JP7186629B2 - Safety devices and passenger conveyors to check the tightening status of the bolts that fix the steps - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to safety devices and passenger conveyors.

US Pat. No. 6,300,000 discloses an example of a passenger conveyor step. The step includes a mouthpiece, a rod-shaped body, a spherical display body, and a confirmation window. The step is fixed to the step shaft by a ferrule. When the mouthpiece is tightened with the bolt, the bar is crushed and deformed. The spherical display is pressed against the confirmation window by the deformed rod. A maintenance worker confirms the tightening state of the bolt by visually confirming that the spherical display is pressed through the confirmation window.

JP 2014-213957 A

However, in the example disclosed in Patent Literature 1, maintenance personnel visually confirm the tightened state of the bolts for each of the plurality of steps. For this reason, there is a possibility that the tightening state of the bolts may not be confirmed for any of the plurality of steps due to a maintenance worker's mistake or the like. At this time, the passenger conveyor may continue to operate with the bolts insufficiently tightened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a safety device and a passenger conveyor for confirming the fastening state of the bolts that fix the steps while driving.

The safety device according to the present invention sequentially detects the passage of a plurality of bolts on the trajectory drawn by the tip of the bolt when the bolts that fix the steps to the circulating step shaft of the passenger conveyor are sufficiently tightened. and a determination unit that determines that the bolts are insufficiently tightened when the time interval at which the detection unit detects passage of the plurality of bolts exceeds a preset time.

A passenger conveyor according to the present invention includes the safety device described above and a control panel that stops the circulating movement when the determination unit determines that the bolts are not sufficiently tightened.

According to the present invention, a safety device includes a detection section and a determination section. The detection unit sequentially detects the passage of a plurality of bolts on the trajectory drawn by the tip of the bolt when the fastening of the bolt is sufficient. A bolt secures the step to the circulating step shaft of the passenger conveyor. The determining unit determines that the fastening of the bolts is insufficient when the time interval at which the detecting unit detects passage of the plurality of bolts exceeds a preset time. As a result, the fastening state of the bolts that fix the step can be checked while driving.

1 is a configuration diagram of a passenger conveyor according to Embodiment 1; FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a safety device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a safety device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of detection of insufficient fastening by the safety device according to Embodiment 1;

A mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are appropriately simplified or omitted.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a passenger conveyor according to Embodiment 1. FIG.

The passenger conveyor 1 is, for example, an escalator. In FIG. 1, the left-right direction of the passenger conveyor 1 is the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. In FIG. 1, the front-rear direction of the passenger conveyor 1 is the left-right direction of the paper.

The passenger conveyor 1 spans, for example, between the upper and lower floors of a building. The passenger conveyor 1 has a constant slope between upper floors and lower floors. An upper entrance/exit 2a of the passenger conveyor 1 is provided on the upper floor of the building. A lower entrance/exit 2b of the passenger conveyor 1 is provided on the lower floor of the building. A passenger conveyor 1 is a device for transporting passengers between an upper entrance 2a and a lower entrance 2b. The passenger conveyor 1 includes a main frame 3, a drive device 4, a pair of step chains 5, a plurality of step shafts 6, a plurality of steps 7, a pair of handrails 8, a pair of handrail drive devices 9, a control A board 10 and a safety device 11 are provided.

The main frame 3 spans between the upper boarding/alighting opening 2a and the lower boarding/alighting opening 2b. In the passenger conveyor 1 , the upper machine room 12 a is provided at the upper end of the main frame 3 . The upper machine room 12a is provided below the upper entrance/exit 2a. In the passenger conveyor 1, the lower machine room 12b is provided at the lower end of the main frame 3. As shown in FIG. The lower machine room 12b is provided below the lower entrance/exit 2b.

The driving device 4 is provided, for example, in the upper machine room 12a. The driving device 4 is a device that generates driving force. The driving device 4 includes, for example, a motor and a speed reducer.

Each of the pair of step chains 5 is an endless chain. One of the pair of step chains 5 is provided on the left side of the passenger conveyor 1 . The other of the pair of step chains 5 is provided on the right side of the passenger conveyor 1 . Each of the pair of step chains 5 is a device that is cyclically moved by the driving force generated by the driving device 4 .

Each of the plurality of step shafts 6 is connected between the pair of step chains 5 . The plurality of step shafts 6 as a whole are annularly connected at equal intervals along a pair of step chains. Each of the plurality of step shafts 6 is a device that circulates following the circulatory movement of the pair of step chains 5 .

Each of the multiple steps 7 is fixed to each of the multiple step shafts 6 . Each of the plurality of steps 7 is a device that follows the circulatory movement of each of the plurality of step shafts 6 and circulates with the upper side as a forward path. A plurality of steps 7 are arranged in a step-like manner at a fixed inclined portion of the outward path of the passenger conveyor 1 . Each of the multiple steps 7 includes a footboard 13 and a pair of mouthpieces 14 . The footboard 13 is a flat plate-like portion on which passengers of the passenger conveyor 1 board. The footboard 13 is arranged horizontally on the outward path of the passenger conveyor 1 . One of the pair of bases 14 is provided on the lower left side of the footboard 13 . The other of the pair of bases 14 is provided on the lower right side of the footboard 13 . A pair of caps 14 are portions for fixing the step 7 to the step shaft 6 by sandwiching the step shaft 6, for example.

Each of the pair of handrails 8 is an endless ring. Each of the pair of handrails 8 is made of synthetic rubber and canvas, for example. One of the pair of handrails 8 is provided on the left side of the multiple steps 7 . The other of the pair of handrails 8 is provided on the right side of the plurality of steps 7 .

One of the pair of handrail driving devices 9 is provided on the left side of the passenger conveyor 1 . The other of the pair of handrail driving devices 9 is provided on the right side of the passenger conveyor 1 . The left handrail driving device 9 is a device that circulates the left handrail 8 by driving force generated by the driving device 4 . The right handrail driving device 9 is a device that circulates the right handrail 8 by driving force generated by the driving device 4 .

The control panel 10 is provided, for example, in the upper machine room 12a. A control panel 10 controls the operation of the driving device 4 . The operation of the driving device 4 is, for example, driving or stopping the driving device 4 .

The safety device 11 is a device for detecting a state of fixing each of the plurality of steps 7 to the step shaft 6 . A safety device 11 is provided, for example, on a boxing member or template of the main frame 3 .

For example, when the passenger conveyor 1, which is an escalator, is running up, the driving device 4 generates a driving force under the control of the control panel 10. FIG. Each of the pair of step chains 5 is circularly moved by the driving force generated by the driving device 4 . Each of the plurality of step shafts 6 circulates following the circulatory movement of the pair of step chains 5 . Each of the plurality of steps 7 circulates following the circulatory movement of each of the plurality of step shafts 6 . Each of the pair of handrail driving devices 9 circulates each of the pair of handrails 8 by driving force generated by the driving device 4 . Each of the pair of handrails 8 circulates at the same moving speed as each of the plurality of steps 7 .

During the upward operation of the passenger conveyor 1, a passenger grabs one of a pair of handrails 8 and rides on one of a plurality of steps 7 from a lower boarding/alighting opening 2b. A passenger stops on the step 7 moving on the outward route and moves to the upper boarding/alighting opening 2a.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a safety device according to Embodiment 1. FIG.
In FIG. 2, the horizontal direction of step 7 is the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. In FIG. 2, the front-rear direction of step 7 is the left-right direction of the paper surface. In FIG. 2, the step shaft 6 is not shown.

Each of the pair of mouthpieces 14 includes an upper mouthpiece 15 , a lower mouthpiece 16 and bolts 17 . The upper mouthpiece 15 contacts the step shaft 6 from above. The lower mouthpiece 16 contacts the step shaft 6 from below. Each of the pair of mouthpieces 14 fixes the step 7 to the step shaft 6 by sandwiching the step shaft 6 with an upper mouthpiece 15 and a lower mouthpiece 16 . The lower mouthpiece 16 is rotatably connected to the upper mouthpiece 15 at the rear. Both the upper cap 15 and the lower cap 16 have fastening holes at their front ends. The bolt 17 is inserted downward from above into the fastening holes of both the upper mouthpiece 15 and the lower mouthpiece 16 . The bolt 17 is tightened by being rotated by a tool inserted through a through hole provided in the footboard 13 . The step 7 is fixed to the step shaft 6 by fastening the bolts 17 of the pair of mouthpieces 14 . The tip of the bolt 17 is directed below the step 7 . The bolt 17 moves downward by being tightened. When the bolt 17 is sufficiently fastened, the bolt 17 protrudes downward. The tip of the bolt 17, which is sufficiently fastened, draws a trajectory C by the circulating movement of step 7.

Here, there is a possibility that the maintenance personnel may forget to tighten the bolts 17 during the installation work in step 7 . At this time, the fastening of the bolt 17 becomes insufficient. When the bolt 17 is insufficiently fastened, the tip of the bolt 17 is located above the tip of the bolt 17 which is sufficiently fastened. At this time, the tip of the insufficiently tightened bolt 17 is located closer to the footboard 13 than the track C is.

The safety device 11 includes a pair of detection units 18 and a determination unit 19 .

The detection unit 18 is a portion that sequentially detects passage of the plurality of bolts 17 on the track C. As shown in FIG. In this example, each of the pair of detectors 18 is provided below each of the pair of caps 14 . Each of the pair of detection units 18 includes a support shaft 20, a movable piece 21, a spring 22, and a switch 23. The support shaft 20 is a shaft-shaped member facing in the left-right direction. The support shaft 20 is fixed to the main frame 3, for example. The support shaft 20 is provided below the mouthpiece 14 . The movable piece 21 is a small plate-like piece that is rotatably supported by the support shaft 20 . The upper end of the movable piece 21 is provided on the track C. As shown in FIG. A spring 22 is provided behind the lower end of the movable piece 21 . Spring 22 is, for example, a coil spring. The spring 22 is provided behind the movable piece 21 so as to be compressed in the front-rear direction. The movable piece 21 is pressed against the spring 22 so that the upper end thereof is tilted rearward. The switch 23 is provided on the front side of the lower end of the movable piece 21 . The switch 23 is, for example, a microswitch. The switch 23 has an actuator 24 . When the actuator 24 is pressed, the state of the switch 23 is ON. When the actuator 24 is not pressed, the state of the switch 23 is the OFF state. The actuator 24 is pushed against the lower end of the movable piece 21 by the elastic force of the spring 22 .

The determination unit 19 is connected to each of the pair of detection units 18 . The determination unit 19 is, for example, a microcomputer or dedicated hardware. The determination portion 19 is a portion that determines the state of fastening of the bolt 17 . The determination unit 19 is connected to the control panel 10 so as to output determination results.

Next, operations of the safety device 11 and the passenger conveyor 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a safety device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of insufficient fastening detection by the safety device according to the first embodiment.

In FIG. 3, the horizontal direction of step 7 is the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper. In FIG. 3, the front-rear direction of step 7 is the left-right direction of the paper surface. In FIG. 3, the step shaft 6 is not shown.

During normal operation of the passenger conveyor 1, the step 7 follows the step shaft 6 and circulates. At this time, the tip of the bolt 17, which is sufficiently fastened, moves on the track C from the rear to the front. The tip of the bolt 17 moves on the track C from rear to front. The tip of the bolt 17 contacts the upper end of the movable piece 21 . The tip of the bolt 17 displaces the upper end of the movable piece 21 forward while resisting the elastic force of the spring 22 . The movable piece 21 rotates around the support shaft 20 as a rotation axis. The lower end of the movable piece 21 is displaced backward while resisting the elastic force of the spring 22 . The lower end of the movable piece 21 leaves the actuator 24 of the switch 23 with which it was in contact. At this time, the state of the switch 23 is switched from the ON state to the OFF state.

Step 7 continues to move forward. The bolt 17 that has been in contact with the upper end of the movable piece 21 passes above the detector 18 . The bolt 17 is separated from the upper end of the movable piece 21 . The movable piece 21 is rotated by the elastic force of the spring 22 such that the lower end thereof is displaced forward. Spring 22 presses the lower end of movable piece 21 against actuator 24 of switch 23 . At this time, the state of the switch 23 is switched from the OFF state to the ON state.

The detection unit 18 detects the passage of the sufficiently fastened bolt 17 through a series of operations in which the state of the switch 23 is switched in the order of ON state, OFF state, and then ON state again.

On the other hand, the insufficiently tightened bolt 17 is positioned closer to the footboard 13 than the track C. Therefore, the tip of the insufficiently tightened bolt 17 does not contact the upper end of the movable piece 21 provided on the track C. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the detection unit 18 does not detect the passage of the insufficiently fastened bolt 17 .

In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis represents time. In FIG. 4 , the vertical axis represents the state of one of the switches 23 of the pair of detectors 18 .

When the tip of the bolt 17 is not in contact with the movable piece 21, the switch 23 is ON.

Due to the circulating movement of step 7, the tip of the bolt 17 which is sufficiently fastened comes into contact with the upper end of the movable piece 21. As shown in FIG. At this time, the state of the switch 23 is switched to the OFF state. The bolt 17 continues to move forward. After time t1 has passed, the tip of bolt 17 is separated from the upper end of movable piece 21 . At this time, the state of the switch 23 is switched to the ON state.

The determination unit 19 measures the time during which the switch 23 is in the ON state. After the time t2 has elapsed, the state of the switch 23 is switched to the OFF state by the cyclic movement of the next step 7 . At this time, the determination unit 19 determines that the time interval for detecting passage of the bolt 17 is time t2. Here, time t2 is shorter than preset time t3. At this time, it is not determined that the fastening of the bolt 17 that has passed earlier is insufficient.

The detection unit 18 sequentially detects the passage of the bolt 17 that moves through the circulating movement of the plurality of steps 7 .

If there is an insufficiently fastened bolt 17 , passage of the bolt 17 is not detected by the detector 18 . Therefore, the state of the switch 23 cannot be switched from the ON state. At this time, the determination unit 19 measures the time during which the switch 23 is in the ON state. When the time for at least one of the pair of detection units 18 exceeds a preset time t3, the determination unit 19 determines that there is a bolt 17 that has not been detected to have passed through the detection unit 18 . That is, the determination unit 19 determines that the fastening of the bolt 17 is insufficient. The determination unit 19 outputs the determination result to the control panel 10 .

The control panel 10 stops the operation of the driving device 4 . After that, the operation of the passenger conveyor 1 stops.

As explained above, the passenger conveyor 1 according to Embodiment 1 includes the safety device 11 and the control panel 10 . The safety device 11 includes a detection section 18 and a determination section 19 . The detection unit 18 sequentially detects passage of the plurality of bolts 17 on the trajectory C drawn by the tip of the bolt 17 when the fastening of the bolt 17 is sufficient. A bolt 17 fixes the step 7 to the circulating step shaft 6 of the passenger conveyor 1 . The determination unit 19 determines that the fastening of the bolts 17 is insufficient when the time interval at which the detection unit 18 detects passage of the plurality of bolts 17 exceeds a preset time t3. The control panel 10 stops the circulatory movement of the step shaft 6 when the determination unit 19 determines that the fastening of the bolts 17 is insufficient.

The sufficiently fastened bolts 17 pass over the track C at regular intervals. The detector 18 sequentially detects the passing bolts 17 . On the other hand, the insufficiently fastened bolt 17 does not pass over the track C. The detection unit 18 does not detect passage of the bolt 17 . The determination unit 19 determines the fastening state of the bolt 17 based on the detection interval of the passage of the bolt 17 by the detection unit 18 . As a result, the fastening state of the bolts 17 for fixing the step 7 can be confirmed while driving. The safety device 11 can be permanently installed on the passenger conveyor 1 . For this reason, even if confirmation of the tightening state of the bolt 17 is omitted in any of the plurality of steps 7 in the installation work of step 7, the determination unit 19 determines that the tightening of the bolt 17 is insufficient before step 7 is removed. It can be determined that Further, even when the tightening of the bolt 17 is loosened during operation, the determination unit 19 can determine the looseness of the bolt 17 as a state of insufficient tightening. Further, the control panel 10 stops the circulatory movement of the step shaft 6 based on the determination result of the determination section 19 . This prevents the passenger conveyor 1 from continuing to operate while the bolts 17 are insufficiently tightened.

Also, the detection unit 18 includes a movable piece 21 and a switch 23 . The movable piece 21 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 20 . The movable piece 21 is provided on the track C on one side of the support shaft 20 . The switch 23 is provided on the other side of the support shaft 20 of the movable piece 21 . The state of the switch 23 is switched by displacement of the movable piece 21 when the bolt 17 contacts the movable piece 21 on the track C. As shown in FIG. The detector 18 detects passage of the bolt 17 by switching the state of the switch 23 .

Thereby, the detection unit 18 is realized with a simple configuration. Moreover, since passage is detected by mechanical contact of the bolt 17 , the detection unit 18 can stably detect passage regardless of the surface state of the bolt 17 .

Moreover, the detection unit 18 includes a spring 22 . The spring 22 is provided on the side opposite to the switch 23 with respect to the movable piece 21 . A spring 22 presses the movable piece 21 against the switch 23 .

As a result, fluttering of the movement of the movable piece 21 is suppressed. Therefore, the detection of passage of the bolt 17 by the detection unit 18 becomes more stable.

Note that the detection unit 18 may include a proximity sensor. The proximity sensor detects the proximity of the bolt 17 on the track C without contact. The detection unit 18 detects the passage of the bolt 17 by detecting the proximity of the proximity sensor.

The proximity sensor may be of any type, for example, ultrasonic, optical using infrared or laser light, or capacitive. For example, the proximity sensor detects the proximity of the bolt 17 when the bolt 17 blocks the infrared rays emitted from the light projecting part to the light receiving part so as to pass the trajectory C. Since the detector 18 does not come into contact with the bolt 17, it does not cause operating noise and wear of the bolt 17 even after continuous operation.

Moreover, the detection unit 18 may include a distance sensor. The distance sensor measures the distance to the bolt 17 on the track C without contact. The detector 18 detects passage of the bolt 17 based on the distance measured by the distance sensor.

The distance sensor may be of any type, for example, an ultrasonic type, an optical type using infrared rays or laser light, or a capacitance type. For example, the distance sensor may measure the distance based on the phase difference between the laser light emitted toward track C and the reflected light reflected by bolt 17 . The detector 18 detects passage of the bolt 17 when the distance from the bolt 17 is within a preset range. Since the detector 18 does not come into contact with the bolt 17, it does not cause operating noise and wear of the bolt 17 even after continuous operation.

Also, the passenger conveyor 1 may be a horizontal escalator. At this time, step 7 may be a palette.

Also, the detection unit 18 does not have to be provided directly below the base 14 . The detection unit 18 may detect passage of the tip of the bolt 17 from either the left or right direction.

Switch 23 may also be a bi-directional switch. At this time, the safety device 11 corresponds to both the ascending operation and the descending operation of the passenger conveyor 1 .

1 Passenger Conveyor 2a Upper Doorway 2b Lower Doorway 3 Main Frame 4 Drive Device 5 Step Chain 6 Step Axis 7 Step 8 Handrail 9 Handrail Drive Device 10 Control Panel 11 Safety Device 12a Upper machine room 12b Lower machine room 13 Footboard 14 Base 15 Upper base 16 Lower base 17 Bolt 18 Detector 19 Judgment 20 Support shaft 21 Movable piece 22 Spring 23 Switch 24 Actuator

Claims (6)

a detection unit for sequentially detecting the passage of the plurality of bolts on the trajectory drawn by the tips of the bolts when the bolts for fixing the steps to the circulating step shaft of the passenger conveyor are sufficiently tightened;
a determination unit that determines that the bolts are insufficiently tightened when a time interval at which the detection unit detects passage of the plurality of bolts exceeds a preset time;
safety equipment. The detection unit is
a movable piece rotatably supported on a support shaft between a first end and a second end in the longitudinal direction , the first end being provided on the track;
provided on the second end side of the movable piece, and when the bolt contacts the first end of the movable piece on the track, the state is changed by the displacement of the second end of the movable piece. a toggle switch and
with
2. The safety device of claim 1, wherein passage of the bolt is detected by switching the state of the switch. The safety device according to claim 2, wherein the detector is provided on the side opposite to the switch with respect to the movable piece, and includes a spring that presses the movable piece against the switch. The detection unit is
a proximity sensor that detects the proximity of the bolt on the track without contact,
The safety device according to claim 1, wherein passage of the bolt is detected by detecting proximity of the proximity sensor. The detection unit is
a distance sensor that measures the distance to the bolt on the track without contact,
The safety device according to claim 1, wherein the passage of the bolt is detected by the distance measured by the distance sensor. A safety device according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
a control panel that stops the circulatory movement when the determining unit determines that the tightening of the bolt is insufficient;
passenger conveyor.

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