ESCALATOR EFFICIENCY MODULE Group: Leo Dormann Mike Murphy James Ray Andrew Hyduchak Andrew Kleinman

OVERVIEW  Statistics & Data  Problem  Safety & Maintenance  Improved Design  Solution  Integration  Functional Operation  Electrical Design

ESCALATOR STATISTICS  Escalator normally designed to hold lbs per step  Almost never does an escalator run at full capacity  There are an estimated 30,000 escalators in the USA alone  Many are legacy installations  USA escalator power consumption  ~ $260 million /year

ESCALATOR DATA Kind of Escalator?Motor PowerEscalator Height (feet)Power Usage Shopping Mall7.5 HP kW Hours Hotel20 HP kW Hours Airport/Subway40 HP kW Hours

PROBLEM  Runs at constant speed, for many hours in the day  Steady draw of energy from grid  Wear and tear causes many escalators to be shut down for repairs  Safety hazard is created for users  Inefficient use of electricity for escalator ‘down- time’

SAFETY & MAINTENANCE  Constant uptime requires regular maintenance to keep system in working order  Poor maintenance is responsible for many accidents and injuries  On Monday, December 13, 1999, 8-year-old Jyotsna Jethani was killed at New Delhi's international airport. Jethani fell into a gaping hole that resulted from improper maintenance. (1)  Francisco Portillo, a Salvadoran sushi chef, died after being strangled when his sweatshirt got caught in an escalator at the Porter Square MBTA station in Cambridge, Massachusetts on February 21,  These could have been prevented with modern design considerations (1) (2) RTICLES/2005/03/02/MAN_IS_STRANGLED_AF TER_CLOTHING_SNAGS_IN_MBTA_ESCALAT OR/

IMPROVED DESIGN  Energy efficiency is one aspect of design that can be improved  But what else?  Durability  Ergonomics  Safety  Lower cost of installation/maintenance  New escalator designs could embrace all these improvements  Completely controllable  Programmable and remotely interruptible  Combines multitude of sensors  Enhance safety features

SOLUTION  Microcontroller and sensor system  Control power consumption based on demand  Implement new safety and “smart” features  Completely controllable functions  Easily implemented and enhanced  Microcontroller  Closed source escalator system to open source  Easily maintained and updated  Long term use, low chance of obsolescence

INTEGRATION  What about all the different makes of escalators?  The controller acts as a separate module  Interfaced with legacy systems through kits that have the parts needed to retrofit  Should cover the handful of makes installed throughout world  Custom configurations could be made with basic knowledge of system and commonly found parts  Must provide long, stable life  Design should consider the constant running time, and use components suited for longevity

FUNCTIONAL OPERATION Sensor takes in information from motor and sensor Escalator saves power User activity Yes Motor runs No Motor does not run

FUNCTIONAL OPERATION CONT.

ELECTRICAL DESIGN OPTIONS  Switch Sensor  Control IC  Programming  Pad when depressed creates connection between leads  Scale sensor  Control IC  Programming  Weight sensitive approach recognition

ELECTRICAL DESIGN CONT.  Break Beam Laser  Laser  Photodiode receiver  When connection is broken IC changes motor accordingly

MOTOR CONTROL SPECIFIC  Existing Escalator Motor  IC creates/or removes connection between motor and power source  IC understands motor position  On  Off

ORIGINAL DESIGN  Similar to a Intermittent-Run escalator  Stops when not in use, saving electricity  Need corridor/walkway to give escalator time to start up for occupants  Cannot be sold in USA, due to ASME 17 standards  ASME 17- Escalators must run at constant speeds

MODIFIED DESIGN  Motor adjusts power output depending on weight on it at a given time  Key to energy savings  Motor controller keeps escalator at constant speed throughout its operation  Similar products reduced energy use by 33%

SWOT- STRENGTHS  Easily implementable in various locations  Does not require pathway as in previous designs  Obeys ASME-17 law requiring constant speed  Quickly calculates weight of occupants, adjusts power quickly and easily  Reduces energy consumption  Microchip does not require much space

SWOT- WEAKNESSES  Requires more expensive motor than normal model, due to frequent change in power  Could motor wear out over time?  Due to constant change in output power, parts will see greater wear  Competition from escalator source companies

SWOT- OPPORTUNITIES  Ability for escalator to gain energy from people walking down on escalator, could cut into power consumption  An option to set start/stop times depending on location  Remotely controllable  “Smart” features unlocked through microcontroller and programmable logic

QUESTIONS