JP7621998B2 - How to inspect passenger conveyors - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for inspecting passenger conveyors used in escalators, etc.

One example of a technology for determining the state of corrosion from the color of rust that appears on the exterior surface of a structure is the technology described in Patent Document 1.

In Patent Document 1, the external surface of a structure such as a steel tower is photographed with a camera, and the photographed image is processed to extract the object to be inspected using binarization and Hough transformation, and the corrosion state of the object to be inspected is detected using brightness, saturation, hue, area, area ratio, etc., and the degree of corrosion and deterioration level of the external surface of the object to be inspected is determined.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-132962

Passenger conveyors undergo regular maintenance to ensure safety. During maintenance, the steps on which passengers stand are inspected for rust corrosion and for the presence of foreign matter such as oil residue. This inspection is carried out visually by workers, making it difficult to check for rust that has developed in the grooves of the cleats of the steps. One possible method to solve this problem is to apply the technology described in Patent Document 1.

However, while the technology described in Patent Document 1 uses image recognition to recognize rust that has developed on the external surface of a structure, it does not take into consideration, for example, the ability to recognize foreign matter and rust.

Therefore, the technology described in Patent Document 1 may mistakenly identify foreign matter as rust, and is not particularly suitable for inspecting rust on passenger conveyors, where foreign matter such as oil residue is generated during demarcation.

The objective of the present invention is to provide a passenger conveyor inspection method that can suppress erroneous recognition due to foreign objects and identify areas where rust has occurred.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an inspection method for a passenger conveyor equipped with steps having a cleat with a horizontal portion, a riser extending downward from one end of the cleat in the direction of movement, a reinforcement portion provided below the other end of the cleat in the direction of movement, and a demarcation provided at the end of the cleat , wherein a camera photographs the step, a processing unit recognizes the demarcation and the reinforcement portion from the photographed image, determines whether the demarcation has a discolored portion, and if the demarcation has no discolored portion , compares a rust color sample with the image of the reinforcement portion and determines the rust area of the reinforcement portion, and if the demarcation has a discolored portion , determines that the demarcation has a foreign object, and compares the rust color sample with the image of the reinforcement portion and determines the rust area of the reinforcement portion, and an output unit outputs the area of the rust area of the reinforcement portion.

The present invention makes it possible to prevent erroneous recognition due to foreign matter and to identify the location of rust.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a passenger conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the step 10 from the rear side. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 2 as viewed from the F direction (front side). FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a rust sample marker 40 is fixed to a front reinforcement portion 109. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of features and rust levels corresponding to rust sample markers 40 stored in a rust sample reference database 28. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a passenger conveyor inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 8 is a flowchart showing a detail of FIG. 7;

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Similar components are given similar reference numerals and similar descriptions will not be repeated.

The various components of the present invention do not necessarily have to be independent entities, and it is permissible for one component to be made up of multiple members, for multiple components to be made up of one member, for one component to be part of another component, or for part of one component to overlap with part of another component.

In the following embodiment, an elevating passenger conveyor is used as an example, but an Autowalk, which is a horizontal passenger conveyor, may also be used.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a passenger conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention. The passenger conveyor 1 is installed between the lower floor 2 and the upper floor 3 of a building, and is equipped with a truss frame 4 having a lower horizontal section 4a extending toward the lower floor 2, an upper horizontal section 4b extending toward the upper floor 3, and an inclined section 4c formed between the lower horizontal section 4a and the upper horizontal section 4b. An existing lower support angle 6 is provided at the end of the lower horizontal section 4a, which is placed on the architectural support beam 5 of the lower floor 2. An existing upper support angle 8 is provided at the end of the upper horizontal section 4b, which is placed on the architectural support beam 7 of the upper floor 3. The truss frame 4 is installed on the architectural support beams 5, 7 by support angles provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction.

The truss frame 4 is equipped with, as its components, a number of steps 10 that are endlessly connected and move cyclically between the boarding and alighting entrances, a step drive 11 installed in the upper machine room 9, an upper sprocket 12 driven by the step drive 11, a lower sprocket 14 installed in the lower machine room 13, a step chain 15 wound around the upper sprocket 12 and the lower sprocket 14, balustrades 16 erected on both sides of the steps 10 along the travel direction of the steps 10 (the longitudinal direction of the truss frame 4), and a movable handrail 17 supported by the balustrade 16. The steps 10 operate to turn back at the positions of the upper sprocket 12 and the lower sprocket 14.

Next, the configuration of the step 10 will be described. Figure 2 is a perspective view of the step 10 as seen from the rear side. Figure 3 is a perspective view of Figure 2 as seen from the F direction (front side). Note that in this embodiment, a passenger conveyor operating in the upward direction will be used as an example. For this reason, the directions indicated by the arrows are defined as up and down, front and back, and left and right, respectively.

The step 10 comprises a cleat 101 with a horizontal portion where passengers stand, a riser 102 that extends downward from the rear end of the cleat (one end in the direction of movement) with an arcuate surface, and a frame 103 that joins the cleat 101 and the riser 102. The cleat 101 comprises multiple peaks and grooves that are parallel to the direction of movement of the step 10, and these peaks and grooves are arranged alternately in the left-right direction (width direction). The top surfaces of the peaks of the cleat 101 form the top surface of the step 10, and are the surface on which passengers stand.

The step 10 further includes demarcations at the ends of the cleat 101. The demarcations include a rear end demarcation 104 formed at the rear end, two side end demarcations 105 formed on both the left and right sides, and a front end demarcation 106 formed at the front end.

The rear end demarcation 104 is the end of the cleat 101 on the riser 102 side, i.e., the rear end of the cleat 101 (the end on the lower floor side). The side end demarcations 105 are both ends of the cleat 101 in the left-right direction (width direction). The front end demarcation 106 is the end of the cleat 101 on the opposite side to the riser 102 side, i.e., the front end of the cleat 101 (the end on the upper floor side). These demarcations (rear end demarcation 104, side end demarcation 105, front end demarcation 106) are preferably colored in a highly identifiable color. For example, the above demarcations are colored yellow.

The demarcations (rear end demarcation 104, side end demarcation 105, front end demarcation 106) may also be constructed by molding a part separate from the cleat 101 out of resin or the like and installing this part on the cleat 101. The above demarcations, which are constructed from parts separate from the cleat 101, have multiple peaks and grooves parallel to the moving direction of the step 10, just like the cleat 101.

Front wheels 107 and rear wheels 108 that move on the truss frame 4 are provided on both the left and right sides of the frame 103. The front wheels 107 are provided on both the left and right sides of the frame 103 via axles 107a. The rear wheels 108 are directly attached to both the left and right sides of the frame 103.

A front reinforcement 109 (reinforcement) is provided below the front end of the cleat 101 (the other end opposite the direction of movement of the riser 102) to ensure the strength of the cleat 101. The front reinforcement 109 extends in the left-right direction (width direction) of the cleat 101, and the cross section cut in the front-rear direction is U-shaped so that it opens toward the front.

The upper receiving portion 109a of the front reinforcement portion 109 is fixed to the underside of the cleat 101, and the lower receiving portion 109b of the front reinforcement portion 109 is fixed to the frame 103 by a bolt 110. The front reinforcement portion 109 also has a flange portion 109c that extends downward from the lower receiving portion 109b. A rust sample marker 40 (a rust color sample), which will be described later, is fixed at any position on the flange portion 109c of the front reinforcement portion 109.

A rear reinforcement portion 111 is provided below the riser 102 to ensure the strength of the riser 102. The rear reinforcement portion 111 extends along the left-right direction (width direction) of the riser 102.

The upper side of the rear reinforcement part 111 is fixed below the riser 102, and the lower side of the rear reinforcement part 111 is fixed to the frame 103 by a bolt 112.

The passenger conveyor 1 is inspected periodically to ensure safety. During inspection, part of the approach lanes 9a, 13a (see Figure 1) that cover the area above the upper machine room 9 and the area above the lower machine room 13 are removed, leaving the areas above the upper machine room 9 and the area above the lower machine room 13 open. Workers then enter the upper machine room 9 and the lower machine room 13 to carry out the inspection work.

One of the inspections is to check for rust on the steps 10. Conventionally, this has been carried out by workers through visual inspection, but depending on the location of the rust, it can be difficult to confirm. In addition, dirt can also adhere to the steps in addition to rust, making it difficult to distinguish between rust and dirt. The means of resolving this issue are described below.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The inspection device 20 is composed of a control unit 21, a processing unit 22, a display unit 23 (output unit), a communication unit 24, an infrared light 25, a fluorescent lamp 26, a camera 27 (photographing means), a rust sample reference database 28, and a power supply unit (battery) not shown.

In this embodiment, the control unit 21 performs at least the following controls.
(1) Control of turning on and off the infrared light 25 (2) Control of turning on and off the fluorescent light 26 (3) Control of starting and stopping the camera 27 (4) Control of transmitting the recording taken by the camera 27 to the processing unit 22. The control unit 21 is equipped with a central processing unit (not shown) and a memory device that stores programs for controlling each device, and the central processing unit controls each device in accordance with the programs stored in the memory device.

The processing unit 22 processes the image of the steps 10 captured by the camera 27, and performs at least the following processing.
(1) Processing to separate each step 10 from the recorded image transmitted from the control unit 21 (2) Processing to detect rust sample markers 40 (see Figure 5) (3) Processing to detect front reinforcement parts 109 (4) Processing to detect demarcation (5) Processing to detect the color of demarcation (6) Processing to compare colors (7) Processing to extract features (e.g., RGB values and brightness) of a specific area in the image (8) Processing to compare with the rust sample marker 40 using the features (9) Processing to calculate the area of a specific area in the image (10) Processing to read the degree of rust from the rust sample standard database 18 using the comparison result between the features of the specific area and the rust sample marker 40 (11) Processing to record the results of the above processing. The processing unit 22 is equipped with a central processing unit (not shown) and a storage device that stores programs for controlling each device, and the central processing unit executes each process according to the program stored in the storage device.

The display unit 23 (output unit) displays (outputs) the results processed by the processing unit 22.

The communication unit 24 performs at least the following processes.
(1) Process of communicating with the history database 30 (2) Process of transmitting the detection results from a storage unit not shown to the history database 30 (3) Process of receiving from the history database 30 a notification that the detection results have been stored. The infrared light 25 is capable of emitting infrared light having a wavelength of at least 780 nm.

The fluorescent lamp 26 is capable of emitting at least visible light wavelengths (380 nm to 780 nm).

The camera 27 is capable of recognizing at least visible light wavelengths and infrared wavelengths (380 nm or more). In other words, the camera 27 is a camera capable of taking a plurality of types of images, including infrared images and visible light images. The rust sample reference database 28 stores the rust conditions corresponding to each sample of the rust sample marker 40.

The history database 30 is a database that stores uploaded information on the presence or absence of rust on each step 10, the area of rust, the degree of rust, the measurement date and time, image data, and basic information on the passenger conveyor 1.

The inspection device 20 is mounted, for example, on a tripod, and is installed in the upper machine room 9 or the lower machine room 13, with the top open by removing part of the approach lanes 9a, 13a. It then photographs the steps 10 folded back by the upper sprocket 12 and lower sprocket 14, and inspects the front reinforcement 109 and cleats 101 of the steps 10 for rust and demarcation stains. When the steps 10 are folded back by the upper sprocket 12 and lower sprocket 14, the front reinforcement 109 is exposed.

Next, the structure of the rust sample marker 40 will be described. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the state in which the rust sample marker 40 is fixed to the front reinforcement 109. Figure 5 shows the front reinforcement 109 and front end demarcation 106 of the step 10 as viewed from the front. Note that Figure 5 shows the state in which the inspection device 20 is installed on the upper machine room 9 side. If the inspection device 20 is installed on the lower machine room 13 side, the front end demarcation 106 will be located below the front reinforcement 109, but there is no change to the inspection method.

As described above, the rust sample marker 40 is fixed at any position on the flange portion 109c of the front reinforcement portion 109. The rust sample marker 40 is fixed to the flange portion 109c of the front reinforcement portion 109 with double-sided tape, a magnet, etc.

The rust sample marker 40 is composed of a fixed plate 41 fixed to the flange portion 109c of the front reinforcement portion 109, a number of rust samples 42-46 provided on the surface of the fixed plate 41, and a paint sample 47 provided on the surface of the fixed plate 41.

The rust samples 42 to 46 are displayed in different colors depending on the degree of rust. It is preferable to set the colors of the rust samples 42 to 46 so that the degree of rust can be understood, for example, rust that requires part replacement (rust sample 42), rust that requires repair (rust sample 43), rust that requires attention (rust sample 44), and rust that can be left alone (rust samples 45 and 46). In this embodiment, rust sample 42 shows the most severe rust, and the rust gets lighter as you move from rust sample 42 to rust samples 43, 44, and 45 to the right of the page, with rust sample 46 showing the lightest rust. In this embodiment, the number of rust samples is five, but the number is not limited to this.

Painted sample 47 was made using the same material and painting method as the paint used to paint front reinforcement portion 109.

The rust sample marker 40 is photographed by the camera 27, but the brightness and illuminance recognized by the camera 27 changes depending on the installation location of the passenger conveyor 1, the time of day of inspection, etc. For example, a passenger conveyor installed indoors will have lower brightness and illuminance than a passenger conveyor installed outdoors, and when inspection is performed at night, the brightness and illuminance will be lower than when inspection is performed during the day. For this reason, it is preferable to prepare multiple patterns of rust sample marker 40 taking into consideration the installation location of the passenger conveyor 1, the time of day of inspection, etc.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, rust 50 has occurred on the front reinforcement 109. The rust 50 that has occurred on the front reinforcement 109 has a different color than the paint sample 47. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the rust 50 corresponds to rust (rust sample 42) that requires part replacement. In addition, a foreign object M has adhered to a part of the front end demarcation 106, causing the color to differ from that of the front end demarcation 106.

Figure 6 shows an example of the features and rust conditions corresponding to the rust sample markers 40 stored in the rust sample reference database 28.

In the rust sample reference database 28 of this embodiment, infrared images and visible light images are stored separately. The rust sample reference database 28 stores four indices for each of a number of features (samples 1, 2, 3, etc.): R component, G component, B component, and luminance. These four indices are of two types, one for infrared images and one for visible light images, and each sample is made up of a total of eight values. The rust level A, B, C, etc. is then determined from these indices.

Next, a method for inspecting a passenger conveyor will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 8. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing a method for inspecting a passenger conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the details of Fig. 7.

The worker inputs information such as the serial number of the passenger conveyor to be inspected into the inspection device 20 (step S201).

The worker fixes the rust sample marker 40 to the front reinforcement portion 109 of the step 10 (step S202).

The control unit 21 of the inspection device 20 turns on the infrared light 25 and irradiates the steps 10 with infrared light. Furthermore, the control unit 21 operates the passenger conveyor once, photographs the target part with the camera 27, and records the infrared image (step S203).

Next, the control unit 21 of the inspection device 20 turns on the fluorescent lamp 26 and irradiates the steps 10 with visible light. The control unit 21 then operates the passenger conveyor once, photographs the target part with the camera 27, and records the visible light image (step S204). In this embodiment, multiple types of images are captured, including infrared images and visible light images. Note that the order of steps S203 and S204 may be reversed. Also, it is not necessary to irradiate both infrared light and visible light, and it is possible to switch to irradiating only one of them depending on the type of passenger conveyor being inspected, the installation location, the time, the weather, etc.

Next, the processing unit 22 of the inspection device 20 performs a judgment process using the recorded infrared image and visible light image (step S205). Details of the judgment process are described in FIG. 8.

In step S205-1, the control unit 21 separates the recorded infrared images and visible light images for each step 10 and transmits the image information to the processing unit 22.

Next, the processing unit 22 extracts the step 10 to which the rust sample marker 40 is fixed, and recognizes the rust sample marker 40. Furthermore, the processing unit 22 extracts the features (see FIG. 6) of the rust sample marker 40 (rust samples 42 to 46 and painted sample 47) from the infrared image and the visible light image, and sets these as feature group A of the rust samples (step S205-2). In step S205-2, the processing unit 22 extracts feature group A from the image information obtained by photographing the rust sample marker 40.

Next, the processing unit 22 recognizes the front reinforcement portion 109 of each step 10 from the image captured by the camera 27 (step S205-3).

Next, the processing unit 22 recognizes the demarcation (front end demarcation 106) of each step 10 from the image captured by the camera 27 (step S205-4).

Steps S205-3 and S205-4 are steps in which the camera 27 captures an image of the steps, and the processing unit 22 recognizes the demarcation and the front reinforcement portion 109 from the captured image.

Next, the processing unit 22 detects a portion (foreign object M: see FIG. 5) in the demarcation recognized in step S205-4 that is different in color from the demarcation (step S205-5). The processing unit 22 stores the colors of the demarcation in advance, and compares the color of the recognized demarcation with the colors of the demarcation stored in advance.

Next, the processing unit 22 determines whether or not the demarcation has any part (foreign object M) that is different in color from the demarcation based on the detection result of step S205-5 (step S205-6). Step S205-6 is a step for determining whether or not the recognized demarcation has any discolored part, i.e., whether or not there is a foreign object. If the demarcation has any part that is different in color from the demarcation (Yes in step S205-6), the processing unit 22 determines that the demarcation has a foreign object and executes step S205-7. If the demarcation has no part that is different in color from the demarcation (No in step S205-6), the processing unit 22 executes step S205-9.

Next, the processing unit 22 recognizes the part of the demarcation that is different in color from the demarcation as a foreign object M (oil cake), extracts the feature of the foreign object, and sets it as feature B (step S205-7). For example, in FIG. 5, foreign object M is attached to a part of the demarcation 106, and the feature of this foreign object M is extracted and set as feature B.

Next, the processing unit 22 uses the feature group A extracted in step S205-2 and the feature group B extracted in step S205-7 to detect rust, paint, and foreign matter in the front reinforcement portion 109 (step S205-8).

In addition, if there is no part of the demarcation that is different in color from the demarcation (No in step S205-6), the processing unit 22 recognizes that there is no foreign matter (oil residue) on the step 10, and detects rust and paint on the front reinforcement part 109 using feature group A (step S205-9). After detection, step S205-10 is executed.

Next, the processing unit 22 judges whether or not there is rust on the front reinforcement portion 109 based on the judgment result of step S205-8 (step S205-10). Step S205-10 is a step of judging whether or not there is rust on the front reinforcement portion 109 based on the feature amount group A of the rust sample and the image information of the front reinforcement portion 109. If there is rust (Yes in step S205-10), step S205-11 is executed. If there is no rust (No in step S205-10), the processing unit 22 judges that the front reinforcement portion 109 is good (step S205-12 (step S211)). Step S205-8 and the subsequent step S205-10 No are steps of judging that there is no rust on the step 10 if there is a foreign object on the demarcation and there is no rust on the front reinforcement portion 109.

If rust is found in the determination result of step S205-10, the processing unit 22 matches the analysis results of the visible light image and infrared image of the rust, and recognizes the matching portion as rust (step S205-11). For example, in FIG. 5, rust 50 has occurred in the front reinforcement portion 109, and the rust 50 corresponds to the rust sample 42, and the degree of rust requires part replacement.

Next, the processing unit 22 reads data on the degree of rust from the rust sample reference database 28, displays the degree of rust on the display unit 23, and calculates the area of the rust (step S205-13). Step S205-13 is a step in which, if there is rust in the front reinforcement part 109, the degree of rust is output to the display unit 23 (output unit).

As described above, if there is no discoloration in the demarcation, the processing unit 22 compares the rust sample marker 40 with the image of the front reinforcement 109 to determine the rust area in the front reinforcement 109. If there is discoloration in the demarcation, the processing unit 22 compares both the color information of the discolored area and the rust sample marker 40 with the image of the front reinforcement 109 to determine the rust area in the front reinforcement 109. The display unit 23 then outputs the area of the rust area in the front reinforcement 109.

The processing unit 22 then records the detection results for each step 10 (step S205-14).

The processing unit 22 performs the rust and foreign matter determination process as described above. Return to Figure 7.

If it is determined in the determination process of step S205 that rust is present, the processing unit 22 determines, for example, whether the area of rust is greater than or equal to x% (greater than or equal to a predetermined value) of the total area of the front reinforcement portion 109 (step S206).

If the area of rust is greater than or equal to x% (greater than or equal to a predetermined value) of the total area of the front reinforcement portion 109 (Yes in step S206), the processing unit 22 causes the display unit 23 to display (output) instructions for maintenance/replacement (step S207).

Next, the processing unit 22 stores the work history and the judgment result in the memory unit of the processing unit 22 (step S208), and transmits the work history and the judgment result to the history database via the communication unit 24 (step S209).

If the area of rust is less than x% (less than a predetermined value) of the total area of the front reinforcement portion 109 in step S206 (No in step S206), the processing unit 22 determines whether the degree of rust occurring in the front reinforcement portion 109 is z or less (step S210). Step S210 is a step for determining the degree of rust. For example, in the case of the rust sample marker 40 shown in FIG. 5, the rust samples 42 and 43 are z or less (less than the predetermined rust sample).

If the degree of rust occurring in the front reinforcement portion 109 is z or less (a predetermined rust sample or less) (Yes in step S210), the processing unit 22 causes the display unit 23 to display (output) a maintenance/replacement instruction (step S207). For example, in the case of rust 50 shown in FIG. 5, even if the area of the rust is less than x% of the total area of the front reinforcement portion 109, the degree of rust is z or less (corresponding to rust sample 42), so the processing unit 22 determines that the degree of rust is z or less and causes the display unit 23 to display (output) a maintenance/replacement instruction.

If the degree of rust occurring in the front reinforcement portion 109 is not equal to or less than z (No in step S210), the processing unit 22 determines that the front reinforcement portion 109 (step 10) is in good condition (step S205-12 (step S211)). For example, in the case of the rust sample marker 40 shown in FIG. 5, the rust samples 44, 45, and 46 exceed the degree of rust z.

Next, the processing unit 22 stores the work history in the memory unit of the processing unit 22 (step S208) and transmits the work history to the history database via the communication unit 24 (step S209).

In this embodiment, as described above, it is possible to determine whether or not there is rust on the steps 10 and whether or not there is any foreign matter from demarcation attached to them. In this embodiment, the front reinforcement 109 is inspected to check for the presence or absence of rust. If rust occurs on the front reinforcement 109, there is a possibility that rust has also occurred in the grooves of the cleats 101. Workers can identify steps 10 with rust on the front reinforcement 109 and focus on inspecting the grooves of the cleats 101 of those steps 10.

In the embodiment described above, the rust sample marker 40 is fixed to the front reinforcement portion 109, and the feature values of the rust sample marker 40 (rust samples 42-46 and paint sample 47) are extracted from the image captured and set as feature value group A. However, the feature values of the rust sample marker 40 may be stored in a database in advance, and the rust data stored in the database may be compared with the captured image information. In this case, rust data corresponding to the model, location, time, weather, etc. of the passenger conveyor to be inspected is investigated in advance, and the rust data is stored in the database. Then, when inspecting the passenger conveyor, the rust data corresponding to the model, location, time, weather, etc. of the inspection is used for the inspection.

This embodiment provides a passenger conveyor inspection method that can detect foreign objects in addition to rust.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. It is also possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations.

1... passenger conveyor, 2... lower floor, 3... upper floor, 4... truss frame, 4a... lower horizontal section, 4b... upper horizontal section, 4c... inclined section, 5... architectural support beam, 6... existing lower support angle, 7... architectural support beam, 8... existing upper support angle, 9... upper machine room, 9a... approach lane, 10... steps, 11... step driver, 12... upper sprocket, 13... lower machine room, 13a... approach lane, 14... lower sprocket, 15... step chain, 16... balustrade, 17... moving handrail, 20... inspection device... control section, 22... processing section, 23... display section, 24... communication section, 25... infrared Light, 26... fluorescent light, 27... camera, 28... rust sample reference database, 30... history database, 40... rust sample marker, 41... fixing plate, 42-46... rust sample, 47... paint sample, 50... rust, 101... cleat, 102... riser, 103... frame, 104... rear end demarcation, 105... side end demarcation, 106... front end demarcation, 107... front wheel, 107a... axle, 108... rear wheel, 109... front reinforcement, 109a... upper support, 109b... lower support, 109c... flange, 110... bolt, 111... rear reinforcement

Claims (5)

An inspection method for a passenger conveyor having a step including a cleat having a horizontal portion, a riser extending downward from one end of the cleat in a moving direction, a reinforcing portion provided below the other end of the cleat in the moving direction, and a demarcation provided at the end of the cleat ,
A camera photographs the steps ,
A processing unit recognizes the demarcation and the reinforcement portion from the captured image,
determining whether the demarcation has discoloration;
If the demarcation does not have any discoloration , compare the rust color sample with the image of the reinforcement to determine the rust area of the reinforcement ;
If there is a discolored portion on the demarcation , it is determined that there is a foreign object on the demarcation, and the rust color sample is compared with the image of the reinforcement portion to determine the rust area on the reinforcement portion;
A passenger conveyor inspection method in which an output unit outputs the area of the rusted region of the reinforcement portion. The passenger conveyor inspection method according to claim 1 , wherein the rust color sample is fixed to the reinforcing portion. 3. The passenger conveyor inspection method according to claim 2, wherein the rust color samples include a plurality of rust color samples that indicate the degree of rust in different colors, and a painted sample made of the same material and by the same painting method as the paint used to paint the reinforcing portion. The passenger conveyor inspection method according to claim 3 , wherein the camera is a camera capable of capturing a plurality of types of images, including infrared images and visible light images. The passenger conveyor inspection method according to claim 3 , wherein the processing section determines whether or not an area of rust is equal to or greater than a predetermined value of an entire area of the reinforcement section.

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