WO2020073256A1

WO2020073256A1 - Escape system in transportation system

Info

Publication number: WO2020073256A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/109719
Authority: WO
Inventors: Biyun ZHOU; Markus Seidel
Original assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2018-10-10
Filing date: 2018-10-10
Publication date: 2020-04-16
Also published as: CN112823040A

Abstract

An escape system(200,201) comprises one or more escape units(212-1 to 212-7) arranged in a transportation system(110), wherein each of the one or more escape units(212-1 to 212-7) is operable to provide a path to allow one or more persons(202-1,202-2,202-3) to escape from the transportation system(110). A controller is configured to determine whether a hazard event(204) occurs in the transportation system(110), and in response to determining that the hazard event(204) occurs, enable at least one of the one or more escape units(212-1 to 212-7) to provide the path(214). According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, by automatically providing an escape path(214) in detecting a hazard event(204), it is possible to enable quick, easy and safe evacuation from the transportation system(110) in an emergency.

Description

ESCAPE SYSTEM IN TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to an escape system, and in particular, to an escape system in a transportation system.

BACKGROUND

Different transportation systems designed for vehicles of different properties have been proposed. For example, there has been developed a dedicated transportation system for low-speed vehicles. Some transportation systems may be partially or fully constructed as semi-enclosed or fully-enclosed spaces, for example, by sidewalls and/or roofs. In some cases, some travel segments or the whole transportation systems may be built above the ground. People and their vehicles can enter and exit from an enclosed or overhead transportation system via entrances/exists deployed along the way. Usually, the entrances/exists may not be arranged densely in the transportation system considering the utilization rate and economic cost. As such, the entrances/exists cannot allow people travelling in the transportation system to escape quickly and safely in case of a hazard event such as a fire event or a gas leak. In addition, some of the entrances/exits may probably be destroyed by the hazard event and then cannot serve as escape tunnels from the transportation system.

It is well known that inflatable chutes are deployed on aircraft to enable passengers to get off the aircraft in an emergency such as crash landing. The inflatable chutes are generally designed to be fixed on the doors of the aircraft cabin with a critically compact size. The inflatable chutes are activated manually by flight attendants or passengers to inflate to enable people descending through the inflated chutes. The fixed arrangement and manual activation of the inflatable chutes may not be suitable for the environment of the transportation system which extends along a far longer distance than the aircraft. On the other hand, to ensure safety, the inflated chutes may be designed with a gentle slope and thus require quite a large space on the ground for suitable deployment. Therefore, the arrangement of the inflatable chutes on the aircraft is not suitable to be directly adopted in the transportation system. It is desirable to obtain a solution to enable quick, easy and safe evacuation from the transportation system.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide an escape system and the associated method in a transportation system.

In a first aspect, there is provided an escape system in a transportation system. The escape system comprises one or more escape units arranged in the transportation system. Each of the one or more escape units is operable to provide a path to allow one or more persons to escape from the transportation system. The escape system also comprises a controller configured to determine whether a hazard event occurs in the transportation system, and in response to determining that the hazard event occurs, enable at least one of the one or more escape units to provide the path.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, by automatically providing an escape path in detecting a hazard event, it is possible to enable quick, easy and safe evacuation from the transportation system in an emergency.

In some embodiments, the at least one escape unit is arranged at a first location and is movable in the transportation system. It is more convenient to store and maintain the escape units at a centralized location. The centralized arrangement of the escape units can enable dynamically dispatch of the escape units to necessary locations.

In some embodiments, the escape system further comprises a conveying mechanism operable to move the at least one escape unit. The controller is further configured to determine a second location for safe escaping from the transportation system based on a location where the hazard event occurs and control the conveying mechanism to move the at least one escape unit from the first location to the second location. By dispatching the escape unit depending on where the hazard event occurs, one or more persons can have easy and quick access to the escape units to get away from the transportation system.

In some embodiments, the at least one escape unit is compacted for storage in a limited space at the first location. The controller is configured to enable the at least one escape unit to expand to provide the path at the second location. The compacted status of the escape units can help reduce the space and/or power required for conveying the escape units.

In some embodiments, the escape system further comprises one or more sensors arranged in the transportation system and configured to capture information related to the transportation system. The controller is configured to obtain the information from the one or more sensors and determine whether the hazard event occurs based on the information. The sensors may monitor and provide real-time information on the transportation system, which can facilitate the controller to detect the hazard event in a precise and fast manner.

In some embodiments, the one or more sensors comprise one or more of a color camera, an infrared sensor, a pressure sensor, and a temperature sensor. Different types of sensors may provide different aspects of information related to the transportation system, which may further facilitate accurate and timely detection of the hazard event.

In some embodiments, the escape system further comprises at least one covering unit for covering an entrance to the path provided by the at least one escape unit. The at least one covering unit is provided to be movable away from the entrance. The controller is configured to enable the at least one covering unit to be moved away from the entrance so as to enable the provision of the path. The covering unit may help avoid wrong triggering of the escape unit and thus prevent one or more persons from accidently using the escape unit.

In some embodiments, the escape system further comprises at least one locker connected to the at least one covering unit. The at least one locker has a locked status to disable the movement of the at least one covering unit and an unlocked status to enable the movement of the at least one covering unit. The controller is configured to control the at least one locker to be in the unlocked status. In these embodiments, the locker may also help avoid accident triggering of the escape unit.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more escape units provides a hollow tunnel as the path so as to protect the one or more persons from an external environment. In this case, the escaping safety can be improved. The hollow tunnel allows people to slide at a steeper slope and thus can save the ground space for landing purpose.

In some embodiments, the path provided by at least one of the one or more escape units has a curved or looped slope extending to be in contact with a safe space outside the transportation system. In this way, the escape units may be designed with different shapes to fit well to different ground conditions.

In some embodiments, the one or more escape units comprise at least one escape unit fixed to at least one location in the transportation system. Thus, the escape units may be fixed to suitable locations in advance for safe landing.

In some embodiments, the one or more escape units comprise more than two escape units fixed to different locations having a predetermined distance therebetween. By distributing the escape units reasonably along the transportation system, it is possible to handle with hazard event located in different potential areas.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more escape units is inflatable. The inflatable escape unit is easy for storage, displacement, and deployment.

In a second aspect, there is provided a method for escaping control in a transportation system. The method comprises determining whether a hazard event occurs in the transportation system. The method also comprises in response to determining that the hazard event occurs, enabling at least one of one or more escape units arranged in the transportation system to provide a path to allow one or more persons to escape from the transportation system.

In a third aspect, there is provided a transportation system. The transportation system comprises the escape system of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium storing machine-executable instructions, the machine-executable instructions, when executed, causing a machine to execute the method of the second aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an urban area in which a transportation system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

Fig. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an escape system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating an escape system in accordance with some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figs. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams illustrating an escape unit in accordance with some other embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figs. 4A and 4B are schematic diagrams illustrating designs of an escape unit in accordance with some other embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method for a parking system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, an escape system in a transportation system is provided to allow quick, easy and safe evacuation in an emergency. To better understand the escape system proposed in the present disclosure, the transportation system is first introduced with reference to Fig. 1 below.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an urban area 100 in which a transportation system 110 in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In the context of the present disclosure, the transportation system 110 may be also referred to as “Skyway” .

The transportation system 110 includes one or more pathways for various vehicles to travel thereon. In some embodiments, the transportation system 110 may further include one or more accessories such an enclosure for protecting the pathway (s) from the outside, one or more sensors, one or more controllers, or the like. It is to be understood that the phrase “transportation system” as used herein does not include the vehicles traveling on the one or more pathways.

Only by way of example, the vehicles traveling in the transportation system 110 may include, but are not limited to, low-speed vehicles, for example. The low-speed vehicles may have a maximum design speed of, for example, 30-50 km/h, depending on the safety and/or capacity requirements of the transportation system 110. The low-speed vehicles may be designed exclusively for the transportation system 110. Alternatively, or in addition, general low-speed vehicles may be allowed.

Examples of such low-speed vehicles may include, but are not limited to, bicycles 120-1, electric bicycles 120-2, motorcycles 120-3, and/or the like. Such vehicles may be collectively or individually referred to as low-speed vehicles 120. The transportation system 110 may be separated from roads or pathways for high-speed vehicles, such as cars, buses, trucks, and the like, with the maximum design speed above 50 km/h, for example.

The low-speed vehicles 120 generally occupy less space than the high-speed vehicles. Therefore, the transportation system 110 can be built in a flexible manner in the urban area 100, for example, to provide more convenience for daily commute and/or to relieve traffic congestion in a city.

Some low-speed vehicles 120 are not equipped with shelters or enclosures to shield from extreme environmental conditions such as rainfall, haze, noise, and so on. To alleviate this problem, at least a part of the transportation system 110 may be constructed as a semi-enclosed or fully-enclosed space, for example, by sidewalls and/or a roof across sides of the transportation system 110. The sidewalls and/or the roof of the transportation system 110 may be designed in any suitable shape to provide aesthetic effect or be adapted to different structures above or below the ground.

It is to be understood that although some embodiments of the transportation system 110 has been and will be described with reference to low-speed vehicles 120, this is merely for illustration without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the present disclosure. In addition to or instead of the low-speed vehicles, in some embodiments, the transportation system 110 can support vehicles of any suitable design speed.

Moreover, the transportation system 110 can support a variety of types of vehicles, including, but not limited to, two-wheeled vehicles, three-wheeled vehicles, single-lane vehicles, vehicles without bodywork, and vehicles without a seat, for example, footboards with steering handle (also known as scooters) or without steering handle. For example, the transportation system 110 may only allow two-wheeled vehicles, for example, bicycles 120-1 and electric bicycles 120-2. In this case, the transportation system 110 may not have a speed limit for the two-wheeled vehicles.

The transportation system 110 may be constructed overhead, on the ground, and/or under the ground. In some embodiments, the transportation system 110 may extend through one or more obstacles such as building (s) . A number of entrances 112-1, 112-3 and exits 112-2, 112-4 may be provided along the transportation system 110 to allow drivers and their vehicles to enter and exit from the transportation system 110 in the middle of their driving. In some embodiments, the transportation system 110 may have one or more lanes.

In some embodiments, the transportation system 110 may be an elevated transportation system that extends through residential areas, commercial districts, and/or office districts. By way of example, the transportation system 110 may tunnel through buildings such as a shopping mall, so that the drivers can order and pick up food, drink, and any other goods provided in the shopping mall. The transportation system 110 may also include a bridge over a river or road to be compatible with an existing road network of the city.

It is to be understood that the construction and layout of the urban area 100 and the transportation system 110 are described above for the purpose of illustration only, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented with a different construction and/or arrangement. Alternatively, or in addition, the transportation system 110 can be implemented in a rural area.

In addition to one or more lanes for driving of the low-speed vehicles 120, some auxiliary facilities and infrastructures may also be built in the transportation system 110 to provide more services for the drivers and passengers. To guarantee safety of the drivers and passengers, it is desirable that the transportation system 110 has the capability to provide escape tunnels for people escaping away from the transportation system 110 in an emergency. The escape paths are particularly useful in travel segments of the transportation system 110 that are built overhead and/or constructed as a semi-enclosed or fully-enclosed overhead space. In these cases, it may be difficult for people travelling in the transportation system 110 to evacuate to a safe and broad place when a hazard event occurs.

In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, there is proposed an escape system having one or more escape units. Upon detection of a hazard event occurred in the transportation system, one or more of the escape units are controlled to provide one or more respective paths to allow people to escape from the transportation system. With the arrangement of the escape system and automatic provision of the paths for escaping, it is possible to enable safe, easy, and quick escaping in an emergency. Example embodiments of the escape system will be described in detail below with reference to the figures.

Fig. 2A shows a schematic diagram illustrating an escape system 200 in a transportation system, such as in the transportation system 110 of Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the escape system 200 includes one or more escape units 212-1 through 212-7. Each of the escape units 212 is operable to provide a path 214 to allow one or more persons 202-1, 202-2, 202-3 to escape from the transportation system 110. For sake of discussion, the escape units 212-1 through 212-7 may be collectively or individually referred to as escape units 212, and the persons 202-1 through 202-3 may be collectively or individually referred to as persons 202.

The path 214 provided by an escape unit 212 may be designed as a slide, ramp, stairway, and/or other structure to allow one or more persons 202 to get away from the transportation system 110. In Fig. 2A, a path 214 of the escape unit 212-6 is shown as a ramp for the person 202-3 to slide down. When being enabled, the paths 214 of the respective escape units 212 may be extended to be in contact with a safe space outside the transportation system 110, such as the ground, a landing platform, or a life raft. The design of an escape unit 212 will be discussed in detail below.

The escape units 212 are enabled to provide the respective paths 214 in case of a hazard event occurred in the transportation system 110. The escape system 200 includes a controller (not shown) configured to control whether or not to enable an escape unit 212 to provide its path 214 for escaping. Specifically, the controller is configured to determine whether a hazard event 204 occurs in the transportation system 110 and in response to determining that the hazard event 204 occurs, enable at least one of the escape units 212 arranged in the transportation system 110 to provide their paths for escaping purpose.

The controller may be located in a control center for the escape system 200, which may be partially or totally within or external to the transportation system 100, for example, in a cloud. The controller may alternatively be embedded locally in any suitable locations in the transportation system 110. The controller may be any fixed or mobile devices having computing capability, examples of which may include, but are not limited to, servers, workstations, personal computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistances, Internet appliances, handheld devices, cellular telephones, wireless devices, other devices, and the like, capable of performing the functionalities of the embodiments of the present disclosure. The controller can communicate with other devices via one or more wired and/or wireless connections, including, for example, Internet access, telecommunications in any suitable form (for instance, voice, modem, and the like) , wireless communications media, one or more wireless communications networks, cellular communications networks, 3G/4G/5G communications networks, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTNs) , Packet Data Networks (PDNs) , the Internet, intranets, a combination thereof, and the like.

The hazard event 204 that triggers the controller to enable the escape unit 212 may be any emergency conditions endangering public security, including natural and/or man-made dangerous events such as fires, gas leaks, explosions, earthquakes, floods, terrorist attacks, and/or the like. For purpose of illustration, the hazard event 204 is shown as a fire hazard in the figure. In some embodiments, the hazard event 204 that triggers the evacuation may be defined according to regulations and/or rules of local authorities.

To monitor and/or detect the hazard event 204, one or more sensors 230-1 through 230-6 may be arranged in the transportation system 110 to capture information related to the transportation system 110. For sake of discussion, the sensors 230-1 through 230-6 may be collectively or individually referred to as sensors 230. The sensors 230 may be of the same type or different types to provide various aspects of information related to the transportation system 110. In some embodiments, the sensors 230 may include one or more color cameras to capture image information, one or more infrared sensors to sense image, light, gas, and/or other conditions, one or more pressure sensors to sense the pressure in the transportation system 110, one or more temperature sensors to sense the temperature in the transportation system 110, and any other suitable types of sensors.

The sensors 230 may be distributed in the transportation system 110 to monitor different travel segments. By way of example, the sensors 230 are shown to be installed on a skeleton structure 206 across the lanes of the transportation system 110. In some embodiments, different skeleton structures may be deployed along the transportation system 110 with additional sensors arranged thereon to monitor the conditions of the transportation system 110. It would be appreciated that one or more of the sensors 230 may be alternatively or additionally arranged at other positions in the transportation system 110, such as at the fences, sidewalls, and/or under the lanes.

The sensors 230 may be communicatively connected to the controller to provide the captured information either periodically or in response to any suitable trigger. The controller may determine whether a hazard event occurs or not based on the information obtained from the sensors 230. Various data processing and analysis technologies may be applied to process the information so as to detect occurrence of the hazard event. For example, the controller may analyze the images captured by the camera to determine whether any collisions of vehicles and/or other objects occur or whether a smoke surges in the transportation system 110. The controller may determine whether there is an extreme increase of temperature/pressure in the transportation system 110 based on the information from the temperature/pressure sensors. In some embodiments, the controller may merge information captured from different types of sensors to determine the hazard event.

As an alternative to directly perform the event analysis by the controller, an explicit indication may be provided to the controller to indicate the occurrence of the hazard event 204. Such explicit indication may be, for example, received from an alarm system that is triggered manually by people and/or from any other separate systems that are configured to monitor the condition with the transportation system 110 in real time.

Upon detecting the hazard event 204, the controller may control one or more escape units 212 to provide the paths for one or more persons to get away from the dangerous areas. The escape units 212 are arranged in the transportation system 110 in different manners. In the example of Fig. 2A, a centralized escape system 200 is illustrated where more than one escape unit 212 may be deployed a specific location, for example, at a central station 210. In such cases, one or more escape units 212 may be controlled to be dispatched from the station 210 to one or more other suitable locations in the transportation system 110 so that one or more persons 202 can easily and quickly get access to the paths provided by the escape units 212.

The station 210 may be arranged at any suitable location with any suitable shape in the transportation system 110. An overhead platform across the lanes of the transportation system 110 is depicted in Fig. 2A only as an example of the station 210. It would be appreciated that although one station 210 is illustrated in the centralized escape system 200 in Fig. 2A, in other embodiments, one or more other stations may be deployed in the transportation system 200 to store one or more escape units 212.

To facilitate the movement of one or more escape units 212, the escape system 200 may further include one or more conveying mechanisms 240-1, 240-2 (collectively or individually referred to as conveying mechanisms 240) . The conveying mechanisms 240 may be arranged along the sideways of the transportation system 110 to move the escape units 212 to any expected locations. A conveying mechanism 240 may include any conveying components and/or associated parts such as one or more conveying belts, tracks, lifters, trailers, supporting platforms, and/or any other suitable structures for movement of one or more escape units 212.

The dispatching of the escape units 212 with the conveying mechanisms 240 may be controlled by the controller. The controller may determine where and/or how many of the escape units 212 are allocated from the station 210. The conveying mechanisms 240 may be controlled by the controller to carrying a specific number of escape units 212 from the station 210 to the determined locations in the transportation system 110.

More particularly, upon detecting the hazard event 204, the controller may determine, based on a location where the hazard event 204 occurs, one or more locations for dispatching one or more escape units 212 so as to provide safe escaping of the one or more persons 202 from the transportation system 110. By locating the hazard event 204, one or more of the escape units 212 may be controlled to be conveyed to areas in proximity to the hazard event 204 to allow convenient and efficient escaping of people therearound.

In some embodiments, locations where the escape units 212 can be dispatched may be predetermined in the transportation system 110. These locations may be determined as being more suitable for safe escaping, for example, may be deployed in broader areas or in areas that are more likely crowded with people. The transportation system 110 may be built with auxiliary facilities and/or infrastructures that can accept deployment of the escape units 212 at the predetermined locations. For example, a hole or exit door may be previously arranged at a fence/sidewall of the transportation system 110 to allow an escape unit 212 to expand the path 214. The controller may select one or more locations from the predetermined locations for dispatching the escape units 212.

The number of the escape units 212 may be determined depending on the type of the hazard event 204, the location of the hazard event 204, the passenger/driver flow in the transportation system 110 or in the specific area where the hazard event 204 occurs, and/or other factors. For example, ifthe hazard event 204 may have an impact on a longer travel segment, or if a large number of passengers and/or drivers are located in that travel segment, then more escape units 212 are required to ensure safe and quick evacuation.

A centralized escape system has been described above with reference to Fig. 2A. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the escape units 212 may be distributed in the transportation system 110 instead of being aggerated in a specific location. Fig. 2B illustrates an embodiment of such an escape system 201. The escape system 201 may be regarded as a de-centralized escape system. The elements with the same reference signs in Fig. 2B function the same or similarly as described with reference to Fig. 2A.

In the escape system 201, at least one of the escape units 212 are distributed and fixed to at least one location in the transportation system 110. In some embodiments, two or more escape units 212 may be fixed to different locations. The locations may be determined as being safe and easy for one or more persons 202 to get access so as to escape from the transportation system 110 along the paths 214 provided by the escape units 212.

The locations between two adjacent ones of the escape units 212 may have a predetermined distance. That is to say, the escape units 212 may be provided every a predetermined distance to ensure that people traveling in the transportation system 110 can easily get access to the escape units 212 in a short time. The predetermined distance may be set as any suitable value or may be determined according to regulations and/or rules of local authorities. Depending on the actual deployment environment within or external to the transportation system 110, the distances between the escape units 212 may be varied.

The controller (not shown) may enable one or more of the escape units 212 to provide the respective paths 214 to allow one or more persons 202 to escape from the transportation system 110. The controller may activate the escape units 212 by sending a control signal. Similarly, as in the escape system 200, the controller in the escape system 201 may determine which escape units 212 are to be enabled based on the location where the hazard event 204 occurs. As an alternative, since the escape units 212 are fixed to the locations where the paths 214 are determined to be suitable for people escaping, one or more of the escape units 212 can be enabled manually in some embodiments.

It is to be understood that although the

escape systems

200 and 201 are separately discussed, they can be at least partially combined to build one escape system. For example, the combined escape system may include one or more moveable escape units centralized in one or more centralized stations and/or one or more escape units fixed at specific locations in the transportation system 110.

The arrangement and control of the escape units 212 have been described above at the system level. An escape unit 212 may be designed with any structure to provide the escape path for people. Some example designs of the escape units 212 will be further described below. One or more of these example designs may be adopted in either the

escape system

200 or 201.

In some embodiments, one or more of the escape units 212 may be deployed to always provide the path 214 extending away from the transportation system 100. In some embodiments, to reduce the space for storage and/or movement of the escape units 212, one or more of the escape units 212 may be designed as inflatable or foldable units having a compacted status and an expanded status. In the compacted status, an escape unit 212 is compacted or folded for storage in a limited space, as illustrated by the escape units 212-1 to 212-5 and 212-7 in Figs. 2A and 2B. In the expanded status, the escape unit 212 is expanded or unfolded to provide the path 214 for escaping, as illustrated by the escape unit 212-6 in Figs. 2A and 2B. The expansion of the escape unit 212 can be started by actuating an operating means either automatically via the controller or manually by a person. When being enabled, the escape unit 212 will automatically start to inflate by using a compressed air reservoir and then form the path 214 in the expanded status. In such case, the escape unit 212 may be made of at least one layer of a rubber-coated flexible fabric.

In some embodiments of the centralized escape system 200, one or more of the escape units 212 may be moved by the conveying mechanism 240 in the compacted status, which reduces the space and/or power required for carrying the escape units 212. When the escape units 212 are conveyed to the respective dispatched locations, the escape units 212 can be enabled to be activated from the compacted status to the expanded status so as to provide the paths 214.

To avoid wrong triggering, at least one of the escape units 212 may be covered by at least one covering unit. Fig. 3A shows such an example. As shown, a covering unit 301 is provided for covering an escape unit 212. More particularly, the covering unit 301 covers an entrance to the path 214 provided by the escape unit 212. The covering unit 301 is connected with the escape unit 212 via a connector 307 and is movable away from the entrance to the path of the escape unit 212, for example, in a direction as illustrated by the arrow in Fig. 3A. The connector 307 may be any structure that can support connection between the escape unit 212 and the covering unit 301, including a hinge connection or a securing mechanism such as a bolt, screw, and the like.

In some embodiments, a locker 305 is connected to the covering unit 301. The locker 305 has a locked status to disable the movement of the covering unit 301 and an unlocked status to enable the movement of the covering unit 301. The locker 305 may further help avoid accident triggering of the escape unit 212. The locker 305 is in the locked status in the normal condition. When the hazard event occurs in the transportation system 110, the locker 305 may be unlocked such that the covering unit 301 is enabled to be moved away from the escape unit 212 so as to provide the path 214, as shown in Fig. 3B.

In some embodiments, locking/unlocking of the locker 305 and/or movement of the covering unit 301 may be controlled manually by the people or automatically by the controller. The covering unit 301 and/or the locker 305 is/are especially beneficial when the path 214 of the escape unit 212 is always provided instead of being activated only in an emergency. For example, the escape unit 212 may be arranged at the transportation system 110 with its path 214 extended in contact with a safe space outside the transportation system 110. The entrance to the path 214 is covered by the covering unit 301 to prevent one or more persons from accidently entering into the path 214 of the escape unit 212. When the hazard event 204 is detected, the locker 305 may be enabled to be in the unlocked status such that the covering unit 301 can be moved away from the path 214. At this time, the path 214 of the escape unit 214 is enabled for the one or more persons 202 to escape from the transportation system 110.

In some embodiments, it is expected that the path 214 of the escape unit 212 requires a relatively small space to be deployed, especially in the travel segment of the transportation system 110 that is built in a complex geographic environment such as a downtown area. Generally speaking, if the path 214 is provided as an inclined ramp without a shield, a quite large space extending from the transportation system 110 to the ground is needed because the slope of the ramp has to be designed with a gentle angle to ensure safe landing.

In some embodiments, the path 214 may be designed as a closed or semi-opened space to facilitate the escaping. In some embodiments, to reduce to the space required for deployment, the path 214 of the escape unit 212 may be provided as a hollow tunnel or tube. A person 202 may enter the hollow tunnel and then may be guided to a safe place where the exit port of the hollow tunnel is in contact. The hollow tunnel can protect the one or more persons 202 from an external environment and thus improve the escaping safety. In addition, the hollow tunnel may be designed with a steeper lope without breaking the safety, which may thereby save the ground space for landing purpose.

As the transportation system 110 extends through different geographic areas, the paths 214 provided by the escape units 212 may have different shapes that are fit to different ground conditions and ensure safe escaping. Figs. 4A and 4B show two examples of the shape of an escape unit 212. In these examples, the transportation system 110 is built over another transportation system including a motorway 401, two

non-motorized lanes

402, 403 at two sides of the motorway 401, and

sidewalks

404, 405 alongside of the

lanes

402, 403.

In the example of Fig. 4A, the path 214 provided by the escape unit 212 extends from the transportation system 110 to the ground on the sidewalk 405 or the grassland in a curved slope. The curved slope of the path 214 is suitable in the case where there is sufficient space for the path 214 to extending in the horizontal direction. In the example of Fig. 4B, the path 214 provided by the escape unit 212 has a looped slope extending to be in contact with the ground on the sidewalk 405 or the grassland. The looped slope of the path 214 can be provided in an area where the space is restrained in the horizontal direction. The width of the looped slope may be designed to fit with the horizontal width of the space from the transportation system downwards to the ground of the sidewalk.

The extending of the path 214 mainly depends on the deployment of the transportation system 110. In the examples of Figs. 4A and 4B, the path 214 may extend from the transportation system 110 over the motorway 401, the non-motorized lane 403, and the sidewalk 405. The path 114 may have any width that can allow one or more persons to slide therein, such as a width of 1 meter, 1.5 meters, 2 meters, or the like. The extending height of the path 114 may depend on the height of the transportation system 110. It would be appreciated that the two examples of Figs. 4A and 4B are provided only for purpose of illustration. In other embodiments, the path 214 of the escape unit 212 may be provided as any other shapes and/or extended to any safe place external to the transportation system 110.

Some examples of the escape unit 212 have been described above. It would be appreciated that the escape units 212 in the

escape system

200 or 201 may have the same or different designs. According to actual usage, the escape units 212 may be designed in any other suitable forms as long as the paths 214 can allow people to evacuate from the transportation system safely.

Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 500 can be implemented by a controller for the escape system 200 and/or the escape system 201 as shown in Figs. 2A and 2B. At block 510, the controller monitors the transportation system 110. At block 520, the controller determines whether a hazard event 204 occurs in the transportation system 110. If the controller determines that the hazard event 204 occurs, at block 530, the controller enables least one of one or more escape units 212 arranged in the transportation system 110 to provide a path 214 to allow one or more persons 202 to escape from the transportation system 110. If no hazard event 204 occurs, the controller continues monitoring the transportation system 110.

In some embodiments, the at least one escape unit may be arranged at a first location and is movable in the transportation system.

In some embodiments, the controller may further determine a second location for safe escaping from the transportation system based on a location where the hazard event occurs and control a conveying mechanism to move the at least one escape unit from the first location to the second location.

In some embodiments, the at least one escape unit may be compacted for storage in a limited space at the first location. The controller may enable the at least one escape unit to expand to provide the path at the second location.

In some embodiments, the controller may determine whether the hazard event occurs by obtaining, from the one or more sensors arranged in the transportation system, information related to the transportation system, and determining whether the hazard event occurs based on the information.

In some embodiments, the one or more sensors may comprise one or more of a color camera, an infrared sensor, a pressure sensor, and a temperature sensor.

In some embodiments, an entrance to the path provided by the at least one escape unit may be covered by at least one covering unit, wherein the at least one covering unit is provided to be movable away from the entrance. The controller may enable the at least one escape unit by enabling the at least one covering unit to be moved away from the entrance so as to enable the provision of the path.

In some embodiments, at least one locker may be connected to the at least one covering unit, and the at least one locker may have a locked status to disable the movement of the at least one covering unit and an unlocked status to enable the movement of the at least one covering unit. The controller may enable the at least one escape unit by controlling the at least one locker to be in the unlocked status.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more escape units may provide a hollow tunnel as the path so as to protect the one or more persons from an external environment.

In some embodiments, the path provided by at least one of the one or more escape units may have a curved or looped slope extending to be in contact with a safe space outside the transportation system.

In some embodiments, the one or more escape units may comprise at least one escape unit fixed to at least one location in the transportation system.

In some embodiments, the one or more escape units may comprise more than two escape units that are fixed to different locations having a predetermined distance therebetween.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more escape units is inflatable.

It is to be understood that all operations and features related to the

escape systems

200 and 201 described above with reference to Figs. 2A to 4B are likewise applicable to the method 500 and have similar effects.

The components included in the apparatuses and/or devices of the present disclosure may be implemented in various manners, including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, any of the methods may be implemented by a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon, which computer-executable instructions can cause a device to perform the methods. In one embodiment, one or more units may be implemented using software and/or firmware, for example, machine-executable instructions stored on the storage medium. In addition to or instead of machine-executable instructions, parts or all of the units in the apparatuses and/or devices may be implemented, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) , Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) , Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs) , System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs) , Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs) , and the like.

Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

An escape system (200, 201) in a transportation system (110) , the escape system (200) comprising:

one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) arranged in the transportation system (110) , wherein each of the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) is operable to provide a path (214) to allow one or more persons (202-1, 202-2, 202-3) to escape from the transportation system (110) ; and

a controller configured to:

determine whether a hazard event (204) occurs in the transportation system (110) , and

in response to determining that the hazard event (204) occurs, enable at least one of the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) to provide the path (214) .
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 1, wherein the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) is arranged at a first location and is movable in the transportation system (110) .
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 2, further comprising:

a conveying mechanism (240-1, 240-2) operable to move the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) ,

wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine a second location for safe escaping from the transportation system (110) based on a location where the hazard event (204) occurs, and

control the conveying mechanism (240-1, 240-2) to move the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) from the first location to the second location.
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 3, wherein the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) is compacted for storage in a limited space at the first location, and wherein the controller is configured to enable the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) to expand to provide the path (214) at the second location.
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 1, further comprising:

one or more sensors (230-1 to 230-6) arranged in the transportation system (210) and configured to capture information related to the transportation system (210) ; and

wherein the controller is configured to:

obtain the information from the one or more sensors (230-1 to 230-7) , and

determine whether the hazard event (204) occurs based on the information.
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 5, wherein the one or more sensors (230-1 to 230-6) comprise one or more of a color camera, an infrared sensor, a pressure sensor, and a temperature sensor.
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 1, further comprising

at least one covering unit (301) for covering an entrance to the path (214) provided by the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) , wherein the at least one covering unit (301) is provided to be movable away from the entrance, and

wherein the controller is configured to enable the at least one covering unit (301) to be moved away from the entrance so as to enable the provision of the path (214) .
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 7, further comprising:

at least one locker (305) connected to the at least one covering unit (301) , wherein the at least one locker (305) has a locked status to disable the movement of the at least one covering unit (301) and an unlocked status to enable the movement of the at least one covering unit (301) ,

wherein the controller is configured to control the at least one locker (305) to be in the unlocked status.
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) provides a hollow tunnel as the path (214) so as to protect the one or more persons (202-1, 202-1, 202-3) from an external environment.
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 1, wherein the path (214) provided by at least one of the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) has a curved or looped slope extending to be in contact with a safe space outside the transportation system (110) .
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 1, wherein the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) comprise at least one escape unit fixed to at least one location in the transportation system (110) .
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 11, wherein the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) comprise more than two escape units fixed to different locations having a predetermined distance therebetween.
The escape system (200, 201) of claim 11, wherein at least one of the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) is inflatable.
A method (500) for escaping control in a transportation system (110) , comprising:

determining (510) whether a hazard event (204) occurs in the transportation system (110) ; and

in response to determining that the hazard event (204) occurs, enabling (520) at least one of one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) arranged in the transportation system (110) to provide a path (214) to allow one or more persons (202-1, 202-2, 202-3) to escape from the transportation system (110) .
The method (500) of claim 14, wherein the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) is arranged at a first location and is movable in the transportation system (110) .
The method (500) of claim 14, further comprising:

determining a second location for safe escaping from the transportation system (110) based on a location where the hazard event (204) occurs, and

controlling a conveying mechanism (240-1, 240-2) to move the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) from the first location to the second location.
The method (500) of claim 16, wherein the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) is compacted for storage in a limited space at the first location, and wherein enabling (520) the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) comprises:

enabling the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) to expand to provide the path (214) at the second location.
The method (500) of claim 14, wherein determining (510) whether the hazard event occurs comprises:

obtaining, from the one or more sensors (230-1 to 230-6) arranged in the transportation system (110) , information related to the transportation system (110) ; and

determining whether the hazard event (204) occurs based on the information.
The method (500) of claim 18, wherein the one or more sensors (230-1 to 230-6) comprise one or more of a color camera, an infrared sensor, a pressure sensor, and a temperature sensor.
The method (500) of claim 14, wherein an entrance to the path provided by the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) is covered by at least one covering unit (301) , wherein the at least one covering unit (301) is provided to be movable away from the entrance; and

wherein enabling (520) the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) comprises enabling the at least one covering unit (301) to be moved away from the entrance so as to enable the provision of the path (214) .
The method (500) of claim 20, wherein at least one locker (305) is connected to the at least one covering unit (301) , and the at least one locker (305) has a locked status to disable the movement of the at least one covering unit (301) and an unlocked status to enable the movement of the at least one covering unit (301) ; and

wherein enabling the at least one escape unit (212-1 to 212-7) comprises controlling the at least one locker (305) to be in the unlocked status.
The method (500) of claim 14, wherein at least one of the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) provides a hollow tunnel as the path (214) so as to protect the one or more persons (202-1, 202-1, 202-3) from an external environment.
The method (500) of claim 14, wherein the path provided by at least one of the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) has a curved or looped slope extending to be in contact with a safe space outside the transportation system (110) .
The method (500) of claim 14, wherein the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) comprise at least one escape unit fixed to at least one location in the transportation system (110) .
The method (500) of claim 24, wherein the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) comprise more than two escape units fixed to different locations having a predetermined distance therebetween.
The method (500) of claim 14, wherein at least one of the one or more escape units (212-1 to 212-7) is inflatable.
A transportation system (110) , comprising the escape system (200, 201) according to any of claims 1-13.
A computer-readable medium storing machine-executable instructions, the machine-executable instructions, when executed, causing a machine to execute the method (500) according to any of claims 14-26.