Patent Application
20250033934
This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310920885.6, filed Jul. 25, 2023, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the contents of which in its entirety are herein incorporated by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a conveyor system, in particular to technologies related to the braking of conveyor systems.
Escalators, travelators, and other conveyor systems have been widely used in various buildings, such as airports, shopping malls, etc., providing convenience for people's travel. To prevent problems such as excessive speed and reversal of escalators, escalators are generally equipped with brakes. The brake achieves braking of the escalator through the friction force generated when the brake lining and brake drum join with each other. With the use of the escalator, the brake will produce many times of brakes, which may cause wear or damage to the brake lining. Currently, the status of the brake lining is generally manually checked on a regular basis, with the brake lining replaced as needed, which makes it impossible to obtain the operating status of the escalator brake in real-time. For escalators with high safety requirements, there is room for improvement in the aspect of brake status detection.
The present disclosure provides a brake system for a conveyor system, so as to make improvements in at least one aspect as mentioned above.
A brake system for a conveyor system according to examples of the present disclosure may comprise: a brake comprising a brake arm and a brake lining connected to the brake arm; a distance detection device arranged on the brake for detecting a first distance and a second distance between the brake arm and a brake drum, where the first distance is a distance between the brake arm and the brake drum when the brake is in an open state, and the second distance is a distance between the brake arm and the brake drum when the brake is in a closed state; and a controller for determining a brake performance of the brake based on a difference between the first distance and the second distance detected sequentially, and for generating and sending warning signals when the difference is not within a preset range.
For the brake system, additionally or as an alternative, the distance detection device can be arranged on the brake in a way that is capable of sensing a distance between a set position of the brake arm and the brake drum, where the first distance and the second distance are distances between the set position and the brake drum in the open state and the closed state, respectively.
For the brake system, additionally or as an alternative, the distance detection device can be arranged within the braking arm, and the set position is a joint surface of the brake arm and the brake lining.
For the brake system, additionally or as an alternative, the distance detection device can be arranged within the brake arm near the set position.
For the brake system, additionally or as an alternative, the controller can be connected to an output unit and/or a remote monitoring room, that is, the controller can be connected to the output unit, or the controller can be connected to the remote monitoring room, or the controller can be connected to the output unit and to the remote monitoring room. Connection can be used, where the connection here includes any one or a combination of line connection and communication connection.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a detection method for a brake for a conveyor system is also provided. The method may comprise: detecting a first distance and a second distance between a brake arm and a brake drum of the brake, where the first distance is a distance between the brake arm and the brake drum when the brake is in an open state, and the second distance is a distance between the brake arm and the brake drum when the brake is in a closed state; comparing a difference between the first distance and the second distance with a preset range to determine a brake performance of the brake; and generating and sending warning signals when a comparison result shows that the difference is not within the preset range.
For the detection method for a brake for a conveyor system, additionally or as an alternative, detecting the first distance and the second distance between the brake arm and the brake drum of the brake may comprise: detecting, by a distance detection device arranged on the brake arm, a distance between a set position of the brake arm and the brake drum as the first distance when the brake is in an open state; and detecting, by the distance detection device, a distance between the set position of the brake arm and the brake drum as the second distance when the brake is in a closed state
For the detection method for a brake for a conveyor system, additionally or as an alternative, the set position may be perpendicular to a joint surface of the brake lining and the brake drum when the brake lining joins with the brake drum.
For the detection method for a brake for a conveyor system, additionally or as an alternative, the distance detection device may be arranged at the set position, and the set position may be close to a surface of the brake arm used to connect the brake lining.
A controller is further provided, which may comprise a memory for storing instructions and a processor for executing the instructions, where when the instructions are being executed, the escalator brake system is made to: detects a first distance and a second distance between a brake arm and ta brake drum of a brake, where the first distance is a distance between the brake arm and the brake drum when the brake is in an open state, and the second distance is a distance between the brake arm and the brake drum when the brake is in a closed state; compare a difference between the first distance and the second distance with a preset range to determine a brake performance of the brake; and generate and send warning signals when a comparison result shows that the difference is not within the preset range.
A conveyor system is still further provided, which comprises any of the brake systems described above, or can execute any of the methods described above, or comprises the controller described above.
In the above examples, as an example, the distance detection device can be a distance sensor.
In the above examples, as an example, the conveyor system includes escalators, travelators, and other conveyor systems used to convey passengers and/or goods.
The Embodiments of the Present Disclosure Will be Described in Detail Below in Conjunction with the Accompanying Drawings, so that the Present Disclosure can be Fully Understood, where:
To assist those skilled in the art to gain a precise understanding of the subject matter claimed by the present disclosure, the specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The terms “first”, “second”, etc. in the description, claims, and accompanying drawings of the present disclosure are used to distinguish similar objects, rather than to describe a specific order or sequence thereof. It should be appreciated that the numbers used in this way can be interchanged with each other in appropriate cases, so that the embodiments of the invention described herein can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, “first” and “second” are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implying or indicating the quantity of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined with “first” and “second” can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of such features. In the depiction of the embodiments of the present disclosure, unless otherwise stated, “a plurality of” means two or more.
The terms “example”, “as an example”, or “illustratively”, used in the following text mean “used as an example, embodiment, or illustration”. Any embodiment depicted as an “example”, or “as an example” or “illustratively” need not be interpreted as being superior or better than other embodiments.
The conveyor systems according to the present disclosure can be escalators, travelators, and other conveyor systems for conveying passengers and/or goods. Although the following embodiments of the present disclosure all use an escalator as a conveyor system to describe the present disclosure, it should be appreciated, however, that the various examples of a brake system for a conveyor system, a detection method for a brake for a conveyor system, a controller, etc. provided in the present disclosure are also applicable to other conveyor systems with brake functions, such as travelators.
The tread plates 18 make a 180 degree heading change in a turn-around area 19 located under the lower landing 14 and upper landing 16. The tread plates 18 are pivotally attached to the step chain 20 and follow a closed loop path of the step chain 20, running from one landing to the other, and back again.
The drive machine 26 includes a first drive member 32, such as motor output sheave, connected to a drive motor 34 through a belt reduction assembly 36 including a second drive member 38, such as an output sheave, driven by a tension member 39, such as an output belt. The first drive member 32 in some embodiments is a driving member, and the second drive member 38 is a driven member.
As used herein, the first drive member 32 and/or the second drive member 38, in various embodiments, may be any type of rotational device, such as a sheave, pulley, gear, wheel, sprocket, cog, pinion, etc. The tension member 39, in various embodiments, can be configured as a chain, belt, cable, ribbon, band, strip, or any other similar device that operatively connects two elements to provide a driving force from one element to another. For example, the tension member 39 may be any type of interconnecting member that extends between and operatively connects the first drive member 32 and a second drive member 38. In some embodiments, as shown in
As noted, the first drive member 32 is driven by drive motor 34 and thus is configured to drive the tension member 39 and the second drive member 38. In some embodiments, the second drive member 38 may be an idle gear or similar device that is driven by the operative connection between the first drive member 32 and the second drive member 38 by means of tension member 39. The tension member 39 travels around a loop set by the first drive member 32 and the second drive member 38, which hereinafter may be referred to as a small loop. The small loop is provided for driving a larger loop which consists of the step chain 20, and is driven by an output sheave 40, for example. Under normal operating conditions, the tension member 39 and the step chain 20 move in unison, based upon the speed of movement of the first drive member 32 as driven by the drive motor 34.
The escalator 10 also includes a controller 115 that is in electronic communication with the drive motor 34. The controller 115 may be located, as shown, in the machine space 28 of the escalator 10 and is configured to control the operation of the escalator 10. For example, the controller 115 may provide drive signals to the drive motor 34 to control the acceleration, deceleration, stopping, etc. of the tread plates 18 through the step chain 20. The controller 115 may be an electronic controller including a processor and an associated memory comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform various operations. The processor may be, but is not limited to, a single-processor or multi-processor system of any of a wide array of possible architectures, including field programmable gate array (FPGA), central processing unit (CPU), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP) or graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware arranged homogenously or heterogeneously. The memory may be but is not limited to a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or other electronic, optical, magnetic or any other computer readable medium.
The brake 6 comprises a brake lining 61 and a brake arm 63, where the brake arm 63 is connected to the brake lining 61. Under the action of a driving force, the brake arm 63 drives the brake lining 61 to move. When the brake 6 is in a closed state, a brake surface of the brake lining 61 joins with a brake drum 100, thus achieving brake on the brake drum 100 through the friction between the two. When the brake 6 switches from a closed state to an open state, the brake lining 61 is driven by the brake arm 63 to leave the brake drum 100, thus releasing the brake on the brake drum 100.
The distance detection device 62 (e.g., a sensor such as an ultrasonic sensor, IR sensor, etc.) is arranged on the brake 6, and is configured to detect a first distance and a second distance. The first distance is the distance between the brake arm 63 and the brake drum 100 when the brake 6 is in an open state, and the second distance is the distance between the brake arm 63 and the brake drum 100 when the brake 6 is in a closed state.
The controller 64 (e.g., a microprocessor-based controller executing code to perform the operations described herein) determines the brake performance of the brake 6 based on the difference between the first distance and the second distance. Specifically, with the use of the brake lining 61, its wear becomes more and more severe, so its thickness decreases accordingly. Therefore, when the brake surface 610 of the brake lining 61 joins with the brake drum 100, the second distance detected by the distance detection device 62 will decrease. With the first distance unchanged, the gap C between the brake drum 100 and the brake surface 610 of the brake lining 61 determined by the difference between the first distance and the second distance will increase.
For the brake of the escalator, the size of the gap C should be within a preset range, so as to ensure that when the electromagnet is powered off, the brake arm 63 is fully fallen so that the brake 6 is fully closed in a closed state, and when the electromagnet is powered on, the brake arm 63 is fully opened so that the brake 6 is fully opened in an open state. If the gap C is not within the preset range, it may result in that the fall of the brake arm cannot enable the brake to be fully closed when the electromagnet is powered off, resulting in a decrease in the brake effect, and that the brake arm cannot be fully opened when the electromagnet is powered on, so that the brake lining keeps rubbing against the brake drum during the operation of the escalator, which may cause safety accidents.
According to the examples of the present disclosure, when the calculated difference is not within the preset range, the controller 64 generates and sends warning signals so that brake performance degradation or other possible anomalies can be detected. In some examples, the controller 64 is connected to an output unit 66 and/or a remote monitoring room 67. As a result, the sent warning signals will be output by the output unit 66 (e.g., a display, light, and/or speaker) and/or received by the remote monitoring room 67. The output unit 66 may output in an audible manner, in a visible manner, or in a manner combing the two. It should be appreciated that the controller 64 can be connected to the output unit 66 through a line or through wireless communication, where the output unit can be an output component of an escalator according to the examples of the present disclosure. The controller 64 can be connected to the remote monitoring room through wireless communication or through a line.
Referring to
Referring to
Reference is made to
The set position can be a position on the brake arm 63. And, in further examples of the present disclosure, the set position can be selected as: one of a plurality of positions on the brake arm 63 that are perpendicular to the joint surface of the brake lining 61 and the brake drum 100 when the brake lining 61 joins with the brake drum 100.
According to a specific example of the present disclosure, such as in the example shown in
As an alternative, the distance sensor 62 can also disposed along the vertical plane perpendicular to the joint surface of the brake lining 61 and the brake drum 100 but be recessed into the brake arm 63, that is, not flush with the surface 6361.
When the brake 6 is in a closed state as shown in
Subsequently, the brake 6 releases the braking and switches to an open state, as shown in
A gap C between the brake surface 610 of the brake lining 61 and the brake drum 100 when the brake 6 is in an open state is the difference between the first distance A1 and the second distance A2. As discussed earlier, the first distance A1 remains basically unchanged. In this case, the controller 64 can, by calculating the distance difference between two sequential detections respectively performed in the open and closed states, monitor the actual value of the gap C and its changes during operation of the escalator, and detect abnormal situations of C in a timely manner, for example, whether the size of C exceeds an upper limit of a preset range. For example, the preset range of C is 1 mm to 1.5 mm. If the controller 64 detects that the value of C exceeds 1.5 mm, it will generate and send warning signals.
The warning signals can be sent to the escalator monitoring room, and output in a visible and/or audible manner, so that relevant personnel can be informed and take measures, such as replacing brake linings, as soon as possible. In addition, in some cases, the controller 64 can also be configured to take safety measures, such as forcefully braking to stop the escalator from running to ensure safety, in the event that C is not within the preset range.
In addition, a distance D from a switch contact 70 of the electromagnet module to the brake arm 63 can also be monitored based on the size of the gap C. For the brake 6, there is a certain correspondence between the distance D and the gap C. When the brake 6 is adjusted and put into use, the proportional relationship between the distance D and the gap C can be determined. After the brake is put into use and the brake lining 61 is replaced, the relationship between the distance D and the gap C should be consistent with the previously determined proportional relationship. Therefore, after the brake lining is replaced, the measurement of A1 and A2 can be performed to determine C, so as to judge whether the adjusted distance between the contact 70 and the brake arm 63 after the brake lining is replaced is accurate, and in some cases, the direction of adjustment can also be given, such as to increase or decrease the distance D.
The escalator brake system described above in conjunction with
The method shown in
The detection method for an escalator brake system according to examples of the present disclosure can be implemented as a program instruction module, which can be configured in the controller 115 of the escalator system shown in
The present disclosure also provides a controller.
The present disclosure further provides a conveyor system capable of executing various examples of the method described above in conjunction with
Although specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the principle of the present disclosure, it should be understood, however, that the present disclosure may be implemented in other ways without departing from the principle.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202310920885.6 | Jul 2023 | CN | national |
