JP2009067533A - Escalator safety device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an escalator safety device that can be applied to all escalators and has higher accuracy in detecting an abnormality than in the past.
SOLUTION: A plurality of photoelectric sensors 111 arranged along a traveling direction of an escalator 1, and a plurality of sensor output values are measured at a constant sampling interval, and the presence or absence of light shielding at each position on the escalator is used as a time-series light shielding pattern. The pattern generation unit 112 to generate, the passenger state determination unit 120 that outputs the passenger walking determination result 123a, the congestion degree determination result 125a, or the fall state determination result 126a from the light shielding pattern, and warns the passenger based on the determination result A warning unit 113 and a control unit 114 that controls operation of the escalator based on the determination result are provided.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a safety device for an escalator that detects walking, running, reverse running, the degree of congestion, a falling state, and the like of a person on an escalator.

  Conventionally, various safety devices have been proposed in order to ensure the safety of passengers who ride on passenger conveyors, that is, escalators. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a safety device configured as follows. That is, a monitoring camera is provided on an upper ceiling portion of the boarding deck in the escalator, and an entire image of the passenger boarding the escalator is captured by the monitoring camera. The entire passenger image is subjected to image processing and sent to the control device. Based on the image, the control device determines the number of passengers, dangerous actions by the passengers, etc., and notifies appropriate boarding guidance contents by voice based on the determination results.

Patent Document 2 discloses a safety device that stops an escalator when a passenger falls on the escalator. Specifically, photoelectric switches are arranged in the high and low positions of the balustrade on both sides of the escalator step toward the moving direction of the step. The photoelectric switch detects the boarding posture of the passenger. When the low-level photoelectric switch detects the passenger but the high-level photoelectric switch does not detect the passenger for a predetermined time, it is determined that the passenger has fallen and the escalator is stopped. Is.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-301664 JP 2005-8326 A

  However, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to attach a monitoring camera to a wall surface around the escalator. Therefore, the applicability of the technology depends on the building structure around the escalator. Therefore, there is a problem that the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot be applied to all escalators.

Moreover, since the technique disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 determines a passenger's fall based only on the light shielding duration in the photoelectric switch, there may be a case where a false detection occurs.
The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and can be applied to all escalators without depending on the building structure around the escalator, and escalator safety with higher abnormality detection accuracy than before. An object is to provide an apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.
That is, the escalator safety device according to the first aspect of the present invention is an escalator safety device that transports passengers by circulatingly driving steps connected endlessly, and includes a plurality of sensors, a pattern generator, and a passenger. A state determination unit and a warning unit are provided. The plurality of sensors are arranged along the driving direction of the step and detect a passenger on the step. The pattern generation unit generates and stores passenger detection patterns by sampling passenger detection outputs sent by the sensor at regular intervals according to movement of passengers by driving the steps and arranging them in time series. The passenger state determination unit determines a movement state of the passenger with respect to the driving of the step from the detection pattern. The warning unit warns the passenger based on the determination result of the movement state of the passenger.

  According to the safety device for an escalator in the first aspect of the present invention, a passenger detection pattern is obtained in time series from the output of a sensor that detects the passenger of the escalator, and the movement state of the passenger on the step is determined from the detection pattern, The passenger is warned based on the moving state. Therefore, the safety device for the escalator in the first aspect is that the sensor is arranged on the escalator along the driving direction of the step, so whether or not the safety device can be attached as in the past is the building structure around the escalator. This is applicable to all escalators. Also, instead of immediately using the sensor output as it is to determine the passenger's movement state, a detection pattern in time series is generated from the sensor output, so even in one or several sensors. Even if a detection error occurs, the safety device does not immediately operate. Therefore, it is possible to provide an escalator safety device with high abnormality detection accuracy.

  An escalator safety device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of the escalator safety device 101 in the above embodiment. Here, the escalator 1 has a ramp extending between the lower floor and the upper floor, and a step 1a connected endlessly is circulated along the slope with a drive source 1b, and is on the step 1a. Transport passengers. Moreover, balustrades 1c are erected on both sides of the step 1a.

  The safety device 101 of the escalator 1 having such a configuration includes a sensor 111, a pattern generation unit 112, a passenger state determination unit 120, and a warning unit 113 as basic components, and further includes a control unit 114. Is preferred. The safety device 101 having such a configuration performs appropriate warnings and driving control according to the passenger's state, for example, walking, running, reverse, overturning, the degree of congestion near the escalator landing, etc. on the step 1a. Device. Below, each above-mentioned component in escalator safety device 101 is explained in detail.

  For example, the sensor 111 is arranged along the driving direction 1d of the step 1a, which is obliquely above the slope portion, and detects a passenger on the step 1a. In the example of FIG. 1, a photoelectric sensor is used as the sensor 111, and N photoelectric sensors from the sensor 111-1 to the sensor 111 -N are at positions corresponding to the lower part of the passenger's leg on the step 1 a. They are arranged in a line at equal intervals. In the example of FIG. 1, the sensor 111 is arranged over the entire section from the landing 1e to the landing 1f. However, the sensor 111 may be arranged only in a specific section of the entire section.

  FIG. 2 shows a state where the vicinity of the landing 1e of the escalator 1 is viewed from above. Each photoelectric sensor 111 is configured by a pair of a light projecting unit 111a and a light receiving unit 111b. The light projecting unit 111a is disposed on one side, for example, the left side and the other side, for example, the right side, in the driving direction 1d with the step 1a interposed therebetween. The light receiving portion 111b is disposed in the front. In this example, the pair of light projecting unit 111a and light receiving unit 111b are arranged such that the optical path 111c therebetween is perpendicular to the driving direction 1d of the step 1a and is parallel to the horizontal direction. The light projecting unit 111a and the light receiving unit 111b are attached to the left and right balustrades 1c, the left and right deck portions, or the left and right skirt guard portions. When a passenger is present on the optical path 111c, the optical path 111c is blocked, so that the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 111b decreases and the output value of the photoelectric sensor 111 changes. Therefore, the presence or absence of light shielding at the position of each photoelectric sensor 111, that is, the presence or absence of a passenger, can be detected from the output value of each photoelectric sensor 111.

  The pattern generation unit 112 samples the passenger detection outputs sent by the sensors 111-1 to 111 -N according to the movement of the passengers by driving the steps 1 a at regular intervals, and arranges them in time series, so that the passenger detection pattern 200 is obtained. Generate and store. In this example, since a photoelectric sensor is used as the sensor 111, the passenger detection pattern 200 is a light-shielding pattern that indicates in time series whether or not light is shielded at the position where each sensor 111 is disposed.

  FIG. 3 visually shows the shading pattern in the escalator 1 in which the step 1a is moving upward from the landing 1e to the landing 1f. In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents sensors 111-1 to 111-N. Each photoelectric sensor 111 is gray when light is shielded and white when light is not shielded, and the light shield pattern is visualized. did. As indicated by the times t (k) and t (k + 1) in the figure, light shielding patterns are added as time passes. For example, when the passenger is on a stationary board that moves at the driving speed of the step 1a without moving on the step 1a, the light shielding pattern is a pattern as indicated by reference numeral 201 in FIG.

  Although depending on the arrangement interval of each photoelectric sensor 111, the passenger has a certain width along the traveling direction 1d of the escalator, and therefore, a plurality of adjacent photoelectric sensors 111 may be simultaneously shielded at the same time. As a result, the light-shielding pattern may be a band having a certain width. Even in the case of a full passenger with one passenger on each step 1a, each photoelectric sensor 111 repeats light shielding and non-light shielding, so that a light shielding pattern is not generated.

In addition, since the passengers who are stationary are carried at a constant speed from the bottom to the top by the step 1a, when viewed as a two-dimensional image, the light shielding pattern 201 is observed as a belt-like pattern having a constant inclination θ1. It will be.
A light shielding pattern 202 shown in FIG. 3 is a light shielding pattern when a passenger is walking on the step 1a in the driving direction 1d. The inclination θ2 in the light shielding pattern 202 is larger than the inclination θ1.
Moreover, the light shielding pattern 203 shown in FIG. 3 is a light shielding pattern when the passenger is running on the step 1a in the driving direction 1d. The inclination θ3 in the light shielding pattern 203 is larger than the inclination θ2.
A light shielding pattern 204 shown in FIG. 3 is a light shielding pattern when a passenger runs down the step 1a in a direction opposite to the driving direction 1d at a speed exceeding the driving speed of the step 1a.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the pattern generation unit 112 is provided and configured to generate and store the passenger detection pattern 200, even if a detection error occurs in one or several sensors 111, The detection error does not immediately lead to, for example, the escalator being stopped. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an escalator safety device with stable detection accuracy and high abnormality detection accuracy.

The passenger state determination unit 120 determines the movement state of the passenger with respect to the driving of the step 1a from the detection pattern 200 generated by the pattern generation unit 112. That is, as will be apparent from, for example, the light shielding patterns 201 to 204 described above, by analyzing the detection pattern 200, it is possible to determine the movement state of the passenger with respect to the step 1a being driven in the driving direction 1d. Here, the passenger movement state corresponds to the above-described stationary boarding, walking, running, and retrograde states, as well as the passenger falling state and the degree of congestion of passengers at the escalator landing 1f.
In order to determine such various passenger movement states, the passenger state determination unit 120 has a specific configuration as described below.

First, the configuration of the passenger state determination unit 120 for determining the above-described stationary, walking, traveling, and reverse passenger movement states will be described.
In this case, the passenger state determination unit 120 includes a moving speed determination unit 121, a walking speed determination unit 122, and a walking determination unit 123 shown in FIG.

  The moving speed determination unit 121 obtains the moving speed of the passenger from the detection pattern 200 generated and stored by the pattern generation unit 112, in this example, the light shielding pattern. Here, as an example, a method for calculating the moving speed of the passenger from the light shielding pattern 201 shown in FIG. 3 will be described. First, the inclination θ1 of the light shielding pattern 201 is obtained. As a method for obtaining the inclination, for example, the light shielding pattern 201 is regarded as a set of points having two-dimensional coordinates, and the inclination θ1 can be obtained by linearly approximating a plurality of points by the least square method. Further, the light shielding pattern 201 is regarded as a binary image, affine transformation is performed while changing the skew angle, and the inclination from the skew angle at which the standard deviation projected in the sensor number direction from the sensor 111-1 to the sensor 111-N is minimized. You may obtain | require (theta) 1. That is, a known method may be used as a method for obtaining the inclination from the two-dimensional image.

Using the inclination θ1 (degrees) obtained above, the optical axis interval L (cm) of the adjacent photoelectric sensors 111 in the driving direction 1d, and the sampling interval T (seconds) of the light shielding pattern, the passenger moving speed V1 is as follows: Calculated by the formula.
Movement speed V1 (cm / sec) = (L × tan θ1) ÷ T

The walking speed determination unit 122 obtains the walking speed V of the passenger from the moving speed V1 of the passenger and the driving speed V2 (cm / second) of the step 1a. The operating speed V2 of the escalator 1 may be set in advance according to the operating conditions of the escalator, or a sensor that detects the operating speed of the step 1a is installed to detect the actual operating speed. Also good. The walking speed V can be calculated by the following equation. However, in the example of FIG. 3, the driving direction 1d of the step 1a is the upward direction, and the driving speed is a positive value.
Walking speed V (cm / sec) = V1-V2

  The walking determination unit 123 determines walking, running, or retrograde as the moving state of the passenger from the walking speed V, and outputs it to the warning unit 113 as a walking determination result 123a. Specifically, the walking determination unit 123 determines the movement state based on whether or not the walking speed V is within a predetermined range. For example, if the walking speed V is -10 or more and less than 50, it is determined to be stationary, if it is 50 or more and less than 100, walking, if it is 100 or more, running, or if it is less than -10, reverse running.

  Thus, by having the moving speed determination unit 121, the walking speed determination unit 122, and the walking determination unit 123, it is possible to accurately determine the walking, running, or retrograde of the passenger using the plurality of photoelectric sensors 111. it can.

Next, a configuration of the passenger state determination unit 120 for determining the degree of congestion of passengers at the escalator landing 1f as the passenger movement state will be described.
In this case, the passenger state determination unit 120 includes a descending step speed determination unit 124 and a congestion degree determination unit 125 shown in FIG.

  The descending step speed determination unit 124 uses the detection pattern 200 obtained from the sensors 111-1 to 111 -N located near the landing 1 f of the escalator 1, and the descending step speed of the passenger near the landing 1 f. Ask for. This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows an example of a light shielding pattern obtained from seven sensors 111- (N-6) to 111-N near the landing 1f. In addition, the comb (comb) of the landing 1f exists at the boundary between the sensor 111- (N-3) and the sensor 111- (N-4).

  When the landing 1f is not congested, passengers move smoothly at the landing 1f, and therefore, as shown by reference numeral 211 in FIG. . Here, the inclination θ4 is, for example, an inclination in the light shielding pattern in the stationary ride. On the other hand, when the landing 1f is congested, people are staying at the landing 1f, so that the movement of passengers after passing through the comb is slow. Therefore, as indicated by reference numeral 212 in the figure, the inclination θ5 of the light shielding pattern after passing through the comb tends to be smaller than the inclination θ4 of the light shielding pattern before passing through the comb.

  Based on such a phenomenon, the descending step speed determination unit 124 obtains an average value of the inclination of the light shielding pattern after the combs of a plurality of passengers obtained from the plurality of sensors 111 arranged in the vicinity of the landing 1f, The average value 124a of the descending step speed that is the speed of the passenger after passing the comb is calculated by the same method as the calculation method in the moving speed determination unit 121 described above. The average value 124a of the descending step speed can be used as an index indicating the degree of congestion of the landing 1f.

  The congestion degree determination unit 125 determines the degree of passenger congestion in the vicinity of the landing 1f by comparing the passenger movement speed V1 obtained by the movement speed determination unit 121 with the average value 124a of the descending step speed. Specifically, for example, the congestion degree determination unit 125 determines that it is congested if the average value 124a of the descending step speed is equal to or less than a preset threshold value, and determines that it is normal otherwise. The determination result is supplied to the warning unit 113 and the control unit 114 as a congestion degree determination result 125a.

  In this example, in order to obtain the above-mentioned descending step speed as described above, the seven sensors 111 in the vicinity of the landing 1f are used for convenience, but it goes without saying that the number is not limited. Therefore, the step speed supplied from the step speed determination unit 124 to the congestion degree determination unit 125 may not be an average value.

  Thus, by having the descending step speed determination unit 124 and the congestion degree determination unit 125, the congestion degree of the landing 1f can be detected with high accuracy.

Next, the structure of the passenger state determination part 120 for determining a passenger's fall state as a passenger movement state is demonstrated.
In this case, the passenger state determination unit 120 includes a fall determination unit 126 shown in FIG.
The fall determination unit 126 detects a fall pattern that is a pattern detected continuously over a specified time by the sensor 111 exceeding the specified number from the detection pattern 200 stored in the pattern generation unit 112, in this example, the light shielding pattern. If so, it is determined that the passenger is in a fallen state.

  This will be specifically described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 221 represents a light-shielding pattern during normal boarding when the passenger has not fallen, and reference numeral 222 represents an example of a fall pattern when the passenger falls while riding and the fall state continues until the landing 1f. Is shown. In the fall state, the width occupied by the passenger's body in the driving direction 1d of the step 1a is clearly larger than that in normal riding, so that as shown in the fall pattern 222, which is the light shielding pattern at the time of the fall, The width 231 and the light shielding time 232 increase. Based on this phenomenon, the fall determination unit 126 has a light shielding width 231 equal to or greater than a preset value and a light shielding time 232 equal to or greater than a preset value in the light shielding pattern stored in the pattern generation unit 112. When the pattern exists, it is determined that the passenger is in a fallen state, and otherwise, it is determined that the passenger is riding normally. Then, the fall determination unit 126 sends the fall state determination result 126 a to the warning unit 113 and the control unit 114.

  By providing the fall determination unit 126 in this manner, it is possible to detect a passenger's fall state with high accuracy.

  The warning unit 113 is a part that gives a warning to the passenger based on the determination result of the movement state of the passenger described above. That is, the warning unit 113 includes the walking determination result 123a sent out by the walking determination unit 123, the congestion degree judgment result 125a sent out by the congestion degree judgment unit 125, and the fall judgment unit 126 sent out by the fall determination unit 126. A warning signal 113a is output to the speaker 130 based on at least one of the state determination results 126a. The speaker 130 is provided, for example, on the balustrade 1c in the escalator 1, and emits a sound that alerts passengers with a warning signal 113a. In addition, it is configured to change the warning content according to the dangerous state for passengers of “walking”, “running”, “reverse running”, “crowded”, “falling state”, which is the judgment result of the moving state of the passenger May be. Further, the warning unit 113 can send the warning signal 113a not only to the speaker 130 but also to a location related to the occurrence of an abnormality, such as a warning light or the management room of the escalator 1.

Further, when the sensor 111-1 is used to detect the moving speed V1 and the walking speed V using only the sensor 111 installed below the installation position of the speaker 130, the speaker 130 is used as a passenger. The passenger's walking speed V can be detected before the vehicle passes. If it is assumed that the moving speed V1 of the passenger is constant, it is possible to predict the time at which the passenger passes in the immediate vicinity of the speaker 130 from the detected moving speed V1. Accordingly, the warning unit 113 predicts the time when the passenger passes the warning position in the escalator 1, in this example, the installation position of the speaker 130, from the walking speed V of the passenger, and warns when the passenger passes the warning position. It is also possible to provide a prediction unit 113b that performs warning announcements in accordance with the timing of passengers passing through the speaker 130.
By comprising in this way, even when many passengers are boarding, it becomes possible to perform a suitable warning with respect to a specific passenger.

  The control unit 114 controls the operation of the escalator 1 based on at least one of the congestion degree determination result 125a sent out by the congestion degree judgment unit 125 and the fall state determination result 126a sent out by the fall determination unit 126. Specifically, when the congestion degree determination unit 125 determines that the passengers are congested near the landing 1f, the control unit 114 outputs the control signal 114a to the drive source 1b of the escalator 1, and the step Reduce the driving speed of 1a. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an accident due to congestion near the landing 1f.

  When the fall determination unit 126 detects the fall state of the passenger, particularly when the fall state near the landing 1f is detected, the control unit 114 generates the control signal 114a based on the fall state determination result 126a. Output to the drive source 1b of the escalator 1 to stop the operation of the step 1a. Thereby, it can prevent that the passenger who fell is pinched between the step 1a and the landing 1f, and can prevent the secondary disaster with respect to passengers other than a faller.

  Although the present embodiment has been described with a configuration using a photoelectric sensor as the sensor 111, the same effect as described above can be obtained even when an ultrasonic sensor or a radio wave sensor is used instead of the photoelectric sensor. The configuration using the photoelectric sensor 111 includes a pair of a light projecting unit 111a and a light receiving unit 111b, and each of the light projecting unit 111a and the light receiving unit 111b includes a left and right balustrade 1c, a left and right deck portion, It was attached to the skirt guard. In a configuration using an ultrasonic sensor or a radio wave sensor, instead of this, the light projecting unit 111a may be an ultrasonic wave or radio wave transmitting unit, and the light receiving unit 111b may be an ultrasonic wave or radio wave receiving unit.

  Further, in the configuration using the photoelectric sensor 111, since the optical path 111c is blocked when a passenger is present on the optical path 111c, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 111b is reduced and the sensor output value is changed. The presence or absence of passengers was detected. In the configuration using an ultrasonic sensor or radio wave sensor, instead of this, the communication path connecting the transmitter and the receiver with a straight line is cut off, so that the amount of received ultrasonic waves or radio waves at the receiver decreases, and the sensor output What is necessary is just to detect the presence or absence of a passenger using change of a value.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the light projecting unit 111a of the photoelectric sensor 111 is disposed on the balustrade 1c, the deck portion, or the skirt guard portion on the left side with respect to the driving direction 1d, and the light receiving unit 111b is arranged in the driving direction 1d. The right balustrade 1c, the deck portion, or the skirt guard portion. On the contrary, it goes without saying that the light projecting unit 111a may be arranged on the right side with respect to the driving direction 1d and the light receiving unit 111b may be arranged on the left side with respect to the driving direction 1d.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6, even if both the light projection part 111a and the light-receiving part 111b of the photoelectric sensor 111 are arrange | positioned at the balustrade 1c, deck part, or skirt guard part of the same side with respect to the driving direction 1d. Good. In this configuration, when there is no passenger, the optical path length becomes longer as in the optical path 111d, and the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 111b is small. On the other hand, when a passenger is present, the optical path length is shortened as in the optical path 111e, and the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 111b is relatively increased. In the said structure, you may make it detect the presence or absence of a passenger using such a phenomenon. In this case, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained by replacing the case where the amount of received light is greater than or equal to a preset value with the presence of light shielding.
Further, as described above, an ultrasonic sensor or a radio wave sensor may be used instead of the photoelectric sensor.

  Furthermore, instead of the light projecting unit 111a and the light receiving unit 111b shown in FIG. 6, a general non-contact type distance sensor may be arranged to detect the presence or absence of a passenger according to the measured value of the distance sensor. Good. In this configuration, when there is no passenger, the measured value of the distance sensor is substantially equal to the step width, but when the passenger is present, the fact that the measured value is smaller than the step width is utilized. Further, if the case where the measured value of the distance sensor is less than the preset threshold value is read as “with light shielding”, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained. Further, if the measured value of the distance sensor is less than half of the step width, it is considered that the passenger is on the left side of the step 1a, and the measured value of the distance sensor is between half or more of the step width and less than the step width. In such a case, the passenger may be assumed to be on the right side of the step 1a, and the processing described in the above-described embodiment may be executed corresponding to the left and right passengers. Good.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 7 shows an escalator safety device 102 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In the escalator safety device 101 according to the first embodiment, a plurality of photoelectric sensors 111 are arranged in a line only in the lower stage corresponding to the lower part of the passenger leg along the driving direction 1 d of the escalator 1. On the other hand, in the escalator safety device 102 according to the second embodiment, in addition to the photoelectric sensor in the lower stage, the photoelectric sensor is arranged in the upper stage corresponding to the upper part of the passenger leg. The rest of the configuration except for the configuration described below is the same as the configuration in the first embodiment described above, and a description thereof is omitted here. As in the case of the first embodiment, as the sensor 111, a photoelectric sensor is also taken as an example in the present embodiment. However, as described above, an ultrasonic sensor, a radio wave sensor, or the like can be used.

  The lower stage sensor 111-L shown in FIG. 7 has the same configuration as the photoelectric sensors 111-1 to 111-N shown in FIG. The upper sensor 111-U shown in FIG. 7 is arranged in the same row in the vertical direction with respect to the photoelectric sensors 111-1 to 111-N constituting the lower sensor 111-L. N of 111-UN are arranged in a line.

  The photoelectric sensors 111-1 to 111 -N constituting the lower stage sensor 111 -L are connected to the lower stage pattern generation unit 112 -L, and the photoelectric sensors 111 -U 1 to 111 -UN constituting the upper stage sensor 111 -U. Are connected to the upper pattern generation unit 112-U. The lower stage pattern generation unit 112-L and the upper stage pattern generation unit 112-U have the same functions and operations as the pattern generation unit 112 described above. The lower stage pattern generation unit 112 -L and the upper stage pattern generation unit 112 -U are connected to a fall determination unit 151 provided in the passenger state determination unit 150.

  The passenger state determination unit 150 in the escalator safety device 102 of the second embodiment is the same as the passenger state determination unit 120 of the escalator safety device 101 in the first embodiment except that the fall determination unit 126 is changed to the fall determination unit 151. It has a configuration. Although not shown in FIG. 7, a lower stage pattern generation unit 112 -L is connected to the moving speed determination unit 121 and the descending step speed determination unit 124 included in the passenger state determination unit 150, and the lower stage side pattern generation unit 112. The detection pattern 200 is supplied from -L.

  The fall determination unit 151 is a part that performs basically the same functions and operations as the fall determination unit 126 described above, and the detection pattern 200 is supplied from the lower pattern generation unit 112-L as a passenger detection pattern. In addition, the detection pattern 240 is supplied from the upper pattern generation unit 112-U. As described above, since the photoelectric sensor is also used as the sensor 111 in the second embodiment, the detection patterns 200 and 240 are the light shielding patterns described in the first embodiment.

  Therefore, the fall determination part 151 determines a passenger's fall state by each light shielding pattern supplied from the upper stage pattern generation part 112-U and the lower stage pattern generation part 112-L. Specifically, in the light shielding pattern supplied from the lower side pattern generation unit 112-L, the lower side side falling pattern detected continuously over a specified time by a photoelectric sensor whose passenger detection state exceeds a specified number. In the light-shielding pattern obtained from the upper pattern generation unit 112-U corresponding to the location where the lower stage fall pattern is detected, the non-detection state of the passenger is continuously detected beyond the specified time. If the upper side fall pattern is determined, it is determined that the passenger is in a fall state.

That is, the fall determination unit 151 has a light shielding width 231 in the light shielding pattern supplied from the lower side pattern generation unit 112-L, which is equal to or larger than a preset value, like the lower side falling pattern 155 illustrated in FIG. In the light shielding pattern in which the light shielding time 232 is equal to or longer than a preset value and is supplied from the upper side pattern generation unit 112-U like the upper side falling pattern 156 shown in FIG. It is determined that the passenger has fallen if the light is not shielded from the same time or almost the same time as the occurrence of the problem. In the case other than the light shielding pattern as shown in FIG. 8, the fall determination unit 151 determines that the vehicle is normal.
In accordance with such a determination result, the fall determination unit 151 sends the fall state determination result 151 a to the warning unit 113 and the control unit 114. And the warning part 113 and the control part 114 perform the process similar to the case where the said fall state determination result 126a is supplied.

According to the escalator safety device 102 of Embodiment 2 configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, in the first embodiment, for example, when a large kite is placed on the step 1a, or when passengers get on board densely, the light shielding width 231 and the light shielding time 232 of the photoelectric sensor 111 are equal to or more than preset values. The fall determination unit 126 may be erroneously detected as a passenger fall state. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, in such a case, the light-shielding pattern obtained from the upper sensor 111-U corresponding to the period when the lower-side fall pattern 155 is generated is light-shielded. That is, since it shows the state where the passenger stands, it is not erroneously detected as a fallen state. When the passenger actually falls, the passenger's body is positioned lower than the upper sensor 111-U, and the upper sensor 111-U is installed at such a position. An upper side fall pattern 156 appears. Therefore, a passenger's fall state is detected correctly. As described above, the escalator safety device 102 according to the second embodiment can improve the abnormality detection accuracy more than the configuration according to the first embodiment.

  The contents of the modification described in the first embodiment are also applied to the escalator safety device 102 in the second embodiment.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 9 shows an escalator safety device 103 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The escalator safety device 103 is newly provided with a boarding position detection unit 160 as compared with the escalator safety device 101 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Photoelectric sensors 111-1 to 111 -N are connected to the boarding position detection unit 160, respectively, and the boarding position detection unit 160 includes a total of four light emitting units and light receiving units adjacent to each other in the driving direction 1 d. Detects blocking of one light path. The output of the boarding position detection unit 160 is connected to at least one of the pattern generation unit 112 and the warning unit 113 described above.

The configuration of the escalator safety device 103 according to the third embodiment other than the boarding position detection unit 160 configured as described above is the same as the configuration of the escalator safety device 101 according to the first embodiment.
As in the case of the first embodiment, a photoelectric sensor is also taken as an example in the present embodiment as the sensor 111. However, as described above, an ultrasonic sensor, a radio wave sensor, or the like can be used.

  In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, in each photoelectric sensor 111, a pair of the light projecting unit 111a and the light receiving unit 111b are the other pair of the light projecting unit 111a and the light receiving unit. 111b is independent of each other, and each pair has a single optical path 111c. On the other hand, in the escalator safety device 103 according to the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, at least two pairs of light emitting units and light receiving units of photoelectric sensors form an optical path to detect light shielding, and on the step 1a. It is the structure which detects the position of a passenger.

The configuration in which the boarding position detection unit 160 detects the position of the passenger on the step 1a will be specifically described by taking two pairs of photoelectric sensors as an example.
As shown in FIG. 10, in two pairs of light projecting unit 161A and light receiving unit 161B adjacent to each other in the driving direction 1d, and light projecting unit 162A and light receiving unit 162B, the light emitted from the light projecting unit 161A The light received by 161B and the light receiving unit 162B and emitted from the light projecting unit 162A is received by the light receiving unit 162B and the light receiving unit 161B. Therefore, the optical paths formed by these two pairs of light projecting and receiving parts are the optical path P from the light projecting part 161A to the light receiving part 161B, the optical path Q from the light projecting part 161A to the light receiving part 162B, and the light projecting part 162A. The light path R from the light receiving unit 161B to the light receiving unit 161B and the light path S from the light projecting unit 162A to the light receiving unit 162B are four. Here, the optical path Q and the optical path R intersect at the center of the step 1a in the width direction of the step 1a, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the driving direction 1d. Therefore, the boarding position detection part 160 detects the presence or absence of each light-shielding of the optical paths P, Q, R, and S.

The boarding position detection unit 160 performs a detection operation as follows.
When the step 1a is driven from the bottom to the top in FIG. 10 along the driving direction 1d, the passenger moves from the bottom to the top in FIG. At this time, when the light-shielding order when the passenger is on the left side of the step 1a is viewed in time series, the order is the optical path P → Q → R → S. On the other hand, when the passenger is on the right side of the step 1a, the light shielding order is the order of the optical path P → R → Q → S. Therefore, the boarding position detection unit 160 can detect whether the passenger is on the left side or the right side of the step 1a by examining the order of light shielding from the two adjacent pairs of light emitting and light receiving units in time series. it can.
In addition, even when the step 1a is driving from the top to the bottom of FIG. 10, it goes without saying that the boarding position detector 160 can detect the left and right positions of the passengers based on the same concept.

According to the escalator safety device 103 of the third embodiment having the boarding position detection unit 160, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, the passenger position information 160 a on the step 1 a obtained by the boarding position detection unit 160 is supplied to the pattern generation unit 112. Therefore, the pattern generation unit 112 can generate a light-shielding pattern for each of the left passenger and the right passenger on the step 1a. That is, for example, even when the passengers move at different speeds on the right side and the left side on the step 1a, and the configuration of the first embodiment, even when the light shielding patterns sent from the pattern generation unit 112 overlap each other, According to the third aspect, the light shielding patterns of the left and right passengers can be easily separated. Therefore, the moving speed determination unit 121 can determine the moving speed V1 of each passenger with higher accuracy than in the case of the first embodiment.

  Also, by supplying the position information 160a to the warning unit 113, the warning unit 113 changes the warning announcement according to the left and right boarding positions of the passengers, or installs the speakers 130 on the left and right, The speaker 130 that utters can be switched accordingly. Therefore, even when a large number of passengers are on board, it is possible to give an appropriate warning to a specific passenger.

  The contents of the modification described in the first embodiment are also applied to the escalator safety device 103 in the third embodiment.

  Moreover, about each embodiment mentioned above and the modification, an escalator safety device can also be comprised combining suitably.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the escalator safety device by Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the figure which looked at the platform of the escalator shown in FIG. 1 from the top. It is a figure for demonstrating the light-shielding pattern produced | generated by the pattern production | generation part shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the descending speed determination part shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the fall determination part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the modification of the escalator safety device shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the escalator safety device by Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the fall determination part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the escalator safety device by Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the boarding position detection part shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 escalator, 1a step, 1f landing
101-103 escalator safety device,
111 sensor, 111-U upper side sensor, 111-L lower side sensor,
112 pattern generation unit, 112-U upper side pattern generation unit,
112-L lower side pattern generation unit, 113 warning unit, 113b prediction unit,
114 control unit, 120 passenger state determination unit, 121 moving speed determination unit,
122 walking speed determination unit, 123 walking determination unit, 124 descending step speed determination unit,
125 congestion determination unit, 126 fall determination unit, 151 fall determination unit,
155 Lower side fall pattern, 156 Upper side fall pattern,
160 boarding position detection part, 222 fall pattern.

Claims (10)

In an escalator safety device that transports passengers by circulatingly driving steps connected endlessly,
A plurality of sensors arranged along the driving direction of the steps to detect passengers on the steps;
A pattern generation unit that generates and stores passenger detection patterns by sampling passenger detection outputs sent by the sensor according to movement of passengers by driving the steps at regular intervals and arranging them in time series;
A passenger state determination unit that determines a movement state of the passenger with respect to the driving of the step from the detection pattern;
A warning unit that warns the passenger based on the determination result of the passenger's moving state;
An escalator safety device characterized by comprising: The passenger state determination unit
A moving speed determining unit for determining a moving speed of a passenger from the detection pattern;
A walking speed determining unit for determining a walking speed of the passenger from the moving speed of the passenger and the driving speed of the step;
A walking determination unit that determines walking, running, or retrograde as the moving state of the passenger from the walking speed, and the warning unit warns the passenger based on a determination result of the walking determination unit. The escalator safety device described. The passenger state determination unit further includes:
Of the sensors, the detection pattern obtained from the sensor arranged near the landing of the escalator, a descending speed determining unit for determining a passenger's descending speed near the landing,
A congestion degree determination unit that determines the degree of congestion of the passenger near the landing by comparing the moving speed of the passenger and the stepping speed, and the warning unit is also a passenger based on the determination result of the congestion degree determination unit The escalator safety device according to claim 2, wherein a warning is given.   The escalator safety device according to claim 3, further comprising a control unit that is connected to the congestion degree determination unit and slows down the operation speed of the step when it is determined that passengers are congested in the vicinity of the landing. The passenger state determination unit
In the detection pattern, when a fall pattern, which is a pattern continuously detected over a specified time by the sensor exceeding the specified number of passengers, is determined, the passenger is determined to be in a fall state. The safety device of the escalator of Claim 1 provided with the fall determination part. The sensors are arranged in two vertical stages along the vertical direction, and the pattern generator is connected to an upper pattern generator connected to the upper sensor arranged in the upper stage and a lower sensor arranged in the lower stage. A lower side pattern generation unit
The passenger state determination unit
In the detection pattern obtained from the lower side pattern generation unit, the lower side side falling pattern detected continuously over a specified time by the sensor exceeding the specified number of passenger detection states, and the lower side In the detection pattern obtained from the upper stage pattern generation unit corresponding to the place where the fall pattern was detected, when the upper stage fall pattern detected by the passenger's non-detection state continuously exceeding the specified time is determined The escalator safety device according to claim 1, further comprising a fall determination unit that determines that the passenger is in a fall state.   The escalator according to claim 5, further comprising a control unit that is connected to the fall determination unit and stops the operation of the step when a passenger fall state is detected in the vicinity of the landing of the escalator. Safety equipment.   The said warning part has a prediction part which predicts the time when a passenger passes the warning position in the said escalator from the said walking speed of a passenger, and warns when a passenger passes the said warning position. Escalator safety device.   The escalator safety device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the sensor is any one of a photoelectric sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and a radio wave sensor.   The sensor is a photoelectric sensor, and the light projecting part and the light receiving part of two adjacent pairs of photoelectric sensors arranged along the driving direction of the step intersect at the center in the width direction of the step. And a boarding position detector configured to detect the left and right boarding positions of the passenger on the step from the order in which the passenger blocks the two light paths. The escalator safety device according to any one of the preceding claims.

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