In traditional elevator systems, landing calls are issued using floor call buttons mounted at the landings. The desired target floor is given by pressing car call buttons mounted in the elevator car. The landings and cars are provided with display units for indicating the floor and the elevator which is going to serve the call.

A call button arrangement has also been developed in which the passenger selects the destination floor at the starting floor before entering the elevator. For instance, patent US 4972926 presents a solution like this, in which both the landing call and the selection of destination are effected in a traditional manner by pressing a button. Another solution, described in US patent 5689094, uses a remote controller by means of which the passenger can issue a landing call before reaching the landing or at least from a distance from the landing call buttons.

In large buildings with many elevators serving different floors and different zones, the passenger must give landing and car calls separately in each elevator. Numerous display devices and guide signals need to be provided to guide the passenger. When the inhabitants in the building or apartments change, the guide signals must be renewed correspondingly. In large building complexes, the passenger is likely to experi- ence uncertainty as to the right elevator route and may get lost.

The object of the invention is achieve a new call and display arrangement for a passenger conveyance system, in which the passenger's needs are taken into account better than before and which is readily manageable and modifiable in changing circumstances. The invention can be applied e. g. in office buildings and at airports, where easy and fast means for reaching a destination must be available. To implement this, the invention is characterized by the features presented in the characterization parts of claims 1 and 17.

With the solution according to the invention, the passenger gets continuous guidance while travelling in the passenger conveyance system in a building, and he/she need not worry about entering the calls when ordering further conveyance and boarding a new passenger conveyance means. The call data and destination floors for the passenger's entire journey are stored on a card that the passenger carries with him/her, so he/she always has the information regarding the required calls and he/she can activate calls and obtain guidance as needed in case he/she should go astray from the correct route. In the case of a visitor, the system is used to monitor and ensure that the passenger will reach the destina- tion. For an inhabitant or other standard user, the route can be programmed in advance, so that the passenger need not give any calls but the arrangement takes care of transmitting the calls directly from the card to the control units of the passenger conveyance system and further to the conveyance means and the displays.

The memory card functions as a data reader and not as a transmitter as does the card described in US 5689094, which is an expensive and complicated card as it has been designed for a single journey only. On the card of our invention, it is possible to store one or more individual or successive journeys and the card can be used again and again innumerable

times. The data stored on the card of our invention includes the passenger's destination and guide signals that guide him/her all the way to the destination without the passenger having to input any additional information as in the case of the above-mentioned device according to the US patent.

Besides, the card described in the US patent does not contain any guiding information as the card of our invention does.

The memory card may be made of any material; for instance, people working regularly in the building may have a plastic card while customers have a card of cardboard provided with a bar code or the like. Moreover, for an occasional user, the access rights can be so programmed that the rights expire as soon as the passenger has reached the destination. This ensures that no outsiders can enter the building and safety is guaranteed.

Thus, our invention does not necessarily comprise a mere individual journey but a route. The database itself may be a centralized one located e. g. in a server which distributes the information to the appropriate parties. Thus, if neces- sary, it is possible to give advance information regarding the arrival of a customer in the building, and even an alarm can be programmed to be activated when the customer arrives at the entrance.

In the following, the invention will be described in detail by the aid of some of its embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein -Fig. 1 presents an entrance hall with registering stations -Fig. 2 presents a detail of route guidance -Fig. 3 presents a lobby on an upper floor, with guide signal displays

-Fig. 4 presents a detail of a guide signal display -Fig. 5 illustrates the entry of a manual landing call for an elevator -Fig. 6 illustrates a landing call with guiding information -Fig. 7 illustrates the act of boarding or leaving an elevator.

In the system illustrated in Fig. 1, a regular user A walks either directly to an inspection station 4 or, if he wants to change the destination of his visit, to a programming device 3, which he can use himself to change his route. An occa- sional user B walks first to a reception desk 2, where he gets a card for his destination either by selecting one himself on a terminal or via personal service. After receiv- ing the card, B walks to the inspection station 4 just like A does. Here, a guide device 5 shows him where he must go. In this figure, to reach his destination, he must first use an escalator 6 and on floor 7 he must board an elevator 8.

In the system illustrated in Fig. 2, the user can see from the display 16 of a guide device 5 at the inspection station 4 how he can get to his destination. As shown on the display 16, he must use an escalator 6 to reach floor 7, where he must take an elevator 8 to get further up, which is indicated on the display 16 as number 2.

A system as illustrated in Fig. 3 may be located on any floor in the building, e. g. in an upper lobby when the customer is leaving his destination to get back to the entrance hall. At any time during his journey, he can check his route at a checkpoint 10, and if he is a regular user, he can also change his route. At the checkpoint, he can consult a guide device 11 to get information as to where he is at present and

where he should go next. Moreover, he can use a landing call device 12, which is located near the checkpoint or in the immediate vicinity of an elevator 13. Such checkpoints are very useful e. g. in cases where a user has to change to a different elevator or elevator group to reach his destina- tion.

Fig. 4 presents a detail of a checkpoint 10. The display 16 of a guide device 11 at the checkpoint can indicate which way the user has to go e. g. to get down as in this case. It is also possible to program an automatic landing call 12 on the user's card. The destination is then read from the card and the elevator can be called beforehand so that it is ready for the user, thus improving both travelling comfort and travel- ling speed.

Unlike the previous example, the system in Fig. 5 is operated manually, so the user can change his route as he likes by briefly exposing his memory card 18 to a card reader 17 and pressing the button 15 for the desired floor in the landing call keypad 14 of the elevator.

In addition to a keypad 14 at the landing, the system in Fig.

6 comprises a guide device 19 with a display 16 which can show e. g. the number of the floor in question, the name of an office 20 located on this floor as well as the current date 21 and time 22. A display as illustrated in the figure may also be placed in the elevator car itself, in which case it will tell passengers going to this particular floor when to leave the elevator. In addition, the guide device can be provided with means for giving spoken information or some other audible signal.

The system illustrated in Fig. 7 identifies the person by means of a detector 24, reads information regarding the person as well as his destination 23 from the system and

causes the elevator to move to the desired floor, simultane- ously lighting the car button 15 in question. If necessary, the system also indicates with a sound or light signal whether the person has reached the right floor or whether the person has boarded the right elevator. In the above-mentioned situation, the guide device 19 may show information regarding the person and his destination 23 and, if necessary, this latter item of information 23 can be delivered to the appro- priate office so that the visitor can be met e. g. at the entrance. This functions as an ultimate check to ensure that unauthorized persons cannot enter the office and, in an emergency, safety precautions can be taken as soon as the first indication of the visitor is obtained as he registers his destination in the entrance hall.

Detectors 24 as illustrated in Fig. 7 can also be used to prevent the user from boarding the wrong elevator or leaving the elevator at the wrong floor. He can also be given sound signals to prevent him from boarding a defective elevator or from entering or leaving the elevator too early e. g. when the elevator door sill is not yet at the same level with the landing sill.

In the scope of the invention, even solutions deviating from those described above can be contemplated. The use of the system is not exclusively limited to indoor spaces or office premises, but the system can be used e. g. in terminals such as those at airports and harbors. In such applications, the memory card can be used in the ways described above or the information can be combined with the boarding or disembarka- tion card, in which case the passenger has real-time informa- tion continuously available e. g. when his flight is delayed or the boarding gate is changed.

The invention is not restricted to the examples of its embodiments described above, but many variations are possible within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the claims.