JP2015003791A - Conveyor apparatus, and braking performance diagnosis method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a conveyor apparatus and a braking performance diagnosis method of the apparatus which are capable of performing diagnosis of braking performance accurately and surely.SOLUTION: A braking performance diagnosis method of a conveyor apparatus including a drive unit that drives a conveyor conveys personnel and a braking device that brakes the conveyor comprises: an operation starting step in which an operation start work to the drive unit is input; a measurement step in which the drive unit is activated, the drive unit is stopped and the braking device is activated after the conveyor is driven at a previously set diagnosis speed, and parameters associated with braking time or braking distance of the conveyor are measured; a determination step in which whether the parameters associated with the braking time or the braking distance of the conveyor which are measured in the measurement step are normal or not; and a normal operation transition step in which the drive unit is activated again to drive the conveyor at a previously set normal speed and perform normal operation in the case where the braking device is determined to be normal in the determination step.

Description

  The present invention relates to a conveyor device that conveys personnel such as an escalator and a moving sidewalk, and more specifically to a method for diagnosing braking ability of a conveyor device.

  In a conveyor device that transports personnel such as an escalator or a moving sidewalk, when an abnormality such as a foreign object being caught is detected, a safety device is activated to make an emergency stop. The braking (braking) capability at that time is stipulated by law as the braking distance of the step in the case of an escalator and the braking distance of the sidewalk in the case of a moving sidewalk. When the rated speed of the escalator is 30 m / min, the braking distance is 0.1 to 0.6 m with no load (no occupant), and many manufacturers have 0.2 to 0.5 m. Is set. The braking distance can be converted from, for example, the number of pulses of an encoder attached to the drive shaft.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, when the normal operation of the conveyor device is finished, that is, when the administrator turns off the key switch, the braking ability is self-diagnosed. If an abnormality is detected in the braking ability as a result of the diagnosis, an abnormality is notified to the monitoring panel, for example, a lamp is turned on to notify the administrator. The causes of the abnormality in the braking ability include that the braking device is not operating and that even if it is operating, the braking distance is extended due to wear of the brake pads that are in sliding contact with the brake disc.

JP 2000-7268 A

  However, since the braking capability diagnosis is performed only at the end of the normal operation, it is unclear whether the diagnosis result of the braking device is maintained until the next normal operation restarts. That is, in a facility where a conveyor device is installed, after normal operation is terminated at night and the braking capacity is diagnosed, the time may open until the next morning when normal operation is resumed. The time can be as long as one day or longer.

  In such a case, in order to perform the self-diagnosis of the braking device described above, the administrator once turns on the key switch for normal operation and starts the operation of the conveyor device, and then turns off the key switch and operates. By performing the stop operation, the same self-diagnosis as at the end of the operation must be performed when the operation is resumed. However, it is necessary to perform the diagnosis of the braking capacity after increasing the operation speed of the conveyor device to the normal operation speed (rated speed). This is because an accurate diagnosis of the braking ability cannot be performed under a situation where the speed has not increased to the rated speed.

  Since it is difficult to visually determine whether or not the conveyor device has reached the rated speed, it is necessary to take sufficient time from the start of operation of the conveyor device to the operation stop operation, which takes time to diagnose. In particular, it takes a lot of time to diagnose the braking capability of a plurality of conveyor devices.

  In addition, in order to shift to normal operation after completion of the diagnosis, it is necessary to open a little time due to the electrical load, etc., so the work becomes complicated and time until normal operation starts. It takes.

  Furthermore, in recent years, there is also a conveyor device having an automatic start / stop function for automatically operating / stopping according to the presence or absence of an occupant in order to save energy. In a conveyor device having such a function, if the key switch is turned off while the conveyor device is stopped, the diagnosis of the braking ability itself is not performed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor apparatus and a braking capacity diagnosing method thereof capable of accurately and reliably diagnosing braking capacity.

The method for diagnosing braking capacity of the conveyor device according to the present invention is as follows.
A method for diagnosing braking capacity of a conveyor device comprising a conveyor for carrying personnel, a driving device for driving the conveyor, and a braking device for braking the conveyor,
A starting step of inputting an operation start operation to the drive device;
A parameter associated with a braking time or a braking distance of the conveyor by operating the driving device and driving the conveyor at a preset diagnostic speed and then stopping the driving device and operating the braking device. Measuring step,
A determination step of determining whether a parameter associated with the braking time or the braking distance of the conveyor measured in the measurement step is normal;
A normal operation transition step in which, when it is determined in the determination step that the braking device is normal, the driving device is operated again to drive the conveyor at a preset normal speed to perform normal operation;
With

The conveyor device according to the present invention is
A conveyor for carrying personnel;
A driving device for driving the conveyor;
A braking device for braking the conveyor;
A control device for controlling the driving device and the braking device;
With
The controller is
An operation start operation is input to the driving device, the driving device is operated, the conveyor is driven at a preset diagnostic speed, the driving device is stopped and the braking device is operated, When the parameter associated with the braking time or braking distance of the braking device is measured, and it is determined that the parameter associated with the measured braking time or braking distance is normal, the drive device is operated again and set in advance. The normal operation is performed by driving the conveyor at the normal speed.

  According to the conveyor device and the braking capability diagnosis method of the present invention, when the operation start operation of the conveyor device is performed, the braking capability of the braking device is diagnosed before shifting to the normal operation. Therefore, since no time is opened between the diagnosis of the braking ability and the normal operation, it is possible to improve the reliability of the braking ability of the braking device when shifting to the normal operation based on the diagnosis result.

  In addition, only by performing the operation to start the operation, the braking ability of the braking device can be self-diagnosed before shifting to the normal operation, and the burden on the manager or the like can be reduced.

  Furthermore, since the braking capability of the braking device is diagnosed in accordance with the driving start operation, it can also be adopted for a conveyor device having an automatic start / stop function that automatically starts / stops according to the presence or absence of a passenger.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an escalator which is a conveyor device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the speed change of the escalator body for explaining the braking ability diagnosis operation by the control device of the embodiment of the present invention in the escalator. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining a braking ability diagnosing operation by the control device. FIG. 4A is a timing chart showing the speed change of the escalator body according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4B is a timing chart showing the number of output pulses of the encoder every minute time. FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing changes in the speed of the escalator main body for explaining the braking capability diagnosis operation in the escalator control apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is a timing chart showing the speed change of the escalator body in another embodiment, and FIG. 6B is a timing chart showing the number of output pulses of the encoder for every minute time.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an escalator (10) that is a conveyor device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Below, although an escalator is illustrated as a conveyor apparatus, if it is a conveyor apparatus which conveys personnel, it can apply also to a moving walkway.

  The escalator (10) includes an escalator body (20), a driving device (motor (25)), a braking device (26), and a control device (40).

  More specifically, the escalator body (20) includes a chain (22) and a handrail (23) to which a footboard (21) is attached, and receives the power transmitted from the driving device to receive the footboard (21) and handrail ( 23) circulates.

  The drive device can exemplify a motor (25), and the output of the motor (25) is transmitted to the escalator body (20) via a reduction gear (24) which can be constituted by a gear or the like. Control of the motor (25) can be performed by a drive control unit (30) constituting a drive circuit of the motor (25).

  Further, the brake device (26) can be exemplified by a structure in which a brake pad is slidably contacted with a brake disc provided on an output shaft of the motor (25).

  The escalator body (20), the drive device or the speed reducer (24) includes a measuring device that acquires a parameter associated with the braking time or the braking distance of the escalator body (20). In this embodiment, an encoder (27) provided on the output shaft of a motor (25) that is a driving device is illustrated as a measuring device.

  In the encoder (27), for example, when the slit plate attached to the output shaft of the motor (25) rotates, the optical path between the pair of light emitting / receiving elements provided at the fixed position is turned on / off. Is detected by the light receiving element to generate an encoder pulse. The generated encoder pulse is used as a parameter related to the braking time or braking distance of the escalator body (20).

  An operation part (28) including a key switch and an emergency stop button is provided at the entrance / exit of the escalator body (20). In the example of FIG. 1, the operation unit (28) is provided on the upper floor side in order to simplify the drawing. The operation unit (28) is electrically connected to a control device (40), which will be described later, and controls the start and end of operation of the drive device and the braking device (26) by ON / OFF operation of the key switch.

  Control of the driving device and the braking device (26) is performed by the control device (40). More specifically, the control device (40) controls the drive device and the braking device (26) by operating a key switch as the operation unit (28) based on a preset program.

  FIG. 2 is a timing chart showing the speed change of the escalator body (20) for explaining the braking ability diagnosis operation by the control device (40), and FIG. 3 explains the braking ability diagnosis operation by the control device (40). It is a flowchart for doing. The control device (40) according to the present embodiment roughly diagnoses the braking device (26) before normal operation in response to the ON operation of the key switch by the administrator to the operation unit (28). When it is determined that the braking device (26) is normal, the drive device is shifted to normal operation. As one embodiment of the control device (40), a drive control unit (30) for controlling the drive device, a test operation unit (41), a braking unit (42), a braking capacity measuring unit (43), a diagnostic unit ( 44) and a normal operation part (45). The configuration and operation will be described in detail below.

  The test operation unit (41) controls the drive control unit (30) in response to the ON operation of the key switch by the administrator to the operation unit (28) (starting step: time t1 in FIG. 2, step in FIG. 3). S1), starting and accelerating the motor (25), the rotational speed of the motor (25) detected by the encoder (27), that is, the movement of the escalator (specifically, the footboard (21) and the handrail (23)) The speed is set to a predetermined diagnostic speed V1 (time t2) (step S2).

  The brake unit (42) is notified that the test operation unit (41) has started the test operation. When the braking section (42) determines that the speed of the escalator body (20) is stabilized at the diagnostic speed V1 based on the encoder pulse output from the encoder (27) (step S2), the braking control section (42) stops at the drive control section (30). The command is transmitted and the braking device (26) is operated to start the braking of the escalator body (20) (time t3, step S3).

  The braking unit (42) notifies the braking capability measuring unit (43) that braking has started, and in response to this, the braking capability measuring unit (43), as shown in FIG. The output pulse is counted, and the encoder pulse is integrated until the escalator body (20) completely stops (time t4), thereby obtaining a parameter associated with the braking time or the braking distance (measurement step: step S4). 4A is a diagram showing a change in speed of the escalator body 20, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the number of output pulses of the encoder 27 for each minute time.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the braking capacity measuring unit (43) includes an escalator body (20) after the braking unit (42) starts a braking start operation, or when the braking device (26) slides the brake pad against the brake disk. ) Stops and the output pulses are counted for the time until the pulse output from the encoder (27) ceases. The braking distance is the moving distance of the escalator from the start to the stop of braking, and the number of pulses from the encoder (27) detected during that time and the moving distance of the escalator per pulse determined in advance. It can be obtained from the integrated value. As a parameter, the pulse count value itself from the encoder (27) may be used instead of being converted into the braking time or the braking distance. The encoder pulse can be counted by, for example, the microcomputer constituting the control device (40) incrementing the count value of the counter every time the encoder pulse is input.

  The parameter measured by the braking capacity measuring unit (43) is input to the diagnosis unit (44). The diagnosis unit (44) stores a preset threshold value based on brake torque, inertial data of the escalator, and the like, which are set in advance in the braking device (26). The threshold value is read (step S5) and measured. The brake device (26) is determined to be operating normally if it is within a predetermined threshold (determination step: Yes in step S7). Thereafter, the normal operation unit (45) controls the drive control unit (30) to drive the motor (25) and release the braking device (26) to automatically restart the escalator (time t5, Step S8), normal operation at a preset normal speed V2 is started (normal operation transition step: time t6, step S9).

  Normal operation is continued until the administrator turns off the key switch of the operation unit (28) (time t7). When the key switch is turned off, the normal operation unit (45) issues a stop command to the drive control unit (30). Then, the motor (26) is stopped and the normal operation ends (time t8, step S10).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step 7 (determination step) that the measured parameter exceeds the threshold value, the diagnosis unit 44 determines that it is abnormal (No in step 7), and the monitoring panel or the like is abnormal. Notification is performed (step S11).

  As described above, according to the escalator (10) and the braking capability diagnosis method according to the present embodiment, when the administrator performs the operation start operation by turning on the key switch of the operation unit (28), the normal operation is performed. After the self-diagnosis of the braking device (26), if the diagnosis result is normal, the operation shifts to normal operation. Therefore, it is possible to accurately diagnose the current situation of the braking device (26) of the conveyor device (10) and improve safety. Further, it is possible to accurately determine that the diagnosis speed V1 for self-diagnosis has been reached and to shorten the diagnosis time, compared with the case where the administrator performs speed determination. Furthermore, since the administrator only needs to perform a normal operation start operation and does not need to be monitored during diagnosis, convenience can be improved.

  Further, even in the case of an escalator having an automatic start / stop function, the diagnosis of the braking device (26) is automatically performed when the key switch is turned on, so there is no diagnosis omission.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the diagnosis speed V1 is equal to the normal speed V2, so that the braking ability diagnosis can be performed in the same situation as during normal operation.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining a braking capability diagnosis operation in the escalator control apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. As will be described later, the escalator of the present embodiment has a motor (25) and a drive control unit (30) that can cope with a plurality of normal operating speeds (V2, V3, and V4 in the example of FIG. 5). Except for this, the configuration of the escalator (10) of the first embodiment can be applied to other configurations.

  The normal operation speeds V2, V3, and V4 are switched by, for example, an administrator key switch operation to the operation unit (28), and the maximum speed V4 is selected in FIG. In FIG. 5, the same timings t <b> 1 to t <b> 8 are attached to the timing having the same contents as the timing chart of FIG. 2.

  And in the control apparatus (40) of this embodiment, the diagnostic speed V1 is set to V2, which is the lowest speed among a plurality of normal speeds. By configuring in this way, even if the configuration is such that a plurality of normal speeds V2, V3, and V4 can be set during normal operation, the braking ability diagnosis can be performed at a predetermined speed V1 = V2. Therefore, even when a plurality of escalators are installed, a common threshold value can be used for the braking ability diagnosis. Furthermore, by setting the diagnosis speed V1 to the minimum speed V2 in normal operation, the acceleration / deceleration time can be shortened without degrading the diagnosis accuracy, so the diagnosis time can be shortened.

  In both of the first and second embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the pulse from the encoder (27) is applied over the entire braking period from the start of braking at time t3 to the stop at time t4. Counting. However, in this pulse count, during the braking period (t3 to t4), the idling period (t3 to t30) until the braking force is actually applied and the actual braking period (t30 to t30) where the braking force is actually applied. t4) is included. Therefore, as another embodiment, the deceleration of only the actual braking time that does not include the idle running period is measured as a parameter, and the braking capability of the braking device (26) can be diagnosed more accurately.

  FIG. 6 is a timing chart in which the braking capacity measuring unit (43) measures the deceleration of only the actual braking time as a parameter, and FIG. 6 (a) is a diagram showing the speed change of the escalator body (20). 6 (b) is a diagram showing the number of output pulses of the encoder (27) every minute time. As shown in the figure, the braking capacity measurement unit (43) does not count the encoder pulses during the idle running period (t3 to t30) in which there is almost no speed change, and the actual braking period in which the output period of the encoder pulses has changed. Only (t30 to t4) are counted.

  More specifically, the braking ability measuring unit (43) starts from the timing (t30) when the braking force is actually applied, the idle running period is switched to the actual braking period, and the output period of the encoder (27) becomes longer. Start counting encoder pulses. Then, the counting of the number of pulses is continued until the timing (t4) when the pulse is not output, or the number of pulses for every minute time is counted.

  With this configuration, it is possible to exclude the idle running period from the braking ability diagnosis period and to eliminate the influence on the diagnosis due to the variation in the idle running period. In addition, the number of pulses per minute time corresponds to the brake torque of the braking device (26) that operates sequentially, and it is possible to diagnose a variation in brake torque due to speed.

  The above description is for explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or limiting the scope thereof. Further, the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

(10) Escalator
(20) Escalator body
(25) Motor
(26) Braking device
(27) Encoder
(40) Control device

Claims (5)

A method for diagnosing braking capacity of a conveyor device comprising a conveyor for carrying personnel, a driving device for driving the conveyor, and a braking device for braking the conveyor,
A starting step of inputting an operation start operation to the drive device;
A parameter associated with a braking time or a braking distance of the conveyor by operating the driving device and driving the conveyor at a preset diagnostic speed and then stopping the driving device and operating the braking device. Measuring step,
A determination step of determining whether a parameter associated with a braking time or a braking distance of the conveyor measured in the measurement step is normal;
A normal operation transition step in which, when it is determined in the determination step that the braking device is normal, the driving device is operated again to drive the conveyor at a preset normal speed to perform normal operation;
A method for diagnosing braking ability of a conveyor device, comprising: The measuring step is a step of measuring a parameter associated with a braking time or a braking distance until the conveyor stops based on an output signal output from the driving device.
The method for diagnosing braking ability of the conveyor device according to claim 1. The diagnostic speed is equal to the normal speed;
The braking capability diagnostic method of the conveyor apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2. A plurality of the normal speeds can be selected, and the diagnostic speed is the lowest speed among the plurality of the normal speeds.
4. A method for diagnosing braking ability of a conveyor device according to claim 3. A conveyor for carrying personnel;
A driving device for driving the conveyor;
A braking device for braking the conveyor;
A control device for controlling the driving device and the braking device;
With
The controller is
An operation start operation is input to the driving device, the driving device is operated, the conveyor is driven at a preset diagnostic speed, the driving device is stopped and the braking device is operated, When the parameter associated with the braking time or braking distance of the braking device is measured, and it is determined that the parameter associated with the measured braking time or braking distance is normal, the drive device is operated again and set in advance. The normal operation is performed by driving the conveyor at a normal speed.
A conveyor device characterized by that.

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