Also Directs Response Patents (Class 187/388)
  • Patent number: 7347303
    Abstract: A method and a system for generating a request for elevator service in which the elevator user receives with his/her terminal a general transmission of information about the elevator system from base stations placed in the elevator lobby of the building. By way of the terminal, a service request is generated on the basis of the goal and the information provided by the general transmission. The service request is transmitted further to an elevator group controller via an edge server and a local server. The edge server checks the request for correctness, and the local server functions as a point of connection between the elevator group and the external world.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 25, 2008
    Assignee: Kone Corporation
    Inventors: Risto Kontturi, Jari Ylinen
  • Patent number: 7319967
    Abstract: A procedure, a system and a computer program product presents multimedia contents in elevator installations. At least one user profile with multimedia contents is provided for an associated elevator user. When the user is identified in proximity to the elevator system, the multimedia carried in his user profile are presented to him.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2008
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventor: Thomas Meyer
  • Patent number: 7319966
    Abstract: A method of communicating information to elevator users utilizes a building server to store elevator user personal information profiles and information to be communicated. When an elevator user is identified, the building server communicates a portion of the stored information based upon the associated profile. The building server functions as a data manager and is connected to various different sources of data to collect the information to be communicated. The data sources can include videos, movies, the Internet, the elevator control, the building control center, etc. An identification unit controls access by the elevator users. The elevator user is able to receive the communicated information on a display unit in the vicinity of or in the elevator car.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2008
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Paul Friedli, Kilian Schuster, Lennart Svensson-Hilford
  • Patent number: 7319968
    Abstract: A method, a system and a computer program product presents multimedia contents in elevator installations. At least one individual user profile with multimedia contents is stored for each elevator user. When a user is identified, the multimedia contents in the associated user profile are presented. The user manages his or her own multimedia contents in the associated user profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2008
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Paul Friedli, Thomas Meyer
  • Patent number: 7281610
    Abstract: A method for allocating an elevator in a destination floor elevator system. An elevator group includes several elevators, a passenger data terminal for reserving elevators for use by passengers, and an elevator group control system for controlling the elevators in response to signals from the passenger data terminal. The method includes inputting the size and destination floor of the group of passengers into the control system of the elevator group, allocating one or more elevators to the group of passengers by utilizing the size and destination floor of the group, and informing the members of the group of passengers about the allocation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Kone Corporation
    Inventors: Jari Ylinen, Markku Kakko
  • Patent number: 7266505
    Abstract: A method, a system and a computer program product presents multimedia contents in elevator installations. At least one individual user profile with multimedia contents is stored for each elevator user. When a user is identified, the multimedia contents in the associated user profile are presented. Dining a group transport, the individual user profiles associated with the users in the group are linked in a collective travelling profile for presentation of selected multimedia contents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2007
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Paul Friedli, Thomas Meyer
  • Patent number: 7258203
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for controlling the elevators of an elevator group in a building divided into zones comprising different floors in such manner that, at the passenger's departure floor, the elevators are given calls to floors beyond the zone limits of the departure zone. According to the invention, the aforesaid call is divided into two or more calls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2007
    Assignee: Kone Corporation
    Inventors: Johannes De Jong, Pentti Laihanen
  • Patent number: 7025180
    Abstract: A method of controlling an elevator installation having a plurality of cars in a building with floors subdivided into several zones wherein travel orders are allocated to the cars. There is no allocation to an elevator car, which has just been allocated a travel order out of or into one of the zones, of any travel order out of or into another of the zones. In the case of a call after a new travel order the number of free elevator cars is compared with the number of still unallocated or still unserved zones and the allocation of the new call and is carried out in dependence on the comparison result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2006
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Philipp Wyss, Miroslav Kostka
  • Patent number: 6991068
    Abstract: Method for controlling the elevators in an elevator bank in a building divided into zones has a plurality of floors via a process whereby destination floor calls are issued to the elevators by destination floor call input devices in the lobby of departure and the calls are distributed internally among different zones in the building by the elevator group control system, the elevators and the floors to be served being divided dynamically within the aforesaid elevator group control system into aforesaid zones, varying the numbers of elevators and the zone limits (r) according to traffic forecasts and transportation need.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Kone Corporation
    Inventors: Marja-Liisa Siikonen, Johannes De Jong, Kimmo Selin
  • Patent number: 6948592
    Abstract: The invention provides an elevator cab equipped with an emergency medical device, such as an automated external defibrillator (AED). The elevator cab equipped with the emergency medical device may be controlled in order to deliver the emergency medical device to a floor of a building on which an emergency medical situation occurred. In response to emergency medical input identifying the emergency medical situation, an elevator control unit overrides regular operation of the elevator cab in response to receiving emergency medical input, and directs the elevator cab to a floor on which an emergency medical situation occurs. For example, the elevator control unit may cancel active floor calls made by passengers within the elevator cab or individuals on one or more floors of the building and direct the elevator cab to the floor of the emergency situation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2005
    Assignee: Medtronic Emergency Response Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Gregory T. Kavounas
  • Patent number: 6905003
    Abstract: An elevator group supervisory control system for an elevator system including indicators of positions of elevators, for a group supervisory control of elevators, in which a car reversal, which becomes a cause of irritation for passengers, is curbed. For a hall call registered at an elevator hall which is ahead of a final car call and within a floor range defined based on building or elevator conditions, an additional assignment is given to an elevator having shortest predicted arrival time, and which is not assigned to respond to the elevator hall call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2005
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Masaaki Hirade
  • Patent number: 6868945
    Abstract: The invention relates to the equipping of an elevator (1, 2) with hardware in order to control the same. This hardware is provided in the form of a customary radio telephone (3) which serves as a unit for controlling the elevator. The radio telephone (3), also designated as mobile, comprises a keypad (4) provided as a data entry unit, and comprises a display element (5), also named display, which is provided as a data output unit. The mobile (3) can wirelessly communicate with a mobile radio telephone network (6), whereby speech and/or data can be transmitted. The mobile radio telephone network (6) can contact other mobiles or a terminal (7) in order to transmit speech and/or data. The terminal (7) is comprised of a computer system, designated as server (8), which has access to a memory (9) containing elevator-specific and/or general information. The server (8) is also connected to the elevator system (1, 2) via an interface (10).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2005
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Kilian Schuster, Paul Friedli
  • Patent number: 6808049
    Abstract: A method controls the distribution of free cars in an elevator system. First, the number of free cars in the elevator system are counted whenever this number changes. At the same time, the arrival/destination rates of passengers at each of the floor is determined. The rates are used to identify up-peak and down-peak traffic patterns. The floors of the building are then assigned to zones. The number of floors in each zone is determined according to the arrival rates, and the free cars are then parked in the zones so that the expected waiting time of the next arriving passenger is minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2004
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew E. Brand, Daniel N. Nikovski
  • Publication number: 20030155187
    Abstract: To my knowledge the elevators being installed in the newest buildings still operate the same as the elevators installed in the oldest buildings. My invention improves the operation by changing one half of the elevators to stop only at the odd floors of a building. The people going to and coming from the odd floors of a building will have the opportunity to select elevators that bypass all of the even floors. Space on the regular elevators is now available for most of the people going to and coming from the even floors of the building to bypass many of the odd floors. The invention allows all of the elevators in one area to carry more people faster with less congestion by changing the operation of one half of the elevators in the same area to stop only at the odd floors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2002
    Publication date: August 21, 2003
    Inventor: Charles M. Jarrett
  • Patent number: 6601678
    Abstract: A method of allocating elevator cars to operating groups in which the cars execute travel tasks for specific zones. For example, each elevator car can be assigned to an operating group (EXP) for long-distance trips, an operating group (LOC) for local trips, or a group (FREE) for free elevator cars. If a travel task passes through a blind zone, the most favorable elevator car is selected from the EXP operating group or the FREE group. If the selected elevator car belongs to the FREE group, the car is allocated to the EXP operating group while taking account of certain parameters. If a travel task does not pass through a blind zone, the most favorable elevator car is selected from the LOC operating group or from the FREE group. If the selected elevator car belongs to the FREE group, the car is allocated to the LOC operating group, while taking account of certain parameters. On expiry of a specified time with no travel task, an elevator car of the EXP and LOC operating groups is allocated to the FREE group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2003
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Miroslav Kostka, Viktor Wunderlin
  • Patent number: 6394231
    Abstract: A transport system with several autonomous vehicles includes a terminal for a user to input his travel destination. The boarding location and the allocated vehicle are selected for serving the travel request and this information is communicated to the user as an allocated symbol on a display of the terminal. The user can then go to the indicated boarding location. As vehicles arrive at the boarding location, each is indicated on another display by a flashing symbol associated with that vehicle. Thus, the user knows to board only when the flashing symbol corresponds to his allocated symbol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2002
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Kilian Schuster, Paul Friedli
  • Patent number: 6273217
    Abstract: An elevator group control apparatus for controlling operations of an elevator system with multiple cars moving within a single elevator shaft with improved efficiency without a collision between the cars. When an elevator-hall call is registered, first and second times at which individual cars are expected to arrive at individual floors where the elevator-hall call is registered are computed. The probability of occurrence of a collision between the cars is computed, determining whether a remaining car in the shaft must be shunted. A shunting floor is designated if necessary.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2001
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shiro Hikita
  • Patent number: 6209685
    Abstract: Each elevator corridor of an elevator system has a transponder beacon disposed near each access to the corridor, each potential passenger, including regular tenants and visitors, carries a responder, such as an RFID responder, so as to provide an indication of entrance into and exit from the elevator corridor. Passengers that are not visitors have a history developed as to the likely travel route of each passenger as the passenger enters the elevator lobby; that is, whether the passenger is likely to take the elevator at this time, or likely to exit the elevator corridor to some other facility. Entered calls can be cancelled if the passenger leaves the lobby, and passenger travel patterns are updated with each passage through the elevator lobby.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2001
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventors: Vlad Zaharia, Paul A. Stranieri
  • Patent number: 6202799
    Abstract: The next destination for an automatically registered elevator call is displayed to a passenger on a portable card that he carries, when he passes a beacon adjacent to the elevator, only if the destination is designated as “fixed”; if the destination is designated as “unfixed”, a new next destination is determined from a record of the passenger's destinations (which may include a history of the passenger's travel habits) and the floor upon which the beacon is situated. A transponder remote from the elevator entrance responds to a transmission from the card to register a hall call for that floor; a transponder in the car can sense a transmission from the card to enter a car call for the destination floor; if there is no car transponder, the destination is stored and a car call entered automatically upon the arrival of a car in response to the hall call. If the passenger enters a new destination, it is designated as “fixed”.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2001
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventor: Daniel R. Drop
  • Patent number: 6161655
    Abstract: An elevator call button transmits infrared radiation into the space adjacent an elevator, and a call request is recognized by infrared radiation reflected from a potential passenger to an infrared receiver. Thus not only is contact with the button not required, the use of a finger or like-sized object is not required in order to place a call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2000
    Assignee: Otis Elevator Company
    Inventors: Xavier Lejon, Gerard Sirigu, Christophe Durand
  • Patent number: 6011839
    Abstract: A control device for access and lift operation to a predetermined story in multi-family dwellings or other buildings is provided. Call input devices which may comprise a first input button and a second input button are provided in the upper stories of the building, such as in individual apartments or offices. Upon the processing of a call which has been input by the first input button located at an identified story initially a predetermined destination story and thereafter the identified story are served by the lift. On processing of a call which has been input by the second input button initially the identified story and thereafter the predetermined destination story are served. The call input device may further comprise an identification device to allow automatic lift from an entry story to the story associated with the identified user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2000
    Assignee: Inventio AG
    Inventors: Paul Friedli, Kilian Schuster