Passenger conveyor system and control method

Abstract

To provide a passenger conveyor system capable of reducing burden of a managing person, and a control method.SOLUTION: A passenger conveyor system according to an embodiment comprises multiple passenger conveyors installed at facility, and a first portable terminal used by a first managing person. Each of the multiple passenger conveyors includes a near field communication board. The first portable terminal comprises display processing means for performing display that the first portable terminal is within a range in which it is possible to perform near field communications with a first passenger conveyor out of the multiple passenger conveyors, operation reception means for receiving a first operation for instructing start or stop of the operation of the first conveyor, and first transmission means for transmitting, to the first passenger conveyor, control signals for starting or stopping the operation of the first passenger conveyor on the basis of first manipulation via the near field communications. The operation of the first passenger conveyor is controlled on the basis of the control signals.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the present invention relate to a passenger conveyor system and a control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, large commercial facilities are equipped with many escalators (passenger conveyors). The manager of such a commercial facility (hereafter referred to as the facility manager) must start the operation of each escalator (i.e., start the escalator) when the commercial facility opens, and must stop the operation of each escalator when the commercial facility closes.

[0003] The operation of starting and stopping such an escalator requires a great deal of effort because it is performed using an operation key. For this reason, a mechanism is desired that reduces the burden on facility managers who perform the operation of starting and stopping escalators. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-155143 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a passenger conveyor system and a control method capable of reducing the burden on managers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A passenger conveyor system according to an embodiment includes a plurality of passenger conveyors installed in a facility and a first mobile terminal used by a first manager of the facility. Each of the plurality of passenger conveyors includes a short-range wireless communication board for performing short-range wireless communication. The first mobile terminal includes a display processing means for displaying that the first mobile terminal is within a range in which the first mobile terminal can perform the short-range wireless communication with a first passenger conveyor among the plurality of passenger conveyors, an operation receiving means for receiving a first operation for instructing the start or stop of operation of the first passenger conveyor, and a first transmitting means for transmitting a control signal for starting or stopping the operation of the first passenger conveyor to the first passenger conveyor by the short-range wireless communication based on the received first operation. The operation of the first passenger conveyor is controlled based on the transmitted control signal. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration example of an escalator according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] An enlarged view of the area around the entrance to the escalator. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a control panel. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an escalator system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a mobile terminal when starting the operation of a plurality of escalators. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an operation management screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an operation management screen. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an operation management screen. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure of a mobile terminal when the operation of a plurality of escalators is stopped. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an operation management screen. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an operation management screen. [Figure 12]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an operation management screen. [Figure 13] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the operation of an escalator system in which the operating status of each of a plurality of escalators is shared among a plurality of facility managers. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an outline of the operation of the escalator system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an operation management screen. [Figure 16] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an operation management screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Each embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First embodiment) First, a first embodiment will be described. Fig. 1 shows a schematic configuration example of a passenger conveyor in this embodiment. In this embodiment, a case where the passenger conveyor is an escalator will be described, but the passenger conveyor may be a moving walkway or the like.

[0009] As shown in Fig. 1, the escalator 10 is installed at an incline between a lower floor and an upper floor of a building, for example. Note that in the example shown in Fig. 1, it is assumed that the lower floor side is the entrance of the escalator 10 and the upper floor side is the exit of the escalator 10.

[0010] The escalator 10 shown in FIG. 1 is configured to transport passengers (users) on the steps 11 by circulating the steps 11, which are connected without any gaps, between a lower machine room 12 (entrance) and an upper machine room 13 (exit).

[0011] The steps 11 are connected by an endless connecting chain 14 and are arranged inside a truss 15 installed under the floor of the building. A lower sprocket 16 and an upper sprocket 17 are arranged inside the truss 15, and the connecting chain 14 is wound between them.

[0012] In the example shown in Fig. 1, a driving device 18 having a motor, a reducer, etc. is connected to the upper sprocket 17. The driving device 18 rotates the lower sprocket 16 and the upper sprocket 17 around which the connecting chain 14 is wound, and the steps 11 move cyclically between the lower machine room 12 and the upper machine room 13 via the connecting chain 14 while being guided by a guide rail (not shown). Although the driving device 18 is connected to the upper sprocket 17 in Fig. 1, the driving device 18 may be connected to the lower sprocket 16.

[0013] In addition, a pair of skirt guards (not shown) are installed on the upper part of the truss 15 along the moving direction of the steps 11 so as to face both side surfaces of each step 11. A balustrade 19 is erected on the upper part of each pair of skirt guards. In other words, the balustrades 19 are erected on both sides of each step 11. A belt-like handrail 20 is attached around the balustrade 19. The handrail 20 is a handrail that is held by passengers on the steps 11, and rotates in synchronization with the movement of the steps 11 by transmitting the driving force of the drive unit 18, for example.

[0014] The entrances (entrance and exit) of escalator 10 are located at the top of lower machine room 12 and upper machine room 13, and boarding and alighting plates 22 and 23 are removably installed at the entrances. Boarding and alighting plates 22 and 23 correspond to the ceilings of lower machine room 12 and upper machine room 13. Passengers pass over boarding and alighting plate 22 when getting on escalator 10 (steps 11), and pass over boarding and alighting plate 23 when getting off escalator 10 (steps 11).

[0015] In addition to the driving device 18, a control device 21 is installed in the upper machine room 13. The control device 21 controls the operation of various devices installed on the escalator 10 in order to control the operation of the escalator 10.

[0016] Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the entrance of the escalator 10. Although omitted in Fig. 1, as shown in Fig. 2, the balustrade 19 is erected on the upper part of a pair of skirt guards 24. In addition, an operation panel 25 is provided on the skirt guards 24.

[0017] Here, an example of operation panel 25 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. As shown in Fig. 3, operation panel 25 is provided with emergency stop button 25a and first to third key insertion slots 25b to 25d into which an operation key for escalator 10 can be inserted.

[0018] Emergency stop button 25a is provided so that the operation of escalator 10 can be stopped in an emergency when the operation key is not in hand. In order to prevent emergency stop button 25a from being pressed by mistake, for example, an abuse prevention cover is attached to emergency stop button 25a.

[0019] The first key insertion port 25b is provided for starting the operation of the escalator 10 (i.e., starting the escalator 10). When an operation key is inserted into the first key insertion port 25b and the operation key is turned leftward (i.e., in the "downward" direction), the operation of the escalator 10 in the downward direction is started. The operation of the escalator 10 in the downward direction refers to the operation of moving the multiple steps 11 of the escalator 10 in the downward direction so that the upper floor side is the entrance and the lower floor side is the exit. On the other hand, when an operation key is inserted into the first key insertion port 25b and the operation key is turned rightward (i.e., in the "upward" direction), the operation of the escalator 10 in the upward direction is started. The operation of the escalator 10 in the upward direction refers to the operation of moving the multiple steps 11 of the escalator 10 in the upward direction so that the lower floor side is the entrance and the upper floor side is the exit.

[0020] The second key insertion port 25c is provided for stopping the operation of the escalator 10. When an operation key is inserted into the second key insertion port 25c and the operation key is turned left (i.e., in the "stop" direction), the operation of the escalator 10 is stopped. On the other hand, when an operation key is inserted into the second key insertion port 25c and the operation key is turned right (i.e., in the "buzzer" direction), an alarm sound is output from a speaker provided in the escalator 10 (i.e., the buzzer sounds).

[0021] The third key insertion port 25d is provided for utilizing the lighting provided in the escalator 10. When an operation key is inserted into the third key insertion port 25d and the operation key is turned to the right (i.e., in the "on" direction), the lighting is turned on. On the other hand, when an operation key is inserted into the third key insertion port 25d and the operation key is turned to the left (i.e., in the "off" direction), the lighting is turned off.

[0022] The above-mentioned operation panel 25 is connected to the control device 21, and the operation of the escalator 10 is controlled by the control device 21 in accordance with operations on the operation panel 25 (the operation of pressing the emergency stop button 25a and the operation of inserting the operation key into the first to third key insertion slots 25b to 25d and turning it left and right).

[0023] Incidentally, for example, an escalator 10 is installed in a commercial facility or the like, and when the commercial facility opens for business, the manager of the commercial facility (facility manager) must insert an operation key into first key insertion slot 25b located on operation panel 25 to start operation of escalator 10 (start escalator 10). Similarly, when the commercial facility closes for business, the facility manager must insert an operation key into second key insertion slot 25c located on operation panel 25 to stop operation of escalator 10.

[0024] It is common for a large number of escalators 10 to be installed (delivered) in a large commercial facility, and it is extremely laborious to use the operation key to start or stop the operation of each of the escalators 10 one by one as described above. In particular, when the operation panel 25 is provided in a position as shown in Fig. 2 above, it is necessary to bend down every time to insert the operation key into the operation panel 25 (key insertion port), which places a large physical burden on the facility manager.

[0025] In this embodiment, an escalator system (passenger conveyor system) capable of controlling the operation of the escalator 10 using a terminal device (hereinafter referred to as a mobile terminal) carried (possessed) by a facility manager will be described.

[0026] Fig. 4 shows an example of the configuration of an escalator system 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 4, the escalator system 100 includes an escalator 10 and a mobile terminal 200. Note that this embodiment assumes that a plurality of escalators 10 are installed in a facility, but Fig. 4 shows only one of the plurality of escalators 10 for the sake of convenience.

[0027] In this embodiment, the escalator 10 is configured to be capable of performing short-distance wireless communication. Specifically, wireless communication based on Bluetooth (registered trademark) is performed as the short-distance wireless communication.

[0028] In this case, the escalator 10 includes a short-range wireless communication board (Bluetooth board) 26 for performing short-range wireless communication. The short-range wireless communication board 26 is connected to the control device 21 via a relay circuit 27.

[0029] The mobile terminal 200 is an electronic device (information processing device) used by the facility manager, and is realized by, for example, a smartphone, etc. In the following description, the mobile terminal 200 is described as a smartphone, but the mobile terminal 200 may be another electronic device such as a tablet terminal, as long as it can be carried by the facility manager.

[0030] The mobile terminal 200 includes a display processing unit 201, an operation receiving unit 202, and a communication processing unit 203. Each of these units 201 to 203 is realized by a processor (not shown) such as a CPU included in the mobile terminal 200 executing a predetermined application program (hereinafter, referred to as an operation management application), that is, by software. Each of the units 201 to 203 may be partly or entirely realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit (IC), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

[0031] The display processing unit 201 displays a screen (hereinafter, referred to as an operation management screen) for managing the operation of the escalator 10 installed in, for example, a commercial facility. This operation management screen displays information such as that the mobile terminal 200 is within a range where it is possible to perform short-distance wireless communication (wireless communication based on Bluetooth) with the escalator 10.

[0032] The operation receiving unit 202 receives operations by the facility manager on the operation management screen displayed by the display processing unit 201. When the mobile terminal 200 is a smartphone, the operations received by the operation receiving unit 202 include an operation of the facility manager touching the operation management screen displayed on a touch screen display with his / her finger (tapping operation), and the like.

[0033] Based on the operation of the facility manager accepted by the operation accepting unit 202, the communication processing unit 203 transmits a control signal to start or stop the operation of the escalator 10 installed within a range in which short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 200 can be performed, to the escalator 10 via the short-range wireless communication.

[0034] The control signal transmitted by the communication processing unit 203 is received by a short-range wireless communication board 26 provided in the escalator 10 and output to the control device 21 via a relay circuit 27 .

[0035] In this embodiment, the control device 21 controls the operation of the escalator 10 based on the control signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 200 as described above.

[0036] The operation of the escalator system 100 according to this embodiment will be described below. First, an example of the processing procedure of the mobile terminal 200 when starting the operation of multiple escalators 10 at the opening of a commercial facility will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5. That is, it is assumed that the operation of all of the multiple escalators 10 has stopped at the time the processing shown in Fig. 5 is executed.

[0037] Here, when starting operation of a plurality of escalators 10, the facility manager launches an operation management application on mobile terminal 200. As a result, the operation management application runs on mobile terminal 200, and an operation management screen is displayed on mobile terminal 200.

[0038] Fig. 6 shows an example of an operation management screen. It is assumed here that a commercial facility is equipped with multiple escalators 10 including a first escalator 10 (No. 1) and a second escalator 10 (No. 2). The first escalator 10 (No. 1) is an escalator that should be operated in the upward direction to move from the first floor to the second floor, and the second escalator 10 (No. 2) is an escalator that should be operated in the upward direction to move from the second floor to the third floor.

[0039] In this case, the operation management screen 210 shown in Fig. 6 includes a first management area 211 for managing the operation of the first escalator 10 and a second management area 212 for managing the operation of the second escalator 10. Note that in Fig. 6, management areas for managing the operation of escalators 10 other than the first and second escalators 10 are omitted.

[0040] In the first management area 211, a short-range wireless communication mark 211a, a first operation start button 211b, a second operation start button 211c, an operation stop button 211d, and a contact button 211e are arranged.

[0041] The short-range wireless communication mark 211a is a mark for notifying (displaying) whether or not the mobile terminal 200 is within a range in which short-range wireless communication can be performed with the first escalator 10. The short-range wireless communication mark 211a lights up when the mobile terminal 200 is within a range in which short-range wireless communication can be performed with the first escalator 10, and goes out when the mobile terminal 200 is not within the range in which short-range wireless communication can be performed.

[0042] The first operation start button 211b is a button for instructing the start of operation of the first escalator 10 in the upward direction.

[0043] The second operation start button 211c is a button for instructing the start of operation of the first escalator 10 in the downward direction.

[0044] The operation stop button 211d is a button for instructing the first escalator 10 to stop operation.

[0045] The contact button 211e is a button for instructing a call to an operator located at, for example, a service information center (operation center).

[0046] Here, the first management area 211 has been described, but the same applies to the second management area 212. Specifically, in the second management area 212, there are arranged a short-range wireless communication mark 212a, a first operation start button 212b, a second operation start button 212c, an operation stop button 212d, and a contact button 212e similar to the short-range wireless communication mark 211a, the first operation start button 211b, the second operation start button 211c, the operation stop button 211d, and the contact button 211e described above.

[0047] When the above-described operation management screen 210 is displayed on the mobile terminal 200, the facility manager, carrying the mobile terminal 200, moves to, for example, the location where the first escalator 10 is installed.

[0048] Here, when the mobile terminal 200 enters within a range where it can perform short-distance wireless communication with a short-distance wireless communication board 26 provided on, for example, the first escalator 10, the mobile terminal 200 can receive identification information (ID) assigned to the short-distance wireless communication board 26, which is transmitted from the short-distance wireless communication board 26. Based on the identification information thus received, the mobile terminal 200 can detect that it is possible to perform short-distance wireless communication with the first escalator 10 (i.e., the first escalator 10 that can communicate) (step S1).

[0049] When it is detected in step S1 that short-range wireless communication with the first escalator 10 is possible, the display processing unit 201 updates the above-mentioned operation management screen (step S2).

[0050] In this case, the operation management screen 210 shown in Fig. 6 is updated to the operation management screen 210 shown in Fig. 7, and the short-range wireless communication mark 211a arranged in the first management area 211 lights up on the operation management screen 210. This allows the facility manager to easily know that the mobile terminal 200 is within a range where short-range wireless communication with the first escalator 10 can be performed.

[0051] When the process of step S2 is executed, the facility manager can perform an operation to instruct the start of operation of the first escalator 10 (hereinafter referred to as an operation start operation) via the operation management screen 210. Such an operation start operation is accepted by the operation acceptance unit 202 (step S3).

[0052] Here, assuming that the operation start operation accepted in step S3 is a tap operation on the first operation start button 211b located in the first management area 211 included in the operation management screen 210, the communication processing unit 203 transmits a control signal (hereinafter referred to as an operation start signal) for starting the operation of the first escalator 10 in the upward direction to the first escalator 10 via short-range wireless communication based on the operation start operation (step S4).

[0053] The operation start signal transmitted in step S4 is received by the short-range wireless communication board 26 provided in the first escalator 10. The control device 21 provided in the first escalator 10 acquires the operation start signal received by the short-range wireless communication board 26 via the relay circuit 27, and starts the operation of the first escalator 10 in the upward direction based on the operation start signal.

[0054] As described above, when an operation start operation is performed on the operation management screen 210, operation start operation information indicating that the operation start operation has been performed is stored as an operation history in the mobile terminal 200. As described above, the operation start operation starts the operation of the first escalator 10, and therefore the operation start operation information can be said to be operation status information indicating that the first escalator 10 is in operation.

[0055] According to such operation start operation information, the display processing unit 201 can light up the first operation start button 211b located in the first management area 211 on the operation management screen 210 as shown in FIG. 8, thereby continuously displaying that the first escalator 10 is in operation.

[0056] In the above description, the first operation start button 211b is turned on to indicate that the first escalator 10 is in operation, but for example, an in-operation mark (not shown) may be provided separately in the first management area 211 included in the operation management screen 210, and the in-operation mark may be turned on to indicate that the first escalator 10 is in operation. In either case, any means may be used as long as it can indicate whether or not the escalator is in operation at the start of operation.

[0057] Without going into detailed explanation, once operation of the first escalator 10 has started as described above, the facility manager can start operation of the second escalator 10, for example, by moving within a range where short-range wireless communication can be performed with the second escalator 10 (the short-range wireless communication board 26 provided thereon) and performing an operation start operation on the operation management screen 210 (by tapping the first operation start button 212b located in the second management area 212).

[0058] Here, a case where the operation of the first and second escalators 10 is started has been described, but the operation of escalators 10 other than the first and second escalators 10 can also be started from the mobile terminal 200 in a similar manner.

[0059] Next, an example of a processing procedure of the mobile terminal 200 when the operation of multiple escalators 10 is stopped at the closing time of a commercial facility will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 9. That is, it is assumed that the multiple escalators 10 are in operation at the time when the processing shown in Fig. 9 is executed.

[0060] Here, when stopping the operation of multiple escalators 10, the facility manager starts an operation management application on mobile terminal 200. This causes the operation management application to run on mobile terminal 200, and an operation management screen shown in Fig. 10 is displayed on mobile terminal 200. In Fig. 10, the same parts as those in Fig. 6 and the like are given the same reference symbols, and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0061] As described above, since the operation start operation information is stored in the mobile terminal 200, the first operation start button 211b arranged in the first management area 211 is lit on the operation management screen 210 shown in Fig. 10, indicating that the first escalator 10 is operating in the upward direction. Similarly, the first operation start button 212b arranged in the second management area 212 is lit on the operation management screen 210, indicating that the second escalator 10 is operating in the upward direction.

[0062] Here, when the facility manager moves to the location where the first escalator 10 is installed while carrying the mobile terminal 200, the processes of steps S11 and S12 corresponding to the processes of steps S1 and S2 shown in Fig. 5 are executed. In this case, the operation management screen 210 shown in Fig. 10 is updated to the operation management screen 210 shown in Fig. 11, and on the operation management screen 210, the short-range wireless communication mark 211a arranged in the first management area 211 is lit up.

[0063] When the process of step S12 is executed, the facility manager can perform an operation to instruct the stopping of the operation of the first escalator 10 (hereinafter referred to as an operation stop operation) via the operation management screen 210. Note that the operation stop operation in this case includes a tap operation on the operation stop button 211d arranged in the first management area 211 included in the operation management screen 210. Such an operation stop operation is accepted by the operation acceptance unit 202 (step S13).

[0064] Based on the operation stop operation received in step S13, the communication processing unit 203 transmits a control signal for stopping the operation of the first escalator 10 (hereinafter referred to as an operation stop signal) to the first escalator 10 via short-range wireless communication (step S14).

[0065] The operation stop signal transmitted in step 14 is received by the short-range wireless communication board 26 provided in the first escalator 10. The control device 21 provided in the first escalator 10 acquires the operation stop signal received by the short-range wireless communication board 26 via the relay circuit 27, and stops the operation of the first escalator 10 based on the operation stop signal.

[0066] As described above, when an operation stop operation is performed on the operation management screen 210, operation stop operation information indicating that the operation stop operation has been performed is stored as an operation history in the mobile terminal 200. As described above, the operation of the first escalator 10 is stopped by performing the operation stop operation, and therefore the operation stop operation information can be said to be operation status information indicating that the first escalator 10 is not in operation.

[0067] According to such operation stop operation information, the display processing unit 201 can turn off the first operation start button 211b located in the first management area 211 on the operation management screen 210 as shown in FIG. 12, thereby displaying that the first escalator 10 is not in operation.

[0068] The fact that the first escalator 10 is not in operation may be indicated by turning off the operation mark provided separately in the first management area 211 as described above.

[0069] Although detailed explanation will be omitted, when the operation of the first escalator 10 is stopped as described above, the facility manager can stop the operation of the second escalator 10, for example, by moving within a range where short-range wireless communication can be performed with the second escalator 10 (the short-range wireless communication board 26 provided thereon) and performing an operation stop operation on the operation management screen 210 (by tapping the operation stop button 212d located in the second management area 212).

[0070] Here, a case where the operation of the first and second escalators 10 is stopped has been described, but the operation of escalators 10 other than the first and second escalators 10 can also be stopped from the mobile terminal 200 in a similar manner.

[0071] As described above, in this embodiment, each of the multiple escalators 10 (passenger conveyors) installed in the facility includes a short-range wireless communication board 26 for performing short-range wireless communication, and the mobile terminal 200 displays that the mobile terminal 200 is within a range in which it can perform short-range wireless communication with, for example, the first escalator 10 among the multiple escalators 10, accepts an operation to instruct the start or stop of operation of the first escalator 10, and transmits a control signal to start or stop operation of the first escalator 10 to the first escalator 10 via short-range wireless communication based on the accepted operation. The operation of the first escalator is controlled based on the control signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 200 in this manner.

[0072] In addition, the short-range wireless communication board 26 in this embodiment includes a Bluetooth board, and in this embodiment, it is assumed that wireless communication based on Bluetooth is performed between each of the multiple escalators 10 and the mobile terminal 200.

[0073] In this embodiment, with the above-described configuration, the facility manager can start or stop the operation of each of the multiple escalators 10 by operating the mobile terminal 200, thereby reducing the burden on the facility manager compared to the case where the operation is performed one by one using the operation key as described above.

[0074] Furthermore, this embodiment does not require work such as connecting an existing escalator 10 body to a network, and can be easily realized by adding a short-range wireless communication board 26 (and relay circuit 27) to an existing escalator 10.

[0075] Furthermore, in this embodiment, by storing operation start operation information and operation stop operation information and displaying whether the first escalator 10 is in operation (i.e., the operation status based on the operation history), it is possible to confirm that the operation of the first escalator 10 has been started or stopped, even if one is located far from the first escalator 10. This makes it possible to easily grasp (collectively manage) the operation status of multiple escalators 10 installed in a facility, and prevents situations such as forgetting to start or stop operation, thereby improving the efficiency and accuracy of managing multiple escalators 10.

[0076] In addition, the operation of the escalator 10 must be started or stopped after confirming the safety of the area around the escalator 10. For example, when starting or stopping the operation of the escalator 10 from a remote location, the safety of the area around the escalator 10 can be confirmed by installing a surveillance camera or the like, but installing such a surveillance camera increases the introduction cost of the escalator system 100. In contrast, in this embodiment, by configuring each of the multiple escalators 10 to perform short-range wireless communication with the mobile terminal 200, the facility manager can be prompted to move near each of the multiple escalators 10 and confirm the safety before starting or stopping the operation. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the operation of the escalator 10 is started or stopped in a dangerous state while suppressing the introduction cost as described above.

[0077] Furthermore, on the operation management screen in this embodiment, a contact button is arranged for each management area that manages the operation of each of the multiple escalators 10, and when the facility manager is unable to properly start or stop the operation of the first escalator 10, for example, he or she can perform a tap operation (hereinafter, referred to as a contact operation) on the contact button 211e arranged in the first management area 211 that manages the operation of the first escalator 10. When such a contact operation is accepted by the operation acceptance unit 202 included in the mobile terminal 200, the facility manager can use the mobile terminal 200 to talk to an operator.

[0078] As described above, when a tap operation (contact operation) is performed on the contact button 211e arranged in the first management area 211 for managing the first escalator 10, identification information for identifying the first escalator 10 (for example, information on the No. 1 escalator, etc.) may be transmitted to the operator terminal used by the operator (i.e., the identification information is displayed on the operator terminal). This allows the operator to be informed in advance of the escalator 10 that is the subject of the contact (inquiry, etc.), which facilitates smooth communication between the facility manager and the operator.

[0079] Furthermore, each of the multiple escalators 10 is provided with a safety device that detects an abnormality in the escalator 10 and automatically stops the operation of the escalator (emergency stop) to prevent danger, and a device called a portable console that is configured to acquire information such as the operation history of the safety device from the escalator 10 via, for example, a USB connector or the like is known. Since the information acquired by the portable console in this way can be transmitted by short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth, the function of the portable console may be added to the portable terminal 200 in this embodiment.

[0080] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the operation of multiple escalators 10 installed in a facility is started or stopped from the mobile terminal 200. However, in the case of a large commercial facility, a large number of escalators 10 are installed, and it is conceivable that, for example, multiple facility managers will start or stop the operation of the multiple escalators 10.

[0081] In this case, in order to efficiently start or stop the operation of the multiple escalators 10, for example, the operation status of each of the multiple escalators 10 needs to be shared among the multiple facility managers.

[0082] Here, an overview of the operation of the escalator system 100 in which the operating status of each of the multiple escalators 10 is shared among multiple facility managers will be described with reference to Fig. 13. Note that Fig. 13 shows a first escalator 10a and a second escalator 10b as the multiple escalators 10.

[0083] First, assume that the first facility manager M1 starts operation of the first escalator 10a installed in the facility by operating the first mobile terminal 200a. In this case, the first facility manager M1 moves within a range where short-distance wireless communication with the first escalator 10a can be performed, and performs an operation start operation operation on the operation management screen 210 displayed on the first mobile terminal 200a to instruct the start of operation of the first escalator 10a, thereby starting the operation of the first escalator 10a. Note that the operation management screen 210 displayed on the first mobile terminal 200a and the operation start operation performed on the operation management screen 210 are as described above, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0084] In this case, operation start operation information indicating that an operation start operation has been performed to instruct the start of operation of the first escalator 10a is stored in the first mobile terminal 200a, and on the operation management screen 210 displayed on the first mobile terminal 200a, for example, the first operation start button 211b located in the first management area 211 for managing the operation of the first escalator 10a is lit up.

[0085] Here, the first mobile terminal 200a is, for example, a smartphone or the like, and can be connected to a mobile network 300 based on a communication standard such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 5G. In addition, in the escalator system 100, a server device (hereinafter, referred to as a general management server) 400 is provided that manages, for example, a plurality of escalators 10 installed in each facility. The general management server 400 manages, for example, information on the facility, information on the escalators 10 installed in the facility, information on the facility manager, and the like.

[0086] In this case, the first mobile terminal 200a transmits the operation start operation information stored in the first mobile terminal 200a as described above to the general management server 400 via the mobile network 300 (step S21). Based on the operation start operation information thus transmitted from the first mobile terminal 200a, the general management server 400 can grasp that the first escalator 10 is in operation (i.e., the operating state of the first escalator 10).

[0087] The comprehensive management server 400 transmits the operation start information transmitted from the above-mentioned first mobile terminal 200a via the mobile network 300 to a second mobile terminal 200b possessed by a second facility manager M2, who is different from the first facility manager M1 (step S22).

[0088] In this case, the second mobile terminal 200b receives the operation start operation information transmitted from the integrated management server 400, and reflects (displays) the operation start operation information on the operation management screen 210 of the second mobile terminal 200b. In this case, on the operation management screen 210 of the second mobile terminal 200b, the first operation start button 211b arranged in the first management area 211 for managing the operation of the first escalator 10a lights up.

[0089] This allows the second facility manager M2 to know that an operation start operation has been performed to instruct the first escalator 10 to start operating (i.e., the first escalator 10 is in operation) even if the second facility manager M2 is in a location different from the first escalator 10. In other words, with this configuration, it is possible to prevent the second facility manager from moving to the location of the first escalator 10a to start operating the first escalator 10a, even if the first escalator 10a is already in operation.

[0090] Here, the case where the operation of the first escalator 10a is started has been described, but the same applies to the case where the operation of the second escalator 10b is started. Specifically, when the second facility manager M2 performs an operation start operation operation to instruct the start of operation of the second escalator 10b, operation start operation information indicating the operation start operation is transmitted from the second mobile terminal 200b to the integrated management server 400 via the mobile network 300, transmitted from the integrated management server 400 to the first mobile terminal 200a, and reflected (displayed) on the operation management screen 210 of the first mobile terminal 200a. In this way, even if the first facility manager M1 is in a place different from the second escalator 10b, for example, he or she can grasp that an operation start operation has been performed to instruct the start of operation of the second escalator 10b (i.e., the second escalator 10b is in operation). In other words, with this configuration, it is possible to avoid a situation where the first facility manager has to move to the location of the second escalator 10b to start operation of the second escalator 10b, even though the second escalator 10b is already in operation.

[0091] Although the case where an operation start operation has been performed has been described above, when an operation stop operation has been performed, the above-mentioned operation start operation information may be used as operation stop operation information to operate in the same manner.

[0092] In this embodiment, as described above, by reflecting the operation information (operation status) of the multiple escalators 10 installed in the facility in real time on the multiple mobile terminals 200 (operation management screens 210 displayed on them), it is possible to visualize the operation status of the multiple escalators 10 without connecting each of the multiple escalators 10 to the mobile network 300, etc. This can improve the efficiency of the work of starting or stopping the operation of the multiple escalators 10 by the facility manager.

[0093] Furthermore, if the operation management application in this embodiment is implemented to correspond to escalators 10 manufactured by multiple manufacturers, it is possible to reduce the effort of managing multiple operation keys in an environment where escalators 10 manufactured by multiple manufacturers are installed in a facility.

[0094] In this embodiment, as described above, the operation start operation information and operation stop operation information performed on mobile terminal 200 (first mobile terminal 200a and second mobile terminal 200b) are described as being stored in mobile terminal 200. However, a database may be constructed using the operation start operation information and operation stop operation information (operation history), and the database may be used for maintenance of escalator 10 and other processes.

[0095] Second embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. Since the configuration of the escalator system according to this embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment, the above-mentioned Figures 1 to 4 and the like will be used appropriately in the description of the escalator system according to this embodiment.

[0096] As explained in the first embodiment, each of the multiple escalators 10 is provided with a safety device, but this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that a remote monitoring device that monitors the operation of the safety device is further provided on the multiple escalators 10. The remote monitoring device is configured to monitor, for example, various states of the escalator 10, including the operation of the safety device.

[0097] Hereinafter, an overview of the operation of the escalator system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 14. In Fig. 14, the same parts as those in Fig. 13 described above are given the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0098] In this embodiment, the first escalator 10a is provided with a first remote monitoring device 28a. Similarly, the second escalator 10b is provided with a second remote monitoring device 28b. The first remote monitoring device 28a and the second remote monitoring device 28b are communicatively connected to a remote monitoring server 500 via a mobile network 300. The remote monitoring server 500 is a server device for monitoring the status of multiple escalators 10 installed in a facility, and is further connected to a general management server 400.

[0099] Here, it is assumed that the first escalator 10a and the second escalator 10b are in operation. In this case, if a safety device (hereinafter referred to as a first safety device) provided on the first escalator 10a is activated, the activation of the first safety device is detected by the first remote monitoring device 28a provided on the first escalator 10a.

[0100] As described above, when the first remote monitoring device 28a detects that the first safety device has been operated, safety device operation information indicating that the first safety device has been operated is transmitted from the first remote monitoring device 28a to the remote monitoring server 500 via the mobile network 300 (step S31).

[0101] Furthermore, the remote monitoring server 500 transmits the safety device operation information transmitted from the first remote monitoring device 28a to the integrated management server 400 (step S32).

[0102] Such safety device operation information allows the general management server 400 and the remote monitoring server 500 to know that the operation of the first escalator 10a has been brought to an emergency stop due to the operation of the first safety device. In this case, the remote monitoring server 500 can notify, for example, a maintenance worker that the operation of the first escalator 10a has been stopped due to the operation of the first safety device.

[0103] Next, the integrated management server 400 transmits the safety device operation information to the first mobile terminal 200a via the mobile network 300 (step S33).

[0104] In this case, the first mobile terminal 200a receives the safety device operation information transmitted from the integrated management server 400, and reflects (displays) the safety device operation information on the operation management screen of the first mobile terminal 200a.

[0105] Here, Fig. 15 shows an example of an operation management screen in this embodiment. In Fig. 15, the same parts as those in Fig. 6 and the like are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0106] As shown in Fig. 15, a safety device mark 211f is further arranged in a first management area 211 included in an operation management screen 210 in this embodiment. Similarly, a safety device mark 212f is further arranged in a second management area 212 included in the operation management screen 210. Although a detailed explanation will be omitted, the operation management screen 210 (first management area 211 and second management area 212) shown in Fig. 15 indicates that the first escalator 10a and the second escalator 10b are in operation.

[0107] Here, when the safety device operation information indicating that the first safety device has been operated is reflected on the operation management screen 210 as described above, the operation management screen 210 shown in Fig. 15 is updated to the operation management screen 210 shown in Fig. 16. In this case, the safety device mark 211f arranged in the first management area 211 on the operation management screen 210 lights up. This allows the first facility manager M1 to easily understand that the operation of the first escalator 10a has been brought to an emergency stop by the operation of the first safety device.

[0108] Similarly, the integrated management server 400 transmits the safety device operation information to the second mobile terminal 200b via the mobile network 300 (step S34).

[0109] In this case, the second mobile terminal 200b receives the safety device operation information transmitted from the comprehensive management server 400, and reflects (displays) the safety device operation information on the operation management screen of the second mobile terminal 200b. In this case, since a screen similar to the operation management screen 210 shown in Fig. 16 described above is displayed on the second mobile terminal 200b, the second facility manager M2 can easily understand that the operation of the first escalator 10a has been brought to an emergency stop by the operation of the first safety device.

[0110] Although the case where the first safety device provided on the first escalator 10a is activated has been described here, the same applies to the case where, for example, a safety device (hereinafter, referred to as a second safety device) provided on the second escalator 10 is activated. Although a detailed description will be omitted, when the second safety device is activated, the safety device mark 212f arranged in the second management area 212 on the operation management screen 210 of the first mobile terminal 200a and the second mobile terminal 200b lights up.

[0111] In addition, the operation when the operation to start driving or the operation to stop driving is performed on the first mobile terminal 200a and the second mobile terminal 200b is the same as that described in the first embodiment, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0112] As described above, in this embodiment, each of the multiple escalators 10 includes a remote monitoring device that monitors the operation of the safety device, and the mobile terminal 200 can display (safety device operation information indicating) that the safety device has been operated.

[0113] In the first embodiment described above, it is not possible to grasp on the operation management screen the fact that the safety devices installed on each of the multiple escalators 10 have been activated and thus caused the operation of the escalator 10 to be stopped. However, in this embodiment, with the above-described configuration, it is possible to easily grasp the fact that the operation of the escalator 10 has been stopped and thus caused the safety devices to be activated.

[0114] As described above, when a safety device is activated, a safety device mark is lit on the operation management screen, and the safety device mark is assumed to remain lit until it is confirmed by, for example, a facility manager. In this case, the safety device mark may be turned off, for example, when the operation of the corresponding escalator 10 is resumed by the facility manager, or may be turned off in response to an operation by the facility manager. However, there are safety devices that are activated when, for example, a foreign object is caught between the step 11 and the skirt guard 24, when a hand or a foreign object is caught in the inlet (the entrance of the handrail 20), and when the connecting chain 14 or the like is cut, and the timing at which the safety device mark is lit and turned off, and the color of the safety device mark when it is lit, may differ depending on the type of the activated safety device.

[0115] In addition, since the above-mentioned remote monitoring device is also capable of detecting the start or stop of operation of escalator 10 using the above-mentioned operation key, in this embodiment, (information indicating) the start or stop of operation of escalator 10 by a third party using the operation key may be displayed on the operation management screen. Furthermore, other information detected by the remote monitoring device may be displayed on the operation management screen in this embodiment.

[0116] In this embodiment, the first mobile terminal 200a and the second mobile terminal 200b are communicatively connected to the first remote monitoring device 28a provided on the first escalator 10a and the second remote monitoring device 28b provided on the second escalator 10b via the mobile network 300 (the integrated management server 400 and the remote monitoring server 500). For this reason, even if an operation start signal or operation stop signal is transmitted from the first mobile terminal 200a to the first remote monitoring device 28a via the mobile network 300, it is considered possible to start or stop the operation of the first escalator 10a on which the first remote monitoring device 28a is provided.

[0117] However, in this case, there is a possibility that the operation of the escalator 10 may be started or stopped without checking the safety of the area around the escalator 10. Therefore, in this embodiment, as a constraint to ensure safety when starting or stopping the operation of the escalator 10, a configuration is adopted in which an operation start signal or operation stop signal is transmitted to the escalator 10 via short-range wireless communication, as in the first embodiment described above.

[0118] According to at least one of the embodiments described above, it is possible to provide a passenger conveyor system and a control method capable of reducing the burden on facility managers.

[0119] Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0120] 10, 10a, 10b... escalator (passenger conveyor), 11... steps, 12... lower machine room, 13... upper machine room, 14... connecting chain, 15... truss, 16... lower sprocket, 17... upper sprocket, 18... drive unit, 19... balustrade, 20... handrail, 21... control device, 22, 23... boarding and alighting board, 24... skirt guard, 25... operation panel, 26... short-range wireless communication board, 27... relay circuit, 28a, 28b... remote monitoring device, 100... escalator system (passenger conveyor system), 200, 200a, 200b... mobile terminal, 201... display processing unit, 202... operation reception unit, 203... communication processing unit, 300... mobile network, 400... general management server, 500... remote monitoring server.

Claims

1. A plurality of passenger conveyors installed at the facility; a first mobile terminal used by a first manager of the facility; Equipped with Each of the plurality of passenger conveyors includes a short-range wireless communication board for performing short-range wireless communication; The first mobile terminal is a display processing means for displaying that the first portable terminal is within a range in which the first portable terminal can perform the short-range wireless communication with a first passenger conveyor among the plurality of passenger conveyors; An operation receiving means for receiving a first operation for instructing to start or stop the operation of the first passenger conveyor; a first transmitting means for transmitting a control signal for starting or stopping the operation of the first passenger conveyor to the first passenger conveyor through the short-range wireless communication based on the received first operation; Including, The operation of the first passenger conveyor is controlled based on the transmitted control signal. Passenger conveyor system.

2. The passenger conveyor system of claim 1 , wherein the short-range wireless communication includes wireless communication based on Bluetooth®.

3. 3. The passenger conveyor system according to claim 1, wherein the display processing means further displays whether or not the first passenger conveyor is in operation at least at the time of starting operation.

4. A second mobile terminal used by a second manager different from the first manager is further provided, The second portable terminal includes a display processing means for displaying whether the first passenger conveyor is in operation or not.

4. A passenger conveyor system according to claim 3.

5. Each of the plurality of passenger conveyors further includes a remote monitoring device that detects an abnormality in the passenger conveyor and monitors the operation of a safety device that automatically stops the operation of the passenger conveyor; The display processing means included in the first and second portable terminals further displays that the safety device has been activated.

5. A passenger conveyor system according to claim 4.

6. the operation receiving means receives a second operation for instructing a call with an operator; The first portable terminal further includes a second transmission means for transmitting identification information for identifying the first passenger conveyor to an operator terminal used by the operator based on the accepted second operation.

2. The passenger conveyor system of claim 1.

7. A method for controlling a plurality of passenger conveyors including a short-range wireless communication board for performing short-range wireless communication installed in a facility, comprising: displaying on a first portable terminal used by a first manager of the facility that the first portable terminal is within a range capable of performing the short-range wireless communication with a first passenger conveyor among the plurality of passenger conveyors; The first portable terminal receives a first operation for instructing to start or stop operation of the passenger conveyor; The first portable terminal transmits a control signal for starting or stopping the operation of the first passenger conveyor to the first passenger conveyor via the short-range wireless communication based on the accepted first operation. Equipped with The operation of the first passenger conveyor is controlled based on the transmitted control signal. Control methods.

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