JPH0144635B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a passenger conveyor such as an escalator or a moving walkway that can suitably transport wheelchair users and the like.

The depth dimension of the steps of a passenger conveyor, such as an escalator connecting the upper and lower floors, is approximately 400 mm.
Although this size is sufficient for use by general passengers, it cannot be used by disabled persons using wheelchairs because the space occupied by the wheelchair is large.

Therefore, in the past, one or more steps with a depth sufficient for a wheelchair to get on were installed at any location in a row of steps, and by using these steps, it was possible to transport a wheelchair user. I was doing it.

However, for escalators with double steps, if the inclination angle is 30° or more, the difference in level between the double step and the normal step adjacent to the riser side of the double step becomes a normal step (approximately 200 mm).
They become larger and no longer comply with regulations. Therefore, it would be desirable to make regular steps accessible to wheelchair users.

A method of using such normal steps for getting on a wheelchair is to make the tread of the normal step movable up and down, and to use the tread that can be raised and lowered, the wheelchair can be boarded by using other normal steps adjacent to the tread. This method was developed by the applicant of the present invention and is a technology for which an application has already been filed.

This invention provides a passenger conveyor equipped with a step having a step board that can be raised and lowered as described above, of which two steps are used by a wheelchair user or the like.
To provide a passenger conveyor capable of raising and lowering a tread plate of a rear step in accordance with the movement of a front step, and controlling the level of the tread plate to automatically match the level of the previous step almost throughout the entire journey. be.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows an overall view of an escalator to which the control method of the present invention is applied. 1 is the escalator body, 2 is a handrail, 3 is a normal step with a depth of about 400 mm, and 4 is a step with a depth of about 400 mm. This is a step whose tread portion can be raised and lowered, and this step 4 serves as an auxiliary step when a wheelchair user or the like uses an escalator. pcs are included.

2 and 3 show specific configuration examples of the normal step 3 (hereinafter referred to as the first step) and the step 4 serving as an auxiliary step (hereinafter referred to as the second step). The front step 3 is composed of a step frame 3a, a step board 3b fixed to the upper surface thereof, a riser 3c provided on the front side of the step frame 3a, and step rollers 3d, 3e, and a guide rail provided on the main frame 1a constituting the escalator body 1. 5. The vehicle is guided and guided on the 5th floor. The latter step 4 includes a step frame 4a, a movable step plate 4b that can be raised and lowered, and a riser 4 provided on the front side of the step frame 4a.
c and step rollers 4d and 4e that roll on the guide rail 5, and the movable step board 4b is supported by the step frame 4a by an elevating link mechanism 6. Nuts 7a and 7b are attached to the bent portions, respectively, and each nut 7a and 7b is screwed into a threaded portion of a threaded rod 8 in opposite directions. It is connected to a DC motor (servo motor) 10. The electric motor 10 is installed inside the step frame 4a, and includes a bar-shaped contact wire 11a disposed on the main frame 1a along the longitudinal direction of the escalator body 1 (step movement direction). A power supply device 11 consisting of a current collector 11b in sliding contact with this
And power can be supplied through a control circuit that will be described later.

12 is a level difference detection device for detecting the level difference between the step board 3b and the movable step board 4b of the previous step 3, and as shown in FIG. 14, and secondary windings 15 and 16 wound around both ends of the iron core 13, respectively.
a winding portion 12a having a winding portion 12a;
The winding part 12a is disposed on the lower surface of the rear end of the movable step board 4b, and the magnetic piece 12b is connected to the riser of the front step 3. 3c. In addition, one of the level difference detection devices 12
The next winding 14 includes a contact wire 1 disposed on the main frame 1a.
Power is supplied through a power supply device 17 consisting of a current collector 7a and a current collector 17b in sliding contact with the current collector 17b.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a motor control circuit for automatically leveling the movable footplate 4b of the rear step 4 with the footplate 3b of the front step 3.
The primary winding 14 constituting the level difference detection device 12 is connected to an AC power source 18 via a trolley-type power supply device 17, and full-wave rectifiers 19 and 20 are connected to both ends of each secondary winding 15 and 16, respectively. In addition, resistors 21 and 22 are connected in parallel to the DC output ends of the full-wave rectifiers 19 and 20, respectively, one ends of the resistors 21 and 22 are connected to each other, and the other ends of each resistor 21 and 22 are connected in parallel. The ends are connected to the non-inverting input terminal (+) and the inverting input terminal (-) of the operational amplifier 23, respectively. Further, the operational amplifier 23
The bases of switching transistors 24 and 25 for controlling the forward and reverse rotation of the DC motor 10 are connected to the output terminal of the motor. 26 is a power transformer for the DC motor 10, the primary winding 26a of which is connected to the AC power supply 18 via the trolley type power supply device 11;
The input terminals of full-wave rectifiers 27, 28 are connected in parallel to both ends of the two secondary windings 26b, 26c, and the switching transistors 24, 25 are connected to the bridge. Bridge circuit transistors 24, 25
mutual emitter connection point A and the full-wave rectifier 27, 2
A DC motor 10 is connected between the connection points B of the motors 8 and 8.

FIG. 6 shows the output terminals a and b of the step detection device 12.
This shows the output characteristics of the voltage that appears between the movable step plate 4b and the step plate 3b of the previous step 3.The level difference between the movable step plate 4b and the step plate 3b of the previous step 3 is 0 (same level), that is, the magnetic piece 12b is located at the center of the winding part 12a. At this time, the output voltages of the secondary windings 15 and 16 are balanced, and the differential voltage between a and b becomes zero. In addition, when the magnetic piece 12b is displaced upward with respect to the winding portion 12a, that is, when the front step 3 always moves upward compared to the movable tread plate 4b of the rear step 4, the step detection device 12
A positive voltage shown in the output characteristics shown in FIG. 6 appears between the output terminals a and b of the , and accordingly, the output of the operational amplifier 23 becomes "H" level, which causes the transistor 24 to conduct and convert the full-wave rectifier. 27 flows to the DC motor 10 as shown by the arrow in _FIG .
is raised to follow the ascending front step 3, and the level of the movable footplate 4b is made to match the level of the footplate 3b of the front step 3.

Furthermore, the magnetic piece 12b is connected to the winding portion 12a.
In other words, if it is displaced downward from the previous step 3,
When the voltage constantly changes downward from the movable step plate 4b of the rear step 4, the voltage between the output terminals a and b of the step detection device 12 becomes a state on the negative side of the characteristic shown in FIG. 6, and accordingly, the operational amplifier 23 becomes "L" level, transistor 25 becomes conductive, and as a result, DC current I ₂ from full-wave rectifier 28
flows to the electric motor 10 as shown by the arrow in FIG.
The movable footplate 4b is lowered to follow the downward movement of the front step 3, and the level of the movable footboard 4b is made to match the level of the footboard 3b of the front step 3.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a circuit that performs slow start and slow stop control of an escalator according to the present invention.
29 is a three-phase AC power source; 30 is a variable voltage variable frequency converter that varies the voltage and frequency of the three-phase AC power source 29; the output of this converter 30 is supplied to a drive motor 31 of the escalator. Also,
A speed command signal is applied to the conversion device 30 from a speed command device 32, and this speed command signal operates the conversion device 30 to control the drive motor 31 to a speed pattern suitable for wheelchair users etc. It is something to do. The operation command of the speed command device 32 is given by turning on and off the normally open contact 38a of the relay 38 shown in FIG. 9, which will be described later, and thereby sends a speed command for slow starting and slow stopping. be. In addition, 33 is the drive motor 3
A speed detector directly connected to 1, this speed detector 3
The speed pulses sent out from 3 are counted by a counter 34. 35 is the counter 34
36 is a brake that is energized when the content reaches a predetermined value.

Further, FIG. 9 shows an example of an escalator operation control circuit. In the same figure, when a wheelchair user or the like uses the escalator, S1 is a command switch that controls to stop the step 4, which has a step 4a that can be raised and lowered, toward the entrance.
1 is installed near the entrance of the escalator, as shown in FIG. 37 is a relay S2 that is energized and self-maintained when switch S1 is pressed.
38 is a limit switch that is turned off when the step 4, which has a step 4a that can be raised and lowered, reaches the entrance; 38 is a relay that is deenergized when the limit switch S2 is turned off; and S3 is a relay that is turned off when a wheelchair user or the like uses the escalator. This button switch is used to start the escalator into normal operation after the person has completely descended from the escalator, and the switch S3 is provided near the exit of the escalator as shown in FIG. Further, 39 is a relay for starting the escalator to normal operation, which is energized when switch S3 is turned on, S4 is an escalator operation stop switch, and 40 is a contactor for opening and closing the power supply of the drive motor 31 shown in FIG. Each contact 40a, 40b, 40c is connected to a three-phase AC power supply 2.
It is directly connected to each phase connecting between the converter 9 and the converter 30. S5 is a start switch for restarting the escalator after a wheelchair user or the like gets on the escalator, and the start switch S5 is provided on the handrail 2 near the escalator entrance. Reference numeral 41 denotes a starting relay dedicated to wheelchair users, etc., which is energized by the ON operation of starting switch S5, and S6 is a limit switch provided on the exit side of the escalator. The escalator is turned off at this point, and has the function of determining the timing for the start of deceleration, which brings the escalator to a slow stop from this point. Further, 42 is a relay that is energized as the relay 41 or contactor 40 is energized, and its normally open contact 42a is connected in series to the power supply circuit connecting the power supply devices 11, 17 and the AC power supply 18 shown in FIG. It is connected to the.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained.

Assume that the escalator is currently operating normally. In such a situation, when a wheelchair user or the like uses the escalator, the user first presses the dedicated switch S1 at the entrance. Then, the relay 37 shown in FIG. 9 is energized, and at the same time, the relay 37 is self-held by its self-holding contact 37a and the normally closed contact 39a of the normal operation starting relay 39. At this time, the normally closed contact 37b opens, but the self-holding contact 38c of the relay 38 and the normally closed contact 41 of the relay 41 open.
d and limit switch S2, and the escalator continues to operate normally.

When the step 4 having the movable footplate 4a reaches the operating point of the stop command switch, the limit switch S
2 is opened, thereby deenergizing relay 38. When relay 38 is deenergized, its normally open contacts 3
8a, 38b, 38c open and the normally open contact 38a opens, the speed command device 32 gives a speed command that decreases with time to the converter 30 as shown in the speed pattern 43 in FIG. is controlled to decelerate along the speed pattern 43, and at the same time the speed of the escalator is gradually reduced.

On the other hand, when the normally open contact 38b opens, the counter 34 shown in FIG. 7 starts operating and counts pulses generated from the speed detector 33 in proportion to the rotational speed of the drive motor 31. This count value corresponds to the moving distance from the stop command point in step 4.
Then, when the count value of the counter 34 reaches a value corresponding to the distance from the time of the stop command to when the step 4 having the movable footboard 4a has just arrived at the boarding gate position,
A signal is sent from the counter 34 and energizes the relay 35. When the relay 35 is energized, its normally closed contact 35a opens, so until now (+) - switch S4 - contact 35a - contact 40d - contactor 40
The power supply circuit of the contactor 40, which was self-maintained by the - (-) closed circuit, is opened, and the contactor 40 drops out, and its contacts 40a,
40b and 40c are opened to cut off the power supply to the drive motor 31, and at the same time, the brake 36 is activated to brake the drive motor 31 and stop the escalator. At this time, the treads 3b and 4 of the front and rear steps 3 and 4 located at the entrance of the escalator are
b is horizontal at the same level.

Next, a wheelchair user or the like gets on steps 3 and 4 along with the wheelchair 45. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the main wheels 45a of the wheelchair 45 are located on the step 3, and the auxiliary wheels (casters) 45b are located on the step 4. Further, the person may step onto the escalator with the help of the caregiver 46.

Thereafter, when the dedicated starting switch S5 is pressed, the relay 41 is energized and is self-held by its self-holding contact 41a and switch S6. relay 4
1 closes the normally open contact 41b, the relay 38 is energized, and the normally closed contact 41b is closed.
The contactor 40 is energized by the closing of the contact point c, and when the power is turned on by the closing of the contacts 40a to 40c, the escalator starts moving at a low speed. Further, when the relay 38 is energized, the normally open contacts 38a and 38b shown in FIG. 7 close, and the speed command shown by the speed pattern 44 in FIG. 8 is given from the speed command device 32 to the conversion device 30. As a result, the drive motor 31
The speed of the escalator is gradually increased, and the speed of the escalator is gradually increased along the speed pattern 44 in FIG. That is, the escalator is started slowly. Further, when the normally open contact 38b is closed, the counter 34 is reset, and when the relay 35 is deenergized, the normally closed contact 35a is closed, and the contactor 40 is self-supported.

When the normally open contact 41e of the relay 41 is closed, the relay 42 is energized, and the relay 42
is self-held by the normally open contact 40e and the self-holding contact 42b, and at the same time, the normally open contact 42a is closed, so that the AC power supply 18 shown in FIG. 5 is connected to the respective trolley type power supply devices 11 and 17. , supplies power to the level difference detection device 12 and the power transformer 26.

When the escalator is activated, each step travels in an upward direction along the guide rail 5, and as a result, if the first step 3 on which a wheelchair user or the like has boarded rises even slightly above the second step 4, the escalator is attached to the riser 3c. The magnetic piece 12b also rises, that is, the magnetic piece 12b shifts in the direction of the arrow X1 in FIG. The voltage applied will be larger. As a result, the voltage V appearing between the output terminals a and b of the level difference detection device 12 becomes on the (+) side of the output characteristic shown in FIG. Therefore, the output of the operational amplifier 23 which receives this as an input becomes "H" level, the transistor 24 becomes conductive, and the current _I1 shown in FIG. 5 flows through the DC motor 10.
Rotate 0 forward. When the DC motor 10 rotates in the forward direction, the rotation is transmitted to the threaded rod 8 via the flexible shaft 9, and as the threaded rod 8 rotates, the nuts 7a and 7b are moved in the direction away from each other, thereby forming the link mechanism. 6 in the direction of extension, and the movable footboard 4b attached thereto is raised.
When the step 3 enters the guide area with a constant slope and the step 3 disappears, the secondary windings 15 and 16 of the step detection device 12 disappear.
The induced voltages become equal, and the differential voltage between output terminals a and b becomes 0, turning off the transistor 24.
Then, the DC motor 10 stops.

In this way, after the escalator is started, the movable tread 4b of the rear step 4 rises following the rising movement of the front step, and both treads 3b and 4b are controlled to maintain the same level.

When the steps 3 and 4 on which a wheelchair user or the like has boarded pass the middle part of the predetermined slope of the escalator and approach the exit side, the front step 3 begins to descend, and the magnetic piece 12b also descends accordingly. That is, since the magnetic piece 12b shifts in the direction opposite to the arrow X1 in FIG. The voltage V appearing between output terminals a and b of the detection device 12
is on the (-) side of the output characteristics shown in FIG. As a result, the output of the operational amplifier 23 becomes "L" level, the transistor 25 becomes conductive, and the DC motor 10
A current I ₂ shown in FIG. 5 flows through, causing the DC motor 10 to rotate in the reverse direction. Along with this, the threaded rod 8 connected via the flexible shaft 9 is rotated in the opposite direction to that described above, and the nuts 7a and 7b are moved in the direction of approaching each other, thereby operating the link mechanism 6 in the direction of reducing the movable footplate. Lower 4b. When the level difference between the movable footboard 4b and the front step 3 disappears, the voltages induced in the secondary windings 15 and 16 of the level difference detection device 12 become equal, and the voltage difference between the output terminals a and b becomes 0. The transistor 25 is turned off,
The DC motor 10 stops.

In this way, near the exit of the escalator, the DC motor 10 changes the height of the movable tread 4b of the rear step 4 to that of the front step 3 based on the signal from the step detection device 12.
control so that both the front and rear treads are always at the same level.

When step 3 or 4 carrying a wheelchair user or the like reaches a predetermined distance before the exit of the escalator, limit switch S6 is activated, and relay 41 is activated.
The self-holding circuit is opened, and the relay 41 is deenergized.At the same time, the relay 38 is deenergized by the opening of the normally open contact 41b, and the counter 34 is started by opening the normally open contact 38b, and the speed detector 33 is deenergized.
starts counting pulses sent out in accordance with the motor rotational speed, and by opening the normally open contact 38a, a speed command corresponding to the speed pattern 43 in FIG. 8 is given from the speed command device 32 to the conversion device 30, As a result, the drive motor 31 is controlled to decelerate, and the escalator is gradually decelerated along the speed pattern 43. When the steps 3 and 4 on which the wheelchair user or the like is riding reach the exit, the contents of the counter 34 also reach a predetermined value and a signal is sent out, energizing the relay 35. When the relay 35 is energized, the contactor 40 is deenergized by opening its normally closed contact 35a, cutting off the power supply to the drive motor 31. At the same time, the brake 36 operates to apply braking to the drive motor 31 and stop the escalator. Bring to a slow stop. Also, when the contactor 40 is deenergized, its normally open contact 40e
is opened, the relay 42 is deenergized and its normally open contact 42a is opened, thereby cutting off the power to the level difference detection device 12 and the electric motor 10 for lifting and lowering the footboard.

To return the escalator to normal operation after the escalator has come to a slow stop and a wheelchair user, etc. has been transported to the exit, press button switch S3, and then relay 3
9 is energized, and the contactor 40 is energized by the closing of its normally open contact 39b, and its contacts 40a to 4 are energized.
When 0c is closed, the three-phase AC power supply 29 powers the drive motor 31.
At the same time, the relay 37 is deenergized by the opening of the normally closed contact 39a, and the normally closed contact 37
Relay 38 is energized by the closure of b. When the relay 38 is energized, its normally open contact 38a is closed, so that the speed command device 32 gives a speed command corresponding to the speed pattern 44 in FIG. The speed will be gradually increased, the escalator will be slowly started, and normal operation will be resumed. Further, when the normally open contact 38b is closed, the counter 34 is reset and the relay 35 is deenergized.

In the above embodiment, the deceleration of the escalator is started when the step on which a wheelchair user or the like rides activates the limit switch S6 on the exit side. A method may be adopted in which the escalator is activated to measure the distance to the deceleration start point, and when the counted value reaches a value corresponding to the deceleration start point, the escalator starts decelerating. Further, the level difference detection device 12 according to the present invention is not limited to one using a differential transformer, but can also use optical means, and can be similarly applied to a passenger conveyor such as a moving sidewalk.

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a step detecting device that detects a step between a step having a movable tread and an adjacent normal step, so that the step detecting device follows the movement of the normal step. The movable tread of the adjacent step can be raised and lowered, and the level of the tread can be controlled to automatically match the level of the normal step. Transport becomes possible. Furthermore, if the passenger conveyor is controlled to start and stop slowly as shown in the above embodiment, wheelchair users and the like can ride the passenger conveyor safely.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an overall view of an escalator to which the control system according to the present invention is applied, and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a specific example of the configuration of normal steps and steps with movable treads when the escalator is used by wheelchair users. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a side view of the level difference detection device according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a control showing an example of automatic leveling of steps according to the present invention. Circuit diagram, 6th
Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the escalator speed control device of the invention, and Fig. 8 is a speed diagram for explaining the slow start and slow stop of the escalator in the invention. The pattern diagram and FIG. 9 are operation control circuit diagrams of the escalator (passenger conveyor) in this invention. 1...Escalator body (passenger conveyor body),
3...Normal step, 4...Step with movable tread,
4b...Movable footboard, 5...Guide rail, 6...Link mechanism, 7a, 7b...Nut, 8...Threaded rod, 10...
DC motor, 11, 17... Power supply device, 12... Level difference detection device, 19, 20... Full wave rectifier, 21, 22
...Resistor, 23...Operation amplifier, 24, 25...Transistor, 29...Three-phase AC power supply, 30...Variable voltage variable frequency converter, 31...Drive motor, 32...
Speed command device, 33... Speed detector, 34... Counter, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42... Relay, 4
0...Contactor. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A passenger conveyor body having a step with a movable treadle that can be raised and lowered, a drive control means for running this passenger conveyor body, and detecting a level difference between the step with a movable treadle and an adjacent normal step. A passenger conveyor comprising: a step detecting device; a driving means for raising and lowering the movable step board; and a means for controlling the step driving means by following the movement of the normal step in accordance with an output signal of the step detecting device. 2 The drive control means of the passenger conveyor body starts slowly,
The passenger conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that the passenger conveyor has a slow stop function.