HK1060554B - Passenger conveyer - Google Patents

Description

People conveyor

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a people conveyor such as an escalator and an electric moving walk, and more particularly to a people conveyor suitable for installation in a narrow space.

Background

In order to reduce the width of the people conveyor, one of the designs according to the prior art is to achieve a direct drive of the drive shaft by mounting a motor which drives the step drive shaft (for example, japanese unexamined patent application 56-108683), and the other design is to drive the step drive chain directly in the travel path (for example, japanese unexamined patent application 55-40185).

Since the steps and the step chain are directly driven by the motor, a drive chain and a drive sprocket dedicated to power transmission can be omitted in the above-mentioned prior art. The width can be advantageously reduced.

In the above-described design, however, the drive machines such as the motor and the reduction mechanism are disposed between the forward path and the return path of the steps, i.e., within the travel locus of the steps, the steps are connected to each other in a loop. Thus, during assembly, the drive machine must be installed before the steps are installed in the step chain. In addition, the steps must be removed from the step chain before maintenance and inspection can be performed, which takes a lot of time to perform since the work is performed in a narrow area.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the invention is to provide a people conveyor in which the installation and inspection of the drive machine is facilitated and the width of the people conveyor is reduced.

In order to achieve the above object of the present invention, the vertical projection of the bearing of the drive shaft for driving the step chain, in which a plurality of steps are connected in a ring shape by the step chain, is overlapped on the tooth portion of the drive sprocket for driving the step chain, or the vertical projection of the bearing of the drive shaft is closer to the middle portion of the drive shaft than the tooth portion. These elements are all fixed to the main frame.

Since the vertical protrusions of the bearings are superposed on the teeth of the drive sprocket, the length of the drive shaft can be shortened.

Further, since the driving machine is disposed outside the conveying path of the steps in the longitudinal direction, the mounting, maintenance, and inspection work of the driving machine can be performed without being hindered by the steps connected in a loop shape.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken in the direction I-I of the escalator of the first embodiment of the present invention shown in fig. 2;

fig. 2 is a schematic side view of an escalator of a first embodiment of the invention installed between floors;

fig. 3 is a top view of a portion of the escalator shown in fig. 2 near the upper floor;

fig. 4 is an internal structural view of a portion of the escalator shown in fig. 2 near an upper floor;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the portion shown in FIG. 4;

fig. 6 is a view similar to fig. 1 of an escalator of a second embodiment of the invention, an

Fig. 7 is a view similar to fig. 1 of an escalator of a third embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

A first embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to the escalator shown in fig. 1 to 5. The escalator 1 is mainly composed of a main frame 4 which bridges together the upper 2 and lower 3 floors of the building as a base frame. As shown in fig. 1, the main frame 4 is composed of right and left side frames 5A, 5B connected to each other, a truss (not shown) connecting the right and left side frames 5A, 5B together, and a base plate 6. The side frames 5A, 5B are furthermore formed by an upper girder element 7, a lower girder element 8 and a longitudinal element 9 extending in the longitudinal direction of the escalator, which longitudinal element serves for connecting the upper girder element 7 and the lower girder element 8. An upper horizontal portion 10, i.e., an upper machine room, is formed on the upper floor 2 side of the main frame 4 in the above configuration, and a lower horizontal portion 11, i.e., a lower machine room, is formed on the lower floor 3 side of the main frame 4. The upper horizontal portion 10 and the lower horizontal portion 11 are connected by an inclined portion 12. The upper parts of the upper and lower horizontal portions 10 and 11 are covered by step platforms for boarding and disembarking of persons, respectively.

A pair of driving sprockets 13 and a pair of driven sprockets 14 are respectively pivoted to the lower surfaces of the floor levels of the upper horizontal portion 10 and the lower horizontal portion 11 of the main frame 4. A pair of drive sprockets 13 are fixed to a drive shaft 15, and the end of the drive shaft 15 is rotatably supported by a bearing 16. The bearing 16 is fixed to the longitudinal member 9 of the side frame 5A, 5B, and the vertical projection of the longitudinal member is located within the width h of the side frame 5A, 5B.

An endless step chain 17 is suspended from the drive sprocket 13 and the driven sprocket 14. The axle 19 of the front wheel is fixed to the steps 18, and the ends of the axle, which are pivotally mounted on the front wheel, are connected to a step chain, thereby circulating the steps 18.

Guard rail walls 20 are provided vertically upward of the side frames 5A, 5B, respectively. A moving handrail 21 is guided over the flange of the guard rail wall 20. The moving handrail 21 is driven by the handrail drive unit 20. The handrail drive unit 22 is arranged inside the barrier wall 20. The handrail drive unit 22 gains kinetic energy through a guided handrail drive chain 24, which guided handrail drive chain 24 is suspended on a handrail drive sprocket 23 and passes around a reversing wheel 25, which handrail drive sprocket 23 is mounted on the drive sprocket 13 of the drive shaft 15. Wherein the radius of the handrail drive sprocket 23 is smaller than the radius formed when the front wheel rotates about the drive shaft 15 so that the handrail drive sprocket 23 can be superposed on the front wheel of the steps 18.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 5, the drive sprocket 26 is located on the end of the drive shaft 15 on the side of the steps 18 opposite the handrail drive sprocket 23. The drive sprocket 26 is designed such that its teeth on its outer circumference side, which correspond to their fixed positions on the drive shaft 15 on its inner circumference side, are located on the outer side in the width direction of the people conveyor. The fixed side of the drive sprocket 26 on the drive shaft 15 is on the side of the steps 18 opposite the handrail drive sprocket 23. The three vertical protrusions of the tooth portion of the drive sprocket 26, the bearing 16 and the side frame 5B of the main frame 4 are superposed on each other and disposed within the width of the side frame 5B.

The power transmission chain 27 is hung on the tooth portion of the drive sprocket 26. The power transmission chain 27 is also suspended from a sprocket 29 of a drive machine 28 which is arranged outside the forward and return path of the steps 18. The drive machine 28 includes an electric motor 30, a reducer 31, and a brake 32. The decelerator 31 is not always necessary.

Due to the structural design described above, the teeth based drive sprocket 26 must be substantially disposed within the clearance required for the reason between the bearing 16 and the handrail drive sprocket 23, and there need not be equal clearances on opposite sides of the drive sprocket 26 for installation balance considerations of the main frame 4, the guard rail wall 20, and the like. The entire width Wf of the main frame 4 can be reduced and the width of the equipment of the escalator 1 can be reduced. In addition, the axial length of the drive shaft 15 can be shortened by superimposing the vertical projection of the front wheel of the step 17 on the handrail drive sprocket 23.

When the escalator 1 having the above-described narrow width is installed in a narrow space, for example, at the position of an existing staircase at a station, the escalator 1 is pulled over one of the walls 41 of the staircase 40 and installed as shown in fig. 2 and 3. The balustrade wall 20 of the escalator 1 on the side opposite to the wall 41 serves as a partition wall between the staircase 40 and the escalator 1. When the escalator with the equipment width Wo is installed at the stairs 40 having the entire width Ws, the effective width of the stairs that can be utilized by the pedestrian becomes narrow. However, since the equipment width Wo of the escalator 1 is narrow, the reduction amount of the effective use width of the stairway 40 can be minimized. While the drive machine 28 is arranged in the upper horizontal part 10, i.e. in an upper machine room, which according to the first embodiment of the invention is located longitudinally outside the running track of the steps 18 and the step chain 17. The installation, maintenance and inspection of the drive machine 28 of the escalator 1 can thus be carried out easily by detaching the tread platform covering the upper part and opening the upper horizontal part 10.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be explained below with reference to fig. 6.

The first embodiment differs from the second embodiment shown in fig. 6 in that the drive sprocket 42 is not plate-shaped but disc-shaped, and the entire drive sprocket 42 is disposed within the width h of the side frame 5B constituting the main frame 4. And the vertical projections of the tooth portions of the drive sprocket 42, the bearing 16 and the side frame 5B of the main frame 4 are superposed on each other, the main frame width and the mounting width of the drive machine can be reduced as in the first embodiment.

Since the drive sprocket 42 is not plate-shaped in the present embodiment, it is easy to manufacture. In this regard, the present embodiment is better than any other embodiment.

Fig. 7 shows a third embodiment. In the present embodiment, the mounting position of the bearing for supporting the drive shaft 15 is different from the first and second embodiments. I.e. the bearings 44, are arranged between the forward and return paths of the steps 18 and are supported on the longitudinal members 9 of the side frames 5A, 5B (not shown) by means of brackets (not shown) or the like. In addition, a drive sprocket 45, a handrail drive sprocket 46, and a drive sprocket 47 are fixed to one end of the drive shaft 15. The above arrangement is similar to the first and second embodiments. That is, the drive gear 46 is disposed on the step 18 side, the handrail drive sprocket 46 is disposed on the outer side of the step 18 corresponding to the drive sprocket 45, and the drive sprocket 47 is disposed on the outermost side.

And it is noted that the drive sprocket 47 located at the outermost side is disc-shaped and within the width h of the side frame 5B, and is the same in operation and effect as the second embodiment.

Although the escalator as the people transporting apparatus is described in the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the escalator, but is also applicable to an electric moving walkway in which there is no difference in height between steps. Reference is hereby made to the steps described in each claim as a pedal in a different manner. In addition, although the existing stairways in the station are described as an example of the narrow space, the present invention is not limited to the existing stairways in the station, but is also applicable as a space-saving man conveyor and a horizontal walkway in a general building.

As described above, according to the present invention, the man conveyor can be realized in which the installation, maintenance and inspection of the driving machine is facilitated and the installation width is reduced.

Claims (6)

1. A people conveyor comprising:

an endless step chain that connects a plurality of steps together and drives the latter;

a drive sprocket and a driven sprocket from which the step chain is suspended near the underside of the platform at the entrance or exit;

the driving chain wheel is arranged on the driving shaft, and the driving chain wheel is fixed on the driving shaft;

a drive machine for transmitting rotary power to the drive sprocket, an

A main frame having side frames respectively disposed at right and left sides to support the man conveyor;

wherein the drive sprocket (26) is designed such that teeth on the outer circumference side thereof are located on the outer side in the width direction of the people conveyor corresponding to the fixing position on the drive shaft (15) on the inner circumference side thereof,

and the teeth of the drive sprocket (26) are located between the upper part of a bearing (16) that supports the end of the drive shaft (15) and the upper edge of the side frame (5B), while the teeth of the drive sprocket (26) are located between the lower part of the bearing (16) and the lower edge of the side frame (5B),

and the vertical projection of the tooth part of the driving sprocket wheel (26) is overlapped with the vertical projection of the upper edge part and the lower edge part of the side frame (5B).

2. People conveyor according to claim 1, characterized in that the vertical projection of the bearing coincides with the vertical projection of the upper and lower edge of the side frame.

3. People mover according to claim 1, characterized in that the teeth of the drive sprocket, the bearings and the vertical projections of the upper and lower edge portions of the side frame coincide.

4. The people conveyor according to claim 1, wherein a drive sprocket, a handrail drive sprocket and a drive sprocket are secured to the drive shaft, the handrail drive sprocket being located on opposite sides of the steps corresponding to the drive sprocket, the drive sprocket being located on opposite sides of the steps corresponding to the handrail drive sprocket.

5. The people conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the steps have a front wheel axle, the ends of the front wheel axle pivot to the front wheels, and the handrail drive sprocket vertical projections and the front wheels overlap each other.

6. People mover according to claim 1, characterized in that the teeth of the drive sprocket are located within the width of the upper and lower edge portions of the side frame.