Automatic door

Abstract

The invention relates to an automatic door and method for controlling an automatic door (10), comprising a door controller unit (70) for controlling a door, acting on a door drive; further comprising a monitoring system (11) comprising at least two door sensors (12, 32) mounted on two opposite sides of the door, as seen in passage direction, where each of said sensors (12, 32) comprises a scanning unit (16, 36) that monitors a sensor safety area, where a safety signal is applied to the door controller unit upon detection of an object within the sensor safety areas of said sensors. According to the invention after a predefined timespan (TL) of no detection within said sensor safety areas of said sensors, the monitoring system (11) is set to a restricted mode in which at least one sensor safety area is set to a restricted area, where the safety signal is then provided upon detection of an object within the restricted area, where further, once a detection in the restricted area occurs, the monitoring system is set back to an unrestricted normal mode.

Claims

1. An automatic door comprising a door controller unit for controlling the door and acting on a door drive, and further comprising a monitoring system comprising at least two door sensors mounted on opposite sides of the door in a passage direction, each of said sensors comprising a scanning unit that monitors a sensor safety area comprising one inner region and one outer region, and a detection unit connected to the scanning unit wherein the inner region is analysed and a first detection information is generated, and wherein the outer region is analysed and a second detection information is generated, and wherein the monitoring system comprises at least one evaluation unit connected to the detection unit and the door controller unit and upon the evaluation unit determining, based on the first detection information and the second detection information of the at least two sensors, and subsequent to a lapse of a predefined timespan wherein no object detection occurs within any sensor safety area, the monitoring system is set to a restricted mode in which the first detection information is taken into account only from a restricted area of the inner region and wherein the door controller unit is supplied with a safety signal based on the second detection information or the first detection information of the restricted area of the inner region and the second detection information, and wherein further, once an object detection in the outer region or the restricted area of the inner region occurs, the monitoring system is set back to unrestricted normal mode.

2. The automatic door according to claim 1 wherein the restricted area is a part of the inner region or none of the inner region.

3. The automatic door according to claim 1 wherein each sensor comprises a communication output port and wherein the detection unit is connected to the communication output port to transfer combined information on the first detection information and the second detection information.

4. The automatic door according to claim 3 wherein each of said sensors comprises an evaluation unit that is connected to the communication output port of the other sensor and to the detection unit of the same sensor.

5. The automatic door according to claim 4 wherein each of said sensors comprises a communication input port connected to the communication output port of the other said sensor.

6. The automatic door according to claim 5 wherein the communication input ports and the communication output ports are serial ports providing information on curtain presence detection and motion detection in a serially coded way.

7. The automatic door according to claim 1 wherein the monitoring system comprises a computational device and wherein the computational device comprises the evaluation unit, the first detection information and the second detection information are fed to the evaluation unit where during restricted mode only a safety signal, depending on the second detection information and the first detection information on the restricted area, is forwarded to the door controller unit.

8. The automatic door according to claim 1 wherein the scanning unit comprises a laser scanner, working by a time of flight echo-pulse measurement, sampling the inner region and the outer region of the sensor safety area.

9. The automatic door according to claim 8 wherein the scanning unit generates subsequent measurements along a sweeping curve so that one inner curtain and a plurality of outer curtains is formed.

10. The automatic door according to claim 1 wherein the predefined timespan of no-detection is set to 1 to 3 seconds.

11. The automatic door according to claim 1 wherein the door is an industrial door or a pedestrian door.

12. A method for controlling an automatic door comprising a door controller unit for controlling the door and acting on a door drive, and a monitoring system comprising at least two door sensors mounted on opposite sides of the door in a passage direction; a. where each of said sensors monitors a sensor safety area; b. where a safety signal is applied to the door controller unit upon detection of an object within the sensor safety areas of said sensors, and after a lapse of a predefined timespan of no object detection within said sensor safety areas of said sensors, the monitoring system is set to a restricted mode in which at least one sensor safety area is set to a restricted area; c. where the safety signal is then provided upon detection of an object within the restricted area; and, d. where further, once a detection in the restricted area occurs, the monitoring system is set back to an unrestricted normal mode.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein each sensor safety area comprises one inner region and one outer region, wherein the inner region is closer to the door than the outer region, and wherein during restricted mode only, the inner region is reduced to a restricted area.

14. The method according to claim 12 wherein each sensor comprises a detection unit that analyses the data gathered by the sensors, and wherein the detection unit ignores the data sensed outside the restricted area of the sensor safety area for generating a detection signal during the restricted mode.

15. The method according to claim 12 wherein the two sensors comprise a first sensor and a second sensor, the two sensors communicating a detection status of the sensor safety area and the restricted area to the other sensor, where each sensor is set to a restricted mode taking into account the information of the other sensor, and wherein only the second sensor forwards the safety signal to the door controller unit.

Description

(1) Throughout the description, the claims and the drawings, those terms and associated reference signs will be used as are notable from the enclosed list of reference signs. In the drawings is shown

(2) FIG. 1a a schematic side view of an automatic door;

(3) FIG. 1b a schematic sectional view B-B of the automatic door;

(4) FIG. 2 a functional view of a first setup of the monitoring system;

(5) FIG. 3 a diagram showing the modes of the monitoring system under certain detection conditions;

(6) FIG. 4 a functional view of a further setup of the monitoring system; and

(7) FIG. 5 a functional view of a further setup of the monitoring system.

(8) FIG. 1a shows a schematic side view of an automatic door 10 according to the invention. The automatic door comprises a door element 14 driven by a door drive and a monitoring system 11 comprising two sensors 12, 32, where each of the sensors monitors at least one inner region IR and one outer region OR. The two sensors 12, 32 are mounted on opposite sides of the door viewed in passage direction. Each of the sensors comprises a scanner 16, 36 that generates two outer curtains OC and one inner curtain IC. The inner curtains IC of the sensors 12, 32, have a distance to the innermost outer curtains OC of less than the smallest extension of the test body T that is especially about 10 cm. This setup guarantees that the unmonitored region below or beside the door is smaller than the required test body size, required by safety standards.

(9) FIG. 1b shows a schematic sectional view B-B of the automatic door 10 according to the invention. The door element 14 is bent by wind in the shown situation. In this situation it is shown that, according to the invention, the inner region is set to restricted area by fading out the central part of the first curtain. The according process and setup is explained in more detail in FIG. 2.

(10) FIG. 2 shows a functional view of the basic setup of the monitoring system 11 according to the invention. The setup shows two sensors 12, 32. Each sensor 12, 32, comprises a scanner 16, 36 that is connected to a detection unit 18, 38 to determine in which region IR, OR of the scanner 16, 36 an object is detected. The detection unit 18, 38 is linked to an evaluation unit 20, 40 of the sensor 12, 32.

(11) Each sensor 12, 32, furthermore, comprises an input port 50, 60, a communication output port 52, 62, a safety output port 54, 64 and a further output port 56, 66 that may be used for presence detection of curtains not used for safety purposes the output ports are not connected in this basic setup. The first detection information on the inner region and the second detection information on the outer region are related to the safety signal.

(12) The evaluation unit 20 of the first sensor 12 is connected to the input port 50 of the first sensor 12.

(13) The input port 50 of the first sensor 12 is connected to the communication port 62 of the second sensor 32. The evaluation unit 40 of the second sensor 32 is connected to the communication port 62 of the second sensor 32. The evaluation unit 40 applies a signal to the communication port 62 containing the first detection information and the second detection information of the detection unit 38. In that way, the evaluation unit 20 of the first sensor 12 is provided with the information of the first detection information and the second detection information of the second sensor 32. The transmission via the communication port is preferably done by Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). The signal can be a combined information of the first detection information and the second detection information.

(14) The evaluation unit 40 of the second sensor 32 is connected to the input port 60 of the sensor 32. The input port 60 of the second sensor 32 is connected to the communication port 52 of the first sensor 12. The evaluation unit 20 of the first sensor 12 is connected to the communication port 52 of the first sensor 12. The evaluation unit 20 applies a signal to the communication port 52 containing the first information and the second information of the detection unit 18. In that way, the evaluation unit 40 of the second sensor 32 is provided with the information of the first information and second information of the first sensor 12.

(15) As both evaluation units 20, 40 receive the information of the first information and the second information of the first sensor and the second sensor, each evaluation unit 20, 40 can independently determine the timespan of continuous no detection in all relevant regions IR, OR of both sensors 12, 32.

(16) As soon as the timespan of no detection exceeds a predefined time limit, the sensor 12, 32 is set to restricted mode according to which a part of the inner region, especially the central part of the first curtain, is faded out. Accordingly, the safety signal is then generated based on a detection in the remaining restricted detection area of the inner region and no longer based on the whole inner region. The safety signal can then be transferred to the control unit 70. The safety signal still considers the detection in the outer region.

(17) As the evaluation unit of e.g., the second sensor knows about the detection status of the safety area of both sensors 12, 32, a signal can be forwarded to the door control unit 70 by the second sensor 32 via its safety port by combining the detection information of the inner region IR the outer region OR of both sensors. According to this setup the wiring effort can be reduced.

(18) This means that as long as the sensor 12, 32 is in this restricted mode, no falsely positive information is acquired in the faded-out area in a way that it would trigger a safety procedure in the door controller unit 70. In such a case, no safety signal is submitted to the door controller unit 70. The evaluation unit 20, 40 is, furthermore, embodied in a way that the monitoring system is reset to normal mode, when a positive detection is determined by the detection unit 18, 38 in the restricted detection area of the inner region IR or in the outer region OR. In normal mode, a safety signal is submitted upon a detection within the door safety area.

(19) This leads to the effect that as long as the sensor 12, 32 is in the restricted mode, signals that are generated as a consequence of the deformation of the door element are ignored that way and taken into account again when the monitored safety area is e.g. interrupted from the outer region OR.

(20) The predefined time limit, when the sensor activates the restricted mode, is preferably set to about 2 seconds.

(21) The wiring between the two sensors, as described above, and the door controller is preferably done via a wiring board 68.

(22) FIG. 3 shows the behavior of the monitoring system regarding its operational modes. The upper part of the diagram shows the mode of the monitoring system. The modes are N for normal mode and R for restricted mode. In the example of FIG. 3 the restricted mode is defined in a way that the faded-out area is set to the whole inner curtain and therefore covers the whole inner region, and no restricted monitoring area remains in the inner curtain IC and the inner region respectively. Alternatively, a detection information coming from the restricted area of the inner region could be regarded as an outer region signal (C_O) of the door safety area.

(23) S1 and S2 are the sensors mounted opposite on the automatic door. C_I and C_O are the signals corresponding to a detection status of the scanners. During the period A there is an object detected by the scanners that is evaluated by the detection unit accordingly in one of the outer curtain OC of sensor S1. The monitoring system is in the normal detection mode. By the start of period B the object is no longer present in this outer curtain where then the detection status C_O of S1 is set to no detection. As no other detection occurs, the timespan of no detection starts, where the end of the timespan is set to a predefined length of TL. After expiration of TL in the period C the monitoring system is set to restricted mode.

(24) In period D the scanning unit recognizes a detection event in the inner curtain where the detection status C_I changes accordingly. Since the monitoring system is the restricted mode, this event is ignored by the detection unit and not transferred to the evaluation unit.

(25) Subsequent to this event, neither the mode of the monitoring system is changed nor is the signal forwarded to the safety port of the door controller. Hence, the door controller unit does not trigger a safety procedure, e.g., to reopen the door.

(26) The monitoring system remains in this restricted mode during the period D and E. In the period F, the scanning unit of the sensor S2 detects an object in its outer curtain OC and the detection status C_O is set to 1. Although the monitoring system is in restricted mode, the detection unit forwards the second detection information to the evaluation unit. The monitoring system is set back to normal mode. The second detection information is also forwarded to the door controller unit.

(27) FIG. 4 shows a further example of the invention in case there is an inner region IR dedicated to the first detection information close to the door and the whole inner region is faded out during restricted mode. In this example of the invention, the evaluation unit 140 is implemented within a separate computational device 150, comprising the evaluation unit 140 and having connecting ports that are connected to the detection unit 118 and the detection unit 138. whereas a consequence, the evaluation unit receives the signals containing the first detection information and the second detection information of the first sensor 112 and the second sensor 132.

(28) In this case, the door safety area in the restricted mode covers the outer region only that is dedicated to the second detection information.

(29) Accordingly, the evaluation unit 140 can prevent forwarding the first detection information to the door controller unit 170 that is part of the door controller 190 during the restricted mode. A detection of an object in the inner region IR during the restricted mode, therefore, does not lead to a false triggering of the safety procedure.

(30) The evaluation unit 140 works the same way as described regarding figures FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.

(31) FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the invention. The monitoring system comprises two sensors 112,132 having a scanner 116, 136 and a detection unit 118, 138, where the detection unit analyses the signals of the scanner 116, 136 and transfers a first detection information to the evaluation unit 240 that is in this case a part of the door controller 290.

(32) After a predefined timespan of preferably 2 seconds, when the evaluation unit does not receive a detection signal of any first or second detection information, the monitoring system is set to restricted mode.

(33) In this case the door safety area is implemented as in the example of FIG. 4.

(34) In this case the door controller unit 270 of the door controller 290 is supplied with the second detection information only.

(35) Once an object is detected in the outer region OR, the monitoring system is set back to normal mode again considering the first and the second detection information.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(36) 10 automatic door 11 monitoring system 12 sensor 14 door element 16 scanner 18 detection unit 20 evaluation unit 32 sensor 36 scanner 38 detection unit 40 evaluation unit 50 input port 52 communication port 54 safety information output port 56 additional information output port 60 input port 62 communication port 64 safety information output port 66 additional information output port 68 wiring board 70 door controller unit 112 sensor 116 scanner 118 detection unit 132 sensor 136 scanner 138 detection unit 140 evaluation unit 150 computational device 170 door controller unit 240 evaluation unit 270 door controller unit 290 door controller A period B period C period C_I detection status C_O detection status D period E period F period IC inner curtain IR inner Region OC outer curtain OR outer region S1 sensor S2 sensor