JP6927280B2 - Passenger conveyor - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a passenger conveyor for transporting passengers such as an escalator, and more particularly to a control technique for the passenger conveyor.

An escalator that transports passengers by a plurality of steps that are connected in an endless manner and circulates is provided with a drive device that drives the multiple steps by the power of an electric motor and a control device that controls the rotation speed of the electric motor. There is.

For example, when passengers are boarding an escalator during operation in excess of the rated boarding rate (hereinafter referred to as "excessive boarding"), the load on the motor becomes excessive. If the constant speed running of the step is continued for a long time in such a state, the motor overheats. If the operation is continued in the overheated state, the life of the motor is shortened and the motor is thermally damaged.

In order to avoid such a decrease in life and thermal damage, an inverter that drives the motor, a wattmeter that detects the power consumption of the motor, and an overloading are determined based on the power consumption, resulting in an overloading. Patent Document 1 describes a passenger conveyor control technique using a computer that reduces the output frequency of the inverter during the period. According to the control technology, when excessive boarding occurs, the rotation speed of the motor is decelerated, so that overheating of the motor can be prevented.

However, in most cases, overboarding occurs temporarily, for example, on an escalator installed at a station, every time a train arrives during rush hour, and in many cases it does not last for a long time. If the rotation speed of the train is reduced, the transportation efficiency of passengers in a hurry will be reduced.

On the other hand, there is known a control technique for stopping the operation of an escalator when an overheat detection of an electric motor is detected. Specifically, a thermal relay that operates due to overheating of the motor, a computer that shuts off the energization of the motor by the inverter when the thermal relay operates, and a computer that operates the electromagnetic brake provided in the drive device of the escalator. It is realized by using. According to the control technology, the operation of the escalator is stopped only when the motor is overheated, which rarely occurs due to the continuous operation due to the excessive loading. There is no problem that the transportation efficiency of passengers decreases each time.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-206353

However, since the running of the step is stopped by the electromagnetic brake, the passenger may lose the balance and fall.

The above problems are common not only to escalators but also to other passenger conveyors, such as moving walkways.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a passenger conveyor capable of ensuring passenger safety while preventing a decrease in the life of the motor and thermal damage caused by continuous operation in an overheated state.

In order to achieve the above object, the passenger conveyor according to the present invention includes an electric motor, an endless carrier driven by the power of the electric motor, a brake for stopping the running of the endless carrier, the electric motor, and the above. The control device includes a control device for controlling the brake, and the control device corrects the rotation speed control unit for controlling the rotation speed of the motor and the estimated temperature for indexing the temperature of the motor based on the value of the current flowing through the motor. Therefore, when the current value is larger than the reference value, the estimated temperature is raised, and when the current value is smaller than the reference value, the estimated temperature is lowered. A storage unit that stores the above, a measurement unit that periodically measures the current value flowing through the motor, and a correction value corresponding to the magnitude of the current value measured by the measurement unit are extracted from the storage unit, and the extracted correction value is used. Includes a determination unit that determines the temperature state of the motor based on the corrected estimated temperature obtained by correcting the estimated temperature, a detection unit that detects overheating of the motor, and a rotation speed control unit that controls the rotation speed of the motor. It has a deceleration control unit that commands deceleration and a stop control unit that operates a brake. When the detection unit detects overheating of the motor, the deceleration command unit issues a command to stop the motor, and the motor It is characterized in that the endless carrier is slowly stopped by the stop control unit operating the brake after the rotation speed of the vehicle is decelerated.

Further, in the passenger conveyor of the present invention, the determination unit, when the correction value corresponding to the magnitude of the current value to be measured of the measuring unit is not stored in the storage unit, the correction value stored in the storage unit A correction value corresponding to an approximate value of the current value measured by the measuring unit may be extracted from the storage unit.

According to the passenger conveyor having the above configuration, when the overheat of the motor caused by the continuous operation due to the excessive number of passengers is detected by the detection unit of the control device, the motor is stopped, so that the operation in the overheated state can be performed. It is not continued, and it is possible to prevent the life of the electric motor from being shortened and thermal damage being prevented. At this time, based on the deceleration command issued from the deceleration command unit triggered by the detection of overheating, the rotation speed control unit decelerates the rotation speed of the motor, so that the traveling speed of the running endless carrier is decelerated. After that, it will be stopped by the brake. As a result, the running of the endless carrier can be stopped more gently than in the past, and accidents such as the passenger losing balance and falling can be prevented as much as possible, and the safety of the passenger can be ensured. ..

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the escalator which concerns on Embodiment 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the drive device and the brake in the said escalator. It is a figure which shows the structure of the driver device in the said escalator. It is a figure which shows the structure of the operation panel and the main control device in the said escalator. It is a functional block diagram of the control system of the escalator. It is a correction table. It is a flow chart of superheat stop control. It is a functional block diagram of the control device in the escalator which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the passenger conveyor according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking an escalator as an example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the escalator 10 according to the first embodiment has an upper machine room 12, and a drive device 14 is installed in the upper machine room 12. The drive device 14 has an electric motor 16 capable of forward rotation and reverse rotation. As shown in FIG. 2, the output shaft 16S of the electric motor 16 is connected to the input shaft 18N of the speed reducer 18.

A brake 154 is provided on the input shaft 18N of the speed reducer 18. The brake 154 is a known disc-type non-excitation actuated electromagnetic brake, and when the power from the AC power supply 156 (FIG. 4) is supplied to the brake coil via the relay 136 (FIG. 4), the coil The armature is attracted to the field against the spring, the brake is released, and the input shaft 18N becomes free to rotate. On the contrary, when the power is not supplied, the armature is pressed by the restoring force of the coil spring against the brake hub fixed to the input shaft 18N, and as a result, the rotation of the input shaft 18N is restrained (brake is applied). It has a structure.

The rotational power of the electric motor 16 is reduced in its rotational speed and output to the output shaft 18S of the speed reducer 18. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a drive sprocket 22 is pivotally supported on the output shaft 18S of the speed reducer 18. The drive device 14 also has a driven sprocket 24 having a pitch circle larger than that of the drive sprocket 22, and a chain 26 is stretched between the driven sprocket 24 and the drive sprocket 22. The driven sprocket 24 is pivotally supported by the shaft 28, and the main step sprocket 30 is coaxially fixed to the shaft 28.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower machine room 32 is provided with a follow-up sprocket 36 pivotally supported by the shaft 34. A roller chain 38 is wound between the main step sprocket 30 and the follow step sprocket 36. The roller chain 38 is guided by a guide rail 42 provided at an inclination between the main step sprocket 30 and the follow step sprocket 36. A plurality of step 40s connected in an endless manner, which is an endless carrier, are attached to the roller chain 38 (in FIG. 1, only four steps 40 are shown, and the other steps 40 are omitted. doing.).

The electric motor 16 that is the power source of the plurality of steps 40 is typically an induction motor driven by three-phase alternating current of u, v, and w, and is supplied with power from the driver device 100 as shown in FIG. The output shaft 16S is rotated by the electric power generated.

The driver device 100 includes a driver circuit 46, a shunt resistor 48, an amplifier 50, an analog-to-digital converter (hereinafter referred to as “ADC” and a reference numeral “52”), and a computer (hereinafter referred to as “driver computer”). It is provided with a reference numeral "54").

The driver circuit 46 is a converter circuit 58 that converts three-phase AC power supplied from a commercial power source 64 into DC power (in FIG. 3, only a circuit corresponding to one phase of three-phase AC power is described, and the other two phases are described. The corresponding circuit is omitted.), A smoothing capacitor 60 that smoothes the converted DC power, and an inverter circuit 62 that converts the smoothed DC power into three-phase AC power and supplies power to the electric motor 16. Have. The inverter circuit 62 is composed of three pairs of switching elements 66a, 66b, 66c corresponding to each phase of u, v, and w. The input terminal 66N of each switching element 66 is individually connected to the output terminal 70 of the driver computer 54. Such a driver circuit 46 functions as a drive power supply unit 72 (FIG. 5) for supplying electric power for driving the electric motor 16.

The shunt resistor 48 is provided for each pair of switching elements 66a, 66b, 66c, and is interposed between the pair of switching elements 66a, 66b, 66c and the ground. Therefore, a voltage proportional to the current flowing in each of the u, v, and w phases is generated at the connection point between the shunt resistor 48 and the switching element 66.

The amplifier 50 is provided for each shunt resistor 48, and its input terminal 50N is connected to the above connection point. The output terminal 50S of each amplifier 50 is individually connected to a plurality of input terminals 52N included in the ADC 52. The voltage generated in each shunt resistor 48 is amplified by the amplifier 50, and the amplified voltage is input to the ADC 52.

The ADC 52 converts each input voltage into a digital signal according to a command signal from the driver computer 54 acquired via the input / output terminal 52C, and outputs the input voltage to the driver computer 54. Such a shunt resistor 48, an amplifier 50, an ADC 52, and a driver computer 54 function as a measuring unit 94 (FIG. 5) for measuring the current value of the motor 16.

The driver computer 54 includes a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as "CPU" and a reference numeral "80") and a storage device 82 for storing the program 84. The driver computer 54 is communicably connected to the computer of the main control device 102 shown in FIG. 4 (hereinafter, referred to as “main control computer” and designated by reference numeral “118”).

The main control computer 118 has a central processing unit (hereinafter referred to as “CPU” and a reference numeral “120”) and a storage device 124 for storing the program 122. The main control computer 118 is communicably connected to the computer of the operation panel 56 (hereinafter, referred to as an operation panel computer and a reference numeral "142").

The operation panel computer 142 has a central processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as “CPU” and a reference numeral “144”) and a storage device 148 for storing the program 146. The operation panel 56 also includes an operation switch 138 and a direction switch 140. The operation switch 138 and the direction switch 140 are switches that input one of ON and OFF to the operation panel computer 142. The operation panel 56 is provided inside the skirt guard (not shown) of the escalator 10 or in the management room (not shown) of the building where the escalator 10 is installed.

In the driver device 100 (FIG. 3), the main control device 102, and the operation panel 56, the programs 84, 122, in which the CPUs 80, 120, 144 of the computers 54, 118, 142 are stored in the storage devices 82, 124, 148, By loading and executing the 146, the normal operation control of the electric motor 16 shown below is performed. This normal operation control will be described with reference to FIG.

The CPU 144 of the operation panel computer 142 outputs an operation command signal for instructing the operation of the escalator 10 to the main control computer 118 via the output terminal 152 of the operation panel computer 142. The operation command signal is a serial signal including information on any of ascending operation, descending operation, and operation stop, and is determined corresponding to the input from the switches 138 and 140 via the input terminal 150. Specifically, when both the operation switch 138 and the direction switch 140 are ON, the ascending operation information is included in the signal. When the state of the operation switch 138 is ON and the state of the direction switch 140 is OFF, the information of the descending operation is included in the signal. When the state of the operation switch 138 is OFF, the operation stop information is included in the signal. In this way, the switches 138 and 140 of the operation panel 56 and the operation panel computer 142 function as an operation command unit 78 that outputs an operation command signal to the main control device 102 (FIG. 5).

When the operation command signal is input via the input terminal 76 shown in FIG. 4, the CPU 120 of the main control computer 118 outputs the rotation command signal for commanding the rotation of the electric motor 16 to the driver computer 54 via the output terminal 126. do. The rotation command signal is a parallel signal including any information of forward rotation, reverse rotation, and rotation stop, and is determined corresponding to the operation command signal acquired from the operation panel 56. Specifically, when the ascending operation is commanded, the forward rotation information is included in the rotation command signal. When the disembarkation operation is ordered, the reverse information is included. When the operation stop is commanded, the rotation stop information is included. In this way, the main control computer 118 functions as a rotation command unit 86 that outputs a rotation command signal to the driver device 100 (FIG. 5).

Returning to FIG. 3, when the rotation command signal is input via the input terminal 110, the CPU 80 of the driver computer 54 controls the amplitude and frequency of the three-phase AC of u, v, and w via the output terminal 70. The control signal is output to the driver circuit 46. The control signal is a PWM (pulse width modulation) signal input to the input terminal 66N of each switching element 66, and a signal pattern that determines the rotation direction of the motor 16 is defined according to the rotation command signal. The CPU 80 outputs a PWM signal according to the acceleration rate of the motor 16 at the start and end of the operation. Further, the CPU 80 outputs a PWM signal according to the rated rotation speed of the electric motor 16 during the transportation of passengers. In this way, the driver computer 54 functions as a rotation speed control unit 92 that inputs a control signal for controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor 16 to the drive power supply unit 72. The acceleration rate and rated rotation speed of the electric motor 16 are defined in advance in the program 84. Therefore, the storage device 82 that stores the program 84 functions as the rotation speed defining unit 90 (FIG. 5).

When the three-phase AC power is supplied from the driver circuit 46 shown in FIG. 3, the motor 16 is started. When the electric motor 16 shown in FIG. 1 is activated, its rotational power is transmitted via the speed reducer 18, and the drive sprocket 22 is rotationally driven. When the drive sprocket 22 is rotated, the chain 26 stretched over the drive sprocket 22 and the driven sprocket 24 orbits, and the rotational power from the drive sprocket 22 is transmitted to the driven sprocket 24. When the driven sprocket 24 is rotated, the main step sprocket 30 provided coaxially with the driven sprocket 24 (on the shaft 28) is rotated. As a result, the roller chain 38 wound around the main step sprocket 30 and the follow step sprocket 36 is guided by the guide rail 42 and circulates, and along with this, the plurality of step 40s connected in an endless manner circulate. Driven.

In the above-mentioned normal operation control, the main control computer 118 shown in FIG. 4 supplies power to the coil 158 in the relay 136 via the output terminal 134. Therefore, the contacts in the relay 136 are in a closed state, and power is supplied from the AC power supply 156 to the brake 154. Therefore, the brake 154 is in an open state.

When the power supply to the brake 154 is stopped, such as when a power failure occurs during normal operation control, the brake 154 restrains the rotation of the input shaft 18N of the speed reducer 18. Then, the rotation of the drive sprocket 22, the driven sprocket 24, and the main step sprocket 30 interlocked with the rotation of the output shaft 18S of the speed reducer 18 is stopped, so that the orbital running of the roller chain 38 (FIG. 1) is stopped. As a result, the running of the plurality of steps 40 is suddenly braked shortly after the passengers are ready.

While the driver device 100 and the main control device 102 perform the above-mentioned normal operation control, the driver device 100 and the main control device 102 monitor the temperature of the motor 16 and, when the motor 16 overheats, perform superheat stop control to stop the operation of the motor 16.

In the overheat stop control in the present embodiment, the temperature of the electric motor 16 is not directly measured but estimated from the current value, and the correction table 160 shown in FIG. 6 is used when estimating the temperature. In the correction table 160, the correction value for correcting the value for indexing the temperature of the motor 16 (hereinafter, referred to as “estimated temperature”) is for each value (hereinafter, referred to as “current index value”) for indexing the current value of the motor 16. It is a table associated with, and the ascending operation is performed on a trial basis in advance, and the correspondence between the current index value and the correction value is determined for each boarding rate. Specifically, the correction value is determined based on the rated current index value (33), and as the current index value becomes larger than the standard, the correction value increases exponentially, and the current index is larger than the standard. As the value becomes smaller, the correction value decreases exponentially and is associated with the value. The rated current index value is a value that indexes the current value when the motor 16 is rotated at the rated rotation speed in a state where the passenger boarding rate is 50%. Such a correction table 160 is stored in the storage device 82 (FIG. 3) of the driver computer 54.

Prior to the overheat stop control, the driver computer 54 performs initial settings. Specifically, the CPU 80 of FIG. 3 prepares a memory area for storing the estimated temperature (hereinafter, referred to as “estimated temperature storage area”), and stores the initial value in the estimated temperature storage area. The stored initial value is the estimated temperature of the motor 16 at the passenger boarding rate of 50%, and is determined based on the measurement result of the motor temperature at the boarding rate of 50% conducted in advance on a trial basis.

Hereinafter, the flow of overheat stop control will be described with reference to FIG. 7. First, the driver computer 54, which functions as the measuring unit 94 (FIG. 5), periodically measures the current index value (s01). Specifically, the CPU 80 of the driver computer 54 outputs the conversion command signal and the output command signal to the ADC 52 via the input / output terminal 74 (FIG. 3). The conversion command signal is a serial signal including a command for converting an analog signal input from the amplifier 50 into a digital signal. The output command signal is a serial signal including a command to output a digital signal. When the digital signal is input, the CPU 80 analyzes the digital signal and obtains a value. The CPU 80 performs these processes on each input of the ADC 52 to obtain a value corresponding to the current flowing in each of the u, v, and w phases. Then, the CPU 80 obtains the current index value by adding up the respective values.

When the current index value is acquired, the CPU 80 of the driver computer 54 extracts the correction value corresponding to the current index value from the correction table 160 (s02). When extracting the correction value, if the acquired current index value is not specified in the correction table 160, an approximate value of the current index value is selected from the values specified in the correction table 160, and the selection is made. The correction value corresponding to the specified value may be extracted.

When the correction value is extracted, the CPU 80 of the driver computer 54 adds the correction value and the estimated temperature, and stores the result in the estimated temperature storage area. As a result, the estimated temperature is updated (s03).

For example, when the boarding rate is 80%, the current index value (42) is obtained by the processing of s01, the correction value (+4) corresponding to the current index value (42) is extracted by the processing of s02, and s03. The correction value (+4) is added to the estimated temperature by the process of, and the addition result is stored in the estimated temperature storage area. This raises the estimated temperature.
On the other hand, when the boarding rate is 30%, the current index value (27) is obtained by the processing of s01, and the correction value (-2) corresponding to the current index value (27) is extracted by the processing of s02. The correction value (-2) is added to the estimated temperature by the process of s03, and the addition result is stored in the estimated temperature storage area. This lowers the estimated temperature.
In this way, the estimated temperature is updated every time the current index value is acquired. Then, when the boarding rate exceeding 50% continues, the estimated temperature rises. At this time, the higher the boarding rate, the shorter the estimated temperature. On the other hand, if the boarding rate does not exceed 50%, the estimated temperature will decrease. At this time, the lower the boarding rate, the shorter the estimated temperature will drop.

The CPU 80 of the driver computer 54 ends the superheat protection control if the updated estimated temperature does not exceed the superheat threshold value 164 (no in FIG. 3). The superheat threshold value 164 is a value that indicates the temperature of the motor 16 in the superheated state, and is defined in advance in the program 84. On the other hand, when the updated estimated temperature exceeds the superheat threshold value 164 (yes of s04), the CPU 80 outputs a superheat signal to the main control computer 118 via the output terminal 112 (s05). The overheat signal is a digital signal whose high level state indicates overheating of the motor 16.

In this way, the driver computer 54 functions as a storage unit 166 (FIG. 5) that stores the correction table 160 and the superheat threshold value 164. Further, the driver computer 54 extracts a correction value corresponding to the measured current value from the storage unit 166, corrects the estimated temperature based on the extracted correction value, and when the estimated temperature exceeds the superheat threshold value 164, the electric motor It functions as a determination unit 98 (FIG. 5) for determining overheating of 16. Further, the measurement unit 94 and the determination unit 98 described above constitute a detection unit 162 (FIG. 5) for detecting overheating of the motor 16.

When an overheat signal is input to the input terminal 128, the CPU 120 of the main control computer 118 sets the overheat flag (s06) and outputs a deceleration command signal to the driver computer 54 via the output terminal 130 (FIG. 4) ( s07). The deceleration command signal is a digital signal in which the high level state commands the deceleration of the rotational speed. As described above, when the overheating of the electric motor 16 is detected, the main control computer 118 instructs the driver computer 54 functioning as the rotational speed control unit 92 to decelerate the rotational speed in order to stop the electric motor 16. It functions as a unit 168 (FIG. 5).

When a deceleration command signal is input to the input terminal 114 (FIG. 3), the CPU 80 of the driver computer 54 outputs a control signal (hereinafter, referred to as "deceleration control signal") for decelerating the rotation speed of the electric motor 16 (s08). ). Specifically, the CPU 80 outputs a PWM signal according to a predetermined deceleration rate. As a result, the frequency of the three-phase AC power supplied from the driver circuit 46 is gradually reduced, and the rotation speed of the motor 16 is reduced.

Further, the CPU 80 of the driver computer 54 outputs a speed signal to the main control computer 118 via the output terminal 116 (FIG. 3) (s09). The speed signal is a digital signal that indicates the rotation speed of the electric motor 16, and is, for example, a pulse signal whose level is switched in synchronization with the pulse period of the PWM signal. The CPU 80 repeatedly outputs the deceleration control signal (s08) and the speed signal (s09) until the rotation speed of the electric motor 16 becomes 0 (s13).

When a speed signal is input to the input terminal 132 (FIG. 4), the CPU 120 of the main control computer 118 analyzes the speed signal and indicates a value for indexing the rotation speed of the motor 16 (hereinafter referred to as "rotation speed index value"). ) Is acquired (s10). For example, the rotation speed index value is obtained by measuring the pulse interval of the pulse signal and obtaining the reciprocal of the pulse interval. Next, the CPU 120 confirms whether or not the rotation speed index value is lower than the constant speed (s11). The constant speed is, for example, a speed threshold value 172 (FIG. 4) that indicates the rotation speed of the motor 16 when the step 40 is sufficiently decelerated, and corresponds to the pulse period of the PWM signal when the deceleration is performed. ing. Here, the rotation speed of the electric motor 16 when the step 40 is sufficiently decelerated is typically a rotation speed such that the passenger does not fall even if the step 40 stops traveling due to the operation of the brake 154. Yes, it is decided by conducting a test run in advance.

When the rotation speed index value becomes equal to or lower than a certain speed, the CPU 120 stops power supply to the relay 136 via the output terminal 134, provided that the overheat flag is set (s12). As a result, each contact in the relay 136 is opened, the energization from the AC power supply 156 to the brake 154 is cut off, and the brake 154 is operated. As described above, the main control computer 118 functions as a storage unit 174 (FIG. 5) for storing the speed threshold value 172. Further, the main control computer 118 functions as a stop control unit 170 (FIG. 5) that operates the brake 154 when the rotation speed of the electric motor 16 is decelerated. The overheat flag is cleared when the operation of the escalator 10 is reset by the administrator.

A control system 44 that controls the electric motor 16 and the brake 154 is realized by the driver device 100, the main control device 102, and the operation panel 56.

As described above, according to the escalator 10 of the present embodiment, when the overheating of the electric motor 16 caused by the continuous operation due to the excessive number of passengers is detected by the detection unit 162, the electric motor 16 is stopped, so that the overheating occurs. The operation in the state is not continued, and it is possible to prevent the life of the motor 16 from being shortened and thermal damage from being damaged. At this time, the rotation speed control unit 92 decelerates the rotation speed of the electric motor 16 based on the deceleration command issued from the deceleration command unit 168 triggered by the detection of the overheat. It will be decelerated. During this time, the passengers can unknowingly hold themselves and then step on even if a strong deceleration occurs due to the brake 154. That is, it is possible to stop the running of the step 40 more gently than in the conventional case, and it is possible to prevent accidents such as the passenger losing balance and falling as much as possible, and to ensure the safety of the passenger.

[Embodiment 2]
The second embodiment of the passenger conveyor according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The control system 182 according to the second embodiment is different from the control system 44 according to the first embodiment in that the driver device 100 includes the AND circuit 180 and the driver device 100 has the deceleration command unit 176 and the stop control unit 178. Therefore, the configuration different from that of the first embodiment will be described in detail, and the description of the common configuration will be omitted or only a simple reference will be given.

The output of the AND circuit 180 is connected to the coil 158 (FIG. 4) of the relay 136. Further, the AND circuit 180 has two inputs and is folded, one of which is connected to the main control computer 118 which functions as the stop control unit 170, and the other of the inputs is connected to the driver computer 54 which functions as the stop control unit 178. Be connected. In normal operation control, a high level voltage is input to these inputs.

The deceleration command unit 176 of the driver device 100 functions in the same manner as the deceleration command unit 168 of the main control device 102. That is, when the detection unit 162 detects overheating of the electric motor 16, the deceleration command unit 176 of the driver device 100 commands the rotation speed control unit 92 to decelerate the rotation speed. Such a deceleration command unit 176 of the driver device 100 is realized by the driver computer 54 that performs a process of setting an overheat flag when the estimated temperature exceeds the overheat threshold value 164 (yes of s04 (FIG. 7)). When the overheat flag is set, the driver computer 54 functioning as the rotation speed control unit 92 outputs a deceleration control signal to the driver circuit 46.

The stop control unit 178 of the driver device 100 functions in the same manner as the stop control unit 170 of the main control device 102. That is, the stop control unit 178 of the driver device 100 operates the brake 154 when the rotation speed of the electric motor 16 is decelerated by the rotation speed control unit 92. When the rotation speed of the motor 16 becomes equal to or lower than the speed threshold value (not shown), the stop control unit 178 of the driver device 100 lowers the input voltage to the AND circuit 180 to a low level, provided that the overheat flag is set. It is realized by the driver computer 54 that performs the process of switching to. When a low-level voltage is input to the AND circuit 180, the power supply from the AND circuit 180 to the coil 158 is stopped, so that the brake 154 operates. As described above, the AND circuit 180 functions as a means for controlling the relay 136 based on the signal from the stop control unit 178 of the driver device 100 and the signal from the stop control unit 102 of the main control device 102.

According to the control system 182 according to the present embodiment, not only the main control device 102 but also the driver device 100 decelerates the rotation of the motor 16 by itself to operate the brake 154. Therefore, for example, even if an overheating signal, a deceleration signal, or a speed signal is interrupted between the main control device 102 and the driver device 100, the step 40 can be slowly stopped. Therefore, more reliable overheat protection control becomes possible.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the escalator 10 according to the first and second embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the following form may be used.

(1) When the ADC 52 having high resolution is used or when the amplitude of the signal generated in the shunt resistor 48 is large, the amplifier 50 may be omitted.

(2) Instead of the shunt resistor 48, a current detector such as a sensor that detects the current by clamping the electric circuit between the inverter circuit 62 and the motor 16 may be used.

(3) In the correction table 160, the correction value is associated with the current value, but the correction value may be associated with the current ratio. The current ratio is the ratio of the measured current value to the rated current value, and when the measured current value is equal to the rated current value, that is, when the current ratio is 1 (100%), the correction value 0 is associated with it. Be done. Further, as the current ratio increases to 1.1 (110%), 1.2 (120%), 1.3 (130%), etc., the correction value becomes +1, +2, +4 ..., which is an exponential function. As the current ratio decreases to 0.9 (90%), 0.8 (80%), 0.7 (70%), etc., the correction values become -1, -2, -4. ... and are associated with exponentially decreasing.

In order to extract the correction value from such a correction table 160, the CPU 80 multiplies the measured current value by the inverse of the preset rated current value, thereby multiplying the measured current value by the rated current value of the measured current value. (Hereinafter referred to as "actual ratio") is obtained. Then, in the correction table 160, the current ratio that is close to the acquired actual ratio is searched, and the correction value associated with the searched current ratio is extracted.

(4) The PWM signal, which is a deceleration control signal, may be generated according to a rapid deceleration rate that rapidly decelerates the rotation speed of the motor 16. Further, the PWM signal may be generated according to a slow deceleration rate that gradually decelerates the rotation speed of the motor 16. Further, the PWM signal may be generated according to the rapid deceleration rate and then generated according to the slow deceleration rate. Furthermore, the PWM signal may be generated according to the slow deceleration rate and then according to the rapid deceleration rate.

(5) A thermal relay may be used instead of the shunt resistor 48, the amplifier 50, and the ADC 52. The thermal relay is provided in the power feeding circuit for the motor 16, and its output terminal is connected to the input terminal of the driver computer 54. Then, the CPU 80 of the driver computer 54 determines the overheating of the motor 16 by detecting the trip of the thermal relay. That is, the thermal relay and the driver computer 54 may function as detection units.

(6) The PWM signal output in the normal operation control may be a signal generated by a known vector control method or V / f control method performed based on the digital signal acquired from the ADC 52.

(7) In the first embodiment, the driver device 100, the main control device 102, and the operation panel 56 share the functions of the control system 44, but all the functions may be realized by a single device. That is, the drive power supply unit 72, the rotation speed control unit 92, the rotation speed regulation unit 90, the measurement unit 94, the determination unit 98, the operation command unit 78, the rotation command unit 86, the deceleration command unit 168, and the stop control unit 170. The operation of the motor 16 and the brake 154 may be controlled by a control device including a driver circuit 46, a shunt resistor 48, an amplifier 50, an ADC 52, an operation switch 138, a direction switch 140, and a computer.

(8) In the above embodiment, the passenger conveyor according to the present invention has been described based on an example in which the passenger conveyor is applied to an escalator. It can also be applied to a moving walkway that transports passengers by circulating an endless carrier made of a rubber belt.

The present invention can be carried out in various modifications, modifications, and modifications based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof, and all of these aspects belong to the technical scope of the present invention. It is a thing.

10 Escalator 16 Motor 40 Step 44 Control system 92 Rotation speed control unit 100 Driver device 102 Main control device 154 Braker 162 Detection unit 168 Deceleration command unit 170 Stop control unit 176 Deceleration command unit 178 Stop control unit

Claims (2)

With an electric motor
An endless carrier driven by the power of the motor and
A brake that stops the running of the endless carrier and
A control device that controls the motor and the brake,
With
The control device is
A rotation speed control unit that controls the rotation speed of the motor,
In order to correct the estimated temperature, which is an index of the temperature of the motor, based on the value of the current flowing through the motor, the estimated temperature is raised when the value of the current is larger than the reference, and the value of the current is higher than the reference. A storage unit that stores preset correction values corresponding to the magnitude of the current so as to lower the estimated temperature when the temperature is small.
A measuring unit that periodically measures the current value flowing through the motor, and the correction value corresponding to the magnitude of the current value measured by the measuring unit are extracted from the storage unit, and the extracted correction value is used to describe the above. A detection unit that detects overheating of the motor, including a determination unit that determines the temperature state of the motor based on the corrected estimated temperature obtained by correcting the estimated temperature, and a detection unit that detects overheating of the motor.
A deceleration command unit that commands the rotation speed control unit to decelerate the rotation speed of the motor,
A stop control unit that operates the brake
Have,
When the detection unit detects overheating of the motor, the deceleration command unit issues the command to stop the motor, and after the rotation speed of the motor is decelerated, the stop control unit operates the brake. A passenger conveyor characterized by slowly stopping the endless carrier by causing the endless carrier to slowly stop. The determination unit, when the correction value corresponding to the magnitude of the measured to that electric current values of the measuring unit is not stored in the storage unit, among the correction values stored in the storage unit The correction value corresponding to the approximate value of the current value measured by the measuring unit is extracted from the storage unit.
The passenger conveyor according to claim 1.

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