Method for operating an escalator

Abstract

To prevent a person to be monitored such as a child from falling from an upper floor of an escalator without deteriorating service to an escalator user.SOLUTION: This device is provided with a guide pole with a gate, a video device provided with a camera for picking up the image of an escalator and a monitoring device for inputting video data from the video device, outputting a control command for controlling the opening / closing of the gate and outputting an alarm voice through a speaker. The monitoring device includes a video analysis unit, a gate control command output unit, and an alarm output unit. A video analysis part analyzes video data input from a video device, and detects a child as a monitoring object person when the child is not accompanied by an adult on an escalator upper floor. When the monitoring object person is detected, the gate control command output part outputs a gate control command to the guide pole with the gate, and controls the gate so that door opening is prevented to the footstep side. The alarm output unit outputs an alarm sound from the speaker when the monitoring target is detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention relate to gated guide poles, escalator systems, and methods of operating escalators. [Background technology]

[0002] Children may stop near the entrance or exit of an escalator or reverse onto the steps. This is especially dangerous when children are standing on the upper floors, as it can cause them to fall onto the steps.

[0003] Conventionally, methods for preventing users from reversing onto escalators or falling from upper floors to lower floors have been known to use sensors or image processing technology to detect potential hazards and warn users of the possibility of reversing onto escalators or falling by using audio or visual alerts. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-31251 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-70299 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, warnings using audio or images are not very effective for users such as young children or elementary school students.

[0006] To solve these problems, it is desirable to take physical measures to prevent falls as well as implement fall prevention measures for people who are at risk of falling.

[0007] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a gated guide pole, an escalator system, and an escalator operating method that can prevent children and other persons being monitored from falling from the upper floors of an escalator without compromising service to escalator users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An embodiment for achieving the above object includes a gate-equipped guide pole, a video device equipped with a camera for capturing images of the escalator, and a monitoring device that receives video data from the video device, outputs control commands for controlling the opening and closing of the gate, and outputs an alarm sound via a speaker. The monitoring device includes a video analysis unit, a gate control command output unit, and an alarm output unit.

[0009] The video analysis unit analyzes the video data input from the video device and detects a child on the upper floor of the escalator without an adult as a person to be monitored. When a person to be monitored is detected, the gate control command output unit outputs a gate control command to the gate-equipped guide pole to control the gate so that the door on the step side is prevented from opening. When a person to be monitored is detected, the alarm output unit outputs an alarm sound from the speaker. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an escalator to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied; [Figure 2] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a gated guide pole to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a building in which a gated guide pole is installed. [Figure 4] 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an escalator system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Figure 5] 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of an escalator system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] <Configuration of the embodiment> Figure 1 shows the overall configuration of the escalator system. Escalator 1 has steps 3 that move endlessly between lower level boarding / alighting plate 2D and upper level boarding / alighting plate 2U, and moves users 4 on the steps 3 up and down. A video device 6 is installed on the ceiling 5 of the building, and constantly monitors users 4 near the boarding / alighting entrance and users 4 on the steps 3. As shown in Figure 2, this video device 6 includes a camera 61 and a communication unit 62 that transmits camera images.

[0012] Near the upper boarding and alighting platform 2U, there is installed a gated guide pole 8 that restricts the entry of persons to be monitored 7. Here, "persons to be monitored" refers to children such as infants and elementary school students who are not accompanied by an adult.

[0013] The gated guide pole 8 includes a pair of poles 81 on the left and right sides of the boarding and alighting board 2U, a gate 82 installed on the pole 81 so as to be able to open and close, and a speaker 83 installed on the pole 81 to output a warning to users. In addition to or instead of the camera 61 of the video device 6, a camera for monitoring the person 7 to be monitored may be installed on the pole 81.

[0014] The gate 82 of the gated guide pole 8 is normally fully open. When a monitored person 7 is detected, the gate is controlled so that it does not open toward the inside of the boarding and alighting plates 2D, 2U, i.e., the step 3 side, but only toward the outside of the boarding and alighting plates 2D, 2U. This is because users 4 descending from the step 3 can get off, but is prevented from entering in the direction of getting on the step 3. In other words, the gate 82 is designed so that it opens when pulled from the side of the monitored person 7 on the outside of the boarding and alighting plate, but does not open when pushed, thereby preventing the monitored person 7 from entering the step 3 side and falling off.

[0015] 4, the video device 6 and the gated guide pole 8 are wirelessly connected to a monitoring device 20. The monitoring device 20 includes a video data input unit 21, a video analysis unit 22, a gate control command output unit 23, and an alarm output unit 24.

[0016] The video data input unit 21 inputs video data (camera video) from the communication unit 62 of the video device 6.

[0017] The video analysis unit 22 analyzes the situation near the entrance / exit point of the escalator 1 from the input video data (camera video) and detects whether or not the person to be monitored 7 is present.

[0018] The gate control command output unit 23 is configured to be able to remotely control the opening and closing of the gate 82, analyzes the situation near the boarding and alighting entrance, and if a monitored person 7 is present, outputs a gate control command to control the gate 82 and prevent it from opening towards the step 3.

[0019] If the monitored person 7 is near the boarding / alighting entrance, the alarm output unit 24 issues an audio alarm to the monitored person 7. If a user 4 is nearby, the alarm output unit 24 outputs an audio warning to the monitored person 7. If the monitored person remains at the scene after a certain time has passed since the person was detected, the alarm output unit 24 notifies a security guard and requests that the monitored person be protected.

[0020] The escalator control device 30 includes an operation control unit 31, and controls the driving of the steps 3 of the escalator 1. Furthermore, if a monitored person 7 is detected, the escalator control device 30 controls the escalator to gradually slow down and stop.

[0021] <Location of gated guide pole 8> Figure 3 shows a six-story building in which gated guide poles 8 are installed. As shown in the figure, gated guide poles 8 are installed on the upper floor entrance side of each escalator 1 to prevent people from falling from the upper floor to the lower floor, regardless of whether the escalator is in ascending or descending operation.

[0022] <Processing procedure of the embodiment> As shown in the flowchart of Figure 5, when escalator 1 is in normal operation, monitoring device 20 inputs video data from video device 6 (S1). Then, based on the video data, it constantly determines whether a child, such as an infant or a child in the early grades of elementary school, is using the escalator without an adult near the entrance of gated guide pole 8, i.e., whether a person to be monitored 7 is present (S2). If no person to be monitored 7 is present, normal operation continues.

[0023] If the person to be monitored 7 is present (S2 YES) and if the user 4 is near the person to be monitored 7 (S3 YES), an alarm command is output from the alarm output unit 24 and a warning is issued from the speaker 83 (S4). For example, a warning voice saying "Don't get on the escalator" is output to the person to be monitored 7, and an alarm saying "There is a child nearby, so please keep an eye on him / her so that he / she doesn't get on the escalator 1" is output to the user 4.

[0024] If the person to be monitored 7 is present (S2 YES) but there is no user 4 near the person to be monitored 7 (S3 NO), a warning "Do not ride the escalator" is output to the person to be monitored 7. Also, an announcement is made that a problem has occurred with the escalator 1, and the operation control unit 31 of the escalator control device 30 controls the escalator to slow down so that it stops operating. Then, a gate close command is output from the gate control command output unit 23. This prevents the gate from opening toward the step 3 of the escalator 1 (S5).

[0025] Next, it is determined whether the monitored person 7 remains at the location after a certain time has elapsed (S6). If the monitored person 7 remains at the location after a certain time has elapsed (S6YES), a security guard is called in response to a report from the monitoring device 20 (S7). The security guard protects the monitored person 7 from the scene and avoids a dangerous situation.

[0026] If the monitoring device 20 is able to confirm from the video data (camera footage) that the condition is not dangerous (S8 YES), the operation control unit 31 of the escalator control device 30 returns the escalator 1 to a normal operating state (S9), and the monitoring device 20 continues to monitor.

[0027] According to the above embodiment, persons to be monitored, such as children, can be prevented from entering the steps on the upper floor of the escalator without reducing the service to users, and falls from the upper floor can be prevented in advance.

[0028] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, 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]

[0029] 1...escalator, 2D, 2U...boarding and alighting board, 3...step, 4...user, 5...ceiling, 6...video device, 61...camera, 62...communication unit, 7...person to be monitored, 8...guide pole with gate, 81...pole, 82...gate, 83...speaker, 20...monitoring device, 21...video data input unit, 22...video analysis unit, 23...gate control command output unit, 24...alarm output unit, 30...escalator control device, 31...operation control unit

Claims

1. The escalator has steps that move between the upper and lower floors to carry users, and the escalator comprises a pole erected near the boarding board on the upper floor side, and a gate installed on the pole, The gate is kept in an open state during normal operation, and when a person to be monitored is detected near the boarding and alighting board, it opens toward the outside of the board but is prevented from opening toward the step side.

2. The gated guide pole according to claim 1, wherein the pole is provided with a speaker that provides audio guidance to users.

3. 2. The gated guide pole according to claim 1, wherein the gate is configured to be remotely controlled to open and close.

4. The gated guide pole according to claim 2; a video device equipped with a camera for capturing an image of the escalator; a monitoring device that receives the video data from the video device, outputs a control command to control the opening and closing of the gate, and outputs an alarm sound through the speaker, The monitoring device a video analysis unit that analyzes the video data input from the video device and detects a child on the upper floor of the escalator without an adult as a person to be monitored; a gate control command output unit that outputs a gate control command to the gate-attached guide pole when the monitored person is detected, and controls the gate so that the door is prevented from opening on the step side; an alarm output unit that outputs an alarm sound from a speaker when the monitored person is detected.

5. 5. The escalator system according to claim 4, wherein the monitoring device notifies a security guard to request protection for the monitored person if the monitored person remains at the site after a certain time has elapsed since the person was detected.

6. The gated guide pole according to claim 2; a video device including a camera installed on the pole or a camera installed in the building for capturing an image of the escalator; a monitoring device that receives video data from the video device, outputs a control command to control opening and closing of the gate, and outputs an alarm sound via the speaker, If a child is seen on the upper floor of the escalator without an adult as seen in the video data, the child will be considered a person to be monitored. If it is determined that the person being monitored is using the escalator, it will be deemed a dangerous situation. If a dangerous situation is detected, a warning will be issued to the person being monitored by a voice guidance device installed on the guide pole. During the upward movement of the escalator, if there is no escalator user near the person being monitored, the gate is closed, the escalator's operating speed is slowed down, and the escalator is stopped. If an escalator user is near the person being monitored during ascending operation, a warning is output without closing the gate. In the case of a descending operation, the escalator will continue to operate at a normal speed until the escalator user reaches the lower floor after the gate is closed, and then the speed will be slowed down and the escalator will stop after the user reaches the lower floor. In both ascending and descending operations, when it is determined from the video data that the escalator has recovered from the dangerous state, the escalator returns to normal operation if it is stopped, cancels the warning if it is issued, and opens the gate if it is closed, and returns to normal operation.

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