Escalator and / or escalator with detection of unattended infants

Abstract

The present invention is based on the object of providing an escalator and / or moving staircase in which even an unattended small child can be automatically warned of the danger of being in the entrance and / or exit section.This object is achieved according to the invention with an escalator and / or moving staircase with a possibility for detecting persons, in particular unattended small children, which comprises the following components: a) a movable conveying section which is delimited by an entrance section and an exit section; b) a detection sensor for movable objects arranged in the region of the entrance section and / or in the region of the exit section; c) an evaluation unit which is designed to compare the signals supplied by the detection sensor with a predetermined detection profile and to generate a deviation signal in the event of a deviation of the supplied signals from the predetermined detection profile; and d) an intervention unit which reacts to the deviation signal with a predeterminable pattern.In this way, it is possible to use the detection sensor and the evaluation unit to differentiate between the detected signals to determine whether a person is walking quickly through the entrance section and / or the exit section in order to enter or exit the escalator and / or moving walkway, or whether a smaller person is staying in the entrance section and / or the exit section for longer than necessary to walk through.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an escalator and / or moving staircase with a detection of persons, in particular unattended small children.

[0002] Escalators and moving stairs are ubiquitous in modern public spaces. They allow people to cover distances and / or height differences with minimal effort. The speed of these types of transportation typically exceeds that of an average pedestrian.

[0003] Generally speaking, transportation on an escalator and / or moving walkway isn't particularly challenging. The only thing you need to be careful about is synchronizing your footing with the stationary ground when entering and exiting the entrance area.

[0004] Unfortunately, due to the curiosity and thirst for knowledge of small children, accidents often occur in the entrance and / or exit sections. Toddlers often sneak away from their parents and then remain unsupervised in the entrance and / or exit sections. Toddlers who are not yet fully able to walk are therefore at risk of falling and injuring themselves in the entrance and / or exit sections due to the speed of the transport system. In the worst case, this can even lead to shearing off limbs, including hands.

[0005] Currently, public attention is needed to ensure the safety of such small children, which can be achieved, among other things, by pressing an emergency stop button. This brings the vehicle to a standstill, but reliably eliminates the risk of injury to an unattended small child.

[0006] The present invention is based on the object of specifying an escalator and / or moving staircase in which even an unsupervised small child can be automatically warned of the danger of staying in the entrance and / or exit section, so that the small child is prompted, for example, by loud and / or bright warning signs to leave the entrance and / or exit section and thus to move away from the possible danger areas.

[0007] This object is achieved according to the invention with an escalator and / or moving walkway with a possibility for detecting persons, in particular unattended small children, which comprises the following components: a) a movable conveying section delimited by an entrance section and an exit section; b) a detection sensor for movable objects arranged in the region of the entrance section and / or in the region of the exit section; c) an evaluation unit designed to compare the signals supplied by the detection sensor with a predetermined detection profile and to generate a deviation signal in the event of a deviation of the supplied signals from the predetermined detection profile; and d) an intervention unit reacting to the deviation signal with a predeterminable pattern.

[0008] In this way, it is possible to use the detection sensor and the evaluation unit to differentiate between the detected signals to determine whether a person is walking quickly through the entrance section and / or the exit section in order to enter or exit the escalator and / or moving walkway, or whether a smaller person is staying in the entrance section and / or the exit section for longer than necessary to walk through.

[0009] Exactly such behavior usually represents the playing of an unsupervised toddler in the entrance and / or exit sections, which would then be noticed when comparing the delivered signals with the given detection profile and would trigger the reaction of the intervention unit.

[0010] A favorable position for the detection sensor can be provided if the entrance section and / or the exit section are essentially represented by the length of a fixed floor element—as seen in the direction of travel of the moving conveyor section. These floor elements essentially form the playground for an unattended toddler and are therefore particularly suitable for the corresponding detection of such a toddler.

[0011] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the detection sensor can comprise a radar sensor and / or a LiDAR scanner. A LiDAR scanner, in particular, also provides very precise size information about the detected object.

[0012] In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the detection profile can have a temporally limited spatial detection pattern. During normal entry or exit of the escalator and / or moving staircase, the temporary user triggers a kind of bulge-like progression of the signal strength over time. Initially, the signal increases as the person approaches, reaches a maximum when passing the detection sensor, and then quickly drops back to zero. The duration of this process is in the range of a few seconds. However, if an unattended small child is in the entrance and / or exit sections, the result is a sensor signal that repeatedly remains at a maximum value for a period longer than a few seconds without clearly dropping again after a few seconds.Thus, by comparing this detected pattern with the predefined detection profile, it can be quickly concluded that an object has been in the entrance and / or exit sections for a period of time beyond the simple use of the escalator and / or moving walkway, and it is highly likely that this is an unattended toddler. Consequently, the deviation signal is triggered.

[0013] In a further advantageous embodiment of the present invention, it can be provided that the intervention unit can issue an acoustic and / or visual warning message upon the occurrence of the deviation signal. In this way, the person in question should be quickly and clearly alerted to the danger of remaining in the entrance and / or exit sections and thus prompted to leave this section. Upon leaving this section, the deviation signal would also no longer be present, and the warning message would be reset (perhaps with a certain delay beyond the disappearance of the deviation signal).

[0014] Furthermore, it could also be provided that the intervention unit can start a timer upon sending the warning message. This timer records the temporal continuation of the deviation signal and, if a predetermined time period for this continuation is exceeded, stops a drive mechanism for the moving transport section. Thus, the intervention unit interprets an exceedance of the time period as meaning that the person has not (yet) left the entrance and / or exit sections (for whatever reason) despite the warning signal, and thus stops the escalator and / or the moving transport section.

[0015] Further advantageous embodiments of the present invention can be found in the remaining subclaims.

[0016] Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows a schematic view of an overview image of an entrance section of an escalator with a LiDAR sensor unit; Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a photographic representation of the entrance section according to Figure 1 and Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a photographic representation of the initial situation of a small child in the entrance section.

[0017] Figure 3 This photograph shows a typical initial situation for a hazard involving unsupervised small children, who, for playful reasons and / or curiosity, remain in the entrance section of an escalator longer than a normal user would when entering or exiting the escalator. The entrance section is therefore largely defined by the flat, fixed floor plate, from which one or more of the movable escalator step elements are then stepped onto.

[0018] Because the escalator steps that protrude from beneath the floor plate during operation are particularly attractive to small children, unsupervised toddlers tend to linger in this entrance and / or exit section. If they are still sufficiently stable when walking, or if they simply reach into the space between two escalator steps out of curiosity, there is unfortunately a high risk of serious injury, such as the loss of a fingertip.

[0019] To avoid this risk or at least to reduce this danger, the Figure 1Now, an escalator system with the capability of detecting persons / objects that remain in the area of ​​the entrance and / or exit section for an excessively long time. The entrance section and / or the exit section, within the meaning of the present invention, is essentially represented by the length of a fixed floor element—as seen in the direction of travel of the moving transport section. By crossing the floor element, the user then reaches the transport section of the escalator. The user exits the escalator again via another floor element arranged on the other side of the transport section. The time required to cross the floor element in the entrance section and / or the exit section is likely to be only in the low single-digit second range.

[0020] To detect, for example, the toddler problem described above, a 3D sensor (e.g. a LiDAR sensor) is now arranged in the side wall of the escalator, which is connected to an evaluation unit not shown here (e.g. arranged under the floor plate in a technical compartment).

[0021] The evaluation unit now knows the detection profile for a user on the escalator moving at normal speed, with a temporally limited, bulging spatial detection pattern. Upon normal entry or exit of the escalator and / or escalator, the passing user triggers this bulging signal strength pattern over time. Initially, the signal increases as the person approaches, reaches a maximum when passing the detection sensor (here, the 3D sensor), and then rapidly drops back to zero. This process lasts a few seconds, typically 1 to 3 seconds.

[0022] However, if an unattended toddler is in the entrance and / or exit sections (as in Figure 3As shown, a sensor signal occurs that remains at a maximum value for a longer period than a few seconds without clearly dropping again after a few seconds.

[0023] By comparing this detected pattern with the predefined detection profile, it can be quickly concluded that an object, in this case an unattended toddler, has been in the entrance and / or exit sections for a period of time that is not determined by simply using the escalator and / or moving walkway. It is therefore highly likely that this is an unattended toddler who has, for example, escaped from their parents in a shopping mall. This triggers the deviation signal, which in this case is transmitted to an intervention unit (also located out of sight in the technology compartment). The intervention unit can then issue a warning signal and warning announcement coupled with a flashing optical light for the respective entrance and / or exit sections.An unattended toddler will be encouraged to leave the entrance and / or exit areas. If they don't, the warning signals will surely alert other people to the unattended toddler in the entrance and / or exit areas, and they will intervene by taking care of the toddler and leading them safely away from the entrance and / or exit areas.

[0024] As a further safety measure, the intervention unit can also start a timer when the warning message begins to be sent. This timer records the duration of the deviation signal and, if a predetermined limit for this duration is exceeded, switches off the electric motor for the moving conveyor section and brings the conveyor section to a standstill. Thus, the intervention unit interprets an exceedance of the time period as meaning that the person (unattended toddler) has not (yet) left the entrance and / or exit sections despite the warning signal (for whatever reason), and thus stops the escalator and / or escalator for safety reasons. The escalator must then be restarted by an authorized person, who will certainly also take care of the unattended toddler before restarting the escalator.

[0025] In this way, it is possible to use the detection sensor and the evaluation unit to differentiate between the detected signals to determine whether a person is walking quickly through the entrance section and / or the exit section in order to enter or exit the escalator and / or moving walkway, or whether a smaller person is staying in the entrance section and / or the exit section for longer than necessary to walk through.

[0026] Exactly such behavior usually represents the playing of an unsupervised toddler in the entrance section and / or the exit section, which would then be noticed when comparing the delivered signals with the given detection profile and trigger the reaction of the intervention unit.

Claims

1. An escalator and / or moving staircase with detection of persons, in particular unattended small children, comprising: a) a movable conveying section delimited by an entrance section and an exit section; b) a detection sensor for moving objects arranged in the region of the entrance section and / or in the region of the exit section; c) an evaluation unit designed to compare the signals supplied by the detection sensor with a predetermined detection profile and to generate a deviation signal in the event of a deviation of the supplied signals from the predetermined detection profile; and d) an intervention unit reacting to the deviation signal with a predeterminable pattern.

2. Escalator and / or moving staircase according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe entry section and / or the exit section is essentially represented by the length of a fixed floor element - seen in the direction of travel of the movable conveying section.

3. Escalator and / or moving staircase according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the detection sensor comprises a radar sensor and / or a LiDAR scanner.

4. Escalator and / or moving staircase according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the recording profile has a temporally limited spatial recording history.

5. Escalator and / or moving staircase according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the intervention unit can issue an acoustic and / or optical warning message when the deviation signal occurs.

6. Escalator and / or moving staircase according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in thatWhen the warning message is sent, the intervention unit can start a timer which records the temporal continuation of the deviation signal and stops a drive means for the moving transport section if a predetermined period of time for this continuation is exceeded.

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