JP7531296B2 - Elevator design decision support system, elevator design decision support system operation terminal, elevator design decision support system mobile terminal, elevator design decision support method and program - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an elevator design decision support system, an operation terminal for the elevator design decision support system, a mobile terminal for the elevator design decision support system, and an elevator design decision support method and program.

In elevator negotiations, the elevator design shown in the catalog provided by the manufacturer may lack reality, leading to disappointment for the customer due to the difference from the design of the completed elevator. As a solution to this problem, there is a technology known that allows customers to check the design of their chosen specifications through visual images that they can actually see on-site (for example, Patent Document 1).

In Patent Document 1, a design specification entry screen is provided to a user terminal, a visual image that the user actually recognizes through their eyes is generated based on the design specifications entered by the user and displayed on the user terminal, and the user terminal is queried as to whether the specifications are good or bad; if the answer is good, the specifications are registered, and if the answer is bad, the entered specifications are requested to be changed.

JP 2005-154102 A

However, in this case, the customer operates the terminal themselves to determine the design specifications, and the company is unable to adequately propose designs to the customer that are in line with its company's strategy.

This disclosure has been made in light of the above circumstances, and aims to enable customers to see a variety of more realistic elevator designs, and to enable builders to propose elevator designs to customers that are in line with their company's strategies.

In order to achieve the above object, the elevator design decision support system of the present disclosure includes an operation terminal connected via a network and a mobile terminal that displays a three-dimensional image of the elevator design observed in the viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint. The operation terminal includes a design information display unit that displays design information specifying a design for each part of the elevator, a viewing direction display unit that receives tilt information of the mobile terminal and displays the viewing direction, and a design change instruction unit that selects design information specifying the design of the part of the elevator to be changed for the three-dimensional image displayed on the mobile terminal and transmits it to the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal includes a three-dimensional image creation unit that creates a three-dimensional image observed in the viewing direction from the virtual viewpoint, a viewing direction change unit that detects the tilt of the mobile terminal and changes the three-dimensional image in the viewing direction, a viewing angle transmission unit that transmits the tilt information of the mobile terminal based on the detected tilt of the mobile terminal to the operation terminal, and a design change display unit that changes and displays the three-dimensional image to the design specified by the design information specifying the design of the part of the elevator to be changed received from the operation terminal.

According to the present disclosure, the viewing direction displayed on the mobile device can be confirmed on the operating terminal and the three-dimensional image of the design displayed on the mobile device can be changed, allowing customers to see a variety of more realistic elevator design patterns and allowing contractors to propose designs to customers that are in line with their company's strategy.

Overall diagram of the elevator design decision support system according to the present embodiment A diagram showing the functional configuration of the operation terminal of the elevator design decision support system. A diagram showing the functional configuration of a mobile terminal of the elevator design decision support system. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a design information storage unit. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a 3DCG storage unit; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a 3DCG position information storage unit; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a viewpoint angle storage unit; A diagram showing the hardware configuration of the elevator design decision support system's operation terminal. A diagram showing the hardware configuration of a mobile terminal for the elevator design decision support system. 1A is a flowchart showing a screen initialization process of an operating terminal; FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing a screen initialization process of a mobile terminal; A diagram showing the initial image displayed on the operation terminal. Flowchart showing the field of view change processing operation of a mobile terminal 1A is a flowchart showing a processing operation of transmitting a viewpoint angle of a mobile terminal, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing a processing operation of displaying a field of view of an operating terminal. 1A is a flowchart showing a design information selection and transmission processing operation of an operating terminal, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing a design information reception and reproduction processing operation of a mobile terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a field of view display image displayed on an operation terminal. 1A is a flowchart showing an enlargement portion instruction transmission process operation of an operating terminal, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing an enlargement portion reception reproduction process operation of a mobile terminal. FIG. 13 shows an enlarged display instruction image displayed on an operation terminal. 1A is a flowchart showing a processing operation of transmitting an instruction of a point of interest guiding position of an operating terminal, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing a processing operation of receiving and reproducing a point of interest guiding position of a mobile terminal.

(System Configuration)
Hereinafter, an elevator design decision support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator design decision support system 1 according to this embodiment includes an operation terminal 10, a mobile terminal 20, and a network 30 required for transmitting and receiving information between the operation terminal 10 and the mobile terminal 20.

The operation terminal 10 is a device held by a sales representative of a company, and is equipped with at least a network connection unit 11 for communicating with a mobile terminal 20 via a network 30. The operation terminal 10 may be, for example, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, etc.

The mobile terminal 20 is a device worn by a customer, and includes at least a network connection unit 21 for communicating with the operation terminal 10 via a network 30, and an acceleration sensor 22 for constantly calculating angular acceleration. The mobile terminal 20 may be a head mounted device (HMD: Head Mounted Display) equipped with a transparent or non-transparent liquid crystal panel, or a smartphone. The smartphone is set in goggles made of materials such as plastic or cardboard, and the customer can wear the goggles on their head to view the image of the elevator car displayed on the display. The acceleration sensor 22 may be provided separately from the mobile terminal 20. In this case, the acceleration sensor 22 is worn on the head, and the mobile terminal 20 acquires a sensor signal from the acceleration sensor 22.

Network 30 may be a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), Bluetooth (registered trademark), the Internet, etc., and may be used when, for example, a sales representative visits a customer's premises to negotiate a deal, as well as when the sales representative and customer are in remote locations and negotiate a deal.
The mobile terminal 20 worn by the customer displays a VR (Virtual Reality) image on the display, which is a virtual viewpoint of the center of the elevator car, observing the viewing direction. The customer's field of view is synchronized with the tilt of the mobile terminal 20, which corresponds to the angular acceleration acquired by the acceleration sensor 22. The mobile terminal 20 transmits its own tilt to the operation terminal 10, so that the salesperson knows where in the car the customer is observing. The salesperson inputs information to be shown to the customer, for example, information to guide the customer's field of view, which will be described later, into the operation terminal 10, transmits it to the mobile terminal 20, and displays it on the display of the mobile terminal 20.

(Functional configuration of operation terminal 10)
Next, the functional configuration of the operation terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIG.
The operation terminal 10 comprises a design information display unit 110 that displays design information specifying the elevator design on the display screen, a design change instruction unit 120 that instructs a change to the elevator design displayed on the mobile terminal 20, a view direction display unit 130 that receives tilt information of the mobile terminal 20 from the mobile terminal 20 and displays the view of the customer wearing the mobile terminal 20 on the display, an enlargement instruction unit 140 that instructs enlargement of a specific part of the image displayed on the display of the mobile terminal 20, a viewpoint guidance instruction unit 150 that transmits an instruction to the mobile terminal to guide the customer's viewpoint to a specific part of the image displayed on the display of the mobile terminal 20, and a design information storage unit D111 in which design information of multiple types of designs is stored for design items indicating each part of the elevator.

The design information display unit 110 includes a design information acquisition unit 111 that acquires design information from the design information storage unit D111, an interior drawing unit 112 that draws a simple interior view of the elevator car from information on the size of the elevator car among the design information acquired by the design information acquisition unit 111, and a design information expansion unit 113 that acquires design information of default designs of design items indicating each part of the elevator among the design information acquired by the design information acquisition unit 111. The simple interior view of the elevator car drawn by the interior drawing unit 112 and the design information of the default designs of each design item acquired by the design information expansion unit 113 are displayed as an initial screen on the display of the operation terminal 10.

The design change instruction unit 120 includes a design information search unit 121 that searches for design information for a specified design item from the design information storage unit D111, a search result display unit 122 that displays the design information searched by the design information search unit 121 in a specified area on the screen, a design information selection unit 123 that allows a sales representative to select any design information from the design information displayed on the screen, and a design information transmission unit 124 that transmits the design information selected by the design information selection unit 123 to the mobile terminal 20. The design information of multiple designs for the design items searched by the design information search unit 121 is displayed on the screen by the search result display unit 122, and the design information selected by the sales representative from among these through the design information selection unit 123 is transmitted to the mobile terminal 20 by the design information transmission unit 124.

The field of view direction display unit 130 includes a viewpoint angle receiving unit 131 that receives information on the tilt of the mobile device 20 worn by the customer (for example, the current x-, y-, and z-axis angles relative to the x-, y-, and z-axis angles at startup) received from the mobile device 20, a field of view information calculation unit 132 that calculates the field of view of the customer from the tilt information of the mobile device 20 received by the viewpoint angle receiving unit 131, and a field of view information reproduction unit 133 that superimposes and displays the field of view of the customer calculated by the field of view information calculation unit 132 on the interior drawn by the interior drawing unit 112.

The enlargement instruction unit 140 includes an enlargement area selection unit 141 that selects design information of a design that the sales representative wants the customer to focus on, and an enlargement area transmission unit 142 that transmits an instruction to the mobile terminal 20 to enlarge and display the design selected in the enlargement area selection unit 141.
The viewpoint guidance instruction unit 150 includes a viewpoint guidance location selection unit 151 that selects design information of a design that the sales representative wants the customer to observe, and a viewpoint guidance location transmission unit 152 that transmits an instruction to the mobile terminal 20 to guide the customer's viewpoint to the design selected by the viewpoint guidance location selection unit 151.

The design information storage unit D111 stores design information of the elevator. An example of the stored design information is shown in FIG. 4. The design information includes items such as "design ID" which is an identification code that identifies the design, "design name" which indicates the name of the design, "design item ID" which is an identification code that identifies the design item indicating each part of the elevator, "design item name" which indicates the name of the design item, and "default display" which indicates the design displayed on the initial screen. Furthermore, the design information storage unit D111 includes information indicating the size of the car room and three-dimensional shape data which indicates information for drawing the three-dimensional shape of each design. In the example of FIG. 4, there are two types of designs whose "design item name" is indicated as "indicator" as the design item of the indicator part of the elevator. Of these designs, a flag indicating that the design whose "design ID" is "AA101" is displayed by default is attached.

(Functional configuration of the mobile terminal 20)
Next, the functional configuration of the mobile terminal 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
The mobile terminal 20 includes a three-dimensional image creation unit 210 that displays an initial screen on the display, a field of view change unit 220 that changes the image displayed on the screen of the display according to the inclination of the mobile terminal 20, a design change display unit 230 that receives a design change instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 10 and changes the three-dimensional image of the design displayed on the screen, a viewpoint angle transmission unit 240 that transmits inclination information of the mobile terminal 20 to the operation terminal 10, an enlargement display unit 250 that receives an enlargement instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 10 and enlarges and displays the specified location on the screen, a viewpoint guidance display unit 260 that receives a viewpoint guidance instruction transmitted from the operation terminal 10 and performs a display on the screen to guide the viewpoint to the specified location, and a three-dimensional computer graphics (3DCG) display unit 250 that displays a three-dimensional image of the design of each part of the elevator car on the display screen. The elevator car includes a 3DCG memory unit D211 that stores 3DCG graphics, a 3DCG position information memory unit D212 that stores position information for arranging the 3DCG of the design of each part of the elevator car on the screen, and a viewpoint angle storage unit D221 that stores the viewpoint angle.

The three-dimensional image creation unit 210 includes a 3DCG acquisition unit 211 that acquires 3DCG from a 3DCG storage unit D211 and acquires position information for placing the 3DCG in the elevator cab from a 3DCG position information storage unit D212, a 3DCG drawing unit 212 that draws a 3DCG of the elevator cab design based on the 3DCG acquired by the 3DCG acquisition unit 211 and the 3DCG position information, and a light source/mirror calculation unit 213 that calculates the reflection of light of each design by a light source installed on the ceiling of the elevator cab and the image reflected on a mirror installed in the elevator cab.

The field of view change unit 220 includes an angular acceleration acquisition unit 221 that acquires angular acceleration in three axes (x, y, z) from the acceleration sensor 22, a viewpoint angle calculation unit 222 that calculates the tilt of the mobile device 20 based on the angular acceleration acquired from the angular acceleration acquisition unit 221 and stores it in the viewpoint angle storage unit D221, and a drawing range change unit 223 that changes the range of the image of the elevator car displayed on the display screen of the mobile device 20 based on the tilt information calculated by the viewpoint angle calculation unit 222.

The design change display unit 230 includes a design information receiving unit 231 that receives design information transmitted from the operation terminal 10, a design information search unit 232 that searches the 3DCG and 3DCG position information of the design from the 3DCG storage unit D211 and the 3DCG position information storage unit D212, respectively, based on the received design information, and a design information reproduction unit 233 that rearranges the 3DCG of the design searched for by the design information search unit 232 based on the 3DCG position information.

The viewpoint angle transmission unit 240 includes a viewpoint angle acquisition unit 241 that acquires the viewpoint angle from the viewpoint angle storage unit D221, and a viewpoint angle information transmission unit 242 that transmits information on the viewpoint angle acquired by the viewpoint angle acquisition unit 241 to the operation terminal 10.

The enlargement display unit 250 includes an enlargement area receiving unit 251 that receives an instruction to enlarge an area sent from the operation terminal 10, and an enlargement area reproducing unit 252 that enlarges the area that has been instructed to be enlarged and displays it on the display screen.

The viewpoint guidance display unit 260 includes a viewpoint guidance location receiving unit 261 that receives an instruction for a viewpoint guidance location transmitted from the operation terminal 10, and a viewpoint guidance location reproducing unit 262 that executes a display that guides the user toward the location that has been instructed to guide the viewpoint.

The 3DCG storage unit D211 stores 3DCG data of the design of each part of the elevator car to be displayed on the display screen. An example of the stored 3DCG data is shown in FIG.
The data related to the 3DCG includes items such as a "design ID", which is an identification code that identifies the design, a "design name" that indicates the name of the design, a "design item ID" that is an identification code that identifies the design item that indicates each part of the elevator, a "design item name" that indicates the name of the design item, a "default display" that indicates the design displayed on the initial screen, and a "design CG URL" that indicates the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the mobile terminal 20 where the 3DCG data of the design is stored.

The 3DCG position information storage unit D212 stores position information for arranging the 3DCG of the design of each part of the elevator car on the screen. An example of the stored position information is shown in FIG.
In addition to the aforementioned "design ID,""designname,""design item ID," and "design item name," the position information includes items such as "cage size" indicating the size information of the cage in which the 3DCG of the design is placed, "x coordinate,""ycoordinate," and "z coordinate" representing the position coordinates when placing the 3DCG of the design, and "x-axis rotation angle,""y-axis rotation angle," and "z-axis rotation angle" that specify the angle when placing the 3DCG of the design.

The viewpoint angle storage unit D221 stores information on the viewpoint angle. An example of the stored viewpoint angle information is shown in FIG.
The viewpoint angle information includes the following items: "viewpoint angle x" which indicates the rotation angle in a plane centered on the viewpoint when the angle in the plane when the car door is observed horizontally to the car floor from the viewpoint is set to 0°; "viewpoint angle z" which indicates the current vertical tilt when the vertical tilt with respect to a plane centered on the viewpoint when the car door is observed horizontally to the car floor from the viewpoint is set to 0°; and "timestamp" which indicates the time at that time.

Next, the hardware configuration of the operation terminal 10 will be explained with reference to FIG. 8.

The operation terminal 10 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication unit 33, a display unit 34, and an operation unit 35. The storage unit 32, the communication unit 33, the display unit 34, and the operation unit 35 are all connected to the control unit 31 via an internal bus 36.
The control unit 31 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The CPU reads out the programs and data stored in the ROM and uses the RAM as a working area. The control unit 31 executes the programs to execute the processes of the design information display unit 110, the design change instruction unit 120, the visual field direction display unit 130, the enlargement instruction unit 140, and the viewpoint guidance instruction unit 150 of the operation terminal 10.
The storage unit 32 includes a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). In addition to the program, the storage unit 32 stores various data used in the processing of the control unit 31. The storage unit 32 supplies the data used by the control unit 31 to the control unit 31 according to an instruction from the control unit 31, and stores the data supplied from the control unit 31. The storage unit 32 may store a plurality of programs, or a plurality of programs may be loaded into the storage unit 32. The design information storage unit D111 of the operation terminal 10 is stored in the storage unit 32.
The communication unit 33 includes a wireless communication interface such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark), and communicates with the mobile terminal 20 .
The display unit 34 displays screens showing the execution results of various processes, operation screens, etc., and includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display.
The operation unit 35 is a device for inputting various instructions to the control unit 31, and includes input devices such as a touch panel, input keys, and a pointing device. The operation unit 35 acquires information input by a sales representative of the elevator design decision support system 1, and notifies the control unit 31 of the acquired information.

Next, a description will be given of the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 20. As shown in Fig. 9, the mobile terminal 20 includes a control unit 41, a storage unit 42, a communication unit 43, a display unit 44, an operation unit 45, and an angular acceleration sensor unit 46, which are connected via an internal bus 47.
The control unit 41 includes a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM. The control unit 41 executes a program to execute the processes of the three-dimensional image creation unit 210, the field of view change unit 220, the design change display unit 230, the viewpoint angle transmission unit 240, the enlargement display unit 250, and the viewpoint guidance display unit 260 of the mobile terminal 20.
The storage unit 42 includes a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as a flash memory, an EPROM, or an EEPROM, and an HDD. In addition to programs, the storage unit 42 stores various data used in the processing of the control unit 41. The 3DCG storage unit D211, the 3DCG position information storage unit D212, and the viewpoint angle storage unit D221 of the mobile terminal 20 are stored in the storage unit 42.
The communication unit 43 includes a wireless communication interface such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark), and communicates with the operation terminal 10 .
The display unit 44 displays screens showing the execution results of various processes, operation screens, etc., and includes a display device such as a liquid crystal display.
The operation unit 45 is a device for inputting various instructions to the control unit 41, and includes a keyboard, operation buttons, etc. The operation unit 45 acquires information input by a customer of the elevator design decision support system 1, and notifies the control unit 41 of the acquired information.
The angular acceleration sensor unit 46 includes the acceleration sensor 22 that detects angular acceleration caused by the tilt of the mobile terminal 20. The angular acceleration sensor unit 46 detects angular acceleration under the control of the control unit 41, and outputs data of the detected angular acceleration to the control unit 41.

Next, the operation of a sales representative and a customer examining an elevator design using the elevator design decision support system 1 will be described.
(Screen Initialization Processing of Design Information Display Unit 110 of Operation Terminal 10)
First, with reference to FIG. 10( a ), a screen initialization process of the operation terminal 10 in the elevator design decision support system 1 will be described.
First, the sales representative turns on the power of the operation terminal 10 and the mobile terminal 20 and connects the two terminals via the network 30 .
Next, the elevator design decision support system 1 of the operation terminal 10 is started. When the elevator design decision support system 1 is started, the design information display unit 110 operates, and the design information acquisition unit 111 acquires design information required to generate an initial image to be displayed on the display from the design information storage unit D111 (step S101). The design information acquisition unit 111 first acquires information on the size of the elevator cab. The information on the size of the cab is size information on the width, depth, and height of the cab. In the "default display" item of the design information, a flag is attached to the design item to be displayed as the initial image. Of the same design items, a maximum of one flag is attached. The minimum design items required to configure the elevator cab, such as "cab size" and "cab door", are always flagged. In contrast, design items such as "handrails" and "mirrors", which are optional to install in the cab, are not necessarily flagged. The design information acquisition unit 111 reads design information for which a flag is set to "default display" from among the "design items."

The interior drawing unit 112 draws a perspective view of the elevator cab on the display screen based on the design information acquired by the design information acquisition unit 111 (step S102). First, the interior drawing unit 112 draws a perspective view of a cube with the ratio of the width, depth, and height of the cab size maintained from the "cab size" information among the design information, and displays it on the display screen of the operation terminal 10. FIG. 11 shows the initial image displayed on the display screen of the operation terminal 10. The drawn cube shows the cab. Next, the interior drawing unit 112 draws the design of the design item flagged as "default display" on the cube. Finally, a simple image of a person is placed in the center of the cab. In FIG. 11, the drawn simple perspective view of the elevator cab is displayed in the left half of the screen. Here, the perspective view of the car displayed on the display screen of the operation terminal 10 is simplified because the purpose is not to observe the design of the car. The operation terminal 10 is operated by a sales representative, who only needs to know which part of the car design the customer is observing. By knowing what the customer is observing, the sales representative can make suggestions regarding the design and communicate with the customer. This screen configuration is one example, and the interior drawing unit 112 may draw anywhere on the screen.

The design information development unit 113 displays on the display screen a list of design information of design items flagged with "default display" from among the design information acquired by the design information acquisition unit 111 (step S103). In FIG. 11, the design item names of each part of the elevator are listed to the right of the perspective view of the car room. All design item names are displayed regardless of whether they are displayed by default. To the right of the design item name, there is a column displaying the design name of the design belonging to that design item. The design name display column displays the design name flagged with "default display". If there is no design name flagged with "default display" in that design item, the design name display column is left blank.

(Screen Initialization Processing of Mobile Terminal 20)
Next, referring to FIG. 10(b), the screen initialization process of the mobile terminal 20 in the elevator design decision support system 1 will be described. A salesperson starts the elevator design decision support system 1 of the mobile terminal 20 in order to attach the mobile terminal 20 to a customer. When the elevator design decision support system 1 starts, the three-dimensional image creation unit 210 operates, and the 3DCG acquisition unit 211 acquires design information required to generate an initial image to be displayed on the display from the 3DCG storage unit D211 (step S201). As shown in FIG. 5, the 3DCG storage unit D211 stores design information similar to the content stored in the design information storage unit D111 of the operation terminal 10. The difference between the design information storage unit D111 and the 3DCG storage unit D211 is that the design information storage unit D111 stores data for drawing a simple three-dimensional shape of the design, while the 3DCG storage unit D211 stores the 3DCG of the design. The 3DCG acquisition unit 211 extracts design information flagged as "default display" from the 3DCG storage unit D211. Furthermore, the 3DCG acquisition unit 211 searches the 3DCG position information storage unit D212 using the design ID and car size extracted from the 3DCG storage unit D211 as key information to obtain information on the position and angle at which the 3DCG of the design of the design ID is placed. As position information, information on the x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate is extracted, and as angle information, information on the x-axis rotation angle, y-axis rotation angle, and z-axis rotation angle is extracted.

The 3DCG drawing unit 212 accesses the URL in which the 3DCG of the design ID acquired by the 3DCG acquisition unit 211 is stored and reads out the 3DCG. The read out 3DCG is placed in the car by moving it from the origin in each axis direction by the distance of the x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate extracted by the 3DCG position information storage unit D212 (step S202). In addition, when placing, the design 3DCG is rotated in each axis direction by the x-axis rotation angle, y-axis rotation angle, and z-axis rotation angle extracted by the 3DCG position information storage unit D212 and placed in the car. At this time, the origin of the x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate is set to a certain point in the car. The 3DCG drawing unit 212 sets a virtual viewpoint for the placed 3DCG at a position about 170 cm high from the center point of the floor of the car, facing the car door direction or the opposite side to the car door direction. The 3DCG rendering unit 212 displays, on the screen of the display of the mobile terminal 20, a 3DCG of the interior perspective of the elevator car within the range observable from the set virtual viewpoint.
When the arrangement is completed, the light source/mirror surface calculation unit 213 adds gloss to the 3DCG of the interior of the elevator car drawn by the design 3DCG drawing unit 212 by calculating the degree of light from the light source on the ceiling that hits the 3DCG. Also, the 3DCG of the interior reflected in the mirror is calculated from the positional relationship between the viewpoint and the mirror, and is drawn on the mirror surface (step S203).

(View Change Processing of the Mobile Terminal 20)
Next, a field of view change process when a VR image is displayed on the mobile terminal 20 will be described with reference to FIG.
When the screen initialization of the portable terminal 20 is completed, the portable terminal 20 is placed in VR goggles, and the customer puts the goggles on his/her head.
When the customer moves his/her head while wearing the goggles, the acceleration sensor 22 built in the mobile terminal detects the angular acceleration, and the angular acceleration acquisition unit 221 in the field of view change unit 220 acquires the angular acceleration (step S301). The viewpoint angle calculation unit 222 calculates how much the mobile terminal 20 has tilted from the previous state as a viewpoint angle, and stores the calculated viewpoint angle together with a time stamp in the viewpoint angle storage unit D221 (step S302). The stored viewpoint angle and time stamp are transmitted to the operation terminal 10 by the viewpoint angle transmission unit 240 described later. Note that the previous state is an initial state in which the mobile terminal 20 is turned sideways and stands vertically. The drawing range change unit 223 changes the viewing direction in the 3DCG displayed on the display screen of the mobile terminal 20 according to the tilt of the mobile terminal 20 from the previous state calculated by the viewpoint angle calculation unit 222, and the drawing range of the 3DCG displayed on the screen is changed (step S303). A customer wearing VR goggles with a mobile terminal 20 installed can view an introspection perspective according to the tilt state of the mobile terminal 20 from the virtual viewpoint set by the 3DCG drawing unit 212 through the field of view changing unit 220 by moving his/her head. The field of view changing unit 220 operates constantly while the customer is wearing the goggles and experiencing VR, and continues to change the 3DCG in real time according to the customer's movement, i.e., the tilt of the mobile terminal. However, the process of storing the viewpoint angle calculated by the viewpoint angle calculation unit 222 in the viewpoint angle storage unit D221 is not continuously executed in real time, but operates at a fixed interval, for example, one second or two seconds, in order to reduce the load on the memory and network of the mobile terminal 20.

For a salesperson and a customer to have two-way communication, the salesperson needs to know what the customer is viewing. Therefore, the view is shared by sending information about the viewing angle from the mobile terminal 20 to the operation terminal 10. This will be described with reference to FIG. 13.

(Viewpoint angle transmission process of mobile terminal 20)
As shown in FIG. 13A , the mobile terminal 20 executes a process of transmitting the calculated viewpoint angle to the operation terminal 10 .
In the viewpoint angle transmission unit 240 of the mobile terminal 20, the viewpoint angle acquisition unit 241 acquires information on the viewpoint angle stored in the viewpoint angle storage unit D221 (step S401). The viewpoint angle information transmission unit 242 transmits the acquired viewpoint angle information to the operation terminal 10 (step S402). The viewpoint angle transmission unit 240 performs transmission when one record is stored in the viewpoint angle storage unit D221. Since the viewpoint angle storage unit D221 stores the information at a fixed interval, for example, one second, two seconds, etc., transmission to the operation terminal 10 is performed at a fixed interval, for example, one second, two seconds, etc.

(View display process of operation terminal 10)
The viewpoint angle information transmitted from the mobile terminal 20 is received by the operation terminal 10 as shown in FIG. 13(b), and the operation terminal 10 executes a process of displaying the field of view.
In the view direction display unit 130 of the operation terminal 10, the view angle receiving unit 131 receives information on the view angle transmitted from the view angle transmitting unit 240 of the mobile device 20 (step S501). The view information calculation unit 132 uses the received view angle information and the previous tilt state of the mobile device 20 to calculate the view direction indicating the current orientation of the mobile device 20, that is, the direction in which the customer is facing from the virtual view point to observe the 3DCG of the car (step S502). The previous tilt state of the mobile device 20 is a state in which the mobile device 20 is turned sideways and stands vertically in the initial state, and in the 3DCG of the car, the customer is facing the car door or the opposite side to the car door to observe. The view information reproduction unit 133 displays the customer's view in the perspective view of the car displayed on the screen based on the view direction calculated in step S502 (step S503). FIG. 15 shows an example of a state in which the customer's view is displayed in the perspective view of the car. In Figure 15, an ellipse with an aspect ratio of 1:3 is displayed, centered on a point on the wall ceiling or floor that meets the field of view direction calculated in step S502 from the virtual viewpoint. The displayed ellipse is the customer's field of view. If the ellipse spans multiple wall surfaces, for example the ceiling and the wall surface on which the car door is installed, the ellipse is displayed as it is spanning multiple wall surfaces. The salesperson who is the operator of the operation terminal 10 can understand which part of the car design the customer is currently paying attention to by checking the image showing the field of view.

(Design information selection and transmission process of operation terminal 10)
In order to allow the customer to experience various patterns of designs, the salesperson changes the design that the customer is observing via the operation terminal 10. This will be described with reference to FIG.
The operation terminal 10 executes a process of selecting a design to be changed and transmitting the design to the mobile terminal 20, as shown in FIG. 14(a).
Referring to FIG. 15, the salesperson selects the design item for which the design is to be changed from the design information display part in which the design items are listed and displayed on the right side of the screen. In the initial state, the default design extracted by the design information development part 113 is selected. As an operation for selecting the design item to be changed, the design information search part 121 of the design change instruction part 120 is operated by tapping the design name of the design item to be changed displayed on the screen of the operation terminal 10. The design information search part 121 acquires a list of design names of designs belonging to the design item from the design information storage part D111 using the design item name of the tapped design item as key information (step S601). The search result display part 122 displays the list of design names acquired by the design information search part 121, for example, in a pull-down in the column in which the tapped design name is displayed (step S602). When the sales representative selects the design name he or she wishes to display from the displayed list of design names, the design information selection unit 123 stores the design ID of the selected design (step S603), and the design information transmission unit 124 transmits the selected design ID to the mobile terminal 20 (step S604).

(Design information reception and reproduction process of the mobile terminal 20)
The mobile terminal 20 receives the design information transmitted from the operation terminal 10 in the design change display section 230 as shown in FIG. 14(b), and executes a process of reflecting the design information in the 3DCG of the mobile terminal 20.
The design information receiving unit 231 of the design change display unit 230 receives the design ID transmitted from the operation terminal 10 (step S701). The design information searching unit 232 obtains the cab size from the 3DCG storage unit D211 and extracts the 3DCG of the corresponding design using the received design ID as key information (step S702). The design information searching unit 232 searches the 3DCG position information storage unit D212 using the design ID and cab size as key information, and extracts information on the x-coordinate, y-coordinate, z-coordinate, x-axis rotation angle, y-axis rotation angle, and z-axis rotation angle as information on the position and angle at which the design of the design ID is placed (step S703). The design information reproducing unit 233 deletes the 3DCG of the design of the design item before the change from the 3DCG of the elevator cab already drawn, and changes it to the 3DCG of the design of the newly extracted design ID (step S704). However, since there is a risk that the content viewed by the customer will suddenly change when observing the deletion and redrawing of the 3DCG design, which could cause brain overload, the deletion and redrawing will be performed after the display is darkened once, and the redrawn 3DCG will be displayed on the display.
As described above, the salesperson can check which part of the car design the customer is currently paying attention to by checking the image displayed on the operation terminal 10 showing the field of view, and can change the design of the part being paid attention to and propose a different design to the customer.

(Enlargement location instruction transmission process of the enlargement instruction unit 140 of the operation terminal 10)
In order to appeal to customers about a particular design based on the company's sales strategy, a salesperson may want to draw the customer's attention to the particular design. In this case, a function is provided in which an instruction to enlarge and display the design to be highlighted is sent from the operation terminal 10 to the mobile terminal 20, and in response to this, the display of the mobile terminal 20 displays the designated design in an enlarged manner. This will be described with reference to FIG. 16.
The operation terminal 10 executes a process of transmitting the design to be enlarged and displayed to the mobile terminal 20, as shown in FIG. 16(a).
17, when a salesperson taps the name of the design item of the design item for which the salesperson wants to enlarge the design from the design information display part in which the design items are listed and displayed on the right side of the screen, a selection screen is displayed for selecting the enlarged display or the guided display described later. When the enlarged display is selected on the selection screen, the enlargement part selection part 141 of the enlargement instruction part 140 specifies the design of the design item to be enlarged (step S801). The enlargement part transmission part 142 transmits the design information of the specified design to the mobile terminal 20 (step S802).

(Enlarged portion reception reproduction process of the enlarged display section 250 of the mobile terminal 20)
As shown in Fig. 16(b), the enlargement display unit 250 of the mobile terminal 20 executes a process of receiving an enlargement portion instruction from the operation terminal 10 and enlarging and displaying the design specified by the enlargement portion instruction on the screen. The enlargement portion receiving unit 251 of the enlargement display unit 250 receives the enlargement portion instruction transmitted from the enlargement portion transmitting unit 142 of the operation terminal 10 and specifies the design item to be enlarged (step S901). The enlargement portion reproducing unit 252 enlarges the location of the specified design item and displays it on the display of the mobile terminal 20 (step S902).

(Point Guidance Location Instruction Transmission Processing of the Point Guidance Instructor 150 of the Operation Terminal 10)
As with the enlarged display described above, there are cases where a salesperson wants to draw the customer's attention to a particular design in order to appeal to the customer based on the company's sales strategy. In this case, a function is provided in which an instruction to guide the customer to the display location of the design to be drawn to is transmitted from the operation terminal 10 to the mobile terminal 20, and the mobile terminal 20 receives the instruction and displays the guidance instruction on its display. This will be described with reference to FIG. 18.
The operation terminal 10 executes a process of transmitting the design to be guided and displayed to the mobile terminal 20, as shown in FIG. 18(a).
11, when a salesperson taps the name of a design item to which the salesperson wants to be guided from the design information display part in which design items are listed on the right side of the screen, a selection screen is displayed to select the guidance display or the enlarged display described above. When the guidance display is selected on the selection screen, the viewpoint guidance location selection unit 151 of the viewpoint guidance instruction unit 150 specifies the design of the design item to be guided (step S1001). The viewpoint guidance location transmission unit 152 transmits the design information of the specified design to the mobile terminal 20 (step S1002).

(Eye-point guidance location reception and reproduction process of the eye-point guidance display unit 260 of the mobile terminal 20)
As shown in FIG. 18B, the viewpoint guidance display unit 260 of the mobile terminal 20 executes a process of receiving a viewpoint guidance location instruction from the operation terminal 10 and displaying a guidance on the screen for the design specified by the viewpoint guidance location instruction. The viewpoint guidance location receiving unit 261 of the viewpoint guidance display unit 260 receives the viewpoint guidance location instruction transmitted from the viewpoint guidance location transmitting unit 152 of the operation terminal 10 and specifies the design item to be guided (step S1101). The viewpoint guidance location reproducing unit 262 displays an image for guiding to the location of the specified design item on the display of the mobile terminal 20 (step S1102). For example, an arrow indicating the location of the specified design item is displayed on the screen, and the arrow is continued to be displayed until the customer brings the design received by the viewpoint guidance location receiving unit 261 into the field of view. In addition, various displays are possible, such as displaying the design of the specified design item surrounded by a frame line, highlighting the design of the specified design item, etc. In addition, guidance may be provided by moving the 3DCG to display the specified design in the center of the field of view.

The functions of the elevator design decision support system 1 disclosed herein can be realized by dedicated hardware or by a conventional computer system.

For example, the programs executed by control units 31 and 41 can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, distributed, and the programs can be installed on a computer to configure a device that executes the above-mentioned processes. Examples of such recording media include flexible disks, CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs), and MOs (Magneto-Optical Discs).

The program may also be stored on a disk device of a server device on a communication network such as the Internet, and then downloaded to a computer, for example, by superimposing it on a carrier wave.

The above process can also be achieved by launching and executing a program while transferring it via a communications network.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned processing can also be achieved by executing all or part of the program on a server device and executing the program while the computer sends and receives information related to the processing via a communications network.

In addition, when the above-mentioned functions are shared and realized by the OS (Operating System) or by the OS working together with an application, etc., only the parts other than the OS may be stored on a medium and distributed, or may be downloaded to a computer.

In addition, the means for realizing the functions of the elevator design decision support system 1 is not limited to software, and some or all of the functions may be realized by dedicated hardware including circuits.

Various embodiments and modifications of this disclosure are possible without departing from the broad spirit and scope of this disclosure. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to explain this disclosure and do not limit the scope of this disclosure. In other words, the scope of this disclosure is indicated by the claims, not the embodiments. Furthermore, various modifications made within the scope of the claims and within the scope of the meaning of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of this disclosure.

1 Elevator design decision support system, 10 Operation terminal, 11, 21 Network connection unit, 20 Portable terminal, 22 Acceleration sensor, 30 Network, 31, 41 Control unit, 32, 42 Memory unit, 33, 43 Communication unit, 34, 44 Display unit, 35, 45 Operation unit, 36, 47 Internal bus, 46 Angular acceleration sensor unit, 110 Design information display unit, 111 Design information acquisition unit, 112 Interior drawing unit, 113 Design information development unit, 120 Design change instruction unit, 121 Design information search unit, 122 Search result display unit, 123 Design information selection unit, 124 Design information transmission unit, 130 View direction display unit, 131 View point angle reception unit, 132 View information calculation unit, 133 View information reproduction unit, 140 Enlargement instruction unit, 141 Enlargement location selection unit, 142 Enlargement location transmission unit, 150 Viewpoint guidance instruction unit, 151 Viewpoint guidance location selection unit, 152 Viewpoint guidance location transmission unit, 210 3D image creation unit, 211 3DCG acquisition unit, 212 3DCG drawing unit, 213 Light source/mirror surface calculation unit, 220 View field change unit, 221 Angular acceleration acquisition unit, 222 Viewpoint angle calculation unit, 223 Drawing range change unit, 230 Design change display unit, 231 Design information reception unit, 232 Design information search unit, 233 Design information reproduction unit, 240 Viewpoint angle transmission unit, 241 Viewpoint angle acquisition unit, 242 Viewpoint angle information transmission unit, 250 Enlargement display unit, 251 Enlargement location reception unit, 252 Enlargement location reproduction unit, 260 Viewpoint guidance display unit, 261 Viewpoint guidance location reception unit, 262 Viewpoint guidance location reproduction unit, D111 design information storage unit, D211 3DCG storage unit, D212 3DCG position information storage unit, D221 viewpoint angle storage unit.

Claims (14)

The system includes an operation terminal connected via a network and a mobile terminal for displaying a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint,
The operation terminal includes:
a design information display unit that displays design information that identifies a design for each part of the elevator;
a viewing direction display unit that receives tilt information of the mobile terminal and displays a viewing direction;
a design change instruction unit that selects design information that specifies a design of the part of the elevator that is to be changed in the three-dimensional image displayed on the mobile terminal and transmits the design information to the mobile terminal;
Equipped with
The mobile terminal includes:
a three-dimensional image creation unit that creates a three-dimensional image observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint;
A view change unit that detects the inclination of the mobile terminal and changes the three-dimensional image in the view direction;
a viewpoint angle transmission unit that transmits tilt information of the mobile terminal to the operation terminal based on the detected tilt of the mobile terminal;
a design change display unit that changes and displays a three-dimensional image to a design specified by design information that specifies a design of the part of the elevator that is to be changed and that is received from the operation terminal;
An elevator design decision support system equipped with the above. The system includes an operation terminal connected via a network and a mobile terminal for displaying a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint,
The operation terminal includes:
a design information display unit that displays design information specifying the design of each part of the elevator;
a viewing direction display unit that receives tilt information of the mobile terminal and displays a viewing direction;
an enlargement instruction unit that selects design information of a design to be enlarged and displayed on the mobile device and transmits the selected design information to the mobile device;
Equipped with
The mobile terminal includes:
a three-dimensional image generating unit for generating a three-dimensional image obtained by observing a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint;
A view change unit that detects the inclination of the mobile terminal and changes the three-dimensional image in the view direction;
a viewpoint angle transmission unit that transmits tilt information of the mobile terminal to the operation terminal based on the detected tilt of the mobile terminal;
an enlargement display unit that enlarges and displays the design identified by the design information received from the operation terminal;
An elevator design decision support system equipped with the above. The system includes an operation terminal connected via a network and a mobile terminal for displaying a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint,
The operation terminal includes:
a design information display unit that displays design information that identifies a design for each part of the elevator;
a viewing direction display unit that receives tilt information of the mobile terminal and displays a viewing direction;
a viewpoint guidance instruction unit that selects design information that specifies a design of a part of the elevator to be displayed on the mobile device and transmits the design information to the mobile device;
Equipped with
The mobile terminal includes:
a three-dimensional image creation unit that creates a three-dimensional image observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint;
A view change unit that detects the inclination of the mobile terminal and changes the three-dimensional image in the view direction;
a viewpoint angle transmission unit that transmits tilt information of the mobile terminal to the operation terminal based on the detected tilt of the mobile terminal;
a viewpoint guidance display unit that executes a display for guiding a visual direction to a design specified by design information that specifies a design of the part of the elevator to be guided, the design information being received from the operation terminal;
An elevator design decision support system equipped with the above. The design information display unit of the operation terminal displays a perspective view of the elevator design and a list of design information,
The viewing direction display unit displays the viewing direction on the perspective view.
The elevator design decision support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. An operation terminal connected via a network to a mobile terminal that displays a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint,
a design information display unit that displays design information that identifies a design for each part of the elevator;
a viewing direction display unit that receives tilt information of the mobile terminal and displays a viewing direction;
a design change instruction unit that selects design information that specifies a design of the part of the elevator that is to be changed in the three-dimensional image displayed on the mobile terminal and transmits the design information to the mobile terminal;
An operation terminal of an elevator design decision support system comprising: An operation terminal connected via a network to a mobile terminal that displays a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint,
a design information display unit that displays design information specifying the design of each part of the elevator;
a viewing direction display unit that receives tilt information of the mobile terminal and displays a viewing direction;
an enlargement instruction unit that selects design information of a design to be enlarged and displayed on the mobile device and transmits the selected design information to the mobile device;
An operation terminal of an elevator design decision support system comprising: An operation terminal connected via a network to a mobile terminal that displays a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint,
a design information display unit that displays design information that identifies a design for each part of the elevator;
a viewing direction display unit that receives tilt information of the mobile terminal and displays a viewing direction;
a viewpoint guidance instruction unit that selects design information that specifies a design of a part of the elevator to be displayed on the mobile device and transmits the design information to the mobile device;
An operation terminal of an elevator design decision support system comprising: A mobile terminal that displays a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed from a virtual viewpoint connected to an operation terminal via a network,
a three-dimensional image creation unit that creates a three-dimensional image observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint;
A view change unit that detects the inclination of the mobile terminal and changes the three-dimensional image in the view direction;
a viewpoint angle transmission unit that transmits tilt information of the mobile terminal to the operation terminal based on the detected tilt of the mobile terminal;
a design change display unit that changes and displays a three-dimensional image to a design specified by design information that specifies a design of the part of the elevator that is to be changed and that is received from the operation terminal;
A mobile terminal of an elevator design decision support system comprising: A mobile terminal that displays a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed from a virtual viewpoint connected to an operation terminal via a network,
a three-dimensional image creation unit that creates a three-dimensional image observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint;
A view change unit that detects the inclination of the mobile terminal and changes the three-dimensional image in the view direction;
a viewpoint angle transmission unit that transmits tilt information of the mobile terminal to the operation terminal based on the detected tilt of the mobile terminal;
an enlargement display unit that enlarges and displays the design identified by the design information received from the operation terminal;
A mobile terminal of an elevator design decision support system comprising: A mobile terminal that displays a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed from a virtual viewpoint connected to an operation terminal via a network,
a three-dimensional image creation unit that creates a three-dimensional image observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint;
A view change unit that detects the inclination of the mobile terminal and changes the three-dimensional image in the view direction;
a viewpoint angle transmission unit that transmits tilt information of the mobile terminal to the operation terminal based on the detected tilt of the mobile terminal;
a viewpoint guidance display unit that executes a display for guiding a visual direction to a design specified by design information that specifies a design of the part of the elevator to be guided, the design information being received from the operation terminal;
A mobile terminal of an elevator design decision support system comprising: displaying design information that identifies a design for each part of the elevator;
receiving tilt information of a mobile terminal that displays a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint, and displaying the viewing direction;
A step of selecting design information that specifies a design of a part of the elevator that is to be changed in the three-dimensional image displayed on the mobile terminal and transmitting the design information to the mobile terminal;
An elevator design decision support method comprising: creating a three-dimensional image of the elevator design observed from a virtual viewpoint in a viewing direction;
Detecting the inclination of the mobile terminal and changing the three-dimensional image in the viewing direction;
transmitting tilt information of the mobile terminal to an operation terminal based on the detected tilt of the mobile terminal;
A step of changing and displaying a three-dimensional image to a design specified by design information that specifies a design of the part of the elevator that is to be changed and received from the operation terminal;
An elevator design decision support method comprising: displaying design information specifying a design for each part of the elevator on a computer;
receiving tilt information of a mobile terminal that displays a three-dimensional image of an elevator design observed in a viewing direction from a virtual viewpoint, and displaying the viewing direction;
A step of selecting design information that specifies a design of a part of the elevator that is to be changed in the three-dimensional image displayed on the mobile terminal and transmitting the design information to the mobile terminal;
A program that executes the following. A step of generating a three-dimensional image of the elevator design observed from a virtual viewpoint in a viewing direction on a computer;
Detecting the inclination of the mobile terminal and changing the three-dimensional image in the viewing direction;
transmitting tilt information of the mobile terminal to an operation terminal based on the detected tilt of the mobile terminal;
A step of changing and displaying a three-dimensional image to a design specified by design information that specifies a design of the part of the elevator that is to be changed and received from the operation terminal;
A program that executes the following.

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