Adjustment system

Abstract

To realize an adjustment system that allows for simple and appropriate adjustment of escalator operating speed. [Solution] The adjustment system (2) includes a vibration sensor (40), an operation control unit (51) that controls the operation of the escalator (1), an acquisition unit (52) that acquires vibration measurement data, which is the result of the vibration sensor measuring the vibration of the escalator while the escalator is operating for a predetermined distance, and a speed determination unit (53) that determines the operating speed based on the vibration measurement data.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an adjustment system for adjusting the operating speed of an escalator.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a technique of installing acceleration sensors at various positions of an escalator and measuring the vibration of the escalator.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In particular, vibrations with a frequency proportional to the speed may be reduced by changing the operating speed of the escalator. Therefore, it is preferable to set the operating speed to a speed at which the vibration is small. Conventionally, when manually fine-tuning the operating speed of the escalator and measuring the vibration each time, it takes time to set the optimal speed. In addition, the measurement interval of the vibration by the sensor varies for each measurement, resulting in variations in the measurement data, and there is a possibility that the operating speed cannot be adjusted appropriately. Therefore, there is a need for a technique that can easily and appropriately adjust the operating speed of an escalator.

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure aims to realize an adjustment system that can easily and appropriately adjust the operating speed of an escalator.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To solve the above problems, an adjustment system according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure is an adjustment system for adjusting the operating speed of an escalator, comprising: a vibration sensor installed at a predetermined position on the escalator and measuring the vibration of the escalator; an operation control unit that controls the operation of the escalator; an acquisition unit that acquires vibration measurement data, which is the result of the vibration sensor measuring the vibration of the escalator while the escalator is operated a predetermined distance under the control of the operation control unit, each time the operation control unit changes the operating speed of the escalator in steps; and a speed determination unit that determines the operating speed based on the vibration measurement data.

[0007] According to the above configuration, based on vibration measurement data when the escalator's operating speed is changed in stages, it is possible to identify the operating speed of the escalator that produces relatively little vibration. Therefore, by setting the operating speed of the escalator during operation to a speed that produces relatively little vibration, the vibration of the escalator during operation can be reduced.

[0008] Furthermore, the adjustment system described above can automatically measure the amount of vibration of the escalator and determine the operating speed of the escalator during operation. In other words, conventionally, when the operating speed of the escalator was finely adjusted manually and the vibration was measured each time, setting the optimal speed was time-consuming. On the other hand, the adjustment system described above outputs a command signal directly to the escalator's control device. Therefore, the operator only needs to install the vibration sensor on the escalator, eliminating the aforementioned time and effort.

[0009] Furthermore, when manually adjusting the escalator speed, the measurement interval of the vibrations measured by the sensor differs from measurement to measurement, leading to variability in the measurement data and potentially making it impossible to properly adjust the operating speed. On the other hand, the adjustment system outputs a command signal to the escalator control device to operate for a predetermined distance for each measurement. Therefore, the start and end positions of the vibration sensor can be aligned for each measurement, and conditions other than the escalator speed can be kept constant. Consequently, the operating speed of the escalator can be adjusted simply and appropriately.

[0010] The adjustment system according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure, in Embodiment 1 above, wherein the vibration sensor is installed on the step of the escalator or on a member that moves in conjunction with the movement of the step, and the operation control unit may control the operation of the escalator so that the vibration sensor moves back and forth from the vicinity of one landing to the vicinity of the other landing when performing measurements with the vibration sensor.

[0011] If the escalator is moved continuously in only one direction to complete a full rotation of the steps, the vibration sensor, which is positioned towards the entrance / exit, will come into contact with the escalator's floor plate. However, with the above configuration, by moving the vibration sensor back and forth from near one landing to near the other landing of the escalator, it is possible to obtain vibration measurement data for one full rotation while avoiding contact between the vibration sensor and the floor plate.

[0012] In the adjustment system according to aspect 3 of the present disclosure, in aspect 1 or 2 described above, the speed determination unit may determine the operating speed at the time the vibration of the escalator was measured as the operating speed of the escalator when the vibration of the escalator indicated by the vibration measurement data falls below a predetermined value, and the operation control unit may stop the operation of the escalator when the speed determination unit has determined the operating speed.

[0013] With the above configuration, it is possible to identify the escalator's operating speed at which vibration is below a predetermined value before performing measurements in a predetermined number of speed sections. Therefore, the escalator's operating speed can be adjusted more efficiently. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to one aspect of this disclosure, the operating speed of an escalator can be adjusted simply and appropriately. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1]This is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of the escalator and adjustment system according to Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. [Figure 2] This graph shows the change in the amount of vibration of an escalator when the operating speed of the escalator according to Embodiment 1 of this disclosure is changed in stages. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram showing a method for controlling the operation of an escalator according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] This graph shows the change in the amount of vibration of an escalator when the operating speed of the escalator according to Embodiment 3 of this disclosure is changed in stages. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0016] [Embodiment 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of an escalator 1 and an adjustment system 2 according to Embodiment 1. The escalator 1 is an example of a passenger conveyor, which is a conveyor-type moving device for moving users. The adjustment system 2 is a system for adjusting the operating speed of the escalator 1, for example, during maintenance. In this embodiment, the case in which the adjustment system 2 is applied to the escalator 1 will be described. However, the adjustment system 2 may also be applied to passenger conveyors other than the escalator 1, such as moving walkways.

[0017] (Escalator 1) First, before describing the adjustment system 2 according to this embodiment, the configuration of escalator 1, which is an example of the application of the adjustment system 2, will be described. As shown in Figure 1, escalator 1 comprises an escalator body 10 and a drive unit 20.

[0018] The escalator main body 10 includes a moving step 11, a handrail 12, and a floor plate 13. The moving step 11 is formed by connecting a plurality of steps in an endless manner and is circulated and driven in the traveling direction. The handrail 12 is connected in an endless manner and is circulated and driven in conjunction with the moving step 11. The handrail 12 is provided along the left and right sides of the passage. The moving step 11 and the handrail 12 are circulated and driven by the power of a motor 23. The floor plate 13 is a plate that constitutes the floor surface of the boarding and alighting openings respectively.

[0019] The drive device 20 includes a control device 21, an inverter 22, and a motor 23. The drive device 20 is installed in a machine room provided directly below the floor plate 13 on the upper floor. The control device 21 controls the rotational speed of the motor 23 via the inverter 22. Specifically, the control device 21 outputs a control signal to the inverter 22. The inverter 22 supplies AC power to the motor 23 based on the control signal from the control device 21. The motor 23 operates at a rotational speed corresponding to the frequency of the AC power supplied from the inverter 22. Thereby, the control device 21 controls the driving speed of the moving step 11.

[0020] (Adjustment system 2) Next, an adjustment system 2 for adjusting the operating speed of the escalator 1 described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the adjustment system 2 includes a vibration sensor 40 and a PC (Personal Computer) (information processing device) 50.

[0021] The vibration sensor 40 is a sensor for measuring the vibration of the escalator 1. The vibration sensor 40 is disposed, for example, above the moving step 11, below the moving step 11, above the handrail 12, and / or near the motor 23. In the present embodiment, for simplicity, the case where the vibration sensor 40 is disposed above the moving step 11 will be described. That is, the vibration sensor 40 according to the present embodiment measures the vibration of the moving step 11 as the vibration of the escalator 1.

[0022] The PC50 comprises an operation control unit 51, an acquisition unit 52, and a speed determination unit 53. The PC50 transmits maintenance commands to the control device 21. The PC50 is connected to the control device 21 by wired or wireless communication, for example, during maintenance. The PC50 is also connected to the vibration sensor 40 by wireless communication. If the vibration sensor 40 is located near the motor 23, the vibration sensor 40 and the PC50 may be connected by wire. The PC50 can take various forms, and may be a notebook computer or a server PC.

[0023] The operation control unit 51 controls the operation of the escalator 1 by outputting command signals to the control device 21. For example, the operation control unit 51 outputs a command signal to the control device 21 that causes the escalator 1 to operate at a predetermined speed for a predetermined distance. In accordance with the command signal, the control device 21 operates the motor 23 at a rotational speed corresponding to the predetermined operating speed until the escalator 1 has moved the predetermined distance. The control device 21 also obtains the distance traveled by the escalator 1 from a signal, for example, an encoder (not shown) that detects the rotational speed of the motor 23.

[0024] The acquisition unit 52 acquires information from the vibration sensor 40 via wireless communication. The acquisition unit 52 then applies appropriate signal processing to the information from the vibration sensor 40 to acquire vibration measurement data. The acquisition unit 52 acquires vibration measurement data, which is the result of the vibration sensor 40 measuring the vibration of the escalator, while the escalator 1 is operating at a predetermined speed for a predetermined distance under the control of the operation control unit 51 (hereinafter referred to as the speed section). The acquisition unit 52 acquires vibration measurement data each time the operating speed of the escalator 1 is changed in stages.

[0025] The speed determination unit 53 determines the operating speed of the escalator 1 during operation based on the vibration measurement data. The speed determination unit 53 identifies the operating speed at which the vibration of the escalator 1 is reduced and sets that operating speed as the operating speed of the escalator 1 during operation. The specific method by which the speed determination unit 53 determines the operating speed will be described later with reference to Figure 2.

[0026] (Example of operation of adjustment system 2) Figure 2 is a graph showing the change in the amount of vibration of escalator 1 when the operating speed of escalator 1 is changed in stages. Graph G1 in Figure 2 shows the change in the operating speed of escalator 1, and the vertical axis of graph G1 represents the operating speed of escalator 1. Graph G2 in Figure 2 shows the change in the amount of vibration of escalator 1, and the vertical axis of graph G2 represents the amount of vibration of escalator 1. The operation example of the adjustment system 2 will be explained below with reference to Figure 2.

[0027] As shown in Figure 2, first, the operation control unit 51 outputs a command signal to the control device 21 to gradually increase the operating speed of the escalator 1. Here, the operation control unit 51 increases the operating speed of the escalator 1, for example, each time the moving step 11 completes one or half a rotation. During this time, the acquisition unit 52 continues to acquire vibration measurement data from the vibration sensor 40 and stores the vibration measurement data in the storage unit (not shown).

[0028] Next, the speed determination unit 53 reads vibration measurement data for each speed section from the storage unit. Next, the speed determination unit 53 identifies a representative value of the vibration measurement data for each speed section as the vibration amount of the escalator 1 in that speed section. Representative values ​​include the effective value, maximum value, or peak-to-peak value. Next, the speed determination unit 53 identifies the speed section that shows the smallest vibration amount among the multiple vibration amounts of the identified escalator 1. In the example shown in Figure 2, the third speed section from the start of measurement is the speed section that shows the smallest vibration amount. Next, the speed determination unit 53 sets the operating speed of the escalator 1 in the identified speed section as the operating speed of the escalator 1 during operation.

[0029] (Effects and Benefits) According to the above configuration, by measuring the amount of vibration of escalator 1 when its operating speed is changed in stages, it is possible to identify the operating speed of escalator 1 at which the amount of vibration is relatively low. Therefore, by setting the operating speed of escalator 1 during operation to an operating speed at which the amount of vibration is relatively low, the vibration of escalator 1 during operation can be reduced.

[0030] Furthermore, the adjustment system 2 described above can automatically measure the amount of vibration of escalator 1 and determine the operating speed of escalator 1 during operation. In other words, conventionally, when the operating speed of the escalator was finely adjusted manually and the vibration was measured each time, it was time-consuming to set the optimal speed. On the other hand, the adjustment system 2 outputs a command signal directly to the control device 21 of escalator 1 and rewrites the control signal to the inverter 22. Therefore, the worker only needs to install the vibration sensor 40 on escalator 1, eliminating the aforementioned time and effort.

[0031] Furthermore, when manually adjusting the speed of escalator 1, the measurement interval of vibration by the sensor (the distance traveled by escalator 1) differs with each measurement, resulting in variability in the measurement data and potentially making it impossible to properly adjust the operating speed. On the other hand, the adjustment system 2 outputs a command signal to the control device 21 of escalator 1, instructing it to operate for a predetermined distance for each speed interval (one measurement). As a result, the measurement start and end positions of the vibration sensor 40 can be aligned for each speed interval, and conditions other than the speed of escalator 1 can be kept constant. Therefore, the operating speed of the escalator can be adjusted simply and appropriately.

[0032] Furthermore, when manually adjusting the speed of escalator 1, the worker typically stops escalator 1 by operating a switch. This produces a brake engagement noise, which could be perceived as noise by the worker. However, with adjustment system 2, such brake engagement noise is not produced, thus preventing noise generation.

[0033] [Embodiment 2] Other embodiments of this disclosure are described below. For the sake of clarity, components having the same function as those described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are not repeated.

[0034] This embodiment describes a more preferred method for controlling the operation of the escalator 1. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the vibration sensor 40 is positioned on the moving step 11 or on a member that moves with the movement of the moving step (for example, the handrail 12). For simplicity, the following description will focus on the case where the vibration sensor 40 is positioned on the upper part of the moving step 11.

[0035] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the method of controlling the operation of the escalator 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, when the vibration sensor 40 performs measurements, the operation control unit 51 controls the operation of the escalator 1 so that the vibration sensor 40 moves back and forth from the vicinity of one landing to the vicinity of the other landing.

[0036] For example, in each speed section, at the start of the speed section, the vibration sensor 40 is located at a first position P1 near the upper floor landing (reference numeral 1031 in Figure 3). Here, the operation control unit 51 lowers the escalator 1 at a predetermined first speed, which is a change from the speed in the previous speed section. The operation control unit 51 lowers the escalator 1 until the vibration sensor 40 moves from near the upper floor landing to near the lower floor landing. When the vibration sensor 40 arrives at a second position P2 near the lower floor landing (reference numeral 1032 in Figure 3), the operation control unit 51 raises the escalator 1 at a predetermined first speed. The operation control unit 51 raises the escalator 1 until the vibration sensor 40 moves from near the lower floor landing to near the upper floor landing. At the end of the speed section, the vibration sensor 40 arrives at the first position P1 near the upper floor landing (reference numeral 1031 in Figure 3).

[0037] Whether or not the vibration sensor 40 has reached the first position and the second position is determined based on the signal from the encoder that detects the rotational speed of the motor 23.

[0038] (Effects and Benefits) If the vibration sensor 40 is placed on top of the moving step 11, and the escalator 1 is moved continuously in only one direction to complete a full rotation of the moving step 11, the vibration sensor 40, which is facing the entrance / exit, will come into contact with the floor plate 13. On the other hand, with the above configuration, by moving the vibration sensor 40 back and forth from near one landing of the escalator 1 to near the other landing, it is possible to obtain vibration measurement data for one full rotation while avoiding contact between the vibration sensor 40 and the floor plate 13.

[0039] Similarly, when the vibration sensor 40 is placed on the upper part of the handrail 12, the above configuration makes it possible to avoid contact between the vibration sensor 40 and the inlet of the escalator 1.

[0040] [Embodiment 3] Other embodiments of this disclosure are described below. For the sake of clarity, components having the same function as those described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are not repeated.

[0041] In this embodiment, a method for determining the operating speed of the escalator 1 that differs from that of Embodiment 1 will be described. In this embodiment, when the vibration of the escalator (representative value) indicated by the vibration measurement data falls below a predetermined value, the speed determination unit 53 determines the operating speed at the time the vibration was measured as the operating speed of the escalator 1 during operation. Then, when the speed determination unit 53 has determined the operating speed, the operation control unit 51 stops the operation of the escalator 1. That is, the operation control unit 51 outputs a command signal to the control device 21 to complete the adjustment of the operating speed of the escalator 1.

[0042] Figure 4 is a graph showing the change in the amount of vibration of escalator 1 when the operating speed of escalator 1 according to this embodiment is changed in steps. Graph G11 in Figure 4 shows the change in the operating speed of escalator 1, and the vertical axis of graph G11 represents the operating speed of escalator 1. Graph G12 in Figure 4 shows the change in the amount of vibration of escalator 1, and the vertical axis of graph G12 represents the amount of vibration of escalator 1.

[0043] The speed determination unit 53 identifies the amount of vibration of the escalator 1 after each measurement in each speed section is completed and determines whether the amount of vibration is less than or equal to a predetermined vibration threshold (predetermined value). If the amount of vibration of the escalator 1 is greater than the predetermined vibration threshold, the measurement in the next speed section is continued. In the example shown in Figure 4, the amount of vibration of the escalator 1 in the first and second speed sections from the start of measurement is greater than the predetermined vibration threshold. Therefore, the measurement in the next speed section is performed.

[0044] Conversely, if the vibration of escalator 1 is below a predetermined vibration threshold, the speed determination unit 53 determines the operating speed at the time the vibration was measured as the operating speed of escalator 1 during operation. The operation control unit 51 then outputs a command signal to the control device 21 to complete the adjustment of the operating speed of escalator 1. In the example shown in Figure 4, the vibration of escalator 1 in the third speed section from the start of measurement is below the predetermined vibration threshold. Therefore, the adjustment of the operating speed of escalator 1 is completed in the third speed section.

[0045] (Effects and Benefits) With the above configuration, it is possible to identify the operating speed of escalator 1 in which the vibration amount of escalator 1 is below a predetermined vibration threshold before performing measurements in a predetermined number of speed intervals. Therefore, the operating speed of escalator 1 can be adjusted more efficiently.

[0046] Furthermore, the above configuration allows for easy and appropriate adjustment of the escalator's operating speed. In other words, escalator maintenance can be performed efficiently. Such effects contribute to achieving, for example, United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11.c, "Support the development of sustainable and resilient buildings in least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, using local materials."

[0047] [Examples of implementation using software] The functions of the PC50 (hereinafter referred to as the "device") are programs that cause the device to function as a computer, and these programs can be realized by programs that cause the computer to function as each control block of the device (particularly the operation control unit 51, the acquisition unit 52, and the speed determination unit 53).

[0048] In this case, the device includes a computer having at least one control device (e.g., a processor) and at least one storage device (e.g., memory) as hardware for executing the program. By executing the program using this control device and storage device, the functions described in each of the embodiments are realized.

[0049] The above program may be recorded on one or more computer-readable recording media, not temporary ones. These recording media may or may not be provided by the above device. In the latter case, the program may be supplied to the above device via any wired or wireless transmission medium.

[0050] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of each of the above control blocks can also be implemented by logic circuits. For example, an integrated circuit in which logic circuits functioning as each of the above control blocks are formed is also included in the scope of this disclosure. In addition, it is also possible to implement the functions of each of the above control blocks by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0051] Furthermore, each process described in the above embodiments may be performed by AI (Artificial Intelligence). In this case, the AI ​​may operate on the control device described above, or it may operate on other devices (for example, an edge computer or a cloud server).

[0052] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of this disclosure. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0053] 1 Escalator 10 Escalator body 11 Movement Steps 12 Handrails 13 Floor Plate 20 Drive unit 21 Control device 22 Inverters 23 Motor 2. Adjustment System 40 Vibration Sensor 50 PC 51 Operation Control Unit 52 Acquisition Department 53 Speed ​​determining section

Claims

1. An adjustment system for adjusting the operating speed of an escalator, A vibration sensor is installed at a predetermined position on the escalator to measure the vibration of the escalator, An operation control unit that controls the operation of the escalator, An acquisition unit acquires vibration measurement data, which is the result of the vibration sensor measuring the vibration of the escalator while the escalator is operated a predetermined distance under the control of the operation control unit, each time the operation control unit changes the operating speed of the escalator in steps. A speed determination unit that determines the operating speed based on the vibration measurement data, An adjustment system equipped with this system.

2. The vibration sensor is installed on the step of the escalator, or on a member that moves in conjunction with the movement of the step. The adjustment system according to claim 1, wherein the operation control unit controls the operation of the escalator so that, when performing measurements with the vibration sensor, the vibration sensor moves back and forth from the vicinity of one landing of the escalator to the vicinity of the other landing.

3. When the vibration of the escalator, as indicated by the vibration measurement data, falls below a predetermined value, the speed determination unit determines the operating speed at the time the vibration was measured as the operating speed of the escalator. The adjustment system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation control unit stops the operation of the escalator when the speed determination unit determines the operating speed.

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