JP2000007257A - Variable speed type passenger conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect a passenger walking on a conveyor by detecting that there is no pallet at its position by a pallet position detection means. SOLUTION: When a condition in which light reaches a sensor is represented as OFF (= there is no detected object) and a condition in which light does not reach the sensor is represented as ON (= there is a detected object), a condition of OFF of a pallet sensor 8 while a passing object sensor 7 being ON becomes an abnormal condition to realize simple detection of walking. Furthermore, when a case where an abnormality is detected is 1 and a case where it is not detected is 0 as a combination of outputs of the passing object sensor 7 and the pallet sensor 8 and outputs of a plurality of sensors are arranged in order and are displayed, the results of abnormality detection at this time are obtained. When exclusive OR for obtaining different points is calculated using the results of abnormality detection at this time and the results obtained by measuring after a sufficient time allowing a pallet to pass the sensor elapses, the part in which the detected abnormality point moves appears as 1. This shows the detection of walking.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a variable-speed passenger conveyor, and more particularly to a variable-speed passenger conveyor suitable for detecting a passenger walking on a passenger conveyor and improving passenger safety. The present invention relates to a walking detection device, a safety device, and a safe operation method of a conveyor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a passenger conveyor that assists passengers in moving in the horizontal direction, if the transportation takes a long distance, it takes a long time to move the passenger conveyor. Many variable speed types that make the speed relatively slow have been devised.

The variable-speed passenger conveyor is roughly divided into a system in which belt conveyors and rollers having different speeds are changed, a system in which a pallet on which passengers are slid is set to a variable speed in an oblique direction, and an interval between pallets is expanded and contracted. There is a method of realizing a variable speed by using the method. The transfer method is disclosed in, for example, French Patent No. 1583906 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H6-156693, and the skid method is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 47-220.

There are many means for realizing the method of expanding and contracting the pallet interval.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 50-78080 discloses a method of expanding or reducing the pallet interval using a telescopic link mechanism.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 58-89579 discloses a method in which a pallet itself is constituted by a plate which expands and contracts, and a method in which a pallet is overlapped.

On the other hand, in a passenger conveyor having no speed change,
Since the pallets are connected without gaps and form an integral moving floor surface as a whole, there is no problem if the passenger walks on the pallets, and such a walking-based use method is widely used.

[0006]

In a variable-speed passenger conveyor in which a gap is opened between pallets, a gap at an intermediate portion generated by acceleration is temporary, and is an area that disappears due to deceleration at a descending end. . However, if the passenger fills the gap by walking, there is no space for the passenger to stand when the gap disappears at the descending end, and the passenger may fall. However, the above-described conventional example does not consider this walking.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide means for detecting a passenger walking on a passenger conveyor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for improving the safety of passengers in a passenger conveyor.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, in a passenger conveyor in which passengers are transported by pallets and the speed of the pallets is changed by generating a gap between the pallets, the passengers walk on the passenger conveyors. It is provided with a walking detecting means for detecting, and a safety improving means activated by a detection result of the walking detecting means.

[0010] In one embodiment, there is provided a passing object detecting means for detecting the passage of an object on the passenger conveyor, and a pallet position detecting means for detecting whether a pallet is present at the same position.

Further, in one embodiment, there is provided detection data recording means for recording data of a walking detection result.

The pedestrian detecting means is provided when the pallet position detecting means detects that there is no pallet at the position when the passing object detecting means detects the passing object, and the pedestrian has walked on the passenger conveyor. Detected as

[0013] The safety improving means displays, on the display means and / or the broadcasting means, characters calling attention or broadcasts a sound when the walking detecting means determines that there is walking. Alternatively, an operation of controlling the motor to reduce the speed / acceleration of the entire passenger conveyor or stopping the entire passenger conveyor is performed.

[0014]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a variable-speed passenger conveyor.

In a linear variable-speed passenger conveyor using pallets 1 for transporting passengers, the pallets 1 appear continuously (without gaps) from under the plate 3 to serve as a passenger's boarding section, and an acceleration section. The pallet gap surface 2 is generated by widening the interval to accelerate the pallet. In a high-speed section that occupies most of the passenger conveyor, the vehicle moves at a speed higher than the landing speed while maintaining the pallet gap. In the deceleration section at the lower end, the interval between the front and rear pallets is reduced, the pallets are brought into contact with each other, the pallet gap surface 2 is eliminated, and the operation of sucking the lower end of the plate 3 is repeated. By changing the gap between the pallets, the speed at the intermediate portion can be made higher than the speed at the end of entry and exit.

A handrail 4 is provided on the side of the passenger conveyor, and a handrail side wall 5 for distinguishing the inside and outside of the passenger conveyor is also provided. Further, a side cover 6 for covering unnecessary devices is provided below the handrail 4 and the handrail side wall 5. In some embodiments, the handrail 4 may be integrally formed with the pallet 1 and a fixed side wall may be provided outside the pallet.

Here, if the pallet gap surface 2 is a fixed floor surface, the speed difference between the pallet 1 and the pallet 1 which is accelerated and moves at a high speed in the middle part is large, so that a passenger may get off the pallet gap surface 2 or
If the property is dropped, the collision with the pallet 1 may cause an accident. Even when the pallet gap surface 2 is a fixed floor surface, collision can be prevented if the passenger walks at a speed higher than the maximum speed of the pallet 1, but this is a dangerous situation for the walking passenger.

Therefore, if the pallet gap surface 2 is moved in the same direction at a speed similar to that of the pallet 1 by using, for example, a belt-type conveyor, there is a danger of collision with the pallet 1 at the pallet gap surface 2. Can be avoided.

However, if the pallet gap surface 2 moves at a speed similar to that of the pallet 1, the passenger in the middle portion will
Both the pallet 1 and the pallet gap surface 2 are perceived as equivalent parts, and it is conceivable that the pallet 1 and the pallet gap surface 2 walk independently of each other.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pallet gap surface 2 is an area where the gap is sharply reduced at the end and disappears, whether it is a fixed floor surface or a moving floor surface. Therefore, if the passengers are packed by walking, the pallet gap surface 2
When the vehicle disappears, there is no space for the passenger to stand, and the passenger may fall.

The present invention has been devised in order to solve this walking problem, and comprises a means for detecting passenger walking and a means for improving safety based on the detection result.

The basic idea of walking detection is to provide a passing object sensor 7 for detecting a passenger or an object passing through a passenger conveyor and determine whether the position of the detected passing object corresponds to the position of the pallet 1. When there is a passing object that does not correspond to the pallet 1, it is detected that the object is walking.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the passing object sensor 7 is composed of a plurality of passing object sensor light emitting units 7-1 and a passing object sensor light receiving unit 7-2 installed on the handrail side wall 5.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the passing object sensor and the pallet sensor. FIG. 2 shows a cross section where the passing object sensor 7 of the passenger conveyor is located.

The passing object sensor 7 includes a passing object sensor light emitting section 7
When the passing object sensor light receiving unit 7-2 receives the light emitted by the light receiving unit -1, the absence of the passing object is detected, and the presence of the passing object is detected when the light is blocked and the light cannot be received. .

For this reason, the passing object sensor 7 is disposed at a height (for example, 50 cm from the pallet gap surface 2) suitable for blocking light when a passenger passes through the passenger conveyor.

The pallet sensor 8 is also composed of a pallet sensor light emitting section 8-1 and a pallet sensor 8-2. The pallet sensor 8 is provided corresponding to the position of the passing object sensor 7 because it is necessary to detect whether the pallet 1 is located at the same position as the passing object sensor 7. The position is, for example, disposed inside the side cover 6 shown in FIG.

A plurality of the passing object sensors 7 and the pallet sensors 8 are arranged at predetermined intervals in a range where walking is to be detected (for example, in the entire high speed section or in a predetermined range immediately before the deceleration section).

Here, the pallet position detecting means is not limited to the photoelectric sensor system of FIG. 2 irrespective of the method as long as the position of the pallet can be determined. This is because, for example, a mechanical switch is arranged to grasp the pallet position when the switch is turned on or off, or the drive source for driving the pallet is required to be driven by a linear motor, so always grasp the pallet position accurately. If so, the position detection result can be used.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the concept of walking detection.

The above-mentioned passing object sensor 7 merely detects a passing object on the passenger conveyor, and whether the passing object is on the pallet or walking is determined by the signal of the passing object sensor 7 alone. I can't judge.

However, at this time, if the pallet sensor 8 can determine whether or not there is a pallet at the same position as the detection position of the passing object sensor 7, as shown in FIG.
It is possible to detect an abnormal state such as "there is a person without a pallet".

Therefore, the state in which light reaches the sensor is turned OFF (=
When the state where no light arrives and the state where light does not reach are described as ON (= there is an object), the state where the passing object sensor 7 is ON and the pallet sensor 8 is OFF is an abnormal state. Become.

Further, in FIG. 3A, when the abnormality is detected as a combination of the output of the passing object sensor and the output of the pallet sensor as 1 and when the abnormality is not detected as 0, the outputs of a plurality of sensors are arranged in order. FIG. 3B shows the result of the current abnormality detection.

Using the result of this abnormality detection and the result of the previous abnormality detection measured with a sufficient time for the pallet to pass through the sensor position, an exclusive OR for finding a different point is calculated. Then, the portion where the detected abnormal point has moved appears as 1. This indicates that walking has been detected.

Therefore, the detection of walking is when one of the exclusive ORs becomes 1. However, in consideration of the erroneous detection of the sensor, a case where the number of the exclusive OR that is 1 (here, the detected walking value) is equal to or more than a predetermined number (for example, 3) is referred to as “walking detection”. This is also a practically good method.

When a photoelectric sensor is used, the light emitting unit or the light receiving unit may not function due to dirt. In this embodiment, if the passing object sensor 7 becomes dirty, ON (a state in which light does not reach) continues, and an abnormality is output as the pallet moves. However, since the abnormality of the sensor itself such as dirt or sensor failure occurs only in the sensor at the specific position, it can be removed by calculating the exclusive OR described above.

Therefore, the detection of walking on the passenger conveyor can be detected as a state where "there is a person without a pallet" by the combination of the outputs of the passing object sensor 7 and the pallet sensor 8, and the result of the previous abnormality detection Calculating the exclusive OR with the above enables more reliable detection.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The sensor outputs of the passing object sensor 7 and the pallet sensor 8 are sent to the determination unit 9-1 in the control device 9, and the walking is detected by using the combination of the outputs and the recorded contents of the detection data recording unit 9-2. .

When walking is detected, the safety improving section 9-3 displays a character that calls attention by the display device 10 and / or the broadcast device 11 or broadcasts a sound. Alternatively, an operation of controlling the motor 12 to reduce the speed and acceleration of the entire passenger conveyor or stopping the entire passenger conveyor is performed.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a walking detection corresponding process for detecting walking and improving safety in response to the detection. FIG. 5 shows the change of the control of the motor 12 and the display device 1.
This is an example of a case where display at 0 and broadcasting at the broadcasting device 11 are performed.

The walking detection correspondence processing 20 is started periodically, for example, every one second, or started by signals from the passing object sensor 7 and the pallet sensor 8.

In step 20-1, the outputs of the passing object sensor 7 and the pallet sensor 8 are obtained. Step 20-2
Then, the passing object sensor 7 is ON and the pallet sensor 8 is OF
The state of F is detected as an abnormal state.

In Step 20-3, Step 20-2
Is calculated by calculating the exclusive OR of the abnormality detection result of the plurality of sensor signals and the previous abnormality detection result. In step 20-4, it is checked whether or not the detected walking value, which is the number of the exclusive OR calculated in step 20-3, which is 1, is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, that is, whether or not the passenger is walking.

If it is determined that there is walking, it is checked in step 20-5 whether broadcasting and / or displaying for safety is being performed. If the broadcast / display has not been performed, the broadcast / display is performed in step 20-6.
As a broadcast / display, for example, a sentence such as "The gap between the pallets is dangerous because it is not the deceleration section ahead. Please climb on the pallet." It calls for ensuring safety. This guide broadcast is performed in step 20-6.
And automatically ends after repeating a predetermined sentence a predetermined number of times.

If the broadcast / display is being carried out in step 20-5, the passenger voluntarily moves from the pallet gap surface 2 to the pallet 1 from the start of the broadcast / display in step 20-7. Check if the required time has elapsed.
If there is a detected object despite the elapse of the predetermined time, the motor 12 is instructed to start the overall deceleration operation.

If no walking is detected in step 20-4, it is checked in step 20-9 whether the vehicle is in the entire deceleration operation. At step 20-10, the motor 12 is instructed to return to the normal operation.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the safety is improved by changing the operation method of the passenger conveyor by reducing the overall speed. As a method for improving safety, it is also possible to stop the entire passenger conveyor.

According to the present embodiment, there is an effect that the walking can be detected in consideration of the abnormality of the sensor.

[0051]

According to the present invention, there is an effect that a passenger walking on a passenger conveyor can be detected.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to provide means for improving the safety of the passenger, which operates when the walking of the passenger is detected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a variable-speed passenger conveyor.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an arrangement of a passing object sensor and a pallet sensor.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the concept of walking detection.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a control system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of walking detection corresponding processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1 ... Pallet, 2 ... Pallet gap surface, 3 ... Plate, 4
... hand rail, 5 ... hand rail side wall, 6 ... side cover, 7 ... passing object sensor, 7-1 ... passing object sensor light emitting section,
7-2: Light receiving unit for passing object sensor, 8: Pallet sensor, 8
-1: pallet sensor light-emitting unit, 8-2: pallet sensor light-receiving unit, 9: control device, 9-1: determination unit, 9-2: detection data recording unit, 9-3: safety improvement unit, 10: display Department,
11 ... broadcast device, 12 ... motor, 20 ... walking detection correspondence processing.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A passenger conveyor for transporting passengers by pallets and varying the speed of the pallets by generating a gap between the pallets, wherein a walking detecting means for detecting the walking of the passengers on the passenger conveyor; A variable speed passenger conveyor comprising: a safety improvement means activated by a detection result of the means. 2. A passenger conveyor for transporting passengers by pallets and varying the speed of the pallets by generating a gap between the pallets, wherein a passing object detecting means for detecting passage of an object at a certain position on the passenger conveyor. Pallet position detecting means for detecting whether there is a pallet at the position, and detecting an abnormality when the pallet does not exist at the detection position when the passing object detecting means detects a passing object, and walking by detecting the abnormality. A variable speed passenger conveyor comprising: 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising detection data recording means for recording a detection result of the abnormality detection, wherein the walking detection means includes the current abnormality detection content and the detection data recorded in the detection data recording means. A variable-speed passenger conveyor characterized by detecting an occupant's walking on the passenger conveyor by calculating an exclusive OR with the detected content of the previous time. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the safety improving means includes:
Broadcasting a sound that calls attention, and / or displaying characters and graphics that call attention, and / or reducing the speed of the entire passenger conveyor, and / or
Alternatively, a variable-speed passenger conveyor characterized in that the acceleration of the passenger conveyor acceleration unit and the deceleration of the deceleration unit are reduced, and / or the entire passenger conveyor is stopped.