Method for determining the braking effect of an auxiliary brake

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining the braking effect of a blocking element auxiliary brake (10), wherein the blocking element auxiliary brake (10) is installed on a passenger transport system which is designed as an escalator or moving walkway. The blocking element auxiliary brake (10) has a brake disc (2) with a projection (1) and a blocking element (7) and is arranged on a main drive wheel (3) of the passenger transport system. The method comprises the following method steps: determining an impact time at which the projection (1) impacts the blocking element (7) after the blocking element auxiliary brake (10) has been switched on; determining a stopping time after switching on the blocking element auxiliary brake (10) at which the passenger transport system stops transporting; and determining a distance (DH) covered by a transport belt of the passenger transport system during a time period between the impact time and the stop time, wherein the distance (DH) is used as a braking distance of the blocking element auxiliary brake (10) in order to characterize the braking effect of the blocking element auxiliary brake (10) and to determine setting data of a friction clutch of the blocking element auxiliary brake (10).

Description

[0001] Method for determining the braking effect of an auxiliary brake

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of an auxiliary brake, in particular a method for determining the braking effect of an anti-lock braking system.

[0003] Passenger transport systems such as escalators and moving walkways are essential components of urban transportation, and their safety is of paramount importance. If a malfunction occurs in an escalator or moving walkway, its braking system plays a crucial role. Currently, the braking system of such passenger transport systems primarily comprises a service brake and an auxiliary brake. The service brake is typically installed on a high-speed motor shaft, enabling the escalator to be stopped after a smooth and gradual deceleration process in the event of a power failure. The auxiliary brake, functioning as a reversing or emergency braking system, primarily serves to effectively slow down and stop the escalator or moving walkway in the event of a failure of the service brake or a reduction gear, and to hold it stationary after the braking process.

[0004] The braking effect of the auxiliary brake directly impacts user safety. If the braking is too harsh, passengers can be thrown forward and injured. Therefore, the European standard ENI 15 and the Chinese national standard GB 16899-2011 contain mandatory requirements for the maximum deceleration of auxiliary brakes. According to ENI 15, the deceleration must not exceed 1 m / s². 2 must not be exceeded. Furthermore, the braking distance of the auxiliary brake is an important indicator for evaluating its braking effectiveness.

[0005] Auxiliary brakes can be designed in various ways. Examples include a locking element auxiliary brake, a guide shoe auxiliary brake, a ratchet-pawl auxiliary brake, or an internal drum auxiliary brake. The locking element auxiliary brake is characterized above all by its wide application and low manufacturing costs. Such a locking element auxiliary brake is disclosed, for example, in EP 2 872 436 Bl. Known methods for measuring braking distance include, for example, a marking measurement method, which requires manual measurement, and an evaluation method, which does not require manual measurement. The manual marking measurement method is time-consuming, cumbersome, and difficult to implement, while the evaluation methods, which do not require manual measurement, often exhibit significant errors.One possible evaluation method that does not require manual measurement but works with accelerometers is disclosed, for example, in CN 110553613 A.

[0006] In view of the above technical problems, there is a need for methods to determine the braking effect of an anti-lock braking system (ABS) in a simpler and / or more precise manner, or to evaluate the braking effect of the ABS.

[0007] This need is met by the methods described below for determining the braking effect of an auxiliary brake with an anti-locking element. A first aspect of the disclosure relates to a method for determining the braking effect of an auxiliary brake with an anti-locking element, wherein the auxiliary brake with an anti-locking element is installed on a passenger transport system designed as an escalator or moving walkway. The auxiliary brake with an anti-locking element comprises a brake disc, a projection on the brake disc, and an anti-locking element, and is arranged on a main drive wheel of the passenger transport system.The method comprises at least the following steps: determining an impact time at which the projection impacts the locking element after the locking element auxiliary brake has been activated, using pulse signals from a sensor directed at the main drive wheel; determining a stop time after the locking element auxiliary brake has been activated, at which the passenger transport system ceases to transport or comes to a complete standstill, using pulse signals from the sensor; and, by means of a control system of the passenger transport system, determining a distance traveled by a conveyor belt of the passenger transport system during a period between the impact time and the stop time, wherein the determined distance is stored in a storage medium of the control system or in an external storage medium.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, this distance traveled is used as the braking distance of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) to characterize the braking effect of the ABS and to determine or verify the adjustment data of a friction clutch of the ABS. As explained below, the ABS has an adjustable friction clutch to reduce the impact shock. Its friction linings are pressed against the brake disc by means of an adjustable spring force. By adjusting the spring force, the braking distance can be set during braking. Accordingly, the adjustment data of the ABS can be determined from the measured braking distance, e.g., by calculation or using empirically derived adjustment tables.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one through-hole is provided in the main drive wheel. Determining the impact time at which the projection strikes the locking element comprises the following process steps: detecting the through-hole using the sensor from the time the locking element brake is activated until the time the passenger transport system ceases to transport passengers, wherein the sensor is a first sensor and emits a first pulse signal when it has detected the through-hole. Furthermore, the difference between the end times of two adjacent, detected first pulse signals is detected as the period of a subsequently detected first pulse signal. Determining the impact time at which the projection strikes the locking element is based on the different periods of the first pulse signals.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the determination of the impact time at which the projection impacts the blocking element is based on the different periods of the first impulse signals. These process steps include: setting up a sliding window comprising n elements, where the n elements are periods of the first impulse signals acquired in chronological order; shifting the sliding window during the acquisition of new first impulse signals until a period of the first impulse signal satisfies a predetermined condition, wherein the shifting of the sliding window is performed by adding a period of a newly acquired first impulse signal to the end of the sliding window as the w-th element of the sliding window, and removing the first element in the sliding window; and determining the impact time based on the period of the first impulse signal that satisfies the predetermined condition.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, detecting the period of a first pulse signal that satisfies the predetermined condition using the sliding window comprises: determining several pulse ratio coefficients of the sliding window based on all elements of the sliding window and for each position to which the sliding window is moved; determining the period of the first pulse signal that satisfies the predetermined condition based on the several pulse ratio coefficients of the sliding window.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the momentum ratio coefficient is expressed as follows: where -th element of the sliding window, T

[0013] represents the period of the +b-th element of the sliding window,

[0014] T brepresents a period of the b-th element of the sliding window, represents a period of the +b-th element of the sliding window, and q b represents a b-th momentum ratio coefficient of the sliding window, with b > 1; and where the predetermined condition includes: m momentum ratio coefficients among the multiple momentum ratio coefficients of the sliding window that are greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, T represents a target element of the A-th momentum ratio coefficient. Determining the impact time based on the period of the first impulse signal that satisfies the predetermined condition includes:

[0016] The impact time is defined as the end time of the first pulse signal corresponding to the target element of the first pulse ratio coefficient, which is greater than the predetermined threshold among the multiple pulse ratio coefficients, with m > 1. Here, m is the number of pulse ratio coefficients among the multiple pulse ratio coefficients determined based on the elements of the sliding window that are greater than the predetermined threshold. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the through-hole is detected by the first sensor and by a second sensor. The period and duty cycle of a second pulse signal emitted by the second sensor are identical to the period and duty cycle of the first pulse signal. However, the second pulse signal has a phase difference from the first pulse signal.The second sensor can be used, for example, to check the functional reliability of the first sensor, or to determine the direction of rotation of the main drive wheel.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further comprises: preventing the second sensor from detecting the through-hole after receiving a period in the first pulse signal that satisfies the predetermined condition. Furthermore, the distance DH traveled by the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system during the period between the start of braking and the stop time is determined using the following formula: where:

[0018] V for the rated speed or rated velocity of the

[0019] The passenger transport system is in operation.

[0020] C A represents the number of pulses emitted by the first sensor.

[0021] CB represents the number of pulses emitted by the second sensor, n represents the number of first pulses emitted per second by the first sensor or the second sensor when the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system is running at its rated speed or rated velocity,

[0022] DK represents a compensation distance, which is the distance traveled by the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system during a compensation period. The compensation period is the difference between the impact time and the end time of the first pulse signal that fulfills the predetermined condition. In other words, by preventing the second sensor from continuously detecting the through-hole, the impact time is effectively registered in a processable manner and then calculated using the formula above, which combines it with the pulses detected by the first sensor at the stop time.

[0023] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, it is specified that e = 16 and m = 3. With this specification, 16 periods are considered within the sliding window. An evaluation is then performed if three of these 16 periods, or 16 momentum ratio coefficients, are greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0024] According to one version of the present disclosure, the process may further comprise the following procedural steps:

[0025] Determining a maximum deceleration of the passenger transport system based on the braking distance of the anti-lock braking system after the projection has impacted the anti-lock braking system to decelerate the passenger transport system, using the maximum deceleration of the passenger transport system to characterize the braking effect of the anti-lock braking system.

[0026] Preferred embodiments of the method for determining the braking effect of an auxiliary anti-lock brake are explained in more detail in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein identical elements in all figures are provided with matching reference numerals. Neither the drawings nor the description are to be interpreted as limiting the invention. They show:

[0027] Figure 1: schematically a representation of a manual marking measurement method for measuring a braking distance according to the present disclosure;

[0028] Figure 2: schematically illustrates the generation principle of a faulty braking distance according to the present disclosure;

[0029] Figure 3: a flowchart of the method for determining the braking effect of an anti-lock braking system according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4: schematically a side view of the main drive wheel and the measuring principle with a first sensor and a second sensor;

[0031] Figure 5: a schematic diagram of an impulse waveform formed by a first impulse signal of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6: a time-lapse diagram of the impulse ratio coefficient during a braking process of the anti-lock braking system of an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0032] Figure 7: a time sequence diagram of a first pulse signal and a second pulse signal of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] In a passenger transport system designed as an escalator or moving walkway, a motor drives a main drive wheel, which in turn engages with a chain strand of a conveyor belt to move it. The conveyor belt of an escalator typically has two ring-shaped chain strands, between which steps are movably arranged. The conveyor belt of a moving walkway also has two ring-shaped chain strands, between which pallets are arranged. In the event of a malfunction of the passenger transport system, the motor is stopped by a service brake, and an auxiliary braking system is activated. In this process, a brake disc of the auxiliary braking system moves simultaneously with the main drive wheel until a projection on the brake disc collides with, or impacts against, a locking element that is activated by pivoting and is otherwise stationary.After the projection impacts the locking element, significant friction is generated in a friction clutch located between the brake disc and the main drive wheel. Under the influence of the friction brake, the rotational movement of the main drive wheel, or the movement of the conveyor belt, is slowed to a standstill. Since the braking distance is an important indicator for evaluating the braking effect of the locking element auxiliary brake, methods for measuring the braking distance are described below with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

[0034] Figure 1 schematically illustrates a known, manual measuring method for measuring the braking distance of an auxiliary brake 10 with an anti-locking element, as already mentioned above. As shown in Figure 1, markings Q1 and Q2 are applied to both the brake disc 2 and the main drive wheel 3 before impact. Mark Q2 is located on the brake disc 2 and marking Q1 on the main drive wheel 3, with both markings Q1 and Q2 aligned with each other. After the projection 1 on the brake disc 2 impacts the anti-locking element 7 shown in Figure 2, a deviation angle w is generated between Q1 and Q2. The braking distance of the conveyor belt can be determined by measuring the deviation angle w and converting it using the geometric properties of the main drive wheel 3, in particular its pitch circle radius R. However, this method requires manual intervention and is time-consuming.Furthermore, marking Q1, Q2 is not possible on already installed passenger transport systems if there are 3 obstacles (e.g. walls) on the sides of the main drive wheel.

[0035] Another known method for measuring the braking distance of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) auxiliary brake 10 does not require manual marking but exhibits significant errors. This method assumes the point in time at which the ABS auxiliary brake 10 is triggered (activated) as the starting point of the braking distance. However, between the moment the ABS auxiliary brake 10 is triggered and the moment the projection 1 impacts the ABS 7, the main drive wheel 3 rotates without braking torque. The braking distance determined in this way is erroneously too long due to this braking torque-free rotation phase. The cause of this error generation by the braking torque-free rotation phase is described below with reference to Figure 2.

[0036] Figure 2 schematically illustrates the principle behind the generation of an erroneous braking distance when it is calculated based on the activation time rather than measured. As an example, an auxiliary braking element 10 with four projections 1 is shown. As shown in Figure 1, the auxiliary braking element 10 is installed on the main drive wheel 3 of the escalator or moving walkway and is located on the side face of the main drive wheel 3. In Figure 2, the main drive wheel 3 is not visible because it is obscured by the brake disc 2, which has the same axis of rotation O. Under high applied braking torque, the brake disc 2 can rotate relative to the main drive wheel 3, the magnitude of which depends on the setting of the friction clutch (also not shown) between the main drive wheel 3 and the brake disc 2.The braking distance error Dm changes randomly with each braking action, ranging from "0" to a maximum braking distance error Ds shown in Figure 2. If a starting point for calculating the braking distance Dm, or the triggering of the locking element auxiliary brake 10, occurs precisely at the moment when the projection 1 narrowly misses the locking element 7 and only the next projection 1 impacts the locking element 7, a short period of rotation without braking torque can affect the evaluation of the braking distance in the form of a braking distance error Ds. The maximum braking distance error Ds can be calculated according to the following formula (1): where R is the radius of the main drive wheel 2 and N is the number of projections 1 on the brake disc 2. For example, if we take a specific escalator with a main drive wheel radius of 52 cm, the maximum braking distance error is approximately 81.7 cm, which means that if the braking distance calculation is based on the activation point of the anti-lock braking system, a random error of 0 to 82 cm can occur.

[0037] To represent the braking effect of the anti-lock braking system (ABS) 10 more precisely and to avoid the significant influence of braking distance errors on the test results, the impact time is chosen as the starting point for calculating the braking distance of the ABS 10, according to the invention. The impact time is the point in time at which the projection 1 impacts the ABS 7. It should be noted that in Figure 2, the projections 1 are located on the pitch circle radius of the concealed main drive wheel 3; therefore, in Figure 2, the radius R of the main drive wheel 3 is approximated up to the projections 1.

[0038] The embodiments of the invention as described in this disclosure are presented with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that this description is only exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following detailed description to provide a better understanding of the embodiments as described in this disclosure. However, it will be obvious to the person skilled in the art that one or more embodiments can be implemented without these specific details. Furthermore, known structures and techniques are omitted from the following description to ensure a clearer overview of the subject matter of the invention.

[0039] Figure 3 illustrates a flowchart of the method for determining the braking effect of an anti-lock braking system 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The anti-lock braking system 10 is installed on a passenger transport system designed as an escalator or moving walkway. As shown in Figure 2, the anti-lock braking system 10 comprises a brake disc 2, at least one projection 1 arranged on the brake disc 2, and an anti-locking element 7, and is arranged on the main drive wheel 3 of the passenger transport system.

[0040] Figure 4 schematically shows a side view of the main drive wheel 3 and the measuring principle of a first sensor 5 and a second sensor 6. For clarity, the brake disc 2 with the projections 1 and the locking element 7 are not shown in Figure 4. Figures 3 and 4 are described together below.

[0041] As shown in Figure 3, the inventive determination procedure comprises process steps S1 to S3. In process step S1, after the locking element auxiliary brake 10 is activated, an impact time is determined at which the projection 1 strikes the locking element 7. A possible triggering condition for the locking element auxiliary brake 10 in the passenger transport system could be, for example:

[0042] The conveyor belt of the passenger transport system has an excessively high conveying speed; a main drive chain of the passenger transport system breaks; the direction of movement of the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system reverses unexpectedly; the power supply to the drive motor of the passenger transport system is interrupted; etc.

[0043] In process step S2, a stop time is determined at which the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system comes to a standstill after the activation of the auxiliary braking element 10. In process step S3, taking into account the impact time as the brake start time and the stop time as the brake stop time, a distance is determined that the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system travels during the period between the impact time and the stop time; i.e., a braking distance DH of the auxiliary braking element 10 is determined. The braking distance DH is used to characterize the braking effect of the auxiliary braking element 10.

[0044] According to the invention, it is assumed that during the period between the

[0045] The distance traveled between the time of impact and the time of stopping is used as the braking distance DH, which is close to the theoretical braking distance and can more accurately reflect the braking effect of the anti-lock braking system.

[0046] As shown in Figure 4, at least one through-hole 4 is provided on the main drive wheel 3. Referring to Figure 3, the determination of the impact time of projection 1 and blocking element 7 in process step S2 comprises sub-process steps S21 to S22.

[0047] In process step S21, the through-hole 4 is detected by a first sensor 5 from the time the blocking element auxiliary brake 10 is activated until the time the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system stops moving. The first sensor 5 emits a first pulse signal when it detects the through-hole 4.

[0048] In process step S22, the difference between the end times of two adjacent detected first pulse signals is assumed to be the period of a subsequently detected first pulse signal. The impact time at which the projection 1 strikes the blocking element 7 is determined based on the different periods of the first pulse signals.

[0049] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the impact time can be determined based on changes in the deceleration of the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system. When the passenger transport system is operating at a rated speed V, the distance d traveled by the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system during the period of a first pulse signal emitted by the first sensor 5 is calculated according to the following formula (2): where V represents the rated speed of the passenger transport system and n represents the number of first pulse signals per second emitted by the first sensor 5 when the passenger transport system is running at rated speed.

[0050] Furthermore, the time interval I that elapses between two first impulse signals can be calculated using the following formula (3).

[0051] T u = tu - t u -i (3)

[0052] In formula (3) t represents u represents an end time of the u-th first pulse signal and t u-i represents the end time of the u-1th first pulse signal. The u-th first pulse signal is the latter of the two adjacent first pulse signals, and the u-1th first pulse signal is the first of the two adjacent first pulse signals. The time interval Tu, which thus experiences the first pulse signal of the first u-th pulse signal, can also be related to the u-th period of the first pulse signal.

[0053] Figure 5 shows, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a schematic representation of a pulse waveform of the first pulse signal as output by the first sensor 5. As shown in Figure 5, the emitted pulse signal is output as a low-level signal when the first sensor 5 detects the through-hole 4. Therefore, the time interval Tu between adjacent rising edges is the time u that the first pulse signal experiences.

[0054] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the control system within the passenger transport system is a microcontroller that uses an external high-speed crystal oscillator as a clock source. The frequency of the high-speed crystal oscillator is very high; for example, it can generate 80,000,000 periods per second (80 MHz). In order to incorporate the signal from the external crystal oscillator into the microcontroller's internal clock network, it must be adapted; that is, the frequency of the signal from the external crystal oscillator must be reduced to a level that the microcontroller can process. The adapted signal is then configured on the microcontroller's internal bus and subsequently accumulated by a hardware timer with a high rate of 80,000,000 counts per second. This means that the hardware timer counts once every 1 / 80,000,000 of a second, so the clock frequency of the timer is 1 / 80,000,000 of a second.

[0055] For the first sensor, it continuously generates the first pulse signal. The timing of the first pulse signal is achieved by calculating the number of accumulated clock cycles of the first pulse signal. For example, t U 2 can be determined by the number of accumulated clock beats at a later time of detection of the first pulse signal, and t ui can be determined by the number of accumulated clock beats at an earlier point in time than the detection of the first pulse signal. Overflow detection of the 16-bit variable assigned to the clock beat has also been added to the control system, and if the clock beat is detected as an overflow, formula (4), derived from formula (3), is used: T' = 65535 + t u — t -i (4)

[0056] Due to the mechanical design, the distance d traveled by the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system for each first impulse is known and constant, which leads to formula (5).

[0057] In formula (5), v represents the conveying speed of the conveyor belt, which is inversely proportional to the pulse rate experienced by the impulse detected by the sensor. When the control system determines the impact time of the auxiliary brake, it does not use the analyzable change in the conveying speed v, but rather, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, uses as the object of analysis the period Tu that the impulse signal travels.

[0058] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the determination of the impact time at which the projection 1 impacts the blocking element 7 is based in process step S22 on the basis of different periods of the first pulse signals. The following sub-process steps S221 to S223 are carried out.

[0059] In process step S221, a sliding window with e elements is set up, and the periods of the first pulse signals detected in chronological order are used as the e elements of the sliding window.

[0060] In process step S222, after recording a new period of the first

[0061] The sliding window is moved by the pulse signal until a period of the first pulse signal, fulfilling a predetermined condition, is detected using the sliding window. As the sliding window is moved, the newly detected period of the first pulse signal is added to the end of the sliding window as the e-th element of the sliding window, and the first element of the sliding window is removed.

[0062] In process step S223, the impact time is determined based on the period of the first pulse signal that fulfills the predetermined condition. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, using the sliding window, detecting the period of the first pulse signal that fulfills the predetermined condition comprises the sub-sub-process steps S2221 to S2222.

[0063] In process step S2221, for each position into which the sliding window slides, several momentum ratio coefficients of the sliding window are determined based on all elements or periods of the sliding window.

[0064] In process step S2222, the period of the first pulse signal that fulfills the predetermined condition is determined based on the multiple pulse ratio coefficients of the sliding window.

[0065] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the pulse ratio coefficient is calculated according to the following formula (6): where T ^3e^ +b represents a period of the (— J + b -th element of the sliding window, represents the period of the + b -th element of the sliding window,

[0066] T b represents a period of the b-th element of the sliding window,

[0067] Tfe represents a period of the (-) + b-th element of the sliding window, and q b represents a b-th momentum ratio coefficient of the sliding window, with the condition b > 1.

[0068] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, T represents a target element. of the b-th momentum ratio coefficient. Determining the impact time based on the period of the first impulse signal that fulfills the predetermined condition comprises: the impact time is chosen as the end time of the first impulse signal that corresponds to the target element of the first momentum ratio coefficient that is greater than a predetermined threshold among the several momentum ratio coefficients.

[0069] This choice is only made, however, when a number m of momentum ratio coefficients are found among the several momentum ratio coefficients that are based on the elements of the

[0070] Sliding window values ​​are determined to be greater than the predetermined threshold. Figure 6 illustrates a time-lapse diagram of the changes in the momentum ratio coefficient during a braking operation of the anti-locking auxiliary brake 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 6 shows a simulation of the braking operation of the passenger transport system. First, the speed v of the main drive wheel 3 of the passenger transport system is accelerated from zero to the rated speed. In Figure 6, the highest point of the curve represents the rated speed, and the escalator is decelerated after reaching the rated speed (the application of the service brake triggers a first peak).Figure 6 shows that the impact of the projection 1 on the blocking element 7 is the point in time at which the momentum ratio coefficient changes abruptly for the first time after the braking process has been initiated and the conveyor belt begins to rapidly lose speed.

[0071] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the difference between the periods of two adjacent first pulses is zero when the passenger transport system is running at its rated speed. Immediately after initiating the braking process or after activating the anti-lock braking system (ABS) auxiliary brake 10, the change in the periods of two adjacent first pulses is also not significant. Since there are first pulses between the -th element and the +b-th element... and e is a multiple of 4, in the form presented in the disclosure, the " teThe first element and the +b-th element are not adjacent first momenta. Similarly, the +b-th element and the b-th element are also not adjacent first momenta. This is because the period changes between two adjacent first momenta vary less.

[0072] To more clearly reflect the impact time based on the period of the first impulse, two first impulses, which are subtracted, are placed at a predetermined interval. Assume an impact occurs within the period of the first impulse corresponding to the nth element, T^ +b ~T ' st nic ht zero, but —

[0073] T b is approximately zero. Therefore, a [missing value] appears in the time-delay diagram of the momentum ratio coefficients.

[0074] T (^ +b ~ T (^ +b sudden change at the corresponding position q b= - on. Thus, the

[0075] T ^~ Tb

[0076] The impact time is assessed according to formula (6). Near the impact time, it is often the case that more than one momentum ratio coefficient is greater than the predetermined threshold. To avoid errors caused by chance, the impact time is assessed based on an initial momentum proportionality coefficient that is greater than the predetermined threshold, with the assessment being based on the occurrence of m momentum ratio coefficients that are greater than the predetermined threshold within the sliding window.

[0077] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a sliding window with 16 elements is used, employing a first-in / first-out procedure during the execution of the process for processing the 16 elements. The elements of the sliding window are updated after each period of the first pulse signal detected by the system, meaning that the window slides forward with the update of the clock beat corresponding to the end time of each first pulse. The elements in the sliding window are Ti~Tie, where Ti denotes the 1st element in the sliding window, ..., and Tie represents the 16th element in the sliding window. According to formula (6), the pulse ratio coefficients determined by the 16 elements can be expressed as formulas (7) to (10).

[0078] When the 17th first pulse signal ends, the elements in the sliding window are updated, with the 17th first pulse signal becoming the 16th element of the sliding window and the 1st element of the sliding window being removed.

[0079] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure and with reference to Figure 4, a second sensor 6 is provided. The second sensor 6 also detects the through-hole 6 when the first sensor 5 detects the through-hole 6. The period and duty cycle of the second pulse signal emitted by the second sensor 6 are the same as those of the first pulse signal, with the second pulse signal having a phase difference from the first pulse signal. Figure 7 illustrates a timing diagram of the first pulse signal LI and the second pulse signal L2 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7, the direction of rotation of the main drive wheel (i.e.,The direction of travel of the conveyor belt (of the sprocket engaging the conveyor chain) and the direction of travel of the conveyor belt are assessed using a timing diagram generated by the first pulse signal L1 and a timing diagram generated by the second pulse signal L2. When the direction of travel of the conveyor belt changes, the phase difference between the first pulse signal L1 and the second pulse signal L2 changes. As shown in Figure 7, this change in direction and the associated change in phase difference are labeled "upstream" for forward travel and "downstream" for reverse travel. The counter L3 counts the pulse counts.

[0080] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second sensor 6, after receiving the first period of the first pulse signal LI that satisfies the condition, is prevented from continuing to detect the through-hole 4. The determination of the distance traveled by the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system during the period between the start of braking and the point at which braking stops is expressed as follows:

[0081] Here, V represents the rated speed of the main drive wheel 3 of the passenger transport system, CA corresponds to the number of pulses emitted by the first sensor 5, CB corresponds to the number of pulses emitted by the second sensor 6, and n corresponds to the number of pulses emitted per second by the first or second sensor when the automatic passenger transport system is operating at its rated speed. DK represents a compensation distance, i.e., the distance traveled by the automatic passenger transport system during a compensation period. The compensation period is the difference between the time corresponding to the impact time and the end time of the first pulse signal that fulfills the predetermined condition.

[0082] As previously described, the second sensor 6 is stopped after the period of the first pulse signal that fulfills the predetermined condition, so that it no longer detects the through-hole 4. At this point, there are already m pulse ratio coefficients in the sliding window that are greater than the predetermined threshold when the first pulse signal that fulfills the predetermined condition is detected. This results in the distance being determined by the formula (C A — C B ) x ^ is smaller than the actual braking distance and must therefore be compensated to obtain the actual braking distance.

[0083] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, e = 16 and m = 3 are set. As an example, we take a sliding window with 16 elements. When the first pulse signal LI is detected that satisfies the predetermined condition, there are already 3 pulse ratio coefficients that are greater than the predetermined threshold in the sliding window. Since there are thus four such pulse ratio coefficients in the sliding window, the difference between the first pulse ratio coefficient that is greater than the predetermined threshold and the last pulse ratio coefficient that is greater than the predetermined threshold is one to two first pulse signals. Therefore, the value calculated by the formula (C) must be A — C B The distance determined by the first 1-2 pulse signals is compensated. The compensation distance is calculated according to formula (12):

[0084] D B= r * dr E [1, m] (12) where in formula (12) r represents a number of first impulse signals that need to be compensated.

[0085] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method described above further comprises calculating the maximum deceleration of the conveyor belt that is achieved after the impact of the projection 1 on the locking element 7 and that slows down the passenger transport system. The calculation of the maximum deceleration of the conveyor belt, based on the braking distance of the locking element's auxiliary brake, is used to characterize the braking effect of the locking element's auxiliary brake.

[0086] The maximum delay of the automatic passenger transport system is calculated using formula (13).

[0087] In formula (13) a max for maximum deceleration. It should be noted that in most tests, data analysis shows that the deceleration at the moment of impact of the blocking element auxiliary brake is not the maximum deceleration. Therefore, the impact time is not a practical basis for calculating the maximum deceleration of the conveyor belt.

[0088] The braking distance calculated according to the method for determining the braking effect as described in the embodiments of this disclosure is very close to the theoretical braking distance and exhibits a minimal deviation from a manually measured braking distance. Furthermore, the maximum deceleration calculated according to the method for determining the braking effect as described in the embodiments of this disclosure also exhibits a minimal deviation from the deceleration data measured by testing equipment during extensive testing. Therefore, the method provided by the embodiments of this disclosure offers considerable practical value in the maintenance and inspection of an escalator or moving walkway.

Claims

1. Method for determining the braking effect of an additional locking element brake (10), wherein the additional locking element brake (10) is installed on a passenger transport system designed as an escalator or moving walkway, wherein the additional locking element brake (10) has a brake disc (2), a projection (1) on the brake disc (2) and a locking element (7) and is arranged on a main drive wheel (3) of the passenger transport system, characterized in that the method comprises: • Determination of an impact time at which the projection (1) impacts the locking element (7) after the locking element auxiliary brake (10) is switched on, using pulse signals from a sensor directed at the main drive wheel; • Determining a stop time after the activation of the locking element auxiliary brake (10) at which the passenger transport system ceases to transport using pulse signals from the sensor; and • Determining a distance (DH) traveled by a conveyor belt of the passenger transport system during a period between the impact time and the stopping time by a control system of the passenger transport system; and • Saving the route (DH) to a storage medium of the control system or to an external storage medium.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein the distance (DH) is used as the braking distance of the anti-locking element auxiliary brake (10) to characterize the braking effect of the anti-locking element auxiliary brake (10) and to determine setting data of a friction clutch of the anti-locking element auxiliary brake (10).

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one through-hole (4) is provided on the main drive wheel (3) and determining the impact time at which the projection (1) impacts the blocking element (7) comprises the following method steps: • Detecting the through-hole (4) using the sensor from a from the time at which the blocking element auxiliary brake (10) is switched on until the time at which the passenger transport system stops transporting; wherein the sensor is a first sensor (5) which sends out first pulse signals when it has detected the through-hole (4); and • Determining the difference between the end times of two adjacent, detected first impulse signals as the period (Tu) of a subsequently detected first impulse signal and determining the impact time at which the projection (1) impacts the blocking element (7) based on different periods (Tu) of first impulse signals.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the impact time at which the projection (1) impacts the blocking element (7) is based on the different periods (Tu) of the first impulse signals, comprising: • Setting up a sliding window comprising n elements, where the n elements are periods (Tu) of the first pulse signals captured in chronological order; • Shifting the sliding window during the acquisition of new first pulse signals up to a period (Tu) of the first pulse signal that satisfies a predetermined condition, wherein the shifting of the sliding window is performed by adding a period (Tu) of a newly acquired first pulse signal to the end of the sliding window as the w-th element of the sliding window, and removing the first element in the sliding window; and • Determination of the impact time based on the period (Tu) of the first impulse signal that meets the predetermined condition.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the detection of the period (Tu) of the first pulse signal that satisfies the predetermined condition comprises using the sliding window: • Determination of several momentum ratio coefficients of the sliding window based on all elements of the sliding window and for each position into which the sliding window is moved; and • Determining the period (Tu) of the first pulse signal that satisfies the predetermined condition, based on the multiple pulse ratio coefficients of the sliding window. - TI - 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the momentum ratio coefficient is expressed as follows: • where a period (Tu) of the + b -th element of the sliding window represents T / e^ ^a period (Tu) of the j + b -th element of the sliding window represents, T b represents a period (Tu) of the b-th element of the sliding window, c c represents the period (Tu) of the + b-th element of the sliding window, and q b represents a b-th momentum ratio coefficient of the sliding window, with b > 1; and • The predetermined condition includes: m momentum ratio coefficients among the multiple momentum ratio coefficients of the sliding window that are greater than a predetermined threshold.

7. Method according to claim 6, wherein T (3e^ +b represents a target element of the b-th momentum ratio coefficient; and based on the period (Tu) of the first momentum signal that satisfies the predetermined condition, includes the determination of the impact time: • Use as the impact time the end time of the first impulse signal which corresponds to the target element of the first impulse ratio coefficient that is larger than the predetermined threshold among those impulse ratio coefficients with m > 1 ; where m is the number of impulse ratio coefficients among the multiple impulse ratio coefficients that are determined on the basis of the elements of the sliding window and that are larger than the predetermined threshold.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the through-hole (4) is detected by the first sensor (5) and by a second sensor (6); wherein a period (Tu) and a duty cycle of a second pulse signal emitted by the second sensor (6) are related to the period (Tu) and duty cycle of the first pulse signal. are identical; and the second pulse signal has a phase difference to the first pulse signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the method further comprises: • Stopping the second sensor (6) upon detecting the through-hole (4) after receiving one period (Tu) in the first pulse signal that satisfies the predetermined condition; and • Determine the distance traveled (DH) by the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system during the period between the time of the start of braking and the time of stopping using the following formula: • where V represents a nominal speed of the passenger transport system, CA represents a number of pulses emitted by the first sensor (5), CB represents a number of pulses emitted by the second sensor (6), n represents a number of pulses per second emitted by the first sensor (5) or the second sensor (6) when the passenger transport system is operating at nominal speed, DK represents a compensation distance traveled by the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system during a compensation time, the compensation time being a difference between the impact time and the end time of the first pulse signal that satisfies the predetermined condition.

10. Method according to claim 6, wherein e = 16 and m = 3.

11. Method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: • Determining a maximum delay (a max) of the conveyor belt of the passenger transport system based on the braking distance of the locking element auxiliary brake (10) after the projection (1) has impacted the locking element (7) to decelerate the conveyor belt, using the maximum deceleration of the conveyor belt to characterize the braking effect of the locking element auxiliary brake (10).

Images