JP2006151662A - Handrail drive device, handrail running resistance value computation device, and monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily determine a running resistance value of a handrail of an escalator. <P>SOLUTION: Drive force from a motor 44 is transmitted through a second chain 36 and a handrail chain 24 to drive rollers 14, 16, and 18 to drive a handrail 12. A sprocket 22 and the drive rollers to relay power of the chains are installed on an installation plate 20 that is slidable, and disposed at a corresponding position to tension added to the chain. A sensor part 62 measures slide quantity of the drive roller, and a computation part 66 computes the running resistance value of the handrail based on the slide quantity. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for measuring the running resistance of a handrail of an escalator.

In a handrail drive device for an escalator, it is important for proper driving of the handrail that the resistance between the handrail and the handrail guide (referred to as travel resistance) be appropriate. For example,
If the driving force is less than the running resistance, the handrail cannot be driven. Further, there is a concern that a delay in the traveling of the handrail occurs when the traveling resistance increases.

  The following citations 1 and 2 disclose techniques relating to a device for measuring the running resistance of a handrail with high accuracy. These devices obtain a running resistance by gripping the handrail in a state where the driving mechanism of the handrail is released and measuring a force required for towing.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-119576 JP 2000-44159 A

  In the techniques of the above cited references 1 and 2, it is necessary for an operator to perform measurement by attaching a device to the handrail while the escalator is stopped.

  An object of the present invention is to measure running resistance in a normal driving state.

  Another object of the present invention is to establish a technique for measuring running resistance without an operator performing special measurement work.

  The handrail driving device of the present invention drives a belt-shaped handrail installed on an escalator, a driving roller that rotates while pressing the handrail, a driving chain that rotates the driving rail, and a driving chain. A mechanism for changing the arrangement position of the drive source and the drive roller, which slides by the tension acting on the drive chain and arranges the drive roller at a position corresponding to the tension, and measures the slide amount of the drive roller A measuring unit; and a calculating unit that calculates a running resistance value of the handrail based on the slide amount measured by the measuring unit.

  The handrail is driven in the direction of step of the escalator, and supports the passenger of the escalator. The handrail is driven by transmitting torque generated by the drive source to the drive roller through the drive chain, and the drive roller rotating while pressing the handrail.

  The slide mechanism is a mechanism that slides the drive roller in accordance with the tension of the drive chain. In general, as the running resistance increases, the driving force for driving the handrail increases accordingly. Therefore, a tension corresponding to the driving force acts on the drive chain. The slide mechanism changes the position of the drive roller by sliding by being pulled by this tension. For this reason, the magnitude of the running resistance can be obtained by measuring the slide amount. The measurement unit measures the slide amount. In addition, the calculation unit calculates a running resistance value from the slide amount by using an arithmetic expression or a correspondence table given in advance by an experimental method or a theoretical method. In calculating the running resistance value, for example, it is also effective to consider various change factors such as a chain elongation amount due to a use period or a temperature change.

  According to this configuration, the running resistance can be measured even during normal operation of the escalator as long as the correspondence between the slide amount and the running resistance value is clarified in advance. In addition, it is not necessary for the worker to perform special work for the measurement.

  The slide amount means quantitative information that gives information on the slide, and may be expressed by, for example, a displacement amount or an absolute position. The measurement mode of the measurement unit for obtaining the slide amount is not particularly limited, and for example, the amount related to the length such as the distance and the position may be directly measured, or the slide such as the pressing force of the drive roller may be measured. The amount expressed indirectly may be measured. In any case, since the slide amount is clearly associated with the running resistance value, the running resistance value can be accurately calculated. This is an advantageous effect that can be realized only by a handrail drive device having a slide mechanism. This is because, in a handrail drive device that does not have a slide mechanism, it is necessary to detect a change in running resistance by measuring, for example, chain tension or a load acting on a motor, and it is generally difficult to increase its accuracy.

  Preferably, in the handrail drive device of the present invention, the drive chain is disposed so as to drive the drive roller from the opposite side of the drive roller with respect to the handrail, and the slide mechanism is configured such that when the tension of the drive chain increases, The drive roller is slid in the direction to increase the pressing force. The sliding direction of the sliding mechanism is not particularly limited as long as the necessary pressing force can be secured. However, for example, when the drive source is shared with the step of the escalator, this structure is adopted and the driving force of the handrail is increased by increasing the pressing force of the drive roller in accordance with the increase in running resistance. The amount of delay can be reduced.

  Desirably, in the handrail drive device of the present invention, the drive chain is formed by connecting a plurality of chains via sprockets, and the slide mechanism slides by tension acting on at least one chain. A tension for transmitting torque acts on each chain, and it is possible to appropriately set which chain tension is used for the slide mechanism.

  Preferably, in the handrail drive device of the present invention, the measurement unit periodically measures the slide amount during the operation of the escalator, and the calculation unit calculates a corresponding running resistance value. The regular interval is not particularly limited, and an appropriate interval such as 1 hour or 10 minutes may be selected. For example, when the measurement is performed a plurality of times (for example, about every 10 seconds) in the rotation period of the handrail, the rotation state of the handrail can be grasped in detail. In addition, it is also effective to perform measurement at short intervals of about a cycle (for example, 1 second) in which steps appear one after another so as to grasp the change in running resistance accompanying the change of the passenger (step). By measuring at such a short time interval, the latest running resistance value is always obtained. With this configuration, it is possible to quickly detect a minute change in running resistance, which can be used to improve the quality of escalator maintenance management, such as performing maintenance work before driving force is affected.

  Preferably, the monitoring device of the present invention includes means for acquiring a running resistance value calculated from the handrail drive device, and monitoring means for performing monitoring processing on the acquired running resistance value. The monitoring device may be integrally formed with the handrail driving device, or may be separately installed in the vicinity or in a remote place. The monitoring means is provided for providing management-useful information to the escalator manager based on the acquired running resistance value. As a specific example, there is a function of setting a warning condition such as a threshold value for the running resistance value, and alerting by means such as voice, image, or mail when this condition is satisfied. It is also effective to provide a function for predicting future trends by extrapolating the running resistance value toward the future. According to this configuration, it is possible to improve the traveling safety of the escalator and improve the accuracy in the judgment of the execution of maintenance management. The obtaining means preferably obtains the latest travel resistance value that can be obtained. A shorter measurement interval of the obtained travel resistance value is effective in improving management reliability.

  The monitoring device of the present invention may include a display unit that displays an image, and the monitoring process performed by the monitoring unit may be a process of displaying the running resistance value on the display unit as a time series graph. The displayed time series graph is, for example, a graph in which one axis is time and the other axis is a running resistance value. It is desirable that the time scale of the time series graph can be changed according to the command. As a result, the calculated running resistance value is provided in an easily recognizable form to the escalator manager.

  A handrail travel resistance value calculation device of the present invention includes a belt-shaped handrail installed on an escalator, a driving roller that rotates while pressing the handrail, drives the handrail, a driving chain that rotates the driving roller, and a driving chain. An escalator handrail comprising: a drive source for driving; and a mechanism for changing an arrangement position of the drive roller, and a slide mechanism that slides by tension acting on the drive chain and arranges the drive roller at a position corresponding to the tension. An apparatus for calculating a travel resistance of a handrail using a drive device, an acquisition unit for acquiring slide amount information of a drive roller, and a calculation unit for calculating a travel resistance value of a handrail based on the acquired slide amount information And comprising.

  Hereinafter, representative embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a side view (a) and a front view (b) schematically showing the main configuration of the handrail drive device 10. Here, the description will be focused on FIG. The handrail drive device 10 forms a part of the escalator system, and includes a handrail 12 that is installed beside the step of the escalator and supports the passenger of the escalator. The handrail 12 is formed in an endless belt shape and is driven at substantially the same speed as the step. The handrail driving device 10 is a device having a function of driving the handrail 12, and in FIG. 1B, the handrail 12 is driven from right to left in the drawing.

  On the upper side of the handrail 12 (as shown in FIG. 1A, this is the back side of the handrail), three drive rollers 14, 16, 18 that rotate by pressing the handrail 12 are arranged. The drive rollers 14, 16, and 18 are fixed to the upper portion of the mounting plate 20. The mounting plate 20 is provided so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, so that the relative position can be changed in the vertical direction with respect to the handrail 12. The mounting plate 20 is formed in a hexagonal plate shape extending from the upper side to the lower side of the handrail 12, and a sprocket 22 is fixed to the lower portion thereof. The sprocket 22 and the driving rollers 14, 16, 18 are connected by a handrail chain 24. Specifically, the handrail chain 24 is passed from the sprocket 22 through the driving roller 14, the idler 26, the driving roller 16, the idler 28, and the driving roller 18 so as to return to the sprocket 22 again. The idlers 26 and 28 are fixed to a truss that forms the skeleton of the escalator system and are provided below the handrail 12. Further, under the handrail 12, pressure rollers 30, 32, and 34 that press the handrail 12 in pairs with the driving rollers 14, 16, and 18 are fixed to the truss.

  A second chain 36 is passed to the sprocket 22. The second chain is connected to a motor 44 as a drive source through two idlers 40 and 42 fixed to the fixed portion 38. The motor 44 also drives the step of the escalator, and is connected to the upper sprocket 48 by the first chain 46 for step driving.

  The handrail driving device 10 is provided with a handrail travel resistance value calculation device 60 for calculating the travel resistance of the handrail. The handrail travel resistance value calculation device 60 is a device that includes a sensor unit 62 and a calculation unit 64. The sensor unit 62 is a sensor that detects the position of the mounting plate 20 (this is also the position of the drive rollers 14, 16, 18). The sensor principle is not particularly limited. For example, the position of the mounting plate 20 (which may also be to obtain the slide amount) may be detected by a magnetic sensor or a photoelectric sensor, or the mounting plate 20 or the driving roller 14 may be detected. , 16 and 18 may detect the position of the mounting plate 20 by a sensor or the like that detects the pressure at the pressed location. The calculation unit 64 is a device configured using a computer function such as a microcomputer, and includes a calculation unit 66 and a correspondence table 68. The calculation unit 66 acquires the position information of the mounting plate 20 from the sensor unit 62, performs digital conversion as necessary, and then converts it into a running resistance value with reference to the correspondence table 68. The obtained result can be transmitted to the center that manages the escalator system through the LAN 70. The correspondence table 68 is a table showing the correspondence between the running resistance value and the positional information of the mounting plate 20, that is, the slide amount, based on the theory and experimental results.

  Next, the operation of the handrail drive device 10 will be described. During operation of the escalator, the motor 44 is controlled at an appropriate speed and rotates clockwise in the figure. This rotational driving force is transmitted to the upper sprocket 48 through the first chain 46 to drive the step and also used to drive the handrail 12. That is, the second chain 36 as one of the drive chains transmits the rotation of the motor 44 to the sprocket 22 and rotates it clockwise. The handrail chain 24, which is another drive chain, transmits the rotation of the sprocket 22 and rotates the drive rollers 14, 16, 18 clockwise. Since the driving rollers 14, 16, and 18 pressurize the handrail 12 with the pressure rollers 30, 32, and 34, respectively, the handrail 12 is driven from right to left.

  Travel resistance acts on the handrail 12 due to friction between the handrail 12 and a guide supporting the handrail. In general, this running resistance increases as time elapses from maintenance. Therefore, the handrail driving device 10 is provided with the following function for increasing the driving force as the running resistance increases.

  When the running resistance increases, the driving rollers 14, 16 and 18 receive a large force from the handrail 12. Since the driving rollers 14, 16 and 18 are driven against this force, the tension acting on the handrail chain 24 and the second chain 36 becomes large. Thereby, the handrail chain 24 and the second chain 36 transmit a large torque.

  As the tension acting on the second chain 36 increases, the force that pushes down the sprocket 22 increases. Since the sprocket 22 is fixed to the mounting plate 20, as a result, the mounting plate 20 slides downward.

  Further, when the tension acting on the handrail chain 24 is increased, the force for pushing down the drive rollers 14, 16, 18 on the side of the idlers 26, 28 fixed to the truss, that is, the lower side is increased. Since the driving rollers 14, 16, and 20 are fixed to the mounting plate 20, the mounting plate 20 also slides downward.

  When the mounting plate 20 slides downward, the pressing force of the handrail 12 by the drive rollers 14, 16, 18 increases. In general, the frictional force acting between the handrail 12 and the driving rollers 14, 16, 18 increases in proportion to the pressing force, and the handrail 12 is driven efficiently. That is, the presence of the slide mechanism reduces the influence of an increase in running resistance on the handrail 12.

  In other words, the magnitude of the running resistance and the magnitude of the downward sliding amount of the mounting plate 20 have a positive correlation and are considered to have a one-to-one correspondence. The handrail travel resistance value calculation device 60 holds this relationship as a correspondence table 68. Thereby, the slide amount obtained by the sensor unit 62 is converted into a running resistance value by the calculation unit 66.

  The handrail travel resistance value calculation device 60 can accumulate the calculated travel resistance value or display it on the display unit. Further, the calculated running resistance value can be transmitted to a computer such as a center that manages the escalator system through the LAN 70 as needed. For example, the received computer displays the running resistance value on a time-series graph (various time scales can be selected, such as every second or every month), or determines whether the running resistance value exceeds a predetermined threshold. And monitor. Then, when the standard state to be maintained is reached, the worker performs maintenance.

  FIG. 2A is a graph schematically showing the driving roller position with respect to the running resistance value, and FIG. 2B is a graph schematically showing a handrail delay rate with respect to the running resistance value. Both horizontal axes are common and represent the magnitude of the running resistance value. Reference numeral 100 on the horizontal axis represents a running resistance value during the previous maintenance, and reference numeral 102 represents a measure of the running resistance value during the next maintenance.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the sliding amount of the mounting plate 20 with the drive roller position as the vertical axis. The mounting plates 20a, 20b, and 20c indicate the positions of the mounting plates 20 at the running resistance values corresponding to the previous maintenance time 100, the appropriate time thereafter, and the next maintenance time 102, respectively. A solid line 110 indicates the drive roller position for each running resistance value including these running resistance values.

  The position of the driving roller tends to be lowered as the running resistance value increases. The specific size varies depending on the apparatus configuration, but reaches about several millimeters at the previous maintenance 100 and the next maintenance 102. The specific correspondence between the two is obtained experimentally or theoretically and stored as a correspondence table 68. And since the sensor part 62 measures a drive roller position accurately, the calculation part 66 can obtain | require a running resistance value with high precision.

  FIG. 2 (b) shows the delay rate of the handrail 12 with reference to the previous maintenance time 100. FIG. That is, it shows how slow the movement of the handrail 12 is compared with the initial one. A two-dot chain line 120 indicates a delay rate when the slide function is not provided on the mounting plate 20 as a reference, and a solid line 122 indicates the delay rate in the present embodiment in which the slide mechanism is provided on the mounting plate 20. ing. Although the delay rate increases as the running resistance value increases, the increase amount of the solid line 122 is smaller than the increase amount of the two-dot chain line 120. This reflects the effect of greatly pressing the handrail 12 as the mounting plate 20 is lowered. However, even when there is a slide mechanism, the movement of the handrail 12 becomes slow as the running resistance gradually increases. Therefore, the time when the running resistance value reaches an appropriate value is determined as the next maintenance time 102, and the running resistance is reduced by maintenance work, and the delay of the handrail 12 is basically eliminated.

  If the running resistance value and the delay rate are always in the relationship shown in FIG. 2B, it can be said that the maintenance standard can be obtained by measuring the handrail speed and calculating the delay rate. However, handrail delays may occur due to factors other than running resistance. Therefore, it is important to surely grasp the running resistance value, which is one of the factors that cause handrail delay.

  When the handrail drive device 10 according to the present embodiment is used, the sliding amount of the mounting plate 20 can always be measured and the corresponding running resistance value can be calculated even during operation of the escalator. By monitoring this output at a management center or the like, it is possible to determine an appropriate timing for maintenance inspection. As a result, it is possible to avoid handrail delays and improve the reliability of the escalator operation.

It is the (a) side view and (b) front view which show the structural example of a handrail drive device. It is the figure which showed typically (a) drive roller position and (b) handrail delay rate with respect to running resistance.

Explanation of symbols

  10 handrail drive device, 12 handrail, 14, 16, 18 drive roller, 20 mounting plate, 22 sprocket, 24 handrail chain, 26, 28, 40, 42 idler, 30, 32, 34 pressure roller, 36 second chain, 38 fixed part, 44 motor, 46 1st chain, 48 upper sprocket, 60 handrail running resistance value calculating device, 62 sensor part, 64 calculating part, 66 calculating part, 68 correspondence table.

Claims (7)

A belt-like handrail installed on the escalator;
A driving roller that rotates while pressing the handrail and drives the handrail;
A drive chain that rotates the drive roller;
A drive source for driving the drive chain;
A mechanism for changing the arrangement position of the drive roller, which slides by tension acting on the drive chain, and which arranges the drive roller at a position corresponding to the tension;
A measuring unit for measuring the sliding amount of the driving roller;
Based on the slide amount measured by the measurement unit, a calculation unit that calculates the running resistance value of the handrail,
A handrail drive device characterized by comprising: In the handrail drive device according to claim 1,
The drive chain is arranged to drive the drive roller from the opposite side of the drive roller with respect to the handrail,
The slide mechanism is characterized in that the slide roller slides the drive roller in a direction to increase the pressing force of the drive roller when the tension of the drive chain increases. In the handrail drive device according to claim 1,
The drive chain consists of multiple chains connected via sprockets.
A handrail drive device characterized in that the slide mechanism slides by tension acting on at least one chain. In the handrail drive device according to claim 1,
The measurement unit periodically measures the amount of slide while the escalator is in operation.
The handrail drive device characterized in that the calculation unit calculates a corresponding running resistance value. Means for obtaining a running resistance value calculated from the handrail drive device according to claim 1;
Monitoring means for performing monitoring processing on the acquired running resistance value;
The monitoring apparatus characterized by comprising. The monitoring device according to claim 5,
A display unit for displaying images;
The monitoring process performed by the monitoring means is a process for displaying a running resistance value on a display unit as a time series graph. A belt-like handrail installed on the escalator;
A driving roller that rotates while pressing the handrail and drives the handrail;
A drive chain that rotates the drive roller;
A drive source for driving the drive chain;
A mechanism for changing the arrangement position of the drive roller, which slides by tension acting on the drive chain, and which arranges the drive roller at a position corresponding to the tension;
An apparatus for calculating the running resistance of a handrail using a handrail drive device of an escalator comprising:
An acquisition unit for acquiring slide amount information of the driving roller;
Based on the acquired slide amount information, a calculation unit that calculates the running resistance value of the handrail,
A handrail travel resistance value calculating device comprising:

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