EP0932576A1

EP0932576A1 - Tripping device for a moving stairway contact mat

Info

Publication number: EP0932576A1
Application number: EP98946332A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rolf Kistner
Original assignee: Kistner Rolf
Current assignee: Kistner Rolf
Priority date: 1997-08-14
Filing date: 1998-08-13
Publication date: 1999-08-04
Also published as: WO1999008953A1; DE19735360C1

Abstract

The invention relates to a tripping device for a moving stairway contact mat, comprising a tread plate (12) which interacts with said tripping device (20) and which is mounted on a base frame (G). The tripping device (20) has an evaluation and switch device (S) for controlling the operation of the moving stairway. A bending beam (22, 26, 122) is also provided. Said bending beam supports at least one strain gauge (DMS), said strain gauge being connected to the evaluation and switch device (S), and can be fixed on the tread plate (12) or on the base frame (G). An actuating pin (24, 24', 124) is in contact with the bending beam (22, 26, 122) and can be supported on the tread plate (12) or the base frame (G). When the tread plate (12) is subjected to a predetermined load, said actuating pin (24, 24', 124) causes a bend strain to be exerted on the bending beam (22, 26, 122). Said bend strain is detected by the strain gauge (DMS).

Description

RELEASE DEVICE FOR AN ESCALATOR CONTACT MAT

The invention relates to a triggering device for an escalator contact mat according to the preamble of claim 1.

Such contact mats are used in practice to only operate escalators when there is actually a requirement. For this purpose, the contact mat is movably supported relative to a base frame. One or more mechanical triggering devices interact with the contact mat in such a way that when the contact mat is stepped on, the resulting movement of the contact mat downwards triggers a switching process which puts the escalator into operation. For this purpose, the mechanical triggering devices have a plate which is in contact with the contact mat and which is spring-mounted and which interacts with a mechanical switch.

With this known contact mat, it has proven to be disadvantageous that the mechanical triggering device, viewed over its lifetime, is extremely susceptible to failure. In particular, a break in the spring often occurs in the known release device, so that the mechanical release device no longer is functional. This in turn has the consequence that the contact mat itself is no longer functional. Since malfunctioning escalators often cause criticism from users, such failures must be remedied immediately and immediately. However, this requires the availability of extensive maintenance staff.

Such a mechanical triggering device must also be shielded from environmental influences, in particular from moisture and dirt, so that the functional reliability remains guaranteed. This requires a relatively high level of effort. Therefore, the known contact mat with a mechanical release device is relatively expensive in terms of both purchase and maintenance.

Furthermore, it is recognizable to the user due to the movement of the contact mat when entering as well as due to the noise occurring when switching the mechanical triggering device that the switching process is triggered by entering the contact mat. This can lead to the escalator being put into operation deliberately by stepping on the contact mat regularly, without actually moving a person through the escalator. This also reduces the lifespan of both the mechanical release device and the escalator itself.

From the German patent 685 81 1, a triggering device according to the type mentioned in the introduction, in which the driving operation of the stairs is triggered by changing a resistance of a coal column. Instead of this carbon column resistance, electrically excited vibrating strings, electrical, electromechanical or electrohydraulic load cells and the like can also be provided. This known triggering device, like the triggering device known from practice already discussed above, must be shielded from environmental influences, in particular from moisture and dirt. In addition, a relatively high technical effort is required to implement this known triggering device, the carbon column resistors being wear parts that only need to be replaced after a few hours of operation.

Furthermore, a triggering device is known from German patent specification 727 487, in which the triggering takes place by a change in capacitance in a high-frequency resonant circuit. In addition to the mechanical triggering device, the use of light barriers to trigger the operation of an escalator is also known in practice. However, such light barriers are particularly susceptible to vandalism. In addition, they are relatively expensive.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a triggering device of the type mentioned at the outset which, in the case of high insensitivity to environmental influences, ensures trouble-free operation in a cost-effective manner.

The above object is achieved by the features of claim 1. By using a trigger device according to the invention with a strain gauge, a reliable, environmentally insensitive solution is presented in which movement of the contact mat is largely avoided and mechanical switching parts are completely dispensed with, so that there is little susceptibility to faults. In addition, the trigger load can be easily adjusted by adjusting the evaluation and switching device accordingly. In addition, only a small number of very simple components are used for the triggering device, so that the costs of the triggering device according to the invention are low compared to the known triggering device. Finally, the proposed solution no longer allows the user to identify the process by which the escalator is actually put into operation. Since movement of the contact mat is virtually non-existent or not noticeable to the user and a noise is eliminated during the switching process due to the lack of mechanical components, the user cannot readily recognize that the contact mat is actually the trigger for the operation of the Escalator is.

The bending element, which can be formed by a bending beam, can be clamped on the tread plate of a contact mat and the actuating element, which can be formed by an actuating bolt, can be arranged on the base frame in a supportable manner. This solution is particularly advantageous for a new escalator. It can in particular be provided, as will be explained below, that the bending beam is arranged in the interior of the tread plate.

There is also the possibility that the bending beam can be clamped to the base frame and the actuating bolt can be supported on the tread plate. This solution is particularly suitable for retrofitting existing contact mats, with the cabling and / or brackets possibly being the same as before used solutions can be used.

Depending on the size of the contact mat and / or the area of use of the triggering device, it may be sufficient if a triggering device is provided. A particularly reliable contact mat is achieved in that four triggering devices are provided, the triggering devices being arranged in the region of the four corners of the preferably rectangular tread plate. The evaluation and switching device can evaluate the signals transmitted by the strain gauges of the individual triggering devices in such a way that it triggers a switching process only when a threshold value is exceeded by one of the signals, or in such a way that it adds the respective signals of the triggering devices and triggers the switching process when the added signal is exceeded. It should also be noted that the adjustment, i.e. the non-switching state of the contact mat, in contrast to the use of mechanical triggering devices, is very simple, since only an adjustment has to be carried out within the switching and evaluation device.

The bending beam can be arranged in different ways. On the one hand, there is the possibility that the bending beam is firmly clamped on one side. Likewise, it can also be firmly clamped on both sides.

In principle, the bending beam can be made from different materials. In terms of weight reduction, it is particularly advantageous if the bending beam is made of aluminum or an alloy thereof. With regard to the aspect of "service life and costs", the bending beam can also be made from spring steel.

The cross section of the bending beam can also be chosen arbitrarily. With regard to the attachment of the strain gauge, it has proven to be advantageous if the bending beam has a cuboid cross section. In this context, it should be noted that when the strain gauge is attached to the bending beam, it should preferably be arranged outside the neutral fiber of the bending beam.

The bending beam can also be formed by a particularly frustoconical plate spring, which is held immovably in the direction of its plate surface and on whose truncated cone the actuating bolt acts. In order to achieve a high level of operational safety, it can further be provided that the bolt on his free end has a gradation, which is guided in the hole of the plate spring.

In order to shield the triggering device particularly reliably against environmental influences, it has proven to be advantageous if it is used in a step plate with an upper and a lower plate which are kept spaced apart from one another by a spacing frame, so that the triggering device can be arranged in the interior of the spacing frame is, wherein the actuating bolt, which is supported on the base frame, dips into the interior of the spacer frame via an opening in the spacer frame and possibly in the lower plate and is in contact with the bending beam. The opening can be sealed.

In addition to the solution set out above, the above-mentioned object can also be achieved in that the triggering device is a moving coil which is connected to the evaluation and switching device, and that an actuating bolt is provided which plunges into the moving coil when the contact mat is subjected to a predetermined load .

Another possible solution may be that the triggering device is a plate capacitor which is connected to the evaluation and switching device, and that an actuating pin is provided which moves in between the plates of the plate capacitor when the contact mat is subjected to a predetermined load.

Another solution can be that a light barrier is arranged on the base frame, which detects a deflection of the contact mat from a rest position in such a way that the light barrier is interrupted at such a deflection and thus the operation of the escalator is started. If there is sufficient space, a device for translating the minimal movement of the contact mat into a larger movement path can be provided so that the light barrier reliably detects the deflection of the contact mat.

Another possible solution is a construction similar to that described above. An ultrasound transmitter and an ultrasound receiver are provided on the base frame, the ultrasound receiver detecting a disturbance of the ultrasound field when the contact mat is entered by penetration of the contact mat into the ultrasound field. As already explained at the beginning, the triggering device according to the invention can be used in particular with a contact mat to trigger the operation of an escalator. In addition, the triggering device according to the invention can also be used for automatically opening doors or for any other function to be triggered by entering a certain area. The latter would also be conceivable, for example, in the context of an alarm and monitoring device. The triggering process, which is not perceptible to the person concerned, is particularly important.

Further advantageous configurations and exemplary embodiments of the present invention are explained below with reference to the drawings. Here is:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a contact mat in which the invention

Triggering device is used;

FIG. 2 shows a cross section through the contact mat shown in FIG. 1 with a first embodiment of a triggering device;

3 shows a cross section through the contact mat shown in Figure 1 with a second embodiment of a triggering device;

FIG. 4 shows a cross section through the contact mat shown in FIG. 1 with a third embodiment of a triggering device; and

5 shows a cross section through the contact mat shown in Figure 1 with a fourth embodiment of a triggering device.

In Figure 1, an escalator contact mat 10 is shown in plan view. The contact mat 10 comprises a tread plate 1 2, a total of four triggering devices 20 according to the invention and a switching and evaluation device S.

The tread plate 1 2, as can be seen in particular from FIGS. 2 to 5, has an upper rectangular plate 1 2a and a lower rectangular plate 1 2b. Both plates 1 2a, 1 2b can be made of aluminum sheet, the upper plate 1 2a may also have a corrugation or the like on the outside to increase the slip resistance, which is shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 on the upper side of the upper step plate 1 2a is shown schematically. The two plates 1 2a, 1 2b are made of square hollow profiles, preferably of a spacer frame 1 6 Aluminum or an alloy thereof, spaced apart. The square hollow profiles of the spacer frame 1 6 run along the marginal edges of the upper and lower plates 1 2a, 1 2b. As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 2 to 5, the square hollow profiles 16 can also protrude laterally beyond the upper and lower plates 12a, 12b and can be encompassed by a C-shaped end profile 18. The contact mat 10 is mounted on a base frame G shown only schematically in FIGS. 2 to 5 in the manner set out below.

A trigger device 20 according to the invention is arranged at each of the four corners of the spacer frame 16. FIGS. 2 to 4 show three different embodiments of the trigger device 20 according to a first principle.

The triggering device 20 shown in FIG. 2 comprises a bending beam 22 which is provided in the interior of the spacer frame 16 and is clamped on one side and on which an actuating bolt 24 acts. As shown schematically in FIG. 2, the bending beam 22 can be held in the spacer frame 16 by a screw connection. The actuating bolt 24 is fixedly attached to the base frame G, or at least is supported on it, and passes through the end profile 18 and the spacer frame 1 6 through an opening D and projects into the interior of the square hollow profile of the spacer frame 1 6. The actuating bolt 24 is in contact with the bending beam 22. The actuating bolt 24 can also be screwed to the bending beam 22, as is shown schematically in FIG. 2. On the upper side 22a of the bending beam 22, a strain gauge DMS is arranged, based on FIG. 2. This strain gauge DMS is connected via a cable K to the evaluation and control device S located approximately in the middle of the contact mat 10 (cf. FIG. 1).

If, for example, a person enters the contact mat 10, the contact mat 10 experiences a corresponding load. This load leads to the contact mat 10 moving slightly downwards. Since the bending beam 22 is firmly clamped on one side and connected to the contact mat 10 via the spacer frame 16, its left side (based on FIG. 2) also moves downward. The right-hand side of the bending beam 22 (based on FIG. 2), on the other hand, is stationary since it is held by the actuating bolt 24 which is supported on the base frame G. This causes the bending beam 22 to deflect, which is detected by the strain gauge DMS. In Figure 2, this strain gauge DMS is shown schematically by a black line. As can further be seen from FIG. 2, the strain gauge DMS is located outside the neutral bending phase of the bending beam 22.

The embodiment of the triggering device 20 shown in FIG. 3 differs from that shown in FIG. 2 in that the bending beam 22 is clamped on both sides. Here, the actuating pin 24 is arranged approximately in the middle of the bending beam 22. If the contact mat 10 moves downward when someone enters it, the two clamped ends of the bending beam 22 are also moved downward. The stationary bending beam 24 leads to a bending of the bending beam 22 in the middle, which in turn is detected by the strain gauge DMS.

A further embodiment is shown in FIG. 4, the bending beam here being formed by a plate spring 26 held in the direction transverse to its spring deflection. The actuating bolt 24 'has an extension 24a' at its free end, which has a smaller diameter than the actuating bolt 24 'itself. This extension 24a 'dips into the hole 26a of the plate spring 26. A strain gauge is in turn attached to the outside of the plate spring 26.

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the trigger device 20 according to the invention, which has a second structure which differs from the principle of the embodiments according to FIGS. 2 to 4. This embodiment differs from the preceding release devices 20 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 in that the bending beam 1 22 is not clamped on one side on the contact mat 10 but on the base frame G. In contrast, the actuating bolt 1 24 is held on the contact mat 10 and is in contact with the bending beam 22. This can be done, as is explicitly shown in FIG. 5, that the actuating bolt 124 is held inside the spacer frame 1 6. But it would also be conceivable that the actuating pin 124 is only held on the outside of the lower tread plate 12b. If the contact mat 10 is stepped on, in this exemplary embodiment the actuating bolt 1 24, which is firmly connected to the contact mat 10, is moved downward, as a result of which the free end of the bending beam 122 is also bent downward. This downward bend is detected by the strain gauge DMS attached there. The path of movement of the contact mat 10 down here is very small (less than 1 mm). As a result, the contact mat 10 or the tread plate 1 2 sits on the base frame G after a very short movement path, so that the forces from the tread plate 12 are guided directly into the base frame G and not from the bending beam when the tread plate 12 is loaded further 122 must be included.

The path covered by the contact mat 10 in the exemplary embodiments of the triggering device 20 according to the invention shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 can be a maximum of 1 mm. In contrast, the known mechanical release devices require distances of up to 10 mm. It is thereby immediately apparent that the triggering of the operation of the escalator can no longer be recognized by the normal user due to the triggering device according to the invention. If, in particular, the release path of the contact mat is kept well below 1 mm, this effect is intensified.

It should also be noted that a lifting opening 12aa can be provided on the upper plate 1 2a. Furthermore, an opening (not shown further) can be provided on the lower plate 1 2b, which opens up access to the evaluation and switching device S.

Claims

Requests

1 . Tripping device for an escalator contact mat, which has a step plate (12) which interacts with the tripping device (20) and is mounted on a base frame (G), and an evaluation and switching device (S) which controls the operation of the escalator, characterized in that a bending element (22, 26, 1 22), which carries at least one strain gauge (DMS) connected to the evaluation and switching device (S) and which can be clamped on the tread plate (12) or the base frame (G), and one in contact with the Bending element (22, 26, 1 22) standing actuating element (24, 24 ', 1 24) are provided, which can be supported on the base frame (G) or the tread plate (1 2) and which with a predetermined load on the tread plate (1 2 ) causes a bending stress on the bending element (22, 26, 1 22) that can be detected by the strain gauge (DMS).

2. Tripping device according to claim 1, characterized in that the bending element (22, 26) on the tread plate (1 2) can be clamped and the actuating element (24, 24 ') can be supported on the base frame (G).

3. Triggering device according to claim 1, characterized in that the bending element (1 22) on the base frame (G) can be clamped and the actuating element (1 24) on the tread plate (1 2) can be supported.

4. Tripping device according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tread plate (12) is rectangular, characterized in that four triggering devices (20) are provided, which can preferably be arranged in the region of the four corners of the tread plate (12).

5. Tripping device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the bending element (22) is firmly clamped on one side.

6. Tripping device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the bending element (22) is firmly clamped on both sides.

7. Tripping device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the bending element (22) made of aluminum, an alloy thereof or spring steel.

8. Tripping device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the bending element (22) has a cuboid cross-section.

9. Tripping device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the bending element is formed by a particularly frustoconical, transversely to its spring deflection direction immovably disc spring (26) on the truncated cone, the actuating element (24 ') acts.

10. Tripping device according to claim 9, characterized in that the actuating element (24 ') has at its free end a step (24a') which is guided in the hole (26a) of the plate spring (26).

1 1. Tripping device according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the tread plate (1 2) has an upper and a lower plate (1 2a, 12b) which are kept spaced apart from one another via a spacer frame (1 6), and in that the tripping device (20) is provided in the interior of the spacer frame (1 6), the actuating element (24, 24 ') supported on the base frame (G) via an opening (D) in the spacer frame (1 6) and possibly in the lower one Plates the plate (1 2b) into the interior of the spacer frame (1 6) and is in contact with the bending element (22).

12. Tripping device according to claim 12, characterized in that the opening (D) is sealed.

13. Tripping device according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized in that the triggering device is a plunger which is connected to the evaluation and switching device, and that an actuating element is provided which is supported independently of the plunger and which is at a predetermined load on the contact mat dives into the plunger.

14. Tripping device according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized in that the triggering device is a plate capacitor which is connected to the evaluation and switching device, and that an actuating element is provided which is supported independently of the plate capacitor and which is at a predetermined load on the contact mat between the two plates of the plate capacitor.

1 5. triggering device according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized in that the triggering device is a light barrier which is connected to the evaluation and switching device and which is arranged on the base frame in such a way that when the tread plate is deflected downwards, the The light beam of the light barrier is interrupted and a switching process is triggered.

16. Tripping device according to the preamble of claim 1, characterized in that the tripping device comprises an ultrasound transmitter and an ultrasound receiver which are connected to the evaluation and switching device and which are arranged on the base frame in such a way that when the tread plate is deflected downward the ultrasound receiver detects a disturbance in the ultrasound field due to the footplate deflected downwards.