Passenger Conveyor Hazard Detection for Automatic Emergency Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing passenger transport systems, such as escalators and moving walkways, face challenges in rapidly and accurately responding to critical situations due to human error and fatigue in monitoring, leading to potential accidents and injuries.
Innovation Solution
A monitoring system with a hazard analysis module, interaction module, and control module that uses motion detection modules like video cameras and automated algorithms to identify critical situations, allowing for immediate and precise control of the transport system operations, with manual override options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual monitoring of passenger transport systems is used, then operators can assess critical situations using their expertise, but response time is delayed due to searching for emergency stop switches and human error occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by automatically detecting critical situations through motion sequence analysis and autonomously activating the corresponding emergency stop switch without requiring manual intervention from operators
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual switch activation with an automated electronic control system that uses image processing algorithms to detect critical situations and automatically triggers the appropriate emergency stop, eliminating the need for operators to physically locate and press switches
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple passenger transport systems are monitored by a single operator, then monitoring coverage is expanded, but operator fatigue increases and attention decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-monitoring by automatically analyzing motion sequences from multiple transport systems simultaneously, eliminating the need for human operators to continuously watch multiple screens and reducing operator fatigue while maintaining comprehensive monitoring coverage
3Ease of operation
If emergency stop is activated manually by operators, then they can assess whether stopping is necessary, but wrong switches may be pressed causing unnecessary stops
Solution Approach 1:
The system autonomously determines when emergency stop is necessary by automatically analyzing motion sequences, identifying critical situations, and activating the correct emergency stop switch without human intervention, eliminating errors caused by operator panic or misidentification
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from motion sequence analysis to automatically control emergency stop activation, creating a closed-loop system where the detection results directly trigger the appropriate response without requiring manual interpretation or decision-making
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a monitoring system (1) and to a method for monitoring passenger conveyor systems (51). The monitoring system (1) has at least one hazard analysis module (11), an interaction module (21), a control module (31) and at least one movement detection module (41, 42), which are connected to one another via a data network (3). As soon as the hazard analysis module (11) detects a critical situation (101) in a movement sequence image (441, 442) of the movement detection module (41, 42), the hazard analysis module sends a warning signal (13) to the interaction module (21) and the control module (31), wherein, directly after the warning signal (13) is received, the movement sequence image (441,..., 446+2n) correlating to the warning signal (13) is reproduced on a screen (22) of the interaction module (21) and the control module (31) initialises a change in the drive operation (F) for the passenger conveyor system (51) associated with the warning signal (13). Monitoring staff can suppress or cancel the initialised change in the drive operation (F) by manually actuating an input device E (30).