Passenger conveyor guidance device

Abstract

On passenger conveyors such as escalators, it is customary to leave one side open so that people can walk, even when the escalator is crowded. However, walking on the escalator can cause people to fall and lead to accidents. It can also cause the weight of the escalator to be biased to one side, which can lead to breakdowns. It also reduces transport efficiency. [Solution] The passenger conveyor guidance device includes a dynamic monitoring unit that detects or predicts congestion at the passenger conveyor landing, and a mobile body management unit that commands mobile bodies to board the passenger conveyor when congestion is detected or predicted.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a passenger conveyor guiding device, a passenger conveyor guiding system, a passenger conveyor guiding method, and a passenger conveyor guiding program that are applied to passenger conveyors such as escalators and walking paths. [Background technology]

[0002] In Patent Document 1, a camera detects the congestion status of an escalator, and if congestion occurs, the extension of the guide fence is extended to a predetermined length to increase the distance passengers can travel from the exit to the boarding area. Also, an announcement is made such as, "Please move quickly without stopping at the exit of the escalator." This prevents passengers from accumulating at the exit area. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-6502 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On passenger conveyors such as escalators, it is customary to leave one side open so that people can walk, even when the escalator is crowded. However, walking on the escalator can lead to falls and accidents. It can also cause the weight of the escalator to be biased to one side, which can lead to breakdowns. It also reduces transportation efficiency. Therefore, passengers should be allowed to board in two rows. One possible solution to this is to make a warning announcement, as in Patent Document 1. However, this alone will not eliminate the situation of leaving one side open. This is because leaving one side open is recognized as "good manners that show consideration for people who are in a hurry." Another possible reason is that there is peer pressure to "follow the crowd and act in line with those around you (in other words, not wanting to be the bad guy)."

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to allow passengers to board a passenger conveyor in two lines during crowded times. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The passenger conveyor guidance device of the present disclosure includes a dynamic state monitoring unit that detects or predicts congestion at a passenger conveyor landing, and a mobile body management unit that commands a mobile body to board the passenger conveyor when congestion is detected or predicted, The movement monitoring unit obtains the density, direction and speed of people on the entire floor from video information sent from the monitoring device on the floor where the landing is installed, grasps the movement status of people in the direction of the passenger conveyor's landing, and predicts the congestion from the movement status. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The present disclosure can eliminate the situation where one side of a passenger conveyor is left empty when the conveyor is crowded, thereby ensuring safety and improving transportation efficiency. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of an escalator in the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a state diagram showing the vicinity of a hall in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is an external view showing the appearance of a moving body in accordance with a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a control configuration of a moving body in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 1 is a configuration diagram showing a passenger conveyor guide system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the passenger conveyor guiding device in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the area around the hall is crowded in the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of a moving body in the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the area around the hall is crowded in the first embodiment. [Figure 10] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of hardware resources of the passenger conveyor guiding device according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another example of hardware resources of the passenger conveyor guiding device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the vicinity of a hall in the second embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a passenger conveyor guide system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 14] 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the passenger conveyor guiding device in the third embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of a behavior monitoring unit when AI technology is used in embodiment 3. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a passenger conveyor guide system according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 17] 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the passenger conveyor guiding device in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 18] 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the passenger conveyor guiding device in the fifth embodiment. [Figure 19] 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of a moving body in the fifth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be appropriately simplified or omitted.

[0010] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an escalator, which is a passenger conveyor. In the figure, escalator 1 is installed between the upper and lower floors of a building. In this example, the upper floors are referred to as the front and the lower floors as the rear, and the escalator moves from the lower floors to the upper floors.

[0011] Escalator 1 comprises a landing 2a, a landing 2b, and a main frame 3. The landing 2a is located on an upper floor, and the landing 2b is located on a lower floor. The main frame 3 spans between the landing 2a and the landing 2b, and has a machine room 3a at its upper end and a driven machine room 3b at its lower end. The machine room 3a is located below the landing 2a, and the driven machine room 3b is located below the landing 2b.

[0012] The escalator 1 also includes a plurality of steps 4, and a driving sprocket 5, a step chain 6, a driving machine 7, and a driven sprocket 8 as moving means for moving the steps 4.

[0013] The steps 4 are connected endlessly and are arranged between the landing 2a and the landing 2b. The step chain 6 is an endless chain that connects the steps 4, and a portion of it is wound around the driving sprocket 5 installed in the machine room 3a and the driven sprocket 8 installed in the driven machine room 3b.

[0014] The escalator 1 also includes a pair of balustrades 9 and a pair of moving handrails 10. The moving handrails 10 move on the handrail guide rails of the balustrades 9 in coordination with the movement of the steps 4.

[0015] On the same plane as the landing 2a on the upper floor is an upper floor, the underside of which is the ceiling 20 of the lower floor. A landing photography device 21 is installed on the underside of this floor to photograph the landing 2b and its surroundings.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the vicinity of the hall 2b photographed by the hall photographing device 21. Each of the balustrades 9 arranged on both the left and right sides of the step 4 has an outer deck 9a and an inner deck 9b at the bottom. In addition, a truss 11 having an entrance into the main frame 3 of the moving handrail 10 connects the outer deck 9a and the inner deck 9b. There is also a floor 30 leading to the landing 2b, and in one corner of it is a waiting area 31 where multiple moving bodies 100 wait.

[0017] Fig. 3 is an external view showing the appearance of the moving body 100, with Fig. 3(a) being a front view, Fig. 3(b) being a side view, and Fig. 3(c) being a rear view. Fig. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the control configuration of the moving body 100.

[0018] The moving body 100 is made up of a head 101, a body 102, and a moving part 103. The moving part 103 is made up of four tires, two on the left and right and two on the front and back, and has a built-in acceleration sensor. The head 101 is also equipped with a camera 104, which is an imaging device, and a light 105. The head 101 can rotate horizontally, allowing the camera to take 360-degree images.

[0019] A monitor 106 is installed on the back of the body 102, and can show images to people standing behind the moving body 100. Handles 107 are fixed to the left and right sides of the monitor 106.

[0020] The mobile object 100 includes a transmitter / receiver 108 capable of wireless communication with the outside, particularly with the passenger conveyor guidance device 200, a sensor 109 capable of detecting external devices and people, an audio unit 110 capable of broadcasting sound to the outside, a GPS 111 for detecting the current location, and a control unit 112 for overall control. The monitor 106 and audio unit 110 constitute an alarm unit 113. The mobile object 100 operates on power supplied from a built-in battery 114.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a passenger conveyor guidance system, which is mainly composed of a hall photographing device 21, a moving body 100, and a passenger conveyor guidance device 200.

[0022] The passenger conveyor guiding device 200 has an information acquiring unit 201, a movement monitoring unit 202, a mobile object managing unit 203, and an information notifying unit 204. FIG.

[0023] The configuration and operation of the passenger conveyor guide device 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. The information acquisition unit 201 acquires the video information transmitted from the hall photographing device 21 (step S001). The movement monitoring unit 202 identifies people from the video information acquired by the information acquisition unit 201 and analyzes the current movement at hall 2b (step S002). Then, it determines whether hall 2b is crowded and one side is not clear (step S003). This determination is made based on the number of people present in the acquired video, their positions, and their movement speed. FIG. 7 is a state diagram showing a state in which hall 2b is crowded and one side is clear. Here, nine or more people are lined up in a row from hall 2b to floor 30, and more people are lining up one after another. Furthermore, the movement speed of the people is slower than 30 m / min, which is the normal movement speed of escalator 1. In such a case, it can be determined that the escalator is crowded.

[0024] Furthermore, if the width of the people in line is less than half the width of step 4, it can be determined that one side is empty. In Figure 7, one person is walking on the empty right side. Steps S002 and S003 correspond to the first step.

[0025] If the movement monitoring unit 202 determines that one side is clear in a mixed state, the mobile object management unit 203 sends a dispatch command to the mobile object 100 to identify the escalator and get on the clear side of step 4, which is the right side in FIG. 7 (step S004). This corresponds to the second step.

[0026] At the same time, the information notification unit 204 identifies the escalator and transmits information that it is congested to the building facilities management device 300 located within the building. The information notification unit 204 also identifies the escalator and transmits information about the congestion status to escalator user software on mobile terminals 400, such as smartphones, carried by people in the building (step S005). The building facilities management device 300 receives this information and displays on signage 301 that the escalator is congested. The information notification unit 204 also broadcasts a warning from speaker 302 that the escalator is congested. This escalator user software can be downloaded from a dedicated website.

[0027] Thereafter, the information acquisition unit 201 acquires the video information transmitted from the hall photographing device 21 (step S006), and the movement monitoring unit 202 analyzes the movement (step S007) and determines whether the congestion has been resolved (step S008). This determination is made based on the number of people present in the acquired video, their positions, and their movement speeds. For example, if the number of people lining up at hall 2b has decreased to five, the congestion has been resolved.

[0028] If the status monitoring unit 202 determines that the mixing has been resolved, the mobile unit management unit 203 transmits a return command to the mobile unit 100 (step S009).

[0029] The information notification unit 204 also transmits information that the congestion has been alleviated to the building facilities management device 300. At the same time, the information that the congestion has been alleviated is transmitted to the escalator user software in the mobile terminal 400 carried by the person in the building (step S010).

[0030] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mobile object 100 when it receives a dispatch command in step S004.

[0031] The control unit 112 of the moving body 100 determines whether or not a dispatch command has been received from the passenger conveyor guiding device 200 via the transmitting / receiving unit 108 (step S100).

[0032] When a dispatch command is received, the control unit 112 rotates the wheels, which are the movement unit 103, and moves from the waiting area 31 to the landing 2b of the specified escalator (first escalator) (step S101). During movement, the current location is confirmed based on the GPS 111. The escalator also moves to the landing 2b while checking the front with the camera 104, while avoiding people and objects based on sensor information from the sensor unit 109. Thereafter, the escalator boards at the specified boarding position on step 4, which is the right side in this case (step S102). The notification unit 113 also issues a safety notification. Specifically, a message urging passengers to board on both sides of step 4, leaving only one side free, such as a message saying "Please board in two lines," is displayed and broadcast on the monitor 106 and audio unit 110 (step S103).

[0033] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the area around the hall 2b in this state. When the moving object 100 gets on the right side of step 4, it stops moving, so people cannot walk up the right side. This causes people at platform 2b to no longer have to worry about leaving one side open for people in a hurry, and they are guided by the moving object 100, so they start lining up on the right side as well. As a result, people can be expected to line up in two rows, one on the right side and one on the left side, and congestion will be alleviated.

[0034] The moving body 100 that has boarded step 4 eventually reaches an upper floor, dismounts from step 4, and reaches the dismounting point 2a (step S104). After that, the moving body 100 moves to the landing of the downward escalator (second escalator) in the opposite direction (step S105). Then, the moving body 100 boards step 4 (step S106), dismounts from step 4 on a lower floor, and reaches the dismounting point (step S107), thereby returning to the original floor.

[0035] Thereafter, the control unit 112 determines whether or not a return command has been received from the passenger conveyor guiding device 200 via the transmitting / receiving unit 108 (step S108). If a return command has been received, the control unit 112 operates the moving unit 103 to return to the waiting area 31 (step S109). If a return command has not been received, steps S101 to S108 are repeated.

[0036] In this way, when congestion occurs at hall 2b, moving objects 100 are placed on step 4 of the escalator to prevent people from walking on the escalator. It is expected that people will be guided and board the escalator evenly in the two rows on the left and right of step 4.

[0037] During this time, the monitor 106 and audio unit 110 of the moving body 100 will issue a safety notice prohibiting walking on the step 4, thereby raising awareness of keeping one side of the step 4.

[0038] Instead of using the video captured by the hall photographing device 21, the information acquiring unit 201 may acquire information from a heat sensor installed on the ceiling and identify the location of the person based on the detected temperature. Also, the location of each person's smartphone, as determined by GPS, may be acquired to identify the location of the person.

[0039] Although the moving body 100 was dispatched when it was determined that the hall 2b was crowded and one side was vacant, it may be dispatched simply when it was determined that the hall was crowded. Since it is customary to leave the right side or the left side vacant at step 4 of the escalator 1, it is possible to determine the position where the moving body 100 should board. Furthermore, the moving body 100 can board at its own discretion on the vacant side based on the image from the camera 104.

[0040] In the above embodiment, the moving body 100 simply returns to the original floor when going down, but if congestion is expected on the downbound side as well, the moving body 100 may board on an empty side and display or broadcast a message, just as on the upbound side.

[0041] When descending, if the moving object 100 simply returns to the original floor, other means, such as an elevator, may be used. Also, if the moving object 100 is humanoid, the moving object 100 may return by stairs.

[0042] The mobile object 100 may be, for example, a transport robot with shelves and a storage area. It may also be a cleaning robot with a wiping / suction tool as a cleaning unit. It may also be a security robot that normally moves around the floor. By enabling a robot that performs such tasks to perform the new task of preventing walking in step 4, the added value of the robot can be improved, contributing to the widespread use of robots.

[0043] Although the case where one moving body 100 is operated has been described, multiple moving bodies 100 may be operated simultaneously. In the case of one moving body, after arriving at the exit 2a on the way up, one side may be left empty on the way up while returning on the way down. In contrast, by using two or more moving bodies 100 and having them board step 4 at different times, one side can be continuously blocked, allowing passengers to continue lining up in two lines. Furthermore, for example, when traveling on the same floor, for example, between the third and fourth floors, the number of upward escalators and the number of downward escalators are different, and both the upward and downward escalators are crowded, the number of moving bodies can be adjusted and optimally controlled.

[0044] After moving to drop-off point 2a, instead of returning in the opposite direction, the passenger may be allowed to board an escalator going in the same direction (a third escalator). For example, after moving to drop-off point 2a, the passenger may board one side of step 4 on an upward escalator from that floor to go to an upper floor. In department stores and shopping malls, congestion may continue from the lower floors to the upper floors, and in such cases, it may be effective to continue boarding the escalator.

[0045] 10 is a diagram showing an example of hardware resources of the passenger conveyor guiding device 200. The passenger conveyor guiding device 200 has, as hardware resources, a processor 200a, a memory 200b, and a transmitting / receiving circuit 200c. Note that there may be a plurality of processors 200a, memories 200b, and transmitting / receiving circuits 200c.

[0046] In the first embodiment, the passenger conveyor guidance device 200 analyzes, judges, and stores information. The storage of this information is performed in the memory 200b. The analysis and judgment processes are executed by the processor 200a using software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware written as a program stored in the memory 200b. The transmission / reception circuit 200c is responsible for wireless communication with the hall photography device 21 and the moving body 100.

[0047] The processor 200a is also called a CPU (Central Processing Unit), central processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP. The memory 200b may be a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a minidisk, or a DVD. Usable semiconductor memories include RAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM, and EEPROM.

[0048] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of hardware resources of the passenger conveyor guidance device 200. In the example of FIG. 11, the passenger conveyor guidance device 200 has a processing circuit including a processor 200a, a memory 200b, a transceiver circuit 200c, and dedicated hardware 200d. Some of the functions of the passenger conveyor guidance device 200 are realized by the dedicated hardware 200d. Note that all of the functions of the passenger conveyor guidance device 200 may be realized by the dedicated hardware 200d. The dedicated hardware 200d may be a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0049] Embodiment 2 In the first embodiment, the hall photographing device 21 is provided on the ceiling above the hall 2b, but it may also be controlled by, for example, image information obtained from the camera 104 of the moving body 100. In this case, as shown in Fig. 12, the moving body 100 will wait near the hall 2b so that the camera 104 can photograph the hall 2b. Note that the same reference numerals are used for the same parts as in the first embodiment, and descriptions thereof will be omitted or simplified.

[0050] In this way, by having the camera 104 of the moving body 100 photograph the hall 2b, the present system can be easily introduced into an existing building without any extra construction work.

[0051] Embodiment 3 In the third embodiment, a function is added to predict that congestion will occur at hall 2b in the near future based on information from an existing external system, and to allow moving bodies 100 to board before congestion occurs at hall 2b. An example of the external system is a floor monitoring system installed on a floor. The floor monitoring system is a system in which multiple cameras that are floor monitoring devices are installed at predetermined locations on the floor, and images from the cameras are displayed on a monitor in a control room to monitor for suspicious persons and accidents.

[0052] Fig. 13 is a configuration diagram showing a passenger conveyor guiding system in embodiment 3. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of passenger conveyor guiding device 200 in embodiment 3. Note that the same parts as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted or simplified. Also, the processing of the flowchart in Fig. 14 is executed in parallel and in cooperation with the processing of the flowchart in Fig. 6. In other words, if a dispatch command is issued to the moving object 100 first in either one, that command takes priority.

[0053] A plurality of floor monitoring devices 22 of the floor monitoring system are installed on the ceiling of each floor, and the information acquiring unit 201 acquires video information transmitted from the plurality of floor monitoring devices 22 (step S011).

[0054] The movement monitoring unit 202 identifies people from the video information acquired by the information acquisition unit 201 and analyzes their movements on the current floor (step S012). Then, it determines whether congestion will occur at hall 2b in the near future (step S013).

[0055] Specifically, people and their movements are identified from video information captured by multiple floor monitoring devices 22. Then, the density, direction, and speed of people on the entire floor are calculated to grasp the movement of people toward hall 2b of escalator 1. Then, from this movement, the number of people who will arrive at hall 2b in one minute is predicted, and if this number greatly exceeds the number of people that can board escalator 1 at one time, congestion is predicted. Note that steps S012 and S013 correspond to the first step.

[0056] If congestion is predicted, in step S004, the mobile object management unit 203 sends a dispatch command to the mobile object 100. At this time, it is unknown whether one side will be left empty at hall 2b. However, it is customary to leave either the right side or the left side empty at step 4 of the escalator 1. Therefore, the mobile object 100 can be made to board at that position. Note that even if one side is not left empty, there is no problem with the mobile object 100 boarding. Furthermore, the mobile object 100 can board at its own discretion on the empty side based on the image from camera 104.

[0057] If congestion has not yet actually occurred, the moving body 100 may be placed in the center of the step 4, preventing people from walking on the right and left sides.

[0058] After step S005, the information acquisition unit 201 acquires video information from the plurality of floor monitoring devices 22 (step S016).

[0059] The movement monitoring unit 202 identifies people from the video information acquired by the information acquisition unit 201 and analyzes the movement on the current floor (step S017). Then, it predicts whether the congestion at hall 2b has been resolved (step S018). This is also done by identifying the number and flow of people in the video.

[0060] If it is predicted that the problem has been resolved, steps S009 and S010 are carried out.

[0061] By doing this, when congestion actually occurs at platform 2b, passengers can line up in two rows from the start.

[0062] The movement monitoring unit 202 may, based on video information captured by multiple floor monitoring devices 22, simulate people flow and the movements of the escalator 1 and the moving object 100 in a digital twin environment, and predict congestion, if people flow simulation is also possible.

[0063] AI technology may be used in the behavior monitoring unit 202. Fig. 15 is a configuration diagram of the behavior monitoring unit 202 when AI technology is used, and is mainly composed of a trained model 202a and an inference unit 202b.

[0064] The trained model 202a stores video data on the number of people that can be photographed on the floor, their movements, and a large-scale situation, such as whether there is congestion at the hall 2b of the escalator 1. The inference unit 202b then compares the video information acquired by the information acquisition unit 201 with the video data of the trained model 202a to predict the occurrence of congestion at the hall 2b. In addition, the hall photographing device 21 can determine whether congestion actually occurred after the prediction. Based on the results, the trained model 202a can be retrained. In this way, the use of AI technology can improve prediction accuracy.

[0065] Congestion prediction can be supplemented by integrating not only the floor monitoring system but also other systems such as the traffic management system of a nearby station, the entrance / exit system at a building gate, and the elevator system, thereby further improving the accuracy of congestion predictions.

[0066] 13, it is of course possible to omit the hall photographing device 21 and only predict congestion using the image information from the floor monitoring device 22. This allows the device to be simplified.

[0067] Embodiment 4 At stations, the number of people increases depending on the rush hour or the arrival time of a train, and congestion may occur on the escalators. Therefore, in the fourth embodiment, the moving object 100 is configured to be deployed when a time period when congestion is predicted is reached.

[0068] Fig. 16 is a configuration diagram showing a passenger conveyor guiding system in the fourth embodiment. Fig. 17 is a flowchart showing the operation of a passenger conveyor guiding device 200 in the fourth embodiment. Note that the same reference numerals are used to denote the same parts as in the first embodiment, and descriptions thereof will be omitted or simplified. Also, the processing of the flowchart in Fig. 17 is executed in parallel and in cooperation with the processing of the flowchart in Fig. 6. In other words, if a dispatch command is issued to the moving object 100 first in either of the two, that command takes priority.

[0069] The passenger conveyor guidance device 200 has a time record DB 205 and a clock 206. The time record DB 205 has many records of time periods when congestion occurred on the target escalator in the past.

[0070] The movement monitoring unit 202 determines the expected crowded time period of the escalator from the information in the time record DB 205, and determines whether the current time is within that time period (step S033). If it is determined that the time period has arrived, in step S004, it transmits a dispatch command to the mobile object 100. This corresponds to the first step.

[0071] Thereafter, the movement monitoring unit 202 determines whether the current time is outside the expected congestion time period of the escalator (step S038). If it is determined that the time period has passed, a return command is issued to the moving object 100 in step S009, and the information is notified in step S010.

[0072] By setting a time period and dispatching the mobile object 100, it is possible to quickly deal with congestion when it occurs. Also, the number of people using the escalator during rush hours such as commuting does not change significantly from day to day. Therefore, by having the mobile object 100 board the escalator during the same rush hour every day, it is possible to form the habit of boarding in two rows.

[0073] 16, it is of course possible to omit the hall photography device 21 and only predict congestion based on the busy time period, thereby simplifying the device.

[0074] Embodiment 5 By analyzing the three-dimensional information from the video information acquired from the hall photographing device 21, it is also possible to determine the attributes of a person, such as their body shape, whether they are elderly or a child, whether they use a cane or a wheelchair, etc. In the fifth embodiment, based on this attribute information, if there is a person who needs assistance to get on to step 4, the moving body 100 is dispatched.

[0075] Fig. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation of the passenger conveyor guiding device 200 in the fifth embodiment. Fig. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the moving body 100 in the fifth embodiment. The system configuration is the same as that in Fig. 5, and only the function of the movement monitoring unit 202 is different.

[0076] The processing in the flowchart of FIG. 18 is executed in parallel with the processing in the flowchart of FIG. In step S001, the information acquisition unit 201 acquires video information transmitted from the hall photographing device 21. The movement monitoring unit 202 analyzes the three-dimensional information of the video information and analyzes the attributes of the people shown in the video. Furthermore, the movement of the people is analyzed (step S042). Then, it is determined whether there is anyone among them who needs assistance (step S043). For example, through analysis, the person's attribute is identified as an elderly person. As for the movement, suppose that the elderly person is stopped for several tens of seconds just before step 4 at hall 2b. Then, it is determined that the elderly person is unable to board step 4 and needs assistance.

[0077] If it is determined that assistance is required, the mobile object management unit 203 transmits a dispatch command to the mobile object 100 to identify the escalator and assist the elderly person (step S044).

[0078] 19, the moving body 100 receives a dispatch command in step S100, and moves to the hall 2b in step S101. Based on the image captured by the camera 104, the moving body 100 finds the person requiring assistance and approaches them.

[0079] Then, a message such as "We will guide you to the upper floor. Please hold the handle next to the monitor" is displayed and broadcast on the monitor 106 and audio unit 110 (step S112). Also, to inform the passenger of the situation of people around them, an announcement such as "There is someone who needs assistance. Please wait a moment" is made.

[0080] When the control unit 112 detects from the sensor information from the sensor unit 109 that the subject has grasped the handle 107, the control unit 112 urges the subject to get on to step 4 (step S113). At this time, the moving speed may be slowed down in cooperation with the control device of the escalator 1.

[0081] At the landing 2a on the upper floor, the target person is urged to disembark from step 4 (step S114). After that, the vehicle returns to the waiting area 31 in steps S105 to S109.

[0082] In this way, the moving body 100 can be effectively utilized, for example, to assist passengers onto escalators, even when the elevator is not crowded.

[0083] After moving to the platform 2b, the moving body 100 may make an announcement to passengers around it requesting assistance for the elderly person. In this case, the moving body 100 does not necessarily have to board the vehicle.

[0084] Although the preferred embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

[0085] Furthermore, when the number, quantity, amount, range, etc. of each element is mentioned in the embodiments, the device of this disclosure is not limited to the mentioned number unless otherwise specified or clearly specified in principle. Furthermore, the structures, etc. described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential unless otherwise specified or clearly specified in principle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1 escalator, 2a landing, 2b landing, 3 main frame, 4 step, 5 drive sprocket, 6 step chain, 7 driving machine, 8 driven sprocket, 9 handrail, 10 moving handrail, 20 Ceiling, 21 Platform photography device, 22 Floor monitoring device, 30 floors, 31 waiting areas, 100 moving body, 101 head, 102 body, 103 moving part, 104 camera, 105 light, 106 monitor, 107 handle, 108 transmitting and receiving unit, 109 sensor unit, 110 audio unit, 111 GPS, 112 control unit, 113 alarm unit, 114 battery, 200 passenger conveyor induction device, 200a processor, 200b memory, 200c Transmitting and receiving circuit, 200d Dedicated hardware, 201 information acquisition unit, 202 movement monitoring unit, 202a trained model, 202b Reasoning Department, 203 Mobile Management Department, 204 Information Notification Department, 205 Time Record DB, 206 Clock, 300 Building facility management equipment, 301 Signage, 302 Speakers, 400 mobile devices

Claims

1. A passenger conveyor guidance device that manages moving objects, comprising: a movement monitoring unit that detects or predicts congestion at a passenger conveyor landing; and a moving object management unit that commands the moving objects to board the passenger conveyor when the congestion is detected or predicted, wherein the movement monitoring unit determines the density, movement direction, and movement speed of people on the entire floor from video information sent from a monitoring device on the floor where the landing is installed, grasps the movement status of people in the direction of the passenger conveyor's landing, and predicts the congestion from the movement status.

2. A passenger conveyor guidance device as described in Claim 1, wherein the movement monitoring unit predicts the number of people arriving at the boarding area from the movement status and predicts congestion when the number of people significantly exceeds the number that can board the passenger conveyor at one time.

3. 3. The passenger conveyor guiding device according to claim 1, wherein the moving body management unit specifies a boarding position and commands the moving body to board the passenger conveyor.

Images