Limited stop elevator dispatching system

Claim 1

Apparatus for generating dispatching signals for use with an elevator control system which selects and dispatches each of a plurality of cars from each of two terminals at dispatching intervals, said apparatus comprising: weight responsive means individual to each car, each being responsive to the weight of the passengers in its respective car producing a signal representing that weight; accumulation means for each terminal receiving said passenger weight signals, each said accumulation means operating in response to said passenger weight signals generating signals representing an estimated loading for the next car to be dispatched from its respective terminal; signal transmission means for each said accumulation means transmitting the passenger weight signals of each selected car upon its dispatch from each of said terminals to the associated accumulation means; a computed separation time period generating means responsive to the estimated loading signals of each said accumulation means and generating signals representing the computed time period separating each dispatched car of the system from the car next preceding and the car next succeeding its dispatch if each of the cars is sharing equally the estimated loading at the two terminals; car differential means associated with one of said terminals producing signals signifying a differential between the cars that are approaching and are located at said one terminal and those that are approaching and are located at the other terminal during each dispatching interval that elapses for said one terminal; loading differential means associated with said one terminal responsive to the estimated loading signals of each said accumulation means and generating signals signifying a differential between the signals representing the estimated load at said other terminal and the estimated load at said one terminal during each dispatching interval that elapses for said one terminal; dispatching interval generating means responsive to said computed separation time period signal and to said car and loading differential signals and generating a dispatching interval for each selected car at said one terminal; and a dispatching signal generator responsive to said dispatching interval generating means generating dispatching signals for each selected car at said one terminal upon an elapse from the disptach of the next preceding car of the time period represented by said dispatching interval for said selected car.