Patent Description:
Recently, in response to the pandemic of the new coronavirus, major manufacturers have focused on the research of non-contact elevator control devices. Existing non-contact elevator control devices include infrared induction or capacitive induction non-contact control buttons, which can only realize the identification of existence of objects within a specific distance range.

JPH06100248A discloses an elevator car call registration device capable of preventing a drop in operation efficiency due to the concurrent pressing of adjacent destination floor buttons in error. <CIT> discloses an elevator system including an elevator operating panel having at least one button and an audio orientation system including a proximity sensor. <CIT> discloses an elevator control device according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

An object of the present invention is to solve or at least alleviate the problems existing in the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an elevator control device as claimed in claim <NUM>.

In some embodiments of the elevator control device, the plurality of buttons include a TOF sensor to sense the distance to the obj ect, and the signals sent by the plurality of buttons include distance information.

In some embodiments of the elevator control device, the processor is configured to receive any two signals sent by any designated button of the plurality of buttons in time sequence within a first time period T, wherein the two signals include first distance information a<NUM> and second distance information a<NUM> respectively, and when the two signals satisfy that the first distance signal a<NUM> is in a first distance range R<NUM> and the second distance signal a<NUM> is in a second distance range R<NUM>, it is determined that there is a non-contact button operation, wherein an intermediate value of the first distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM>.

In some embodiments of the elevator control device, the processor is configured to receive any three signals sent by any designated button of the plurality of buttons in time sequence within a first time period T, wherein the three signals include first distance information a<NUM>, second distance information a<NUM> and third distance information as respectively, and when the three signals satisfy that the first distance signal a<NUM> is in a first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance signal a<NUM> is in a second distance range R<NUM> and the third distance signal as is in a third distance range R<NUM>, it is determined that there is a non-contact button operation, wherein an intermediate value of the first distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM>, and the intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the third distance range R<NUM>.

In some embodiments of the elevator control device, the processor is configured to: when a non-contact button operation is sensed by the designated button, determine whether at least one button adjacent to the designated button has sensed the approaching of an object within a second time period T'; if yes, not execute the operation corresponding to the designated button; and if not, execute the operation corresponding to the designated button.

In some embodiments of the elevator control device, the process of determining whether at least one button adjacent to the designated button has sensed an object includes sensing, in the second time period T', whether there is an object whose distance from each of the adjacent buttons is in the first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance range R<NUM> or the third distance range R<NUM>.

In some embodiments of the elevator control device, the plurality of buttons include:.

In some embodiments of the elevator control device, the button panel is a light-transmitting panel, and the printed circuit board is further provided with LED lights, which are lit up after the button is triggered.

In some embodiments of the elevator control device, the button adjacent to the designated button is a button whose distance from the designated button is in a range of <NUM>-<NUM>, or the button adjacent to the designated button is a button directly adjacent to the designated button or a button spaced apart from the designated button by only one button.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an elevator system as claimed in claim <NUM>.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for preventing false triggering of an elevator control device as claimed in claim <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the method includes receiving any two signals sent by any designated button of the plurality of buttons in time sequence within a first time period T, wherein the two signals include first distance information a<NUM> and second distance information a<NUM> respectively, and when the two signals satisfy that the first distance signal a<NUM> is in a first distance range R<NUM> and the second distance signal a<NUM> is in a second distance range R<NUM>, it is determined that there is a non-contact button operation, wherein an intermediate value of the first distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM>.

In some embodiments, the method includes receiving any three signals sent by any designated button of the plurality of buttons in time sequence within a first time period T, wherein the three signals include first distance information a<NUM>, second distance information a<NUM> and third distance information as respectively, and when the three signals satisfy that the first distance signal a<NUM> is in a first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance signal a<NUM> is in a second distance range R<NUM> and the third distance signal as is in a third distance range R<NUM>, it is determined that there is a non-contact button operation, wherein an intermediate value of the first distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM>, and the intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the third distance range R<NUM>.

In some embodiments, the method includes: when a non-contact button operation is sensed by the designated button, determining whether at least one button adjacent to the designated button has sensed the approaching of an object within a second time period T'; if yes, not executing the operation corresponding to the designated button; and if not, executing the operation corresponding to the designated button.

In some embodiments, the process of determining whether at least one button adjacent to the designated button has sensed an object includes sensing, in the second time period T', whether there is an object whose distance from each of the adjacent buttons is in the first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance range R<NUM> or the third distance range R<NUM>.

The device and method according to the embodiments of the present invention can effectively prevent false triggering of an elevator control device.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, the disclosure of the present invention will become easier to understand. It can be easily understood by those skilled in the art that these drawings are only for illustrative purpose, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. In addition, similar numbers in the drawings are used to denote similar components, in which:.

Reference is made to <FIG>, which shows a control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control device includes a control panel <NUM> having a plurality of buttons, and the plurality of buttons may include a first button <NUM>, a second button <NUM> and a third button <NUM>. Although only three buttons are shown, in fact, the plurality of buttons refer to two or more buttons, including any number larger than two. The control device is used as an elevator control device in a building, and the control panel may be installed in an elevator hall or elevator car. The plurality of buttons may be, for example, an elevator-calling button, a going-up button, a going-down button, a door-opening button, a door-closing button, a floor selecting button, and an alarm button in the elevator control panel, etc. The plurality of buttons can sense approaching of an object and output signals. In some embodiments, the plurality of buttons may be buttons based on proximity sensors such as infrared sensing, Hall effect sensing, etc., which can sense whether there is an object within a detectable distance, and output signals when there is an object. In the embodiment of the present invention, some or all of the plurality of buttons may be buttons equipped with TOF sensors. The specific structure of such buttons will be described in detail below in conjunction with <FIG> and <FIG>. A TOF (time of fly) sensor is also called a time-of-fly sensor. It can not only detect the approaching of an object, that is, detect whether the object is within a detectable distance, but can also detect information of the distance from the object to the button. The control device also includes a processor <NUM>, which is connected to the plurality of buttons of the control panel <NUM> to receive signals sent from the plurality of buttons. The processor <NUM> may be integrated at the control panel <NUM> or may be arranged remotely. In the embodiment of the present invention, the processor <NUM> is configured to, when receiving signals sent by at least two adjacent buttons (such as two, three or more than three) of the plurality of buttons within a defined time period, then not execute an operation corresponding to the signals. For example, in a case where the plurality of buttons are equipped with proximity sensors based on infrared sensing, Hall effect sensing, etc., the processor <NUM> may be configured to, when receiving signals sent by three adjacent buttons within a defined time period such as <NUM> seconds, not execute an operation corresponding to the signals; in other words, the signals are invalidated. The length of the defined time period may be set arbitrarily; for example, based on actual requirements (such as the required sensitivity), it may be set to any value from <NUM> to <NUM> seconds, such as any value from <NUM> to <NUM> second, such as <NUM> seconds, <NUM> seconds, <NUM> seconds, etc. The adjacent buttons may be set based on actual requirements (such as the required sensitivity); for example, they may be set based on the distance or based on the positions on the control panel. For example, the buttons having a distance in a range of <NUM>-<NUM> may be set as the adjacent buttons, or the distance may for example be set in a range of <NUM>-<NUM>; alternatively, the adjacent buttons may refer to buttons that are directly adjacent in the array of buttons, or they may refer to buttons that are directly adjacent and buttons that are spaced apart by only one button in the array of buttons, or they may refer to buttons that are directly adjacent and buttons that are spaced apart by one or two buttons in the array of buttons, etc..

Next, reference is made to <FIG> and <FIG> to introduce the button according to the embodiment of the present invention. The plurality of buttons may include: a button panel <NUM>; a TOF sensor <NUM> on a back side of the button panel <NUM> to sense the distance to an object <NUM>; and a printed circuit board <NUM>. The TOF sensor <NUM> is electrically coupled to the printed circuit board <NUM>, and the printed circuit board <NUM> may be connected to the plurality of buttons and the processor <NUM>, thereby realizing the connection between the plurality of buttons and the processor <NUM>, including electrical and/or signal connections. As shown in <FIG>, the TOF sensor <NUM> may include a photon emitter <NUM> and a photon receiver <NUM>. The photon emitter <NUM> emits a photon G, which is reflected after contacting the object <NUM>, and which is received by the photon receiver <NUM>. Through the time of flight of the photon G and the speed of light, the distance to the object <NUM> is calculated. In some embodiments, the panel <NUM> is a light-transmitting panel, and LED lights <NUM> are also provided on the printed circuit board <NUM>. The LED light <NUM> are lit up after the button is triggered.

Next, reference is made to <FIG>. When a person <NUM> is leaning on the elevator control panel, the first button <NUM>, the second button <NUM>, and the third button <NUM> sense the approaching of the object and send signals to the processor; then, the processor <NUM> does not execute operations corresponding to the first button <NUM>, the second button <NUM> and the third button <NUM>. The processor <NUM> can be set based on actual requirements (such as the required sensitivity). For example, in some embodiments, the processor <NUM> may be configured to, when at least two adjacent buttons have sensed the approaching of an object, not execute operations related to the at least two adjacent buttons. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the processor <NUM> may be configured to not execute related operations only when at least three adjacent buttons have sensed the approaching of an object, and execute related operations even when two adjacent buttons have sensed the approaching of an object. Alternatively, in some other embodiments, the processor <NUM> may be configured to not execute related operations only when at least four adjacent buttons have sensed the approaching of an object, and execute related operations even when two or three adjacent buttons have sensed the approaching of an object, etc..

In some embodiments, when the button is equipped with the TOF sensor, the processor <NUM> is configured to receive any three signals sent by any one (hereinafter referred to a designated button) of the plurality of buttons in time sequence within a first time period T, wherein the three signals include first distance information a<NUM>, second distance information a<NUM> and third distance information as respectively, and when the three signals satisfy that the first distance signal a<NUM> is in a first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance signal a<NUM> is in a second distance range R<NUM> and the third distance signal as is in a third distance range R<NUM>, it is determined that there is a non-contact button operation, wherein an intermediate value of the first distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM>, and the intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the third distance range R<NUM>. For example, the third distance range R<NUM> may be an range of <NUM>-<NUM> of the distance from the button, with an intermediate value of <NUM>; the second distance range R<NUM> may be an range of <NUM>-<NUM> of the distance from the button, with an intermediate value of <NUM>; and the first distance range R<NUM> may be an range of <NUM>-<NUM> of the distance from the button, with an intermediate value of <NUM>. The first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance range R<NUM> and the third distance range R<NUM> may be arbitrarily set within the detectable range of the TOF sensor. For example, as shown in <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>, the first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance range R<NUM> and the third distance range R<NUM> may be adjacent to each other. In some other embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance range R<NUM> and the third distance range R<NUM> may be spaced apart. Alternatively, although not shown, the first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance range R<NUM> and the third distance range R<NUM> may also partially overlap, for example, overlap by a small portion.

For example, the TOF sensor may collect N signals (such as <NUM>, depending on the sampling frequency and the value of the first time period T) including distance information in the first time period T. If there are any three signals which satisfy that the first distance signal a<NUM> at time t<NUM> is in the first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance signal a<NUM> at time t<NUM> is in the second distance range R<NUM> and the third distance signal as at time t<NUM> is in the third distance range R<NUM>, wherein t<NUM><t<NUM><t<NUM>, then the processor determines that there is a non-contact button operation. In some embodiments, in a case where there is no aforementioned non-contact button operation, the processor invalidates the received signals indicating object approaching. In this way, the triggering action of the user's finger approaching the button can be accurately captured, and other operations such as the user's translation on the panel can be filtered out. For example, even if the user's hand passes through identification areas of certain buttons when the user naturally puts down the hand after pressing the button, the signals detected by these buttons will be ignored because they do not meet the above identification conditions. The above-mentioned first time period T may be selected based on actual conditions (for example, depending on the required sensitivity); for example, it may be in a range of <NUM>-<NUM> seconds, or for example, in a range of <NUM>-<NUM> seconds. As shown in <FIG>, a calculation starting point T<NUM> of the first time period T may be any point or may be a designated point; for example, T<NUM> is selected every certain time range, such as <NUM> seconds.

In some embodiments, the processor may be configured to: when the above-mentioned non-contact button operation is sensed by the designated button, determine whether one, two or more buttons adjacent to the designated button have sensed the approaching of an object within a second time period T'; if yes, not execute the operation corresponding to the designated button; and if not, execute the operation corresponding to the designated button. The starting point of the second time period T' may be coincident with or offset from the starting point T<NUM> of the first time period T, for example, slightly delayed. The length of the second time period T' may be the same as or different from the first time period T, for example, slightly longer than the first time period T. Depending on the desired sensitivity, the processor may be configured to not execute the corresponding operation when one adjacent button has sensed the approaching of an object, or not execute the corresponding operation when at least two adjacent buttons have sensed the approaching of an object, and execute the corresponding operation when only one adjacent button has sensed the approaching of an object, etc. The further filtering of this step can further effectively avoid false triggering and operating the plurality of buttons, such as a situation where a person or an object is leaning on the control panel.

In some embodiments, the process of determining whether one, two or more buttons adjacent to the designated button have sensed an object includes sensing, in the second time period T', whether there is an object whose distance from each of the adjacent buttons is in the first distance range, the second distance range or the third distance range. For example, as shown in <FIG>, in the case of a person leaning on the control panel, even if the first button <NUM> has sensed a non-contact button operation, for example, as described above, the first button <NUM> has sensed that an object sequentially passes through the first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance range R<NUM> and third distance range R<NUM> which have a decreasing distance from the designated button within the second time period T', but the second button <NUM> adjacent to the first button <NUM> has sensed the object is in the second distance range R<NUM> from the second button <NUM>, and the third button <NUM> adjacent to the first button <NUM> has also sensed the object is in the first distance range R<NUM> from the third button <NUM>, then the processor <NUM> does not execute the operation corresponding to the designated button at this point. In some embodiments, the processor may be configured to not execute the corresponding operation when only one adjacent button has sensed an object, while in some other embodiments, the processor may be configured to not execute the corresponding operation only when at least two adjacent buttons have sensed an object, and still execute the corresponding operation when only one adjacent button has sensed an object. Different sensitivities can be achieved through different configurations of the processor.

Next, reference is made to <FIG>, which show typical curves from which non-contact button operations can be identified. It should be understood that the curves in the figures are fitted by collected signals, and the non-contact button operation can be determined as long as any three of the data points in the curves satisfy the condition.

According to another aspect, an elevator system is provided, wherein the elevator system includes the control device according to various embodiments, which serves as a hall control device or an in-car control device.

According to another aspect, a method for preventing false triggering of a control device is provided, and the method includes: when signals sent by at least two adjacent buttons of the plurality of buttons such as two, three or more buttons are received within a defined time period, not executing an operation corresponding to the signals.

In some embodiments, a method for identifying a non-contact button operation in a button including a TOF sensor is also provided, and the method includes: receiving any three signals including first distance information a<NUM>, second distance information a<NUM> and third distance information a<NUM>, sent by a designated button of the plurality of buttons in time sequence within a first time period T, wherein when the three signals satisfy that the first distance signal a<NUM> is in a first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance signal a<NUM> is in a second distance range R<NUM> and the third distance signal as is in a third distance range R<NUM>, it is determined that there is a non-contact button operation, wherein an intermediate value of the first distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM>, and the intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the third distance range R<NUM>. In the above embodiments, three signals and three distance ranges are used as the judgment basis, and in some embodiments, only two signals and two distance ranges may be used as the judgment basis for non-contact button operation. For example, in some embodiments, any two signals sent by any designated button of the plurality of buttons in time sequence within the first time period T are received, wherein the two signals include first distance information a<NUM> and second distance information a<NUM> respectively, and when the two signals satisfy that the first distance signal a<NUM> is in the first distance range R<NUM> and the second distance signal a<NUM> is in the second distance range R<NUM>, it is determined that there is a non-contact button operation, wherein an intermediate value of the first distance range R<NUM> is larger than an intermediate value of the second distance range R<NUM>.

In some embodiments, the method for preventing false triggering may be triggered by a non-contact button operation identified by the above method, wherein when it is identified that the designated button has sensed a non-contact button operation, it is determined whether at least one button adjacent to the designated button such as one, two or more buttons have sensed the approaching of an object within the second time period T'; if yes, the operation corresponding to the designated button is not executed; and if not, the operation corresponding to the designated button is executed. The foregoing step of determining whether at least one button adjacent to the designated button such as one, two or more buttons have sensed an object further includes sensing, in the second time period T', whether there is an object whose distance from each of the adjacent buttons is in the first distance range R<NUM>, the second distance range R<NUM> or the third distance range R<NUM>.

Claim 1:
An elevator control device, comprising:
a control panel (<NUM>), which comprises a plurality of buttons (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>), each of the plurality of buttons being capable of sensing the approaching of an object in a non-contact manner; and
a processor (<NUM>), which is connected to the control panel (<NUM>) to receive signals sent by the plurality of buttons (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) when the approaching of an object is sensed;
characterized in that the processor (<NUM>) is configured to, when receiving signals sent by at least two adjacent buttons of the plurality of buttons within a defined time period, not execute an operation corresponding to the signals.