JP2012162354A - Safety apparatus of passenger conveyer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a safety apparatus of a passenger conveyer capable of detecting a foreign matter attached to a moving handrail while surely preventing the hand of an infant from being caught into an inlet port of the moving handrail.SOLUTION: The safety apparatus 30 provided near the inlet port 22 of the moving handrail 18 installed at the landing port 12 of an escalator 10 is provided with a roller 36 provided in contact with the moving handrails 18, a lever 38 movably supporting the roller 36 in the approaching/separating direction in relation to the moving handrail 18, a coil spring 40 energizing the roller 36 toward the moving handrail 18, and a limit switch 42 for detecting the rocking of the lever 38 when the foreign matter is caught between the moving handrail 18 and the roller 36.

Description

  The present invention relates to a safety device for a passenger conveyor, and more particularly to a safety device for a passenger conveyor for preventing an infant's hand or foreign matter from being drawn into an entrance of a moving handrail into a truss.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an escalator, which is one of passenger conveyors, has moving handrails that move on the balustrades on both sides thereof in synchronization with steps that move in a stepped manner. The moving handrail enters the entrance of the handrail of the truss after reversing the moving direction so as to make a U-turn at the entrance / exit on the lower floor in the descending escalator and at the entrance / exit on the upper floor in the ascending escalator.

  There is known an escalator in which a safety device called a hand guard switch (HGS) is provided at the handrail entrance. This hand guard switch is for preventing an infant's hand or a foreign object from being drawn into the gap between the handrail entrance of the truss and the moving handrail together with the moving handrail.

  The hand guard switch includes a rubber boot that covers the moving handrail at the entrance of the handrail with a slight gap and protrudes from the truss end face to the outside by, for example, several centimeters, and urges the boot from the inside of the truss. And a biasing member such as a spring, which is held in a predetermined position, and a detection switch for detecting that the hand of a child (particularly an infant) near the entrance / exit has hit the boot end surface and has moved the boot to the inside of the truss. . When the detection switch detects that the boot has moved to the rear side of the truss, the operation of the escalator is stopped to prevent the passenger's hand from being drawn into the handrail entrance.

  Thus, the safety at the entrance of the handrail of the escalator is secured by the hand guard switch. However, when the urging force of the urging member with respect to the boot is set to about several kg, for example, the boot will not move until a further pushing load is applied. It may take some time from the contact with the boot end to the emergency stop of the escalator. Therefore, a safety device that can more quickly detect a foreign object attached to a moving handrail or an infant's hand is desired.

  As a prior art document related to preventing foreign matter from getting into the entrance of the moving handrail of the escalator, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-291762 (hereinafter referred to as Patent Document 1) describes the foreign matter that enters the moving handrail and enters the drive system. An escalator safety device has been disclosed in which it is desired to push it back out of the hand guard before it is rolled up. The safety device for the escalator includes a handrail, a movable handrail that slides along the handrail, and the movable handrail that slides in the safety device for the escalator that has an inlet near a descending floor that allows the movable handrail to enter. A drive transmission roller that rotates in contact with the motor, and is disposed between the inlet and the drive transmission roller, and rotates in a reverse direction with respect to the rotation direction of the drive transmission roller, and is disposed at a predetermined interval from the moving handrail. And a reverse roller.

JP-A-10-291762

  In the escalator safety device of Patent Document 1, the infant's hand can be pushed out of the hand guard by the reverse rotation roller, so that the infant's hand can be effectively prevented from being caught in the inlet of the moving handrail. However, for example, when a strongly sticking foreign material such as gum is attached to the moving handrail, due to the adhesion force, the gap between the reversing roller is flattened and moves along with the moving handrail. It is thought that it may become a cause of failure.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a safety device for a passenger conveyor that can detect foreign matter adhering to a moving handrail while reliably preventing an infant's hand from getting caught in the entrance of the moving handrail.

  A safety device for a passenger conveyor according to the present invention is a safety device for a passenger conveyor provided in the vicinity of an entrance of a moving handrail at an entrance of a passenger conveyor, and is a foreign object detection member provided in contact with or close to the moving handrail. A support member that supports the foreign object detection member so as to be movable toward and away from the moving handrail, an urging member that urges the foreign object detection member toward the moving handrail, the moving handrail, and the A sensor that detects movement of the support member or the foreign matter detection member in a direction away from the moving handrail when the foreign matter is caught between the foreign matter detection member and the foreign matter detection member.

  In the passenger conveyor safety device according to the present invention, the foreign object detection member may be a roller that rotates while contacting the surface of the moving handrail.

  Further, in the passenger conveyor safety device according to the present invention, the foreign object detection member contacts a central roller that rotates while contacting a flat surface portion of the surface of the moving handrail, and both curved surface portions of the surface of the moving handrail. However, it may be composed of a side roller that rotates while rotating.

  In the passenger conveyor safety device according to the present invention, the foreign object detection member may be a substantially drum-shaped roller that rotates while contacting the flat surface portion and both curved surface portions of the surface of the moving handrail.

  Further, in the passenger conveyor safety device according to the present invention, the support member has a first end to which the foreign object detection member is attached, and a second end serving as a swing center of the support member. It is a moving lever, and the sensor may be a contact type switch arranged in contact with or close to the swing lever.

  According to the passenger conveyor safety device of the present invention, the sensor detects the movement of the support member or the foreign matter detection member in the direction away from the movable handrail when the foreign matter is caught between the movable handrail and the foreign matter detection member. By doing so, the foreign object detection member can be moved by applying a relatively light load, and as a result, the infant's hand and the foreign object attached to the moving handrail and approaching the handrail entrance are detected quickly and reliably. be able to.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the escalator to which the safety device which is one Embodiment of this invention is applied. It is a side view when the entrance / exit of an escalator is seen from the side. It is a side view of the safety device of the escalator of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the roller which is a foreign material detection member with the BB line cross section of FIG. 3 of a moving handrail. It is a figure which shows another form of the roller which is a foreign material detection member. It is a figure which shows another form of the roller which is a foreign material detection member.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this description, specific shapes, materials, numerical values, directions, and the like are examples for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and can be appropriately changed according to the application, purpose, specification, and the like.

  FIG. 1 is a view showing a lower floor entrance / exit 12 of an escalator 10 to which a passenger conveyor safety device (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “safety device”) 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. Moreover, FIG. 2 is a side view when the lower floor side entrance 12 of the escalator 10 of FIG. 1 is seen from the side.

  In the following description, the left and right direction is referred to as the “width direction” and the front and rear direction is referred to as the “depth direction” when viewed from the passengers facing the step 14 direction from the entrance 12. Moreover, although this embodiment demonstrates the example where a safety device is applied to an escalator, it is not limited to this, For example, this invention may be applied to other passenger conveyors, such as a moving walkway.

  The escalator 10 has a well-known configuration for transporting or moving passengers between an upper floor and a lower floor. The escalator 10 has a number of steps 14 that move around in a staircase pattern and a step movement direction on both sides of the step 14. A balustrade section 16 that is extended and erected, and an endless moving handrail 18 made of, for example, urethane rubber that moves around in synchronism with the movement of step 14 while being guided on the balustrade section 16 are provided. Here, the escalator 10 is operated as a descending escalator in which the step 14 and the moving handrail 18 move in the arrow A direction.

  At the entrance / exit 12 on the lower floor side of the escalator 10, the moving handrail 18 has a U-turn area 19, and the moving handrail 18 whose moving direction is reversed in the U-turn area 19 enters the handrail formed in the truss 20. Enter the mouth 22. The endless moving handrail 18 moves in the truss 20 toward the upper floor side, exits the truss 20 at the entrance on the upper floor side, and then moves in the direction of movement through the U-turn area in the same manner as described above. It is reversed and moved again in the direction of arrow A. In addition, a driving roller (not shown) is provided in the truss 20 at a substantially intermediate position between the lower floor and the upper floor in order to move the moving handrail 18 around in synchronization with the movement of the step 14.

  On the floor 15 of the entrance 12 of the escalator 10, a landing plate 24 made of a rectangular flat plate made of metal such as stainless steel is installed. The landing plate 24 has the lateral width of the moving handrail 18 on both sides, that is, the lateral width of the truss 20, and is placed or fixed on a support member (not shown) made of L-shaped steel material or the like provided on the truss 20. Installed.

  A comb plate 26 is disposed on the step plate 14 side of the landing plate 24. The comb plate 26 is fixed with a comb 28 that meshes with a number of cleats (anti-slip grooves) formed in the depth direction on the tread of the step 14 with a few gaps therebetween. The comb plate 26 may be connected and fixed to the landing plate 24, or may be fixed to the truss 20 separately from the landing plate 24. Further, the comb plate 26 may be integrally formed as a part of the landing plate 24.

  A safety device 30 is provided in the vicinity of the handrail entrance 22 through which the moving handrail 18 enters the truss 20. The safety device 30 is for preventing an infant's hand in a state of gripping the moving handrail 18, an adhesive foreign material such as gum, and the like from being drawn into the truss 20 from the handrail entrance 22. The safety device 30 is preferably arranged at the entrance of the upper floor when the escalator 10 may be driven up.

  A cover 32 is detachably fixed to the side wall of the truss 20 in which the handrail entrance 22 is formed. The cover 32 is formed of a soft material such as rubber, for example, and includes an accommodation space therein. The cover 32 has an opening having a shape substantially corresponding to the outer shape of the moving handrail 18 and prevents entry of dust, dust, and the like into the accommodation space. Further, the cover 32 also functions to hide rollers, levers, and the like constituting the safety device 30 described later from the line of sight of the passenger. The cover 32 may be attached on the landing plate 24 located below the moving handrail 18.

  A machine room (not shown) is provided below the landing plate 24, and an escalator control panel 34 for controlling the escalator 10 as a whole, a drive unit for driving the step 14, and the like are disposed in the machine room. . When the escalator control panel 34 receives a foreign object detection signal from a sensor included in the safety device 30, the escalator control panel 34 makes an emergency stop of the operation of the escalator 10.

  Subsequently, the safety device 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a side view of the safety device 30 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a view showing a roller 36 that is a foreign object detection member together with a cross section of the moving handrail 18.

  The safety device 30 includes a roller 36 as a foreign matter detection member, a lever 38 as a support member, a coil spring 40 as a biasing member, a roller 36 as a foreign matter detection member provided in contact with the moving handrail 18, a sensor The limit switch 42 is provided.

  The roller 36 is a cylindrical roller that rotates while contacting the surface of the moving handrail 18. The roller 36 is located in the accommodation space in the cover 32 and is arranged on the upstream side of the handrail entrance 22 with respect to the moving direction of the moving handrail 18. A shaft 44 is provided through the center of the roller 36. The roller 36 may be rotatable with respect to the shaft 44 by being attached to the shaft 44 through, for example, a bearing or the like, or may be rotatable with a fixed shaft.

  At least the outer peripheral portion of the roller 36 is preferably formed of a relatively soft material such as rubber, urethane, or resin so as not to damage the moving handrail 18. The roller 36 rotates in contact with the entire flat surface portion 18a of the outer surface of the moving handrail 18 having a substantially C-shaped cross section. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when the moving handrail 18 moves in the direction of arrow A, the roller 36 rotates in the direction of arrow C (that is, counterclockwise).

  The lever 38 supports the roller 36 so as to be movable toward and away from the moving handrail 18. Specifically, a pair of levers 38 are arranged on both sides of the roller 36, and both ends of a shaft 44 attached to the roller 36 are fixed to or rotatable on one end (first end) 38a of the lever 38. It is supported by. In order to prevent the end portion of the shaft 44 from falling off the lever 38, a fastening member (not shown) such as a C ring is engaged with the end portion of the shaft 44 outside the lever 38.

  The lever 38 is a long plate member that extends from the one end 38 a that supports the roller 36 into the truss 20, and is suitably configured by, for example, a metal flat plate. The other end portion (second end portion) 38 b opposite to the one end portion 38 a of the lever 38 is pivotally supported by a lever support member 46 fixed to the truss 20. As a result, the lever 38 swings in the direction of arrow D with the other end portion 38 b as the swing center. As a result, the roller 36 supported by the one end portion 38 a of the lever 38 moves against the moving handrail 18. It can move in the approaching direction and the leaving direction.

  The coil spring 40 is for urging the roller 36 toward the moving handrail 18. The lower end hook of the coil spring 40 is hooked in a through hole 39 formed at a position relatively close to the other end of the lever 38. On the other hand, the upper end hook of the coil spring 40 is hooked on a fixing member 48 fixed to the truss 20. As a result, the coil spring 40 applies a pulling force to the lever 38 so that the state in which the roller 36 is in contact with the moving handrail 18 is maintained.

  In the present embodiment, the tension coil spring is used as the biasing means for biasing the roller 36 against the moving handrail 18, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a compression coil spring that pushes up and biases the lever 38 from below, a torsion spring disposed at the other end of the lever 38 that is pivotally supported, or a leaf spring or rubber may be used. Other elastic members such as may be used.

  The limit switch 42 is for detecting the swing of the lever 38 when a foreign material such as gum is caught between the moving handrail 18 and the roller 36. The limit switch 42 is disposed in the truss 20 and below the lever 38. The contact 43 of the limit switch 42 is in contact with or close to the lower surface of the lever 38. As a result, when a foreign object or an infant's hand or the like is caught between the moving handrail 18 and the roller 36 and the lever 38 swings downward (that is, in the direction of arrow E), the contact 43 is pushed down to Oscillation, that is, that the roller 36 has moved in a direction away from the moving handrail 18 can be detected.

  In the present embodiment, the contact type limit switch is used as a sensor for detecting the swing of the lever 38, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a non-contact type sensor such as an optical sensor or a capacitance sensor is used. May be used to detect movement of the lever or roller.

  Next, the operation of the safety device 30 having the above configuration will be described.

  When the escalator 10 is running down, the moving handrail 18 moves in the direction of arrow A in synchronization with the movement of step 14. At this time, the roller 36 of the safety device 30 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow C by being in contact with the moving handrail 18.

  When the hand of a child who is a passenger of the escalator 10 or is playing near the entrance / exit 12 approaches the handrail entrance 22 while being held by the moving handrail, it is accommodated beyond the opening of the cover 32 made of a soft material. It moves into the space and is caught between the moving handrail 18 and the roller 36. Then, the roller 36 moves away from the moving handrail 18, that is, moves downward, and accordingly, the lever 38 rotates downward. Thereby, the contact 43 of the limit switch 42 is pushed down, and it is possible to detect the biting of foreign matters such as hands, clothes, gums and the like.

  When the ON signal from the limit switch 42 is received, the escalator control panel 34 makes the operation of the escalator 10 emergency stop. Thereby, when the foreign substance that has entered between the moving handrail 18 and the roller 36 is an infant's hand, it is possible to quickly and surely prevent the moving handrail 18 from being drawn into the handrail entrance 22 due to the movement stop of the moving handrail 18. it can. Further, when the foreign matter adhering to the moving handrail 18 is sticky such as gum, for example, such a foreign matter can be removed by stopping the escalator 10 in an emergency manner to the driving roller of the moving handrail 18. It can be avoided that foreign matters such as those are transferred and cause a failure.

  As described above, according to the safety device 30 of the present embodiment, the limit switch 42 detects the movement of the lever 38 in the direction away from the moving handrail 18 when a foreign object is caught between the moving handrail 18 and the roller 36. By doing so, the roller 36 can be moved downward by applying a relatively light load. As a result, the hand and foreign matter of an infant that has adhered to the moving handrail 18 and has approached the handrail entrance 22 can be quickly and easily removed. It can be detected reliably.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a modified example of the roller which is a foreign matter detection member will be described. Here, only the features that are different from the above embodiment will be described, and the same or similar components are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

  Referring to FIG. 5, in this modified example, the foreign matter detection member is rotated around the outer surface of the moving handrail 18 having a substantially C-shaped cross section while being in contact with the flat surface portion 18 a, and the outer surface of the moving handrail 18. It comprises a pair of side rollers 37 that rotate while contacting the curved surface portions 18b on both sides of the surface. In this case, the shaft 44 of the central roller 36 is fixed so as not to rotate with respect to the lever 38, and the roller 36 rotates around the shaft 44. A sub shaft 45 that rotatably supports the side roller 37 is fixed on the shaft 44 so as to extend obliquely upward from both sides of the roller 36.

  As described above, by adding the side roller 37 that rotates in contact with the curved surface portion 18b as well as the flat surface portion 18a of the outer surface of the moving handrail 18, the side roller 37 even when foreign matter adheres to the curved surface portion 18b. And the lever 38 can be swung downward, and foreign matter adhering to the curved surface portion 18b of the moving handrail 18 can be detected effectively.

  FIG. 6 shows yet another form of roller 36a. The roller 36a is a substantially drum-shaped roller that rotates while contacting from the flat surface portion 18a on the outer surface of the moving handrail 18 to the curved surface portions 18b on both sides. By forming in such a roller shape, the number of rollers is reduced and the complexity of the shaft shape is avoided and the foreign matter adhering to the curved surface portion 18b of the moving handrail 18 is also effective compared to the modified example shown in FIG. Can be detected.

  In the above-described embodiment, the roller 36 that is a foreign object detection member has been described as being in contact with the moving handrail 18, but is not limited thereto, and is, for example, about 1 to 2 mm from the surface of the moving handrail 18. The roller 36 may be disposed in a non-contact manner with respect to the moving handrail 18 in a close proximity with a gap therebetween. In this case, it can be easily realized by fixing to the truss 20 a stopper member that contacts the lever upper edge and stops the lever 38 at a predetermined position.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the movement of the lever supporting the roller is detected by the limit switch to detect the foreign matter attached to the moving handrail. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications and Improvements are possible. For example, the non-contact sensor may detect the movement of the roller in the direction away from the moving handrail when a foreign object is caught between the moving handrail and the roller. In this case, the supporting member for supporting the roller may not be a swinging lever, and for example, a U-shaped bracket that supports the roller so as to be linearly movable in the vertical direction with respect to the moving handrail is used as a supporting member on the truss or floor. A compression spring that pushes up the U-shaped bracket from below may be used as the urging member.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the rotatably supported roller is used as the foreign object detection member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a low friction member that is slidably contacted with the flat surface portion of the moving handrail is used. You may use as a foreign material detection member.

  10 escalator, 12 boarding gate, 14 steps, 15 floor, 16 balustrade, 18 moving handrail, 18a flat surface, 18b curved surface, 19 U-turn area, 20 truss, 22 handrail entrance, 24 landing plate, 26 comb plate , 28 Com, 30 Safety device, 32 Cover, 34 Escalator control panel, 36, 36a Roller or center roller, 37 Side roller, 38 Lever, 38a One end, 38b Other end, 39 Through hole, 40 Coil spring, 42 Limit switch , 43 Contact, 44 shaft, 45 sub shaft, 46 lever support member, 48 fixing member.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the escalator to which the safety device which is one Embodiment of this invention is applied. It is a side view when the entrance / exit of an escalator is seen from the side. It is a side view of the safety device of the escalator of this embodiment. The roller is a foreign matter detecting member is a diagram shown with cross section of the moving handrail. It is a figure which shows another form of the roller which is a foreign material detection member. It is a figure which shows another form of the roller which is a foreign material detection member.

Claims (5)

A passenger conveyor safety device provided near the entrance of a moving handrail at the entrance of the passenger conveyor,
A foreign matter detection member provided in contact with or in proximity to the moving handrail;
A support member that supports the foreign object detection member so as to be movable toward and away from the moving handrail;
A biasing member that biases the foreign object detection member toward the moving handrail;
A sensor for detecting movement in a direction away from the moving handrail of the support member or the foreign object detecting member when a foreign object is caught between the moving handrail and the foreign object detecting member;
Passenger conveyor safety device comprising: The passenger conveyor safety device according to claim 1,
The safety device for a passenger conveyor, wherein the foreign object detection member is a roller that rotates while contacting the surface of the moving handrail. In the passenger conveyor safety device according to claim 1 or 2,
The foreign object detection member is configured by a central roller that rotates while contacting a flat surface portion of the surface of the moving handrail, and a side roller that rotates while contacting both curved surface portions of the surface of the moving handrail. A passenger conveyor safety device. In the passenger conveyor safety device according to claim 2,
The safety device for a passenger conveyor, wherein the foreign object detection member is a substantially drum-shaped roller that rotates while contacting a flat surface portion and both curved surface portions of the surface of the moving handrail. In the safety device of the passenger conveyor as described in any one of Claims 1-4,
The support member is a swing lever having a first end to which the foreign object detection member is attached and a second end serving as a swing center of the support member, and the sensor is the swing lever. A safety device for a passenger conveyor, characterized in that it is a contact-type switch arranged in contact with or in close proximity to the vehicle.

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