Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Inventio Ag

Robert C MacDonald

Elsa Abrego

Marjorie J Polis

Matthew Martin

Jeffrey W Blain

Emanuel E Enriquez

Christian Semoroz

Gerald M Rees

Jon Howard

A system and method for optimally allocating elevator cars of an elevator group to serve downpeak traffic. The system monitors a 'snap shot' of pending down hall calls and forms groups based upon an initialized floor separation value or response range. If the number of groups formed is greater than the number of available elevator cars in the elevator group, the system increments the floor separation value by '+1' and regroups the 'snap-shot' of pending down hall calls. This procedure may be repeated until the number of formed groups is equal to or less than the number of allocable elevator cars. The system may then allocate each formed group to a respective available elevator car to serve the downpeak traffic.

Downpeak group optimization

A method of minimizing car bunching at any traffic flow level allocates closely adjacent stops to a given car which is favored by a variable, readjustable distributor bonus. The estimated lost time costs of all passengers are computed for each elevator and for each hall call, these costs are reduced by a variable distributor bonus concentrating adjacent stops in one car, and a hall call is then allocated for service to that elevator which displays the lowest, reduced estimated lost time costs. In order to assure the function of this method equally at high and low traffic levels, the variable distributor bonus (Bvn) is readjusted to the traffic flow level (Va) which serves as a tracking parameter by means of a tracking function according to the relationship Bvn=Bv.F(Va) and the readjusted variable distributor bonus is defined thereby. The tracking function F(Va) is determined by one of artificial intelligence methods and expert programs. By the dependence of the distributor bonus on traffic flow, the desired small local bunching of elevator cars is an optimum for every traffic level. This method is applicable to a plurality of different allocation criteria, service requests and tracking parameters.

Method and apparatus for preventing local bunching of cars in an

A method of assigning hall calls to a plurality of elevator cars (0, 1, N) which biases the assignment process to balance the number of cars serving up and down service directions. Prior to each call assignment update the method determines the number of cars serving each service direction (78, 80, 82). A predetermined relationship (88) between there two numbers is used to determine if up hall calls should be assigned first, or down hall calls (90, 92, 94, 96). The balancing of cars serving the two service directions lowers the average waiting time, and it results in dispersing the cars throughout a building when service subsides, to enable prompt service for newly entered calls without the necessity of moving the cars during periods of low service to be in position for new calls.

Dynamic selection of elevator call assignment scan direction

A method for assigning hall calls to a plurality of elevator cars on the basis of the estimating the time of arrival (ETA) of each elevator car at the floor of the hall call to be assigned. A new hall call is assigned to the car having the lowest ETA. A previously assigned hall call is reassigned to a car having a lower ETA than the car presently assigned to serve the call when the lower ETA is lower by a value T. The average call waiting time (AWT) is calculated using a selected period of time to tabulate the number of calls and cumulative call waiting time, and this calculated value is compared with the desired AWT for the elevator system. The value of T is changed when the calculated and desired values of ETA have a predetermined relationship.

Dynamic assignment switching in the dispatching of elevator cars

A method of assigning hall calls to a plurality of elevator cars in an ETA strategy in which up hall calls are scanned upwardly and down calls downwardly. A hall call floor at which the scan has stopped for the purpose of assigning or reassigning a hall call at the floor is called a 'scan floor'. The floor of the advanced position of the car being considered for assignment is called the 'AVP floor'. In order to favor the clustering of closely adjacent stops in a given car, and thus minimize car bunching, when a car has an intervening stop between the AVP floor and the scan floor, either the travel distance between the AVP floor and the scan floor, or the travel distance from an intervening stop to the scan floor, is used to develop a dynamic bias for the ETA of the associated car. The dynamic or variable bias is inversely proportional to the travel distance, i.e., the number of floors, between the relevant floors.

Anti-bunching method for dispatching elevator cars

An elevator dispatching method which estimates the time of arrival (ETA) of each car at the floor of a hall call to be assigned. A building profile of average door cycle times per floor, over predetermined periods of the day, is tabulated and used in the ETA calculations, to provide more accurate ETA values and thus a lower average call waiting time.

Method for using door cycle time in dispatching elevator cars

A method of optimizing the handling of coincident calls in an elevator system which employs ETA strategy in assigning hall calls to a plurality of elevator cars. The method dynamically biases the ETA value of a car having a car call for the floor of the hall call being assigned, with the bias being applied to favor assignment of the hall call to the car having the coincident car call. The amount of the bias is inversely proportional to the car travel distance between the advanced position (AVP floor) of the elevator car and the floor associated with the hall call (scan floor). The relative effect of the bias is predetermined for each floor by preselection of a constant K used in the bias calculation.

Coincident call optimization in an elevator dispatching system

An elevator system, and method of operating same, in which emergency back-up service is provided all floors of a building when normal service is degraded, such as due to a dispatcher malfunction, a communication failure between the elevator cars of a bank of cars and a group supervisory controller or dispatcher, failure of the hall call circuits, and the like. When the emergency service is provided, a different initial block of floors is assigned to each elevator car, and as each elevator car completes a round trip its block of assignments are revised in a rotational manner. Thus, all floors are guaranteed service as long as at least one elevator car is operational.

Elevator system

An emergency control system for use in an elevator system. When an emergency situation arises in an elevator car, an elevator passenger recites a code word. A microphone in the elevator car transforms the vocal signal to an electrical signal, and using a voice-recognition system, the spoken code word is compared with a code word stored in memory. If the spoken code word matches the stored code word, control of the elevator system is switched to an emergency mode. In this mode the elevator car is brought to a predetermined landing and an intercom system providing communication between the elevator car and the guard station is activated. At the predetermined landing, security personnel are available to render assistance to the elevator passenger when the elevator doors open.

Elevator emergency control system

A new and improved method of serving calls for elevator service in a building. The method independently serve at least two groups of floors using at least two banks of elevator cars, from a single system processor. The full strategy of the system processor is applied to each group as a whole, and not as segments of a strategy, to improve elevator service to each group, while effecting the economies which result from the utilization of a single system processor, a single hall call processor, and a single data transmission system.

Method of operating an elevator system

An elevator system, and method of operating same, which includes a plurality of elevator cars mounted in a building to serve the floors therein. The building includes a special floor, located between the top and bottom floors, from which all calls for elevator service in the up and down directions may be registered. Supervisory control apparatus, which assigns a hall call to a selected elevator car, gives priority to a predetermined service direction from the special floor when hall calls for both the up and down directions coexist therefrom, with the priority direction being responsive to the position of the special floor in the building.

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West Caldwell, NJ, United States of America

Robert C MacDonald