The spread of COVID-19 and the resulting diversification in how people work have boosted demand for comfortable spaces with high added value in offices and other commercial property. In response, Hitachi has developed a new model for the Japanese market in its latest TX Series of escalators that feature enhanced functionality and aesthetics, including design modifications to the steps and handrails. Hitachi has also put together a suite of infection risk mitigation solutions for the TX Series and other escalators that address the rising demand for antimicrobial disinfection and for maintaining social distancing on escalators, adding new products such as a handrail sterilizer. Installation of a new TX Series escalator for promotional use at the Hitachi Building Solutions Laboratory showroom of Hitachi Building Systems was completed in April 2021. This article describes the features of the TX Series escalator and its infection risk mitigation solutions.
Prompted by the spread of COVID-19, demand is rising for the antimicrobial disinfection of escalators and for maintaining social distancing during their use. In response, Hitachi has developed a new model for the Japanese market in its latest TX Series of escalators that feature enhanced functionality and aesthetics. Hitachi has also put together a suite of infection risk mitigation solutions*1 for the TX Series and other escalators. This has included the addition of new products such as a handrail sterilizer that became available in September 2020 and works by continuously disinfecting the handrail during escalator operation.
The new TX Series model for the Japanese market shares the same base design as other models in the series that are already available in overseas markets but features specification and design changes optimized for the Japanese market. As well as retaining the safety and security functions and energy efficiency that were features of the VX Series, the TX’s predecessor in the Japanese market, the new model also features enhancements to its functionality and aesthetics that include changes to the handrail design and yellow highlighting on the escalator steps that encourage safe use by demarcating the boundary of where to stand.
Installation at the Hitachi Building Solutions Laboratory showroom of Hitachi Building Systems Co., Ltd. of a TX Series escalator with a handrail sterilizer was completed in April 2021 to provide a venue for customer demonstrations (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 — New TX Series Escalator Installed at Hitachi’s Building Solutions Laboratory
The left-hand escalator in the photograph on the left is an S600TX, with skirt mold lighting, a stainless-steel EP handrail on the left side, and a glass-panel EN handrail on the right. The right-hand escalator on the right is an S1000TX-L with glass-panel handrails and handrail lighting.
This section describes the features of the new TX Series escalators. All of the product features described here are fitted on the demonstration escalator referred to above.
Figure 2 — New Rounded Demarcation Step Design
By rounding the corners of the rectangular yellow demarcation line, the design provides unconscious encouragement to users to place their feet within the safe region of the escalator step.
To encourage safe use, the newly designed step features rounded corners for the rectangular yellow demarcation line that indicates where to stand. This provides unconscious encouragement to users to place their feet within the safe region of the escalator step (see Figure 2).
The escalator has a minimalist handrail design with little in the way of decoration. This design accentuates the handrail, with minimalism achieved by having semicircular terminal sections (the section of handrail around the escalator entry) and a simple shape for the plastic around the handrail inlet. The same cross-sectional profile is also used for the paneling on both the stainless-steel EP type and the L and EN types, which are made of glass.
Figure 3 — Frameless Handrail Lighting: L Type (TX-L)
Slim-line lighting is built into the frameless handrail and the illumination range lengthened to provide a new style of handrail lighting never seen before.
The functions on the previous VX Series for energy efficiency and for improving safety and helping users feel confident about using the escalator have also been carried over to the new model.
Developed as a proprietary Hitachi feature, LED lighting is embedded all along the skirt mold to help prevent shoes, trouser legs, or other items of clothing from coming into contact with the skirt guard. This lighting strip built into the skirt mold provides the escalator with a new style of lighting never used before. As this feature also provides foot lighting, it serves both a functional and aesthetic purpose (see Figure 4).
Figure 4 — Skirt Mold Lighting
Developed as a proprietary Hitachi feature, light-emitting diode (LED) lighting is embedded all along the skirt mold. This lighting strip built into the skirt mold provides the escalator with a new style of lighting never used before.
When the escalator starts, it spends approximately three seconds performing an automatic slow-speed diagnostic check during which it collects operational information and assesses equipment condition*3. The escalator also performs diagnostic checks during operation when there are no riders present, which is determined from the load on the inverter. The acquired information is used for preventive maintenance and to determine when best to perform servicing work by identifying any signs of potential faults or damage.
This section describes a suite of infection risk mitigation solutions*1 made up of existing solutions that facilitate antimicrobial disinfection for escalators and the maintenance of social distancing during their use.
The act of holding onto the handrail, important for riding an escalator safely, is now something that is discouraged to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Accordingly, Hitachi has augmented its product range with solutions for keeping the handrail clean so that users can feel confident about holding it.
Figure 5 — Handrail Sterilizer
The sterilizer helps to reduce the risk of infection by disinfecting the handrail surface using LEDs that emit ultraviolet-C rays, which are effective against both bacteria and viruses.
Hitachi provides a range of solutions that deliver audible or visual guidance to discourage the sort of crowding on escalators that happens at places such as railway stations during rush hour.
The TX Series of escalators offer extensive functionality and aesthetics, including for parts such as the steps and handrails. While sold as a business-to-business (B2B) product, once in service, elevators and escalators are also used by end users, making them in some sense a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) product. Accordingly, Hitachi aims to enhance its position in the marketplace by raising the level of awareness of Hitachi escalators and by earning a favorable opinion of them from end users as well as business customers, doing this by publicizing the excellent functionality and aesthetics of the TX Series through online and other channels as well as through showroom and other product demonstrations to the customers who actually purchase the equipment.
