Escalator Combplate Tooth Detection via Ultrasonic Signal Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current escalator systems lack a reliable method for detecting broken or mispositioned combplate teeth, which can degrade the performance of the escalator and pose safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A detection system comprising an emitter and receiver pair, configured to generate and analyze signal patterns at the step-combplate interface, determining whether the signal pattern indicates correctly positioned teeth or divergent conditions indicative of mispositioned or broken teeth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual inspection methods are used to detect broken combplate teeth, then the system complexity is low, but the detection reliability and precision are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection with an automated acoustic detection system using ultrasonic emitters and receivers. The system uses sound wave communications to detect tooth conditions, substituting human sensory inspection with electronic acoustic measurement, thereby improving reliability while maintaining relatively simple system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The combplate teeth are equipped with embedded acoustic identifiers that enable self-identification and condition reporting. Each tooth essentially reports its own status through its acoustic signature, eliminating the need for complex external diagnostic equipment and reducing overall system complexity while enhancing detection capability.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If no detection system is installed, then the device complexity remains low, but broken teeth can cause safety risks and performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces acoustic waves as an intermediary medium to detect tooth conditions indirectly. Rather than directly monitoring mechanical integrity, the system uses sound wave propagation characteristics (velocity, frequency, amplitude) as a mediator to infer tooth status, enabling safety monitoring without complex direct measurement equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors changes in acoustic parameters (velocity, frequency, amplitude) of sound waves communicating between emitter and receiver. By tracking these parameter variations, the system detects tooth degradation and failure conditions, providing safety monitoring through simple parameter comparison rather than complex structural analysis.
3Reliability
If frequent manual inspections are performed to ensure tooth integrity, then detection reliability improves, but productivity and time efficiency decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The acoustic detection system operates continuously during escalator operation, providing uninterrupted monitoring of combplate tooth conditions. Unlike periodic manual inspections, the automated system maintains constant surveillance, enabling immediate detection of tooth failures without interrupting escalator service, thus maintaining both high reliability and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where acoustic signals from each tooth provide real-time information about its condition. This continuous feedback mechanism allows the system to automatically detect and report tooth failures, eliminating the need for frequent manual inspections and maximizing escalator availability while ensuring tooth integrity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The detection system effectively identifies mispositioned or broken teeth, allowing for timely attention and potentially preventing escalator shutdowns, thereby enhancing safety and reducing maintenance intervals.
Implementation Method 1
The emitter and receiver pair includes an ultrasonic emitter
Data Source
AI summary
An escalator system is provided and includes a combplate including teeth, a moving step including grooves and being drivable to pass by the combplate at a step-combplate interface at which, when each tooth is correctly positioned, each tooth passes through a corresponding groove and a detection system. The detection system includes an emitter and receiver pair and is configured to determine whether a signal pattern, which is derived from communications of the emitter and receiver pair and which is partially reflective of conditions of the teeth, is indicative of at least one tooth being incorrectly positioned.