US 5,526,256 AGranted

Passenger conveyer control apparatus

AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.

InventorsKazuhiro Sakata, Hisao Chiba, Kazuhira Ojima

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A passenger conveyer control apparatus includes various kinds of safety devices including a skirt guard switch, a terminal inlet switch, a chain safety switch and first and second microcomputers. The first microcomputer executes sequence processing corresponding to the operation of an escalator by the detection of an actuation of any of the safety devices, such as the start and stop of the escalator on the turn-on and off of the switches. The result of the processing is used for driving the escalator through driving means via an output memory. The second microcomputer executes processing by detecting the actuation of any safety device by the input signals from the safety device, whereupon a running permissive signal is outputted from an output terminal and executes processing for judging the operating situations of the safety devices of the escalator, and whereupon the judged results are communicated via a telephone interface and a public circuit to a centralized monitoring office which is in charge of maintenance.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A passenger conveyor control apparatus for controlling a passenger conveyor, comprising:

an endless belt;
means for driving said endless belt;
safety device means for detecting abnormal operation with respect to an operation of said passenger conveyor;
a first digital computer for generating a start-instruction signal to operate said endless belt, said first digital computer being coupled to an output of said safety device means to thereby generate a stop-instruction signal for said endless belt upon detecting abnormal-operation signals from said safety device means;
a second digital computer coupled to said output of said safety device means for generating a stop-instruction signal for said endless belt upon detecting abnormal-operation signals from said safety device means;
output supply means for storing an output signal from said first digital computer and for using said first digital computer output signal as an operation signal to perform a running control of said driving means;
means for preventing said first digital computer output signal from being output to said output supply means when said first digital computer breaks down;
means for resetting said operation signal stored in said output supply means to stop said driving means when one of said first and second digital computers detects abnormal-operation signals from said safety device means;
means for invalidating an output of either of said first digital computer and said second digital computer when either of said first and second digital computers breaks down;
and
means for controlling said driving means and stopping said driving means from driving said endless belt in response to said operation signal of said output supply means.

8 more elements

A passenger conveyor control apparatus for controlling a passenger conveyor, comprising:

an endless belt;
means for driving said endless belt;
safety device means for detecting abnormalities with respect to operation of said passenger conveyor;
a first digital computer for generating a start-instruction signal to operate said endless belt, said first digital computer being coupled to an output of said safety device means to thereby generate a stop-instruction signal for said endless belt upon detecting abnormal-operation signals from said safety device means;
a second digital computer coupled to said output of said safety device means for generating a stop-instruction signal for said endless belt upon detecting abnormal-operation signals from said safety device means, said second digital computer having means for reporting said detection of abnormal-operation signals from said safety device means;
means for stopping said driving means upon said detection, by either of said first digital computer and said second digital computer, of abnormal-operation signals from said safety device means;
means for detecting a breakdown of either of said first and second digital computers;
means for suppressing said stopping of said driving means after breakdown has been detected in either of said first digital computer and said second digital computer by said breakdown detecting means;
recovery means for either of said first digital computer and said second digital computer restarting the other of said first digital computer and said second digital computer having a breakdown detected by said breakdown detection means;
means for controlling said driving means in response to output signals from at least one of said first and second digital computers and stopping said driving means from driving said endless belt.

7 more elements

A passenger conveyor control apparatus comprises:

a passenger conveyor having an endless belt;
a drive means to drive said endless belt;
safety devices for detecting operating conditions of said passenger conveyor and for outputting operation signals to control said passenger conveyor under abnormal conditions;
a first digital computer for generating a signal to operate said endless belt in response to a start instruction, said first digital computer being coupled to an output of a safety device to thereby generate a stop-instruction signal for said endless belt upon said safety device detecting an abnormal-operation of said passenger conveyor;
a second digital computer coupled to a safety device for generating a stop-instruction signal for said endless belt upon detecting an abnormal-operation of said passenger conveyor, said first and second digital computers being connected in parallel to said safety devices;
a control apparatus coupled to both of said first and second digital computers to detect an activation of any of said safety devices;
means for supplying said drive means with an output indicative of an activation of any of said safety devices, said output being received from either of said first and second digital computers;
means for detecting a breakdown of either of said first and second digital computers;
means for stopping said driving means in response to a detection of a breakdown in either of said first and second digital computers;
means for suppressing said stopping of said driving means by said one of said first and second digital computers having said breakdown detected by said breakdown detecting means;
and
means for inhibiting use of said passenger conveyor after said breakdown of said one of said first and second digital computers and said one digital computer does not recover from said breakdown and said breakdown means detects a breakdown of the other of said first and second digital computers.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.