Autonomous movable body, passenger conveyor control system, and passenger conveyor control method

Abstract

To improve efficiency of maintenance inspection work while ensuring safety of a passenger conveyor.SOLUTION: This autonomous movable body autonomously movable to a passenger conveyor comprises: an imaging unit; a speech input unit; a monitoring unit that monitors work of a maintenance engineer currently engaged in inspection work at the passenger conveyor on the basis of a captured image from the imaging unit and a speech from the speech input unit; a speech recognition unit that speech-recognizes a content uttered from the maintenance engineer and input from the speech input unit; and a control unit that gives an instruction as to an operation of the passenger conveyor to a control device that controls the passenger conveyor on the basis of the speech-recognized content.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to an autonomous moving body, a passenger conveyor control system, and a passenger conveyor control method. [Background technology]

[0002] Maintenance and inspection work on passenger conveyors such as escalators is usually performed by multiple maintenance personnel. In addition, techniques for performing maintenance and inspection of escalators as passenger conveyors using autonomous mobile bodies such as dedicated maintenance robots have been known. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-167662 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6516074 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-1613 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-1612 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, due to the declining birthrate and aging population and a shortage of maintenance personnel, there is a need to improve the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work by having a single maintenance personnel perform the work.However, when a single maintenance personnel performs the maintenance and inspection work of a passenger conveyor, it is necessary to ensure the safety of the maintenance personnel and the passenger conveyor itself. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The autonomous moving body of the embodiment is an autonomous moving body that can move autonomously on a passenger conveyor, and is equipped with an imaging unit, an audio input unit, a monitoring unit that monitors the work of a maintenance worker performing inspection work on the passenger conveyor using images captured by the imaging unit and audio from the audio input unit, a voice recognition unit that recognizes the content of utterances from the maintenance worker input by the audio input unit, and a control unit that issues instructions regarding the operation of the passenger conveyor to a control device that controls the passenger conveyor based on the voice-recognized utterances. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an escalator control system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an escalator according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the control device according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server in the elevator cloud according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a server in a robot cloud according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the robot according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of the keyword DB according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow of the escalator control process according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the overall flow (continued) of the escalator control process according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0008] (Embodiment) 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of an escalator control system 1000 according to an embodiment. In the example of FIG. 1, a maintenance worker 5 who performs maintenance and inspection work on the escalator 1 is also shown.

[0009] As shown in FIG. 1, the escalator control system 1000 of this embodiment mainly comprises an escalator 1, a control device 100 provided on the escalator 1, a controller 150, a control room 160, a server 210 in an elevator cloud 200, a server 310 in a robot cloud 300, a monitoring center 400, a robot 500 as an autonomous moving body, and a tablet terminal 600 (hereinafter referred to as "tablet 600") carried by a maintenance worker 5.

[0010] In this embodiment, one or more escalators 1 are installed in a building 3 (an example of a building) such as an office building or an apartment building. Although only a single escalator 1 is shown in the example of FIG. 1, multiple escalators 1 can be installed. Furthermore, a control device 100 is provided for each of the multiple escalators 1.

[0011] First, the details of the escalator 1 will be described. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the escalator 1 according to the embodiment. Note that, in FIG. 2, the maintenance worker 5, the tablet 600, and the robot 500 are also shown.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 2, the escalator control system 1000 includes the escalator 1 and a robot 500.

[0013] The escalator 1 includes a plurality of steps 110, a balustrade panel 191, a handrail belt 192, a boarding / alighting entrance 193, a boarding / alighting board 104, a skirt guard panel 105, an inner deck 106, an outer deck 107, an inlet 108, a key switch 152, a control device 100, and a drive device 120. The escalator 1 is an example of a passenger conveyor.

[0014] The multiple steps 110 are connected endlessly. Each step 110 is made of, for example, aluminum die-cast, and is supported by a truss 170 at a set inclination angle. Each step 110 moves cyclically as a stepped platform between the boarding / alighting entrances 193 on the upper and lower floors by a drive motor (not shown) of the drive unit 120. In other words, each step 110 moves in a circle between the boarding / alighting entrances 193 on the upper floor and the boarding / alighting entrances 193 on the lower floor. In this way, each step 110 serves as a foothold for users of the escalator 1.

[0015] The balustrade panels 191 are installed on both sides of the steps 110 in the width direction of the escalator 1. In other words, a pair of balustrade panels 191 are installed opposite each other with the steps 110 in between. The balustrade panels 191 are formed of, for example, transparent glass or acrylic.

[0016] The handrail belt 192 is configured so that users can place their hands on it while riding the escalator 1. The handrail belt 192 is an endless belt that is movably wound around the periphery of each of the pair of balustrade panels 191. The handrail belt 192 moves in synchronization with the movement of each step 110 by the drive motor of the drive device 120. The handrail belt 192 is made of, for example, rubber.

[0017] The boarding and alighting plates 104 are provided at the boarding and alighting entrances 193 located on the upper and lower floors, respectively. The boarding and alighting plates 104 serve as footholds for users when getting on and off the escalator 1, and are installed in a removable manner. A comb-tooth shaped comb plate 104c is provided at the end of the boarding and alighting plate 104 facing the steps 110. A drive motor, folded steps 110, etc. are stored under the boarding and alighting plate 104. Note that hereinafter, the comb plate 104c may also be referred to as comb 104c.

[0018] In other words, the multiple steps 110 arranged in a staircase-like manner between the upper and lower floors are approximately horizontal to each other near the boarding and alighting boards 104 of the upper and lower floors, and are pulled out from below the boarding and alighting board 104 on the entrance side and retracted below the boarding and alighting board 104 on the exit side.

[0019] The skirt guard panels 105 extend in the extension direction of the escalator 1 near both widthwise ends of the multiple steps 110. The skirt guard panels 105 are composed of two pairs of tip panels 105f installed near the boarding / alighting entrances 193 on the upper and lower floors, and multiple intermediate panels 105m installed between the tip panels 105f on the upper and lower floors.

[0020] That is, a pair of tip panels 105f are installed near the boarding / alighting board 104 on the upper floor, facing each other across the steps 110. These tip panels 105f are installed at positions straddling the front and rear of the comb plate 104c in the moving direction of the multiple steps 110.

[0021] In addition, another pair of tip panels 105f are installed near the boarding / alighting board 104 on the lower floor, facing each other across the steps 110. These tip panels 105f are installed at positions spanning the front and rear of the comb plate 104c in the moving direction of the multiple steps 110.

[0022] A plurality of intermediate panels 105m are arranged between the tip panels 105f installed on the upper and lower floors on one side of the plurality of steps 110 in the width direction so as to connect them. Also, a plurality of intermediate panels 105m are arranged between the tip panels 105f installed on the upper and lower floors on the other side of the plurality of steps 110 in the width direction so as to connect them.

[0023] The inner deck 106 covers the upper end of the skirt guard panel 105. The outer deck 107 is installed adjacent to the inner deck 106 with a parapet panel 191 in between. In the space enclosed by the skirt guard panel 105, the inner deck 106, the outer deck 107, etc., devices connected to an operation panel (not shown) and other power distribution devices, etc. are stored.

[0024] The inlets 108 are installed near the upper and lower floor entrances 193 so as to be connected to the respective end panels 105f. Of the upper and lower floor entrances 193, a pair of inlets 108 installed on the entrance side each have a handrail belt 192 that is reeled out. Also, of the upper and lower floor entrances 193, a pair of inlets 108 installed on the exit side each have a handrail belt 192 that is reeled in.

[0025] A control device 100 is provided below the board 104. The control device 100 controls the escalator 1. Details of the control device 100 will be described later. In addition, a truss 170, which is a space of a predetermined range, is provided below the boarding and alighting board 104, and a maintenance worker 5 enters this truss 170 to perform maintenance and inspection work (sometimes referred to as maintenance work or inspection work).

[0026] On both the upper and lower floors, a key switch 152 is provided on the intermediate panel 105m from one side of the inlet 108 to the step 110 side. This key switch 152 is connected to the control device 100 by wire or wirelessly. Key switch 152 is composed of a button that can be pressed. When maintenance person 5 or the like presses key switch 152, a switching signal is sent to control device 100, and control device 100 switches the operation mode of escalator 1 between normal operation and maintenance operation. Maintenance operation is an operation for carrying out inspection work. Here, key switch 152 is an example of an operation unit.

[0027] 2 shows a state in which a safety fence 175 is installed just before the boarding / alighting entrance 193. The safety fence 175 is not installed during normal operation, but is installed when inspection work is carried out, and is a fence to prevent general users from entering the escalator 1.

[0028] Next, the control device 100 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 100 according to the embodiment is connected to a key switch 152 by wire or wirelessly. As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 100 mainly includes a communication unit 101, a control unit 102, and a drive control unit 103. The communication unit 101 is a processing unit that communicates with the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150. The control unit 102 performs various controls of the escalator 1. Specifically, the control unit 102 switches between normal operation and maintenance operation in response to an instruction from the key switch 152 or an instruction from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. The drive control unit 103 controls the driving of the cyclic movement of the plurality of steps 110 .

[0029] Returning to Fig. 1, the controller 150 is connected to the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 via a network. The controller 150 is an intermediary device that controls communication between the control device 100 and the server 210 and has an interface function and a hub function for mediating various signals exchanged between the control device 100 and the server 210. The controller 150 is configured as a computer that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc.

[0030] The manager of building 3 is present in the control room 160 and gives various instructions to the control device 100. The manager of the control room 160 also receives various instructions from the control device 100 by email or the like via a PC or terminal device.

[0031] The server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 instructs the control device 100 via the controller 150 to perform various controls on the escalator 1, and receives various requests and data from the control device 100 via the controller 150. The server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 is connected to a monitoring center 400 (an in-house server) and a server 310 in the robot cloud 300 via a network.

[0032] An in-house server (not shown) is installed in the monitoring center 400. The in-house server is a server installed in an affiliated company of the escalator 1, and collects information necessary for the maintenance management and remote monitoring of the escalator 1 from the escalator 1. This allows maintenance personnel to deal with the malfunction by referring to the information necessary for maintenance management collected in the in-house server of the monitoring center 400. Furthermore, when functions or services are executed through the elevator / escalator cloud 200, the in-house server of the monitoring center 400 can be accessed as necessary to refer to building and escalator information, or the maintenance personnel can obtain information necessary for managing the escalator 1.

[0033] The server 310 of the robot cloud 300 receives various requests and various data from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200. The server 310 of the robot cloud 300 is connected to one or more robots 500 in the building 3 via a network, and transmits various instructions to each of the robots 500.

[0034] The server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 will be described in detail later.

[0035] The tablet 600 is a terminal device carried by the maintenance worker 5, and displays instructions from the control device 100 to start inspection, and when the inspection work is completed, inputs a notification of the completion of inspection and sends it to the control device 100.

[0036] Next, the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 will be described. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the server 210 mainly includes a control unit 211, a communication unit 212, and a storage unit 220 as a general computer configuration.

[0037] The storage unit 220 is a storage medium (memory device) such as a ROM, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 220 stores various programs.

[0038] The communication unit 212 is made up of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol, and performs communication processing between the server 210 and the controller 150 and communication processing between the server 210 and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 .

[0039] The control unit 211 is composed of a hardware processor (CPU). When the communication unit 212 receives information including the robot ID, departure floor, and destination floor specified by the robot 500 from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, the control unit 211 generates a destination floor call including the robot ID, departure floor, and destination floor.

[0040] Next, the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the server 310 mainly includes a control unit 311, a communication unit 312, and a storage unit 320, as a general computer configuration.

[0041] The storage unit 320 is a storage medium (memory device) such as a ROM, a RAM, etc. The storage unit 320 stores various programs.

[0042] The communication unit 312 is made up of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol, and performs communication processing between the server 310 and the server 210 in the elevator cloud 200 , and communication processing between the server 310 and the robot 500 .

[0043] In this embodiment, the communication unit 312 receives information from the robot 500, including the robot ID, departure floor, and destination floor specified by the robot 500, and transmits the information to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200.

[0044] The control unit 311 is made up of a hardware processor (CPU) and controls various processes related to the escalator 1 and the robot 500.

[0045] Next, the robot 500 will be described. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a robot 500 according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the robot 500 mainly includes a camera 506, a microphone 507, a speaker 504, various sensors 505, a control unit 501, a communication unit 502, a voice recognition unit 508, a monitoring unit 509, a driving unit 503, and a storage unit 510.

[0046] The camera 506 captures images of the surroundings of the robot 500 and transmits the captured images to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 .

[0047] Furthermore, the robot 500 may be configured to transmit the captured image to the control device 100. The camera 506 is an example of an imaging unit.

[0048] The microphone 507 is an input device for inputting voices around the robot 500. In this embodiment, the microphone 507 inputs the voices of the maintenance worker 5 who is near the robot 500. The microphone 507 is an example of a voice input unit.

[0049] The speaker 504 is an output device that outputs various contents as audio in response to instructions from the control unit 501, etc. The speaker 504 is an example of an output unit.

[0050] The various sensors 505 include, but are not limited to, a distance sensor, a vibration sensor, a human sensor, an acceleration sensor, a load sensor, and the like.

[0051] The communication unit 502 is made up of a communication device having a predetermined communication protocol, and performs communication processing between the robot 500 and the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 .

[0052] The storage unit 510 is a storage medium (memory device) such as a ROM or RAM. Various programs are stored in the storage unit 510. The storage unit 510 includes a keyword database 511 (hereinafter referred to as "keyword DB 511"), which is a database in which one or more keywords are associated with the operation signals of the escalator 1.

[0053] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the keyword DB 511 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the keyword DB 511 according to this embodiment associates the voice of the maintenance worker 5, the keywords of the robot 500, the operation signal of the escalator 1, the monitoring operation / status, and the sensors of the robot 500.

[0054] The voice of the maintenance staff 5 is a voice that the maintenance staff 5 may utter, and indicates the content of the voice that is related to the movement of the steps 110 of the escalator 1. Examples of the voice of the maintenance staff 5 include "upward operation," "downward operation," "stop," and "slight operation." Here, "slight operation" means that the escalator 1 will be operated a short distance and then immediately stopped.

[0055] The saved keywords of the robot 500 are keywords extracted from the voice of the maintenance person 5, and keywords that can be extracted from the content of the voice of the maintenance person 5 are registered. Here, the keywords corresponding to the ascending operation, descending operation, and minute operation are examples of first keywords.

[0056] The operation signal of the escalator 1 is an example of an operation instruction. The operation signal of the escalator 1 is the content of an instruction given by the control unit 501 in response to a keyword. Here, motor operation / brake off means an instruction to start operation, and motor stop / brake on means an instruction to stop operation.

[0057] The monitoring task / status indicates the task and status monitored by the robot 500. The robot sensor is a sensor (including the camera 506 and microphone 507) used by the robot 500 when performing the monitoring task.

[0058] 6, the voice recognition unit 508 performs voice recognition on the contents of the utterance from the maintenance technician input via the microphone 507. In this embodiment, the voice recognition unit 508 performs voice recognition on the contents of the utterance from the maintenance technician input via the microphone 507, and extracts keywords from the contents of the utterance. Furthermore, the voice recognition unit 508 outputs the voice-recognized utterance content to the speaker 504. Here, examples of the output timing include the time when the voice is recognized, and the time when the utterance of the maintenance worker 5 is an instruction to start operating the escalator 1 and the monitoring unit 509, which will be described later, determines that it is possible to start operating the escalator 1.

[0059] The monitoring unit 509 monitors the work of the maintenance worker 5 who is performing inspection work on the escalator 1, using images captured by the camera 506, sounds from the microphone 507, or detection signals from various sensors 505. For example, the monitoring unit 509 monitors the maintenance worker 5 who is performing inspection work near the entrance / exit 193, inside the truss 170, on the steps 110, etc.

[0060] Specifically, the monitoring unit 509 determines whether the maintenance personnel 5 is performing unsafe work or deviating from procedures, and notifies the maintenance personnel 5 via the speaker 504 or an LED (not shown). Furthermore, if the unsafe work is predicted to lead to an accident involving the maintenance personnel 5, the monitoring unit 509 transmits an instruction signal to stop operation to the control device 100 via the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, and prohibits the maintenance personnel 5 from operating the device.

[0061] Furthermore, when the voice recognition unit 508 extracts a keyword for starting operation (i.e., any one of a keyword for upward operation, a keyword for downward operation, or a keyword for slight operation) from the voice signal uttered by the maintenance worker 5 while inspecting the escalator 1, the monitoring unit 509 determines whether or not it is possible to start operation based on the situation around the maintenance worker 5 using the captured image. Specifically, the monitoring unit 509 determines whether or not the maintenance worker 5 is in a safe waiting position even if the operation of the escalator 1 is started and the steps 110 are moved. Then, when the monitoring unit 509 determines that the maintenance worker 5 is in a safe waiting position and that operation can be started, it outputs the utterance of the maintenance worker 5 to the speaker 504.

[0062] The driving unit 503 drives the robot 500 to move. The control unit 501 is made up of a hardware processor (CPU). During normal operation of the escalator 1, the control unit 501 reads and executes various programs from the storage unit 510 to perform various operations on the escalator 1. The control unit 501 controls the driving of the driving unit 503 in response to instructions from the server 310 in the robot cloud 300 to perform running control.

[0063] In this embodiment, the control unit 501 transmits instructions to the control device regarding the operation of the escalator 1 to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 via the communication unit 502 based on the speech recognized by the speech recognition unit 508.

[0064] Specifically, the control unit 501 transmits an escalator operation signal corresponding to the keyword extracted by the voice recognition unit 508 in the keyword DB 511 database to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 via the communication unit 502. As a result, the operation signal is transmitted to the control device 100 via the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, the server of the elevator cloud 200, and the controller 150.

[0065] If there is no escalator operation signal in the keyword DB 511 database corresponding to the keyword extracted by the voice recognition unit 508, the control unit 501 outputs to the speaker 504 that there is no operation instruction for the extracted keyword.

[0066] When the monitoring unit 509 determines that operation can be started after the maintenance worker 5 makes an utterance including a keyword for starting operation, the control unit 501 transmits an operation signal corresponding to the keyword in the keyword DB 511 to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 via the communication unit 502.

[0067] In addition, when the maintenance worker 5 makes an utterance including a keyword for stopping operation, the control unit 501 transmits an operation signal corresponding to the keyword in the keyword DB 511 to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 via the communication unit 502.

[0068] The above configuration of the robot 500 is an example, and the robot 500 may further include an input unit such as a touch panel.

[0069] Next, the escalator control process performed by the escalator control system 1000 according to this embodiment configured as above will be described. 8 and 9 are sequence diagrams showing an example of the overall flow of the escalator control process according to the embodiment.

[0070] It is assumed that the escalator 1 is in normal operation (S101). Maintenance worker 5, who is about to begin inspecting escalator 1, moves to entrance 193 of escalator 1 and sets up safety fence 175 in front of entrance 193 to prevent users from entering escalator 1 (S102). Maintenance worker 5 then presses key switch 152 to issue a command to switch (S103). Then, key switch 152 sends a switch signal (a signal to switch to maintenance operation) to control device 100 (S104).

[0071] In the control device 100, when the communication unit 101 receives the switching signal, the control unit 102 executes maintenance operation (S105). Next, the communication unit 101 transmits a maintenance operation switching notification to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150 (S106). Then, the drive control unit 103 receives the instruction from the control unit 102 and stops the movement of the steps 110 (S107).

[0072] In the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, when the communication unit 212 receives the maintenance operation switching notification from the control device 100, the communication unit 212 transmits the received maintenance operation switching notification to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S108).

[0073] In the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, when the communication unit 312 receives a maintenance operation switch notification from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200, it sends a movement command to the escalator 1 to the robot 500 waiting at a designated location in the building 3 (S109).

[0074] When the communication unit 502 of the robot 500 receives a movement command from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300, the driving unit 503 moves the robot 500 to the entrance 193 of the escalator 1 (S110). When the robot 500 arrives at the entrance 193 of the escalator 1, the robot 500 waits at the entrance 193 (S111). Then, the communication unit 502 sends a wait notification to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S112).

[0075] This waiting notification is further transmitted from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S113), and then transmitted from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the control device 100 of the escalator 1 via the controller 150 (S114).

[0076] In the control device 100, when the communication unit 101 receives the standby notification, it transmits a maintenance work start notification to the tablet 600 of the maintenance technician 5 (S115). When the maintenance technician 5 confirms the maintenance work start notification on the tablet 600, he enters the truss 170 and starts the maintenance work (inspection work) (S116). Then, in the robot 500 waiting at the boarding / alighting entrance 193, the monitoring unit 509 monitors the work of the maintenance technician 5 as described above (S117).

[0077] When the maintenance man 5 determines that it is OK to move the steps 110 (for example, to ascend), he gives a voice command to start the operation of the escalator 1 (for example, to operate upward) (S118).

[0078] In the robot 500, the microphone 507 collects this speech (S119). Then, the voice recognition unit 508 recognizes the speech to extract keywords and obtains an operation start instruction corresponding to the keywords from the keyword DB 511 (S120). Next, the monitoring unit 509 checks whether or not operation can be started based on the situation around the maintenance worker 5 using the captured image (S121).

[0079] Then, if operation start is executable, the voice recognition unit 508 outputs the speech of the maintenance worker 5 to the speaker 504. Then, the communication unit 502 transmits an instruction to start operation, specifically, an instruction to move the steps 110, to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S122). This movement instruction as an instruction to start operation is further transmitted from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S123), and then transmitted from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the control device 100 of the escalator 1 via the controller 150 (S124).

[0080] In the control device 100, when the communication unit 101 receives the movement instruction, the drive control unit 103 controls the drive unit 120 to move the steps 110 (S125). Thereafter, the monitoring unit 509 of the robot 500 continues to monitor the maintenance work (inspection work) of the maintenance worker 5 (S126).

[0081] When the maintenance work by the maintenance personnel 5 is completed (S127), the maintenance personnel 5 exits the truss 170 and closes the truss 170 using the boarding / alighting plate 104 (S128). Then, the maintenance personnel 5 switches by pressing the key switch 152 (S129). Then, a switching signal (a signal to switch to normal operation) is sent from the key switch 152 to the control device 100 (S130).

[0082] In the control device 100, when the communication unit 101 receives the switching signal, the communication unit 101 transmits a normal operation switching notification to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 via the controller 150 (S131). This normal operation switching notification is further transmitted from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S132), and then transmitted from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the robot 500 (S133).

[0083] In the robot 500, when the communication unit 502 receives the normal operation switch notification, the monitoring unit 509 checks whether or not the start of operation is executable based on the situation around the maintenance worker 5 using the captured image (S134).

[0084] Then, if operation start is executable, the communication unit 502 transmits a normal operation return command to the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 (S135). This normal operation return command is further transmitted from the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 to the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 (S136), and then transmitted from the server 210 of the elevator cloud 200 to the control device 100 of the escalator 1 via the controller 150 (S137).

[0085] In the control device 100, when the communication unit 101 receives the normal operation return command, the control unit 102 executes normal operation (S138). As a result, the drive control unit 103 moves the steps 110 in normal operation.

[0086] As described above, the robot 500 according to this embodiment includes a monitoring unit 509 that monitors the work of the maintenance worker 5 who is performing maintenance and inspection work on the escalator 1 using images captured by the camera 506 and audio from the microphone 507, a voice recognition unit 508 that recognizes the speech content of the maintenance worker 5 input by the microphone 507, and a control unit 501 that issues instructions to the control device 100 regarding the operation of the escalator 1 based on the speech that has been voice-recognized.

[0087] That is, in this embodiment, when maintenance personnel 5 perform maintenance and inspection work on escalator 1, robot 500 is brought along in addition to one maintenance personnel to monitor the maintenance and inspection work, collect utterances from maintenance personnel 5, and give instructions regarding the operation of escalator 1. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the safety of escalator 1 can be ensured while improving the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work.

[0088] In addition, the robot 500 according to this embodiment further includes a memory unit 510 that stores a keyword DB 511 in which one or more keywords are associated with operation signals (operation instructions) for the escalator 1, and the voice recognition unit 508 recognizes the speech content from the maintenance worker 5 input by the microphone 507 and extracts keywords, and the control unit 501 issues to the control device 100 an operation signal (operation instructions) corresponding to the extracted keyword in the keyword DB 511.

[0089] That is, in this embodiment, operation signals (operation-related instructions) are associated in advance with spoken keywords, and the keywords are extracted from the utterance of the maintenance staff 5, and the operation-related instructions associated with the keywords are given. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the safety of the escalator 1 can be ensured, while the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work can be further improved.

[0090] Furthermore, in the robot 500 according to this embodiment, the keyword DB 511 associates an instruction to start operation with a first keyword, and when the voice recognition unit 508 extracts the first keyword from a voice signal uttered by the maintenance worker 5 during maintenance and inspection work on the escalator 1, the monitoring unit 509 determines whether or not it is possible to start operation, i.e., whether safety can be ensured, based on the situation around the maintenance worker 5 using captured images and voice, and when the monitoring unit 509 determines that it is possible to start operation, i.e., that safety can be ensured, the control unit 501 issues an instruction to the control device 100 to start operation.

[0091] That is, in this embodiment, when maintenance personnel 5 issues an instruction to start operating escalator 1, the situation around maintenance personnel 5 is monitored, and the instruction to start operation is given if it is possible to start operation from a safety standpoint. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the safety of escalator 1 can be more reliably ensured, while the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work can be further improved.

[0092] Furthermore, in the robot 500 according to this embodiment, when the monitoring unit 509 determines that operation can be started, the voice recognition unit 508 outputs the voice-recognized utterance content to the speaker 504. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the maintenance worker 5 can easily know that operation can be started, and the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work can be further improved.

[0093] (Variation) Various modifications of the above embodiment are possible. For example, in the robot 500, when there is no driving instruction corresponding to an extracted keyword in the keyword DB 511, the control unit 501 can be configured to output to the speaker 504 that there is no driving instruction for the extracted keyword. This allows the maintenance worker 5 to check for errors in the instructions he or she has spoken, and the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work can be further improved.

[0094] In the above embodiment, the explanation is given on the assumption that there is one maintenance person 5, but this is not limitative. For example, in robot 500, memory unit 510 can be configured to store the number of maintenance personnel 5 in advance, voice recognition unit 508 can be configured to analyze all utterances input from microphone 507 after maintenance and inspection work has begun, and control unit 102 can be configured to determine whether the pre-stored number of maintenance personnel 5 are present near entrance / exit 193 of escalator 1 based on the analyzed utterances, and if so, to instruct control device 100 to start operation. In this case, even when there are multiple maintenance personnel 5, the safety of escalator 1 can be ensured and the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work can be improved.

[0095] In the above embodiment, when an instruction to start maintenance and inspection work is given to key switch 152 provided on escalator 1 or tablet 600 carried by maintenance worker 5, control unit 102 of control device 100 may be configured to stop the operation of escalator 1 based on the instruction to start maintenance and inspection work, taking priority over an operation instruction indicating an instruction regarding operation. In this case, by giving priority to the operation of maintenance worker 5, the safety of escalator 1 can be more reliably ensured while the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work can be further improved.

[0096] A robot communication device capable of communicating with the robot 500 may be placed inside the main body of the escalator 1 (for example, under the inlet 108 or boarding / alighting board 104, on the inner deck, or on the outer deck), and the robot communication device may be configured to communicate with the control device 100 of the escalator 1. This allows for faster communication with the robot 500 during maintenance and inspection work, further improving the efficiency of the maintenance and inspection work. In this case, the communication method may be short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), Wi-Fi, infrared communication, or the like.

[0097] The robot 500 may be configured to perform some of the inspection items in the maintenance and inspection work performed by the maintenance personnel 5. For example, the robot 500 may be configured to perform inspection items such as whether the movement of the handrail belt 192 and the steps 110 is synchronized, whether there is dirt, damage, or deformation on the surfaces of the boarding and alighting board 104, the handrail belt 192, the steps 110, and the comp plate 104c, whether there are missing dots on the display device, the brightness, and the display content. This can further improve the efficiency of the maintenance and inspection work.

[0098] The control device 100 may be configured to receive measurement results from a building management server in the control room 160, a monitoring center 400, or a seismometer installed in the building 3, and when earthquake information is received, the robot 500 may be configured to confirm the safety of the maintenance worker 5 and instruct the control device 100 to stop the operation of the escalator 1.

[0099] If the voice recognition unit 508 is unable to extract a keyword from the utterance of the maintenance worker 5, the robot 500 may be configured to output an announcement from the speaker 504 several times in the direction of the maintenance worker 5, encouraging the maintenance worker 5 to speak again.

[0100] When two maintenance personnel 5 perform maintenance and inspection work on one escalator 1, the robot 500 can also monitor the working status of the two maintenance personnel 5. For example, when one maintenance personnel 5 is working on an upper floor and the other maintenance personnel 5 is working on a lower floor, the robot 500 may be located on either the upper or lower floor and configured to monitor the work of both the maintenance personnel 5 on the floor where the robot 500 is located and the maintenance personnel 5 on the other floor. This makes it possible to more reliably ensure the safety of the escalator 1 while further improving the efficiency of the maintenance and inspection work.

[0101] When multiple robots 500 are used, they may be separately placed near each of the boards 104 on the upper and lower floors of the escalator 1. In this case, the multiple robots 500 can be configured to share information with each other to control the escalator 1 control device 100 and collect the status of the maintenance personnel 5. This makes it possible to more reliably ensure the safety of the escalator 1 while further improving the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work.

[0102] The detection of the robot 500 becoming inoperable due to a dead battery or a malfunction during maintenance and inspection work by the maintenance worker 5 can be determined by determining whether regular communication between the robot 500 and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 has not been performed for a certain period of time, and if it is determined that the robot 500 is in an inoperable state, communication from the robot 500 thereafter can be cut off, and the server 310 of the robot cloud 300 can notify the server of the elevator cloud 200, and further the control device 100 and the monitoring center 400 that the robot cannot be used. After this notification, the escalator 1 can be configured to output an announcement from a speaker to advise the escalator 1 to operate without using the robot 500. This can further improve the efficiency of maintenance and inspection work.

[0103] The robot 500 according to the above embodiment and modified example is equipped with a control device such as a CPU, a storage device such as a ROM or RAM, an external storage device such as an HDD or a CD drive, a display device such as a display device, and an input device such as a touch panel, and has a hardware configuration that utilizes a normal computer.

[0104] The control programs executed by the robot 500 according to the above-described embodiment and modifications are provided in a state that they are pre-installed in a ROM or the like.

[0105] The control program executed by the robot 500 according to the above embodiment and modified example may be configured to be provided by being recorded in an installable or executable format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a DVD.

[0106] Furthermore, the control program executed by the robot 500 according to the above embodiment and modification may be stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Also, the control program executed by the robot 500 according to the above embodiment and modification may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0107] The control program executed by the robot 500 according to the above embodiment and modified example has a modular structure including each of the above-mentioned functional units (control unit 501, communication unit 502, voice recognition unit 508, monitoring unit 509, and drive unit 503), and in terms of actual hardware, the CPU reads and executes the control program from the above-mentioned ROM, thereby loading each of the above-mentioned units onto the main memory, and the control unit 501, communication unit 502, voice recognition unit 508, monitoring unit 509, and drive unit 503 are generated on the main memory.

[0108] Although several 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 novel embodiments can be embodied 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 within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0109] 1...escalator, 5...maintenance worker, 100...control device, 193...entrance / exit, 104...board, 110...step, 120...drive device, 170...truss, 175...safety fence, 150...controller, 152...key switch (operation unit), 160...control room, 200...elevator cloud, 210...server (elevator server), 300...robot cloud, 310...server (robot server) 500...Robot (autonomous mobile body), 501...Control unit, 502...Communication unit, 503...Drive unit, 504...Speaker (output unit), 505...Various sensors, 506...Camera (imaging unit), 507...Microphone (voice input unit), 508...Voice recognition unit, 509...Monitoring unit, 510...Memory unit, 511...Keyword DB, 600...Tablet terminal (terminal device), 1000...Escalator control system.

Claims

1. An autonomous moving body that can autonomously move on a passenger conveyor, An imaging unit; an audio input unit; a monitoring unit that monitors the work of a maintenance worker who is performing an inspection work on the passenger conveyor using the captured image from the imaging unit and the sound from the sound input unit; a voice recognition unit that recognizes the speech content of the maintenance worker input by the voice input unit; a control unit that issues instructions regarding the operation of the passenger conveyor to a control device that controls the passenger conveyor based on the speech recognized by voice recognition; An autonomous moving body comprising:

2. a storage unit that stores a keyword database in which one or more keywords are associated with instructions regarding the operation of the passenger conveyor; the voice recognition unit performs voice recognition on the speech content input by the voice input unit from the maintenance worker, and extracts keywords; the control unit issues an instruction to the control device regarding the operation corresponding to the keyword extracted from the keyword database. The autonomous moving body according to claim 1 .

3. an output unit; When there is no instruction related to the driving corresponding to the extracted keyword in the keyword database, the control unit outputs to the output unit a message indicating that there is no driving instruction for the extracted keyword. The autonomous moving body according to claim 2 .

4. the keyword database associates the instruction to start driving with a first keyword; when the first keyword is extracted by the voice recognition unit from a voice signal uttered by the maintenance worker during inspection work of the passenger conveyor, the monitoring unit determines whether or not it is possible to start the operation based on the situation around the maintenance worker using the captured image, When the monitoring unit determines that the start of the operation is executable, the control unit instructs the control device to start the operation. The autonomous moving body according to claim 2 .

5. an output unit; When the monitoring unit determines that the start of driving is executable, the voice recognition unit outputs the utterance content recognized by the voice recognition unit to the output unit. The autonomous moving body according to claim 4 .

6. The storage unit further stores in advance the number of maintenance personnel, the voice recognition unit analyzes all utterances input from the voice input unit after the start of the inspection work, The control unit determines whether or not the pre-stored number of maintenance personnel are present near the entrance / exit of the passenger conveyor based on the analyzed utterance, and if so, instructs the control device to start operation. The autonomous moving body according to claim 2 .

7. A passenger conveyor control system comprising: a control device provided on a passenger conveyor and controlling the passenger conveyor; an autonomous mobile body that can move autonomously on the passenger conveyor; an elevator server connected to the control device via a network and controlling the raising and lowering of steps of the passenger conveyor; and an autonomous mobile body server connected to the elevator server and the autonomous mobile body via a network and controlling the autonomous mobile body, The autonomous moving body is An imaging unit; an audio input unit; a communication unit capable of communicating with the autonomous mobile object server; a monitoring unit that acquires an image of a maintenance worker performing an inspection work near an entrance / exit point of the passenger conveyor by the imaging unit and monitors the work of the maintenance worker; a voice recognition unit that recognizes the speech content of the maintenance worker input by the voice input unit; a control unit that transmits an instruction for the control device regarding operation of the passenger conveyor to the autonomous mobile body server based on the speech recognized by the voice recognition; The control device a second communication unit that receives instructions related to the operation of the passenger conveyor via the autonomous mobile object server and the elevator server; a second control unit that controls the passenger conveyor in accordance with the instruction regarding operation when the second communication unit receives the instruction regarding operation of the passenger conveyor; A passenger conveyor control system comprising:

8. When an operation instruction to start work is given to an operation unit provided on the passenger conveyor or a terminal device carried by the maintenance worker, the second control unit stops operation of the passenger conveyor based on the operation instruction to start work, taking priority over an operation instruction indicating an instruction regarding operation.

8. The passenger conveyor control system of claim 7.

9. A passenger conveyor control method executed in a passenger conveyor control system including: a control device provided on the passenger conveyor and controlling the passenger conveyor; an autonomous mobile body that can move autonomously on the passenger conveyor; an elevator server connected to the control device via a network and controlling the raising and lowering of steps of the passenger conveyor; and an autonomous mobile body server connected to the elevator server and the autonomous mobile body via a network and controlling the autonomous mobile body, The autonomous moving body is An imaging unit; an audio input unit; a communication unit capable of communicating with the autonomous mobile object server, a step of acquiring an image of a maintenance worker who is performing an inspection work near an entrance / exit point of the passenger conveyor by the imaging unit and monitoring the work of the maintenance worker; a voice recognition step of performing voice recognition on the content of the utterance from the maintenance worker inputted by the voice input unit; transmitting an instruction for the control device regarding operation of the passenger conveyor to the autonomous mobile body server based on the speech recognized by the voice recognition; receiving instructions regarding operation of the passenger conveyor via the autonomous mobile object server and the elevator server; When an instruction regarding operation of the passenger conveyor is received, controlling the passenger conveyor in accordance with the instruction regarding operation; A passenger conveyor control method comprising:

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