HK1079503B - Step attachment on the step chain of an escalator - Google Patents

Description

Pedal device on escalator pedal chain

Technical Field

The invention relates to an escalator with an endless step belt, which consists of a plurality of interconnected steps, where the steps comprise a walking surface and a front side and are connected to respective side step chains, which are driven around a lower and an upper turning position by means of a drive, and where the steps contain at least a step roller guided by a step roller guide.

Background

Many escalators of this type are in use. The diverting position is usually obtained in the form of a chain diverting pulley or a pair of chain diverting pulleys around which the two laterally arranged tread chains of the step belt are guided and driven. There are also escalators in which the propulsion of the step chain does not take place near the turning position but, for example, in the front or rear moving section. In this type of escalator, instead of its chain deflecting rollers, for example, deflecting plates or substantially semicircular guide rails are provided, where the deflecting plates or guide rails follow the tread chain roller guide rails, respectively, where the tread chain rollers then return from the front active section of the passenger conveyor in the deflecting plates or guide rails into the rear active section. In this respect, the term diverting position is intended to cover all types of structures, i.e. chain diverting wheels, diverting guide rails or diverting plates.

Escalator steps are generally made up of a plurality of substantially box-shaped elements with a walking surface, also called "tread", and a front side, also called "riser", exposed in the inclined zone of the escalator. The remaining sides of the cassette, which are not exposed to passengers during operation of the escalator, can also be closed, but are often left open. This applies in particular to the underside of the footplate and to the rear side of the footplate, which is arranged opposite the walking surface. The tread side walls directed towards the tread chain are usually regularly arranged for structural reasons. In the case of box-like tread elements whose rear wall is not arranged opposite the front side, the box side wall directed towards the tread chain often has a triangular shape which tapers towards the bottom, so that the tread itself has only a relatively small thickness in its rear region compared to the thickness of the tread in the vicinity of the front side. Due to these measures, the weight and the material requirements can be significantly reduced.

The pedals are typically secured to the pedal chain by a pedal shaft. The pedal shaft typically extends through the pedal body and is connected with its two free ends to a pedal chain. The connection location of the tread plates on the tread chain is generally placed at the rear end of the tread plate opposite the front side and, as mentioned above, is usually not particularly thickened. The footplate is usually made of a material that can be easily handled, for example, an extrusion-moldable material such as aluminum, aluminum alloys or plastics. And the pedal shaft is made of a stronger material such as iron or steel. The pedal shaft is secured to the pedal by means of a variety of suitable attachment structures provided at the rearward end of the pedal. In order to remove the step from the step chain as often required for maintenance, the step shaft needs to be removed from the step and from the step chain. It is common practice to remove the pedal from the pedal shaft. Since such removal makes it possible to access the pedal shaft from the rear side opposite the walking surface of the pedals, only the place in the turning area where the distance between the pedals is large enough for a serviceman to access and remove the pedals from the pedal shaft with both hands can be removed with appropriate effort. In escalator maintenance, there are various situations in which it is not possible or desirable to move the step belt in order to remove the steps. There has therefore been a constant attempt to change the structure of the escalator in such a way that the tread plates can be dismounted at any position of the front moving section with relatively little effort. As described above, the rear end of the pedal is relatively thin. This means that alternative arrangements for connecting the step to the step chain and allowing the step to be detached from the step chain at any position are hardly possible for space reasons.

A completely different problem with escalators relates to the safety of escalators and the prevention of contingencies. In escalators, the individual steps typically move in a very narrow "corridor" which is laterally bounded by panel members called "skirt panels". The skirt panels are rigidly arranged on the escalator frame and the tread plates move relative to the skirt panels. The gap between the footplate and the skirt panel must be kept small for safety reasons in order to ensure that no objects or body parts of passengers are drawn into the gap and trapped therein. The requirement to ensure very narrow gaps is associated with high maintenance costs. In some cases, it is simply impossible to meet the safety requirements associated with narrow gaps. One option to reduce this potential risk, other than with a narrow gap, includes providing a floor that moves with the pedals. Such A false bottom is described, for example, in US-A-4,470,497. The disadvantages of such a soleplate according to the prior art are: they project relatively far up beyond the tread walking surface in the horizontal section of the escalator (i.e., the entrance position and the exit position), or they have a relatively complex configuration.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention is therefore based on the object of obtaining an effective escalator whose construction is realized in such a way that sufficient space is available on the tread side walls (i.e. in the region of the fastening of the tread plates to the tread chain) for the lateral connection of the tread plates to the tread chain, and that the running of the tread plates with the tread plates can be realized without the disadvantages mentioned above.

In the escalator of the invention of the type described at the outset, this object is achieved by virtue of the fact that: the position where the step is fixed to the step chain is arranged near the front side of the step. The present invention proposes a completely opposite solution compared to the prior art, in which the tread plates are fixed to the tread chain in the vicinity of the rear end surface of the tread plates. If one follows the path of the steps through the escalator transported upwards from the lower entry position to the upper exit position, the steps emerge below the comb plate at the entry point in a substantially horizontal position. Where the walking surface of the pallets lies substantially in one plane. After leaving this horizontal section, the path of movement of the pallets gradually changes to an inclined path of movement in the lower conveying zone and then back to a horizontal path of movement in the upper conveying zone, and in this zone the pallets finally disappear under the comb plate at the exit point. The walking surface of the deck remains horizontal throughout the exposed path of movement. This means that the horizontal distance between the walking surfaces of adjacent footrests increases from zero at the beginning to a maximum distance in the inclined area of the movement path and then decreases again to substantially zero. The pedal rollers guided by the pedal roller guide control the correct horizontal position of the tread surface.

According to the prior art, in the lower transport zone, the front end face of the walking surface located on the front side of the pallet is gradually raised above the adjacent lower pallet walking surface. Similarly, the front end face of the step is lowered again in the upper transport region until it is at substantially the same height as the adjacent step. The invention proposes a completely different arrangement in which the front end face is "held in place", while the rear end face of the tread opposite the front side is guided by the tread rollers, so that in the lower transport zone it "descends" below the level of the walking surface of the adjacent higher tread. Similarly, the rear end surface is "raised" in the upper movement zone, which is relatively easy to achieve in this movement sequence, and the floor comprises a plurality of flanges which are laterally fixed to the tread and do not actually project upwards beyond the walking surface in the region of the substantially horizontal extension of the tread band.

According to the invention, the position at which the step is fixed to the side wall is arranged in the region of the side wall, in which the side wall has a relatively large surface, so that sufficient space is available for an alternative connection arrangement of the step on the step chain, that is to say a connection arrangement in which the step can be detached relatively easily at any position at which the step belt section is exposed.

The pedal roller is preferably disposed on the rear end surface of the pedal (i.e., the end surface opposite to the front side surface of the pedal). This results in a relatively long lever arm for the pedal roller, so that a firm, reliable and precise guidance in the step belt is achieved.

The lateral flange member, which moves together with the step panel during operation of the escalator and forms part of the base plate, is preferably connected to the step panel. In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the flange members are realized in a shape resembling a circular sector, and their centers are arranged on the rotation axis of the step with respect to the step chain. The flange member may for example be obtained integrally with the pedal. Alternatively, they can also be fastened detachably or rigidly to the tread.

The tread rollers are preferably guided by the tread guide rails in such a way that the tread plates move relative to the adjacent tread plates during operation of the escalator, that is to say from a position in which the two tread plate walking surfaces lie substantially in one plane to a position in which said walking surfaces are offset relative to one another by a height h. In this case, the attachment point is located near the front side and is arranged substantially near the front side of the footboard such that it is offset substantially downwards by a height h with respect to the walking surface of the footboard. This design is optimal because sufficient surface for obtaining a particular attachment structure embodiment can be provided on the pedal sidewall above the attachment location. This construction is also optimal because a rather compact escalator construction is obtained, in particular in connection with the tread rollers arranged above the walking surface.

Alternatively, the attachment location is preferably disposed near the front side of the deck, slightly below the walking surface. The term "slightly below" the walking surface relates to a connection location which is located substantially below the upper side of the walking surface at not more than half the height h. Preferably, a distance corresponding to a quarter of the height h or less is chosen.

The tread roller is preferably connected to the tread in such a way that it is arranged above the walking surface. As mentioned above, this pedal roller arrangement is particularly advantageous in combination with the attachment location being offset substantially downward by a height h from the walking surface. In addition to the compact construction thus obtained, the use of such an arrangement of the pedal rollers above the tread surface enables a further advantage to be achieved in relation to the simple removal of the pedals. The step roller is also easily accessible when the balustrade panel is removed to detach the step at any position of the transportation path. This can be problematic in some situations if the step roller is located below the walking surface. In that instance, the tread rollers are typically positioned below the position where the tread is secured to the tread chain, and thus below the tread chain guide. This makes disassembly significantly more difficult.

The pedal roller is preferably connected to the pedal by a connecting arm. The connecting arm is either mounted on the step in the form of a separate component or is manufactured together with the step in the form of a one-piece component, for example by means of an injection molding process.

The tread rollers are preferably attached to the tread in a manner that is disposed below the walking surface. This arrangement is best used for the example where the attachment location is slightly below the walking surface of the footplate, in terms of geometrical considerations. In which case the pedal roller is also connected to the pedal by a connecting arm.

Drawings

The invention and preferred embodiments thereof are described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

figure 1 shows a part of an escalator of the invention;

fig. 2 shows a tread plate of the escalator of fig. 1;

figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of the escalator of the invention; and

fig. 4 shows an alternative variant of the embodiment of fig. 3.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows an escalator 2 having an endless step belt 6, the belt 6 being composed of a number of interconnected steps 4. The pallets 4 are each connected to a conveyor chain 8 arranged laterally thereof. The term "laterally" connected to the tread plates 4 includes embodiments where the conveyor or tread chain 8 is disposed laterally adjacent to the tread plates 4 if viewed from above, and also includes embodiments where the tread chain 8 is disposed laterally below the walking surface 16 of the tread plates 4 if viewed from above. The conveyor chain 8 is made up of a series of links 10. The links 10 are connected to each other at pivots 12. On these pivots 12 are also arranged tread chain rollers 14 which guide the tread chain 8 along a closed continuous path in a tread chain guide rail (not shown).

The escalator 2 is driven by a linear drive (not shown) obtained by means of an endless revolving toothed conveyor belt. The teeth of the toothed belt mesh with the teeth 16 of the chain link 10. The linear drive is preferably arranged in the region of the escalator 2 with a constant inclination.

Fig. 1 also shows that deck 4 includes a walking surface or "tread" 16 and a front side or "riser" 18. Opposite the front side 18 of the step 4, a rear end face 20 of the step 4 is also arranged. One can also establish that in the area of the escalator 2 with constant inclination there is a height difference h between the walking surface 16 of a step 4 and the walking surface 16 of an adjacent lower step 4. In the case of the three steps 4 of the ladder strap 6 arranged on the upper right side, the walking plane 16 of these steps lies substantially on one plane. The steering position 22 is to the right thereof.

Fig. 1 also shows a base plate 24 that moves with the footrests and a balustrade panel 26 that overlies the top of the base plate 24 and continues upwardly. On the plate 26, a balustrade, for example made of glass, can be arranged, which has a handrail (not shown) that turns substantially synchronously with the step belt 6 on said balustrade.

Fig. 2 shows an individual pedal 4. One can see walking surface 16, front side 18 and rear end 20. One may also define lateral attachment flanges 28 that form part of the false floor 24. In the center of this sector flange 28 is arranged a connecting member 30 for connecting the step 4 to the step chain 8. The connecting member 30 is made like a pouch-like receptacle. The pedal connection position 32 about which the pedal 4 can rotate is located in the center of this connecting member 30. The corresponding screw-like connecting element of the tread chain 8, which preferably comprises a thickened portion at its end, can be inserted into the pocket-like receptacle. This arrangement can be realized in the form of a ball bearing which is press-fitted on the stud stub and is held with its outer ring in the pocket-like receptacle. A securing member may be arranged such that the outer ring is retained in the locked position and released in the unlocked position. This type of construction makes it very easy to remove the step 4 from the step chain 8 on one side after removing the railing section. This means that the tread plates 4 can be relatively easily removed at any position of the conveyor channel. Fig. 2 also shows a plurality of pedal rollers 34 guided in pedal roller guides (not shown).

Figure 1 shows that the movable floor 24 includes a flange member 28 and a substantially triangular intermediate member 36. The flange member 28 and the intermediate member 36 may be interfitted with each other as in a tongue and groove connection and thus guided so that they can move relative to each other. Instead of providing a balustrade panel 26 which extends above and overlaps the latter, it should also be possible to select a panel which is located immediately adjacent to the false floor. For this purpose, a connection similar to a tongue-and-groove connection can also be selected between the stationary plate and the movable base plate.

Fig. 2 also shows that the attachment location 32 is clear below the walking surface 16 of the footplate 4 and is of substantially height h. This figure also shows a connecting arm 38 which projects upwards over the walking surface 16 of the footboard 4 and on which the footboard rollers 34 are rotatably arranged.

Fig. 3 shows an alternative variant of the embodiment of fig. 1. In this figure, corresponding components and features are labeled with the same reference numerals as in fig. 1 and 2. Thus, the description about these figures also applies to fig. 3 and 4. In the embodiment according to fig. 3, the connection location 32 is arranged slightly below the walking surface of the footboard 4. However, the attachment location may also be arranged slightly above this walking surface. One can see that the pedal roller 34 is disposed on the arm 38. The movable floor merely comprises a flange member 28, which is arranged on the tread chain 8 or rotatably arranged on the tread 4. Similar to fig. 1, this figure also shows that the activity chassis 24 is positioned substantially below the level of the walking surface 16 in the upper horizontal region of the stair band 6.

Fig. 4 shows an alternative variant of the escalator 2 of fig. 3. In this case, the connection location 32 is also placed slightly below the walking surface 16 of the steps. In particular, this connection arrangement is realized in the form of a continuous pedal shaft 40. One can also see the step roller 34, which is located below the walking surface 16 and is arranged on the structural frame of the steps 4.

Claims (7)

1. Escalator (2) with an endless stair band (6) comprising a number of interconnected steps (4), wherein the steps (4) comprise a walking surface (16) and a front side (18) and are connected to respective side step chains (8) which are driven around lower and upper turnaround positions (22) by means of a drive, and wherein the steps (4) comprise at least one step roller (34) guided by a step roller guide, characterized in that,

the position (32) where the step (4) is connected to the step chain (8) is arranged near the front side (18) of the step (4).

The tread roller (34) is connected to the tread (4) in such a way that it is arranged above the walking surface (16).

2. Escalator (2) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the step roller (34) is arranged on the side (20) of the step (4) opposite the front side (18) of the step (4).

3. Escalator (2) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact that a lateral flange element (28) is connected to the step (4), which flange element forms part of a base plate (24) which moves together with the step (4) during operation of the escalator.

4. Escalator (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the tread rollers (4) are guided by the tread roller guide in such a way that during operation of the escalator the tread (4) has an overall range of movement relative to the adjacent tread (4) from a position in which the walking surfaces (16) of two treads (4) lie substantially in one plane to a position in which the walking surfaces (16) are offset relative to one another by a height (h), and in that the connecting location (32) is offset substantially downwards from the walking surfaces (16) by the height (h).

5. Escalator (2) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the attachment points (32) are arranged slightly below the walking surface (16).

6. Escalator (2) according to claim 5, characterized by the fact that the connecting location (32) is essentially below the walking surface (16) not more than half the maximum displacement height (h) between the walking surfaces (16) adjacent to the steps (4) during operation of the escalator (2).

7. Escalator (2) according to claim 6, characterized by the fact that the step roller (34) is connected to the step (4) by means of a connecting arm (38).