People Mover Distance Control via Sensor Feedback
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing people movers, such as escalators and autowalks, do not effectively minimize the exposure of individuals to contagious diseases due to dense positioning of people, which increases the risk of transmission.
Innovation Solution
A new people mover system equipped with an endless conveying band and a control system that includes a detecting arrangement to sense the presence of individuals and a signaling arrangement to provide visual and/or audio signals when the distance between detected people is below a minimum allowed distance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If people are packed close to each other on the conveying band, then the capacity and people flow of the people mover increases, but the exposure to contagious diseases and harmful consequences increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system continuously monitors the positions of people on the conveying band using detecting arrangements (sensors, cameras, load sensors) and provides real-time feedback through signaling arrangements (visual signals, audio signals) to alert people when they are too close to each other, enabling dynamic adjustment of spacing to maintain both high capacity and safety
Solution Approach 2:
The system detects people's positions in advance and provides warning signals before they reach positions where harmful exposure would occur, allowing people to adjust their spacing proactively rather than reactively, thus preventing harmful contact while maintaining efficient flow
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a detecting arrangement and signaling arrangement are added to monitor and alert people about spacing, then the safety and exposure reduction improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the people mover's existing infrastructure (conveying band, motor, control system) to support the detection and signaling functions, minimizing additional complexity by leveraging available components rather than introducing entirely new systems
Solution Approach 2:
The control system is designed to perform multiple functions: it controls the conveying band operation, detects people's positions, processes spacing information, and triggers signaling arrangements, thereby reducing overall system complexity by consolidating functions into a single integrated control unit
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a people mover (1), comprising an endless conveying band (2); and a control system (7-14) comprising a controller (12); and a detecting arrangement (7;8;9;10;11) for detecting people on the endless conveying band (2); a signaling arrangement (13;14) for providing visual and/or audio signals to people on the endless conveying band (2); wherein the controller (12) is configured to determine based on output of the detecting arrangement (7;8;9;10;11), in particular based on signals and/or data generated by the detecting arrangement (7;8;9;10;11), whether distance (D1,D2) between detected people on the endless conveying band (2) is below a minimum allowed distance; and to present to people on the endless conveying band (2) with signaling arrangement (13;14) alarm or instruction signals (S1;S2) when a distance between detected people on the endless conveying band (2) is below a minimum allowed distance.