CN116802139A

CN116802139A - Monitoring solution for escalator

Info

Publication number: CN116802139A
Application number: CN202180090515.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: P·瓦尔朱斯; J·罗西; 蔡晓亮; 范进泉
Original assignee: Kone Corp
Current assignee: Kone Corp
Priority date: 2021-01-14
Filing date: 2021-01-14
Publication date: 2023-09-22
Also published as: WO2022151131A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an escalator (100), comprising: at least one sensor (120) associated with a drive system (610) of the escalator and configured to generate measurement data indicative of a concentration of molecules in air in an operating space of the at least one sensor (120); and a control unit (130) configured to receive (510) measurement data from the at least one sensor (120). The control unit (130) is configured to: generating (520) a pattern indicative of a concentration of molecules in air, comparing (530) at least a portion of the generated pattern with at least one reference pattern, and generating (540) a detection result to express one of: i) The escalator (100) operates normally, ii) the escalator (100) fails. The invention also relates to a method, a control unit and a computer program product thereof.

Description

Monitoring solution for escalator

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to the technical field of escalators. More particularly, the invention relates to a monitoring solution for an escalator.

Background

Conveyor systems, such as escalators, are in great use and include components and subsystems that are subject to wear and tear. To avoid downtime of the conveyor system, various monitoring solutions have been developed for preferably detecting in advance whether certain components and/or subsystems need replacement. Such solutions are generally based on performing the detection from measurement data representative of the direct or indirect operating conditions of the respective entity, obtained with suitable sensors or examples. Of course, periodic visual inspection may be required to fully inspect the conveyor system and any maintenance work (if any).

Another problem is that there are aspects, such as operating conditions, that can be detected based at least in part on odor. Typically, when entering the location of the conveyor system, a technician may detect during normal inspection that the conveyor system is not operating properly due to odors detected in the field.

It is thus possible to introduce further solutions for monitoring the escalator.

Disclosure of Invention

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of various inventive embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an escalator, a method, a control unit and a computer program product for monitoring the operation of a conveyor system.

The object of the invention is achieved by an escalator, a method, a control unit and a computer program product as defined in the respective independent claims.

According to a first aspect, there is provided an escalator comprising: at least one sensor associated with a drive system of the escalator, the at least one sensor configured to generate measurement data indicative of a concentration of molecules in air in an operating space of the at least one sensor; a control unit configured to receive measurement data from the at least one sensor, the control unit configured to: generating a pattern from the received measurement data indicative of the concentration of molecules in air in the operating space of the at least one sensor; comparing at least a portion of the generated pattern with at least one reference pattern; based on a comparison between at least a portion of the generated pattern and at least one reference pattern, a detection result is generated to represent one of: i) The escalator is operating normally, ii) the escalator fails.

For example, the at least one sensor may be associated with a frame structure of a drive system of the escalator.

The at least one sensor may also be arranged in the vicinity of an escalator brake of a drive system of the escalator.

Furthermore, the at least one sensor may be associated with a gearbox of a drive system of the escalator. For example, the at least one sensor may be arranged in a relief valve of an oil expansion device of the gearbox.

The control unit may be configured to generate the pattern as a frequency spectrum based on the measurement data.

The reference pattern may be generated, for example, by one of: mathematically defining a level of at least one molecular concentration for a reference pattern; a level of at least one molecular concentration is defined based on at least one previous measurement of the reference pattern.

Alternatively or additionally, the control unit may be configured to send the generated detection result to a data center arranged to monitor the escalator.

Furthermore, the control unit may be further configured to: receiving measurement data from at least one of: a thermometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor; a hygrometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor; and selecting a reference pattern for comparison based on measurement data received from at least one of: a thermometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor; a hygrometer is located in the operating space of the at least one sensor.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a method for monitoring an escalator, the method being performed by a control unit, comprising: receiving measurement data from at least one sensor; generating a pattern from the received measurement data indicative of the concentration of molecules in air in the operating space of the at least one sensor; comparing at least a portion of the generated pattern with at least one reference pattern; based on a comparison between at least a portion of the generated pattern and at least one reference pattern, a detection result is generated to represent one of: i) The escalator is operating normally, ii) the escalator fails.

The pattern may be generated as a spectrum.

Further, the reference pattern may be generated by one of: mathematically defining a level of at least one molecular concentration for a reference pattern; a level of at least one molecular concentration is defined based on at least one previous measurement of the reference pattern.

The method may further comprise: receiving measurement data from at least one of: a thermometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor; a hygrometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor; selecting a reference pattern for comparison based on measurement data received from at least one of: a thermometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor; a hygrometer is located in the operating space of the at least one sensor.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a control unit for monitoring an escalator, the control unit being configured to perform the method according to the second aspect described above.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program product for monitoring an escalator, which, when executed by at least one processor, causes a control unit to perform the method according to the second aspect as described above.

The expression "several" herein means any positive integer starting from 1, such as 1, 2 or 3.

The expression "plurality" herein refers to any positive integer starting from 2, such as 2, 3 or 4.

Various exemplary and non-limiting embodiments of the present invention as to structure and method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific exemplary and non-limiting embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

The verbs "comprise" and "comprise" are used in this document as public limitation neither excluding nor requiring the presence of unrecited features. The features recited in the dependent claims are freely combinable with each other unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, it should be understood that the use of "a" or "an" throughout this document, i.e., the singular forms, do not exclude a plurality.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 schematically shows an embodiment of the invention according to an example.

Fig. 2 schematically shows a sensor according to an example shown from a first perspective.

Fig. 3 schematically shows a sensor according to an example shown from a first perspective.

Fig. 4A and 4B schematically show a pattern representation of measurement data as an example.

Fig. 5 schematically shows a method according to an example.

Fig. 6A and 6B schematically illustrate various aspects of an escalator according to an example.

Fig. 7 schematically shows a control unit 130 according to an example.

Detailed Description

The specific examples provided in the description given below should not be construed as limiting the scope and/or applicability of the appended claims. The list and set of examples provided in the following description is not exhaustive unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a conveyor system 100 configured to implement the present invention, wherein the conveyor system is an escalator. According to the present invention, the conveyor system 100 may comprise several entities adapted to monitor the operation of the conveyor system. At least one requirement that such an entity be suitable for monitoring is that it generates one or more molecules that can be detected with at least one sensor 120 associated with the respective entity 110 of the transport system 100, wherein the generated molecules are indicative of the operating conditions of the respective entity 110. In other words, the molecules may be detected as a result of normal operation of the monitored entity 110 or as a result of some malfunction of the entity 110, and thus of the escalator. The measurement data obtained with the at least one sensor 120 may be transferred to the control unit 130 automatically or by downloading from the at least one sensor 120 according to a predefined downloading scheme. The escalator as the conveyor system 100 may further comprise one or more additional sensors arranged for example to generate measurement data indicative of the environment, the sensor 120 measuring the molecular concentration of several molecules in space. The additional sensor is indicated at 140 in fig. 1 and may for example correspond to a thermometer and/or hygrometer. The control unit 130 may refer to an entity residing at the site of the transport system 100, or it may reside remotely, such as at a data center. In some example embodiments, the control unit 130 may be implemented as a distributed computing environment, where operations are divided among multiple physical entities residing, for example, in different locations. Naturally, communication connections are arranged between the various entities in a manner that allows communication between the entities as desired.

A sensor 120 suitable for use in the present invention allows it to provide measurement data indicative of odors within the operating space of the sensor 120. In other words, the sensor 120 disposed in its measurement space receives molecules representing one or more odors and is configured to generate a signal carrying measurement data for further analysis. For example, the sensor 120 may be implemented such that it is configured to receive several predefined molecules in a sensor array comprising several areas adapted to receive different molecules. An example of such a sensor array is schematically shown in fig. 2 as a side view, wherein the sensor 120 comprises two sub-portions 120A, 120B, implemented as e.g. a membrane structure, each configured to receive a specific type of molecule. The corresponding sensor is shown from a three-dimensional perspective in fig. 3. In other words, the first subsection 120A may be configured to receive a first molecule (denoted a in fig. 2), while the second subsection 120B may be configured to receive a second molecule (denoted B in fig. 2), which may be defined by selecting an acceptor membrane to correspond to a molecule of interest in the application area. The reception of the molecules may be achieved, for example, by arranging in the receptor a receptor having a shape suitable for receiving the desired molecule, and preferably such that no other molecules fit into the corresponding receptor. This is illustrated in fig. 2 such that the receptors of the first sub-portion 120A have a cubic shape corresponding to the shape of the first molecule a, while the receptors of the second sub-portion 120B have a spherical shape corresponding to the shape of the second molecule B. Thus, molecules of different shapes adhere to the receptor in different ways, so that a particular molecule matches a particular receptor better than another receptor. In addition to the molecular shape-based methods, the operation of the membrane may be based on other methods. Thus, by collecting molecules from the air to the receptor, and since the first and second molecules may be considered molecules having an odor character of the molecules, it is possible to generate an output signal indicative of the odor in the space of the sensor 120. For example, the sensor 120 may be arranged to generate an output signal indicative of a change in the frequency of the membrane vibrations as a function of the molecular weight in the receptor (i.e. on the membrane) of the sensor 120. For example, the sensor 120 may operate such that molecules with high chemical affinity to the membrane of the sensor 120 change the mass of the membrane, which has an effect on vibration and thus may be detected from the frequency spectrum. In other words, the impact of the molecule on the receptor membrane can be determined from the output signal of the sensor. Naturally, air molecules create background noise in the output signal, but molecules of interest can be detected from the output signal as deviations from background noise in the spectrum output from the sensor 120. For completeness, it is mentioned that according to some exemplary embodiments, the sensor 120 may be implemented such that it comprises only receptors in the sensor array that are adapted to receive molecules of interest in the space associated with the sensor 120. In addition, the number and type of receptors may be selected according to the molecule of interest in the field of application.

In response to receiving the measurement data as an output signal from the sensor 120, the control unit 130 may be configured to generate a pattern from the received measurement data indicative of the concentration of molecules in air at the operating space of the at least one sensor. In other words, the measurement data carries data, for example expressed as a change in the frequency of the output signal, indicative of the molecular weight in the receptors of the sub-portions 120A, 120B of the sensor 120, which is dependent on the concentration of the molecules in air. Based on the measurement data, the control unit 130 may be configured to generate a pattern from the received measurement data indicative of the concentration of molecules in the air at the operating space of the at least one sensor 120. The pattern may refer to a representation of the molecular weight in several sub-portions 120A, 120B of the indication sensor 120. As described above, the pattern representation may be a spectrum representing the detection by several sub-portions 120A, 120B of the sensor 120. Fig. 4A schematically shows an example such as a spectrum, wherein the detection is depicted as an amplitude within the spectrum. As shown in a non-limiting manner in fig. 4A, a background noise is generated from the air of the environment, from which a deviation can be detected and interpreted as a smell deviating from the background smell (see smell 1 and smell 2 in fig. 4A). According to some examples, the frequency representing the deviation may be received from different sub-portions 120A, 120B of the sensor 120, or from the same sub-portion 120A, 120B, or from any combination of these sub-portions if the number of sub-portions 120A, 120B is greater than two. Further, the pattern representation disclosed in fig. 4A may be converted into another type of representation that is more indicative of the detection result as shown in fig. 4B, for example. In fig. 4B, the first pattern 410 may be considered to represent the molecular weight in the first subsection 120A representing, for example, scent 1 of fig. 4A, while the second pattern 420 may be considered to represent the molecular weight in the second subsection 120B representing, for example, scent 2 of fig. 4A. Corresponding pattern representations may be generated from sensor arrays having different numbers (i.e., fewer or more) of sub-portions. Naturally, the pattern representation is defined by digital data, for example by a matrix comprising several data values.

In response to the generation of the pattern representation, the control unit 130 may be configured to compare the generated pattern with at least one reference pattern. The reference pattern may refer to a representation corresponding to a scene that may be located in the space in which the sensor 120 is installed. Alternatively or additionally, the reference pattern may refer to a pattern generated in space during normal operation of the conveyor system, i.e. when the conveyor system is operating as it should. Furthermore, the one or more reference patterns may be some statistical derivation from previous measurement data. In other words, it defines a possible scent environment or change in the space of the sensor 120. By having a plurality of reference patterns for comparison, the odour in the space of the sensor 120 can be determined, at least to some extent, and thus, by arranging the reference patterns to be derived by performing one or more measurements in space, even changes therein can be determined. According to some example embodiments, the number of reference patterns accessible to the control unit 130 is defined such that they represent odors of interest in the space of the sensor 120. For example, the reference patterns may be selected such that they represent a specific set of operating conditions of the escalator as a conveying system or monitored entity, e.g. a fault condition that may be detected based on the smell represented in the manner described. For completeness, according to some example embodiments, the comparison may be performed only on some portions of the pattern generated from the measurement data. Naturally, the reference pattern defines only those portions of interest.

As described above, in some example embodiments, the reference data may be generated from previous measurements. This may be implemented such that the control unit 130 is taught to know the normal pattern of the measurement data, which may be set as a reference pattern for comparison, for example by applying machine learning practices. Thus, the control unit 130 and the entire measurement system are set to a monitoring mode, and reference data or reference patterns may be used for monitoring in the manner described.

Finally, the control unit 130 may be configured to generate a detection result from the comparison between the generated pattern and the reference pattern to express one of: i) The escalator is operating normally, ii) the escalator fails. For example, if the reference patterns are defined such that they represent a disallowed state of the escalator based on smell, a detection result representing a malfunction of the escalator may be generated if a match is found between at least one of the generated pattern and the reference pattern. The generation of the detection result may correspond to an arrangement in which the control unit 130 may be configured to generate a message defining at least the detection result in a predetermined manner (e.g. with one bit) and to send the message to a predefined destination (e.g. a data center). In some embodiments, the communication is optimized by arranging that a message is generated only when the detection result indicates an escalator failure as a conveyor system, or that an active maintenance action should be taken based on the detection result. In this case, for example, the generated pattern may be included in the message for further analysis, for example at a data center. As already mentioned, an embodiment of the control unit 130 may also be such that it corresponds to the data center itself and is configured to perform the described operations. In addition, the data center may generate maintenance instructions to the maintenance instruction system based on the detection results or any further analysis, and then deliver the maintenance instructions to the technician. The maintenance instructions may include information on how to correct the fault, for example by replacing the bearing or by adding lubricant to the lubrication means that provides lubricant to the suspension ropes.

For clarity, fig. 5 schematically shows a method of monitoring an escalator (in particular its operation) from the perspective of the control unit 130 according to an example embodiment. The method steps shown in fig. 5 have been described in the foregoing description and are as follows:

510: the control unit 130 receives measurement data from the at least one sensor 120.

520: a pattern is generated from the received measurement data indicative of the concentration of molecules in the air at the operating space of the at least one sensor 120.

530: the control unit 130 is configured to compare the generated pattern with at least one reference pattern available for comparison by the control unit 130.

540: the control unit 130 is configured to generate a detection result from a comparison between the generated pattern and at least one reference pattern to represent one of: i) The escalator is operating normally, ii) the escalator fails.

Next, some further aspects of example embodiments of the invention are discussed in the context of an escalator as a conveyor system. In an escalator, there are several entities 110 adapted to be monitored in the manner described in the foregoing description with the solution according to the example. Fig. 6A schematically shows an example of an escalator as a conveyor system 100 embodying the present invention. Escalator 120 may include at least a first or upper landing and a second or lower landing and a drive system 610 for moving steps 620 of the escalator. According to an exemplary embodiment, at least one sensor 120 for obtaining measurement data indicative of the operation of the escalator, in particular the drive system, is associated with the drive system 610. In addition, the escalator includes a handrail 630 for supporting the steps 620 and various other components, as well as other elements of the escalator, such as a moving handrail 640 and components and/or devices associated therewith, and a drive device, such as a chain, drive wheel, and/or sprocket, for moving the steps 620 via the drive system 610. The escalator drive system 610 also includes a gearbox and escalator brake for controlling movement of the steps 620. The operation of the escalator is controlled by a control unit, which may correspond to a control unit arranged to perform a monitoring task according to the invention, or it may be a control unit independent of the control unit. In fig. 6A, the control unit 130 obtains measurement data from at least the sensor 120 through at least a communication path established between the entities, for example, through a wired or wireless communication path.

Fig. 6B schematically illustrates the drive system 610 of the escalator in more detail to provide insight into the association of the sensor 120 with the escalator system. The drive system 610 of the escalator may include a motor 650, the motor 650 configured to generate a force for moving the steps 620 and handrail 640 of the escalator. The force from the motor 650 may be transferred to the transmission system through a gear box 660 to select the optimal gear ratio as desired. The force is brought to the drive wheel 670 by a chain or belt by which movement of the steps 620 and handrail 640 can be accomplished. The gearbox 660 is filled with oil that can expand during operation of the gearbox 660, and in order to provide space for expansion, an oil expansion device 665 is arranged to balance the amount of oil in the gearbox 660. The oil expansion device 665 is equipped with a pressure reducing valve 667 for outputting the pressure of the oil vapor from the oil expansion device 665. Further, the drive system 610 may comprise at least one escalator brake 680, which escalator brake 680 is a mechanical brake arranged to brake the rotation of the motor when controlled.

Fig. 6B also schematically shows the applicable positions of the sensor 120 in relation to the escalator, in particular in relation to the drive system 610 of the escalator, to generate measurement data indicative of the molecular concentration of several molecules in space. For example, the sensor 120 may be associated proximate to the escalator brake 680, and the sensor 120 is advantageously selected such that the receptor is adapted to receive molecules extracted from the brake shoe of the brake 680. More specifically, the sensor 120 may be selected such that it collects molecules derived from combustion of the friction material of the brake shoe. This may occur, for example, in the case of a brake misalignment and the generation of molecules due to combustion during the entire operation of the escalator, i.e. not just, for example, when the brake is applied. According to this example, the control unit 130 arranged to receive the measurement data may be arranged to detect the operating state of the escalator in order to filter out a situation in which a deliberate braking occurs, i.e. a situation in which a braking occurs under the control of the controller of the escalator. If the controller of the escalator and the control unit 130 performing the monitoring are separate devices, the status information may for example be arranged to be shared between them. Another suitable location for the sensor 120 in the drive system 610 of the escalator is an oil expansion device 665. Advantageously, the sensor 120 is preferably associated with the relief valve 667 such that the sensor 120 is located inside the relief valve 667. Naturally, the sensor 120 is selected such that the receptor is adapted to detect different molecules from the evaporated gear oil, i.e. from the oil vapour. From this measurement, information about the condition of the oil in the gearbox 660 can be derived, as well as information about the operation of the entire gearbox 660. Further, the sensor 120 may be associated with the structure of the drive system to enable monitoring of whether one or more entities or components of the drive system 610 are leaking some of the material that may be detected with the sensor 120. These substances may be, for example, oil from a gearbox, or any lubricant in bearings of the drive system 610, or the like. For example, the sensor 120 for such purpose may be associated with the frame structure of the drive system, e.g. close to the floor, or even directly on the floor, in order to receive molecules of the monitored substance when they leak onto the floor. In general, molecules may be represented as vapors, vapors or aerosols. The substances that are desired to be detected may be, for example, water, dirt (of some particular type), smoke or dust, each of which can be identified from the measurement data in the manner described.

In general, the association of the sensor 120 should be such that the sensor 120 receives the necessary amount of air that may carry the molecule being monitored. This enables the generation of a detection result with a desired accuracy.

For example, a control unit 130 suitable for performing at least a portion of the described methods may refer to a device, such as a server device or any similar data processing device, as a non-limiting example schematically shown in fig. 7. For clarity, it is worth mentioning that the block diagram of fig. 7 depicts some of the components of the entities that may be used to implement the operation of the control unit 130. The device includes a processor 710 and a memory 720. Memory 720 may store data, such as comparison data and computer program code 725. The apparatus may also include a communication device 730 for wired and/or wireless communication with other entities. Furthermore, I/O (input/output) components may be arranged with the processor 710 and a portion of the computer program code 725 to provide a user interface for receiving input from a user (e.g., from a technician), and/or to provide output to a user of the device, if necessary. In particular, the user I/O component may comprise a user input device, such as one or more keys or buttons, a keyboard, a touch screen or pad, or the like. The user I/O component may include an output device such as a display or touch screen. The components of the device may be communicatively coupled to each other via a bus that enables data and control information to be transferred between the components.

The memory 720 and a portion of the computer program code 725 stored therein may also be arranged, together with the processor 710, to cause a device (i.e. apparatus) to perform at least a portion of the method as described in the foregoing description with respect to fig. 5. Processor 710 may be configured to read from memory 720 and write to memory 720. Although the processor 710 is depicted as a respective single component, it may be implemented as a respective one or more separate processing components. Similarly, although memory 720 is depicted as a respective single component, it may be implemented as a respective one or more separate components, some or all of which may be integrated/removable and/or may provide permanent/semi-permanent/dynamic/cached memory.

The computer program code 725 may comprise computer executable instructions which, when loaded into the processor 710, implement functions corresponding to the steps of the method. By way of example, computer program code 725 may comprise a computer program comprised of one or more sequences of one or more instructions. Processor 710 is capable of loading and executing a computer program by reading one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained therein from memory 720. One or more sequences of one or more instructions may be configured, when executed by processor 710, to cause the apparatus to perform the methods described herein. Accordingly, the apparatus may comprise at least one processor 710 and at least one memory 720, the at least one memory 720 comprising computer program code 725 for one or more programs, the at least one memory 320 and the computer program code 725 configured to, with the at least one processor 710, cause the apparatus to perform the described methods.

The computer program code 725 may be provided, for example, as a computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable non-transitory medium having computer program code 725 stored thereon, the computer program code 725, when executed by the processor 710, causing the device to perform the method. The computer readable non-transitory medium may include a memory device or a recording medium, such as a CD-ROM, DVD, blu-ray disc, or another article of manufacture that tangibly embodies a computer program. As another example, a computer program may be provided that is configured to reliably transmit signals of the computer program.

Furthermore, the computer program code 725 may comprise a proprietary application, such as computer program code for performing the method in the manner described in the specification herein.

Any of the programming functions mentioned may also be performed in firmware or hardware that is suitable or programmed to perform the necessary tasks.

As noted above, the entity performing the method may also be implemented in a number of devices, such as the devices schematically illustrated in FIG. 7, as a distributed computing environment. For example, one of the devices may be communicatively connected to several sensors 120 and thus receive measurement data from the sensors 120. The device may then be arranged to communicate with other device users and for example share measurement data to cause the other device to perform at least part of the method. Thus, a method executing in a shared computing environment generates the described detection results.

According to some exemplary embodiments, the operation of the described solution may be improved by defining various reference patterns according to at least one of: the temperature in the environment in which the several sensors 120 are located, the humidity of the air in the environment in which the several sensors 120 are located. In other words, a plurality of reference patterns may be defined, each dedicated to be applied according to temperature or humidity or both. To select the correct reference pattern, the control unit 130 may be arranged to receive measurements from an applicable source, for example from an additional sensor 140, such as a thermometer residing in the space or from a hygrometer residing in the space, or from both, in order to select the reference pattern to be applied in the comparison 530. For example, the control unit 130 may query the reference pattern from the data store with a query having the corresponding measured value as a parameter in the query. The data memory selects the reference pattern to be applied in the comparison based on the measured values and returns it to the control unit 130. Such means may for example be implemented such that a certain reference pattern is adapted to a predetermined range of the respective at least one parameter, such as temperature or humidity or both. The receiving of measurement data from at least one of the mentioned additional sensors may be implemented as a continuous operation or triggered e.g. in response to receiving data from the sensor 120 measuring the concentration of the molecules. The method may be applied to any of the example embodiments described in the foregoing description.

As described herein, the present invention relates to an escalator as defined in the appended claims. For the sake of clarity, it is worth mentioning that the invention is also applicable to travelators as a subset of escalators.

The specific examples provided in the description given above should not be construed as limiting the applicability and/or interpretation of the appended claims. The list and set of examples provided in the above description is not exhaustive unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Claims

1. An escalator (100), comprising:

at least one sensor (120) associated with a drive system (610) of the escalator (100), the at least one sensor (120) being configured to generate measurement data indicative of a concentration of molecules in air in an operating space of the at least one sensor (120),

-a control unit (130) configured to receive (510) measurement data from the at least one sensor (120), the control unit (130) being configured to:

generating (520) a pattern from the received measurement data indicative of the concentration of molecules in air in the operating space of the at least one sensor (120),

at least a portion of the generated pattern is compared (530) with at least one reference pattern,

generating (540) a detection result based on a comparison between at least a portion of the generated pattern and at least one reference pattern to represent one of: i) The escalator (100) is operating normally, ii) the escalator (100) fails.

2. The escalator (100) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor (120) is associated with a frame structure of a drive system (610) of the escalator (100).

3. The escalator (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one sensor (120) is arranged in the vicinity of an escalator brake (680) of a drive system (610) of the escalator (100).

4. The escalator (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one sensor (120) is associated with a gearbox (660) of a drive system (610) of the escalator (100).

5. The escalator (100) according to claim 4, wherein the at least one sensor (120) is arranged in a relief valve (667) of an oil expansion device (665) of the gearbox (660).

6. The escalator (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (130) is configured to generate a pattern as a frequency spectrum based on the measurement data.

7. The escalator (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said reference pattern is generated by one of: mathematically defining a level of at least one molecular concentration for the reference pattern; a level of at least one molecular concentration is defined based on at least one previous measurement of the reference pattern.

8. Escalator (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (130) is configured to send the generated detection result to a data center arranged to monitor the escalator (100).

9. The escalator (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (130) is further configured to:

receiving measurement data from at least one of: a thermometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor (120); a hygrometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor (120);

selecting a reference pattern for comparison based on measurement data received from at least one of: a thermometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor (120); a hygrometer located in an operating space of the at least one sensor (120).

10. A method for monitoring an escalator (100), the method being performed by a control unit (130), comprising:

receiving (510) measurement data from at least one sensor (120),

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the pattern is generated as a spectrum.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the reference pattern is generated by one of: mathematically defining a level of at least one molecular concentration for the reference pattern; a level of at least one molecular concentration is defined based on at least one previous measurement of the reference pattern.

13. The method according to any of the preceding claims 10 to 12, wherein the method further comprises:

14. A control unit (130) for monitoring an escalator (100), the control unit being configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 11 to 13.

15. A computer program product for monitoring an escalator (100), which, when executed by at least one processor, causes a control unit (130) to perform the method according to any one of claims 11 to 13.