server  104  may operate a playlist of data notifications. 
     According to an embodiment, new data notifications and campaigns of the data notifications may be designed on the basis of collected data of previous presentations. They may be performed automatically by the server  104 . In addition or alternatively to the above, an administrator of the server  104  may design new data notifications and campaigns. For example, the designing criteria may be as follows: reaching the target or hit as soon as possible, reaching the target or hit as quickly as possible and with the fewest number of presentations on the screen, reaching the maximal target or hit within a predetermined time, within a predetermined number of displays, and within a predetermined geographical area. 
     A schematic diagram of the server  104  according to an embodiment is shown in  FIG.  2   . The server  104  can be a computing device in the elevator shaft  101  or in the elevator  100 . The server  104  may include a processing device  201  such as a microprocessor or Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC, a storage unit  203  and a communication interfacing unit  204 . The storage unit  203  may be any data storage device that can store a program code  202 , accessed and executed by the processing means  201 . Examples of the storage unit  203  include but are not limited to read-only memory, ROM, flash memory, random-access memory, RAM, CD-ROM/DVD-ROM, magnetic tape, hard disk and optical data storage device. The communication interfacing unit  204  may be a transceiver and is used to transmit and receive signals, for example messages or packets, according to processing results of the processing means  201 . The functionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. According to an embodiment, the server  104  is configured by the program code  202  when executed by the processing device  201  to execute the embodiments of the operations and functionality described. 
     Referring to  FIG.  3   , the process is utilized in the server  104  shown in  FIG.  2    for controlling the operation of the elevator  100 . The process of  FIG.  3    may be compiled into the program code  202 . According to an embodiment, the process may include the following steps: 
     Step  300 : destination floor; 
     step  301 : content of the floor; 
     step  302 : render data notification; and step  303 : display data notification. 
     According to the embodiment of the process, there is being received a destination floor of an elevator in step  300 . According to an embodiment, the user  105  provides the elevator  100  with the destination floor information. The destination floor information is transferred to the server  104 . According to step  301 , there is being received information describing content of the destination floor. The content identifies the content located within the destination floor. According to an embodiment, the server  104  receives or stores a plurality of contents of the destination floor, identifying the content located within the destination floor, for example that floor 7 contains a first and a second clothing store, floor 0 is a parking hall, floor 10 contains apartments with names, etc. In step  302 , there is being rendered the data notification. According to an embodiment, the server  104  processes the data notification based on the destination floor and the information describing the content of the destination floor. For example, if the user  105  has pressed floor 7 and the second clothing store has given a notification into the server  104 , the server renders a data notification based on the second clothing store which is located in floor 7. In step  303 , there is being displayed the data notification to at least one user using the elevator travelling to the destination floor. 
     For a person skilled in the art, it is obvious that numerous modifications and variations can be made to the equipment and the method. Other embodiments and exemplary implementations become evident to a person skilled in the art on the basis of the specification and practice related to the equipment and method described. The purpose is that the specification and the examples be regarded only as exemplary, so that the following patent claims and their equivalents show the actual scope of protection.