JP2011241002A - Safety elevator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively detect the movement of passengers and a string-like foreign object in an elevator doorway to enhance the security, reduce an accident around a door not to disturb the service efficiency, and facilitate the maintenance and inspection.SOLUTION: A safety elevator, with an imaging device 5 installed in the elevator doorway to monitor the opening and closing of the elevator door, includes: a door control device 3 that controls the opening and closing of the elevator door; and an image processing part 6 that detects a detection object within a detection area determined from an image signal of the imaging device 5, wherein the size of the detection area is changed along with the opening and closing of the elevator door.

Description

  The present invention relates to an elevator in which a safety device is provided at an elevator door serving as an entrance, and is particularly suitable for preventing a passenger, a luggage, a string-like foreign object, and the like from being caught.

  Conventionally, elevator doors have a sheet-like pressure sensor that detects the trapping of passengers and luggage by the elevator door, string-like foreign objects such as cords of vacuum cleaners, and the doors just before closing. It is equipped with a photoelectric sensor that detects passengers trying to get into the car and controls the torque and speed when the door is opened and closed, aiming for passenger safety and smooth getting on and off.

  For example, the door is provided with a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit provided at a position facing the light emitting unit, and when the light beam is blocked, the door is kept open, or is stopped during the closing operation, and the door is opened again. Open operation. However, if the user tries to get on the door while the door is closed, or if it takes time to get on, it can respond sufficiently, but small foreign objects that do not block the light cannot be detected. In other words, if the user does not block the beam to the extent that it can be detected, the user takes the dog and uses the elevator, and only the dog connected with the string gets into the car first, the car moves up and down with the door closed. There is a risk that.

  Therefore, it is known to apply a surveillance camera to image the door opening / closing path space to detect the presence or absence of foreign matter, and in particular, to reduce the number of cameras and image processing devices required, the camera unit is placed above the car doorway. It is known that the photographing area is changed in such a manner that the inside of the car, the opening / closing route of the elevator door, and the landing are changed according to the opening / closing state of the elevator door (Patent Document 1).

  In addition, in order to enable detection of only foreign objects without detecting doors that are closed in image processing as foreign objects, a foreign object detection mark is provided on the upper surface of the elevator door sill, and an entrance including the mark is imaged. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228473 describes that the presence of a foreign object is detected.

JP 2008-120548 A JP 2006-89190 A

  In the above-described prior art, simply changing the shooting area or providing a mark makes it possible to effectively detect string-like foreign matter regardless of the surrounding environment, or to move passengers, for example, passengers at the doors of elevator doorways. It is not enough to respond or call attention according to the collision of the baggage.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art and to enhance safety by enhancing the functions. Another object is to reduce the number of accidents around the door and not hinder the operation efficiency, and to facilitate maintenance and inspection.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an imaging device at an elevator doorway, and in a safety elevator that monitors the opening and closing of an elevator door, a door control device that controls the opening and closing of the elevator door, and a detection region from a video signal of the imaging device And an image processing unit that detects the detected object, and changes the size of the detection area as the elevator door opens and closes.

  According to the present invention, since the size of the detection area is changed in accordance with the opening and closing of the elevator door, the movement of the passenger and the string-like foreign object can be effectively detected, and safety can be enhanced. In addition, maintenance and inspection are facilitated by improving detection sensitivity, shortening processing time by simplifying processing, reducing memory, and the like.

The front view and block diagram which show one embodiment by this invention. The top view of the elevator doorway of one embodiment. The flowchart which shows the control (motion detection) of one Embodiment. The top view which shows the detection area | region (motion detection) of one Embodiment. The block diagram which shows one embodiment (string-like foreign material detection) by this invention. The flowchart which shows the control (string-like foreign material detection) of one Embodiment. The top view which shows the detection area | region (string-like foreign material detection) of one Embodiment. The block diagram which shows one embodiment (movement and string-like foreign material detection).

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1A and 1B are a front view and a block diagram showing the entire safety elevator, showing a state when the landing direction is viewed from the inside of the car, and FIG. 2 is an arrangement of the imaging device in the upper entrance / exit frame positioned in the upper part of the car. FIG.

  A car door 2 that opens and closes in pairs is provided at the doorway of the elevator car 1, and a hall door that opens and closes the hall doorway is provided at the hall. The car door 2 is engaged with the landing door when the car reaches the landing floor, and the landing door is opened and closed in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the car door 2. The door control device 3 controls the opening and closing operations of the car door 2 and the landing door.

  The door control device 3 and the audio broadcasting device 4 are arranged on the car 1, and the entrance / exit of the car 1 and the entrance / exit of the hall are collectively used as an elevator door, and the car door 2 and the landing door are collectively used as an elevator door. The imaging device 5 is installed inside the elevator entrance / exit upper frame 7 and photographs the direction of the hallway from the vicinity of the sill straddling the elevator car and the hallway. A CMOS sensor that realizes a high-definition image of about 1,200,000 pixels is employed for the image pickup device of the image pickup apparatus 5.

  The image signal photoelectrically converted by the image pickup device of the image pickup device 5 is subjected to image processing after signal processing such as analog / digital conversion processing, gain adjustment, horizontal synchronization signal, vertical synchronization signal and the like for each unit image area constituting the image signal. The signal is output to the image processing unit 6 as a signal.

  When an operator connects a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as PC) 8 to the image processing unit 6 and divides the detection area into a plurality of detection areas while viewing the image of the imaging device 5 displayed on the monitor of the PC 8. Specify the number of detection blocks and the end face of the elevator door.

  Inside the image processing unit 6, an operation input unit 12, a video input unit 11 for inputting a video signal of the imaging device 5, a detection area input from the PC 8, the number of detection blocks in the detection area, and end face information of the elevator door are input. Control unit 13 based on a clock signal such as a horizontal synchronization signal and a vertical synchronization signal of a video signal input from video input unit 11. A clock signal generation unit 14 for generating a detection area clock signal based on the control signal of the video signal, and a video output unit 16 for outputting a composite image of the detection area based on the video signal of the video input unit 11 and the control signal of the control unit 13 to the outside. Prepare.

  The control unit 13 includes position coordinate and size information of the detection area set by the external input unit 12, position coordinate information based on elevator door end surface designation, and elevator door end surface position coordinate information in conjunction with the movement of the elevator door. The position coordinate and size information of the detection area are updated and output to the clock signal generation unit 14.

  In addition, information on the size of the detection area and the number of detection blocks for dividing the detection area is output to the motion detection unit 17.

  The detection area setting unit 15 selects and processes the video signal input from the video input unit 11 based on the clock signal generated by the clock signal generation unit 14 and outputs the video signal to the motion detection unit 17.

  The motion detection unit 17 employs motion detection based on a background difference method, and is provided with a frame memory 18 that stores a background image of a video signal in a detection area. If the luminance value of the detection pixel in the detection block that is a constituent element of the background image stored in the frame memory 18 is compared with the luminance value of the detection pixel of the input video signal and there is a change more than a predetermined value, It is determined that there was. Then, the movement direction for each detection block is totaled to determine the moving direction.

  Information on the movement detected by the movement detection unit 17 is transmitted to the door control device 3 to perform an opening / closing operation of the elevator door, and continuously track changes in the movement accompanying the opening / closing operation of the door.

  Hereinafter, the interlocking operation of the image processing unit 6 and the door control device 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for controlling safety associated with the opening and closing of the elevator door in conjunction with the image processing unit 6 and the door control device 3 of FIG.

  In step 1, when the door control device 3 receives the elevator door fully open signal, the imaging device 5 and the image processing unit 6 are turned on and the process proceeds to step 2.

  In step 2, the image processing unit 6 determines the presence or absence of movement in the detection area when the elevator door is fully open (see detection area A in FIG. 4A). The detection area A covers the passenger's movement as a rectangular area extending from the landing in front of the entrance to the entrance, which is wide in the depth direction of the landing (passenger traveling direction) over the entire opening width of the elevator entrance. And it is designed to allow passengers to ride in the car without panic. The motion presence / absence determination is repeated until no motion is detected in the detection area A, and the process proceeds to step 3 when no motion is detected.

In step 3, the door control device 3 starts closing the elevator door and proceeds to step 4.
In step 4, the image processing unit 6 deletes the detection block so that the width of the detection area is within the elevator door opening width in the process of closing the elevator door, and the detection area in the depth direction of the landing is also opened. The detection area is reduced by reducing the detection block so as to become narrower in conjunction with the width (detection area B in FIG. 4B: the detection area A in the figure is 6 in the horizontal direction and 5 in the vertical direction with respect to the number of detection blocks in the center. (Reduced to the number of horizontal 2 and vertical 3 detection blocks).

  Further, the image processing unit 6 determines whether or not there is a movement toward the car in the detection area B, and proceeds to step 6 if it is determined that there is a movement toward the car. If it is determined that there is no movement toward the car in the detection area B, the process proceeds to step 5.

In step 5, the door control device 3 determines whether there is a door closing signal indicating that the elevator door is closed. If there is a door closing signal, the process proceeds to step 8, and if there is no door closing signal, the process returns to step 4.
In step 6, the door control device 3 performs an operation of reversing and opening the elevator door and proceeds to the switch 7.
In step 7, the image processing unit 6 adds a detection block (enlarges the detection area) in conjunction with the elevator door opening width, and determines whether there is a movement toward the car in the detection area.

If there is no more movement toward the car, return to Step 3.
In step 8, the imaging device 5 and the image processing unit 6 are turned off.

  The interlock between the elevator door opening width and the detection area width is predetermined based on the opening / closing speed of the elevator door set in advance by the door control device 3 or based on the opening / closing signal of the elevator door of the door control device 3. The detection area may be reduced or expanded by deleting or adding the number of detection blocks after a lapse of time. The detection area is not limited to a rectangle, and may be a semicircle.

  According to the above, since the margin for reversing the elevator door before the passenger or the luggage is sandwiched can be increased, the passenger's safety can be enhanced. Further, since the frequency of collision of passengers and luggage with the elevator door can be reduced, failure of the elevator door can be reduced.

  In addition, the imaging of the elevator entrance / exit can be performed with one imaging device 5, and the image processing is performed by limiting the detection area from the captured video signal to reduce the image processing load, thereby improving the detection sensitivity. An inexpensive configuration can be achieved by shortening the processing time by simplifying the processing, reducing the memory, and the like.

  The detection of string-like foreign matter such as cords of a vacuum cleaner will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 includes an image processing unit 19 provided with a string-like foreign matter detection unit 20 instead of the motion detection unit 17 of the image processing unit 6 in the elevator door shown in FIG. The string-like foreign matter detection unit 20 uses a contour extraction method suitable for detecting a straight portion of the edge of an object by extracting a portion where the brightness changes abruptly in the image data.

  The detection region set by the string-like foreign object detection unit 20 is around the sill portion between the elevator car entrance and the landing, and expands and contracts in the door opening width direction as the elevator door opens and closes. The video signal in the detection area is temporarily stored in the frame memory 18 and then the edge of the object is determined from the degree of change in the adjacent luminance value based on line processing corresponding to the detection block in the detection area.

  Information on the detection area and the number of detection blocks is obtained from the control unit 13 and detection is performed in the detection area linked to the opening width of the elevator door (detection area C in FIG. 7: number of detection blocks in horizontal 6, vertical 2 and detection area D Horizontal 1, vertical 2) in the center. Hereinafter, the interlocking operation of the image processing unit 19 and the door control device 3 will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for controlling the safety associated with opening and closing of the elevator door in cooperation with the image processing unit 19 and the door control device 3 of FIG.
In step 11, when the door control device 3 receives the elevator door fully open signal, the imaging device 5 and the image processing unit 19 are turned on, and the process proceeds to step 12.

  In step 12, the image processing unit 19 determines the presence or absence of string-like foreign matter in the detection area when the elevator door is fully open (see detection area C in FIG. 7A). The detection region C is a linear one-dimensional region that is narrow in the direction from the landing to the elevator doorway over the entire opening width of the elevator doorway. When it is determined that no foreign matter is detected in the presence / absence determination of the string-like foreign matter in the detection area C, the process proceeds to step 13.

  In step 13, the door control device 3 starts closing the elevator door and proceeds to step 14.

  In step 14, the image processing unit 19 reduces the detection area by deleting the detection block so that the width of the detection area is within the elevator door opening width in the process of closing the elevator door (see detection area D in FIG. 7B). ).

  Further, the image processing unit 19 determines the presence or absence of string-like foreign matter within the detection area D, and proceeds to step 16 when determining that there is a string-like foreign matter. If it is determined that there is no movement toward the car in the detection area B, the process proceeds to step 15.

  In step 15, the door control device 3 determines whether or not there is a door closing signal indicating that the elevator door is closed. If there is a door closing signal, the process proceeds to step 23, and if there is no door closing signal, the process returns to step 14.

  In step 16, the door control device 3 stops the elevator door, and the audio broadcasting device 4 stops the door closing operation because a foreign object such as a string is detected in the sill. Please announce "and call attention, and proceed to Step 17.

  In step 17, a predetermined time for stopping the door closing operation is set as a timer, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step 18.

  In step 18, the image processing unit 19 determines whether or not there is a string-like foreign substance in the detection area. If it is determined that no string-like foreign substance is detected, the process returns to step 13. If it is determined that the state in which the string-like foreign matter is detected continues, the process proceeds to step 19.

  In step 19, the door control device 3 starts the elevator door opening operation and proceeds to step 20.

  In step 20, the image processing unit 19 enlarges the detection area in conjunction with the elevator door opening width, performs the presence / absence determination of the string-like foreign matter in the detection area, and if there is no movement toward the car, the process proceeds to step 13. Return. If there is a string-like foreign object, the process proceeds to step 21.

  In step 21, it is determined whether or not the presence of the string-like foreign matter has passed a predetermined time. If the time has not elapsed, the process returns to step 20, and if the predetermined time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step 22, where an alarm signal is transmitted to the control center to stop the operation of the elevator.

  In step 23, the imaging device 5 and the image processing unit 6 are turned off. As described above, when a string-like foreign object such as a cord of an electric vacuum cleaner straddling the landing and the car is detected, it is possible to enhance the passenger's safety by using both the door closing operation stop and the alert by voice announcement.

With reference to FIG. 8, it demonstrates that a motion detection and a string detection are implement | achieved with the same apparatus.
In FIG. 8, the image processing unit 6 of the elevator door shown in FIG. The image processing unit 21 can independently set a detection region for detecting motion with the operation input unit and a detection region for detecting string-like foreign matter, and the motion detection unit and the string-like foreign matter detection unit detect each detection region. Make a decision. Therefore, it is possible to realize detection of a passenger or a baggage trying to get into the car by the image processing unit 21 and detection of a string-like foreign object such as a cord of a vacuum cleaner.
In the above, expansion / contraction of the detection area does not delete or add the number of detection blocks of a certain size, but when the detection area is reduced, the size of each detection block should be reduced and the number of detection blocks should not be changed. By doing so, the sensitivity of movement or string-like foreign object detection can be improved. Therefore, the detection of the detected object can be performed more reliably even when there is a lot of noise in the video signal from the imaging device, or when the contrast is not good due to the influence of the surrounding environment.

  In addition, according to the described embodiment, it is possible to clearly detect sudden movement when a user gets in, pinching of a string-like foreign object, etc. from normal usage situations, so that normal usage can be performed. The situation is not erroneously detected and operation efficiency is not hindered. Furthermore, maintenance and inspection are facilitated by improving detection sensitivity, shortening processing time by simplifying processing, reducing memory, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car 2 Car door 3 Door control apparatus 4 Audio broadcasting apparatus 5 Imaging apparatus 6, 19, 21 Image processing part 7 Entrance upper frame 8 Personal computer (PC)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Video input part 13 Control part 14 Clock signal generation part 15 Detection area setting part 16 Video output part 17 Motion detection part 18 Frame memory 20 String-like foreign material detection part

Claims (10)

In a safety elevator that has an imaging device at the elevator entrance and monitors the opening and closing of the elevator door,
A door control device for controlling opening and closing of the elevator door;
An image processing unit for detecting a detection object by determining a detection region from a video signal of the imaging device;
And the size of the detection area is variable as the elevator door is opened and closed.   The safety elevator according to claim 1, wherein the size of the detection area is determined according to an opening width associated with opening and closing of the elevator door.   2. The safety elevator according to claim 1, wherein the detection area is reduced as the opening width associated with opening and closing of the elevator door is reduced.   2. The safety elevator according to claim 1, wherein the detection area is divided into a plurality of detection blocks, and the number of the detection blocks is changed as the elevator door is opened and closed.   The detection area according to claim 1, wherein the detection area is divided into a plurality of detection blocks, and the detection area is reduced without changing the number of detection blocks as the opening width associated with opening and closing of the elevator door decreases. A safety elevator characterized by that.   2. The safety according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device is disposed above the elevator doorway, and the detection area has a rectangular area widened in a direction from a landing to the elevator doorway. elevator.   2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device is disposed at an upper part of the elevator doorway, and the detection area is a one-dimensional area narrowed in a direction from a landing to the elevator doorway. Safety elevator to do.   2. The detection area according to claim 1, wherein the detection area is set to have a rectangular area widened in a direction from a landing to the elevator doorway and a one-dimensional area narrowed in a direction to the elevator doorway. A safety elevator characterized by being made possible.   2. The safety elevator according to claim 1, wherein the door control device controls opening and closing of the elevator door based on a detection result of the image processing unit.   The door control device according to claim 1, wherein the door control device performs an operation of stopping or reversing and opening the elevator door from a fully opened state to a closed state based on a detection result of the image processing unit. Safety elevator to do.

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