JP2015140231A - automatic speed switching device of passenger conveyor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve an automatic speed switching device of a passenger conveyor, which is configured to allow an elderly person to use easily and prevent stagnation and congestion from occurring when a health person uses the conveyor.SOLUTION: An automatic speed switching device of a passenger conveyor, which comprises: sensors 5 that are arranged in the vicinity of a floor plate for getting on/off and detect a walking stride or walking speed of a passenger who moves close to or moves away from a passenger conveyor; a signal processing device 6 that determines whether the passenger is an elderly person or a healthy person from the walking stride or the walking speed; a passenger conveyor control device 9; and an inverter device 8 that increases or decreases output frequencies/voltages in an electric motor 7 for driving, determines that the passenger is the elderly person when the walking stride or the walking speed of the passenger who moves close is below a reference level; decreases the output frequencies/voltages of the inverter device; makes operation speed of the electric motor for driving lower than usual speed; detects the walking stride or the walking speed of the passenger who moves away; determines that the passenger is the elderly person when the walking stride or the walking speed of the passenger is below the reference level; outputs command so as to increase the output frequencies/voltages of the inverter device; and returns the operation speed of the electric motor for driving to the usual speed.

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic speed switching device for passenger conveyors such as escalators and moving walkways.

With the recent aging trend, the opportunity for elderly people to use passenger conveyors has increased. However, there are many elderly people who do not have a sense of foot, and when using a passenger conveyor, the possibility of falling is high. Therefore, it is conceivable to slow down the speed of the passenger conveyor as a countermeasure for the elderly. However, if the speed of the passenger conveyor is slowed down, there is a problem that the transportation efficiency is greatly reduced, resulting in passenger stagnation and congestion.
In addition, as a prior art, the travel speed of the step is configured to be controllable so as to be a value suitable for each passenger, and even a passenger who is slow to walk (such as an elderly person, a deaf person, and a disabled person) can easily A man conveyor that can get on a step is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, as another prior art, a laser scan sensor is installed in the vicinity of the passenger getting on / off portion of the passenger conveyor, and the movement of the user on the plane coordinates is measured by the laser scan sensor, and the moving speed of the user becomes a predetermined value. When it falls below (passenger stays or stays), the voice synthesizer and loudspeaker alert broadcast is performed, and when the stay or congestion of the user is prolonged, the frequency and voltage of the inverter device are controlled to control the drive motor A passenger conveyor safety device that slows down or stops the speed is known (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP 2011-246230 A JP 2008-303057 A

  In the thing of patent document 1, even if the passenger who walks slowly, it can get on a step easily, but when the travel speed of a step is made slow according to a slow passenger, even at the time of crowded users. However, there is a problem that transportation efficiency is greatly reduced, and passenger stagnation and traffic congestion are caused. Moreover, in the thing of patent document 2, when stopping and the staying state of the passenger in a boarding / alighting part are detected, while alerting broadcast and reducing driving speed, the number of passengers moving to a boarding / alighting part is limited. In order to relieve congestion, it does not reduce the running speed of the steps for the elderly.

  The present invention was made to solve the above-described problems, and it is easy for elderly people to ride when using a passenger conveyor, and when a healthy person uses it, passenger stagnation and congestion do not occur. An automatic speed switching device for a passenger conveyor is provided.

  In the automatic speed switching device for a passenger conveyor according to the present invention, a boarding board installed at each boarding gate and a boarding board of the passenger conveyor, and the vicinity of each boarding board of the passenger conveyor or the surface of the boarding board Or a sensor installed in the vicinity, detecting the stride or walking speed of the passenger approaching or moving away from the passenger conveyor and the passenger's stride or walking speed detected by the sensor, the passenger is an elderly person or a healthy person A signal processing device for judging whether there is a passenger conveyor control device connected to the signal processing device, a driving motor for driving the passenger conveyor, a driving motor and a passenger conveyor control device, and output to the driving motor An inverter device for instructing to increase or decrease the frequency / voltage. Detect the stride or walking speed of the passenger approaching the mouth, and if the stride or walking speed of the passenger is below the reference value, judge that the passenger is an elderly person and gradually decrease the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device The driving speed of the driving motor is gradually reduced from the normal speed, while the stride or walking speed of the passenger moving away from the passenger conveyor entrance / exit is detected, and the walking speed of the passenger is below the reference value. In this case, it is determined that the passenger is an elderly person, an instruction is given to gradually increase the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device, and the operation speed of the drive motor is gradually returned to the normal speed.

  Furthermore, a speaker installed near the entrance and exit of the passenger conveyor and near the middle portion, and a voice synthesizer that outputs a voice announcement to the passenger of the passenger conveyor from the speaker to change the speed, a sensor and a signal The processing device detects the stride or walking speed of the passenger approaching the entrance of the passenger conveyor. If the stride or walking speed of the passenger is below the reference value, it is determined that the passenger is an elderly person, and the output of the inverter device Before issuing a command to gradually reduce the frequency and voltage, the speaker announces to the passenger that the speed will be reduced via the voice synthesizer, and then gradually decreases the output frequency and voltage of the inverter device. The driving speed of the motor for driving is gradually decreased from the normal speed, while the step length of the passenger moving away from the passenger conveyor entrance / exit The speech synthesizer detects the walking speed, determines that the passenger's stride or walking speed is below the reference value, determines that the passenger is an elderly person, and issues a command to gradually increase the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device. After the announcement from the speaker to the passenger that the speed will be increased, the inverter will be instructed to gradually increase the output frequency and voltage of the inverter device, and the operating speed of the drive motor will gradually increase to the normal speed. It is to return to.

  In addition, when an elderly person subsequently gets on the passenger conveyor, the driving speed of the driving motor is continued at a speed slower than the normal speed, and after all the elderly persons who got on the board get off, the normal driving speed is restored. .

  In addition, when the passenger is judged to be an elderly person only during the time when the number of passengers is small, the operation speed of the passenger conveyor is reduced, and the time when the number of passengers is large is excluded so as not to slow down the operation speed of the passenger conveyor. Is.

  Moreover, a sensor detects both a passenger's stride and walking speed, and when both a passenger's stride and walking speed are below a reference value, it judges that a passenger is elderly.

  According to this invention, when an elderly person uses a passenger conveyor, it is easy to ride and can be used with peace of mind. In addition, since it is possible to exclude the time zone when there are many passengers so that the operation speed of the passenger conveyor does not slow down, this does not reduce the transportation efficiency in the crowded time zone, and causes stagnation and congestion of passengers There is an effect that there is no.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a system block diagram which shows the whole structure of the automatic speed switching apparatus of the passenger conveyor in Example 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement flow of the automatic speed switching apparatus of the passenger conveyor in Example 1 of this invention.

Example 1.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic speed switching device for passenger conveyors in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation flow of the automatic speed switching device for passenger conveyors.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a passenger conveyor, which is assumed to be in an ascending operation here. 2 is the entrance / exit of the first floor where the passenger conveyor 1 is located, 3 is the entrance / exit of the second floor where the passenger conveyor 1 is exited, 4 is the floor board for passenger conveyors installed at the entrances 2, 3 respectively The passenger gets into the steps of the passenger conveyor 1 from the boarding board 4 and gets off from the steps of the passenger conveyor 1. 5 is a sensor installed in the vicinity of each of the entrances 2 and 3 or on the surface of each boarding board 4 or in the vicinity thereof, and detects the stride / walking speed of a passenger approaching or moving away from the passenger conveyor 1. It is. As this sensor 5, for example, a laser beam described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-207996 is emitted in the horizontal direction, and the optical distance of the laser is rotated in the vertical direction to measure the horizontal distance around the sensor. A scan type distance sensor, a laser scan sensor described in JP 2008-303057 A, or the like can be used. Moreover, as what detects a passenger's walking speed, what combined the passenger detection means of the Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2011-246230, a camera, and a walking speed calculating part can be used, for example. Reference numeral 6 denotes a signal processing device connected to the sensor 5. The sensor 5 and the signal processing device 6 detect the stride / walking speed of a passenger approaching or moving away from the passenger conveyor 1 from the vicinity of the entrance / exit 2, 3 or the boarding board 4, and the detected stride is a reference value. If it is smaller and the walking speed is slower than the reference value, it is determined that the passenger is an elderly person. If the detected stride is larger than the reference value and the walking speed is faster than the reference value, it is determined that the passenger is a healthy person. Reference numeral 7 denotes a driving induction motor for driving the passenger conveyor 1, and 8 denotes an inverter device connected to the driving induction motor 7, which commands to gradually increase or decrease the output frequency / voltage. Thereby, the operation speed of the drive induction motor 7 can be gradually increased or decreased. 9 is a passenger conveyor control device connected to the inverter device 8 and the signal processing device 6, 10 is a speaker installed near the entrance and exit of the passenger conveyor 1 and near the middle portion, and 11 is a speed change for passengers on the passenger conveyor 1. There is a voice synthesizer that outputs a voice announcement to the effect from the speaker 10. The sensor 5 and the signal processing device 6 detect the stride / walking speed of the passenger approaching the first floor entrance / exit 2 of the passenger conveyor 1, and the output of the signal processing device 6 is sent to the passenger conveyor control device 9. Sent. The passenger conveyor control device 9 determines that the passenger is an elderly person when the detected stride is smaller than the reference value and the walking speed is slower than the reference value, and gradually decreases the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device 8. To Thereby, the driving speed of the induction motor 7 for driving can be automatically made gradually slower than the normal speed, making it easy for elderly people to get in. When an elderly person continues to get on the passenger conveyor 1 and becomes a plurality of persons, the number of elderly persons is counted and the slow driving speed is continued as it is. Assuming that a healthy person has already boarded in front of an elderly person, before issuing a command to gradually reduce the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device 8, the passenger conveyor 1 is connected via the speech synthesizer 11. The speaker 10 installed near the boarding gate and near the middle announces to passengers that "Be careful because the speed will slow down." Thereby, even if the driving speed of the driving induction motor 7 is made slower than the normal speed, it is possible to call attention to a healthy person on board in advance. Next, the stride / walking speed of the passenger moving away from the entrance / exit 3 on the second floor of the passenger conveyor 1 is detected, and the output of the signal processing device 6 is sent to the passenger conveyor control device 9. When the detected stride is smaller than the reference value and the walking speed is slower than the reference value, the passenger conveyor control device 9 determines that the elderly passenger has got off the passenger conveyor 1 and gradually increases the output frequency and voltage of the inverter device 8. Command to be raised. As a result, the driving speed of the drive induction motor 7 can be automatically and gradually returned to the normal speed to prepare for use by a healthy person. When an elderly person continues to get on the passenger conveyor 1 and there are a plurality of persons, the number of elderly persons who get off is counted, and when all the elderly persons get off the passenger conveyor 1, the normal driving speed is automatically restored. Assuming that a healthy person gets in after the elderly, and determines that the elderly has got off the passenger conveyor 1, before issuing a command to gradually increase the output frequency / voltage of the inverter 8 In addition, through the speech synthesizer 11, the speaker 10 installed near the entrance and exit of the passenger conveyor 1 and near the middle part announces to the passengers, “Please note that the speed will increase.” Thereby, even if the driving speed of the induction motor 7 for driving is returned from the slow speed to the normal speed, it is possible to call attention to a healthy person on board in advance.

Next, an operation flow of the automatic speed switching device for the passenger conveyor will be described with reference to FIG.
When the passenger conveyor 1 starts operation, the sensor 5 and the signal processing device 6 detect the stride / walking speed of the passenger approaching the passenger conveyor 1 from the vicinity of the entrance / exit 2 on the first floor or the floor board 4 for getting on / off (step S1). ). It is determined whether the detected passenger stride is smaller than the reference value (step S2), whether the passenger walking speed is slower than the reference value (step S3), and both the passenger stride / walking speed are below the reference value. In this case, it is determined that the passenger is an elderly person (step S4). Next, assuming that a healthy person has already boarded in front of an elderly person, the passenger conveyor 1 is connected via the voice synthesizer 11 before issuing a command to gradually reduce the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device 8. The speaker 10 installed near the entrance and exit of the center and the passengers are announced to the passengers, “Please note that the speed will be slow,” and then gradually reduce the output frequency and voltage of the inverter 8 And the driving speed of the drive induction motor 7 is gradually made lower than the normal speed to make it easy for elderly people to get in (step S5). Thereby, even if the driving speed of the driving induction motor 7 is made slower than the normal speed, it is possible to call attention to a healthy person on board in advance. In addition, when an elderly person continues and gets on the passenger conveyor 1, and it becomes several persons, the number of elderly persons is counted, and a slow driving speed is continued as it is. Next, the stride / walking speed of the passenger moving away from the entrance / exit 3 on the second floor of the passenger conveyor 1 or the floor board 4 for getting on / off is detected (step S6). It is determined whether the detected passenger's stride is smaller than the reference value (step S7), it is determined whether the passenger's walking speed is slower than the reference value (step S8), and both the passenger's stride / walking speed are below the reference value. In this case, it is determined that the passenger is an elderly person (step S9). Next, assuming that a healthy person has boarded after the elderly person and determines that the elderly person has got off the passenger conveyor 1, a command to gradually increase the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device 8 is issued. After announcing to the passenger from the speaker 10 installed near the entrance / exit of the passenger conveyor 1 and near the middle part through the speech synthesizer 11, “Please note that the speed will be faster” The inverter 8 is instructed to gradually increase the output frequency and voltage, and the driving speed of the driving induction motor 7 is gradually returned to the normal speed to prepare for use by the healthy person (step S10). Thereby, even if the driving speed of the induction motor 7 for driving is returned from the slow speed to the normal speed, it is possible to call attention to a healthy person on board in advance.
In addition, when it is determined that the passenger's stride detected in step S2 or step S7 is larger than the reference value, and it is determined in step S3 or step S8 that the walking speed of the passenger is faster than the reference value, the passenger is regarded as a healthy person. It is judged (steps S11 and S13), and the passenger conveyor 1 is operated at a normal operation speed (steps S12 and S14).

  The sensor 5 has been described as detecting both the stride / walking speed of the passenger approaching or moving away from the passenger conveyor 1, but it detects only one of the stride / walking speed of the passenger. May be.

Example 2.
In the first embodiment, when it is determined that the passenger approaching the passenger conveyor 1 is an elderly person, the operation speed of the passenger conveyor is decreased regardless of the situation. Efficiency is greatly reduced, resulting in passenger stagnation and traffic jams. In order to solve such a problem, in the second embodiment, for example, in a crowded time zone where there are a large number of passengers to be used, a stagnation is likely to occur at the entrance / exit as well as the elderly, Such crowded time zones are excluded so that the operation speed of the passenger conveyor is not slowed down. Then, only when the number of passengers is relatively small, when it is determined that the passenger approaching the passenger conveyor 1 is an elderly person, the operation speed of the passenger conveyor is decreased. In this case, guidance display or guidance broadcasting that recommends the use of an elevator is recommended for elderly people in crowded time zones. As a result, the transportation efficiency is not reduced in a crowded time zone, so passengers do not stagnate or become congested.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Passenger conveyor, 2 1st floor entrance / exit, 3 2nd floor entrance / exit, 4 boarding board for boarding / alighting, 5 sensor, 6 signal processing device, 7 driving induction motor, 8 inverter device, 9 passenger conveyor control device, 10 speaker, 11 Speech synthesizer

Claims (5)

Boarding floor boards installed at the entrances and exits of the passenger conveyor,
A sensor for detecting the stride or walking speed of a passenger that is installed in the vicinity of each entrance / exit of the passenger conveyor or on the surface of the floor board for getting on / off or in the vicinity thereof, and approaching or moving away from the passenger conveyor,
A signal processing device for determining whether the passenger is an elderly person or a healthy person from the step length or walking speed of the passenger detected by the sensor;
A passenger conveyor control device connected to the signal processing device;
A drive motor for driving the passenger conveyor;
An inverter device connected to the driving motor and the passenger conveyor control device, and instructing the driving motor to increase or decrease an output frequency / voltage,
By the sensor and the signal processing device, detecting the stride or walking speed of the passenger approaching the entrance / exit of the passenger conveyor, and determining that the passenger is an elderly person when the stride or walking speed of the passenger is below a reference value, Instructing the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device to be gradually reduced, and gradually reducing the operation speed of the driving motor from the normal speed, while the passenger's stride going away from the entrance / exit of the passenger conveyor or Detecting walking speed, if the passenger's stride or walking speed is below the reference value, it is determined that the passenger is an elderly person, and commands to gradually increase the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device, An automatic speed switching device for a passenger conveyor, wherein the operation speed of the electric motor is gradually returned to a normal speed. Boarding floor boards installed at the entrances and exits of the passenger conveyor,
A sensor for detecting the stride or walking speed of a passenger that is installed in the vicinity of each entrance / exit of the passenger conveyor or on the surface of the floor board for getting on / off or in the vicinity thereof, and approaching or moving away from the passenger conveyor,
A signal processing device for determining whether the passenger is an elderly person or a healthy person from the step length or walking speed of the passenger detected by the sensor;
A passenger conveyor control device connected to the signal processing device;
A drive motor for driving the passenger conveyor;
An inverter device connected to the drive motor and the passenger conveyor control device and instructing the drive motor to increase or decrease an output frequency / voltage;
Speakers installed near the entrance and middle of the passenger conveyor,
A voice synthesizer that outputs a voice announcement to change the speed from the speaker to the passengers of the passenger conveyor,
By the sensor and the signal processing device, detecting the stride or walking speed of the passenger approaching the entrance / exit of the passenger conveyor, and determining that the passenger is an elderly person when the stride or walking speed of the passenger is below a reference value, Before issuing a command to gradually decrease the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device, the speaker outputs an announcement from the speaker to the passenger that the speed will be reduced via the voice synthesizer. Command the frequency / voltage to be gradually reduced, and gradually reduce the driving speed of the driving motor from the normal speed, while detecting the stride or walking speed of the passenger moving away from the entrance / exit of the passenger conveyor If the passenger's stride or walking speed is below the reference value, it is determined that the passenger is an elderly person, and a command to gradually increase the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device is issued. Before announcing that the speed will be increased from the speaker to the passenger via the speech synthesizer, the instruction is made to gradually increase the output frequency / voltage of the inverter device, and the drive An automatic speed switching device for a passenger conveyor, wherein the operation speed of the electric motor is gradually returned to a normal speed.   When an elderly person continues to get on the passenger conveyor, the driving speed of the driving motor is continued at a speed slower than the normal speed, and all the elderly people who get on the board get off to return to the normal driving speed. The automatic speed switching device for a passenger conveyor according to claim 1 or 2.   Only when the number of passengers is small, when the passenger is judged to be an elderly person, the operation speed of the passenger conveyor is reduced, and the operation time of the passenger conveyor is not reduced by excluding the time zone when the number of passengers is large. The automatic speed switching device for a passenger conveyor according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   The sensor detects both the stride and the walking speed of the passenger, and determines that the passenger is an elderly person when both the stride and the walking speed of the passenger are equal to or less than a reference value. The automatic speed switching device for a passenger conveyor according to any one of 4.

Images