Misalignment monitoring in a people conveyor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10850947-B2
Application number	US-201916518622-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 22, 2019
Priority date	Jul 27, 2018
Publication date	Dec 1, 2020
Grant date	Dec 1, 2020

Abstract

A people conveyor ( 1 ) comprises a truss ( 2 ) extending between two landing portions ( 20, 21 ); a band ( 12 ) of conveyance elements ( 13 ) forming a closed loop extending in a conveyance direction between the two landing portions ( 20, 21 ); a drive machine ( 25 ) configured for driving the band ( 12 ) of conveyance elements ( 13 ); and at least two magneto-inductive sensors ( 36 a, 36 b, 36 c ) mounted to the truss ( 2 ). The at least two magneto-inductive sensors ( 36 a, 36 b, 36 c ) are configured for providing sensor signals which allow determining the position and orientation of the drive machine ( 25 ) with respect to the truss ( 2 ).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. People conveyor comprising:
a truss extending between two landing portions;
a band of conveyance elements forming a closed loop extending in a conveyance direction between the two landing portions;
a drive machine configured for driving the band of conveyance elements; and
at least two magneto-inductive sensors mounted to the truss and configured for detecting the position and/or the orientation of the drive machine with respect to the truss.

2. People conveyor according to claim 1 comprising at least two permanent-magnets, wherein each of the at least two permanent-magnets, is attached to the drive machine at a position opposite to one of the at least two magneto-inductive sensors, respectively.

3. People conveyor according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two magneto-inductive sensors are spaced apart from each other in a horizontal direction and/or in a vertical direction.

4. People conveyor according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two magneto-inductive sensors are arranged at the same height in a vertical direction.

5. People conveyor according to claim 1 , wherein the drive machine comprises a drive member configured to be driven by the drive machine and in engagement with a transmission element.

6. People conveyor according to claim 5 , wherein the drive member comprises a drive chain configured to drive the band of conveyance elements.

7. People conveyor according to claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured for receiving sensor signals from the at least two magneto-inductive sensors and for determining the position and/or orientation of the drive machine from the received sensor signals.

8. People conveyor according to claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured for determining a lateral position of the drive machine and/or an inclination of the drive machine with respect to a predefined orientation.

9. People conveyor according to claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured for determining a deviation of the determined position/orientation of the drive machine from a predefined position/orientation of the drive machine, wherein the controller is further configured for issuing an alarm signal and/or for stopping the drive machine when the absolute value of said deviation exceeds a predetermined limit.

10. People conveyor according to claim 1 , wherein the people conveyor comprises three magneto-inductive sensors attached to the truss and configured for detecting the position and orientation of the drive machine with respect to the truss.

11. People conveyor according to claim 10 , wherein the three magneto-inductive sensors are arranged in a common virtual plane.

12. People conveyor according to claim 10 , wherein the three magneto-inductive sensors are not arranged on a common straight line.

13. People conveyor according to claim 12 , wherein the three magneto-inductive sensors are arranged on the corners of a virtual rectangular triangle.

14. People conveyor according to claim 1 , wherein the people conveyor is an escalator ( 1 a ) and the conveyance elements are steps, or wherein the people conveyor is a moving walkway ( 1 b ) and the conveyance elements are pallets.

15. Method of operating a people conveyor according to claim 1 , wherein the method includes determining the position and/or the orientation of the drive machine with respect to the truss based on sensor signals provided by the at least two magneto-inductive sensors.

16. Method of claim 15 , wherein the method includes determining a difference between the determined position of the drive machine and a predefined position of the drive machine, wherein the method further includes issuing an alarm signal when the absolute value of said difference exceeds a predetermined alarm limit and/or stopping the drive machine when the absolute value of said difference exceeds a predetermined stop limit.

17. Method of initializing a people conveyor according to claim 1 , wherein the method includes determining the distances (δ A , δ B ) of the drive machine with respect to the truss based on sensor signals provided by the at least two magneto-inductive sensors while the drive machine is properly aligned, and storing said distances (δ A , δ B ) as reference distances (δ A0 , δ B0 ).

Assignees

• Otis Elevator Co

Inventors

• Park Chan-Jong

Classifications

• B66B25/006 Primary

  Monitoring for maintenance or repair (for security reasons B66B29/005) · CPC title

• B66B23/02 Primary

  Driving gear · CPC title

• B66B21/10

  Moving walkways · CPC title

• B66B23/14

  Guiding means for carrying surfaces · CPC title

• B66B29/005

  Applications of security monitors · CPC title