JP7248158B1 - Passenger conveyor and passenger conveyor system - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a passenger conveyor and a passenger conveyor system capable of easily distinguishing whether the vehicle is going up or down, or whether it is an entrance or an exit. A passenger conveyor includes a temperature changing unit 7 capable of heating or cooling at least one of a handrail 50 near an entrance/exit or its surroundings, and a handrail or its surroundings depending on whether the passenger conveyor is going up or down. and a control unit 6 for controlling the temperature changing unit 7 so that the temperature states of are different from each other. Also, the passenger conveyor system is composed of a passenger conveyor and a portable terminal possessed by a person who intends to use the passenger conveyor. The passenger conveyor transmits a signal related to at least one of information indicating whether the passenger conveyor is going up or down or information indicating whether the entrance is an entrance or an exit by short-range wireless communication. The portable terminal receives the signal and notifies the possessor of the signal in different output modes depending on the contents of the signal. [Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a passenger conveyor and a passenger conveyor system for conveying passengers by an endless carrier that circulates.

A passenger conveyor such as an escalator or moving walkway includes an entrance, a transport section, and a handrail section. The entrance/exit has a floor plate and is provided at the beginning and end of the passage (entrance and exit). The transport unit has an endless transport body, and the endless transport body circulates along the passage to transport passengers. The handrail section includes handrails and is provided along the aisle on both sides of the aisle. The handrail circulates in conjunction with the endless carrier. Passengers move from the floor plate of the entrance to the passenger receiving portion of the endless transport body, get on the endless transport body, are transported by the endless transport body, and then reach the passenger sending-out portion of the endless transport body, and exit at the exit. Move to the floor plate of , and then move to leave the passenger conveyor.

When a visually impaired person uses a passenger conveyor, the visually impaired person can determine whether the entrance is the entrance or the exit by touching the handrail at the entrance/exit and confirming the movement direction of the handrail. . However, the handrails near the entrance move horizontally whether the passenger conveyor is up or down. For this reason, a visually handicapped person cannot determine whether the passenger conveyor is going up or down just by touching the handrail at the entrance/exit. For visually impaired people, it is only when they actually get on the passenger conveyor that they know whether the passenger conveyor is going up or down. If the destination direction is wrong, unnecessary movement of returning on another passenger conveyor occurs, which places a heavy burden on the visually handicapped.

To solve this problem, floor plates with display functions have been proposed. The floor plate described in Patent Document 1 makes it possible to distinguish whether the passenger conveyor is going up or down by having different Braille patterns for going up and down the passenger conveyor.

JP-A-10-017257

However, in the floor plate described in Patent Document 1, it is not always easy for a visually impaired person to identify the position of the entire Braille pattern. In this case, the visually impaired cannot grasp the meaning of Braille, and cannot distinguish whether the passenger conveyor is going up or down.

In the first place, it is not preferable for the visually impaired person to touch the handrail at the entrance in order to determine whether the entrance is the entrance or the exit.

Furthermore, in the general use of passenger conveyors, due to the structure of the building in which the passenger conveyor is installed or the structure of the passenger conveyor itself, it is possible to visually determine from a distance whether the passenger conveyor is ascending or descending, or In some cases, it may not be possible to determine whether a boarding gate is a boarding gate or an alighting gate. Then, even though the user has come close to the user, if it is an unintended passenger conveyor or an exit, the movement becomes useless and the user is burdened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a passenger conveyor and a passenger conveyor system that can easily distinguish between up and down. Another object of the present invention is to provide a passenger conveyor and a passenger conveyor system that can easily distinguish between an entrance and an exit.

The passenger conveyor according to the first invention is
A boarding and alighting entrance, a conveying unit for conveying passengers by an endless conveying body that circulates along the passage, a handrail that circulates along the passage on the side of the passage, and a balustrade that supports the handrail. A passenger conveyor comprising a handrail section consisting of
a temperature changing unit capable of heating or cooling at least one of the handrail near the entrance and exit and the surroundings thereof;
A passenger conveyor comprising a control section for controlling a temperature changing section so that the temperature of the handrail or its surroundings differs between when the passenger conveyor goes up and when it goes down.

Here, as one aspect of the passenger conveyor according to the first invention,
The control unit controls the temperature changing unit so that the heating mode is set when the passenger conveyor is either up or down, and the non-operating mode or the cooling mode is set in the other case. can.

Further, as another aspect of the passenger conveyor according to the first invention,
The balustrade has a shielding part that shields the return part of the handrail,
A configuration can be adopted in which the temperature changer is provided in an end region of the shielding portion in the longitudinal direction along the moving direction of the handrail.

A passenger conveyor according to a second invention,
A passenger conveyor comprising a boarding entrance and an exit entrance, and a conveying unit for conveying passengers by an endless conveying body that circulates along a passage,
The passenger conveyor is provided near a boarding gate, and has a transmitting section that transmits a signal related to at least one of information indicating whether the passenger conveyor is going up or down or information indicating whether the boarding gate is a boarding gate or a boarding gate by short-range wireless communication.

A passenger conveyor system according to the present invention includes:
A passenger conveyor system comprising a passenger conveyor according to the second invention and a portable terminal possessed by a person who intends to use the passenger conveyor,
The mobile terminal
a receiver that receives a signal from the transmitter;
an analysis unit that analyzes a signal;
A passenger conveyor system including a notification unit that notifies a holder in different output modes according to the content of a signal.

Here, as one aspect of the passenger conveyor system according to the present invention,
The notification unit can employ a configuration in which notification is performed in a non-visual output form such as vibration or sound.

Further, as another aspect of the passenger conveyor system according to the present invention,
When the receiving unit receives a plurality of signals from a plurality of transmitting units due to the presence of a plurality of boarding gates within a predetermined area,
The analysis unit analyzes the intensity of each signal,
It is possible to employ a configuration in which the notification unit performs notification related to at least the signal with the highest intensity.

According to the passenger conveyor according to the first aspect of the invention, if the control of the temperature changer is different, the temperature of the handrail and its surroundings will be different. will be different. Here, the first temperature state (for example, the heating state by the temperature changing unit) corresponds to the up passenger conveyor, and the second temperature state (for example, the normal temperature state or the temperature It is assumed that the visually impaired person knows in advance that the cooling state by the change unit corresponds to the down passenger conveyor. Alternatively, the heating state by the temperature changer gives the visually impaired person an upward sensation (because the density decreases and rises), and the room temperature state or the temperature changer because the temperature changer is inactive. Being in a cool state (by increasing density and descending) can give the visually impaired a downward sensation. Based on the difference in the temperature conditions of these handrails and their surroundings, the visually impaired person understands that this is the entrance for the upward passenger conveyor or that this is the entrance for the downward passenger conveyor. Therefore, according to the passenger conveyor according to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to easily distinguish between uphill and downhill.

Further, according to the passenger conveyor according to the second aspect of the invention and the passenger conveyor system according to the present invention, when a person who intends to use the passenger conveyor enters within the communication range of short-range wireless communication from the transmitter of the passenger conveyor, , the mobile terminal possessed by the person can receive a signal related to at least one of information indicating whether the passenger conveyor is going up or down or information indicating whether the entrance is the entrance or the exit. After receiving the signal, the portable terminal notifies the owner of the content of the information. Based on this information, the possessor determines whether there or there is an up passenger conveyor, or there or there is a down passenger conveyor, or whether or not there or there is a boarding point, or whether or not there or there Recognize that it is an exit. Therefore, according to the passenger conveyor according to the second aspect of the invention and the passenger conveyor system according to the present invention, it is possible to easily and quickly determine whether the vehicle is going up or down, or whether it is an entrance or an exit.

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the escalator according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the vicinity of the entrance/exit of the escalator according to the first embodiment. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an escalator according to Embodiment 2. FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the escalator system according to this embodiment.

<Embodiment 1>
An escalator, which is one of passenger conveyors, will be described below as a first embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the escalator 1 includes a truss 2 , an entrance/exit 3 , a transport section 4 , a handrail section 5 and a control section 6 . The truss 2 is a structure that supports the weight of the escalator 1 and its load. The entrance/exit 3 is provided above both ends of the truss 2 . The conveying part 4 is supported by the truss 2, and the tread moves along the path, thereby conveying the passenger while standing at that position without making the passenger walk. Handrail sections 5 are also supported by the trusses 2 and are provided along the passage on either side of the passage. The control unit 6 controls each part of the escalator 1 and controls smooth operation of the escalator 1 . The control unit 6 is provided in the form of a control panel.

The entrance/exit 3 is provided above the horizontal end of the truss 2 . The entrance/exit 3 has a floor plate 30 . The floor plate 30 configures the floor of the entrance/exit 3 and configures the ends (starting end and terminal end) of the passage. A tip of the floor plate 30 defines a boundary between the entrance/exit 3 and the transport section 4 .

The transport section 4 includes an endless transport body 40 . The endless conveying body 40 is formed by endlessly connecting a plurality of steps (steps) 41, . The endless conveying body 40 is driven to circulate in one direction or the opposite direction by circulating the step chain 42 as the drive motor 43 is driven.

The handrail section 5 includes a handrail 50 and a balustrade 51 . The handrail 50 is also called a moving handrail, is flexible and endless, and is circulatingly driven in conjunction with the endless carrier 40 . The balustrade 51 has a lower side supported by the truss 2 and supports the handrail 50 so as to be circulating. A pair of handrails 50 and balustrades 51 are provided along the aisle on either side of the aisle.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the balustrade 51 includes a balustrade panel 52 , a skirt guard 53 , an exterior material 54 , a deck cover 55 and handrail guides 57 .

The balustrade panel 52 has its lower side supported by the truss 2 and is arranged vertically between the upper side of the handrail 50, ie, the outward path portion 50A and the lower side, ie the return path portion 50B, and faces the aisle. The skirt guard 53 is arranged vertically downward from the height position of the lower side portion of the balustrade panel 52 inside the balustrade panel 52 and faces the aisle. The exterior material 54 is arranged vertically below the balustrade panel 52 from the height position of the lower side of the balustrade panel 52 outside the balustrade panel 52 and is vertically arranged with a predetermined gap from the skirt guard 53 . The deck cover 55 includes an inner deck cover 55A and an outer deck cover 55B. The inner deck cover 55A is detachably attached to close the upper opening between the balustrade panel 52 and the skirt guard 53 and faces the aisle. The outer deck cover 55B is detachably attached to close the upper opening between the balustrade panel 52 and the exterior material 54. As shown in FIG. Thus, the balustrade 51 has an internal space surrounded by the skirt guard 53 , the exterior material 54 and the deck cover 55 . The return path portion 50B of the handrail 50 is accommodated in the internal space and shielded from the outside. That is, the skirt guard 53, the exterior material 54, and the deck cover 55 constitute a shielding portion 56 that shields the return path portion 50B of the handrail 50. As shown in FIG.

The handrail guides 57 comprise upper handrail guides 57A and lower handrail guides 57B. The upper handrail guide 57A is an elongated guide member, is attached to the upper side of the balustrade panel 52 along the upper side of the balustrade panel 52, is inserted into the handrail 50, and is inserted into the outbound portion 50A of the handrail 50. to guide and support. The lower handrail guide 57B is an elongated guide member attached to the truss 2 and inserted into the handrail 50 to guide and support the return path portion 50B of the handrail 50 .

The escalator 1 includes a temperature changer 7 as a temperature changer. The temperature changing device 7 has at least one function of a heating device or a cooling device, and can heat or cool at least one of the handrail 50 near the entrance/exit 3 and its surroundings. The temperature changing device 7 as a heating device may be, for example, one using a heating wire, one using a Peltier element, one that circulates a liquid or gas heat medium in a pipe, a heater, an air conditioner, a hot air blower, or the like. Various types can be adopted. As the temperature changing device 7 as a cooling device, for example, one using a Peltier element, one that circulates a liquid or gaseous refrigerant in a pipe, an air conditioner, a cold air blower, etc., can be adopted.

The temperature changing device 7 includes a first temperature changing device 7A and a second temperature changing device 7B. 7 A of 1st temperature change apparatuses are provided in the edge part area|region of the longitudinal direction along the moving direction of the handrail 50 among the shielding parts 56, ie, in the edge part area|region near the entrance/exit 3. As shown in FIG. The second temperature changing device 7B is provided in an upper handrail guide 57A corresponding to the tip position of the floor plate 30 of the entrance/exit 3 from the vicinity of the folded portion of the handrail 50 . Both temperature changing devices 7A, 7B are for changing the temperature state of at least one of the handrail 50 and its surroundings at the first contact area 50a of the handrail 50 . The first contact area 50a is a portion of the handrail 50 that can be touched by a passenger standing on the floor plate 30. Usually, the first contact area 50a touches the front end of the floor plate 30 from a position slightly above the folded portion of the handrail 50. Refers to the area up to the position.

By the way, escalators are classified into a wide type with a passage wide enough for passengers to line up side by side, and a narrow type with a passage wide enough for one passenger. In either type, a pair of handrail portions 5 are provided on the left and right sides of the passage along the passage. Therefore, the temperature changing device 7 is provided on both the left and right sides.

Also, the temperature changing device 7 may be only the first temperature changing device 7A, or may be only the second temperature changing device 7B. Both the first temperature changing device 7A and the second temperature changing device 7B may have only the function of a heating device, or may have only the function of a cooling device, or , may have the functions of both a heating device and a cooling device. Alternatively, separate heating and cooling devices may coexist in an appropriate layout.

The temperature changing device 7 is controlled by the controller 6 . Specifically, the temperature changing device 7 is controlled differently depending on whether the escalator 1 is going up or down. The control content is, for example, one of the following patterns i) to vi).
i) When escalator 1 is going up: temperature changing device 7 on entrance side: heating mode When escalator 1 is going down: temperature changing device 7 on the entrance side: non-operating mode ii) When escalator 1 is going up: entrance side temperature changing device 7: heating mode When escalator 1 is going down: entrance side temperature changing device 7: cooling mode iii) When escalator 1 is going up: entrance side temperature changing device 7: non-operating mode escalator 1 When escalator 1 is going down: temperature changing device 7 on the entrance side: heating mode iv) When escalator 1 is going up: temperature changing device 7 on the entrance side: non-operating mode When escalator 1 is going down: temperature change on the entrance side Device 7: Cooling mode v) When escalator 1 is going up: Entrance side temperature changing device 7: Cooling mode When escalator 1 is going down: Entrance side temperature changing device 7: Heating mode vi) Escalator 1 is going up Case: entrance-side temperature change device 7: cooling mode Escalator 1 descending: entrance-side temperature change device 7: non-operating mode

As described above, according to the escalator 1 according to the present embodiment, if the control of the temperature changing device 7 is different, the temperature of the handrail 50 and its surroundings will be different. The sense of the hand of the visually impaired person who touches is different. Here, the first temperature state (for example, the heating state by the temperature changing device 7) corresponds to the upward escalator, and the second temperature state (for example, the normal temperature state or the It is assumed that the visually impaired person knows in advance that the cooling state by the temperature changing device 7 corresponds to the downward escalator. Alternatively, the heating state by the temperature changing device 7 gives the visually impaired person an upward sensation (because the density decreases and rises), and the room temperature state or the temperature by not operating the temperature changing device 7 Being cooled by the modifier 7 (by increasing density and descending) can give the visually impaired a downward sensation. A visually handicapped person recognizes that this is an ascending escalator entrance or a descending escalator entrance, based on the difference in the temperature of the handrail 50 and its surroundings. Therefore, according to the escalator 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily determine whether it is going up or down.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, an escalator according to Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. Note that the escalator according to the second embodiment and the escalator according to the first embodiment are the same except for the following description. Therefore, the description of the same points is omitted, assuming that they are the same as those of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the entrance/exit 3 includes a pole 31 in addition to the floor plate 30 . The poles 31 are provided on at least one of both sides of the passageway and installed at the ends (starting end and terminal end) of the passageway.

The escalator 1 has a transmitter 8 . A transmitter 8 is built into one pole 31 . Alternatively, if the entrance/exit 3 is equipped with guards or fences to prevent passengers from traversing, the transmitter 8 may be built into these erected objects.

As shown in FIG. 5, the transmitter 8 includes an interface section, a signal generation section, and a transmission section. The interface unit acquires necessary information from the control unit 6 of the escalator 1 . The required information is at least one of information indicating whether the escalator 1 equipped with the transmitter 8 is for going up or down, or information about whether the entrance/exit 3 equipped with the transmitter 8 is the entrance or the exit. A signal generator generates a signal relating to these pieces of information. The transmitter transmits this signal by short-range wireless communication. Near-field wireless communication is wireless communication within a communication distance of about one meter to several meters, or within several tens of meters. (smartphone, tablet, etc.) is a wireless communication according to a communication standard.

The escalator 1 constitutes an escalator system together with a mobile terminal (smartphone, tablet, etc.) 9 possessed by a person who intends to use the escalator 1 . The mobile terminal 9 includes a receiving section, an analyzing section, and a reporting section. The receiver receives a signal from the transmitter. The analysis unit analyzes the received signal. The analysis unit is composed of an information processing unit of the mobile terminal 9 and a program or application (so-called application) installed in the mobile terminal 9 . The notification unit notifies the holder in different output modes depending on the content of the signal. The notification unit includes a vibrating unit (vibration), a screen display unit (display), an audio output unit (speaker), and the like, which are provided in a general mobile terminal.

The notification contents (output form) by the vibrating unit are, for example, as follows.
・When escalator 1 is going up and boarding gate 3 is the boarding gate: Vibration pattern 1
・When escalator 1 is going up and boarding gate 3 is going down: Vibration pattern 2
・When escalator 1 is downhill and platform 3 is the platform: Vibration pattern 3
・When escalator 1 is going down and entrance/exit 3 is the exit: Vibration pattern 4

Alternatively, the notification contents (output form) by the vibrating section are, for example, as follows.
・When escalator 1 is going up: Vibration pattern 1
・When escalator 1 is going down: Vibration pattern 2

Alternatively, the notification contents (output form) by the vibrating section are, for example, as follows.
・When boarding gate 3 is a boarding gate: Vibration pattern 1
・When boarding gate 3 is the exit: Vibration pattern 2

In the case of the screen display section and the voice output section, of course, information on whether the escalator 1 is going up or down and information on whether the entrance/exit 3 is the entrance or the exit are directly reported.

As described above, according to the escalator 1 and the escalator system according to the present embodiment, when a person who intends to use the escalator 1 enters the communication range of the short-range wireless communication from the transmitter 8 of the entrance/exit 3, A mobile terminal 9 carried by a person can receive a signal related to at least one of information indicating whether the escalator 1 is going up or down or information indicating whether the entrance 3 is an entrance or an exit. Then, after receiving the signal, the portable terminal 9 notifies the owner of the content of the information. Based on this information, the owner determines that there is an up escalator, or that there is a down escalator, or that there is an entrance, or that there is an exit. Grasp that it is. Therefore, according to the escalator 1 and the escalator system according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily and quickly determine whether it is going up or down, or whether it is an entrance or an exit.

It should be noted that "over there" is an expression corresponding to the transmitter 8 whose specification is within a range of about 1 meter to several meters for the short-range wireless communication, and "over there" means the communication distance of the short-range wireless communication. is an expression corresponding to the transmitter 8 specified within several tens of meters. The former aims to improve convenience for visually impaired people, and the latter aims to improve convenience for general users who are not visually impaired.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 4, when two or more escalators 1 are arranged side by side and a plurality of entrances 3 are arranged side by side, that is, when a plurality of entrances 3 exist in a predetermined area, the portable A terminal 9 will receive multiple signals from multiple transmitters 8 . In order to prevent this and provide information on the closest boarding gate 3 to the user, the analysis unit of the mobile terminal 9 analyzes the strength of each signal, and the notification unit Notify. For example, when the user (visually impaired person) is on the right side in FIG. Information is provided.

This is the same in the case where there are two entrances in front of the user who is several tens of meters away. Therefore, useless movement is eliminated, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiments, the passenger conveyor is an escalator. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is also applicable to moving walkways.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Escalator 2... Truss 3... Entrance/exit 30... Floor plate 4... Conveying part 40... Endless conveying body 41... Step 42... Step chain 43... Drive motor 5... Handrail part 50 Handrail 50A Forward portion 50B Return portion 50a First contact area 51 Balustrade 52 Balustrade panel 53 Skirt guard 54 Exterior material 55 Deck cover 55A Inner deck cover , 55B... Outer deck cover, 56... Shielding part, 57... Handrail guide, 57A... Upper handrail guide, 57B... Lower handrail guide, 6... Control panel (control part), 7... Temperature change device (temperature change part ), 7A... First temperature changing device, 7B... Second temperature changing device, 8... Transmitter, 9... Portable terminal

Claims (7)

A boarding and alighting entrance, a conveying unit for conveying passengers by an endless conveying body that circulates along the passage, a handrail that circulates along the passage on the side of the passage, and a balustrade that supports the handrail. A passenger conveyor comprising a handrail section consisting of
a temperature changing unit capable of heating or cooling at least one of the handrail near the entrance and exit and the surroundings thereof;
a control unit for controlling a temperature changing unit so that the temperature of the handrail or its surroundings differs between when the passenger conveyor goes up and when it goes down. The passenger conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the temperature changing unit so that the heating mode is set when the passenger conveyor goes up or down, and the non-operating mode or the cooling mode is set in the other case. . The balustrade has a shielding part that shields the return part of the handrail,
The passenger conveyor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the temperature changing portion is provided in a longitudinal end region of the shielding portion along the direction of movement of the handrail. A passenger conveyor comprising a boarding entrance and an exit entrance, and a conveying unit for conveying passengers by an endless conveying body that circulates along a passage,
1. A passenger conveyor provided near a boarding/alighting gate, comprising a transmission section for transmitting a signal relating to at least one of information indicating whether the passenger conveyor is going up or down and information indicating whether the boarding/alighting gate is a boarding gate or an alighting gate by short-range wireless communication. A passenger conveyor system comprising the passenger conveyor according to claim 4 and a portable terminal possessed by a person who intends to use the passenger conveyor,
The mobile terminal
a receiver that receives a signal from the transmitter;
an analysis unit that analyzes a signal;
A passenger conveyor system, comprising: a notification unit that notifies a holder of the signal in different output modes according to the content of the signal. 6. The passenger conveyor system according to claim 5, wherein the notification unit notifies in a non-visual output form such as vibration or sound. When the receiving unit receives a plurality of signals from a plurality of transmitting units due to the presence of a plurality of boarding gates within a predetermined area,
The analysis unit analyzes the intensity of each signal,
7. The passenger conveyor system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the notification unit performs notification related to at least the strongest signal.

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