Elevator system

Claim 3

The method of claim 1 including the step of removing all floor calls from the call table means when all in-service elevator cars are in the category of not in the process of serving a call for elevator service.

Claim 4

The method of claim 1 wherein the step of processing all of the floor calls in the call table means starts with the end of the ordered floor calls representing the highest call in the structure.

Claim 5

The method of claim 1 wherein the step of processing all of the floor calls in the call table includes the steps of determining whether the floor call is an up floor call or a down floor call, and when it is a down floor call the step of processing the call to either add it to the assignment register of an elevator car or to create a demand signal includes the step of excluding elevator cars from consideration for call allocation when they have already been assigned to answer a floor call for which a demand signal was created.

Claim 6

The method of claim 4 including the step of determining the highest down floor call, and when a suitable non-assigned car cannot be found during the processing step of the highest down floor call, adding the step of determining if there are any in-service cars not in the process of serving a call for elevator service, adding the step of determining the suitability of cars assigned to answer a call for which a demand signal was created if there are no cars in this category, and allocating the highest down call to one of these assigned cars if a suitable car is found.

Claim 7

The method of claim 5 wherein the step of determining the highest down call is performed by starting the processing of all of the floor calls in the call table means at the end thereof which represents the top of the structure, wherein the first down floor call will be the highest down floor call.

Claim 10

The method of claim 7 wherein the step of determining if an unassigned down floor call is the highest down floor call registered includes the steps of providing call table means to which new floor calls are added and answered floor calls are deleted, periodically ordering the floor calls in the call table means such that the floor calls appear in the call table means in the order in which their associated floors are located in the structure, and processing the ordered floor calls from the end of the call table means representing the top of the structure, such that the first down floor call encountered is the highest down floor call registered.

Claim 11

The method of claim 7 wherein the first set of requirements used by the processing step includes the requirement that a car not be already assigned to a floor call for which a demand signal was created, and the second set of requirements used by the reprocessing step eliminates this requirement.

Claim 12

The method of claim 7 wherein the step of allocating a down floor call to a car located by the processing and reprocessing steps allocates the call to the car which is closest to the call floor if more than one car is found which meets the first and second sets of requirements, respectively.

Claim 17

The method of claim 12 wherein the step of reprocessing a floor call which is not in the assigned-demand category includes the step of locating the closest elevator car to the floor call having an advanced car position and service direction consistent with the floor call location and request for service direction, and which is already in the process of serving a call for elevator service.

Claim 18

An elevator system for a structure having a plurality of vertically spaced fLoors, comprising: a plurality of elevator cars, means mounting the elevator cars for movement relative to the structure to serve the floors, down floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the down direction from each of a plurality of said floors, up floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the up direction for each of a plurality of said floors, car call registering means for each of the elevator cars operable for registering a call for each of a plurality of said floors which may be desired by load in the associated elevator car, assignment register means associated with each of said elevator cars operable to receive an assignment to serve predetermined floor calls, control means associated with each elevator car said control means being in a first condition when its associated elevator car is in the process of serving a call for elevator service and in a second condition when the car is not in the process of serving a call for elevator service, first processing means for either allocating new calls from said up and down floor call registering means to an elevator car whose control means is in its first condition or by creating a demand signal relative to the call, second processing means for assigning an elevator car whose control means is in its second condition to a floor call for which a demand signal was created, and third processing means for periodically reprocessing at least certain of the floor calls, including first means for verifying that a floor call to which a car was assigned by said second processing means actually has an elevator car assigned thereto.

Claim 19

An elevator system for a structure having a plurality of vertically spaced fLoors, comprising: a plurality of elevator cars, means mounting the elevator cars for movement relative to the structure to serve the floors, down floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the down direction from each of a plurality of said floors, up floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the up direction for each of a plurality of said floors, car call registering means for each of the elevator cars operable for registering a call for each of a plurality of said floors which may be desired by load in the associated elevator car, assignment register means associated with each of said elevator cars operable to receive an assignment to serve predetermined floor calls, control means associated with each elevator car said control means being in a first condition when its associated elevator car is in the process of serving a call for elevator service and in a second condition when the car is not in the process of serving a call for elevator service, first processing means for either allocating new calls from said up and down floor call registering means to an elevator car whose control means is in its first condition or by creating a demand signal relative to the call, second processing means for assigning an elevator car whose control means is in its second condition to a floor call for which a demand signal was created, and third processing means for periodically reprocessing at least certain of the floor calls, including first means for verifying that a floor call to which a car was assigned by said second processing means actually has an elevator car assigned thereto.

Claim 20

The elevator system of claim 14 wherein the third processing means includes second means for determining the most suitable car for serving a call which was allocated to a car by the first processing means.

Claim 21

The elevator system of claim 15 wherein the second means includes means responsive to the advanced car position of the elevator car relative to the floor of the call being considered, the service direction of the elevator car and the service direction request of the floor call, determining the closest car to the call floor whose position and service direction are consistent with the call location and service direction request.

Claim 22

An elevator system for a structure having a plurality of vertically spaced floors, comprising: a plurality of elevator cars, means mounting the elevator cars for movement relative to the structure to serve the floors, down floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the down direction from each of a plurality of said floors, up floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the up direction from each of a plurality of said floors, car call registering means for each of the elevator cars operable for registering a call for each of a plurality of said floors which may be desired by load in the associated elevator car, control means associated with each elevator car said control means being in a first condition when its associated car is in the process of serving a call for elevator service, and in a second condition when the car is not in the process of serving a call for elevator service, assignment register means associated with each of said elevator cars operable to receive an assignment to serve predetermined floor calls, collecting means for collecting floor calls from said up and down floor calls registering means, ordering means for periodically ordering the floor calls collected by said collecting means such that their locations relative to one another correspond to the relative locations of their associated floors in the structure, said collecting means adding floor calls collected subsequent to the ordering of the floor calls by said ordering means to an end of the ordered floor calls, first procEssing means for periodically processing certain floor calls collected by said collecting means by either allocating a selected floor call to the assignment register of at least one elevator car having its control means in its first condition, or registering a demand signal relative to the call, second processing means for assigning an elevator car having its control means in its second condition to a floor call for which a demand signal was created, said first processing means being responsive to said ordering means, processing all of the car calls each time and ordering means orders the floor calls, and otherwise only processing floor calls added to an end of the ordered floor calls, and third processing means for periodically reprocessing at least certain of the floor calls, including first means for verifying that floor calls assigned by said second processing means actually have an elevator car assigned thereto.

Claim 23

An elevator system for a structure having a plurality of vertically spaced floors, comprising: a plurality of elevator cars, means mounting the elevator cars for movement relative to the structure to serve the floors, down floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the down direction from each of a plurality of said floors, up floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the up direction from each of a plurality of said floors, car call registering means for each of the elevator cars operable for registering a call for each of a plurality of said floors which may be desired by load in the associated elevator car, control means associated with each elevator car said control means being in a first condition when its associated car is in the process of serving a call for elevator service, and in a second condition when the car is not in the process of serving a call for elevator service, assignment register means associated with each of said elevator cars operable to receive an assignment to serve predetermined floor calls, collecting means for collecting floor calls from said up and down floor calls registering means, ordering means for periodically ordering the floor calls collected by said collecting means such that their locations relative to one another correspond to the relative locations of their associated floors in the structure, said collecting means adding floor calls collected subsequent to the ordering of the floor calls by said ordering means to an end of the ordered floor calls, first procEssing means for periodically processing certain floor calls collected by said collecting means by either allocating a selected floor call to the assignment register of at least one elevator car having its control means in its first condition, or registering a demand signal relative to the call, second processing means for assigning an elevator car having its control means in its second condition to a floor call for which a demand signal was created, said first processing means being responsive to said ordering means, processing all of the car calls each time and ordering means orders the floor calls, and otherwise only processing floor calls added to an end of the ordered floor calls, and third processing means for periodically reprocessing at least certain of the floor calls, including first means for verifying that floor calls assigned by said second processing means actually have an elevator car assigned thereto.

Claim 24

The elevator system of claim 17 wherein the third processing means includes second means for determining the most suitable car for serving a call which was allocated to a car by the first processing means.

Claim 25

The elevator system of claim 18 wherein the second means includes means responsive to the advanced car position of the elevator car relative to the floor of the car being considered, the service direction of the elevator car, and the service direction request of the floor call, determining the closest car to the floor call whose position and service direction are consistent with the call location and service direction request.

Claim 26

An elevator system for a structure having a plurality of vertically spaced floors, comprising: a plurality of elevator cars, means mounting the elevator cars for movement relative to the structure to serve the floors, down floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the down direction from each of a plurality of said floors, up floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the up direction from each of a plurality of said floors, car call registering means for each of the elevator cars operable for registering a call for each of a plurality of said floors which may be desired by load in the associated elevator car, first control means associated with each elevator car, said first control means being in its first condition when its associated elevator car is in the process of serving a call for elevator service and in a second condition when the car is not, second control means associated with each elevator car, said second control means being in a first condition when its associated elevator car has been assigned to serve a specific floor call and in a second condition when it is not, first processing means for either allocating new calls from said down floor call registering means to an elevator car whose first and second control means are in their first and second conditions, respectively, and otherwise considering the call unassigned, call distinguishing means for determining if a floor call considered unassigned by said first processing means is the highest down floor call registered, demand signal means responsive to said call distinguishing means for creating a demand signal if the call is not the highest down floor call registered, availability means which is in a first condition when any one of the elevator cars is in service but not in the process of serving a call for elevator service, and in a second condition when all cars are in the process of serving a call for elevator service, said demand signal means being responsive to said call distinguishing means and to said availability means, creating a demand signal for the call when it is the highest down call registered and said availability means is in its first condition, second processing means responsive to said call distinguishing means and to said availability means when it is in its second cOndition for assigning an elevator car whose first and second control means are in their first conditions to the highest down call registered, or otherwise creating a demand signal for the call.

Claim 27

An elevator system for a structure having a plurality of vertically spaced floors, comprising: a plurality of elevator cars, means mounting the elevator cars for movement relative to the structure to serve the floors, down floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the down direction from each of a plurality of said floors, up floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the up direction from each of a plurality of said floors, car call registering means for each of the elevator cars operable for registering a call for each of a plurality of said floors which may be desired by load in the associated elevator car, first control means associated with each elevator car, said first control means being in its first condition when its associated elevator car is in the process of serving a call for elevator service and in a second condition when the car is not, second control means associated with each elevator car, said second control means being in a first condition when its associated elevator car has been assigned to serve a specific floor call and in a second condition when it is not, first processing means for either allocating new calls from said down floor call registering means to an elevator car whose first and second control means are in their first and second conditions, respectively, and otherwise considering the call unassigned, call distinguishing means for determining if a floor call considered unassigned by said first processing means is the highest down floor call registered, demand signal means responsive to said call distinguishing means for creating a demand signal if the call is not the highest down floor call registered, availability means which is in a first condition when any one of the elevator cars is in service but not in the process of serving a call for elevator service, and in a second condition when all cars are in the process of serving a call for elevator service, said demand signal means being responsive to said call distinguishing means and to said availability means, creating a demand signal for the call when it is the highest down call registered and said availability means is in its first condition, second processing means responsive to said call distinguishing means and to said availability means when it is in its second cOndition for assigning an elevator car whose first and second control means are in their first conditions to the highest down call registered, or otherwise creating a demand signal for the call.

Claim 28

An elevator system for a structure having a plurality of vertically spaced floors, comprising: a plurality of elevator cars, means mounting the elevator cars for movement relative to the structure to serve the floors, down floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the down direction from each of a plurality of said floors, up floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the up direction from each of a plurality of said floors, car call registering means for each of these elevator cars operable for registering a call for each of a plurality of said floors which may be desired by load in the associated elevator car, dispatching means for allocating registered floor calls to selected elevator cars, and assignment register means associated with each of said elevator cars operable to receive an assignment from said dispatching means, said dispatching means including: call table means for collecting new floor calls from said up and down floor call registering means, reset means for deleting floor calls from said call table means when an elevator car having a service direction consistent with the floor call service request stop at the floor of the call, control means associated with each of said elevator cars, said control means being in a first condition when the associated elevator is in the process of serving a call for elevator service, and in a second condition when it is not, and reinitializing means responsive to the control means of all of the elevator cars, said reinitializing means deleting all calls from said call table means when the control means of every elevator car is in its second condition.

Claim 29

An elevator system for a structure having a plurality of vertically spaced floors, comprising: a plurality of elevator cars, means mounting the elevator cars for movement relative to the structure to serve the floors, down floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the down direction from each of a plurality of said floors, up floor call registering means operable for registering a call for elevator service in the up direction from each of a plurality of said floors, car call registering means for each of these elevator cars operable for registering a call for each of a plurality of said floors which may be desired by load in the associated elevator car, dispatching means for allocating registered floor calls to selected elevator cars, and assignment register means associated with each of said elevator cars operable to receive an assignment from said dispatching means, said dispatching means including: call table means for collecting new floor calls from said up and down floor call registering means, reset means for deleting floor calls from said call table means when an elevator car having a service direction consistent with the floor call service request stop at the floor of the call, control means associated with each of said elevator cars, said control means being in a first condition when the associated elevator is in the process of serving a call for elevator service, and in a second condition when it is not, and reinitializing means responsive to the control means of all of the elevator cars, said reinitializing means deleting all calls from said call table means when the control means of every elevator car is in its second condition.